Chapter 3. Part 5.

The next Morning.

Mark had only gotten a few hours of sleep when a knock at his door woke him.

“Sorry sir.” said the Innkeeper, “Some very official men are here and they insist on seeing you.”

“Give me time to get dressed and cook up some breakfast.” he muttered in answer.

Could it be the city guard? He wondered. Not likely they would be so fast.

As he got ready to face whatever came his way, Mark tried to put paranoia aside. Was he felling guilt for reclaiming his own goods. That would be silly. Maybe it was worry that the thief Fenra subdued had actually died of a broken skull. He splashed some water on his face. It was likely the officials had nothing to do with last night, but were a response to the letter he had sent to the Princess.

Downstairs in the common room was the catgirl maid, he had met on his first visit, and a royal guard, who never smiled. They were polite in their morning greetings, calling him Lord Crane, and showing the proper amount of respect. Which embarrassed Mark a huge amount.

Gwen and squire Timmy came down stairs a few minutes later. She had almost the same reaction Mark did the first time he saw the catgirl maid. But she was a lot better at hiding it. Timmy didnt know what to do at first. Should he stand in the background or sit and eat with his master, as he usually did. The matter was decided for him when Gwen said “You better eat before it gets cold.”

After breakfast everyone climbs into the royal carriage that was waiting out front. The ride to the palace is every bit as bumpy as Mark remembered it. Although the carriage was elegant and stylish, it had no suspension. Every bump in the cobble stones was felt, despite the well padded seats. “I see why you wanted our wagon built that way.” Gwen whispered to Mark after a particularly jarring bump.

Gwen was excited to see the palace, although she regretted very much not bringing along a camera, she understood the rule Mark had insisted on. Photos would be a problem sooner or later. Timmy was just baffled by it all. A year ago he had been a stable boy, with no future prospects. Today he was going to see the king. Well maybe not. But it was likely his master would talk with the Princess.

The carriage eventually stopped at the side entry of the palace. The group was met by the Princess's Guard Captain - Pellen Gallant, and a small flock of servants. “Even an informal meeting must be some sort of show.” Captain Gallant said as he greeted the guests.

Mark introduced Gwen as his sister, and Timmy as his squire.
Gallant, bowed to the lady and said “What beautiful mages robes. Are they functional or decorative?”

Gwen smiled and answered “I am the rising mistress of storms. Every bit as good a mage as my brother.”

Although he was not involved with the kingdom's spy network, Gallant did read many of the reports. So he was not surprised to learn that Lord Crane had a sister or that she was a spell caster.

Princess Finalla von Flameglave greeted her guests in one of the many sitting rooms.

The catgirl made, presented lord Crane and his sister, lady Crane. While Captain Gallant stood by the door. Not knowing what he should do, squire Timmy stood by the big knight. So he could lean against the wall.

“A pleasure to see you again, and a pleasure to meet you” The Princess said before smoothly adding, “I did not know lord Mark had a sister.”

“I guess Im full of surprises.” he replied

“As it happens, so am I.” Princess Finalla said, showing off her new engagement ring.

Gwen reacted instantly with the usual, “ohhh ahhh that is lovely”

Mark was a bit slower on the uptake, “Congratulations, I hope your happy.” he said.

Honestly he could not tell one ring from another. But it seemed the tradition about rings was the same here as it was on Earth. Funny how many things were similar. He pondered that for a few moments as the girls happily chattered away.

“My soon to be husband is Allen van Bellett. Second son of the royal master of arms. He is leader of the Cutting Cross adventuring company. And a very good dancer.” The Princess explained.

“I regret missing my chance to have you.” Mark said half jokingly “But I do wish you well and I have a few gifts that you may find interesting.”

The idea of having a princess as a girl friend was silly. But the thought had crossed his mind a few times after first meeting Finalla. However the thought of marriage was quite frankly frightening. “This is for the best.” he told himself, but felt a bit sad at the closing of that avenue of opportunity.

Keeping a smile on his face, Mark pulled from his back of holding a bunch of the goods he brought with him as gifts. As he showed them off, he explained his business idea. Ending with a request that the Princess put her seal of approval on his company charter. A much better thing to have than just a generic stamp from the Merchant's Guild.

Finalla, being delighted with the items, was not blind to an opportunity. So She took the document, gave it a quick read then asked for a pen. The catgirl maid, appeared as if from thin air, handed her one. But instead of just signing the paper, she wrote several more lines on the charter, then signed it. 'Now we are in business together.” she said with a grin.

Mark forced a return smile. But he felt like something underhanded had just been done to him.

Gwen giggled and asked “May I read it?”

The Princess handed her the document. The new text read, “The royal house here by supports this venture for a 1% tribute. All courtesy must be shown to lord Crane. We reserve the right to call on his service, for special duties.”

“Well brother, it seems you gave yourself away as an engagement gift too.” Gwen laughed.

Mark looked worried. What exactly did that last line mean?

Finalla, with a look of innocence then said “Would you rather I tear it up, or have it made official, with a copy sent to the merchant guild.” She was offering him a way out. But it would be an insult to her royal generosity. Having her name on the charter and explicit support, was well worth 1% in tribute. It was the last sentence that worried Mark.

Life is a game, so best to play it bold or stay at home. Some one had said. “This is fine.” He said. “But I may be hard to reach, when you need to call on me. Sorry about that, in advance.”

“Excellent. Now onto other matters.” the Princess said pleasantly. “Lets have some tea and talk about what interesting adventures you have been up to this past year.”

