The Currents of Magic

Chapter Eight

Meyer looked around the austere room once more. He was undoubtedly in some sort of strongroom meant for storing valuable items, but the place could hardly be called a bank. There were no coins to be seen, and no chests for safe storage. Of course, the only bank he had ever seen was the Vanroc Depository, which serviced mainly the people of Vanroc as well as the occasional Outland Trader, but how different could banks be—even in a city like Urbana.

A few minutes later the attendant returned carrying a small gray box with no apparent opening. She started towards the nearest booth, and Sarn followed after her, leaving Meyer and Gibb alone at the counter. The other attendant made to approached them, but Gibb waved him off, instead turning to Meyer.

"Ever seen a bank before, Greenie?"

"So this is a bank," said Meyer.

"I should think," said Gibb. He stepped towards the booths. "Boss, mind if Greenie and I join you? He's never been in a bank."

Meyer flinched as Gibb's voice reverberated around the room, earning the Halfling several glares from the bank attendants, but then Gibb grabbed his arm and pulled him towards Sarn. As Meyer approached the booth, he saw that Sarn was seated opposite the attendant, between them the gray box resting on the plain desk. The attendant was holding a small blade, and Sarn's arm was extended over the table. Before Meyer could make sense of the situation, the attendant brought her knife to Sarn's wrist, making a small incision across the surface of his skin. The gash bubbled red, and the woman turned Sarn's wrist so the drops of blood fell down onto the box. Then she dropped her knife into a clear jar of liquid, and reached for a white bandage.

Utterly mystified, Meyer turned to Gibb, but the Halfling only indicated towards the booth. Meyer shifted his gaze back to the desk, but all he saw was Sarn (having forgone the bandage) dabbing at his cut with a worn rag. Only when Sarn tucked his rag away did Meyer notice the gray box resting on the desk. Around its center glowed a ring of orange light, and the blood drops were entirely gone from its surface. The light grew stronger, and then the attendant reached forward, removing the top half of the box as though it were simply a well-fitted lid.

Meyer was somewhat less surprised when he turned his eyes towards the bottom half of the box to find a single shiny black orb, its diameter slightly greater than that of a ten-piece coin. He stared at the glossy stone, moderately disappointed. Relative to the security of the bank, a single jewel seemed like a modest treasure. He shook his head. He had hardly been in Urbana for an hour, and already he was expecting grandeur in every facet of society. How rediculous. The black stone was probably worth at least a few gold coins, and that was more riches than he would ever have. And besides, the gray box was simply too small to store great wealth, even if filled with the most valuable stones and metals. Still, Meyer had always heard that outside the Outlands lords and patricians and traders owned unimaginable riches... It was probably just legend.

The bank attendant took a scale from behind the desk and weighed the black orb, writing down its weight on a small paper. "How much would you like to withdraw, sir?"

"Five gold pieces."

Meyer almost felt awkward. Sarn was likely exhausting most of his funds. Meyer was careful not to make eye contact with the attendant (that was easy), but then he noticed that she had lifted her vial of clear liquid and was measuring out drops into a tiny beaker. She took a second vial, this one empty and with a funnel shaped top, and placed the black sphere inside the funnel. She poured the clear liquid onto the orb. At first Meyer saw no change, but then he saw fine trickle of black drops draining into the vial below. After a minute, the flowing stopped, and the attendant took the black orb and weighed it again. She wrote the new weight down, her quill scratching loudly against sheet as she tallied off the difference, and then drew a sharp line summing up the totals. She wet her finger with her tongue and then deftly pulled the note from its corners, creating two copies of the transaction. She handed one sheet to Sarn, and pocketed the other.