Quincunx Ch. 20

I took a slow stroll up to Rash's suite, she was home but in her bedroom, she was getting dressed when I knocked. Miri let me in and I sat and waited while Miri let herself in to Rash's room to tell her. I rehearsed some of my arguments in my head, trying to anticipate his.

Rash looked radiant when she appeared, the dress she was wearing cut low enough that her padded breasts looked a size bigger. Hung around her neck was a necklace of glittering reds and greens with smaller stones as ear drops, the whole effect making her more pleasing on the eye.

Miri handed her a cloak which she wrapped around herself then looked at me.

"Ready."

I stood and nodded.

"Master Svelt is not home," the liveried servant said as he opened the door.

"I'm seeing Svelt senior, he's expecting me." Rash replied.

The servant opened the door wider and stepped back, letting us walk in.

"If you'll follow me, Sir, my Lady," he said solemnly.

He led us into a library and bade us sit while he informed the master we were here.

Looking around I undid two scrying spells and a listening one and saw that he had a spellbound book on one of the higher shelves.

"Oh do sit down," ordered Rash.

I turned and took the chair next to her.

"I don't care what he advises, I want access to my money, I'll take it all out if he refuses.

"Yes. Don't worry, if you need to pay for the furnishings and things he's got to let you pay for them."

"But he was going on about investments and managing my money."

"That was probably just to confuse you, make it sound complicated."

She gave a nervous laugh. "Well he can't quibble with my choice of advisor, though you might not look the part."

The door opened.

"The master will see you now. He's down in the study, if you'll follow me."

He led us deeper into the house and up some stairs and down to the end of a passage. At the bottom she knocked the door and opened it to let us through.

"Ah, Princess Rasyondi, welcome. And who's this you have with you," he greeted us. "I'm Svelt, pleased to meet you sir."

"This is Davor of Pike, he's my advisor."

"Ah, I fear you have misunderstood me, you need someone who is familiar with how finance works here."

"Greetings master Svelt, I am not as inexperienced as you think, for two years now I have been managing the accounts of our estate."

"Ah but this is high finance my boy, no offense but you have to know the market."

"Sir, it is a simple matter of paying bills, she needs money for living expenses."

"That we can solve by granting her a loan, she can leave her investments untouched...."

"What are these investments?" I interrupted him. "She is banking her money here."

"Yes, and we use that money to loan to others, merchants, builders, landlords and the like, the interest they pay is the profit. The princess's money is tied up, there will be fee's to pay if we are to untangle some of it."

"Rash, did you agree to this?"

"I don't think so; I told him I just wanted to keep my money safe. I left most of my jewellery here for safekeeping as well."

"She agreed when I told her an investment account would earn her money." Svelt put in.

"Did you tell her that she couldn't use it herself or explain any of the details to her?" I asked as I turned back to Rash.

"No he didn't, he was too eager to send me off with his servants to collect it." Exclaimed Rash.

I turned back to Svelt. "Tell me, what interest do you charge on these loans you make?"

"It varies," he said, weighing his hands up and down. "We negotiate different terms and conditions with individual customers."

"Yes, but you must have a top and bottom. Can you give me an average?"

"That's difficult," he said with a little shrug of his shoulders. "I don't have the figures at hand."

"Oh, come now sir. My land makes a good profit, I have the opportunity to buy a neighbours land but don't have the cash on hand to pay upfront. I will come harvest time and I come to you for a bridging loan. What would you offer me?"

"Mortgaged on your land?"

"No, on the land I am buying. I can pay part of the price but I need your loan as a top up."

"And your character?"

"I am a creditor to a few but a debtor to none."

"I would have to check out the land but I'd start at seven percent on six months repayment."

I took a moment to work it out, taking the ten thousand in cash she had deposited along with the jewels. He stood to make seven hundred wheels, on top of that he was charging a fee to manage the money and guaranteeing a three percent return. There was also the matter of the fee for changing our coins into theirs.

"Sir, let's just call the whole thing a misunderstanding, we can settle matters by you just giving her her money back. I can guarantee the safety of her money from it leaving your hands."

"You'll have to pay her fee's." he demanded.

