The Eighth Warden Bk. 04 Ch. 09-10

Hildra chewed her lip. "Yes, but I won't buy them outright because I don't know what sort of profit I could make. I'll take a twenty percent commission on the sale instead."

"I think Marco would accept that if he doesn't find buyers." Ellerie held up the spectacles next. "He wants to try selling this himself, too. If you wear them, you can see through illusions." They'd tried them out on Razai's illusory disguises.

Hildra raised an eyebrow. "In a pair of spectacles? Interesting--and useful, but only in limited scenarios. Most wizards who work with illusions can already see through them. I'm not sure what value I'd assign to that."

Ellerie nodded. "We'll have to see what we can get." Setting them down and picking up the silver cuff bracelets, she said, "I think someone in our group is going to take these after we figure out how they work. They seem to block arrows, but we're not sure how to test it safely." Ellerie and Corec had suggested that Treya purchase the bracelets, since she preferred to fight in the thick of battle but refused to wear armor.

"Another barrier shield like the ring?" Hildra asked.

"No. In the memories I saw from the lore spell, it looked like any arrows that came too close would be drawn to the bracelets and bounce off."

Hildra nodded. "If it only affects arrows, I'd probably set the price at about seventy-five."

"I'll let her know." Ellerie then showed Hildra the last piece, the golden circlet. "I tried this one out this morning. It shows you a vision of the area around you, about a quarter of a mile in all directions. It's like a topographical map."

"Oh?" Hildra said. "Can I try it out?"

"Of course," Ellerie said, handing it over.

The stoneborn woman placed the circlet on her head. "Oh!" she said, then closed her eyes. "That was fast. And realistic--I can see my entire estate, and part of my neighbor's. No people, though."

"No, it doesn't seem to show people or animals, just land and buildings, and larger trees and objects."

Hildra removed the circlet. "I might be interested in buying that for myself. It would be useful for exploring new shafts and cave-ins when I return to the mountains. How much are you asking?"

Ellerie shrugged, her hands out and her palms up.

"Hmm," Hildra said. "I'll give you a hundred for it."

That was higher than Ellerie had expected, but she wasn't going to argue. She nodded. "I'll accept that."

"So that's everything, then, except for the book of enchantments?" Hildra asked. The second spell book Ellerie had found in Tir Yadar had turned out to contain enchantment spells for various types of permanent mage lights, as well as a complicated series of spells designed to construct something the book referred to as a World Fountain. Just trying to read through the spells gave Ellerie a headache, though, and Hildra had warned her that the gift for using enchantment magic had mostly disappeared from modern wizardry.

"The book of enchantments and the shaping magic," Ellerie said. "I'm still not sure how to set a price for that."

"I've got a proposal for you."

#

"Why should Senshall have to pay for a share of the book?" Marco asked. "It's already included in their shares."

"The value of the book is included in their shares," Ellerie replied, "but to get that value, we have to sell access to the spells and the formulas. I think we should offer Senshall part of that."

Marco frowned. "Why just part? Why not sell the whole book to someone?"

"Because Hildra offered us a thousand gold for the rights to sell shaped metals and stone in Cordaea. And that's just Cordaea alone. Imagine how much it would be worth across Aravor and Vestath." Perhaps Hildra would have been willing to buy the book itself, but Ellerie hadn't offered her that option. It felt wrong to simply give up such an important find to someone else. Plus, Ellerie had spent weeks experimenting with the spells and the formulas, and she wanted to have the opportunity to use them herself.

"So we find someone with more money," Marco said.

Ellerie sighed. "If Senshall doesn't want the offer, then I'll find another buyer, but you should tell them what they'd be missing out on. Hildra offered a thousand because she thinks that's how much profit she'd see in the first ten years. I'll put in five hundred gold for the rights in northwestern Aravor--let's say Terrillia, the free lands, Terevas, Matagor, Chondor, Deece, and Larso." Terrillia wasn't in the northwest, but it bordered the free lands so Ellerie had included it anyway. She'd partnered with Boktar and Bobo to put together the five hundred; after buying the spellmail and helping Corec and the others pay for half of the armory, there hadn't been enough coin left from her own shares. "I'm suggesting that our investors should offer a thousand for all other regions, in Aravor or elsewhere. That's a better deal than what Hildra is getting."

