by Pirateaba
Erin chewed at her lip as Klbkch sat silently. She turned to look as Lyonette showed Mrsha how to dip her meatballs in some raw egg and eat it. Erin opened her mouth to ask if that was hygienic, remembered that no one besides Ryoka knew what that word meant, and then stared at the eggs.
The idea hit her in a flash of inspiration. She turned to Klbkch.
“What about Bird?”
“What?”
“Bird! What if I hired him?”
Klbkch stared at her. He visibly hesitated and glanced towards her window.
“Bird? He is unusual. Do you truly believe he would serve as an adequate guard for your inn?”
“Why not? He likes high places, and he likes sitting in one spot. He told me so. He can sit on top of my inn and shoot birds all day! Hold on—I’ve just had a great thought. Let me show you what I mean!”
Erin rushed into her kitchen and ran back to Klbkch with a piece of parchment and charcoal. She began sketching energetically.
“I told you I wanted to upgrade my inn, right? Well, I want a bigger common room—can you expand it like ten feet? And I want a third floor and longer second floor so I can have a lot more guests. But what if I added something on top of the third floor?”
It took Klbkch several minutes and a few questions before he could identify Erin’s sketch as a blueprint for the inn. What she had envisioned was a third floor for the inn, but her newest addition was a tall tower on top of the inn, a watchtower with no roof that would give anyone an unparalleled view of the landscape, much like the crow’s nest on a ship.
Erin grinned as she pointed to it and showed Klbkch a tiny stick-Antinium with a bow standing on the tower.
“He could sleep on the third floor and go up to the tower to shoot birds and watch out for danger. That’s all Bird does, right? And the tower would be totally cool! Doesn’t it look cool? I’ll call it…the Bird’s Nest.”
She waited. Klbkch stared at her. Erin coughed.
“That was, uh, a joke. You know, because of Bird and his name? And nest? And it’s tall?”
Klbkch nodded.
“I am aware. And if Bird agrees, I see no reason to object.”
“You mean you’d do it? You can build my inn?”
Erin sat up excitedly. Klbkch poured over the designs for Erin’s inn and nodded slowly.
“Your proposed designs for your inn seem feasible. However, I will have to charge you for this work, Erin. I am…unable to requisition supplies and aid so readily from my Hive at this time.”
“That’s fine! I wanted to pay you anyways. It wouldn’t be right otherwise.”
Erin smiled brightly at Klbkch.
“How much are we talking about here? I’ve got lots of gold coins.”
“I believe three hundred and twenty eight gold coins would be sufficient for this work.”
Erin paused. She stuck a finger in one ear and wiggled it around. But reality didn’t change, although she did find some earwax.
“Um. That’s…a lot.”
Klbkch nodded.
“Yes. Sadly, if we acquire useable wood from the forest of ah, ‘boom trees’, there is the matter of construction, hiring the Antinium, glass for the windows…”
“But three hundred—”
“Part of the cost—six silver coins out of every twenty—is given to Liscor under our treaty with the city. It is a non-negotiable tax.”
“That’s highway robbery!”
“No. That is our agreement. But it drives prices higher, as does a standing law that requires me to charge you for work outside of the city’s limits, as well as the necessity of guarding said Workers while they go about their tasks. To construct a third floor and expand your inn is a difficult task, Erin. Building a new home of quality would normally cost around two hundred gold coins in itself.”
Erin put her head in her hands. She didn’t have that money. She had a lot of money, but that…no. She stared at Klbkch.
“It’s the glass that’s expensive, isn’t it?”
He nodded.
“Each window costs approximately eight gold coins.”
Erin said a bad word. And then told Mrsha it was a bad word. The Gnoll nodded appreciatively as Erin sighed over the cost.
“What’s the problem?”
Someone came over to their table. Ryoka was gulping down water as Lyonette refilled her glass. She heard Erin’s woes out and barely listened to the issue of money before she nodded.
“I’ll pay for it, Erin. Go ahead and get everything built.”
Erin gaped at Ryoka.
