CHAPTER EIGHT

As he watched Eaton depart, Ryland desperately tried to think of something he could say to the man. He couldn’t tell him in an open setting what he wanted, much less yell it out, but did he really have a choice?

Ryland decided he had to risk it.

But, just as Ryland began to open his mouth he stopped.

Someone else was approaching Eaton - Koamalu.

His finely dressed south islander friend stopped in front of the rich merchant and gave a nod and a twirl of his hand just like Ryland had shown him was the capital style several days before. Eaton seemed so surprised by this, a south islander giving him this style of greeting, that he stopped and began talking with Koamalu.

Another of Eaton’s people approached to shoo Koamalu away, but Eaton waved him off, and Ryland could see they were in actual conversation. After a moment, Ryland’s eyebrows went up as he saw Eaton was laughing, just as Liz Sweet had been after a short conversation with the man.

Then a miracle happened, at Koamalu’s suggestion, Eaton called Ryland over.

As he approached, Eaton looked at Ryland and said, “Is this your man?”

Ryland nodded, praying that was the right answer.

Eaton cracked a smile. “He’s most entertaining.”

Ryland looked at Koamalu, who gave him an encouraging look.

“Yes, he is. He makes friends everywhere he goes.” Ryland agreed. “I hope he’s not bothering you?”

“No. No.” Eaton shook his head. “Actually, he’s a breath of fresh air in this stuffy place. Everyone just wants to talk about business. Speaking of which, you said you had an offer for me?”

“I do, sir.” And Ryland went for broke. “I’m in possession of my family’s Writ of Company.”

Eaton’s serious face returned in an instant. “You do? Are you looking to auction it?”

Ryland shook his head. “I was thinking of a more private deal.”

Thoughts flashing through his eyes, Eaton nodded slowly. “Then you came to the right person.” Eaton’s hand went up, and a nearby assistant rushed over, then with a word from Eaton he was gone. “I’ve arranged a private room. Let’s go talk, boys.”

As they followed the older man, Ryland leaned into Koamalu and whispered. “Thank you.”

“Hey uso, anytime.” Koamalu grinned. “Your problems are my problems.”

“What did you say to him?”

His friend shrugged. “I just said he reminded me of my uncle, but less fat.”

Ryland blinked. “That’s it?”

“Well,” Koamalu considered. “There was a bit more about coconuts.”

“Oh whatever.” Ryland shook his head. “Thank you again.”

“Hey. Let’s get him, eh?”

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Eaton led them to a room on another level of the mansion with two large men and another finely dressed older man waiting outside. The finely dressed man gave the young men a curious look, but mostly bowed and scraped before Eaton and opened the door to the room. Eaton took the boys inside, and the two large men were left outside as guards with their host.

Inside, the room was a finely decorated office, probably belonging to the man outside. Eaton took his place behind the marble desk while the two boys we directed to sit in the polished wooden chairs in front of the desk.

Once Eaton was seated, he looked at Ryland. “Do you have it with you?”

Ryland nodded and took out the box with the writ, sliding it onto the desk.

Eaton took a moment to examine the box, and then nodded to himself, satisfied. This impressed Ryland immediately because it meant Eaton knew the box was finely crafted of a rare pale elmwood that the imperial house used for distributing gifts. It was knowledge that few had, and showed the older man’s status.

Then Eaton opened the box carefully, and took out the small scroll, unrolling it gently and reading it. He held up the scroll to the light, checking for the image that was watermarked on all official imperial correspondence. In this case, as Ryland knew from having already checked it, it was an ox’s head, the symbol of the 20th emperor of the Glacian Empire.

At last, he rolled up the scroll and returned it to the box, closing it and sliding it back towards Ryland on the desk.

“How much do you want for it?” Eaton said.

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This was the big moment, and Ryland spoke firmly. “It’s not for sale.”

That made Eaton’s eyebrows raise. “I don’t think I understand.”

“The writ isn’t for sale, it’s collateral for a loan.” Then when the other man didn’t respond, Ryland continued. “Next month, the owner of this writ will need to pay 60,000 gold to the emperor for the honor of owning it. The writ itself is worth ten times that, if you have the forces to use it. I have the writ, but I don’t have the forces. I propose you lend me one hundred thousand gold, of which I’ll use 60,000 to pay for the writ, and the remainder to start my own armed escort agency.”

“And I get?” Said Eaton.

“The next payment is due in five years - if I don’t have the money to pay it, the writ becomes yours for a fraction of its value. If I do have the money to pay it, then I’ll also pay you double what you lent me for its return.”

“What’s to stop me from just keeping the writ or selling it once I have it?” Eaton tapped the desk with his fingers.

“You need my family seal for the transfer,” Ryland replied. “And I still have that. I will give it to a neutral third party for safe keeping, and they will give it to you if I fail to meet my deadline.”

“You thought it through carefully, very good.” Eaton said. “You have potential.”

This gave Ryland a new confidence, and he and Koamalu shared a smile.

