At the last moment, the players reached an agreement. Their clever decision left Murphy very satisfied, proving that when necessary, his little players could be a bunch of wise thinkers.
When he'd announced earlier that the power armor would go to the Godslayers, he'd deliberately left out the question of its power supply. In truth, he'd been setting a small trap for his players.
The built-in power cell in this Vanguard-class suit had been completely destroyed by the earlier penetrating shot. Repairing it would require finding a new military-grade power module in the Sanghai Empire, and the standard energy cells needed to charge it were only available from him.
In other words, the players would need Murphy's permission before they could charge into battle in their power armor and dominate the field.
As curator, he received five or six standard cells a month as an allowance. Add in the allowance Triss received, and he'd accumulated a pile of cells over the past few months with nothing to do with them. Now he could use the exchange of these supplies to recoup some of the players' gold and help support Transia's finances.
As for the price Murphy charged the players for the energy cells, that was one of the main-quest NPC's harmless little "secrets."
According to Sister Pomegranate, the price was so steep that even veteran player Orchid couldn't afford it. The Silvermoon group's shared funds would have to cover the cost.
In that respect, the crafty Lord Murphy certainly knew how to make money.
The players reached an agreement, and the chaotic brawl ended when Niu Niu was focused down and eliminated. The players had had a blast, but the spectators weren't happy—especially the gamblers who'd bet on the Blood Rat Gang. When the match ended without a winner, the