Commerce Emperor - Chapter 9: The Black Countess

Alaire and I spent the morning interrogating our captives.

I attempted a novel method to fish information out of people: buying their memories of their crimes so I could remember them myself. Those who would accept were promised lighter sentences, while those who refused still tacitly admitted that they had something to hide. I expected it to greatly shorten the interrogation process.

I changed my mind when I bought a slaver’s memories.

A rush of pictures and sound flooded my mind the moment we signed the deal. I stood atop a ship’s deck under cold rain and descended into its hold, looking for warmth. There was a girl in my cabin, a petite woman with straw-colored hair and big blue eyes staring at me with dread. Ropes kept her tied to the bed. Her face seemed to change to ice when my hands reached for her pretty neck, her shallow breath filling me with the darkest kind of joy. I grabbed her and–

“Argh!” My scream echoed throughout the cell. I held my head, trying to extirpate that horrible scene from my skull. Not only for what it showed, but what it made me feel. “Agh!”

“Robin?!” Alaire rushed to my side and shook me like a tree. “Robin, do you hear me?!”

“Take it back!” I snarled at the prisoner while holding my head. “Take it all back!”

I forgot what I saw when I sold the memory back, but the pain of the experience remained vivid. It took me minutes to recover, my forehead sweating from the mental exhaustion. I had accepted evil into my mind, one so rotten that it put a strain on my very soul. Alaire awkwardly gave me a cup of herbal tea that soothed the pain away.

“I felt it…” I informed Alaire, my breath short and shallow. “His joy… his cruelty… for a second, I shared them.”

I felt like I had been infected. Violated.

Gathering skills didn’t affect me mentally because they rarely carried any emotion with them. True memories were different. A person’s mind was the sum of their memories. They shaped their thoughts, their experience, and their very identity. If I took someone’s memories, I became a little less of myself.

I would have to be very precise about separating feelings from information in the future. I didn’t want to get back in a situation where I would have to beg a slaver to cancel a deal. Or worse, find myself permanently saddled with terrible urges.

Alaire nodded gravely, as if she understood my pain. It warmed my heart. “I won’t have you harm yourself, Robin,” she said kindly. “How about we instead buy the knowledge of their crimes as a package deal with a piece of paper? This should create detailed, written confessions.”

“Yeah, good idea…” I whispered. “Let’s try that.”

Alaire’s method proved quite effective at forming written memory records and mapping out Fenrivos’ network. The demon had enjoyed the support of many investors among the city’s remaining merchant class and disreputable people, though not all of them knew about the underground arena. Those who did were more often than not mere crooks or unscrupulous individuals looking for a quick buck. Not a single one of them knew they were working for a demon, which made sense. Even the worst scum on earth would rather avoid turning their turf into a blighted wasteland.

Still, a good quarter of the Gilded Wolf’s investors and employees either participated in Fenrivos’ slave trade or passively benefited from it. A few members of the Trade Guild and port officials also accepted bribes to look the other way.

“We should behead them all,” Alaire declared on our way out of the castle’s jail, her fists clenching. The news that a few members of the city watch collaborated with Fenrivos’ network left her fuming. “Shaving thirty years off their miserable lives feels too lenient.”

“I confess I’m tempted too.” These crooks’ corruption and carelessness nearly caused Snowdrift’s destruction. And the horrors some of them confessed made me want to puke. “On the bright side, we’ve got many new job openings and twenty more skill vests on the way. Selling ill-gotten assets will help us fund the Frostfox Company too.”

Alaire rolled her eyes. “That name is terrible, Robin.”

“You can only blame yourself for calling me a fox too many times,” I teased her. A few jokes would help me wash away the memory of the countless infractions we’d heard today. “Even Belgoroth boarded that ship. A greedy fox, he called me.”

“A Demon Ancestor’s scorn doesn’t make for a glowing endorsement.” Alaire squinted at me. “I also can’t help but notice you intend to give yourself a controlling interest in the company too.”

“Aren’t my powers invaluable?” I pointed out. “I had to put a price on all the skill-granting items I created.”

“Skills extracted from our citizens.”

“You delivered the raw material, but I worked hard to climb the value ladder by making the finished product. It was an investment.” We started climbing the stairs leading up to Count Brynslow’s chamber, since Alaire wanted to check on her grandfather before the council meeting. “Between us, I hope to expand the company beyond Snowdrift after revitalizing it. The purple plague devastated too many cities beyond this one.”

