It took some convincing on my part but they were willing to at least give me permission to hold talks with the potential employer and take it from there. This was helped by the fact that I had decided to take Private Ian Young with me to the meeting. As we were looking to be hired as scouts by the Ebony Hyenas Mercenary Compan even temporarily I felt it was best to bring along our most experienced and effective scout with me.

I advised him to keep quiet during the meeting unless and until the subject of scouting was brought up or he was asked a direct question. We arrived at the Mercenary Guild Chapter five minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin and after reporting to reception we were led by an attendant to a meeting room on the second floor.

Thanks to the company clerk I had been able to find basic information about the Ebony Hyenas officers before heading to the Guild and was expecting to meet with one of the company’s three lieutenants. I was thus surprised to find that we were instead meeting with Travis Walker, the company’s captain.

“Welcome you must be corporal Niel Ryder and this is?”

“Ian Young, chief scout.”

“I was sorry to hear about what happened to your company, I can’t say I really knew your captain but from our few meetings over the years he seemed competent and I am sure his death was a loss to the profession. To see a once proud company meet its end so, I am sure if not for the actions of that despicable lieutenant and his accomplice it would have survived such a calamity.

But every cloud has a silver lining or so it is said and that brings us sadly to the reason for our meeting today. My company finds itself in need of some scouts for our next contract and you and the remnants of your company are hoping to provide them.”

“That is my… our hope anyway.”

“Yes, well we will see, now to the matter in hand, you currently number?”

“Eleven all in.”

“I would have preferred one or two more but perhaps we can find them elsewhere or do without.”

“Yes, that seems possible.”

“Now no doubt you wish to know the particulars of the contract and your potential part in it.”

“If you wouldn’t mind captain.”

“Have either of you heard of the Treaty of Sen Dierev?

“The name vaguely rings a bell but other than its antiquity I can’t recall much about it, Ian?”

“I believe it predates the empire and involves one or more of the Tribal races but that’s the extent of my knowledge.”

‘It actually dates back to the time our ancestors had just emerged as the preeminent power of this world thanks to their early adoption of the worship of Telondian. It was the second last of the eight treaties made between them and the individual tribal races of Telondia, the under-dwellers in this case.

The main terms of the treaty were that in exchange for them giving up much of their territory and in particular some of their sacred sites we agreed never to encroach apron their remaining territory unless invited to do so. It might surprise you to know that excepting certain individuals over the years we have pretty much kept to our word on this matter which hasn’t always been the case with some of the other treaties.

The part of the treaty that concerns us was that in exchange for them giving up their sacred sites, we were to permit them to visit the most sacred of these sites on the holiest of days. They were granted free passage to and from the site for pilgrimages but in turn, they had to keep to the route set down in the treaty and not diverge from it.

Our employer’s Territory lies along this route and was once the site of another of the less sacred sites of the under-dwellers. Our employers hired us to supplement his own forces during an upcoming pilgrimage ”

“How the hells of Telondian have we kept to the treaty all these years, I would not have thought such a thing would have been permitted especially at the height of the empire never mind after the rage of Telondian that lead to its fall.”

“We certainly wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for the fact that their most holy of days is not an annual event, hell it only occurs once every two hundred and eighty-nine rotations of the sun.”

“What.”

“How much do you know of the under-dwellers and their beliefs.”

“No more than the next man I suppose, they live underground and only emerge at night to gaze at the stars. They and some others believe that the placement of celestial objects at any point in time reflects the very nature of that point and studying this can be used to chart the future course of the lives of those born at that time. My father once called such beliefs a Pseudoscience whatever that is.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Yes well, some celestial objects are only visible in the night sky during certain times of the year and others even less frequently. They apparently travel through the cosmos and are only visible whenever they come near Telondia. For some unexplained reason, the under-dwellers particularly revere one of these objects called a comet that only comes near us once every two hundred and eighty-nine years. You would think that they would time their visit to their sacred site to coincide with the moment in time this comet is visible but they actually only set out on their journey afterwards.

This of course means that it is harder to judge when they might pass by our employer’s territory on the way there never mind when it comes to the return journey. What makes it worse is that they will not all be travelling at the same time, this is because most of the underground spaces that they will spend the daytime hours in do not accommodate great numbers.

