Thanks kris and K; just one point though:
SilentK said:
1 The merchant in laria is a thousand times better in terms of gear quality, and you only need 1 gem to open his shop, its a 1 time pay unlike the noldor troops which require 1 gem/ "lottery"
Yup, I get that but it wasn't the question I was asking. Solely for recruits (not items) - should the Elecrai recruit merchant require a gem
at all? If so, does he require one per transaction (like Quigfen) or one to open the shop permanently?
Another question that just occurred to me: Does the order of troops in a town/castle garrison list count in the same way as a normal battle? Basically, should I have my best/most-desired troops at the top if I want them to appear first on the battlements?
I suspect someone's already requested a "move up/down" option for garrison management, much like I also suspect it's a native issue that a mod can't address.