Strangers' Spears
Ninth Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC
"The Deep Ones are as relentless as they are patient. Do you truly believe they have cast aside their desire to dominate the Endless Waters, to enslave all who live here to serve as fodder for their twisted experiments, food for their insatiable appetites, or hosts for their next generation?" The question is not meant to be answered, for anyone who has ever looked upon the face of one of the Deep Masters knows the truth of it. Instead, you answer the question after that, the next step in the dance of war and ruin. "They will retreat to their strongholds to lick their wounds and gather their forces for the next wave of expansion. By allowing them to operate unmolested in the Garden, you invite your own doom. Perhaps not next year, or even a decade from now, but they will come, and if it is not you who must face them again, it could very well be your descendants."
"You seem to have mistaken us for some lord's fancy swords," Magrios cuts in. "The squids haven't conquered Vialsek, nor the waters it guards it, for a genie's age and more. They're the only ones who think they can take it, and that's just more easy coin for us."
"All the better then," you answer with a smile. "I do not ask for charity, nor do I hoard my gold in some vast hall from which I am loath to spend. Coin well spent is more pleasing to the ear, and so I pay well and on time. Always." You pause again, waiting to see if either of the two sellswords are inclined to doubt your word.
Serega watches you carefully, taking a deliberate bite of his brew-bread, the dark-crusted confection that is the preferred means of intoxication for those who do not have the luxury of taking their meals above water, or with a sealed cup and reed straw. You cannot say if he ordered the thing out of simple habit, or to make the point about eating as his soldiers do. Magrios certainly seems to enjoy the frothing seaweed beer, at least when it's not sloshing out of his cup as he tries to keep it away from his eel.
"I can also provide quality arms and armor of nearly any make or material, including minor enchantments, at cost. Your forces will also never lack for healing or logistical support while in my service," you add one more promise to the scales.
"Alright, let's talk price," the triton finally says. "I've got six thousand spears, all with heavy shell armor or better, mounted on battle-trained great turtles that'll bite a shark in half as soon as look at the thing. The Shields ain't the best skirmishers or scouts, but we make do better than swimmers. No magic to use in battle to speak of, but enough healers that that we can't just be bled to death. I've got a few monster killers like me who can take on behemoths with pearlsteel and magic, but we ain't deploying a thousand leagues away from the rest of the company to go hunting kraken."
"Three thousand," Magrios grunts, giving the other captain a dark look, as though he is afraid of having his thunder stolen. "Half with metal tridents like this one," he twists the weapon in hand for emphasis, much to the annoyance of his eel companion who had been coiled half around his upper arm and half around the weapon. "Eels are trained to give the spears some lightning on the charge and then go for the enemy's eyes before both retreat to try again, tides of battle willing. The other half use weighted darts tossed from above in a mass, preferably against a foe that's too distracted to swim out of the way. Their eels are bigger, and trained to protect them when there's blood in the water."
What do you do?
[] Hire Serega's Shields (6,000 Heavy Turtle Cavalry strong on the charge, but also capable in a melee; Cost 150,000 IM/Month)
[] Hire the Lightning Chasers (3,000 Eel-Bonded Spear Skirmishers/Dart Casters; Cost 90,000 IM/Month)
[] Hire both
[] Try to negotiate a lower price in exchange for other benefits
-[] Write in
What do you do next?
[] Continue shopping
-[] Write in
[] Learn more about the political situation of the Plane of Water
[] Write in
OOC: The price will not increase on campaign if you buy the mercs now. If you hold off on hiring them until you are at war, chances are they will cost more.
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