Chapter Fourteen

**Bull**

“I’m not complaining, Ronan, but why is Lady Annabel paying me to transport her building supplies when she already has wagons and servants?”

“Huh,” the builder said pulling himself out of a daze. Neither of them had said much to each other throughout the trip, which Ronan hadn’t seemed to mind. When Jason bother to look up at the builder on his horse, Jason would find him either mumbling to himself or staring intently at the landscape. The silence gave Jason plenty of time to think about the future.

Jason repeated himself and Ronan only looked more confused.

“You’re a businessman, Jason,” Ronan said with a hint of sarcasm but Jason still shrugged confusedly. “Gods’ hell,” Ronan sighed. “Those weren’t Annabel’s wagons she only hired them to move her stuff to your backwater village. If she were to hire them again she would have to pay them double what she’s paying you because they have nothing to ship from Finchead to Laxtar, while you already have a reason to go to Laxtar. Plus, you already have your own guard, which I’m still not sure why she left us after the forest. Any more pointless questions?” Jason shook his head and decided to not talk to Ronan ever again unless absolutely necessary.

The remainder of the trip went smoothly and they arrived with plenty of business hours remaining. Ronan scribbled on a crumpled scrap of paper then handed it to Jason. “Meet me here at dawn tomorrow,” the builder said then turned away.

“Wait,” Jason called and Ronan stopped and turned back around. “Where are you going to stay?”

Ronan rolled his eyes. “Annabel’s townhouse if you must know,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world then picked up his pace and left before Jason could say anything else.

“See you tomorrow then,” Jason mumbled to himself then pulled on Skippy’s reins. He had plenty of things to do anyway and he didn’t need to be worried about Ronan hanging around.

First he headed to the wool exchange. If past experiences were accurate, midday seemed to be when prices were best.

Even from the street the uproar from within the trading floor was deafening. Jason had never seen so many traders in the place at one time. As he walked past the entrance to the floor he saw hands jerking in the air and traders yelling in each other faces. An additional bookkeeper had been pulled out but the team struggled to keep up with the constant onslaught of new bids and offers. The market price was moving so fast Jason couldn’t even tell what it was, but he did see that the orders were well into the forty copper per bag range.

“Jason,” a familiar voice chuckled. Jason turned his attention away from the pit and found Wilhelm smiling contently.

“What’s going on,” Jason jerked at the pit dumbfounded.

Wilhelm’s grinned doubled in size. “A report came in from the Titon Imperial College that this is to be the worst winter in decades.” The man could barely contain his excitement and was massaging his hands like a child outside of a sweetshop. “All the commodity markets are going crazy.”

Jason’s eyes went wide, happy that he hadn’t sold the six extra bags of wool a few days prior. With the eight bags he brought today he’d be making a fortune if prices stayed about forty coppers per bag. “Wait, Wilhelm, aren’t you worried since you’re a buyer?”

Wilhelm chuckled again, “don’t worry about me boy, I’ve had option contracts hidden away. Besides it just means I can sell for a higher price elsewhere.”

Jason nodded, now smiling along with Wilhelm. He’d be able to store the eight bags he brought today but he’d only be able to sell ten of his total fourteen bags. “What time is the guild meeting tonight?”

“Don’t worry lad, I have feeling prices are going to stay like this for a while. Possibly even go higher if the College is right,” Wilhelm said. “Be back here by sundown. I’m sure everyone is going to be in a good mood tonight so things should go smoothly. And here,” Wilhelm reached into his pocket and pulled out a sealed envelope, "as promised. I have friends at the Midonni bank on Low Street, they should be able to give you a loan, especially with how the markets are now doing. Hell, after a market day like this you probably won’t even need a recommendation but tell them you’re a wool supplier and they’d give you their grandmother's golden teeth. I bet your happy you locked in your buying price with that village of yours,” Wilhelm winked and handed over the envelope.

Jason grazed his hand over the monogrammed wax seal, the lines and curves of the R rippled softly against his fingers. Jason frowned thinking of the villagers, a part of him felt like he was cheating Finchead if he didn’t tell the villagers about the new prices, but there was nothing he could do about it now. “Thanks Wilhelm,” Jason said holding up the letter.

Wilhelm titled his head then sighed. “I must be going then. I’m loading all my spare ships, so pray for good weather for me alright,” he clamped Jason’s shoulder, a new gesture from the man, then bid his farewells and left the exchange. Jason looked at the letter once more then stowed it in his bag.

