Chương 108: 107: Conflict and Community

I bid Jac and Bryce goodbye after telling them to figure out what they wanted built and what the timeline would be. I found Baddon with Zack. They were finishing up the outlines of the foundations of each of the new buildings they'd begin putting up as soon as the first load of new building materials arrived in the next day or two. I asked Baddon if I could speak with him, and his face immediately fell. He nodded and told Zack to finish staking out the string lines. We walked off a distance, and Baddon spoke first.

"I'm afraid I know what this is about. I really do apologize for Delyth's behavior. I've told her that she cannot treat people like this. Her father indulged her because she was his youngest. It doesn't help that she's feeling unwell because she's pregnant." I looked at Baddon's body language as he spoke. He had his arms out and a slight frown on his face. He looked genuinely upset about his wife's behavior.

I took a deep breath and said, "I'm sure things will get better, but my wife is definitely unhappy with the situation. Your uncle has said plenty of good things about you, and from the looks of things you're going to be a valuable addition to this homestead. But I'm trying to build a community here. I know not everyone in a community always gets along, but I'd like us to be a tad bit larger before we start having too many conflicting personalities."

"I'll take care of it, I promise," Baddon said. Not in a defensive or angry tone, more of a, he hoped he could tone.

"I'm sure you can, but maybe, just to be safe, build your own cabin first. I'll make sure we have everything we need to get it furnished. If everyone has their own space, we can avoid conflict better." Baddon nodded, then asked, "Mr Jacobson, sir. Do you have the gold to build all of your bathroom and bathing facilities now? We don't technically need them right away, you have enough, but it could be handy if we could just pencil everything in now." I had 19, 000 gold left.

I now had four Farmhands who would need to be paid a collective five hundred and forty gold over the next nine months. I also had three Farm Mistresses who were owed one hundred and sixty-two. With room and board for them, I was north of 2, 500 gold. The Blacksmith and Carpenter contracts were similar in that they provided 40XP base and twenty gold per month, along with room, board, and a clothing and tool allowance.

Basically, three gold per day total, which was a gold above the standard two gold a day a normal laborer was due if they did non-contract work. Roughly sixteen hundred for the two men. By the time I figured that all in, I was right around the 4, 000 gold mark to feed and pay everyone. I was aware my expenses were already likely to go a couple thousand higher than that, so I couldn't guarantee that I'd have enough money for two more plots if all of my crops mysteriously failed.

That meant I might as well pay for the outhouses and the extra bathhouses now. I could even make the composting runes for the outhouses! That was the majority of the cost for them, anyway. I could even add in heating runes for the winter. We needed an additional five outhouses minimum to make up a bare minimum for the amount of cabins and bunkhouses we'd have. I just told him to give us ten more to go to twenty. That only came out to three hundred gold with me providing the runes.

I really wanted to just enlarge the current bathhouses, but Seamus said that it would be far more expensive to have the metal or porcelain tubs made at the much larger size than it would to just build a second set of tubs. I asked Rupert if he could do something, but he thought the idea of having extra people stewing in filthy bathwater was a terrible idea. We had the first cleaning tub where everyone scrubbed down before getting in the soaking tub, but that was when I decided I wanted showers darnit!

I told Seamus, Baddon, and Rupert, who I of course had no power over, to figure out how to build me a shower setup that didn't take a huge amount of effort to fill. I'd provide heating runes. People could shower, then get into the tubs. We'd still have separate men's and women's bathhouses, of course, but they'd be new and improved! By the time we'd talked about everything, it was already dinnertime.

I wasn't sure that I'd solved any of Emily's issues with Delyth, but I was fairly sure that Baddon was going to be a helpful Craftsman. And I was certain Emily could agree having showers would be amazing… Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. That evening, we had a nice dinner of pork chops with a blackberry glaze made from some of last year's preserves. My mother had made a good raspberry glaze back home.

We were still a year away from getting any raspberries, though. I had only recently found out they didn't produce any fruit the first year. Back home, we always had mashed potatoes with a healthy dallop of butter with pork chops, but that would have to be a fall addition this year. We added pickled onions, and some fried mushrooms to top the pork chops.

