We made our way through the city without a lot of fanfare unlike during our recent arrival. This of course didn't mean that we didn't garner a lot of attention. Apparently plenty of people knew me by my looks. Tall warrior women in wyvern scale mail weren't an everyday sight it seemed. A heavily loaded caravan leaving the treasury was worth some attention in general as well. Luckily we received an escort from the city guard once again. Still our progress through the narrow, winding streets wasn't as fast as I had hoped it would be. In the end I called some of the caravan guards to me as we had to wait for a group of heavily loaded pack animals to pass at an intersection. I handed a few small pouches of coin to them and had them hand out alms to those who looked like they could need them at the tail end of our procession. That shifted some of the commotion that was slowing us down from the front to the back and we sped up a little.

I didn't mind parting with some of the coin that way. We had more than enough after all. Maybe these alms would help some of those less fortunate than me to get back on their own feet. Sure, there would be others that would just squander it on booze or the likes but I was allowed to hope and dream, wasn't I? By the time we reached the School of Wizards and Enchanters, a rather unassuming and modest structure, except for its sheer height, I was certain that some people must have figured out that we were heading for the mercenary market. Chances were good that at least some of the sellswords offering their services there would already be aware of our approach. The more enterprising ones among them would already be preparing to catch my attention. Just as well. That would save me some time and trouble.

We dropped off my sister at the school that doubled as a market for spells and enchanted trinkets of all sorts, together with a large chest of coin and two guards. She judged this to be enough and I trusted her judgment on the matter. It wasn't like I had any grasp on the usual prices of spell scrolls and other magical items. If she needed more she would find some way to let me know. I kept simply heading to the mercenaries' market with the rest of our people. It became obvious that we were getting close pretty quick. Quite a few of the buildings to either side of the road started sporting banners and other martial ornaments. Some of them were outright built like small castles. The number of armed and armored people in general increased as well. Those not already wearing the colors of one mercenary outfit or another were probably here in hopes of getting hired. Me showing up with plenty of coin to spend might just drastically increase the chances of more than just a few to find employment today.

Finally we arrived at the square known as the mercenary market. A number of the larger compounds around the large open space appeared mostly empty. They weren't abandoned though. They belonged to the larger outfits the king had hired wholesale. Only some servants, craftsmen and some trainees together with the sergeants drilling them were still maintaining a presence within these halls. The market square was quite lively despite that. There were, of course, merchants selling weapons, armor and all the other odds and ends one needed for campaigning. What captured my attention though were the tents of various smaller companies. Some of them might have compounds further away from the square others might not have bothered maintaining one at all or at least not yet.

There were armed and armored men and women about around those tents, sporting various more or less colorful outfits. I had been right. News of our approach must have arrived some time before us. The warriors in their best clothes combined with armor polished to a shine and the most impressive weapons they probably had in their arsenal were advertisement. They wanted me to know what they could field. Good. I just had to be careful not to let it get the better of me. Not all advertisement was always true after all. None would outright lie though. The whole mercenary business was rather strictly regulated after all. That was a good thing too, otherwise they might have been able to fleece me, taking every coin in my coffers. Yes, at times it was better if not everyone could do as they pleased. The same was true in reverse as well of course. Trying to hire mercenaries below the king's tariffs was an absolute no go.

In a way the only things that mattered today were the number of warriors everyone could muster and their skills. I didn't exactly intent to raise a regiment to fight in the line of battle after all. I needed scouts and rangers to find the path the enemy had taken across the mountains. Hopefully they could take out any guards that might have been left to secure that path without raising alarms as well. They had to be able to move on narrow mountain paths as well. I pondered what I knew of the composition of the ghoul king's army that had besieged my domain. Maybe I should hire some siege experts as well. It was entirely possible that we would have to deal with fortified towers or castles on the other side of the mountains. I doubted we could take the time to deal with any larger towns though. Maybe a few trolls or giants if there were any? It would be for the best. We probably couldn't afford to move actual siege engines across the mountains after all. We wouldn't be able to bring much of a supply train either.