Alaire stopped halfway through the stone steps, her eyebrows furrowing at me. “You intend to leave Snowdrift?”

“After saving it.” I first came to disperse my parents’ ashes and start anew. The former was done, and the Blight situation put the latter on hold. “Before the whole demon fiasco, I intended to start an import-export company. To transport goods from one corner of Pangeal to another.”

“A good plan for one who wants to see the world.” Alaire observed me carefully. “Did you have a destination in mind?”

“I’ve always wanted to visit the Fire Islands one day,” I replied, much to Alaire’s displeasure. “Not to meet with Neferoa, mind you. In her second tome of Wondrous Journeys, Daniella Dane called them the goddess’ crown jewel–”

“For its forests shine like emeralds and its waters glitter like sapphires,” Alaire quoted the book with a bright smile. “I’ve read it too.”

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. “Call me surprised. I didn’t take you for the reading type.”

“You assumed wrong. I spent half my childhood in a convent’s library.” Alaire shrugged as we continued our ascent to the castle’s higher floors. “I hope for you the truth will live up to the tales.”

Because I won’t be able to check myself, was left unsaid.

An awkward silence settled between us and lasted until we reached the Count’s apartments. We met Florence of Arcadia there. The apothecary oversaw her sleeping patient with a mother hen’s care, though I noticed all her herbal pouches were packed and ready for travel.

“Lady Alaire, Lord Robin.” Florence welcomed us with a warm smile. “He just fell asleep again.”

“Florence,” Alaire greeted the apothecary. “How is my grandfather?”

“His periods of awakening last longer,” Florence replied calmly. That lady radiated a soothing aura, much like my deceased mother. “All we can do for now is let him rest. Colmar agreed to oversee his recovery in my absence.”

“Your absence?” I frowned. “You’re leaving us?”

“I feel my job here is done,” Florence confirmed with a short nod. “As a traveling apothecary, I must get back on the road. Too many villages need my assistance, and they don’t have Count Brynslow’s resources to count on.”

I understood that all too well. While towns and cities could afford full-time healers, smaller communities relied on traveling apothecaries to buy from potions or receive treatments.

Alaire scowled at the news. “I know your position, Florence, but I would rather have you at our side. You have been my grandfather’s favorite healer for years. He trusts you.”

“You are too kind, Alaire,” Florence replied with a chuckle. “You give me too much credit. It is Lord Robin you should thank. He did most of the work.”

“You kept him alive long enough for me to arrive, did you not?” I reminded her. “Don’t sell yourself short, Florence. When troubles knock on the door, people like you make all the difference.”

“I like to think so,” she replied modestly. “Even heroes need help now and then.”

“You’re welcome to call for mine anytime.” I offered my hand. “If you require any form of assistance, or financial support for your activities, you only need to ask.”

“I will keep it in mind.” Florence shook my hand warmly. “I shall watch your progress with great interest, Lord Robin.”

“I shall miss you, Florence,” Alaire confessed. “I will have a guard escort you outside the city.”

Florence chuckled lightly. “My dear, I do not deserve such attention.”

“I insist, the streets aren’t safe nowadays.” Alaire smiled warmly. “Take care of yourself, Florence.”

The apothecary accepted the escort with grace. As I watched her and the guard walk away, I somehow had the feeling we would meet again one day.

Alaire took Florence’s seat next to her grandfather and held his hand in her own. She listened to his soft heartbeat and breathing, her eyes desperately waiting for his own to open again.

“Am I selfish to say I can’t wait for him to take back his post?” Alaire asked me.

“You’re doing fine so far,” I replied.

“Are you joking?” Alaire scoffed. “A Blight nearly consumed the city on my watch.”

“That cancer grew years before you became the acting countess, and you helped stop it nonetheless.” I gave her a pat on the shoulder. “You’re putting too much pressure on yourself. We’ll turn the situation around.”

My words failed to reach Alaire. If anything, she bristled at them. “Easy for you to say, Robin,” she said with a dark look. “Your class’ power lets you do more for my city in days than what I could do for it in years.”

