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((The Mon/Wen/Fri Double -- page 1 of 2))
Hector had to cock an eyebrow at that last remark. "You think ours is going smoothly?"

"Compared to Rendon's, yes," said David. "Your bank may still be new, but its effects have gone far beyond merely those who have signed up for an account. Word of mouth alone of the Darksteel National Bank has reignited confidence in the economy from foreign investors. Where before, they saw us as rubble to be sifted through and picked clean of whatever valuables might remain, now they are beginning to see us as a potential dark horse."

He tilted his head. "A dark horse?"

"Oh, are you unfamiliar? It is a gambling term. In horse racing. When a horse wins unexpectedly, it is a dark horse."

"...But if they see us as a 'potential' dark horse, then it wouldn't be unexpected, would it?"

"Heh. Perhaps. But all I am saying is that speculation is beginning to turn in our favor, albeit slowly. Foreign investors are taking more risks on our companies, instead of merely trying to buy them on the cheap and scrap them for parts. Which is not to say that we are out of danger, of course, but there is at least now a visible turn and step toward economic stability."

Hector felt like he understood what the Prince was saying, though he wasn't sure how to respond to it. For his part, he was still quite wary of getting too comfortable with the Bank's progress. On the one hand, he felt like he'd done all he could before leaving for Lorent, but on the other, he expected to hear a bunch of bad news when he returned to Warrenhold. Maybe he was just being cynical, though.

"I must say, however," said David, "it does make one curious about how, precisely, Abolish manged to crash Rendon's economy. From what I have been able to discern, it was not the work of my incarcerated brother."