Marco furrowed his brow. "If Hildra is paying a thousand to use the book in Cordaea, couldn't we get more than a thousand for what you're offering to Senshall?"

"We could maybe get two thousand if we found the right buyer, but that would take more time. Senshall already has operations in Aravor and Vestath, and they have contracts with the mines and forges. I'm willing to give them a better deal as long as they agree to keep the location of Tir Yadar secret until I've finished my work there. I spoke to the others and they're willing to take the lesser amount." It hadn't been hard to convince her friends--she'd simply asked and they'd agreed. "I'll try to make it up to them if I make a profit."

"And what about the rest of us?"

"You've got two-eighths of a share, right? I'll pay you the extra thirteen gold you might have made with a different buyer, but only if we sell to Senshall. If we have to find someone else, then you're stuck with whatever we make, even if it's less than what we were hoping for." In total, it would cost Ellerie forty gold to pay off the people with partial shares, giving them the extra coin they would have made if she'd sold the rights for a higher amount.

"I suppose I could write letters to Varsin and Burton with my recommendation," Marco said. "How would it work?"

"If the shaping rights are worth twenty-five hundred, and using our current estimates for everything else, each share is worth nearly three hundred gold. Varsin and Burton each have two shares, so even after paying for those swords you sent them and their portion of the shaping magic, they'd still make about sixty gold in profit. Renny would have more, since you appraised her necklace at less than the value of the swords."

"I'm not sure how they'll feel about that. I can't tell them their shares are worth six hundred, and then only give them a tenth of that."

"You're ignoring the value of what they're spending that money on. If they don't want to buy the shaping magic themselves, ask them if the company itself is interested. The company can pay us just like Hildra is doing, and Varsin, Burton, and Renny would take a higher profit."

"And if the company doesn't want it either?"

"Then we have to spend the time to find another buyer. But Senshall trades in iron and steel--do you really think they want to give one of their competitors a better product?" Hildra believed that stone-shaping would provide a much higher profit than metal-shaping, since the components for metal-shaping were so expensive, but the Senshall brothers were already familiar with the metals market. They would understand how their existing business would be affected if they lost out to a competitor.

Marco nodded. "That might convince them."

"Then we're agreed?"

"I can tell them what I think, but I can't make them go for it."

"We'll just have to be persuasive."

###

Chapter Ten

Leena met with the Senshall brothers and the concubine, Renny, at Varsin Senshall's opulent home in Tyrsall. She waited silently while the investors read through the letters from Ellerie and Marco.

Varsin frowned down at the page he held in his hand. "The whole idea behind this expedition was to link the Senshall Trading Company to finding one of the lost cities. How long does she want to wait?"

"Does it matter?" Burton asked. "We can't risk offending the Terevassian royal family--certainly not over something so trivial. Let her do what she wants. We need to talk about the deal she's proposing. We'd be giving up over half of our profit. How do we know it's worth it?" He picked up the silversteel breastplate Leena had brought and flipped it over in his hands, examining it from all angles. Setting it down, he grabbed the fortisteel dagger and peered along its edge.

"We'll have to try those out," Varsin said. "Marco seems to think they're worth the effort."

"Even if they are, I'm not eager to lose out on over three hundred gold from my shares. Especially when the rights in Cordaea have already been sold. Cordaea is my territory."

Varsin waved that off. "We'd just have to give you a third of the profits from the other regions. I'm not worried about that. But should the three of us go in on it alone, or should we sell it to the company instead? We'd have to split it with Father and Tobin and the others."

"They'll want us to pay cargo rates anyway. And if the company pays for it, then we don't have to."

Even though the two men were speaking in trade tongue, Leena was having a hard time following the thread of the conversation.

"But that means we'll lose control," Varsin said. "Father will want to make all the decisions. And you'd have to convince him yourself--you know he won't listen if I'm the one who suggests it."

Burton grunted. "Without any real numbers, we're just guessing. We don't even know what the raw materials will cost."

"Ellerie and Marco are working on estimates for the materials," Leena volunteered. "I can bring the details the next time I come."

The trader nodded.