I could see no way around it, he had control of the money and I had little leverage.

"Agreed, but I want none of the exchange business, you'll give her back her own coin in full."

"If you please," he replied his voice edged with reluctance.

"I'll arrange for collection in the morning then, if that's not an inconvenience."

"As you wish, it will be ready at a quarter of the sun."

I bid him good day civilly though inside I was getting more annoyed with the arrogance of power rather that the representative of it in front of me. In my own county I'd be charged more like the three percent return that Rash was given.

As we left his grounds I turned to Rash.

"What do you know of other bankers, are there many of them?"

"I think there are two others, most that I know are the children of merchants."

"Can you find out where they do business?"

"Yes probably, but why? My money stays with me from now on."

"I'd still like to know what terms they'd offer."

"Well I'm not going anywhere near a banker again, I can't believe he's charging me two hundred and thirty for keeping my money for only three days." She exclaimed, the annoyance colouring her voice.

"I'm sorry," I said. "He held the cards, be thankful we got back what we did, if I thought it might do any good I'd have another go in the morning."

"Oh I'm not blaming you, I should have taken more heed but I was anxious to prepare for the concert that night." She said with a sigh. "But he was just so smug and superior about it, like he was enjoying it."

She stopped. "I really, really wish I had the power of a Princess here. The Wizards rule means nothing to them, they have money enough to set their own rules, they have a financial stranglehold I've discovered. A costly lesson but well learned, I just wish I had the money to compete with them, I'd teach them a lesson back."

"Let's get your money back before we think of revenge, first things first."

I was already plotting in the back of my mind; the solution seemed simplistic but eminently workable. Scry out the whereabouts of his treasure vault and use the void to link to it. It could be done in the dead of night, I wouldn't even have to enter; I could levitate anything I wanted through.

"I knew things would be different but being a princess has little meaning here, I knew that I couldn't command obedience but I expected some respect for my title. That man had none," she replied. "Money is all he respects.

I was impressed, she was smart enough to have thought things through and realised the adjustments she'd have to make to fit in here, I had thought that it would have taken a little more time to humble her into the role of a smaller fish in a new pond.

"This place is a different world than ours, strange to my mind in many ways. Yet people live it, for them this is normal and we have the quaint beliefs, we're the fish out of water. I wish you luck staying here."

She'd need more than luck, at least she had the money in hand to start on the house, though I couldn't see her money lasting her a lifetime and I was struck by the thought that she was destined to take further steps down the ladder.

She laughed. "This place has served you well, though it is a pity that you don't possess the power they predicted, Wizards are the only ones they're wary of so they say."

She fell silent and I left her to her thoughts as we reached the main gate I was wondering where we might get a small cart for tomorrow morning, there must be some somewhere in the university.

"Dav. Do you want to keep me company till Miri gets home? Then later help me find a body guard."

"The bodyguard bit should be okay, but I need to sort out the transport for tomorrow, either that or two strong acolytes assuming its only one chest."

"Oh, I can get volunteers from Professor Yingtang, he'll know two strong boys who will help."

"Ah," I said.

That solved one problem but left another in killing my excuse.

"Well in that case I should get back to my studies, I have to show willing even if I can't make it work," I continued. "I have to justify my stay here."

"Oh," she said, a tinge of disappointment tinging her voice. "I suppose I am safe enough here."

I was pleased with the easy victory, I didn't want to get any closer to Rash for the moment, she and I were on different paths so it was better this way. I arranged the evening appointment and we went our separate ways, her to her rooms and me to spend an hour in the library.

I was still reading when the dinner bell sounded out and by the time I'd replaced the book there was a throng of acolytes all headed the same way. I wandered over to our usual place and sat at the empty table, slowly eating the meal and wondering if anyone was going to join me.

I was hoping for Xen, she had made some comment or other the other day, I wanted her perspective on this, it seemed that the Wizards rule wasn't as benign as I had presumed; they seemed mainly concerned with keeping order and let the people fend for themselves.

I spotted Cal making her way over, flashing a smile as we made eye contact.

"How was your day?" I asked as she drew near.

"Oh okay, I've just escaped from a philosophical 'discussion' with some premies on 'The granular nature of the magic field'."

