Balthazar walked to the side of the baroness and looked toward the staircase to the second floor.

“Is your office upstairs?” he asked.

“Yes,” the mayor responded.

“Can’t go there then.”

The woman’s left brow rose slightly at the merchant.

“And why is that?”

“Stairs,” the crab replied, waving a pincer at the steps. “We don’t agree much.”

Baroness Marquessa placed a hand in front of her mouth as she let out a quiet chuckle of earnest amusement.

“Fret not, Mr. Balthazar. There is no need for us to use the stairs. Come with me.”

Puzzled, but obliging, the crustacean followed her past the front desk and behind the wall with the large clock.

“You got ramp accesses too?” he asked.

“No,” the amused lady said. “Something much better.”

Turning a corner, they arrived in front of a rectangular gate of iron and brass mesh. With a flick of her arm, the baroness snapped her fingers and the collapsible doors opened.

Balthazar stretched his eyestalks to peek inside. It was an empty cubicle with barely enough room for the two of them.

“Is this your office?” he said, turning his eyes back to the woman. “Kinda expected more, for a mayor.”

She smirked. “No, Mr. Balthazar. This will take us there. Please, go in.”

Shuffling awkwardly, the crab sidestepped his way into the strange square room, his shell barely fitting through the entrance. Lady Marquessa entered behind him, and once both were inside, the metal gate closed itself again.

The merchant looked around the bronze-colored interior, with its single light spot above. “So, what do we—”

With a sudden gulp, the words went back into Balthazar’s mouth as he felt his stomach shoot up inside his shell. But just as fast as it happened, it was over, and he felt it drop back to the bottom of his scrambled innards.

“What the hell just happened?!”

With a ding, the collapsible mesh gates opened again, and the baroness calmly stepped out of the cubicle.

“We have arrived on the second floor,” she stated.

Stumbling and slightly dizzy, the traveler exited the strange chamber of stomach turning, eyestalks rolling around to scan his surroundings.

“Wait, this is a different place from where we were a moment ago!” he said. “What just happened? Was that a portal you just took me through?!”

Lady Marquessa eyed the crab with a smile.

“Hardly,” she said. “It’s called an elevator. Amazing the things mages and artificers can make these days with the right metals and a few levitation spells.”

“Levitation spells?!” Balthazar said, leaning with one claw against the wall while trying to make the room stop spinning around him. “You should have told me. I have a bad history with that stuff!”

“Perhaps you will feel better if you sit down,” the woman said. “Let us step into my office.”

Opening a double wooden door, the baroness led the crab into a large room with a huge window opposite to the entrance.

Forgetting his stomach woes, Balthazar stared in awe at the impressive interior of the mayor’s office.

Furniture of the finest wood money could buy decorated a room full of imposing portraits of figures the merchant did not know. The floor, varnished and polished to perfection, had several wide rugs with impressive patterns and so soft-looking that the crab felt tempted to nap on them. At least until he looked at the chairs adorning the lounge area of the office. Solid, carved wood with soft cushions for the back and seat that looked even more comfortable as his bedding back home.

In front of the window stood a dark wooden desk, covered with papers, books, dossiers, and half-used inkwells. Lady Marquessa had already made her way across the room and behind the desk, where she sat down on a chair that would be better called a throne, in Balthazar’s opinion.

“Please,” she told him, while extending a hand towards a stool conveniently placed across the desk, opposite of her. Given the chairs the merchant saw moved aside, and how out of place the bench looked, something told him she had already planned for his presence.

As soon as Balthazar sat his ample underside on the bench, Octavia’s hands came together in front of her face as she leaned forward, placing both elbows on the desk.

“Let’s get down to business, Mr. Balthazar,” she said, with a penetrating intensity to her gaze. “I won’t insult your intelligence by dancing around the subject, I know just how sharp you are.”

The crab stared at the mayor for a second, utterly confused. “You do?”

“Most people living this far east may not hear much about what happens on the other side of the continent, but I am not most people. I’ve heard about your feats.”

Balthazar’s bewilderment continued to grow. “You have?”

“I must commend your acting skills,” the mayor said, blue-eyed gaze peeking over her entwined fingers. “To behave below your real intellect, acting like a distracted and confused animal, takes a lot of wisdom, but is an incredibly clever tactic to keep any possible foes off their guard. I am impressed by how well you play the part.”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“You are?” the completely befuddled crustacean said.

I can’t figure out if what she’s thinking of me is a good thing, or if I should feel insulted…

“There is no need to keep hiding, Mr. Balthazar,” she continued. “You are among like-minded friends in my office. I know all about your feud with Antoine back in Ardville, and I assure you, as the guildmaster of Marquessa’s merchants, I was happy to hear about his arrest. He was a shameful stain to us all.”

“Wait,” said the crab, “You’re telling me you’re also the leader of the merchants guild in this city?”

“Indeed, I am.”

“Wow, lady, leave some job positions for others, will you?”

The baroness-mayor-guildmaster chuckled in amusement.

“I must say, I very much enjoy your candid attitude. Most merchants and other figures I meet daily act with such pomp and false niceties, it becomes exhausting. I am glad to see you were perceptive enough to do away with all that around me, despite appearances.”

Don’t know what she means by doing away with it around her, but I’ll just roll with it. Hopefully that cafeteria downstairs has some cookies, and she’ll let me swipe a couple of them for free.

“So…” Balthazar started, “When are you going to tell me why you brought me here when all I wanted were directions.”

