Reborn From the Cosmos

Miniarc-Bad Tidings 02

“A pleasure doing business with you.”

“Ye, maybe for you.” Dunder scratched at his bald head, the dusky skin almost entirely covered by a tattoo of an octopus, its tentacles splayed wide. “Captain said I could keep a third of what I saved him. Could have had a good night. Now I’m gonna be spit shining his shell collection.”

“Cheer up, sailor.” Blaine walked around the table to slap the large man’s shoulder. “Best you get is a tongue lashing, ye? Your cap wouldn’t have sent ye with leave to give up more of his gold if he didn’t expect to lose it. Probably just hoped the miss would take pity on yer sorry ass.”

“Those barks better be served with a drink!” The large man huffed as Maxine’s escorts agreeably walked toward the bar. “But he’s not wrong.”

Maxine agreed. She was still learning about the city, but she knew well enough that captains hoarded two things: money and authority. No lackey would go around using either without express permission. Those that did tended to disappear, only to be seen again as skeletons. “I don’t see why he would take issue with you. This deal is good for everyone.”

“Miss, if a sailor knew what was good for ‘em, we’d all be out of a job and The Gray would be nothing but a spot of sand.”

The natives laughed while Maxine smiled politely. After giving them a moment to indulge their humor, she continued with the ritual of negotiation. “You’ll have to extend an invitation to Captain Omen. Next time, we should talk over a drink.”

“Hah! I’ll tell ‘em. He’d be a fool not to!”

Foolish or not, her half-hearted invitation would be neglected. The lackey sent in his place, likely Dunder, would accept said drink in his stead with ceremonial importance if not the grace. If the drink was good, it was Dunder’s duty to boast about it to any that cared to listen that day. Another way boost her reputation in the city. Something she didn’t understand the point of until Thom pointed out to her that there were no high society ladies that amused themselves with lunches and balls. Drunken boasting was the city’s gossip machine and the best way to advertise.

Blaine returned with drinks for the table, mead despite the early hour, and she sent him back to bring breakfast for everyone. In return for the grace, Dunder began to babble, talking about the comings and goings in the city. He was a reliable source of information and from what he said, her initiatives were working well.

Graywatch was valuable, incredibly so. If it weren’t, the kingdom wouldn’t tolerate the problems it caused and the kind of rebels it generated regularly. Each week, the fishing vessels brought in enough food Maxine wagered it could rival Rosentheim, the breadbasket of the kingdom. They had an abundance of water casters, so many that there was an industry built around ice and preservation.

With less frequency, the haulers would come in with the corpses of manabeasts, few edible but possessing plenty of worth as alchemical ingredients. Or sometimes, the larger mundane animals. A single catch was enough to keep whalers fed and watered for months if they didn’t waste the crowns indulging. If it was one of the magical variants, then a few indulgences wouldn’t make a difference.

And yet, there was a world of profit still waiting to be discovered.

The key lied in the abyssal creatures, strange manabeasts that could be found far from shore. They were closer to nightmares than any creature of flesh and blood, often having too many limbs, too many eyes, too many organs, or nothing recognizable about them at all. None discovered had been anything but horrible, their strange magic a threat that couldn’t be prepared for. To those that knew of them, they were considered worthless in all respects. Yet, the status quo did not define the world.

Where others saw the scourges of the sea, Maxine saw opportunity. Humanity knew little about anything beyond the shores of Harvest. Whatever information her father’s fleet learned in their journeys, they kept it close to their chests and any records that could provide insight were national treasures that would never leave the royal library. The sea monsters came in all kinds of shapes and sizes. The magic was strange, but it was also wondrous. Maxine refused to believe there was nothing to be gained through them. There was simply a lack of interest, which translated to a lack of funding. Something she could rectify.

The investment wasn’t all that substantial. The creatures were worth nothing in the market. Normally, captains simply threw their corpses back into the sea. They had no problem bringing them back for a few extra crowns, or if not them, a greedy crew member who knew a few discrete places to stow a secret. Her struggles lied in ensuring the longevity of the arrangement.

Maxine wouldn’t be in Graywatch forever. There were many reasons why she couldn’t relocate to the coast, not least of which were that doing so would be blatantly going against her father’s orders and she simply didn’t like the city. Her last name eased her journey, but it was very much tied to her presence. Any managers she left behind wouldn’t have the same protection, and the degenerates wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage. Thom assured her that they wouldn’t stay in business for a week, thieves relentlessly coming for their gold, lives, or both.

There was a solution. Maxine needed to forge a reputation, one so fearsome that it would make people who risked their lives everyday think twice about picking a fight with her.

That was normally accomplished through excessive violence, something Maxine wasn’t capable of. Not just because many of the acts that would have to be done turned her stomach but also because she couldn’t afford it. This project was being funded by her own savings. The last thing she wanted to do was get a loan. If her father’s money got involved, whatever she accomplished would be his, if not in name than in practice. Her goal only had worth if she did it herself but to do so would take discretion.

She found something other than blood and pain to spread her name. What she did best, a skill she had honed her entire life. Making herself useful.

Unsurprisingly, the crews of the city weren’t very efficient. Truly, no group in the city was. A combination of strange traditions, ornery personalities, and ignorance meant there were few bureaucratic structures for anything. The market was as fluid as the sea because there was no collaboration between the vendors. The standard of professionals varied wildly as there were no certifications one needed apply for and no education institutions. Most laborers weren’t literate, something that was rarity even amongst peasants.

Maxine had another theory on why Graywatch remained an untapped market. The people who tried in the past were all important people who thought quite a lot of themselves and their position. Far too much to treat unrepentant criminals as their equals or, saints forbid, their betters. The captains were much the same, whether that perception was deserved or not. With both sides seeking supremacy, it would be impossible to come to an agreement.

Maxine had no such compulsion. She’d spent her life catering to a strong ego. What did she care if the captains liked to bluster? What was a little more effort to follow their strange ways of doing things? If being thought of as a lackey let her make money, spread her business, and protect her people, they could call her a ship monkey or whatever other name they cared for.

That didn’t mean her interactions with the leaders of the city were bereft of challenges.

One of them chose to make itself known as she finished her meeting. The moment Dunder walked out of the tavern, a man hopped off a stool at the bar and swaggered over. He didn’t wait for an invitation before taking the recently evacuated seat across from Maxine, scooting the chair back to put his feet on the table comfortably. No one objected. At her sides, her people tensed.

“Ye’ve been busy,” he said.