Chapter 58: The Beginning of a World Changed
At Winterfell, there would undoubtedly be a steward or servants bustling about with warm hospitality to arrange Egger's food and lodging for the night, but this was Dragonstone. The word hospitality was likely missing from Stannis's dictionary. Under a guard's guidance, the Night's Watchman was quickly led out of the castle gates into the pitch-black night. A kind-hearted sentry handed him a torch; there were no wolves here, let alone White Walkers, and for a ranger of the Night's Watch, walking a few miles of night road was nothing to fear. Bathed in the pale moonlight, Egger stumbled his way back toward the fishing village on the shore.
The boat had not left, much to Egger's relief. The captain and the old miner's son all anxiously asked what had happened. Naturally, he couldn't tell the truth to these common folk, so he brushed it off with a vague excuse about a case of mistaken identity. After reclaiming his coin purse, he went straight to his cabin.
Returning to King's Landing from Dragonstone was different from the trip out—at night, they faced head-winds and counter-currents. If they departed at midnight, Dragonstone would likely still be in sight by dawn. Left with no choice, the vessel stayed in the small port for another night, setting sail only at daybreak. Standing at the stern and watching the island recede, Egger let out a long sigh. Arranging the dragonglass mining was meant to be a minor side-move executed in his spare time. According to the original plan, all follow-up matters were to be handled by the old miner and his son—Egger would provide the funds and never spare another thought on it. Who could have guessed that a short trip would result in him being tangled in a contest between the gods of fire and ice, learning so much inside information of questionable veracity from Melisandre?
Since he couldn't tell truth from fiction, he decided to stop worrying about things beyond his control. One had to live in the present... it was time for business.
Fighting against the current of the Blackwater rushing east into the Narrow Sea, the small boat wobbled on the water for over a day and a night before reaching the docks of King's Landing. Four days after leaving the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, Egger set foot on Westerosi soil again. After a brief briefing with the old miner regarding his address and future tasks, he entered the city through the Mud Gate and returned to the Albatross Inn by mid-afternoon.
To his surprise, Tyrion had not gone out. Upon learning of Egger's return, the dwarf knocked on his door immediately.
"You're finally back! In the two days you were at Dragonstone, I haven't even had the heart to visit a tavern or a brothel."
The dwarf's opening statement left the Watchman utterly confused, but fortunately, an explanation followed quickly: "I've been in my room thinking about that 'Finance' you mentioned. Over and over, day and night, until I couldn't eat or sleep."
"And did you come up with anything?" Egger was surprised that Tyrion seemed more anxious than he was. However, unlike Melisandre suddenly calling him a heretic and bleeding him, this conversation was entirely within the Watchman's plan. If it were Eddard Stark or Stannis Baratheon, they would likely dismiss the money game as a scam without a second thought. But Tyrion was different. A clever man is clever because he views new things with objective rationality. This was why Egger enjoyed dealing with his own kind—it saved effort. "You must have realized: if the Game of Thrones is a struggle for the right to distribute the cake, then the Money Game is about making the cake bigger. Regardless of which is more important or complex, in terms of contribution to the world, the latter far outweighs the former."
"I won't argue that, but you shouldn't play tricks or try to muddy the concepts to slip past me—at least not with me." Tyrion found Egger's cake analogy refreshing, but he maintained a serious expression—which, truth be told, looked a bit comical on him. "No matter how you explain or hide it, you have to admit: this is a scam."
It was impossible to fool a clever man after all. After four days, with Tyrion's brain, he had managed to untangle the logic. Egger grew slightly tense, pondering his response. "Tyrion..."
Tyrion saw the look on Egger's face and knew exactly what he was thinking. "Don't bother crafting a speech. Just admit it."
"Fine, I admit it." Egger's heart skipped a beat as he realized that if Tyrion intended to refuse, he wouldn't be talking this much. His tone didn't sound like he was rejecting the fundraising plan. "Yes, I am attempting a financial fraud. In Tyrosh, there was once a man named Charles Ponzi who used this trick to deceive tens of thousands. Thus, it is called a Ponzi scheme."
"How was his scheme exposed?"
"To compete with legitimate financial projects, he offered absurd rates of return but never made any real investments or operations. He even squandered the collected wealth—this led to a rapid break in the capital chain. Once he couldn't even pay the promised returns, let alone the principal, the scam couldn't continue even if the investors didn't suspect a thing."
"Just as I deduced." Tyrion arched an eyebrow and looked up, announcing solemnly: "Egger, I will participate in your plan, provided you agree to three conditions."
Just like that? Standing at the door of a plain single room in the Albatross Inn, Egger felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of emotion. He realized that this straightforward, almost exaggeratedly simple conversation between friends might very well influence the future history of Westeros. After a full second of stunned silence, he nodded. "Go on."
"First, every step of this 'fundraising' must be discussed with me. You must explain the 'why' and let me participate. Second, I will manage the accounts and funds. The money will be kept in an independent house I rent, and all transactions go through my hands." Tyrion tried to keep his face straight to show he wasn't joking. "Third, if the attempt fails, I will put up the money to fill the hole. You aren't allowed to go off and try this elsewhere out of spite. I'll find something else for you to do. With your brains, you don't need a scam to live a good life. That's it. Decide."
...
The first two conditions were easy to understand. Under Egger's deliberate efforts to befriend him, the two had hit it off immediately, becoming as close as old friends in just a few months. But they had only known each other for a few months. Tyrion feared Egger might squander the money like the original Ponzi or run off with a fortune... Egger had no such intention, so he naturally accepted the oversight. And given that King's Landing was the population and economic hub of Westeros, and he had both the Hand of the King and a Lannister helping him—if they couldn't make it work here, where else could he hope to pull it off?
Egger didn't hesitate for a second. "Reasonable demands. I agree to all of them."
"Excellent." The dwarf appreciated Egger's decisiveness. He nodded and finally took a moment to look over his adventurer friend properly, soon frowning. "Did you really go to Dragonstone? You look like you've spent three days and nights in a brothel—you look absolutely drained."
"Is it that bad?" Egger had actually been unable to stop thinking about Melisandre's words, trying to separate truth from lies... he was simply suffering from insomnia. Tyrion didn't even believe in White Walkers—in terms of skepticism, this native was probably more thorough than he was. "Seasickness. I didn't sleep well."
"Do you need rest?"
"I'll make a list first. Have your fuards go buy the supplies. I'll sleep for a bit, and once the items are ready, we can begin."
...
"Good, I'm getting quite impatient." Tyrion looked like a child about to unwrap a new toy; he felt he had never been this motivated in his life. "The Money Game... just thinking about it is more stimulating than drinking or women."
"Tyrion, you are the most adventurous Westerosi I have ever met."
"Hmph." Tyrion was highly immune to flattery. "As you said, only the most adventurous 'Westerosi.' This adventure won't stop me from drinking or women, nor will it endanger my life. That's why I find it more interesting than the latter two and dare to try it... Compared to you, who has seen the world and crossed the Sunset Sea, I'm just a country bumpkin from a corner of the world."
"Pfft. Forget it. Let's spare ourselves the mutual flattery. I'll list the supplies for you immediately. This afternoon, we begin preparations for issuing the Night's Watch Bonds."
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