Finally, we added some dandelions and young cattail shoots that had been foraged from the riverbank, along with spinach, carrots, and radishes from the garden, with a vinaigrette salad dressing. I noticed Delyth wasn't at dinner with us, but Baddon ate with us after he took food up to his wife. I considered that a minor improvement, since she hadn't asked any of the women to deliver it to her. Colin and the squad were present, but I didn't bother them aside from a quick greeting.

I still didn't know which way Colin would go. He had a few months to decide before he either left with them or went off for normal training. Rupert came in to dinner late, then made his way over to sit with me and Emily after he grabbed a plate of food.

"How are we today, oh majestic Earth Wizard?" I teased. He snorted, then said, "Doing fine. The earthen wall is coming along nicely. I've used up all the extra detection runes I had, so I'll need you to get on top of making more. At least a couple dozen. Make some more." I nodded.

"I need to make more composting runes too. I really need to keep leveling Wizard. At level 10 you said I can make heating runes. I want to throw those in the outhouses for the winter. I'll probably need to buy the runes for heating the new tank for the showers." Rupert agreed, "That sounds like a good idea. I need you to make as many soil stability runes as you can too. My walls will stay in good shape for years, but they won't stop a Shaman from tearing them down." I grimaced, "I'll work harder on things.

We'll plant the beans and corn next week, then I'll stick with my Wizard class for the next couple of months. I can make two runes per day. That's 50XP. It'll take me forty days to get to level 10 at that pace. Not too bad. I'll definitely need to buy the heat runes for the new showers, but I can make the runes for the outhouses before it gets cold."

"There aren't mana potions? Are there?" I asked Rupert. He laughed, "No, well, not really. What made you think there would be?"

"In my world, in most video games, like what I described to you last winter, they have health and mana potions." I shrugged.

"I was hoping maybe that would be the case here, even if they were expensive."

"No luck there, I'm afraid." Rupert said. Then he began digging into his meal. Emily and I finished eating, then she went to talk with Cara and the girls about what they needed to pick, and what they'd begin preserving soon. I just spent some time sitting back, taking in the sounds of laughter and conversation. There were twenty people sitting at the tables today. We'd had a fairly large number ever since we got back after the goblin attack last fall, and it really filled my heart with joy.

I absolutely loved being out here on the homestead, but I missed having a big group around last year. I certainly wasn't one of those farmers who craved solitude and wished those darned city slickers would stay away. I was a social person. When my wife and I were still doing well, we regularly went out with our friends who lived nearby, mostly in Boise. There was a thriving craft beer scene, and plenty of brewpubs. We had a bunch of people living at home even.

All four of us brothers and their families, along with my parents and grandparents. We didn't always eat together, but it was rare that I ate completely alone. The weather was beautiful, my crops were doing alright, and we were well along in our recovery from the goblin attack. Laeth had started smiling again, and he said he was ready to go to his own cabin once one was built for him. Seamus seemed to be fully recovered, and he'd never shown any outward signs of emotional trauma.

Speaking of Seamus, he was loudly laughing at something either Bryce or Jac had said. The Blacksmith had taken to the two men immediately. Laeth seemed a little more reticent to speak with Jac, but I had seen the two men talking once, and there hadn't been angry words. That evening, as Emily and I sat in our bath together, relaxing and talking about the upcoming plans for the homestead, I asked her how she was feeling about the direction the homestead was going.

"Well," she said.

"I am worried about Delyth. She is not a good fit out here as things stand. But I know we need her husband. He seems to be a capable man. Anna said that he has been great with Zack so far. Zack should hit level 5 with the first building or two, and maybe even hit level 10 by the end of this year with all the buildings we are putting up."

"That's wonderful," I said as I kneaded the muscles in her neck and upper back. She took a quick breath, then said, "I know I have been hesitant to talk much about Colin, but I am also worried about him. I do not want him to leave with Tieg. They are such hardened men. I know they have been fighting for a long time, and I know that they believe their method will be the quickest way for Colin to get to Tier 2, but I fear I shall lose my boy if he goes with them." It was my turn to sigh.

I was happy she finally opened up about Colin again. She clammed up every time I brought it up recently.

"I talked to him when he and I went to Weston. He doesn't know which way he'll go either. He's pretty dead set on making sure he never ends up in the situation you two were in before, though. I'll keep doing what I can to convince him to go the regular army route." She reached up and grabbed my hand with hers and gave it a squeeze.

"Thank you love, that is all I can ask."