Private Tales Money for Nothing

[Cato]

"Fives to sevens," the sergeant called out before he was met with a myriad of blessings and profanity.

"Looks like it's going to be another lonely night, corporal," Cato said with a laugh as the purse was distributed amongst the winners. The captain had noticeably not made a bet and rarely did, much to chagrin of his men. They lusted after coin just like any other sellsword but there was something particular satisfying about taking it from a superior. The older mercenary knew that all too well and as such, took great pleasure in denying his comrades that particular joy. Petty indulgences were all a man in his position had.

He motioned for another round of ales, including one for the now despondent corporal. A drink was not much comfort for a light purse and empty bed but it was nothing. The lad would eventually learn, or he wouldn't. One bad wager too many and you're like to end up in shallow ditch with a knife in the back. He kept them alive on the battlefield, the rest they needed to figure out themselves. Gods only knew that Cato had enough of his own damned problems.

"Best to leave it here for the night," he stated in regards to the gambling. Those present exchanged quizzical glances, it was rare for their captain to give such suggestions. Cato merely shrugged and instead the let the sergeant who spoke earlier, explain. "Word has it that the Lady called for the Captain of the 2nd not long ago. Could be something..."

"Could be nothing," countered the captain as he spotted a familiar figure entering the tavern. "Guess we'll find out."

Cato raised his mug in acknowledgment of his peer.

"So what did our lovely employer have to say?"​

 

[Agatha]

"What did she say? Depends who's asking," the she-orc captain teased, having strode into The Ballista as if she owned the place. Which, considering the tavern was one of the Blackshields' favourite haunts in Hertstead, she practically did. "Here! This is for you, courtesy of our truly lovely employer." Slipping a piece of rolled parchment from the messenger's satchel at her waist, Agatha tossed the missive she had received to Cato.

A half-dozen pairs of eyes swivelled to watch as it arced through the air towards the Third's captain. If only they knew the weight of the words etched upon the thin skin of parchment. Maybe then they wouldn't be so curious, so downright obvious in their snooping.

The parchment hit the table in front of Cato with the softest of thumps, narrowly avoiding a pool of spilt beer. Slipping onto the bench opposite him, Agatha took a second to drink in the faces of her comrades. "How's the game going?" She asked a bristly-faced sergeant. "It's not," he replied, a twitch of his mustachio'd face passing for a smile. "Lest you's looking to buy-in?"

Returning the sergeant's smile, Agatha shook her head wanly. "Not tonight, friend."

"Your loss." A corporal taunted from further along the bench. The sergeant's smile withered, became a look of utter loathing. It was a look Agatha had seen many times before. Poor boy, the captain thought, turning back to her fellow officer with a gleam in her eyes. "Well? What do you think?" She asked, snatching up his ale now that he was distracted.

 

[Cato]

Cato glanced at Agatha once more before turning his attention to furled parchment before him. He could gain nothing from her expression, though that was not unexpected. Some mercenaries hid nothing while others played their cards closer to the chest; he considered the she-orc to be among the latter. He supposed each had their merits but it could definitely make his life harder in the future should they ever disagree.

"Bloody hell," he muttered as he finally began to read the missive. "She's got stones, I'll give her that."

He made to grab his drink as he mulled over the proposal, only to find that it had been swiped by the other captain. Had it been someone else, Cato might have just gutted them right there but instead all he did was sigh before looking at the corporal. "Well, corporal?" Cato watched with no small satisfaction as the other man went to get him a new round. He imagined the younger mercenary would be swearing all the way to the bar.

"I think we're looking at earning enough coin to sate even the greediest bastard among us, for a time at least. Thinkin' we're also looking at possibly earning a whole fucking lot of trouble as well," the mercenary captain conceded. The coin was almost too good to ignore and that's what worried him. There were some contracts that you just didn't take. Cato liked coin as much as the next person but you needed to be bloody alive to spend it. The mercenary was not so much worried about completing their task but rather the consequences it may bring.

"Fuck me." Lot of coin was on the table.

The mercenary captain turned his attention back to Agatha.

"You get any sense for how...enterprising the Lady is looking to be?" The missive had some general details but was otherwise still rather vague, he was guessing that wasn't a mistake. Cato also trusted the other captain's insight since she had met their employer personally regarding this matter. Your like to get bent over if you don't thoroughly understand the terms of a contract.

