<i>Damned cavalry!</i>thought Virgil while he attempted to dress the wounds sustained in the recent battle. He began to recount the fight in Morning Dove; review the men under his command that had been lost. As a Lieutenant in a company of mercenaries, under hire by the Kalderians, Virgil understood that losing men was part of the job. However, that knowledge did not bring him any closer to the peace that he found himself longing for these past few months.<br/><br/>At the age of 22, Virgil Algheri was considered the youngest Lieutenant in the province of Va’ardenfell. To call Virgil a leader would be a bit of an exaggeration. Virgil merely possessed the mind of a tactician and the mastery of the sword. Hardly a battle hardened veteran by any means, he still had seen, and taken part in, a fair amount of fighting. When he enlisted with the Sons of Aurek at the young age of 16, he had no intention of making it into the upper echelon of leadership. But, as the Sons accepted contract after contract, many men had died during their service. Before Virgil knew what was going on, he found himself promoted to sergeant, and shortly thereafter to Lieutenant. Roughly two hours ago, Virgil was promoted to Captain of the Sons, on account of the former Captain being run down by the cavalry charge.<br/><br/>As Virgil finished packing and dressing a decently sized laceration on his forearm, he looked up to see a scraggly young man approach.<br/><br/>“Lieu- Uhm, I mean Captain. Sir. The General Arterion of the Kalderians needs an accountability report. Would you like me to get the men into formation?”<br/><br/>Virgil stood up and glanced upwards into the sky, admiring the dark beauty of the Black Pines. After what seemed like an eternity, which in reality was only a few seconds, Virgil returned the gaze of the Sergeant. “Yes Junk, get the men into formation. I’ll be there to take accountability in a few moments.”<br/><br/>Junk offered a quick salute and jogged off shouting the command for the Sons to form up. Virgil packed up his medical supplies, tightened his sword belt around his waist, donned his pack and began the somber walk to his Company’s formation. This was a moment he was not looking forward to. As he approached the front of the formation, he examined the tired, weary and dirty men that were now under his direct command. They reeked of sweat, the coppery smell of blood and the rotting aroma of death.<br/><br/>“Standardbearer, post!” Yelled Virgil. A behemoth of a man, carrying the Company’s Standard jogged to the front of the formation, adjacent to the Captain. “Sergeants, take accountability of your squads. Loremaster, link up with the Sergeants to confirm the number of wounded and dead. Report to me when you have the final tally.”<br/><br/>With the precision and gracefulness of the inner workings of a clock, the Company sprang to life and began to carry out Virgil’s orders. A few moments had passed and the Loremaster gathered up all the reports from the Sergeants. Virgil motioned for the Loremaster to follow him to the rear of formation, and then turned to his Standardbearer.<br/><br/>“Fehs. It’s good to see you alive, brother. When we got separated, I feared the worst.” Virgil grasped the giant man’s shoulder.<br/><br/>“Cap’, have no fear. Fear is what destroys a man. As long as you are alive, I must stay alive to protect you, as the Company Charter states. Until your death, I will always have a duty to perform.” And with that, Fehs turned his stone-faced gaze back towards the Company.<br/><br/>The Captain marched with purpose and formality to the rear of the formation and took the scraps of paper from the Loremaster. He perused them and his face turned ashen. So many lost. Virgil pocketed the reports and began making his way to the Kalderian encampment.<br/><br/>“Loremaster Tiger and Standardbearer Fehs, come with me.” Virgil ordered.<br/><br/>Upon the arrival to the small Kalderian encampment, the three were greeted by the Captain of the Kalderian Elites. “State your business, boy.”<br/><br/>Fehs moved to draw his sword, seeing what he considered an insult to his Captain, but was stopped by Virgil’s hand on his forearm and a barely noticeable disapproving shake of his head. Fehs removed his hand from the hilt of his longsword and took a menacing pose.<br/><br/>“You speak to the Captain Virgil Algheri, of the Sons of Aurek. You<i>will</i>show him the proper respect Ser Elite.” Fehs stated with fury taught within his throat.<br/><br/>The  Captain of the Kalderian Elites relaxed a bit, nodded and moved aside, ashamed of what he had said. “The General is awaiting your report, Captain. He’s right inside that tent.”<br/><br/>The three moved towards the aforementioned tent and Virgil told Fehs and Tiger to stay outside. He moved the tent flap aside and entered a dark, musty tent, lit only by one lamp. And a dim one at that. He could barely make out where the darkness ended and the General began.<br/><br/>“Yes? Who are you?” Asked Arterion with impatience as he studied a map laid out on a large wooden table. “Ah, you must be from the Sons. Aren’t you a Lieutenant?”<br/><br/>Virgil lowered his head slightly. “Until this morning, General. Mocker was felled by the enemy cavalry. I’m the new Captain.”<br/><br/>Arterion looked up from his map and offered his condolences. Virgil placed the reports onto the table for Arterion to look through. The General picked them up, sat down in a nearby chair and offered Virgil a seat as well.<br/><br/>“One-hundred and forty three lost?” asked Arterion in sheer amazement. Virgil couldn’t discern whether the amazement was because it was so many dead or so few dead.<br/><br/>“Yar General. One-hundred and forty three killed. Fourteen wounded. Total number of able-bodied soldiers under my command is thirty-seven.”<br/><br/>Arterion tossed the papers onto the table in disgust. “That’s hardly an army anymore…”<br/><br/>“Virgil, General. Virgil Algheri.”<br/><br/>Arterion continued. “Captain Algheri. I will speak with the treasurer and make sure you receive your due payment.”<br/><br/>“All due respects General, but the contract is not yet completed.” It sounded more like a question than a statement.<br/><br/>“With thirty-seven men? It won’t be completed, Captain. But your service is appreciated. You’ll receive your payment within the hour. The Sons of Aurek are hereby released from service to The Empire. You are once again sellswords. Dismissed, Captain Algheri.”<br/><br/>Upset by this change in plans, Virgil stormed out of the tent and practically ran back to the Sons’ encampment, followed by Fehs and Tiger. The Sons were still standing in formation, all thirty-seven of them, with great discipline. Tiger fell in with the rest of the men, while Fehs and Virgil returned to the front of the formation.<br/><br/>“Gentlemen, our contract has just been terminated. We will be paid for our service, although it will<i>not</i>be the full amount. When you’re dismissed, take a piss because we leave in an hour.” Virgil turned towards Fehs, “Go see the Kalderian treasurer and get our money. Then distribute it amongst the men, to include my share.”<br/><br/>As Virgil dismissed his men, he watched them go about their business hastily. There were bleak roads ahead and he was in unfriendly territory. Mercenaries were not looked kindly upon in this province.<i>This is going to be difficult.</i>