Chapter 202 The Bank of Thram

Van told Luna everything that happened while he was in the room with Rosalyn’s dad. It was a little hard to believe, but Van had never lied to her, and weirder stuff has happened around them for her to take him at his word.

In the end, she ended up just sympathizing with Rosalyn and crying a few tears at the end of the story, wishing she had a tissue she could use.

As the two walked out of the castle, they were escorted by four guards in Dark Rose livery, making sure that they were well protected and watched out for. Van sensed that there were at least another four sets of eyes on them, though he couldn’t tell from where, probably agent’s sent by Duvessa to keep an eye on them just in case the four weren’t enough.

Walking down the street, Van and Luna decided to take their time enjoying the scenery a bit more while they were escorted to the Bank of Thram. It was still somewhat bright outside, the evening still a little far away, but the lights were already on, allowing one to see very far in every direction if it weren’t for all the people that blocked their view.

In about an hour, they were able to make their way to the central plaza, not far from where the hall of blood and justice was. Taking a small circuit of the place, they soon found themselves in front of the prestigious giant doors of the bank. Large columns and brazzers with tapestries filled with gold threading and beautiful woven art greeted them at the steps of this religious temple to money, and much more…

Walking in, they couldn’t help but feel impressed by how large it was on the inside. Marble flooring, big red carpets, stone statues, golden chandeliers and hundreds of people in clothes ranging from rags to riches bustled about, waiting in line to make a deposit or withdrawal.

There must have been more than three dozen people working the counters at any given time, which didn’t even include the floor staff or the hundred of other employees working the bank. Talking to customers and answering questions as well as doing their jobs with the transactions.

A few people wore golden religious styled clothing, surveying the crowds with a keen eye. When they saw a shifty eyed woman, their eyes narrowed as if seeing something only they could see. A member of the hall of blood and justice was also with them, and her nose wrinkled up when allowing her gaze to fall more than a few seconds on the suspicious person.

With a nod of agreement to each other, they slowly made their way to the person and surrounded her without her realizing it. In a panic, the woman tried to leave, but was grabbed by the wrist while another searched her body against her will, pulling out a forged bank note. With that piece of evidence, she was dragged away by a few nearby guards for questioning.

Van and Luna watched all this in awe and with a little trepidation about what could possibly happen to them, when all of a sudden they were called out by one of the staff. Making them jump a little in surprise.

“Hello there. You two must be Van and Luna. Duvessa already had sent a message ahead that you two will be arriving. Please follow me and we will provide you with the gem upgrade once you sign off on a few last minute paperwork that needs to be done. Don’t worry, I promise you it won’t take you more than a few minutes of your time.” the staff member said in a professional and measured yet kind voice, giving them a small bow.

Van and Luna gave each other a quick look, but with nothing else to do, they followed the women into a very nice looking waiting room with couches and a small table filled with sweets and two cups of warm tea.

The guards given to them by Duvessa followed them, two went inside and stood by the corners of the room, while the other two waited outside the door.

Van and Luna sat on the couch where the tea for them was served and waited patiently if not a little nervously for the women to come back. Once she did, she was carrying a small stack of papers and a small square box in her hands.

Carefully, the staff women handed the papers down on the table in front of Van and Luna, placing the box a little off to the side.

“Sorry for the wait, here are the papers you just have to sign off on, they're magical, so please read carefully before signing. We hold no responsibility if you sign them and regret it later, though we do have customer support to help you change or undo them should there be something you don’t like about the contract. Within reason of course…”

“If there is anything you don’t understand, please don’t hesitate to ask. But before we do that, there are a few personal questions we would like to ask you two.” She straightened out the papers and gave the two of them a measured yet open gaze. “So to confirm, are you willing to be recorded while we ask these personal questions? This is just for security measures and in no way will be used against you or sold to third parties. You can turn the offer down, but there will still be a written record, is that fine with you?”

Van nodded nervously. “Y-yes.”

“And those two guards, are they allowed to hear your personal information? Or do you want us to erect a sound barrier?”

“A sound barrier please.” Van asked.

The staff member nodded, and placed a circular object on the table. It soon glowed with runic power and a barrier formed around the three of them.

“Before we begin, are there any questions you would like to ask me first? I would also like you to know you can stop me at any time if you come up with a question. Your service is our first priority, so this will only take as long as you want it to take. Do you understand?” looking at both Luna and Van.

