“Pretty much.”
Ayla was still staring at him when Rangvald, Ivan, and Friedrichsen came over to them.
“Ayla, the total amount is seventy-eight thousand.”
Doc blinked in surprise, but Ayla rocked in place, grabbing the desk so as not to fall over. “Seventy-eight… thousand?”
Rangvald chuckled, “Think she wasn’t expecting that. We’ll be back once we offload the mythrium, Boss.”
“Sounds good,” Doc replied. “Remember to take your pay out first.”
“Gladly,” Rangvald laughed.
Friedrichsen shook his head, clearly having known about the metal already. “I still say that it had to be more than luck.”
“It was Luck, and that’s the honest truth,” Rangvald chuckled. “I’ll bring the rest of the money back here.”
“Think I can use the majority of the amount owed?” Doc asked.
“Easily.”
“Good. See you at the Lily afterward to talk business?”
“Dinner?” Rangvald asked.
“That works. I’ll set it up. Just you, or Ivan, too?”
“I’ll be stopping home to see the wife,” Ivan grinned. “Pass.”
“Suit yourself,” Doc shrugged.
The dwarves dispersed, and Doc turned back to Ayla. “Now, about debts?”
Ayla blinked before shaking her head and clearing her throat. “Sir, I accept the offer... if it’s still open.”
“Paid,” Doc said simply. “You’ll need to come to dinner tonight, too. Now, let’s start with the Lily.”
Chapter Forty-four
Doc took a seat across from Otto. “Thank you for taking a moment to see me. This won’t take long. I just need you to take possession of this document and get it recorded at the clerk’s office.”
Otto frowned, but that expression turned into pure shock when he saw what he had been given. “What? How?”
“I bought out the debt,” Doc shrugged. “I’m taking the town back from Suez and Goodman in a different way.”
Greta shook her head. “We can’t accept it.”
Otto nodded, “My wife is correct. We’re already deeply indebted to you... We can’t accept it.”
Doc sighed, “I could just hold the note like Goodman did. Didn’t want to do that, though, since I want to spread out who owns what.”
Greta looked pensive for a moment. “Are you really planning to assist not just us, but the clan?”
“Thought that was obvious.”
“You could undertake the Rite of Heriz,” Greta suggested.
Otto blinked, his head turning slowly to Greta. “Dear?”
“I think it’s a good idea. It would make him a clan member. Humans have done the rite in the past, even if none have for a generation or two.”
“Rite of Heriz?” Doc asked. “What does it entail?”
“The elders of the clan have to approve of it, but if they do, then you would just need to survive the steam room for a full day.”
“That’s it?”
“No elf has survived the rite, very few bestials can, and only a handful of humans have. With your ability to heal, you have a good chance of doing so.”
“How would that make a difference in my helping you?”
“As a clan member, there is no debt for us, only debt to the clan and by the clan.”
“She has a point,” Otto nodded. “As it is, the clan is probably coming to a hard decision. With as much as you’re doing for us, what we owe to you from the clan as a whole is high. Bringing you in would help absolve a majority of that.”
Doc had the feeling there was more to the rite than either of them was saying. People had survived sweat lodges for extended periods all the time, so how could this one be any different? However, he knew that binding the dwarves more firmly to him would be good.
“Okay. Will you ask for me?”
“Yes,” Otto said, standing up and offering Doc the deed back. “After the rite, I’ll be happy to accept.”
“How long will that take? The deed needs to be registered today.”
“A few days, at least,” Otto said. “I will make sure you know once everything is ready.”
“If I promise to do the rite, can you take the deed and register it?”
Otto looked torn, then sighed and took the deed back. “Very well, but you must attempt the rite or I’ll have to declare broken oaths. That will mark you as an enemy of the clan and will break all contracts and deals with us.”
“I accept that caveat. I have some others I need to see still, so have a good day.” Doc got to his feet and shook Otto’s hand, gave Greta a nod, and headed for the door.
He missed seeing Sonya watching him from the hallway. She had a broad smile on her lips and was clutching her hands tightly, held to her chest. “Thank you, Mother, Father,” she whispered before she went to her room.
~*~*~
Doc entered the alchemist’s shop, the bell announcing his arrival. “Excuse me,” Doc called out, not seeing Henrick in the front room.
“A moment,” she called from the back.
Doc went to the counter and waited. When she came out, he gave her a polite smile. “Henrick, can I have a few moments of your time to discuss a lucrative deal?”
Henrick eyed him for a few minutes. The silence had become almost oppressive before she snorted and went to the door, putting up the closed sign and locking the door. “Follow me,” she said, leading him into the back.
