While Adam was changing his clothes inside the Magic Tower, snow started to fall outside.
Even though it troubled Adam a lot, he went outside.
He changed to an arctic-blue-coloured robe. The same that he got a few days ago delivered to his room.
He didn't wear it while fighting, as it was too fine of a garment for him to tear apart, despite his earlier complaints about Max's clothes.
Not only was it beautifully blue, with a unique shade that was nearly the same as a piece of clear ice, but it was also made to be functional. The robe was thick and warm enough not to wear anything else while walking down the street in the winter, which came with its weight, but who cares if such a cool thing weighs a bit? Outside and inside of it, a substantial amount of pockets were sewn in, to serve as reliable storage for different things. The robe also had a big hood, that could cover the whole face of the wearer if fully stretched. The underlining was also made from smooth material to make it as comfortable as it could, apart from parts near holes, such as forearms and neck area, where instead of a smooth material there was fluffy fur.
Did I mention the pockets? There were many types of them, some were long and deep, and some little and tight, but very secure. There was also one that could be extracted from the garment, by unhooking a button.
Now, equipped with an awesome robe, Adam headed towards the royal bank, for his first loan, maybe also a last one, but who knows?
The snow fell on the ground all around, slowly making piles build-up while the sun was slowly creeping towards the end of the horizon, somehow unobstructed by the clouds, marking the end of the day.
The white powder reflected those rays, making beautiful lights flicker across the paved roads of the capital.
Royal Bank was located in a corner of the central square, the building was made entirely from stone. Its walls were clear, and uninteresting as the only things that stood out of them were windows. The roof had a sharp angle, pointing towards the sky but was featureless. In conclusion, the Bank's headquarters looked slightly sad, and depressing.
Adam entered the reception, a big room at which end stood a counter. A few tables and chairs were laid for guests waiting for their turn to sit on.
Right now, the reception was mostly empty, with only a receptionist and three guests inside. Including Adam.
The mage sat on a chair and waited for his turn.
While waiting, Adam heard what were those two other people here for. The first one was a woman in expensive clothing, she actually didn't have any business here, she just hid from the snowstorm and sat in her chair near the window, observing and waiting.
The man was more occupied, he was here to get a loan, just like Adam. He wanted to create a merchant company, and he has done well so far. The man already had people to act as guards and other positions in the caravan occupied, he also had merchandise to sell. The only thing left was to buy, or loan wagons and horses, and his caravan would be ready to go.
Apparently, he had to set things in unnatural order, because he couldn't get a loan from the bank without proof of competence.
Eventually, after showing the official all he already accomplished, he got what he came for.
The man ended his business in the bank and left the building not bothering about the snow. It has to be said that he was given a huge loan, amounting to a little over 300 gold coins.
After becoming the only customer, Adam went to the counter and greeted the man behind it.
"'Hello, I am Adam Axigna and I would like to take a loan, I also have a recommendation letter for it." He introduced himself, giving only his name as his occupation was evident by his attire. He also told the attendant about the letter to speed up the work they had to go through.
"Good evening young master Adam, do you have a specific amount that you would like to loan?" Asked Attendant.
"No, as a matter of fact, I do not know how much the thing I would like to buy would cost. Could you help me with that?" At that moment, he felt like a fool, who doesn't know how much they want to borrow?
"Don't worry, I am qualified to help you. What would you like to buy?" Questioned the assistant.
"I wanted to place a bounty in the adventurers guild, three of them actually. All would be about acquiring nearly intact corpses. The first two corpses would be an intermediate beast and an elementary beast of the same race, preferably related to each other. The Intermediate beast would have to be with a magic core. And another Intermediate beast with an aura core, preferably of the same race, but not necessarily." Listed Adam. the reason that he didn't insist on an aura-cored beast of the same species was that beasts in certain species had predispositions towards either aura or magic, rarely did some get a core outside of their inclinations. Searching for one of such rare creatures would be costly, and would take a lot of time.
"So, two wild beast's corpses and one of an ordinary beast. The basic Normally, the standard price asked of a bounty for a Wild beast's carcass is 10 gold coins, while ordinary beasts go for 2. Your restriction towards race would raise the amount by about 50%, and asking for nearly intact ones would also raise the price by another 25% of the basic amount. When asking for a specific type of core, aura one raises another 25% while magic cores by 50%." Explained the attendant.
"In conclusion, the ordinary beast's corpse would cost about 3,5 gold coins, the magic-cored wild beast for roughly 22,5 gold coins and the aura-cored one would cost approximately 20 gold coins." While concluding his calculations, he wrote them down on a paper and showed it to Adam. "The whole price would sit at 46 gold coins, but I recommend loaning a bit more in case of unexpected occurrences. We can give you a good offer, so you shouldn't have a problem with paying us back."
"Why are those so expensive? I tried to sell some ordinary beast's corpses, and I couldn't get a price higher than 70 silver, and that's for a big one." Asked Adam in confusion.
"Well, it's because you place a bounty, not buy one from a street, and the fact that the Adventurers guild takes a cut from every transaction made through them also adds to that. It's like ordering a shirt from a tailor in comparison to buying a shirt from a friend who didn't use it." Explained the official.
"Okay, at what per cent are you able to lend me the money?"
"It depends on how much you want to loan and for how long. How about 45 gold coins?"
"Let's assume I want 45 gold coins for six months, what per cent do I return?"
The man behind the counter stopped talking for a bit, he reached for a pen and a piece of paper, alongside a booklet from a shelf and started to calculate something, presumably the offer hef for Adam.
"7,5 per cent is the best I can do, including your benefits as a mage and a recommendation letter from young master Max. Your final return amount would be 48 gold, 37 silver and 50 copper." Stated The Attendant.
"Just to be sure, if I return the money early, do I owe you less, or still have to give the whole 48 gold, 37 silver and 50 copper?" Asked Adam in curiosity.
"You have to return the whole amount regardless."
"Hmm, okay..., we have a deal. Do I have to sign something?" Said Adam.
"Yes, please wait a second, I will go for the documents and the money."
The attendant left for the depository.
Adam already had an amount that he could borrow in mind while going to the bank, but he still needed the staff to help him in deciding the final amount loaned as it was his first time. And it's always better to ask a professional for help.
At first, he wanted to borrow 60 gold coins, as that was his salary for six months of serving in the army as a mage. He figured that anything above this threshold wouldn't be a safe amount to borrow, as he didn't know what his earnings would look like if he left the army after paying Engar Steelarm back.
So, when he heard the amount attendant proposed to him, he was quite satisfied with it already, it would mean he had about 12 gold coins spare, and practically nothing to do with them. After all, after arriving in the capital, the only thing he bought was food for the cat, everything else was free. Even his stay in the tower and the mage's robe.
Soon, the man returned, holding a few pieces of paper and a jingling pouch.
Adam signed the document, took his copy and left the bank 45 gold heavier.
The day was soon about to end, so he headed towards his sleeping quarters, The Magic Tower.