Gwen talked at length about her project to open a school in the village. At first Finalla was confused about why such a thing would be done, as it seemed Gwen had no specific purpose for the education. “Old Master Crane had opened a combined orphanage and school, here in the capital. But that had been with the clear intent of providing agents for his spy network.” The Princess said. Dropping a bombshell fact like it was no big deal. “Being next to the Frightful Forest, I would have expected your school to train adventurers or monster hunters.”

Gwen took the comment as a suggestion and replies “Perhaps we can offer that sort of thing to the older kids, on a purely voluntary basis.”

Mark however was still stuck on the matter of his grandpa having a spy school. “Excuse me. What is up with that place now?” he cut in.

“The kingdom more or less took over running the place. Merress was actually one of the top students there.” Finalla said casually with a small nod to the catgirl maid.

They talked about other things like the quests the pair had undertaken. Mark even told the story of his diplomacy with lord Asat. But he said nothing about squire Timmy and his special power. Eventually a servant entered to say “Princess your lunch guests have arrived.” So that was the end of the visit.

Proper Paperwork is Power.

When they returned to the Inn, they found a couple of city guards waiting for them. “Are you lord Crane, and is the merchant Lewen an acquaintance of yours?” the guard captain asked.

“Yes and yes.” Mark answered.

“There is a situation out back, Im hopping you can resolve.” said the captain.

Mark and Gwen followed the guards around to the stables, behind the Inn. There they found about 20 guards surrounding the shed that contained Lewen's wagon. In front of the door stood Fenra. Several of the guards looked injured and their shields ripped in half, lay disguarded on the ground.

“We came to investigate a report of stolen goods. But the wolf-bitch wont let us get near the shed.” one of the guards snarled. “That Lewen fellow said they was working for you, Mr Crane.”
The guard captain gave the man a sharp look but said nothing.

Mark took a deep breath then said. “Yes they are. And Id say Fenra the wolf-warrior is doing a find job protecting my property. You should tell your men to stand down before any more of them get hurt.”

The snarly guard looked like he was ready to blow his top. “Listen here...” he began.

“Listen here, your lordship.” Gwen chimed in, to remind the fellow of who he was talking to.

“Yes your lordship,” the captain said before his lieutenant could escalate things, “Could you please tell your guard-dog to let us in the shed so we can do out duty?”

“No I dont think I will.” Mark said then made a counter offer, “How about you tell me all about this report of stolen goods?”

The captain was obviously annoyed, but he had experience dealing with nobles, so we kept his cool. “This morning master merchant Vrok, reported that Mr Lewen and several others broke into one of his warehouses and stole a shipment of exotic goods. He provided us a list of the goods, and that is what we are here to check on.”

“Haa well now I see.” Mark said in a friendly tone. “Vrok is lying to you. He stole our wagon last night, we simply tracked it down and recovered all of my exotic goods.”

The guard captain kept his expression neutral. He absolutely hated situations like this. “Perhaps if we can have a look at the wagon and the goods, we can sort this out?” he persisted in his task.

“Perhaps you should look at this first.” Gwen said then reached into Marks pouch for the recently signed company charter. “The important part is at the bottom.”
The captain skimmed over the text, merchant company blah blah, then he got to the last part, written in a different hand, “The royal house here by supports this venture for a 1% tribute. All courtesy must be shown to lord Crane. We reserve the right to call on his service, for special duties.” signed Princess Finalla von Flameglave.

The captain handed the document back to Mark. “Sorry for the trouble. Lord Crane.” he said formally. Then he called to his men. “We are done here. The matter is resolved. Get ready to move out, back to the station.”

Snarly guard looked like he did not want to accept the order, but he proved himself a disciplined man. Marching away with the rest of the troop.

Mark could not help thinking how medieval paper work was odd and often unfair. The nobles sure did live by a different set of rules than the common folk. But this time it worked in his favour, so it was ok.

When Lewen emerged from the shed, Gwen asked “Who is Vrok? And why does he want to frame you?”

“He is a big fish. One of the top merchants in the kingdom. Lewen explained. “Im not surprised he would want to get his hands on the goods. As for why he accused me. Id guess it was simple convenience.”

Fenra looked rather blood thirsty when she asked “Do you want his head?”

Lewen sounded surprisingly calm as he answered “No, no. Please dont do that.”

Mark just looked tired. It was only mid afternoon, but he wanted a nap. “What should we do next?” he asked. Expecting Gwen or Lewen to have some idea that did not involve murder.

'How about I go get a copy of the guard's report. So we know exactly what has officially been said.” Gwen offered to hunt down the paper work.

“How about Fenra and I deliver the goods to Mr. Farthing?” the merchant suggested. “I will be sure to get a itemized recite of delivery.”

“Great team work. I will be in the Inn.” Mark said with relief.

Later when Lewen returned, with business successfully complete, he told Mark the more detailed story of Master Merchant Vrok. “He started out as a shady dealer in black market goods. But somehow reformed himself and bought a journeyman rank in the merchants guild. He got to the top by being tough and playing dirty. Although no one has been able to pin a crime on him. There have been several accusations. He is certainly still connected to the thieves guild, somehow. People dont deal with him because they trust him. They go to him because he can get things done. Richer than half the lords, he should not be taken lightly. He tried to buy his way into nobility a few times, with marriages. But each time the deal fell through. Most of the nobles dont like him, but many of them value his services.”'