Everyone looked awestruck at his statement. These people were overjoyed to have a meal. Something that was a basic human necessity, all because of a corrupt lord who thought he could do whatever he wanted. Arthur felt his anger starting to bubble up and then quickly reined it in. He didn’t want to show those emotions around these people and possibly frighten some of them. A few of them looked frail enough to die from a good scare.
Arthur sat and enjoyed his meal, which tasted as good as it smelled, and did a little people watching. He desperately wanted to help these people but knew it was a gradual process. He had always had a bit of a soft spot for those less fortunate, but this seemed like an odd feeling for him to be so driven to make a change for people he barely knew or had never even met. There wasn’t much use dwelling on that sentiment, though.
As everyone finished up their meal, Arthur laid his spoon down, and people slowly began to mill about toward him. The first person approached him after a bit of hesitation.
“Hello, what is your name, and what can I do for you today? Arthur asked her.
“My name is Corianne. I am here for the two hide tanning work orders you posted Lord Mayor.” She said deferentially.
“Oh no, Corianne, I am no lord. Please, call me Arthur.” Arthur looked over his shoulder and found one of Daniel’s assistants.
“Young lady. Could you ask Daniel to bring ten of the animal pelts we have out here for Corianne? I would appreciate it.”
She quickly nodded her head and darted toward the back in a hurry. Daniel appeared less than a minute later carrying a bundle of firs.
“Thank you for your assistance in this matter, Corianne. I plan on having some more animal pelts in a few more days so you can look forward to more of these orders in the future.” Arthur told her with a smile.
“Oh, thank you, my lord… uh, I mean Arthur.”
“Good luck in your task, Lady Corianne,” Arthur said as he motioned for her to step to the side, and the next person in line came forward.
The next two people to come forward were a bit of a surprise. One man that looked to be around twenty and a woman who appeared close to the same age approached him. Arthur was correct in his assumption that Rowan wouldn’t get much sleep last night, and he had already decided upon these two as his new assistants. The man was named Alex, and the woman’s name was Lana. After a bit of discussion, Arthur discovered they were a young married couple, and Rowan had taken both of them into his service.
Their work order was quick to issue. Arthur just needed to approve each of them for two of the orders for ingots. Rowan had the supplies. They just needed to accept the task formally. They told him Rowan would be coming to find him later to receive the orders for the sword and daggers.
The next person was both a surprise and a delight for him. The town did have someone who was a bowyer. His name was Zeke, and he had the bowyer skill, albeit a somewhat low skill level. Arthur told the man that depending on the work done on the bow and arrows, that he wanted the man to make him a bow out of yew wood he had found. The man eagerly agreed to quickly get the two orders done so he would have the chance at making the yew bow for Arthur.
Daniel brought out the supplies he would need, and Arthur handed the man the pine sap he had gathered, knowing it would be useful to the man in making a resin for glue.
The next to approach him was a man in his late thirties and a younger man in his teens. Arthur was sure this was a father and his son. They both came for the wood cutting orders, and Arthur gave one to each of them.
Arthur was a bit surprised by the next two that came up. It was the two assistants Daniel had hired. Arthur quickly gave the first food order to the young redhead named Paula and the other to the slightly older brunette named Trisha.
With this complete, Arthur was a bit concerned. He still had a handful of people milling about, but no work orders left to give out. He motioned the first person forward.
It was a young woman who appeared to be in her early twenties. She shuffled up to him and looked into his face. She was in as poor shape as the rest of the villagers. She looked dirty, and her clothes were threadbare. Her blonde hair was down past her shoulders but matted and filthy. She had the same gaunt face and sunken cheeks as most of the others in this village. Not only did these people shuffle around like zombies, but he’d be damned if they didn’t almost look the part as well.
“Hello, Lord Mayor,” the young woman stumbled.
Arthur held up a hand. “Let me stop you right there. I am not a lord and only want to be called Arthur, please. What is your name, young lady, and what can I assist you with?” He asked her with a sincere smile.
“My apologies, Arthur. My name is Katherine, and I was hoping you would have a position that I might fill for you on your staff? I don’t have any trade skills of any kind, but I am open to learning any of them you deem necessary. I do have one particular skill that may be of note for me to obtain a position with you. I have the skill of Scribe. I am completely fluent in our language and can read and write as well.” She told him matter of factly.
Arthur looked astonished for a second. On the one hand, the woman could read and write, which he was sure was rather uncommon around here. On the other, she also thought Arthur had staff. He thought about it for a moment and decided he would need assistance with his endeavors, and having someone that could read and write would be essential as the city grew. If he could hire her on now, she could be part of the project from the ground up. Arthur made up his mind on the subject rather quickly. There was no way he could let a skill like this slip his grasp.
