Legend of Ransera

1st of Ash, 124th Year of the Age of Steel, Vranta City Hall

The city hall of Vranta is by no means as extravagant as the Ruxgor Casino or the Royale Hotel. The architecture style is more similar to those buildings at the Conservatorium, regal elegant and without the many magitek infrastructure adoring the external design of the building. The interior design however where a blend of magitek and stone craftsmanship. Still keeping that same feeling as someone would get when they enter the classrooms of the Conservatorium or walk through its halls. The meeting room were decorated lavishly showcasing the wealth of the city, but they didn’t go too overboard with it. A long table made from teak wood acted as the centerpiece of the room, with carvings made by some of the best artisans in the Imperium. All of the wooden part of the furniture in the room were made from teak wood. Chosen because of its durability and beauty. A central fireplace was lit, providing enough warmth for the room. Cypress wood was usually used as the wood fuel for the fireplace, creating a nice aromatic smell. Although all of the public buildings and most of the businesses and residential buildings came equipped with a magic temperature control, some still prefer to use natural temperature control equipment.

“So, shall we start?” Benedikt said, not in a manner of asking but commanding. He leaned back on the chair. He looked at Vranta’s treasurer who were seated opposite of him. Tilted his head to the head of the table, signaling the treasurer to start. Benedikt already had that kind of reputation.

“Y..Yes my Lord.” The treasurer, Patrick replied and stood. “My Lord, my Lady.” He greeted the Ruxgor siblings. “This season’s tax collection will be overseen by Lord Benedikt and Lady Jacqueline of House Ruxgor,” he informed the rest of the officials present. He then motioned the employee standing nearby to unrolled the map of the city on the table. “For this season’s tax collection, as per the order of the Count,” he raised the opened letter bearing the seal of the Count, “The collection would be separated into the residential district and the commercial district. The Chief tax collector would be leading the collection in the residential area and will be overseen by Lady Jacqueline. The auditors of House Ruxgor would be leading the collection in the commercial area and will be overseen by Lord Benedikt. Collection in the triangle would later be led by myself and the auditors of House Ruxgor and will be overseen by both Lord Benedikt and Lady Jacqueline.” He continued, referring to the three establishments (the Ruxgor casino, the royale hotel and the grand theatre) that made up the centerpiece of the city.” He paused and took a breath, “Collection in the towns and villages had already begun. Each will be led by their appointed officials. Officials from the tax office and House Ruxgor had already been dispatched to facilitate in the collection.”

Benedikt already got a general idea of the system since he had accompanied both Fabian and Viktoria on previous tax collections. While he didn’t officially accompany them, he tagged along under various pre-tense. Although, he hadn’t studied in great details the logistics, planning the manpower involved in it.

The treasurer took out a marker and began marking the residential areas of the city. “Lady Jacqueline,” he began, “The residential districts in Vranta are divided into five. First, we have section A. Section A starts from the Gilded Heights to Cennist Acre” he drew a red line on the city map, encircling the areas and writing the letter A on it. “Section B would be Koblewood Bazaar until Lower Treagug.” He encircled the area. “Section C would be the Boanittec Circle. Section D would be Wores Garden until East Prettig, and finally section E would be the Plaza.” He paused and took a sip from the glass of water in front of him. “You will be overseeing around seventy-five collectors, with fifteen collectors for each section. You will also be accompanied by five auditors. They would be checking the receipts for fraud or counterfeit, the receipts only applied for citizens who had personally filed their report and paid their taxes at the tax office.”

Jacqueline nodded knowingly, “Please continue, Herr Patrick.” She smiled innocently. Patrick was slightly taken aback at the Viscountess respond. The youngest of the siblings but the one with the best manners amongst the five. Little did Patrick know that the Viscountess only kept tabs on people of interests.

“Yes, my Lady.” Patrick then took a different colored marker. “Lord Benedikt,” he began, “The commercial district encompassed all the businesses located within the city limits. It will also include the airship port.” He motioned the employee to bring the other map of the city, but this time it was on a plastic-material map with various markings all over the place. The plastic map is the size of the city map. The employee then placed the plastic map on top of the map. “This are the locations of the various businesses and guilds located within the city limits. I have given a copy of it to the auditors from House Ruxgor.” The treasurer looked at Rachel and she nodded in response. “You will be overseeing twenty collectors in addition to you auditors.” Patrick then pointed at the marking that were larger than the others. Benedikt recognized one of the places with the larger markings were Chen’s. “The larger markings are businesses whose reported revenue is high enough to be considered a large business. The Count had instructed that the collection and auditing of the SMILE Inc.’s refinery and workshops would be handled by Lady Viktoria.”

“Herr Patrick,” Jacqueline interrupted, “What about the collections for the other noble houses that’s residing within the city?”

“Ah yes, my Lady. The Count also instructed that collection for the other noble houses that’s residing within the city to be handled by Lord Fabian. But that does not extend to the businesses under their patronage. That would still be under Lord Benedikt’s jurisdiction.”

“......and so that leaves Andreas will be the one in-charge of the Conservatorium.” Benedikt cut in.

