Paragon of Destruction

And no wonder — even Arran had to admit that Captain Kaleesh looked more than a little questionable.

Yet the captain made no attempt to be discreet. He stopped right in front of the front group of soldiers, bringing the entire column behind them to a halt in an instant.

At once, a middle-aged man stepped forth from the group of soldiers. Dressed in a uniform that was subtly different from that of the other soldiers, Arran took him to be a sergeant or commander. And from his expression, he was clearly outraged by the unexpected obstacle.

"What’s the meaning of this?" the man demanded, eyes wide with anger. "Who dares get in the way of Lord Kadun’s troops?"

"A pleasure to meet you, as well," Captain Kaleesh replied in an unconcerned tone. "Now be a good soldier and fetch me your leader. We have business to discuss."

"You think some outsider can just step up and make demands from us?" the man snarled, his anger only fueled by the captain’s words. "You think—"

"What’s going on here?" a voice interrupted him. When Arran looked, he saw that it came from a short man, dressed in a fine silk robe.

As the man stepped forward and saw Captain Kaleesh, recognition flashed across his eyes. "Ah! You must be Kaleesh. I was expecting to meet you here, though perhaps not so soon. I am Payam, one of Lord Kadun’s stewards."

"Captain Kaleesh," the captain corrected him. "And I thought you might want to get our negotiations over with quickly, before the other Lords’ representatives arrived." He shrugged, then continued, "But if you wish, we can wait. Lord Rannoc’s delegation should be arriving soon. Perhaps I should pay them a visit."

At this, the man’s face grew pale in an instant. "There’s no need for that," he said hurriedly. "Come, we can discuss your employment while my men set up camp."

It took the steward some minutes to direct the soldiers in their tasks, but after that, he returned to Captain Kaleesh.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," the man said. "Though I have to admit that I expected you to have more men with you." He cast a look at Arran and the three commanders, then nodded thoughtfully. "But I suppose the five of you are a good start."

"These are my commanders," the captain replied, some amusement in his voice. "The rest of my troops are still in the camp."

"Your commanders?" The steward frowned, and with a curious expression, he asked, "Then you have more Body Refiners under your command? How many, exactly?"

"About two hundred," Captain Kaleesh replied, a slight smile on his face as he looked at the steward.

The steward’s reaction did not disappoint. In an instant, his eyes went wide with shock. "Two hundred?! And all of them are Body Refiners?"

"Correct," the captain said. "Now, can we do business?"

"Two hundred..." There was a tremble in the steward’s voice, as if he could scarcely believe it. "What do you want?"

Captain Kaleesh smiled. "Three months to earn our citizenship, and we keep half of what we find in the mines during that time."

"Impossible," the steward replied instantly. "You ask too much. A year, maybe. And perhaps Lord Kadun would agree to give you a tenth of what you find, but no more than that."

"Three months," the captain repeated, his voice firm despite the friendly smile on his face. "And half of what we find."

The steward gave him a miserable look. "It’s too much. Lord Kadun would have me whipped for agreeing to that."

Captain Kaleesh stretched out lazily. "Then I’ll have to visit Lord Rannoc’s delegation, and see if he has a better offer to make."

"Wait!" the steward exclaimed, a tremble of panic in his voice. "Four months, and a quarter of whatever you find. I can’t offer more than that. Please, be reasonable."

"Very well," the captain said. "I will accept your offer. Should I gather my men now, or would you prefer to wait for the other Lords’ delegations to arrive?"

The steward cast a worried look at the other groups that were already setting up camps in the area. "How much time do you need?"

Captain Kaleesh frowned. "An hour should be enough."

"Then please, hurry," the steward said in an anxious voice. "I hadn’t expected..." He stopped talking mid-sentence, then shook his head. "Just hurry. We’ll leave as soon as you return."

"Very well," the captain said. "Though I do expect a proper meal tonight, and a decent amount of wine for my men."

"Whatever you want," the steward pleaded. "But please, hurry. The sooner we’re gone, the better."

Some minutes later, Arran and the others were halfway back to the camp, and there was a broad smile on Captain Kaleesh’s face.

"That went better than expected," he said. "I’d planned to settle for sixth months and a fifth."

"Any reason the little man was so anxious to leave?" Gar asked, with a look over his shoulder at the soldiers who were already breaking down the camp they’d set up just moments earlier.