 

[Agatha]

"Trouble comes with the territory, Cat." Agatha replied, taking a sip of her lukewarm ale and hating it every bit as much as she expected to. It took her all she had not to grimace. "But you said it yourself. The coin is good... good enough to leave us sitting pretty for the foreseeable future and then some." Staring across the table at Cato, the she-orc watched her brother-captain closely. After a stint of botched contracts, the company was finally beginning to find its feet again. They needed this, as much as it pained her to admit it.

She hoped he saw that, too.

"I told her I would bring this to you and the other captains, see what I could do to convince you all that this is the right move to make." Reaching across to Cato, Agatha waited until the mercenary had finished reading to take the missive back. She returned it to her satchel, her face taking on a more sombre expression. "You can sleep on it, if you wish," she told him, sensing his doubts, and, funnily enough, sharing them.

"It's nothing that can't wait till the morrow." Placing the satchel in her lap, Agatha took her tankard in both hands as the corporal returned with another, fuller one for Cato. Maybe there's hope for the boy yet, she thought, eyeing the young mercenary as he went back to his seat. "We've been granted free rein on this one," she replied, comfortable in her surroundings so long as Cato was. "Burn, raid, kill. Just remember what the end goal is, yeah? Land ain't worth taking over if there's no bastard left to work it."

 

[Cato]

"You know I've got no problem getting a bit reckless. Gods only know I've made a name doing just that," the mercenary captain explained. There were more than a few in the company who could also make the same claim. Cato's anxiety was borne from experience, both his own and that of his peers. Taking a job when desperate could see you sleeping with the worms. The mercenary was keen to avoid that fate if possible, or at least for another years. Still, the implication of Agatha's words rang clear in his head. 'Shields weren't currently in the best of predicaments. That didn't bode well for a group whose members made a living off killing other folk.

"Don't think it's a matter of sleeping or not. Odds are I'll be worse off in the morning than I am presently." Cato raised his newly arrived mug to echo his point. He really did not believe that his mind would sway one way or the other by merely sitting on it. Best to talk it out with those who would be watching his back. It did seem that the other captain had already made up her mind, reluctantly so.

Cato scoffed at the other captain's warning. "You make me sound like those blood-crazed bastards in the 4th. I'm just as happy to get paid without drawing steel." This was mostly true. "So long as they don't make too much of a fuss, they can continue on with their shitty lives."

He took to his tankard once again but this time a grin rested on his face as he put the drink back down.

"Think we can squeeze a bit more coin out of this deal?"

 

[Agatha]

"You and me both, brother," the she-orc echoed, sharing a look and a nod with her fellow captain as her thoughts turned to the bloody fourth and their history of violence. Or more accurately, their tendency towards violence. Agatha was sure she had made the right choice by bringing this to Cato first. He, at least, was capable of tact and rational thinking.

Most of the time, anyway.

"First you're telling me this'll earn us a whole lotta trouble, and now you're asking me if I can talk her Ladyship into loosening her purse strings a bit more?" Sharing the mercenary's grin, Agatha shook her head in mock disbelief. "I'll certainly try to, believe you me." She said, a little laugh bubbling up from her throat only to be drowned in ale. When she placed her tankard down, she was smiling.

Some people found the expression to be disconcerting, she knew. Empty. Half the time, this was true.

"Before I do that, however, I'll have to break bread with the other captains. Maybe down a few more ales while we're at it." Conversation always flowed more easily when alcohol was thrown into the mix. She would just have to take extra care that it didn't flow too far. They didn't need their employer's plans getting out, after all.

Otherwise trouble would come a-calling sooner than they all expected.

 

[Cato]

"If we're planning to piss off every petty lord from here to the Spine, I want to enough to coin to at least pretend like it was a good idea," Cato explained with a laugh. He didn't want to die but if he was going out, better to be rich-or slightly less poor. 'Course the consequences were unlikely to be so widespread but one could never be too sure in this business. The 'Shields were a damned tough bunch but at the end of the day they were just another mercenary company. Storied to be sure, but when had that ever truly mattered.

Well. What did it matter. He would do what he had always done.

"I wish you luck," Cato said, raising his mug in a salute. He could not honestly not tell whether she would have a harder time convincing the other captains or an easier one. Could never be sure with the bloody fourth and their general lack of reason. The First, he could never tell with that lot. Cato did not even his fellow captain for this particular duty. There was good reason the Lady had made the proposal to Agatha instead of the others.

Cato polished off what ale remained and quickly ordered another. Best to enjoy himself since it seemed there were some tough days ahead.