“Information’s useless unless you apply it in practical ways while it’s still relevant.” - Gerda Faesbrundottir, Tactician from the Jarldom of Gulski, circa 259 FP.

“I can think of ways on how to exploit some of these things you found, and if I can do that, Dad and Uncle Lars definitely can think of many more ways to do the same,” said Erycea after she listened to the report from the returned scouting party that morning. The goblins had reported their findings the moment they returned to the temporary camp in the forest, only taking the time to brush off some of the dirt on their bodies and to put on a crude tunic. “Good work.”

“Thanks, Little Boss,” said the young goblin who was the leader of the scouting party. The way many of the younger mercenaries called Erycea ‘Little Boss’ was already so widespread by that point that nobody bothered to do anything about it. It was pretty much set in stone that she would be the next Captain of the Company anyway, after Reinhardt’s time ended.

Naturally, Erycea herself hoped that such a time would come when her father retired on his own when he feels that he is too old to carry on with the mercenary work, but as they were in their line of work after all, she had to be prepared to take up the mantle at any moment, just in case. Reinhardt and Lars had been teaching her things like the basics on larger-scale unit management and strategy as contingencies, though if things went well, by the time Erycea took over she would have other staff ready to aid her in her role as commander.

With a shake of her head, Erycea cleared her mind of such thoughts and focused back to the present situation. The invader encampment had some obvious flaws, which she was uncertain about. The flaws might be deliberate, presented in the open as a lure to bait enemies in, or they might be there because of different cultural norms and habits. Either possibility was just as likely as the other, and she couldn’t make the decision by herself in this case.

“What do you all think? Trap or opportunity?” Erycea said as she aired the question to the other platoon leaders who were present with her during the report. Most of them already had thoughtful looks on their faces, likely pondering the very same question even before she asked about it. The people who went with her were those who were best skilled in scouting, assassination, or were locals to the region, which Erycea felt was likely arranged on purpose by her father.

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“I am not too familiar with the regions this far west, but I feel that their decision to camp out in the open is partly a sign of confidence,” suggested Alvaro, who was a Kolitschei native like the rest of his Warforged. “There aren’t many dangerous animals in the plains where they camped, so even if they didn’t bother with fences and walls, it would be safe for their soldiers to sleep in the open like that. Of course, it might just be how they’re used to doing things, for all I know.”

“If they do not care much about the lives of their common soldiers, it also serves as an effective warning or alarm,” added Fatimah with a shake of her head. “Anyone walking around in the crowd of sleeping soldiers would be very noticeable, and their passage might well wake up some of the sleepers. This makes it difficult for infiltrators to get near the central area, which is guarded more tightly.”

“My people are good at sneaking in the open plains, but in their campground, we would be at a disadvantage, I think,” said Egil with a frown. “That said, we could cause quite a bit of a ruckus if we wanted to, given their camp setup. It’s just not conducive to infiltration and assassination how we would have preferred it.”

“I guess we’ll have to settle for that if we don’t have any better options. Our orders are just to do what we can, and not to risk ourselves unnecessarily,” noted Erycea with a slightly dissatisfied frown. “I just wish that we could do more than just the bare minimum.”

“Maybe Lili and Rózsa could sneak in further?” Nicole asked all of a sudden. “They’re both shifters, and their favored form are wildcats… If they were to reduce their size to the minimum and pretend to be lost kittens… I don’t think even hardened soldiers would pay them much heed, and they could go around to the central section and hopefully steal some other intelligence.”

“Huh. That’s an idea. Can you call them over? This will need to be voluntary with the risks involved. Also, I’d like to see for myself how far they could take their shifting to,” said Erycea with a glint in her eyes. What affinities were common in a region tended to vary depending on the region, and the Nature affinity was pretty rare in the west of Alcidea. If these foreign invaders were unused to dealing with that affinity, there was a good chance that the plan Nicole suggested might work out.

Nicole brought the half-elven twins to where Erycea and the other platoon leaders were gathered a few minutes later. The twins didn’t mind volunteering for the risky task, as they felt that it was well within their capabilities. Then they demonstrated how far they could take their shapeshifting to the gathered platoon leaders.

By the time the process ended, Lili and Rózsa had assumed the guise of two wildcat kittens, each one small enough to rest on a man’s palm and curl up comfortably.

“This will work, yeah,” nodded Erycea with satisfaction at the shifted appearance of the druid twins. “How long can you keep this form up?”

“Indefinitely,” replied one of the kittens in a high-pitched but still recognizable voice, though Erycea couldn’t tell which was which. “We use magic to shift our form, but it takes next to nothing to maintain them.”

“Excellent. You two do your job, and when it’s time to get away, we’ll make the distraction which you can use to disappear.”