Taxation

[Railen Morana]

She sat in the office, staring at Kiran.
"One thousand nine hundred..."

She stared. She had given Penny enough gold from the first months profits to cover taxes. Kiran knew this. Apparently, the gold had not been given to the baron, for the Bailiff was most insistant that his figures showed this large ammount was due. It was more than the figures he had showed her totaled in three weeks time after paying staff. It was in a word, preposterous. The fire at Spud Goodsoups place, and the absence of Penny Freckletip And Maibaum from this weeks repair hour left an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had too much at stake to go up against Kiran. It had not gone unnoticed to her that he already had collected a group of goons to do dirty work for him.

"How can I owe so much, when the Goblin is owned by Cove itself, and I have put over half of my entire savings into it...without taking a cent for pay?!?" She had querried. Frustrated she growled " I should just quit." "Then I would take the Goblin over" he had said. "Its what you've wanted all along" she muttered at him as she left the office, slamming the door behind her. Behind her, he smiled.

"Ill nae let tha' bloody murderous bastard make a mockery of Eds' dream for tae Goblin." she muttered to herself stubbornly as she finished stocking, bottles clinking together. No matter what she would find a way to make it work, even if it drained away her life savings. She wondered at the Baron's choice in hiring the devil himself to do his tax collection. Kiran was a remarkable salesman, and had a way with words that could confuse and dazzle even the most educated, if they were not wary. Hidden behind a veil of smoke, mirrors and flattery, Kiran had the talent to get away with damn near anything his deviously treacherous mind thought up for his own profit.

She returned home to find Raiden, asleep on the couch, Ryan asleep in his arms. She smiled, realizing just how much she had grown to love this man, and this town she now called home.