When we arrived in Setim I assumed that this would be the place where we would settle down, at least for the foreseeable future, and maybe even wait out the winter here. When Gorkas ordered us to break camp after only spending two weeks outside Zelan, I was surprised but just figured we would be heading elsewhere in the hinterlands, as it was where Captain Lydon said we would be operating from. Then came the orders for our squad to be in the front of the marching column, citing our recent commission to Tailor’s Pass as the reason. I conferred with Fisk who had the best geographical knowledge out of all of us, and he said that past the mountain pass we would no longer be in the hinterlands, but would enter Ballir, which was not considered part of the hinterlands.
Fisk himself had never been there so couldn’t tell me more than that, but the change in plans made me more and more concerned as we marched on. There would be only so much time left to earn money before the rains and the cold made moving large distances unreasonable, the countryside would become blanked in snow soon enough, but depending on how far north we would go perhaps the winter would not be as cold as I had feared.
When I thought of it from this angle things began to make sense, we came southwards to get some recruits and give them some experience in mercenary work, and in order to not sit around on our asses while waiting for the weather to improve the band headed north to work during the winter as well.
The mountain pass was not dangerous in the sense that we would fall off the mountain to our deaths, but we were warned as we were passing that loose rocks tended to roll down the mountains from time to time, sometimes hitting wagons and people who were using the pass as well. I had no desire to be flattened into meat paste so ordered Dorian who had very good eyesight to keep watch of the right side, while the new recruits would do the same for the left side.
They weren’t the most reliable bunch but these four were the ones I was certain would follow orders and not try to half-ass the task, at least for the moment. Their task was a fruitless one, but still necessary in my estimation, and we luckily managed to enter the plains on the other side without any serious injuries.
Oh sure the mountain pass was nowhere near as level and rocks would stick out from the ground so a few people fell over and got some minor bruises and scrapes, but these would be things that would heal themselves without any outside help. We walked parallel to the mountains, which were on our left for a few days, not seeing more than the odd village the whole time before the road changed from dirt to an actual cobbled one.
It wasn’t in a great state by any means, with moss and grass sticking out from between the stones, but this was a sign that there was a big city nearby, otherwise why build a cobbled road?
This was also the first cobbled road I’d seen since leaving Jenusia, as there the roads outside of the big cities were cobbled and sometimes if the distance permitted the road between big cities was fully laid down in stones as well.
I discussed this peculiarity with Fisk and he said that there were other cobbled roads laid down throughout Euphelia, you just had to know where to find them. Most were ancient and in a state of disrepair but he himself had seen such roads that were no longer being used or were used too much without any effort made to maintain them, suggesting that in the past travel was much easier than it was currently.
The stones led to a city comparable in size to the Tailor’s Pass, which was called Lagon and had a hustle and bustle that would suggest it was actually much larger. There was a merchant caravan leaving the city in the distance, while another was waiting in line to enter as we were approaching. This boded well for us as well, as when goods were being moved, it was also likely that protection would be needed as well.
We set up a temporary camp outside of Lagon, which suggested we would not be sticking around here too long, and every squad got a chance for some leave in the city while the camp helpers were restocking our food supplies. My ability to do arithmetic led to me being the only one in our squad who didn’t get a chance for leave, as the camp helpers forced me to stay and help them out with their tasks, as some of them could count but after they got into the double digits they tended to make mistakes.
The amount of food that was purchased was huge, enough for the whole band for at least a year assuming things didn’t spoil. When I asked the camp helpers why so much was being bought at one time, he just said that these were orders from the leadership of the band, and he did not bother to find out the specifics. This large amount of food we were now in possession of necessitated a purchase of more wagons and horses to haul it, and I got the feeling that our relatively ‘quick’ marching speed would be slowed down to the level of a merchant caravan, at least until we ate all the food.
After getting all of the new baggage our mercenary ‘caravan’ now had secured, we moved north-west at a slow but steady pace. The green colors of the forest and yellow-brown fields around us were starting to get on my nerves due to the slow speed at which we were moving, but when we were in the latter half of the first day of travel, an unexpected sight appeared in front of us to our left. A massive expanse of blue, which made me think that we had finally made our way to an ocean of some kind, something else I hadn’t seen since my time in Jenusia.
The other mercenaries must have had similar thoughts to my own, as those who saw the blue colors stretching all the way to the horizon cheered loudly. The whole band actually veered off the path that we were traversing, and made a beeline for the water. There were no orders to the contrary from above, just to make sure that we stayed in formation and moved steadily, tempering the enthusiasm of some of the men.
The Captain was perhaps just amused by the wondrous faces that were all captivated by the water, and indulged the men who were becoming disgruntled by the slow marching speeds we were now stuck at. When we were perhaps 50 paces away from the water, an order to halt was heard, the tune of the horn being distinct through the cacophony of talking men and creaking wagons.