For once Jason didn’t mind paying the extra fees for his five additional bags. It would be the last time and his extra profits would more than cover the expenses. Jason tucked Skippy into the wagon waiting area then dove into the pit. He was resigned to the back but still had a clear view of the market book and the pit was still small enough that he could hear every new order. He decided to play passively and wait until a good bid came along. In his first few minutes in the pit, prices began to decline into the upper thirties but that was only a scare and a few minutes later they rebounded up to forty-six and a half coppers at which point Jason sold ten bags. With two golds, three silvers, and five more coppers in his pouch and a smile on his face Jason left the pit.

*****

Jason got a room in his regular inn and stabled Skippy. As he handed over the handful of coppers, Jason realized that he should probably look into buying or renting a house or small warehouse in Laxtar. But then I’d need to hire a housekeeper and probably a guard, and a hundred more expenses flooded his mind. The inn might be pricey but it simplified things.

The new coins were burning in Jason’s pocket and he itched to check out the animal merchant. However, he knew it would be pointless as he had no one to drive the new animal and wagons. I hope Vanna will be alright tonight, he prayed then headed towards Low Street.

The road wasn’t as nice as High Street’s but the curved avenue that encompassed Low Street was still paved with clean cobblestone and manicured gravel paths lined the street front. Trees and other decorative vegetation were mixed around intermittently but there were no parks like on High Street. There were still plenty of city guards patrolling around to give the place a sense of safety and most of the larger homes had a private guard on duty at the door.

Jason asked a guard where he could find the Midonni bank and he was pointed two blocks down to what was referred to as the Bank Block. While most city blocks could fit a dozen or so row houses or shops and maybe half as many larger townhouses, the Bank Block was composed of three monstrous fortresses. The banks seemed to be in competition for how many statues and fountains they could carve into their stone fronts. One of the banks was a series of waterfalls that reminded Jason of paintings of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The entrance to the bank seemed to cut through a wall of water. The Midonni bank was more reserved than the latter but was still a breathtaking collection art.

Jason walked up to the door and two guards in speckless plate armor seemed to come out of nowhere, each carrying a wicked halberd. “Woah,” Jason cried with his arms outreached.

“What business do you have with the Bank of Midonni?” a bald man asked likewise appearing as if out of thin air. His speech was accented but unlike Jason had ever encountered in the game.

“I’m a friend of Wilhelm Rock, he has written me a letter of recommendation so that I may open a line of credit with your,” he waved at the mountain before him, “bank.”

The bald man flinched when he heard Wilhelm’s name but otherwise, he hadn’t moved as Jason spoke. The man reach out a hand and laid it flat before him. “Let me see this letter.”

Jason handed over the envelope and waited as the man read over its contents. The guards relaxed after a moment and returned to their positions to Jason’s relief. He watched as they moved back to their posts and saw that once they were still something like a glare draped over them and they looked like statues. That explains why I hadn’t noticed them.

“Wait here,” the bald man instructed then went into the bank still holding onto Wilhelm’s letter. A few wealthy looking people entered and left the building as Jason waited, none of them disturbed by the guards. Jason didn’t like the style the wealthy NPCs wore, colorful tights and tunics with gold lace or satin robes, but he realized it was probably why he had been stopped by the guards. I should probably get some nicer clothes for when I do business, Jason thought to himself and tried to imagine it like buying a suit. He never knew why so many people changed their attitude when they saw a blazer but when in Rome.

The bald man returned and waved his hand at Jason. “Come in, sir,” he said. Jason followed him into the bank and saw that the outside was just the tip of the elegant iceberg. The room rose a dozen stories and curved into a dome. Beams of light streaked into the lobby from above in warm rays. To one side of the lobby a crescent of tellers behind desks was arranged. On the other side, a large sealed metal vault was buried into the wall with corridors on either side of it. The bald man led Jason down one of the corridors and he soon found the walkway was sloping upwards. The corridor led back out towards the dome and out onto a balcony looking into the lobby from above. Along the balcony, doors were built into the wall and the bald man led Jason into the first room.

The room was small, bare, and clearly an office. Two bookcases lined the walls and a small metal safe hid in a corner, but besides a desk and two chairs, there was little more in the room. Another bald man rose from behind the desk and greeted Jason, “welcome to the Bank of Midonni, my friend.”

