As the orange sun dipped low, it bled into the horizon like molten copper spilling across the western skies.
Shadows stretched long over Greyworth, where crooked rooftops glowed in fiery hues before surrendering to the night's embrace.
Just as dusk's last light faded, the heavens unveiled their second act.
Two moons rose into the darkening sky, pale and silver, surrounded by faint glowing rings that shimmered like ethereal halos.
The breathtaking sight cast an otherworldly glow over Greyworth, a city often battered and forgotten yet for a fleeting moment, it was touched by beauty.
With nightfall came a shift in energy. By day, Greyworth pulsed with trade and noise; by night, its rhythm transformed entirely.
Taverns spilled laughter and raucous songs into dim alleys while gambling dens flickered to life, enticing both the desperate and greedy.
Brothels swung open their doors with crimson curtains swaying like sirens calling out to those seeking solace or distraction.
Life in Greyworth never truly stopped; it merely donned different masks.
But at the northern edge of this bustling city, where cobblestones lay cracked and weeds claimed dominion over neglected gutters, one particular estate sat in silence.
Its once-proud gates sagged under time's weight; windows stared blankly into the night like weary eyes longing for rest.
Here, even the sounds of revelry seemed hesitant to intrude.
Inside this decaying estate, a dining hall flickered with the dim glow of a single candle.
The room felt more ghostly than grand: a long table scarred and uneven stood beneath cracked plaster walls that carried a persistent scent of mildew despite constant scrubbing.
Three figures gathered at one end of the table,dinner consisted of humble fare: bread, thin soup, and a sliver of meat that seemed almost ashamed to be served.
Garran leaned back in his chair with one leg casually crossed over the other while slurping noisily from his bowl.
Across from him sat Elira, her legs swinging idly beneath her chair as she puffed her cheeks while chewing before pouting dramatically.
"Muuu! It's not fair! I still haven't seen this city properly! Ever since we arrived here a whole month ago!"
She folded her arms theatrically. "I'm wasting away!"
"Wasting away from food not boredom," Garran retorted pointedly as he eyed her bowl suspiciously.
"Honestly! You eat like a soldier yet still complain."
Elira stuck out her tongue at him; her silver eyes wide with mock innocence. "That's because I'm still growing!"
"You'll grow sideways first," he shot back with a grin.
Her jaw dropped in disbelief. "You..you big meanie!" she sputtered angrily as she nearly toppled her cup leaning forward to glare at him.
The cup wobbled precariously on the edge of the table, teetering as if it might tumble at any moment.
Garran's hand shot out instinctively, steadying it with a practiced sigh.
"Clumsy as ever," he teased, a playful grin spreading across his face. "If trouble were a coin, you'd be a treasure chest by now!"
Elira flushed a deep shade of crimson, ducking her head in embarrassment. "I..I'm not clumsy…" she protested softly.
At the head of the table, Lucius allowed himself a faint smile as he dipped his quill into ink.
The flickering candlelight cast an ethereal glow on his pale face, framing his sharp features with loose strands of silver hair that had slipped free from their tie.
Unlike his two companions, Lucius was far more absorbed in his thoughts than in the meal before him; his plate lay half-finished while he scribbled intently into a worn notebook.
The quill scratched against the page like whispers of secrets being penned down,each stroke deliberate and precise.
His posture was hunched over the table, eyes narrowed in concentration as he alternated between bites of food and notes,a rhythm all his own.
Curiosity sparked within Elira's eyes as they drifted toward him.
"Master Lucius," she ventured cautiously, "what are you writing? You've been at it all evening…"
Lucius lifted his gaze slowly from the page, quill poised between his fingers like a conductor ready to lead an orchestra.
His attention shifted to Garran with an inquisitive glint in his eye. "Tell me something important: Are there banks in this city?"
Garran froze mid-slurp, soup dripping back into his bowl as confusion washed over him.
He blinked once… twice… "Banks?" He furrowed his brow deeper than ever before. "What in the Emperor's hairy backside is a bank?"
Lucius tilted his head slightly, suppressing an exasperated sigh.
"A bank is… well, it's an institution where people deposit money for safekeeping," he explained patiently.
"They store it securely and lend portions to others for interest,depositors earn small profits while borrowers gain access to capital they otherwise wouldn't have."
Silence hung heavily over them.
Garran stared blankly for a moment before slowly processing what Lucius had said.
Finally, like rusted gears beginning to turn again, he muttered incredulously, "So... people just give their money away? And then pay to borrow it back?"