Damn it, I had only succeeded in making her feel jealous. “I won’t deny that being the Merchant is a great boon,” I argued. “But the city watch followed you into a literal hellhole. You’re the one who led the evacuation, remember?”

“You’re wrong, Robin. My men didn’t follow me.” Alaire stared at the count with a blank expression. “They followed his granddaughter.”

“Alaire, I didn’t mean–”

“I know.” Alaire sighed, and then kissed her sleeping grandfather’s forehead. “I know you mean well, Robin. I wish I could take things as lightly as you do.”

And I wished I knew how to lighten her mood.

Afterward, we finally rejoined the council room. Therese was already present, alongside Marika, Colmar, and Lady Freygrad—who represented the city’s various guilds. I was glad to learn she wasn’t involved in Fenrivos’ activities.

“Thank you for coming today, everyone,” I said as Alaire and I took our seats at the table. “I want to personally thank you for attending this first assembly of the Frostfox Company’s shareholders and associates.”

Therese chuckled to herself. “I have mixed feelings about that name.”

“The name matters less than the vision,” Lady Freygrad replied. She briefly rose from her seat to shake my hand. “To think I helped the Merchant himself settle in our fair city. Truly, I feel blessed.”

“I see that Therese briefed you on our identities.” I returned the handshake. “I have high hopes for what we might achieve together.”

“Should I be here?” Marika asked. She appeared a little overwhelmed. “I usually let someone else deal with everything business-related.”

I looked into her eyes. “Did it work out?”

Her gaze instantly hardened. “No.”

“Hence why I want you onboard,” I replied. “As a key pillar of this organization, your insight will be invaluable. The more viewpoints we have, the less narrow our vision.”

“Wise words, Robin,” Colmar said. “However, I must inform you that I am only interested in public health and safety. Money-making activities do not concern me.”

“They should.” I joined my hands. “A coin well-invested will help keep the Blight away.”

Lady Freygrad paled a bit when I mentioned the disaster on our hands. “Speaking of the Blight, what is the current situation?”

“Stable, for now,” Marika replied. “The Witchcrafter Guild set up seals around the perimeter and Soraseo is keeping an eye on them as we speak. So long as they hold, we can check the Blight’s growth, or at least slow it down.”

“Which will make them a target for Belgoroth’s cultists,” Alaire said with a grim look. “That place will cause us many headaches.”

Lady Freygrad nodded grimly. “It will also encourage people to flee the region and frighten merchants away. A Blight doesn’t scream prosperity to visitors. Neither can we hide its existence.”

“We need to reassure the public,” Therese confirmed, her eyes wandering to me. “I think you already know how, Robin.”

I nodded sharply. “I will make my presence in the city official.”

“Are you certain?” Alaire asked me. “You swore us to silence the first time we met.”

“I don’t see any other way to reassure the public about the Blight and encourage investors to come,” I replied. “My predecessors were famous mainly for one thing: conjuring wealth out of thin air and bringing prosperity to the lands they visited. Having a wielder of one of the Seven Great Classes will assuage our citizens’ fears.”

“The Knots already know where we are,” Colmar said. “If we can no longer hide from our enemies, what do we have to lose?”

“Our discretion,” I replied. Revealing our presence meant gaining Prince Roland’s attention and that of many of Archfrost’s power players. “It means playing the game of politics.”

Therese smiled thinly. “You already are, Robin.”

“I know, hence why I agreed to go public.” I glanced at my fellow heroes. “What about you?”

Colmar shrugged his shoulders, since he never cared for anonymity in the first place. Marika remained on the fence. “I worry for my son,” she said with a sigh. “But Colmar has a point. The people I wanted to avoid have already learned our location.”

She was resigned to seeing her ex-husband knocking on her door again. I swore to myself never to let him within a league of Marika or Beni.

“Then it’s settled,” I said. “The Frostfox Company is now a heroes’ company. And together, we’ll save Snowdrift from the evil that’s infested it.”

Though not all shared my confidence—Marika and Alaire least of all—they all welcomed my words with nods. Whatever might come, we will try our best.

“After reviewing all available information, tax reports, and administrative documents with Therese, I have devised a plan to develop the city,” I explained while distributing scroll drafts of my various proposals. “One that revolves around four objectives: putting the land to work; improving our population; strengthening trade; and improving infrastructure. I would like to discuss each of them with you and see how our powers might improve upon them.”

