Chapter Thirteen

Sinclaire Eaton met the boys with a friendly handshake and admired Ryland’s bruises.

“I see you wear your trophies well.” He said dryly.

Embarrassed, Ryland looked away and mumbled. “It was an accident.”

But to his surprise, Eaton shook his head. “No, boy. There was nothing accidental with what you did. That was your brain working well.”

This statement caught Ryland off guard and he looked back up at Eaton. “Excuse me, sir?”

“Come inside,” Eaton took them into the office and waved them into the two antique chairs in front of a deep brown wooden desk with images of men carrying bags and loaded ox-carts on the front of it. The windows were open to bring in the morning breeze, and birds sang in a large cage in front of the window to their right, giving the whole place a very bright and airy feel that balanced out the darker wooden furnishings.

“I heard from my people,” Eaton continued. “That you were out with Soames’ daughter to the Week’s End Market and captured by some brigands.”

“Yes, sir.” Ryland said, not sure where this was going.

“And when they tried to lead you away, you started a fight with some farmers to try to escape, correct?”

“I did,” Ryland admitted. “But it didn’t work as I planned.”

“I know,” Eaton said. “They threatened the farmers with knives, told them you were drunk, and there was no fight.”

“Oh really?” Ryland didn’t know what had happened after he’d been knocked out, and was curious to hear what had happened. He hadn’t been able to contact Minerva since that incident so he had no way of knowing.

“Yes. You don’t know? Well, I guess you wouldn’t.” Eaton continued. “Well, let me tell you the rest of the story- while your little trick didn’t quite go as planned, that farmer you hit complained to the city guard about the brigands. The militia was already looking for you to help Soames’ men find Minerva, and those farmers gave them just the piece of information they needed to get on your trail…” Then he stopped as he saw the light go on in Ryland’s eyes.

“So that’s how they found us!” Ryland exclaimed. It was something that had been bothering him since the incident - how the guard had come at just the right time? Minerva’s father’s man, Mitchell, had also given in very easily to her demand to let Ryland go, and that had bothered him as well.

“Indeed.” Eaton nodded in approval. “Just the sort of quick thinking you will need in the field if you want to manage an armed escort group.”

Hearing this made Ryland’s heart bang hard against his chest. “So…” He had to swallow because his mouth suddenly went dry. “Does that mean you’re going to back us?” He had to fight to try to hide the eagerness he felt from his voice.

Eaton closed his eyes and shook his head.

“I’m afraid not.” He opened them again and looked at Ryland with a slightly sympathetic look. “I will admit, it’s tempting to see what you’re capable of, but what you’re asking for is just too much of a risk.”

“Oh.” Ryland and Koamalu exchanged disappointed looks.

“As a businessman, I must always seek profit whenever and wherever I can, and do it in the safest manner possible for my company. Risking a hundred-thousand gold on two young men like yourselves is far too risky, and my wife would never let me hear the end of it if I were to make such a deal.”

There was a pause, and then the elder merchant continued. “That said, your family’s Writ of Company is worth a great amount. So, I believe we can still do business.”

Hearing this, Ryland perked up. “Yes?”

“I am willing to make you two offers. For my first, I will pay the emperor his sixty thousand gold coins and extend the writ for another five years. If in that time you are able to pay me back double what I paid to the noble house, I will return your writ to you and you may do with it as you will. Of course, you will also need to come up with the money needed to pay for the continuation of the writ, so that will be triple the cost. I dare say, it will be a very difficult task to come up with that money, and if you fail, the writ becomes mine.”

“So,” Ryland asked. “No extra money, then?”

Eaton shook his head. “None.”

“Alright,” Ryland nodded. “So, you’re offering to pay for the extension, but that’s all. What’s your other offer?”

“Twenty-thousand gold for the writ, today.” Eaton replied. “If you wish, it’s more than enough money for you to start your own armed escort group with your friend. Or, if you want something more secure, we can discuss you joining my company as a junior investor. I could use a young man like you with a good head on his shoulders and would be even willing to mentor you. I’m sure we can find a place for your friend as well.” He paused and raised an eyebrow. “What do you say?”

Ryland considered for only a moment, and then he shook his head. “Thank you for giving us two offers, but we only needed the first one.”

It was Eaton’s turn to be surprised. “You’re sure? You don’t want to consult with your friend?”

“I’m following him.” Koamalu said confidently. “Whatever he says is good for me.”

Ryland gave Koamalu a glance of appreciation, and then turned back to Eaton. “If you need a contact, let’s sign it and get it over with.”

“But…” Eaton said. “A hundred and eighty thousand gold in five years...My whole company doesn’t make that much a year.”

“I know,” Ryland replied.

“Then why not take my second offer?”

“Because it isn’t about the money - it’s about the challenge.” Ryland said with confidence. “I want to know if I can do it.”

Eaton stared at Ryland as if the redhead’s hair had truly caught fire. Then he snorted and his face broke into a smile. “You know, I told my father something similar when I was your age. I told him that I’d rather die in a ditch than die in his cooper’s shop if it meant never leaving home. He gave me my inheritance and threw me out into the rain that night. Best thing he ever did for me.” Then he picked up a rock sitting on his desk and used it to strike a metal plate on the desk twice.This brought one of his assistants strolling in.

“Bring the contract we prepared.”

The other man bowed and stepped back out.

“After that, you boys will of course join me for a meal to celebrate our deal.”

A few hours and a lunch later, Ryland and Koamalu were strolling out the gate of Eaton’s estate and into the posh Upper Town neighbourhood he lived.

‘Well, that’s that.” Ryland said, stretching and yawning.

