The Crowd, The Servant and The Woman

The crowd looked at him nervously. He had their utmost attention, but what was the point in his actions?

He slid the ring onto his finger, and admired it, holding it up for all to see.

"A gold ring bought and paid for fairly, with the appropriate coin, would you not agree? And that is how I plan to keep things. There will be no changes to your daily lives – if anything, things will be better. There will be no guards to hassle you, nor will you have to pay tax on your exchanges."

A grand proclaimation indeed. The tax on the trades was no small some, and no merchant was arrogant enough to look down on the amount they would be saving. But could they really trust the words of a man who had just confessed to being behind the killings and raids of multiple traders like themselves?