“Take it to my office and I’ll see you’re paid. Or you can have a line of credit.”
“What, so you can have the merchants jack up the prices for a kickback and get your price discounted?”
Roo laughed. “John, why don’t you work for me?”
John said, “What do you mean?”
“Let me buy this miserable shop of yours and close it up. Bring your family down to Krondor and run a shop for me. I’ll pay you more than you’ll ever make here. Your talents are wasted in Sarth.”
John said, “Krondor? Never thought much of living in a city. Let me think on it.”
“You do that,” said Roo. “I’m heading for the inn. I’ll come by your home later for supper. I have my cousin with me.”
“Bring him along,” said John. “And we can talk of that other matter I mentioned.”
“Good,” said Roo, letting himself out of the store. He felt good. It might take a couple of months, but those rubies would fetch him at least five thousand sovereigns’ profit.
As he climbed into the wagon, Duncan said, “That took you long enough.”
Taking the reins, Roo grinned. “It was worth it.”
*
John’s family was crowded into a small house a short distance behind his shop, separated from the shop by a small garden in which John’s wife grew vegetables. Roo and Duncan were admitted by John, who was now puffing on a long pipe. He offered them a mug each of a fair ale while Annie, his wife, prepared dinner in the kitchen, aided by several children. Roo found the noise nerve-racking as the younger three children half played, half scuffled underfoot while John sat ignoring them.
“Don’t you find this a little much?” asked Roo.
“What?” said John.
“The noise.”
John laughed. “You get used to it. You obviously don’t have children.”
Roo blushed. “Actually, I do have . . . a baby.”
John shook his head. “Then get used to it.”
Duncan said, “Very nice ale.”
John said, “It’s nothing special, but I do enjoy a mug between closing the shop and supper.”
“What’s this other matter you mentioned?” asked Roo.
“While he was talking, the Quegan trader whom I did business with mentioned something I thought you might find interesting.”
“What is it?”
“If you can turn this to a profit, what’s my cut?”
Roo glanced at Duncan. “It depends, John. Information is sometimes very useful to one person and worthless to another.”
“I know about those trading consortiums down in Krondor and you’re the sort of man to be involved with them.”
Roo laughed. “Not yet, but I do know my way around the trading floor at Barret’s. if there’s something you know that I can trade for gold at Barret’s, I’ll give you two percent of what I make.”
John considered. “More. Take the two thousand gold sovereigns you owe me and invest it with your own gold.” He leaned forward. “Make me a partner.”
Roo said, “Done, for this one transaction.”
“Here’s what I know,” began John. “The Quegan captain I talked to said that a friend of his had sailed a cargo to Margrave’s Port. While he was there, rumors were spreading through the city that there was some sort of pest infesting the wheat fields outside the city.” He dropped his voice as if fearing somehow to be overheard in his own house. “Grasshoppers.”
Roo looked confused. “So? There are grasshoppers everywhere.”
John said, “Not like these. If the farmer is mentioning grasshoppers, what they’re talking about is a lot worse: locusts.”
Roo sat back, stunned. “If this is true . . . “ He calculated. “If that news hasn’t reached Krondor yet . . .” He jumped to his feet. “Duncan, we’re leaving now. John, I will invest the gold I owe you. For if this rumor turns out to be false, I’ll be ton poor to pay you what I owe you, anyway. But if it’s true . . . we’ll both be rich men.”
Duncan was out of his seat, looking confused, as Annie stuck her head through the kitchen door. “Supper’s ready.”
“Aren’t we going to eat?” said Duncan.
Roo saluted John’s wife. “Regrets, Annie. We must fly.” He half pushed Duncan out of the door as Duncan complained. “I don’t follow. What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain it to you on our way south. We’ll eat while we drive.”
Duncan made an aggravated sound as they hurried to the inn, where they would need to tack up a tired team of horses and get started on the hurried trip home.
Duncan said, “I see something ahead.”
Roo, who had been dozing a bit while his cousin took a turn driving the team, was instantly alert. It was an uneventful trip despite their hurrying to the horses’ limits. Usually between Sarth and Krondor this was the case, but even though they were still inside the well-patrolled Principality, outlaws and the occasional goblin raid were not unheard of.
As they moved up the road, another wagon could be seen. It was pulled over to the side of the road and the driver was waving. Roo pulled up and the driver said, “Can you help me?”