The Merchant Guild (2)
Bordon called Ellen into his private room.
"Ellen, I hear you appraised an artifact for us. A merchant worth his name keeps every transaction thorough."
"It's fine. Between friends, this much is only natural."
"Even between friends, money has to be settled cleanly. Take this."
Despite Ellen's polite refusal, Bordon insisted on pressing the payment into his hand.
In truth, Ellen had little need for a sum of that size. He still had the reward from Hameron's dungeon, and what Eugene had given him as well. Standing there awkwardly, he found his thoughts drifting back to the goods he had seen earlier in the merchant house.
"If you insist, then… would you let me look at a few magic items instead?"
"Because you're a magic academy student, is that it? Fine. The warehouse is full of things that might catch your interest. I'll let you take something suitable from there as payment."
Bordon hustled him off to the warehouse before the boy could change his mind. A merchant's instincts were whispering that forming a connection with this youth would pay off handsomely down the line.
"Was there something that caught your eye while you were looking around earlier?"
"There was one curious piece. I'd only ever seen it in books—never the real thing."
Ellen headed straight for the spot where he had appraised Garin's Song. Bordon followed, genuinely curious what the boy would choose.
"There it is."
Ellen lifted a large cloth robe and the mask hanging beside it.
"That's a Robe of Cleanliness. The kind the sewage workers use, isn't it?"
The warehouse held any number of pieces a student who dreamed of becoming a mage would have leaped at. Bordon could not make sense of the choice.
"I heard it keeps the body clean of foul stench and filthy waste. It looks like only Clean magic is inscribed on it, yet the effect is that strong—I wanted to study the principle."
"Haha. My own son could stand to learn from that attitude. Even the reason for picking an item is different when it's a prodigy. Well, if that's what you want, take it."
The cloth garment and mask carried only 1st Circle magic, so they were hardly precious. In fact, they fell far short of a typical appraisal fee.
A good deal. I sealed a connection and got the appraisal done in the bargain.
Bordon was a merchant to the bone; weighing profit in every matter had long since become second nature.
Getting hold of a Robe of Cleanliness normally means jumping through a lot of tiresome hoops. This worked out perfectly.
The laborers who worked the capital's waste-treatment facilities were hired directly by the royal household. All their equipment was issued by the crown. For a private individual to obtain a Robe of Cleanliness, one had to navigate official channels. Finding one here by chance made the trade more than satisfying for Ellen as well.
"Ellen, you're back? What's with that weird robe?"
The moment he stepped into the room, Duns—who had been sprawled on the bed—shot upright and came straight over.
"Just something I wanted to research. Kinber's father gave it to me."
Kinber tilted his head and eyed the robe in Ellen's hands.
"I thought that thing was nothing special. Did the old man pull a prank on my friend too?"
"No. He was going to pay me in coin, but I asked for this instead. There are a few more things I want to look into, so I'm planning to start hunting for them tomorrow."
Kinber stared at him with pure exhaustion in his eyes.
"You're going to study even during your suspension?"
"That's why they call me a genius, right?"
Locke regarded Ellen with the exact same look.
"You can't research freely inside the academy, so this is a good chance."
"Once you leave, you're not coming back until the suspension is over?"
"I was planning to live on my own anyway. If I finish what I want to research before the period ends, I'll come back."
"I was looking forward to us throwing a party or something. What a shame."
Duns grumbled, openly disappointed.
"Then let's play today."
At Ellen's words, Kinber broke into a broad grin and produced a liquor bottle he had been hiding. It looked expensive.
"Hey—if Father catches me with this, I'm a dead man."
"Ooh, something this precious?"
"Kinber, you bastard!"
Watching them make such a fuss over a single bottle, Ellen let out a quiet snort of laughter. His body was a boy's, but his mind was that of a middle-aged man. Their antics could only look endearing.
"We're all dying tonight."
Still, he matched their energy. He could not remember the last time he had played so purely. For a little while, he decided to set himself aside.
And so they partied hard.
"I mean—"
Before long, Duns collapsed mid-sentence. Locke was already asleep.
"You bastards, get up!"
Kinber did not look much better himself.
"You seem pretty drunk too."
"I'm fine! Totally fine!"
His tongue was thoroughly tangled. Ellen pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head.
"Sorry. I've got a lot to do tomorrow."
He cast Sleep magic on Kinber. Only then did the boy drift off peacefully.
The next morning, Ellen rose early on his own, packed his things, and left the merchant house. Bordon and Sena came out to the gate to see him off.
"Come visit again. And stay close with our Kinber."
Sena smiled brightly and waved.
"Thank you for taking such good care of me."
"If you're short of coin when you're buying things, use my name. In Harryford, my name is good for credit anywhere."
Bordon held out his hand, looking a little regretful.
"Thank you. And this is only a rumor, but be careful when you deal with the Chedelton family. I hear that house likes to play games with contracts."
"What do you mean by that?"
Bordon clearly did not grasp the warning. Ellen had not particularly expected him to, so he brushed it aside.
"Never mind. Just something I overheard at the academy. You don't need to worry about it."
"Alright. Travel safely."
Bordon simply assumed the academy student was showing off a scrap of gossip he had picked up, and let the remark pass without concern as he bid Ellen farewell.
Ellen, in fact, already knew what would become of Bordan Merchant. To seize control of the Magic Tower side of the business, the Chedelton family would force a merger. When the time came, they would exploit the contract clauses with surgical precision. Bordan Merchant would be absorbed by Chedelton for essentially nothing.
Doesn't matter. I only mentioned it lightly because I thought of it as a connection. Now it's time to do what I need to do.
Leaving the merchant house behind, Ellen turned his steps toward Harryford's western gate. The place he arrived at was nearly deserted. He began running his hands over the massive wall before him.
It was around here, I think.
Click.
As he continued to probe the stone, something gave under his fingers.
Rumble.
The ground directly in front of the wall vanished, revealing a narrow staircase that led downward.
Hameron's second dungeon.
The dungeon that, upon discovery, had thrown the entire Prode Kingdom into uproar now lay open before Ellen's eyes. And for good reason—it sat inside the walls of the capital itself. Until Hameron found it, no one had even known it existed.
This time, it'd be best to clear it without anyone knowing.