Chapter 19 Money Troubles

Rising before the sun, Alexander carefully examined the items held within the dimensional cache he had obtained from the castle that stood above the rest of the world.

His ultimate goal in risking his life was to earn a large sum of money to pay off his family's debts. The alternative was being forced into a marriage that he truly did not want.

Yet, the more Alexander searched for something to turn into a fortune, the farther he fell into despair.

"There's nothing here I can sell."

Everything within the dimensional cache was an unbelievably rare treasure worth far more than Alexander needed. Except, this was the problem.

The only ones that could afford to purchase such things were high nobles with vast sums of money stockpiled. Alexander did not have the connections to reach out to people so far above his station.

And even if he did, it would only bring a whole host of problems. With the multitude of secrets he was now keeping, the last thing he needed was the eyes of someone powerful scrutinizing him.

"Damn it!" Alexander cried as he slammed his fist onto the bed.

He had obtained the lost treasures he had set out to find but turning them into the money he needed would be all but impossible. Every scenario he could think of had several negatives that ultimately would turn out worse for him.

'You seem to be experiencing some distress. Would you like for me to impart upon you some of my wisdom?'

Alexander winced as the deep voice of Tharildron echoed through his mind. It had been over a day since he had last heard his unwelcome partner speak.

For a moment, Alexander prepared to lash out at a Tharildron and unleash his pent-up frustrations on the shadow dragon.

However, at the last moment, he caught himself. Instead of getting angrier and allowing his turmoil to amuse the monster residing inside of him, he simply took a deep breath and laid back down onto his bed.

"And here I was hoping that you were just a figment of my imagination I created because of extreme stress." Alexander said. "Also, I don't need any advice from you. You can keep quiet for the rest of my life for all I care."

'Now, don't be that way. We are in this together. I was considerate of you yesterday and said nothing since you seemed to be going through quite a bit. Nevertheless, I have heard your woes and wish to help. Circumstances have bound us together. I can't allow you to give into anguish and end up dying on me. If you perish, I will end up going with you.'

To Alexander, Tharildron sounded like the voice of some sort of devil tempting him to do as it willed.

The shadow dragon kept saying that it wanted to help him, but he knew that its only aim was towards its own goals.

'Though, it's not like it can actually control me. If it could, it already would have done so. I just need to be careful. If I only listen to what Tharildron has to say when it will truly help me, I can use it to my advantage instead of falling into its schemes.'

"Fine. Since I've hit a wall, go ahead and tell me what you think I should do." Alexander said, his tone conveying defeat.

Several seconds went by without a word from Tharildron. For a few moments, Alexander was beginning to believe that this had all just been another means to mess with him, but the remnant of a once great dragon eventually spoke up.

'While I know almost nothing of the current state of the world, your muttering has clued me in on the value of my items. It seems that you cannot sell any of them without bringing undue trouble to yourself. However, if all you seek is riches, surely someone with your current capabilities can obtain them another way.'

Hearing this, Alexander perked up for a bit.

His mindset had been stuck on selling the rare items that were once a part of Tharildron's horde. There was no need for him to be stuck on this notion, though.

'No, without my leg, I won't be able to use the orichalcum ring's power to earn money. No one would hire me, and everyone would be skeptical if I went out and gathered difficult to obtain items. It's not like I can use the shadow leg in public for any reason.'

As Alexander toiled with ideas, Tharildron gave him a truly dastardly suggestion.

'If you can think of nothing else, I can assure you that shadow magic is quite adept at allowing one to move about unnoticed. A few wealthy individuals losing a portion of their assets would hardly be a travesty.'

Alexander looked aghast when he heard this. There was no way that he was going to resort to thievery. If he was willing to do so, he would have already, before risking his life traversing perilous terrain and entering a dilapidated castle that was a den of dangerous monsters.

He began tossing around the idea of getting a well-crafted prosthetic made to hide the loss of his limb, but he neither had the time nor money for that plan.

'I find it odd that you cling so heavily to morals now. When you entered my home, you showed no hesitancy in taking whatever you wished.' Tharildron said with a mocking tone.

In response, Alexander scoffed, and said, "I don't feel bad taking from you. That castle is a ruin no one owns, and you're just some vestige clinging to life when you should be dead. It's hardly fair to compare what I did to breaking into someone's home and stealing what they rightfully earned."

Rolling over in the bed, Alexander pushed his face into the pillow and drowned out Tharildron's voice as the dragon tried to convince him to take what he wanted.

'There's just no way I could do that. What would be the point of making my own life better if I had to ruin someone else's. That would make me just like my father.' Alexander thought, rejecting Tharildron's proposal.

Even though his family was part of the noble class, they were not, and never had been particularly wealthy. At least in comparison to their peers.

Trampling on others' hard work just to benefit himself did not sit right with Alexander. He did not consider himself some sort of saint, but he felt like he would lose a part himself if he crossed certain lines.

Be that as it may, he still needed to do something.

'Wait! There is a certain type of person I can steal from without worry. In fact, doing so could even be considered a public service.'

As Alexander thought about his conversation with Tharildron, he realized that like the castle ruins, there was a perfect place he could obtain all manner of riches from.

Bandits were not uncommon around his family's territory. His father hardly had enough funds to keep the city's guards paid, and all the surrounding roads but the main highway were known to have at least some active brigands patrolling them.

No one would care if Alexander eliminated these outlaws and took their belongings. They would thank him for getting rid of a major nuisance to public safety.

There were some people that even made a career out of targeting bandits and collecting their bounties and stockpiles.

"I didn't consider it before because I likely would have gotten myself killed. But now, I might be able to pull it off." Alexander thought, gazing at his orichalcum ring and the dimensional cache filled with other powerful magic items.