Today’s lunch was set in Sanford’s dining room and was supposed to be a small intimate affair with only three courses and seven guests. However, there were now twenty people sitting shoulder to shoulder around the table, an unruly collection of merchants and carters who’d already ravened through what was supposed to be the whole meal before he and Lady Pol had arrived. Dana had to thank Phons for Miss Lucchesi’s largess in deciding not only not to come but also to send a wagonload of baked goods and a pair of her family servants as an “apology”.

“Where are they?” barked young dark-haired Ugo Sorgi, a cousin of one of the invited. His family name was well-known to Dana, but lu couldn’t recall why his given name was too. “I would expect the next Royal Sorcerer and her,” his lips just barely curled, “apprentice to be on time.”

Jane Voe, a blond well-fed carter from Pollum, and one of the invited, scoffed. “I hear they’re at a funeral in the Plague District.”

“They are?” Sorgi let his jaw drop, presenting the very picture of surprise. “What ever for?”

Voe shrugged. “To show face? To placate the heretics? As alarming as it was to learn that a mage had been found murdered in the streets, I find it comforting that it was one of them and not one of us.”

As an agreeing mumble went round the table, Dana picked up Voe’s plate, failed to upend its remaining contents on her head, and went to collect the other empty plates. This was Dwayne’s moment. Lu refused to ruin it.

“Perhaps, those two are too close to heresy.” Sorgi leaned forward over his plate. “I hear that, after that terrible incident down at Walton, young Kalan has filled Walcrest with Vanurians. Oh!”

“Excuse me, my lord.” Dana’s hand had snaked around the man and plucked his plate off the table. Lu’d finally remembered where lu had seen his name: Mei’s report on the possible whereabouts of the Harvest Ball Robbers. This sniveling toad was currently hosting the entire Lo Duca Dance Troupe at his home in the Gentle District. “I believe that Lady Pol and young Kalan will be here shortly.”

“We’re here now.” Lady Pol strode into the room with a harried Dwayne right on her heels. They were still dressed for the funeral, which had not been the plan.

“Apologies,” Dwayne offered a bow, ”we were delayed crossing the bridge.”

“Apparently,” Lady Pol plopped down at the head of the table, “someone thought that this morning was an excellent time to inventory their winter supplies right in the middle of the bridge.”

As lu continued to collect empty plates, Dana considered this development with suspicion. Such inventory should have completed long ago and, if necessary, done on the river docks. Much like the sudden onslaught of uninvited, the timing was suspicious. Lu’d would have to investigate.

“Would you like any of the first course, my lady?” Dana gestured to the full plate in front of Lady Pol.

“No, thank you. Let’s move on to the second course and get this started.”

Wincing at his new master’s brusque tone, Dwayne took the seat next to her then turned to the assembled. “Thank you for coming today. We invited you here so that you’d have a chance to sound out our plans for the future. Although,” his voice hitched as he realized how many people had come, “I believe some introductions are in order?”

Sorgi cleared his throat, but every cell in Dana’s body told luz that if he spoke, he’d do irreparable damage.

“This,” lu gestured to him, “is Ugo Sorgi of Sorgi Acquisitions and Transport, a company that specializes in small-batch Vanurian trade.” Lu left out the fact that his company sold slaves, including Baron Thadden’s Gretchen. Dwayne didn’t need the distraction. Lu continued the introductions, going around the table until finally, “and this is Jane Voe of the North-North-West Caravan, most recently of Cairnbourne.”

Voe coughed, attempting to hide her awe at Dana’s performance. “I see you looked us all up.”

Dwayne bowed his head. “We hire the best.”

The swell of pride in Dana’s chest was punctured by the question in Lady Pol’s eyes. No, Dwayne had not ordered lu to find all this out. Yes, it largely came from Circle briefs and missives. No, that fact would never leave Dana’s lips on pain of death.

“If you’ll excuse me, my lord.” Dana turned to escape.

“A moment, Rodion,” Dwayne said. “Should we not provide some entertainment while we wait?”

Ah, he was worried that they needed more time. Dana bowed. “The second course is already ready, my lord.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Leaving Dwayne blinking in bemusement, Dana made luz escape, making luz way to the kitchen and joining the Lucchesi servants in preparing the second course: awrock steaks, starchy roots, and an assortment of local greens. As lu worked, Dana pushed away any concerns that lu was getting too attached to Dwayne because his magic was developing nicely and having his well-regard only helped solidify the Rodion persona. Many stewards felt fondly for their charges.

After a quick check for any signs of imperfections, Dana announced, “They’re ready. Let’s serve.”

Picking up three of the plates, lu used an elbow to open doors and led the Lucchesi servants back into the dining room where one guest was already getting upset.

“Are you serious?” Voe’s hands nearly smacked her plate of food to the floor. “You’re shutting down the provisional license system? How are we going to contract more mage labor?”

“We’re only shutting down a worthless piece of garbage.” Lady Pol accepted her plate. “That’s no great loss.”

Voe’s eyes goggled. “Garbage?”

Beside her, Dwayne hid a groan.

