The Nameless Assassins

Plans

"That's the second or third time I've seen that dog," Ash remarked.

The scruffy three-legged mutt – the same one from the night market; this time I was sure of it – was slumbering peacefully outside our railcar, stretched out luxuriously along the train tracks. When we clattered down the steps, it lifted its head and stared at us alertly, ready to bound over at the first whiff of food.

What was the point of disguises if people could identify me by the distinctive dog that followed me around? I shook my head at it fiercely. "Go away! Scram!"

Having ascertained that we carried no breakfast, the mutt closed its eyes again and started to snore. Undignified, but it would do.

To Ash, I sniffed, "The dogs here are so ugly. Back home, we always kept desert salukis."

Too late, I realized what I'd let slip. Well, maybe it could be interpreted as a general sort of "we," as in "we, my fellow countrymen," versus "we, my family."

Luckily, Ash came from Tycheros, not Iruvia. "I've never seen a desert saluki. What do they look like?" he asked curiously.

"The Iruvian desert saluki is a hunting dog descended from the sighthounds bred by nomadic tribes," I recited, trying to drown him in natural history. "It has a long, narrow head, slender body, and very long legs. Its short, silky fur ranges from cream to golden-brown – the colors of the sand pre-Cataclysm – which presumably provided camouflage on hunts, although of course there's no way to test the hypothesis." I glared at the mutt's matted greyish-brownish hog-like bristles.

"That sounds nice." To my relief, Ash spoke absently, his attention already shifting to the task at hand.

The two of us were on our way to the Bank of Doskvol, which owned and sold debt collection rights, to investigate Helene's hapless patrons (and potential enemies). Faith had declined to join us, sending us off with an airy, "I wish you the best!" which I'd taken to mean that she found account books significantly less appealing than Whisper-y nonsense, especially when she wasn't getting paid.

"Gambling is heavily regulated in Doskvol, of course," Ash lectured as we strode towards Charterhall. "Obviously, the government needs to take its cut. But that presents an opportunity for us, because the Bank of Doskvol ultimately owns all gambling debts and sells them along with other types of debt as CDO's, or collateralized debt obligations. By law, the bank is required to provide detailed information to investors."

"So what are we looking for?" I asked. "We're not actually buying anyone's debt, are we?"

"No, no. Well, maybe. It depends. Maybe if we find something interesting. How much do you know about Helene? She's a very capable woman, and her casino is profitable – or can be made so. Gambling is all about risk management."

But Helene's competence didn't explain why we were investigating her debtors, and I said as much.

Ash exclaimed, "It's embarrassing for a successful guild of our profession to operate out of a railcar! We will ruin Helene, take over the Silver Stag, and install one of her enemies to act as our public face."

Not to mention generate a steady source of revenue for the crew, against the day Irimina's funds ran out. "I'm entirely okay with owning a casino where the odds are always in our favor."

"Not always in our favor," Ash corrected swiftly. "If the house always wins, no one will come."

And that was why we left supervision of business ventures to him.

The Bank of Doskvol turned out to be an imposing edifice with stone lions that guarded the steps leading up to a marble portico. In our respectable business suits, we passed right by the doorman and security guards and quickly talked our way into a private back room, where an obsequious clerk brought us the account books of all Silver Stag debtors. Over the course of the morning, we learned that Helene did not lack for victims who owed vast sums. With uncharacteristic emotion, Ash cycled between righteous rage at people who gambled when they were so obviously terrible at "risk management," elation at the thought of cheating someone out of twenty coin, and depression that Helene got it instead of him.