BECMI Chapter 179 – There are Kingdoms, and then there are Kingdoms…

“Are you satisfied with your working capital?” I asked my companions as we exited the Royal Bank, passing over several Scrolls to Alamos with a touch of my finger and .“I believe we just became a Great House of Federyn in terms of pure assets, if not in real property owned,” the Catcher commented wryly, but his eyes were sparkling. “Thank you for the monetary aid, Lady Edge. I find it remarkable that you can draw such amounts of wealth out so easily from the world…”

“And I still charge for my services?” I answered the unspoken question. “Karma, Master Kociba, Karma. The value of my services is often dependent on what people will pay for them, especially for mundane services not in service to a higher calling. Also, I am fully cognizant of the financial value of my services, and I am not going to let those whose major consideration is the accumulation of wealth get away from proper compensation for what I do.

“As for the wealth here, the need for goldweight is never-ending. I could devote a great deal of time to bringing out more goldweight, and I could still run through it all with remarkable speed. I believe if Regent Himmel’s Artificers were to devote themselves to it, they could go through a ton of pure gold a day without too much difficulty.”

“Ah.” Two hundred thousand gold, eaten up every day? Darkmoor had excellent economic foundations for its size, but that was simple an untenable amount of gold lost. It had taken the dwarves months to gather enough spare gold to pay Regent Himmel’s ransom, and it had been half that size… ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ ????????????????????~????????????????~????????????

“Do you believe you will have many problems establishing a viable trading house here?” I asked Yedemil, whose green eyes flashed as she looked about the largely human population around us.

“This nation is very friendly to managing trade and so-called soft economic power,” she judged. “Its mineral wealth is not high, but it astutely trades its renewable resource of food for non-renewable mineral wealth. It has managed to attain peace with all its neighbors, and its reach is considerable. Its only major weakness is similar to Darkmoor in that it does not have a well-developed naval presence, and this is exploited by its trading partners.” She smiled thinly. “The elves of the Sidheduiche are naturally inclined to be as isolationist as those back in Darkmoor. I will have little problem dealing with their clans, even so. But humans are generally short-sighted and easy to take advantage in the long-term if one doesn’t ignore the violence of their short-term maneuverings.

“Yes, Lady Edge, I can certainly establish a trading house here. With the dwarves supplying an extractive industry foundation and Miss Saliaveli beginning work on a superior manufacturing base, I state confidently that in ten years we can be a leading power in this country, and not the THE leading power only if we deign not to be.”

“Excellent. I will leave you to your work again, while I play the traveling nobody. Let us depart around this corner…”

Those ahead of us didn’t see us as we rounded the turn. Those behind us lost sight of us as we did so. When those following us, seeking more information on this group that had turned the Royal Bank on its ear, arrived at the corner, we were not present, nor was anyone reacting as if we’d vanished or anything.

Befuddled, the agents of various Houses and interested parties could only shake their heads and move away to report to their own bosses on this interesting new development in Federyn, and all was good.

Darkmoor’s forces could easily use Federyn as a foundational base for their people in the interim, as we had time to build up a true land free of an existing nation further north in Eislas where we wouldn’t have to contend with or conquer a native country. Which likely would not prevent a nation or empire from attempting to conquer us, but that was a different story.

“It appears we must seriously consider a mail service,” I noted flatly, regarding the rather large pile of envelopes, parcels, packages, and small boxes now heaped up on the table in front of us.

The students all looked quite proud at all these developments. They were being paid quite well to deliver all these things to separate parties along our route… with the notarized contracts for such deliveries, of course, everything above the board. If they wanted hush-hush, they wouldn’t be choosing Zanzyran wizards known for their lack of subtlety and flagrant clothing styles.

“At least some of these are bait and traps, meant to misdirect attention and get their opponents scurrying after us while the real information is delivered via other means. most likely.” Their faces fell as they realized the truth of that. “That said, as long as you deliver, then you shall be paid, and if it starts more excitement on the way, well, that is hardly a surprise.”

“May we go out tonight again?” Laurentide asked quickly, her green eyes dancing at the thought.

“Master Guy?” I inquired of our professional guide to carousing.

“The fine members of the mercantile houses here in the capital have likely not heard of all the interesting things that befell in Absoglor, and given the interest stirred up by said news, I think you can expect trouble from multiple vectors, including the otherwise usually-honest local constabulary,” Guy replied in an urbane, bored voice. “I expect kidnapping attempts, framed for murders, at least one infiltration of your rooms, and threats made against the managers of this hostel to scare them and their employees into silence.

“By all means, we should go out and enjoy ourselves again. It promises to be a wonderful time!” he smiled in dark anticipation.

Completely looking past the dire warnings, the students all looked at me hopefully with bright, beaming smiles.

“Well, then, Guy, do take them to the most entertaining and edgiest establishments where the most fun is to be had, of a certain.”

“Oh, I shall, I shall, indeed!” he promised me.

“The two of them almost managed to snatch and gas down Laur there, but Master Buck showed up and put a knife into the kidney of the one, and then Laur turned the other into a crab and the situation rather resolved itself quickly after that!” Isadora snickered as we zipped on down the trade road along the Wynxias south, racing the barges and trade vessels down the river to the great swamp that was Federyn’s only border with the sea.

