As they approached the only sizable clearing of the mountain range, the large fortress of Stonejaw could be seen under construction. A massive stone wall had already been erected, spanning the length of the opening; surely the work of the Da'vrea, weavers of supernatural power. And on their side of that wall, the beginnings of a fortress twice the size of Caldenya could be seen abuzz with laborers carrying wooden beams and stone bricks.
There were a great many camps and temporary buildings this side of the fort, yet very few bore military banners. These were the laborer's camps, safe and patrolled on their side of the wall.
Another group of soldiers rushed past them on horseback, and the two made way before riding on towards the fortress. It wasn't until they tried passing the end of the laborers camp that they dismounted, stopped by a squadron of armed men.
"Mercenaries?" The man at the front asked, already knowing the answer.
With a nod, Markus began rolling up his left sleeve as the man continued. "Alright, I need your name, company, ranks, and proof." Any first-timers recruited in the towns would need to be escorted by experienced warriors with proof of company and rank to be let through, but both he and Quin had that themselves.
Showing the tattoo of a knight's red-plumed helmet, and the strange three-fold V shape that marked his company and rank, he answered the man's inquiries.
"Markus Nabora of Falrum, Lieutenant of the Crimson Company, Grand Knight."
He almost continued, introducing Quinn as well, before remembering how it annoyed the boy last time.
"Quinn Faucon of Falrum, Cavalry Squire of the Crimson Company, Knight Initiate."
Showing his left arm where the tattoo of a red-plumed helmet marked him a returning mercenary of the Crimson Company, Quinn smiled proudly, earning a grin from Markus.
"Welcome, Sir Markus, and Squire Quinn. The Crimson Company is pitched on the southern end of the camps beyond the wall, do you need a guide?"
"No, we'll do fine on our own, thanks."
Leading his horses by the reins, he started southward past the fort in construction and was let through the open portcullis of the huge stone wall. On the other side were camps and waving banners as far as he could see on the flat ground. This close to the wall, the banners of nobility and landed knights were all that could be seen, but as they continued further south, away from the stone wall, mercenary camps came into view, each set up in separate clumps with waving banners to mark them out from each other.
The camps were far larger than Markus was used to, so it took a while to find their goal, but eventually, the crimson banner bearing a black helmet was spotted, and a familiar face found.
"Don Cox! The captain still keeps you around?"
An upright man, only a tad shorter than Markus but not very wide or bulky, turned to scowl at the shout, left hand tugging at his thick, curly mustache as he looked for its source. When his eyes found Markus and Quinn leading their horses over, a look of pleasant surprise replaced his scowl.
"Markus, ya damned ghoul, yer here again?! Forget ya brain out on the field huh?"
"Couldn't let this one get himself killed alone, could I?" Slowing, he slapped a hand on Quinn's back as the boy smiled widely at the mustached man.
"Rookie! Welcome back, lad." A large scar across Don's face contorted as he smiled and pulled Quinn in for a rough bear's hug.
"Glad to be here." Came Quinn's choked reply before Don released him.
"Markus, it's good to see you brother." Now it was Markus' turn to receive that hard embrace. 'Brutal Don', the men called him. Markus had never known another so at odds with his title.
"You too Don." With a few slaps on the back, he was finally let go.
"But keep coming here Lieutenant, and you'll lose that title of yours, and ya fool head soon enough. Go settle down with that wife already and leave us lonely bastards to our job."
Having been freed from the grapple disguised as a hug, Markus traced the deep scar on his neck unconsciously and chuckled. "Leave you lot here by yourselves? You'd be haunting me before the year was over."
The title he'd mentioned was not his rank in the company, but something the men gave to all who proved themselves on the field. Just as this cheerful lad was Brutal Don, and their captain was the Crimson Falcon, he was the Unkillable Knight.
"Besides, I need to help this lad find his feet quickly or he won't shut up about earning some exaggerated title of his own."
Quinn clicked his tongue in response, muttering something as he took the reins of their four horses.
"Speaking of, you seen ya aunt yet rookie?" Don asked.
"No, is she busy?"
"Ah, always is, but no matter. Here, give me those and you follow the lieutenant, I'm sure he'll run into her soon enough."
"Thanks, Sergeant." Quinn said as he handed over the reins.
