Hello again. Today I think I made a new friend.

Maybe.

When I woke up I went looking for my friends. Julius I found being cuddled in the garden by a nice lady who gave me a gourd full of sweet citrusy juice. I guess I looked thirsty? Anyway I sipped the tasty beverage as I cradled Julius in my other arm and went looking for Lena.

I found her a bit later in a small training courtyard behind the main house. A short open sided hallway led to a square of roofed walkways surrounding a open air patch of dirt. Various weapons hung from racks around the training area, and benches were set on the dirt for spectators. Some bushes in the four corners added color and life to the otherwise spartan training area. Taras addition most likely.

Lena and the small angry woman, Esmeralda I heard Lena call her, were doing some simple sword drills in the center. I settled in on one of the benchs. Moving Julius to my lap and idly sipping at my drink as I watched them. I was curious about others training methods. Just as they were finishing and Esmeralda was giving Lena some advice, something about not overworking herself like a stupid man, Julius got bored.

He launched himself out of my lap into the closest bushes to investigate their ediblilty. Sadly, just as he kicked off of my guts, with far more gusto than necessary, I had been taking a sip of citrus juice. As I tried to gasp and swallow at the same time I sprayed the burning citrus juice from my nose. My eyes watered from the sharp searing pain, and as I was coughing and sputtering while she was giving advice it seems Esmeralda thought I was mocking her.

"What! You got something to say big man!" She roared at me. As I tried to wave my hands in denial I spilled the rest of my drink on me. When I went to wipe the tears from my eyes I got the stinging juice in them instead. Now I was blind and couldn't breath. Which is when I heard something horrifying.

"You wanna go punk! Lets go!" Followed by rapidly approaching footsteps. I managed to clear my eyes and raise my head just in time to see a dainty boot.

*CRUNCH*

That was my nose. I reeled backwards. Tripping over the bench onto my ass as I reached up to cradle my misshapen proboscus. I gingerly gripped the tip of my nose, cupped my hands around it, and jerked it upwards towards my forehead. As It *crunched* back into place I again lifted my head to see that same damn boot.

This time I dodged in time to only get kicked in the face rather than on my nose. I grabbed her ankle as she was withdrawing it and lurched to my feet. I gave a hard yank and threw her into the air.

She was very light.

As I fixed my posture and set my stance, legs apart, shoulders square, and fists at eye height she landed easily on her feet. She was smiling. I blinked back some residual tears and smiled back. My anger at being beaten without cause shifting back as my excitement for a good fight came forward. I was still angry of course. But I intended to use it, not be used by it.

Esmeralda spun and sprinted to the weapons racks. Coming back with a dull edged double bladed battleaxe that must have weighed as much as she did. She hefted it with no problem, and now there was some worry mixed in with the excitement and anger.

I tightened my fists and waited. Not for long though. With a shrill battle scream she charged me. Axe raised high before it swept low. Attempting to take me out at the knees. I hopped over the whistling blades and sent a knee into Esmeraldas face. The satisfying crack never came though. She shifted backwards. Bending inconcievably and using the weight of her weapon to maintain balance before coming full circle with an overhead chop. I swatted at the flat of the axe with the back of my left hand. Numbing it and sending a ringing into the air as it missed me. My right came across in a sharp hook to her ribs.

Again she flew, and again she landed nimbly on her feet. She kept shifting her body along with my blows. It was like punching a cloud. Sure I am hitting something, but it seems largely ineffectual.

This went on for an annoyingly long time. Me dodging and parrying her axe, and her shifting with my punches and kicks. Finally I managed to get a hand on her arm. I had her over my head in a second, and was about to begin slamming her into the ground when a sharp whistle cut through the air.

"Alright kiddys thats enough fun and games for today. Esme, I need this one whole and hearty for the day. So put down that stupid axe." A gruff and gravely voice barked lazily. I turned to see a old man. I think he was old at least. White hair, wrinkled face, bulging muscles, covered in old scars. The last two are what threw me.

"Fine commander, I was done with him anyway. Oy, lummox, I was a second away from cracking your skull like an egg. So thank the commander, and put me down!" Snarked the snarky snark I was a half-second away from smashing repeatedly into the ground.

I set her down and gave the old man(?) a inquisitive look. He grunted lazily "Names Commander Ludo Fisk. You can call me Commander, or Ludo. Only dead men call me mister Fisk." He scratched idly at a scar that cut through his snowy stubble along his jawline. "I owe Tara a favor, and she asked me to show you the ropes. Come with me kid. We have got a lot of ground to cover." With that he turned and walked off without a backwards glance.

