Zeke stared at the mansion in front of him. He was still deliberating on how to act in this situation. The atmosphere seemed to only get more oppressive with every passing second. Finally, the silence was broken as somebody called out from behind him.
"I am going to take a look," Margret announced as she motioned for a couple of other members of the guard to join her. "Are you going to stay here and keep an eye on things, David?"
The butler nodded in reply. His tone was serious as he cautioned her, "Be careful. We don't yet know what we are dealing with."
Margret nodded in an equally somber manner as she and her entourage made their way down from the docks. Zeke watched with bated breath as the group of Grand Mages stormed the mansion. Even after they had vanished from sight, he did not hear any commotion. It was very likely that they had not met any opposition yet.
After several minutes, Margret emerged from the mansion. Her face was grave, but her casual stance made it clear that she didn't believe herself to be in any danger.
"You need to see this," she called up at them before vanishing into the building again.
Ezekiel and David exchanged a look. The way Margret was acting made it clear that there was no imminent threat. Still, David stayed back on the ship in order to protect the non-combatants and Zeke's family.
Zeke led another group down from the ship. The moment he entered through the finely crafted wooden gate of the building, he immediately realized what was wrong. The building was not only bereft of people, but even the furniture was missing. It looked like a band of looters had picked the place clean. There was literally nothing left.
Room after room, the same scene played out. No matter how hard he looked, Zeke could find neither hide nor hair of any of the staff members. Nobody was left to give him an explanation. But how was this possible? How could 100 people just disappear alongside all the valuables that had surely been stored here? Surely, the security in Tradespire could not be this lacking.
Before Zeke could spend any more time pondering the situation, a commotion drew his attention. It came from the gate of the estate. Zeke left the mansion in a hurry and saw that Margret and her group were having a heated debate with a group of newcomers.
"You will stay where you are, strangers. This is my last warning," Margret threatened. The wind around her form was already stirring. It was clear that she was not playing around.
The man she was talking to didn't seem overly worried by her threats, though. He responded in an almost bored-sounding tone, "I urge you to think carefully before committing to violence, Miss. You might offend somebody you can not afford to."
The first thing Zeke did when he arrived at the scene was to scan the man's core. He could immediately tell that the man in front of him was a Grand Mage as well. His core seemed to be a little bit further developed than Margrets, but not enough to guarantee a victory in a fight. Clearly, he didn't draw his confidence from his combat prowess alone.
The man's face changed slightly when he looked in Zeke's direction. This was not prompted by the red-haired boy, but by the figure that stood behind him. David was protectively hovering half a step behind Zeke and was eyeing the stranger with hostility. The aura that leaked out from him was leagues ahead of anybody else present.
"How about we both take a step back, yes?" the man finally said. Margret didn't respond but waited for Zeke's directions. The man picked up on their power dynamic and addressed his next question to Zeke. "Who do I have the pleasure of dealing with, young lord?"
Zeke studied the man's face intently before answering. His counterpart was clearly a seasoned businessman, the sly look on the man's face made him wary. He had to be careful about how he approached this. He could ill afford to falter on this first step in the city. Zeke quickly recalled all the knowledge about the customs and traditions of the merchant union. He had put his Mind's library to use over the past weeks and could be said to be well-read on cultural matters.
"As far as I am aware…" Zeke said in a languid tone. "It is customary to introduce oneself first when asking for another's name. Especially when one comes as an uninvited guest. I might be a little rusty in etiquette, but surely this basic principle has not changed?"
The man's eyes narrowed slightly upon being lectured by Zeke. Still, his face remained relaxed as he studied the boy in front of him in turn. After a moment's pause, the man broke out in a wide smile.
The man said with a cheerful tone, "Indeed, this young man is correct. I apologize for my poor manners. My name is Gilderoy Goldfinger, and I represent the Goldfinger Bank. Can you please tell me your name so I know who I am dealing with?"
Zeke nodded at the man's introduction before giving his own. "I am Ezekiel von Hohenheim, acting head of the von Hohenheim family and the owner of this estate."
"So it was indeed the young lord, Ezekiel," the man said as if it was only natural. Zeke wasn't sure if the man was merely acting or if he had actually known about his existence beforehand. Before he could react in any way, the man took the initiative once again.
"My condolences on the loss of your patriarch," Gilderoy said in an ambiguous tone. "Those dungeons are dreadful, from what I hear. Truly a barbarous place, the empire."
Zeke was forced to bite down on his tongue. He had to fight against the urge to lash out at the man. Gilderoy was clearly trying to get a rise out of him. The thing that ultimately kept Zeke from acting on his instincts was his stubbornness. A voice in his head was telling him that this was exactly what the man wanted him to do.
"Appreciated," Zeke finally manage to force out. "I was not aware that news had already reached Tradespire."
"How foolish," the man scoffed. He was clearly disappointed that his attempt had failed. "Information is the only thing more valuable than gold. How could we be ignorant of an event of such magnitude?"
"Indeed," Zeke replied in a dry tone. "Now, if you would be so kind as to tell me what you are doing on my property, Mr. Goldfinger?"
"Your property?" Gilderoy replied in mock surprise. "You are not in the loop on current events, it seems."
"It appears I am not," Zeke said in a sharp tone. "I arrived only minutes ago. How about you get to the point, instead of making vague statements, Mr. Goldfinger."
"Very well," the man said with a dramatic sigh. "It appears that your previous caretaker, Mr. Steffano, didn't inform you of his actions. He saw fit to liquidate all assets on the property as well as sell the estate."
This time, Zeke could not hide his shock. His eyes widened at the news and his mouth opened a fraction as he sucked in a quick breath. Even David, who had remained a step behind him couldn't restrain himself from cursing out. Meanwhile, Gilderoy Goldfinger had a gloating smile on his face. It was clear that he very much enjoyed the situation.
