Crystallis Verdantglass's Arc

Chapter 11 of 18

Crystallis stood in the empty hall, staring at the cracked wall. The vendor's stall wasn't the problem anymore. Neither was the woman from Thornwick or her promised buyers. The wall would cost more to fix than he'd paid for the entire lease. He walked outside to think. A stone courtyard sat behind the hall, black stones covered in thick moss. Fog drifted between the archways. He was halfway across when he saw them—a group of well-dressed buyers standing near the entrance, examining the stonework. The woman from Thornwick stood at the center, gesturing toward the hall. She spotted him and walked over. "Your partner," she said quietly. "The one who disappeared with the deposit money three years ago." She paused. "It wasn't him. The venue administrator in Thornwick took the money and paid your partner to leave town. Same man who leased you this hall." Crystallis stared at her. "He's been running the same scheme for years. Sells leases, pockets deposits, blames someone else when it falls apart." She nodded toward her buyers. "I brought fifteen. They're ready to see your marketplace. But you need to know what you're working with." Crystallis looked back at the hall, then at the buyers waiting in the courtyard. He could walk away now, or he could open the doors and prove the marketplace could work—even with a failing wall and a crooked landlord. He pulled out his journal and started writing down names.