Once more, for the third time in his life, Corco found himself across from Duke Herak of Balit. The first time they had met when Corco's old master had entered Balit Castle with the matter of a loan to the Duke on the table. The second time, the prince had been atop the walls of Etra, staring down at the invading forces of Borna. This time, the meeting took place within his own home, albeit one he was willing to abandon soon. Even so, meeting the man here, at such close distance after so many years, still made Corco uncomfortable.

“Ah, Prince Corco. These are quite delectable. What did you call it?”

The duke picked up a small piece of brown bread from one of the tablets which had been placed across the room and observed from all sides, with great curiosity.

“It's gingerbread,” Corco answered in a flat tone. He would have much rather not met the man today. It was too difficult for him to keep up the facade. “But if Milord is only here for the food, I can just give you a couple boxes full and send you back on your way. I'm sure Milord would enjoy the food much more without my company.”

“Why would I not enjoy the company of the great prince of Medala?” the duke said as the tiniest smile played around his lips. “Not to mention, many items on offer today are of great interest to me, and to the great Kingdom of Borna. Rather than blame me for not bidding in the earlier parts of the auction, it is Master Fastgrade's own fault for not providing any desirable offers within the first few hours.”

Despite his best attempt at keeping a straight face, Corco grimaced in response.

“You don't believe that our land deeds for much of Etra's harbor and main road, our donkeys, oxen, carts and warehouses all across the south are 'desirable'? I mean, even though you have kidnapped your own merchant company, I get why a noble wouldn't be interested in the properties of a trader, but what about you, Kolbrandt Devaerter?”

As he spoke, Corco turned to one of the men who had surprisingly appeared together with the duke. Kolbrandt Devaerter, his former ally, stood by Herak's side with an unreadable smile on his face. They had worked together for years and as a result of their cooperation, both had grown their business by a great measure. However, the years had changed their relations.

The first sign of trouble had been the mutiny atop the Delahlia, together with the death of Devaerter's close friend. On top of it, although both of them had gained from their arrangements, Corco's profits had always been far greater than the Etra merchant's. As a result, much resentment had quietly built up within Corco's business partner, something the prince hadn't been aware of until very recently. Either way, after today their cooperation would be over for good.

“Ahaha, it is sad to say, but my traders do not have need of any resources on offer today. Maybe if sire had been able to prepare better for this auction, and invited more than a small contingent of potential buyers in secrecy, he would have been more successful.”

Confronted with a smug smile, Corco only barely didn't slap the idiot, but before he could say anything in response, Corco was preempted by another one of Herak's new allies. Trellban, as malicious as he was greedy, had decided to twist the knife further.

“Yes, my traders can't find much use in these cheap properties either. Further, we need to save our money for the truly important treasures which await us after this little break. With most of Etra's merchants abstaining from the first half of the auction, it appears as if competition has been reduced. How unfortunate that Prince Corco did not manage to gain as many funds as he had expected. Truly, I must apologize.”

Although he didn't like Devaerter's attitude, it stung much more when the self-serving Trellban did it. Just as Corco tried to step ahead to teach the idiot another lesson, a shadow entered the periphery of his vision.

“Boss, we need to go back. The second part of the auction will start soon,” Fadelio's calm voice rang out. As always, the warrior's timing was impeccable.

“Right,” Corco said, as his view once again zeroed in on Duke Herak. “You should prepare yourself as well, Duke. You might have had your fun until now, but the lords of Cahlia, Whiteport and Eniila aren't people you can bribe so easily.”

What answered Corco was a dry laugh from a confident opponent.

“Haha, I have no intention to do so. After all, despite their apparent strength, the other lordships are much farther from Etra than its neighbor Borna. And Master Trellban is indeed correct: In the end, there was far too little time to prepare for today's auction. I wonder if our competitors have brought enough gold to weigh up against all the wealth of Etra and Borna combined.”

“We'll see,” Corco said in defiance, but his balled fists revealed his irritation.

Without a further word, he stormed off towards the back of the hall, but not before the duke took another shot at the prince's pride.

“I wonder just how Prince Corco will feel when the fruits of his labor will be taken, in their entirety, by the money I claimed of your old master Fastgrade. I will look forward to our talks after the auction has ended.”

Still tensed, the prince stared ahead and marched back up towards the stage. However, unbeknownst to the duke, a sinister smile formed around Corco's lips as he left behind his enemy, and his supposed allies.

Like a soldier trying to hold out under machine gun fire, Corco lost all will of resistance as he listened to the volley of words which shot out of Ronnie's mouth.

“Any more bids any more bids from the Cahlian delegation? Is that a no is that a yes if there is no interest then I will have to count 'one' who here is man enough to partake in the ancient Medalan secrets of sugar production, you sire out in front no in that case I will need to count to 'two', how about the sires from Eniila, maybe they would like to participate in this unique chance, an opportunity which will never come again the great secrets of ancient medalan alchemy revealed for all to see, aaaaand threee! Sold, to Duke Herak of Balit for the Kingdom of Borna, at a price of four-hundred and seventy thousand Gildern.”

