Chapter 30 Paying debts...
For the third and if I was lucky final time in my life I entered that sitting room once again. Lady Brandmount sat there in the same chase lounge looking almost exactly the same, still with her golden tanned skin and white as snow hair, though the dress she wore this time was of a deep blue that seemed to match her eyes. I looked at her as I entered the room, the bag of silver clutched to my chest almost like a mother holding her daughter close. This had to go well, it was a chance at freedom, no, not a chance this was a certainty and I was going to seize it with both paws, and if I needed to my teeth and hold onto it.
As my eyes locked onto hers something seemed to change about my body, the timidity was gone, replaced with a fit of anger that made me want to leap across the room and strangle the woman to death before anyone could do anything. The only thing that stopped me was Seri’s hand on my shoulder. Something was absolutely comforting about that hand, gripping me lightly. I reached up and placed my paw over her fingers before stepping forward and placing the money down on the table in between the lady brandmount and me. “She has brought your silver,” I hissed through clenched teeth.
“I see that,” she said, almost like she had no problems now that the money was paid, almost like she was pleased this matter was over. She opened the bag and spilled its contents on the dark wooden lacquered surface, looking at all of it, nodding slowly to herself. “Yes, and I am sure there is no stolen silver in this pile,” she glanced up at me, “after all, the guard has been mostly through I am told.” I didn't answer that, as saying anything could give me away, so instead I chose to say nothing. “Did you know that each and every noble house has the silver they earn reminted, allow us to put both house seal on the underside as well as a set of serial numbers on it?” she pulled out a coin from the lot and held it up for me to see. “I have always found the process to be interesting, it has always seemed like it would be too difficult or costly and not to make much sense,” she smiled a wan smile. “If we pay the baker with our silver then he uses it at a brothel we will know it once that coin makes it’s way to the bank, it is perfect way of tracking our employees and seeing what they are up to.” she smiles “But what happens if the silver is stolen?” she smiled at that.
“Rinmua thinks where it surfaces will tell you where it has been,” I answer, and like an indulgent mother leading her kitten along a logical path she nodded and smiled.
“You are correct, you see there is a spell we keep on the silver and gold and other valuables, it is a sort of inventory spell, it tells us exactly the number of coins in the vault,” she paused, “Well, rather it tells us the number of items in the vault, meaning if some are taken we are then alerted of this,” she smiled at me. “My husband is the master of coin in the city, as you would imagine he is quite meticulous with his coin, we employ many many people to inventory the money we bring in, each lot is written down,” her fingernail traced the first three letters and two numbers on the coin, this one, in particular, showed BRM91. “Those are the lot numbers, BRM for Brandmount, and the 91 for the lot, each lot has 200 coins in it, and each is divided into a different chest, meaning that in a chest only lot 91 is located there.”
“If coin can be remitted Rinmua wonders how you can keep track of any of it.”
“Oh that is quite simple, you see the presses required to remint are in the capital, and there is no forge that can copy it, you see each and every coin is minted with a small spell in it, one that is specific to the Jarl’s high court and one that cannot be duplicated, many have attempted reforging and enchanting the silver, after all, you surely know how easily silver takes enchantment, its just none have succeeded, and frankly anyone who can even see the slightest mana can tell a real one from a fraud.” It struck me again that I was at a disadvantage, not being able to see mana or magic at all, it seemed that even the most basic people could see it. It was like I was blind surrounded by people who kept telling me to look at this or look at that, my eyes were open but I was seeing nothing…”And when the metal is melted back down it loses the enchantment, meaning it has to be reapplied by the official sources.”
“Rinmua finds this all fascinating, but wonders why she is being told this?” I tap my paw on the floor as though I am growing impatient with the woman, which was only a half lie.
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“Listen puss, I know you broke into my house, I know you stole my ledgers and registers and killed a guard of mine,” she leaned forward her eyes glowing. “So can we both be adults and discuss what to do about this? What do you need to give those back?” She asked leaning back into the chair. As she did so something glinted and caught my eye. There under a cushion of the lounge, she was sitting on was a scrying stone, hidden so I couldn't see it. My mind started running through the implications quickly.
