"The relative widespread usage of spatial storage artifacts meant that an army's logistics was usually only limited by the pockets of the nation it came from. Using such artifacts turned logistics from the hardest part of a campaign into a completely different game.

Richer nations could afford to equip every single soldier with a storage roughly the size of a rucksack to a trunk. Any storages larger than these were typically reserved for officers to use, which tend to be heavy with vital documents and supplies.

At first it was the norm to carry one's food supplies in crates full of smaller storage artifacts, each of which crammed to the brim with rations and other foodstuff. This practice died out long ago when some enterprising nation managed to starve out their opponent's larger army by stealing the crate they carried their food in, forcing them to a humiliating surrender.

Since then, it was more common to distribute these food supplies to designated soldiers in each squad or team, a practice which carried a bonus in that isolated soldiers usually had plenty of food supplies to help them survive better on the run." - Eldigan Schönberg, scholar of military history, circa 607 VA.

"They're nearby, boss. Ought to be tomorrow for the fight, latest," said Hannah as she returned from her scouting mission. The Free Lances had traveled together with the dwarven army of forty thousand for the past week and a half towards Norouz. They were camped for the night, roughly two days out from the city, when Hannah spotted the enemy.

"They shouldn't be that dumb to try a night attack on us… did the army's scouts also notice them?" Reinhardt asked after he gave the avian girl a moment to rest and take a long drink from her water bag. "And we're a bit too far to pull one off on them unnoticed, I think."

Unlike humans, dwarves could see just fine in the night, as they were used to living in the dark underground. For that reason, when the human kingdoms nearby fought the dwarves, they always avoided fighting at night, and were especially wary against night attacks.

"They definitely noticed them. Saw them watching on my way back," replied Hannah with a nod. "Also I think the new guy's right, boss. There's definitely a lot of the fuckers out there. Prolly twice our numbers or so. Lotsa horses too."

"Guess we'll know for certain in the meeting later tonight," said Reinhardt after some thought. He had passed on the intelligence he got off Lars to the dwarves before the army departed from Zefirous, and vaguely heard of them making anti-cavalry preparations, though he was uncertain to what extent they had done so. "Good job, take a break for now. Night watch's on three shifts as usual."

******************************

"It would seem that your local collaborator has been a useful one indeed, Captain Edelstein," said the Crown Prince during the meeting that night. Two new dwarves were present instead of Graf McBaine, who had stayed in Zefirous, both officers from the third wave. "Our scouts had reported that the enemy numbered roughly ninety thousand, with heavy cavalry presence."

Out of the twenty thousand soldiers of the third wave, Graf McBaine had taken a thousand heavy and four thousand light infantry to garrison Zefirous. That left them with roughly two thousand five hundred more heavies, around ten thousand light infantry, two thousand more light cavalry, and five hundred heavy cavalrymen. All of whom quickly integrated themselves into the army.

"Mine reported the same just earlier," reported Reinhardt. He noticed tokens were placed on the nearby plains on the map stretched out over the table. "I take it we will confront them head-on in the plains then?"

"That seems to be what they desired. A reasonable choice given their large number of cavalry, if one I wouldn't have made in the same position," replied Graf Harscape from beside the Crown Prince. "That said, we haven't fought these lunatics much this past century. They might well have forgotten just what we're capable of."

"The battle lines then? With our cavalry on sides to trounce on theirs?" asked one of the heavy infantry commanders. Reinhardt had noticed the way the tokens were arranged, ones signifying heavy infantry in a long line ahead, with the light infantry represented with larger tokens behind, and the light cavalry on the sides. A relatively standard military formation, all considered.

"Just the lights," said the Crown Prince after some thought. "I want the heavies with my war chariots. We'll punch a hole through their formation when the opportunity presents itself. I trust in your infantrymen to use the opening."

"Captain Edelstein," added the Crown Prince, addressing Reinhardt. He had been worried about what his company would have to do. They were only a little over three hundred, negligible in the sea of forty thousand bodies. "I would like your company to act as an independent reaction force here," the Crown Prince said as he pointed to a spot between the light and heavy infantry lines.

"You may act on your judgement. Strike if an opening presents itself, help cover up openings on our side if any opens up. I know there aren't that many of you, so I only ask that you buy time for the rest of our soldiers to react, not to hold the lines with your lives," he elaborated. "Naturally, more contributions would translate to more pay."

Reinhardt thought of the role, and found himself in agreement with what the Crown Prince had tasked him to do. His unit of mercenaries were irregulars by most nation's classifications, and definitely so by Knallzog's, which favored solid battle lines and tight formations.

On the other hand, his unit was far more mobile than even their light infantry, and with Mischka's group, they possessed shock troops that eclipsed even the dwarves' vaunted heavy infantrymen. Their only lack at this point of the battle was their numbers.

"It shall be done, Your Highness," replied Reinhardt with a respectful nod.