I had to thank all of my accumulated skills for helping to create this plan. By now, I had absorbed the knowledge of merchants, poachers, scribes, and administrators. Together, all these tidbits of information helped me gain a larger vision of the situation. My skills formed connections that escaped specialists.

For example, a thoughtful analysis of the region made me realize that Snowdrift possessed three geographic advantages. First of all, it was located on a riverway connecting Archfrost to the Riverland Federation, and by extension, the western nations. The fact it had become a medium-sized city rather than a bustling trading post spoke volumes about the various troubles Snowdrift went through. I hoped to turn the tide.

Second, Snowdrift’s region provided plenty of raw material to exploit. The city was originally founded to extract iron for tool and weapon production. The nearby hills housed plenty of it, alongside copper, pewter, salt, flint, stone, and even a little bit of silver. The forests were rich in timber too.

Finally, the land was suitable for farming and grazing in spite of Archfrost’s unforgiving climate. Farmers in the region cultivated crops like barley, turnips, beans, cabbages, apples, flax… They raised sheep for their wool and slaughtered cattle for the meat, alongside pigs, goats, and even bees.

However, Snowdrift faced heavy limitations. The population crumbled after the purple plague and civil war, and the cold climate limited food production. We lacked enough farmers to work on the land, which in turn meant we couldn’t set aside enough crops to sustain newcomers. This created a bottleneck limiting population growth. Fewer people meant less dynamism in the economy and lower tax revenues for public coffers.

“We need to fully exploit the land we have if we are to break this vicious cycle,” I declared as my fellow associates reviewed the documents. “Either by inviting new farmers to settle it or improving our soil.”

“We’ve already tried to encourage immigration by selling away abandoned land cheaply or through tax exemptions,” Lady Freygrad reminded me. “Unfortunately, we only had limited success. All of Archfrost is facing post-purple plague worker shortages. We had some luck attracting settlers from the Riverland Federation, but that well is running dry.”

“How about looking for settlers from beyond Archfrost’s neighbors?” Therese suggested. “The Everbright Empire and Stonelands have no shortage of downtrodden people looking for work.”

“Both are many leagues away from Snowdrift, Lady Therese,” Freygrad replied. “We would need to send professional recruiters, which doesn’t come cheap.”

“I’m fine paying ten recruiters a year if it means bringing in a hundred more volunteers,” I said. “We need to attract new workers. Not only farmers, but craftsmen, shipbuilders, and artisans.”

Examining Snowdrift’s tax reports had proven enlightening. The Brynslow administration currently ruled around fifty-thousand people; thirteen thousand in the city itself—two-thirds of its historical peak—and the rest in the surrounding villages, farms, and outskirts. Each of them earned around three to five gold coins a year on average, a tenth of which ended up making its way to the nobility in taxes alongside tariffs from the port.

As a result, the Brynslow administration earned roughly twenty-thousand gold a year in revenues; a rather modest amount. Duke Ermeline’s estate earned over ten times that sum. Count Brynslow was a frugal lord who made sure to secure at least a fifth of his yearly revenues in a war chest for troubled times. His cautiousness probably slowed down Snowdrift’s recovery, but the treasury now held a good fifty-thousand gold coins in emergency reserves.

We could afford to fund a few bold initiatives.

Therese put forward a scroll on the table. “On the question of food production, I may have found a solution. A four-field crop rotation system.”

Alaire squinted upon seeing the document. “Is that a tax report?”

“Farmers around Snowdrift mostly pay their taxes in crops,” Therese explained. “One of them consistently produces a far greater yield than his neighbors. I paid him a visit and he explained to me he had developed a novel cultivation method.”

“Is that so?” I read the document in-depth. “From what I see, he alternates between four crops on the same terrain: wheat in the first year, turnips in the second, clover on the third, and barley in the fourth.”

“Oh, I see how it works.” Colmar nodded to himself. “How clever.”

“I’m a bit lost,” Marika admitted.

“It’s very simple.” Colmar joined his hands before beginning an agriculture lecture. “Wheat is an excellent source of food, but depletes nutrients in the soil. Turnips can grow in winter and possess roots that improve soil structure. Clovers, meanwhile, help replenish nutrients in the earth and can be used to feed livestock. Since the soil has regenerated, this in turn improves barley yields.”

