Chapter 13 Part 1 of 3 (Patreon)

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Title: Acting Vuzgal City Lord

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Ability to control the Vuzgal City Interface.

Ability to banish others from the city’s domain

Cannot create new city lord

Cannot alter the rights of the City Lord(s)

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Chonglu dismissed the screen and bowed from the hip to Erik and Rugrat. He turned and repeated the motion to Hiao Xen.

He rose up to applause, Tan Xue, Qin Silaz, Julilah and other teachers from the school were there with the leaders of the Vuzgal Defense force.

Domonos was still commanding the battle at Craghorn, officially he was ‘training’.

There were some select traders, people from the battle arena Chonglu had worked with and people from the Vuzgal Administration.

Branch heads from the different associations in Vuzgal’s association circle were all in attendance, the Fighter’s Association, Crafter’s Association, Alchemist’s Association and Blue Lotus.

Even Elder Lu Ru of the Fourth Realm Blue Lotus headquarters had come.

Chonglu had a smile on his face, but his mind couldn’t help but wander to the information he had been given by Deputy Director Detrick, Hiao Xen and what he had figured out on his own.

His eyes drifted to Mira who was holding up their two young ones in either arm. They were clapping with wide smiles on their faces.

Chonglu’s face softened.

It’ll be a challenge, but one I’ll happily take on. Chonglu winked at them and looked to Erik and Rugrat.

He felt his throat closing up as they grinned at him. I owe a debt to these two I’ll never repay. Till the end of my days I’ll support them in whatever way I can.

“Well, thank you everyone for coming to greet our new Acting City Lord Chonglu and honor our great previous Acting City Lord, Blue Lotus manager, Hiao Xen,” Erik said. “We have some food and drink for you all from the Sky Reaching Restaurant.”

Erik signalled to the waiters and waitresses, they moved into the crowd with food and drink. A door to another room was opened.

Musicians and bards started playing their instruments making everyone feel relaxed.

Chonglu shook Hiao Xen’s hand before he had a few words with Erik and Rugrat.

“Well, seems like a promotion from when we first saw you,” Rugrat said.

“How things change,” Chonglu smiled, looking over his shoulder.

“You looking for someone?”

“Sorry, something has come up while I was checking information. I only recovered a few days ago. I saw Elise earlier and wanted to talk to her.”

“She just went into the other room. Just tell people we sent you on a task,” Erik said.

“Sorry,” Chonglu said.

“Don’t be sorry, you’re already doing your job,” Rugrat smiled.

Chonglu returned a glimmer of it back. He bowed slightly and headed down into the crowd.

“Ah, Acting Lord Chonglu!” He was greeted as soon as he touched the floor. Chonglu smiled and laughed his way through the room quickly.

He saw Mira waiting for him.

I’m sorry dear. He thought as he looked at her.

She pursed her lips, but there was an understanding smile underneath. Chonglu felt warmth at her understanding, his face a little less rigid as he headed into the other room. He signalled to Elise with his eyes. She was talking to the Alchemists Associations Vuzgal branch head, his friends and a few of the teachers from the Vuzgal Academy.

She excused herself and met Chonglu who guided her into a side room.

“Got the job, now you’re doing the job,” Elise laughed, taking a drink.

Chonglu took out a formation and turned it on, popping his ears.

Elise casually popped her ears, used to silenced conversations instead of ones out loud.

“I have got a lot of information in the last few days. From different people. Looking at it in parts, it isn’t much. Altogether it paints an ugly picture. On the outside, increased bandit activity along the roads heading into Vuzgal. Then the intelligence department tells me the trading conglomerates are browbeating people in the administration, and in the police force. Attempted bribes, blackmail in different places. Price fixing, pushing other businesses out.”

Elise sipped from her drink, her demeanor had changed drinking in information.

“Do you know if these traders are talking to one another? Are the bandit attacks random, are they made to appear that way, do they have someone that is feeding them information? What companies are they hitting, what are they carrying. Are their groups creating trouble that are dealing in the same resources?”

Chonglu smiled awkwardly.

“I can get you that information tonight or tomorrow.”

“We’ll need to act quickly. Outside traders control eighty percent of the trade within Vuzgal. With the previous incentives and assistance there have been more home grown Vuzgal traders stepping up, like the Bai Family’s trading firm.”

“What about Alva Trading Guild?”

“Alva traders are hyper mobile compared to most trading companies. They trade from the First to the Fifth Realm now. They have established trade routes in the lower realms. It is coming to the higher realms. They want to trade here, but the cost of goods and services are much higher, that increases their overhead and it means that they need to have much larger quantities of high level goods. Trading items that are better than the norm in a realm is easy. In Vuzgal people want to buy resources, metal, enhancers, mana stones, wood, cloth, raw meat and monster cores. The city is resource dependent. With all of that the crafters here can produce gear that people across the fourth realm would snap up.”

“So it is better to use traders here in the Fourth Realm instead of bringing them up from the lower realms?”

“They can make plenty of money in the lower realms. They’ll eventually make it into the higher realms. Most of the traders we have are buying from everyone else and bringing the best resources up here. With traders from the Fourth Realm, they don’t have anywhere else to go. They have to spread out and get resources. We’ve built up contacts in the Fourth Realm. If we can connect them with the traders, then it provides opportunity,” Elise’s eyes were distant as she was thinking.

“Though they’ll have a liquidity problem, some small trades, but they need money to get materials on the scale we need to offset that exterior pressure.”

“What about loans like in Alva? We already have some of them for different groups. If we could extend it to local traders?”

“Yes, though add in a clause in their contract to uphold the laws of Vuzgal. That way they’ll stay in our pocket,” Elise was looking at the ground, her eyes moving from side to side as she pieced something together.

“That could work. Hell it should work. I’d need to really move some people. Glosil is not going to like it at all. There are plenty of people in Alva that are looking for somewhere they feel safer to work,” Elise slammed her glass back, swallowing it in one go.

“I’ll need that information as soon as possible. Right now the military is eating into the Trader’s Guild as we’re acting as their quarter masters. Keeping the Adventurer’s Association supplied on the front lines. It’s a healthy profit but it means we aren’t expanding in other ways. I’ll come up with a plan to increase the number of traders from the native Vuzgal people. Preferably those that only have Vuzgal to fall back on.”

“What do you think is going on?” Chonglu.

“Best case, some traders are getting bold and they are looking for more benefits, seeing how far they can push. The bandits are just a problem of business in the Fourth Realm. Worst case, someone is moving the traders. They’re looking to open a weakness in Vuzgal. Look at what we’ve done to the Institute, a battle is just one kind of war. An economic war’s impacts are far reaching and severe. The worst part is that one can’t see the consequences until everything tips. Even with all the information there are unforeseen consequences.”