Chương 23: Trading House Revisited

Jacob Wanderbilt tapped his feet impatiently while waiting for the merchant to inspect the red dragon scale.

"I-I don't understand," Basil Song said.

"We even had a special appraiser confirm its authenticity." He was at the Seven Songs Trading Company, the place where he'd bought the dragon scale yesterday. They were the smallest of the three major trading houses and, from what he'd heard, weren't doing very well as of late. But he never expected them to be passing off fake merchandise.

"The proof is right there," he said.

"You see those teeth marks, don't you? Punctured straight through." Basil was shaking his head.

"B-but I don't understand how it's possible. We did everything right."

"I'm feeling generous today. Just give me a refund and I won't pursue you for any penalties. You'll still have to deal with an investigation into how you ended up selling a counterfeit product. But that shouldn't be a problem if you really did have it properly appraised." He had to admit that even if it was fake, the scale had saved his life. It had done the job it was meant to do. The problem was that it wasn't the dragon scale that he'd paid for.

And from the way the merchant was stuttering, he believed the man when he said that he didn't know about it being fake. Maybe he really had called in a special appraiser. But it was also possible that a struggling business had cut corners to save on costs. And that simply wasn't acceptable. Wherever the problem lay, it had to be found and rectified. Basil pointed to one of his clerks.

"You were there! You saw the special appraiser at work. It even broke my shop press." The clerk shuffled his feet without meeting his boss's eye.

"Say something!" Basil demanded.

"Well, boss, I'm not sure," the clerk said.

"The appraiser did seem rather intoxicated. Maybe the press broke because he wasn't using it properly?"

"You—!"

"Leave your poor worker alone," Jacob interjected.

"He's just being honest." Basil turned to him with pleading eyes.

"Let's bring in another appraiser. I'm sure they'll confirm the results." He shook his head.

"What's the point? There's a hole there. Nothing should be able to pierce dragon scale. That's already proof enough."

"That isn't true," Basil protested.

"There are ways to hunt a dragon. Even creatures that can kill them."

"None of which would ever be found in the vicinity of Lorelark," he pointed out.

"Then tell me," Basil said.

"What did this? What made this hole?" The man just wouldn't give it up. But it was a reasonable question, so he was willing to engage with him a little longer.

"It was a mountain lion, I think. Or maybe some sort of..." He was about to say demon cat but caught himself just in time. After the mysterious demon girl had escorted them back to the surface, she'd told them not to tell anyone that she'd killed the boss mage. She'd made it very clear—in fact she'd insisted —that he'd killed himself by making a tunnel collapse on top of himself. And of course no one should go down that way to check because the tunnels were still very unstable and unsafe.

Needless to say, no one dared contradict her version of events. Jacob didn't feel that conflicted. While she may be a demon, she did save them all. And he was always one to believe that a person should be judged by their actions rather than their race. After she left, he'd had a talk with the other former captives. They'd all agreed—even the crazed man—to keep her secret. They didn't want to seem ungrateful after all. Not to a demon who could gleefully defeat a third-circle mage.

And who could easily track any of them down because she carried around posters of their likeness on her person. She'd clearly put in a lot of effort to pass as a human. He couldn't figure out how she managed to hide her horns, as he always thought that was impossible for a demon to do. And had he not seen its other form, he wouldn't have known there was anything sinister about her pet at all. Their disguises were frighteningly good.

In fact there was only one thing that gave her away, and that was the fact that she'd been called forth by the demon summoning. He didn't understand why the ritual had triggered when it did, it might have had something to do with her pet, but the result had been unmistakable. She'd appeared in a cloud of demonic fire. There was no other possible explanation. And if he was being honest with himself, it had been beautiful to witness. It was too bad he never caught her name.

"A mountain lion?" Basil said.

"In Lorelark?"

"You don't have to worry," he replied.

"I don't think it will cause anyone problems anymore."

"But even if the scale was fake, there's no way a mountain lion could damage it," Basil pointed out.

