CHAPTER 3: THE FIRST DEFAULT

  Two weeks later, the bells at the entrance chimed. It was a dissonant tolling tuned to the frequency of desperation. I didn't look up from my spreadsheets. I didn't offer a greeting. I just knew the rhythm of those footsteps.

  I knew the dragging thud of Lilo’s boots—the sound of a wounded ego. I knew the scuff of Ami’s soles and the clatter of Sammy’s loose shield. They looked terrible. They didn't look like Gold-Rank legends; they looked like refugees.

  "Gray?" Lilo’s voice was a dry rasp. "What... what is this place? How are you still alive?"

  "I didn't die, Lilo. I diversified," I said.

  I stood up. I didn't offer a hug. I didn't even offer water. I just offered the ledger.

  "We need a room," Ami said. She leaned against the obsidian counter. "We can't pay yet, but we'll get you back. Just one night, Gray. For old times' sake."

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  For a heartbeat, I wanted to say yes. I remembered the Red Marshes, Lilo carrying me through the poison fog. That had felt real. Then I remembered the mountain. He hadn't even looked sad when he fired me.

  The moment passed. I opened the ledger.

  "I don't operate on 'old times' sake,' Ami," I said. "Friends don't charge rent. And you already owe me."

  Lilo’s eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? We gave you your severance."

  "I didn't say I was talking about the severance, Lilo." I turned the ledger around. "All previous logistical debts became due the moment you failed the quest-cycle. 15% compounded interest."

  "You're joking," Sammy muttered. "You're charging us for rations from six months ago?"

  "I'm not joking, Sammy. I'm accounting. When you terminated my contract, you terminated my willingness to subsidize your existence. The debt is no longer internal. I’m the collector."

  Lilo slammed his hand onto the counter. "We don't have fourteen thousand gold!"

  "I know," I said. "Which brings us to the 'Default and Collateral' clause. Your gear, your licenses, and your labor now belong to the Oasis."

  "You're a slaver," Lilo hissed.

  "I'm not a slaver. I'm an administrator. Slavers don't provide meal plans."

  I pushed the inkwell toward him. "Sign. Or walk back out into the dunes. Your survival probability is less than four percent. I’ve already run the numbers."

  Lilo looked at the quill. He looked at Ami and Sammy. He grabbed the quill and scrawled his name.

  "I won't forget this, Gray," Lilo whispered.

  "I didn't ask you to forget it. I asked you to sign it," I replied.

  "Ami, take them to the recovery wing," I said. "Your shift starts at 06:00. We have a caravan coming in."

  I didn't watch them go. I didn't feel like a villain. I just felt like a man who had finally brought the books into balance.