Chapter 60: Night's Watch Bonds (Part II)
Egger was a newcomer and naturally did not know the way. Fortunately, Tyrion had lived in King's Landing for some time; while he might not have known the city like the back of his hand, finding a shop was no trouble at all. The two chatted as they rode, soon arriving at the entrance of the only professional seal-making shop in King's Landing—and one of the few in all of Westeros.
Westeros in this era was far behind the world Egger had left behind, but with the unification and development of the Seven Kingdoms, people had begun to grasp the importance of law and order. Just as opening a seal-carving shop in his previous world required registration, seals in this world followed specific standards and formats; one couldn't simply pick up a random stone, carve it, and expect it to be valid. In King's Landing, only seals produced by this shop would be recognized by nobles and wealthy merchants throughout the Seven Kingdoms.
Generally speaking, seal shops only served those with status, title, or fixed assets; commoners had little use for a seal. Egger did not meet the criteria, but luckily—he possessed two very powerful supporting documents.
After presenting the proof signed and sealed by Eddard Stark and Jeor Mormont, the shopkeeper accepted his commission. Egger ordered a custom seal for the Chief Logistics Officer of the Night's Watch—a position that did not exist within the Wall's garrison, and thus had no official holder. However, if the plan went smoothly, he would soon convince the Order to create both the department and the rank.
Egger ordered two stamps: one representing his personal identity and a signet ring for sealing letters with wax. After discussing the style and content with the master carver, he turned to Tyrion. "Do you have a seal?"
"I don't," the dwarf answered honestly. For a member of a Great House of his status, lacking a seal was rare. However, his condition as a natural disaster made his situation unique: due to his distinct features and the reputation that a Lannister always pays his debts, he never needed a seal to prove his identity or make a guarantee when dealing with commoners or running up tabs at taverns and brothels. As for nobles of equal standing, they would only talk or do business with his father, Lord Tywin, or his siblings. Though he appeared indifferent to this, it was a source of unspoken bitterness. "Then make one for me as well, while we're at it."
The famous Imp naturally required no identification, and another order was quickly settled. Professional seals were expensive, but compared to the business the two were about to undertake, it was a mere pittance.
With one task completed, the two mounted their horses and continued to the next location, discussing the remaining details.
Tyrion struggled to climb onto his horse. "And then?"
"The paper, ink pads, and sealing wax are already being purchased by your guards. Now we just need to visit a sign-maker's workshop..."
"A sign-maker? Fine. But I wasn't asking where we're going; I want to know, since you said this plan needs my help, what exactly am I supposed to do?"
"Plenty. Your involvement allows my entire plan to skip the most difficult starting phase and move straight into the primary stage. If I were alone, I would be forced to hike up the interest rates just to get noticed, then scrape for every single gold dragon, shamelessly using any means necessary to secure initial loans from commoners. With you, I can develop lenders starting from the middle and upper classes, and set a reasonable rate of return with a subscription threshold. This reduces the number of creditors while increasing their quality, making the resulting capital chain far more stable. The amount of work this saves in operating the fund can be measured in multiples."
Egger thought for a moment. "The first thing you need to do is persuade a few of your friends to buy my bonds. Not many—just a few to get the gears turning."
"Seven hells, you want me to fleece my own people?"
"How can you say that? In this game, the first ones to join are the least likely to be fleeced!" Egger emphasized. "Only this first batch of creditors requires your persuasion. Once that step is taken, the presence of the earlier participants becomes the source of confidence for the next batch. As long as we control the total volume of capital, the cycle can continue indefinitely. Someone has to start. If you're unwilling to persuade people you know, then we'll just have to find strangers on the street or go door-to-door."
"Fine, I'll do it." Tyrion was already prepared to pay out of his own pocket if necessary, so he wouldn't get hung up on a non-principled issue; if the worst happened, he would just fill the hole himself. "How does it work exactly?"
"Simple. Introduce me to your friends and give me your guarantee. With the endorsements of the Lord Commander and the Hand of the King, it shouldn't require too much talking."
"Alright. You mentioned a subscription threshold. How much?"
"One hundred gold dragons."
"That much!?" Tyrion was startled. "Egger, King's Landing is indeed the greatest concentration of wealth in the Seven Kingdoms, and it wouldn't be hard for the people I know to come up with a hundred dragons. But this money isn't being lent to me; it's being lent to the Night's Watch. Most of them have lived their whole lives and likely only ever met one Watchman—you. Asking them to throw that much money into a hole they know nothing about without blinking... that's a bit difficult."
"It's just a round number. I'm preparing to issue a fixed-rate, simple-interest, registered bond. Remember the list of items I sent Morrec and Jakken (the guards) to buy? Every single bond will be made of the finest parchment. I will personally perform a series of anti-counterfeiting processes, and finally, all three of us—you, me, and the creditor—will sign, seal, and thumbprint it. After all that effort, the cost per bond will exceed a silver deer. If we don't set a high threshold, we might end up making hundreds or thousands of bonds, which is not only hard to manage but also severely inflates costs and labor, threatening the stability of the capital chain." Egger explained, "Of course, a hundred is just a figure I tossed out. We can negotiate that part."
"Fixed-rate, simple-interest, registered? What do these mean?"
"Fixed-rate means the interest is set. Simple-interest means the interest earned will not earn interest itself. Registered means every bond will bear the name of the lender. The first two are for ease of accounting and management; the third is for anti-counterfeiting and to protect the holder's ownership of the bond in case of theft or loss. You'll understand all this when the time comes."
"How complicated."
"The complicated parts are still to come. For now, let's discuss more basic problems—like what to write on the sign for my Night's Watch office and what patterns to use."
They reached the sign-maker's workshop. Unlike the seal-carver or the Night's Watch office, which only needed a small street-front stall, this required a large space for processing and production. To save on rent, it was located in a somewhat remote area. The two took several turns through winding alleys before finding it, by which time the sun was already low in the sky.
A dozen carpenters and laborers were working feverishly in a semi-open yard. New shops opened in King's Landing every other day, so new sign orders were constant. Although the power players of the Seven Kingdoms were engaged in undercurrents of struggle and rivalry, the common people knew nothing of this. On the surface, Westeros was in a period of unprecedented peace and prosperity, with commerce and industry growing at an extraordinary pace. Egger strongly suspected that if the War of the Five Kings did not break out and winter did not come, cities like King's Landing would soon begin to see the sprouts of capitalism.
The owner soon came out to greet them with a face full of enthusiasm. Making a sign wasn't as troublesome as carving a seal or picking a lock; as long as you paid, they could make anything of any size. After a half-hour of discussion, they finalized the size, content, and other details of the sign and paid a deposit. By the time this busy day ended and the two returned to the inn, the sky was pitch black.
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