"Plenty," the captain replied. "I imagine the other Lords will be none too pleased when they learn of Lord Kadun’s good fortune. Especially Lord Rannoc. From what I’ve heard, the two of them have been at war for decades."

Lasha gave the captain a frustrated look. "Just what kind of mess did you get us into this time?"

"There shouldn’t be a mess, this time," he replied. "Though I suggest we don’t linger here any longer than necessary."

Though the captain sounded unconcerned, Arran could not help but notice that he was walking significantly faster than before. And if his expression was still cheerful, it held a hint of tension that hadn’t been there before.

When they reached the camp, Captain Kaleesh wasted no time in gathering his troops.

"Everyone! Gather up! Now!" he called out, in a voice that carried none of his usual familiarity. Instead, he suddenly sounded every bit like the mercenary captain he was supposed to be.

Encouraged by the captain’s urgent tone, it only took the mercenaries a few minutes to gather around the man. And while those who had joined the group only after arriving in the camp looked at him with casual curiosity, Arran saw that the others’ expressions were suddenly tense and alert.

"We’re moving out immediately!" Captain Kaleesh shouted. "Troops, get your belongings, then join your commanders!"

A ripple of motion went through the crowd at his words. Just moments later, most of the mercenaries had left, following behind the three commanders who’d already left the camp.

Still, a good portion of mercenaries remained behind. Roughly half of these were obviously veterans, who looked at the captain with patient expectation. The other half, however, were all newcomers. And their expressions showed only confusion as they stared at the captain.

Captain Kaleesh waited until the others had left. Then, in a loud voice, he called out, "Newcomers! This is Arran!" He gestured at Arran, then continued, "From today onward, he will be your commander. Disobey his orders on the battlefield, and it’ll be your life!"

If the mercenaries looked confused, none were more astonished than Arran himself. Yet when Arran gave Captain Kaleesh a dumbfounded look, the man merely shrugged and said, "You’re the strongest among them."

Before Arran could find the words to respond, the captain turned to one of the veteran mercenaries — an older man with plenty of gray in his hair. "Ervin, you will be his sergeant. Help him out until he gets the hang of it."

"Sure thing, captain," the man replied. He cast an appraising glance at Arran, then said, "Let’s get this rabble out of here, shall we?"

This proved easier said than done, as both Arran and his new troops lacked the coordination and practice of which the other mercenaries clearly had plenty. Yet after a quarter-hour of chaos and confusion, Arran finally led the men and women out of the camp, where he found the others already waiting for him.

Other than his own, he saw that there were four groups, one of them led by Captain Kaleesh and the others led by the three commanders. And at a glance, he saw that while his own group was little more than a disorganized huddle of men and women, the other groups had all lined up into neat ranks.

Yet the captain merely nodded in approval, as if the result was no worse than he’d expected. "Commanders, join me!"

Lasha, Gar, and Sassun immediately responded, and after a reassuring nod from Ervin, Arran did the same. In truth, he was certain the sergeant would do a better job at controlling his group than he could.

When he met the others, Gar gave him a broad smile. "Congratulations," the giant said. "Fastest promotion I’ve ever seen."

Arran, however, merely looked at Captain Kaleesh in confusion. "Why did you choose me to lead a group?"

The captain shrugged in response. "You’re strong," he said. "More importantly, I can’t have a bunch of untrained newcomers mess up our ranks. If we run into any trouble, your task is simple: keep your men out of our way. Understood?"

Arran nodded. Though he was less than pleased with the unexpected promotion, he was relieved to hear that he wouldn’t actually have to command his group. Because for all his strength, he had no experience whatsoever in leading others.

"Now then," the captain continued. "We should be on our way. I expect Lord Rannoc’s delegation to arrive soon, and if they see that we’ve joined Lord Kadun, I suspect they may be slightly displeased."

They set off only moments later, with Captain Kaleesh and the four commanders leading the way as four groups of mercenaries followed behind them. Three of those groups moved with the practiced ease of disciplined soldiers, but the final one more resembled a disorganized mob, lagging a good fifty paces behind the others.

"Looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you," Lasha said to Arran, only partly suppressing her amusement.

Arran did not respond, because just then, he saw yet another column of soldiers appear in the distance. There were easily four hundred of them, and they carried a large red banner that was decorated with a white sigil of two crossed swords.

When Captain Kaleesh noticed the group of soldiers in the distance, he let out a small sigh.

"That’s unfortunate," he said. "I had hoped Lord Rannoc’s forces wouldn’t arrive for another hour or two."