"I showed you these things for two reasons. I wanted to know how you'd feel about them and I'm gratified you value old things and I wanted you to see them, so when you are at the watchtower you can picture the Derf dressed in this armor and looking out over the hills for the enemy. As you said, there is no rush to sell off any of it. But your idea of a museum is interesting. The Mothers will talk about that idea and perhaps next time you visit we'll discuss it again." She led them back out locking the armory behind her.
Chapter 16
The gate of the ruined watchtower didn't open on a central courtyard. Instead it opened to the bottom of a sort of pit in the central courtyard of the tower which was a good two meters higher than the surrounding ground. Instead of stairs the width of the gate, a narrow stair went up each side of the pit.
An invader, even after forcing the gate, had to climb terribly exposed to fire from the opposite side of the notch and unable to move right or left, while exposed to having boulders rolled down the stairs from a receptacle built for them at the top. To make matters worse the stairs were of variable width and height, so that rushing up them became a difficult study in rhythm and footwork. Holes in the floor of the notch showed where spikes would be set at the last hours before a breach, to impale anyone forced off the narrow stairs.
The stairs from the raised courtyard up the inside of the wall to the fighting positions were even, but too big for Lee to step. She had to back up to each one and boost herself up to sit on the next level, then stand and repeat it over and over. Gordon had balked at coming inside for some reason. He was waiting for her standing in the ruined gate, looking back at the keep. The sun was barely up and the night chill still hung heavy inside the walls. Lee reached under her collar and tugged the tab out a little further to turn her jacket heater up.
The castellations on the top of the wall had a cupped rear surface, that could be stepped under to guard against arrows dropped on defenders almost vertically. The deck was wide enough for Derf to pass, but the inside edge had no rail or safety at all. The firing notches not only went all the way to the deck, but dropped away at an angle from the deck to the outside surface of the wall. That would allow an archer or musketeer to fire down on invaders, until they were within perhaps ten meters of the wall.
Lee walked around the top deck until she was opposite the gate. Gordon was framed in the opening, back to her, a dark silhouette against the brightening morning scene. Lee could easily picture him in enameled armor, golden helm and all four hands full of edged weapons. She quietly added the view to the pictures she was collecting on her camera, shooting him in the doorway from a wide view that showed half the interior of the tower, down to a tight shot that barely caught the edges of the ruined wall to each side. She worked quickly thinking he might move, but he was still in the same spot when she descended and was ready to go wait for the postman.
Chapter 17
The Bank of Derfhome looked more like a cross between a public library and a coffee house. Gordon led the way through the front doors and headed for a square pit formed in front of a huge fireplace. The rim had all sorts of comfortable seating for humans, including a couple love seats for two and the pit was full of thick and textured mats for Derf to lounge. Gordon let Lee examine the human seats until she found one comfortable for her small frame. He dragged a mat over the stonework edge of the pit and leaned on one elbow facing Lee.
A female Derf joined them, pulling up a mat and opened a computer. "What sort of hospitality may I offer while we do business?" she inquired.
"I'd like a coffee with some brandy please," Gordon requested.
"Can you make me a mocha by any chance?" Lee asked.
"Certainly." If she was surprised to hear fluent Derf from Lee she hid it well. "I am customarily known as Goldilocks, if you'd like to use my abbreviated name."
"Thank you. I'm not very formal. Please just call me Lee."
"And your surname if we must do legal documents?" She looked askance at the adult weapons on Lee's belt. "She can form legal contracts?" she directed aside to Gordon.
Lee screwed up her face and wasn't sure how to reply. "What should I use - now?" she asked of Gordon.
"She is First daughter of the Third love son of the Four Hundred-Seventy Third First Mother of Red Tree, by the Hero of the Chain Bound Lands, Second line of the short haired folk, of Gordon - Lee Anderson."
"You claim her for Derf?" The female asked hesitantly.
