Chapter 557 - Money Mayhem

Okay, so in the past month, I had a ton of patrons coming and going and BIG THANKS to everyone who stuck around. Really appreciate it. You're lovely and awesome and the reason I do this. I'm also having a hard time to single out every new Potron so this is a General thanks to you awesome People.

Also, regarding the Links. There is this site called LinkTree which gathers all my links in a single place with one like. Should I keep using my separate links or linktree them? ​​

Either way, enjoy the chapter~

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It is almost the end of year 201 of the 4th Era and Skyrim was the hottest topic of the entirety of Tamriel. While the Aldmeri Dominion and the Meds Empire were pouring countless resources to control the Civil War in Skyrim, the war between Winterhold and the Dragon Cult proved to be an even hotter topic than the boring Civil War.

The politics between Skyrim and the Empire have long since reached a dead end but ever since the disastrous situation General Tullius created when he tried to control Winterhold last time caused the Hold to completely defect to the Stormcloak Camp, the situation became solely relying on the East Empire Company to keep contact with the Dare Dragon Company and sort the bad waters out. Turning Jon Dare into an enemy of the Empire is something that the Imperials wanted to avoid at all costs.

On the other hand, the enemies of Jon Dare were dreaming of the moment when he and the Empire start banging heads, the one who wished for this the most is no one other than Maven Black-Briar.

Maven was not a fan of Jon as she believes he had something to do with the murder of her eldest son, Sibbi. In actuality, Jon has killed Sibbi in Solitude 5 years ago in fear that he may cause Wulfur and Svidi any harm if he lived on. In the game, it is Sibbi who kills Wulfur and Jon would never let that happen no matter what.

For that, the resentment between Maven and Jon was an all-time high. The Dare Dragon Company hasn't taken any business in Riften just because of the influence of Maven. On the other hand, Maven had no way of bullying Jon ever since he was associated with the Firemane Clan. The Firemanes have a higher standing in Eastmarch and can completely overpower the Black-Briars in terms of manpower which may block all the northern roads on the Black-Briars. The Rift is connected to the other holds through Eastmarch and there is only one road that goes behind the Snow-Throat mountain but it is dangerous and steep.

Until today, Maven has tolerated the existence of the Dare Dragon Company long enough and used her partnership with the Snow-Shod clan to arrange a marriage between her two allies the Snow-Shods and the East Empire Company. Basically, the marriage between Asgeir Snow-Shod and Vittoria Vici.

The marriage itself was political to the essence and since Vittoria wished to stay away from the power struggle in Cyrodiil, gaining a partner such as Asgeir was very advantageous but that was until Jon Dare came up power. Long story short, he now hoards more than just Winterhold and being his partner is not just a win for the Empire but a massive advantage in the long run.

Maven was aware that she can no longer face Jon Dare in any aspect of power that she possesses. Jon is superior in Magic, Money and Connections. He even has the support of the Dragonborn and the other way around. It may be still behind closed doors but there were some rumors about Jon and Vittoria that reached Maven and completely sabotaged her plans.

Still, Maven was no pushover. She knew that Jon gained power quickly and secured all the ins, outs and backdoors of his business but for someone who is as calculative as Maven, she would always sit still and wait for the opportunity to arrive.

And one day, it did.

A treasure of great power was rumored to have appeared in Riften. No one knows the origin of the rumor itself but this thing has made many adventures, thieves and mercenaries flock over to Riften. Maven had no interest in the treasure itself but one thing is certain, this manpower can never go to waste.

Slowly and carefully, Maven started recruiting any talented individual she could her hands on and promised them support in finding that treasure as long as they associate themselves with her once all that is over. With little effort, Maven has amassed a group of killers and thieves that would completely do what she desires. On top of that, she spent a fortune to recruit a certain Dark Elven whose level is that of an Arch-Wizard. It was a complete mystery why an Arch-Wizard would stay anonymous and not associate himself with any large faction but that would remain a mystery.

Anyone would imagine that Maven Black-Briar would toss away the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood now that she has her own faction but Maven is not that kind. She knew Jon Dare is associated with the Thieves Guild and by his part immune to the Dark Brotherhood but that wouldn't mean he is as close to them as she is. Those two factions have long since worked with her and she would never let anyone get an upper hand against her in terms of connections to the underworld.

Also, the head of her assets which is the Black-Briar Meadery, Skyrim's most well-established Mead Business which she had to cultivate to an actual money machine in order to face the horrors of the DDC. With the Dare Investment Bank and the Dare Insurance coming to the scene, Maven had a similar idea yet a bit cruder and less forgiving than investment. Maven started Loan-Sharking in Riften and moved towards Eastmarch.

