Alcingeria Volume Three

Chapter Eight: The McGuires

Chapter Eight The MacGuires:

Monday June 11th 1724

Patrick MacGuire sat in his office in the Treigner's Point legation, looking out onto the harbor. Ships came and went, bearing exotic goods from the other islands and taking Rao Mansa goods back to Alcingeria.

He was a young red-haired man of high spirits, having arrived for the first time on the island just the week before. He was twenty one years old, and the heir to New Horizons Trading Company. He had been training under his father for the last several years, first picking up a ledger at fourteen and gradually working his way towards more complex jobs and greater responsibility. Their home branch was in Valgate, but they had branches on every island discovered thus far.

He had it drilled into him from a young age, before he even started working with the company, that Tanner-Marley was their greatest enemy. He hadn't pressed much into it, figuring the least he knew the better, but he knew his father engaged in less than legal means to solve problems pertaining to their rivals. He knew that, one week prior, he had hired some thugs to rob a train operated by Tanner-Marley with the intention of making their passengers feel less secure about travelling with them. He also knew that their company officials occasionally turned up dead. Some were said to have been found mauled by a wild animal in the jungle, others died in duels, gunned down where they stood.

His father had never said it directly, but he had overheard enough conversations and looked into enough of their policies to know that their company was powerful enough to pose an economic threat to the Vulrock monarchy. Rightfully so, as the discovery of Rao Mansa and the archipelago was a very destabilizing factor, especially given how they took advantage of it. His father had petitioned port city nobles to sponsor his company back when he was starting it up, and very few of them refused, seeing the immense wealth new lands would bring them. And immense wealth was indeed brought. As a result, regulations began falling into place to restrict the cargo load on merchant ships, how many ships annually they were allowed, how much annually they were allowed to move, among other things.

Patrick's father had roared with rage when the restrictions first began coming, grumbling about how the queen only wanted them powerful enough to line her pockets with tariff money but not powerful enough to pose any form of threat to her power. His father did not believe in the rule of kings or queens, instead he wanted to have some form of guild running the country.

Despite the restrictions, their company swiftly began to become one of the largest and richest as other startups scrambled to get a piece of the profits. Many of them petered out, but Tanner-Marley stood defiant, nearly facing bankruptcy once or twice but pulling themselves back every time.

Queen Estaire had sponsored voyages of her own, so there was at least one town on each island so far discovered that was controlled by Vulrock. The other provinces had launched voyages southwest and had minor territorial claims, but they didn't hold a candle to those of Vulrock.

A knock came at the door.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened and in walked Elzabit Gray, sharp journalist and the head of the Rao Mansa Times weekly newspaper. She was very pretty, average height for a woman and thin. She was a little younger than Patrick, maybe by a year or two, and had blonde hair and green eyes. In her nimble looking hands she held a copy of the latest paper, not due for the presses until tomorrow.

"Pardon me, Mr. MacGuire. Your father wasn't in his office."

"Think nothing of it, miss." He said kindly. "I'm sorry, you have me at a disadvantage. I don't know who you are."