Upon seeing the man's expression, Zeke's rapidly spinning mind quickly cooled. This was no time to give into panic. He had to play for time until he could come up with a strategy.
"You have that in writing, I assume?" Zeke asked.
Gilderoy's smile didn't diminish in the slightest at the request. He merely snapped his fingers, whereupon one of his followers passed him a case. He snapped open the top of the container and began rifling through a stack of papers. His hand emerged a mere moment later with a document in hand.
"This is a copy of the document," he stated with his smug grin still in place as he passed Zeke the contract. "You may keep it."
Zeke grabbed the piece of paper and turned away from the man, as he pretended to study it. In truth, he had long since read a copy of the contract in his mind's library. It had only taken him a couple of seconds to read it. Now, he was referencing every book on legal matters he had in his collection to find a way out of this dilemma.
After about a minute had passed, Gilderoy's teasing voice could be heard coming from behind his back. "If the young lord needs somebody to explain the complicated legal terms, I would be amenable to help… for a price."
Zeke didn't react to the teasing at all. To the onlookers, he appeared to be struggling with the document. Even Margret and David were exchanging worried glances now. Finally, Zeke moved. He slowly turned back around, and Gilderoy couldn't help but flinch a little when their eyes met. There was a wide smile on the boy's face. Despite that, his expression looked menacing instead of joyous.
"Surely you are aware that a caretaker has no right to sell an estate, Mr. Goldfinger?" Zeke asked. "After all, according to article four of the property code: '…A contract can only be binding with the signature of the current owner. No substitute may take his place as the ownership of land is tied to the right of citizenship in Tradespire…', if I remember correctly."
Gilderoy's eyes narrowed, but he didn't respond right away. It was Zeke who continued with his declaration instead.
"That means…," he said In a deliberately slow manner, "…that this contract is not even worth the paper it is printed on."
As he spoke, he balled up the piece of paper in his hand. After only a small sphere remained, he casually threw it at Gilderoy's face. The projectile never landed as one of the man's subordinates deflected it. This acted like a signal to all his guards as every last one immediately drew their weapons. Still, they didn't dare attack just yet.
"Some might say that was an attack, Mr. Hohenheim," Gilderoy hissed.
"Enough with the posturing, Mr. Goldfinger," Zeke sneered. "And if there are no more subjects of import to discuss, I would appreciate it if you left. I am a busy man, you see."
"Is that so?" Gilderoy replied. He had gotten his expression back under control and Zeke didn't like the look of the cocky grin that had returned to the man's face. "Then let me get to the point. Your previous caretaker also took a substantial loan with our company."
"So?" Zeke asked with real confusion in his voice. "Do you need help locating the man? I don't see how else that would be of any concern to me."
"You are quite mistaken, young lord," Gilderoy explained in a patronizing tone. "You see, he might not have been legally authorized to sell your property, but he was still able to…"
"…declare the estate as collateral for his debt," Zeke finished for him with a growing sense of dread.
"Your knowledge of our legal code truly is impressive," Gilderoy praised as he handed over another document without waiting to be asked.
Zeke wordlessly took the contract. He was already aware of what it said. Instead of putting on another show, he merely closed his eyes. He needed to think. The contract was ironclad. They had found a way around the law and there was nothing he could do about that. With a deep sigh, he made the only choice he could.
"Fine," he finally said.
"Yes?" Gilderoy asked in a bewildered tone. "You haven't even looked at the contract yet."
"I said it's fine," Zeke repeated himself.
"Excellent," Gilderoy beamed triumphantly. "The young lord is truly a visionary. I was certain that we would come to an understanding regarding this matter. But I am no monster, I will allow you until the end of the week to leave the property. Somebody will come over tomorrow with all the paper-"
"No," Zeke interrupted.
"No?" Gilderoy asked in a hostile tone. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean," Zeke explained while unfurling the contract in his hand, "that I will repay the money owed to your company before the end of the deadline. According to this document, I still have almost five weeks until the payment is due."
"You must be joking!" Gilderoy exclaimed. "There is no way you could come up with 100,000 gold in a mere five weeks. You have what? A little over 20,000? Don't be ridiculous!"
"You seem to be awfully well informed about my financial situation, Mr. Goldfinger," Zeke interrupted with a sharp tone. "Did you learn that from your mysterious sources as well?"
Gilderoy remained silent. He knew that he had accidentally revealed something he shouldn't have.
David's aura flared. "Slimy bastard," he yelled heatedly. This was not a negotiation tactic; the butler was about to attack for real. No matter how much Zeke would like to see Gilderoy ripped to pieces, he would not be able to handle the backlash that would result from such an act.
"Stop, David!" he commanded. For a moment, it appeared as if the man was going to ignore his words. After a tense moment, the man slowly withdrew his aura.
"Apologies, young lord," he said.
"As long as you know," Zeke said in a stern tone before addressing their guests once again. "I think it is high time you all left."
Gilderoy's once relaxed face had gone as white as a sheet. He must have realized how close he had just come to death. He merely nodded and turned on the spot. However, before he even reached the gate, Zeke called after him.
"One more thing before you leave," Zeke said coolly. "If you happen to meet Mr. Steffano somewhere, could you give him a message from me?"
"What would make you think that I would have any contact with him?" the businessman asked impatiently. He clearly didn't want to stay here any longer.
"Let's call it a hunch," Zeke replied in a flat tone. "Please tell him that Ezekiel von Hohenheim is coming for him. Tell him to watch his back in every dark alley, lest he ended up experiencing firsthand our barbarous empire practices."
Gilderoy just stared at him for a long moment before storming off without giving Zeke a reply.