Vol stole a glance at Penelope, as she awkwardly took up her place behind him, cowed by the weight of so many stares. This too would only serve to make talk of the silver-haired Syndran proliferate more. He wasn't exactly sure what he hoped to accomplish by spreading such talk, but he could feel a fire building from it – and that was exactly the sort of thing that he needed to take down the giant beings that the Yarmdon knew as Earls.
"Ah, uhm… Thank you all for coming today," the official began to speak over the noise of the crowd. "This is a recruitment drive arranged by Darling on behalf of Master Vol. He asked us to step in to officiate the process, and to ensure that there was no room to doubt the trustworthiness of his offer. As such, we have employed the help of a member of the Bankers Guild, who will now count the coin that Vol had on hand, to confirm that he has the budget to recruit you fine folk."
"Get on with it!"
"Show us the money!"