I glanced at Esmeralda, *humph* she snorted "Well aren't you the lucky one lummox. Don't keep the Commander waiting. I'll take care of the little lady." She then placed a hand protectively over Lenas shoulders. I asked Lena if she would be ok, she gave me an affirmative so I set off after the Commander. Julius hadn't hopped out of the bushes yet so left him. I am sure he won't get into any trouble while I am gone.

As I was walking my head cleared from the fight fumes. My hands and nose were in crazy amounts of pain. I coated my hands in some firey mitts. They fixed up my bones and closed the scrapes and bruises you get when you slap an axe. I sent some tingles to my nose. Which tickled like crazy! I burst out laughing and snorting. Every time I snorted some fire spurted from my nose. I got some odd looks from the ladies for that one.

The Commander led me out of the House of Dancing Wings and out of the Heaven island altogther. He didn't say anything just walked. He didn't even look back to see if I was following him. We went back into the crazy mess of people that they call a city and he finally slowed and turned to me.

"These scumshacks." He graveled then spit something on the ground "Make up the glorious ranks of lowtown. This is where the poor, the unlucky, or the dumb live." He looked around in disgust and spit again. "Don't live here. Come on." He set off again. This time much faster.

We reached a new bridge. This one had a sign of it as well. Purgatory, once we crossed the bridge I saw regimented rows of identical wooden houses. Long and low they ran in lines over half the island. The other half was blocked off by high stone walls. Misshapen sheres dangled over the wall on spikes. Behind those walls I could see nothing.

"This lovely place." Ludo started in a much cheerier tone "Is Purgatory. This is were the mercenary bands live while in Papil and where the prison is." He gestured at the walls. "In there are the poor fools to dumb, or unlucky, or poor to even make it in lowtown." Then he pointed out the houses "In these barracks rest the finest scum you'll ever see. Mercenaries are greedy, cowardly, bloodthirsty arseholes who would literally kill you for a rusty gold." He turned and met my eyes with his own dull green ones. "And I am their leader. Welcome, boy, to my little slice of paradise."As he said this there was a bellow behind him and a dozen men came flying out of one of the barracks. Beating each other with chairs and fists.

Commander Ludo turned and a beatific smile slit his scarred face, showing his shiny gold teeth. He sauntered lazily over to the struggling mass of shouting men, and took a deep breath. "ATTEN-SHUN! STAND AND BE RECOGNIZED MAGGOTS!" He roared. The men shot to their feet and stiffened like posts where they stood. Ludo stalked malevolently around the stiff men who had rapidly paling faces. "Well, well, well, what have we here?" He growled "A bunch of lazy slobs so bored they have time to gamble and fight eh?" A large man near the front of the crowd opened his mouth.

"SILENCE! FROM NOW ON ALL TRAINING FOR BARRACK 27 IS DOUBLED AND PAY IS HALVED! THAT OUTTA KEEP YOU BOYS BUSY. ANY COMPLAINTS!" the commander roared.

"SIR, NO SIR!" then poor, now poorer, men shouted.

"WHAT WAS THAT SCUM! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" He raged, spittle flying into the faces of the nearest cringing mercs.

"SIR, NO SIR!" They repeated. Valiantly trying, and failing, to match his volume.

He dismissed them with more bellowing and raging and they took off like they were running from a ravager horde.

The Commander turned to me and chuckled. "And that, boy, is how you establish discipline and dominance over these mean bastards. Be meaner than them." He turned and walked away. Gesturing me to follow as he waxed on."See, there are three ways to get loyalty from a group of men. Depending on the men they can be more or less effective."

He gestured grandly as if addressing a great crowd. "You can earn it from respect. Grand gestures of gravitas and grace. Great displays of personal power or wealth. If your men respect you, they will follow you happily into the jaws of death. For they believe you can, and will, see them through it. This works best on idealistic fools and men who believe in honor and integrity." He spat on the ground again. He does that a lot.

He mimed throwing something into the air."You can buy loyalty. The more you need the more you pay. People you pay for loyalty will happily kill for you, but they sure as hell won't die for you." He turned and gave me a cheeky grin which pulled at his many scars grotesquely. "They are gonna want to spend that money you see. This works best with scum like you'll find here. Honorless dogs posing as men and biting at every hand in sight. They will take your coin, kill your enemy, loot him. Then turn around and kill and loot you too." He looked at the ground for a second in silence. "Which is why you absolutely never hire more mercs than you can kill. Gold may be a fine sword, but it makes a lousy shield."

He then shook his fist angrily at the air. "Finally, you can earn their loyalty through fear. Make them certain that crossing you is worse than obeying you. That if they do as you say they might survive, but if they don't listen they won't live. Never, ever, bluff. Always carry through with a threat. You have to be worse than their worst nightmares, and you can never show weakness. The instant you seem weak. They will kill you and run." He smiled grimly seeming to recall some spectacle from his past.

