“Allow me to apologize for everything I’ve put you through.”
After Mary had captured him, Theodoran had been sent back to the city along with his entourage of hunters, and a huge fine had been levied against him for attempting to bribe a labyrinth manager. It seemed they hadn’t imposed any manual labor or community service, though.
He’d now returned to the village once again, and had specifically asked to see me, so we met up in the mayor’s house. Walking there under the effects of the potion poisoning had been tough. Even with Mary supporting me the whole way, the trek to Milt felt like it’d taken forever. Theodoran began apologizing profusely the moment I set foot in the mayor’s living room.
“Tell me one thing. Why apologize now?”
“I have been informed by one of the hunters working here that your labyrinth is the only one in these parts, and that you live there and operate it with your family. Knowing what I do now, the conditions I sought to impose on you were beyond unreasonable. That I attempted to negotiate such a position means I am a failure as a merchant.”
Well, that made sense. He wasn’t actually so much apologizing for doing something bad as admitting a failure on the job. That seemed more his style.
“I accept your apology. However, I have a feeling you’ve got another reason for coming.”
He seemed sincere, but surely he wouldn’t have come to apologize when the wound was so fresh unless he had some ulterior motive.
“Well, yes. You see, there have been a number of accidents affecting my core business as of late. I consulted a fortune teller, and mysteriously enough, she implied that my spate of poor luck might dry up if I came to see you.”
Oh yeah, that reminded me. I’d gotten a bunch of letters while I was stuck in bed. One of them was a letter from the company bigwigs, praising my performance and promising me a promotion and a raise. I’d also gotten a bunch of get-well cards from fellow employees, but I’d forgotten there was one that had Theodoran’s signature on it. In the rush of remodeling the labyrinth and fighting, there was one more angle we were pursuing which I had neglected. Apparently the sabotage efforts against Theodoran’s business interests had been more effective than I’d given them credit for.
“No doubt a wise woman, that fortune teller. This is the first I’ve heard of your business troubles, but I’m sure that, now that you’ve made amends, fate will smile down upon you.”
“What a relief to hear. I do believe you’re right.”
We were dancing around the issue, but this was more like a peace talk than anything else. Anyway, I had no reason to keep fighting him, now that he wasn’t demanding I hand over Ann. This guy was probably ruthless when you drove him into a corner, so knowing when to let go was important. And honestly, it wasn’t like I objected to every part of the contract. I wasn’t going to teach him how to make my potions, and I certainly wasn’t going to let him lay a finger on my family, but as long as he didn’t touch those things, I wasn’t going to put my life on the line to squabble with him. You don’t get continues in real life.
“Anyway, what made you come all the way out here in the first place? Why are you so desperate for magic potions?”
If Theodoran had just been looking to make a profit, he would’ve backed off when I first showed teeth. There were other, less hostile markets to play in than going toe-to-toe with a labyrinth manager.
Theodoran brooded a moment before speaking up.
“It’s my sister. She’s the only family I have, and...”
He trailed off. Well, that sure sounds familiar. I didn’t know exactly why she needed magic potions, but for my part, I’d heard enough.
“If you did this for your family, that’s good enough for me. Write up a new contract. I’ll sell you the potions you need for cheap. A steady supply.”
I was ready to burst out laughing. So we’d been fighting for the same reason all along, eh? No wonder he’d been in such a rush to patch things up.
“But why...?”
“I just can’t hate a guy who goes to the wall for his family.”
I was giving Theodoran a long-suffering shrug when something warm and soft pressed against my back and a hand descended on my head and began patting me.
“That’s a good boy. You’re such a dear.”
Seriously? It was nice and all that Deneb had brought us tea, but she was really taking the wind out of my sails. It’s hard to look like a badass when an overindulgent elf is patting you on the head.