"But why are you meeting them now, Grandpa?" Arin asked after half an hour of tense silence, during which everyone had kept scanning the road ahead. Nothing had appeared during their journey, but the silence itself had begun to feel suspicious. They had only just entered the swamps after traveling nearly thirty kilometers from the city, and Arin was becoming increasingly aware of how isolated the road had become. With the expanded terrain and the increasing speed of everything affected by mana, even a short journey could now place them far farther from civilization than expected.
Mana had not only expanded the earth, but had also allowed almost everything living upon it to move faster and grow stronger. That was generally considered a good thing, but experts were already warning governments that another expansion of the world was coming. The next expansion was expected to be even more disruptive, especially if transportation networks were not developed quickly enough. Without reliable methods of moving people and goods between distant cities, governments could find themselves struggling to maintain control over their own territories.
"A senior executive from the Dutch branch of the bank will visit tomorrow," Bennie explained with a relaxed smile. "He is coming to transfer a large amount of money from our vault to their central storage facility in the Netherlands, and he also wants to discuss extending our current contract." The bank was paying them quite well for the privilege of using their security facilities, so Bennie saw little reason to complain. In his mind, it was simply another profitable arrangement that benefited both sides.
"Wait, why do they even have a central vault?" Bertho asked, suddenly becoming much more interested in the conversation. He had never thought deeply about how banks moved their money around, but the idea of a central storage facility sounded strange to him. If the local branches were already storing the money, moving it elsewhere seemed like an unnecessary risk. "Wouldn't it be safer to simply leave everything where it is?"
"That is simple," Bennie replied. "A central vault makes the banking system more resilient during a bank run, and it is also safer than allowing enormous amounts of money to accumulate at every individual branch." He explained that most national and European businesses preferred keeping the majority of their wealth centralized because it gave them easier access to their funds. Otherwise, every major company would have to protect huge amounts of money at dozens of different locations simply because its headquarters needed access to them.
"Once a year, the central banks collect around seventy-five percent of the money stored in their local branches," Bennie continued. "They then transport it to the appropriate national bank under extremely heavy protection." The banks worked closely with the military and navy during these operations because the government considered them valuable training exercises. At the same time, the authorities had a strong incentive to ensure that the money reached its destination safely, since losing such enormous amounts of capital could cause serious problems for the economy.
"There have been attempts to steal it, though, right?" Tom asked, his eyes practically sparkling at the thought of such a massive amount of money. He could easily imagine how desperate people might become if they knew exactly how much wealth was traveling along a single route. "I mean, I can understand why criminals would get excited about something like that." His expression suggested that he found the idea fascinating rather than frightening.
"Yes, there have been quite a few attempts," Bennie said, his expression becoming considerably less amused. "Fortunately, most of the serious incidents have occurred farther south rather than in the upper reaches of the continent." The Mediterranean was particularly troublesome, especially around the Strait of Gibraltar, where enormous quantities of trade and wealth passed through every day. The region had become dangerous enough that protecting those shipping lanes had become a regular military concern.
"That is one of the reasons they want to build a railway from Rotterdam to Kyiv," Bennie explained. "Moving valuable goods overland would reduce the amount of wealth that had to pass through dangerous maritime routes." Naval battles against pirates were becoming surprisingly common in certain regions, although the military did not necessarily view every encounter as a disaster. Their commanders considered the fighting valuable training, especially because the technological advantage of the European navies was substantial.
"The African governments hate the pirates even more than we do," Bennie added with disgust. Their merchant vessels were frequently attacked, causing enormous losses for countries that were already struggling to maintain control over their coastlines. For the military, fighting pirates was useful practice, but for merchants, it was simply another expense that made international trade more dangerous. Bennie personally hated the idea of someone becoming rich by stealing money from people who had worked for it.
"But Grandpa, why aren't there pirates around our shores?" Arin asked, genuinely confused. "There should be plenty of people here who would want to get rich quickly, shouldn't there?" He looked toward Bennie as though expecting the answer to reveal some complicated secret about European society. Instead, Bennie simply smiled at the question.
