completely?
His men were so methodical that I waited till they’d turned a corner and gone out of sight before I followed them. I was also able to take my time finding another perch from which to watch, while they collected payment from a cabinet maker.
’Twas only when both their purses were heavy enough to make their belts sag, that they diverted from their pattern, setting off down the street at a brisk walk.
I let them get half a block ahead before going after them, with little fear that anyone would notice me. The outfit Fisk had chosen for this day combined with my scuffed boots to make me look like someone’s groom on an errand—a sight so common that no one would look twice. And since Fisk had kept me in the backroom, only going out to make purchases outside our neighborhood, few were familiar with my face.
They turned after another block. And while they kept a cautious eye on those in their vicinity, they never looked back to see if they were being followed at a distance.
This became more understandable when they reached their destination—a treasure cart, its square cab armored with iron bands, its doors and windows barred.
The horse that drew it, a big gray, glowed to my sight even in the sunlit street. In an emergency, a magica cart horse could pull that wagon at a gallop—and it must have cost almost as much as the load it hauled.
Five guards, with swords and daggers on their belts, surrounded the cart. But despite their weaponry, they didn’t seem much more alert than the tax collectors. Master Roseman’s reputation must be a formidable deterrent.
I had missed luncheon, waiting for the collectors to arrive at our shop, and it had taken them several hours to get this far. I went into a nearby tavern and ordered a sandwich, in case I had to leave in a hurry, and some sweet potato mash that they served spiced, with lots of butter.
I had time to eat my meal, and then linger at the table. When I’d stayed so long I was about to become conspicuous, I went out and found yet another place where I could watch the cart without being seen.
The thugs I’d followed weren’t the only ones bringing money to this wagon; I counted eight more pairs of men. Several of them had delivered coins to the collection cart twice, before one of the guards mounted to the driver’s seat. He drove the wagon almost a mile before he pulled over and parked, to receive more deliveries.
’Twas an efficient way to deal with coin collected from a large area in a short time. And if every merchant in Tallowsport was paying every two weeks, even if some of them paid less than the chandler, Master Roseman must be unimaginably rich.
It was dusk, and the magica street lamps that made wealthy neighborhoods safer than poor ones were beginning to glow by the time the cart accepted its final purse and rolled away.
The fading light helped me to follow without being noticed, and for the first time since I’d seen the tax collectors start down our block, my heart beat faster.
We had learned where the Rose’s town house sat, on top of the rise where the affluent lived. He also had a country estate, not far out of town, and a ship he kept in port for his personal use. What no one seemed to know was where the money went after his men collected it—and that was what would matter to the High Liege. Even if ’twas in some bank, the judicars’ accountants had to know which bank to audit.
But the cart passed right by the bank where I thought ’twould stop, and rolled on up the hill to The Rise.
Could Roseman keep his wealth in his own house? If he had thugs enough, and a stout vault, why not?
’Twas harder to be inconspicuous in this neighborhood, but the growing darkness helped. I skirted the pools of light around the lamps, and I was sure none of Roseman’s men saw me as they rolled from one patch of brightness into the next.
Then they turned down a side street.
I waited for a slow count of ten, then sprinted to the street and
His men were so methodical that I waited till they’d turned a corner and gone out of sight before I followed them. I was also able to take my time finding another perch from which to watch, while they collected payment from a cabinet maker.
’Twas only when both their purses were heavy enough to make their belts sag, that they diverted from their pattern, setting off down the street at a brisk walk.
I let them get half a block ahead before going after them, with little fear that anyone would notice me. The outfit Fisk had chosen for this day combined with my scuffed boots to make me look like someone’s groom on an errand—a sight so common that no one would look twice. And since Fisk had kept me in the backroom, only going out to make purchases outside our neighborhood, few were familiar with my face.
They turned after another block. And while they kept a cautious eye on those in their vicinity, they never looked back to see if they were being followed at a distance.
This became more understandable when they reached their destination—a treasure cart, its square cab armored with iron bands, its doors and windows barred.
The horse that drew it, a big gray, glowed to my sight even in the sunlit street. In an emergency, a magica cart horse could pull that wagon at a gallop—and it must have cost almost as much as the load it hauled.
Five guards, with swords and daggers on their belts, surrounded the cart. But despite their weaponry, they didn’t seem much more alert than the tax collectors. Master Roseman’s reputation must be a formidable deterrent.
I had missed luncheon, waiting for the collectors to arrive at our shop, and it had taken them several hours to get this far. I went into a nearby tavern and ordered a sandwich, in case I had to leave in a hurry, and some sweet potato mash that they served spiced, with lots of butter.
I had time to eat my meal, and then linger at the table. When I’d stayed so long I was about to become conspicuous, I went out and found yet another place where I could watch the cart without being seen.
The thugs I’d followed weren’t the only ones bringing money to this wagon; I counted eight more pairs of men. Several of them had delivered coins to the collection cart twice, before one of the guards mounted to the driver’s seat. He drove the wagon almost a mile before he pulled over and parked, to receive more deliveries.
’Twas an efficient way to deal with coin collected from a large area in a short time. And if every merchant in Tallowsport was paying every two weeks, even if some of them paid less than the chandler, Master Roseman must be unimaginably rich.
It was dusk, and the magica street lamps that made wealthy neighborhoods safer than poor ones were beginning to glow by the time the cart accepted its final purse and rolled away.
The fading light helped me to follow without being noticed, and for the first time since I’d seen the tax collectors start down our block, my heart beat faster.
We had learned where the Rose’s town house sat, on top of the rise where the affluent lived. He also had a country estate, not far out of town, and a ship he kept in port for his personal use. What no one seemed to know was where the money went after his men collected it—and that was what would matter to the High Liege. Even if ’twas in some bank, the judicars’ accountants had to know which bank to audit.
But the cart passed right by the bank where I thought ’twould stop, and rolled on up the hill to The Rise.
Could Roseman keep his wealth in his own house? If he had thugs enough, and a stout vault, why not?
’Twas harder to be inconspicuous in this neighborhood, but the growing darkness helped. I skirted the pools of light around the lamps, and I was sure none of Roseman’s men saw me as they rolled from one patch of brightness into the next.
Then they turned down a side street.
I waited for a slow count of ten, then sprinted to the street and
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