A Dragon's Curiosity

“Is there a problem?”

Looking at Alestar, who seemed apologetic, Nisha inquired about the availability of her request.

Thanks to her previous encounter with the pickpockets, the dragon knew the freshly promoted Baron had been the one in charge of protection fees and similar issues before. Unless he changed his field of practice, this problem should be easy to solve.

“You say you acquired some capital, right? I reckon we are not talking about a small business then.”

Asking for relevant information the crook rubbed his cheek, fiddling with another small scar while recalling some related reports.

“Indeed. Two close friends of mine want to start out as merchants, and I am backing them. In exchange for shares, we are starting in a bigger league right away instead of working up from a street cart.”

Wondering why he seemed so helpless regarding this topic, Nisha waited for an explanation.

“It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but I think it will be difficult to find a place that matches with your idea.

You know that no shop is sold for gold in the noble district, right?”

As she was shaking her head, the dragon wondered whether that was true or if Alestar only wanted to raise the price to increase his fees.

“Ah, this is your first time purchasing real estate in Thurgau then?”

Seeing her nod this time the Baron pulled open a drawer beneath the table and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen.

Surprised at the materials being ready as if prepared beforehand, her bewilderment must have shown on her face as the old crook explained right away.

“You haven’t been the only one to seek me out for a request, although you are one of the previous customers.

Let’s see; it’s better to start with some more basic details; then I won’t have to repeat myself.

In essence, the city is distributed in building blocks, which decide rules for the occasions when land is bought or sold.”

Drawing the rough outline showing Thurgau from an aerial view, the coastline appeared to Nisha’s left and the river Thurg cleaved the paper right in half. On top of that, Alestar also added a relatively small square above waterway and near the cliffs above the coast.

From her memories, the elf suspected a building to stand there, and the explanation matched with her idea.

“The palace is more or less the heart of the capital. As far as I know, everything else grew around that place with the passing of time, so there are some old shops still inside there. But only merchant houses affiliated with the crown can be appointed to receive a lot inside the castle, mostly taking these spots out of the question.”

Adding another rectangular figure about four times as long and three times the width, the rough map gained another region. Still apart from the river but lying alongside it, Nisha recognized the noble district.

“Let’s move on to the next area. For shops located here, they are mostly possessed by nobles for generations. Only very few families remain that own land here without having obtained a peerage as well. Already existing shops will not be sold for gold and residential areas almost never get torn down to make a place for new shops or other buildings, making it hard to get a place here either.

I have already made some careful inquiries regarding the shops newly placed under my supervision, but all of them are doing well. Unless a family gets their title taken away and falls to ruin, only one option to trade for land inside the noble district remains.”

After writing ‘noble district’ in small letters on the map, the Baron took another sip of the tea to wet his throat.

“In case you want to buy a shop in this place, you need to trade it for shares from a prestigious merchant house. In this manner, the up and coming shops from the residential district can obtain a place in the noble area to showcase their wares and start making connections with noble families while others can rent out their shops for a hefty profit. The contracts vary, however, I assume this opportunity won’t be an option for you and your friends, a newly established business can try to reach out to the owners to sell shares for a lease, but most likely no one will want to risk investing in an unknown venture.

On top of that, with the economy booms recently, a lot of foreign trade takes place in Thurgau, increasing the overall wealth, especially for the high-class shops. Must be all the foreign guests we have in the city for the last turn.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Alestar crossed out the noble district. Nisha considered his words and acknowledged his commentary; it made sense.

Seeing her approval the old crook used his pen again, and he added another rectangle about as long as the noble district. Furthermore, he included those two figures and drew a large square, touching the borders of the new box and the noble district, filling the area along the river and stopping when the square reached the same distance on the south side of the river, opening an enormous space.

Without stopping, he also added an elliptical sphere along the coastline. Naming the new districts, the harbor, residential area and Royal Academy appeared on the paper.

“As you can see, there is plenty of free room for shops in either of these three places.

Sadly, the academy only accepts contracts with established firms which have a long history and stay with them indefinitely unless the trading house in question gets dissolved.

If you have the chance to get a foot in the door with the Royal Academy, grab on that chance with all your might, a contract from them is worth more than just gold.”

Painting a question mark on top of the Royal Academy area on the map, Alestar shrugged his shoulders, transmitting his helplessness regarding that particular field.

“There are no openings or businesses that are about to fail, so I suggest you give up on them.

As for the residential district, it’s closely tied to the two [Adventurer’s Guild] buildings, the [Merchant Guild] and the harbor in the west.

The west and north are regarded as prime real estate for either residential buildings or shops, the quality of both of them go down the further south-east you go.

Usually, I could probably offer you a middle-sized or large store around the middle area. However the economy this turn is simply too good. All fields of business are thriving and at most small niche shops are closing down. I reckon these small lots don’t fit your needs.”

Drawing an arrow starting at the corner next to the harbor and going south-eastwards over the river, the Baron illustrated his explanation.

