Golddigger

Karma's knuckles were white when the cart pulled to a stop in what the Goblins called "The Family Wing". She'd never been on something as fast or dangerous as the Gringotts cart system, but the pure adrenaline that was coursing through her veins at the moment was better than her caution.

"You will need to touch it." Came the Golbins voice. "Only Black family members can access these."

Karma glanced down the rows of doors, sure they'd be big enough to dwarf a giant.

"Which ones mine?"

The goblin gave her a look that was seriously doubting her intelligence. "All of them."

All of them?!

Karma'd known she was rich, but she'd never taken the time to actually come down and see how rich. Her eyes went to Ciar, who should have decended the cart after her. "What... what do we do now?"

Ciar gave a smirk as she climbed out of the cart. She was by far used to the carts having had to come down in them multiple times a year for inventory check. Walking up to Karmz on steady legs, her green robes swishing loudly in the underground cavern she gave a small chuckle.

"You seem surprised, Karma. Have you never been to your family's vaults before?" Pointing at the vault in the middle with the largest door she explained, "That would be the main vault. It will have a complete inventory book of all the items within the vaults. It has some gold, jewels, a few artifacts, and paintings of your current properties." Being a Black business partner as well as under contract gave Ciar access to the general items that were in the Black main vault. All else she was blind to.

Karma glanced over at Ciar, stepping closer to the vault in order to lay her palm on it. The vault door trembled beneath her touch, before sliding in on itself, revealing an opening. She glanced back at Ciar before stepping inside, pausing only when the Goblin called out.

"You have to give her permission to step into the vault, or its defenses will kill her."

"Right." Karma said, still sounding disbelieving. "I, Karma Black, sole heiress to the Most Noble House of Black, give Ciar Whelan, heiress to the Whelan family, permission to enter my vault." She remembered the words from some old tome that had been lost in the fire that she'd read long ago, easily filling in the blanks.

"I think I may have been here once." Karma said softly, stepping towards the platform in the middle of the vault that held a thick leather-bound book. "My mother brought me. But I was barely three. I don't even remember having more than one vault." In reality, she didn't even really remember her mother. There was just a blur where the woman's face had been. "I haven't been down here since."

Shaking off these thoughts, Karma bent to retrieve a small gemstone off the floor, holding it up in the torchlight. It was undoubtedly real. This that she held in her hand would buy out all the houses in Ty's neighborhood, if she'd gave it to the right person. Dropping the stone into a pile of ones like it, she moved to the book, blowing dust off its cover. In a slightly slanted scrawl that reminded Karma of her own handwriting were the words 'Inventory'.

"Checking this will take ages." She observed, eying the thickness of the book. "I'm going to have to live down here if it's to ever get done."

Ciar waited for the words to take effect before joining Karma in the vault. If I'm actually doing a full inventory like my vaults go through about once a year it takes me eight days to do it with the help of about six or seven goblins, going from 6am to about 10pm. However, I'm only here because that way I can then line up what to keep and what to sell. All the other inventories I come because my father made me. Stupid old man never did learn how trustworthy goblins can be when you earn their loyalty."

She moved past Karma and deeper into the vault, towards the back where she knew her own main vault contained a family tree. The torches automatically lit as she approached them revealing at the back a massive family tree that spread from floor to high arched ceiling and across to spread onto the adjoining walls. In front of it was another podium which Ciar knew would be every member of the family whether by birth or marriage. The Black's were an ancient house going back millenniums. Flipping about a third of the way through Ciar's eyes got big. "KARMA," she shouted. "You may want to take a look at this. And bring a goblin!"

Karma glanced in the direction of Ciar's voice, waving a hand at the Goblin who stood in the doorway. He gave her a look, and she blinked. "I... Karma Black, sole decendent of Regulus Black, sole heiress to the Most Noble House of Black give..." She gave the Goblin a confused look, and he put his hands on his hips, obviously not impressed. "...Ragnok son of Norak permission to enter the main vault."

The goblin stepped in, wobbling after her as she moved in Cici's direction. Her eyes went wide at the sight of it, the massive family tree, her eyes trying to peer into the darkness at the top to see if she could find the first Black ever. Slowly, almost reverently, she stepped toward the wall, her hand gently touching the painting of herself. She was the bottom-most thing on the tree.

"It grows upward as the generations go on." Ragnok stated. "The latest generation will always be at human height." Karma's eyes didn't leave herself, the portrait who winked at her and waved. She didn't remember sitting for a portrait at all. Not ever. "They stay the age you die at, and age with you as you do. The picture is added magically." Karma glanced back at the girl, questions on her lips, before she took in what was before her.

Ciar, it would seem, was entranced with a book. "What's that?" She asked, stepping up to the platform and glancing at the book without really reading it.

Scouring a few pages backwards and forwards of the page she had flipped to Ciar always returned to the same page while Karma was examining the wall. She looked over as the other girl stood next to her. Pointing to the name she had found on the page she gave Karma an incredulous look. "Do you see that name? Do you know who that is," she said excitedly. "Of course you know. Who doesn't?"

