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Castro led another attack personally on the 11th, more out of frustration than anything else, it was short and confirmed the fact that advancing would now be an extremely bloody affair. The next day he retreated into conference with Quisipe-Tupac on the subject of what to do next. A dangerous march through the nearby mountains was considered, but rejected, there was no way to be sure they would not be ambushed.

Another option would be withdrawing from their positions and searching for another way north, perhaps along the coast. But that would sacrifice the ground they had gained, and for a path north that neither Castro nor Quisipe-Tupac knew well enough to be assured of success. They would remain at the Inca’s Gate for now, but until a reliable solution could be found a full assault would be avoided.

Unbeknownst to them on that very, far to the north, Philip van Hutten and Bartholomew Wesler met the beleaguered forces defending the northern frontier for the first time. They demanded that they be brought before the Inka. The locals were weary, translation was spotty, but they all remembered the Sack of Quito and the destruction that Europeans could bring. However, the best of the army was in the South, so an ambush was considered unlikely to succeed. But Quito did have one thing that could get the Welser expedition moving away: Gold.

In a fateful decision Quito offered Welser and Hutten an opportunity. They would pay the expedition to leave, head south and help the Sapa Inka defeat some “rebels”, failing to mention the Spanish presence alongside said rebels. Hutten and Welser conferred and agreed, taking the money and turning south. However, they took a sluggish pace, often ransacking small, undefended villages for supplies. In general, they were very impressed by the infrastructure and organization of this new land, as well as how “surprisingly civilized” the people seemed to be. Plans were sketched for future expeditions, and for attempts to get Charles V to extend the Welser domain southward. This was the chance they had bee waiting for, they had missed the city of gold, but found an Empire.

By the time Quisquis heard word of the arrival of yet more foreigners it was too late to send orders to stall them. So, he waited, taking advantage of the lull in fighting to develop more rockslide traps, further north along the road, in case the Spanish broke through, or in case these mysterious newcomers proved hostile. He rounded up the gold he had on hand, and sent orders to collect as much as could be gotten, to increase his position in any prospective attempts to buy off Hutten and Welser. Quisquis was successful in quashing any rumors spreading to the enemy of the new players, allowing him the chance to buy them off without Castro’s interference, if he played his cards right.

When Hutten and Welser finally arrived at the Inca’s Gate in December, Quisquis and Ninancoro welcomed them with a cautious optimism. Quisquis explained that rebels had risen up against the rightful Sapa Inka, who would be happy to provide them with Gold and Silver for their services.


Welser and Hutten asked if trade could be arranged and Quisquis agreed, after the enemy was defeated. Then terms could be negotiated. It was here that Welser, far more so then Hutten, came to be suspicious. Quisquis was being far more conciliatory then would be logical for an empire that had defeated several Spanish attempts at conquest, if they were desperate for European weapons something was wrong. Welser asked Quisquis is there were any Europeans fighting for the rebels.

Quisquis made a split-second decision and lied, claiming that the rebels had stolen much of the weaponry belonging to the Sapa Inka, most of which was European based. But he denied that there were any Europeans present. Welser cautiously accepted this lie. Quisquis was exuberant, he believed the stalemate that had persisted since October. He planned his attack for Christmas Eve, eager to symbolically attack the Spanish. Welser and Hutten were appalled by this plan, despite not knowing that there were Spanish on the opposing side and despite not being particularly adherent to certain Christian principles [1] neither wanted to annoy their men by attacking on a holiday. Quisquis was disappointed, but could do nothing. And so, he waited, as the Spanish used the opportunity to spread around western goods and gifts to their allies in an attempt at converting them. By December 26th, the saint day of the first Christian martyr, Quisquis was ready for his attack.

He ordered Hutten and Welser’s men to open fire, to announce this new stage of the war to the world. They stood still. Then Hutten ordered them to fire, and they did.

At first Castro, who was at the time having allies scout out possible secret paths, at first thought it was drunken revelers trying to show off, and went to scold his men, only to find they were as confused as he was. Immediately sensing the gravity of the situation, he ordered his men to ready a defense. The Cuscan forces under Quisipe-Tupac also heard the gunfire, and roused themselves. They heard again the sound of gunfire, and tensed themselves. Emerging from the field of rocks was Quisquis’s army, alongside men on horseback and men wielding muskets. A panic inducing sight to many.

