Captain Schwarzkopf arranged transportation for the entire unit of 100 Thuringian swordsmen, along with Mage Flamebringer, Eagleclaw Wolverine, Meyer, Hartmann, and the Thuringian commander, Lieutenant Michael. A convoy of fourteen horse carts arrived at the front gates of the Countess's estate, in the late afternoon.

  "How did you fare the remainder of last night, Countess Fedorina?" asked a concerned Captain Schwarzkopf.

  "Oh dear, Captain, those evil trolls returned and took four more head of my prize cattle. I am absolutely at my wits end. I pray to Theodor that you will be able to do something. Otherwise, I shall be left without anything to eat for the winter!" The Countess was extremely distressed.

  The soldiers set up a temporary tent camp within the courtyard of the Fedorina estate grounds. Schwarzkopf, Warm Hearth, Eagleclaw and the three Lieutenants walked out to the back forty and sized up the situation. They would need a plan for the evening and while it was still daylight, the planning of a battle strategy would be a simpler proposition.

  "What are your thoughts, Lieutenant Michael?" inquired the Captain. Lieutenant Oswald Michael was known to be an outstanding battle tactician, with great predictive incite, useful in assessing the battle behaviours of opposing units.

  2nd Lieutenant Oswald Michael

  Leadership ability: 8

  Fighting skill: 4

  Attacks: 2

  Quickness: 3

  Power: 3

  Defence: 3

  Speed: 4

  Wounds: 2

  Armour save: Full plate armour and shield, 3+

  Weapons: Broad sword

  Special abilities: Sword master wielder. +1 to fighting skill when wielding a broadsword, Master tactician. +1 to combat resolution

  Mount: none

  "We must get the trolls out of the swamp. They simply have too many advantages in the muck, so we will have to bait them. If the Countess is willing to risk 6 or 8 more head of cattle, we could tie them to wooden stakes down on the far end of this main paddock. We may as well take down the cedar rail fencing, so that the trolls have an easier path to the cows. Trolls aren't known for their brilliance, but they are really strong bastards. I suggest that we deploy half of the boys over here," he said as he pointed towards the large wooden barn, "and the other half, there, behind the berm. We can split up the officers and mages, between the two groups of swordsmen. Once the lot of them are feasting on the cattle, we shut the door on our little trap, and deploy three ranks deep across the paddock. No chance they can get back to the muck with my boys in the way. Our lady friend sets our swords alight, and we carve up some roasted trolls for dinner!" It was a remarkable battle plan.

  "I can see one rather important issue that deserves attention," added Lieutenant Hartmann. For the first time Nicholas Meyer could remember, since the battle, Hartmann was walking without a cane. "The trolls will be engaged with the Countess's fair cattle. What may we do to ensure they turn back towards the Thuringians?"

  "A fine point, Lieutenant Hartmann", commented Schwarzkopf. "I might suggest that we prepare large bonfires at this end of the paddock, immediately behind the cows. When the Thuringians have completed their deployment, we will have some of the Countess's men ignite the fires. That should drive them back towards the swordsmen. Timing will be critical for you, Mage Flamebringer. Please don't cast your flame spell until the trolls have turned back towards you. And whatever you do, keep that ridiculous flaming staff out of their sight! Trolls greatly fear flames."

  "We are all agreed on the plan of battle?" asked the Captain. The officers all nodded. "All right then, I will explain our plan to the countess, and gain her permission to use her fine livestock as troll bait."

  An hour later, the Captain returned with a group of workmen, and permission to enact the plan of battle. "Will the trolls co-operate?" asked Nicholas Meyer, of the Prussian Captain.

  "I wonder?" speculated Schwarzkopf. "They better show up, or the battalion is broke. I spent our last pfennig on the fire wizard. Our benefactor has implied that she is prepared to be extremely generous in support of our fine battalion, but only if we deliver the necessary results. The Countess Fedorina despises these foul creatures.

  "Ah, the bastard trolls will show up all right. They can't go a day without stuffing their faces, and once you get them used to free dinners, you'll have them in yer hair forever," explained Eagleclaw Wolverine. "Shuttin the door on our troll trap is somethin that we can probably pull off, but fightin with 5 or 10 cornered swamp trolls won't be no picnic. They can do some serious damage."

