There was a lot to do before the expedition could commence. Brandt spent the better part of the last two days meeting officials, bank employees, and that one quill-biter, who knew just about everything there is to know about Cammotan law. He interspersed these with visits to the shops, purchasing the necessary equipment and outfit. In the evening of the second day, he came back to the ‘New Inn’ tired, but excited and full of positive energy, only to be met with a heavy mood and soured gazes. He took his usual place in the corner, dreadfully aware of a sudden animosity from the patrons.

Fortunately, Sabine came to the rescue, bringing him a large plate of cold meats alongside a big chunk of bread and a tankard of hot beer. She then sat down opposite.

He tucked in while she talked, only occasionally nodding or making appreciative noises as the neverending stream of words flowed out of her mouth.

But it was all good. Brandt learned that Trawins indeed sent a message. He did a lot more than that. He showed up to the ‘New Inn’ in person. He also chose to do so in the afternoon, when the place was chock full of Pevda’s finest, working themselves into a drunken stupor. Whilst people above the standing of the usual clientele were not unseen in Sabine’s establishment - Brandt included - their presence certainly was not the rule. Thus the sight of a tanai, which in the eyes of the common folk embodied a hexergist, doer of dark arts and eldritch horrors, had caused a bit of a stir. Well, "a bit" seemed to be an understatement. The patrons wouldn't shut up about the tanai the whole evening. As their inebriation progressed, their theories about the purpose of his visit were becoming more and more outrageous. In the end, they came up with a ironclad, foolproof, absolutely confirmed thesis, that the ‘hexergist’ was there to procure large amounts of war materiel from Brandt, who was a merchant, because all rich people are merchants. All that to stage a coup in the king's absence and then enslave half of the population.

And get their women. Obviously.

Brandt looked up from his tankard.

-"Now I understand why the sour faces." - he said - "I think I should leave. Immediately. For both yours and my sake."

Sabine gave him a merrily offended look.

-”Lazt week they found dragonz under the city. Imagine! Dragonz. Here in ze Burgh! Zilly people!”

The goodbyes weren't long and teary. Firstly, the innkeeper was a straightforward person, and the times to be stupidly emotional were far behind her. Secondly, this wasn't the first time, and maybe not even the hundredth time either, when he was leaving to go do whatever it was the immortal men were doing. And so, Brandt simply collected his things from the room and left out the back, pecking her on the cheek on his way out.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that this might indeed be the last time he saw the lovely, warm, and always caring baker's daughter.

He booked a room in a small lodge on the outskirts of Gregorki, a bit further from Zerstbank than the 'New Inn', but it was only for a few days and it wasn't as if he needed to turn up to work on time every day. He technically had his own office in the Sheridawn branch of the Zerstbank, but he never was a work-behind-desk person and didn't intend on becoming one a couple of days before retiring. He went there now, however, to collect a couple more documents, then steered his horse back towards Gregorki… and Anh's Book Shop.

The lights were already dimmed inside, but Brandt simply tied up his horse and knocked on the door.

-"Whoever you are, we apologize profusely but the shop is now closed!" - came the familiar voice from the inside - "Please come back tomorrow."

-"I would prefer to finalize this business today Mr. Trawins." - replied the hoomin.

A few drips later came the sound of sliding bolts and the door opened up.

-"Mr. Zerster. This is… unexpected." - said Anh floating into the opening - "Please come on in."

Once the nord entered, the tanai invited him to his workshop at the back. The room turned out to be neatly tidied up.

-” Am I to understand that what you passed to Mrs Mittendorf is actual?” - said Brandt as he walked up to the same workbench that they gathered around before. Same and yet unrecognisable, since all the utensils were now methodically arranged in the tool holders.

-” Yes. As anxious as I am about the entire idea.” - confirmed the tanai -” I informed your… uhh, what to call her… friend?” - Anh tapped his lips, searching for a word.

-” Friend.” - confirmed the hoomin raising an eyebrow.

-” Yes. Friend. So, as I said, I will embark with you on this… expedition. And will be waiting, as agreed, before the shop." - his eyes became vacant for a short moment and then his voice changed to a worried one - " Did something happen? You have not reconsidered or cancelled have you?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The man smiled.

-” No, not at all. Everything is going ahead as planned. I'm here for formal reasons. You will need to sign a contract before we head off.”

-” A… contract?” - said Mr. Trawins blinking in surprise.

-” Yes. My… employer will not cover expenses of a third party during an expedition such as this unless said party is specifically contracted by them.” - Brandt paused and then continued once Anh nodded in confirmation understanding - ”So, either you’d need to pay for yourself, or I would need to cover for you out of my pocket. With contract stipulations, you will be covered up to a ryal per day in accommodation and provisions. Not to mention there would be insurance in place and additional reimbursement for your time.