Finally and for the first time, a real clash happened and the Loan-Sharking started clashing with the Investment. The money-war was as dirty as it could get between the two establishments and a war of rumors began to erupt.

Unlike Investing, Loaning was more of a common practice and it would help a lot of people whose business were affected by the War allowing them to recover substantial losses on a fast pace with a little worry over the payback since their businesses have been established for some time now and only needed a push.

On the other hand, Investing meant to make a complete stranger own a part of your business with you. Not only does it mean that there will be someone who takes a cut from your business forever but it also means that there will be an extra opinion regarding everything you want to do to your business.

In other words and in a simple glance, taking a Loan is more advantageous than having an investor and that's how Maven was defaming Jon's investment business in Eastmarch. A rift of distrust has grown between the locals and the Dare Bank giving Maven a lot of breathing room and an opportunity to be the Messiah figure for the falling businesses.

But Life always has its ways to kick back and Karma is one hell of a bitch. Just like the Black-Briar Mead which was very expensive for a liquor, the loans Maven gave had scary interests. On the other hand, those who associated themselves with the Dare Bank not only received advantages but we're exempted from taxes whenever they do business with Winterhold. Actually, being a partner with the Dare Bank meant having every advantage the DDC has in Winterhold.

This was insanely good or maybe too good to be true but this wasn't the end of it. The Investment Agents of the Dare Bank were freelancers who would profit from the increase of the income as well making them completely loyal to both the Bank and the Businesses they are assigned to. The Agents showed a level of tact and skill worthy of high caliber merchants giving themselves and the business owners a great opportunity to expand as small capitalists in their regions.

Maven had to counter that by forcing her associates to just do better. She tried to copy the style of the Dare Bank and send agents of her own to help the businesses make more profit but their lack of the Spirit of Capitalism made the pale in comparison to the true essence of money-making.

And that was just the beginning of it. Jon's bank has had those advantages since day one but since he took notice of Maven, he started to fight back with advantage.

An "Interest-Free Loan" was simply a money giveaway to the ears of some once Jon announced it. This whole basis of Loaning was only available for Investment Partners and was meant to help them for long periods. Also, the idea of profit-sharing and loss-bearing made the whole investment contract feel more trustworthy. Also, the publicization of the price/profit ratio started to generalize and set many prices in the regions of Winterhold and Eastmarch based on an obvious system of price tags designated by the Agent (DDC) to connect between the Merchant and the Customer. This meant that the Dare Bank is basically the ringleader of everything that can be traded Eastern Skyrim.

While Jon was having the [Dare Trading] control most of the trade routes, this didn't mean that Maven was incapable of competing with him in terms of handling the goods. It was difficult to move independently with those two massive scale companies facing one another but Jarl Ulfric didn't stop them at all. The competition has actually made Eastmarch benefit greatly now that the money of both Winterhold and Riften started to flow in Windhelm. This Winter was bound to be very prosperous for Eastern Skyrim and would tilt the war to the Stormcloak's favor.

In the end, the market was simply rejoicing whenever the names of Jon and Maven were mentioned and many would start to take sides between the new Investment System and the Loaning System.

Away from the Rift and Eastmarch, Jon had aggressively waltzed into the Pale and started a large scale investment in Dawnstar despite how much Jarl Skald hates Jon. From the Pale, Jon is planning to keep the Investment Invasion going on until he completely takes both Whiterun and Hjaalmarch. This will keep the last two rich holds of Haafingar and the Reach for the last phase and Falkreath as the faraway foothold to enter Cyrodiil.

It was a real invasion one way or the other. The government may belong to other people but many lands of both strategic and commercial value belong to the Company and that who owns something lords it.

"I feel that Riften will need a little shaking to completely yield to the company. Maven's reputation is not originally good but she's making us look but displaying herself as the necessary evil." Whiterun's branch manager, Jon Battle-Born, said.

"It would be difficult since Maven has had an iron grip on Riften for ages. Her business is mostly about loansharking, mead, farming, mining and lumbering. If we want to take her down, we should take them one by one." Elishka replied.

"The best way to take Maven down is to harm her associates slowly. Lucky for us, she had one of her associate's honey farms partially burnt a week ago. It was only an intimidating attempt but we can use it to make some damage in her name." Wulfur added.

"That can be arranged. Right, Boss?" Trudvar asked.

All eyes landed on Jon who was awfully silent. He cleared his throat and fixed his position on the chair.

"Yes… it is possible. We just need to know what caused her to be so confident. She is outmatched in both capital and manpower yet she's very aggressive, that isn't like the Maven I know." Jon said.

