Chương 17: Chapter 16: Merchant Guild II

"Ready?" she asked. I nodded and took her hand into mine as I walked toward the door of the merchant guild. The merchant guild is a huge white marble building covering a large area of around twenty thousand square feet, with five floors. It is a huge building, as big as the city hall, covering a substantial ten thousand square feet and five stories tall. It needs to be big as it represents all kinds of merchants. Under its roof are the offices of all sub-guilds.

Whether a cobbler, painter, or weaver, one will find their offices inside. Considering the size of the guild, it is clear that the prince had ambition. Many of the sub-guilds that had spaces there didn't even exist in the city. The merchant guild not only made the rules and enforced them but also provided arbitration and other services to the merchants in dispute with one another or the guilds of different cities. It wields the massive influence and is a semi-governmental body. Fully controlled by the city.

The ruling body consisted of the guild head, vice-heads, and sub-guild heads. It would have been great if I could have held any of these positions, but the house would not support my bid for them. Not to mention the business I run, Lord Darrow would have to think twice about giving me any position. The positions are public and affect the city's reputation. Unless there are compelling circumstances, nobody will give the brothel owner such a high position.

Still, I would not be just a simple guild member; for a start, I have a position in mind. Though getting it would be hard, I have already started working on it. As we walked toward the gates, I saw more people glancing at me than usual. This is likely because of Valentina, who is quite famous and a powerful mage. Soon, we reached the gate, where Damon Hardt was standing with four people. They were all vice-guild masters, and two were heads of their sub-guilds.

Usually, the majority of vice-heads are heads of their sub-guilds.

"Mage Valentina and Master Silver, welcome to the Merchant Guilds," said Damon Hardt, who had finally gotten the job.

"Thank you, Guild head," we said in unison.

"Vice-Guild heads," I said a moment later before entering the ballroom with Valentina. The ballroom is bigger than the ballroom of Damon Hardt's mansion, and there isalready a large crowd there. We arrived on time, but some people appeared early. As I said, this is an excellent opportunity to connect, and nobody wants to miss it.

"Mage Valentina, I didn't know you'd be here," said the voice as we walked into the ballroom. A Middle-aged man with shoulder-length raven hair walked toward us with a pretty-looking woman in a silver-red gown. I recognized him; he was on the list of nobles who came to Greltheaven for the inauguration.

"Baron Augustine, Baroness Augustine," greeted Valentina, with a faint bow, "Valentina, it's nice to see you again," said Baroness Augustine with a faint smile before turning to me,"Who is this handsome man?" she asked.

"Remus Silver," I replied, and recognition flashed in the eyes of both of them.

"I knew those eyes felt familiar," said Baron Augustine before returning to Valentina.

"You have built us a beautiful manor, Valentina; I was hoping you would build us another one, this one for our summer vacations at Gelin," he said. To that, Valentina shook her head.

"My apologies, Lord Baron. I am based in Greltheaven now," she replied.

"Jameson Leeds is now head of the Gelin division, and he is a wonderful architect," she added, and evident disappointment appeared in Baron Augustine, more so on the Baroness's face.

"No one could replace you, Valentina," he said with a sigh; we talked to them for a couple of minutes, with mostly Baron rambling about the beautiful manor that Valentina had built while the Baroness was casting hidden glances at Valentina. We talked to them for a minute more before moving away and talking to different people. Valentina seemed to know many people, as we had not stayed alone even a minute, always talking to some. From nobles to merchants to mercenaries, everyone important is present here.

As I was talking to people, I felt a familiar gaze on me; when I looked, I saw a familiar man looking at me with the same eyes. My uncle stared at me for a second before we both looked away at the same time. Valentina noticed the exchange but did not say anything. Time passed, and we kept talking to new people; it was interesting, especially talking to merchants from the city-states.

They are so different from the people of the Empire, which has become nationalist and even somewhat isolationist after the current Emperor's ascendancy. Tribes of elves and dwarves, and along with some other races present in the Empire, were expelled, and their entries were banned. I have only seen them a few times. There are many in the empire, who did not. However, now, it will change as we trade more with city-states.

Only two city-states were ruled by humans, while others were ruled by different races, from elves to orcs; one was even ruled by one of the elder races. As we talked with the people, my smile disappeared, and my expression turned serious as I looked at the family members approaching me.