“But potential doesn’t mean you’re a good investment...” Eaton considered, then a thought struck him and he snapped his fingers. “Come with me,” Eaton said, standing up.

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They were led to one of the mansion’s great halls, one which was already filled with people they’d seen at the party. In the center of the room was a large table big enough to fill most rooms by itself, and on that table was displayed a huge map covering Sigia Province and the provinces and territories that surrounded it. The city of Northport lay in the south-east corner, next to the Emerald River which snaked through the middle of the map. Sigia was bordered on the map by Bestha Province to the west and Caltha Province to the north, with the upper half of the map covering the Northern Territories.

As he walked around the map, Ryland could see the other major cities, towns, fortresses, mountains, rivers, forests, valleys, and other features marked on the map, as well as major trade roads and a few minor ones. Several of these trade roads had lines of coloured beads placed upon them, creating different coloured trails that connected the trade routes whose escort contracts were up for auction that day.

There were nine escort contracts up for the day, and Ryland studied the map carefully. He’d seen many maps of the empire, but the detail on this one was quite impressive. He also paid attention to where the different routes started and finished, and what routes they took among the features of the land.

As he was studying the map, Eaton watched him, and when Ryland was finished the merchant spoke.

“Four of these routes are for my goods.” Eaton explained, pointing out the relevant routes. “The yellow, purple, red, and white routes are being bidded on. You can see which companies are bidding on which route by the token with the company symbol next to the route markers.”

Ryland had noticed this already. Noting that the Jade Ravens and Oaken League Banner Companies had tokens next to all four routes, and several other smaller companies like the Rose Runners and Full Moon Legion had put in bids as well. Not all of the bids would be successful, but it meant that they planned to participate in the auction for each of those routes.

“I want you to tell me which company would be the best choice for each route, and why. You have until sundown to consider, and then expect an answer before the auction begins.” Eaton told them. “This will be a good test of your abilities. Try not to disappoint me, boys.”

Then Eaton walked away, leaving Ryland and Koamalu to stare at each other.

“Can you do it, uso?”

“I’m not sure.” Ryland admitted. How was he supposed to judge which companies were best suited to which routes? He had been away for almost a decade, and knew almost nothing about the size and capabilities of each of the escort groups.

“I need more information.” He admitted.

“Can we ask your uncle?”

“Good idea.”

They both turned and looked around, but Dunstand Fiske was nowhere to be seen.

“Maybe he’s still in the other party?” Koamalu suggested.

The two rushed back to the large terraced garden, but again, Ryland couldn’t find his uncle anywhere.

“Well this bites the goat. Maybe we should just talk to the groups, uso?”

Ryland shook his head. “If we do that, we’ll just get a bunch of puffery. They’ll never tell us their real information, just try to show off.”

“Could we ask each group about the other?”

It seemed like a good idea, but in the end Ryland also dismissed it. “We’ll get the opposite- they’ll make the other group seem worse than they really are. Besides, we can’t tell them the reason we’re asking, and that information is a guarded secret for most groups.”

“So...What now, then?”

Ryland thought hard, then he nodded and pointed at the horizon where the sun was just starting to set - the bottom of the giant orange ball of flame barely touching the land.

“Go to the Rose Runners, and without telling them why, get them to give you as much information as you can about the Jade Ravens and Oaken League. Anything could be useful, so don’t just ask for numbers.” He pointed at the sun. “Come find me in the map room when the sun is halfway gone. Don’t wait longer than that.”

“Okay, sure. You got it, uso. Where are you going?”

“To make a deal.”

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Ryland found her talking to an older merchant who was busy looking down her top.

When he did, he quickly walked up Minerva and politely tapped her on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, Mistress Soames. Your father is looking for you.”

Her eyes brightened the moment she saw Ryland, and she quickly turned and apologized to the merchant, letting Ryland lead her away by the arm.

“And, what does my father want?” She said in an amused tone.

“He wants to see his daughter not have to talk to lecherous old men.”

“Really?” She answered. “I thought he’d be more concerned about the intentions of younger men, especially ones that run off and leave his daughter alone and defenseless.”

“Sorry about that. Business.”

“Well, I hope it was successful, considering what it cost you.” She sounded mildly annoyed, although he couldn’t tell if she was serious or not.

“About that,” he said.“We’re having trouble closing the deal, and I was hoping you could help.”

“Not surprising.” She said dryly. “You don’t seem very good at closing deals. Do you need me to distract him with my charms?”

Ryland’s face flushed a little. “Ahh. No. I need your brain.”

“Does that mean you don’t find me charming?”

He felt her studying him, and avoided meeting her gaze. “Ahh. No. I...I wouldn’t say that.” He stammered. “You are...very charming.”

“Those are some honeyed lips you’ve got there, poet.” She said, back to sounding amused. “No wonder all the girls are chasing you.”

Ryland then told her a simple version of the situation. How they’d tried to make a business deal with Eaton, and he’d given them a challenge to see if they could be good partners. He left out most of the background and details, including the nature of the business deal itself.

When he finished, she looked at him, shocked.

“That’s crazy.”