“Here you go, my lord.” Balar said, handing Reud a small greenish-silver metal disk.

The man was the metalworker Rowan had found to process the materials mined in the Metalflow Caverns into the tokens Reud wanted. And, after many days of work on the intricate task, he’d finally produced something to show.

Reud lifted the disk to his eyes, inspecting it closely. The back was perfectly smooth, lacking even the vaguest ornamentation, but the front was covered in a complex pattern of swirls and fractal arcs, all encircling a raised knob in the centre. An imprinted spellform, ready to be infused with mana.

“We really need something on the back here. Something ornamental, to link the coins to Srinaber.” Reud mused.

“I thought as much, my lord.” Balar said, rubbing his neck with a huge, callused hand. “Though I’m unsure as to what.”

“Hmm, Lilia, any suggestions?”

“Something simple, something that really represents the core of what makes Srinaber work. What sets us apart.”

“Yeh, I got that, but what?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Lilia looked around at them. “It’s skeletons. That’s what sets us apart from every other city in Rudase. So stick a skull on the back.”

“She’s right, my lord. It is one of the defining characteristics of your land.” Balar said.

Reud rubbed his chin as he thought. On the one hand, it seemed a little arrogant to emblazon them with something that reflected him. But on the other hand, they were to be used to power the skeletons after all. A skull made perfect sense.

“Let’s do it. Add it to the mold.” Reud said.

“As you wish, my lord.” Balar said, bowing his head.

Turning to the last member of the little party, the luxomancer Belinda, Reud eyed her critically. She was rubbing her shoulder with obvious discomfort, Aleida’s magic evidently not being fully developed enough to heal all the effects of the surgery she’d undergone mere hours ago. When he’d gone to see her, she’d begged to help him, begged to be allowed to stay by his side. She’d seemed genuine, so Reud had decided to give her a chance, under one condition.

That she allowed one of Lec’s fingerbones to be implanted in her shoulder.

Such a procedure was painful, dangerous, and would allow Lec to track her as long as it remained in her, so he’d fully expected her to take back her words. Instead, she’d accepted in a heartbeat. It didn’t make him trust the woman, not yet. But, it did show that he could use her.

Reud held out the token to Belinda. “Your turn, just as we discussed, enchant the centre.”

Belinda reached out and took the token, focusing her magic in on the centre of the pattern. Her magic was exactly what Reud needed to add the enchantments the tokens needed, a faint glow in the centre to indicate the token held a charge, to differentiate it from the ones that were spent. He’d have been able to cast the spell himself, it was simple enough luxomancy that his mana control could replicate it, but why go to the effort when there was a perfectly willing expert within his grasp.

Lec stood a step behind Belinda, focused on the woman, alert for any sign of betrayal. The undead had simple orders. If at any point she fled, tried to remove the bone, or attacked one of Reud’s allies, she was to blast the woman with as much lighting as she could muster. Then, once the woman was dead, she was to bring the corpse directly to him.

Even if she stopped working for him when alive, she would not escape serving him in death.

After a minute, Belinda handed the token back, frowning at it. “The sigils… the luxomancy portions are inefficient and wasteful. If I could be so bold as to suggest some tweaks?”

Reud waved a hand. “Go on, figure it out with Balar.”

Belinda bowed her head and walked over to the designs Balar had laid out over his workbench, pointing at specific points around the central knob.

Rued turned to the token, feeling the mana infusing the centre of it. Weaving his own magic through it, he completed the necromantic enchantment in an instant, before packing it full of mana. Immediately, the knob at the centre lit up with a faint glow, indicating it was ready to be used.

Calling over one of the skeletons assigned to help Balar, he pressed it to the centre of the skeleton's skull. The mana within immediately drained into the skeleton, perking it up just slightly. The knob at the centre of the token went dark as its charge vanished.

“Excellent, it works.” Reud said, spinning the spent token in his fingers. “Though, it does present a problem… What do people do with the tokens once used?”

“On that front, my lord, I have a suggestion.” Balar said, pulling out another plan, this one of some sort of box.

“If, instead of pressing it to the skeleton, we fit each communal undead with one of these and have the user drop the token inside, it could serve as both activation and storage. We could fit these boxes between the shoulder blades, so the opening is just below the chin here.” He waved a hand through the empty space under the skull of one of the skeletons standing to one side of the room.

“Then the skeletons could bring the tokens back to the City Hall each night, to be collected and refilled.” Reud finished for him. “Fantastic idea, Balar. You have my approval.”

“I was also thinking, we could write the conditions of using the undead on it too. Something like, token valid for one unit of work, and then give a breakdown of what that entails. Not everyone can read yet, but with your program of schooling then maybe soon…”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Again, Balar, you outdo yourself.” Reud said with a wide smile on his face. “Fantastic idea, let’s see it done.”

“Thank you, my lord. I can have the first ten boxes and first thousand tokens by the end of the week, if enough metal arrives on time.”

Reud paused and sent out his soul sight, feeling far off for the undead toiling away in the mines. He’d placed fifteen of them down there, supported by Tel. They seemed to be working away without any issue.

“You’ll have it.” Reud said with conviction. “Now come, Belinda, we have to deal with your associate.”

—

Thio sprang up from where he was sat, waiting on a bench in the atrium that lead to Reud’s audience chamber. Thankfully, there had been no incidents between his men and Rachel’s guard. From all accounts, they’d quite happily waited in their makeshift prison. Well, it was more like house arrest inside an inn, which probably explained their placidness. The man himself, however, seemed agitated. Almost desperate.

Evidently, he’d been relying on Reud’s cooperation for something.

