Marrick slammed his brass stamp onto the last export receipt while Hajin squinted at the road crews' request.
Three invoice bundles stood beside the sealed purchase account as Seliza compared assay numbers, leaving the accepted payment inside custody. Beyond the window, the watch changed its archers while silent Taren waited beside her chair, hands tucked inside his sleeves.
Hajin dropped the road request beside the finished receipts, "Is that quill good for anything except invoices, or did it marry the paperwork?"
"It's ready, my lord," Marrick said, lifting the pen above its crowded ink rest, "though if the customs auditor rejects these headings, I'm hauling the bundles straight to his dining table."
"To explain the headings over supper?" Seliza drawled, letting her fingers rest on the top bundle.
"To make him eat them, my lady, all three pounds of vellum, and no water."
He barked a laugh and dragged the road request away from the endangered paperwork.
