Chương 455: Traveling Home

Traveling home to Sedgewick was relatively easy. The workers were leaving all of the supplies behind and most of the wagons, with only Myrna's Taco Wagon and two others coming with them. Myrna was asleep in the back, having cooked straight for two days, feeding hungry Fire Mages who needed to replenish the fire in their bellies.

Aleister and Zephyr were only a little better, having dispensed healing potions and hurled fire until they exhausted their mana and hit the limit of how many dozen mana potions they could drink in a day. One wagon was piled high with frozen snarlfang carcasses that Delbert kept cold until he could store them in Sedgewick. Ozzy's bag was packed with a large pile of skins and his Tripe Pot had happily eaten any leftovers from butchering the huge beasts.

Claudia and Themis had taken Ozzy aside before a direct teleport to Rowan Keep would take them most of the way home. The General handed him a rolled scroll bearing her seal in red wax.

"As agreed, a draft upon the Empire through the Gnomish Bank for the supplies and people supplied by the Baron of Gadobhra. A copy was already sent by Courier to the Baron, but I know how picky tax people can be, so here's a second with my seal. And convey unofficial gratitude from Karl and Gus for how fast you put that convoy together." Ozzy tucked the paper into his bag for safekeeping, "I'm sure Baron William has an equal amount of gratitude for the opportunity to do business."

Claudia handed him a similar scroll, "And, as you asked, a separate accounting of the barrels of potions, healing beer, Burney Bacon, the coffee service, tacos, and other specialized support that you supplied. I'm going to miss the hot coffee on cold days." Rory took that as a request, bringing fresh mugs of coffee and tea to the General and the Duchess, each in a mug commemorating the battle. Themis sipped her tea, watching the brownies run back to their little wagon where the Fae Sorceress was walking alongside.

"How did you convince a High Fae to come along on this adventure?" Ozzy shrugged, "Who knows why the Fae do things? But they do like to experience new and unique events. She said she was coming along, and the brownies go where she goes. When Winter sent those little Wind Sprites to spy on us, she was quick to call them over to her and free them. Maybe she knew they were here? Or maybe she wanted to fight that Cyclone? I gave up trying to figure out the Fae that have wandered into Sedgewick.

Suzette might know more, she's got some deal that's going to bring a Fairy Market to town soon." Themis looked North.

"I'll visit once I clear out Winter from these lands up through Northguard and Rowan Keep. I'll be a little busy until then. But I'll be sending messages to your baron about restocking supplies. If he has meat and groats to sell, we'll buy them." She turned to the Duchess, "Or rather, the Duke and Duchess will buy them. I hear she's building stockpiles in case this war gets bigger." Claudia nodded, "The more, the better. You know where to deliver them, Butcher.

And while I don't expect any problems for you and your new endeavors, keep me informed of anything interesting in my town. I'll be in and out with the Red Banner until Winter is finished, but messages will get to me." They shook hands. Themis made one last try to add him to the army, "Are you sure I can't talk you into a commission? I could use a good supply officer who can toss monsters around." Ozzy smiled, but shook his head, "Sounds fun, but who'd make all the sausage you need to feed that army?

Billy's going to gear up production as soon as he can. He's always going to be helpful as long as he gets paid."

"Which is fair, and more than I can say for most Nobles. Get moving then, and get to work on that sausage. We'll be in touch." After the teleport from Stoneburrow to Sedgewick, on mana supplied by Rowan Keep, the Workers jogged down the road to Sedgewick. The town was lit brightly with fairy lights everywhere. Suzette was walking hand in hand with Ozzy, taking their time, mainly for Rolly, who had somehow regrown his leg and was limping beside them.

Ben had offered to let him ride his horse, but Rolly insisted on walking.

"Have to build up some muscles in the right places. Regeneration is weird." Ben walked beside Mudhead, keeping pace with the others.

"So, did everyone have fun on this trip? Getting to see a Cyclone close-up was worth the price of admission. I could never quite envision them from Ozzy's stories." <Squirmie is upset she missed a big fight, but one should always care for wounded nest-mates and pets first. They might be needed when dealing with large relatives. >"You'd have been lucky to keep your wings, bug. I stayed as far away as I could and sniped at long range, then went and hid inside the college to avoid getting sucked into the thing.

It almost picked up Ozzy and his Bag! I didn't stand a chance." Ozzy looked down at her and grinned.

"Have fun looting? I saw you grinning like a cat that stole the cream when you snuck out of that pile of stone."

"Lots of fun. So sad to see it that way. It must have been like a palace before Winter attacked. I found a few choice items that will make life more comfortable for us. But what I'm very happy about are the books on magic that I can give to our poor little Mage Guild. I'm still mad that they've been blocking us for so long, but I think what I found will help.

