Two-World Traders (progression fantasy)

"I don't understand." Hands on his hips, Elias stared down at the mess of paperwork his business partners had splayed across the floorboards like the end of a card game, searching for answers. "We pay our taxes on time. We don't fudge any numbers. We're an honest business."

"In all but one way," Briley replied.

"Have you been skimming relics off the top or something?"

"I hope that's a joke."

It was.

"No one's been embezzling," she went on, "but our… unique advantage has caught the auditor's attention, though he doesn't understand what to make of it."

Elias understood what she was talking about now but not how an auditor would ever find out. They did not document their use of sky rifts on paper. They did not even speak of the subject in front of other crew members. He pulled up a chair as Gabby seated herself on the floor, positioning the cat near her lap. Iric attended to the waning fire in the fireplace.

It crackled and popped as Briley said, "The problem is around timing. In particular, with this contract." She pointed to a document laid down by her left foot. "And this one." She pointed to one by her right. "The contract on my left was signed with Victoria Bane this past spring in Hamford—after that new paper mill opened up—and the one on my right was signed with the City of Adelbury less than a day later. The auditor pointed out that this timeline makes no sense. The trip from Hamford to Adelbury is three days, maybe two if I convinced them we're real fast, but one is outside the realm of reality. At least, the reality our auditor is aware of. Which leads him to one of two conclusions: either the dates are wrong, potentially invalidating our contract, or worse, they assume someone on our crew forged our signatures. The contracts in question are both signed by Elias, Bertrand, and yours truly. Obviously, we want them to believe this was an honest mistake, rather than a dishonest one, as the latter could compromise our good standing with the Trader's Guild."

"And my seat on council." Elias did not need the gift of sight to see how far the consequences of a bad outcome could spiral, for him especially. He would not let it come to that. "We can sort this out," he said. "Let's just ask Victoria to adjust the contract, say we signed the wrong date by accident. She'll play along, I think."

"She might," Briley confirmed in a tone that made clear she had already thought of this. "We would still need to come up with a cover story for the request. She's not the type of person who jots down incorrect dates. That isn't the issue, however. Bertrand just informed me that our best hope is, and I quote, a bright balloon blown tragically out of reach."

"She's on her honeymoon," Bertrand chimed in. "Iric and I saw her last month, and she was telling us all about her new husband and the honeymoon they had planned: an adventurous expedition in the Southlands. I fear we couldn't track her down if we tried. The woman is in the middle of a jungle for the next few weeks, and we don't have a few weeks to resolve this, certainly not in a convincing manner."

"Victoria has a new husband?" Elias had no idea.

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"It's her fifth, apparently," Bertrand said. "She insists this is the one." He knocked on the wooden arm of his chair.

"If Victoria can't help us, that leaves the Adelbury side of the equation, but that contract is with the city. They keep their own records. Maybe we could—I don't know." Elias shook his head.

"I see you're all caught up," Briley said. "Bertrand and I have been poring through paperwork for the past hour, ensuring no other discrepancies might come to light. The good news—if there is any good news—is that it seems like we only need to plug this one, rather difficult hole."

"What about our recent trip from Azir to Saint Albus? We traveled by sky rift a few weeks ago," Elias inquired, not to burst anyone's bubble but because the first step toward solving any problem was appreciating the full scope of it.

"We never signed anything in Saint Albus," Briley said. "It was a pre-existing contract. There is no paper trail from when we picked up that shipment, at least not in our books, so it should be fine. We may want to have a story prepared just in case. We certainly don't want anyone detecting a pattern."

Elias stared into the fireplace that Iric had fed a healthy meal of cedar. It burned brightly, as if he could almost see its radiating heat. "We cannot lose our status. We must remain in good standing with the guild."

"I know," Briley said.

"No." Elias turned to them. "Not fully. There's something I haven't told you all. I was going to tell you. I just… haven't yet."

And with that, he started at the unexpected visit from Constance Eve. He told them about the long day that followed, the agreement that had been struck, the fact that he would need to return to the Gray Academy in a month's time, but most critically, he emphasized the conditions of his bargain: that he would be another pair of eyes and ears for the Valshynar as a sitting member in the House of Merchants. It was a lot to explain, and Iric had many questions about the "stony academy" at the edge of the world.

"I was wondering where you were that day," Bertrand commented, one small mystery solved.

"Now you know why we cannot lose our seat," Elias concluded. "It is a condition of my freedom." He exhaled through his nostrils. "I thought we were being careful." The disappointment in his voice weighed heavily, for there was no one on the Great Continent Elias could be more disappointed in than himself. "Clearly, we were not careful enough."

So many questions burned inside him, all of his past assumptions, decisions he had thought were carefully considered, precautions he'd believed were elegantly executed. And yet, he had been found out. Not once, but twice, by two different, very powerful parties. By those who could undo what he and everyone in this room had built together. To which another voice in his head responded, somewhat defensively: but where would they even be without his gift? What would The Two Worlds Trading Company have accomplished absent Elias's sight and the use of sky rifts? It was the best excuse he had, and it was an impossible question to answer.

It also was not the question in desperate need of one.

"We need a clever story to tell," Bertrand said.

"And the evidence to back it up," Briley replied.

"We need a paper trail that contradicts this." Elias nudged the Adelbury contract with the tip of his boot. "One that confirms our clever story."

"We cannot reach Victoria in time, and the only paper trail in Sailor's Rise is a closed circle." Briley's chin was deep in her palm, posing her like a tired philosopher. "Which means we're off to Adelbury."

"We have two shipments tomorrow," Iric reminded them. He pondered this, then added, "Gabby and I can handle it. You three take The Crimson Voyager for a few days. I can fit everything on The Sapphire Spirit."

Gabby's eyes narrowed, her gaze flitting in unfocused circles. The gears in her head were turning. It was a look they all knew well, for so often their suggestions warranted careful, mechanical scrutiny. "She'll be fine," the teenager said.

Elias, meanwhile, was not yet sure whether he would be fine. He couldn't help but wonder how the company would manage without him. And then an even worse thought knocked on the door: if he denied the Valshynar, would his friends and colleagues become collateral damage? Would they go after The Two Worlds Trading Company if Elias refused to give it up?

"Adelbury, then," Elias said. "We'll figure out the rest on the way."

He was sure they would, he decided. He had to be.