Chapter 406: Power Structure

Mina had climbed onto the edge of the bed and was listening more seriously now. "So you already know everything happening here?"

Pax actually laughed at that, though quietly. "Not even close. I know enough to know how little I know."

He unfolded the bundle he’d brought and removed several sheets covered with names, symbols and rough diagrams. "Greyvale was manageable. Even after we expanded throughout Evergreen, each city had a limited number of people who mattered. The Royal Capital is different. I could spend a year mapping this place and still miss organizations hidden beneath other organizations. We’ve covered the western and southern districts reasonably well, the central districts partially, and almost nothing inside the most restricted noble areas. The Royal District is worse. I know public information, schedules visible from outside and whatever servants or workers carry beyond the checkpoints. Anything deeper than that is still unreliable."

Sage appreciated the admission more than he would have appreciated Pax pretending otherwise.

The Capital they’d traveled through that afternoon had already made its size obvious, and an intelligence network capable of completely penetrating it in a month would have been ridiculous.

"Then give me what you know," Sage said. "Not every noble family and merchant house. Start with the board itself. If we’re going to build here, I need to know who can actually affect us."

Pax nodded and cleared the writing desk. One of the sheetshe unfolded was considerably larger than the others. It wasn’t a geographic map in the ordinary sense.

Instead, names and categories had been arranged across the page, connected by lines of different styles.

Some connections carried question marks, others short notes. Sage leaned closer while Mina moved from the bed to look over his shoulder.

"The Crown sits at the top publicly," Pax began. "That’s the easiest part. Royal authority controls the Capital’s administration, major laws, military command and Crown property. But that doesn’t mean the Royal Family personally controls everything happening inside these walls. The Great Noble Houses have been here for generations, and several possess enough wealth, land and private influence that even Royal officials deal carefully with them."

He indicated several blank spaces where names would eventually be added. "I haven’t confirmed enough about individual Houses to give you a useful ranking yet. Some appear close to the Crown. Others have their own factions. Several are tied through marriage. I’ll have something better once we’ve verified it."

Beneath those categories sat several others. The Royal Army had its own command structure and answered ultimately to the Crown, but individual commanders could possess noble connections.

The Royal Knight Orders were even more complicated. Some served the Crown directly, while others had old charters, patrons or responsibilities that gave them considerable independence.

Mage organizations ranged from academies to private towers and old magical societies, and several controlled services the Capital depended upon. Merchant powers were everywhere.

Pax had already identified multiple trading associations and several enormous merchant houses whose wealth rivaled lesser noble families.

Churches possessed land, followers and charitable networks throughout the city, while mercenary organizations controlled a large part of the independent armed labor market.

"The mercenaries are going to care about us eventually," Pax said, tapping that portion of the page. "Maybe not immediately. Right now we’re still an Evergreen organization to mostof them. But if the Adventurer Guild begins operating here the same way it does in Greyvale, we’re entering their market."

"I noticed," Sage replied. "There were recruitment notices everywhere in the Warrior District."

"There are hundreds of companies. Most are small. A few are not. Some have contracts with merchants, nobles and government offices that have existed for decades."

Sage’s eyes moved farther down the page. "And these?"

"Foreign interests. Embassies, trade delegations, representatives from foreign organizations and several groups whose exact purpose I’m still checking. The Capital receives people from outside the Kingdom constantly. I haven’t prioritized them because they aren’t immediately relevant to establishing the Guild."

Pax shifted his finger again. "Then there’s the criminal underworld. Smuggling, gambling, protection, illegal magical goods, information brokers, theft, assassination. Different districts have different groups. Some disappear whenever the guards apply enough pressure. Others have existed too long for me to believe they’re surviving without protection."

Boren frowned. "Protection from who?"

"That’s what I’m trying to find out."

Sage studied the map more carefully. At first glance it looked like a list of factions, but the lines Pax had drawn between them were what mattered.

One merchant association connected to two noble interests.

A mercenary company had a suspected connection to a Royal official. One Mage organization maintained commercial agreements with several merchant houses.

A church had relationships with both nobles and poorer districts through its charitable work. Even one criminal organization had a dotted line leading toward what Pax had marked as an unidentified noble patron.

Pax watched Sage studying it before speaking again. "Don’t look at them as separate organizations. Half the Capital is connected to the other half. A merchant consortium may be financed by a Great House. A mercenary company may officially take public contracts while quietly serving one prince’s interests . A Mage Tower can claim neutrality and still have agreements with the Crown. A criminal gang might survive because someone important receives part of its money. If you make an enemy here, you need to know who else you’re making an enemy of without realizing it."

That was the first thing Pax had said that made Sage sit back.

Evergreen politics had once seemed complicated. Noble Houses had fought for influence. Merchants had their interests. City authorities had their responsibilities, and the Guild’s rapid growth had created conflicts with all of them.

But Sage had always been able to identify the major pieces fairly quickly. The Royal Capital was different. A man could shake hands with a merchant and unknowingly be dealing with the investment arm of a noble House.

He could anger a mercenary captain and discover afterward that the man’s company protected the businesses of a Royal relative. Even neutrality would require understanding where those connections ran.

Mina looked at the sheet for another moment before giving Sage a concerned glance. "Evergreen was easier."

"Much easier," Sage admitted.

Boren folded his arms. "I would like it officially recorded that I supported staying in the expensive hotel instead of doing any of this."

"You supported the expensive hotel because it had three restaurants."

"Those motives can coexist."

Sage almost smiled, but his attention returned to the map. The complexity didn’t change why he’d come. If anything, it confirmed that sending Pax ahead had been the correct decision.

They didn’t need to understand every power in the Capital tonight.

They needed enough knowledge to avoid walking blindly into someone’s territory while establishing the Headquarters. The rest could be learned gradually.

Sage pulled the geographic map of the Capital closer and looked over the districts Pax had already marked. "Fine. Politics can wait until we actually have something worth fighting over. Right now we don’t even have a building ."

He traced one finger across the western and central portions of the city before looking up. "Who should I speak to about purchasing land?"

Pax didn’t answer.

The silence lasted long enough that Sage slowly removed his finger from the map.

Boren noticed it too. "Why did he suddenly make that face?"

Pax ignored him and looked directly at Sage. "How much land?"

Sage told him.

Pax stared.

"Guildmaster... we have a problem."