“Things in life don’t always go the way one wants them to.” - Old folk saying.

“So we can expect trouble, then?” asked Reinhardt nonchalantly to Scipius, who rode on a chariot in the lead of a hundred or so men he brought to escort them through Caroman territory.

“I can’t say for certain, Captain Edelstein,” replied Scipius apologetically as he shook his head. “It’s been a little difficult to get information out of the former Lavianey territory since they broke apart half a year ago. As best as we could get was that there’s around a dozen or so rival warlords that rose up from that chaos and still vied for domination over each other even now.”

“The wiser warlords will likely steer their troops away from your Company, since they should be well aware of the reputation you and yours possess by now,” he continued. “Some of the dumber ones, however… I am afraid that even our best military analysts could not predict what those people will do even at the best of times.”

The United Baronies of Lavianey, Caroma’s western neighbor, had broken apart after a continued bout of civil strife which led to an full-blown civil war amongst themselves in the summer of the previous year. Many small factions led by warlords who were mostly former officials or nobles declared their independence during that time, and until the present time, the region remained in turmoil.

Yet due the geography of the region, the Free Lances had to pass through the former Lavianey region or add another month to their travel time by going through the rarely-used detours and alternative paths.

“Oh well, if they choose to be foolish, it will be their funeral anyway,” replied Reinahrdt confidently with a scoff that almost sounded like a chuckle to Scipius. “Don’t worry about your little sister. She’s as safe as she can be. We take our missions seriously, as you know. It won’t be the first time we have to go through a region in turmoil. We know what to do.”

“I’ll take your word for it, Captain. We should reach the border by nightfall, so I assume you will depart from Caroma in the morning?” noted Scipius with a slight smile. Like his parents, he too was greatly troubled by his sister’s condition. “I wish you godspeed in your travel and hope that you won’t run into such inconveniences though.”

Stolen novel; please report.

The blessing Scipius wished on the Company seemed to work fine as Reinhardt brought the Free Lances into the former Lavianey territory. The first two warlords whose territory they passed through only asked for a reasonable toll fee, which he didn’t begrudge them and paid out without a fuss. Granted, those warlords probably extorted more out of other travelers, but the sight of thousands of well-armed mercenaries traveling en masse likely intimidated them into behaving.

Another warlord they encountered after that looked as if he was about to accost them with his army of a few hundred, who were probably on their way to pillage their neighbor or something given their state of combat readiness. The Warlord likely gave more thought to the idea, however, as he approached closer and realized just how many mercenaries he was looking at.

Instead of a conflict, that encounter ended uneventfully as the Warlord merely gave a polite greeting and passed by the caravan without causing them any trouble. Reinhardt even caught a bit of the man berating one of his officers who seemed to be questioning his decision as they passed by. At least some of the resurgent warlords still had their brains, it seemed.

It was further down south, closer to the Ezram border, that they actually ran into something that could be considered trouble. Some warlords who rose from troubled times were like rabid animals who just tried to bite whatever came into their reach, and saner people usually stayed away from them while they waited for such rabid warlords to find their own doom with their behavior. The Free Lances had unknowingly crossed the territory claimed by one such warlord.

Said warlord naturally considered their unannounced crossing as an affront to his authority and mobilized his army, all two hundred and fifty men or so, to confront the mercenaries while they moved through his territory. Naturally, their movements did not go unnoticed by the mercenaries, who had their fliers deployed while they traveled, just in case.

The moment Avila brought the report back to Reinhardt, he made a quick decision after he heard the number of enemies that were coming their way. He called for Alvaro and Astrid and told them to prepare their platoons for combat, as they will intercept the enemies before those enemies could disturb the caravan’s proceedings.

It was to serve as a blooding for Astrid’s platoon since this would be their first combat deployment since they joined the Free Lances, while Alvaro’s platoon was there to look after them in case things didn’t go well and to intervene if needed. Otherwise, Reinhardt felt that the two platoons should be plenty to take care of the incoming enemies.

Of course, he himself stayed by them in case things were negotiable. Salicia and the first archer platoon also insisted on staying, since she argued that they could intervene in case things did not go as planned, which he allowed. Altogether Reinhardt stayed behind with over three hundred mercenaries as they waited for the so-called warlord and his army to meet them.

While the wagons which carried the platoons in question also stayed behind and waited for them, the rest of the caravan just continued on their journey. They had been forewarned early, and after they made their preparations, the warlord and his army were still at least a couple hours away. Even so, the caravan of wagons that transported the entirety of the Free Lances, including their followers and support staff, was a long one, and stretched for quite a distance.

So they waited there, the mercenaries making small talk with each other since there was little else to do, while the warlord and his army made their way towards them all too slowly.