A fundamental change occurred in the boy after that fateful night. The once cheerful boy had become more taciturn and focused, and there were times when he’d sit in silent contemplation instead of nagging Mammon with incessant questions. The boy’s dependence on the demon did not diminish, in fact, it might have grown, but his outlook on life had certainly changed. Wren would think before he spoke and would seek out increasingly more complex answers to life’s many mysteries.
Mammon did his best to answer the questions that he could, but as topics went into the history of the realm or on the subject of the arcane, the demon knew that he would have to find a suitable tutor for both himself and the boy. That task proved harder than he initially thought.
“So you’re saying that there are no available mages here at all?” Mammon, dressed in his Amon guise, asked the tired-looking receptionist, “How can there be no mages in the Mages Guild?”
“I apologize, sir,” the gentleman replied, “I know you’ve just moved here, but…” he gestured to the dilapidated and empty guild hall. Dust and mold grew in the corners of the room, and the furnishings didn’t look like they’ve been replaced since the last century. This place was a ruin of what it once was.
“How is it possible for one of the biggest organizations to have such a squalid branch?” Mammon asked, he was genuinely surprised by just how bad things were, especially given how much money he had spent to purchase the necessary fake identifications needed to get into the wealthier parts of town. Every other store on the busy streets were filled with opulence with the sole exception of this place, and Mammon wanted to know why.
The man returned a nervous chuckle. “It was always difficult for us to recruit skilled mages this far north, especially given the distances between the town and the nearest Towers, so our numbers were always small.”
Mammon nodded, waiting for the man to continue.
“Unfortunately, our numbers have only dwindled over the years, and even at the best of times, we were a small branch, but since the recall order from the capital, we’re down to just one full-time mage.”
“Recall?” Mammon asked, this was news to him.
“You haven’t heard?”
Mammon shook his head. “I’ve been busy establishing myself in this town, and I’ve been on the road for a long time before that, so I’ve not been caught up with the most recent developments.”
“Ah,” the receptionist said, “The journey to such a remote location must have been hard, especially with a young child to care for. I apologize for being insensitive.”
“It’s alright, it is partly my fault for not keeping up with the times, but you were saying something about the recall?”
The man nodded. “Right, there was an order from the capital calling back all active mages, and before you ask, we don’t know why they were recalled. There are rumors, of course, of an upcoming war or a huge breakthrough in research, but they’ve been keeping things under wraps for some reason.”
Mammon raised an eyebrow, this was news to him. In the weeks that the demon had been here, he’d been able to find local news easily enough, but any information about the larger kingdom was woefully lacking. It was like this barony was purposefully isolated from the rest of the world, and Mammon had a sneaking suspicion that there was something going on in the background of this remote town.
“I see, that is unfortunate,” the demon muttered, “I was hoping to find someone knowledgeable about magic around.”
The receptionist gave Mammon an awkward smile. “You’ll have a hard time finding anything but sycophants and criminals here nowadays…”
“What do you mean?”
“Sorry,” he said quickly, “Forget what I just said.”
Mammon eased into the desk and gave the man a comforting smile. “It’s fine, I’m just sojourning here, I’ve no real connections to this place, regardless of what the rumors might indicate. Please, feel free to speak your mind.”
The man glanced around before speaking in a whisper. “Look, since you have no real ties here, and seem like a nice enough individual, I’d highly recommend leaving this place when you can. Go south, closer to the Towers if you’re interested in magic.”
Mammon glanced outside at the bustling commerce and happy citizens milling about before giving the receptionist a questioning glance.
“I know,” he said quickly, “If you’ve just been in the noble quarters then you might not have noticed, but the town’s getting worse year by year. Crime’s still being kept out around here, but there’s news that a new criminal organization’s sprung up, one run by a pretty powerful Rogue, and they’re worse than anything we’ve seen before. I’ve seen firsthand what they’ve done to the people in the slums, and it’s not pretty.”
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The demon nodded. It seems like these activities have not been completely hidden, not that he had expected that would be the case. He wasn’t exactly subtle about taking control of the lower districts, and his means were meant to shock and leave a message. Mammon supposed that he should have known that things were not all right in this town when no one came to do something about his activities.
“Yes,” Mammon said with a knowing nod, “I had noticed that some parts of this town were more lawless than normal. But surely the baron would do something about this new gang before long?”
The other man grimaced. “That’s the thing, the baron’s been locked up in his mansion since the beginning of the year. It’s been his useless ministers and corrupt cabinet members running the show for a while now, and they don’t know the first thing about government.”
Ah, that would explain quite a lot. Mammon didn’t put too much thought into the lives of the humans and their tiny civilization, but even he had to acknowledge the huge disparity between the slums and the noble quarters. The citizens looked dissatisfied, sure, but it wasn’t at the level of a peasant revolution yet, but then again, the inept leaders only had a few months to screw things up.