“And barley can be used for fodder, beer, and bread,” I said, calling upon some of the knowledge I bought from farmers. “If we encouraged farmers around Snowdrift to apply this system, we could increase our production.”

“But this system takes four years to set up,” Alaire replied with skepticism. “We’ll be lucky to have one before the Blight consumes the city.”

“It will still show people that we see in the long-term, and thus reassure them,” Lady Freygrad replied. “Even in the short-term, encouraging grain production would help us feed the population at a lower price.”

“Moreover, I believe Robin’s power could help us accelerate food production,” Colmar said. “Lady Brynslow all of the land around Snowdrift should technically belong to you, am I wrong?”

“They belong to the Brynslow estate, yes.” Alaire’s eyes widened. “You want to imbue the land with specific properties?”

“If we lack the population required to farm the entire region, we could instead move soil quality and nutrients around,” Colmar confirmed. “Robin could buy those from areas meant for mining or non-food related production, and then sell them to enrich areas.”

His idea had merits. By working with Alaire, I could reshuffle nutrients from unexploited areas to those we could cultivate within the year. Once we had enough farmers to settle the land, I could then redistribute soil quality more evenly.

Come to think of it, I wondered how plants would interact with my abilities. If I used a sale to infuse a tree with a skill, would anyone eating its fruits benefit from it? Would selling years alongside an apple tree stop its growth? Would buying it make it grow old like the convicted criminals? I needed to find the time to experiment further.

“Can your power improve soil quality, Colmar?” I asked my fellow hero.

He nodded curtly. “I believe so. I’ve studied the effect of some sulfate minerals on plant growth in order to cultivate medical herbs. Large scale applications could improve food quantity and quality.”

Marika raised an eyebrow at Colmar. “I did not expect you to know so much about agriculture.”

“Health begins with food and ends with remedies,” Colmar replied. “Well-fed individuals resist diseases better than starved ones.”

Marika curtly nodded. She still distrusted her fellow hero, but his knowledge and acts spoke for themselves.

“We’ve also experimented with another way to develop food,” Alaire said, glancing at the room’s window. “Glass gardens protect herbs and plants from the cold. We could commission more of them to grow crops.”

“Good glass costs its weight in gold, Alaire,” Therese pointed out. “We must import it from the Riverland Federation at a high price. This limits our options.”

“I see a cheaper alternative.” I pointed at my fellow heroes. “With Colmar turning stone to glass and Marika’s power to assemble it into specific shapes, we can easily create glass gardens in quick succession.”

“It’s just building houses of glass and steel, am I right?” Marika smiled ear to ear. “That shouldn’t be too hard.”

Between the soil-enrichment plan, the homestead recruitment, and the creation of glass gardens, I believed we could quickly multiply food production; not only for humans, but cattle and other animals too.

The rest of the land would be put to work in order to capitalize on our existing advantages in wool and timber. This meant encouraging carpentry by building sawmills along the river, granting tax exemptions to woodworkers, and clearing land for grazing.

“The Riverland Federation is wealthy,” I declared. “The best way for us to develop is for us to move their coins into our pockets, and for that, we need to rise up the value ladder.”

“Agreed.” Freygrad nodded in assent. “For now, we mostly export wool to the Riverland Federation, who then process it into clothes that they sell back for a profit. If we had experienced craftsmen to simply produce textiles ourselves, we could undercut our neighbors’ prices and sell our goods in Tradewind. Our blacksmiths would also benefit from diversifying our metalworking. We can only sell so many swords and shields to Stonegarde.”

Marika sighed. “Even I know that there’s more business to make in plates and horseshoes than weapons.”

“This joins up with the second pillar I wished to discuss,” I said. “Improving our population’s skills. We’ve already started doing that by loaning my specially-made magical clothes to key recruits. The more blacksmiths and craftsmen we can train, the more products we can offer.”

“We could also use recruiters to bring in retired specialists from abroad willing to trade their skills for an easy retirement,” Therese suggested. “With time, we could develop a treasure trove of skill-granting clothes.”

“The city would benefit from free schools too,” Colmar said. “Spreading knowledge to the young will improve their lives in the long term.”

I concurred. The cost of education meant that few commoners knew how to read and write. Not only would free schooling help the poor rise up the social ladder, but it would let us train future scribes, administrators, and traders.

