Having been roped into a new potential friend's conspiracy theory, even nabbing the much-desired position of head spymaster within the tiny organisation, Theo was back in his room with two open ears next to the equally gaping window.

  It was evening, the rest of the day having been spent outside The Barge to inconspicuously watch the poor townies sell away their stuff for what was definitely below market value.

  Seeing his chance to do some minor good whilst also having something to gain of it himself, Theo had interrupted a trade between de Santas and a villager with a similar build and height to Theo's own. The man was selling away some ragged clothes, likely his finest sets that he could make do without. They were thrown together in a box, four sets of shirts, two pairs of trousers, an odd number of socks and three pieces of underwear.

  The suspicious trader offered the man two coins for the whole bunch. Half of what Theo was paying for a roof over his head and a meal for one day. Without having any prior knowledge about this world's economy, these villagers clearly didn't have so easy access to clothes that their worth was so low.

  Theo had stepped in and asked if he could rather buy the clothes for a full five coins instead. The trader tried pulling some shit about there not being any taxes associated with a trade between 'peasants', meaning that wouldn't help the town before the ranking. The other villager was quickly talked into seeing it the trader's way.

  Theo wasn't stupid however. Wealth moved both ways, and with its villagers having more buying power, the town itself would have more wealth. Taxes, of course, also being applied to purchases, not just sales.

  With a smirk, Theo argued to the man that if he could buy the clothes for five coins, the man would be able to buy something from the trader in return. The price he offered was more than double that of de Santas, meaning the total tax if he spent all five coins would be more than trading the clothes, worth two coins, then purchasing something from the trader, or anyone else, worth two coins. That was, supposing the tax was equal and constant.

  The trader then countered with another argument, complaining that neither Theo, nor the villager, likely had a trade permit. Without an Ercheat-official signed trade license, this kind of business was illegal.

  Theo riposted. Surely, what de Santas had even claimed to be a simple trade between villagers just a minute earlier had no such requirement? There was no tax involved, as he had said, meaning there surely was no kind of business?

  His face red and fuming, de Santas found nothing to argue with before another villager approached him. Being of the mind that losing the battle was better than losing the war, de Santas shooed Theo and the villager away to turn his attention to easier discussions.

  With a box of clothes in his possession, Theo hurried back to The Barge and paid another coin for Wen to wash most of them for him, having no clue where they'd been. He told her to make sure the underwear, in particular, was clean as could be. He was also a recent holder of a cause, one that coincided with Wen's own.

  Now that he was back in his room, a worn shirt all that he kept for himself before sending the clothes to be washed, Theo smirked as the rather talkative trader complained loudly to himself in the next room. There was some talk about a plot, though the context seemed to be a purchase of land back in Ercheat. Other than that, the only thing of note Theo could hear was that the villagers were always so easily fooled of their coin, 'especially before a ranking'.

  'I should really find out what this 'ranking' is', Theo thought just as a knock sounded from the hallway. It wasn't his door that knocked.

  "A moment," said de Santas before a few thumps sounded. He then moved across his room, his footfalls heavy, before he opened his door.

  "Mr. de Santas," said a familiar, deep voice. The mayor, Devin Whittlebutt or something, stepped inside the room. "Again, I apologise for not meeting you in my home. In case the ranking goes poorly, the estate is being... 'gently' evacuated."

  "And you'd be a fool not to," laughed the tradesman. "Here, this is your commission for the townfolks' sold goods. Not so heavy, though what else to expect from the boondocks, hm?"

  A slight clinking sounded. "Many thanks. I've given this village my all for two whole years. They have simply not given their all in return. If they knew who I was, they would never hesitate to give it everything they had. If the ranking doesn't go well, at least they have learned to stick to their humble beginnings."

  "Have you put aside enough to return?" the trader asked.

  While Theo now knew they were conspiring together to share the villagers' wealth amongst the two of them, the conversation was going places he really couldn't follow for himself. Still, in hopes of being helpful to Wen, he continued listening in.

  "It should be enough. It'll be a shameful return, but I'll manage to redeem my name somewhat later on. The most important thing is that I can return."

  "And then?" de Santas asked greedily.

  Wafflebottom, or whatever, answered with a sigh. "And then I'll grace you with a higher position."

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "And don't you forget it. You'd be nothing but a peasant yourself without my help keeping you above water all the way out here."

  "While true, Mr. de Santas, do not say anything you might regret when I'm back above your station," the mayor sputtered somewhat politely through gritted teeth.

  "Yeah, yeah," answered the man with an audible rolling of his eyes.

  Soon enough, after sharing simple pleasantries, Mayor Whifflestick left the room. Theo waited, then waited some more. He wasn't just going to let his next-door neighbour know he was home and listening in. It wasn't that late, and Theo still had to get some mana out of his system. He checked his remaining mana to see how far it had dropped by his idling that day.

  '549' he murmured inside his own head. He was almost halfway.

  Was now the time to start trying to add a third sigil? He realised that the reason for the fully formed sigils to remain behind, each humming their own tone, was likely waiting for something else, whether that be a third sigil to join them, or just a finishing command. He didn't know what to add, however, but the latter must be a thing. He couldn't always wait around for a whole minute before the sigils did their business, right?