"More to the point the First Mother of Red Tree sets her a place at the table by law and gave her rights to sit a guest at her pleasure."
"She can offer hospitality? Is she a Mother?" the lady asked confused.
"I can't speak for them, but I believe the Mum's intent was a limited right. Think of it like a trader being able to bind the clan to a contract, but not make law."
"OK," Goldilocks agreed. "Sounds like what humans do with a limited power of attorney." She seemed comfortable with that comparison.
"I mean no offense," she informed Lee, "But these things matter in Derf business because the word of your clan Mothers binds or dissolves every matter of law. We do business at their pleasure. And ultimately some dispute, if there should be one, could even end up as a matter of trial by combat if your Mum would step forward and declare their champion will resolve the matter. I know many humans look down on the arrangement, but it's what we have to work with and for better or worse it functions."
"Uh, Gordon, should I mention?" Lee asked hesitantly.
"Yes, we have to," Gordon sighed. "Lee, sometimes a person's given name is changed if they have significant events. Just so you understand William's name.
"Goldilocks, The Great Champion of Red Tree Clan, Defender of the Treaty of Man and Guardian of the Traditions of Propriety, Hero of the Chain-Bound Lands, William, declared Lee kin by his own word first, before the Mothers and spoke to her cause. Period, no conditions. She has a personal champion, even if the Mothers decline to test the law."
"Will she know about all that being a city Derf?" Lee asked.
Goldilocks just blinked at them like she was having trouble absorbing all that. "City Derf, Keep bound or outlaw even, I imagine, all know William who know law. I suppose there is some story behind this remarkable situation?" she didn't seem to doubt them at least.
Gordon seemed to be having trouble expressing it so Lee summarized it carefully. "There was some, uh, unpleasantness when we sat down with the Mothers at Red Tree, so the First Mum resigned. William still wasn't happy with how things were going and we hadn't got our beer, so he buried his ax in the table in front of the First Mum and told her to shut up and what law to make or he'd make a permanent change of administration," she illustrated with a swipe of an imaginary ax, "and threatened to take the ax to the beer barrel too if we weren't served when he came back down for dinner. Things resolved pretty quickly after he stomped off upstairs and we got our beer and an apology that seemed sincere. I acknowledged it with everybody else when the First Mum formalized it later. Does that leave out anything important Gordon?"
"No, that covers the important elements," he said, amused at what she left out and what she considered important.
"The Chain-Bound thing in our name and William's - does that mean he's your dad?"
"Yes Lee. That didn't seem important to mention."
"It's the kind of thing I like to know," Lee said, not angry, but frustrated.
"Was the discussion a little more - heated - than you relate?" Goldilocks asked Lee.
"Oh no, well, the new First Mum started to raise her voice once, but when William gets upset his fur stands up, he gets really quiet and you can barely hear him."
Goldilocks shuddered at the mental image and made a note on her computer. "Did he take back his token when he came to dinner?" she asked Lee.
"I don't know what you mean."
"The ax, it was making a legal point, a promise really. Did he take it back when he returned?"
"No, it sat there like a flower
arrangement through dinner. Is that odd?"
"Hah! He really wanted to rub their nose in it and make sure everybody in the household saw it with their own eyes. All I can say is you're Derf darling. Nobody in their right mind will care to argue that point. None who wish to live long at least. What kind of business are we going to do?" she asked, moving right along now that Lee's status was settled.
"We found a living world," Gordon informed her, waving his ear so the rings tinkled and her eye was drawn to the Greenie. Here is a survey summary of the world with pix," he laid a data chip on her computer. "We previously did business with the Discount Bank of Jerusalem and Credit Suisse - Ganymede at Derfhome," he laid his copies of the termination papers in front of her. "We'd like to arrange for all our income from the find to be handled through your bank. Besides being our banker we'd like you to be our flexible agent in other matters. We'd appreciate a letter of credit and a minimal draw account based on our claim to tide us over, until we start getting payments."
