Penelope smiled, the smallest hint of pride in the look. "I do not mind," she said. "I assured you that these men were the strongest, and believe me they are. They are worth far more than three golds."
"…I hope you will not hold that against us," the man said with a wince. "You're doing it for the experience of it, aye? We'll be sure to file a good report with the magistrates afterwards. Will go a long way to helping your licence. This is an important job for Merca, after all."
The job was as simple as they came. Defend.
There was a small patch of rock, just a short distance away from the cost, and there now stood a half-fallen tower. In the past, it had been manned, and it had kept Yarmdon raiders off the Merca shores, but in recent years it had been allowed to fall into disrepair with a lack of funding, and the Yarmdon had been occupying it instead, using it as a temporary base of operations whenever they came to raid.
