On the same day, when Auriel left the compound of Veren & Sons, Markus called a meeting late in the night, meeting with the others in complete secret. He didn't know if the Ledger or any of their subordinates had paid down any of their own people... but he wouldn't be surprised if it had already happened. So, their meeting had to be conducted in complete secrecy.
Markus was seated at the head of the long wooden table in his office. Only a few candles were burning in the middle of it, barely lighting up the room. His fingers were steepled as he took in the expectant gazes of his family, thinking of how to present all he had heard from Auriel only hours prior. His silence, causing the tension in the air to rise, was now thick enough to carve it with a knife.
But, if he didn't want to talk yet, the others had just to wait. Maybe he was waiting for a signal that it was safe to speak... So, his younger brother, Willem, leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, his scowl deepening the creases on his face, showcasing his impatience. Rellen, Markus's son, sat straighter, trying to hide his nervousness, but his eyes were shooting back and forth between his father and uncle, unsure if he should speak or not, opening and closing his mouth multiple times. Lastly, Edvin, Willem's adopted son, had brought their latest findings, having it open, quill in hand, waiting to find anything Markus may need. Anything they managed to uncover since noticing the discrepancy and failing contacts...
"Haaah..." Markus suddenly exhaled slowly, his voice tired and low. His eyes blinked a few times, moving over the others, finally making a decision just to tell it as is: "I met with our mysterious informant's main agent again. The one with the name Auriel."
"The boy and his wife, who are now operating that bakery." Edvin nodded, already flipping pages in his book, "They are from up North, but I couldn't really find much on them."
"No matter where they are from, what is important is that I am now sure that he is in a high standing with this Shade. He's acting more than as a mere intermediary for him." He murmured, his gaze turning distant because he was letting someone know about an elven artifact... Shade had to trust this young man.
"Was it bad news?" Rellen asked, gulping, causing Markus's eyes to refocus, but he neither shook nor nodded his head.
"I don't know yet. I didn't make the deal, as it is simply something we can't afford."
"So now he wants to extort us?" Willem scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Oh, wonderful. Another shadowy figure with promises! Maybe we didn't even realize this was all the enemy's ploy all along! We already know what we need to do... The Crimson Ledger isn't just knocking at our door—they're kicking it in. What happened so far is us hearing them raise their legs; the next step will be their boot coming through our front door! We either sell to them now or wait until they bleed us dry, piece by piece... What's this Shade supposed to offer that changes that? Selling our lives' worth of work to them? Hah!"
"No, not exactly..." Markus didn't flinch, letting his brother vent out all of his frustrations. "They offered a solution... Well, I mean, we had a good talk about it and they presented... Leverage."
"Huh?" Rellen's fingers stilled. "Leverage? Against the Crimson Ledger?"
"If they have something like that, that alone is suspicious," Willem added quickly.
"And expensive." Edvin slipped it in, waiting for Markus to continue.
"Yes." Markus agreed, "But as I said, we talked. It also helped me see through the mist created by our nervousness after learning what was happening. There is one side that can help us against the Crimson Ledger." He said, his voice firm, looking at them, "Against the City Lord's enemies," he added.
"The City Lord's people..." They collectively murmured, looking at each other, unsure how that would go. Or, how would they get the attention of someone who, on paper, ruled the city."
"I do believe in what Shade offered," Markus continued, placing the document Auriel left behind and slipping it toward them. "The Ledger isn't just after trade routes and dominance in commerce. They want control—absolute authority.
"So..." Rellen muttered, quickly catching on, "The City Lord is their biggest obstacle. And if we play this right, we won't just survive. We'll rise even further?"
"If we survive." Edvin's frown deepened as he glanced at Willem before continuing, his voice measured. "You're suggesting we align ourselves with the City Lord instead? That's a different kind of difficulty altogether. The man has everything! If we offer him something and he finds it lacking, we won't just lose our business—we'll lose everything and probably get annihilated by the Ledger. They will know we are resisting, and they will be afraid of what we did... So they would want us gone. For real."
"A risk worth taking," Markus countered. "We are a fish on the chopping block. I didn't sweat blood and tears to build us up from nothing, just so some other bastard come in and take it all away!"
"I agree." Willem chortled, "Fuck them!"
"You mentioned leverage..." Rellen muttered, searching his father's eye, "What do they have that would be so... expensive?"
"There is no better way to say this..." Markus sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, "Shade has information on an Elven artifact."
"WHAT?!" Willem shouted, standing up, but Markus said nothing more, forcing his brother to return to his senses and pick up his chair that was now lying on its sides. It took him great effort to sit back down... Not that he could stay seated for long, moving around like a hyperactive child.
"No way we can afford information on something like that!" Rellen agreed, pulling on his hair.
"But it would exactly be the only thing that would make the City Lord even entertain our plight..." Edvin murmured, biting so hard on his quill that he managed to snap it and almost swallow the part landing on his tongue.
