Politics, power, property, none of this mattered to the Ebon Hawks. Money was king, but the company's reputation of upholding their every agreement was as dear as their lives.

As such, when the kingdom of Eridun offered to hire the Ebon Hawks for a substantial stipend of gold every month of their service that happened to greater than what the republic of Talynis was already paying the mercenaries, the Ebon Hawks were forced to decline. The company saw every job to the end, even if their partnership with the Talynis was formed only days before the Eridunites offer.

The Ebon Hawk's first assignment with the Talynis involved the taking of keep along the front lines of the war and due to the already incredibly stretched resources of the Talyns, they would be taking the keep by themselves. While only mildly worrying, the Ebon Hawks were professionals for a reason and they ventured off to battle with pride on their sleeves and pockets heavy with coin. 

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A goblin too young to quit fighting and too old to be caught in the romantics of war creaked and stretched every muscle in her body as it groaned in complaint, her eyes squinting against the last harsh rays of the evening light. She grumbled as she absentmindedly scratched her arm, reaching for her equipment and noticing that her companion for the night had already disappeared, presumably to do their duty to someone awake and willing to pay. 

The diminutive creature took only a few minutes to strap on her armor and sword, needing only the bare necessities for the night's work. Just as she finished securing the last strap, Soren stuck his nose into the goblin's tent. "Captain's called the meeting. They're waiting for you, Lieutenant."

The goblin grunted in affirmation, waving the young soldier away as she stumbled out of the tent, rubbing her eyes in exhaustion. It was at this time that the night creatures of the company started to wake as similar groans and general grumbliness could be heard all throughout the camp as their nonessential daytime brethren retired for the night. Taking a second to remember where she was placed in the organized chaos of the camp, she started to stagger toward the Captain's tent, nodding to a comrade here and a compatriot there. She stopped briefly to grab a quick breakfast from whatever leftovers the cooks had provided and happened to bump into an extremely old friend, Jhon. "How went your day's work," she asked innocuously, gnawing on a piece of meat.

Jhon grunted, the magics he had worked alongside the other wizards still clinging faintly to his body. The goblin nodded, thankful that she at least got to rest unlike the poor sods in the keep they were sieging. Pleasantries done, the goblin continued along her way and entered the Captain's tent quietly, grabbing a stool to properly see the plans the Captain had laid out. 

The Captain was a grizzled old elf, although the only indication of it were the scars that littered his body and the weary fire that still burned in his eyes. Nodding to the Lieutenant, the Captain continued assigning tasks and orders to the officers gathered around his table while simultaneously unfolding the battle plan, which was nothing too fancy or glamorous, but it worked. The Lieutenant would begin barraging the keep's walls with the catapults the company had set up the day prior. If they actually managed to bring down the walls, fantastic, but the catapult fire was to mainly be used as a distraction while the mages still awake would prepare their illusionary spell of rushing soldiers using the shadows of the night. At the same time, several squads of actual soldiers would circle around the keep, rushing the walls with ladders and from there, the taking of the keep. 

Every officer was clear on the plan and their role in it, but before they could leave and go to their respective positions, the Captain issued out one final warning to everyone.

"Remember, all the villagers are inside the keep. Kill those only who resist."