With the sun slowly hiding in the distance, El's comrades were scavenging the scarlet painted picture of the battlefield. The atmosphere of the evening perfectly fitted the situation on the land. With bodies scattered all over the plain, streams of blood irrigating the fields and only a few men left standing, this was one of the places that everyone would like to avoid.
Out of the initial fifty men they had, this battle devastated them to only seventeen in the headcount. Looking at the wounds of the wounded, this number would reach even lower in just a short moment.
That was the life of a mercenary!
After all those years spent fighting, killing and dying, their dying comrades were drinking themselves down to soothe the pain while the rest of the company was enjoying their own quirks. Their leader was collecting the bones from the enemies he felt himself, another old veteran was roaming around the battlefield looking for incapacitated enemies to finish, others were just looking for riches or nice pieces of the equipment.
That was the harsh life of the rented soldier. With enough experience, one would adopt. Numbing his own emotions, one would always look for a way to survive. Compared to high-class society, the only difference lied in means to do it. Nobleman need's to keep enough favours and alliances with his compatriots. Mercenary on the other side needs to collect as much gold as he can to be able to retire!
Yes, some quirky individuals simply loved this way of living, enjoying all the blood and death. But for most, this profession was just a way to reach somewhere higher! Personal guards, private armies, property guardians… All those kinds of jobs needed great expertise in real fighting and were hefty paid for!
When the sun has hidden behind the forest, only fourteen were left alive. As the death collected its final toll on the band, people got to burying their former companions. El grabbed the nearby axe to use it as a shovel. While those pesky deserters could rot in the field, their deceased friends deserved a proper burial.
In the end, the axe wasn't fitted for digging. While they had some shovels in the carts, most of them were already in use somewhere else. Only when two other people came to his aid did the work become manageable.
"That was a tough day."
As their axes kept moving up and down, Aingrad started a conversation. After almost fourteen years spent in this service, bidding his farewells to his fallen comrades already became a routine for him. They died, we survived. Instead of mourning them, we should be happy and keep going - was his popular line.
"Yeah."
Wiping her forehead with her palm, Christina replied. Resting herself on the axe's handle, she turned to El.
"Do you think it's deep enough already?"
"That should do."
El replied mechanically. Nodding his head low over his chest, the man gave his last respect to Rose. With her robust body, she always brought much joy to the male part of the team. Now, she lied two feet under the ground, with stabbed heart and an arm looped off. Nothing was left of her former pride, smashed to bits with Warhammer.
"She was a fine warrior, yet an awful cook."
Stomping on his axe, Aingard pushed the earth from the mound he made before down to the grave. As the earth fell down the pit, Rose face disappeared under the mud.
"With this part done, I think they will call for the meeting. Stay put."
Nodding his hand to El, the older man dropped the axe and moved away.
"I will be on my way too. There is something I want to check."
Promptly excusing herself, Christina followed Aingard steps. It was plainly obvious what her plans were. With the blood bursting through their veins and adrenaline making their bodies steam, there was a need to let down some steam. It was better than wasting money in the town's brothels.
In a mere moments later, El hears a specific sound of a horn. With three short signals, the brass ordered the elders conference. With such a high headcount of the troop, only six of the oldest band members were allowed to participate.
With all those loses they suffered today, their entire way of operating had to change. They no longer had the ability to take on the big orders. Even with fewer people to share the rewards, the overall amount they could earn this way was a lot lower than it was previously.
While the prices of the company were calculated per its strength in numbers and fame they earned, the smaller task would mean way lower spoils after the fight! Compared with the wages, their main source of income would just disappear!
Reaching the single carriage with an actual roof and walls, El entered the vehicle and sat in the corner of the cramped room.
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"... need to reach the Empire. What kind of work can we expect in this desolate place?"
Smashing his hand on the single table in the room, Claudio lashed out at Apexar.
"Do you really think that such a small company can lay good deals there? Local competition would force us to partake in the worst kind of tasks. With all the chaos here, there are bound to be people with problems on our current scale!"
Interjecting in the quarrel, Nix stood up. While she was barely thirty-six years old, she was the second oldest member of the band! Living with the "Bloodsabers" since she was only twelve old, most of the people considered her a true matron of the unit.