“You are right if it’s only a small area I don’t think I would buy it. That’s a problem.”

Nisha debated whether she should ask Luthais for help and see if he had any ideas to help out Lydia and Annabelle.

Studying the map, the dragon now had another question.

“Aren’t the slums still missing? Do people open shops there?”

When she had arrived in the capital, their carriage crossed through the slums once. As a forest dweller, the first impression Nisha had of that place still lingered as quite wrong; her inquiry was a last effort to make something work.

“Mhm, I can’t recommend that either. Here, let me finish the map first.”

Adding another ring to the plan the last rectangle included every other figure drawn so far, indicated by a little ‘Slums’ written on top of it. Overall it looked a bit like a big U in Nisha’s opinion.

“There are indeed several shops, taverns and inns located in the slums, ranging from stone constructions to shabby tents selling things laid on the ground. The thing is, about nine out of ten belong to the [Thieves Guild] and are backed by us, which leaves one shop that regularly gets robbed or harassed. Recently the economic windfall helped with improving the overall value all around. Therefore it might become a regular district in the future, but it’s still too early now.

Even if you made an agreement with the guild, it’s difficult to control every single thief in the city, and the slums are the worst of the worst in that regard. I can’t recommend building a shop there.”

Overall, Alestar’s account sounded trustworthy enough, and he went out of his way to explain things to her thoroughly, which Nisha appreciated. Still, it did not solve her problem.

“You said it might become a typical area in the future, what did you mean with that?”

The dragon felt reluctant to cross out the slums as well. From the baron’s description, it sounded like a bleak place with harsh conditions and treacherous inhabitants, yet Nisha also saw that it had the least constrictions and offered something none of the other districts had. A chance to carve out an entirely new place for their use.

“Yes, strictly speaking, the slums aren’t part of Thurgau nor are they wanted by the city watch.

One thing all the other places have in common are their walls.

It’s more or less an archaic law, back in the day when the city has just been founded the distinction between inside and outside had much more significance. Monsters stormed against the fortifications, claiming the lives of anyone daring enough to sleep outside the walls.

Hence it became the decisive factor to decide the limits of all cities in Leandar. As long as a wall circumvents an area, it belongs to the noble in possession of the corresponding deed.”

Drawing over the previous districts again, the old crook highlighted each border, emphasizing the reinforcements.

“But there’s a wall around the slums too. I’ve seen it before.”

Confused by the difference in treatment because of some stones, Nisha refuted.

“Oh yes, however, their state is miserable. No one is maintaining them, the city guard is unable to man it and they will run at most patrol the main streets to make sure the traffic flow remains unobstructed.

I think either the grandfather of the current King or the father of that guy once paid out of his pocket to have the wall constructed. He couldn’t stand the sight of people dying whenever some monster sneaked inside the slums. Since then nothing happened about them, and the area remains somewhere in between unrelated to Thurgau and an unofficial city district.

Personally, I think it’s not a sad state of affairs, and the guild has almost complete control over it. Makes my job easier.”

Emptying his cup and refilling it with a steaming hot portion from the can, he leant back on the sofa and shrugged his shoulders again to show his helplessness. Alestar waited in case Nisha had more questions.

Studying the map, Nisha slowly developed a plan. In the past, the four little dragons had turned a simple mud cave in the [Dragon’s Den], into a governing residence fit for the four siblings.

Compared to the conditions in the slums with plenty of materials freely available in exchange for gold, she had some confidence in being able to construct a shop.

“Pretend I wish to purchase some land in the slums and have made an agreement with the guild. What do I need to do to build my store?”

Whether it was possible or not did not interest the dragon anymore. She would try her best to make it work.

“It’s difficult. To sell deeds for real estate, there needs to be a group dedicated to maintain the wall and keep everything working. If a gate breaks or the stones crumble from the sea air, someone needs to pay for it. If it operates in the same way as in the past, a group of nobles will come forward when there is a profit to make from the land and pool their money together. Afterwards, they split the land according to their agreement.

Everything else can be taken care of with gold. Money makes the world go round. There are plenty of merchants that can supply everything that’s needed and a good carpenter or mason can give you an estimate to build the store.”

Pondering why the elf would make such a suggestion, the old crook had an inkling, a vague premonition she would surprise him again.

“You’re informed about everything. Is that part of your job as well?”

“Oh no, that’s not it. Did you think I was born as part of the [Thieves Guild]? I worked as a carpenter before my time here, and I was a master at that. One day I got a generous sum of money to build a secret entrance to the house I was currently working on. It shouldn’t lead inside the house at all, instead of a new secret room that appeared if anyone knew how to activate the hidden switch. Taking care of more and more similar jobs, I eventually landed a better-paid job as a full-time guild employee. Nothing exciting.”

Playing down the achievements of his past, Alestar grinned at the thoughts of his past. Even to this day, plenty of thieves still used the hidden stashes and passages he built. He was pretty proud of it.

“Alright, I’ve decided. I will take them all!”

“Huh?”