Still, Rona had assumed the Guild would be sending more than three men.
She watched as the trio approached the platform at the back of the Hall where the village councillors were waiting. The Merc leader turned his head slowly, scanning the old men before him. Then he drew back his hood.
Rona’s heart skipped.
The chill she’d been experiencing ever since the Mercs had entered the room was replaced with a sudden rush of heat. The man was brutally handsome, his features carved by a chisel, his eyes as dark and deadly as blued steel. A dense beard covered his cheeks and jaw and hung down nearly to the top of his massive chest. There was a line on one side where a blade had scarred him and the hair had never grown back.
“Who’s in charge here?” he growled.
Thatvoice. It was like a distant rumble of thunder over the badlands. Even from the balcony, Rona could feel it vibrating deep in her core. She blushed at the inappropriate feelings it stirred within her.
Who the hell was this guy?
A killer, that’s who. A stone-cold killer. Rona was grateful that she would never be the object of such a man’s attention.
The councillors on the platform seemed to share that sentiment. For a long moment, the Merc’s question went unanswered. Then, finally, one of the men stepped forward. A small, rotund fellow by the name of Brundage. He was the one who had come up with the half-baked idea of hiring Mercs in the first place. Now he introduced himself to the visitors with an obsequious little bow.
“Greetings, sir. My name is Walther Brundage. It was I who contacted your Guild.”
“I’m Aeron,” the Merc leader answered. He gestured over his shoulder at his two hooded companions. “This is Murdok and Zeth. We heard you’re having some trouble with your mine.”
“Indeed…”
Rona rolled her eyes as Brundage embarked on his tale. He was the kind of man who liked to hear himself talk. Consequently, it took him much longer than necessary to explain what had been happening at the mine.
The situation was actually quite simple:
The Riadne Silk Mine was the whole reason the village existed, and it was there that most of the villagers worked. Those who didn’t still depended on the miners for their income. Taverners and barkeeps. Menders of clothing and repairers of tools. And of course, those unenviable women who plied the most ancient of trades. Without the mine, all of them would be lost.
The problems had started a few weeks back, when a gang of mutant raiders had shown up out of nowhere. More like a small army, actually. Rona hadn’t been in the mines then, she’d been off the clock, but she’d heard all about it after the fact. The survivors had told how the mutants had invaded the mines and slaughtered their comrades. And the mutants were still there now, hunkered down in the mines and showing no intention of departing.
After Brundage finally finished talking, the man named Aeron sniffed and stroked his beard.
“So basically, you want us to get rid of the muties.”
“Precisely, sir.”
Aeron nodded slowly. “We can take care of that for you, but it won’t be cheap.”
“Might I inquire as to how much?”
Aeron quoted a sum. It was met with a collective gasp from the crowd. Even Rona’s heart jumped a little, though she wasn’t all that surprised. She’d known from the beginning that this was a bad idea. These Mercs were big-time. They weren’t about to work for a bunch of grubby little miners—at least not at a price the village could afford.
Down below, the man named Aeron glanced coldly around the room.
“What?” he snarled. “The Mercenaries Guild isn’t running a charity. We’ll help you, but you gotta pay.” He turned his attention back toward Brundage. “Who owns the mine, anyway?”
“There is not a single owner,” Brundage answered. “The Riadne Silk Mine is a small public company, with shares traded at the local bursas, as well as in some of the offworld stock markets.”
“So get the shareholders to pay. You miners shouldn’t have to foot the bill.”
Brundage shook his head sadly.
“Alas, the shareholders seem to have no intention of doing any such thing. Most of them have already cut their losses and sold off their shares.” He lifted his face hopefully. “Perhaps we could work out some sort of payment plan? We have no money now, but once the mines reopen, we could give you a percentage of our revenue to cover the fee.”
Aeron glanced back at his two companions. There was something in that glance that caught Rona’s attention. Something that made her blood beat a little faster in her veins.
“We can do that,” the lead Merc said, turning to face Brundage again. “But we’ll require some collateral.”