“M-my lord.” Thio stammered out, springing up to standing when he noticed Reud.

“Come in, we must discuss what to do with you.”

Walking into the audience chamber, Reud gestured for Belinda to stand to one side and sat in his chair, before beckoning Thio forward.

“So, tell me. Why are you here?” Reud said.

“As I said, my lord, because of the tax-”

“No. Why are you really here.” Reud said. “If the Duke had any inclination about this place, you’d have come in force. A mere two score men is more a bandit hunting expedition, not a something that could threaten a city.”

Thio’s mouth opened and shut a few times, but then he stopped, obviously thinking.

Which meant this man was smart. A good sign for his future prospects.

“The previous tax collector, Lord Telac, vanished at some point in the last few months. The Duke wants blood for that, and we have been sent to collect it. It was my father's idea to come here, and use the tax gold as proof we found the perpetrators.”

Reud turned to Belinda. “Is this true?”

“Yes, my lord.” She responded. “The Duke barely pays any attention to the happenings beyond his own palace, only if something that he considers to be challenging his authority happens does he take any notice. I doubt he even knows this new city of yours exists.”

Reud sat back in his chair. “Our gold, I’m afraid to say, will be required for the purchase of supplies to get us through the winter. Can’t you spend a month here, then travel back saying the perpetrators are long gone?”

“I’m sorry, my lord, but I need to produce results sooner than that.” Thio said, looking worried. “My father is… Well, I just need to return to manage our estate as soon as possible. I’m sure Belinda has equal responsibilities, back home.”

Belinda shook her head. “I’m staying here, with Lord Reud. I have no desire to return to the academy, not when he is here.”

“But Belinda, I can’t return without you, your father will-”

“I don’t care about any of that!” Belinda snapped. “I only came on your wretched expedition because the provost requested it of me, but now I have found a more powerful master than even him. I’m staying.”

“Belinda, enough.” Reud said. “Thio, I take it if you returned without her there would be some issues at home?”

“Yes, my lord. Her father and mine do not get along. If I returned without his prized daughter, he would certainly accuse me of foul play. Nothing I say will be enough to convince him she voluntarily stayed behind.”

“I see.” Reud said, tapping a finger on the chair’s armrest.

This whole situation really was inevitable, from the moment he killed Telac. Of course, eventually, Duke Hosta would have got wind of that and demanded recompense. Of course, that meant some sort of expedition to not only find the perpetrators, but to collect the gold the tax collector would have been transporting. Honestly, it was lucky it was this man that arrived instead of a more hostile party. He, at least, seemed like he could be of use.

It all really boiled down to one question. What did Reud want out of his interactions with Duke Hosta?

On one hand, he could seize every emissary from the capital, cutting off any flow of information back to the man. It would buy him some time, but eventually such an act would trigger an overly hostile response. The kind he had no interest in dealing with whilst he was trying to get Srinaber back up and running.

On the other hand, he could use this man and this woman to promote his own interests inside Calista, inside the Duke’s own court. Belinda was already in his pocket, one way or the other. Thio seemed ready to be swayed, his eyes held a desperate, yearning quality, like he was searching for some escape from his situation. His father’s mismanagement of his estate, it seemed. If Reud threw some help his way, then maybe he’d fall onto Srinaber’s side as well.

Gods, if only Reud’s brothers could see him now. Him, playing politics. He truly had changed.

“Thio, I cannot give you gold, but I can give you something else.” Reud said, breaking the silence.

Thio looked up in interest.

“What is that, my lord?”

“Blood.” Reud said, smiling. “A story to take to the Duke, along with the head of a likely perpetrator. A criminal we executed earlier, a member of the ‘Monster Slaying Band’ that operates in the area.”

Thio frowned for a moment. “I think that could work, especially if Belinda backs the story. Given our families known hostility to one another, her corroboration will lend serious credibility to the claim.”

“Good. Also, tell me, what does your estate produce?”

“Flax mainly, my lord. Linen clothing too, and we have some small dabbling in paints and pigments.”

“In that case, I propose a trade agreement. We will buy linen from you, or trade it for any of the goods Srinaber produces. I’m sure that well help your financial circumstances.”

“M-my lord, that is most generous.” Thio said, eyes wide.

“In return.” Reud continued. “You will purchase the rights to tax this province. Afterwards, you will squash any mention of Srinaber in the court. Deflect any investigation, avoid any questions. I want this city to vanish from the Duke’s mind.”

“That’s…” Thio looked stunned. “I’m afraid I can’t afford it, not until we are able to begin trade with you, my lord. Our coffers are… running thin.”

“Belinda, you will return with Thio, and aid him. Get him the funds he needs.”

“But-”

Reud held up a hand. “Enough. You will return with Thio, and together you will purchase the taxation rights. You will then make your excuses to your father and anyone else you need to, and only then may you return here. Make a clean break, I want no stories of a kidnapped daughter bringing attention to Srinaber.”

Belinda bowed her head. “Yes, my lord.”

“Thio, is this agreeable with you?” Reud asked.

Thio nodded. “I think I can make it work, my lord. You are most generous, I will not let you down.”

“Belinda, Lec will go with you. Keep her covered, but do not leave her sight. Invent a story about her being a mute bodyguard you now go nowhere without.”

“As you command, my lord.” She said with a curtsey.

“If you work with me, with Srinaber, I will make you rich. Srinaber always supports its allies. But if you decide to work against us? Well…” Reud stared at the two of them, letting mana infuse his body and ignite the blazing amethyst in his eyes.

“Be warned. Srinaber always needs more skeletons.”