Get back to the city and meet with Hugo
"Ah, Retcyl. So glad you could make it. Beautiful view, isn't it?"
Hugo meets you on a cliff-top path, far from any buildings, and the prying ears concealed thereby. He has his easel with him, and is painting the bay below.
"Anyway. About my 'alternate' source of income. I asked you to meet me in person not because it is too complex, obviously, but because it is... not the sort of thing you want written down and handled by a common messenger.
...have you noticed, perhaps, how many guards patrol these streets? Do you know what happens to criminals around here?
To put it simply, they die. All of them. Everyone from pickpockets to murderers, arrested without mercy and into the arena. And no question of wealth or status, everyone who breaks the law must fight for the Queen's pleasure."
"Now, I have nothing against justice. But there is a point where justice stops, and cruelty begins. I'm not sure how you people handle it, but this isn't normal for around here.
Even then, I couldn't really care less. I wouldn't dream of getting caught committing a crime. But I strongly suspect that there may be plenty of folks who do care, because they can not afford to be as careful as you or I. These men are liable to pay a good deal of money in exchange for a way around the established legal system."
"And that, darling, is what you can provide. The inn's design calls for a plethora of hiding places and escape routes. A man looking to lay low from the guards for a while might do well to seek refuge there. And given that the alternative to refuge is death in the arena, he might well be willing to pay a handsome sum for said refuge. And perhaps do some favours as well; criminals might know things that could benefit the Hacturi, or perhaps be swayed to join your cause."
"Now, this idea is dangerous. But not so much more dangerous, I think, than whatever you were planning on doing anyway with an inn with hidden rooms and sewer escape tunnels. And I'm sure that the criminal element of this city would be willing to part with a few ducats to aid in the establishment of your inn if it were to serve this purpose. The decision is, of course, yours."