“Knowing how to fully appreciate the most out of each and every break you get is crucial to living well as a mercenary.” - Boris Nevaroff, retired mercenary, circa 63 FP.

“Got to admit, other than the wait and the insects being annoying, it was pretty gratifying to ambush those idiots,” said Kev by the small campfire he and several other members of Alycea’s platoon were huddled around. They might be deep in the forests, where the canopy and the vegetation gave them quite a bit of cover, and the winters in this region of the former Empire rarely got so cold that it snowed, but it was still quite cold in the nights regardless.

“Personally, I like it better when we get paid to do nothing, but I guess the extra pay’s nice too,” replied Roven, Kari’s son who was also a member of Alycea’s platoon. At a glance it might be easy to mistake the young boy – he was a year younger than Alycea – as a weak bookworm sort, but everyone who actually knew him was aware that his slim body hid more strength than most expected. “More for the retirement funds, I guess.”

“You’re still fourteen, Roven,” interjected Ciel, one of Olyvee’s twin daughters, both of whom were almost a year older than Alycea, and also part of her platoon. The half-elven girl – Olyvee’s lover and their father was a half-elf who worked as a smith for the Company – had always looked at Roven as if he was her little brother, so they had quite a close relationship. “You’re planning out your retirement, like, decades too early, little brat.”

“Now, now, young Ciel, don’t blame the little man for looking towards the future. That’s a rare and admirable trait, one so hard to find amongst humans in particular,” said Skuljd from the side while sipping from her mug of warmed ale. The dwarven maiden was the oldest member of Alycea’s platoon, though by dwarven standards she was still considered a youth herself. “Short-lifers often find it hard to look towards the distant future, so those who could do so ought to be cherished.”

“We’re in the merc business, though,” countered Larissa as she picked out a skewer of small sausages that had finished grilling over the campfire. She bit off a link, chewed, and swallowed while washing it down with some cold water before she continued. “Nobody knows when you’re going to return as a dead body, so why think so far ahead? Just enjoy what you got while you got it!”

“To be fair, that’s not exactly a wrong way to look at things either. That said, I like to think that I should be able to get most of you back alive after a mission, though,” said a voice from behind Larissa. The group turned around – except for Skuljd who was already facing the right direction – and saw Alycea coming from that direction, together with Leece, Ciel’s twin sister. “I know I’m still young and don’t have much chance to show that I could be relied on yet, but I would appreciate it if my own people would at least have some trust in me, you know?”

“Welcome back, Boss Lady,” greeted Boris from where he sat next to Skuljd. The large-bodied therian man daintily picked up a couple skewers of preserved meats that were grilling by the campfire with his paws and offered them to Alycea and Leece as they got close enough. “You returned at just the right time. They’ve just about finished cooking up.”

“Thanks, Boris,” replied Alycea as she sat cross-legged in the vacant space that remained around the campfire. There were fewer children around her age who were interested in joining the company compared to those around Erycea’s age, so Alycea’s group of close friends who were part of her platoon was also smaller in comparison. Because of that, she had gotten pretty close with Kev’s group, who were the most talented ones out of the platoon’s other members, the ones who she hadn’t grown up with.

“Here, we mooched some of the good booze off the big boss,” said Leece as she handed a leather waterskin over to Larissa who was seated next to her. The mixed-breed girl pulled out the cork from the waterskin’s opening and sniffed at the liquor inside, giving a tooth grin at the strong waft of alcohol that came from inside.

Larissa then placed the opening by her mouth and drank a couple gulps of the liquor before sighing with satisfaction and passed the waterskin to Kev on her other side.

“Ahh, that’s the good stuff all right,” praised Larissa as she smacked her lips. “Surprised that the boss lets us drink something that hard. He usually doesn’t let us drink much if we’re going to be fighting on the morrow,” she proffered.

“That’s because we aren’t going to be fighting tomorrow,” replied Alycea. “Those Podovnians would likely expect us to bother them again like what Miss Ze’phane did earlier, so they’ll be on full alert for more such attacks. We’re going to let them waste their energy and get some good rest instead. Everyone’s still rather tired from the march, I bet.”

“It wasn’t that tiring, to be honest,” admitted Kev after hearing Alycea’s words. “I guess all those training sessions where they had us lug around logs all day long were worthwhile in the end,” he added. “Honestly? The insects were the most annoying part with this mission so far. They keep buzzing around by my ear when I try to sleep.”

The Free Lances had gathered together with the volunteers and marched alongside the Podovnian army as they headed to Levain. Where the Podovnian army made a siege camp near the city itself, though, the mercenaries headed to a camp they had prepared in the forest south-east of the city proper. The camp was large enough to house the whole group, if not in the most comfortable conditions.

“Bugs, huh? Try using this,” said Alycea as she tossed a small pouch to Kev. “Empty about half of the pouch’s content near where you sleep and set it alight so that the top turns to embers,” she instructed. “It should repel most insects. Uncle Egil’s recipe, works wonders for me.”