Chương 7: Iller Tidings

Sometimes, life hands you lemons. Other times, it's a court date. The rest, I'm usually out of sugar and just have to deal with it. —The Artificer's guide for the Melancholic. My ill tidings of a possible war on the horizon didn't change much. However, it did spur a certain angry ex-lawyer to action. I believe the exact quote was, "Hell hath no fury like a chairman scorned!" Either way, I left Ernie to his crusade at the library while I continued to garner more commissions throughout the following week.

The levels had continued to come in at first, but slowed considerably, if not stopping altogether. I was up one more craftsman level and two in leatherworking despite completing several orders since the last increase. It didn't seem that continued work of the same variety pushed one to progress. My increase in levels made each commission a little easier, smoother, and thanks to [Recall], the quality continued to increase, even if only a little, as I could pull from a growing pool of experience.

Coin was another story. My fishmonger friend pulled through, and I had completed three more aprons—the most lucrative of the jobs I had received so far, netting me a grand total of 97 silver and 43 copper coins. Just shy of a gold coin. Needless to say, a portion went to what we had begun to jokingly refer to as "HOA fees". One of the more frustrating aspects of our condition was the feeling of being held in limbo.

We weren't allowed to make construction modifications as they required a legal writ signed and certified by the 'Imperially Appointed Minister of Edifices and Estates'. It made me appreciate having a chosen class that I could make use of. Poor Danny with his Builder class could only look on in dismay, all of his potential stonewalled by a noble that refused every attempt to make an appointment. So it came as a surprise when I received a knock at my door early in the morning from a well-dressed woman.

She was wearing a forest-green brocade jacket and striped tights that ended in matching suede shoes. She looked down at me through thin spectacles and exuded a commanding presence that demanded no shenanigans." Craftsman Logan, I presume?" She crisply inquired.

"Yes, who's asking?" I immediately regretted speaking too quickly. I'd seen this show before. She proceeded to produce a scroll from inside her jacket.

"Under the watchful eye of Emperor Ambrosius, I faithfully serve you these legal documents under the authority vested in me by royal decree." She handed the document over, spun on her heel, and left as abruptly as she'd arrived. I blankly stared at the scroll for several moments, fully appreciating the absurdity of being served by the equivalent of a medieval jester, wondering where I had gone wrong in life. Curiosity overcame exasperation, and I broke the scroll's seal.

To the unlicensed vendor known as Logan, The Guild of Merchants, in conjunction with the Leathermasters Guild, have learned of your activities within the lower quadrants of Fairfield City. Unlicensed works are prohibited by city ordinance, and continued infractions will result in substantial fines levied by the aforementioned entities. As you may expect, practitioners of local works are held to a standard of quality that must be maintained to protect the public.

As such, in our efforts to protect the general public of Fairfield City, we petitioned for a general hearing to establish if the new refugees met legal requirements to conduct business in Fairfield City. Needless to say, your absence resulted in a default judgment. All future trade-skill services by the entities known as 'Fairfield City Refugees' will require a permit granted on a case-by-case basis. We thank you for your time in this matter.

Regards, Antoine Belazia Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. What. The. Fuck. I wasn't the only one that received the notice either. Several others who had found work that contributed to the HOA funds now found themselves in the guild's crosshairs. Joann looked ready to go to war. Her burgeoning seamstress business was garnering more business than mine had. Leather only had so many uses I guess.

She was just getting her feet wet in the more aristocratic circles when the hammer came down. In less than an hour we had assembled our ranks. One of the empty houses, a single room without furnishings, was being used as our meeting hall. It was a struggle to make my way inside with all of the - understandably - upset neighbors vigorously debating our next steps. Ernie was at the far end of the room making an honest attempt at quelling the crowd and failing miserably.

"EVERYONE QUIET DOWN!" Danny bellowed the order, cutting right over the discourse. Immediately the room fell silent and he shyly nodded toward Ernie who cleared his throat before he began an ill-prepared speech.

"As I am sure many of you are aware, we have received notices to cease all commercial trade. I've looked over several of the documents, and unfortunately they are in line with what I have learned about the local government at the library." This brought a fresh grumbling, and the audience's faces twisted with anger and disbelief. I found myself right there with them. How are we expected to live?

We've been stonewalled at every turn, treated unfairly, and every modicum of success we've achieved has been turned on its head.

"As frustrating as this is, it is only a means to an end." He paused, and I felt a pit form in my stomach.

"After much digging, and thanks in no small part to several of you bringing the information to my attention," He looked around the room at each of us.

"I have come to the conclusion that we were to be placed in conditions intentionally, with one goal in mind."

"As I am sure some of you have heard, there is a war brewing. Vandmar is facing an impending attack from Corvath. As such, the Emperor here has declared a mandatory draft. Any individual fit to serve must submit their names into a lottery. And as we all know, it isn't going to be random." This time the crowd erupted. Shouts echoed in the small space as people leaped to their feet. It took several minutes for Danny to quell the outrage, and many still vigorously shared their thoughts, albeit much quieter.

"I see I should have led with the fact that I learned of this some days ago; I have not come empty-handed. I didn't want to spread panic before I knew all of the details. The library has proved a worthy sword in this fight, and I believe I have a way out for us. The only issue… I am certain that the duke will not make this easy for us. I have no doubt that the outcome will be distasteful, but we will persevere. I won't share the details now, but know that we have what we believe to be a working solution."

Before he dismissed the room, he made one final statement.

"Please do not discuss anything we have talked about here with anyone outside of this room. I worry that if our plans to resist were to become known, things would get much more difficult for us. I didn't want to bring it up at all until I had to, but I fear that with the orders received earlier, the draft is very soon. Also, I would request you stay at or near the houses until this resolves. I do not know what they are capable of."

With this last warning, he signaled the release of the impromptu meeting, and we left to form little groups of fearmongering gossip sessions as one rightly does in such a situation. Naturally, Darby found me first, and Gene followed shortly after with Nibbles at his heels. Either he had really grown, or the light was playing tricks.

"I don't get why the Emperor would want a bunch of nobodies like us. It's not like we can fight anyone that's lived here for any length of time." Darby posed the same question I had been asking myself.

"There are probably seventy-five of us that are able to fight, if we had the skills or classes. And that's including the people that need to take care of the ones that can't."

"I think the reasoning is a bit deeper than just getting rid of us." I had been thinking about this, and my conspiratorial side had developed a theory.

"Everyone is assuming it won't be random, and I think that's accurate. There aren't many of us compared to how many people the city will have to put forward." I pointed toward the castle, rising above the city.

"And there also isn't anyone to fight for us. I think they are going to use us as replacements for the rich that get drafted, for political favors, or whatever else. They think if they make our situation shitty enough, we'll just lay down like dogs and accept the shit that comes our way."

"I reckon you might be right. But this old dog's got some new tricks, and I ain't about to beg for that sumbitch in his fancy tower." In true Midwestern American form, Gene declared his intention to fight for life and liberty.

"I wish Ernie told us more though, I hate being in limbo. It's all we've done since we got to this shithole." Darby's sentiment was echoed by both Gene and myself. It wasn't a good feeling, being dragged along. In less than two hours of receiving our notices, the duke's standard was spotted on the main thoroughfare that led into the city. Conveniently, enough time had passed to allow panic to rise from being restricted from all commerce and source of coin, and not enough time to come up with a new plan.

For the first time in my life, I could say that I was relieved to have an HOA Chairman.