Aldric's first client came through Selene. She sent a messenger to the Copper Bell Inn with a note: I have someone who needs your services. Come to my establishment tonight.
He arrived at the appointed time and was shown to Selene's private room. She was there with another woman, a middle-aged merchant with sharp eyes and expensive clothes.
"Aldric, this is Mistress Carmine," Selene said. "She has a problem that requires your particular skills."
Mistress Carmine looked him up and down skeptically. "He's just a boy. Are you sure he can help?"
"He's more capable than he looks," Selene said. "Trust me."
Mistress Carmine sighed. "Very well. Here's the situation. I'm in negotiations to purchase a warehouse from a man named Gregor Voss. He claims the warehouse is in excellent condition, but I suspect he's lying. I think there's structural damage that he's hiding, and if I buy it without knowing, I'll lose a fortune in repairs. I need to know the truth before I finalize the deal."
"Why not just hire an inspector?" Aldric asked.
"Because Voss would know, and he'd find a way to hide the damage or back out of the deal. I need someone who can get the information without him knowing. Selene tells me you're a mage. Can you read his mind?"
Aldric considered this. Reading someone's mind deeply enough to extract specific information was difficult and risky. But it was within his capabilities, especially if the target wasn't expecting it.
"I can try," he said. "But I'll need access to him. Can you arrange a meeting?"
"I'm meeting with him tomorrow afternoon to discuss the final terms. You can come as my assistant. He won't think anything of it."
"And the payment?" Aldric asked.
"If you get me the information I need, I'll pay you twenty gold pieces."
Twenty gold pieces. That was more than Aldric had to his name. It was enough to live on for weeks, maybe months if he was careful.
"Deal," he said.
The next afternoon, Aldric accompanied Mistress Carmine to a coffee house in the Merchant District. Gregor Voss was already there, a portly man with a jovial manner and calculating eyes. He greeted Mistress Carmine warmly and barely glanced at Aldric.
"And who is this?" Voss asked.
"My assistant," Mistress Carmine said. "He helps me with the paperwork. Don't mind him."
Voss nodded and launched into a sales pitch about the warehouse. It was in a prime location, he said, with easy access to the river docks. The structure was solid, the roof was sound, the price was fair. He spoke with the smooth confidence of a man who'd told the same lies a hundred times.
Aldric sat quietly, pretending to take notes, while he reached out with his mind. He could sense Voss's surface thoughts—a mixture of greed and anxiety. The man was worried about something, trying to hide it beneath his jovial exterior.
Aldric probed deeper, carefully, gently, like picking a lock. He sifted through Voss's thoughts, looking for anything related to the warehouse.
And then he found it. A memory, clear and damning. Voss standing in the warehouse, looking up at a massive crack in one of the support beams. A conversation with a builder, who'd told him the repair would cost at least five thousand gold pieces. Voss's decision to sell the warehouse quickly, before anyone discovered the damage.
Aldric pulled back, his heart racing. He'd done it. He had the information.
The meeting continued for another hour, with Mistress Carmine asking pointed questions and Voss deflecting smoothly. Finally, they agreed to meet again in two days to finalize the deal.
As they left the coffee house, Mistress Carmine turned to Aldric. "Well?"
"He's lying," Aldric said. "There's a crack in one of the main support beams. The repair will cost at least five thousand gold. He knows about it and he's trying to sell before you find out."
Mistress Carmine's expression hardened. "That bastard. I knew it. Thank you, Aldric. You've saved me a fortune." She reached into her purse and counted out twenty gold pieces. "As promised. And if you're interested, I may have more work for you in the future."
"I'm interested," Aldric said, pocketing the coins.
He returned to the Copper Bell Inn that evening feeling triumphant. He'd earned twenty gold pieces in a single afternoon, more than he'd made in weeks of manual labor. And he'd done it using his abilities, proving that magic could be profitable as well as powerful.
Over the next few weeks, Aldric took on more clients. Selene referred several to him, and word began to spread among the merchant community that there was a young mage who could extract information discreetly and reliably. He helped a merchant determine if a potential business partner was trustworthy. He helped a noble woman discover if her husband was having an affair. He helped a trader identify which of his employees was stealing from him.
Each job paid well, and Aldric's coin purse grew steadily heavier. He moved out of the Copper Bell Inn and rented a small apartment in the Merchant District, a modest but respectable place with a proper bed and a writing desk. He bought better clothes, hired a tailor to make him a few custom outfits that would help him blend in with the merchant class.
He was climbing. Slowly, carefully, but climbing nonetheless.
But success brought its own dangers. The more visible he became, the more attention he attracted. And not all of that attention was friendly.