She gave a little sigh as she sat. "Sometimes it's hard to imagine infinitesimally small. I know it's hard to think that this solid world around us is all built from these submicroscopic particles stuck together by magical forces, but that's what the grand masters from the past tell us."

"Mm, something you have to take on faith."

"No, you can use it in healing, things have a memory of how they should be, you can mend both flesh and broken bone by seeing their 'whole' structure."

"Wow!" I said grasping the insight into how I could do it.

"It was the nothingness of the void that troubled me. The dimensions that are collapsed in on themselves, existing without substance," she continued.

"I see it as the spaces that exist between the particles," I said.

"Well, no matter, it's going to be practice now, I'm finished with the esoteric side and will use the skill of my mind."

"I was with Rash earlier; I was amazed at the outrageous fees the banker charged her. Is there any legal recourse?"

"Yes, you can take any matter to the justice department for their review. If the broke any law then the settlement will be voided along with the contract I think, Xen would be the one to ask, she knows more of the law."

"Well I don't think it was fair of him, are there rules governing banking?"

"That I don't know. Your best bet of an answer is the justice department."

"Aye thanks, I'll call round on them tomorrow if I can."

"Well try to keep tomorrow afternoon free, we're having a send off party for Xen."

"Hello you two, what are you plotting?" Asked Grepp.

"Oh nothing, I was just telling him of our surprise party for Xen." Cal answered.

"I've arranged for Saronga to come and sing for us."

"Saronga? The girl from the Flowers that time."

"No, I think you'll like her."

"I've heard that she's okay." Cal replied again.

As he sat I saw behind him Curr and Kenval making their way across.

"Oh, never talk metaphysics with Premies, let the professors explain," Kenval said loudly as he got to the table.

"I think you confused them more with all your talk of sand sculpting," said Curr.

"Are we going to rehash that again? That's enough Kenval, we've left school now," Cal said sternly.

She turned to Curr. "Grepp says he's invited Saronga to sing for us tomorrow."

Curr's head turned to Grepp. "I think he's got a thing for her."

"That's my business," he snapped back.

"Curr!" Cal said reprimanding her.

"Oh never mind," she half apologised. "A bad joke, soory."

The conversation carried on about the arrangements and I fell back to thinking of Rash's money, I would use the meditation time to practice scrying and controlling voids, then some time tonight when Xen was asleep I could try for real.

I got up with the rest, scuffling our chairs back en mass as we decamped and gathered our trays. Cal walked with me as we made our way back to the dorm I told her of my busy night, first buckling on my sword for the search for the bodyguard for Rash and then accompanying her to the event after that.

Xen was there when we walked in.

"You'd better hurry up if you haven't eaten yet," Curr said as Xen looked over her shoulder at us.

"I had something in the café N'bridge."

"What were you doing up there?" asked Cal.

"There was a reading, about twenty poets turned up and it overran so I had something there instead of rushing home. Talked a while to some of the crowd, said my goodbyes."

"Ah," said Grepp as he and we sat.

I'd taken a seat next to her with Cal claiming the one next to me.

"Who's making the cofftea, Curr asked. "Kenval's not done it in a while."

"Hey, volunteer yourself," he shot back.

"Well you haven't," Grepp put in.

"You siding with them," he accused.

"No, just stating a fact, I know I've done it twice since you have," Grepp argued back.

"Go on one last one for us," Cal asked.

"You're Bullies," he said half-jokingly as he stood.

"There should be half a pot from ten minutes ago," Xen said as he turned to go. "There's half your job."

He brought back three cups, one each for the girls and one for me before he started on the fresh pot. As he was waiting Bem came in and the first words from her mouth were.

"One for me please Kenval."

And then she proceeded to sit in his seat.

"Steal my grave as well would you?" he asked as he brought the tray over.

"If it was as comfortable," she replied as she stood and retrieved another chair.

"So, what have I missed" she asked as she leant forwards and picked her cup up.

"Nothing really, we had Kenval trying to teach metaphysics to some of the premies, he left the poor young things even more confused," Curr answered.

"Never mind that now. Are we still on for the Lambs Pen tonight?" Cal asked.

