Chapter 17

It was 9 o'clock in the morning and Kryll had an appointment, a very important appointment. Madam Bootham had kept her promise and made contact between him and one of her friends who brokered real estate. The meeting point was one of the small stalls in the market square, which offered baked goods and hot kro - the perfect drink to start the day.

“Good morning, my name is Joran. Elsbeth told me that you're looking for a commercial building?”

The stocky man with a beard looked quite unassuming to outsiders, but to Kryll he was surrounded by the glow of a promising savior.

“Hello!” Kryll enthusiastically grabbed Joran's hand and shook it in greeting.

“I'm Kryll, and yes, I'm looking for a commercial building for my client. It's a pleasure to work with you!”

“I'm glad to hear that.” Joran directed his gaze towards his hands.

Oh, perhaps a quick handshake would have been better? Kryll quickly ended the handshake and released his counterpart's hand back into freedom.

“You're certainly an enthusiastic young man. I like that!” Joran grinned at him and slapped him heartily on the shoulder.

Kryll breathed a sigh of relief. That was a good start, he had a good feeling about this Joran. When he thought about it, a really good feeling! The first and most important hurdle - the first impression - had been overcome, what was to stand between him and a building? He would clear the next hurdles too, with a run-up and with ease!

A broad grin spread across his face, inwardly he could already see himself standing in the building entrance awaiting Lord Mitten. ’What an elegant building!’ the cat would exclaim in awe at the sight of the property. He would attest to Kryll's excellent abilities and perhaps even give him an important position in the future business.

“Enthusiasm doesn't pay the bills, though,” Joran continued.

“And you don't look too solvent to me. I'll be honest: if Elsbeth hadn't asked me for a favor, I would have thankfully declined based on your description.”

The building disappeared from Kryll's mind's eye and was replaced by magical fireballs, which the cat hurled at him angrily.

“Oh.”

The grin gave way to an uncertain smile.

“And what does that mean exactly?” he asked hesitantly, worrying that the meeting might end in the marketplace.

“As I said, I wouldn't normally accept an assignment from you. So thank Elsbeth for giving you such a leap of faith and for believing, against all reason, that the meeting could turn into a business transaction.”

“However, should the whole thing turn out to be a joke by a bored fellow,”

Kryll shook his head vigorously.

“then be informed that I am on good terms with the merchants here and all the inns. So your life would be more unpleasant in the future,” Joran explained seriously.

“As I said. I believe you. So that shouldn't be a problem for you, right?”

Kryll nodded vigorously.

“No problem at all! I have a real desire to buy and a real client! As soon as my client is in town, the funds will be available for the purchase,” he said.

“Hmmm,” grumbled Joran in his beard.

“Then let's not waste any time! A mug of kro and a pastry pocket are on me, so grab it and let's be on our way.”

Kryll didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed the free breakfast and was glad of the money he had saved. He only had a few coins left and hoped that Lord Mitten would hurry his arrival. Otherwise, he would have to find a henchman's job to tide him over. And what kind of impression that would make on Joran! Anything but solvent! The leap of faith probably had limits that Kryll was not prepared to test.

So hurry up, mystical being! Kryll thought with a courage that only existed in the cat's absence.

Joran and Kryll walked silently through the large marketplace while they ate their breakfast with satisfaction. Small and large stalls were everywhere, surrounded by visitors at this time of day. The vendors of the various stores tried to drown each other out with their advertising shouts, so that Kryll was bombarded by a babble of voices from all sides.

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Kryll marveled once again at the hustle and bustle, which resembled an anthill. At first glance, the situation seemed completely chaotic, but at second glance, a certain order emerged, currents that led the crowds of people through the market in an orderly fashion. Once you found yourself in one, you had no choice but to drift along with it or leave it at one of the many stalls.

After a while, Kryll got used to the hustle and bustle and the noises. Just as he was beginning to enjoy drifting through the crowd, they reached the edge of the marketplace and left the bustle of people.

Kryll licked his lips to taste the last sweet remnants of the pastry.

“Elsbeth informed you that the buildings I'm brokering are in B and C locations for a business? Here in the center, property is distributed among the wealthy, the guilds and the city's elite. No ordinary citizen has a chance. And however rich your client may be, it takes more than just money to build a business in the center - relationships.”

“Yes, that's what she told me. A central location isn't that important for the future owner's business,” Kryll confirmed.

“Is that so?” Joran raised his eyebrows.

The two of them walked into one of the nondescript alleys that ended at the northern city gate.

