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Master Isabell smiled as she led Owain and his knights upstairs to the luxurious dining room on the third floor of the Fellowship of Wayfinders’ guildhall.

Once again, there had been squabbling about who should host this meeting, but in the end, she had won the others over by suggesting they let Owain make the decision.

Whichever guild he reached out to first would inform the others immediately and take on the role of host.

Owain’s choice of the Fellowship of Wayfinders already gave them their first advantage. He clearly valued the ability to transport eager knights and soldiers from the old countries across the sea above anything else or he would have met with one of the others first.

From the startled expressions on the faces of his knights when they were told that the other guild masters would be present, their decision to surprise the young lord with a collective meeting had already handed them a second advantage.

Clearly, Lord Owain was trying to make adjustments to his plans but none of the guild masters present intended to give him much time to do so.

"It’s regrettable that Lady Ashlynn wasn’t able to accompany you on this trip," Isabell said lightly as they walked upstairs. "I had the privilege of supervising renovations to Blackwell Manor some years ago and formed a small friendship with Lady Ashlynn. She’s truly a remarkable young woman."

"Yes, well," Owain said awkwardly as the guild master’s small talk derailed his train of thought. Couldn’t she have chosen something else to comment on? The weather or the journey? But she had to mention the person he least wanted to discuss on this trip.

"It’s a joyous thing," he said, plastering on a charming but slightly exaggerated smile.

"By the end of the year, I may be blessed with a son of my own. But the priests who examined her fear that it will be a difficult birth given my adoring wife’s stature and a journey of this length would be far too arduous for her. "

"Really?" Isabell said, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Certainly, she isn’t a tall woman, but with hips and a bosom like hers, I would have thought she’d have an even easier time of childbirth and nursing than I did with my lads.

But I can see that Lord Owain is a man of impressive stature," she added, openly pandering to his vanity.

"If most Lothian children are as impressive as you must have been as a babe, then perhaps the caution is wise. "

"You know, I’ve heard that Lord Owain’s brother Loman is a priest of some renown in Lothian City," Master Sebastian said with a hearty laugh. "I wouldn’t be surprised if he double-checked the work of your family’s physicians personally, just to ensure everything goes well for his soon-to-be nephew and our beloved Lady Ashlynn," he said with a toothy grin beneath his bushy white mustache.

"Congratulations my Lord Owain," he said as he opened the door to the opulent dining room before he turned to address the people already waiting for them, all of whom stood politely as soon as Owain entered.

"Since everyone is here," Sebastian said. "Please allow me to make introductions, though I’m sure that my lord has already at least exchanged correspondence with most of the people gathered here today."

"From the left, Master Tiernan of the Iron Mongers," he said, pointing to a burly man with a shaved head and a physique that looked strong enough to challenge Sir Rian if the two men were ever to come to blows. "And beside him is Master Olver of the Brotherhood of Armaments."

"A pleasure to meet you, Lord Owain," the red-haired man with a close-cropped beard said as he offered a polite bow. "I bring Master Paidi’s apologies that he cannot attend in person, but he has given me his proxy for this gathering so I can assure you that the Staunch Armororers will hear of what we discuss today and you won’t lose the chance to include them in our bargain today. "

"I see," Owain said as he struggled to keep a polite smile on his face.

Between the Iron Mongers, the Brotherhood of Armaments, and the Staunch Armororers, everyone he needed to equip outfit his army with everything from lances to horseshoes was present which would make it impossible for him to demand concessions from one of them while claiming that it was required in order to meet the demands of another.

These men were merchants, they were supposed to be scheming, greedy competitors. Since when did people like this pool their negotiating power?

"Continuing on," Master Sebastian said affably.

"The last of the masters present is my good friend in the landbound side of the transportation industry, Master Ruadhan of the Carter’s Guild," he said, gesturing to the scarecrow-thin man with thinning blond hair. Usually, the two men would be at each other’s throats over any number of petty disagreements, but today, such things had to be put aside while they dealt with this young lord.