After the wagons were fully stationary, Gorkas came round to each of his squad leaders and said that we were free to do whatever we wished for an hour, as the work horses needed rest. I excitedly informed my squad of the news. By the standards of Euphelia each and every one of us were ‘grown men’, but as soon as Gorkas’ order left my lips they all sprinted towards the water. It was still reasonably warm this late in the summer, so neither my squad nor the others were averse to taking a dip in the water.
I was also inclined to do so, not having many opportunities to swim around at all recently, and the water felt cool and soothing as I entered, my body having been warmed up along the march. I dived in head first, my armor waiting for me on the shore being watched by Cameron and Kurt who were content with staying on the land, and some water got in my mouth.
I was expecting the familiar taste of saltwater, which I had not tasted at all since my time on Earth, but was greeted with none of the saltiness I expected. I spoke to Fisk who was having a grand old time just floating on the surface, and asked him why there was no salt. He explained to me that while this was called ‘The Ballyr Sea’, with a similar name to the country that bordered it, it was actually a lake.
He had traveled along the northern edge of it some time long ago, and said that while it was unusually big for a lake, it was actually nowhere near as large as the seas to the west. Only Fisk and myself were brave enough to wade far enough into the water where one’s swimming ability was necessary, as the others didn’t actually know how to swim. I bullied Dorian and the new recruits into trying it out, some of whom needed to be dragged out after falling into a state of panic when their legs could no longer reach the bottom, but Dorian and Castos proved good students and by the end of it they could swim reasonably far out and return back on their own.
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Fisk was putting Opie through a similar experience, and the sounds of his brother Edmund, Cameron, and surprisingly the usually stoic Kurt laughing as he struggled to stay afloat carried all over the beach.
After about twenty minutes of good fun, I left the lake reasoning that with so many men making their way into the water, things would turn unsanitary before long, and I did not wish to swim in refuse any more than the average man. I sat in the sun, almost entirely naked save for my trousers while my tunic was hanging on a bush nearby. I didn’t think it would dry off in time for us to leave, but any little would help as the temperature later on in the evening would turn me into a shivering boy if I was still in wet clothes.
The camp that evening was a much more homely affair, as many were sitting right up next to their squadmates, huddled around the campfires which were providing a great source of warmth. We were still at least two perhaps three days out from the largest city in Ballir, the city of Rypus. This could be considered the trade capital of the country, although a real capital did not exist according to what Fisk was telling us after dinner.
Ballir was an alliance of nobles who were originally merchants dating back at least a century, and they decided to band together for prosperity and security. Rypus was the largest city, as it was situated only a stone’s throw away from the Ballyr Sea, and had a great position tradewise for caravans traveling to the north of the lake. This was the place for sure where we would be staying at least for a little while, as the trade caravans would need protection, and with trade information moved as well.
This was the theory that Cameron and Fisk agreed upon, as with a little experience the now-expanded Backhand Blow would seek a contract to take up in the next campaigning season. I was all for it, as by staying in one place for a while, I could put Castos, Luvar, and Eli through a similar on-the-job training that Gorkas did for me in Targis.
I already knew how Gorkas managed to stay on top of things so well, he would wake up earlier than most other squad-leaders, with the help of those on night-duty. He would then wait outside the mercenary guild before it was even open, and rush inside once it did to snap up any good commissions that could be found. I’d have to do the same, as laziness would just lead to us being stuck with the less-profitable commissions and that would not bode well for morale or me staying in my current position. I only needed to hold on to it until the end of winter, when my contract would be up, and I was far enough away from Jenusia to start thinking about long-term plans for myself without worrying about the threat from the west.
Before I could get to that though, I had the complicated task of training the new recruits and keeping the existing mercenaries in my squad in shape, as a fight to the death could be just around the corner. This is a mentality that was difficult to adopt at first, but after seeing Brian die and then witnessing the ease with which life was ended at the training fields in Krilos, and in the bandit attacks I’ve experienced up till now, it was a ‘do or die’ situation. I could either stick with the cushy and peaceful way of thinking that I had gotten used to, or I could begin to think like a native of Euphelia, at least one of those who didn’t want to go down without a fight.
It was not a preferable way of thinking, and I valued the peace which accompanied my first fifteen years of my life with every life I took, whether it was in self-defense or on the battlefield. If I made it to some less-inhabited area of this world, then perhaps I could allow myself to think in the way I once did.
The band set up camp within an hour's walk to Rypus, but we couldn’t actually see the city walls due to the hills. Why Captain Lydon decided on such an arrangement I did not know, but as soon as the camp was finished setting up I began making plans in my head for how my squad would spend its time. Since we did a commission recently, I felt no need to find one right this moment. Before we would take on another I thought it would be a good idea to simply go into the wilderness and try and survive for a few days, while practicing our swordsmanship and allowing stronger bonds to develop between the newer members and the ones who were in the squad earlier.