"This is a major relationship you are proposing. I need to get two more senior partners to look at these documents. I'll call a steward to attend you while we look this material over too."
"We'd also like you to send ahead either by drone or direct ship and have an Earth legal firm start on our paperwork for the claim. We know it's nothing for amateurs to do. This firm was suggested to us if you think they are suitable," Gordon handed her McPherson's card, with the patent firm note presented up. "I'd like that back when you've copied it."
Goldilocks copied the note to her computer and then curiosity made her flip the card. The Moore-Harper-Goldberg and McPherson side made her blink, several times. A few taps on her computer and she was joined by an older male. He had a neck chain which was unusual for a Derf. The third partner was an older human woman. She was introduced as Sally Goldstein-Singh and the Derf's abbreviated name as Darius. The computer data they'd pulled up for the law firms seemed to be stirring quite a bit of interest. Another human showed up and didn't join the bankers, but joined them. She gave her name as Mary and asked if it was too early to have some lunch and would they like some video or music while the partners were conferring?
"Maybe just a snack," Gordon allowed.
"We had Mr. McPherson here on business last week," Darius said looking at Gordon like he might have stolen the card and then passed it to Sally.
"Yes, he mentioned he was settling an estate. We had breakfast with him on Derfhome station when the Mary Ellen came in."
"Mr. McPherson's firm is highly regarded," Darius said. Lee was getting irritated, because she felt the implication was his firm was too fancy for them.
"Oh good," Lee said. "I'm glad you retained Stanley's firm Gordon. I liked him, but it's good to hear someone else say they're good. Do you have any information on the firm of Green, Bennett and Glenn he recommended?"
Gordon was surprised she remembered the partner's names so readily.
"We haven't dealt with the firm, but the information on the web indicates they are as highly placed in patent law as Mr. McPherson's firm is in agency and family. Has Mr. McPherson billed you for his retainer yet, or did you just establish intent verbally over breakfast?"
"Oh, we both had our pads so we swiped them over the table and finalized it right then, so he is committed," Gordon told him. He saw no need to mention the discount he received.
"That's excellent then," Darius said all smiles. "We'll note them as your counsel of record. May I suggest you allow us to mention your name to our own Earth attorneys here in Derfhome? If something comes up locally they can advise you quickly and then coordinate with your primary counsel if need be. They offer such assistance to our customers we recommend without a retainer," he purred.
"That would be nice," Gordon agreed. "If they have your confidence they have mine too," he added graciously.
There was a circle of Derf, all older males at a low table toward one corner of the room. All at once they erupted in exclamations and pointed at something on a screen hanging behind them. One line had changed color from blue to yellow, whatever that meant.
"What in the world are they so excited about?" Lee asked their steward.
"Them? They are a trading group that comes in most days. They sit there and play cards and watch the ticker. They trade locally, but whenever a ship comes in from Earth it squirts the trading data from when it left ahead and that often creates some excitement for the club. They're a bunch of characters I can tell you," she said rolling her eyes. "You see them in here all hours drinking coffee, using the library and getting some clerk to do research. Let me get you some snacks," she said making a short voice call on her pad.
"There seems to be about a third humans here," Lee observed. "The other place we were doing business didn't have any Derf at all. I like it here better. I had a feeling there might be some prejudice," Lee said hesitantly and then was sorry she'd made such a horrible accusation.
"No! You think?" Mary said fake-shocked. Apparently it wasn't such a wild idea.
"They forced the fellow we'd been dealing with into retirement at seventy years old. It seemed unnecessary."
"That's an Earth prejudice for you. You're going there, right?"
"We need to yes. We need to present our claims."
"A lot of Earthies don't have the funds to do major medical upgrades. The standard of living is much lower there. Some of them won't do any genetic procedures for religious reasons, so a lot of the population is old at seventy. No reason a human can't stay active to a hundred and twenty or twenty five and live to a hundred and forty or so. Who knows? They keep learning new stuff so fast. By the time either of us is on the far side of a hundred they may have tacked a few years on for us."