After regaining her composed smirk, Marquessa said, “You need someone capable enough to guide you to the coastal cliffs in one piece. I happen to know the one person who could do that.”

“Great! So if you could just tell me—”

“But as I’m sure your sharp negotiation senses already told you, we are in the city of trades, and I happen to have a problem of my own that needs solving.”

The crab’s eyestalks sagged in frustration.

Figures…

“And what would that be?” he asked.

“You have no doubt already become aware of the plight currently affecting our businesses.”

Balthazar looked at her with a cocked eyestalk.

“You mean the blatantly corrupt guards, or the robbing of mangoes?”

“Both,” the gold-clad woman said. “Mangoes are Marquessa’s biggest product. The fields outside the city are mostly dedicated to growing that fruit, thanks to our climate that makes their production so much easier. People from all over the continent come here after the summer harvest to enjoy all the many delicacies we produce with mangoes.”

The traveling merchant nodded. “I know, I tried a mango pie before coming here. Delicious!”

“Ah, yes, from Margo’s Boutique,” the baroness said, reaching into her sleeve and retrieving the letter Balthazar had delivered.

“That one, yes. She and her husband were complaining about how another shipment had just been stolen.”

“Indeed,” the mayor said, quickly glancing through the contents of the letter. “As… dramatic as Madame Margo can sometimes be, it doesn’t change the fact that this problem is threatening to grow into a full-scale crisis, if not handled soon.”

She stood up and stepped closer to the window, gazing outside with her hands behind her back.

“The truth is, Mr. Balthazar,” the baroness started, “whoever is behind these recent thefts has managed to infiltrate the previous rather inept and manageable criminal rabble of Marquessa and turn them into a much more organized and efficient threat. What’s worse, they have also gotten a hold on some of our guards, and as much as it shames me to admit, I have so far failed to come up with solutions to this problem.”

“Right…” Balthazar said, eyeing a ceramic jar on a nearby dresser and wondering if it contained any cookies. “And why exactly are you telling me all this?”

“Ah, I see you are testing my intentions,” the smirking woman said, turning from the window to face him again. “I get it. You’re not fully convinced about my goals yet. A smart precaution.”

The crab stared at her with unblinking eyes.

What is she on about?!

“I will lay my cards on the table, then, Mr. Balthazar,” the mayor said, sitting back down. “I am running out of options and time. This crime spree cannot continue, but when my own guards have been compromised, it becomes much more complicated to put a stop to it.”

“Have you tried getting some adventurers to look into it and solve the problem for you?” the merchant said with a shrug. “They love doing quests, if there’s a reward.”

The city keeper shook a finger in front of her face. “Great minds think alike, my friend. I knew that would be your first thought, as was mine. Especially given your famed history with adventurers back in your homeland. But no, unfortunately, that proved to not be the best option.”

Balthazar frowned. “Why not?”

Lady Marquessa sighed.

“Let’s just say that this task seems to require a lot more finesse than what can be expected from the common adventurer. I have made some attempts to employ the services of a few aspiring heroes from the guild, but tasks that require anything beyond what can be solved through sword, bow, or spell, are far beyond the reach of their kind.”

“Ahh,” the crab said with a nod and a knowing expression. “I think I know exactly what you mean. What you are saying is that most adventurers are as dumb as a door nail. I totally understand your pain.”

The woman threw an exasperated shrug over her desk. “I mean, for goodness’s sake, the last attempt I made to hire an adventurer to investigate this ended with several horses running loose on the streets, a lost shipment of mead barrels, and a barn being burned to the ground. When asked about it, the idiot kept blabbing about how nobody had told him stealth wasn’t optional, whatever that even meant.”

“Tsk, tsk. Typical adventurers,” the crab said, while crossing his arms and slowly shaking his shell.

“So,” the guildmaster continued, “you can imagine how hopeful I became when I found out that the one who took down the corrupt slimeball of Ardville’s merchants guild had just walked into my city, and what’s more, had just come to my niece’s aid while she was being harassed by those lowlifes. Someone of your renown cunning and bravery is exactly who I need to solve my mango thieves problem.”

Balthazar kept nodding along. “Right, of course. Not to brag, but I really am…” His eyestalks suddenly shot up. “Wait, you want me to do what?!”

“I wish to hire your vast skills to dismantle this corrupt operation plaguing my city, and uncover who is behind this dark scheme,” Baroness Marquessa declared.

The merchant stared at her for a couple of very quiet seconds.

“I’m… not sure that’s for me. Besides, I’m no adventurer to be taking on quest—”

“Naturally, you’d be very well compensated for any aid you could provide. The Marquessa family always shows great gratitude to its allies.”

The merchant’s antennae suddenly perked up. “What kind of compensation are we talking about here?”

Lady Octavia intertwined her fingers again. “The monetary kind, for starters. But I know a simple payment in coin would not suffice for someone like you…”

No, it totally would, but go on…

“I know a prodigal merchant like yourself would surely have an interest in opening trade routes with us. After all, Marquessa is the trade capital of Mantell. Help me solve my problem, and you will find the gates of our guildhall open to you and your business. And as a cherry on top of the cake, I would personally lend you the services of my most trusted right-hand man to guide you to your destination on the coast.”

Balthazar rubbed his chin with the back of his claw.

I do like cakes…

“What say you to my offer, Mr. Balthazar?” the baroness asked, her intense gaze fixed on the crab from across the desk.

He let out a quiet sigh.

It’s just one quick side task. How long could it take?

“I’ll do it,” the crab declared.

[Quest accepted: Marquessa’s Mangoes]