Everything was escalating at a very fast pace. Revati & me were getting more snuggly around each other.
It was like the most beautiful foreplay going on & on, without an end.
In between all of these events, there were moments of harsh realities too.
One such thunderstorm came down at Mr. Haripada Banik & the bearer was obviously me.
The Contract of Acquisition came to light, it was witnessed by a lot of people in the market. The kotwal chief, the local guard/security chief of the bazaar, the traders of the bazaar, Kalidas & his auctioneer friend was also present that day; Revati too stood beside me."
Mr. Haripada was the centre of attention,
I made it clear & straight,
"Mr. Haripada Banik I have the contract of acquisition & I will have your hotel & restaurant that you own. As, the future owner & the buyer; state your prize to me."
He wanted to curse me, scream at me. But, the poor fellow had nothing except his broken morale; eyes became blur with tears. He held on to them tightly for a long time, but ultimately failed!
Finally, in a shaken voice he spoke...
"I cannot defy the royal contract of acquisition; I know, I have to sell my business enterprise. Hence, I quote 75000 gold coins, it will be my sell prize for this whole setup."
25k more and it would have been 1 lakh gold coins. Such an astronomical figure it could have been!
While, I was thinking about these useless stuffs, Kalidas & his friend helped me out a lot during this period.
In the mean time, the amethyst coin dealer from inland came to meet his new customer.
The kotwal chief, Kalidas, auctioneer, amethyst dealer, security chief of the bazaar & even some business men stood beside me.
They helped me to negotiate the prize of acquisition to 65000 gold coins. As, they knew the current value of property & business.
The overview of the whole scenario might look like, they helped me out but actually it was the other way around.
Kalidas & his associates didn't wanted to lose someone like me, with whom they might reach heights never imagined before. And the other's supported me due to same agenda or other benefits.
So the price was fixed & the moment I pay him the amount the handover of the business enterprise will be done.
It was almost noon, Revati was stunned to see me in this new shade of light. I guess, she knew me as an extravagant spender but this was something which blew her mind.
"Rahul, are you taking over this business? How will you arrange so much coins? And how did you acquire that acquisition contract???"
She spoke all of these questions in one speech; with a keen face she was waiting for my answers.
I understood her shocked state of mind, she didn't said anything while the whole thing was going on. She was a very smart person to not ask me anything infront of anyone but when everything was complete, she enquired.
Or it may have been the norms of these times for females to have a timid attitude in public. Maybe, she is not fully comfortable to be frank with me in public.
I held her hands and said,
"I'll tell you about everything that happened, when I get back to hotel room. Right now, I have some bit of unfinished business left. Can you please wait till then?"
She smiled and said she will be waiting for me in hotel room. By bidding adieu, she wen't on to the market vendors for some shopping.
---
We sat inside the office room of the auction house.
There was Kalidas, his auctioneer buddy too, with us. As, they knew my dealings and all from the beginning, so they'll be of help rather than distress, if I keep them with me.
The amethyst coin dealer was a mid aged guy in traditional attire; rugged face, some scars in bodies denoting his previous conflicts & encounters.
"So you are the one who deal's in amethyst coins?"
"Yes."
"I'll give you 1200 gold coins in return of one amethyst coin."
Is this man mad, why is he buying something with more value than that of it's original prize. Though, he should be bargaining to reduce the price of the object as he is obtaining a contraband.
"You are thinking why I'm paying you 200 coins more than that of original price, it's normal for my customers to think that way."
"Don't worry there's nothing fraudulent schemes going on here. I'll simply sell it with more price to gain profit. Now, don't ask me where & to whom. It's a trade secret."
A wink & a smile collaborated with his words well.
I was bit ashamed of losing my poker face & had to reply,
"Ok, then. I have 13 of these coins. Plus do you buy expensive jewelleries?"
The auction house owner interfered,
"Sir, if you were not in a hurry, then you could have auctioned them at a great price."
"Yes, I know that. Actually I don't have that much time."
The dealer said,
"I can give you good price, just show me the goods."
Again people's mouth opened up, when I simply took out stuffs from air. It was like some kids watching street magicians doing stuffs to amaze them. This reaction is now common for me...
The amethyst coins, the jewelleries & miscellaneous stuffs got me a huge sum. A total of 62,300 gold coins.
Though it was near the actual amount, but still it was not complete.
Before leaving, the dealer told me about a bar near the landlords place. It was located in the city's bazaar; named "Pyaasa" (the thirsty one). And Rehmat Ali the bartender could be a very useful person according to the dealers info. He would provide me with a new amethyst dealer there, he can provide information & assistance with the right amount of fee.
There were zones divided for these dealers to do business. As, it would be enable them to do business properly without interfering in any other's zones and earn keep earning good money without any hassle.
***
Outside the auction house, I was having a normal conversation with Kalidas & the auctioneer dude, a mid aged fellow with strong built came towards us...
It seemed like he was someone still ready for action at this age, as his physic spoke so. A good saber, adorned his ethnic attire. The sheath of the sword was intricately designed, it could be a t3 or t4 sword. But, that's just an assumption; unless the sword is unsheathed.
It was the kotwal chief, Batukeshwar Khah.
The man was looking here & there, he wanted to say something, he felt awkward.
To break the stalemate, Kalidas spoke up.
"Sir Batukeshwar Khah how do you do?"
The man was still bit hesitant,
"Sir, this is our police chief Batukeshwar Kha; you may have seen him in the market vicinity."
"And Batukeshwar sir, this is our recent friend & one of our very big customer too..."
Kalidas was Kalidas, he always had his ways with words.
We both nodded our heads in response.
"I came here for..."
He paused a bit ,
"Yes, you came for..."
The man pointed towards the pitch black t3 horse that was tied to a tree trunk.
"Actually, I want to buy that horse; if you're willing to."
"That's a (t3) war breed horse."
I spoke clearly to mention it's value. I was short on money, I could earn them to fulfil the contract amount in some time. But, I would leave tomorrow. So, instantaneously 2k+ gold coins were troublesome to be achieved.
Without wasting any time, Batukeshwar spoke
"I can pay upto 5000 gold coins not more than that."
I was glad that he made his own pit to drown in it. A t3 war breed horse was around 5k - 6k gold according to market rates, which I got confirmed later from Kalidas. I could have squeezed some more coins if I tried. But, I didn't due to shortage of time.
I made the deal with Batukeshwar Khah & he was rather happy about not being negotiated by me. Basically to catch criminals or to be the long arm of law he needed a swift ride. Hence, he got that.
Before returning to the resort room, I paid the money to Mr. Haripada and took hold of his enterprise.
The Sun was setting down on the tired canvas of sky, I said goodbye to everyone & returned to the hotel room.