"It doesn't make any sense."

"The proof is the proof, whether it makes sense or not." Basil was shaking.

"Please. Let me call in another appraiser. Maybe they can figure out how this happened." Had this happened two days ago, he would have lost his patience by now. But there was something about almost becoming a ritual sacrifice to summon a demon girl that made a man cherish each passing moment. He was about to accept the merchant's request when one of the clerks pointed at the warehouse entrance and shouted.

"It's her!" All eyes turned. Jacob's heart fluttered. It was the mysterious demon girl. He remembered the way she stared down at him from atop that pedestal. Him being all tied up. The gentle lines of her face lit by candlelight. And then how confidently she'd bossed everyone around. A natural-born leader. Her hair looked even better in the sun. Shining in the color of natural amber.

"Yes, it's me!" she declared, strutting into the warehouse.

"I came to get paid." Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. He turned to the merchant.

"You did a deal with a—" he had to bite off the word demon again.

"... With her?" The question seemed to snap Basil out of his daze, and he ran right up to the demon girl.

"You've got to explain it to him! It's all a big misunderstanding. Tell him you're the one who sold me this dragon scale. Tell him where you got it."

"I never said it was a dragon scale," she said.

"You all just started calling it that, and I went along with it because I figured you were the experts."

"But you found it on a mountain. Off a dead dragon."

"Definitely a reptile of some sort," she said. She was as wily and manipulative in trade as she was graceful in battle. Jacob could see from her sharp and intelligent eyes that she was toying with the merchant. He understood now that it wasn't the merchant's fault. Any soul unfortunate enough to have been chosen as her target would have fallen victim to the same irresistible charm. He stepped forward and held his hand out to Basil.

"I'd like to keep the scale." Basil looked confused.

"You no longer think it's a fake?" The demon girl said, "You're the one who bought my scale?" He smiled at her.

"It's a very beautiful scale." Inwardly he cringed at how unnatural that line sounded. He grabbed at the scale in Basil's hand, but for some reason the merchant refused to let go.

"I should call a second appraiser over anyway," Basil said.

"In case you change your mind later."

"There's no need," he replied. Now that he knew the source of the scale, his plans for it had changed. It no longer mattered if it was genuine dragon scale or not. Instead of having it worked into a piece of armor, he was going to put it on display. An eternal reminder of his near-death experience and the mysterious demon girl who saved him. As a dragon scale it was expensive, but as a keepsake it was priceless.

"Since you haven't issued a refund, it's still my scale, so you should let go," he warned the merchant. Basil let him have it back.

"Now that that's all sorted," the demon girl said, "I'm here to give you my bank details." She handed Basil a bank deposit card. He looked it over for a moment, like his mind was still trying to catch up with the change in topic, before handing it to a clerk.

"Add her to our list of payees." The clerk ran off into one of the offices adjoining the warehouse. Jacob took this opportunity to step forward and address the demon girl in a formal greeting of nobles with a hand on his chest.

"I'm Jacob Wanderbilt. I realize that when we met, I never caught your name."

"Yeah, I recognize you," she said.

"Look, you got lucky last night, and you should just be happy about that. I don't want rumors floating around attached to my name, and I especially don't want you chasing me up. So remember your promise and forget all about me, okay?" Murmurs began to circulate among the clerks who had been watching everything. He turned to them and said, "It's not what you think." That only seemed to stir up more whispers. She turned to Basil.

"I don't care if he's the prince of darkness. You don't tell him a single thing about me, do you understand?" Basil seemed at a loss, looking back and forth between him and the demon girl while searching for a way out of his predicament without offending either one of them. Feeling sorry for the merchant, Jacob said, "It's all right. Make sure you do right by her." Basil nodded with relief.

The clerk who'd run off to make a copy of the demon girl's bank account details returned and handed the deposit card back to her. Basil shook the demon girl's hands profusely and started yammering quickly like he couldn't wait to get her out the door.