"Renny?" Varsin said. "How do you feel about it? This whole expedition was your idea."

"I'm not sure," the girl admitted. She pushed a small cloth bag to the center of the table, the coins inside clinking together. "They've paid back everything we loaned them, and brought us the swords and the necklace. That's already well beyond what I was hoping for. The money... I don't know what I'd do with that much money. If you think it's worth spending some of it on this, I'll agree to it."

Varsin nodded, pursing his lips as he thought.

Burton turned to Leena, peering intently. "What do you think? Should we pay for it ourselves, sell it to the company, or try to sell it to someone else for a larger profit?"

Leena wet her lips nervously. She'd never negotiated a business deal beyond haggling with a customer at the bakery. She was only supposed to be transporting messages back and forth. "I... umm... Lady Hildra paid a thousand gold for the rights in Cordaea. She's a mage and a blacksmith. I think the others trust her judgement."

"Cordaea is one continent," Varsin pointed out. "We'd have most of Aravor and Vestath. And more, if we ever expand our operations beyond our current regions."

"But we'd have to hire a wizard," Burton said. "That'll cut into the profit. And what's to stop him from taking what he learns and going into business for himself?"

Renny spoke up again. "Lady Ellerie suggests separating out the work," she said, holding up the last page of the letter. "Two wizards, one for each spell, and a third person who knows the formulas. That way, one person alone can't steal the knowledge."

"I suppose that might work. Leena, when do they need our answer?"

"Not until they arrive in Tyrsall."

"Good. That will give us time to test these things out."

Leena nodded and stood. "Do you have any messages for me to take back?"

"Wait!" Renny said. "You promised when you came back, you'd stay long enough to tell us about the expedition!"

"Well... I..." Leena hesitated. She wanted to be polite, but it was hard to find anything in common with the three wealthy merchant traders.

"Please? Treya and Razai get to go out and have all the fun exploring while I stay home, but you can at least tell me what it was like."

"I want to hear more too," Varsin said. "The letters don't really say much. You should join us for supper."

Leena gave in. "I'll stay." There were certainly plenty of stories she could tell them about the trip.

"You should come, Burton," Varsin said. "Get away from home for the evening."

The other man sighed. "Sure, why not?" He sounded tired, and had dark circles under his eyes.

Renny grinned and clapped her hands together. "I'll talk to Kelsa and the cook and get it all set up."

#

Ariadne finished lacing the high boots, then faced the mirror to see how her new outfit looked. Among the other clothing she'd purchased, Sarette and Treya had convinced her she needed something she could wear without armor. It had taken the tailor five days to finish the work.

It was modeled after a High Guard dress uniform. A black vest with gold laces worn over a white blouse; pants--real pants, not leggings--tucked into the high boots; and a long, dark blue coat with copper buttons and buckles, meant to be worn open. She also wore a new, matching sword belt around her waist. While she already had a belt designed to accompany her mirrorsteel plate, it didn't fit well when worn without the armor.

The new clothing was acceptable, Ariadne grudgingly acknowledged. It didn't quite match how she'd seen it in her mind, but she wasn't enough of an artist to sketch out what she'd imagined. She'd had to get the Nysan language from Josip just so she could speak to the shopkeeper.

The outfit was more formal than anything the others wore on a regular basis, though Sarette had something similar, and Ellerie and Katrin both owned nicer clothing they didn't wear while on the road. Treya, despite her obvious beauty, only wore plain gray tunics and loose pants, as if she was trying to direct attention away from herself. And, strangely, she never wore shoes, claiming they made it harder for her to fight.

Ariadne had paid for the clothing out of her share of the money the group had looted from their dead enemies. All of the tailoring work combined had cost just twenty-two pieces of silver, which, according to Treya, was slightly over half the value of a single gold coin. That suggested the money would last for a while, though that was partly because Ariadne wasn't paying for her own food or lodging. Once they reached Tir Sal, she'd have to live off of the remainder--plus her shares of the expedition's profits, which she had mixed feelings about. It seemed wrong to receive money because of her people's disappearance from their home, but what good would it have done to just leave everything lying around in an abandoned city?