"Baron Edwin, Madam," I greeted as I gave a faint bow to my brother, who finally got the noble title my father and the house paid for. He is wearing an empire-style suit that borders on gaudiness, while his mother, in a creamy white gown, looks as graceful as ever. He looks happy; it is evident by his expressions how much he is enjoying himself. This happiness lasts only a few days; his trial will begin when he returns to the territory he has gained. The place, unlike the wasteland, is not barren.

It is now a forest, but a few centuries ago, people used to live in cities and towns. While the place is green, it is also filled with dangers. The first one being the Navr, the undead kingdom. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! The Navr side is usually silent unless they plan to send undead hordes to harvestpeople and turn them into undead. So, these new barons should be worried about the more immediate danger.

The boundary they share with the merchant state of Oksall. There are tribes of orcs, and they are not very friendly, especially those bandit tribes. There is also the extreme magic region.

"Remus, my brother, how are you, and how is your little whorehouse doing?" he asked boisterously.

"I am good, Lord Baron, and the establishment is doing well, too, thanks to our father's blessings," I replied with a smile that froze his hateful laugh. He hates it when I remind him that we share blood, so I use these words whenever I want to irritate him.

"Good. I am proud of you," he said, clapping on my shoulders a little too hard. I bore it with a smile and turned to the woman who looked to be in her early fifties.

"Madam, it's been a while," I said politely. The last time I saw her was at thereading of my father's will.

"It is nice to see you too, Remus," she replied in her neutral voice. Since I have known her, she has always used this tone toward me; she is neither hateful nor loving. It is the same attitude inherited by her daughter, the eldest of my father's children and the one he loved the most, so much that he had left a large chunk of his wealth to he.

"Leila didn't come? I thought she was coming," I asked. To that, madam shook her head.

"She was planning to, but something important has come up that she couldn't ignore," replied Madam, without the slightest change in her expression. It was more likely that she was managing that giant inheritance. My father left me with something good but with conditions attached to it, while his children got it without it. Even after months, I feel bitter about it. Especially when I worked tirelessly for that old man while my father's enjoyed their lives.

"Remus, I am leaving for my territory the day after tomorrow. Are you interested in coming?" he asked, and it surprised me, but soon, I remembered the trips that old Remus had taken with him. When Old Remus was young, Edwin used to take him on trips and humiliate him in every way possible.

"No, Lord Baron, I could not. I have a business to handle," I replied politely. My decline lit a flash of anger in his eyes, and he opened his mouth to say something but closed it after getting a look from his mother.

"Remus, introduce me to this young woman," said Madam, "Valentina Elar, it's a pleasure to meet you, Madam Silver," introduced Valentina, and immediate recognition flashed in their eyes.

"Aren't you the one who built Remus's whorehouse?" asked Edwin before he could stop himself and immediately got a glare from his mother.

"Yes, I am," she replied, smiling, and silence appeared before us.

"It's nice to see you again, Remus," said Madam after a few seconds of silence and walked away from us.

"That was something," said Valentina after they left. Family," I replied, to which she smiled but said nothing else. Half an hour passed as we continued to mingle among the guests, but suddenly, they all quieted down and turned toward the door as we sensed the presence.

"Prince Magnus Grelt Alnwick Mediaen, Archduke of G…" the Herald announced the prince with all his titles, as he appeared. He did not come alone; his two uncles, Count Darrow and Duke of Valeshire, were with him. More important people followed them, each one with considerable power in the Empire. As he appeared, all the men bowed, and the women curtsied.

"Rise," he said, walking to the center stage before turning to everyone.

"Thank you for inviting me here for this wonderful…" He started his speech, and unlike his speech at the inauguration, this one solely targeted trade. It showed how much he valued trade and hinted that he would like to start trading with all merchant city-states, especially Meldhorn, Belnin, and Oksall. These three are connected to the Renwell Region by river and land. It was easier said than done; we could only resume relations with Meldhorn because it is a human-ruled merchant city-state.

Belnin and Oksall are not. Lord of Belnin is a half-elf against whom the Emperor used quite colorful words, while a council with humans, halflings, and orcs runs Oksall. Still, if anyone could restart the relations, it would be Prince Grelt. All the princes harp the same nationalistic rhetoric as their father, but Prince Grelt is different. He has always been pro-trade and a little more open and accepting. He also confirmed that he would be going to Meldhorn, which made the merchants on both sides smile.

