“If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us Shall we not revenge?”
rchant of Venice, William Shakespeare
rcurio celebrated my new patent of nobility as well as himself gaining a new noble patron, the Baron of Wester Isles, with an impromptu feast.
“To the Baron of Wester Isles.” He raised a toast once his servants had laid a new table full of food for the four of us. Des and Sinis collected and laid the majority of it before taking their new positions behind my chair.
“To the Baron.” Grandpa quickly toasted, downing his drink. The map, pearls, and paperwork had been cleared off the table and he was keen to return before the other rchants returned and rcurio set sail. But still, he was convinced to stay for a short al by the rchant who was keen to leave Grandpa happy with the transfer of his wealth. I could have told him that a quick exit would sooner nd the sting of emptying his purse. Still, I had been given a small cup of grape juice so joined in.
“To .” While the adults laughed at my simple comnt.
I continued to sample the dishes laid out before us until I was unable to move. Passing anything I did not eat to Des and Sinis to finish. If the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach I would hopefully be held with affection in their hearts soon. They were not underfed but hardly had any fat reserves either, much like myself. I quietly pocketed any dried fruits, nuts, or jerky off the table motioning them to take so as well, filling all of our pockets till the table was empty. I did not know whether I would soon be back on Ash Island but if I was I hoped to hide a small stash of food to supplent our fishing and scavenging along the shoreline. I had potentially two more mouths to feed along with mine. anwhile, the adults, led mainly by rcurio, engaged in the self-congratulatory conversation we were uninvolved in either due to the belief we were too young to fully understand or in the case of Des and Sinis that they were below our august personage. It was the first ti in this world that I had seen such lines in society drawn and was shocked to see the lines so stark and clear. Perhaps I was reading too much into a conversation between adults that did not involve children. But it did set a worrying precedent about the world outside of the Wester Isles.
I was unaware of whatever their system had told rcurio but assud it was enough for them to believe that the Stat had unlocked for with the gaining of my new title. They still had not asked about my status and I still was not telling. I was beginning to believe that a child’s status perhaps did not unlock until later on in the life perhaps by age 5. My sister and grandfather knew I had skills and therefore a system but no one else in my family was aware other than my mother and father who knew I had unlocked my magic and was able to use it.
rcurio finished his conversation with Grandpa, surprised to see that the food had all been eaten.
“Growing lads the lot of you I suppose.” He paused before continuing. “I am happy to have helped in so small way to help you create this new house of yours Smit and am sure that it will rise to great heights one day.” He said this self-depreciatingly as if the whole idea hadn’t been his alone. Then continued with, “From this day forth I look forward to being a rchant for the Baron of Wester Isles.” He signed two copies of the sa page before passing it across to for to make my mark. Looking at the paper I couldn’t read it all but I could see where he had filled in his tithe at 0% creating a tax-free haven for him to operate out of.
“10 percent.” I hadn’t said a lot but when I had it counted. I rembered how he had bemoaned his current tax of 10% and was keen to get a little more from the rchant who would be making the most of my title to avoid his taxes to the Kingdom of Ponente.
“Kai, Kai. This was part of the agreent.” He raised his hands as if apologising for the terms already set. But . . . I had never agreed to them!
“10 percent,” I said once more, leaning forward preparing myself to face his skill.
“0 percent as stated in our docunt. [Accept price]” he added the skill at the end to hold to our words.
But I had never agreed to that arrangent, that was not my price so I pushed against the skill holding my tongue and clenching my mouth shut until the compulsion to agree passed, and a shocked, still rcurio found countering with, “10 percent.”
“We agreed Smit.” He turned in protest to Grandpa as incredulous of my ability to understand enough to ask for more as he was unbelieving of my ability to defy his skill unless I was sohow supported by Grandpa in an invisible way.
“Aye we did. But who am I a re Steward to go against my Baron’s command.” Giving his first genuine smile since I had emptied his satchel for him.