I listened for a while as they talked on, sipping at my cup as I relaxed back into my seat. I finished my drink as they talked on and setting my cup down I stood. "Well I'm going to get ready for my meditation, if I don't see you later have a good night." I announced.

"Aren't you coming?" Bem asked

"No, Rash needs my help tonight." I answered as I manoeuvred myself out.

I walked over to my door and let myself in. The first thing to do was oiling my sword, I'd be wearing it tonight. I'd spent nearly ten minutes on the task when there was a soft knock on the door.

"Yes, come in," I called quietly.

Xen slipped in.

"What're you doing with Rash? I thought your business was this afternoon." She said as soon as she entered.

I let her settle onto the bed next to me before I answered. "She needs a body guard, we decided to visit the Dusty Forge this evening to see if we could find one."

"Oh, good, see that you get a good one. It also answers my next question as to your sword."

"She has an engagement as well this evening, she wants me to accompany her there in the coach."

"Oh, so you won't be in till late then?"

"By three eighths I hope, though with a carriage there and back they would have to be bold or stupid to attempt anything."

"Come to my room then, I'll be waiting."

"Xen?"

"Yes."

"Can I ask you about the laws governing banking?"

"There are none that are specific as far as I know."

"No laws against usury, fair dealing."

"No we only have contract law. You could petition one of the council with a claim of Abstract Tort but the bankers make their own law in general. Why do you ask?"

"I went with Rash and it upset my sense of fair play to see him charge her two hundred and thirty in fees when he only held the money for a couple of days."

"How much did she have there?" she asked looking surprised.

"Ten thousand give or take and she left the bulk of her jewels for safe keeping as well."

"Your right that's not fair, I wish the council were more aware of dealings like this, the bankers and merchants are getting to powerful.

"I was thinking of stealing it back with magic, Scrying for his vault and using a void to pull the money through."

"No, you shouldn't tell me, I don't care if you steal all his money but I don't want to know anything about it."

"About what," I replied.

"About...." She saw the smile on my face. "Oh you."

She gave me a playful nudge with her shoulder. "Well if you want I'll come with you to find your bodyguard."

"Yes that would be great, a little local knowledge."

"No, I think that you will be more knowledgeable in judging a man's worth than I."

"But you can tell if he is honourable better than I."

"Well together we shall choose the best." She said grinning at me.

"Okay, that I agree upon, do you need to change for we must be off soon."

"Oh, but it is early yet, we have an hour till the inns get busy," she said leaning back two handed on the bed.

"We have to meet with Rash first, I would prefer to be early as we have a firm schedule to meet later."

"Oh, Well buckle on your sword on you can help me choose what to wear."

I followed her to her room, my prodder stirring as I thought of her stripping, though it would have to wait till tonight, this was only a tease. As I shut the door behind me she slipped off her (jacket).

"Actually now that I think on it most of my clothes are packed, I'll have to wear my party dress. Sit yourself down I'll only be a minute."

I sat and admired her figure as she continued to undress, stopping only when she reached her knickers, her near naked form sweet to my eye and raising a lump in my trousers. I was tempted to let her seduce me but there was a nicer later waiting.

She questioned me as she quickly dressed after freshening herself.

"You know how much energy it takes to use the void?"

"I've used it before and found it easy."

"And how good are you at scrying?"

"That I've never tried before, I've dealt with many spells for fixed scrying."

"I know of a scrying spell that lets you direct the eye but you need an orb to use it."

"An orb?"

"Yes they have some in the library, we can get one tomorrow and I'll show you."

"Hmm, I was hoping to try tonight."

"No, tomorrow, straight after breakfast. You're going to need practice before you try."

"No, I have the skill to do it, I could use runes, they work for me."

"I don't want you to be clumsy, he's going to have magic guarding it, we have."

"Ah, I wonder if my magical sight will work through an eye, I can eliminate any other spells that way."

"There's a need to practice right there."

She sat next to me to put her shoes on.

"Come on, practice first then when I'm gone...."

I caught her drift. "Ah, well okay if you want, but I'm only going to take back what he stole from her. I doubt if he'll miss it straight away."