“I accept your proposal and am prepared to offer you a civil service position with the village. Your current duties would be as an administrative assistant to myself and keeping up with any village tasks I deem necessary. As you can imagine, this village doesn’t have much to offer in the way of resources, but I am willing to pledge you two hot meals a day at the inn as well as access to bathing facilities here. I will also provide materials needed for you to do your job and will promise that when we have revived a bit of the economy in the city, your position will include pay in coinage that we can negotiate at that time.”
Katherine looked like she was about to burst with tears as she shook her head up and down.
“Fantastic, why don’t you stay by me while I talk to the last couple of people here and then we can get you sorted out,” Arthur said.
She nodded again and moved to his side and a bit behind him. Arthur motioned for the next person to approach. This man appeared to be in his thirties with hard lines in his face. Arthur wasn’t sure, but he looked like the textbook definition of a grizzled old soldier with short cut hair and a short beard. He had a scar on his left cheek that stretched down to his jawline. He approached Arthur and came to a halt with a firm stance. Yep, a military veteran.
“Good morning Sir, my name is Samson, and I would like to request a position with you for guard service. I have proficiency in swords, spears, shields, and some light proficiency in archery.”
Arthur was taken aback for a moment at the man’s abruptness but quickly decided he liked the approach.
“What do you expect in return for your service, and what services are you willing to offer for the village?” Arthur asked.
“Well, to be honest, Sir, I expected you to detail those responsibilities, but I am willing to perform guard service for the village in any capacity needed. I have also heard rumor of you personally running supply missions into the forest and would like to join you in those endeavors when possible.” Samson summed up for him.
Arthur was thrilled at this statement. He needed more people to buy into the village itself and work to make it better. This man would also be a benefit to him on their supply missions, especially since Rowan would probably be busy with the forge for the time being. Allendria and he could do most of the hunting, but an extra person would help things move faster.
“I would be thrilled to accept your service then. I will offer
you two meals a day at the inn here as well as a promise to work with you on supplying the gear you will need to do your job. Once the village has recovered a bit, we can negotiate a salary in coinage to cover your expenses moving forward. The key goal is for us to get the village operational first.”
“I will accept those terms and work toward that goal. I am sad to say I do not have much in the way of gear, though. I was forced to sell what little I had to survive this long with my family. I am afraid I might not be of much use to you yet.”
“No worries about that. I’ll work with Rowan and at least get you a sword. As you can see, I don’t have much in the way of armor myself, but we can remedy that as time goes by. We have some leather production started, and Rowan has a decent amount of ore to work with. I plan on at least getting us some vambraces to help block with and protect our arms a bit. From there, we can start considering other pieces.”
Samson was nodding his head along as Arthur spoke and seemed pleased by the answer.
“Why don’t you head over to the forge and speak with Rowan about needs for you to do your job. Understand that we won’t have much of it at the start, but it is a goal to work toward. I plan on going out on another hunting trip tomorrow so you can join me and my companion Allendria. I assume you have no issue working with a dark elf?” Arthur continued.
“None, sir. I have no issues with anyone willing to pull their weight.” He told him.
“Then you are hired. Run over to the forge, and I’ll catch up with you later. I already have some things planned for the day, but Rowan will be the one you need to work with the most at the moment.”
He saluted, turned on his heel, and took off out the door. Arthur was already starting to like the man and hadn’t even got to know him yet. There was one more person in line, and he wanted to get this over with.
The last person approached as Samson walked out of the inn. This person was a little less than six feet tall with a lithe build. She had long brown hair that went a bit past her shoulders. Her hair wasn’t quite as dirty looking as some of the other villagers, and her clothing was at least serviceable. She walked up to Arthur and smiled.
“Well, it looks like there is some new blood in town, and he even managed to conjure a miracle and make himself Mayor. My name is Vana, and I was hoping to join you as a ranger on your trips. I’ve noticed you coming and going from the town, and I saw you return yesterday with Rowan and the cart of goods you scavenged from the woods. I have experience with small blades and bows. I also have herbalism and farming skills that could be of use. I can say, though, that like everyone else, I have nothing essentially in the way of gear other than what you see me wearing. The only thing I have is a cheap bow that is barely serviceable. Would you be willing to offer me a spot on your team?” She told him.
“Well, Vana, my name is Arthur. I can say I would take all the help I can get. The others here also tell me you are the only reason the village hasn’t fallen apart yet, so I would be crazy not to take you. Would you be willing to help me defend this city as well if needed?” Arthur asked her.
She took on a thoughtful look. “I guess I can agree to that. Quite honestly, as bad as things have gotten, you are probably better off dying in a fight to defend what you have than slowly starving to death in a miserable life.”
“Well, that is a frightening way to look at things, but I can’t argue with your logic. I would be willing to offer you the standard two meals a day as well as agree to get you equipped for your duties and negotiate pay in coinage once the village recovers to that ability. Do you accept these terms?” Arthur asked her.
“I do. Out of curiosity, do you have any crafting skills of any kind?”
“I have some minimal skill in leatherworking, but that is all. If I had some skill as a bowyer, I wouldn’t be forced to use the junk I am using.” She told him.
