Mercer's first council session as a seated member began with a dispute over harbor taxation that seemed, on its surface, far too mundane to matter. By the end of the morning, he understood exactly how wrong that assumption had been.
The proposal came from Councilor Greaves, a heavyset man who'd served alongside Hale for years without ever drawing the same level of suspicion. He wanted to raise docking fees across the eastern harbor, framing it as necessary revenue for expanding the city watch. Mercer listened carefully, comparing the numbers against what he knew of harbor traffic from his own years of trade.
"These fees would fall the hardest on smaller shipping operations," Mercer said, when his turn came to speak. "The merchants who can least afford an increase, while the larger tradin