“0% taxes to be based on Wester Ponente and operate out of the Wester Isles. [Bound by word]” he hastily argued one final ti. But I had not said those words and it wasn’t my price so despite the compulsion I felt once more to lift my hand and sign the paper with my simple scrawl I held my hands together fingers interlocked and refused to budge.
Once the compulsion had ended, “10 percent.” I said once more.
Almost disbelieving, “1 percent.” He murmured beginning our back and forth.
“9 percent.” I confidently continued happy to have him following along.
“2 percent.” He muttered almost rote routine rather than active haggling.
“8 percent.” I sang, our roles now were in reverse with decreasing the percentage of his sales I would claim.
“3 percent.” He sullenly spoke, as he slowly added to how much he would be required to pay.
“7 percent.” I chid and smiled as I had a sudden thought.
“4 percent.” He grimaced as shock finally dissolved into aggrieved disbelief that this was actually happening.
“6 percent.” I reached for the quill not to sign the piece of paper but to work out what I was going to ask for next once he agreed.
“5 percent.” Resigned to his fate he uttered the final number eting in the middle once more.
As I confird with another “5 percent!”
“Pleasure doing business with you once more.” Grandpa Smit joined in as he took the sheets of parchnt off a stunned curio before he sanded off the 0 percent and added in a 5 percent. Finally, he presented them to to sign alongside rcurio’s signature. Which now that I was happy with them in the end, I did. He kept one in his empty satchels and returned the other to rcurio who still sat there shell-shocked from the reversal in his fortunes. He would still do far better than his previous percentage with whoever his earlier patron was but after coming so close to achieving the completely tax-free situation that we had here on the Wester Isles it was hard for him not to be disgruntled. Still, before we left I had one more surprise to spring upon him.
500 735 = 1235
1235 / 100 = 12.35
12.35 x 5 = 61.75
I had doodled the maths down on my hand as I worked it out only really needing to do any jottings for the last multiplication to rember everything I was adding up. Happy with my maths. I held out my hand to the possibly broken rchant.
“61 deepwater pearls,” I added
“61 deep . . . water . . . pearls.” Poor rcurio repeated one shock after another having left him slow to catch on.
“Yes, 61.” I smiled waiting for him to catch on.
“For . . . the . . . trades?” he questioned as I watched him add up the sum in his head and calculate the percentage. Or maybe there was a skill for that and he was just reading it off a system wall in his head.
Slowly he opened his desk, pulled out the lockbox filled with pearls, unlocked it, and began counting them out.
“Pleasure,” I responded as I counted them into my satchel that held the title to Ash Island in my na and my Patent of nobility. Inside my head I finished the sentence ‘doing business with you.’ Still unsure of so words and not wanting to ss up the sentence appearing crazy or get it right and appear too rcenary for rcurio. Holding out for 10% would have been more impressive but there was no need to push the man too far.
“Bamboozled by a baby.” He whispered before adding “Another tale too tall to tell and far too farcical and expensively bought, again.” He muttered. “I would invite you to stay for dessert but fear it would be far too expensive for my tastes in one way or another. So I bid you a good day and wish you a fine ti till I return.” rcurio ushered us out of his cabin and across his decks before pursing his lips as he waved us down the plank onto the stone harbour below.
Grandpa, happy to be finally leaving, was left chuckling as the rchant returned to his cabin muttering sothing about ‘quitting while ahead’ and tales too tall to tell which would do no one least of all him well.
Turning to the two silent shadows that had followed us off the boat he said, “Right, lads. Let’s be off then.” and Des and Sinis followed on behind as he turned to walk back up the chimney steps hidden in the fold of the cliff. Silently I watched over the top of my Grandpa’s shoulder as they looked at one another before following us up.
Halfway up we t the rest of the rchants coming back down laden with goods from our town and a few of their own they had failed to sell. We shuffled around one another before setting off once more up to the top of the cliff as the rchants continued to climb down to the dock hidden in the cavern. A few of them turned back with curiosity to watch Des and Sinis as they made their way up. A few eyes even lingered on and my purple robe. Confused they seed to look between and my grandpa before focussing back on once more as we ascended.