"The incentives are different here," Bennie explained. "Our navy is larger, our cities are better controlled, and corruption is far less useful than it is in some of the African states." Bribery still existed, of course, but it was no longer deeply embedded in everyday European life. That difference alone made it considerably harder for criminals to establish the networks necessary to operate a successful pirate organization.
"There is another reason," Bennie continued. "The great houses have an enormous interest in maintaining their shipbuilding monopoly, and they absolutely do not want pirates making people afraid to buy or transport goods by sea." If piracy became widespread, demand for ships could collapse because merchants would become afraid of losing their vessels and cargo. The great houses had therefore pushed heavily for governments to respond aggressively to piracy before it could become a serious threat.
"The military also sees coastal patrols as excellent training," Bennie said. "Their sailors gain experience dealing with everything from smugglers to pirates, while the government gets a safer coastline in return." The arrangement was convenient for almost everyone involved, which explained why the authorities had little sympathy for criminals attempting to establish themselves along European shores. Arin finally nodded, realizing that the lack of pirates had less to do with a lack of criminals and more to do with how badly the incentives favored them.
"That explains a lot," Arin said as the carriage finally slowed. "It looks like we are at the building, so I am going to bed." The journey had taken longer than expected, and darkness had already settled over the swamp surrounding them. Arin had absolutely no intention of walking around outside at night when they were already expecting trouble.
"That is probably for the best," Bennie agreed as he climbed down from the carriage. "You all have a long day ahead of you tomorrow." The group entered the large complex they maintained in the city, leaving the dark swamp behind them. For the moment, the road was quiet, and that was exactly how Bennie wanted it.
Far away from the lights of the city, however, nearly two hundred men were gathered around a small campfire on an isolated island in the middle of the swamp. The island was surrounded by roughly two hundred meters of water on either side, making escape difficult if anyone discovered them. The fire was not there to keep them warm, either, as the men were mainly using it to see one another in the darkness.
"Hey, Kass, why are we sitting out here freezing?" Morgan, the group's second-in-command, complained while rubbing his hands together. "This better be worth it, because I can barely feel my fingers anymore." The men around him murmured their agreement, with several of them looking toward Kass for reassurance. None of them seemed particularly pleased with their current accommodations.
"Yes, it is worth it," Kass answered confidently. "I had a scout watching that shop for three months, and we know exactly how much money they move through it." His smile widened as he announced the figure. "They make around twenty thousand silver coins every month, which means there could be roughly one hundred silver coins for every man here."
The mood around the camp changed immediately. Men who had been shivering and complaining suddenly began looking considerably more interested in their surroundings. Twenty thousand silver coins was an enormous amount of money, especially for a group of criminals who normally had to fight over much smaller opportunities. Even Morgan had to admit that the reward sounded tempting.
"That is worth it," Morgan said aloud, forcing himself to sound enthusiastic. Internally, however, he was cursing their leader for being an absolute idiot. Morgan had only learned who their target was a day ago, but he had already looked through some of the available information. What he had discovered had made him seriously question whether he wanted any part of this operation.
Morgan had fought on the front before, and he remembered Legion 23 far better than most of the men sitting around the fire. He remembered the archers attached to the legion and the terrifying accuracy they had demonstrated during combat. Those were not opponents he ever wanted to face, and now his brilliant leader had somehow decided that robbing their family was a good idea.
Unfortunately, Morgan could not simply announce that the plan was suicidal. Their leader was the strongest man in the entire group by a considerable margin, which was the primary reason everyone followed him. Strength had made him the boss, but intelligence certainly had not. Morgan had already decided that if he got the opportunity tomorrow, he would surrender before the robbery even began.
For now, however, he remained seated beside the fire with the rest of the gang. Around him, the others were already dreaming about what they would buy with their share of the money. Morgan said nothing as he stared into the flames, wondering whether he could somehow convince them to abandon the operation. After all, there was a very good chance that tomorrow would be the last day any of them spent as free men.