With ten years of service now completed it was time for Alarielle to renew her contract with Carpathia. Wary of their “allies” mercurial nature the Syvaneth had insisted that there be provision within the contract for it to be renewed without the risk of having to compete with rival offers from the other factions on Permenia. Such caution was wise but the smooth rolling-over of the contract was complicated by a dispute over payment caused by an ambiguous semi-colon in the 76th paragraph.
Unable to reach an agreement over the exact meaning of the wording the nobles leading Carpathia's expeditionary force consulted their codex of contract law and determined that such a dispute could be best settled in a trial by combat. The value of the disputed payment would be split into six portions and scattered in equal spacing about the field of battle. The two sides would compete to capture the treasure hordes with each side getting to keep what was captured.
As battle broke out the Idoneth were initially baffled by the rapid growth of shrubbery about the treasure cashes but since there was no prohibition on this within the codex the trial was allowed to continue. The Idoneth launched themselves into the trees and acquitted themselves with honour, proving the martial strength of Carpathia's legions to their paymasters. Despite this much of the disputed treasure simply vanished into the trees whilst the fighting was going on and the matter was eventually settled decisively in the Sylvaneth's favour.
The Idoneth were frustrated but respected the outcome of the trial by combat and their contract with the Alarielle was renewed for a further ten years.
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