Chapter 5 – The Weight of Conscience
Jay had been successfully saved from Luella by Setu and Gary and had spent the evening with them in the Hogling Arms. Earleqious had arrived as he promised, and SJ had spent the evening plying him with Vine Nectar, which was the ents' preferred drink. It wasn't something any other beings drank, by all accounts, due to the hallucinogenic properties that several had suffered from previously.
Kerys wouldn't sell it to different races due to this, after one dwarf had decided that everyone in the inn had suddenly turned into graylings and started swinging his axe around. It had come to fruition after the fact that he had a deep fear of graylings from his days working in a mine, which they had overrun.
"Okay, I have the latest figures from the trade envoy," Alice said to SJ as she walked into her office.
SJ looked up from the ledger she was working through. There was a financial issue due to recent changes to the guard roster, and she was trying to get to the bottom of it.
"Urgh. What are they projecting?" SJ asked.
"It looks promising from what I see."
"Okay, add it to the pile. I'll look through them when I get a chance," SJ sighed as Alice added the book to a large stack of ledgers on a side desk.
"Not to make it sound urgent, but we need confirmation for when the chancellor arrives."
SJ's shoulders dropped. "Is there anything we don't need to confirm by then?"
Alice smiled. "I think that's the last one."
"You said that two ledgers ago."
"I mean it this time."
"You also said that."
Alice chuckled. "Yes, but you are the best with numbers out of all of us. I have no idea how you manage to work through them so quickly."
"Probably because I have no choice because of all the deadlines." That wasn't actually true. The reason was her connection to Dave; whether they understood it or not, her mental ability to run calculations had surpassed her previous level since they had become linked. The first sign of it had been when they had been in Asterfal, when she had managed to calculate probabilities so quickly. Now, though, whenever she read numbers, they flowed like water in her brain.
"Since I started reviewing all the previous tax records, we have paid Asterfal," SJ pointed to a huge stack of rather dusty, battered ledgers. "I have discovered that it appears we overpaid for thirteen seasons." In Killic, one season was about equivalent to six months, so in theory, they had overpaid taxes for six and a half years.
"What?" Alice said, shocked. "Have you spoken to Zigferd yet?"
"No, not yet. I only finished reviewing them this morning."
"How much?"
"In total, I think it works out to be about 31 platinum, 34 gold, and 78 copper."
"Thirty-one platinum? That's ridiculous." That was enough coin to run Killic's barracks alone for almost three months.
"Yes, I know. It looks like they triple-taxed us on some exports, not all of them, since it wasn't everything. There doesn't appear to be any reason behind them, as it looks random."
"Wow. That's huge."
"It is, but I don't understand why the previous accountant didn't spot it," SJ cringed. Alice stood, a look of shock on her face.
The numbers were clear, but the reason behind them didn't add up. Was it incompetence, a systemic error in Asterfal... or something closer to home?
The previous town accountant had died during the invasion, and since then, SJ had taken on their responsibilities alongside her other duties, given her financial background, and performed the checks at a remarkable speed.
"The main reason I haven't rushed straight up to see Zigferd is that I need to make some checks first. As I said, it appears we overpaid."
"What checks?" Alice frowned.
"Whether or not funds were being siphoned off."
"Never, Braston wouldn't have done that. He was as honest as you could get."
SJ just shrugged. "Not necessarily at our end. I will find out when I check. But in my previous roles, it's usually the ones who act the most honestly who can cause the most damage."
Alice frowned. "Do me a favour, don't mention it to Zigferd unless you are sure. You heard him speak about Braston at the service. He classified him as a close and trusted friend."
"I won't, don't worry. I know his daughter still lives in town, doesn't she?"
"Yes."
"I was planning on going to see her at some point, but not until I have done some more digging. I really need to speak to Asterfal, and was planning on discussing it with the chancellor."
"If you do plan on speaking to her, maybe I should. I have known her ever since they moved her," Alice said as she turned to leave, no longer smiling.
SJ leaned back in her chair and stretched, rolling her shoulders. "Let's get some lunch," SJ said as she stood.
"I'm good," Kibble replied from his cushion.
SJ looked at him, frowning. "Did you just turn down food?"
