“I do not believe adding burglary to breach of contract would be a good move for you master Ruttiger. I think your time would be better spent preparing what you already owe me,” Calliope called out. Kayden reached out and gently guided her out of the frame of the window.

“Not a good idea in a world of crossbows,” he explained sotto voce.

More men were gathering in front of the house now, the burly cording of their muscles as well as the tools they carried proclaimed their vocations. Ruttiger was a mining magnate and the presence of pick axes and prybars demonstrated that he was more than willing to mobilize his workforce.

“You cannot expect me to neatly accept ruin based on a trick, a clever trick I’ll grant you, but just a trick none the less. Come down now and speak with me, or it will go poorly for you.”

“We can cut our way free my lady,” Otto suggested, clearly uncomfortable with the direction things were going. Calliope shook her head, the situation was spiraling out of her control, she had not expected such backbone from a gutless worm like Ernst Ruttiger. 
“If we take part in a massacre all of this will have been for naught, if they declare me an outlaw Ruttiger will be able to weasel out,” Calliope explained.
“The mercenaries then, they can break this up, can you get word to them Caradwalden?” Otto asked. Kayden was nodding his head.

“A few of my boys could slip through to them but I dont know that it would prevent a massacre if the miners try to stop them reaching us,” the mercenary captain replied.

“Send your men, have them send riders to Calsdat,” Calliope decided suddenly, “Have them rouse the temple curates and anyone they can get from the Baron, bring them by force if you have to,” she decided.

“Even at the gallop that is nearly a two hour trip,” Kayden pointed out, “two hours there, two hours back, plus however long it takes to round people up.”

“Then you had best get started,” Calliope replied tartly, once they get here, come in with your troops, it will be obvious if we have witnesses who was attacking whom.”

“Any plans for how we will last out the next four hours then?” Kayden asked. Calliope marched to the window and threw open the shutters, to the horrified winces of both Otto and Kayden.


“Herr Ruttiger, I will not speak with you until you provide some earnest of what you owe me, I appreciate your shortage of ready coin however. Bring me the downpayment I provided you and I shall come down and talk,” she declared.

“And as waiting is thirsty work, have the taverns provide drinks for your men, on me,” she added, drawing cheers and chuckles from the miners that their foremen tried in vain to quash. Ruttiger fumed but seemed unable to figure a way out of the fix.

“Very well, I’ll send to my factory for your gold,” he admitted grudgingly. Calliope slammed the window shut and stepped away.

“Clever,” Otto observed, “but how are you going to avoid going down to him once he brings the gold. Calliope smiled a little wryly.

“He may have trouble producing it, because I dispatched Mesmer to steal it nearly two hours ago,” she admitted with a dark chuckle. “It will buy us some time at least, Kayden get your men moving, Otto, have everyone else barricade the bottom floor.”

“What if he tries to burn us out?” Otto asked in concern.

“I think I can probably do something about that,” Calliope replied.