Ikku decided to let everyone take the day off and rest.

Ikku in the middle of getting undressed and changing into in evening clothes when he heard someone walking up to the door and grabbing its handle. Before Ikku can even say anything, Anne bursts in. "Hey, Cap…so, I need your opinion on—" She stops when she sees you half naked.

Anne half-grins. "Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?"

Ikku said, "You've heard of knocking, right?"

Anne grins. "Yeah…but have you heard of locks?"

Ikku sigh and shake his head.

"Arlo thinks the guards should carry spears and pikes, but I think they should carry swords…"

Ikku standing there listening when a draft comes in through the window and wonder if he should put his clothes back on. Ikku got nothing but his underwear on. Anne seems to understand what Ikku is thinking.

"Sorry, are you uncomfortable with me here while you're half undressed?" she asks.

Ikku said, "Maybe I wouldn't if you were half undressed too."

"Hmm…why not?" says Anne.

She starts stripping until she's down to her breast band and leggings.

Anne shrugs. "A bit drafty, but other than that, it’s nice."

"All right…so what were you saying?" Ikku ask.

"Weapons the guards should have…Arlo wants them armed with spears and pikes, but I think they should be armed with short swords and shields."

"Did Arlo say why he wanted them armed with those weapons?"

"Yeah…it looks more 'royal-guard-like' to carry long spears and pikes around. He talked about the guards in Valra. Apparently, you can hold them up and cross them to prevent entry."

"Interesting, maybe I should have two stationed outside my room." Ikku said.

Anne sighs. "All right, Cap…next time I'll knock."

"It isn't that I'm against some of the guards having spears…but they're going to be inside for the most part. When it comes to close-quarter fighting…edged or bladed weapons are better; things get complicated with long spears due to the lack of room. I've seen Arlo run into this problem a couple times when storming a castle or running down a hallway."

"I suppose that has some truth to it…what did Arlo say?"

Anne nods. "Arlo is adamant about it. He said it helps in a siege, and if we have enemies inside the walls, we have bigger problems."

"Why not arm the guards in the courtyard and walls with spears? The rest that patrol or secure certain areas carry blades."

Anne rubs her chin. "Not a bad compromise. I'll propose it to him."

Anne starts to walk away, but she stops halfway to the door.

"Was there something else?" Ikku ask.

Anne turns and sighs. "Ah, nothing…my room is next to Arlo's…and my door creaks horribly loud. He's a light sleeper. If I head back now, he'll probably complain or say that I woke him up on purpose."

"Do you actually do that…wake him up on purpose?"

Anne smiles. "Maybe…when he pisses me off."

Ikku asked, "You can stay here if you want."

Anne looks down, almost embarrassed; Ikku think she might have blushed. He never seen Anne blush. She quickly changes her demeanor into a mischievous smile. "If I were to stay here…there wouldn't be much sleeping…if you catch my drift."

Ikku said, "I don't see anything wrong with that…"

Anne grins. Neither of them get much sleep that night...

The next morning, Ikku decided to look into hiring a well-known fighter as part of the mercenary company.

Redford goes off to find some leads.

Upon hearing Ikku's decision, Arlo nods in agreement, while Anne groans.

"Something wrong, Anne?" you ask.

Anne shrugs. "I don't know, I think we're doing pretty well on our own…do we really want to hire another mercenary?"

Arlo chuckles. "I think what she means, Captain, is do we really want to divide the wealth we earn from missions between more people."

Anne nods. "Well…that too…"

Ikku explains, "I hear you Anne, but you we can at least see if there's someone we might want to bring into the company."

Anne nods. "Very well."

Ikku, Redford, Anne, and Arlo head toward a nearby town known to have a few freelance mercenaries looking for work. Ikku set up shop in a small tavern and put the word out that he is looking for additional people. A few show up to apply.

The first candidate is a large man, close to seven feet tall if not more. Anne smiles and quips something about Arlo looking like a dwarf compared to him.

Arlo shakes his head and keeps quiet.

Redford speaks. "Name?"

The large man steps forward. "Skull Breaker."

Anne smiles, while Redford shakes his head. "I meant your real name, not your mercenary one."

