As Krause made her way deeper into the northwestern section of the city, the quality of the buildings began to noticeably decline. She was used to this; she and her husband lived around this area.

Krause arrived at the building, a small one family shack in disrepair. She stood in front of the broken wooden door for a moment as her anxiety mounted. She let go of her necklace, preparing to knock on the door, before deciding against it, entering the house uninvited.

Light was visible from a staircase near the back of the house. Krause made her way towards it, and entered the basement.

“My God, man. Decided that you have kept us waiting long enough, have you?” A man said as Krause made her way down the stairs. She recognized the voice as Felix Hasselmann. All she knew about him was that he sold meat from the Black Forest. “Wait, where is the good Reverend Friedrich?”

“He won’t be joining us today…” Krause replied. “Unfortunately, he has other matters to attend to…”

“To Hell with this,” Claus Steitz said. He was another merchant, though not nearly as influential as Felix. “Are we so insignificant that he can not spare ten minutes of his time?”

“If memory serves,” Felix added, “he was the one who called this meeting, was he not?”

“You’re correct,” Ellie Schild, the third and final merchant in the basement, said. “And at such short notice, as well. I am a very busy person, you know. I, too, have other matters to attend to.”

“I’m sorry if his actions have upset you…” Krause said, still standing at the foot of the staircase, her throat dry. “If it were his choice, he would be here to speak with you tonight. However… he had an urgent matter to attend to that could not be postponed.”

“And what, pray tell, was this urgent matter?” Felix asked.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that.”

Claus stood up. “I’ve had enough of this. I do not know if the other two have been holding up their end of the bargain— I know I certainly have— but the money that you’re giving me is barely worth the risk with the prices of everything doubling by the day.”

“We understand your frustration, which is exactly why we have organized this meeting,” Krause said. She felt lightheaded, but she kept her calm demeanor. Surprisingly, it helped her concentrate. “We also understand that none of you have done what we have asked.”

Claus’ round face was red. “I have put my ass on the line selling that—”

“During our first meeting, we made it clear that you did not have to agree to our terms. Five others declined our offer, and we could not be happier for those unwilling to contribute to our cause to so willingly exclude themselves from it. So, as you so delicately put it, your ass being on the line is entirely your fault. Unfortunately, you agreed to our terms and have already received payment, which means that unless you fulfill your end of the agreement, we will have to… deal with you.”

Felix laughed. “My dear woman, if you are going to threaten us, the least you could do is threaten us openly.”

“Alright. If you don’t sell all of the stock we have provided by the end of this month, the Church will not hesitate to kill you.”

“Thank you,” Felix said, standing up. “Now, is that everything you wished to discuss?”

“It isn’t, actually.”

Felix sat back down.

Her head was still light, though her anxiety considerably lessened. Maybe Reverend Friedrich was right; maybe the Beanmeister was with her. “We understand how difficult it must be for you to sell our stock, given the watchful eye of the Empire regarding the new market regulations. So we have decided to offer you an added incentive.”

“Why didn’t you start with that?” Ellie perked up.

Krause paused. “Along with doubling the previous amount we promised, we are also willing to offer you our protection.”

Ellie and Claus eyed each other as Felix laughed again, this time genuinely. “You mean to tell me,” he said between laughs, “you are going to offer us protection? My dear woman, working with you is exactly why we need protection. How, pray tell, are you going to protect us, hmm? Are you going to ask the Empire to kindly pass over our stalls when patrolling the markets?”

“Yeah!” Ellie said. “If anything, we need protection from you.”

“Yeah,” Krause said. She continued without thinking. “You do need protection from us.”

Felix’s laughs died.

“What do you mean?” Claus asked.

“We are willing to offer you protection from the Beanmeister.”

Claus scoffed. “We aren’t in your little Church right now, missy. Your false God has no sway over us, only you and your reverend. Offer me protection from Friedrich Roth and I might accept.”

Ellie bit her lip. “What does that mean? Protection from the Beanmeister?”

Krause smiled. “It’s a long story, so I’ll spare you the details. The Beanmeister’s influence grows by the day, and there will soon be a time where His protection will be more valuable than anything you can get with a few pouches of gold. He will make sure that you will be accepted into Heaven, despite your obvious heresy.”

Claus stood up, stomping towards Krause at the staircase. “I’ve had enough of this. Take your Beanmeister and shove it up your ass. I’m out. You can’t convince me. I know your name, your face. If you try to hurt me, I’ll tell the Empire everything. Leave me out of this.”

Krause stepped aside. Felix and Ellie were silent as Claus’ heavy steps caused the ceiling to creak. A door slammed somewhere above them.

“So, do you two agree?” Krause asked.

“Yes,” Ellie said. “I agree to your terms. I’ll sell everything as quickly as I can. I wouldn’t want to anger this Beanmeister.” She laughed nervously.

“Good. We’ll get the money to you later this week. We thank you.”

“May I leave?”

“You may.”

Ellie left the basement quickly.

“What about you, Felix?”

Felix scoffed. “You certainly are going through a lot of trouble for this.”

“More than it’s worth, honestly. It’s starting to get annoying.”

They stared at each other for a few moments. “What is it worth?”

“Not sure yet. We’ll see, I guess.”

“Do not take me for an imbecile, my dear woman. I understand what is going on. I understand what you are trying to do. I may not be a bastion of morality myself— my cooperation with your people is no doubt landing me in the lowest circle of Hell— but it does not require a genius to see what is going on. My question is why. Why do all of this? What is the goal of your precious Church?”

“Oh, that. I’m not really sure myself. I’m just the girl that talks to the merchants, man.”

Felix cast his eyes down, his eyebrows knitting.

“Look, do you agree or not?”

He stood up, returning his eyes to her. “Keep your money. The Beanmeister’s protection is adequate enough.”

“Really?”

“You have my word.”

Krause laughed, letting Felix pass her. “I like you. Don’t go wasting this chance, man. This is worth more than you think.”

“I know just how much this is worth.”

“It’s worth even more than that.”

Felix was halfway up the stairs when he stopped. “What is to happen to Claus?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“I asked, did I not?”

“We’ll kill him.”

“How?”

“Not sure yet. We don’t need to send a message, so it won’t be flashy. All you need to know is that today he’s alive, and tomorrow he won’t be.”

“And if you were to send a message?”

“Felix, come on. You’re smarter than this. We already have.”

He stared at Krause for a moment, glancing her up and down. Then, without another word, he left her in the basement of the abandoned house.

She sat alone in the basement for a while, and, though she was alone and her job was completed, her anxiety returned. She reached for her necklace, stroking the ruby in the center, reminding herself why she was even doing this in the first place.