Preparations II

Gringott's is a large and imposing marble building with Corinthian columns and balconies. It has an air of sophistication in the otherwise drab Diagon Alley, probably enchanted to retain its flawless exterior. August made is way into the bank equipped with his Legate's Ring and Silver Sword. A few wizards looked at him strangely for caring a sword, but it wasn't that odd and quickly forgotten. The goblin watchmen inspected him as he passed the threshold, but did not detain him or request that he disarm. It was weird for a man who grew up the muggle United States once upon a time. However, when you think about it, all Wizards are armed once they receive their wands, and no one batted an eye. So, a sword was not any more deadly in Wizarding Britain then a fancy stick, August snorted at the thought and quickly schooled his expression.

Before him, the teller was typical of the goblin race, short with a barely contained scowl, "Greetings and may your enemies' gold fill you vault as the fall before you. I am Legatarius Silver here to claim my right as Legate of the Silver Legion and Heir of House Sterling. Please take me to be tested." August says in Native Goblin, Gobbledegook was a wizard word for the language of the Goblin Clans.

"Greetings Legatarius Silver, may your enemies tremble before you and your gold always multiply. I am Teller Ricbert, and I can lead you to one of the conference rooms to consult with the vault manager. Please follow me." The goblin leads the way through the bank's halls until they come to a staircase, "Legatarius Silver, please follow these stairs up to the third level and enter the first door on the left. Do not overstay your welcome in any other rooms." Ricbert warned.

August made his way up the stairs admiring the architecture that continued its Grecian theme even here. At each landing, was a framed painting, and August was shocked to recognize the work of Monet on the second floor and Van Gogh on the third. The conference room, a modern affair with a polished wooden table surround by six chairs and a tea service in the corner, was empty when he entered. Taking a seat to wait on the far side of the table, August took the time to adjust his new sword belt, and it was a bit of a surprise how quickly he got used to having a sword at his side. August contemplated strapping an enchanted sidearm to his other hip like some, a true modern legionary.

August heard footfalls in the hall, and the door swung open, "Goof afternoon Legattarius, I am Fornuk, and I'll be handling your account from now on. I'm sure that you understand that we are not typically in the business of advising clients beyond how best to hand over their Galleons; however, there is an existing agreement between our peoples. Don't look, surprised young man. The Goblin Clans have a long memory even if the wizards forget. Back in Rome's times, the goblins of Britain were a subject people uncivilized and used as slave labor for their muggle and wizard masters. It was your Silver Legion that freed and educated the clans allowing them to fight and forge better than their counterparts. This lead to the creation of the unified Goblin Nation and a treaty signed between the People and Silver Legion. We would manage the material wealth and outfitting of the legion, and the legion would, in turn, continue to train our weapons masters and warders. The legion completed its side of the agreement, and we have held in trust the wealth collected by the legionaries and their commanders for the past 1580 odd years. For the most part, the investments of that time are completely useless now as few business ventures have lasted that long with one notable exception, Ollivander's Wands. The legion brought the first Ollivander over from Gaul in 382B.C. when they began operations in the region to work as a quartermaster for the small understrength expedition. I don't honestly know how or why they sailed to Britain so much earlier than Julius Ceaser in 55 B.C., but their presence must have been small, probably only affecting magicals. That is not the point of this discussion. The Silver Legion owns a forty-five percent stake of the Ollivanders business that Goblin Clans has been collecting and storing every year since its founding. Your Silver Legion currently has 1,867,950 Galleons from Ollivanders sales and an additional 278,354 Galleons from other sources. I will be taking over your personal vault as well, and I see that you have 20,000,000 Galleons there. That is quite a bit of wealth, especially since it was a muggle currency conversion. As I am sure you're aware, the average Wizarding family makes around 10 Galleons a year, and expenditure is only around 4 Galleons 15 Sickles 367 Knuts per year for food and luxuries not including Hogwarts supplies. This makes you one of the wealthiest men in Wizarding Britain."

August was surprised about the stake in Ollivanders, but in a way, it made sense for the Romans to have a local outfitter. His current wealth was more than enough to build up the Legion Camp into a new training camp and war college under the Silver Legion Securities company header. "Ricbert, I have some ideas, and I will need the cooperation of the Goblin Nation. Let me outline my ideas and offer fair compensation; you can take the proposal to the Gringott's Head for approval. First, I would like to hire goblin workers to repair and refit the Silver Legion Camp into a modern training center and war college with all the necessary buildings and grounds. I cannot go into too much detail, but I have trained with some of the best muggle warriors and the integration of magic plan to create a truly modern legion. I will offer the goblin people training in this new method of war and pay 15,000,000 Galleons for compensation. Second, I need the Argenti Campus to register in the muggle and wizard world as an elite private college. I will staff the college and training center myself but need the paperwork to be taken care of once the construction is complete. I think it goes without saying that part of the college should be completely muggle free unless they belong to the legion. Third, I need a company created The Silver Legion Securities Company as a military contractor in the muggle world and a mercenary company in the wizarding world. This company will base out of the Argenti campus with a fully functional legion base at the campus. Finally, I would like to retain a goblin smith by the name of Turkor to forge and maintain the legions equipment. I will pay him a yearly wage and this should allow for the Silver Legion to use goblin forged swords and armors without that nasty inheritance business as Turkor will be a member of the legion. As his clan, we will retain ownership." August looked to Ricbert with a sly smile, "Please review the proposal and get back to me. I have staff to secure." August left the bank in a chipper mood.