Kibble replied shyly. "I think the fish, followed by the ale I had last night, has upset my stomach."
"What ale?" SJ asked, surprised.
"Oh, I wasn't supposed to say that."
"Who was feeding you ale?" SJ now stood with her hands on her hips.
"No one; forget what you heard," Kibble replied as he placed his head back down.
"You don't get away with it that easily. I told you no more drinking after you zapped Bert for fun."
"It was funny though," Kibble said, not lifting his head.
SJ couldn't argue. Seeing Bert jig around, rubbing his buttocks where Kibble zapped him, was funny to see.
"Well, it serves you right then, doesn't it, if you drank?"
Kibble muttered under his breath as SJ left the office.
After grabbing a coffee and a salad at the Hogling Arms, SJ returned straight to her office. She still had several ledgers to work through today before returning to Farleck, where she would work on the branding design for the Wanderer's Rest. SJ had spoken to Liola the previous evening, but with the new order she had received from the mages' academy for robes, she didn't have the scope to do them.
Kibble stirred on his cushion when SJ returned.
"That was quick. Lorna came looking for you while you were out."
"Lorna did?" SJ asked. It was unusual for Lorna to come and see her; usually, she would only call in when there was a problem. SJ could do without any more headaches at the moment. "I'll go see her."
Lorna's office wasn't where Ballentine had his office; instead, her main office was in the jail area. To her, it made sense, as the guards' sleeping accommodation was upstairs, allowing her to keep a closer eye on what was going on.
SJ walked around to the jail. The door was always locked, and she knocked on it before a familiar face came and opened it.
"Hi, Gary," SJ said, seeing her friend.
"Hey. What do you need?"
"I'm looking for Lorna; apparently, she needed to see me."
"She's in her office," Gary smiled as he stepped aside.
There was a commotion down in the cell area, and SJ looked over.
"Problem?"
"No, there's nothing we can't handle. Apparently, some of the dwarves down the mine had some of that damn Vine Nectar. We have six of them currently in the cells until they sober up."
"Where did that stuff even come from?" SJ asked, concerned.
"No idea. I know it's definitely an ent thing, but I don't know where it started to come from, as it's only recently arrived in the town."
"That's what concerns me. The last thing we need is a problem with it. I know Kerys only sells it to ents after she discovered what it does to other races. I'll need to ask her where she gets it. I've never seen it mentioned in any of the trading logs."
Lorna was leaning over a large map with one of her lieutenants. As the captain of the guard, the increase in the town's population had also necessitated an increase in the standard guard. This meant there were now three lieutenants supporting Lorna in running the town's security. Since Lorna's natural promotion to captain, the guards' training was now overseen wholly by Jay, with some support from Darren.
"Hey, Lorna," SJ said as she knocked on the door.
Lorna turned, smiling. "Hi. I'm glad you're here. I needed to speak to you about a problem."
SJ sighed. "What now?" she asked as her shoulders dropped.
"Thanks, Grastew. I'll catch up with you later," Lorna said to her lieutenant, who nodded before turning to leave the office. Once he had gone, Lorna closed her office door.
"This must be serious," SJ said as she watched Lorna.
"No, no, nothing like that. This isn't town-related."
"Oh," SJ said, flooding with relief. She really didn't want to review any more ledgers before the chancellor's visit. "So what can I help you with?"
"Erm. It's a little embarrassing," Lorna said as she flushed.
"Go on," SJ said, her interest now piqued.
"You know the new crafters market that is being constructed near the auction warehouse?"
The crafters market was one of several new buildings under construction across the town. The town square had no further room for stalls, and with the increase in residents, there were more who wished to trade, so several of the townspeople had proposed a crafters market, which would allow those outside of Killic to sell their wares.
"Yes, why? What's wrong?"
"Well, I invested in it."
"And what's wrong with that?" SJ was now confused, as the long-term plans looked very promising based on the details she had seen.
"The group has collapsed. The two leading contributors. You know Husa and Wendil. Well, they fell out over something that to me didn't seem important, and now they refuse to work with each other. As the two main investors, without them, the few of us who have invested in the build will lose everything. I wondered if there was anything you could do to help?"
"Wouldn't this usually be Alice's area of expertise?" SJ asked.
