Free-Company Blades

The Marrow Lances' working swords — the Vale's neutral mercenaries, lethal when a contract points their coin at you.

The Lances sell steel to whoever pays, and that means the day comes when the man across the field is wearing their grey-and-iron and you are the contract. A blade is a seasoned professional; a sellsword fills the line; a captain reads the fight and moves the company like a tool. They are not evil and not desperate — they are simply expensive, and someone has paid them to end you.