Indah Dagle

Let's be honest: you can't run the largest, richest gated market in the world of Tzersa without being a little unhinged.

Before I ever owned the gorgeous Aurelionite Towers market in Eleutheria (and became the absolute BEST boss in the city), I was just a nosy Mountain Nymph from Kyramiir. Notoriously nosy, with too much curiosity and way too strong an aversion to staying put. My thirst for more took me from traveling merchant caravans to naval crews sailing the oceans to the various Asps, until I finally landed on Lamaronya, the Great Asp itself. Once there, I found my way to Scholae Illuminada, the magic university, and quickly enrolled, excelling in Illusion and Transmutation (which makes it remarkably easier to get information on people).

Of course, naturally, my habit of digging up secrets landed me a nice role as a merc for some bad actors in the parliament of Eleutheria, back on the mainland, and I found myself entangled with the royal advisor, Thea, for several years, despite her active work against my employers. Not the best move, I must say, as it landed me in the Underground, a cavernous prison beneath the city. But hey, I managed to be the first person to ever make it out... and the first person to ever be recaptured for the same crimes.

They didn't try the Underground again.

Instead, I got thrown into servitude, working in the very market I now own. Not the worst time in my life. Uncovered a bunch of corruption with shady merchants, bad transactions, and every other secret of the market. Managed to even finagle my way back into the good graces of Thea with all that info. The moment my servitude was over, you better believe I got access back to my money real quick. Bought the market from the city, fired the horrible manager, and kinda rewrote how the entire servitude system worked for the place.

Now, I rent out the shops to better, more upstanding merchants and do my best to make sure the servants aren't being taken advantage of like they used to be. And occasionally do exhaustive background checks into anyone and everyone within its walls. I got DETAILED records, EVERYTHING'S in there, including the scandalous and salacious lives of some of the merchants I've grown close to.

I'm not writing fiction. I'm leaking records.