I had seen the rchants before in the town square but I had never realised that they were not from the town themselves or not closer to ho. It seed that so of the rchants had shipped with rcurio from Wester Levante and Little Wester making a short circuit of our isles to sell their wares. While one represented rcurio in his buying and selling the other had hitched a lift from the mainland to buy and sell wares not easily found in the Ponente Kingdom. It was his eyes that seed to linger the longest on , my robe and my Grandpa’s satchel.
“Are we at the top yet?” I jokingly asked Grandpa as I was facing the wrong way on his shoulder.
“Nearly there Kai.” Grandpa responded as we crested the top of the crevice coming out onto the top of the cliff. Des and Sinis looked a little out of breath from the climb while my ancient grandpa seed not out of breath at all. It was little monts like these when an elderly man seed to have more energy than youthful boys that drove ho the difference between my past and present world. Normally it would have been the other way round but levels and stats made daily differences that the majority of people, never knowing any different, ever thought about. At what age did aging actually impact a person’s abilities greater than their stats that they had built up over ti? Was it possible for people to lose stats as they aged? I had, apart from the stats my mother had added, never actually added any stats to my build. everything had been accumulated naturally through my growing body and the developnt of skills that seed to be pushing them along.
Just an idle thought as we cleared the chimney in the fold of the cliff finally standing at the top looking back across the ocean.
We paused to watch rcurio’s ship set sail, Grandpa with a grin, the boys in stoic silence obviously unsure about the change in their circumstances. Clearly, the rchants had reached the bottom quicker than we had reached the top and speedily boarded the boat with their wares. I sat on my Grandpa’s shoulder in silence too, contemplating the vast changes in my fortunes orchestrated by him. As Quintilian said, ‘Nothing is more dangerous to n than a sudden change of fortune.’ I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Ti to go ho.” Grandpa pointed the way down to the town. It was at this point that we saw soone making their way quickly up the mountain. They were a fair way down the slope but even in the distance and at the speed he was moving it looked like Grandfather. And again even from this distance, he did not look particularly happy to be heading this way.
“Ahh yes. Might be best if you wait up there by the cliff for a mont, Kai.” Grandpa said as he put down and motioned for to join Des and Sinis who were still watching the ship sail out of sight. So I toddled off to join them keeping in sight and hearing my Grandpa who seed to brace himself for my oncoming Grandfather.
“Where’s Kai?” were his first words as he flashed into view and abruptly stopped to shout.
“He’s perfectly fine there with Des and Sinis.” Calmly responded attempting to deescalate the situation.
“Who are they?” He paused confused by the new people sat down with . Then his eyes alit on my new purple robe. A sharp intake of breath later, he hissed, “You had no right. Kai is my grandson.”
“He’s my grandson too and I have his best interests at heart. I have invested in him and in his future.” Justifying his actions to the only person I had ever seen him wary of. “What have you been doing for him out on your island?” He quizzed defensively before he pointed out, “It looks like you have barely been able to feed him let alone look after him. How dare you question how best to look after my Grandson!” He ended angrily unable to allow soone else to talk down to him when he had stood at the head of our family for so long.
“My thods are none of your business. And his best interests? Are you a complete fool? What exactly have you done?” he quizzed.
“You have no right to demand from answers when you have refused to be part of the family for so long.”
“I have every right when you dangle my blood and flesh above eel infested waters. What do you think will happen to Kai as a noble without the stats, power, wealth, and connections to support him? Do you truly believe they will welco him with open arms?”
“We are all the way out here away from the intrigue and dangers of court, Kai will be fine.”
“No, he will not. They will co for him.”
“You never challenged on my ideas before why now?”
“Because they won’t care about an old man gaining a title before he dies and neither did I if you wanted to risk your own neck then so be it, I’ve cautioned you before. But a child, my grandchild? He is now either a threat or a pawn in their gas and we don’t have the resources to protect him. The eastern lords will support him while the western lords will feel threatened by his encroachnt on their domain.”