  The officers and mages finalised the details of their plan; Erich supervised the construction of the bonfires, then made sure that the lamps to ignite them were also carefully concealed. Lieutenant Michael checked that the royal cattle were tied to posts in the optimal baiting positions. The mercenaries waited for darkness to fall, concealing themselves as thoroughly as possible. Mage Warm Hearth was stuffed into a cave dug for her by the swordsmen, and heavy blankets were draped over top to conceal the flickering light of her staff.

  'Mercenary,' thought Captain Schwarzkopf. 'I never thought that I would ever call myself a mercenary.'

  _____________________________________________________________________________

  Swamp Trolls

  Full strength: 8 trolls

  Leadership: 0

  Fighting skill: 3

  Attacks: 6, 4 claws, 2 teeth

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Quickness: 2

  Power: 6

  Defence: 6

  Speed: 3

  Wounds: 5

  Armour save: 4+ scales

  Weapons: none

  Special abilities: Regenerative healing, water breathing, swim at speed 3

  There wasn't much moonlight, and time passed slowly for the members of the Flying Eagles battalion that night. At long last, about midnight, the tell tale gurgling and splashing became audible, from the swampland. The go signal was planned to be given by Captain Schwarzkopf, when he was satisfied that the lot of the trolls had fallen into their trap. A single pistol shot would kick off the festivities. His main concern at this moment was for the welfare of his soldiers. Dying or being seriously injured in battle was one thing, but someone getting killed on a fund raising mission, was something Schwarzkopf was hoping to avoid.

  More splashing and muck sounds. Schwarzkopf could see the silhouettes of trolls stepping up onto dry ground. One, two, three, a couple more, and another, six! Six swamp trolls, this was bad. They made their way along the length of the paddock, and no additional trolls appeared. Hopefully, that was all of them. Suddenly, two of the cows squealed in pain. The screeching was unbearable. "Boom!" Schwarkopf fired his pistol. The battle was on!

  "Kathumpthump!" Fedorina's men ignited their bonfires. They had soaked the piles with kerosene beforehand. Immediate light illuminated the trolls feasting on the pair of newly killed cattle. There were eight trolls! Schwarzkopf had missed two. They were immediately startled by the flames. Six turned and made to retreat, and the two remaining trolls grabbed one of the murdered cows and tried dragging it towards the swampland.

  Fifty swordsmen rushed in from each side of the paddock, forming a line three deep across the pasture. The officers, including Schwarzkopf also took positions in the line. "Where is Warm Hearth?" asked the Captain.

  There she was! Flame spilling out from her fire wand. She ran the length of the battle line, brushing up against each sword held forward by every swordsman. Each time her flame touched a blade, it ignited. As she approached Schwarzkopf, he too extended his blade outstretched. His sword also caught the fire. The spell actually worked! The front rank then rotated and brought their weapons into contact with the second rank, and in turn the second row swordsmen brought flames to the third rank.

  'This might succeed.' thought Schwarzkopf.

  By now the swamp trolls had reached the line of swordsmen, and the newly appearing flames shocked the retreating beasts. But, even the dimly intelligent trolls knew that they were cornered, and couldn't simply turn away. They had to get back to their element, no matter what was in their path.

  Fortunately, seconds before impact, the swordsmen and their officers acquired a new skin of wolverine fur. Mage Eagleclaw's spells were also working!

  Each troll weighed five times more than the stoutest man. The line wavered with the impact of six trolls. Their claws and teeth struck home, while at the same time the swordsmen fought back with their flaming blades, but few significant wounds were registered. Captain Schwarzkopf's place in the fighting line was just a few feet from the nearest troll, yet it was difficult to access exactly which side was winning. Then he experienced a familiar feeling. A surge of energy flowed through his body and he pivoted to see Eagleclaw Wolverine casting his second spell. Everyone in the unit was affected, and as one they surged forward to strike the trolls. This time the blades did their work, since the men behind the strikes had been enhanced by Eagleclaw's magic. The swamp trolls took serious wounds and the Captain even observed two of the beasts losing limbs.