But I'll worry about that later, tomorrow I have to play Mayor and attend our first-ever Fairy Market, and by the sounds coming from town, I'll be playing Barmaid all night. Zephyr and Aleister are going to be exhausted from that trip. They can't go all day and night like we can." Rolly nudged Ben in the ribs.

"We volunteer to help. I can pour beer and Ben can wear an apron and deliver it. He's looking prettier by the day."

"You wished you looked so good in an apron! The secret is looking good in anything. But yes, my limping friend and I will help you sling beers tonight. I expect we will have a full house." <Fearless Leader and the large one will play the 'Bouncer' game. Extra points for bouncing people off the ceiling before sending them sailing out the door. > Ben desperately wanted to see some rowdy player 'bounced' by the foot-high 'fairy princess', even if it meant buying beer for every barbarian in the house.

Ozzy was looking at the town, noticing a lot more lights than there used to be.

"Is the Fair why the town is all lit up?"

"It is. We had building points to spare, so I upgraded the lights. They'll glow bright like this for special occasions or when the town is threatened. They light the whole place up now. Some creatures will take them as a warning, at least the ones who don't want to possibly piss off an ally of the Fae. Some nasty things like undead and summoned creatures take damage from them. Seemed like a good upgrade to have."

"And pretty at night. Especially with the Fair setting up. Looks like there's a lighted pathway to it."

"Yeah, that was Gom's idea. He's got some good marketing tactics. Safe travel to the fair, warning signs about what not to do there, and warnings to the lesser fae merchants to keep their tricks to a minimum and not piss off the Countess or the Mayor. I don't want to have complaints of some customer ending up with a donkey's head, and trading children is right out." Ben looked from Gadobhra, a dark mass, barely lit, then to Sedgewick, the hamlets, and the Fair.

"Things have changed and are going to change faster. Billy's wanted a teleporter and now he has one. With Gnomish Banking and that new stone, Gadobhra can sell items in the game all over the Empire, and take real-world dollars as well. No one else can do that yet. He's going to be using every building point he has to set up shops, then build more the old-fashioned way, and turn Gadobhra into a prosperous gothic nightmare of a city. We need to be on our toes. There will be more opportunities opening up."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ozzy was thoughtful, "And we don't want to miss them, not if we can shift them to Suzette's control in Sedgewick, or another certain area. And we need to be aware that some of the players will have a lot of cash. We need to encourage them to buy up those ruins in Gadobhra. After all, that's the big city. And I was thinking, does Sedgewick have buildings for sale?"

Suzette nodded, "It does, and will have more if we expand. I usually lease them so I can keep the money in Sedgewick, but I hear gears grinding in your head." Ozzy grinned, "Well, it occurs to me that we all have a little extra cash in the bank, and putting it to use might be good. If we buy up those extra buildings at a price Billy will jump at then we can rent them out to merchants, families, and players. Shift treasure to income, and start taking control of more of the town." <Squirmie wants a large nest!

Many nests! Ownership of nests is prestige! >"I can do that. Billy would be suspicious it was another corporation if we tried to hide it, but each of us wanting our own house should make sense to him. And then we come up with interesting ways to buy more buildings through other buyers like Makken." Rolly was limping less and less as they walked, finally losing the limp altogether.

"Yep, lots of things we can work on. Like horse breeding. I need to find a good pasture for the foals. Wyverns, Hippogryphs, and Griffons love the taste, and I can't watch over them all the time. Maybe we can get a corner of a certain secret spot cleaned up enough?" Ben was curious, it was the first time Rolly had ever mentioned raising horses.

"Seems tame, for you. I've never known you to want to raise normal horses." The Shepherd grinned at him, "I never had a chance like this. And who said anything about ordinary horses?" He gave Mudhead a thumbs up and the stallion neighed loudly and pranced. Ben looked at his horse.

"You have a kid on the way?" Mudhead shook his head and then put his front hoof down, and repeated the movement seven more times.

"You have eight kids... err, foals on the way? How in hell did you do that?" Rolly put his arm around Ben's shoulders.

"Performance jealousy? Or do I need to explain the Bees and the Weasels to you again? It's fine. Maybe Mudhead can give you pointers. But you and I are going to have our work cut out for us soon. I expect a bunch of your relatives will be making a visit and bringing along their four-footed mothers-to-be. Raising Legendary foals takes a Legendary Shepherd."

"You volunteered, didn't you?"

"Yep, as soon as I saw that Mudhead had been busy all night. Strange how he and all those mares from House Franklin got put in the same area. You wouldn't have noticed, being busy yourself." He looked at his crook.

