(eng) P. Joseph Cherubino & Michael Anderle - Welspring Knight 02 by Knight's Struggle
Author:Knight's Struggle [Struggle, Knight's]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
In the nearly two weeks that Gormer and Pleth spent in Ward 52, theyâd been to every inn, tavern, and food shop in town. Theyâd sold their contraband cheese to everyone with enough coin. They gave Mina a cut of all their action. Gormer didnât want to, but Pleth knew the score. Keeping Mina happy made things go smoother for them.
Gormer wanted to skim from Minaâs cut. They found out how quickly word flowed on the avenue and how deeply Mina was tapped into that flow. She knew everyone they sold to. She didnât even need to have them followed. All she had to do was serve drinks and the barflies told her everything she needed to know. Apparently, with nothing to do in the winter, the boot maker buying some cheese was a hot topic.
It was the gossip network that Pleth and Gormer refashioned into their spy ring. They started by taking the temperature of the gossip. It started out as moderately annoyed. They heard grumbled criticism of the changes at first. But as the days went on, those grumblings turned into outright complaints. Then, people got angry.
One such angry barfly was ranting away at the bar when Gormer walked in. Pleth was already there.
âIâve always supported the Protectorate,â the man grumbled. âLungu has a strong hand, which is what you need in this world. But hanging a nineteen-year-old bandit girl from a lamp post with no trial? I mean, sure, bandits are scummy people, but theyâre people. She shoulda been in jail, not dead.â
âAnd firing all the commissioners? Now the damn military is running the whole Protectorate. I heard theyâve already eaten half the winter surplus in Keep 11. How much do you think that Balanâs men ate in our keep? Janksâ men were here for months. I bet thereâs not a damn bit of barley left.â
âWell,â Gormer said, sidling up to the barfly, âI bet they ate all the cheese, too. Lucky for you, I have some of the stuff right here.â
âNot likely they ate the cheese,â the barfly, whose name happened to be Barney, said. âThey get a deal on Petran cheese and trade it up north to Ungur. I bet Protector Ungur doesnât know about the tollâs kickback, either.â
Pleth raised his eyebrows. âToll kickback?â he asked. âWhat toll kickback?â
Pleth shot Gormer a look. It was such a specific, obscure remark to make about the inner workings of the toll system. It didnât seem like a simple brag.
The barfly tapped the side of his bulbous nose, purple with burst blood vessels. âI was an Assessor once,â he confessed. âBut now I trade in future contracts. Itâs my business to know which palm greases which.â
âA speculator,â Gormer said with a smile.
At that, Barneyâs face darkened. Pleth deflated. It was a bad move. The word speculator had a negative connotation in the Protectorates. Technically, selling contracts for future production wasnât legal. But that was how some struggling villages and merchants survived when they didnât have money on hand.
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