“That is fine. We will have some leather to work with in a few days so that can give us a chance to get some armor made. I have a bowyer working on a bow as we speak, which would solve one problem. I’ll acquire a dagger from Rowan once he has finished his orders, so you have one to work with on our trips. That will get you to where you are of use if nothing else. None of us are in a great place for gear, to be honest, but we will fix that. You can either talk to Rowan to see if he needs help or talk to Daniel to see if he has any needs in terms of herbs for us to find. If we have a priority list of herbs, we need to find for best effect it might help us to decide what areas to search first.”
“I think I’ll run off to consult with Daniel and get up to speed with him. I’ll catch you later.”
As she took off toward the back, he saw Allendria make her way toward him from the kitchen. He was sure she was hiding out in the back away from the crowd trying not to spook anyone. Arthur would have to break her of that.
“Good to see you this morning, Allendria,” Arthur told her.
“You looked busy this morning. I guessed you were going to be tied up for a bit, so I went ahead and talked to Daniel this morning and helped him in the back. Are you about ready to start your fire magic training? I have a feeling you will pick up the concept fast, and unlocking it won’t take long at all. I think most of our time today will be spent with you working on Enchanting.” She explained to him.
“That sounds great. Anywhere specific you want to go for it?” Arthur asked.
“Nowhere specific, I’d prefer we go a distance out of town though, to prevent any eavesdroppers from interfering. I also don’t want you to accidentally catch this village on fire if you let the power get out of control.” She said thoughtfully.
“I like how you think. Let me get a quick word in with Daniel, and we will head out.”
Arthur turned from her and headed toward the kitchen, looking for Daniel. As soon as he walked in, he saw the two new assistants busy at work while Daniel was hovering over Trisha, watching what she was doing on the food. Arthur waved at Daniel as he turned to see who had entered the kitchen. Daniel made his way to Arthur, and they both made their way out of the kitchen.
“The food was great, Daniel. I assume the new assistants are working out so far?” Arthur asked him.
“They were old assistants that I was able to hire back. It has been a bit, but luckily they both remember the ins and outs of the place. It looks like you had a good crowd this morning. Did you already assign all of the work orders?” Daniel asked.
Arthur laughed, “Actually, I did. I am sorry I was unable to keep one for you, but I’ll make sure to do an extra food-related order in the next batch for you. I gave the only two I had made to your assistants. I did want to check on how far you think our supplies can go. With the rewards offered by the orders and the few people I hired on, we will need to keep this kitchen running for a while.”
“Wait, hired? What are you referring to by hired? What positions could we have that need to be filled? There isn’t much of this place even up and running.” Daniel asked, surprised.
“Well, I hired an assistant who will be able to keep an eye on things and document requests when I leave on my hunting trips. I also managed to hire two others who will be working as security. A man by the name of Samson who appears to be prior military and the ranger Vana I have heard so much about have joined us. They will be acting as security and also assisting me in our resource gathering trips. Each staff member has been guaranteed two meals a day here.”
“That shouldn’t be an issue. Especially if that will give you more people to help gather resources. I estimate I can feed about forty people for a week with all the supplies we have stashed so far. Now keep in mind that’s nothing fancy, but simple soups and things to keep them alive and healthy. With enough resources, I can start to move to better meals, but that is going to require some more hunting from you.” Daniel told him.
“No worries Daniel, I plan on going on another trip out tomorrow for some resource gathering. I have some things to take care of today, so keep on top of things for me while I am gone. I�
��ll catch up with anything you need when I return.”
“Will do.”
Arthur turned back to Allendria and motioned for them to head out. They walked through the front door and almost ran headfirst into Rowan as he entered. The burly man looked like he hadn’t slept at all with his sweat covered face and bloodshot eyes.
“Oh sorry, Arthur. Was coming by to pick up those weapon orders from you.”
“Sure thing Rowan. If you could get these sorted out by tomorrow, I would appreciate it. I know it isn’t much time, but since they are standard iron weapons, I figure you can take care of it. I need them for our new hunters who will be coming with me.”
“I’ll see it done, Arthur. I need to get back to work so I can get those done for you.”
Rowan waved over his shoulder as he took off back toward the forge. Arthur turned back to Allendria.
“I believe it is finally time for us to go. Would you like to lead the way?”
“I’d be happy to. Off we go.” Allendria told him.
Chapter 18
The Mystery of Magic
Allendria darted off at full speed from the inn, and Arthur had to rush to keep up with her. In all honesty, he wasn’t fond of the exertion but decided he better get used to it. Arthur had let himself get more out of shape than was good for him. That would require some conditioning to fix. The stats and stamina in this world seemed to work out well for him in maintaining a pace he could never have survived long back home.
They quickly made their way out of the village and continued into the surrounding fields. They kept walking about three-quarters of the way toward the forest when Allendria decided it was time to stop. She came to a stop in between two low hills within easy view of the woods. Arthur decided he would trust her on the space needed for this task.
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