The unlikely partnership was something Silas hadn't expected, but he was pleased with how things had turned out. Everything changed simply because of how Silas was now dressed and the places he frequented.
Titus had seen a young man in fine attire entering the administrative building, a place usually visited by the wealthy. As an older man with considerable experience, he recognized that Silas was different and someone worth befriending.
"I've only been here for a few hours and everything is working out for me," Silas thought as he approached the counter to speak with a lady.
The lady, having seen him talking with Titus, greeted him warmly. "Hello, sir. What can I do for you?"
Silas got straight to the point. "I'm here to get a permit for my shop."
"Excellent! I'll get you the form."
She left and returned from the back of the building with a form for Silas to complete. The form didn't ask much about his personal life, only his name and the type of shop he planned to open.
After filling everything out, Silas handed it back to the lady and said, "Titus mentioned you could speed up the process for me?"
The lady smiled. "Of course, I can. You can wait at one of the tables while I prepare your permit."
Silas nodded and moved to a table to sit. Another man was already sitting at one of the tables. He suddenly strode to the counter and yelled, "What kind of nonsense is this? I've been waiting for my permit for three weeks, yet someone walks in and gets it in one day? Can someone explain this to me?"
The man was making a fuss about his shop permit. Clearly, he didn't have the connections Silas did.
It wasn't long before one of the administrative building's guards appeared to confront the man. "If you continue yelling, we'll arrest you. This is not the place for such behavior. Remember, this building belongs to the current ruler of New Castle, Lord Falcon."
The administrative building was not the place to cause a scene. Anyone who did would face consequences. The wealthy might only spend a few days in jail due to their influence, but the poor? They could be killed or imprisoned for years. Money, after all, was power.
The man, a noble, apologized. His anger had been a momentary outburst and had now passed. With a clear head, he realized it simply wasn't worth the fuss.
He moved and sat at the same table as Silas. Then he asked, "How did you get your permit so fast?"
The question held no hint of threat; it was more like the man was simply saddened by the long wait for his own permit.
Silas felt a pang of pity for the man, who was also young, just like him! They were of similar age, with the man being only two years older than Silas.
"Connections, I guess," Silas said. "A man named Titus is my friend, and because of that, they sped up the process for me."
"Titus, as in the one who owns a hotel chain and is from a really wealthy family in the north?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
"Awesome, man! I wish I had those kinds of connections. The only thing my father gave me was money before he expelled me, and now I need to make my shop work, or else I'm screwed…"
Silas saw another opportunity presenting itself. "And do you have any experience managing shops or anything like that?"
"I do. Why?"
Silas smiled and extended his hand. "I'm Silas Reed, nice to meet you."
"Thomas Atherton."
A proposal followed. Silas wanted to hire Thomas to work with him in his shop, and the payment was very attractive. Thomas wouldn't be just an employee but more of an associate who would receive a significant percentage of the profit.
The reason was simple: Silas needed someone with experience to help him run the shop, as well as someone to maintain the place and interact with clients while he was away handling other matters.
Thomas initially disliked the idea, mainly due to his pride. He had come to the city to open his own shop, make it famous and profitable, and perhaps even win back his father's favor. That was his plan.
But working for someone else? That was an entirely different matter. Yet, things weren't looking good for Thomas…
The permit to open his own shop was expensive, and he had calculated that after getting it, he wouldn't have much money left to actually open the shop. Things would be quite tough for him.
So, in Silas's proposal, he saw a chance to work with another wealthy person and earn good money before opening his own shop. After more thought, it sounded almost perfect for Thomas.
"So, I'll basically have to do everything related to the shop?" Thomas asked.
"Sort of. You just don't need to worry about the items being sold in the shop; I'll handle that. But like I said, I'm willing to give you a percentage of the profit, and I'll soon be working with Titus on his alchemy shop, so you can expect us to make big money in the near future."
Titus's name certainly helped convince Thomas.
"Alright, I'm in."
"Good."
They shook hands, sealing another partnership. On his very first day, Silas was already forging alliances and connections for his future in the city of New Castle. Things were looking remarkably good.
Anyway, the two waited for the lady to return with a paper bearing a special mark. It didn't take long for her to reappear, just ten minutes.
That paper was Silas's permit to open his shop.
"You need to show this when renting a place for your shop, and if someone comes by your shop asking for it, then you must show it. So, don't lose it. I'll give you more copies next week," the lady explained.
Silas took the paper and thanked her. Afterward, he and Thomas left the administrative building. Their next task was to find a good location for the shop.
Location was one of the most crucial aspects of a shop, often being the primary reason for its success. Silas knew he couldn't mess that up.