"This bank isn't like that?"
"Sally over there will retire when she can't find her way in to work in the morning, or she falls over dead at her desk. She's ninety-two and I swear she will probably cry at my funeral." Mary looked about thirty, so that seemed an exaggeration.
"You are going to find other prejudices on Earth." Mary warned. "I've been there and seen them get upset over how dark a person's skin is, or which particular Earth nation someone originally came from. If you can't figure out why everybody is acting weird about something and won't tell you, local prejudices are a good bet. They won't fess up to them at all, so it doesn't do much good to ask."
"Idiots! * Flaming! * Assholes!" Sally exclaimed in English over at the other group framing each word slowly with contempt. Lee had never heard such invective.
"I bet she's talking about the other bank releasing us just now," Gordon mused smiling. He was making a sandwich from the tray that had arrived.
"You two are the only beneficiaries of this discovery?" Darius asked over the paper he was studying. "No other liens or obligations exist?"
"One third," Gordon said around a mouthful of sandwich, hooking both thumbs of his true hands at his chest. "Two thirds to Missy Lee, money bags herself, senior partner," he pointed at Lee. "The ship is as free and clear as my rings," he said flipping his ear again. We also have several tracts of land on Providence. I have three plots about the size of the port valley here. Big Money there has nine plots, all about the same size. Well, one island is about the size of Vermont back Earthside, call it twenty-five thousand square kilometers. It's bigger than the usual claim, but the claim will stand up just fine being the natural boundaries of an island. Neither of us owes anybody as much as a plastic Yuan piece."
"This is an extraordinary world," Sally acknowledged of the data. "What moved you to deal with us rather than seek a bank on Earth? You do know you will be a major portion of our business if we can come to an agreement? You compliment us with your trust, but I'd like to know that you have done some due diligence and didn't pick us at random from the net."
"Ma'am," he said in English. "How regulated is your bank compared to an Earth bank?"
"Hardly at all," she acknowledged. "That a huge element of why we have had less success at attr
acting human customers. They all expect government deposit insurance and a whole bunch of legally mandated disclosures about our activities."
"Yet my First Mum keeps all the money of the clan with you, except for a sugar tin of cash for folks running to town to use. Why does the foolish woman trust you?"
"I'd like to think because we're known for honest traders."
"Even without all the rules making you honest," he marveled. "How long has it been since the last Earth bank crisis where folks lost wealth in the system?"
"Well, about thirty years ago there was a huge 'bubble' as they call it, of loss because of bank speculation in the commodities markets. The governments stepped in and printed enough money to 'pay' everybody. Truth is however the whole mess devaluated the currencies so much, it just spread the loss around so that everybody suffered. I'm not very comfortable with where they are right now, with banks dealing in insurance. They can use it as a weapon of extortion if they wish and bleed their smaller customers, but it's technically legal. I give them another decade and I think that's going to blow up in their faces again, if somebody doesn't do something."
"When was the last time your banking system melted down?"
"Well, there is no formally authorized banking system. There are very different banks here for different purposes. We have more ranchers and farmers as customers than anything else. The last time a bank failed here, a small bank in a mining town over extended itself and some of the depositors lost ten or even fifteen percent of their capitol in the liquidation. The people running the bank will never run another, because nobody would ever deposit with them if they tried. It was an honest enough series of errors that nobody asked a challenge. The officers of the bank admitted they failed in having good judgment and they certainly hurt themselves worse than their customers. They were left with no personal fortune at all. Nobody felt strongly enough about it to demand their lives too."
"There you have it," Gordon said spreading his hands. "On Earth the officers of a failed bank could walk away with a huge personal fortune and never pay any price for their failure. As long as they were not technically in violation of some complex laws, there would be no personal responsibility. No matter how many rules you tack on people will always find ways to game the system and cheat, if it's socially acceptable and it is there."
Family Law Page 14
