BLACK DOGS

The Black Dogs of Burnham are an infamous company of fighting men in the service of Lord Barnaby, Baron of Burnham, a minor Albish marcher lord whose small domain lies near the borders of Cessfordshire, Runkfordshire, and the lands beyond the Runk.

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Though nominally a household retinue, the Black Dogs have long since acquired a reputation extending far beyond Burnham. They serve as soldiers in wartime, mercenaries when opportunity presents itself, and brigands whenever peace leaves them without more respectable employment. Villages, merchants, travellers, and isolated estates along the Runk have all suffered from their raids.

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The company numbers roughly one hundred and twenty men, most of them experienced soldiers. They fight primarily on foot and are divided into three bands under captains appointed by Barnaby.

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BLACK DOG BARNABY

Lord Barnaby, Baron of Burnham, commonly called Black Dog Barnaby, is the lord and master of the company.

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Barnaby has little of the romantic robber knight about him. He is greedy, vindictive, and entirely willing to use his legal authority as a baron to enrich himself. Travellers through Burnham complain of excessive tolls, his tenants of heavy demands, and his neighbours of raids carried out by men who conveniently return to the safety of his lands afterward.

He has also been known to participate directly in the activities of his retinue rather than merely profit from them.

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Barnaby nevertheless remains a landed nobleman rather than an outlaw hiding in the woods. His title, castle, retainers, and political connections provide him with a degree of protection that ordinary brigands could never enjoy. The Earl of Cessfordshire has historically tolerated much of Barnaby's behaviour so long as Burnham remains useful and the Earl receives his share of the profits.

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This uneasy legitimacy is one of the Black Dogs' greatest advantages. A merchant robbed by common bandits may appeal to a lord for justice. A merchant robbed by the soldiers of a lord has a considerably more difficult problem.

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ORGANIZATION

The Black Dogs are divided into three bands, each commanded by a knight or esquire serving as captain.

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The First Band is commanded by Sir Humphrey Bradshawe, the Second Band by Sir John Hawthorp, and the Third Band by Esquire Robert de Ballard.

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Beneath each captain are several trusted sergeants responsible for discipline, watches, equipment, and the everyday control of the men. The company possesses no rigid system of military ranks in the modern sense. Authority rests upon noble command, personal reputation, experience, and the confidence of one's superiors.

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The majority of the Dogs are common soldiers, archers, crossbowmen, gunners, and men-at-arms. Many have served for years and regard soldiering as their principal trade rather than temporary employment.

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THE BLACK DOG OF CESSFORD

The company did not always bear its present name.

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According to legend, the household soldiers of Burnham acquired the name Black Dogs after an encounter with the legendary Black Dog of Cessford, a spectral hound said to have appeared in the city shortly before the Albish defeats at L'île Saint-Éliard in 1374.

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The creature was described as an enormous black hound with burning red eyes whose appearance foretold war, famine, plague or disaster. Local superstition claimed that anyone hearing its howl should immediately close their eyes lest they die instantly upon hearing the beast.

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Barnaby's soldiers knew little of the story.

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While their lord visited the Earl of Cessfordshire, several of his men spent the evening drinking in Cessford. Among them was Sir John Bradshawe, father of the present Captain Humphrey Bradshawe. When the black hound supposedly appeared in the street and the townspeople fled indoors, the drunken Bradshawe drew his sword and confronted it.

What happened afterward depends entirely upon who tells the story.

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The Dogs maintain that Bradshawe fought the creature in the street and struck off its head, whereupon it vanished into black smoke. Others insist that the entire affair grew from drink, darkness, and several decades of embellishment.

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Whatever the truth, the tale became inseparable from the soldiers of Burnham. A headless black hound was adopted as their badge and banner, and before long they were known throughout the region simply as the Black Dogs.

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SOLDIERS, MERCENARIES AND BRIGANDS

The Black Dogs occupy an uncomfortable position between legitimate soldiers and common criminals.

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When called into Albish service, they fight under ordinary military terms and have participated in several campaigns against Beaugencie. When hired privately, they may escort noble households, protect caravans, patrol roads, hunt brigands, or destroy dangerous creatures.

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When there is no war and no employer willing to pay, however, they frequently become the very sort of men they might otherwise be hired to hunt.

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Their raids are usually practical rather than spectacular. Livestock disappear. Wagons are stopped on lonely roads. Villages are threatened into providing food, ale, money, or lodging. Wealthier travellers may be detained for ransom. More violent members of the company have been accused of arson, murder, and other crimes during raids beyond Burnham's borders.

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As a result, individual Dogs are wanted in numerous neighbouring territories. Within Burnham itself, such warrants mean very little so long as Barnaby continues to protect them.

