Chapter 393: 373. Red Oak I

Omen: 6, 11

“How are you all feeling?” Adam asked the porters and farmers. 

“Great,” Remy said. 

“Aye,” Jeremy added.

The farmers replied equally as enthusiastically. 

“Great!” Adam replied. “Thank you for meeting me. I wanted to speak with you all in the morning. I was just wondering what your plans were now that the quest had passed.”

“We’ve made some great coin, so we’re planning on spending a little on fun, saving a little for our families, and spending the rest on equipping ourselves with greater gear,” Rick said. “We plan on selling off most of the hides, and using whatever little left on upgrading our equipment.” 

“Aye,” Remy said. “We planned the same.”

“Ah,” Adam said, nodding his head. “Good idea. Not sure what I want to do with my cut of the loot yet, but I’ll probably be gifting a bunch of stuff to the children in the Iyr.”

“The children?” Rick asked.

“They like getting bits and pieces from monsters.” Adam smiled. “I managed to claim the fangs of the giant wolf python.”

Rick wondered what kind of weapon could be made from the fangs of such a creature, but here Adam was telling the poor farmer that he was going to gift it to a child. ‘Elves…’ he thought.

“What about your children?” Adam asked, glancing between the farmers and the porters. “I’ll give you some small bits and bobs, scales and that sort of thing, for your kids.”

“They’ll be fine with food in their stomach,” Rick replied.

Remy exchanged a look with Jeremy. 

“Yeah, but it’ll motivate them to work hard in the future,” Adam said, smiling. “Ah, actually, that’s something I wanted to talk about too, if you don’t mind me asking. What do you want your children to be?”

“Their jobs?” Rick asked. “I’d like my children to be scholars, but that’s unlikely. A page at a temple would be nice.”

“A smith,” John, Rick’s companion, said. “Smithing is good work. They say the smiths have been working hard, so I could have my son apprentice if I can scrounge up enough coin.”

Rick nodded. “Too young to fight in the war, old enough to carry supplies around the smithy. Good, honest work.”

Remy nodded. “Portering is good work, but I’d like my children to have a better life.”

“Aye, and something like a page at the temple, that’s a good life.” Jeremy smiled. “They get to learn to read and write, and if they’re good with their worship, magic.”

“We haven’t made enough for that sort of thing, but we won’t need to work too hard for the rest of the year,” John said. “We’ve made plenty of coin, so we don’t need to do anything dangerous.”

“That’s good,” Adam said, tapping the table with his pinky, accidentally copying Charley. “The, uh, price for schooling. How much is it?”

“Five gold a month for each child,” Rick replied, instantly. 

Adam nodded his head, falling into thought. He still needed to adventure, but at the same time, he also needed to form a group loyal to him. Remy and Jeremy were already fairly loyal, and were already half seduced into doing crazy things for him. “We might be heading back to the Iyr soon, but I…”

Adam frowned. 

He realised that his plans were far too heavily reliant on the Iyr. ‘Damn. How can I… unless?’ Adam shut his eyes tighter. ‘If I made them magical weapons, wouldn’t they have some loyalty to me? I could give them some coin to help with their children’s education too.’

Slowly Adam’s brain churned, the ideas melting together into something coherent. ‘I could enchant weapons with a specific enchantment. If I could learn to produce a magical weapon weekly, then I could sell the weapon for roughly a thousand gold, maybe more if it holds an enhanced enchantment. A weapon weekly means over fifty thousand gold a year.’

“How much does the average labourer make monthly?” Adam asked, as casually as he could.

“Ten gold,” Rick said. “Twenty if you are skilled.”

“I’ve heard some people earning fifty gold a month,” Remy said, winking at Adam. 

‘So one sword is worth what, twenty employees minimum?’ Adam thought. “So if you guys could make ten gold monthly, you’d give up adventuring?”

“No,” Rick admitted. “I need much more than that to send my children through school. If one could become a page or a Priest, I’ll work as much as I need to make that true.”

“Priests?” Adam asked. “To which God?”

“Whichever God would accept them.”

“Mother Soza? Lady Arya?” Adam asked.

Rick stared into Adam’s eyes. Was it a coincidence he mentioned those two in particular? “They are wonderful, and it would only be our blessing to have family who worshipped them.”

“Lord Sozain?”

Rick swallowed upon hearing the name, and squirmed slightly. “The good Lord is respectable, but I am uncertain if my children are up to such a great task.”

Adam tapped the table. “What about you, John?”

“I don’t dream that big, Adam. I keep my dreams for my paintings.” John smiled.

“Don’t you know who I am?” Adam asked. “I’m the guy who makes dreams come true!” 

Remy smiled. “Aye. Adam’s done a great much for us. Though, this talk about Priests…”

Priests. They were invaluable. 

If Adam could help make their children into Priests, then it meant he’d be able to provide the healthcare he wanted to for his business. It wouldn’t just be free healthcare, though, there would be more benefits.

Benefits. That’s what Adam had offered Nobby. Benefits. 

If he could help the children grow, then they may be able to reach Level 3 fairly quickly. Perhaps in a handful of years, even if they were young. They’d be able to do so much with Second Gate spells, like the ability to deal with diseases. They would also know how to read and write, and if he managed to teach them properly, they’d possess more skills. 