This is in a way both good and bad news for us as it means we cannot be certain when our contract will end especially since we will not know in advance how many under-dwells intend to embark on the pilgrimage this time and thus how many days it will take for all of them to pass by his territory, well not until the return leg anyway.

Before I brief you on the role you will I hope be playing in the contract I imagine you have questions, I will try my best to answer them but I can’t promise I will have one for everything you might ask.”

“Thanks, captain Walker as I understand it you were hired to provide extra protection for your employer’s territory during this pilgrimage encase anything goes wrong, well my first question is this, is anyone expecting things to go wrong?”

“From my understanding since the treaty was first enacted there have been a total of eighteen pilgrimages and other than the first two they passed without a major incident. Now as to what constitutes a major incident I honestly can’t say nor tell you how many minor incidents might have occurred even in the territory we will be guarding.

Sadly our employer only has records of the last three pilgrimages as the local records of the preceding ones were destroyed during the collapse of the empire and the central files aren’t as detailed in that regard as we would like. However, the records they do have don’t mention any incidents having occurred and the three Kingdoms and one republics relationship with the under-dwellers while as fraught with tension as ever hasn’t deteriorated recently. As for his neighbours, he gets along with them well enough and they apparently aren’t expecting any trouble either but the ones along the pilgrimage route are also hiring mercenaries just in case.”

“So mercenaries have always been hired during the pilgrimage?”

“Only since the fall of the empire before then they guaranteed the safety of the pilgrimage route and had troops guarding it.

“In that case does your employer’s territory contain any of the underground sites that they will be using during the daytime?”

“Yes it does, just the one though and it’s located in the middle of the path they will be taking through his territory, his immediate neighbours along the route do not however.”

“That’s all my questions for now but I’m sure I might have more once you explain what you're looking for us to accomplish during the contract.”

“Well it’s like this, he will have his own troops guard the borders of his territory and we’ll be stationed in the middle guarding the nearby underground site where in turn each of the various groups of the under-dwellers taking the pilgrimage will be staying during the daylight hours when they can’t function above ground.

We or rather no less than half our strength will be in place from the earliest possible time we can expect the first group to arrive on their way to the sacred site until the day after the last group makes the return journey along the pilgrimage route.

Your job in the event you get hired will be to scout the employer’s territory just encase any under-dwellers decides not to travel along the pilgrimage route but take an alternative one instead. Also to look out for any other party that might be operating in the area. It seems like overkill if you ask me but it’s what the employer wants, is that something you and your men can take care of.”

“Well and I think even Ian would agree with me scouting at night is a bitch but I reckon some of them must have been poachers in a previous life so I think we can manage if the pay is right. On a contract like this loot is unlikely so that should also be taken into account but then again I suppose we can’t be too picky at the moment. So who exactly is the employer, where is his territory situated and when pray tell would we be setting out.”

“His name is sir Reginald Moore of Long Bank Manor which is situated on the left bank of the River Keel just before it joins the River Steed and we have to set out the day after tomorrow. Thankfully unlike any other party of scouts, I would likely be able to gather before then you have worked together before. Otherwise, I might not be willing to even consider hiring you lot but provided you can make it a full dozen I’m willing to chance it. That’s one sergeant, a corporal and ten privates at the usual rates plus five per cent, no more no less take it or leave it.”

Along with looking for employment and a few other things I had spent some of the time these last few days looking into the geography of the area the local mercenary companies could potentially be operating in. Thus I was aware of the two rivers in question and where they joined up. I had a vague understanding of the distance between there and Maccleston.

The contract didn’t seem all that difficult and though the possibility did exist it was unlikely to involve much danger. It would do us all good to get back in the saddle on a relatively easy job. I was thus inclined to accept his offer and wasn’t really expecting much difficulty convincing the others to do so. The only real problem would be finding a twelfth man but hopefully, either Jack Winner or Luke Marida hadn’t found employment yet and could be roped into it.

“I should be able to swing that, what do you think Ian?”

“It shouldn’t be too hard a task even I could manage it, I think.”

“In that case just give me enough time to get the others on board and you’ll have gotten yourself some scouts.”

“I can give you two hours, after that, I’ll have to reconsider my options not that any seem forthcoming but you never know, stranger things have happened.”