Five hundred gold for assassination intelligence. Two hundred monthly for ongoing reports. Expensive, but necessary.
And the Merchant's advice was sound. She couldn't wait for threats to develop fully. She needed to identify and neutralize them while they were still forming.
Faster. More aggressive. Less reactive.
She could do that.
Back in her office, Elara added a new line to her budget: *Intelligence Operations - 200 gold monthly.*
Then she added another note: *Assassination source - results in 2 weeks.*
Two weeks to know who wanted her dead.
Then she'd decide what to do about it.
The chair wobbled. She adjusted automatically and kept writing, mind already three steps ahead, planning for variables she didn't even know existed yet.
Because that's what you did when you couldn't afford to be surprised.
You bought the information before surprise was possible.
.
.
TEN DAYS LATER.
