Contemplation

Felix had closed his eyes. This was a situation that most merchants had encountered on several occasions. It wasn't odd for those who held power to take issue when someone would come into their domain and take away some of their piece of the pie. In fact, it wasn't unusual to be subjected to tariffs and taxes that made it near impossible to sell anything directly yourself. All of this was done however for the good of the local businesses. It forced local partnerships and centralized lanes for distribution. This had been the first time where local business was not the concern at play. Unlike in most other countries where local taxes were collected by governing bodies the taxes here in Tenebris were collected directly by the nobles. All of this pointed to the conclusion that had been presented before them.

Felix couldn't help but look over the man that sat before him with complete bewilderment and skepticism. His face was comprised of solid features with no blemishes and one could even say was handsome with sharp blue eyes. He had a long brown beard with accents of grey starting to spread throughout it. He couldn't possibly by much older than thirty, yet he carried amongst him the posture of great experience. Felix surmised that this man was easily all of six feet tall and built like a brick wall. His shoulders spread twice as thick as that of the average man. One could be forgiven for mistaking him for a monster in light of the combat performance they witnessed just minutes prior to their discussion.

In a world where nobles were often at one an other's throats in a desperate bid to get the better of each other it was common that minor conflicts would break out over trade routes and other disputes. In some cases, Tenebris had seen small scale wars between clashing nobles. While most nobles did have retainers and sometimes even organized groups that equated to a standing army, it wasn't uncommon for them to hire mercenaries. Blades for hire that not only excelled at front line roles but those of espionage and compiling intelligence. While most belonged to larger corps it wasn't unheard of that some would fly solo. In fact, it was the ones who did operate on their own that were the most dangerous. Whereas most had many backing them up and plenty of peers with whom their own individual weaknesses would be covered by, solo operators as they were called had to achieve perfection in everything on their own. A single operative was worth a small to medium sized corps. These individuals single handily would change the course of not only entire battles, but sometimes entire conflicts.

Mere difference in skill was not the only thing that was different with solo operators either. The gear that they would use was on a whole other level as well. Whereas for an organization you would have to spend your money on more cost-effective gear because you had multiple combatants and personal to keep outfitted. However, the price that was paid out in contracts to these groups were nearly identical. That meant that a solo operator could afford to outfit themselves with near one-of-a-kind defenses and weapons alike. P.D.S. that would nearly never tire out, blades that could pierce through even hardened steel like it were butter, and in some cases firearms that could level whole streets when needed. For these individuals no expense was spared insuring that they could always complete the job as needed without there ever being the chance of failure.

Felix had on the surface understood just how capable many who were in that profession could be. Being a merchant meant often times delivering goods to battlefields or even the basses of operations for individuals such as this. On several occasions he had even hired them for assistance to traverse war torn areas. But those rank-and-file types just couldn't match up to the same ferocity and efficacy that he had witnessed this day. Only now did he understand just how large a gap there was. Regardless of why and how they had met, the perfect solution had presented itself to this rising issue of nobles wanting them dealt with.

The fact that the intervention was too serendipitous and was part of a larger scheme was still a possibility, the dangers of not trying to recruit this force of nature far outweighed any reservations. One of the silver linings was that mercenaries worked for money. In other words, they would go to whoever the highest bidder was. Better yet was that this was one of the mercenaries that had a moral compass that dictated who they were willing to work for.

The only concern left is just who this man was connected to. Not just anyone would have such high-quality gear even if they ran solo in this line of work. Normal combat grade P.D.S. had a green color to them. And unlike the normal civilian market ones, the more vibrant the color that the P.D.S. had the more powerful it was. Some of the more powerful and effective combat shields were red. Though these were generally only used by infiltration units that anticipate being under heavy fire. Never before had Felix ever laid eyes on a shield that was purple or that had that same vibrancy.

Then there was the issue of the unique set of armor that clearly resembled a gambeson, only it was lighter and more form fitting. There were any number as to the guesses of what kind of fabric that comprised it as well. It was all too clear how artisanally made this piece of armor was. Normally a gambeson would only cover the upper body and a small portion of the waste. This specimen however had three sections that extended beyond past the waste and covered the legs on the outsides and from the back. These extensions did not merely just rest on the legs, but rather was shaped to specifically line themselves to match the flow of movement so as to reduce the number of openings the opponent could exploit to attack. The deep royal blue hue of the fabric was captivating and how it moved made it clear that it was made of a synthetic material of the highest quality. Presumably this fabric made steel and other modern composite armors look like wet paper in comparison. And the cherry on top was the hood that came with it. Not only did it cover the vast majority of the head, but did not impede the wearers vision in any way. It was as if Felix were looking at a full suit of armor.

Whoever this man was, whoever the connections that he had were, that would all come to light in time. What Felix knew in the here and now was that he had to get this man under contract no matter what cost it would come at. For what was to come there could be no one more capable to have at his side. This was not up for debate. It was time to strike a deal.