“What? But Ryoka, it’s so expensive—”
The Runner shrugged carelessly. She sipped from her glass as Mrsha tried to leap onto her shoulder and failed. The Gnoll splatted onto the ground and went howling over to Lyonette, who scolded her about being reckless before cuddling her.
“I’m good for it. The Horns are paying me a bit more than that for doing the run to Invrisil and back. I’ll take it out of that and I’ll still have over a thousand gold coins to buy magical items with.”
“But—”
Ryoka flicked some sweat out of her eyes. She looked back at the door, where Pisces was waving her impatiently over.
“Erin, I really don’t care. Klbkch, I’ll give you the coins later, okay?”
She jogged back towards the door and vanished with a pop of dislocated air. Erin turned weakly back to Klbkch.
“I can pay some of it. Really.”
“We will negotiate the division of payment. But I will take Miss Ryoka’s word on credit. Her generosity is worth accepting, Erin.”
“Yeah, but I never give her anything back…”
Erin sighed. She felt guilty, but she wanted a better inn more. She also felt a bit hurt. True, Ryoka had all that money from running dangerously, but she didn’t treat it, like it was, well, important.
Maybe it was because Ryoka used to be really rich? She said her father was some big shot politician guy and her mother also had an important job. Either way, it was done.
“I guess I’ll talk to Bird and see if he wants to be my guard. I think he will. And then I’ll have one guard! Do…do you think one is enough?”
Klbkch pondered the question before nodding.
“Safety is a relative term, but you are able to escape to Liscor and Celum quite quickly. Bird would no doubt be able to fend off any assailant if outnumbered or outmatched.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“It is his duty. If his death meant your survival, it would be a trade both he and I would be willing to make.”
Klbkch stared at Erin and she felt a cold pit open in her stomach. She didn’t reply, and the Antinium seemed to realize he’d made her uncomfortable. He switched subjects quickly.
“If assigning a group of Workers and Soldiers to your inn were permissible, I would do so. However, the contract between Liscor and my Hive—and my Queen’s own thoughts on the subject—do not allow for this course of action. If Bird agrees, I would have no issue allowing him to work at your inn on a semi-permanent basis.”
“Okay.”
He paused, looking at Erin. Klbkch clicked his mandibles and make a dry sound, clearing his throat.
“Well. We shall begin construction shortly. However, for the moment there is a…situation in the Hive and all Workers and Soldiers are needed. I shall send a team to begin work, but it may take more time if the need for bodies persists.”
“Oh? Is…something happening in the Hive?”
For some reason, Klbkch glanced at the other adventurers, the mages clustered around the door and Ceria, Yvlon, and Ksmvr talking at a table about their magical artifacts. He shook his head slowly.
“Nothing that need concern you, Erin. It is simply a busy time for us.”
He left quickly after that, heading back to his Hive. A bit unhappy, but more exhausted by all the planning, Erin mechanically got dinner ready. But she realized she didn’t have enough of the weird crunchy vegetable that was called for in he
r soup.
Yellats. Erin went to Celum rather than Liscor to get them. It was just as quick—quicker, since she didn’t have to go through the snow and she could get them at a shop. Erin made her purchase and headed back towards Octavia’s shop. But she took a detour at the Frenzied Hare.
“Hey Safry! How are you doing?”
“Erin!”
The [Barmaid] turned and smiled at Erin as the [Innkeeper] entered the bustling inn. Erin looked around for Miss Agnes, but the woman was nowhere to be seen. That was surprising, given how the inn was fairly full and both Maran and Safry were busy working with another woman Erin didn’t recognize.
“Wow. Busy evening crowd. Where’s Miss Agnes?”
“Oh, she’s out with her husband. Mister Agnes is feeling better, and business is good thanks to you. Miss Agnes hired another [Barmaid] and a [Cook]—she’s not around half as much as she used to be.”
Safry made a face as Maran rushed by with some drinks for a table whose occupants were crying out in thirst. Erin knew the [Barmaid] was taking time to talk to her while the other two covered for her, so she talked fast and didn’t beat about the bush.