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PAY AND PLUNDER

Service among the Black Dogs generally follows the same system used elsewhere in Albelond. Men are retained for fixed periods and receive daily wages according to their role and equipment.

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Some join only when work at home is scarce, but a large portion of the company consists of professional soldiers who pass from one indenture to the next.

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Plunder is an important part of their compensation. When the right of plunder has been granted, a soldier keeps the greater portion of what he takes while shares pass upward through his sergeant and captain to Barnaby. This arrangement ensures that everyone from the common Dog to the Baron himself has an interest in a profitable campaign.

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The Black Dogs have therefore earned an especially ugly reputation when serving in enemy territory. A campaign in which plunder has been authorized can enrich them considerably.

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ARMS AND APPEARANCE

The Black Dogs use the ordinary arms and armour of Albish soldiers rather than equipment unique to the company.

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Helmets such as bascinets, kettle hats, and similar practical forms are common, while polearms, spears, bills, swords, longbows, crossbows, and firearms appear according to the means and role of the individual soldier.

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Every man is expected to arrive at muster adequately equipped. At minimum he should possess a helmet, sidearm, dagger, suitable primary weapon, and footwear capable of surviving a campaign.

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The most recognizable habit of the company is the blackening of armour.

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Not every Dog does so, and there is no uniform requirement, but darkened armour has become strongly associated with the company. Some pieces are treated with boiled linseed oil, others covered with dark cloth or leather, and a few are painted. The practice offers practical protection against rust while also reinforcing the company's name and reputation.

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There is no standardized Black Dog uniform. The headless hound is a far more reliable sign of allegiance than the colour of a man's clothing.

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THE DOGLEG

One of the better-known practices associated with the company is the use of a "dogleg" when establishing a concealed camp.

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Rather than travelling directly into camp, a patrol may deliberately bend its route before entering. Anyone following the tracks is encouraged to continue along the apparent line of travel and pass across the front of a hidden sentry.

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The crossbowman, archer, or gunner assigned to watch this approach is himself commonly called nicknamed "dogleg."

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His task is especially important around dawn and dusk, when movement is difficult to identify and an enemy is most likely to approach under poor light. If pursuers appear, the Dogleg can observe them before the camp is discovered, shoot if necessary, and raise the alarm.

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The method is not unique to Barnaby's soldiers, but the Black Dogs have embraced both the practice and the name enthusiastically.

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DISCIPLINE

For all their reputation as brigands, the Black Dogs maintain strict discipline while campaigning.

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Night watches are taken seriously, equipment is inspected, and captains expect orders to be obeyed quickly. A sentry who falls asleep risks the lives of every man in camp and can expect severe punishment.

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Desertion is treated even more harshly. Because the company consists largely of volunteers serving agreed terms, abandoning one's comrades before an indenture has expired is regarded as both breach of contract and cowardice.

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Their discipline should not be confused with good behaviour, though. The Black Dogs may be orderly among themselves while being thoroughly brutal toward everyone outside the company.

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REPUTATION

The Black Dogs are feared throughout the country surrounding Burnham.

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Their supporters describe them as hard soldiers suited to hard country: reliable in a fight, experienced on campaign, and willing to perform work that more respectable companies avoid.

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Their enemies use simpler words. Thieves. Murderers. Burners. Dogs. Mutts.

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What makes the company particularly dangerous is that they are not merely a collection of desperate criminals. They are organized, experienced fighting men protected by a noble lord, accustomed to operating together, and perfectly capable of passing from legitimate warfare to brigandage without changing anything except who is paying them.

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PRESENT DAY

The Black Dogs are presently serving in Beaugencie under Lord Robert de Marman, Earl of Pitney and Lord Marshal of the Army of Albelond.

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Lord Barnaby of Burnham has brought the company into the Albish host as part of his military service to the Crown, and the Dogs now form one of the many noble retinues gathered beneath Robert’s command. They remain answerable to Barnaby and their own captains, but operate within the wider army under the authority of the Lord Marshal.

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The company took part in the Albish advance through Caronne and continued with the main army into Picotaine, where the greater part of the invading force is now engaged in the prolonged Siege of Fontregny.

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For the Black Dogs, the campaign has provided exactly the sort of work for which they are best suited: scouting, guarding roads and camps, raiding nearby settlements, escorting supplies, pursuing fugitives, and fighting in the rough country surrounding the siege.

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Barnaby himself remains with the company and the main Albish army at Fontregny. Whatever reputation the Black Dogs possess as brigands at home, in the present campaign they serve openly as soldiers of Albelond beneath Robert de Marman’s command.