“Co now you are exaggerating.”
“I’m not. A patent of nobility is a double-edged sword seemingly only providing benefits to those without. However, to those with one, there is a hidden cost and danger to carrying it. That is what I have been trying to prepare Aleera and Kai for, a world that will not hesitate to stab you in the back. Especially now you have added a target to their backs and a bonus of experience gained by their deaths!”
“No lords own any property out here apart from the prince and no one will know for months till the house is registered with the prince when rcurio returns to the capital. You worry too much.”
“And you worry too little. The reason no lords own property out here is precisely because it is the Prince’s domain. Settled by commoners and all Lords were either blocked from expanding out here or had no desire to. You have changed all that and change cos at a cost.”
Ignoring Grandpa he strode past him to co and pick up.
I felt myself lifted as if to be passed to Grandpa and used to being carried everywhere half the ti, I didn’t think anything of it. Until I saw Grandfather’s eyes widen in fear and felt myself being launched backward up into the air as he flash stepped towards seemingly appearing where I had stood only a mont before.
I did not even have ti to scream so surprised by the turn of events I reached the top of my arc before beginning to fall, backward off the top of the cliff.
Was it Des or Sinis?
No, they stood there watching fall horrified their arms stretched out uselessly in shock.
No, there was a fifth person standing on the edge of the cliff a red light flaring from sothing in his hand as he faced off against a now furious grandfather. One of the rchants or porters from all that I could see of his clothing from behind.
Grandpa stood in the background to their burgeoning conflict standing still in disbelief as he watched his dream drop out of sight.
Quick reflexes almost a curse I had the ti to take the whole scene in before my montum and the face of the cliff took it from my view.
. . .
To be continued . . .
Level: 11 Na: Kai
Experience: 221,250/ 409,600
Age: 14 months, 0 weeks, 2 days, 10 hours
Health: 1140/1140 Stamina: 546/546 Mana: 1140/1140 Psi: 1160/1160
Trait: Long Lived, Fast Learner, Super Senses, Source of Mana,
Vitality: 114
Endurance: 25
Strength: 25
Dexterity: 29
Senses: 117
Mind: 116
Clarity: 49
Magic: 116
Charisma: 7
Free Points: 30
Skills:
Tier 1: Ti sense (LV 26) Listening (LV 26) ditation (LV 35) Swimming (LV 27)
Humming (Lv 22) Sneak (Lv 22) Whistling (Lv 22) Singing (Lv 22) and Drumming (Lv 22)
Running (Lv 17) Acting (19) English (Lv 15) Spanish (Lv 15) Japanese (Lv 15),
German (Lv 10) French (Lv 7) Dodge (Lv 11) Breath Control (Lv 7) Sight (Lv 15)
Scent (Lv 15) Detect (Lv 15) Taste (Lv 15) Bussola (Lv 7) Draw (Lv 4) Climb (Lv 7) Calligraphy (Lv 5) Mathematics (Lv 10) Decoding (Lv 6) Lie (Lv 5) Knife Skills (Lv 5) Trading (Lv 10)
Tier 2: Sense Mana (LV 35) Eavesdrop (LV 25) morisation (LV 22) Composition (Lv 22)
Recall (Lv22) Pain tolerance (Lv 13) Piano (Lv 20) Violin (Lv 20), Trombone (Lv 20),
Saxophone (Lv 20) Linguistics (Lv 16) Translation (Lv 16) Stealth (Lv 11) Quick reflexes (Lv 12)
Haggling (Lv 5)
Tier 3: Echolocation (LV 25) Expel Mana (Lv 31) Absorb Mana (Lv 31)
Mana Manipulation (Lv 15) Ignite (Lv 15) Freeze (Lv 10) Boil (Lv 11) Bargain (Lv 10)
Tier 4: Mana Drain (Lv 20) Parallel Processing (Lv 15)
Tier 5: Mind fortress (Lv 17)
Skill experience: 4000
Origin experience: 0
Combat experience: 0
Crafting experience: 0
Trading experience: 0
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