Hutten led the charge personally, aiming to take down those wearing “stolen” armor and bearing weapons that were not theirs. He was soon horrified to learn that they were not natives, but fellow Europeans, who cursed at him repeatedly. He tired to call off the attack, but too much had been committed already for him to get the Tawantinsuyu to retreat, and by this point the Spanish were not interested in listening to peace overtures. The surprise of the attack was a huge factor in its initial success, as Quiquis’s army had been able to sneak across the normally untraversable terrain between the two sides. To Hutten’s surprise his side began to win, and to his horror he saw the banners of Castro’s men, banners of the crown of Spain. He was not fighting mercenaries, but agents of the King of Spain.

So when Castro formed his men into a defensive arrangement, leaving his allies out in the open, Hutten did not press his advantage, even against Tawantinsuyu allies of Castro. Instead he took the chance to pull back and leave his own allies to the slaughter.

What ensued was perhaps the last “traditional” battle the empire would ever see. With Castro still trying to figure out what was going on and Hutten refusing to press the advantage it was between two armies that, at best, had some crossbows and a couple of men on horseback to supplement their main force.


The fight was brutal. Manco’s veterans, having spent years in the South, had trained their men in the use of clubs, a popular choice of weapon there. The Cuscans brought with them simple spears, but it was those spears that had conquered the Andes for the Tawantinsuyu. Quisquis’s force possessed both these, in addition to slings and bows and arrows used by members of northern tribes.

It was Quisquis’s forces thus had a slight advantage when at a longer range from their enemy, but that gap quickly closed. The rest of the battle was a melee, axes and clubs shattered bone. Spears pierced the defenses of most soldiers, with only those privileged enough to have received some sort of shield or armor (whatever the material) being able to evade death when their opponent managed a strike. Crossbows proved difficult to move with in the scrum, and few people bore swords. Though both sides had sought to distinguish their forces from the other, many of these signs became lost in the fray. So it became difficult to tell friend from foe, often leading to death from a friendly axe.

Quisquis’s men had started the day more organized, and so they remained. Despite the confusion it seemed that the battle was moving in a direction that Castro would not be pleased with. If Hutten would have thrown himself back into the battle, the day might well have been won. Castro was in no mood to risk his force and had already retreated from the actual fighting.

But Hutten did not throw himself into the battle. He waited, and did not move. Quisquis, who had set up camp between two large boulders that now rested in the Inca’s Gate, sent messengers begging him to attack. But Hutten would not be moved, be it for fear of Spain, or anger at Quisquis’s lies.

When Castro realized that his new opponent wasn’t moving, he first feared a trap, but eventually allowed himself to be talked into reinforcing his battered allies. He broke his defensive parameter and sent the Spanish straight into the fight.

For a while the Tawantinsuyu tried to resist the Spanish charge, but with no mountains or numerical advantage they could not repeat the miracles that had felled previous invasions. They fell back, then Hutten turned and rode back through the Inca’s gate. With their last hope gone Quisquis’s forces abandoned the field entirely, retreating into the safety in the rubble. Castro, still slightly suspicious of a trap, would not go farther as the sun grew low. Quisipe-Tupac and his generals, whose forces were bloodied also called a halt.

Despite the Europeans largely withdrawing from the day’s conflict, its casualties were raised just by the sheer number of participants. Sources are scarce on the exact number lost, but all those present agreed that it was the bloodiest post-contact battle save possibly Quito. And even then, one had to take into account previous battles at the Inca’s Gate.

The element of surprise had been lost, and it seemed that stalemate reigned. Quisquis had been unable to break Castro, and Castro still lacked a way to break Quisquis.

Yet Quisquis had a major problem, Hutten felt betrayed and vulnerable, and Welser was inclined to agree. Having no loyalty to Quisquis the pair began to stew in their rage.

The type of rage that can break empires.

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1: Like “thou shalt not kill” or “thou shalt not covet” or “love thy neighbor” or “turn the other cheek” or...