After some indecision, they opted to remove and stow their tabards while they grabbed their gear. “Probably best to keep them clean, given how much stock the Countess seems to put in them.”

“I have to say you called that one right”, said Zipper. She had gotten stuck, trying to pull it off. Her arms didn’t have quite the right range of motion for this in armor. Delta helped her get unstuck, then the two of them helped Gwen.

“Sometimes advice from old codgers is sound”, said Delta.

The tent was empty, as the rest of the mercenaries were still being instructed by the other knights. “I wonder what commissions they’re going to get”, said Zipper, looking at the empty cots.

“Probably not as good as ours”, said Delta. “Diplomatic escort has to be a pretty plumb job.”

“Unlike the last two…” muttered Zipper.

They headed back out and worked their way through the crowds. They didn’t part for them the same way as when they were wearing their tabards. But they still made it there before Sir Rault. There was no sign of him, but there was a fine horse and attendant being held ready.

“Are you the mercenary guard for Sir Rault?” asked the young man, as they approached the horse.

Delta nodded. “Wight’s Brigade, at your service.”

“I’m Fabrizio, Squire to Sir Rault”, he said. “Where’s the other three?”

“There’s only three of us”, said Delta. “We’re still recovering from the battle at Cleres.”

Fabrizio shuddered. “I was on the left flank. It was not a pretty sight.”

“I was in the center. It was even less pretty there”, said Delta.

“Ah”, he said. Then he looked down the road. “Best we talk about it later. I’m supposed to be getting stuff ready. Do you have horses?”

Delta smiled, and Zipper snorted. “Sorry, lad. That’s beyond what we can afford. We only have one cavalry unit.” She stood to the side so he could see Gwen.

His eyes went very wide at that. “Is that a wolf? You have someone riding a wolf? I thought only goblins rode wolves.”

“She is”, said Delta, grinning.

Fabrizio swallowed a few times. “Well. I guess she’s taken care of.”

“You can ride a horse, though, yes?” he asked.

“A little”, said Delta. She turned to Zipper.

“How different is it from a donkey?”, asked Zipper.

“Um”, he said. “I can probably get a donkey.”

“That’s probably for the best”, said Delta.

By the time Sir Rault arrived, they had an additional horse, not nearly as fine as the Knight’s, and a donkey that Zipper was in the process of naming.

“Thank you, Fabrizio,”, said Sir Rault, taking the reins of his horse. “Now where are…” he did a double take and realized that the mercenaries were already here.

“I didn’t want the tabards to get dirty”, said Delta.

Sir Rault handed the reins back to Fabrizio. “That is an excellent idea”, he said, and started untying the stays at the side of his own tabard. “The Countess is particularly keen on us looking our absolute best.”

“They were in the Battle of Cleres”, said Fabrizio as he strove to help with the tabard.

Sir Rault rolled his eyes. “I apologize for that fiasco”, he said. “I can’t believe we got drawn away like that.” His jaw was set, and he flapped the dust off the tabard angrily before folding it. “The middle wouldn’t have collapsed if we’d been able to flank them property. Instead of chasing off after… mooning orcs.”

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He took the reins back and gave the tabard to Fabrizio. Then he looked critically at Delta. “If that’s where you lost your previous Captain, I apologize again.”

Sometimes you just ended up in a bad position. If the best squad in the world gets sandwiched between flanking units, there really isn’t much you can do except make your life count as you go down. She felt a little upset that her brigade died because of officer stupidity, but it was tempered by the remorse the man felt for it. “Battlefield luck”, said Delta, generously. She guessed it would be how the others felt.

They mounted up and Sir Rault led the way. The crowds did part for him, or at least his horse. And the guards on the western gate shooed everyone aside and saluted as they passed.

It had been a while since Delta had been on a horse. And she had been on one in armor even less frequently. Her muscles were not used to it at all. Given how she clung to the saddle and gritted her teeth, it was probably obvious to all her lack of skill at riding. Zipper was hard pressed to keep up with them. The donkey was smaller, and slower by its nature. It had to canter to keep up with the horse’s trot.

