Ranus made it to the docks with time to spare. He was known to many, and his appearance on the docks always heralded interesting or unusual events. A small group of lollygaggers were doing their best to appear to be doing other things but watching him. Danrum had been sent for, along with an additional request for four more Watchmen. Ranus did not want trouble but was ready for it if it came.

  His watch commander arrived with the additional men just as the ship was secured to the pier. Ranus knew the vessel well, as it was the flagship of their family fleet, the Golden River. This meant his father was here, as his brother could not command the ship without his permission. For which he was never given.

  The gangplank was lowered and hit the pier with a resounding thud. Around them, the bustling docks continued their work of loading and offloading. Amya told him that Shadow Vale was fast becoming one of the busiest trading ports in all the Riverlands. Learning this, Ranus knew it would come with its own problems sooner or later. But you could not worry about that now as he had something to deal with.

  Several of his family's guards came down the gangplank and took positions on either side. His guards eyed them up, but it seemed they were not looking to cause trouble. A few moments later, behind them came the real problems. Counting them, Ranus almost swore aloud: his mother, father, his eldest brother, and sister. Some would call this a family reunion, but he was not one of them. To him, this was nothing short of an invasion.

  His father took the lead and stepped forth, arms wide in greeting with a big smile on his face.

  "Ranus, my son, it is so good to see you!" he said, playing to the people watching. He could say many things about his father and had on many occasions, but he had to admit that very few could match his showmanship. His brother tried to match his father, but he was never capable of it.

  "Welcome. What brings you?" Ranus is as polite as he could be.

  "Why we have come to see you and all that you have achieved."

  "Have you indeed." Ranus looked past his father to his brother. His expression told him many things, mainly that he did not want to be here or was happy with this family reunion.

  "Come now, son, let us go to a more comfortable place to discuss family matters." This came from his mother. Out of all the family, she was the most enigmatic to him. He could not deny her intelligence, but she had always kept him at arm's length, so he did not know much about her. He was no fool and knew that what he did know was what she had intended him to know.

  "Very well, follow me." Ranus suspected they were equally willing to cause a scene on the pier to get him to do what they wanted. At least in private, he could not hold back his thoughts and words.

  He turned and marched quickly to his administration building, where he would deal with this as fast as he could. Behind him, his family members followed him, with their guards following up on them. As they went, his father made idle conversation commenting on the city and all the progress he had made with it.

  Noncommittal grunts and a few thank you's were all he gave in return.

  He quickly settled them into his meeting room. As he wanted this over with as fast as he could, he decided not to mess around and went straight for the issue.

  "Why are you here?" His question and tone bordered on rudeness, but he knew his family.

  "Come now, son, it is like we have said we wish to make amends and heal the family rift." His father's words were filled with honey, and he trusted them not.

  "If that was true, why have you spent the last few years doing your best to undermine me at every opportunity you've had?" Ranus no longer feared them or what they could do, so he was willing to stand up and make his case.

  "Now, I admit that was an error on our part." His father offered. "When you seized the title of Lord for these lands and the Dungeon, you did so without permission from your family."

  "Well, Father, I put what you taught me into practice."

  "That you did, son. That you did." His father chuckled, leaning back in the chair and looking at his third son. Ranus felt like it was the first time his father was seeing him and did not know whether to be excited or concerned.

  "I have decided that we should no longer have this rift within the family." His father continued. "To that end, we have come to make amends and heal the rift so all can prosper. It's as simple as that."

  Now, this was more of what he knew of his father. They were after something, but what he was not sure of. The city and the Dungeon presented opportunities that anyone worth their salt would exploit to the maximum. So, the question was, what exactly was his father after?

  "Then I shall ask you again, Father, why are you here?"

  "My son, let us talk like adults. You have performed far above and beyond what we expected of you when you claimed the title here. I admit I was frustrated and angry at what you had done, believing that you could not have handled it. Well, I shall admit it: you have proven me wrong, and I have come to make amends for my actions against you."

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  His little speech was presented with a thoughtful look and conciliatory tone. Ranus knew that it would work on most others, but he was a veteran of dealing with his family and knew that was not even close to the truth. He chose to say nothing but sat there looking at them, letting the silence speak for him.

  "Err…. I think you should listen to Father." Rassal decided to join the conversation. Ranus and his father were in a pseudo-staring match and promptly ignored him. Ranus was not going to speak until he got what he wanted from his father or as close as he could to the truth.

  The uncomfortable silence that now sat in the room slowly grew as neither man spoke but glared at each other. The silence was broken, however, by one of his family members that he did not expect.

  "Come now, let us not be foolish," his mother said. This drew the attention of everyone in the room to her, and it seemed that for the first time in his life, he actually saw her. She always presented herself as prim and proper, but there was something different—something dangerous.