“Hey Safry, I’m actually looking for some help. And I think you could give me good advice.”
“Oh?”
The young woman—well, relatively young, since she was older than Erin—brushed sweat-dampened hair out of her eyes and smiled at Erin.
“What could I help you with?”
Erin smiled sheepishly. She liked Safry, and Maran. She’d worked with them for a week and they were hard working people. She felt a sort of kindred spirit with them.
“I’m actually sort of overworked right now in my own inn. I’m always cooking, cleaning, and so on. Lyonette helps a lot, but she’s only one person, you know? So I was wondering…do you know any good [Barmaids] I could talk to? I’d like to hire at least two, maybe as many as four. I’m going to go to Liscor and ask Selys and Krshia as well, but I thought you might know of some people I could talk to.”
Safry stared down at Erin, empty tray in hand. She looked around, and then to Erin’s surprise, pulled up a chair in front of her table. She leaned closer to Erin, looking at the [Innkeeper] intently.
“You’re looking for new [Barmaids]?”
There was a curious intensity to her tone. Erin nodded slowly.
“Yeah.”
“In that case…what about me?”
“What?”
“Why not hire me?”
“What?”
Erin stared at Safry. Of all the responses she could have imagined—and she hadn’t imagined any—this wasn’t one of them. But Safry looked serious. And she was already turning, shouting out above the busy noise of the inn.
“Hey Maran! Maran!”
The other [Barmaid] came over, looking footsore and tired.
“Aw, Safry…we have work!”
“Just sit. Listen—Erin’s hiring [Barmaids].”
“What? Do you want to hire me?”
Maran immediately sat down next to Safry, leaving their third co-worker to struggle alone against the hordes. But the two older [Barmaids] were intent on Erin. And Erin couldn’t understand why.
“Why do you want to work at my inn? Maran, Safry—I thought you two liked it here!”
They exchanged glances. To Erin’s bewilderment, they both shook their heads.
“We don’t like it here, Erin. It’s a good job, don’t get me wrong, and I’d work it the rest of my life if I had to. I have to eat after all. But if you’re hiring…I’ve been to your inn before. It’s larger than Agnes’, and you’re easier to work with than she is. And I’d bet you’d pay better than she does, too!”
“You don’t like Miss Agnes?”
Erin had her own private beef with Agnes after Jasi, and just how the woman ran her inn in general, but she hadn’t ever expected the woman’s relationship with her workers to be one of those issues. But to her surprise, Safry and Maran were only too happy to badmouth the woman.
“Miss Agnes? She’s not half as good as you, Erin. She doesn’t run the inn like you can, she can’t cook…on bad days, she’ll scream at you for serving the customer the wrong order she gave you. Or dock your pay for taking a break when it’s not busy.”
“She doesn’t do that. Really?”
“Oh, she’s better when her husband’s well. And Mister Agnes is a steady fellow, but when she’s stressed it gets ugly. And, well, she’s just not sympathetic! I had a terrible cold—couldn’t take or afford a healing potion, you know how it is with sickness—and she told me if I didn’t work I’d be fired, never mind that Maran was down with the same illness! I swear I gave my cold to two dozen folk, but I had to work.”
“She’s tight with her coin, too. We don’t get tips, Erin. I don’t know what world you come from—”
Erin jumped, but it was just an expression. Maran went on tiredly.
“—But folks don’t just leave extra coin for us. We rely on what Miss Agnes pays us, and that’s not much. True, it’s what most [Barmaids] get paid, but you’re a lot more generous than she is. You gave us a handful of coins each time after we’d worked our fingers off serving those crowds after the plays. Agnes would never do that.”
“I had no idea.”
It didn’t seem right to think less of Miss Agnes, not when Erin knew how the woman worked hard and tried to support her sick husband. But when she listened to Maran and Safry, Erin had to believe them. She couldn’t tell if they were lying, but she thought the things they were describing were the kinds of things Agnes might do. Like Ryoka had said, she wasn’t a bad woman.
