It was around half an hour later that Xaro Xhoan Daxos excused himself from the conversation. It was finally time for him to make his announcements. He moved and stood at the center of the garden, and slowly a quiet spread across the gathering as all attention shifted toward Xaro. This was the moment everyone had been anticipating for.
"A very warm welcome to all the esteemed and respected people who have graced me with their presence on such a short notice invitation," Xaro boomed. "I know that almost everyone must be wondering about the reason I decided to host a banquet so suddenly. I am also aware that rumors about what I am about to announce and even about what I am not going to announce are already ripe in the market. It almost flatters me that my actions are being discussed so intensely among a large section of citizens of Qarth."
The last line drew a small chuckle from the crowd. Meanwhile, Jon moved a little away from the group of council members and stood near Melisandre, who had been strolling through the garden since she first entered.
"And now it is time that I make everything clear and lift the curtains from all the suspense," Xaro said.
"Yes," he continued. "It is true that I have decided to venture into the alcohol business, and it is also true that I will be opening a few inns to conduct that business. The rumours and the news percolating in the market regarding this part were true."
"Within the next seven days, I will be inaugurating five inns throughout the city, and if good fortune blesses me, that number will only increase. The inns would not only provide the services to eat and drink but will also provide accommodation services."
A small wave of applause greeted Xaro's announcement. This was in line with the rumors and whispers that had already spread. But Xaro was still not finished.
"But this is not the real news," Xaro went on. "I am not the first man, nor will I be the last, to venture into a new business. Such things are common for people of our calibre."
Many people nodded at this. If this was it, they could not see why Xaro would need to host a banquet to make this announcement only.
"The news, the main question is what kind of alcohol, what kind of drinks will I be serving in those inns?" he asked rhetorically. A pin drop silence followed the question. The gathering could sense a big revelation was coming, and unease began to ripple through the crowd.
"My inns," he continued in a dramatic and suspenseful tone, "will be serving the exclusive drinks from the empire of Lord Aeos. Beer, vodka, wine, everything. You name it you will have it. And as long as you want to buy it to drink, we are not going to have a shortage of it."
"Yes, everyone heard correctly," he declared. "I repeat, my inns will serve exclusive drinks from the empire of Lord Aeos. No limits. No restriction if you only want to drink."
Now, this should have warranted loud applause and cheering but the reaction was much subdued than the previous time. Most of those clapping and cheering were clearly Xaro's subordinates and servants.
A section of the merchants and council members who dealt in alcohol or inn businesses were visibly shocked. They needed no time to gauge the drastic negative impact Xaro's move would have on their trade. Their businesses were destined for failure and they for bankruptcy.
The other section, who did not deal directly in alcohol or inns, also wore stunned expressions on their faces. Though they would not be affected immediately or directly, they could already see the long term effects. If what Xaro claimed was true, he would soon be raking in wealth, and his influence would only grow. They could see Xaro becoming more powerful than them and that was a cause for concern. A very big cause for the concern.
At that moment, Jon could feel many eyes shifting toward him. Xaro had introduced him to most of the people as his upcoming business partner, and they could easily guess what Jon's role was going to be. And now he was at the centre of the attention of the gathering.
But despite this, Jon felt something off. A little strange. A little weird. He had expected that Xaro would want to keep the source of his products a secret. That he would want Aeloros to remain a hidden figure. Now that he had revealed it, many people would surely approach Jon and they would not hesitate to offer him a better price than Xaro.
And Jon knew Xaro well enough to be certain that the man was neither naive nor foolish enough to completely trust him after a single meeting. That thought gnawed at Jon.
"My Lord," Melisandre's words snapped Jon out of his thoughts. His eyes shifted back to Xaro, who was now surrounded by a throng of people, some questioning him about a hundred different things, others congratulating him, even if it was nothing more than a façade.
No one had approached Jon yet. But they would, once he left the manor.
"There are quite a few warlocks in the manor," Melisandre remarked from his side.
"Few?" Jon asked, raising his eyebrows. "There are two warlocks attending the gathering, and Xaro already introduced them to me."
"Just now, I did a little peeking and prodding inside the inner section of the manor," Melisandre responded. "And I spotted four other warlocks, apart from the two in the garden, roaming inside."
"Four others?" Jon asked, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.
"Yes," Melisandre nodded. "There could be more, but I could not take much risk moving deeper into the manor."
"What were they doing?" Jon asked.
"I cannot say," Melisandre replied. "At first glance, they were simply walking, maybe moving from one place to another."
"But now that I think about it, it looked as if they had some kind of purpose in their strides. As if they were moving with an aim. A purpose."
Jon's mind churned as he tried to think of an explanation. But he did not have much time, for he spotted Xaro approaching him and the little group following behind him.
#
#
#
[Add the book to your collection. Send it some power stones. Leave a rating and a review.]
[Access advanced chapter on P@treon. Replace @ with a. One additional advanced chapter each week on P@treon. ]
[email protected]/imaginarywriter