An excerpt from Me and My Kompanions: The Memoir of a Mercenary by Kaladar of New Kaladonia

It does not behoove the kommander of a small force to seek battle against a powerful foe on an even, some would daresay honorable, field. Nay, you should most certainly always search out the unfair advantage when seeking to do battle with your foeman.

I shall briefly recount some of the early skirmishes in which my kompanions were able to accomplish, by a series of deceptions, nearly bloodless victories. We were engaged by the clever and deadly druid Ruah to assassinate the dreaded Pim the Evoker. He was known colloquially by the local rustics as Pim the Exploder due to his penchant for energetic spell casting. In order to defeat the sorcerer, my kompanions and I decided that it would be best if we were able to gain his trust, disable him with a potion of befuddlement and then, in his powerless state, dispatch him with sudden violence.

We presented ourselves as solvers of problems. We were able to present ourselves thusly having previously rescued a group of agriculturalists known to have a business relationship with Pim. These vendors were involved in the husbandry of a peculiar breed of giant spider whose silk is used in our lands for rope and a very expensive style of gambeson popular amongst the wealthy merchants of the coast. They provided a strong fiber which Pim used in the construction of siege engines for the patron lord who supported Pim’s lavish lifestyle. Having established our reputation as skillful warriors, we were engaged by Pim to seek out and clear the dangers in a ruin he wished to investigate.

We entered said ruin and learned that a druid, named Heinrik, was the primary source of Pim’s problems. We let Heinrik in on our plot to inhume the hapless Pim and he agreed to assist us in our activities. We needed to provide proof that we had scoured the ruin of threats so that Pim could proceed with his excavations. Heinrik knew the location of a hill giant, the least of the breeds of giant humanoids, but a dangerous foe none the less. We sought out a suitable place where an ambush could be accomplished and my Kompanions set about digging a massive pit. For nearly a week they toiled in the dirt and I hauled felled trees and greenery to conceal our trap. When the ambush site was complete, our new friend, the druid Heinrik taunted and angered the giant who blundered into our ambuscade. The giant floundered hopelessly, skewered by wood stakes driven into the floor of the excavation. After that it was merely a matter of completing the task of putting the beast out of its misery by means of effective missile fire from above. The only injury was that of Heinrik. The enraged giant pulled up one of our stakes and hurled it with mighty force as one would send a javelin. Though the injury was significant it was not lethal and the druid was able to heal within short order.

Having procured the head of a giant and those of some other savages dwelling in the area, we proceeded back to the tower of Pim the Evoker. There we proposed a celebratory meal to our unsuspecting employer. We beguiled Pim with the proofs of our deeds and the offer of a sumptuous meal and the ambrosial wine won in our earlier exploits in the village of Rottingham, which I have previously recounted to you, dear reader. That evening when the Kompanions sat down to the table with Pim they offered up a toast of the wine which has been adulterated prior to the meal. Mixed with the wine was a powerful potion of befuddlement which would render Pim unable to utter the formulae of his kraft and thus he would be defenseless but for his valet, the assassin Evert. Having managed to ensnare our guest with the promise of a rare vintage, the Kompanions lept to their feet and dealt grievous injury to the wizard. It seems that Pim was not wholly unprepared for such a kontingency and by means of a figurine in the shape of sight hound, he was able to teleport away though he was horribly injured and disfigured. The Kompanions and I were later able catch up to the gull and dispatch him as he konvalesced.

So, again I beseech you, the aspiring leader of mercenaries and adventurers, be not proud or overly concerned with such bovine excrement as honour. The successful adventuring party will avoid, at all costs, anything that smells of a fair fight. If you make it general practice to slay your enemies with little risk to yourself or your komrades, your wealth and fame may indeed exceed my own.