“Keeping information away from the enemy is an endeavor that often proved fruitless, as they would get their hands to it one way or another. What one *could* do however, is to attempt to delay the passage of that information for as long as was possible.

That way, by the time the information reached enemy ears, it would be far too out of date to be of any proper use.” - Liang Si-Zhu, Famed Tactician of the Huan Confederacy, circa 92 VA.

“Welcome, Captain Edelstein. We were just waiting for your people and a few others to arrive,” said Nestor Ambroglio da Nunez in welcome. The Heir to Algenverr was a tanned man in his early thirties, who kept a neatly trimmed mustache and beard that gave him a sophisticated appearance, though from the look in his eyes, Reinhardt could tell that he was a man of the battlefield, rather than a pampered noble son.

They met at a one of the many fort-like sections of the long wall built to the west of Algenverr, where most of the expedition army - a good twenty-five thousand soldiers from Algenverr together with another five thousand mercenaries and sellswords - had gathered in preparation for their offensive retaliation towards their western neighbors to hopefully make them realize that the border duchies were not places they wished to mess with and if possible, end the hostilities.

Reinhardt had gotten a look at the assembled forces on his way to Nestor’s temporary office, and while he was unfamiliar with some of the assembled smaller mercenary groups, there were others he was familiar with just from their reputations, as well as old compatriots like the Silver Eagles and the Janissaries amongst them.

The nobleman himself was surprisingly not accompanied by any guards in his office, other than his fiancee Lady Griselda of Gerouz who stood beside him. Reinhardt knew that neither the nobleman nor his fiancee were slouches on the battlefield, especially since his people had experience fighting alongside said fiancee a few years ago.

“Lord Nunez, Lady Geroulaz,” he said as he greeted them with a polite - but not humbling - bow as an employee to an employer. This would be his first meeting with Nestor, and the first time he saw Lady Griselda after the battle back at Fort Kazka some years ago.

“It’s Lady Nunez now,” Griselda corrected him with a smile as she lifted her hand to show the golden band around her ring finger. “Glad that we’d have you and yours to fight with us once more, Captain Edelstein.”

“Apologies, and congratulations, Your Grace,” said Reinhardt with a nod and a smile to match. He had sort of an understanding of the foreign lady and knew she was not one to hold her status above others, and was more of a soldier at heart. From what he had heard - and been told by his employers at Dvergarder - Nestor would likely be of the same sort. “Though I guess the congratulations came a bit late.”

“None of your fault, Captain. We kept it quiet when we tied the knot four years ago, for the same reason my Honored Mother the Duchess gets to dote on her grandson in Algenverr despite most people not even knowing of his existence,” said Nestor with a nonchalant smile. “No reason to let information on potential weak points slip to the enemy in wartime, so I would have to ask for your discretion on this matter.”

“Understood, Your Grace. This conversation never happened,” said Reinhardt with an easy nod. He was honestly a bit surprised that Nestor and Griselda not only kept their marriage but also the birth of their child a secret so well, but he got what the man meant and likely thought. Childrens of the leaders were not uncommon targets during wars that got ugly, so if the enemy never even knew of their existence, all the better. On the other hand, he was also responsible enough to leave a successor should the worst happen and he never returned from the battlefield.

“To the public eye Damien’s the one getting hitched before me, though we love to tease him about that in private,” said the nobleman with a chuckle. “But enough about personal matters. Your troops are prepared for the campaign to come?”

“Yes, Your Grace. All of the Free Lances, one thousand and thirty-eight strong, pledged ourselves for this campaign, as per the contract we had discussed and signed three months ago,” said Reinhardt with a more businesslike voice. “As stated by the contract, we also request permission to garrison our dependents and support staff by the wall for the duration of the campaign.”

“Permission granted. I am glad to see your numbers recovering so well after Fort Kazka. I hope the new recruits are of acceptable quality as well?”

“Some of them are still rather green, but a good battle or two will either forge them, or kill them if they prove incapable,” replied Reinhardt with a shrug. “Our latest batch of recruits had been exemplary though, and they helped motivate the older ones to catch up to them, so I am confident that we will be able to deliver a performance that is to your satisfaction.”

“Excellent, Captain Edelstein. Your Company along with a couple others will be moving independently along our flanks as we had outlined previously. I expect good news from you and yours,” said Nestor as he steepled his hands before his face and nodded. “We shall depart within the week, so have your troops prepare for their departure as soon as possible.”

“Understood, Your Grace,” said Reinhardt as he gave a salute to the nobleman who was now his employer - the Duke of Dvergarder having passed his Company’s remaining contracted period over to Nestor after a negotiation of terms - and gave the man a polite bow before he left. “You shall receive what you have paid for, and we will prove ourselves worthy of the price we ask for.”