Finally he stopped walking. "Personally, I favour a nice mix of the three. Equal parts money, fear, and respect. My men follow me because they know I will bring them profits and they listen to my orders because they know that if they don't I will rip them into a knee high pile of bloody scraps." He waved me into the nearest barrack. "Finally, they know I won't lead them into traps or ambushes, and that I won't work for a fool."

We went into the barracks and I found it full of tables with papers stacked high on them. A dozen skinny men and women with stained fingers were running around carrying stacks of paper. Commander Ludo led me to a table at the back. "Take a seat boy, now I'll show you the true battlefield of a mercenary leader!" He pulled a stack of papers closer and settled a dainty construct of wires and glass over his eyes. "Logistics! Any amateur can order a charge, or plot an ambush. True masters of warfare are the ones who make sure the men get what they need where they need it. Every archer his arrows, and every trooper his boots." He gave a great guffaw and leaned over the papers.

We spent the rest of the day in that office. He showed me paper after paper of costs and profits. I know exactly how many nails a siege unit needs if they are to be expected to build seige towers, and how many arrows the average hundred archers go through in the average day. I sat through the mind numbing numbers and all the horrible graphs.

Finally, as the sun was setting my mind stumbled upon a fluffy oasis in this dry desert of deskwork. A small window was situated right behind the Commanders left shoulder. All day it had taunted me with visions of bright blue skys and freedom. I very nearly ran away on a few occasions. Every time I was about to I recalled Lena crying with the other women yesterday. She needs this, and if I leave now I know I would leave this place for good. Lena would probably follow me and I think she should stay here for a while yet. Anyway, my salvation was a massively obese cat that sauntered onto the roof of the barrack I could see from my seat.

The tubby tabby rolled about of the roof for a bit. His twitching tail and round little face serving as a much needed distraction. A small bird landed on the roof not far from the cat. Seeming oblivious to its presence. The cat sprang from lazy ball of fur to wire taut killer in a split second. The pudgy predator stalked its prey, dragging its unintimidating bulk with it. I watched breathlessly as the hefty cat slowly creeped up on the idiot bird. Slowly, ever so slowly the cat moved into striking distance. The bird pecked at the roof. The cat sprang! The sight of its round silhouette against the orange dusk sky hanging for a split second.

Then the bird flew off, and the cat reached its inevitable destination. Falling off the roof altogether. A loud smash and clatter erupted from that direction and the sound of men shouting and swearing shed some light on the cats landing pad. A poor man had been leaning over a large pot of hot stew. When the cat landed on his back like a fuzzy cannonball and sent him, and the stew, into the cooking fire.

I slipped away while the Commander was distracted and headed back to Heaven Island.

I only got lost five times!

The sky was dark and the stars were beginning to appear by the time I made it back. Lots of ladies in very little stood in the windows or on the balconies. I wonder if they don't get cold? Sounds of music and merry making drifted into the ever-present mist. The sounds quickly stifled as you walk further into the mist. The only exception was the House of Dancing Wings. There the short angry woman, Esmeralda, and another tall woman with an interesting scar on her cheek stood outside the closed outer gates.

They let a few people inside. Mostly those with colorful or shiny clothes. The rest they rebuffed. Some tried to force past them and got a fist to the head from Esmeralda or the other lady. If that didn't dissuade them then the two would draw weapons. Esmeralda had a long single edged heavy blade on her back and the tall lady had a long slender sword that she handled very familiarily hanging from her hip.

When I approached Esmeralda snorted. "*Chet* I see the old man didn't manage to kill you eh?" She seemed happy to see me, despite her words.

The tall lady looked me over. "Oh? Who is this one then Esme?" She asked in a calm tone as she waved the very sharp sword at me.

"This is Taras latest charity case. Ugly here" She gestured at me dismissively "lost his memories and needs some help readjusting to the real world." I grumbled, I don't think I am ugly.

"I don't think he is ugly" The tall lady agreed with my thoughts. "In my opinion scars add character to men." She gave me another look over. "And I bet this one has lots of scars." She gave me a smile that sent a shiver down my spine. Suddenly uncomfortable with this whole situation I gave a burst of tingles to my right foot and used the small blast to leap directly over the gate. "And he is shy too! Just my type." I heard the tall lady say with some laughter. I heard Esmeralda grumble something as headed away at full speed. Probably not a compliment.

I headed to bed. Ignoring the festivities util I saw the garden. I know now how this house got its name. Hundreds of glowing maths and butterflies dance about in the garden. Flitting from plant to plant as their dull blue and purple glows light up the mist around them. Providing dim lighting and magical ambiance to the already wonderous garden.

I stayed and watched the dancing wings until my exhaustion outweighed my wonder.

I wonder if that cat is ok? I hope it didn't get burned or caught by the angry mercenaries.

Goodnight.