Lucius couldn't help but let a small smile slip through despite himself. "Not exactly how it works but close enough."
Garran snorted, shaking his head with a mix of disbelief and amusement.
"Sounds like the kind of trick a guild would love! But no, nothing like that around here. If there were, trust me, I'd have heard about it. The closest you'll find is the Goldchain Guild,vultures in banker's clothing. They lend at outrageous rates, bleed you dry... and if you can't pay?"
He dragged a finger across his throat with a grin that sent chills down Elira's spine. "Goodbye freedom. Hello slavery."
Elira gasped softly, her spoon clattering into her bowl. "That's terrible!"
"Welcome to the world," Garran replied dryly, spooning another mouthful of soup as if he were discussing the weather.
Lucius dipped his quill again, jotting down every word with fervor.
"Goldchain Guild, predatory lenders. No banks."
His hand moved swiftly across the parchment, creating neat lines that danced under the flickering candlelight.
"Next question," he said without looking up from his notes. "How are coins minted and valued?"
"Now that's something I can answer," Garran said, leaning back with an air of smugness.
"We've got three main coins: copper at the bottom, silver in the middle, and gold at the top. A hundred copper makes one silver; a hundred silver makes one gold,pretty straightforward! Sure, there are fancier coins above gold,platinum and dragon-marked sovereigns but those don't circulate here; they're for kingdoms and Empires with deeper pockets than ours."
Lucius wrote every word down as if it were sacred knowledge.
His face was stone-serious; brows furrowed as though this were the most important lecture he'd ever attended.
The wavering candlelight framed his pale features in an almost ghostly glow.
Elira tilted her head slightly at him. "Master Lucius… you look scary when you're writing."
"He always looks scary," Garran muttered under his breath.
"But this? This is something else entirely! Look at him scribbling like the world's about to end."
Lucius ignored their banter completely, his hand flowing gracefully across the page.
Garran narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as he studied Lucius in silence.
Just a month ago, this boy had been nothing more than a frivolous noble,a playboy without brains or backbone who chased skirts and wasted coin on laughter that fell flat.
But now? Now he held a quill like it was a sword; his eyes sharp and focused as if he had transformed into someone entirely new.
Lucius raised his head again suddenly, pulling Garran out of his reverie. "Who controls the guilds' financial flow?"
Garran blinked and cleared his throat before responding cautiously. "Eh. That's a tough one. Each guild keeps its own records, but they all report back to their headquarters in the bigger cities.
The Goldchain Guild has a central office, though it's quite a trek from here. Greyworth's branch? They just collect, lend, and drain the locals dry. The real power lies up the ladder, far beyond Durnholde."
Lucius scribbled furiously, his page rapidly filling with neat lines of text.
He glanced back once more; his pale eyes flickered like candle flames in the dim light.
"No central bank? No structured financial system? Just guilds and lenders?"
He leaned back in his chair, tapping the quill against his chin as silence enveloped them. His mind whirred with calculations, ideas swirling like leaves caught in a storm.
Without banks or regulated loans only blood-bound contracts,this city feels like a jungle.
The guilds prey on desperation: the poor become slaves while the wealthy turn into predators.
And why do they accept this grim reality? Because they've never known anything different!
Imagine ten thousand gold coins circulating in such a chaotic market… How far could that stretch? What could be built with proper systems,structured lending, controlled interest rates, secure deposits?
His hand moved again, furiously scribbling numbers into the margins: rough calculations, projections, ratios.
His expression was carved in concentration; his pale features set like marble statues.
Elira leaned forward slightly, her spoon forgotten mid-air.
She whispered to Garran with genuine curiosity, "He's changed, hasn't he?"
Garran smirked and folded his arms across his chest.
"Aye! About time too! But sometimes... I wonder if he's still the same Lucius at all."
With a firm snap of his notebook closing,a sound that made both of them jump,Lucius set down his quill and rested his hands flat on the table.
"We won't waste those ten thousand coins," he declared evenly.
"No reckless spending or desperate measures."
His silver eyes gleamed under the flickering candlelight as he continued with conviction:
"We will reshape this city's financial system starting right here,with these coins."
His words settled over them like an unbreakable promise.
Elira blinked in surprise; her lips parted slightly as if she had just tasted something unexpected yet delightful.
Garran leaned back in awe and let out a low whistle.
The candle sputtered softly; its light danced across Lucius's serious face while outside, the twin moons climbed higher into the night sky their silver glow filtering faintly through cracked windows.
And so began their plan...