He was taken to a small sitting room where a handful of books sat on a desk. The room had the calming scents of jasmine and lilac. He took the offered seat and waited for her to sit as well.
“I came from the bank... your home was being held by Goodman.”
Henrick’s face went from polite to cold in seconds. “And?”
“I have this for you.” He pulled out the deed to her property and placed it on the table between them. “If you’re interested, that is?”
Henrick took the deed and looked it over before placing it back on the table. “What’s the catch?”
“Steep discounts on your goods and services for me and my business. Nothing negative— you can still make a profit, just vastly discounted. The contract ends when the difference in cost equals the cost of the deed.”
Henrick sat there for a long moment before she got up and fiddled with some incense. A different scent began to fill the room quicker than Doc had thought possible. “What’s the catch? Why offer me this deal instead of just driving me out?”
Doc felt his mind begin to drift and he spoke without thinking, “No catch. Allies are better than enemies. I would rather have skilled help on my side.” Blinking, he triggered healing hands and slapped a hand over his nose and mouth. The compulsion to answer vanished, and he glared at her. “Not sure I want to keep the offer open now, though.”
Henrick was staring at him with a mixture of surprise and fear. Grabbing the incense, she snuffed it quickly and went to the small window in the room, opening it to air the room out.
Doc kept the energy flowing to keep the effects at bay until the scent was gone. “Do you always mind-fuck potential allies?”
Henrick looked abashed as she took her seat slowly. “No. I was tricked once before, and I just wanted to protect myself, Magus.”
Dropping his spell, Doc sighed. “Not a magus. I’m a faith healer.”
Henrick frowned, “But… Ah, I see. You wish to be the thorn to Goodman and Suez.”
“I dislike what they’ve done here.”
Henrick nodded, “How can I make amends?”
“Accept my offer. If you ever do that to me or mine again, though, the deal will be off and I’ll consider you no better than the other two.”
She pulled back as if slapped, her face going grim. “Yes... Okay. Do you have a contract for me to sign?”
“Tomorrow or the day after. You can have the deed now, though. I suggest having it registered with the clerk today. When Goodman returns to the bank tomorrow, he’s going to do his
best to annul my purchases.”
Henrick pulled the deed to her and exhaled. “I’m not going to live much longer, but I will help you for as long as I still draw breath.”
Doc hesitated before extending his hand. “May I?”
Henrick shrugged, “I can’t heal me. I don’t see how you can, faith or not.”
Healing hands came back to life and Doc took her hands in his. Barren, cancer of lung and uterus, numerous addictions, eyesight fading. Doc cataloged it all and exhaled. “What’s your worst problem?”
“My lungs.”
Doc focused on her lungs and pushed his energy into her. Between healing hands and cleanse, he drove the cancer out of her lungs, but it left him sweating and panting. “Done,” he croaked as he let the energy fade. “You also have cancer in your uterus, are addicted to five different things, and your eyesight is failing. I can fix all of them over time, but the cancers are the worst and tax the hell out of me. It’s what caused your barrenness.”
Henrick sat there with an open mouth, staring at him like God himself had appeared before her. “I can... breathe again...” Her words were a bare whisper and were followed by her taking a deep lungful of air. Tears began to fall from her eyes. “Who?”
“Luck, Lady Luck, is my patron goddess,” Doc told her. “The Lily will be made a place of worship tomorrow. Come by and offer your praise as much as you can.”
“Bless you and Luck,” Henrick sobbed tightly. “If I had been healed years ago… Marco might not have left me. No one wants a barren wife.”
Doc got to his feet and touched her shoulder lightly. “Things change. I’m sorry I wasn’t here years ago, but seeing as you’ll no longer be barren soon, maybe you can send him a letter.”
Henrick was still sitting and crying when Doc left.
~*~*~
The tanner was not happy to be interrupted. “I told you how long it would take,” he growled at Doc.
“Different business,” Doc said. “Would you like to own your home?”
The tanner glowered at him. “Piss off. Goodman owns that debt.”
“No, the bank owned that debt. Now, I do,” Doc said evenly. “Now, about the deed... do you have a moment?”
The bestial stared at him before grunting and moving further into the building. Doc took that as acceptance and followed after him. He was surprised to see three young children, all heavily favoring their bestial heritage, watching him from a blanket-covered doorway.
“Urma, we have a guest,” the tanner called out as they went toward the beaded curtain at the back of the building.
“What, Grax?”
“A guest,” Grax said louder.
“A guest? Who?”
Stepping into the room, Doc saw Urma lounging on a badly repaired divan. Her boar bestial blood looked to be much stronger than Grax’s, which explained the kids. What Doc hadn’t expected was Urma to be wearing what amounted to a leather bikini.
“Am I intruding?” Doc asked.