"Empire doesn't need small teams. With the scales of their operations, we would be at best, sent to some unimportant frontline. Forget about contracting some merchants or guild, all those sweet spots are already taken!"
Gravenut cut the discussion with this statement. While being the most recent addition to the company compared with other elders, he was commonly respected thanks to his vast knowledge. Being the oldest person in the entire unit, his overall experience overshadowed everyone else in the carriage.
It wasn't that easy to survive so long through constant battles. Every year of the service multiplied a mercenary worth. Reaching his sixty years threshold next autumn, he could easily regard everyone in the company as his son's, with the second oldest person being the Claudio, reaching only his forty-forth year of struggling in this world.
"Why risk fighting in great battles if we can have fun protecting some rich local merchant?"
Budewain finally said his piece in the rare break between drinking his beer and playing with his beard.
"For now, I think we should go to Latavia. Going back all the way to Verkses would be just a waste of time and money. I don't think that with all the loot we grabbed here its worth to travel so far just for the sake of a single golden coin."
Nix was the first to propose a valid course of action instead of negating their leader idea to go to the empire. Considering how close she was to everyone in the company, she wanted to save her family as much trouble as she could.
"What do you think about this, El?"
Sitting in the opposite corner to El, Apexar dealt a fatal hit. To avoid placing his own word into the conversation so early, he forced the young archer to do so!
"I think that for now, Latavia is our best choice. We can't sell the loot in small villages and it's the closest city right now. I don't know what we should do later, but thinking this matter through should be done in the tavern with a mug of beer, not on the damn battlefield."
Emerging from the shadow of his hood, El leaned over the table and looked at his comrades.
"We just suffered a great loss. Making a decision on the go could only hurt us further. Let's rest."
After those words, the whole carriage went silent. Overwhelmed by the sorrow, greed, exhaustion and adrenaline, even elders would have trouble coming up to a good solution. No matter how numb one became, they were ultimately just humans!
"So the Latavia it will be."
Seeing that his point was not yet lost, Claudio agreed and settled the matter. While the whole conference was about making a decision together, in the end it was his duty to close the discussion
Hearing those words, everyone quickly departed the vehicle and got to their job. Of course, they weren't the one to work hard! Despite losing a lot of people, only soldiers and slaves would move the loot on the carriages!
Even with only half of the survivors working, they quickly managed to pack their things up and depart. Sweeping through the battlefield took then only a few minutes, but the sun already disappeared completely. With the distance separating them from the Latavia, they would probably arrive only around the tomorrow dusk, making it hard for them to enter the city easily.
With all the spare wagons they had after losing most of their people, everyone managed to get one for themselves. With a total of seven carriages, only two of them were carrying the looted weapons, armours and other valuables, while leaving the remaining five to the passengers.
Switching the drivers every few hours, the night slowly passed. There was no need to set the guards or avoid lighting up their way. Despite losing so many people, no one would try to pick a fight with them.
Thanks to hurrying the horses and lighting up the way with torches on special handles, the entire unit first spotted the dimly lit city walls, when the sun started blinding them. Travelling east, this was an inevitable outcome of their decision, but there was nothing they could do to prevent it. While slowed down because of this, the front carriage stopped at the city gate only a few moments after it opened.
Sending Luciel to negotiate with the guards was a standard tactic. A cute young girl could easily sway the soldiers and make her company enter. No man alive could refuse such a nice and polite girl, devoting herself to explain the distress her family landed in!
Overcoming the usual hurdle with surprising ease, Luciel took only a few moments to reach the stage where she passed a few silver coins into soldier's hand. Just a mere eyeblink later, she was already jogging back to the Gravenut side. Despite the profession she was in, this girl loved listening to this old man stories!
After passing the gates, the company swiftly found a nice looking in. Paying the stable-boy to bring their carriages to the back, the whole team entered the main hall. In time shorter than one needed to draw a blade, they were already ordering various drinks and foods!
As the party was starting, the tavern doors suddenly opened, letting three armed to the teeth men inside. After them, a young, smiling man made his way inside.
"I'm the messenger of the Xantia organisation. We heard that an armed group came to the city intending to trade off their spoils. Would you be so kind as to choose three people to follow me back to our headquarters? This way all of your matters could be settled swiftly and in one go!"