-” I… understand.”

Brandt looked at the tanai. He wasn't much of an expert on their body language or facial expressions, but it was painfully clear that the bookkeeper was almost on the verge of panic.

-” There is no need for anxiety or hesitation, Mr. Trawins. This is a fairly standard procedure for every person we contract to do work for us. I suggest you read the text carefully before signing”

The hoomin reached into his satchel and produced a loosely rolled parchment which he then handed over. He watched with a knowing smile as the familiar procedure unfolded: the tanai took it, floated towards his reading stand, heated two illumination crystals, unrolled the sheet, and started scrutinizing the text.

Brandt in the meantime amused himself by walking up to the nearest shelf and taking a long look at the books stored there. These particular ones were all concerned with geography and were arranged seemingly at random. Folio on the subject of the Hedder Valley was placed right next to a guide to Weidana, which itself neighboured a treatise on the emergence of the Averam Oasis, located in the desert of the same name. He was sure there must have been some kind of a system at work here but just couldn't make out what it would be.

-"I have… questions." - the tanai interrupted the silence after finally reaching the bottom of the text. It took him probably around a tenter to get there. - " Firstly, why is the paragraph detailing reimbursement for the loss of body parts so extensive that it takes up just over a third of the entire contents? It does not seem… enticing."

-"The text is modeled on standard mercenary contracts as used by the Sorian seafarers." - duly replied the nord walking back to the workbench - " Only slightly modified to fit our needs. Guaranteed compensation for loss of limb is a good thing, I should think?"

-"I am wary about the grim promise that underlies it. Yes, it's good, if one's a soldier, but we're going on a scientific expedition, not participating in a war!" - pouted Anh.

-"...and yet, if you lose a toe because of a snake bite, this eventuality would be covered." - said the merchant in a slightly irritated tone - "Anything else?"

The tanai physically ran his finger down the levitating parchment.

-"Umm, just out of curiosity, why losing an index finger is worth twenty ryals, whilst any other one is priced at ten?"

-"Because of Steland. I suppose.” - replied Brandt, shrugging - “If one lost an index finger, they would not be able to use a handgonne. Which would all but preclude him from future contracts. And going against the Stelanders without this particular novelty weapon is not a good idea."

-"Oh, I see!" - the tanai slowly caressed his goatee, lost in thoughts for a few moments, then looked back at the contract - "Now… why is the Zerster Foundation listed as the employer? I thought this would be between me and Zerstbank? That is, judging by your name."

Brandt smiled with one of those mirthless grimaces.

-"It is… dictated by some other legal requirements. The bank's primary mandate is not to finance off-the-record escapades of its members. Even if those would yield bank some benefits." - he put his hands on the workbench and leaned slightly over - "The Foundation has been established to do exactly that, and in addition to support businesses and invest in new ventures. Is this answer satisfying?"

-"And you have ties to that organization?"

-"I'm an employee. An operative. The kind that unearths things which led us to this moment." - lied Brandt, then paused, because Anh's eyes glazed over again. This gave hoomin a moment to ponder how many more evasive, quasi-honest 'answers' the tanai would take before calling everything off. But this one seemed to go down well because the bookkeeper now turned his attention to something at the bottom of the page.

-"And, uh, last thing of concern here is this…" - said Trawins clearing his throat - "It says that any items or artifacts, and any descriptive work pertaining to these finds are to remain sole property of the Foundation?"

-"Unless explicitly permitted." - the nord finished the sentence - "It's a long shot, but this is to ensure that there is no confusion as to who gets to keep the finds if there are any. I also wouldn't be very happy if all of a sudden there's a lengthy treatise on… the goal of our expedition, written and on the market for everyone to see." - he shrugged and then pointed at the scroll - "You'll see that there's a short list below this paragraph, guaranteeing you the rights to any research you would most likely do on unrelated subjects, during the expedition."

He then moved the inkwell with a quill pen sticking out, towards the tanai, who, after another short pause for deliberation, floated it into the air and signed the document without physically touching either, then put the parchment down on the table, right in front of the Nord. The latter quickly dried the ink and handed over another tightly wound scroll.

-"A copy for your records." - he said - " It is a pleasure having you on board, figuratively speaking. We'll be leaving in four days."

-” I will be waiting in front of my shop, ready to depart." - replied the tanai, still somewhat confused about what he had just done. Brandt, unbothered by Anh’s unease, packed his copy of the contract back to the satchel.

-” I’ll be going now.” - he said, courteously giving the tanai a moment to collect himself - “There are still some things I need to tighten.”

-” Allow me.” - nodded the tanai and gestured Brandt to leave and then later walked him to the door of the bookshop.