In my current campaign the PCs are ina city whose standing military have been replaced by mercenaries, and who are charging the city exorbitant amounts for their services. Most of the costs are paid by the cities wealthy oligarchy because suddenly the mercenaries put their business interests first.

In a recent adventure, two of the mercenaries tasked with tailing the PCs ended up getting roped in to clearing our an Ankheg nest. The mercenary captain is going to make a demand for an exorbitant sum to be paid for the services of the two soldiers in an effort to try and provoke conflict and justify driving them out of town. 

What could be added to a mercenary invoice that’s hugely overinflated in order to get the cost way up beyond reasonable costs?

So far I’ve got:

Hire of small combat unit - 500gp (there were two of them, but I’m using the idea of a minimum billing amount)

Medical treatment - 100gp (one of them was badly hurt)

Unindentified threat/Hazard pay - 250gp (they didn’t know what they were in for)

Any other ideas?

• Combat Equipment
• Special Tax (just because)
• Administration Fee for making this invoice

Expenses

Equipment Maintenance

Extended Hiring Period (if they stayed with the party long)

Unplanned Hire

Expenses Resulting From Unplanned Hires

Reassignment of Mercenaries and Contracts Resulting From Unplanned Hires

P*ssing Us Off

Death benefits for the families of those that don’t survive.

Equipment Replacement Due To Acid Corrosion

Trauma Fees (if someone had a particularly nasty encounter)

Vital Assistance In Defending the Realm (depending on how important the mercenaries were)

 Psychological Treatment of trauma experienced while providing said services.

Training costs to keep combat skills relevant. 

Commuting costs.

French and Washing extra.

It would be a shame if something happened to your kid....

Wow, this is like the exact opposite of how client/mercenary relations usually work.

What do you mean there's a problem needs fixin?

The only problem I see is you not payin us.

Well, as it turned out, hiring the assassin's guild turned out be cheaper than continuing to pay your fees...

Thanks everyone. It was a fun session, The OCs got an invoice for 5000 gp and weighed up all manner of options before literately paying it (they had recently stolen nearly 20,000gp from the mercenary company, so they could easily afford it). It’s part of an ongoing power play between the PCs and the merc company in a regional city.