Excerpt from “For the Empire’s Throne.”

At the time that Eyforer Stario was married, the typical tax charged to small merchants in the squares was one copper a day, and ten tin coins at the start of each day to receive a day permit. It was expensive to do business, and a salesman could not just sell anywhere. There were allocated areas for such activity. In the evening, the salesman would line up before the Mercantile Tax Collection Office where he would pay his tax and receive a parchment indicating his solvency. Anyone who didn’t...