  Maybe it was time, though the cost for something like that would be even higher, costing fifteen for all three of them. He now had eleven points in total for himself, meaning he couldn't even afford three under usual circumstances. He chuckled at that word. 'Usual'. What a world-hopper he was.

  No, he needed to understand the symbols more first. He had to be able to use them later, when the Boon was gone.

  A spontaneous magical effect has occurred on your person!

  A body-part now suffers from Blue (Magical)

  Blue (Magical): A body-part has grown unnaturally blue. Blue is most often unharmful, though the most common complaint about it is a reduction in social standing.

  'Just great. Perfect timing! Which part?'

  Theo found nothing blue on his person and while he was primarily guessing, not once did the notification actually say a part of him had actually turned blue. It had Blue. What the fuck was Blue?

  He ignored it and tried to finish his previous thought. If he was to understand the symbols more, the Primer was his best chance. The first three pages were nothing but seemingly haphazard symbols until he had learned more about them. The first page had symbols for 'conjure', 'remove' and 'search', at least those were the terms he found most fitting. The third page had six elements. The second page... Well, it had four symbols he hadn't found a use for.

  Onward, then. The fourth page was... an additional eight symbols. He was starting to have trouble even calculating the possible combinations of all these symbols, and that was even before adding a third!

  The fifth page diverged from this increasingly complicated pattern, showing instead a familiar combination of 'conjure' and 'water' beside each other, in that order. Again, they were seemingly scribbles, though still decidedly confidently scripted, as was the bracket that contained them. It was one long line drawn underneath both symbols with perpendicular corners on each far side of the combination of symbols, the offshoot barely reaching a quarter of their height.

  Maybe it was the finisher? The 'stop' sign, the... 'activate as is' symbol? He had to try it.

  Fire was out of the question, as was wind, earth and light. He was trying the opposite of drawing attention to himself, after all. Having his room shake, his window flash or the entire building on fire was directly opposed to that. Water? He'd have to explain the wet floor, or worse, bed. That left darkness, which, depending on how far the field of shadow spread, would definitely get him noticed as well. Was water really his only option?

  He briefly, very briefly, contemplated just conjuring it over himself with his mouth agape. He immediately refused, knowing full well he'd get a tiny splash into his mouth, his face full of the stuff, and the rest splatter all over both him and the floor.

  He looked around the room, finding nothing to dump the water in. He sighed restlessly, eyeing the door. The bathing room, then? There must be some kind of container there. But then he had to sneak out without de Santas hearing him. It should be doable, right?

  He stepped gently towards his door, the floor threatening, but never quite creaking from his shifting weight. He placed his hand firmly on the handle, applying the tiniest of pressures on it, increasing it a moment at a time.

  Suddenly the handle fell with a speed that seemed impossibly fast when compared to the strength he applied, and the door was pushed open without him even trying. Magic? No, it was Wen who'd been sneaking down the hallway.

  "Thank you, Miss Wen, for following me all the way back to my quarters!" said Theo aloud with a panic, not quite sure where he pulled that from.

  "Huh?"

  "Yes, as you know, when I drink I get quite flabbergasted and often can't find my own room, so... Great."

  "What now?"

  Theo shushed quietly and shook his head in de Santas' room's direction. Finally, it seemed Wen caught on.

  "O, aye, you are quite the... drunkard, you!" she pretended awfully. Really, really awfully. "Better watch that man from drink number two, I always say!"

  "Quite..." Theo added equally as poorly. He then mouthed, without so much as a hint of a sound, not even from his lips smacking: 'What now?'

  Wen looked at him as if this was his plan, which was, in all honesty, fair, but unhelpful all the same. 'What?' she mouthed back, raising her hands and shoulders into that super-shrugging position.

  Just then, the neighbouring door opened, revealing a rather annoyed trader. His eyes quickly found Theo's, rolled hardly and stuck firm at Wen's brown eyes at the end of their violent tumble.

  "Miss, there seems to be a fault with the bedding in this room," de Santas started. "There seems to be some creaking whenever I lay on it. Have it fixed by tomorrow evening, would you?"

  The man then slammed his door shut, leaving Theo and Wen speechless. Their eyes met and they immediately started laughing, though Theo wasn't quite sure what she was laughing at. He'd only seen her face contort into a humorous smile, which made him laugh in turn. They tried to keep the volume contained, though.

  "We'll talk tomorrow, eh?" Wen asked when the laughter settled. Theo nodded confirmedly, thinking she likely meant about the short meeting he'd overheard. Willingly overheard on her behest, that is.

  "Let's," Theo responded a bit awkwardly, though Wen was already slowly moving down the hallway again, this time away from him.

  Theo waited until she was gone downstairs, then sneaked across the hallway and into the bathing room. There, magic be waiting.

  If you've read this far, I appreciate you! While I'll definitely go over the finish line of 55,555 words with this story, I don't know if I'll get to continue it if people don't like it. Please follow, rate or even get a review in there if you like it (or don't!) and tell me what works and what doesn't!

  Also, with how I'm getting these chapters out as fast as I can, there might be a few (a whole lot) of spelling errors or typos. If you find catch them, bring them to me and I'll take good care of them.

  Thanks!