Cohost writing prompt: @Making-Up-Adventurers — Wizard who learned dimensional magic and now makes a living by providing magical logistics to adventurers. Do you REALLY want to trudge thirty hirelings laden with treasure through the valley of nightmares and agonizing death?
"Hello!" Polyvarius the Blue says cheerily, opening the door. "You look like handy adventuring folks. Step right in, take a look through my catalogue of innovative logistical solutions!"
They do not look like handy adventuring types. They look lugubrious and dressed in neat, clean, if inexpensive, temple-best suits — rather like temperance-crusader types, back in the city. But it takes all sorts, and you can take all sorts' money.
"We would rather like to talk to you about that, Mr. Polyvarius," says the lead one, as they file in after him, silent and stoic in the face of his entrance hallway, designed and ensorcelled to wow the punters. "Do you know who we are?"
"Look, sorry, I realise there are big names in the trade, but I'm a wizard," he says placatingly. "Rather different circles. I'm sure I'll pick up your deeds the longer I'm in this line of business—"
"Oh, we wanted to talk about that, too," the man says. "We're from the Link-Boys, Porters, and Teamsters' Union."
"...What," says Polyvarius.
One of them produces a wheatpasted flyer, unstuck from some wall somewhere, and solemnly reads out: "Better, cheaper, and more reliable than thirty hirelings!"
"Oh," says Polyvarius.
"Do I need to point out the Union's long and close links with the adventuring trade, Mr. Polyvarius?" says the foreman. "Or the adventuring trade's love of picking up jobs in taverns that amount to 'shank some wizard — stands to reason he deserves it — burn his tower and take all his stuff'?"
"Fuck," says Polyvarius.
"You're not the first to innocently assume he can disrupt the trade with the only consequence being sudden riches, Mr. Polyvarius. I blame the ivory tower of arcane education, personally," the man says, and pats Polyvarius's elbow reassuringly. "No consideration of the complex preexisting interrelationships of the real world. You ever seen a mob get rowdy because they've been put out of work and their kids need feeding? Let's discuss some thoughts we had about pricing your solutions fairly, to avoid undercutting honest labour...."