The Cost Of Independence

[*Midnight]

Allesha looks up from the now mostly tidied wreckage.

"Well I've got some stew for your dinner, then just need you to run the broom around and we're done for the day."

[*Rainbow Prism]

"Great. Looking at the scraps on the plates got my appetite up and running."

Not much time passed as the drow took her place, the stew steadily decreasing in quantity with each spoonful. Soon, woman changed aprons and moved to help the hostess.

"I still don't get what's the big deal. Lot of people do some charity. Did you steal some money from Takers or something?"

[*Midnight]

The stew is not as bad as it looks, that is not to say it is good.

"It is a bit more complicated than that. My Father was a Taker, quite a rich one. When he died he left everything to me. I sold the house, I put all the money into the pantry, I didn't want to take, I wanted to give. They all resented him but they respected him because of his success. For me to do that is the ultimate betrayal of their greed filled ideology, how dare I help people for free."

[*Rainbow Prism]

There was some pause in sweeping, ragged worker contemplating this information.

Now the picture was clearer.

The Fated know of the riches their fellow factioneer had, so they are raiding the pantry in hopes of getting piece of the cake.

"Gee, sounds harsh. Simply out of interest, how much did he have? One would think it was Lady's treasury by effort they put into it."

[*Midnight]

She smiles ruefully.

"After we sold the estate we raised just over five and a half million jink. That was twenty years ago, it is mostly gone now. So guess the joke is on them."

[*Rainbow Prism]

There was a whistle at the named amount. Quite a fortune. That heap of money blinds people.

Such foolish people. Giving such value to coins and metals and forgetting their purpose.

"This much in twenty years? Gonna be hard making this work without money."

[*Midnight]

Her rueful smile grows.

"We get a lot of donations, not everyone thinks like The Fated. The Free League, help a lot and even some of The Anarchists or The Triad help us when it suits their needs for propaganda, but it has become a struggle in the last few years."

[*Rainbow Prism]

Broom starts to sweep again.

"Oh, really? Heartless got so out of hands?"

There was a sigh.

"Too bad. I kinda like it here. Maybe if I did not miss the raid though, I would not be saying that."

Sillxhistraja laughed, to partially move the pressure off the topic.

[*Midnight]

"It has been a bit bad recently, they are getting more and more ambitious lately. Since the Duke became The Factol. I think he has made them more ruthless.

She waits for the sweeping to be done.

"Should I expect you the same time tomorrow?"

[*Rainbow Prism]

"You can count on that, boss."

Broom fluidly moved to rest against the wall.

"Expect me with some nice earrings!"

Later, at markets, Sill maneuvered among stalls and loudmouth traders, trying to find Lysander's shop.