Van and Luna nodded. “Yes.”

“Alright then… let's begin.” She then looked down on some notes she had on her, though it looked like it was more out of habit than actually because she needed a reminder. “First question. How did you come to hear of us?”

Van told her he heard of them through his father.

“Second question. Did you apply for your account with us yourself? Or was it provided to you from a third party? If so, how and can you provide the identification number? Though please keep in mind we already have it through the documents you sent ahead of time and asking this is just a formality.”

Van nodded, and explained that his father gave him the bank account, opening up his app and showing his number which the staff women took note of and wrote down on her notes.

“Third question. To which name is the bank account under?”

“My name.” Van said.

And so on and so forth the questions were asked. Ten minutes later, they were done and Van felt a little relaxed. The questions were essentially easy, though that didn’t change how it made him a little nervous. It all really just boiled down to him confirming he was really who he said he was, the account was his, that he had no criminal background or was prone to fall into a life of crime.

With a few taps of her papers, the staff women put her notes away and the meeting went forward to the signing of the contract.

“This contract is just to make sure that you don’t abuse the benefits that the Bank of Thram provides. And that if we catch you using our bank for criminal activity, that we hold the right to suspend your account until further notice, though you can file against us and we may return all your assets depending on the severity of the crime you are accused of.”

She then continued to tell him a few more things about the laws and regulations about usage of the bank and what they can and can’t do with their account. There was even a screening for mental illnesses should they suspect you of not being in your right mind. Making Van wonder if he was here to buy some sort of dangerous weapon and not confirming his bank account and upgrade to a higher tier.

“Any questions?” The staff woman asked after she was finished.

Van also around this time just finished reading the last of the papers given to him. So far, there wasn’t anything he could see that stood out as nefarious, in his eyes at least. In the end, he agreed to the terms of the contract and signed off on them. Luna did as well since this was actually a joint account.

After they were done, the staff member accepted the papers and made sure everything was in order. After giving everything a quick once over, she gave a small nod and took them, carefully placing them in a nice folder with the name Vransolis at the top.

After that was done, she took the small box and placed it in front of Van and Luna.

“This gem will upgrade your bank tier to the fifth one, allowing you to hold more money on you at any given time. Please be reminded that any purchases that exceed your limit, or if you are buying on credit, will be put through a quick screening and your bank app will confirm if it is really a transaction you intended. Should we see many strange transactions, that may seem like you are being coerced to buy something or hacked, or numerous other situations, we will freeze your account until further explanation is given.”

She then gave them a small bow. “Thank you for trusting the Bank of Thram. May your future be ever prosperous.”

Van and Luna thanked the women and got up. It was clear that they were done, and Van took the gem and watched as it clicked into place. Melding with the previous gem until they had become one and couldn’t be differentiated.

Walking out of the Bank of Thram, Van and Luna felt both a little exhausted, and also a little energetic, feeling more like adults now that they had a proper bank account that they could put their money into.

“What do you want to do now?” Van asked Luna, considering they had some free time.

Luna thought about it. “Let's get something to eat, you were in that room for hours and we missed lunch so i’m pretty hungry.”

Van nodded, he was actually quite hungry himself, and it was just a few hours till dinner time anyway. He looked towards one of the guards following them. “Can you tell Duvessa that me and Luna will be eating out for dinner tonight? Or does she already have plans for us?”

Though he sounded confident, inwardly he was a little nervous about asking a complete stranger. He didn’t know these people after all, but had to trust them.

The guard nodded, not even batting an eye about being ordered about and raised her wrist to her mouth, muttering a few quick words. Soon from her vespear bangle came a reply and the guard looked towards Van and answered his question.

“Mistress Rosalyn is still with her father… Mistress Duvessa says you can spend the next few hours doing what you like. But to return within the next three to four hours before it gets too late. For your safety until we can make sure we can pull a few more guards onto you and you're properly protected.”

“Ah, alright, thanks… do… you know any good restaurants around here?” Van asked.

“Mistress Duvessa has already booked an outdoor restaurant for you. It is called the flying cat, and it is a well known rooftop restaurant that has a good view of the city and even better food, she thinks you two would enjoy it.”

“Oh uh…” he turned to Luna. “What do you think?”

“Sounds like fun! Let’s go!” she said excitedly.