“I rarely hear that. Most of the stores here try to be as close to the center as possible. Firstly, to be easily reachable for shoppers, and secondly because of the prestige that comes with a central location. Most of the stores away from the main shopping areas sell everyday items and supply their neighborhood. According to Elsbeth, however, your client has bigger plans - a bookshop, I hear?”

“Yes, exactly, a store for old writings and antiques - some with a magical connection, some without.”

“That sounds like a pretty prestigious venture!” Joran frowned. “And then somewhere in the third or fourth row? Are you sure your client is of the same opinion as you?”

“Absolutely!” Kryll replied with a self-confidence that was based on a lack of alternatives.

He simply had to agree! Otherwise he could have saved himself the trouble and killed me straight away. He can't be so ignorant that he expects me to organize a building in the center for him. The voice of reason agreed with him and nodded in confirmation.

At least I hope so. Who knows when the cat last looked into the real estate market. The chaos-loving part of him giggled.

Kryll swallowed and firmly brushed aside his concerns.

“Absolutely!” he said a second time, this time more to himself.

“Then let's assume that's the case,” Joran grumbled.

After a while, he turned right into an even more inconspicuous alleyway, which, from the looks of it, was mainly a residential area for the middle classes. Kryll followed him and looked around. It wasn't a prestigious location, but it was clean and the neighborhood was probably honest for the most part. At any rate, there was laundry hanging to dry between some of the windows across the alley and his mother had taught him that clean people were honest people. And who was he to question his mother's wisdom.

At the end of the alley stood a somewhat run-down corner house. The faded blue shutters on the second floor hung crookedly in their suspensions and a thick layer of dirt hid the view inside the building despite the large windows on the first floor.

Joran stopped in front of the building.

“That's the good piece,” he said, pointing to the house that had apparently been empty for some time.

“Looks like it needs a bit of work?” Kryll remarked hesitantly.

He was no expert, but the building looked a bit like a renovation backlog to him, and they hadn't even entered it yet!

“A few touch-ups here, some cosmetic work there. Nothing major,” Joran replied.

“The house has a solid structure and just needs a little sprucing up. It's been for sale for a while now, which hasn't done its appearance any favors,” he admitted. “But the seller would drop the price a little in return.”

Kryll looked at the front of the house and the longer he looked, the more necessary 'cosmetic work' he saw. There was a large hole in the pane of an upstairs window that had been hastily taped over. And were those flowers growing out of the brittle drainpipe on the wall of the house?

He turned to Joran.

“And why has it been for sale for so long?” Kryll asked cautiously. He considered Joran to be a trustworthy person and was extremely grateful that he had accepted his request. However, despite his pronounced optimism, he was a little worried about the state of the building.

“As I said, the location,” Joran replied.

“The previous owner inherited the former home and converted it into a store. He wanted to realize his lifelong dream and opened a pet clothing store.”

“Pet clothes?” Kryll asked slowly.

Until then, he hadn't even realized that people dressed their pets. He imagined the village dog at home running around the village in polka-dot pants, chasing away potential thieves with his ridiculous looks instead of his teeth. A picture of the mysterious cat, wearing a dark red jacket over his dark brown fur —

No, absolutely not. Kryll quickly banished the image from his mind.

“Pet clothes,” Joran confirmed, not making a face, which Kryll admired greatly.

“Like your client, he thought that despite the location, his business idea would attract enough potential buyers from the city and the surrounding area to his store. However, it turned out that this was not the case. The potential buyers were mostly ladies from well-to-do families who had their pets dressed themselves. What's more, they couldn't drive their carriages through the small alleyways away from the shopping streets, not to mention the fact that they didn't want to. Ordinary citizens, on the other hand, had pets but wouldn't spend a penny on clothing them. The money is already tight enough for their own needs.”

Joran shook his head. “All in all, the man simply neglected to carry out a proper market analysis at the beginning.”

“Market analysis,” Kryll repeated seriously.

“Exactly, one of the most important things before opening a business,” Joran replied. “I assume correctly that your client has done this in advance?”

“Of course,” Kryll replied.

Absolutely not, he thought with conviction.

But that was Lord Mitten's problem. Kryll's job was merely to get him a building and find out what delicatessens were on offer.

That would get me away from the fireballs, anyway.

And who knew what unusual solutions monsters like the cat would come up with. Of course, he would like the venture to succeed. After all, he was eyeing a position in the future business and for that to happen, it had to be successful!

“Well, let's have a look at the beauty,” said Joran and unlocked the door. It opened with a creaking sound and revealed the interior of the building.