Chapter 84: Spoils of War
“This…this is more than we’ll ever need.” Travis said, his gaze crossing the pile of loot in the center of Bee’s abandoned warehouse. Rare sacrifices, weapons, and jewelry was piled up in the center of the room with casual disdain for their value. Of course none of it was weak enough to be damaged by the rough treatment, but it still felt weird.
“More than we’ll ever need? No. Not even close. More than we can use? Definitely.” Thea Oilton said. Their Decoy’s socialite older sister crossed her arms over her chest, chewing her lip as she studied the pile.
“What’s the difference?” Will asked.
“After one reaches a certain amount of wealth they simply cannot utilize the money directly. A man only has one mouth to feed, two slots for rings, etc.” She gestured to a case full of rings haphazardly laying on its side. “Obviously even if your whole party were to don those rings, there would still be half remaining. And that’s not including the ones you already have on, which would need to find new homes.”
“I understand the concept behind it being more than we can use, but why is it not more than we need?” Will asked.
“Because Strongholds burn through money, personnel and Relics like lamp oil.” Thea said. “You’ve got enough wealth here to hire the people you’ll need to start one. You’ve even got specialty Sacrifices that you could use to give some Aspirants custom classes for your Stronghold’s benefit.”
Thea must’ve seen the disgust on Will’s face.
“Despite what you might think, providing Aspirants with custom classes is an excellent deal for all parties involved, provided the Lord isn’t a monster like Frederick. Typically these people provide so much value to the Stronghold that a Lord is incentivized to treat them very well. The Wyrd Stronghold is the exception to the rule.”
“Hmm.”