First things first, I need to secure the debt. I ask a servant to bring me paper, pen and ink, then ask them all to leave once they bring it. As the door shuts, I hand the stationery to the stationary youth.

  “Write out the details of the loan, please.”

  He’s immediately offended. “Surely a written contract isn’t necessary. I agreed to the terms publicly. Surely you understand that knightly honour is enough to ensure payment.”

  “I don’t give a damn about your honour. I’m a mage, not a knight. Besides, Monroe would probably back any legal claims against you, but I’m thinking that others might be upset enough with me to withhold witness. So best to get it in writing, just in case she’s indisposed.”

  He stares at me, mouth ajar. “What sort of divine contracts are you under…”

  “The kind that doesn’t like questions. Now write.”

  He nods and begins to, then stops. “My hands are shaking.”

  “It doesn’t need to be neat,” I snap, irritated at him for some reason, “just legible and written in your own hands. Divining links are legally admissible as evidence.”

  He complies, and I look it over, then we both sign. I examine the signatures – one Malichi Monhal and one Tobias Grenhal (introduced as Toby) – then neatly fold and place it in a pocket.

  Now, the details. The Count had a plan to extract payment from him. Meaning that she must know about his assets. Meaning that he has some. I just need to find out what they are.

  “So, what’s your income? Can you make standard payments?” I ask, looking him up and down as if calculating how much his attire could be sold for. It’s expensive, but the enchantments are low grade – only providing basic maintenance, tepid colour changing and gradual resizing. Maybe a large gold piece?

  Toby winces at my gaze and shakes his head. “No, probably not.”

  “Okay, can you at least pay more than the interest?” Again, he shakes his head. “You know that it’s compound, don’t you?” He nods his head defeatedly, and I sigh. “What about your lord parent? Will they help you?”

  He winces. “Please don’t tell him. My father would revoke my inheritance.”

  That phrasing sounds interesting. “You mean he’d disown you over a gambling debt? That seems a bit extreme. I’m certain others our age have accrued larger debts. In fact, I hear it’s almost a rite of passage in this city.” I say ‘our age’, though he’s at least five years older than me. Likely closer to eight.

  He shakes his head. “No, I mean… My father thought it’d be good to give me responsibilities to learn from. So, he gave me a portion of my inheritance early in a probationary status for me to manage and live from the taxes.”

  “What does probationary mean? Who presently owns the assets legally?”

  “I do, but there’s a clause allowing him to reclaim the lands should he find me to mismanage them or fall into debt beyond its ability to pay.”

  I glance to the side and think for a bit, going for a glass of wine on a side table as I do. “Can you pay me a large gold within a month?” I ask, as I pour some for us both.

  “…Um… No. I brought all my savings here. I mean, I could try gambling at lesser tables. I am really good, you know, you have to believe me, I just…I’m…”

  “Not good enough for this table.” I finish for him flatly as I set his glass on the furniture in question. “Are you aware that under a standard loan, if you have not made a significant payment in a month, then I am legally allowed to call in the debt and force either liquidation or seizure of assets until the debt is paid, plus two years of future interest? A significant payment for debts of over five large gold being at least one large.” I suppose that’s my supplemental law class being useful. I was a bit annoyed when they dedicated an entire lecture on debt law, but I guess nobles are more likely to get into large debts here than I assumed.

  His face goes pale at the revelation, and he quickly gulps down the offered wine. “No… You aren’t going to do that, are you?”

  I shrug. “Maybe. It might depend on if my claim on the land from the debt overrides your father’s claim from the contract ceding it to you…” I smile, ominously. “So, I think it’s best to tell me exactly what assets your father has given you. Don’t you?”

  “Nothing major, I swear!” He says, clearly panicked. “Just some moderately good farm land and a small industrial enchanting workshop.”

  I raise my eye, intrigued. “The latter sounds profitable.”

  He shrugs. “Not really. The mages working it have high wages, and the inscribing reagents cut into all the profits. It’s more than the farmland, sure, but I hardly make anything from it over cost. It’s why I came to this stupid game. I needed coin to buy an improvement – an arcane forge. It could get hot enough to work with the more valuable alchemical alloys, and refine the reagents better to be more efficient. If I had that, I could start making real profit.”

  “How much does it cost?”

