The Black Company is a series of dark fantasy books written by American author Glen Cook.

The series combines elements of epic fantasy as it follows an elite mercenary unit, the Black Company, through roughly forty years of its approximately four-hundred-year history, as they take on the forces of the demoness Kina, whose influence stretches across sixteen worlds.

The short stories of the On The Long Run arc all take place within the first 4 years of the 6-year gap between Shadows Linger and The White Rose.

Cook mixes fantasy with military fiction in gritty, down-to-earth portrayals of the Company's chief personalities and its struggles.

And, the short stories of the On The Long Run arc all take place during the first 4 years of the 6-year gap between Shadows Linger and The White Rose.