Therese remained skeptical. “I do not think we possess the infrastructure for that yet. However, the Arcane Abbey’s priests already offer schooling to gifted children looking to join the faith. We could ask them to accept more students, but I am not certain that they will accept.”

“Their role is to assist heroes,” I reminded her. “I don’t see how they could refuse if the request comes from us.”

Alaire snorted. “If the bishops delay, we will threaten to remove their tax exemptions. That should force them to hurry up.”

“Alaire!” Therese chuckled at her friend’s boldness. “The first king of Archfrost granted them that exemption almost three hundred years ago!”

“And he has been dead for two hundred and half,” Alaire replied with a shrug. “My city will die before next winter if we do nothing. Now is not the time to haggle, Therese, even with the Arcane Abbey.”

I agreed with her. It still irked me that Archfrost’s churches did not pay a single copper to the state. The Arcane Abbey had grown quite wealthy over the centuries, and though it did provide services to the poor and the needy, the state needed more schools than cathedrals. That kind of privilege was what fed the Reformist movement.

Next, we discussed how to boost trade. Lady Freygrad suggested a set of aggressive proposals to undercut rivals: reducing harbor tariffs and production tolls to next to nothing, providing incredibly cheap warehouse services by repurposing abandoned houses, establishing regular market fairs, and expanding the Trade Guild’s activities into a marketing and purchasing cooperative.

“My idea would be to negotiate the purchase of raw material in bulk for as low a price as possible,” Lady Freygrad explained. “If we consolidate our bargaining power into a single entity, we can obtain better deals from our trading partners. Lord Colmar’s power would be a great boon for production if he can produce more metal for us to shape.”

“At the risk of repeating myself, I am not interested in money-making activities that do not contribute to public health,” Colmar stubbornly insisted. “My goal is to save lives, not make better plates.”

Lady Freygrad took it in stride. “How about construction material then? We could use them to build better homes for our workers or hospitals.”

Her proposal mollified Colmar. “I am fine with that.”

I paid close attention to Alaire as Freygrad outlined her measures. The heiress’ lips strained a bit. She understood as well as I did that accepting all these proposals would fiercely cut down her administration’s revenues, maybe even send it spiraling into the red. A more conservative lord would have argued and haggled, even with the stakes at hand.

Instead, Alaire suggested going above and beyond. “We should remain mindful of security,” she suggested. “Lowering tariffs so much might attract unwelcome individuals, and we’ve let criminals run around for far too long. No merchant will feel safe in a city like ours without better protection.”

“Hiring more guards always helps traders feel safer,” Therese concurred. “Lady Soraseo could help train them.”

I had thought the same. Since Soraseo’s power let her easily copy physical skills, she could quickly sell and relearn them in short order. I knew my favorite Monk wouldn’t stay with us for long, but she could easily train an elite squad of guards within days.

“I will also purchase our recruits’ ability to lie until the end of their service,” I suggested. “This should reduce the risk of corruption, if not eliminate it entirely. Giving them a higher pay would also discourage shakedown attempts.”

“Let us do that.” Alaire folded her hands and turned to face me. “What about your skill bank?”

I chuckled. “The Frostfox Company will be far more than that.”

First of all, it would begin with roughly thirty-thousand gold coins as starting capital. Half of it would come from the Brynslow administration’s war chest, the rest from confiscated assets taken from criminals associated with Fenrivos’ slavery ring, private investments from merchants, funds from the Trade Guild, and so on.

My goal was twofold: first, the company would act as a bank loaning money to would-be entrepreneurs, alongside the necessary skills to ensure their success. Wealth hoarded in underground crypts was nothing more than sleeping dragon eggs. Coins needed to move around to breed and come back to the nest with hatchlings.

Second, it would directly support long-distance trade in partnership with the city’s guilds. I would do that by helping stabilize prices. When prices of raw material, goods, and metalwork declined to the point that they threatened profitability, the Frostfox Company would buy up the surplus to maintain incomes. When prices rose again and threatened exportability, I would sell off the stockpile for a profit.

“However, for this strategy to work, we need to efficiently move goods around beyond the city.” I pointed at another part of my document. “Which brings me to the fourth pillar of our strategy: developing our infrastructure. Especially roads and our navy. According to Therese’s reports, the former is in a pitiful state and the latter needs more ships.”