  “Seven large.”

  “And you couldn’t have just gotten a loan?”

  “I did, but it wasn’t enough. Figured I would try to make the rest here.”

  I immediately whack him on the top of the head with my knuckles, getting past his dazed defences despite him being a squire or some such.

  “Ow! What was that for?”

  “For being an idiot. Even I know not to gamble on a loan.” I mean, it is tempting. Imagine how much more thrilling it would be. “Now, what exactly is your projected yearly net profit from these assets?”

  He pauses, as if calculating or deciding how truthful he’ll be, then nods. “A little over a hundred thousand raem… but I’m not including expenses after that. I have servants and house guards to maintain.”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “Well, you might have to cut back on those…” his face blanches, clearly about to protest about it being his duty or something to support them, but I whack his head again before he can.

  “Ow! Why’d you hit me again?”

  “Because house guards are assets, you idiot. Why didn’t you mention them?”

  “…You aren’t suggesting I send them out for mercenary work, are you?”

  I roll my eyes. “Yeah, that could help. But that’s not what I’m getting at. I need to know every asset you have before I decide how I’m going to proceed. So, are you certain you don’t have anything else?”

  “…I um…” he blushes, clearly embarrassed.

  “What is it? A brothel?” I snap.

  He shakes his head. “If only… I um… I have a ‘tower’ in one of the low-security sections. You know, a client gang.” He glances away, clearly not wanting to tell me this, but then snaps his gaze pleadingly back to me and starts talking rapidly. “I know it’s shameful, but… some friends got me into it on a bet to see who could do the best. Well, their towers are all gone now, so I won the bet, but now I’m stuck with mine. I can’t just abandon them, and I’m still running it at a loss.”

  I can’t help but smile viciously as he goes on. “Yes, that is exactly the sort of thing I needed to know. Now, this is vital; which low-sec are they in?”

  “Um… east?”

  I ignore the questioning tone in favour of straining to control the glee on my face. “Well then, Toby, it may be your lucky day after all.”

  He looks sceptically, like a mouse that knows that the trap is closing further in. “That doesn’t seem likely. I just lost eleven large.”

  I chuckle. “Oh no, that doesn’t have anything to do with luck. You were going to lose that today regardless.” His face reddens at this in a mix of anger and embarrassment, but he doesn’t protest. “No, it’s your lucky day because I’m the one holding your debt. First, I don’t see a reason to involve your father in all this, do you? A solution is perfectly obvious. I just need to lend you an additional seven large to purchase that arcane forge.”

  His eyes widen in surprise. “You’d do that… with that, I would make enough to…”

  “But,” I interrupt, “I would have to increase the interest for taking on additional risk. You understand. Let’s say… one and three-quarter standard?”

  He swallows hard, his mood rapidly falling after being raised. “I…I don’t think I’d be able to pay the interest even with the extra profit.”

  “Well… that’s just my first offer. I could see myself lowering the interest to only half standard…”

  “…But?” he urges me on.

  I smirk at him reacting so eagerly. I have him where I want. “But you would have to become my client.”

  His face pales, his lips quiver. “I’m of a higher rank than you. I’m even technically landed. Not to mention being seven years your senior. I’d be a laughingstock.”

  “More than if your father revoked your inheritance?” I ask, eyebrow raised to the precisely correct height to hammer in the point. He just winces again, so I press. “I remind you that as your patron, I wouldn’t be able to call in the debt. Besides, it wouldn’t be all that bad. I have just recently gained the favour of the Empress,” I think? But he doesn’t need to know about that uncertainty. “We wouldn’t even need to mention your debt. They can just assume it’s related to that.”

  He bites his lips, turning to pretend to examine a painting on the wall while chewing his lips. After presumably going through all the options, he arrives at the one I want. “All right. I’ll do it. I’ll become your client.” A hopeful resentment is in his eyes.

  I raise my hands, palms out in a hesitant gesture. “Slow down. I said I would give you that rate if you became my client. I never said I would accept you as one. First, I need to know some things.”

  He sighs, deflating as he does. “What things?”

  “Well, obviously, what the arrangement with your ‘tower’ is?”

