Silver in Eillen 7: The Establishment of Others
“One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.”
- Niccolo Machiavelli
<- 6: Small Projects ~0~ 8) Desires of the Moment ->
One of the many advantages to being a Magician, Venturos found, was that it greatly facilitated the art of disappearing.
No magic, in fact, was required - if anyone noticed a Magician’s absence, they generally refrained from questioning it, as the general attitude of the populace maintained that the best way not to run afoul of Magicians was to politely ignore them. Furthermore, this extended to his presence as well, since anyone who took it into their head to closely observe a gaunt, dark-eyed man who appeared neither young nor old caught the distinct impression that something about him was not quite right, and they promptly stopped paying attention.
No one who hadn’t been paying attention as Venturos entered the city of Eillen would ever be able to peg him as Renuan. Magicians, ranging from street-conjurers on upwards, were common in Eillen, as in every major port, and they hailed from across the known world.
Rumors circulated freely in the crowded Piazzas outside of the quarter belonging to House Argentus. All Venturos had to do was pick a knot of citizens and listen. Most of the time, they never even noticed that he was there.
He stopped in the shade of a triumphal arch nearly an hour later to collect his thoughts. With the ease of practice, he filed away the conjectures, the rumors, and the probable facts for further study, and allowed his mind to construct a replica of the scenario.
The facts themselves were startling. The conjectures even more so.
~xXx0xXx~
It took all of Vespasian’s willpower to keep his face from reflecting his dismay as, bit by bit, the Patriarch of the discredited House Argentus spilled the whole sorry tale.
Business, he gathered, had been going discreetly to the bad for a long time - a year, at least, though the Patriarch still didn’t like to say. House Argentus, whose wealth had always derived primarily from the shipping industry, had been somewhat lax of late, and had staked a good portion of their remaining fortune on what was generally considered to be a safe passage down the shore to Romula, the capitol of the empire.
Seven ships set sail. Seven ships made profitable trade in Romula.
One ship returned to the mouth of the river Aern. In seven pieces.
~xXx0xXx~
It was dark with only a token sliver of moon when Vespasian met with Rynar to give him a synopsis of the situation.
Other nobles wouldn’t rely on their guard captain for a second opinion. Of course, it would never have occurred to other nobles that a general or a tactician was as useful during peace as during war, or that people’s minds were more important than their pedigree. In any case, Rynar knew Eillen better than Vespasian did, and was more likely to stumble across helpful rumors. And at heart, Rynar was a tactician. He knew how to anticipate the moves of the enemy.
Vespasian’s father had relied on Rynar - and so would Vespasian.
Rynar simply sat, rubbing his thumb across the bristles of his chin, as Vespasian told him everything. Then, a full minute after Vespasian had finished, he spoke. “There’s no use in trying to get one of the other two major houses to sponsor us, then.”
Vespasian shook his head. “I’ve thought about it. But Renua has been dealing with house Argentus only for too long. And house Argentus is deep in the disfavor of the Signolini - the seven ships were stocked with a loan from Signolini bank, and they have only just managed to pay it back.”
“The shuttered shops,” Rynar replied, with perfect understanding.
“Some closed because House Argentus can no longer supply their wares,” Vespasian confirmed, “Others have been sold off to minor houses.” House Argentus had indeed taken a sharp hit to their pride, and that they had chosen to sell their places of commerce, which were their greatest chance of working their way back upwards, spoke either of ill-management or greater desperation than they were willing to admit. For the ties that they still retained, they might be able to claim that they were currently the fourth house, but it would not be long before those holding the other end of the ties tired of the weight and let house Argentus slip into obscurity - and Renua’s future along with it.
“Have you considered the minor houses?”
Vespasian sighed. “Yes. Frankly, I’m not certain I like our chances. As few as two minor houses might be enough, if we could find two that stood to profit by the deal that have enough standing. On the other hand, if the Signolini dislike the deal, then it could take all of them. House Montag will bring anything connected to house Argentus down, and they aren’t involved with shipping, so we have nothing to offer them. House Isidrus is an unknown factor - what have you heard about it?”
Rynar, who well understood the advantages of instructing his men to become friendly with the locals and listen closely to their conversations, tipped one hand back and forth. “The servants of house Argentus are torn between blaming house Isidrus for their misfortunes and blaming house Montag.”
Vespasian grimaced. “So we can only openly appeal to house Isidrus if we’re willing to throw away the goodwill of house Argentus.”
“You knew that already,” Rynar reminded him, “house Isidrus is house Argentus’ main rival in shipping.”
There was nothing more said, but Vespasian knew what the only two real options were. He could strive to return the prestige of house Argentus, most likely by finding a way for them to work back into the good graces of house Signolini. Or he could seek to discredit the house that had taken their place.