Beckoning to the goblin Ciar ordered, "As a contracted family with the Black family I want an immediate hereditary test done to prove that Karma Black really is descended from the Black line and I want to know more about the inheritance left by this other person. If such inheritance were amalgamated by the Black line then this other line would not be shown as separate." The teen indicated the word 'split' by the name she had indicated to Karma.

karma's eyes widened. "Merlin! That's..." she shook her head. "I don't..." she glanced back and forth between Ciar and Ragnok, who pulled a piece of parchment and a knife from his robes.

"A drop." The goblin said gruffly. "No more, no less."

Karma blinked a few times before taking the knife in her hand, pricking her finger and letting a drop of blood slowly, agonizingly, drop onto the paper. For the longest second in the world, the paper stayed motionless, but then things starts to appear across it.

"What... what does it mean?" She asked cautiously, brown eyes wide. "Does it... I mean..."

"You're the last descendant of bloody Merlin himself," Ciar exclaimed running a hand through her black hair. "Holy bloody Merlin." She started pacing in spite of her upbringing. Pacing was something she did when agitated and needed to think.

"There should be a seperate Merlin vault that you need to claim. If it was split off from the family's main vaults it is possible that no one else realized that Merlin had a different vault," she went on. Ciar stopped and looked at Karmz. "We can't tell anyone. You'd have so many people out to kill you so they could claim your titles and bloodline by conquest."

Karma blinked a few times, watching as Ciar paced back and forth. She was suddenly reminded of Arsen, and wondered what he'd think of all this. She'd tell him of course. She wouldn't keep much from him. "Is there a seperate vault?" Karma asked, turning to Ragnok and holding her arms behind her back and gazing down at the goblin. "And is there any way I could have a copy of the inventory list over there?" She asked in afterthough. "And if Merlin did have a vault, I'll need inventory of that too. A copy."

The goblin nodded and bowed slightly, telling her he'd get her the lists when they left. "There is a seperate system of vaults in Merlin's name deeper within our bank." He said. "We were not to tell anyone of it unless they asked specificly, and were of direct decent."

"Should I go see these now, or wait until I've gotten the Black Family vaults under order?" Karma asked them both, blinking slightly, still dazed. She was... Was... Nearly a decendant of the greatest wizard known to man. Maybe that explained her affinity for spellwork. Maybe that explained a lot more about herself than she'd known.

"What you do is of your own violation." Ragnok muttered, not looking pleased in the least.

Finally recognizing Ciar's words, Karma turned back to the girl, frowning. "By way of conquest?" She asked blankly. "You can still do that?" She groaned. "What if I put it in my will to give it to someone else? What then?" She groaned again. "I'm going to have to write myself a will now, aren't I?" She'd never had reason to before. The more she learned about her ancestors, the more work that seemed to have to be done. For a girl who'd grown up on soup and crackers, with no one but portraits and a house elf and a brother who'd past, she thought she was taking becoming rich exceptionally well.

Or maybe she was in shock.

It would explain why she simply murmured. "And more reasons for people to kill me. Fantastic." in the most chipper voice there was.

Ciar lightly bopped Karma on the head with a rolled up piece of parchment. "Of course you can still do that," she said. "And conquest is usually only achieved if the family has a blood feud with another family and the Head is killed by a member of the opposing family, usually the Head." Grinning in a kind of sisterly she said, "You know I can always have my team of trusted accountant goblins do inventory for you. Then you can wait until you learn a bit more about the valuables in your vaults to do a full inventory with you present."

Turning to the goblin Ciar instructed, "I want my task force to be assigned to the Black vault as well. I'm sure they have more than enough time. Merlin knows I pay them well enough."

Ragnok bowed and gave a sharp toothed grin. "You're contributions to the bank coffers are quite adequate. It is a goblin's honour to serve the Lady Whelan." Turning back to Karma he said, "The inventory copies will be made immediately and will be waiting in the office when we return to the surface."

"Anyways, what else do you wanna do Karmz," Ciar asked looking at her business partner.

Karma winced and stuck her tongue out at the other girl. "Watch it, you." She teased. "Conquest sounds fun... once I can figure out how to start blood feuds, or whatever."

"That would be great!" She said, grinning. "Can they? They won't mind the extra work will they?" She pouted. "It feels kinda strange not to do it myself, but I'll do Merlin's by hand. that way...." She nodded to herself, turning to the Goblin. "For now, we'll check the Black Family Vaults to their full extent, and go down to Merlin's later." She felt an uncharacteristic urge to giggle, and bit it back with a twitch of her lips. Merlin, she was related to Merlin! This time, she could barely hold in the giggle, and her eyes widened.

"Thank you, Ragnok." Karma said, unable to wipe the crazy grin off her face. "I dunno what to do, Cici. I suppose we could just wander the vaults, get a feel on how big this fortune... this half of the fortune... is." She shrugged. "Let's go explore centuries worth of money!"

Ciar waved a hand with a smirk. "It's your vault," she replied. "Go wild." Digging out a parchment from the inside of her robes she unrolled the scroll and made a few mental notes. It was just about time to go down to her own vaults as well. There were a few things she needed to retrieve from them.

"Remind me after we're done with your stuff to stop by the Whelan vaults." Ciar stretched and began wandering through the vault, looking for a specific thing. "I need to pick up a few things that I need."