"Last of the masters?" Owain blinked in confusion looking at the other men on the left side of the table. "Then these two are...?"

"Allow me to introduce myself," a short, balding man said while leaning on his gilded cane. "My name is Adrian and I serve as the Crown’s Assessor of Weights and Measures in Blackwell County," he said with a slight bow. "This young lad beside me is Journeyman Cal of the Gilded Jewler’s Hall. I’ve asked him to sit in and lend his sharp young eyes and jeweler’s loop since this discussion is likely to involve the treasures of Airgead Mountain. "

"Pleased to meet you, Lord Owain," the sharply dressed man standing next to the Assessor said. Despite the fact that Adrian introduced him as young, he was a near match for Owain’s age, working diligently to earn the title of Master before he turned thirty in two year’s time.

For a gathering like this, just being present would be a significant step forward on the path to receiving the Guild’s recognition, but doing well today could shave as much as a year off of the time it took to gain the support of other masters.

"I want to assure you, my lord," Cal said smoothly. "While I am a journeyman in good standing from the Gilded Jewler’s Hall, I am not here today to represent my guild in any negotiations. I’m only here at Assessor Adrian’s request to provide appraisals for any gems or precious metals that will be traded today. "

"I promise you, everything I examine today will receive a fair and impartial appraisal," he said, hoping that the young lord would favor his response. After all, while he couldn’t come out and say that he was on Owain’s side, but he could make it clear that he wasn’t on the guild master’s side either.

Hopefully, that little bit of favor was enough for Lord Owain to consider working with their guild later once it came time to process the riches of Airgead Mountain.

If he brought that level of business before his masters, they would practically beg him to accept a promotion to Master, if only to secure the relationship he built with Owain today.

But all of that depended on how today’s talks went.

If he failed, he would be lucky if he retained his position as a journeyman.

"Now I see why the tables in guild halls are so long," Owain said neutrally as he moved to the opposite side of the long table to take his seat at the center.

"If I had realized there would be so many people present today, I would have invited the rest of my retinue along," he said in a tone that held a mild trace of reproach.

"My steward, Sir Hugo Hanrahan has been preparing the figures for today’s discussion," Owain said, gesturing briefly to the man on his right.

"And Sir Rian Aleese has brought a sample of the treasures from Airgead Mountain with him," he added, gesturing to the portly knight carrying the iron-bound chest with him.

"Of course, this isn’t everything my family has pried loose from demon claws on Airgead Mountain, but it should give you a good understanding of the riches to be had in this venture. "

"Of course, of course," Sebastian said, gesturing for everyone to take their seats as servants entered the hall carrying bottles of crisp white wine and trays loaded with small, bite-size pieces of bread topped with everything from small shrimp to lumps of fresh crab meat.

"A toast," the guild master of the Fellowship of Wayfinders said, raising his glass. "To the Lady Ashlynn Blackwell, may she give birth to a strong Lothian heir, and to Lord Owain, that we may strike a good bargain today."

"To Lady Ashlynn and Lord Owain!" the assembled merchants cheered. Owain, however, found it difficult to share their cheer and it took every bit of strength he had to keep a smile on his face as he raised his crystal goblet before draining to the bottom in a single long drink.

Across the table, Master Isabell silently watched Owain struggle when Lady Ashlynn was mentioned yet again.

The choice to do so, like many of today’s other actions, had been deliberate, though she hadn’t explained to her fellow masters why.

Yet now that she saw Lord Owain’s face when they mentioned his wife, her concerns grew even deeper.

Lady Ashlynn, she prayed silently. Whatever Lord Owain has done, please hold on until we can rescue you and Lady Jocelynn from it.

She had numerous doubts in the months since she received Lady Ashlynn’s private letter, but now that she saw Owain and the dark look in his eyes whenever she was mentioned.

Now, she no longer doubted that something untoward had happened to the Blackwell sisters, she only wondered why Ashlynn had asked her to help Jocelynn and not herself... and she hoped that it wasn’t because it was already too late for the elder Blackwell daughter.