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felt right, besides, those funds were building up pretty fast too. Tor didn't know where they all were, or who ran them, but he apparently owned hundreds of businesses now, or half owned, having provided the initial funds for it. It was better than letting a mountain of gold build up though.
    Trice winked at Sandra playfully and waved her toward the door, as if she had something naughty planned with Tor. The dark girl waggled her eyebrows a bit and looked toward the door wistfully.
    "I should get back to work in the kitchen then. I'm not really sure I understand why, but if it's the job, I guess I should see to it. Unless, you know, you both want me to stay? I'm not too related to either of you for that to be interesting." The dark skin girl smiled prettily.
    Trice shook her head.
    "Not this time. Later though? It sounds fun. Right now I actually have some things to discuss with Tor, and I'm trying to keep it low key. Kind of private matters..." She didn't say more, but Sandra ducked her head.
    "Oh. Sorry. I'll just go and do that work then, if I haven't been fired yet. Disappearing like I did... I'll have to come up with a story." Then she left without another word. Most nobles would spy on you if they could, but they tried to be discreet about it in the main, leaving the illusion that they weren't. Tor didn't bother with it himself. He was technically one of them though, his blood nearly as good as Sandra's even if he hadn't been raised that way, so he knew he should probably look into it as a pass time if nothing else. It was kind of the tradition after all.
    For once Trice didn't wait to explain herself to him. No hedging or beating around the bush. It was refreshing. She often did that, as if drawing things out for some reason he couldn't guess. He half expected her to try and get him to at least make out for a while, but she didn't, stepping back from him instead.
    She looked slightly scared suddenly. That or worried, it was a little hard for him to tell he realized.
    "Tor... I... Have some bad news. I know this can't be the best time for it..." She hesitated just an instant before powering forward. Probably because he was wondering who died, a sense of dread filling him.
    Was it one of his family? No, she would have opened with it if that was the case. The only one that made sense was Debbie. She might kill herself he knew, trying to atone for what her brother had done to all those girls. The Wards were watching her though and for all that Maria wasn't his all time favorite person in the world, he didn't think she'd leave Debbie unguarded for even an instant.
    Especially since her own mother, Baroness Coltress, was probably hiring someone to kill her at that very moment. It was misplaced, but the woman was angry about her daughter having been murdered and raped. Tor could understand that part, but she was also a horrible person in general, so something would have to be done there. That was what the meeting with Collette and Burks was about later.
    The words Trice said next had nothing to do with that though, or anyone he knew dying at all.
    "Um... There's a man, near Galasia... He's... pretending to be you. He has some amulets and magics of yours and used them to protect a town that came under attack by a gang of marauders. I..." She froze, as if waiting for him to explode over it.
    Cold oatmeal got his ire it seemed, but not someone just claiming to be him. It was a little strange, but he didn't see what the big deal was.
    "He's claiming to be Tor Baker, or... The "Wizard Tor", something like that?" He really couldn't bring himself to care if he was. Technically it was illegal to impersonate a noble, but he didn't care about it at all. If the man wanted his life that badly, he was welcome to it. He could even move out of the house he was in and give the fellow his gold. At least if he'd take the headaches that went with it.
    "No, just calling himself the "Troll of Galasia" and helping people, as far as anyone has