Patrick looked at the letter then at Benedikt, “My Lord, the Count had given the responsibility of the Conservatorium to you.”
Jacqueline held back her laughter and looked at Benedikt’s surprised face. Benedikt stood and grabbed the letter from Patrick. “You gotta be shitting me.” He cursed and re-read the last line over and over again. It was clearly his father’s handwriting. His mind retracted back to his last question to the Count before leaving that morning. Benedikt slammed the table in annoyance. The room became dead silent. The other officials averted their eyes from Benedikt. Patrick kept looking at the map, he also didn’t want to be the target of Benedikt’s anger. Benedikt’s reputation preceded him and all the officials knew that.

Jacqueline grabbed her teacup and took a sip. A small laugh escaped her mouth. “Brother please. You just need to get brother Andreas’ permission. I think that’s not something hard.” She grinned mockingly.

“Why don’t you do it?” Benedikt snarked

Jacqueline leered at the letter and shrugged, “Well, the Count explicitly said that it’s your responsibility.”

Benedikt tossed the letter back to Patrick. “Fine.” He sighed, “Continue,” he said in an authoritative tone.

“Yes, my Lord.” Patrick replied, picking up the letter and folding it neatly. “The collection chests would be collected and transported from each district accompanied by the city guards.” Patrick took a deep breath, “That is all. I hope that this season’s tax collection would be without a hitch.”

The officials began leaving the room, preparing for the long day ahead of them. Jacqueline and the chief tax collector were already deep in their conversation, talking about the logistics effort as they left the room. Benedikt had motioned for the treasurer to stay back. After everyone had left the room, Benedikt took out his cigarette case, he offered one to Patrick, which he refused politely and lit one for himself.

“Patrick,” he began, taking a long drag and exhaling it slowly. “Did Andreas know about the possibility of turf war between the Belloti Syndicate and the Valenti Clan?”

Patrick shook his head, “No, my Lord. Lord Andreas wasn’t aware. I think it was the Count. Why else would he gave you the responsibility of the Conservatorium? I think he’s aware of your scuffle with the patron of the Belloti Syndicate.”

Benedikt scoffed at the mention of the Belloti Syndicate’s patron. “As if it’s my fault. He’s the one who couldn’t keep his household in order. Blaming me on seducing his wife.”

Patrick kept his gaze on the floor, he didn’t dare remarked or responded to Benedikt’s statement.

Benedikt took another drag, “The preparation complete?” he tapped the ash from his cigarette.

“Yes, my Lord. Rachel already prepared the truck and guns.” He paused, “But was there a need to go this far? My Lord is only doing the collection within the city. The city guards could-”

Benedikt snapped his fingers repeatedly at him, interrupting him. “Hey, hey. You’re paid to do your duty, not to ask questions. Just do what you’re told to. Got it?”

“y...yes my Lord.” Patrick stammered.

Benedikt too a long drag then stubbed his cigarette on the ashtray. He stood up, walked and stopped beside Patrick. Repeatedly patting his shoulder and leaning closer, “It seems like we’ll still be seeing you next season, treasurer.” Benedikt whispered, emphasizing on the word ‘treasurer’. Benedikt strolled out of the room and made his way to the garage.

“My Lord, Lady Rachel had left with the chief tax collector.” Rachel reported.

The truck behind her was just a regular truck that was used in during tax collection. There was an identical truck behind it. “So, this is the truck?” Benedikt asked, inspecting the truck. Rachel nodded and led him to the back of the truck. She reached out and pulled a lever, revealing the hidden compartments under the seat. She reached in and took out a rifle. Inspected it and handed it to Benedikt.

“Just as ordered, Cap.” Rachel replied as she returned the rifle into the hidden compartment and closed it. “Where do you want to go first?”
Benedikt massaged his temple. “Ah, fuck.” he grunted, annoyed. “Let’s go see my brother.” He then hopped on the back of the truck. Rachel gave the signal for the truck ahead to proceed. The convoy made its way toward the Conservatorium of Magitek Arts. The trip was uneventful, Benedikt looked at the passing stores and houses. The sight of those trucks would made one wary. It’s the signal that the tax collection season had started.

“Captain, would they be even bold enough?” one of the soldiers asked.

Benedikt shook his head, “A cornered animal would be very unpredictable. Although you could always be sure that it would fight back.” He pulled out the gun from his hip holster and checked it. “Never can be too careful. From the outside, Vranta looked like the perfect tourist destination, with its old-world charm and den of debaucheries behind every door. A haven for aspiring artificers, engineers and scholars. City of endless opportunities. But once you peeled enough of its layers, your faced with the horrible truth. This place’s just another battleground.”

The soldiers nodded silently, agreeing to the statement Benedikt made. Benedikt then patted the collection chest that sat in the middle of the truck, between him and the soldier. “And this, this is just one of the many opportunities.”

It was a good thing that his father used the same model as the supply trucks that they used in the military, with a covered back. People couldn’t see how many the occupants on the truck unless they were standing behind the truck directly. The familiar sight of the Conservatorium grounds came into view. A subtle change in the scenery. The trucks made a circle and then stopped in front of the main building. Benedikt hopped off, followed by two auditors. He took in the sight of the main building. The centerpiece of the campus. Benedikt inhaled deeply.

“Time to meet the madman.” He sighed.