“Sit. Urma will speak with you,” Grax said as he went and sat by his wife’s feet.
“Why do you bring this human to see me, Grax?” Urma snorted, kicking him.
“Ah, you’re the one in charge, I see,” Doc said. “He brought me because I own the deed to your home.”
Urma’s beady eyes narrowed further. “And?”
“I came offering a deal.”
“I’d break you,” she snorted, then licked her lips. “Tasty, but over too soon for me.”
Doc blinked, then laughed, “You might be right there, but I was meaning something else. I will have a contract ready tomorrow that says you will give me and my business a discount on your work. In return, you get your home. The discount ends when the difference between the discount matches the cost of the deed.”
Urma shifted into a normal seated position. “Hmm... Most humans run when I offer to mount them. You don’t run, and moreover, offer me this deal? Are you human?”
“Don’t I look human?” Doc asked to deflect the question. “I’ve been dealing with the dwarves, the elves, other bestials, and even Henrick. Who or what a person is doesn’t matter. Only who they are inside matters.”
Urma got to her feet, walking away from him. It put her mostly unclothed backside on full display, and Doc had to admit that if he admired asses more, she would have ranked highly. She glanced back, disappointed to find him looking at her face. “Why? Humans aren’t known for kindness, only tricking to make us more indebted.”
“No tricks, no more debts,” Doc shrugged. “I dislike the status quo. My closest lover is a bestial at the Lily.”
Urma nodded slowly, “But you won’t take my offer? Am I not worthy of you?”
“I don’t sleep with married women,” Doc said evenly.
Urma snorted a laugh. “Human morals? Silly.”
“Maybe, but it’s a line I will not willingly cross. Besides, your husband is doing a job for me, and that makes it even less appealing. He might not want to complete the job if I did as you suggest.”
Grax hadn’t spoken, but his snout moved up and down fractionally. Doc gave him a knowing nod back.
“Fine. Bring the contract and I’ll sign,” Urma said. “Grax is lucky he’s good in bed and the best tanner, or I would take a new mate.”
Doc rose to his feet and offered the deed. “Take this and have it registered. I’ll bring the contract tomorrow.”
Urma frowned, “What happens if I take the deed but don’t sign the contract?”
“Nothing,” Doc said simply. “However, you’ll get no business from me or my business.”
“What business?” Urma asked.
“I own the best mine in the area as of today,” Doc smiled. “Luck Holdings will be a well-known name in a day or two. Good day to you both.” Leaving the deed with Grax, Doc left their home.
Chapter Forty-five
Doc sighed, sinking into his seat in the private dining room with a mug of ale in his hand. Damn, that was more work than I imagined it would be. Rangvald and Ayla should be showing up soon, Fiala should be getting relieved from her table, and Lia said she’d be along shortly.
Fiala came into the room holding a glass of wine. “How was your day?”
“Busy. Good, overall,” Doc replied. “You?”
“Stupid. We’ve had three people try cheating so far. Two tried to swap out cards to make their hands better and the third tried to palm someone else’s chips.”
“Sounds like it’s been busy out front.”
“Did you manage to—?”
“Yes, the Lily and more. Things are going to get interesting soon.”
Lia entered the room, her face blank. “Did things go well?”
Doc smiled and took out the last deed he’d been carrying, sliding it across the table to her. “You might need to hurry to get that recorded.”
Lia picked up the deed. Looking it over, she closed her eyes and exhaled a long breath. “Thank you.” Those two words were full of emotion. “I’ll return as soon as I can.”
“We’ll wait. Go on.”
Lia spun and hurried out of the room, moving more quickly than Doc had seen her move before.
Fiala touched his shoulder, “Thank you. I know this was eating at her... we all did.”
“I did have my own reasons, but you’re welcome.”
A knock on the door stopped them from continuing. Rangvald came in, followed by Ayla. “Not too late, I hope,” Rangvald laughed.
“Not late at all,” Doc smiled. “Come on in and have a seat. Posy will be along to get you some drinks. Lia will be joining us once she gets back.”
“Saw her rushing toward the courthouse,” Ayla said. “Just gave her the deed?”
“Took me longer than I had thought with the others,” Doc sighed. “Everyone was suspicious of me.”
“Can’t blame them,” Rangvald said. “People don’t just give up that kind of money.”
“I still disagree with what you did,” Ayla said primly. “Howev
er, you are the boss, so I will abide by your decision.”
“Thanks,” Doc chuckled. “Oh, Fiala, this is Ayla. She’s my new bookkeeper. Hired her out from under Goodman today, under contract, for five years.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ayla,” Fiala said, clearly sizing up the other woman. “How did you talk him into that arrangement?”
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