Fuck me, damn those thieving bastards they better hope I never catch up with them or they’ll not live to regret it. I could perhaps, given time and distance forgive them for what they did to the company but the lieutenant took my horse and for that, there can be none.
Thanks to my Horse Lord Title amongst other things I share a psychic link with Lambourn though unless we are in proximity with each other all it lets me know is whether or not she still lives. If we were someplace where magic reigns you could use it to track her location but not here in Telondia.
Never mind that, from what sergeant Winter said to ransom the remaining fifteen prisoners not covered by active Mercenary Guild ransom policies will cost us more money than we can fund from the collapse of the company. To be more precise forty or hopefully not more than twice that number.
I had managed to escape from the Gray Haven Manor fiasco with eleven gold coins, forty-six silver coins, six copper coins, various goods worth between five and ten gold coins and three extra horses. Besides the platinum coin of course which I had every intention of holding on to. I had sold one of the horses, the one I considered worth the least in Dungarven for three gold coins and expected to be able to sell the other two if I chose to do so for a further ten to twenty gold but I planned to keep a hold of one of them for the foreseeable future anyway. I had spent just under a gold coin in Dungarven buying such things as new arrows and fodder for the horses.
Besides my recently acquired funds I had twelve gold in the company coffers that was now lost to me, Sixteen lodged in the Mercenary Guild and a further ten buried in a well-hidden location only known to myself. I had learnt to be extra careful about such things after I had discovered a small hoard of five gold coins whilst I was digging a small hole in the first location I had picked for a hidey-hole for my money.
All this meant a grand total, not including my greatest asset, of over thirty-nine gold coins, goods worth at least another five plus the two remaining horses. I could have perhaps covered the whole of the remaining ransom and hoped some of those ransomed could pay me back part or all of the funds used to ransom them.
I wasn’t however willing to do so, I would pay my fair share of it but no more. Forty to Eighty gold coins divided by the twenty of us who remained free and had made their way back to camp this meant each of us would in a perfect world pay between two gold coins, twenty-two silver plus the same in copper and twice that amount. Though hopefully more of us would show up to decrease the amount any of us would have to part with, not that Telondia was even close to a perfect world
I might be willing to pay twice that if I was especially close to any of those involved. Besides Private Richard Barncastle I only really counted two other members of the company as my close friends the others were mere acquaintances, and these were Private Daniel Harper and Corporal Patrick Perkins. All four of us had served in the same section under Corporal Pollock with three others.
With all that in mind after Sergeant Winter asked us if we were willing to contribute money I was the first to do so.
“I am willing to contribute between five and ten gold coins depending on those involved, is there a list of the dead and those without policies that I might look at?”
“There is, I'll pass it along to you momentarily but before doing so I will personally pledge ten gold coins to the fund, anyone else?”
By the time I was given the lists a further eight individuals had pledged a total of twenty-five gold coins, leaving ten yet to do so.
I found Patrick Perkins on the list of the dead and Daniel Harper on the list without an active ransom policy which meant that so far forty-eight gold coins had been pledged, another individual having pledged three as I was viewing the list.
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The meeting broke up five minutes later after the final holdout had pledged a single gold coin and a weird-looking necklace the value of which he was unaware. In the end, a grand total of sixty-three gold plus the necklace had been pledged but Telondian knows if all of it would actually be handed over when the time came or if it would even be enough. Sergeant Winter asked me and my fellow corporal Kris Wentrope to stay behind.
“Well, you two that went better than I thought it would, pity about the necklace the moment I first set my eyes on it I thought it would turn out to be either worth a good few bob or practically worthless. However, it turned out to be the latter and not the former.
Neckless of bad taste(common): Created by a well-known Jeweller unwilling to have their name associated with this product
Now as to the reason I held you back after the meeting was over, I want both of you to attend the negotiations tomorrow, is that ok with you?”
“Yes Sarge”, we both replied.
“Good, now your pretty much going to be there for two reasons firstly to make up the numbers and secondly so if necessary you can assure the privates that everything was above board, which it will be. Try not to get actively involved in the negotiations unless you believe I am in the wrong at any point or out of my depth.
We may have up to two hundred and twenty-three golds to play with but it’ll be best if they settle for a lot less than that, which will save us all from having to fork out all the money we pledged, now have you any questions?”
“Well, sarge I was just wondering how likely is it that they’ll even settle for the full amount we can give them?”
“Well to tell you the truth Kris I’ve only ever attended one ransom negotiation and that was over seven years ago and that was only for a single individual so I definitely can’t claim to be an expert but hopefully they realise that we haven’t any wriggle room and settle for what we can actually afford to pay them. If not well we’ll have to cross that bridge if we come to it, any thing you wish to add Niel?”
“Not really but, what next?”
“Well once the deal is agreed we can’t wait around until everyone is released we have to find ourselves employment with one of the other companies as quickly as possible. Unfortunately unless one of the others is currently in nearly as bad a condition as we are it is next to impossible that one could take more than a dozen or two of us or even as little as half a dozen never mind all of us so it might be everyone for themselves I’m afraid.
I don’t even know who’s hiring at the moment or likely to but if things are even remotely like the last time we were between contracts we should all be able to find new employers within a month or two, though some of us might have to lower their standards a bit. Now I suggest you both do as I plan to and get an early night so you're wide awake for the negotiations tomorrow, goodnight”.
I don’t know about Kris but I was wide awake the following morning and the negotiators arrived early and seemed a bit worse for wear though I wasn’t buying any of it, not for a second and rightly so it turned out.
“Sorry gentlemen but we really cannot go any higher than two twenty and even then we’re spending more than we expected or to be truthful can afford. The simple truth of the matter is that the Brothers n Arms Mercenary Company is no longer a viable entity and that is all we can currently raise.”
“We realise that sergeant but as far as we are concerned the simple truth of the matter is that our superiors had no clue that your lieutenant and others would rip you off and thus didn’t authorise us to go any lower than two forty and even though the situation has changed we lack the authority to do anything about it.”
“In that case, I suggest you advise your superior of our change in circumstances and do so as quickly as you can because the longer these negotiations drag on the more likely we will be unable to pay you even the figure I quoted you earlier.”
“I’m afraid we weren’t authorised to spend money on a courier so that’s not possible.”
“Well in that case I suggest we adjourn these negotiations for the next half hour while both sides discuss amongst themselves possible ways out of the situation we find ourselves in.”
“That’s fine but I cannot for the life of me think of a way to resolve it, if you think otherwise then the ball’s in your court.”
“OK, I’m sure Samuel can find you someplace close by to talk where we won’t be able to overhear you.
Once the visitors were led out to the antechamber of what had been the captain's office we spent much of the next half hour trying to come up with a way out of the predicament we found ourselves in and with great reluctance we decided to raise our offer as high as we could afford and if necessary offer a further two but no more than that, with that little bit extra coming out of our own pockets.