“While that’s certainly hyperbole,” Sorgi’s every word oozing sagacity, “after all it has freed us from having to rely on established mage families for basic needs like long distance messaging and bulk carriage, I must say it has been galling to have to hunt down a licensed mage and pay them to pay someone else to do something they could have done in an afternoon.”

“Galling?” Jane’s knife ripped into her steak. “It was far more galling to have to stand in line behind half a dozen other carters and hope that some prissy Bradford mage would deign to help you. The provisional license system provided the queendom with more mages than ever before, each vetted by proven professionals. Take that away and I assure you we’ll be forced to rely on heretics and commoners by the end of the week.”

Dwayne cleared this throat. “We plan to replace the provisional license system with a new one that incorporates Magisterium assess-”

“The Magisterium wouldn’t know real work if it slapped them in the ass,” sneered Voe, whose father had forced her to work the docks.

“Here, here!” agreed Sorgi, who’d never even a bit of hard labor in his entire life.

“You,” Lady Pol’s voice was low, “couldn’t recognize a competent mage if she walked up to you and kick-”

“Obviously,” Dwayne’s interruption barely covered the sharp thump that accompanied it, “we would love input on how to tailor the new assessments to your actual needs. The new licenses should be a mark of true ability, not just a measure of coincidence and blood.”

“Then perhaps,” said Sorgi, “we should do away with the system altogether.” When Voe and half the table made sounds of protest, he waved them down. “As merchants and masters of coin, you must see that both this new license system and the one its replacing require money. As I’m sure you all recall, the year the provisional license system was put in place all of our taxes went up significantly.” He turned to Dwayne. “You’re asking us to defer to the Royal Sorcerer’s Office? The Royal Secretary’s Office was far more aware of what we needed and yet still got in the way of business. Your expansion of the Royal Sorcerer’s Office will require higher taxes-”

“And more audits,” grumbled Voe.

“- which means less gold in our pockets.” Sorgi left out the fact was that his company’s finances were the shakiest of those seated here, a result of some ill-advised attempts to expand their stock-in-trade westwards. “I say do away with the licenses altogether and allow us to hire who we like. After all, we know what we need.”

While Voe still looked unhappy, much of the rest of the table was nodding along when Lady Pol rolled her eyes and asked, “What happens when these mages you hire turn out shoddy work?”

Sorgi shrugged. “We’ll only hire those with the strongest reputations.”

“I see.” Lady Pol leaned back in her chair. “So you want to lose money.”

“Pardon? I just explained that we’d save money on taxes and-”

“Dwayne, a hypothetical.” Lady Pol turned to her new apprentice. “A Wind Qe who can’t tell the difference between Qemilo and Qemichi is hired to push a ship out of Adhua’s main harbor. What could happen?”

The sudden attention made Dwayne stiffened, but he answered anyway. “Using either spell at the wrong time could rip the ship’s sails, ram it against the rocks or even damage a pier.”

Lady Pol turned to Sorgi. “Can you afford to appease the enraged Adhuan dockmasters? I hear they are ever so understanding.”

“We would hire-”

“When you hire an incompetent Earth Qe and she drops your cargo of dye straight into the river, how much money would you lose? When the Water Qe you hired to find a well is a complete fraud, who pays?”

“We do.” Voe looked grim. “Our clients will not bear the cost.”

“Why should they? They didn’t make the error. You did.” Lady Pol leaned back in her seat. “But go ahead. Save a little. Hire who you like.”

“Surely that would be a temporary situation,” said Sorgi. “After some initial, and admittedly regrettable, mishaps, good mages would have good references to match their skill.”

“And then you’re back where you started.” Dwayne’s tone was as rigid as his back. “You will end up with a system that gives out licenses to mages, only with no care for what you need and no safeguards to prevent charlatans and cheats.”

“Sourans don’t cheat Sourans.” Sorgi scoffed. “Just like our ancestors, we’re an honorable people. We can rely on that.”

Dana watched Dwayne absorb Sorgi’s statement, saw the moment Juanelo’s death transmuted it into a damnable lie, and witness the moment that lie fed a rage that was ready to incinerate all in its path. Ever since the Harvest Ball, the young Ri mage’s emotions had been rawer, closer to the surface, and whatever had happened at the funeral had only made it worse. If he wanted to, Dwayne could kill everyone here and no one here, except possibly Lady Pol, could stop him.

Then the rage was stamped out, leaving Dwayne deflated from the effort.

“Sorgi, I’m afraid you don’t know our ancestors.” Lady Pol’s voice was quiet. “They didn’t rise up against the Yaniti Empire because it violated their honor; they rose up because it had what they wanted: power. That desire, that ambition is why I attended a windsong’s funeral this morning.”

With that, the policy discussion was over, and the conversation shifted to more banal subjects. Dana watched Sorgi pick sullenly at his food. Whatever he was up to, lu would find out in time. Meanwhile, lu made a note have to remind Dwayne about Sorgi’s connection to the Lo Ducas. Unfortunately, Sorgi’s efforts had made this lunch a loss. Hopefully, this evening’s gathering would go better.