Chapter 3: The Steppe Riders

The riders appeared on the northern ridge on the ninth day of autumn, forty strong, their banners the color of dried blood.

Yanshui had grain now, and grain draws wolves. Wei Yuan met their envoy at the gate with tea, a ledger, and sixty archers he did not have.

The bluff held for exactly one night. What happened at dawn would be told in the border songs for years.