Scrying stones were magical artifacts that allowed user to see what the stone sees, apparently they even remember events witnessed through them, but I highly doubted they remembered everything, after all, there was plenty of time between when I put the scrystone in my pack and when the guard captain had looked at it and he hadn’t needed to search through it all to find the memory of my hunt, it just was there. Meaning that if they had a scrystone down in the vault it would have still required a person actively watching it, which is quite tiring due to the amount of mana required, or so I am told. And if they had had a person scrying and I had actually been seen then I have no doubt that the scrystone would have been used to convict me. Which meant that she was attempting to get me to confess and have it recorded on a scrystone to get me caught.
I had to fight to keep the smile off of my face…
“She is sorry, but she has no idea what you are talking about, this is the second time she has been accused of theft and she must say she is not very fond of it.” I hiss at her narrowing my eyes.
“Tell me where the books are!” she growled, “or I will carve the location out of your flesh!” I looked at her and pulled a face of disgust, it was odd to me that such a beautiful creature could hide something so dark and ugly underneath, it made me wonder what Lord Brandmount was like to allow his wife to have such a character.
“Rinmua is done here, the debt is paid and she wishes to never have any more contact with the likes of you,” I say, turning on my heels.
“Oh, we are not done,“ she called out behind me as I made my exit, it took all of my will to prevent me from turning around and agreeing with her. “Trust me, we Brandmounts own everything, you will be getting no work anywhere, you will not be able to purchase any goods, even food and shelter and-” I turned around and looked at her as she smiled a twisted smile at me. “You won't even be allowed to leave, seeing as you are under investigation at the moment, I trust you will be back to tell me more when you have,” she cackled to herself, “chilled out a bit.”
“Rinmua would like to inform you that she lived in the mountains her whole life, there was snow practically year round and as a culture Rinmua’s people don't wear clothing, we have never really felt the need seeing as we are covered in fur,” I reached over and took Seri’s hand, she was attempting to hide a smirk. “Thus she would like to say she is quite fine in the cold, she often prefers it.” I left after saying that, opening the large oak door myself to go into the hallway before even the smartly dressed butler could get the door open for me. Outside in the hallway was Earla, she was a tall woman, in her mid-thirties with green eyes and red hair she pulled back behind her head and tied in a braid. Holding it in place was a small leather thong she had tied around her forehead. And across her nose and the entire middle section of her face was a scattershot of freckles, in her leather clad hands she held a bowl of water, which as we stepped out of she placed down on a window ledge and looked up at us propper. “Rinmua wonders if you enjoyed the show?” I ask looking at the guard woman. She was like her build, stoic, strong, sturdy, and if I had to say probably a little sarcastic mixed in their as well.
“Oh yes, imagine my surprise when a servant tells me to look into this bowl and I am now privy to the conversation inside the chamber,” she shook her head. “I hate it when civilians attempt to take the law into their own hands, it never goes well, that was the worst interrogation I have ever seen in my life, and she even had the nerve to threaten you with torture and the like.” she shook her head, “you never lead with that, you course first and then if that doesn't work you get more aggressive, after all, testimonies after torture are tenuous at best, seeing as once you break a man he will testify to anything, even if it is false, anything to get free from the pain...”
“That...” Seri looked down at me before glancing back up at Earla, “was decidedly darker than I expected.” I nodded my head in agreement.
“Sorry, my husband is an interrogator,” she smiled fondly, “he likes his work,” a slight blush crept into her cheeks, and an image I didn't want to really see popped up into my head before I could really stop myself I spoke out aloud.
“Rinmua wonders if Earla has ever been interrogated by her husband and wonders how much she enjo-” Sarena’s hand clamped over my snout, cutting off the words and causing me to bite the tip f my tongue in a rather painful way. She pulled me into her chest and started marching me forcefully down the hall towards the door, leaving behind Earla standing there in the hallway blushing brighter than a hunters moon on a cloudless night.