As they made their way back to camp the bustling of men was strangely missing from the outskirts as most tents stood empty. They made a detour back to their camp to gather their gear and the others- On the way up they looked back and saw thousands of men in the distance splitting into groups and formations, accompanied by a multitude of flags and banners with sounds of distant whistles. As they reached their own clearing they found it empty as well.

* "Where is everyone?" -Adrian asked.

* "The messenger likely looked for us here first. The others might have gone to Fredericks's tent already." -Harek mused.

Agreeing nods and sounds came from the others and they began to dress up. Agnes took her sling and the rest of her runes. Harek switched out his crooked shield to a freshly repaired one and Adrien fixated his rapier, his pistols on his side and a blue and beige jacket, then turned to Patrick:

* "You did enough for today, rest up. Tonight we’re going to make up for what you missed out on yesterday."

He winked at him radiantly.

* "Are you sure you’re good to go Adrian?"

Harek asked him with concern.

* "I’m fine really, besides you’ll need me in there."

He nodded towards the castle. Harek put a hand on his shoulder and nodded before turning to Agnes.

* "You got everything?"

* "I’m ready." -She said with resolve.

As they approached the nobleman’s tent they came across the guards standing by the entrance of a large area surrounded by wooden stakes. The rest of their troupe, sat around on logs, playing cards with those not on duty, but still within earshot. Erick was dressed in a simple yet distinctive uniform: a broad-brimmed brown hat sat on his head, and he wore a vibrant blue coat with bright white sleeves peeking from the cuffs. A crossbelt bandolier with powder and bullet pouches adorned his chest. His trousers matched the coat in color, giving way to white pants and plain brown shoes with prominent buckles. On his shoulder, he carried a musket with a cleaning rod, next to another rifle-shaped weapon that seemed a lot simpler in design and was put together almost amateurishly by the looks of it with a trigger mechanism being completely absent. Next to him, a saber rested in its holster leaning against the log. He spotted the others approaching first and waved at them. Robert stood up next to him. He wore a deep red coat with golden buttons and silver embroidery connecting them in horizontal lines on his chest, reminiscent of an old hussar uniform. His long coat was held tightly to his waist by a white and blue sash while his white pants were held at their ends by two high military boots. He wore his saber attached to his side and on his head, a hat of light brown fur sat, decorated by a tall feather of a hawk. They said their goodbyes to the other players and walked to the rest of the group. Erick nodded towards Adrian.

* "What happened to you manwhore? Rough play?"

Robert shook his head in mock disapproval with a smile while Agnes snickered.

* "Oh yeah there was this young girl, I swear he could slap me so much harder than you ever did with your feeble arms."

* "Oh the humanity! Completely unprovoked aggression and malice strike me once again!"

Erick cried out dramatically with a hand on his forehead.

* "Unprovoked your ass! You-"

Harek cut in with a booming voice.

* "Children! Children behave for a bit okay? We were summoned remember? Get your heads in the game."

* "Seriously though, what happened? Are you alright?"

Erick continued in a more amicable tone.

* "Yeah- yeah, I’m fine."

He waved a hand dismissively and gave them a summary of what happened.

* "Your big mouth got you trouble again. I am shocked."

Erick said with a straight hard face.

* "And you already killed a guy."

Erick continued while pointing at Harek, before Agnes butt in.

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* "He killed 3!"

She said with the excitement of telling on someone.

* "Thre-what? You’ve been gone for what, like an hour?"

Erick looked questioningly at Robert who nodded confirmingly.

* "I was hired." -He said defensively.- "We got paid."

He continued with a shrug.

* "You or we?"

Erick pointed at him and then to himself while sharpening his eyes.

* "You know the rules. You’ll get your share later."

Harek said with a generous tone.

* "Well you should have started with that! Good job boss!"

Erick said while he patted Harek on the back.

* "You have all your gear ready?"

Harek asked, looking at Robert.

* "We do. We thought we might not have time to grab our things later." -He answered.

* "Hmph, I can tell. Put on the parade uniforms, eh?"

Erick smirked.

* "I mean we got to earn that paycheck right? Dressed to impress and all that. Oh yeah, where’s Patrick by the way?"

He asked, to which Agnes replied.

* "He’s back in camp, got a bad beating by one of the thugs."

* "Poor kid."

Robert shook his head.

* "Well, after you."

Harek led them to the guards who let them in without issues as they recognized him from previous meetings with the lord. Frederick's large tent stood in stark contrast with the dull greys and yellows of the rest of the camp around it. Soft textiles decorated by painted scenes from stories of old with golden embroidery lined the tent’s sides. It’s black and green banners flapping in the wind. A side of the tent was opened with two poles holding up its corners. As they were let inside they saw Frederick hunched over a table with maps on it in discussion with two other men.

Frederick was a tall man with a thick but well-groomed brown-red beard, short hair, a hawkish pointed nose, and a prominent brow ridge that only emphasized his frown. He was clad in black plate armor decorated with golden streaks and motives. Harek was surprised to see a full plate armor, they were becoming increasingly rare nowadays, but it being such an ornate one, it would indeed be a shame to let it collect dust, he mused. Next to Frederick was a man dressed in a deep blue underrobe, over which on his back and chest hung long white textiles that met around his neck and shoulder, which were covered in ornate golden inscriptions. The man's bald head and long white beard showed his age. On his shoulders under the white robe, he wore a thick silver chain that met above the white flap on his chest. From there, an ornate golden tablet hangs.

Harek recognized him as an archpriest of the Church of the Cipher at a glance. It was fairly common to see priests of the order but to meet one with all the marvels they preached about was something most common folk never got to see.

Next to him an elegantly, but compared to his company, still modestly dressed military man stood with his hands behind him, standing at parade rest. His receding hairline and slightly curly greying beard gave him a wise appearance.

* "Harek of the Black Bear Company!"

The escorting guard announced before stepping away. Adrian corrected him quietly.

* "Why do they always mess up the alliteration?"

He whispered before Erick jabbed his elbow to his side.

* "Yes, yes, come in Harek."

The Count said in a casual voice, not looking up from the table. Then waved a hand for the general, Harek guessed.

* "As I was saying the gate has been severely damaged successfully, but be that as it may, Assaulting up the path and across the bridge towards it would be nothing short of suicidal."

* "Couldn’t you be a bit more tactful towards me Tibor?" -Frederick asked.

* "You asked me to speak plainly sir."

The man was unflinching.

* "And so you have. Hopefully, my new friend here will have some more positive inputs." -He looked to Harek.

* "We are ready, my lord. Should there be a need for us."

* "Oh, need we have. You better be as good as the Governor’s letter said."

He gestured towards him to come to the table. Harek didn’t know what letter he was talking about. He never met the Governor of Gezlov, the de facto king of the realm, nor did he ever work for him even indirectly as far as he knew. Then a realization struck him like lightning in a second as to how those two managed to get this job for themselves. Harek being as expressive as he is, showed none of the surprise.

* "Shit, I completely forgot about that."

Adrian said eyes widened with such a low voice that no one could hear. As Harek walked towards the map he gave a glance back to Erick and Adrian. His face was unreadable, devoid of any expression, yet that one look was enough. Erick and Adrian would have to make peace with the fact that if the enemy won’t kill them today, Harek certainly will.