Exploitable Weaknesses by Brian Keller (best interesting books to read txt) 📕

to get back here as quickly as you can manage. If either of you are able to deliver your message, return immediately. If you’re gone much longer than a month, you might miss out on all the fun. I’ll give you more specific instructions once I have the messages written.”

He left the Journeymen to discuss developments among themselves and he returned to speak with Birt. If coin was to be drawn out, it needed to come from either him or Birt; and he had places he needed to be. Birt’s distraction plan could wait another hour, besides Mister Ysel needed to draw up the charter and all that went with that. Birt was cleaning up for breakfast when Cooper found him and asked, “Spen is staying here to help Rukle. The other four Journeymen are leaving for Temidan and Kalistos, as planned. They’ll need coin and a gem each for travel. Do you have time to disperse the funds?” Birt dried his hands, “Do I have a choice?” Before Cooper could reply Birt amended, “Sorry. I’m just tired. I should keep in mind that you’re pushing yourself even harder than the rest of us. Of course I’ll get them the coin they need.” Cooper shrugged, “I slept a few hours a day ago; and then broke one of Utsef’s, Skran’s and Master Loril’s rules and slept before I cleaned my weapons last night. I’ll wipe them and oil them before I get in line for breakfast, but after that I need to pick up some things in town… then it’s back to the Waterfront for me.”

Considering the fact that the ladies didn’t have an equipped kitchen, breakfast was delicious. After filling his belly he felt a little sluggish but there was no time to let things settle. He had tasks of his own to fulfill.

The silversmith he’d commissioned must have seen him coming and recognized him, despite his change in clothes. There were four gleaming copper tubes laying on the counter. The caps were so snug he needed to work at it to twist them off. “Almost perfect”, he thought. He offered an additional silver coin above their agreed price, “As a special order fee. I may have more work for you in the future.” The silversmith looked cagily at the tubes, “Ye’ll want to be careful who sees ya walkin’ ‘round wit’ those.” Cooper paused as he slipped them into a sack and cautiously asked, “Should I have any reason for concern? Has anyone expressed interest in who placed this order?” The silversmith replied quickly, “No. No, nuthin’ like that. Jes’ be mindful.” Cooper leaned forward over the counter, “We watch over those that do good business with us. The opposite is also true. If someone took special notice, it’d be best for you if you let me know; and if I find out that you passed that information deliberately… well, there might still be a chance to set that right.” Cooper remembered all too well, hope was a powerful tool when trying to learn the truth from someone that sought to conceal it. The craftsman looked even more uncomfortable, “No, lad. Nobody. If I’da thought about it, I’da jes’ kep’ my mouth shut an’ kep’ my advice ta meself. Fergit I said anythin’.”

Cooper knew that the boardwalks of the Trade Quarter and the Waterfront would be crowded this time of the morning. After leaving the shop, he went straight east and wove through the crowd until he reached the river. No one seemed to pay any attention to him but he took a few extra turns in the Waterfront, just to be sure.

Once back in the Ruins he gathered a few sheets of parchment, a quill and an inkpot from Mister Ysel’s supplies and penned out two identical messages. He took them to Mister Ysel for proofreading. As the man read through it, his eyebrows raised, “If you’re serious about making this deal… well, he’d have to be a fool to ignore it!” Cooper smiled, “I agree. And I am serious. Besides, it’s a bargain for us and we still benefit.” Cooper turned his palms upward, “In fact, I doubt we’d get much benefit at all if he didn’t accept the deal.” Mister Ysel glanced at him from the corner of his eye, “We could if you re-negotiate terms with the Wharfsiders.” Cooper nodded, “And that’s what I’ll do if neither of these messages get delivered in time.” Mister Ysel considered what he knew, “And if they arrive on their own, never receiving a message? They do tend to travel, after all.” Cooper smiled, “Then I’ll talk to them myself and hope that our Journeymen figure it out and return in time.” Mister Ysel rolled up each message and handed them to him, “Forty days, you said? Is that enough time?” Cooper shrugged, “If everything went perfectly, we could move in half that, but we wouldn’t have everyone here. I’ll plan for forty days, but we’ll call it ‘an approximation’ and see what happens during the next two weeks.” Cooper slid each rolled up message into a tube and capped it firmly then handed them to Mister Ysel, “You have some wax, don’t you, sir?” Mister Ysel accepted the tubes with a nod and Cooper added, “When you seal them, please add a tag with the recipient’s name. I still need to give the Journeymen some specific instructions but if you can finish these up, I can leave for the Waterfront now.” Mister Ysel smiled, “Have you ever wondered about Jarell’s end goals, or his methods?” This made Cooper pause, “I have wondered; speculated even. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve simply picked up where he left off. I often wonder how many of our Masters escaped, and if they did, how will they feel about what we’re planning?” Mister Ysel had an insightful response, “I wouldn’t spend too much time worrying about that. From what I know of them, and of your plan,