"On that front, I have good news and bad news." Ariel said, then turning particularly to Lorag and giving a small smile, "I have gone over my takings, and as long as I live fruitfully, what I have in business is sufficient to pay tax, support myself, and pay back the loan in regular instalments which will outweigh the interest." She tilted her head to one side and looked into the fire, but kept her smile, "The bad news is that doing so will take...what was it again?...I cannot remember exactly, but it will be roughly thirty years."

This caught everyone's attention, including Fendros'. It seemed like a form of imprisonment to be forced to live three decades without freedom over one's finances. Not to mention, there was no telling what could go wrong if Ariel's profits did not remain consistent.

Ariel noticed the reaction and tried to play it off by holding one hand forward. "Oh, no, that's just with how things are now. Each week, I'm trying new things and adding new products to my store. Some are more successful than others, but they often attract new faces which means more gold. I still have to see how the rest of the year treats me, but if I stay open for long enough and continue to build the business, I'll be able to cut weeks off the loan, then eventually months, and even years." Ariel faltered at no point. She seemed very convinced herself, "Like I said, I just have to live fruitfully."

In particular, Fendros took an interest in this aspect. As well as Ahnasha, he knew a thing or two about businesses in being groomed to be a winemaker before he turned. "If you say so, Ariel. It might still be prudent to keep a fund secured in case bad things happen. You did mention that there might be floods in the city, did you not?"

"Well, I do have some money stored away, but..." Ariel's smile lowered, "...I actually hadn't thought about flooding and the damage I might have to pay for. I think I will have to spend a Sundas looking over my books again."

"It's still good to hear that you are on course," Fendros said encouragingly.

Ariel nodded, though was a little confronted by the revelation that she had left something out in her master plan. She doubted she would forget about it, so she decided to look up and deal with it at a more appropriate time. For now, she noticed that Kaleeth was looking out to the sea and looked to it herself. The sun was almost completely below the horizon now, and the world was yellowed by its light. Most notably coloured were the white-walled buildings of the city itself. "Had you seen the ocean before coming to Thorn, Kaleeth-Rei?" Ariel asked curiously.