Sighing, she turned away from the mirror. The money might help her find her people, but she had no idea where to start looking. Sarette seemed almost like one of the Chosar, but she insisted the stormborn had come about more recently. Corec and Ellerie thought Ariadne most resembled a people called the seaborn, but she hadn't encountered one yet. If the Chosar themselves still lived, nobody seemed to have any knowledge of their whereabouts.

Ariadne had hoped to find some sort of clue in Tir a Tir, but Aencyr bore little resemblance to the paintings and illusions she'd seen of the place. The best choice she could think of was to accompany the group across the ocean to Aravadora. She could investigate Tir Sal and then travel north and explore the remains of Tir Navis. Or perhaps she would travel west with Corec. He was a warden, and even if the wardens had betrayed The People, Ariadne was finding it hard to ignore her upbringing.

There was a knock at the door, and she opened it to find Ellerie on the other side. The elven woman's eyes widened when she saw what Ariadne was wearing, but she didn't comment.

"Hildra would like to meet you if you're still interested in speaking to her," Ellerie said. "She offered to come to the inn, but she's well known and I didn't want to draw any attention here. Plus, I thought you might want to see more of the city."

"Now?" Ariadne asked.

"We can send her a messenger if you'd rather do it later, but if you're still thinking of coming with us, it has to be today or tomorrow. We're leaving the day after that."

"I should change first," Ariadne said, glancing at the pile of plate armor she'd left at the foot of the bed.

"You don't need armor in the city, but bring your sword so she can see what mirrorsteel looks like. We haven't tried to create it since the components are so expensive."

Ariadne nodded and accompanied Ellerie out of the inn to a horse-drawn carriage that was already waiting for them.

#

It took nearly an hour to reach Hildra's manor house, north through the city and then across the river. None of the buildings along the way were constructed of shaped stone--even the ones with domed roofs. The Chosar wouldn't have attempted anything like that using just natural engineering. How had humans managed it?

At Hildra's home, a human footman helped them out of the carriage. Another escorted them inside the house, where they were greeted by a dwarven man who introduced himself as a majordomo. He spoke in trade tongue, but majordomo wasn't a word Ariadne had learned yet. The man instructed a dwarven maid to escort them to Hildra's study. Other servants could be seen going about their day, but when they noticed the visitors, they hurried out of sight.

In the study, a dwarven woman was sitting in a cushioned chair near a window, reading. When she saw them, she rose and set her book down, greeting Ellerie with a nod before turning to Ariadne. She glanced over her face and her pointed ears, her new clothing, and the sword that hung at her side, but waited until the maid left before speaking. "Welcome to my home," she said. "Thank you for coming. I am called Hildra these days, though I've gone by other names. Your name is Ariadne, yes?"

"Yes, Warden," Ariadne said carefully in trade tongue. She wasn't comfortable with the language yet.

Hildra seemed to be waiting for her to say something else, but when she didn't, the dwarven woman spoke again. "Ellerie asked me to try to remember what I could about the Chosar people. I'm afraid it's not much. My library was destroyed eight hundred years ago."

Ariadne frowned. "I don't know these words. Please to talk with slowness."

"You should use the necklace," Ellerie said in Eastern. "I already told her about it."

Ariadne hesitated. She'd used the necklace twice in one day before--once to speak to the tailor, then again with Treya so she could return to speaking Eastern. The resulting headache had laid her out in bed for hours. If she used the necklace with Hildra, she'd have to try to get by on trade tongue alone for a day or two if she wanted to avoid that. There was little choice, though, so she nodded.

Ellerie explained the process to Hildra, who held her hand out and waited. Ariadne got it over with as quickly as she could. When the worst of the pain had passed, she opened her eyes and nodded.

"I can speak to you now," she said in the dwarven language. It was harsh and guttural, but had a strange sense of familiarity.

"Such an odd sensation," Hildra replied, rubbing her temples. "I believe there are wizards in Vestath who can cast a similar spell, but I've never experienced it for myself before. As I was saying, I don't remember much about the Chosar, but I'll tell you what I can. May I ask you some questions in return?"

Yet another person wanting to know more than they could tell her, but Ariadne had given up on feeling angry about it. The anger hadn't accomplished anything.

"If you wish," she said. "Do you know what happened to my people? Why they left Van Kir? Where they went after?"