Maybe we could find some smugglers used to traversing steep mountain paths though. A pardon and some coin in the hand should buy their services as well as their discretion. I nodded to myself as I looked around at the soldiers and weapons on display. Two of the companies displaying their best caught my attention. One of them stood out because they were not posing in colorful clothes and heavy armor. They were mostly dark elves and gorgons as far as I could tell and their drab, rugged cloaks they wore above their light armor were well suited to hide them in most terrains. They mostly sported bows and crossbows of various designs and a number of knives as backup weapons. They were exactly what I needed. Sadly there were nowhere near enough of them to get my banner up to strength. The other company was quite different. They were a cavalry unit, one using giants mountain ibex, like the one Kaele had been riding, as mounts. They piqued my interest mostly because I had not expected to be able to bring any cavalry. With them though it might just be possible. If their supply train used the same animals that would solve another problem as well.

Even together these two companies wouldn't be even close to three hundred strong but they might form the backbone of my army, together with any of my own people I would take along. The scouts would be on the affordable end of the spectrum. The cavalry on the other hand, especially such a specialized unit, would be quite pricey. I could have picked some more units right away but I didn't know how their relationships were. There always was room for bad blood in business, especially when spilling blood was the business in question. I couldn't exactly afford to sabotage myself in that regard. Well, I could, but I really shouldn't if I could avoid it. I was already taking a risk by picking two units right away but I felt it necessary.

I stepped out in front of my people and approached the scout company first. One of the men who was not exactly loitering about in front of the company tent, rose to greet me. He bowed to me but it pretty much lacked any and all formality. “Good day, my lady. How can the Company of the cloak be of service to you?”

Company of the Cloak? Well, their cloaks did set them apart from most of the others. There probably were worse names they could have come up with. I didn't mind either way. I sized him up before replying. “I'm raising a banner and I need scouts and rangers, among other things. There are tracks to be followed, ways to be found and probably enemy positions to be scouted without being seen. It wouldn't hurt if you can do some killing before the other ones even realize that the fight is on.”

He started grinning from one long pointy ear to the other. Before he could answer though, I kept going. “If you can supplement our supplies with some game along the way I wouldn't mind either. Oh, and how do you feel about heights?”

He never stopped grinning and just shrugged. “I have no issue with heights, no matter how great, and we can do just about everything you mentioned.”

He sounded like he meant it. None of the other men and women lounging about behind him looked uncomfortable at his bravado, which meant it was probably not just big talk. That suited me just fine. “You the captain of the company of the cloak?” He nodded. “How many can you muster?”

He looked over his shoulder before answering. “Right now, thirty five. Maybe a few more if my recruiters were successful.”

That sounded like a good start. “You are hired. Get your scribe working on the contract. The basics for now. We will talk details once I have talked with a few more companies.” He looked a little perplexed at first but he recovered from his surprise pretty quick. He probably didn't mind that he hadn't had to break into an elaborate sales pitch in the end. I stopped in my tracks as I already was about to head to my next target. “Any companies you would rather not work with?”

He looked over his shoulder at his people once more before facing me again. “None that are still here in the capital. As far as I can tell anyway. We would rather not work with any Ganarl in general if we can avoid it though.”

A woman leaning against a flag pole behind him spoke up at that. “Yeah, their eating habits are a little disturbing.”

“And their laughs are pretty creepy.”. The man who had added this particular tidbit shuddered as he spoke.

I nodded. “I'll keep it in mind.” It was understandable. The Ganarl, hyena like humanoids that lived on the plains to the west of the kingdom, weren't a bad lot in general but some of their habits didn't sit very well with most other civilized people. At least they weren't like the elven head hunters though. With that out of the way I headed towards the cavalry unit I had spotted before. Time to talk business!