"It's been a real pleasure doing business with you. We'll make sure you get every copper that you earn. Please tell all your friends about us."

"I'm not done here," she said. The fake cheer disappeared from Basil's face.

"Was there something else I can help you with?" he squeaked.

"I was wondering if there was a way I could help you," she said.

"No, no, there's nothing at all, we're completely fine," he replied quickly.

"That's a shame," she said dejectedly.

"Then do you know if any of the other trading houses might have a caravan headed to Ardark that needs guarding?"

"You're going to Ardark?" Basil asked.

"Yep."

"And you want to guard a caravan?"

"That's what I said." Basil's eyes glanced over at the girl's adventurers badge, which Jacob noticed was only silver.

"It might not be my place to say this, but you should reconsider—""She can do it," Jacob interjected.

"She's more capable than she looks."

"Uh, thanks, I guess?" she said.

"Your caravan will be completely safe," he continued.

"In fact, I'd be willing to underwrite the insurance if she's the one guarding it."

"Can you excuse us for a moment?" Basil said to the demon girl before motioning for Jacob to join him for an aside. He followed the merchant into his office. Basil closed the door behind them and took a deep breath.

"Master Jacob, I understand that you're trying to impress the lady, but I must impress upon you, sir, the dangers of the northern road."

"You're talking about the bandits," he replied.

"I'm well aware of them."

"Then you'll also be aware of how much trouble they've been causing even when faced with experienced adventurers."

"Trust me, she can handle it." Basil simply shook his head.

"Sir, I can't in good conscience send someone out there who I don't believe is capable of understanding the risks." He was surprised that the merchant was taking a principled stand on this, as he always understood their type as the sort who only thought in copper and gold.

"I imagine you wouldn't be sending your delivery people into harm's way without a plan," he said.

"It's going to be a well-protected caravan, is it not?"

"That hasn't stopped the bandits from trying their luck. And they've become better organized and more aggressive as of late."

"But she's going to Ardark either way. Wouldn't she be safer traveling with your caravan?"

"I was going to suggest she take the long way through Ygg Latten Bay," Basil said. He grinned.

"Then why don't you suggest that to her? I bet she'll say no."

"Then—""And if she insists on taking the northern road, I'll cover her contract fee. As the insurer of this caravan, I'd want to make sure it has the best protection possible, wouldn't I?"

"You're really serious about this," Basil said.

"You have that much faith in her? This isn't some ill-conceived plan to win her over?"

"Let's go out there and see what she thinks." They both returned to the warehouse, where the clerks were waiting patiently and the demon girl had broken into a crate of sugar. She looked up at them and said, "Now that you've got insurance sorted out, are you ready to hire me?" Basil began, "There's a safer route—""You aren't going to tell me to go via Ygg Latten Bay, are you?" she cut in.

"Listen, I've already decided to take the direct road. The only question is whether I'll be protecting your caravan or one of your rivals'."

"Why do you need to get to Ardark in such a hurry?" Basil asked.

"Some of the missing persons have been taken up there. I have to get them back before they're gone for good." All the clerks turned and stared at her. Basil's mouth hung open. Jacob's mind raced. They'd all realized that she'd just revealed something that wasn't meant to be public knowledge. And since Jacob knew a bit more than the others, his thoughts turned in a different direction. This girl was a demon who'd come to Lorelark to put a stop to the cultists attempting a demon summoning here.

And she was clearly aware of further activities taking place up around Ardark that she had now turned her focus on. It was as he suspected. She was a good demon. And he wanted to help her as much as possible.

"When does your caravan leave?" she asked.

"Tomorrow morning," Basil replied, seeming resigned to the inevitable outcome.

"Perfect timing," she said.

"The only business I have left in Lorelark is to improve the security of Restford. The city council will be making a decision on that today, so as long as everything goes well, I'll be ready." Jacob suddenly knew what he had to do. He excused himself and hurried toward the council chambers.