Mammon gave a well-timed sigh.“I guess that would explain the huge disparity in wealth?”
The man nodded. “It’s only gotten worse, not that the nobles would ever complain, mind you, but there’s a reason so many scholars and mages have left, even before the recall. The coffers are emptying, trade is at an all-time low, and the common citizen can only take so much abuse before something gives.”
The demon nodded. “Thank you for letting me know… so the cause of all of this is the absence of the baron, right?”
“Yeah, and like I said, no one other than the ministers knows if he’s even alive. We haven’t even seen his son around since about a week or two ago, and they used to parade that little brat like a trophy when they announced the baron’s supposed ‘sickness’.”
Mammon felt good to know that corruption within the people in charge hadn’t changed, even with the humans in this unknown land. It was a good thing that Mammon was very good at using human Greed to his advantage. This gave the demon the perfect opportunity to improve his stagnant situation, and his mind was already spinning with ideas and plots. If there’s a baron missing from the public eye, well, who’s to say that he couldn’t come back a little changed?
The demon gave the man a tired sigh and muttered, “Then let’s hope that the baron will show himself soon and fix this mess. I’m enjoying my time here, and it’d be a pity to leave so soon.”
The receptionist laughed louder this time. “Don’t count on it, friend. Whispers from the maids in the mansion say that the man’s on his deathbed, if not already deceased, and I’ve seen nothing to disprove those rumors. Like I said, my advice is to get out of here while it’s still relatively calm.”
“I’ll think about it,” Mammon replied and threw a few gold coins in the man’s direction. It was never a bad thing to appear generous to the locals, especially for those who could be useful in the future.
The man’s eyes lit up as he pocketed the money. He bowed low and thanked the demon profusely.
“If you have any more news about the town, please let me know,” Mammon said before heading out, “You have my address, and I’d appreciate any updates on the situation.”
The receptionist subconsciously rubbed the new coins he got and answered with a bright smile, “Of course, Master Amon. I’ll do my best to keep such an erudite gentleman like yourself informed!”
Mammon waved goodbye one last time before heading out into the cold, but bustling streets. Everywhere he looked, he saw the happy faces of shoppers and gossipers abound, all without a care in the world. However, as he peered closer into the inner workings of the streets, he saw the cracks of the facade fade. The laborers and menials working behind the scenes looked tired and disheveled, areas of disrepair gathered in the hidden corners of the buildings, and the unmistakable air of misery permeating from just outside these opulent walls. Discontent was certainly brewing.
But that led to the obvious next question. How would Mammon leverage this opportunity? His end goal was simple enough, he’d ideally want to replace the old baron, take his identity if possible, or simply usurp him if that doesn’t work, and with the resources of a small barony at his disposal, he could use those resources to slowly groom Wren into a leader. Plus, being an official noble with a title would be absolutely vital for his long-term goals.
Mammon supposed that he could stage a coup with his underworld connections, but that would be something he would do as an absolute last resort. Not only would the citizens and nobles be up in arms about a lowly thug taking over, but this kind of open warfare would only alert the neighboring towns and cities, and it was much too early for Mammon to show himself on the world stage.
Realistically, Mammon could go at it in two ways. He could either use his underground connections to send spies into the baron’s mansion to see just what was going on in there, figure out if there were any weaknesses in the ministers and governing officials that he could exploit, and take over that way, or he could leverage his status as Amon the wandering noble to lead an uprising. That was the ideal way to go at things. It would ensure that he had a legitimate standing and identity in this world for both him and the boy, and it would be the foundation for all of the demon’s future ambitions. The only problem with the second method was just how excruciatingly long it would take to earn the trust and admiration of the masses, and Mammon certainly didn’t have the patience for such a long-winded plan.
Instead, a new idea formed in Mammon’s mind. Why not make the best of both worlds? Amon had already established himself as a charming older gentleman of foreign birth and mystery, and rumors were already circulating among the housewives about his origins and why he was here. After being literal demonic nobility, Mammon naturally gave off an air of sophistication and charisma that made the people around him gravitate around him, and his influence was only growing with each day.
Plus, given how much he liked to spend and the frequent social gatherings that Mammon hosted, he was already someone well-respected within the wealthy community and was seen as a natural leader. With a little more work in the coming days and weeks, it wouldn’t be too big of a stretch if Amon was able to take advantage of an unfortunate situation, like, say, a vacancy in government. Lies and propaganda would ensure his legitimacy after that.
All it would take was that perfect opportunity for Amon to step in and solve the growing crisis plaguing this small town, and it was a good thing that Mammon had the means to do just that. The demon headed to his headquarters in the slums and planned to announce a new operation, one that would shape the future of this small northern town into something much more.