Roo said, “I’ll tell you when I get back.” He hurried out of the office, running after Duncan.
Roo glanced around the room and saw that Erik was nowhere in sight. He and Duncan crossed to where the girl Katherine worked, and Roo said, “Has Erik left yet?”
The girl shrugged. “Saw him here last night. Why?”
“I need to talk to him.” To Duncan he said, “See if she can help us, and I’m off to the palace. I’ll come back here when I’m done.”
“Good,” said Duncan, slapping his hand on the bar and winking at the girl. “I’ve a throat full of road dust and haven’t seen a pretty face in weeks.”
Katherine threw him a withering look, but said, “What’ll you have to drink?”
“Ale, my lovely,” said Duncan as Roo hurried out of the inn.
It took a few minutes to convince the gate guard to send for Erik. The guard didn’t realize whom he was speaking to, as Roo always showed up on a wagon early in the morning, not on foot late in the day.
Erik arrived ten minutes later and said, “What is it?”
“I need to talk to you a minute.”
Erik waved him through the gate and they walked to where they were out of earshot of the other soldiers. “How much gold do you have?” asked Roo.
Erik blinked. “Gold? Why?”
“I need a loan.”
Erik laughed. “For what?”
“I’ve got this information,” Roo said. “I don’t have a lot of time. I need twenty thousand gold pieces. I have maybe fourteen, and can raise another three or four. I just thought I’d see if you wanted to get in on this investment.”
Erik considered. “Well, it’s not like I’m going to need a lot of gold where I’m going.”
Roo blinked as realization came to him that he and Erik had already bidden each other good-bye. “When do you leave?”
Erik said, “We sail day after tomorrow, but that’s not to be shared with anyone.”
Roo said, “I’m sorry, Erik. I wasn’t thinking. You have a great deal on your mind and a lot to do.”
“Things are pretty much under control, actually.” He stared at Roo a moment. “Important?”
“Very,” said Roo. “I haven’t even been home yet.”
“Well, come along.”
He led Roo through the palace to the office of the Chancellor. Duke James’s secretary said, “Sir?”
“It occurs to me that I haven’t drawn my pay in a while. Could you tell me how much I have on accounts?”
The secretary said, “A moment, sir.” He opened up a larger leather-bound ledger and consulted it.
The inner door opened and Lord James exited his private office suite. “Von Darkmoor,” he said with a nod, then he caught sight of Roo. “Avery? What brings you here? Thinking of enlisting again?”
Roo smiled, despite finding no humor in the remark. But the man was Duke of Krondor, after all. “My lord,” he said in greeting. “No, I was asking my friend for a loan for a business investment.”
James stopped, and his eyes narrowed. “You’re seeking investors?”
“Yes,” answered Roo.
The old Duke studied Roo’s face a moment, then waved him to follow. “Come in, both of you.”
Once inside, James signaled to Erik to close the door and, when they were alone, sat down. Looking at Roo, he said, “What’s the scam?”
Roo blinked. “It’s no scam, m’lord. I’ve come into some information which may give me a position that will bring great profit.”
James sat back in his chair. “Care to share that information with me?”
“With all due respect, no, m’lord.”
Duke James laughed. “You’re direct enough. Let me rephrase this: tell me.”
Roo looked first at James, then at Erik, and finally said, “Very well, but only if you promise not to interfere with my investments, m’lord.”
Erik looked scandalized at Roo’s affront to the Duke’s dignity, but the Duke only looked amused. “I make no promises, young Rupert, but trust me when I say that the kinds of sums of money you’re thinking about interest me very little. My concerns have more to do with the safety and well-being of the realm.”
“Well then,” said Roo, “it’s about the wheat crop in the Free Cities.”
“What about them?” asked James, now keenly interested.
“Locusts.”
James sat, blinked, and then broke into laughter. “And where did you get this tidbit?”
Roo explained about the chain of news, without going into detail about what brought a Quegan trader to Sarth, and when he was finished, James said, “So what do you propose to do, buy up all the wheat in the West, then hold the Free Cities’ trading representatives hostage?”
Roo blushed. “Not quite. I mean to underwrite as many grain ships as I can. I mean to form a syndicate. That takes time, and I need to find someone at Barret’ s who can vouch for me, and time is moving quickly.”
“How much gold is young von Darkmoor owed by the Kingdom?”
“He has nearly a thousand gold sovereigns in back pay coming, my lord.”