"I don't know, Chef. I came here first because I thought—" The apprentice's voice wavered. "I thought maybe you could help. You're on the Guild council, and everyone knows you care about proper cooking, and—"
"I'll speak to Guild Master Savorin immediately," Henrik interrupted. "This is overreach by the Merchant's Guild, and the Culinary Guild has jurisdiction over food quality standards, not them."
"But will that be enough?" The apprentice looked desperate. "The decree is already in effect. The vendors have two weeks. Even if the Culinary Guild contests it, that could take months to resolve, and by then—"
"By then the vendors will have already been forced into exploitative partnerships or shut down completely," Marron finished. Her mind was racing. Millie. The egg bread vendor. The molten cheese pancake stand. Fifty carts, maybe more. People's livelihoods.
