William
It seemed like everyone in Stout Rise knew William’s father. Or at the least least had heard of him. He was a war hero it seemed. He was the youngest General of a legion in living memory. He was twenty three when he became General of the 3rd Legion, when most that age were restricted from officer positions, the 3rd had been trapped on the world of XXXXX,a nd besieged by the enemies of King Harwyn, and when the 3rd’s leadership was killed, he was elected, or so everyone liked to tell William.
It was all true, he had studied the data files that Duncan had prepared for him. His father was a war hero, a war hero among the Furse at least.
Most days he worked with one of the different departments of Stout Rise, and he hadn’t realized just how big it was, or how many people call it home. Duncan Stout, the A.I. House Bot which was in command of all Bots associated with the day to day operations of Stout Rise told him that at any given time Stout Rise was more to more than fifteen people, and more than ninety percent of them were members of the Stout clan, and that it could house more than double that number, and triple if he accounted for buildings throughout the estate.
William was amazed by it all, and not just the structure but the A.I. and how much it was part of the life of everyone. Yet Duncan told him that once, Stout Rise had been more than twice as tall, when the Stouts had ruled Coldfell back in the ancient times. Now they settled for being great lords of the planet they called home, and their clan spread to all corners of Furse Space, and as Duncan reminded William, to Fabian Space as well with the Lakehall Stouts of Karthmere who were now all dead but him.
William found himself enjoying his time with Carl, the head herder, and Rorik the head caretaker. Carl didn’t seem to have an original body part on him. He often spoke of how he lost one limp in such war or battle. An eye here, a toe there, and William didn’t know how much to believe, but he found a simple joy in the gardens, and fields. There was a peace he had never known, and old man Carl had a humor that kept his mind from wandering.
Techno-Mage Walter was in command of Stout Rise’s library, and a cold and often displeased man, at least when it came to William. He took great delight when he were entertaining the children, but he seemed to have zero pateince for William, and often pawned him off on some of his underlings, and spent those days cleans statues, and other artifacts, or sorting through datapads, and old books for the library, as well as gathering them for children studies.
His duties weren’t just a means to keep him busy, although they often did. Lord Stout had granted William a small stipend, but that stipend let almost nothing at the end of each day. William wasn’t a formal member of the clan, and as such everything seemed to have cost money. His room took most of his stipend, and by the time his meals were factored in it left him with almost nothing. He had even thought of just living off the House Pottage which was free for all, and moving to one of the share quarters which cost nothing, but he liked his privaticy too much, and as good as the House Pottage was, the food the House Mother could make was too much to smell, and not enjoy.
Alyn had setup a meeting with Athelweard, the clans head treasurer, and banker, and so William made his way there.
“Welcome,” Athelweard said as William took a seat in the older man’s office. “Let us get straight to business,” he said. “I am sure Alyn has told you that I have managed your fathers accounts since his arrival on Coldfell since before your birth?”
“Accounts?” William asked. “No, Alyn said no such thing.”
“Yes,” Athelweard said with a sour tone. “Alyn would do that. Well, to get to the point of it all, your father was a rich man, House Bear, although not formal a part of Clan Stout, none the less held many Sub-Houses in Furse Space. Your father was a great invester in start ups, and although some have taken years, they have all come to make a profit. Without going into detail, your father was invested in twenty one Sub-Houses, more than twice that number of companies spread out through Furse Space.”
“I’m sorry, Sub-House?” William asked.
Athelweard looked at William for a moment before he smiled, and nodded. “Houses which do not meet the requirement to become full houses with all the rights, and privileges that come with that. They serve under full fledge houses, and often in time, generations mostly, they become full houses in their own right. Your father invested in many, but as the Commonwealth laws forbade such dealings, there was so legal issues which we can get into later. Point being that these houses, companies, and investments technically belonged to your father, and he charged me with looking after them, and reinvesting the funds as the credits could not be transfered to the Commonwealth.”
“Okay,” William said softly.
“At any rate, the manner of your father’s will makes you, as the last surviving member,” Athelweard stopped for a moment. “Well, you inheirit a vast fortune William. Enough that you will never have to worry about money for the rest of your life.”
“How much?” William asked.
“Well,” Athelweard said, and tapped the screen in front of him. “At last cost, the total balance was… Two hundred, and thirty nine billion, which of course grows each day.”
“Credits?” William spat out. “Two hundred, and thirty nine fucking billion credits?”
“Call it two hundred, and forty,” Athelweard said with a smile.