With that they were off, the guards helping lead the way towards their destination.

Along the way they saw many more interesting sights and sounds that got them all excited. There were weapons shops, alchemy shops, tailors, bakeries, ateliers, general stores, grocery stores, and so much more. They passed down a street that was like a mini bazaar, filled with strange nick-nacks from all over the world, the smell of spices from foreign soils tickled the nose and the signs of demonkin and many other races from across the world seemed to all decided that this city was the place they wanted to be in all of Alcray.

“This city is tied for the fifth biggest city in all of Alcray, despite being so far from the coasts.” one of the guards began to explain out of the blue, probably sensing their wonder and wanting to play tour guide. “But that’s not the only reason why so many people come to the city… this city has a train network that mistress Rosalyn worked tirelessly to create, one that would connect most of the far regions of Alcray all into one place.”

“This is also the city where the biggest auction house in all of Alcray is, and nobles and wealthy merchants come from all over to bid on rare and exotic goods that end up in this place. There are some items you can’t find anywhere else in the world, only here will you find them.”

The guard continued to explain a few more things as they traveled down the street. Making sure to point out hidden little factoids about the city whenever Van’s and Luna’s eyes wandered or lingered over one or another relic of the city.

What wasn’t so fun was what happened along their way to the restaurant. They had the misfortune of bumping into a noble mother and her clearly spoiled daughter, who was a young woman by now, though she clearly didn’t act like it.

“But mom! I want it now!” she whined.

“Oh hush now, you're going to draw attention.” her mother said, already exasperated by her daughter's antics.

“But mom! Please! Please! Please!” the daughter whined, over and over again.

The mother sighed. “Alright, alright. We’ll find someone when we get home.

“But I don’t want just anyone.” the daughter whined. “I want-” she quickly looked around, her eyes landing on Van. “him! I want him!”

“Hm?” Van said, noticing that the young woman was now pointing at him.

The mother sighed. “Well I suppose he’s good-looking enough…” she muttered, then cleared her throat. “You there! Young man! Would you like the honor of laying with my daughter?”

“Oh, uh… I have a wife…” Van said, drawing attention to Luna. his go-to excuse for turning down a woman's advances.

“Ah of course…” the mother rolled her eyes. “The good ones are always taken…” She then paid some attention to Luna. “How much? State your price. Whatever it is, we will double it.”

“Hmm…” Luna pretended to think about it.

“Luna!” Van harshly whispered to her.

“What!?” she whispered back. “It would be a good way to make some easy money! Besides, you can take her through the lovers guild app, that’s why you have it in the first place, right?”

“Luna…”

“Alright, alright, just teasing.” She turned her attention back to the mother. “I’m very sorry, but we are actually really busy right now.” Luna said kindly. “We have an important appointment to keep, so you’ll have to excuse us.” almost sound genuinely apologetic. “But we can give you his call ID with the lover’s guild app if you want to try and schedule a session later.” she said, trying to be helpful and prevent anything from escalating. Believing that Van would naturally turn down the request if he actually felt like it.

The daughter looked offended. “Do you know who we are!? If I want your man, I’m having him!”

Luna’s eyes narrowed. “Oh no you didn’t…” She growled under her breath.

Van quickly realized where this was going to go and intervened by grabbing Luna by the waist and hugging her naturally before she had a chance to deck the stupid girl. He then gave a loud but polite cough to draw the attention to him. “As my wife said, we are very late… but… if you have an issue with that… perhaps you would like to talk it up with the person who provided us with these wonderful tour guides?” Now drawing the attention to the guards in question.

The daughter looked clearly annoyed, while the mother quirked a brow at what Van said, only now bothering to glance at the guards for more than just a split second. Guards were partially part of the background as far as she was concerned, but she would humor this male at the least…

Her eyes widened as her daughter and Luna started arguing with each other, calling each other names. She then quickly covered her daughter's mouth with her hand before things escalated any further.

“Ah! Yes! You do seem to be busy. Just probably caught you at a bad time. Here’s our lover’s app number. You don’t have to call us back if you don’t want to. Hope to see you again!” she then dragged her daughter off with a fake plastered smile on her face, much to her daughter's confusion.

“...well… that was weird…” Luna said as she watched the mother-daughter duo disappear into the crowd.

“Come on… let's go get something to eat…” Van said, glad that nothing more came out of this…

Varenes

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