Definately

Raising your hand in a salute you close the gap between you and the men gently tugging a nervous Calyce behind you.

"Well met!" you greet the men in your tongue when you get to within twenty paces. You recognize two of the four men but you can't remember any of their names.

"Well met Brennus" replies the older of the two familiar looking men, "I see you've had some luck" All four of the men were admiring Calyce with undisguised lust in their eyes. "These houses have all been abandoned, nothing but a few cheap costume jewelry and some gold plated candle sticks. Where did you find that sweet thing?"

Calyce trembles against your shoulder but you laugh at the mercenaries boldness, "Come with me, I'll take you to a whole school of women just as pretty as this one, all of them trained to bring men pleasure." You see the four exchange glances - they look interested, but none of them answer you. These are good men you realize they just need someone to lead them. Not waiting to give them a chance to change their minds, you continue on your way and motion for them to fall in behind you. "There should be gold, food and wine as well as all the pleasure slaves your quota allows, let’s get to this school before some of those perfume wearing excuses for solders from the main army get there. They probably wouldn't know what to do with a dozen or so trained beauties." You mocking of the hoplites of the main army hit just the right note, and with loud chuckles the mercenaries fell in behind you.

"I'm Brennus of the Eagle clan, although I've been away so long they probably all think I'm dead. What do I call you?"

"I'm Leotonis of Anatolia, this is my brother Leonoris. These two" he indicated to the two remaining men "are Klytius and Horris of the Trocmii tribe, Clan of the Sacred Oak." Leotonis and his brother were well equipped, they wore boiled leather armor reinforced at the shoulders and carried the thick bladed swords in their fists. The other two men were both younger and poorly equipped. They carried fighting axes and for protection each had a large leather covered wooden shield decorated with the oak tree of their clan. Even untried recruits like these two were probably worth a couple of the citizens of Athenapolis, figure three each for the Leos and four more for you adding the figures on your fingers you calculate that your band should not have to worry about any group under fourteen men, maybe half that if they were hired mercenaries still working for the city.

"How much further?" you ask Calyce. You hope that there are still women in this school. The hungry looks of your new band did not go unnoticed and if the estate is abandoned like these houses Calyce might have to serve each of these men just to keep them following your leadership. You hope that it doesn't come to that, but she is a **** and judging by the experience you just had with here you are sure that she can keep this lot satisfied if need be.

"We have to cross over the East Canal Bridge and the estate is the second walled mansion on the right." The bridge over the canal will probably be fortified. If you were defending the city you'd wall up each bridge and station any man woman or child who knew how the shoot a bow on the rooftops around the **** point. Of course if you had been defending the city things would have been very different or you would have slipped over the walls to join the oncoming army like many of the mercenaries hired to defend the walls ended up doing when your army first arrived.

If the bridge is defended, you should stop here and rig up some protection from the arrows and maybe a ladder to climb the barriers. Of course if the bridge is not defended then you will have wasted time and effoprt for no good reason.