At last, Ronnie brought the gavel down and announced the sale of their next-to-last item. Although the alchemist still seemed chipper as always, fully engrossed in his play, Corco on the edge of the stage had a hard time staying in character. The reason for his troubles sat right in the center of the guest seats, as if he owned the place. Judging Duke Herak's thoughts correctly would be crucial if today was to be a success. At least so far things were looking good. At first, the duke had retained his smug posture, spreading himself all over that seat of his in a display of lazy confidence. However, Herak had corrected his attitude as soon as the first item of the crucial auctioned items had been announced.

Rather than go by the order printed on the catalog for the guests, Corco had announced the sale of the Brandy production method first, followed by the secret of sugar production. After all, the prince knew exactly which items the duke merely wanted, and which ones he truly needed.

Of course Herak was interested in all the treasures Corco had dangled in front of his face. Of course he wanted to own the secrets to Brandy and sugar production. However, even more so, he needed to regain the salt mine he had lost. Even the apparent value of the mine mattered little. After the storm on the Saline Hills, Corco had been presented with a convenient excuse to close off the mines, to make sure no one could get in anymore, with no excuse. The move had fueled even more speculation, possibly launched by the duke himself.

Word went around that the new Fastgrade salt hadn't come from the mine at all, and had instead been imported. Other rumormongers said that the new-found salt deposits were small, a version which would explain the reason for the merchant to resell his treasured possession so soon after he had acquired it.

However, whether or not Herak believed in Corco's secret salt deposit really didn't matter. In the end, the Saline Hills were a matter of pride for the duke, who was not used to the string of humiliating defeats he had tasted at Corco's hands.

Over the course of the auction, Herak's comfortable grin had disappeared without a trace. With a frozen grimace placated on the lower half of his face, the duke held the untrustworthy catalog between his claws and wrung the life out of the pages, like he must have hoped to treat Corco himself.

Aware that his mark was staring back, the prince gave the duke a playful wink, just to let him know that his merchant foe had switched the itinerary on purpose, to make sure the duke would either miss out on his chance to make Borna wealthy, or hand his enemies a bridgehead in the middle of his own territory. It would mean another long, expensive war, something the lord wouldn't be keen on, not so soon after losing the last one. After today, he wouldn't even have the money to raise additional troops, so the Saline Hills had to be his, salt deposits or not.

Corco's playful little wink was all it needed to push the Duke over the edge. Driven beyond reason, the man turned to his temporary allies, the merchants of Etra who had helped fund Herak's spending spree so far. Although Corco couldn't hear their whispers, he knew that the duke would try to convince his new friends of an additional loan.

As the Duke got busy acquiring more funds, Corco prepared the last item for sale. It was the crown jewel, the one sale to make him all the money for his journey back, and the one to guarantee his revenge.

“Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen!” the merchant prince started as he swaggered to the center of the stage for one last time. “At last, here is the great moment we have all been waiting for! Today, you will receive the exclusive pleasure of being part of this, our most special auction. Now for sale, the greatest treasure of the Fastgrade Merchant Company, the crown jewel of our possession! The Divine Mines on the Saline Hills!”

While Corco raised up the simple land deed, quiet hums of awe reached him from the cheap seats, but all important men in the room had no leisure to enjoy the show. Even so, Corco continued with his play. He would need to win some time for Herak to work out a new deal with his merchant partners.

“Not only are the Hills a place of true rustic beauty, a perfect spot to set up a summer retreat. No, even more so, they are in an ideal strategic position. Along the coast and with hilly, difficult terrain, their secure placement are perfect for anyone who wishes to construct a castle.”

Although Corco's words seemed aimless, they were spoken for one man alone. Putting more emphasis on the mine's strategic value would further increase Herak's pressure and desperation. If the duke didn't buy the mines back today, he would have to defend his own lands from foreign invasion. Even though the Saline Hills had been of minimal value to Herak when he had owned them, they would gain supreme importance as soon as they fell into the hands of a foreign nation. The hills, situated along the coast at the edge of Herak's territory, were the perfect place to build fortifications from which to launch raids into Borna.

Corco looked over to the left, where two old friends of his had formed an unusual alliance. With a crucial matter such as the acquisition of the great Brandy secrets at hand, King Albian of Whiteport had sent the good old Doctor Freigen to handle matters for him. Next to the old quack sat Valtr of Kaneas, one of the many men his mentalist act had tricked back in Eniila. Their arrival had made Corco's work much, much easier.

With a temporary alliance established between the two, Whiteport and Eniila had done their best to drive up the prizes for the previous items, both the Brandy and the sugar, to waste as much of the duke's money as possible. Despite their best efforts, the duke had still managed to buy the rights in the end, but he had wasted too many funds in the process. At this point, he was desperate for additional coin, desperate enough to make crucial mistakes.

“And of course, let us not forget the heavenly salt buried deep under the hills, unveiled by Arcavus himself! Who among the great men here will be bold enough to name this divine treasure his own? Who here will have honor enough to invest in the future of their people?”

With a business smile plastered all over his face, Corco stepped back, to let Ronnie and his gavel handle the rest. It was time to end the charade, time to reel in the big fish.