Just not always a good one. And now Erin was faced with a problem, because she liked Maran and Safry. And she thought they might be a great help to Lyonette. However…
“If I hired you two, what would Miss Agnes do? I couldn’t do that, girls.”
Safry made a face.
“What, Agnes? If you hire us she’ll find two other [Barmaids] like that.”
She snapped her fingers dismissively. Maran nodded.
“A lot of girls have a few levels in the class, and it’s not like we’re rare. Erin, we’re begging you. Hire us!”
“But if Miss Agnes is angry…”
“She’d never scream at you, Erin. She’s afraid of you.”
“What? No.”
“Yes!”
Both [Barmaids] chorused at the same time. Erin stared at them.
“Me? Really?”
Safry nodded.
“You’re a Level 20 [Innkeeper] at least, right? Agnes is only Level 18, though she’s been working here for nearly a decade! It’s her husband who has all the cooking Skills. Ever since you came along, her inn’s been making ten times what it normally has!”
Maran chimed in.
“You also have that Skill—you know, where you get really scary? I swear, Miss Agnes nearly wet herself when you lectured her. She won’t kick up a fuss, Erin. Please?”
Erin put her head in her hands. This was too complex! She only wanted advice, but now she had to make a choice. When she looked up, Maran and Safry were still staring at her. Erin took a deep breath. Life was full of hard choices. And knowing what she did, Erin knew her decision already, though it might cause trouble. She looked at Safry.
“Okay, assuming I were to hire you…how much do you get paid now?”
The [Barmaids] smiled.
“What are you offering?”
Erin wavered. She didn’t know what [Barmaids] around here were paid, but she’d done her math, and figured out how much she could afford to pay.
“I was thinking…one silver coin and six copper coins per hour, and more if it’s a busy day? Bonuses if it’s a rush, obviously. Maybe a bit more? I dunno. What do you think?”
There was silence. Maran and Safry looked at each other. And then they looked at Erin. Safry spoke.
“How many [Barmaids] do you need? I have friends. And I could start tomorrow if you want.”
They
leaned over the table, ignoring their coworker shouting that she needed help. Erin sat back in her chair and looked at the two [Barmaids]. She gulped.
—-
It was dinner time, or rather, a bit past that when Ryoka finished the testing. She popped back into the air in Erin’s inn, staggered, and clutched at her stomach. The teleportation made her feel as though she’d gone on a roller coaster ride at twice the normal speed. While inhaling paint fumes. Upside down.
“I think…I’m gonna be sick.”
Pisces carefully stepped back as Ryoka covered her mouth. It wouldn’t do to get his new robes dirty. True, he had the magical ones, but these were the unenchanted robes Ceria had gifted to him on Christmas. He would prefer to keep them clean.
Ryoka staggered over to a table and slumped onto it. Typhenous was sitting there, scribbling on a piece of parchment while Moore did math by tracing glowing numbers in the air. The two [Mages] concluded their calculations and looked up. They conferred with Pisces, and then presented their conclusion to Erin as she served everyone dinner.
“You’re telling me you spent all day doing maths?”
Halrac looked outraged, especially since everyone else, including Revi, had been gathering information about the dungeon from the latest reports. But Typhenous refused to be shamed.
“The understanding of this door, my good Halrac, is a boon in itself. And our conclusion is stunning!”
“The door can send someone of Ryoka’s general weight, give or take twenty pounds…”
Pisces flicked his fingers at Moore, and the half-Giant finished with a grin.
“…Five hundred and thirty six miles, given minimal change in altitude or magical ambience. The door would exhaust its magic after such a teleport however, and require roughly eight point two hours to recharge fully.”
The [Mages] sat back as the other occupants of the room went still. Ceria whistled and Jelaqua took a long drink of mulled wine.
“All the way to Invrisil, huh? Even if it’s only once a day…that’s powerful.”
“Invrisil? Hah! Who’d want to go there? It’s full of annoying Humans!”
