Chapter 6

Grim showed up eventually. I could see on his face that he didn't look too happy.

“What's up?” I asked while he sat down across from me.

“No luck with the house hunting. There is a big fleet of ships with colonists incoming soon. A few of the faster ships with representatives made it here last week, and they have been buying up properties all over town.” He sighed “The prices have skyrocketed and there is no chance of getting anything remotely suited to our needs.”

“So how did your meetings go today?”

I showed him the Guitar, which he recognised. I also told him about the commanders tip on starting a mercenary company instead of becoming adventurers.

“I think that's a great idea. I'm so big I'm not really suited for most dungeons anyways. Tight spaces give me the creeps.” Grim shuddered.

“Let's go to an inn tonight and stay there, and tomorrow I will talk to the commander, and tell him about use becoming a mercenary company then. and ask his advice about getting some work. Maybe we can save up some money and after the rush ends we might have some better luck.” I slung the guitar back over my shoulder and stood up.

“Sounds like a good idea. I'm exhausted after walking all over town. We can grab a bite to eat at the restaurant.” And with that, we both made our way to a quiet dinner, found an inn nearby and had a good nights sleep.

The next morning we had an early breakfast and made our way over to the guard barracks.

The commander had just finished up sending out the mornings patrol's when we were escorted to his office. We found the bearkin sitting in a huge room. Big ebony wooden desk with a few chairs in front of it at the far end. Suits of armour and wall-mounted weapons line the sides of the room. All shining, well maintained, and definitely not cheap wall-hangers.

“Drakon, Grim. Come in and take a seat. What can I do for you two whippersnappers.” The commander gestured to the chairs in front of the desk. he rang a bell offered us some drinks, and after a few moments, a private came in bearing a few pitchers of water.

While explaining our problem he sat back in his chair put his feet up on the desk and lit up a cigar.

“First things first,” he said playing a bit with puffing out smoke rings. “You have to know about mercenary companies in general.”

“They fall into two categories. Regular mercenary companies and system recognised ones. the regular ones are a dime a dozen, and are just a group of troops working together.” He put his feet back down, stubbed out the cigar and leaned forward looking serious. “Then there are the system recognised ones. It usually involves some big deed or a big battle where the company makes a name for itself. At that point, the system grants the company a magical banner. This banner levels up the more deeds the company gets known for and unlocks buffs for the whole company.”

“What kind of buffs?” Grim asked.

“Well, it has to do with the deed. Slaying a dragon might give the company a damage bonus against them. Defending a town from being overrun in a war while outnumbered, might give you a bonus when defending towns. No two banners are the same. The heraldry on it usually becomes more and more elaborate the more bonuses and deeds get unlocked. Be careful though as you might also get bad deeds added as well. Slaughtering a town of innocent civilians, and your company might inspire hatred upon being seen by members of that towns race or nation.”

“But all of that is way in the future. For now, all you need to do is to register a name of the company with me.”

“Hmm, I have no idea what to call ourselves.” And I looked to Grim. “Do you have any idea's?”

“Grim's Reapers?” I shook my head. “Nope.”

“Death rising” “Nope”

“Drakon's drunks.” At that one, I almost spit out my water.

“Uhm maybe your not the best one to come up with the name, looking at it you probably named the restaurant didn't you?” I chuckled, and Grim nodded.

“How about Death Stormers.” I pondered “A mostly undead mercenary company from Storm Cove. Shows us what we are and where we came from.” And I saw on Grim's face that he liked that name.

“So commander, I guess we will be known as The Death Stormers.” And the commander had us fill out some forms.

I was going to be in command and Grim would be my second. He was also listed as the company quartermaster in charge of supplies, and full use of any funds held by the company.

Once all the paperwork was done we got ready to leave.

The commander stopped us. “Hang on kids. If you guys are interested I might have your first contract.”

He pulled a book out of the shelf behind his desk. “The continents interior hasn't been well documented yet. Our only other major settlement so far is Maiden's rest way down south on the coast where the shoreline curls east and there is an actual shore. Now we do have a few villages inland along both roads leading that way. But just past those villages, we found the beginnings of an ancient road, a few weeks ago, that had some magics put on it to keep it maintained.”

“So what would you like us to do?” I asked.

“I have three different tasks lined up. I would like you to go to the villages and see if they need help with anything. With the new influx of colonists coming any day now, I don't have any guards to spare right now. After that maybe head up that ancient road for a few days and see if you can find any other ruins or anything like that.”

“Why only for a couple of days?” Grim was wondering while already thinking up what supplies would be needed.

“It's a bit unknown what the villagers need and how long the first task takes, and I would like you to be back in at most 3 weeks. There is a caravan leaving with building supplies towards Maiden's Rest along the coastal road. As I can't spare the guards right now I would like you to accompany them as guards. Especially as it also has Missy and Sissy the gorgon twins also going. Their father is the architect in charge of the building efforts there, and the twins would like to do their awakening with their family.”

"Sounds like a good couple of missions to get our feet wet," I replied. "Anything else we can do?"

"Well I have one more request but it would only take a few hours. I have a new group of recruits that require some training. Would you mind coming to the training field just outside the east gate this evening? Might also help you to get a bit of practice in with your unit."

"Well be there." Giving the commander a sloppy salute that he laughed at. “Come on Grim we need to get things ready for a multiple week excursion”

With that, we made our way outside.

"Well mister quartermaster. What do we need for supplies."

"I suggest we get a cart and a horse or two to pull it. Don't think we need much food with just the two of us as I assume the skeletons don't need food." Wich I nodded at.

"According to my skill as sergeant will show up in a few days, but I have no idea if they will be undead or if they need to eat. So we might want to pack some extra's just in case."

"I suggest we load up with enough for three people then, and enough to last us to the first village plus a few days just in case. I also want to do some hunting along the way. A lot of my milestones are around cooking different dishes with meat and with butchering. While we are at it I will also ask queenie if she has a few casks of mead. Maybe we can make some profit selling them in the villages." I could almost see the glint of gold in Grim's eye when he said that.

"You ok with dealing with that. Then I will find a good place to start the summoning, look at the troops and figure out what gear we might need for them. Are you in need of anything weapons wise?"

"I'm good. All I need are my cleavers. I will also take care of our camping supplies like tents and such. We can use our trunk of holding to hold things like our clothes and blankets and such. Let's meet back up at the training ground this evening.”