opened, but no sound issued forth. He stayed like that way for a moment. Cadmus could envision the gnashing gears in the man’s head as his brain came to a halt.
“Mr. Sutz,” he prompted.
Jaffry licked his lips and came around. “I don’t know our silver holdings, but we haven’t got that much, I’m sure.”
“I’ll take all you’ve got. Ore, coin, trinkets, all at standard market value.”
“I ... I can’t even calculate what that would cost. I don’t know how much credit my father would be willing to extend, even to you, Mr. Errol.”
Cadmus stood and strode around the table. Hooking Jaffry Sutz by the arm, he took the young trader in tow as he left his office. “Allow me to show you something.”
Jaffry said nothing as Cadmus led him through the halls of the Errol Company headquarters. They passed offices, clerks, accountants, and supervisors; anyone who caught Cadmus’s eye gave a nod of greeting as he passed. Jaffry elicited a few second glances, but no one questioned what the Mad Tinker was doing with the Acardian gentleman in his grasp. Farther into the facility, they passed guard posts with locked metal doors and men with rifles. The exchanges with the Errol Company security personnel were brief, direct, and impersonal.
Within the bowels of the building, three stories down and reachable only by steam lift, they came to a set of steel doors and another, less formal guard post. Anyone who had made it thus far was past the point of dealing with armed resistance.
“Orris, open the vault,” Cadmus called out as the lift gates opened.
Orris looked up from his book and took his feet down from the desk. “Really, Cadmus, I take shifts down here for the quiet. Can’t you awe the merchant brats with your dragon’s hoard on Averi’s watch?” Despite his complaint, Orris stood and took a ring of keys from his pocket.
“Averi’s not half the showman you are,” Cadmus shot back as Orris fiddled with the first of a half dozen locks.
“So this is a gawk-show, then?”
“Mr. Sutz here was balking at extending us credit for a shipment of silver.”
Orris looked over his shoulder as he turned one of the keys in a lock. His brow knit in a perturbed frown. “When did we start buying on credit?”
Cadmus didn’t answer, but watched Jaffry’s face as Orris unlocked the vault. He rarely took anyone down to the vaults, especially not suppliers. It was a fit of pique as much as any practical reason, Cadmus admitted to himself, after having his financial means questioned. Seeing the expectant wonder in Jaffry’s eyes made him wonder why he didn’t do it more often.
“Behold!” Orris said with a melodramatic sweep of his arm as he pulled open the door. “Cadmus Errol’s treasure trove.” Cadmus gave Orris credit for keeping a straight face, despite a smile that looked ready to burst from his lips at any moment.
Cadmus pulled Jaffry along, but the younger Mr. Sutz balked. Inside the vault was not a haphazard hillside of gold as dragons were known to sleep upon in fairy stories, but a warehouse of coin. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with strongboxes. Crates covered the floor, and the one nearest the door was open to reveal that it was filled halfway to the top with trade bars, the finger-sized gold currency that rich men used to buy horses and ships. Most impressive of all were the kings’ bars, gold bricks large enough to pass as masonry in a chimney. Too heavy to lug around, they were deemed too heavy for common theft as well. Kings’ bars were meant to be stored, not spent, and the only time anyone used them in barter were for payment to mercenary armies, the purchase of land, or as tribute to foreign rulers.
Cadmus let Jaffry gape for a long while.
“There’s not much in there besides gold,” Cadmus said. “It’s denser, so it takes up less room than silver or minted coin. If you can sell me enough silver that I can’t pay you in coin, then we can talk about my credit.”
With
“Mr. Sutz,” he prompted.
Jaffry licked his lips and came around. “I don’t know our silver holdings, but we haven’t got that much, I’m sure.”
“I’ll take all you’ve got. Ore, coin, trinkets, all at standard market value.”
“I ... I can’t even calculate what that would cost. I don’t know how much credit my father would be willing to extend, even to you, Mr. Errol.”
Cadmus stood and strode around the table. Hooking Jaffry Sutz by the arm, he took the young trader in tow as he left his office. “Allow me to show you something.”
Jaffry said nothing as Cadmus led him through the halls of the Errol Company headquarters. They passed offices, clerks, accountants, and supervisors; anyone who caught Cadmus’s eye gave a nod of greeting as he passed. Jaffry elicited a few second glances, but no one questioned what the Mad Tinker was doing with the Acardian gentleman in his grasp. Farther into the facility, they passed guard posts with locked metal doors and men with rifles. The exchanges with the Errol Company security personnel were brief, direct, and impersonal.
Within the bowels of the building, three stories down and reachable only by steam lift, they came to a set of steel doors and another, less formal guard post. Anyone who had made it thus far was past the point of dealing with armed resistance.
“Orris, open the vault,” Cadmus called out as the lift gates opened.
Orris looked up from his book and took his feet down from the desk. “Really, Cadmus, I take shifts down here for the quiet. Can’t you awe the merchant brats with your dragon’s hoard on Averi’s watch?” Despite his complaint, Orris stood and took a ring of keys from his pocket.
“Averi’s not half the showman you are,” Cadmus shot back as Orris fiddled with the first of a half dozen locks.
“So this is a gawk-show, then?”
“Mr. Sutz here was balking at extending us credit for a shipment of silver.”
Orris looked over his shoulder as he turned one of the keys in a lock. His brow knit in a perturbed frown. “When did we start buying on credit?”
Cadmus didn’t answer, but watched Jaffry’s face as Orris unlocked the vault. He rarely took anyone down to the vaults, especially not suppliers. It was a fit of pique as much as any practical reason, Cadmus admitted to himself, after having his financial means questioned. Seeing the expectant wonder in Jaffry’s eyes made him wonder why he didn’t do it more often.
“Behold!” Orris said with a melodramatic sweep of his arm as he pulled open the door. “Cadmus Errol’s treasure trove.” Cadmus gave Orris credit for keeping a straight face, despite a smile that looked ready to burst from his lips at any moment.
Cadmus pulled Jaffry along, but the younger Mr. Sutz balked. Inside the vault was not a haphazard hillside of gold as dragons were known to sleep upon in fairy stories, but a warehouse of coin. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with strongboxes. Crates covered the floor, and the one nearest the door was open to reveal that it was filled halfway to the top with trade bars, the finger-sized gold currency that rich men used to buy horses and ships. Most impressive of all were the kings’ bars, gold bricks large enough to pass as masonry in a chimney. Too heavy to lug around, they were deemed too heavy for common theft as well. Kings’ bars were meant to be stored, not spent, and the only time anyone used them in barter were for payment to mercenary armies, the purchase of land, or as tribute to foreign rulers.
Cadmus let Jaffry gape for a long while.
“There’s not much in there besides gold,” Cadmus said. “It’s denser, so it takes up less room than silver or minted coin. If you can sell me enough silver that I can’t pay you in coin, then we can talk about my credit.”
With
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