“Oh, oh, and that barmaid who lured Hammel upstairs, and they thought knocking him on the head would do something!” laughed Nico knowingly. “There weren’t too happy to find it were Braun in an illusion! I understand the place was something of a wreck, but Hammel was downstairs the whole time and couldn’t be responsible now, could he?”

“Three brawls in one night! Did they not see we have a Mountaire with us? What were they thinking?” Messime snickered, giving the big lupin a friendly and knowing pat on the shoulder. He beamed happily at recognition of his head-thumping acumen.

“’Twere setting us up to be pickpocketed and thrown out on the streets, o’ course, preferably with all our baggage taken with magical pouches and whatnot,” the Mick interjected easily. “That hyn is a right menace, you know. You don’t see him coming, you don’t see him going, and suddenly there’s the purses of a good crew running a con paying for everyone’s drinks and they not be happy about it.” He flexed skinned knuckles which had broken more than a few heads the night before. “Them luring us to those warehouses with word o’ ‘tempting reagents’ were just too obvious. Methinks they were getting desperate at that point!”

“It wasn’t me!” Nico said defensively, before I could turn around, the news of a fire in the warehouse district being all over the city. “The chemicals they had there were a bit combustible, and a lantern might have been overturned in the scuffles…”

“By which he means we ran out of there as the idiots were trying to douse the flames and failed. Serves them right!” the rakasta Owisha spat eloquently. “Did they truly think I couldn’t smell the difference between chicken blood and roc blood?” she sneered.

“To be fair, Owisha, they probably did not,” the archer Rika informed her. “They didn’t look to me like the brightest of hired help. Used to dealing with fat merchants and bodyguards, not a group of wizards!”

“Aye, that were truth. They did bring a lot of knives and rapiers to a spellcasting fight,” the Mick agreed for everyone. “Turning all that lot’s hair and skulls bright blue were too funny, however.”

“I did think it a nice touch myself, Master McMikal!” Laurentide beamed at the compliment.

“Master Guy did mention something about tracking down some fellows in blue to find out who was paying them,” I mentioned over my shoulder, valiantly not rolling my eyes or shaking my head as the others delightfully went over all the exciting things they’d managed to cram in last evening somehow. The duo hadn’t planned it all, but one could have sworn Guy and Buck had managed to organize an exciting night out, just for them!

Things just got exciting around Zanzyrans, I had to consider. Especially their polarizing opinions about non-Casters and especially dwarves, although none of the students was doing anything like voicing that nonsense, very carefully trained to shut up as to their prejudices. They could vent at other times, and the dwarven prejudice was based on stupidity, anyway.

“Are we going all the way to Rhodos, Lady Edge?” Nico called out, laying back on his and watching the sky go by above. We were moving as fast as a courser or faster, but -riding stayed smooth and bereft of bouncing, especially on the well-maintained road. The only excitement was swerving around other people coming or going on the way.

“No, we’ll be turning and heading east from Hynpact after a quick meal there. We will be spending the night in the Shires. From there further east into Warsherz and then beyond into Siricil’s border duchies.” I glanced back at them. “I trust no one was foolish enough to accept a package bound for a city we are NOT going to?”

“We do have one for a ship supposed to be moored at Hynpact!” Nico spoke up quickly. “Something to do with a trade with Chimaro, we were told?”

“How fast can you make a copy of that letter and trap it with something embarrassing when it is stolen from you?” I asked of him.

He looked at me, considered the topic, and smiled, snapping his fingers. “Lady Edge, I have just the thing! Laur, I need to borrow that spell that turned the sots odd colors. I’m thinking garish pink this time…”

I turned back as the Alchemist and a student who loved transformation magic conferred quickly on exciting things to do to someone who dared to pickpocket or steal from a wizard…

The city of Hynpact was the main link between Federyn and the Shires of the hynfolk, and not unexpectedly about half its population was hyn. Oswald Brandybuck’s people were small in size, but big in heart, and also industrious and competitive in their own way, with courage belying their size and a willingness to stand up to those larger than them.

A caravan from the western Shires had come over the hills and into town, and there was an air of busy excitement there as it prepared to transfer its cargo, with plenty of people tall and short running back and forth through the town as packages and bundles and bushels were hauled around busily.

We were almost to the warehouse offices where we were supposed to meet the captain of the vessel for letter delivery when Nico coughed and spoke up, “Um, Lady Edge, the package is missing!” he called out in a voice and expression that was only a little too woeful to be believed.

“Yes, it was taken when the fellows in the red cart passed by. A hyn snuck under the wheels, came in under the Disk, severed the Wards with a lead rod there long enough to look inside, see it, pocket it, and then roll out into the band of children and dogs that came racing by in the opposite direction… all the children being other hyn, of course.”

He just looked impressed. “Well, it should be opening just about-”

There was a big gratifyingly loud and audacious POOM about a block away, sounding like a rather melodious fart. Glittering smoke wooshed up into the air, glowing a hot pink.

“I think we’ll tell the captain who to be on the lookout for. How hard is that formula to get off?” I asked neutrally.

“Mundane means won’t work at all, and it will take at least two weeks to fade,” Nico smirked confidently.

“Make sure you tell him,” I said, and he swept inside with Laurentide, drawing the Scroll that was the true package out of his sleeve to do so.

We wouldn’t be here long.