The Castillian Expedition
As promised during the taking of the Rock, the companions are journeying to Rancho Velasquez - in northeastern Zepeda, Castille - to reunite Don Cruz and his daughter Zoya with their family. Before the leave, however, Philip du Paix approaches Don Cruz and offers him a position as Governor of Zepeda (for the Montaignes) as General du Toille, the Montaigne general, is becoming too brutal for public consumption. Don Cruz refuses, and so Philip enlists the companions to try to convince Don Cruz to accept so that the southern front of the Castillian war can be wrapped up. Philip also tells the heroes that the Montaignes have a secret weapon: he gives them a blooded brooch belonging to Lucien, and says Lucien will bring the weapon through when they reach San Augustin.
The Village of Capistrano
While traveling south, the heroes stop in the village of Capistrano, where a Montaigne engineer lieutenant is preparing to execute the entire village -- they killed a Montaigne officer, and would not give up the name of the men who did it. By policy, the entire village must die. Negotiating, the heroes intercede and begin to talk to the prisoners; Julien meets two of them, and with them arranges an ambush for the Montaigne soldiers by a troop of Castillian rebels. Telling the Montaigne lieutenant where the rebels are supposedly camped, he sends them off to the ambush as the villagers flee.
The Ruins of Rancho Velasquez
Several days south of Capistrano, the companions reach Rancho Velasquez, Don Cruz' family home. It is ruins, and from what they can gather from the locals Doña Esther Montoya del Velasquez, Don Cruz' wife, is being held prisoner by General du Toille at the Last Wall. On their way out of Rancho Velasquez, the heroes encounter El Vago: it is a tense moment, but after some negotiation they convince the Vagabond that they are acting in Castille's interests and that he should try to break Doña Velasquez and the other prisoners out once the companions have weakened the guards on the compound.
The Right Side of the Wrong Wall
The deal with El Vago is all part of a larger plan: the companions are trying to get General du Toille out of camp so that they can go to his lieutenant, General Morlais, summon Lucien and then deploy the secret weapon to take San Augustin.