A powerful prince going to the city-state is a grand gesture and will undoubtedlybring immense benefits. The prince's speech was short, lasting around five minutes, before Lord Darrow took over with his ten-minute speech. However, that is small compared to Damon Hardt's speech, which lasted more than fifteen minutes. If it were not for a faint cough from Lord Darrow, he would have continued for more than fifteen minutes.

"To Prince Grelt and Greltheaven," he said and raised his glass, and others followed before drinking the wine from our glasses. He looked reluctant as he got off the stage, but he soon tempered his emotions and mingled with the prince and other important guests. An hour passed, and the prince left with his uncles while the guests continued mingling; the night was still young.

We were mingling with the crowds when Valentina suddenly stopped and turned toward the beautiful woman in her early thirties with forest brown hair.

"You know her?" I asked, and Valentina said, "Yes, I did not think she would be here," turning toward the woman. The woman spotted us and turned from talking with the older man, vice-guild master Arryn. She seemed to sense us and turned, and immediately, a surprise appeared on her face.

"Valentina, it's a nice surprise," she said, and turned to Valentina, "It is, Lena," replied Valentina, as they hugged. I looked at the woman. She was nearly as tall as me, with a lean physique, an angular face, and forest-brown hair. Her features were prominently elvish and visible, unlike Valentina's, which could only be seen when one looked carefully. She might be a half-elf who had inherited less elvish elements from her elven parent or a quarter-elf.

Such people do not fare well on the mainland, but with normalized relations, she will be fine in Renwell. Not to mention, she seemed important, given how the fawningly vice-guild head was talking to her.

"I arrived an hour ago and decided to stay the night before going to Deerpond tomorrow," she replied and turned to me,"Who is this, Valentina? I did not know you liked younger men," asked the woman with a hidden smile.

"Remus Silver," I introduced. It took her a moment to recognize me, especially when she looked at my eyes.

"Lena Glass," she replied.

"A silver," she said, smiling before turning to Valentina while I turned to the older man.

"Vice-Guildmaster," I said respectfully.

"Young Remus, how's the city treating you?" asked the old man, "Very good, Guildmaster; I don't think there is anywhere else I would like to be than inGreltheaven right now," I said, and that made a smile appear on the old man's face.

"You are right about that; Greltheaven is really the best place to be right now and in the coming years," he said with a laugh. He is happy and has the right to be; I would be if I were in his position. I have heard that House Arryn had secured the contract to provide the weapons to Mirador Hold. It is a very juicy contract that will earn him and his house millions of imperials.

"Are you going to be part of the prince's entourage for Meldhorn?" I asked.

"Nothing is certain; it is up to the prince who he wants to take with him," said the old man. But it was clear in his eyes that he wanted to go, and if I had his position and power, I would want to go, too. I talked to the older man for a few minutes before he left; he wanted to join the conversation with Valentina and Lena but did not get a chance while I remained by my place. While the two friends talked, I mostly remained silent, only giving my opinion when asked.

This is fine with me, as I am more interested in listening to what they say. Through their conversation, I realized a few things: This woman, Lena, knew many people and went to many places.

"You shouldn't have gone to Mayhurst Island; it is extremely dangerous," Valentina said, shaking her hand, but the woman just smiled.

"You should look at the haul of amardite crystals I have gotten; all the risks I took were worth it," she said with her eyes shining brightly. I am quite shocked to hear about the amardite crystals. Amardite is an extremely valuable material, and Mayhurst Island is one of the places where it is found. My family had dealt with it; the enchanters and artificers loved this stuff.

Still, as Valentina had said, it is perilous to go there as the island is at war under the rampage of the lich and undead armada roaming the waters, who sink everything they come across.

"I have important business in Deerpond tomorrow, but I promise to visit you when I return." Valentina added, "I hope you keep your word this time." The woman just smiled at this.

"She is quite amazing," I said.

"She is," replied Valentina, and we moved on to mingle with others. The party was already a success. I met many people and even obtained the information I needed. If everything goes right, then by tomorrow, I will have everything I need to get that position.