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You stare down from the balcony at the space that was previously known as the courtyard of the barracks wing of your dear castle. What is there can only be described as a town of tents, raised in expectation of the army that you have begun to house. With the order for your armor set, and the captains on their way to recruit soldiers, the first weeks of July have been most fruitful indeed. A cold breeze blows, and you tighten up your coat a little.
"It is rather windy today, is it not, Don Alessandro?" a voice suddenly says from behind. It is your new Sargento Mayor, Hugues. He seems to carry a piece of paper with him.
"We have reports from our first wave of recruitments. It would seem we have done...not so well, and yet at the same time greatly."
"And why is that, Hugues?" you ask, puzzled.
"Well, see here. According to my reports, we have managed to hire a total of <span class="mu-s">700 soldiers</span>, with 540 being common soldiery and 160 being men of noble birth. This is...not so great. Although the number of noblemen is certainly impressive, we have but a little over a sixth of a proper regiment."
"I should have expected it. <span class="mu-i">Because my city holds such wealth and prosperity, the number of free men willing to risk it all for an dangerous career in the army is rather small.</span> After all, a Footsoldier seems to be paid even less than a skilled artisan. That does not bode well... <span class="mu-s">although Don Carles hath only required two thousand men of me; to fight with less than a single full regiment would hurt my capabilities in the campaign itself</span>, would it not?"
"Indeed, my lord. Although, there is a positive effect to this wealth; it would seem that an impressive eight out of every ten men who have signed up brought guns with them. That is well above average, in my experience. That should allow us to keep costs down if we are forced to equip a force from the dregs of society. Which does bring me to my next question, sire."
"Whichever group we shall focus on next?"
"Correct, sire."
<span class="mu-s">Choose one group to target</span>
>Dregs
>Independent Mercenaries
>Free Companies
"There is one more thing, actually, Don Alessandro."
"Ah? Do tell."
"You see; this very morning I was approached by a group of noblemen from Portblanc; around several families or so, though none of stature bigger than a Barón. It would seem that a few of their sons have, well, registered themselves with us. Without their input, and most likely drunk. They wish to barter for their release from these contracts."
Your eye rolls at the mention of this; you certainly know such behavior first-hand from your time in Mascaloma. Your fellow noblemen of the university would spend most of their time drinking and partying, getting into 'bothersome' situations their families would, unvariably, have to dig them out of. You, of course, just studied.
"Is this a common ocurrence during recruitment drives?"