"Hmmm, I wonder if the +25% fertility effect from my class affects humans? Guess you'll find out soon. Feel free to name the baby after me." Ben looked at Rolly, horrified.

"Nope, nope, nope. I'm a confirmed bachelor."

"Sure didn't look like it the other night when you were celebrating. Ozzy took pity on Ben and changed the subject.

"What are your other plans for those building points, Suzie? I know you have a bunch for Sedgewick, and we each have some personal points we can spend." She shook her head, "No, save those. Anything in Sedgwick I can cover. If there's something needed, just ask and keep your points for special projects." Rolly didn't hesitate.

"Two Big Red Barns like the Hamlets have. I need them for my new project."

"All yours, just show me where to put them when you have the spot picked out." Ozzy asked, "What are you thinking about for Sedgewick?"

"Well, a better Mage's Guild and Adventurer's Guild, for sure. Both are small and shabby compared to the level of people who are going to head to the dungeons. And I'd like to increase the size of the tavern. But I'd also like to keep things low-key and not have it get out that Mayor Suzette can wave her hand and solve problems. I have a lot of points now, but we don't have an easy way to earn them."

"Well, use the basic magician's trick of misdirection. Give people some other reason for why things suddenly appear. The Thunderpunks are all Tier 3 now, at least. Can you use the quest system to reward the local adventurers with a better guild hall?" Suzette thought for a bit, "That's actually not a bad idea, and I can tie it into the Tavern expansion, as well. In half the games we played in, adventurer's guild halls were in taverns.

I can expand my tavern, and put the guild hall next to it, with a doorway between them. And that gives me an idea for the Mage's Guild. Thanks for that." She smiled up at him, "Now, tell me your real reason for asking. I can see that little twinkle in your eye." The Butcher sighed, "Damn, and in the dark? I'm going to have to work on my poker face. But since you asked so nicely, I want to expand my smokehouse and put a small sausage factory between the smokehouse and the Butcher Shop for my special recipes.

Just enough room for a couple of apprentices to work, and some storage underground. We can sell my special recipes at the Butcher Shop a little at a time, and a little more in Wolfsburg, but keep all the production in Sedgewick. Runt's doing great and wants to spend his Enhancement Points to increase the level of his shop, but there's no room."

"Well, I do like the idea of keeping things in Sedgewick. I can do that, but you'll have to explain to your smoking horror that it's going to get moved. I don't want to piss it off, but to do all these upgrades, we need to make the town bigger. If we move the Smokehouse further out it can be in the far corner of the town, and off the main street, then the sausage factory, and the Butcher Shop where the Smokehouse was, in a part of the town with good visibility and customer access."

Ozzy thought about that and liked it.

"Less chance of someone wandering inside by accident, and it will be easier to make wood deliveries."

"Do you want a place to store the wood you need? I could put that right next to it. And we can put some nice storage vaults under the whole area. All out of sight of both Billy and the tax collectors. We can have access from the Butcher Shop and Smokehouse to the storage areas. We don't want people nibbling your special recipes and going up in flames." Both of them remembered the time two players had picked the lock on the Butcher Shop while Runt was having supper in the Tavern's kitchen.

They'd screamed for a few seconds as they self-immolated and brought people running. Runt had shrugged and swept up the ashes, then went back for another piece of pie. The story got around and no one else tried to steal from him. Ben added, "And an underground route to the new delivery system. The bigger Billy expands shopping in Gadobhra, the less chance anyone notices that not everything comes from there." Suzette had a thought that concerned her, sparked by the memory of players self-immolating on Ozzy's bacon.

"If we start getting high-level thieves in town, we may have more trouble. I'll talk to Rufus and McTeeth about better locks for the town. Rufus has been asking about a Crafters Hall to channel more players into craft skills, that can be his payment for it. And McTeeth is becoming territorial, now that he's the Master of the Gadobhra Thieve's Guild. He doesn't like anyone stealing in the Barony if he doesn't get a cut. Rufus can make the locks, and McTeeth can test them."

They were almost home and paused on the small stone bridge going over the stream. Ben asked, "So when is the big change going to come?"

"Let's see if we can't confuse people even more. I'll ask Gom to throw a big party third night of the fair. We'll close the Tavern and ask the Kallveks to close the Inn, so everyone drinks at the Fair. Sometime in the wee hours, things will happen." The door to the tavern opened and a large fighter in plate mail with a dented helmet staggered out the door, followed by an angry Granya holding a cast iron pan.

"I told you, No Soup For You!" They all started walking faster, as the Butcher said, "Time to get to work."