“With every battle, you could expect to say farewell to some old friends, whether it be to death or retirement. Similarly, after each campaign would come a time for rest and replenishment, to inject new blood into the company and induct a bunch of eager youngsters.

How each company did it differs from company to company. Some made it a familial business, where the children joined the parents and eventually succeeded them. Others were a collection of strangers from all over the place, united only in their pursuit of wealth through carnage.

Most companies that had been in the business for a good while ended up as a combination of both. A core of loyal, trusted people who had been with the company for generations on end, with the rest of their troops being recruited from elsewhere. It was simply the way things would naturally proceed.” - Adler Stanz, retired former mercenary, circa 589 FP.

A day after the distribution of spoils, Reinhardt left Norouz together with the rest of the company, and their new recruits. While they had only recruited a little over fifty people, nearly two hundred joined their caravan, as recruits were allowed to bring their family along as followers, if they desired to. Many had taken that option as a chance to find their way out of the poor life they had lived in the Holy Kingdom, choosing to bet on the traveling mercenaries even while they likely kept an eye on the development of their former homeland under dwarven rule.

Reinhardt hadn’t minded the additions. The Free Lances would need them anyway, as a portion of their camp followers and support personnel were bound to leave soon after they received their portion of the pay and the fund for those who lost their family and loved ones in battle. It was inevitable, and he doubted more than half of the current followers would still be with him after that.

Fortunately, with the company downsized as it was, they also needed less followers to support them, so those who remained would likely be able to handle their needs. Most of their most skilled smiths, armorers, and fletchers had also chosen to stay. Many of them had lived their whole lives amongst the Free Lances, and could not imagine a life outside the company.

After a leisurely journey to Zefirous - one that took two weeks to complete - they rested once more in the southern city. The stark difference between Norouz and Zefirous was evident, as by then the city had cleaned up what rubble was left from both the battle and the looting. Guards with new uniforms also manned the walls already, occasionally with a dwarven supervisor watching them work.

The celebratory mood was also evident in the city, even if the celebration for victory happened weeks ago. The Free Lances was welcomed quite politely by Graf McBaine who was still stationed in the city, if not warmly, and they quickly set about to their business as well.

While the majority of the Lances rested or enjoyed themselves in taverns and the likes, Reinhardt and Elfriede paid a visit to Varsha, who tasked her assistant Annelise to aid them with setting up their recruitment drive.

With local help who knew the city well, their recruitment drive gave even better results than in Norouz. Many of the locals - some of them clearly former thugs and the likes, former employees of Varsha who found themselves having a hard time adjusting to a peaceful life - had flocked to them, and sorting out those who were jut unsuited for being mercenaries took the rest of the week.

In the end, the Free Lances had two-hundred and seventy one before the recruitment at Norouz. They were three-hundred and thirty three after Norouz, while the recruitment at Zefirous boosted them back to almost five hundred, with another flock of family members who joined as followers.

Some familiar faces had also been present amongst them. A good half of those who chose to join the mercenaries were former thugs in Varsha’s employ, people who found themselves fidgety and unaccustomed to a peaceful life. Amongst them were Arne and Cassie, as well as Karenina and Zyd, with both couples bringing their entire families along for the ride.

“I didn’t expect you to join us. But then again, I had not expected that you were married with children either,” said Elfriede when Nina came over to introduce her family, which was mostly Zyd’s old mother since she was an orphan. She also brought twin children around Erycea’s age, her children with Zyd. “Did Varsha know you’re coming with us?”

“Speak for yourself. But yeah, Varsha gave her blessing for whoever wanted to depart with your group, yea. Many of us who used to be enforcers had gotten antsy with peace, I guess,” said the other woman with a nonchalant shrug. “We just ain’t used to not being allowed to solve things with violence, I guess. Being paid to kill things seemed like it’d be a better fit for us than being guards or making a living as… I dunno? A butcher maybe? I know how to stick pigs up and that’s about it.”

“I get your drift,” said Elfriede with an understanding nod. Just then the infant child cradled in her arm woke up and cried, and she was immediately busy placating the child, while Erycea looked at the baby girl with fond curiosity.

The child was the newborn granddaughter of the late Count of Norouz, the one Elriede and promised the mother she would keep safe. As the girl was but three to four months of age at the time, she doubted the child would even remember her real parents, and after some discussion with Reinhardt, they had agreed to raise the child as their own, rather than hand her to someone else.

Erycea had been mostly curious of her new little sister, and could often be seen teasing and making the baby girl laugh. The other mercenaries also had not minded the child. After all, children were aplenty amongst their caravan anyway.

“That the kid you adopted, huh?” said Nina as she looked at the girl, who was by then calmed and suckled on her thumb. “Really never pictured you as a mother either, but it’s a strange world after all. What did you name her?”

“The name her parents gave her was all too long and pompous,” said Elfriede with an amused snort. “So we gave her a new one. We’re calling her Alycea.”