“I know.” Alaire sighed. “With the purple plague, most roads except for the Stonegarde-Snowdrift axis have fallen into disrepair from lack of maintenance.”

“I can confirm that,” Colmar complained. “I almost fell in two different holes on my way to this city from Whitethrone, and I had to take a detour to avoid a collapsed bridge.”

And since Whitethrone was Archfrost’s capital, that said a lot. “We need to improve the roads leading to the closest cities, mines, and farms,” I said. “It would speed up the flow of merchandise, not to mention people.”

Marika crossed her arms. “Building roads isn’t cheap, Robin. Even my power can’t help much with them, though I can likely repair bridges.”

“I didn’t intend to have you pave roads,” I replied. “Instead, I suggest we hire people at the treasury’s expense. Construction projects would provide jobs and encourage spending.”

“Construction projects will burn through our budget,” Therese pointed out.

“A full treasury won’t keep the Blight away.” Alaire sighed as she signed on with the proposal. “If this fails… If this fails, we’ll have to accrue debts to stay afloat. And make sacrifices. Without the city’s revenues, we won’t be able to cover the funds lost this year.”

“We cannot fail,” I pointed out. “And once we succeed, the long-term increased revenues should more than make up for short-term losses.”

I noticed Marika sending me a worried glance at the edge of my vision, though she didn’t say a word. I suddenly realized her husband probably said the same thing before driving her into spiraling debt.

“We’ll be careful to stay afloat,” I reassured everyone. “We’ll only spend a coin if it brings in a sibling.”

“I pray to the goddess you are right, Robin.” Alaire reread my proposal. “As for the navy problem, I assume you want to restore the city’s shipyards?”

“We need a larger merchant navy to transport goods to the Riverland Federation and beyond,” I confirmed. “I asked Marika to see if her power could quicken the process.”

“That’s my time to shine,” Marika said with a smile. “I’ve put on a set of shipwright’s clothing you made. With its knowledge guiding my power, enough material, and a team of helpers, I’m confident I could build a galley per day if I worked on it full time.”

I gasped at the number, alongside half the people around the table. Lady Freygrad stared at Marika in utter disbelief. “That’s impossible!” she all but shouted. “It takes a year to build a ship that size!”

“My power tells me otherwise.” Marika chuckled. “However, I think I’ll have to stick to the same design to keep up with that production pace best. The more components I add to an item, the more my power goes off-script if not focused.”

Her answer brought a laugh from me. “Will you try fusing a castle with a carriage, as you suggested once? I’m curious what the result would be.”

“That depends.” Marika glanced at Alaire with mischief in her eyes. “Can I try with this one?”

“I’ll pass,” Alaire replied, though not without a hint of amusement in her voice. “The Black Keep has no need for wheels.”

“Where would it go?” Therese mused. “This is wonderful news, Lady Marika. A merchant fleet would greatly improve the transport of goods across the rivers.”

“I’ll still need the help of Witchcrafters to infuse the vessels with iron essence,” Marika warned. “Otherwise, the icy waters will make mincemeat of them.”

“We’ll commission twenty ships for a start,” I said. We lacked enough sailors to staff more than that for the moment. “I believe your idea for a standard design is the correct one. It would quicken the pace of piece production even when you’re not around to make them, and reduce prices.”

“We could apply the same process for manufactured goods,” Lady Freygrad suggested. “Quantity is a quality all of its own, especially if we can maintain consistency.”

Therese turned to Alaire. “I believe we have covered everything so far.”

“This is an ambitious plan,” Alaire commented. She grabbed a quill and immediately began to draft various decrees. “A bold one too.”

“It will burn through our war chest and yearly budget,” I conceded. “But it should put Snowdrift back on the right track.”

“I hope so dearly.” Alaire sighed. “I wouldn’t mind hiring more scribes to help with the paperwork.”

“We have vests for that too,” I happily reminded her.

“Your idea of taking away our officials’ ability to lie was good, Robin,” Therese congratulated me. “I support making it mandatory.”

“It would prevent the Knots from infiltrating the city’s administration,” Colmar added. “We might have missed some of their agents.”

His words filled me with doubt. We had done our best to purge Fenrivos’ ring from the city, but a single detail still bothered me.

