I sat unmoving for a long while after Vivane and Devlin left.

The Power was only the second I'd met since awakening my Wolf bloodline, and she had been no more aware of my heritage than Loken had been.

Only the second?

I snorted at the idea. I was getting too used to rubbing shoulders with Powers. Still, my confidence in the secret blood trait was now absolute. It had proven effective against both Powers and the Watcher, which I suspected was a spell of Vivane’s own crafting. I could trust it to conceal me.

Much more concerning though, was Loken's tracking spell. Vivane had implied removing it would not be easy. I did not have one hundred thousand gold to spare. Even assuming I could amass such a ridiculous sum, I had no wish to spend that much on disentangling myself from the Power.

Raising my head, I studied the guards. They've not moved from their posts. “What now?” I asked.

The closest guard turned his head a fraction in my direction. “You wait. Your liaison will be here soon.”

I nodded as if I understood what he meant. This time though, I was not kept waiting long. Less than a minute later, Devlin walked back in.

Unclipping his sword belt, the Power’s guard rested the longsword against the table and seated himself across from me. “It's time to get down to business,” Devlin said.

I eyed the blue-scaled player. “Business?”

He nodded. “Why have you come to the bank?”

“Uhm.” I rubbed at my chin. “You’re my liaison?” I asked slightly disbelievingly.

“I am,” Devlin replied simply.

“Then you are not just Vivane’s protector?”

Devlin’s gills trilled outwards in what I thought was an expression of amusement. “The Lady’s protector? She needs no such.” He placed delicately scaled fingers on the table. “I am the branch manager, and the Lady requested me to see to your needs personally.”

I stared at him for a moment. “Why?”

Devlin's brows crinkled. “Why what?”

“Why would the Lady ask you to deal personally with my needs? What is her interest?”

Devlin leaned back in his chair. “Ah, that is easy enough to answer. For one, while you may have answered her questions, Vivane is not certain you've been completely honest with her. And two, it is as much for the protection of the bank’s other customers as your own that you don't use the common facilities.”

“I see.” My eyes dropped meaningfully to the sword leaning against the table. “Are all Albion bank managers as well armed?”

Devlin’s gills quivered again. “I'm not just the branch manager. I'm in charge of security too.”

My gaze slid to the silently watching guards. “So it is you that I have to thank for my rough treatment earlier,” I groused.

“It is standard procedure, I assure you,” he said evenly. “You were treated more gently than you would have been at any other bank.”

I sighed. “Then I can expect to encounter similar detection wards every time I visit a bank?”

Devlin nodded. “Watchers can be found at every one of our branches. As you can imagine, verifying that our customers are truly what they appear to be is of utmost importance.”

That seemed to be a very pointed comment. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You are a deception player aren't you?”

I nodded reluctantly.

“Then you take my meaning.” Devlin pulled out a familiar-looking square from his coat pocket—a keystone—and then four other objects seemingly from thin air. One by one he placed them on the table.

I recognized the items. They were the very same items I’d stored in the Bank’s vaults.

Devlin pointed to the stone tablet. “Two thousand, five hundred and forty six gold.” His fingers moved next to the items. “Two full healing potions and two shortswords. That is the sum of your possessions in our safekeeping.” The bank manager’s eyes slid to the stone tablet. “I must congratulate you, Michael. In an amazingly short space of time, you’ve managed to accumulate a sizable fortune out of the reach of most new players.” He looked at me curiously. “How did you do it?”

I ignored Devlin’s question, my attention affixing on something else entirely. “You said Two thousand, five hundred and forty six gold,” I said abruptly. “That is significantly less than I deposited.”

Devlin’s eyebrows rose. “You are not aware of the annual fee?”

“I am, but—”

“Good, then that's settled.”

I scowled at him. No, it's not. The fee is only meant to be payable at the end of the year!”

If anything, Devlin's eyebrows rose higher. “A little over a year has passed since the account was first opened,” he said softly.

“Impossible!” I sputtered. “Loken only opened the account—”

I broke off as I realized I did not know for a fact when the Shadow Power had opened the bank account. I only had his word for it, and if I had learned anything about Loken, it was that he would lie when it suited his purposes.

My anger deflated, and I let the matter be. I doubted that Devlin was trying to swindle me.

The bank manager did not comment on my reaction. “Now, how can the Albion Bank help you today?”

With another sigh, I leaned across the table and we got down to business.

~~~

You have stored a stack of full mana potions (2), and a shortsword, +1 in the Albion Bank. You have withdrawn 2 x shortswords.

I made only minimal changes to my stored items.

Devlin had assured me that my money would be accessible from anywhere in Nexus, including the plague quarter, and I saw little need for withdrawing further funds.

My primary purpose in coming to the bank had been to ensure that the money I had received from Tartar, Loken, and Arinna were available, and while I'd learned more than I'd bargained for, the bank seemed a secure place to store my funds.

Our business concluded, I rose to my feet. Before turning towards the door to leave, I posed one last question to Devlin. “I have a few items to sell. Is there a merchant you can recommend?”

The only merchant I knew off was the Hamish and Spuren Trading Company, but after my recent encounter with Loken, I was wary of dealing further with the Power and his many alter egos.

“Most players sell their goods directly through the global auction,” Devlin replied. He made a face. “But while you will unquestionably receive the best rates this way, auctioning items on the global market can be tedious and time-consuming. I prefer using a factor as an intermediary.” He pulled out two cards from his pocket and slid them across the table to me. “Visit this trading company. As a VIP customer of the bank, their services are available to you at no charge.”

I looked at him in surprise. “I am a VIP customer?”

“Of course,” Devlin replied blandly. “The Lady herself has taken an interest in you. That automatically qualifies you.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “Where can I find—” I glanced at the card on top—“the Kesh Emporium?”

“Two streets over in the shadow of the South wall,” Devlin said. “Deal directly with Kesh.”

“Thank you,” I said, pocketing the cards.

You have acquired a token of Vivane.

You have acquired a Kesh Emporium access card.

Seeming to deem our business concluded as well, Devlin rose to his feet and strapped on his sword. On closer inspection, I noticed that the blade’s hilt was formed of fine blue scales of the same type that covered the bank manager.

“That's an interesting sword,” I remarked. “Where did you get it?”

Devlin smiled. “So is that ebonblade you're hiding under your coat. Tartar does not give those out lightly. How did you manage to get your hands on one?”

I returned his smile with one of my own, and just as unashamedly ignored his question.

The corners of Devlin's mouth twitched in barely concealed amusement. “There is one more thing I must tell you,” he said. “When you triggered the Watcher, a notification was automatically sent to Loken. It's standard Bank’s protocol to inform a Power when one of his agents has been apprehended.”

My brows furrowed. “One of his agents?”

Devlin shrugged. “That's what we thought you were initially. Now we know better.” He paused. “But of course, it's too late, the alert was already issued.”

“I see,” I murmured. “What reaction can I expect?”

“I don't know,” Devlin admitted. “Loken has always been impossible to predict.”

I sighed. That much I’d learned well enough on my own. Bidding a final farewell to the Albion bank manager, I turned about and left the building.