He’d been so nervous the night before he’d barely slept at all, and his whole body felt stiff.

Then when Koamalu didn’t reply, he looked over at his friend.

Koamalu had a slightly puzzled expression on his face.

“What’s wrong? Unhappy I gave up the money?”

Koamalu shook his head. “No. I was thinking. Why did he only have one contract?”

Ryland stopped, “What do you mean?”

‘Well, when he called his man, he asked for the contract, but he didn’t say which one. Was there only one?”

What his large friend had said suddenly sunk in. “That old…” Ryland turned and looked back at the high windows of the mansion. “He knew! He knew already!” Then he looked at Koamalu. “He knew we wouldn’t take the money. The second offer was a bluff.”

“So he wouldn’t have given us the money?”

Ryland shrugged. “Oh, he probably would have. But he didn’t think we’d take it.”

Then he laughed.

“Yah. I guess we’re pretty predictable, aren’t we? Oh well.”

He turned and started back down the road again.

“So, what are we going to do?” Koamalu asked from beside him. “He didn’t give us any money.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Ryland said. “He’s not the only predictable one.”

“You didn’t think we’d get the money?”

Ryland shook his head. “I wouldn’t give it to us if I was in his position. If he wants to keep the writ, he has to pay the fee to keep it active, and not a copper more. But, he knew he still had to bargain with us, so he traded time for money.”

“Then...Why did we ask for money?”

“My father used to say, ‘Always aim for the top of the mountain, because even if you miss you’ll be halfway there’.” Ryland glanced at his friend. “It was worth a try, and it gave us bargaining room.”

“But...where are we going to get the money to start our agency?” Koamalu protested. “We still need money, don’t we?”

“As much as we can get.” Ryland agreed. “But we already have some - I had Uncle Dunstand do a collection for us at the wake, remember?”

“Oh. Yah.” Koamalu scratched his chin. “Did we get much?”

“Enough to start us on our way. We might also be able to get a loan from Uncle Dunstand, but I doubt it.”

Koamalu nodded. “He holds his money pretty close.”

“So, we’ll need to make due with what we’ve got and what we can earn.”

“Are we going to work for your Uncle?”

“No, I think that would be a bad idea.” Ryland said. “If we hired on, we’d never know if more of Swailes people would try to come for us in the night. It would put his people and us in too much danger.”

Koamalu let out a growl of frustration. “How are we going to start an agency if we can’t escort?”

“Calm down. Remember the Surrounding Game?”

“Yah?”

“What do you do if you can’t do anything to save a group of stones on the board?”

Koamalu thought about it. “You play somewhere else.”

“Exactly.” Ryland pointed at him.

“But, where can we go?”

“To the virgin fields.”

“What? Is there a place like that?”

Ryland smiled. “No. Not a physical one anyway. It’s more of an...idea. C’mon, I’ll show you what I mean when we get home.”

“We have two main problems,” Ryland said as they sat in their guest room at Fiske’s home. “First, Swailes is sending people after us. Second, even if we want to start an agency here, there’s too much competition. Therefore, Northport is no good for us right now.”

Koamalu nodded. “Yah. So we need to move. But where do we go?”

“That,” Ryland said, reaching under his bed to pull out a pile of paper, “is the easy part.” Then he proceeded to take the pile of paper apart and arrange the sheets on his bed cover. “When we were at the auction party, I copied the big map as best I could in my notebook. Then I recopied it onto these sheets.”

When Ryland was done, there was a now a fairly accurate map of the northern end of the empire laid out before them on the bed. It covered the northern provinces and their surrounding territories.

“I also added to the map by talking to some local merchants and Uncle’s people. They know the region pretty well, and helped me with the details. Since I expected we’d need to move, I also asked about possible places that might serve us.”

“And?” Koamalu surveyed the map, looking impressed at the detail on it. Ryland had not just trade routes, but side routes, small towns and villages, and other major and minor features like important valleys and which escort groups patrolled what routes.

“We’re going to the Northeastern Territories,” Ryland said, pointing to the upper right section of his map. “They were only settled a few generations ago, and are just now starting to come together into something that might be a province some day. It’s a new land - virgin fields - with new opportunities for people like us trying to build something. The existing agencies haven’t moved in there yet, it’s not profitable enough for them, and the government doesn’t care what happens to there yet since they’re not under any noble’s watch. The only security these people have is the security they provide or the security they buy.”

“And they need us?” Koamalu asked.

“They do. Some of the settlements are more successful than others, and a few of them have taken to raiding or other banditry. Plus the land isn’t tamed, so there’s also tribes of otherfolk up there. Some of them are friendly enough, but a few are hostile and attack settlements and caravans from time to time. On top of that, it borders on the Dragon’s Spine Mountains, which is filled with all kinds of trouble, and last…”

“There’s more?” Koamalu said, looking concerned.

“Yes. Last, somewhere up there, Windham Stamper, the “Butcher of Oldenburg” is hiding with what’s left of his army after The Emperor drove the Mad Governor from his murder palace fifteen summers ago. He’s probably set up himself up as some kind of warlord - if his men haven’t died of disease and starvation by now.”

Koamalu shook his head. “This place sounds crazy, uso.”

Ryland nodded. “Big risk, big opportunity. If we want to make our money in five years, we can’t be fighting for scraps here in Northport. We need to go out there and take it. You want to earn your tattoos, don’t you?”

Koamalu unconsciously ran a hand over one of his his muscled, but very bare, arms, “I didn’t say that crazy was bad, uso.” Then he gave a toothy grin. “Where do we start?”

“About that…”