With a nod and a promise to catch up later, Markus left Don and entered the camp properly. It was incredibly noisy, lacking the level of strict order that soldier camps held, but he was glad to see that every man wore at least 'some' piece of armor, and had weapons close at hand in case of the worst.
Only… there were more tents than usual even here, quite a lot more. The Crimson Company didn't recruit just anybody, you needed at least your first mark of leadership in another company to be even considered. That was the first of the three V-shaped symbols Markus had on his arm, proof of having led a lance before. There were also equipment requirements, men had to come well-armed and armored to join their ranks, an expensive feat.
'Did something happen?'
As he considered the matter, a woman in tight pants with neck-length crimson hair more vibrant than even Quinn's could be seen passing by tents in the distance, speaking with a frown to a man in polished armor.
Markus moved in her direction and confirmed by the man's clothes that he was a liaison between her and whatever Duke was the general of this operation.
When her eyes met his, she smiled and dismissed the liaison before approaching the two of them.
"I was beginning to think you two wouldn't show."
"As if I'd miss all the excitement. How are you Julia?"
She reached up to give him a short hug before sighing in frustration. "As good as I can be, I guess. Duke Terrath won't stop breathing down my neck. How have you been Quinn?" she turned her attention to the boy, sizing him up as she spoke.
"I'm doing great Aunt Julia. I, umm…" He started in excitement but then hesitated as he spoke. While Julia looked at him in confusion, Markus smiled meanly. "Oh no need to worry about Quinn here, he's done very well for himself, haven't you boy?"
The lad directed a warning glare at Markus that only fueled his mirth, before turning back to his aunt and mustering a confident expression as he spoke quickly.
"Back at home, I was 'looking forward' to returning to the front, and I-I found The Gallery."
Julia's expression blanked for a moment before she gave a pleased laugh and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, pulling her nephew close as he congratulated him.
"And just like that our family will have another knight. I told you Mark, he's made of good stuff."
"Alright, I'll give him that. He's done well" he conceded with a smile.
Taking a moment to let the pleasant atmosphere run its length, he made a slightly more serious expression as he changed subjects.
"You said the General is breathing down your neck? What's happening?"
Julia sighed as she released her nephew and started walking with them. "Apparently his Seer has him all agitated. There's something big she can't see in the battle to come."
"Well Seers are rarely certain of anything, that can't be too shocking for him?"
Julia shook her head "I don't know what bits and pieces she's been telling him, but he's freaked. Duke Terrath keeps telling me to recruit more people and lower our standards, but that will do more harm than it will good in a company like ours."
That gave Markus pause as he thought about what their opposition could have in store.
"Has he sent for another Seer?"
"Of course, but I doubt he can entice another in time. And what if they need to actually be here to see anything? The Tower of Fate is on the other side of the Chosen Lands, it's a lost cause."
Shaking his head, Markus looked over the number of people camped here once more. It seemed she had already lowered the standard for recruitment quite a lot to have this many, but that wouldn't improve anything. Warriors from other companies already at the Dragon Gate will just jump ship to them hoping to get the crimson mark tattooed.
With that, they can proclaim themselves a returnee and be almost guaranteed recruitment with the company's next contract. It would mean long-lasting damage to the quality of their troops to have so many unqualified warriors receive the mark.
Julia had slipped back into her frown now, and Markus finally understood why.
'That explains all the soldiers rushing across the kingdom. Master Henry did mention they were spreading the call for recruits.'
"Hey, cheer up. The fighting's barely started, our Captain can't be walking around with a frown." Julia seemed to snap out of her own thoughts with that and stretched to relax her shoulders.
"Fair enough, you make a point. Quinn, follow me for a bit, I want to see this Gallery of yours." Walking ahead, clearly expecting Quinn to swiftly follow, Julia made her way to one of the clearings in the camp, left exactly for this purpose.
Markus watched with an understanding expression as Quinn hesitantly eyed the two swords at Julia's waist, only chasing after her a moment later. Julia's sheaths were both of black leather, but an obvious red vein ran from one end to another, and Markus knew that a similar one trailed the length of the blades within.
That single red vein on sword and scabbard was the mark of a master; in Julia's case, a Master of Twin Swords. And she was far less gentle than he to spar with.
Shaking his head, Markus left Quinn to his impending doom and sought out the tent reserved for him. As a Lieutenant, there would surely be one, but with a camp as large as it was this time, housing far more than a thousand warriors, it would take a while to familiarize himself with the directions and find the flag for his tent.