Stormwind City On a rainy night, Gregory Hawks Lord's carriage rolled through the muddy streets of the old city. He held the treasure box tightly in his arms, which contained gems worth eight thousand gold coins obtained from selling his ancestral manor and the title deeds to several other shops. Sweat seeped down his neck along with his high-collared dress, but he was unaware of it.
"Hurry up!" Gregory knocked on the compartment partition, "We must arrive Baron's Mansion before midnight!"
The coachman muttered and cracked his whip. Gregory's fingers tapped nervously on the treasure chest. Three months ago, he heard a miracle at Twilight's Hammer's secret gathering - Rustwater Syndicate's goblin financial planner Gakri can double gold coins in three months. At first he scorned it, until he saw Twilight Baron with his own eyes. Edwin Ma took over a huge treasure chest from the goblin, and the gold coins inside were so bright that it was dazzling.
"Void," Baron Edwin whispered mysteriously at that time, "This is the 'dividend' Mr. Gakri gave me."
The carriage stopped suddenly at the back door of the Baron's Mansion. Gregory ignored the umbrella and rushed into the rain with the iron box in his arms. It was Edwin himself who opened the door, with the gold-edged Twilight pattern revealed under his purple nightgown.
"You are finally here!" Baron's eyes flickered in the candlelight, "Mr. Gakri will leave for Ratchet tomorrow morning, and he will not be able to catch up with this batch of investments any later."
They came to the basement, which was the secret meeting place of Twilight's Hammer. Gregory opened the iron box tremblingly, and the light of the gems reflected the twisted Twilight Idol on the wall. "It's all here, even the land deed."
Baron Edwin quickly counted and suddenly frowned. "There are still two hundred left."
"But the agreement says the minimum investment is eight thousand gold coins."
"Recently, the real estate market is not going well, dear friend." Baron sighed, "There are too many manor shops for sale on the market."
"What should we do?" Gregory was so anxious that he almost cried.
"Let me lend it to you." Edwin immediately wrote an IOU and handed it to him.
"500% interest? This is too crazy!" Gregory's eyes widened in shock when he saw the number above.
"It's just 1,000 gold coins. When you earn back from this trip, you will have received thousands of gold coins in dividends. Do you still care about this interest?" Edwin said nonchalantly.
After hesitating for a moment, Gregory picked up the ink pad and pressed the red seal on the IOU. Baron smiled and handed him a piece of parchment with a tentacle pattern printed on it, "In three months, you will thank Old Gods for his guidance."
The next day, five carriages disguised as grain transporters drove to the port. The coachmen did not know that the wooden boxes with the Stormwind City emblem were filled with gold coins, jewelry and even magic items from the nobles. In the most luxurious carriage, the goblin Gakri. Gao Xi was drinking a tranquilizing potion, fearing that he would laugh out loud due to excessive excitement and arouse the suspicion of the Stormwind City guards.
At the Stormwind City port, after the goods were loaded onto the ship, the Twilight Cultistss came to see them off one after another in casual clothes. Gakri stood on the deck of "Rustwater Glory", his green skin shining with oil in the morning sun.
"Don't worry, friends!" He waved the jeweled account book, "In three months, this ship will return with double the gold coins!"
Gregory Lord was crowded in the crowd and suddenly felt a little uneasy. "Why do you have to pay in cash? You can't transfer money through Stormwind City bank?"
Gakri's ears moved keenly, and he immediately jumped out of the boat and put his arms around Gregory's shoulders. "Dear friends, there are Holy Light believers everywhere in the bank! Do you want Twilight God's investment plan to be exposed?" He lowered his voice, "Besides, some 'special income' cannot go through formal channels."
Hearing this, the doubts in Gregory's heart were temporarily calmed.
When Rustwater Glory's sail shadow disappeared on the sea level, Baron Edwin comforted everyone, "I put Tracking Rune in the cargo, Old Gods will protect our wealth."
