Ryan's mind almost snapped into two. Of course, he'd anticipated that the guild's man wouldn't be keen on letting Ryan off the hook or showing him leniency.

A little paranoid part of him still linked the guild's actions to the Looter's Heaven. Of course, he still hadn't heard back from them after spurning their most recent offer.

If indeed they were still linked together at this point—or if they ever were—and the Looter's Heaven were responsible for bringing his situation to the table of the trader's guild, then he had no doubt that this was their last ploy to take him out as a competitor—either by swaying him under their banner or forcing him to close up his shop.

"Well, I'm sure that we can work something out," Ryan pleaded. "The amount I have available is just shy of the complete thirty-five gold requested."

Even as Ryan said the words, in his heart he already knew that this wasn't going to be a negotiation. As much as the guild's man in front of him tried to claim power and influence, at the end of the day he was nothing more than a puppet—or a messenger, if you will.

The man had as much control over Ryan's situation as Ryan currently had: none. His future had been stamped the moment he decided to go against the Looter's Heaven, which was something that Ryan would forever stand by, no matter what it would cost him.

He wasn't going to be someone's puppet. The Looter's Heaven had tried their best to make their offer seem enticing, but at the end of the day, they were literally offering nothing but the opportunity to become a glorified puppet.

"Be that as it may," the guild's man said as he spread out his arms, "I have strict orders on what to do if you don't have the gold ready—nothing personal."

Somehow, hearing the words out loud weighed more on his shoulders, even though he'd already suspected it a long time ago. Even worse was the fact that the damned guild's man had gone from being smug to sounding genuinely sad at what he had to do, and Ryan almost cursed the fact that he couldn't hate the blasted man. He was, after all, just a puppet.

"What are you going to do now?" Leo asked.

The big man who'd remained quiet for a short stretch of time finally spoke, no doubt trying to soak in as much information as he could, considering the current circumstances. No need jumping headfirst into matters that he didn't understand, after all.

"Well, your brother Mr. Lionheart over here will have to hand over his shop and everything within immediately, and I'll lock up behind him," Coman said easily.

"That's it?" Leo asked.

"And if perchance he manages to somehow get the remaining money to get back his shop, he'd have to pay a one-time clearance fee of ten gold for wasting the guild's time and an additional two gold for every week that his seized property had to be secured by the guild," Mr. Coman replied.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Ryan sucked in a deep breath. That was certainly a lot of gold he'd have to pay compared to the less than four gold that remained for him to complete his fee.

What was worse was the fact that he'd most likely be unable to get back his shop with the high fee imposed. A fact that he knew the trader's guild knew, and the Looter's Heaven were well-versed in—something that the pair had probably counted on.

"That's steep," Leo said, receiving a nod in agreement from Ryan, who still didn't trust himself to speak.

"However, Mr. Lionheart, there's a way out if only you're willing to compromise," Coman offered.

Ryan looked up eagerly, and for some reason, Leo seemed to be as eager as Ryan—even more so—which Ryan found a little weird, although it might've just been the stress taking its toll on him.

"What's your offer?"

Ryan watched as the guild's man's eyes lit up just as much as Leo's, or even more so. No doubt in Ryan's mind that whatever deal would be presented to him right now would be a predatory one, as he was the person in a weaker negotiating position.

"You might want to reconsider the Looter's Heaven offer," the guild's man said as he unrolled a scroll he had tucked away somewhere and passed it to Ryan. "If you sign here and now, you'd be assured that I'll leave your presence immediately, and you'll be free to continue doing business."

Ryan collected the scroll half-heartedly, already dreading the words that were written on it. Leo peered over his shoulder, the big man's shadow covering Ryan as dusk began to set. The big man's shadow represented the doom and gloom of the current situation and how Ryan felt internally.

The contract written in the scroll was exactly the same as what he was offered previously—no tweaks or anything, just the same contract. Truth be told, he was a little surprised that they hadn't found a way to worsen the terms of the deal—if such could even be feasible considering the terrible terms on offer.

Leo seemed to groan behind him, no doubt coming to the same conclusion about the fairness of the deal. Ryan had to agree that what was before him wasn't different from slavery, and he'd rather end his career prematurely than continue and have to serve these... people.

"Can we negotiate the terms?" Leo asked.

"No, I can't negotiate on behalf of the Looter's Heaven," Mr. Coman replied.

"Well, tell us someone that we can talk to or take us there. Surely this can't be what they have on offer."

"Unfortunately, none of those things are possible," Coman said. "The decision is to be made now, and I assure you that those are the best terms that you can get considering your current predicament."

Ryan knew that the guild's man wasn't lying. No one else would offer him a clean slate—he knew the trader's guild weren't willing to offer him another day to get his funds in order. Which boiled down to this: slave or ending his career. It was all fun and games until it actually came to the time to act on all the bluster that he'd formed in his head. Suddenly, all the scenarios that had played up in his head became less and less favorable.

"Tell me honestly, Mr. Coman," Ryan said as he finally spoke up. "Would you take the chance at being a slave or ending your career?"

Ryan stared at the guild's man and closely watched the man's expression. He could tell that he'd unnerved the man badly; the guild's man seemed to consider and play around with the thoughts in his head.

"Mr. Lionheart," Mr. Coman started, clearing his throat before he continued, "my thoughts are irrelevant on the matter. I wouldn't know what I'd choose unless I found myself in the same conundrum as you are, so this is solely a predicament that only you can handle."

Ryan couldn't help but smile at how well the guild's man had handled the situation. He'd evaded the question expertly, making sure to turn the spotlight back on Ryan.

"I have a suggestion," Leo said.

Ryan turned to face the big man, hoping and begging in Veron's name that the big man had found a way to save him.