Skull Breaker rubs his chin. "Not sure if you'd be able to pronounce it…"

Redford grins. "Try me."

The large man nods. "All right…it's Thorfrethr Heyerdahl."

Anne takes a long breath. "How about we call you Thor?"

The large man shrugs indifferently.

"What would you say are your best skills?" Redford asks.

Before the man can respond, Anne interrupts. "Breaking skulls? I thought that much was obvious from his nickname, Redford."

Redford looks at her and whispers, "Anne…let me ask the questions I need to without interruption, please."

Anne puts her hands up in apology. "All right, go ahead."

Redford looks at the man.

The large man looks around for a bit, then quietly says, "Breaking skulls."

Anne laughs.

Arlo interjects. "What kind of weapon do you use?"

The man grabs the weapon on his back. It's a large war hammer. He holds it in front of him as if it weighed nothing.

"Impressive," says Redford.

Redford looks over at Ikku "Do you have any questions, Captain?"

Ikku asked, "Why do you become a mercenary?" 

Anne and Arlo lean forward; apparently, they want to know the answer to this question too. 

The man takes a few moments to think before speaking. "It's only natural for me to use my talents. That happens to be my strength. Not a whole lot of advancement pounding rocks…I figured being a mercenary would give me a better opportunity to make a living."

"How long have you been a mercenary?"

The man rubs his chin. "About three years."

"Have you worked with others before?"

The man shakes his head. "I usually work alone…but I'm not against working with others."

"How did you get the nickname Skull Breaker?"

The large man shifts uncomfortably. "I used to be called Rock Breaker. Essentially, when digging in a mine, they sent me in to break apart the rocks. I was pretty good at it, too. The mine I was working for was attacked by bandits…the head bandit was taking everyone prisoner, but we had a deadline to get through the mine. When I didn't listen to his instructions, he tried to grab me to stop me from working. I lifted up the sledgehammer I was using to break rocks and ended up breaking his skull. The rest of the bandits ran away in fear. People started calling me Skull Breaker after that."

"I have no more questions."

Redford nods. "Thank you, Thorfrethr Heyerdahl…we'll let you know what we decide."

The large man nods and seems impressed that Redford was able to pronounce his name correctly.

The next person to walk in is a man who's short in stature; he introduces himself as Engilbert but says you can call him Bert for short.

Redford starts the questioning. "What would you say are your best skills?"

Bert smiles. "I can usually talk my way out of most situations…but I have a variety of skills that come in handy, including lockpicking, moving around unseen, and gathering information. Oh…and also, I'm the best knife thrower this side of the Torzan River."

Anne speaks. "I doubt that."

"Which part?" Bert replies.

"About being the best knife thrower…I'm pretty sure I can best you in that."

The man laughs. "Don't be silly…I've been throwing knives since I was ten."

Anne locks eyes with him. "I've been throwing knives since I was eight."

The man half-smiles. "Perhaps we could have a little knife-throwing competition? That should settle the debate."

Anne is about to get up, but Arlo restrains her. "We're here about hiring a new mercenary. Who the better knife thrower is might not necessarily be the most important thing right now."

"Why not have a demonstration of his skills?" says Anne. She looks over at Ikku... "I suppose that sounds reasonable."

Bert nods and takes out some throwing daggers that were hidden in his sleeves and boots. He throws several at a time, and his speed is impressive. They hit the wall in quick succession.

The owner of the tavern gives him a dirty look as he goes to remove the knives.

"Hold it," says Anne. "You've proven that you have some skill…but hitting a wall is different than hitting a person. Why don't we try something a bit different?"

Bert nods. "All right, what did you have in mind?"

Anne takes the knives from the wall, pushing hard to make an indentation. "Throw them again, but this time…hit the same spots."

The man balks. "That seems a bit difficult…"

"Oh?" says Anne.

He shakes his head. "Never mind…I'll give it a try." He throws the daggers again. He gets close to where he hit before but is off by several inches. Still, it's impressive…at least, for someone who doesn't throw knives professionally.

Anne shakes her head. "I'm not impressed. You need to work on your throw."

Bert looks surprised. "I was only off by a few inches."

