We took on another caravan escort mission. Bandit Raiders tracked us, but we were strong for them to attack directly. Then a militia came out from a passing town to handle them. It was a long journey, however, and bandits attacked in the middle of the night. What should have been an easy battle was a disaster -
Eberhold's luck ran out, and he was quickly slain.
Hallstein, who ran through two of the enemy, tried to move back before attacking, and as he turned his back, a bandit ran him through, killing him immediately. Hallstein the Fool! As foolish as the Caravan Hands who kept rushing out to their deaths.
We were attacked again by bandits not long before our destination. This time, broad daylight. This time, everyone survived of our company, though Caravan Hands continued to get themselves killed. Upon arriving in
Langholz, we discovered it was a lumbering village. And even after paying
Hartmut, the fat butcher who loved killing live pigs and was turned out because of that practice, far more money than we ever had (290 crowns), we were over 1,000 crowns to the good for the first time in Lavender Knights history.
From thence, we made our way to
Grunburg, a well-established keep town whose flourishing market boasted the first true helmet we'd ever seen, a
Flat Top Helmet that we purchased for
Friedrich, setting off a chain of passed down headgear. We also stocked up on repair supplies that we were running low on, and hired
Erling, an unremarkable messenger willing to work for cheap, and who brought our numbers back to 8.
In the village of
Waidtal, we brought on
Ernst, a wandering monk full of determination and optimism. A foundling in a monastery, he had a deep religious faith, and bonded immediately with
Kunold and
Rollo. It was there that we took on our most dangerous mission yet - recovering a stolen arcane tome from bandits. The contract, far richer than we'd ever gotten at 660 crowns, was too tempting to resist.
The band of thieves numbered 8, a laughable number considering our 9, and when
Waldred Goodhand dropped the first one with a single arrow, it looked to be a simple affair. And so it was, a flawless victory.
After our payment, we brought our numbers to 10 with
Eduard, another laborer who'd learned no special trade, but now did. He was an authentic alcoholic, and asthmatic in addition. Still, after hearing him talk,
Friedrich the Merciless announced that henceforth upon first promotion or next, every single Lavender Knight was to be a student of warfare. "We shall be known for our scholarship as well as our fighting," he declared. Since he was accepted as the senior leader of the band, all agreed, though few had formal education themselves.
Rollo the Blessed and
Walrum Goodhand, who were due to be elevated, became his first disciples.
In
Halsborg, a knight gives us a unique proposition: Patrol the roads for a week, and get paid 60 crowns per kill. And our first advance payment of 290 crowns. It seemed like a good deal, so we took it, though we silently vowed not to attack any innocents.
Imagine our surprise later that night when we were attacked by six orcs. We'd heard of such green creatures of course, but had never encountered them before. Despite a numbers advantage, these were the most brutal foes we'd faced. After a long, protracted battle,
Waldram Goodhand lay dead, the other
Waldram had no nose, and
Erling and
Eduard suffered permanent broken knees that rendered them unfit for service (Eduard also had a serious abdominal injury).
Humbert had a crushed finger. But it was just such a battle that allowed
Hartmut to shine. The bloody butcher slew two, including the leader of the band - an Orc Warrior who was the first true fighter we'd ever encountered.
We were in such a hurry to leave the field, we forgot to take the damned loot, and that included a mighty fine axe which would have served as a great improvement over what we had. Truly, from the highest point of the Lavender Knights to the lowest. When we reached
Asentorn, we let
Erling and
Eduard go. Our first wild man joined our service, with the fantastic name of
Hartwig the Bull. Unfortunately, though he was tough, he was also clumsy. Still, we outfitted him and the same day gave the surviving Walrum the title of
Walrum No Nose.
The rich coastal city of
Grotenhaven awaited us without incident, where we encountered a strange cultist, also named
Harmut. Since he was willing to work for cheap, we took him on, naming our first one
Harmut the Butcher - unoriginal, but he was proud of it.
Our newest recruit was odd, indeed. He also put us in dire straits financially, but we would have to press on back to
Halsborg. And so we did, earning 360 crowns for our efforts. We were now also considered a Reliable company, rather than Unknown. Would that I could say it was worth it. What might have been, had we not been so stupid after defeating the orcs. And if some of our men hadn't been foolhardy in their actions.
But it is what is is, the constant cycle of a merc band's life.