Castos’ quiver still had a few hours, so the temptation of fresh meat was enough to dial down a lot of the grumbling from people like Kurt and Cameron. We spent five days to the north of the city of Rypus, which allowed me and Castos to get some practice hunting, with me even managing to cajole him into teaching me how to shoot a bow. I had no desire to switch to ranged weaponry as my weapon of choice, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to learn how to hunt and other survival skills which he was happy to teach me.
He told me how he would go along long hunting trips with his father, brothers, uncles and cousins back in his home village of Fano. The village itself only had around 150 inhabitants although Castos wasn’t quite sure as he couldn’t count that high, and his family was the main provider of meat for the whole settlement. A lot of the things that I had to learn ‘on the go’ were wilfully inadequate, and Castos actually seemed to find a certain degree of joy in correcting the misconceptions of a ‘city-dweller’.
The meat we brought back to the temporary camp we set up each evening made even the most stubborn of the squad like Kurt begin to treat Castos with some respect, and when I saw Cameron, Kurt, and Castos sparring after returning from a session of ‘strengthening my mindspace’, a proud warmth spread throughout my chest.
When we returned to the camp things looked to be in order, although about a third was noticeably absent, probably going out on commissions. Vice-Captain Werley didn’t even let us go to the city and sell the pelts from the animals we skinned, before getting us involved in what all idle squads were doing in the camp. Vice-Captain Werley was leading the mercenaries through some formation training, and even getting us to ram at one another in squads with our shields to let us get acclimated to the chaos of the battle.
Some bruises and even a dislocated shoulder from one of the new recruits from Renia, although from another squad, was evidence that this was anything but childs play. The man's screams as his shoulder was put into place made him the laughing stock of the band for an evening. By the following morning the news that we would be going on an accelerated trek a good distance away from the city, and then returning before nightfall made most forget about the subject.
There was no food to be eaten throughout the day, and I thought it was actually a useful exercise since during the battle outside Blackseed we didn’t get to eat for many hours on end, while moving around almost constantly in our armor. The forced march didn’t make the Vice-Captain any friends among the rank and file, but I just reassured the grumbling newbies in my squad that it was better to experience this now where we were under no threat from an army, as opposed to having to go through something like this in a battle.
As we were returning to the camp, which only housed the Captain, his guard, and the helpers; I saw a man on horseback observing our return from a safe distance. That was an oddity, as in all the other cities we camped there was no similar situation of someone observing our band, acting as a scout. I pointed out the man discreetly to Cameron and Fisk to get their thoughts on the matter, and they just laughed and said that there were similar people posted in other cities, they were just positioned on the city’s wall.
It seemed that the local powers weren’t too keen on mercenaries setting up shop near their city, and I could understand their thought process. It seems that the figures I saw on the walls of the cities we camped by weren’t just guards on patrol, but dedicated men who would ‘keep an eye’ on us, and any mischief we might be up to.
I was nowhere high enough up the chain of command to be informed if we were indeed planning mischief, so it was no real concern of mine if our movements were being detected, but I still had a duty to inform Gorkas of what I had spotted. He wasn’t that focused on our surroundings, instead making sure his platoon was moving in good order, so when I dropped by and pointed the man up on a nearby hill who was trying to hide the frame of his horse behind some small trees, Gorkas simply acknowledged it and then told me to get back to my squad.
Everyone felt ravenous on our return, and the helpers must have anticipated that as there was double the amount of food available for us to eat at dinner that evening. Some must have eaten too much too quickly as the sound of vomiting and laughter at the person who was sick happened on multiple occasions, but it did not discourage my own efforts to get some nutrients in my body. There were no orders from above about any kind of combined exercise tomorrow like there was last evening, so I decided that we’d go and pick up a commission while we still could. The thought that it might get us out of another forced march was a factor, but I mainly wanted to get some money in my squad’s pockets, as I still wanted some travel funds and some guys needed to pay off their equipment.
I managed to pick up a nice escort commission out North, although not far enough that we’d have to march through the desert that Fisk informed me existed if you went too far North. The whole affair was uneventful, and by the end of it we returned to Rypus a little bit richer and somewhat more confident in our own abilities. There was no time to get another commission as an order came down that we would be moving south again, which was not something I was happy with considering the weather was already starting to cool, which meant we were now in Autumn.
After every squad came back, two of which were not with their full numbers due to one desertion and two casualties out on commission, we marched South-East along the same road we used to get here. There was no desire to take a dip in the Ballyr Sea this time around, as the water cooled significantly since we passed here more than a month ago, which meant that we headed straight to Tailor’s Pass, without even stopping at Lagon.
Before we could get to where we were meant to be going, a meeting of squad-leaders and above was called where we were informed that a certain opportunity presented itself, which would require us to work throughout the winter. This was accompanied by a declaration from Captain Lydon that all contracts that were meant to be up soon would be extended, and to compensate us for our trouble and what was in fact a breach of this contract five gold coins of Hinterland origin would be distributed to all mercenaries at the end of their contracts; after the ‘work’ was done of course. What exactly this ‘work’ is was being kept deliberately vague, and my gut instinct told me that I wouldn’t like to find out.