  "Ranus, your father has spoken truly: We wish to heal the rift. He also spoke truly that you have done an amazing job here, far surpassing anything we thought you could or even we could in your position."

  Ranus was unsure of what to say and waited.

  "The Goldwind merchant clan has been foolish in pursuing this rift for far too long, and we have realised that we need to reconcile so that we can both prosper. Your city now represents one of the greatest sources of wealth in this area of the continent. I will not let pride stand in the way and cost the clan greater prosperity in the future."

  As she spoke, an almost physical air of power surrounded her, like an aura. Ranus heard everything she said, especially the "I" part of her speech. What was happening here, he wondered?

  "Very well, mother, let's just say I entertain you in this. What is it that you want?" Ranus decided to play along for now. Her sudden assertiveness was surprising, and he was unsure what was happening.

  "That, my son, you will have to negotiate with your father. We wish access to your markets, of course, but there are things that we can assist you with finding in return." And there it was, the want and the offer: access to Shadow Vale's markets in return for them assisting you in procuring anything that he needed in the future.

  He thought they must have found out about the Dungeon's' materials list. Ranus turned his attention back to his father.

  "Then what is your offer?" Ranus knew the game of negotiation, especially within his family. He would have to fight for every gain and protect everything else from exploitation.

  "Well, then, let us start. What we're offering…"

  ## ## ## ## ##

  Later that day, the Goldwind clan were back aboard the Golden River.

  Hector was pouring wine into three crystal goblets on a small table. Marcia was sitting watching her mother. Elis was sitting on a couch in a most unladylike manner. As she was sprawled out, she was rubbing her forehead with her eyes closed. Rassal was standing near the door, vibrating almost with his barely controlled emotions.

  "Ungrateful welp!" He finally snapped out. His sister turned to look at him while his parents ignored him.

  "Come sit, brother. We have things to discuss." She tried to placate him.

  "No, sister, I shall not. The gall! Forcing us to negotiate like common merchants." His tone and body language clearly showed he was not able to control his rage for much longer.

  "Rassal, be silent or leave." His mother's cold words extinguished his rage like ice water on a fire. He was no fool and could still not trust himself right now, choosing to leave. This was the safer option than enraging his mother.

  "He takes too much personally," Hector observed as he handed each of the women in the room a goblet of wine.

  "That he does." His wife agreed. Their daughter chose silence at this time.

  "Well, what do you think, my dear?" He asked his wife.

  "It is obvious. How could we have underestimated that boy so much?" Elis answered with a hint of pride in her voice. "He has forced us to negotiate for everything and has driven a hard bargain. I am still sure that there is much we have not even been able to touch upon."

  "Yes, he seemed to have spent more time listening to his instructors than we realised," Hector chuckled as he sat down across from his wife.

  "Daughter, what are your thoughts?" Elia asked.

  "His negotiation skills are far better than I have seen before. Spending that time as an independent merchant along the rivers has taught him well." She went for the safe answer.

  "That was a good answer, daughter, but not what I asked." Her mother was not fooled and demanded the question be answered.

  Marcia collected herself before answering. "I stand by what I said about his negotiation skills. It is clear he does not trust us and is guarding every possible advantage he has over us. We are not fully aware of much happening here from the reports we have received. We must tread carefully and learn all we can before we make any moves that could be interpreted as hostile or detrimental."

  "That is a better answer." Her mother grunted.

  "I will get things moving. We have secured a plot of land along the riverbank on which we have built a warehouse and maybe even a pier if we're lucky." Hector stroked his chin as he thought about what needed to be done.

  "When did you buy that, Father?" Marcia asked, a bit confused, as she was unaware of it.

  "Your father bought it through a proxy as soon as the land became available. We built the warehouse there and have been renting it to another merchant. We will soon be having him remove his goods for ours. Remember, daughter foresight is not always about taking aggressive action but planning for future options."

  "I understand, mother. What is a long-term goal here?"

  "For now, we simply establish ourselves. Your review of the situation found that there is much we do not know. We will spend our time gathering this knowledge and strengthening our contacts within the city." Elis paused to drink. "Hector, I leave the merchant side to you, as always. Go forth and charm, my husband."

  "Your will, my lady." He smiled at his wife, lifting the goblet in an almost mocking salute. His wife ignored that.

  "As for you, daughter, I want you to expand our whisper network within this city. We have a solid foundation, but I want to know everything."

  "I understand, Mother." Marcia knew she had a lot of work coming up over the next few weeks.

  "Powers and forces are moving, and this cannot be ignored. All evidence points to this city and the Dungeon here as the main reason for the recent shifts in priorities and attitudes. We must stay abreast of why this is happening to protect our clan and prosper from any opportunities." She looked at her husband and daughter, who shuddered under her gaze. "In this, I will not tolerate any failures. Understood?"

  "We understand." They echoed.