"Even if they sell us the information, it doesn't guarantee anything!" Willem let out a sharp laugh, "Oh, of course! Some legendary trinket is going to save us... And what's stopping them from just selling that information straight to the highest bidder? Why give it to us? To use it so we can crawl to the City Lord when they could take the gold and disappear?"
"If so, they would have sold it already." Rellen cut in, arguing against his uncle. "Because gold alone is not enough."
"Gold can buy anything in the Seven Cities," Willem argued, but Markus also stood on his son's side.
"Maybe..." Markus said, "But I can see an angle that Shade desires to pursue here..." He smiled faintly, "If we go to the City Lord with something this valuable, we aren't just merchants begging for scraps—we become helpful. An... Ally. And we would owe Shade. Through us, through our debt, he would have an indirect source inside the City Lord's circle. As we are welcomed into their fold, we would be introduced to those nobles and other venues that support Velgrada. I can see why he would want that..."
"Sure." Willem leaned forward, his chair creaking under his weight as he pressed down on the table. "And what happens when the City Lord decides we know too much? When he decides we're a liability instead of an asset? Or when he decides we told him what he wanted, and he doesn't want us anymore? Oh, wait? What if he wants us to be silent, to not tell it to anyone else?! Then what?! We are dead. Dead, dead."
"It is a risk." Markus met his brother's glare squarely. "So, we make sure we are not a group that is worth the headache to discard."
"If this is all true," Rellen mumbled, biting his lower lip, looking up from the document Auriel left behind, "Then the City Lord has no opportunity to discard us. He has his allies, and if he suddenly discards one, the rest will start doubting. The Ledger could use that..."
"That's one," Edvin tapped the remains of his quill against the table's surface. "What if we tell the City Lord, fair and square?"
"What?" Willem asked, looking at his adopted son, waiting for him to finish his thoughts.
"We could," Edvin gulped. "We could tell him that our information is our only guarantee, that we prepared a failsafe. What if we die or disappear... it goes public."
"That's fair and square?" Willem chuckled while the others looked at Edvin with mouths hanging wide open. "That's simple blackmail."
"At least it is honest about the fact that we are afraid of being backstabbed... And the City Lord doesn't need to know it isn't true. Or we also could reveal that we got this information from somewhere else... We could present it in a way that tells the City Lord that this information COULD end up in the Ledger's hands if he doesn't do anything."
"This is a gamble." Markus sighed again, sounding even more tired than before. "I say, we gamble it with the City Lord than with the Ledger."
"And what does Shade want in return?" Willem asked, no longer arguing.
"They, I mean Auriel and Shade, didn't mention a concrete price yet," Markus said. "But they take payment in any forms possible. Gold. Influence. Favors. Shares. I get the feeling money isn't their only priority."
"So," Willem grunted. "Our only option is selling ourselves to the devil. People who trade in secrets are rarely saints. And that's what worries me. We'd be trading one noose for another!"
"We have no choice, do we?" Rellen's jaw tightened. "So... what's your alternative, Uncle? Roll over and let the Ledger take everything? You've also heard what they do to those who resist. They don't just ruin businesses—they ruin lives. Generations of them!"
"I know that!" Willem's fist slammed onto the table again, making the candelabra rattle in the middle. "I'm not saying we surrender! I'm saying we think before we leap into bed with another viper! I am like any man, enjoying the tongue of a woman, but not if it's forked!"
"Enough, enough!" Markus held up a hand, silencing them both. "We don't have the luxury of time. Sadly... The Ledger is already moving against us. If we wait, we lose. This is our only play."
"If..." Edvin exhaled slowly. "Assuming the artifact even exists. Assuming Shade isn't playing us. Assuming the City Lord honors his word. That's a lot of assumptions, Markus."
"And doing nothing is a death sentence," Rellen moaned the same way, holding his head.
"Fucking hell..." Willem rubbed his face, his voice dropping to a growl. "So that's it? Gamble everything on some artifact we haven't even seen? On the word of a ghost? On the promise of who knows who? On the mercy of a City's owner? Fuuuuuuck..."
"Yes. The dice are already rolling, and we must make our bet... Now." Markus didn't blink while speaking. "It's better than waiting for the Ledger to cut our throats. With Shade's offer and the City Lord's side... we can have a chance. Yes, we won't win a war against them. But we can make ourselves indispensable to someone of equal strength."
When he finished, a heavy silence settled over the room. What could they say? It was already decided...
"Sure..." Finally, Willem exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "Fine. But if this Shade tries to play us, I'll make sure they regret it. We can't go out in a whimper."
"We won't!" Markus allowed himself a small, grim smile. "Then we're agreed. We make the trade. We secure our future. And we ensure Veren & Sons doesn't just survive—we thrive."