DMJ says:
Yo, DM Jabes. Can you give a little bit of flavor or background about the details of our former job with Aditya that went downhill?
I want Urban to respond in character to the claims and questions of the Aunt conclave, but struggling a bit. I'm not sure Urban would really play hardball to catch someone in a technicality, demand $500 just because someone blurted it out in terror of getting killed, and all the while knowing that we really had failed to complete some previous job terms.
Not trying to put you on the hook for a separate "Prequel" novel, just wanting to cut to the chase on an honest acceptance of our performance. Did we really botch the last job? Or was the entire collapse of the previous scene completely Aditya's fault? What value is really fair in the reasonable sense of the word?
If these women are fair, we might be better off working with them to keep a relationship, seeing what else we might be able to do with/for them, instead of making enemies by demanding unfair payment on a trick verbal contract under stress.
Plus, fellas, sorry... Paladin. Lawful Good. Women in the room. Some of them hot. All of them pretty cool...
Urban is not going to be the best closer on this deal if the goal is to hold the line on 500gp if he doesn't feel like he and the team earned it.
HypCo says:
Got it; backstab Urban so we can live guilt free with pockets full of dirty, blood money.
The original contract was 500gp to "protect the farm and make sure they never bother me again." There was a handshake involved but it wasn't like a spit-handshake or anything. The client did in fact change the terms of the contract, though you are correct that he did it out of mortal fear. Feel free to have Urban act as his code of conduct dictates but the Aunties have now made their own decision and are obviously about to pay you (unless you refuse to accept or something).