"Possibly, but I know you're the one who is coin savvy."
Husa was a dwarven stonemason, and SJ knew him well. He had not only visited Farleck Cottage and repaired the chimney when she first moved in, but he had also overseen the expansion to the cottage Jay now lived in, maintaining its aesthetic charm. Wendil, on the other hand, was a human male who occasionally worked in the barracks as a representative, fixing damage to buildings or similar issues. SJ had dealt with him during the repurposing of the Wanderer's Rest, and his designs were sought after by many in the town outside of the work he did for the town directly.
"What was the issue exactly?" SJ asked.
"It was something to do with the design of the stalls and the material costs that they were discussing. Husa wished to use stone stalls, while Wendil wished to use wooden stalls so they could be moved as needed."
SJ couldn't believe they were arguing over something that had such a simple solution. "Why don't they do a mix of both? The area the new build covers almost the whole field next to the warehouse, leading to the forest's edge. We know Husa's love for stone, but also Wendil and his wooden designs; both are experts in their trades."
"They are both as stubborn as each other, and if the building isn't finished prior to the next harvest, when the next main trade events start from the villages, any expected return will be lost."
The field had previously been a cornfield, but since the invasion, the land had been torn up and was now assigned for town expansion purposes. It had already had several new buildings erected along the southeastern edge.
"I know that's what I thought, but I tried speaking to them both and got nowhere. They won't even be seen in the same room currently."
"How much did you invest?"
"My life savings," Lorna said as she turned away again in embarrassment. Seeing the exceedingly confident and strong weretiger, embarrassed wasn't something SJ had seen before, and she felt just as embarrassed as Lorna did.
"I know you are embarrassed," SJ said gently, "but how much exactly?"
"Just over one platinum," Lorna replied, crestfallen.
When SJ first arrived in Amathera, Dave stated that the expectations for earning coin, particularly in a starter town, were limited to only a few copper to silver coins. He had also made assumptions based on his previous experience that coins were generally minimal in value. This hadn't been exactly true, but SJ did know that one platinum to probably ninety-nine per cent of the population of the town, if not wider, was a significant sum of coin.
"Look, whatever happens, if it ends up that they can't sort their differences out and it falls through, I will cover your investment," SJ said.
Lorna turned sharply. "No. I won't have you pay for it."
"I'm hoping I won't have to, but you are aware of what I have!"
"Yes, of course, but that's not the point."
"I won't see any of my friends suffering," SJ said, emphasising her stance by folding her arms and staring at Lorna.
"Thank you," Lorna replied meekly.
"I suppose I'd better see if I can find the pair of them and think about knocking their heads together," SJ sighed.
Since SJ had chosen her secondary basic Subterfuge skill, it had continued to flourish passively through her general interactions. Her Charm now sat at level 7. This provided her with significant assistance when discussing sensitive topics and demonstrated its benefits in the town's operations, particularly during negotiations. It didn't always bring benefits, but generally assisted. Her Charisma was her main attribute that supported the success of her skills and was counteracted by the Intelligence of those she was speaking to.
It was at level 10 that the skill would really keep opening doors for her. At level 10, a further support skill tree would open, which would offer her the choice of one new skill in each of four categories. These were related to mindset, verbal communication, body language, and tact. The skill was rather complex, and from the information Dave had shared, all the additions made subtle nuances in the success of influencing situations.
With her increased authority across the town, she was continually having conversations about finances with various individuals who oversaw the different departments. The base Charm skill provided significant benefits, but with additional elements, SJ would ultimately become ridiculously skilled during negotiations and even investigations.
SJ made her way back to the barracks, with another task added to her never-ending list. Since the defeat of the invading forces of Killic, the borders hadn't changed. Again, this had been a conscious decision to maintain their integrity until the town was fully equipped to support, in case of a similar incident, the last border increases had caused. Over the past twelve months, SJ has continued to gain experience not just through monster quests, which she had completed several, but through the town quests interface.
The interface assigned tasks based on the varying departments in which individuals worked. SJ's as the third in line to the town after Zigferd and Alice, with the associated financial actions offered her significant bonuses, although not nearly the value when she performed her assassination tasks.