“How did Fenrivos know we were heroes?” I muttered.

“His mistress warned him of our coming,” Marika reminded me.

“But how would that mystery lady know?” I crossed my arms, a nagging feeling of unease gnawing at the back of my mind. “Events happened in such a short window of time… how could the information spread so quickly? We’ve overlooked something, but I can’t tell what.”

Alaire looked up from her documents, a scowl on her face. “Did you tell anyone you were heroes when you arrived in Snowdrift?”

I shook my head. “No, we did not.”

“Then one of my guards slipped up,” Alaire grunted. “We’ll have to interrogate them too.”

My gut told me that she was on the right track. I tried to remember every detail of our first meeting. The only people who learned about my powers were those in the Count’s bedroom when I bought his illness. One of the guards could have shared the information, but Fenrivos explicitly mentioned a mistress. A woman.

And the only women we met back then had been Alaire, Therese, and…

“Florence,” I muttered. The apothecary had been treating the Count’s illness when we negotiated with him. “She was here too.”

Alaire’s eyes met mine. We said nothing for a few seconds as the gravity of the situation slowly dawned on us. Then we both bolted out of our seats in panic.

“Colmar!” Alaire all but shouted before throwing the council room’s door open. “With me!”

The apothecary didn’t even ask for a reason before following her. The fear in Alaire’s voice was all the warning he needed. While Marika and Lady Freygrad lacked the context to understand the situation, Therese quickly caught on.

“Guards!” she shouted. Soldiers in armor rushed into the room immediately. “Find Florence the apothecary and arrest her! Scour this castle and city if you must!”

Marika’s eyes widened in shock. “A cultist?”

“Yes,” I confirmed, my teeth grinding against each other. “Let’s catch her before she gets away!”

But we were too late.

Marika and I scoured the city alongside a score of guards, looking for the apothecary. We checked every inn, every hospital, every place Florence had frequented in her stay in Snowdrift with nothing to show for it. When the sun hit the horizon, we finally found the guard Alaire sent to shadow Florence with his throat slit in a back alley.

No one could tell us where the apothecary went. Florence had simply vanished without a trace, as if she had never existed.

I let her go. The words echoed in my mind when we returned to the castle with nothing to show for our manhunt. I let her go.

“Right under my nose,” I muttered to myself, my fingers trembling with anger. “She was right under my nose.”

Marika sent me a look full of compassion. “Don’t blame yourself, Robin,” she tried to comfort me. “Some people… some people hide their true selves very well. I know that from experience.”

“Still, I should have–” I grunted. Anger clouded my judgment. “I should have connected the dots earlier. I’m so stupid…”

“You did your best,” Marika insisted. “And now we know what she looks like. We’ll get her one day.”

I locked eyes with her. “But how many will she kill in the meantime?”

Even Marika couldn’t answer that.

I knew what to expect before we even walked into the count’s room. We found the old man in his bed, his skin pallid and a stream of saliva running down his mouth. I couldn’t hear him breathing. Alaire held her grandfather’s hand in her own, her eyes holding back tears while Therese tried her best to comfort her with kind words and whispers.

Florence knew it was only a matter of time before her cover was blown, so she decided to take one last life before fading back into the dark.

“Poison,” Colmar informed us when we arrived. The Alchemist let out a sigh of tiredness and exhaustion. “He was already dead when we reached him. He didn’t suffer at least.”

I doubted it would comfort Alaire in her sorrow.

Florence was smiling, I remembered, utterly shaken. Alaire and I had met the apothecary seconds after she poisoned her own patient. That should have been the ultimate stress test, to be confronted by the granddaughter of the man she had condemned to death. Instead, Florence acted perfectly normal and kind. Was she a demon? I couldn’t detect a single whiff of essence.

“I don’t get it,” I whispered. The Count was already bound for the tomb from old age alone. What did Florence have to gain from murdering him? “Why him?”

“Maybe she wasn’t confident she could harm us,” Marika suggested.

Colmar offered a more likely suggestion. “She wanted to sabotage the administration,” he said, glancing at Alaire. “I’m afraid the succession will be… rough.”

My father was the only one magnanimous enough to look past her origins, Ser Hugdan had mocked Alaire. She’s a bastard after all.

The enemy had slipped through our fingers and sowed chaos on her way out.