"Our agents in Riften, should we inform them…" Elishka wanted to suggest something but Jon raised a hand.

"No need. Snooping around Maven while not knowing what is happening is dangerous. We'll keep monitoring her just from distance and be patient about it all. I don't really mind healthy competition but knowing Maven, something will happen sooner or later. The meeting is over now."

With everyone leaving, only Wulfur stayed silently as he waited for Jon to speak his busy mind.

"How are things?" Wulfur asked.

"Great. It has been two weeks since the Cult was taken down so everything is just quiet now." Jon said.

"That's a good thing. You should have taken your time solidifying your level." Wulfur said.

"Indeed… it is taking a bit longer than expected though."

"I think it is natural. You have made a big jump this time. I don't think anyone can overpower you now even with just skill."

"Who knows!" Jon shrugged his shoulders then changed the subject, "How are the stuff I give you?"

Jon's question caused Wulfur's face to darken.

"Son of a bitch!" Wulfur cussed with obvious anger at Jon, "The equipment you had were top grade. No one in the whole world had stuff as good as them yet some-fucking-how, you managed to destroy them in a fight."

"Calm down, bro. Calm down. Sheesh! Have you fixed them at least?"

"Yes, I did." Wulfur nodded, "But do not expect them to be as good as they used to be. You should consider upgrading your arsenal."

"Alright. At least the Helm is usable, right?" Jon asked.

"That's the only thing." Wulfur nodded, "The [Helm of the Dragonborn] is in perfect condition. I also salvaged this pair, the [Boots of the Apostle]."

In front of Jon, Wulfur started lining the equipment he can use. [Helm of the Dragonborn] is an Ebonsteel/Dragonbone helm fashioned into the iconic shape of the Dragonborn Helm from the game. [Boots of the Apostle] on the other hand are a pair of sturdy leather boots passed down from the founder of the Septim Dynasty, Tiber Septim, and was gifted to Jon by the Old Woman of Mournhold.

He still needed body armor and bracers.

The [Ahzidal Set] was used by Jon for almost three years now and they served him really well but they have grown tired of his abuse. He had to restore them back to what they were and gifted them to the Museum of Saarthal.

The only items he kept from the [Ahzidal Set] is [Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy]. Other than that, he was looking for more new items. He could use the [Ebony Mail] as body armor which fits him extremely well and wait for Wulfur to forge something genius fit for him but Jon's nature was pushing him to find a new fabled artifact to put on. There are many artifacts that fall under the description of body armor but for bracers, it would be a tight list.

Seeing Jon spacing out, Wulfur sat back on his seat and looked at Jon.

"Alright, what's on your mind?" Wulfur asked.

"… Nothing." Jon answered after a long sigh, "It is just that for a while there, I thought when the Dragons come back to the world, everything would be happening as I expected. Still, it is a goddamn mess out there."

Wulfur brooded in emptiness for a while.

"From the future you know of, how much of its past how you changed?" Wulfur asked.

Jon didn't need to think about that one.

"Let's say… I am not supposed to be this buff, you are not supposed to be walking on Nirn, and Winterhold looks pretty damn lively compared to that."

"Well, that's a depressing future." Wulfur laughed, "I think you did a pretty damn job this far then. You gotta be proud of what you did. Others don't worry about the damn future as much as you do. Quit being a wuss."

"Wuss your ass."

"Anyway, which future is making you act like that?" Wulfur asked the right question at last.

"As we heard there are two treasures that are making people lose their damn minds." Jon noted.

"Ah! Those ones in Riften and Whiterun? What about them?"

"I don't know. They seem like a big deal but I know nothing of them."

"So it was that, huh? Well, if you don't know about them, no one else would help I guess." Wulfur shrugged his shoulders and then had an idea, "Would you like to go look for that treasure in Whiterun together?"

Jon considered it for a bit then shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm pretty busy. Unless it is something important and I have a solid lead, I don't have any intention of wasting time."

"Oh, but you won't be wasting time." Wulfur stated.

"… What's on your mind?" Jon asked.

"Remember that last time we went on a… boys night out?"

"Which time?"

"THAT time!"

"That time?"

"Yeah, that That Time."

"That time we went drunk shitless in Solstheim and made both Sheogorath and Sanguine proud?"

"Indeed."

"… But I see nothing good coming from that!" Jon hesitated.

"Come on, it would be you, me and the rest of the boys. What the worst that can happen?" Wulfur asked.

"What's the worst that can happen by GETTING drunk in Whiterun? You have no idea!"

In the end, Jon agreed for a Boys Night Out. Historians recorded that this decision by Jon Dare altered the course of history maybe a few times in one night.

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