Jason nodded and shook his hand, “thank you for meeting with me.” He looked over and saw the first bald man had already left.

“My name is Cossinni Midonni, and I am sorry for your trouble at the door,” he apologized.

“It’s understandable, my name is Jason,” Jason replied worried that he was meeting with someone a little too high up in the bank’s chain of command.

His worry must have shown on his face as Cossinni laughed and said, “I’m just a distant cousin of the family, my friend, I don’t bite.”

Jason laughed back but knew this man probably had more pull than he was letting on. Cossinni gestured at a seat and they sat down.

“So what does a friend of Wilhelm Rock come to me for?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. The lack of hair on his head only brought out the rich dark color of his facial hair.

“I don’t know how much he said in the letter, but I am a wool trader. I have a contract with a village near Laxtar that guarantees me a good amount of wool at a set monthly price,” Jason said.

Cossinni stroked his short beard, “yes, I hear good news for you commodity traders today.”

Jason smiled, “it was a very… profitable day, yes.” Cossinni smiled back.

The man stretched out his arms and relax in his chair, “so let me guess, you need supplies? Horses? Wagons? Wagon Drivers? Guards?”

Jason nodded emphatically, “yes. I already have two employees and a wagon but I could make more money if I had more.”

Cossinni face reverted back to neutral, “so how much do you need?”

“I’m hoping for twenty-five gold,” he replied. Jason had thought about the amount for a while and didn’t want to ask for too much or too little.

“That’s a lot,” Cossinni remarked to Jason’s surprise.

“What kind of terms can you offer me?” Jason asked cutting pass any pointless conversation. If he didn’t want to lend to me he wouldn’t have met with me.

“Twenty-five gold,” Cossinni mused, “is more than five workmen earn in a year.” He paused and thought. “I can lend you twenty-five but only at twenty-four percent paid within one year.”

“That’s usury,” Jason bulked. His credit card had better terms than that back on earth, he could imagine having something equivalent to a mortgage with an interest rate of twenty-four percent.

“That’s standard for first-time loans, my friend,” Cossinni grinned. “It would be higher if it weren’t for your friend Rock. You're not even in a guild yet.”

“I’m going to be initiated tonight,” Jason said.

“Now,” he sighed with hands raised in defeat, “I can also offer you a one time loan of fifteen gold for eighteen percent. Pay it back within six months and I’ll give you a revolving credit line of fifty gold at twelve percent.” The offer was clearly rehearsed or Cossinni had practice similar deals.

Fifteen should be enough, Jason thought. He had hoped to only need one loan and then be done but the fifty gold credit line was tempting. “Deal.”

“Good,” Cossinni sang. “Interest is compounded monthly and you can pay the clerks in the lobby as you get in, but all of the principal is due in six months." It shouldn't take that long to make 15 gold, Jason thought to himself. "You can collect the fifteen gold from them when you leave. Once you pay it all back they will bring you back up to me. One last thing my friend,” Cossinni said moving to the safe.

He unlocked it and Jason saw inside, instead of precious metals or stones, were bundles of paper. Cossinni opened a small compartment inside the safe and pulled out a power stone. “What’s that?” Jason asked hesitantly.

“A precaution,” Cossinni said. Unlike any stone Jason had seen before the power stone was thin and sharp almost like a short knife and mixed with its pulsing white aura were small flakes of red.

“What is it?” Jason asked again.

“In case you decide not to pay us back, it lets the bank know your location,” Cossinni explained.

“No,” Jason said flatly.

“We only use it if you are late on your payment or default,” Cossinni sigh irritated by the hold up. “Look, my friend, if we track you before that then your loan is forgiven entirely.”

“I want that in the contract,” Jason said sternly.

Cossinni pursed his lips then nodded. “May I go ahead then?” Jason hesitated then bobbed his head in confirmation. The procedure didn’t hurt as Jason expected it would. Cossinni pressed the stone to Jason's hand just enough so that a drop of blood broke out. The stone seemed to absorbed the blood and at the same time heal Jason’s hand of any sign that it had been cut. Cossinni finished then a moment later a digital contract appeared in Jason’s view. He read it over but all the terms were exactly as they discussed. He clicked accept and the screen disappeared. “It is nice doing business with you,” Cossinni said with an outstretched hand. Jason shook it. “Say hello to your friend, Rock, for me next time you see him.”