  He glances about, confused, clearly having forgotten that I had offered the clientage immediately after he revealed its existence. “Um… pretty standard, I think. I gave them a loan, some protection and arranged access to a merchant that sells to them at a discount. They’re paying the loan at the standard rate, plus fifteen percent of their territory’s take.

  “Pfft!” I can’t help but laugh. “Fifteen percent? Is that all? No wonder you can’t turn a profit! I take fifty percent of mine!”

  “Fifty! That’s absurd. How could they…? Wait. Yours?”

  “Yeah. Which is why it’s your lucky day… if you’ve been managing them right. How many of them are there, and do they follow your orders?”

  He stares at me, askingly, then sighs. “About fifty, but their territory is small. But yeah, they follow my instructions.”

  “Fifty is a good sized ‘tower’. I’m much more interested in that. Why is their territory so small though?”

  “I…they haven’t been able to afford to equip them all to take on their neighbours.”

  I assess him, then shake my head. “Or, you don’t have the nerve to take a more proactive approach. With fifty, I’m sure there are smaller gangs they can take over. They won’t resent you for a few losses if it means getting bigger and wealthier. In fact, they’re probably rearing to go and wondering what the holdup is.”

  He sighs. “…Yeah, I guess that about sums it up.”

  “Great, so you’ll be expanding. Now, the big question: Which side of the section is your gang on?”

  “East,” he says without hesitation.

  I sigh. “West,” I say, indicating mine’s general whereabouts. “I guess we’re not quite neighbours after all. What’s its name?”

  “The Brick Boars.”

  “Auspicious. Definitely not neighbours though,” I say, mentally going over the report Jack made of all our neighbours and our neighbours’ neighbours. “Mine’s the Mud Hares. Do you recognize it?”

  He pauses, then nods. “Didn’t you have a big war recently? I heard you were about to lose everything.”

  I nod. “A little bit before my patronage. A noble house put a knight aspirant in charge of their tower. I took over my tower when I intervened.”

  “Ah… I see… how…?”

  “Never mind that.” I interrupt. “How close are we to each other?”

  “Um? I think you’re about five territories away?”

  I sigh at it not being quite as easy as I hoped, but then firm up my resolve. “I suppose distant allies are better than no allies. But first, you’re going to expand… Towards me. We need to link up.”

  He nods, hesitant, but with a glimmer of hope that things might turn out better. “Yeah, I can do that.” He glances at my pile of coins, obviously thinking about the promised loan.

  “Not yet,” I say, standing, taking a sheet of paper. “I need to hire a solicitor to make up a contract. Just to be clear, I might not be able to call in the debt or transfer it to another while I’m your patron, nor for a year after if I break the relationship, but I’m well aware that you could break it at any time. So, I will be including a clause that if you break your clientage, then the interest will increase to double standard – calculated retroactively. Understood?”

  He gulps, then nods.

  “Good. I’ll also be enumerating a number of services I’ll be expecting you to possibly perform in addition to standard clientage, including directing your tower to aid mine. Meet me at this address tomorrow, and we’ll sign everything before you change your mind.” I write down the address of an inn near the place I’ll be potentially buying, which I know has private rooms. “Meet me here at… let’s say four hours after noon. That should be enough time to get a contract drafted. It’ll be mostly standard after all.”

  He nods, and quickly takes it before bowing and going for the door, then pauses, looking over his shoulder while gripping the handle. There’s confidence returning to his voice that I hadn’t heard since a few hands into the game. “I don’t know if I should bless you or curse you.”

  I shrug. “Why not both? Just make sure you redact the wrong one when you figure it out.”

  He chuckles. “Sure, why not. Damm you, blessed patron.”

  I chuckle in return and watch him leave. I stay for a bit and get another drink, gulping it down to calm myself after the thrill of things working out so splendidly. My instincts honed in Caethlon tell me it won’t last long… Maybe those instincts are wrong here. I pour myself another glass after draining the first, then gather my coins in a provided bag and go out the door with the intent to return to my dorm.

  On the way, I see my host leaning over a balcony, smoking some rolled up herbs – moonleaf, by the blue flame. She hears me walk past and looks over her shoulder. Sighing at the sight of me, she shrugs her shoulder in a way to indicate I should join her.

  Glancing about, feeling like my instinct may be right after all, I walk up beside her, bracing myself for whatever move she’s readying to make.