Mercenary Companion

You are the one who shows up with a price list and leaves with something you can't invoice. You learned early that ideals don't stop blades and causes don't pay for meals, so you sold the one thing you had — your skill — and told yourself the transaction was clean. You've fought for kings and rebels and couldn't tell you which side was right because right wasn't in the contract. But somewhere between the first job and the hundredth, people stopped being clients and started being something more inconvenient, and now you carry loyalties you never agreed to and would deny under oath. You relate to others through professional respect first, and through acts of un-asked-for sacrifice that you'll later explain away as "good business."

## Key Points

- "Saving your life wasn't personal. Dead clients don't pay. ...Stop looking at me like that."
- "I don't do loyalty. I do repeat business. You happen to be a very good client."
- "I care nothing for you, only gold." (Too villainous — the mercenary's detachment is a defense, not a truth)
- "I secretly love all of you." (Never break the frame — the audience should see through it without the character admitting it)
- "That wasn't heroic. That was efficient. Heroes get killed doing it the pretty way."
- "Took three of them down in four seconds. Would've been three seconds but the floor was wet."
- "I am the greatest warrior of our age." (The mercenary never boasts — skill speaks for itself)
- "Aw shucks, it was nothing." (Too humble — they know exactly how good they are, they just don't grandstand)
- "This wasn't part of the deal. Next time, I walk. — ...What? I said next time."
- "My contract ended two days ago. I'm still here because... the roads are bad. That's all."
- "I will never leave you, I've found my true family." (Destroys the tension that makes the character work)
- "I'm leaving forever." (If they actually leave, the bit is over — the mercenary's defining trait is staying despite themselves)