Once they were outside the main view of the town, and the refugees around it, Sir Rault reined his horse in. “We could make it all the way to Lyre by night fall, but we’d be sore and dusty. I think it better to take our ease and find a farmhouse near to the road for the evening. The difference between tonight and tomorrow morning isn’t going to matter much for diplomacy.”

“Have they taken Lyre then?” asked Delta.

He shot her a look. “Is that what people are saying?”

“I declined to ask anyone about it in town”, said Delta.

Rault nodded appraisingly. “Good. The answer is yes and no. From what our few scouts report, they have not specifically taken the village. But they have troops poised to enter and we do not. So, they have not taken it out of generosity. Instead they have offered to parley.”

“So, it’s just us against the whole of the Imperialists?” asked Fabrizio. “What if they renege?”

“Then we will die, or become prisoners”, said Sir Rault, shortly. “But no one offers parley unless they want something. I expect they will demand we capitulate and join their cause like Monttice.”

“Bah, they’re spineless cowards up there”, said Fabrizio, dismissively. “That’s what comes from living too close to the border of civilization.”

Sir Rault gave him a long-suffering look. “Well, we’re the border of civilization now, since they went over to the other side.”

“What are we looking for?” asked Delta. “If it’s all right to ask.”

Rault smiled thinly at her. “Time.” He looked straight ahead. “The Countess wants time so she can properly change the coat of arms of the county. You can’t re-stitch an army of tabards overnight.”

Delta and Zipper looked at each other and nodded.

“She’s changing our coat of arms?” protested Fabrizio. “But, the Lion of Montihouse! That’s our emblem!”

Sir Rault’s mouth was a thin line. “The Countess likes ducks”, he said.

Not long afterwards they came to a more open stretch of countryside. Sir Rault took Fabrizio riding ahead and over the fields to scout and do some equestrian practice. They left the mercenaries to continue down the road at their slower pace.

Gwen had worked out how to sleep while lying on the back of her wolf and was doing so while the sun was bright. “Let’s walk the animals for a bit”, said Delta. “My backside is killing me.”

“Agreed”, said Zipper. It didn’t turn out to be much slower than riding the horses at a walk. The horse was happy to be free of most of its burden, and the two of them could work out the kinks in their legs. The donkey didn’t seem to care much.

“I can’t complain about the duty so far”, said Zipper. “Although these two certainly have their heads in the clouds.”

“Fabrizio, yes”, said Delta. “Sir Rault, seems decent enough. At least as decent as you can get being born with money and titles.” She gave a wry grin. “Not that I’m all that keen on following him into another battle where he gets most of my squad killed.”

“I appreciate that”, said Zipper. “Do you think there will be battle?”

“No”, said Delta. “Clearly the Countess’s troops aren’t deployed for that. And even if the Imperialists are, there’s no one for them to fight but us.”

“We did take on a platoon of goblins single handedly”, said Zipper, cheerily. “And we weren’t even half strength!”

“We also met when we both surrendered to the Imperialists”, reminded Delta.

“They had some good food”, said Zipper. “I hope they are catering this little get-together.”

They stopped under the shade of some trees for a noon meal which Fabrizio had packed. There was fresh bread, some very nice ham, cheese, and a jar of pickled vegetables. This met Zipper’s satisfaction quite well.

While they ate Sir Rault laid out tactical situations and asked his squire what orders he would give. They were, invariably, brash, extravagant, and usually fatal to his troops. For contrast, he would then ask Delta what she would do, and contrasted the pragmatism of her view with Fabrizio’s. For some of them, he would then go on to say what his orders had been, if they were skirmishes he had fought in, or how they actually played out, if they were historical.

As Fabrizio was packing up, he asked Delta “Were you classically taught?”

She smiled and shook her head. “No. But I was taught by someone who was classically taught. He served a lot during the consolidation wars in the Romitu republic.”

“Ah”, said Sir Rault. “Difficult times, those. We were mostly free from that in Avenio once we gained independence from the Empire.” He smiled, “Well, your lessons were well learned. Thank you for illuminating my squire.” He glanced sidelong at Fabrizio. “I had hoped Cleres would have taught him some real-world lessons.” He continued to himself, “It certainly did me.”

“My parents will be happy their money wasn’t wasted”, said Delta after he wound down.

The Knight laughed and mounted his horse.