Within the halls of a bank you may DEPOSIT <gold> to start up an account, after which you can WITHDRAW as much as you wish. Money banked is generally taxed by the Council of that city in order to finance the municipal budget at a rate decided upon by the financial leaders of the city. It is wise, in the long-run, to investigate what fee is levied by other cities to ensure that you are not being over-taxed. Banked funds is cannot be stolen from you or taken from you by an enemy. It is the only way to ensure your gold is wholly safe from the consequences of your day-to-day adventures.
The amount of gold coins held in the three royal banks of Mercinae, Thakria, Silverfalls and Parrius are shown by the SCORE and QS commands alongside the gold held in your hands and in your inventory. There are other banks at towns and sometimes villages, depending on the state of the land at any given time. Type ACCOUNT while standing in a particular bank to review details of your account holdings there.
Syntax: SAFE BOXES and SAFE DEPOSIT/REQUEST <box number>.
Banks have a further use: safety deposit boxes. This allows you to stash your valuable items with a bank - perhaps if you are going into battle, or travelling away from the land for a while. To use this facility use the SAFE command in one of the banks. Type SAFE DEPOSIT followed by the item (refer to it by number, to be accurate) to lodge it with the bank, in a safety deposit box. You can type SAFE BOXES to review any inventory held in a bank and SAFE EXAMINE to quickly look into one of your safety deposit boxes without withdrawing it. To take a deposited item back again, type SAFE REQUEST followed by the unique box number and (providing you have paid any gold owing) you will be able to withdraw it.
The fee for this service will vary depending on the city or town where the bank is located and - sometimes - the length of time deposited. You will need to pay any fees before you can retrieve the contents of a safety deposit box, and this is done using the SAFE PAY command. You will be informed how much you must pay when you examine or try to request the contents of a safety deposit box.
