Limiting the time to 15 minutes for getting the money seriously limits what Bern can do.
Polly is away for a day so that route of help is locked, May won't answer her so that's gone too.
So Bern did the most obvious thing and gone to talk with one person who talked to her without asking for money and rather as a favour to Polly who he knows.
As for possibilitis how she can get 800 golds in now maybe 10-12 min left?
The most logical answer is to loan it from someone and sign some form of contract.
If this city is all about being materialistic and the money and compensating first for all kind of services with it, then for sure there are people who loan them.
What Bern can do?
Fight/bodyguard or use her body as a woman, and nothing else.
I'm for sure signing Bern off from any kind of gamble/thief/bard/con artist but also a killer for hire action.
So a possibility as signing as Enforcer for a contract for some time and getting money upfront for doing that may be some outcome.
Also since the whole city is set in no force/violence policy aside of Enforcers, then I would be pretty sure that there are some illegal fights going somewhere so people could vent off the rules and earn money on betting and such. Maybe Bern could sign a contract to fight in them... That's second possibility in my mind, but of course it would be illegal, and while doing it Bern would break her moral code.
The other is that for sure there are some kind of brothels or strip clubs where Bern could work for signing some shady contract for quick money upfront, but that I think even more would break Bern moral and ethic and especially her personal code on much higher level than just being a fighting thug.
And the last thing is which maybe the easiest outcome, is to simply sell her second magical sword in some pawn shop, and for that save her father(if selling the first sword gave her father a big sume of money for booze and whores then for sure it may be worth of something), but then she would have to stay here for a while to earn money to buy it back, and then also there's the second weapon...
I suppose this method would be the least wrong of what she would have to do.
But since Bern is outsider then she can be cheated by people pretty easily.
And if I recall right there's also Moss and Fata combo travelling, who could help Bern with their fake money illusions if met.
I can't wait to see what route author will choose here.
Edit:
Seeing newest update with money=life in this city...
I wonder how this works in the terms of loans, it's obvious now that Bern need an enormous amount of money which normal people won't be able to lend her, like this guy having just around 100 gold max...
So I would bet this will go into the loan shady business, maybe around 10 min left and Bern will need to spend her last money on random people to get directions to get to such place.
I'm kinda surprised that Bern didn't think about selling her sword as alternative like her father did to get money.
I would bet that such loan people would evaluate Bern how worth her life is in money and then she will have to sign some contract, if let's say Bern life is worth of 400 gold pieces for them for a year, then Bern would be owned by them for 2 years to pay of the taken debt. But for sure her desperation and time limit will push her to do something stupid which later Polly won't be able to solve out, and the guy's words will come true.
Also Brion you ever thought about activating comments under the comic pages like most webcomics have?
Comic discussions here are pretty dead compared to the past activity