Anne sighs. "Sure, you could take down a man or two with that kind of accuracy, but throwing a dagger to kill or disable…a few inches can mean a lot."

"Yeah? Well why don't you try, then?"

Anne gladly moves forward. She throws several of her daggers at the opposite wall. She picks them up and then throws them again, even quicker than before. Most of her daggers hit almost exactly the same spots, and if not, they're just off by a few centimeters.

Bert shakes his head. "Whatever…I didn't want to be part of this mercenary company, anyway…"

He leaves before Redford can stop him.

Anne shrugs. "I guess he didn't like getting bested by a woman."

Arlo sighs. "Or perhaps he didn't like you putting him on the spot like that and critiquing his throwing. Do you always have to show off when it comes to knives?"

Anne smiles. The owner of the tavern walks over, looking angry. "I assume one of you will be paying for the damage?"

Anne isn't smiling anymore. She hands him a few Gold Pieces, and he walks away.

The last candidate is a hunter. He has a bow on his back and a large knife on his belt. He introduces himself as Rodar.

Redford nods. "All right, Rodar…what would you say are your best skills?"

The man answers quickly. "Hunting and tracking."

Anne interjects. "Not a bad skill, but we won't be hunting animals."

"Perhaps not…but if you can track an animal, you can track a man. The same goes for hunting, too."

Arlo frowns at his response, but Anne seems pleased by it.

Redford looks over at you. "Have any questions for him, Captain?"

"How long have you been a hunter?"

Rodar responds relatively quickly. "All my life. Been hunting since I was a kid."

"What kind of things do you hunt?"

Rodar smiles. "Pretty much everything that walks, crawls, or flies on this earth. Name an animal, and I've probably hunted it."

"Llama!" Anne shouts.

Rodar frowns. "You don't usually hunt lla—"

"Hedgehog, kakapo, and a pink fairy armadillo!"

Rodar sighs. "All right. I've hunted most animals…at least, those that people usually hunt."

Anne nods, satisfied.

Arlo looks over at Anne. "Are you drunk?"

Anne shrugs. "I may have had a drink or two…what of it?"

"Why join up as a mercenary?"

"Figured I'd hunt a new type of animal. That, and the money is good, right?"

Arlo frowns at his response. Anne half-grins but isn't sure how to respond to that answer, either.

Ikku, Anne, Arlo, and Redford begin discussing the candidates.

Arlo goes first. "That Engilbert could be useful…I mean, he seemed to have skills we could use, especially when it comes to stealth and—"

Anne shakes her head. "No."

Arlo looks at her. "What do you mean, no?"

Anne shrugs. "I mean…no. It’s got to be unanimous, right? Isn't that how we usually do this?"

Arlo sighs.

Redford speaks up. "What about Rodar?"

"I liked him," says Anne.

"Something off about him. I say no," Arlo replies.

Anne doesn't bother arguing, since she just shot down the previous candidate.

"All right," says Redford. "That leaves Thor."

Anne and Arlo both shrug.

"He's strong…could be useful," Anne says.

"Seemed like a simple man, but trustworthy," Arlo adds.

Redford looks at you. "What do you think, Captain?

Ikku said, "I think he would make a good fit."

"Excellent," says Redford. "Let’s notify him and negotiate terms."

Redford calls Thor back in. "Thor, we've decided to let you join our mercenary company."

Thor nods. "That is welcome news." He suddenly looks down. "Although…I guess one issue is, I don't really have much gear…or money to buy a decent hammer."

Redford examines Thor's gear. His hammer isn't in the best shape; it has several cracks on it, presumably from breaking skulls, and he has no armor to speak of.

Redford writes a few things down, then looks up. "I figure it'll cost one thousand Gold Pieces to get him properly equipped."

He looks over at Ikku. "That good with you, Captain?"

"I don't think we can afford that," Ikku reply.

Redford frowns. "Are you sure, Captain?"

Redford rubs his chin. "That would only buy either armor or a war hammer, but not both."

Ikku bought a nice war hammer for Thor and head back to the castle. Redford says it'll take some time to properly train Thor. He should be available for mercenary work in about a month or two, or a few weeks at the earliest...