A month later, the sun was shining brightly in the Stormwind City aristocratic district, and Baron Edwin was holding a tea party. Twelve well-dressed aristocrats—Holy Light believers on the surface, but Twilight Cultists secretly—elegantly tasted black tea mixed with Twilight Potion.
"Everyone," Baron raised the gold-plated tea cup, "Let us toast to Mr. Gakri's 'Eternal Flame' financial plan."
Amidst the crisp sound of the collision of porcelain, Chancellor of the Exchequer's secretary asked in a low voice, "Can the rate of return really be guaranteed?"
"Dear," Baron showed a mysterious smile and took out a gem exuding Void Energy from his arms, "This is the last dividend - from the secret location Rustwater Syndicate is developing, the profit is amazing. Are you still worried about not making money?"
Countess Lena twisted his handkerchief nervously. "But such a large amount of money has flowed out, from the king's side."
"Shh--" Baron's fingertips lit up a wisp of purple flame, "When Twilight comes, what's the point of Stormwind City's treasury?"
"Don't worry, as long as you wait three months, your investment will be doubled." Baron comforted everyone.
Several nobles had to take out their handkerchiefs to wipe their cold sweat - they were all poor people who had pledged all their wealth and borrowed large sums of money at usury.
Three months later, the Twilight secret gathering was filled with the smell of rotten spices. The amethyst in front of the altar was covered in dust because the believers did not even have the money to buy incense.
"Today is supposed to be dividend day!" Chancellor of the Exchequer's secretary grabbed Baron Edwin's collar and tilted his wig to one side, revealing his shaved scalp tattooed with Twilight runes.
Baron wiped his sweat and defended. "Maybe. Maybe I met pirates."
Gregory Lord sat slumped in the corner, mechanically flipping through his empty wallet. He was kicked out of the family mansion yesterday because he could not repay the usurious loan that was mortgaged on the estate.
Suddenly the door was knocked open, and a Twilight Rogue staggered in full of sea smell. "Rustwater Syndicate. They said." He held up a letter with the gear emblem, "Gakri is indeed one of their people, but the 'Eternal Flame' plan is his private act!"
The assembly hall fell into deathly silence. Countess Lena suddenly laughed hysterically, tore off the Twilight Pendant from around his neck and threw it at the statue. "The Old Gods we believe in can't even control a goblin!"
"No, I want to complain to King Varian, these goblins are all in the same group." Gregory lost his mind and roared.
Another Twilight nobleman covered his mouth. "Are you crazy? Do you want Stormwind City to know that we have joined Twilight and believe in the doomsday? Your Majesty will hang us!"
"Woo, woo, woo--" there was a cry in the room.
"No matter what, we must seek revenge from the goblins. Let the believers below take action and find Rustwater Goblins for an explanation." Edwin said unwillingly.
"But we have no money, and we still owe a lot of debt." Someone said in frustration.
"Let's pool our money together, but we can't just forget about it!" Edwin said sternly.
"Okay, I still have a shop here, which is my last possession."
"I can still borrow some loan sharks from the old city. I really can't let it go like this."
"You must take revenge. Damn Rustwater Goblins.
"..."
In the next month, Stormwind City's Twilight's Hammer used up the last copper plate and had no way to solve the debt, so he had to:
Baron Edwin committed suicide by jumping off the building and was shattered into pieces;
Three bankrupt Twilight knights jumped into the Stormwind City canal;
Gregory was reduced to a beggar in the old city, crying crazily to passers-by every day that he had been cheated!
The Twilight Assassin they hired and dispatched is still causing chaos in Ratchet Rustwater Goblins.
And in Treasure Bay's Prince's Mansion, Rivendare are giving bonuses to the goblins who have made great achievements by pretending to be Bilgewater: "Well done! Now you change your identity and find a way to sneak into Venture Company. I heard that Ironforge also has a secret stronghold of Twilight's Hammer, and the den there is also valuable!"
First update.