RoH: A Simple Purchase of Property

Valeria A'Maris went pale when Remant entered the room. Her secretary had tried to keep him out, and was currently sitting paralyzed at his desk. The stairs hadn't been guarded, which was just as well. He had resisted the urge to kick the door open, and come in quietly instead. 

The tableau before him was revealing. Valeria was behind her desk, and the two seats in front of it were occupied by a Vanil woman in her mid-thirties in a lovely silk dress and a Vanil man in his late forties or early fifties, wearing a very respectable outfit which included a long coat and a dress sword. 

Remant dropped the four swords he'd taken from his attackers beside the man's chair, then leaned down and slapped him across the cheek. "Is the old dueling ground at the edge of the city still open?" he asked. "West, just beyond the walls?"

The man glared up at him. "Yes."

"Good. Then I'll see you there at dawn."

"You have no right--" 

Remant shrugged. "We could pursue this in a court of law if you prefer. The witnesses were very clear with the Watch about who started the fight and who tried to avoid it. And your men were very clear about who sent them."

The knight's face turned red. "What have you done with my men?" 

"Get out of my chair, and go find out."

"Valeria?" asked the woman. "What is happening? You told me..."

Valeria shook her head just as Remant straightened. "And you," he said, "were the only one who knew I'd be visiting that particular temple. So we're going to complete this sale, and then you're going to be looking for another career. When word of this gets out at court, nobody will trust you with their dealings."

"Valeria?"

Remant paused, gathered himself, and then turned to look at her. "You must be Lariza... Acklin?" 

She shook her head. "No longer. Lariza Sundarin, as of... well, quite a few years ago. May I ask who you are?"

Remant nodded, and watched as Sir Dominic Reville rose from his chair and moved hesitantly out of the room. "I go by Remant," he said. 

"Ah," she said. "Like the legendary hero."

He sniffed, amused. "I'm not so legendary," he said. "But I worked out a deal with your father and brought it to your solicitor yesterday. It's more money than Sir Reville would have paid, and doesn't require me to kill your father, regardless of what he's become."

"Oh?" she asked. She sounded... well, more interested than anything else.

He nodded. "Unfortunately, I mentioned where I would be retrieving the funds to Valeria, and she sent word to Sir Reville, who set four of his armsmen to assault me and take the letter of credit, essentially allowing him to purchase the property without drawing on his own funds."

Lariza considered that for the better part of a minute. "And what happened to his men?"

Remant dropped into the chair and glanced down at the swords on the floor. "Nothing good."

She shook her head. "I should have known, when he increased his offer. He was my father's friend, and kind to me when I was a child, but..." she looked at Valeria A'Maris. "And you. I trusted you." She sighed. "Get the contract out -- and there had better be nothing amiss. I assure you I will be reading the whole thing."