  Just then Schwarzkopf, and the men surrounding him, were struck by the carcasses of the dead cow, thrown by one of the remaining trolls. Blood and guts covered everyone, and the two slimy monsters threw themselves at the battle line. To Schwarzkopf, it felt as if an elephant had landed on top of him. The weight was crushing and one of the enormous hands of the trolls grabbed his armoured leg and tried to rip it from his body.

  Yet another flood of strength flowed through the Captain. "God dammit, that Animal mage is worth every pfennig," shouted Schwarzkopf. He brought his two handed flaming broadsword down on top of the arm of the scaly troll, lopping off the limb with a single blow!

  The battle was short and sweet, with the result being eight butchered swamp trolls. However, the Captain was uncertain just how many injuries his own soldiers had sustained. He strode down the line, inspecting the troops. Fortunately, no one had lost their lives, but a number of the Thuringians had sustained significant injuries. Several soldiers had suffered broken bones, and one unfortunate young fellow definitely had some internal injuries.

  The clean up took a while, and Countess Fedorina graciously took the injured men into her castle, and provided them with recovery beds and attendants. Schwarzkopf dispatched a messenger to fetch a military doctor and two nurses. The Captain cursed himself for not having brought the health professionals along in the first place. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

  The swamp trolls were burned in the bonfires. Every body part was carefully gathered and burned to ash. That was the only safe way of disposing of swamp troll bodies. The Thuringians dug a very deep hole and buried the ash. Eventually, and only in the wee hours of the morning, everyone was able to get some rest.

  ______________________________________________________________________________________

  Late, the next morning, Nicholas, Erich and Maximilian Schwarzkopf paid a visit to the Countess.

  "My heroes!" exclaimed Countess Fedorina. "Please come in, and make yourself at home!"

  "You are too kind, Countess," replied the Captain. "We also would like to express our appreciation of your assistance in this operation, especially your provision of recuperation beds for our soldiers."

  "Oh, Captain Schwarzkopf, that was the absolute least I could do for your brave men. Risking their lives for me!" The countess beamed with her approval, leading the men towards the dining table, already set with plates and cutlery. "I have prepared a modest breakfast for you. Please enjoy my hospitality."

  True to her word, her servants carried plates of appealing looking food out of the kitchen and served the Countess and the Prussian officers. Sumptuous smells flowed from the dishes on display. The hungry men eagerly dug in to their meals.

  Once everyone had satisfied their appetites, Countess Fedorina addressed the officers, "As I have already said I am deeply grateful, and I would like to prove my gratitude by offering this humble donation to assist the operations of the amazing Flying Eagles battalion." With that the countess produced a velvet cash bag and set it on the table in front of Captain Schwarzkopf. Two hundred gold marks! I wish it could be more, but I trust that this amount will suffice as a down payment for future investments. I would like to propose that we make this arrangement an ongoing one. I could have my chief representative pay you a visit and provide you with sixty additional gold marks every month! All that I would ask in return is that you provide security for my holdings and properties. Simply knowing that you are looking out for me would be immensely reassuring. What do you say, Maximilian? Is it a deal?"

  Schwarzkopf could not believe his good fortune! Two hundred gold marks was a fortune, and the addition of a monthly payment of 60 gold marks would significantly increase what the battalion could afford to pay for its soldiers and specialists. "Of course, Countess. I would be honoured to provide security for your fine castle and holdings."

  "Well then, it is a deal! I feel like celebrating but it is, of course, somewhat early in the day for that. So I would like to suggest an alternative form of celebration." The Countess raised her hand and waved to a servant standing just outside of the dining room. A young man entered the room, bearing a sword inside of an ornate scabbard. Even Captain Schwarzkopf could sense the magical energies encased in the scabbard. "Go ahead, Maximilian, draw the blade! It belonged to my Great Grandfather Archibald II. He was just about exactly your height and build."

  The captain drew the blade. A crackle of magical energy accompanied the withdrawl. "I believe that you will find the blade most useful in your campaigns to defend the honour of the Holy Prussian Empire."

  "I can't thank you enough, Countess. This is a gift fit for a king! I promise to use it wisely." Captain Schwarzkopf felt that he had finally achieved something with his military career. Being a mercenary was turning out to be more lucrative than he had ever imagined!