“I need to speak with companions. Ah, would you please join us for breakfast?” Adam asked, smiling. “I actually wanted to invite you to more too, if you aren’t busy.”

“Sounds good,” Remy said.

Rick nodded.

Adam invited the group to breakfast, finding a room for them to eat in, spending quite the pretty penny on food and alcohol. 

Jurot returned from his morning walk, handing Kitool a paper. The Iyrman read it, nodding her head, before handing it to Jaygak. Once she had read it, she burnt the paper.

“Everything good?” Adam asked.

Jurot nodded. 

‘Must be Iyrman business.’

The group all ate together, as Adam eyed up the Priests. He wondered if he should mention the matter to them, but decided against it for the moment. It was time to eat and drink. 

“Make sure you leave room for dessert,” Adam said, catching Lucy’s eyes.

“Oh!” Pam said, watching as Jurot and Adam stepped into the bakery. “What are a pair of strangers like you doing here?”

“Strangers?” Adam asked. He placed down two gold coins. “Are we still strangers?”

“I recognise that ability to spend gold,” she joked. “I’m glad to see you’re back.”

Pam was young, about Adam and Jurot’s age, and she was built exactly as one would imagine a baker’s girl to be build. Short, and filled with bread.

“We have returned from our request.”

“What did you do this time?”

“We were sent to deal with the Outbreaks.”

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Pam’s eyes snapped up to Jurot’s. “An Outbreak? I heard that last night there was an Outbreak which appeared.”

Jurot nodded. “We also dealt with that. Adam slew over half himself.”

“Uhuh,” Pam said, looking to the Bronze tag, but then she looked back at Jurot, narrowing her eyes. “He did?” She wouldn’t have believed a normal adventurer, but Jurot was an Iyrman.

“Yes.” Jurot nodded.

“Don’t talk about me,” Adam said, patting Jurot against his back. “Let’s order some filled buns and bread, a basket like usual, and I’ll leave you to tell her the story?”

“Okay,” Jurot said. 

Adam and Lucy bit into their jam buns, listening to the tale, filling their stomachs and hearts with Jurot’s romance. 

Jaygak wondered how she could help Jurot, but she could feel Kitool’s piercing gaze against her neck. ‘Right. Let it move naturally, like a river.’

“You said you wanted to upgrade your gear?” Adam asked, nodding to Rick.

“With the coin we earned, we could finish our set of chain mail,” Rick said. 

“Chain mail is some nice armour. What about you?” Adam asked the porters.

“Might think about some chain, but it’s pricey,” Remy said.

“And noisy,” Jeremy added. “Difficult for us types.”

“Breastplate over thick hide would do us good, but…”

“Breastplate’s expensive, even if we are being paid by such a generous patron.” Jeremy laughed. 

“Breastplate over thick hide,” Rick said, nodding his head. “We’re doing the same with our chain. Breastplate is the dream, if we’re to adventure.”

“For portering, it’s quite the price too,” Remy admitted.

“Worth more than your life?” Adam asked.

Remy shook his head. “It’ll take a lifetime to earn it though.”

“How much is a breastplate?” 

“About three, four hundred gold?” Remy said, looking to Jeremy.

“Think so.” 

Adam whistled. “You know, I am planning on a business soon. I might need some capable porters, and I could probably sort you out with some armour.”

Remy nodded. “We’d appreciate it if you kept us in mind.”

“Using the hide from the quest, could you make some decent armour?” Adam asked. “Say, if I handed some of my cut, would it make something decent for you?”

Rick threw a look to Remy, who took the lead. “I suppose it could. Might be a little heavy, but manageable. We’ve got all sorts of hide between us, but I know that the kurabara plates could be made into some decent armour.”

“The kurabra plates over some snakeskin, or some hide, yeah,” Jeremy said. 

“If we add in some of my plates, I could ask around for the others to pass along their plates if they’re not using it, and then you could make it into some armour.”

“Heavy, but it would provide us with quite the protection,” Remy said.

“What about you guys?” Adam asked, looking to Rick.

“I suppose.”

“I’ll sort you out with the kurabara plates, and you guys could probably get something nice made…”

“How much will you sell the kurabara plates?” Rick asked.

“Uh…” Adam wasn’t planning on selling them, but he realised it would be difficult to just give it to them. “We’ll have the guild tell us the price, and then we can say you owe me that much. When I need you, I’ll pay you half until the debts paid off?”

The porters and farmers looked between one another, thinking deeply about the matter.

“I am planning on making a business, and I would prefer to work with dependable fellows like yourselves,” Adam said. “It’d reassure me if you were well equipped.”

“That’s quite a pricey endeavour, and we may have to eventually sell off the equipment to buy that breastplate,” Remy said. “If we’re lucky.”

“Breasplate was what, four hundred each?” Adam asked, glancing between them all. “You’ve each made at least a hundred, and if you sell off everything, probably more.”

“The Iyr has a line of credit with the Guild,” Kitool said, inviting herself into the conversation to assist Adam. “You could borrow money from the Guild, and it will be transferred to the Guild. It does not cost anything.”

‘I have at least a thousand gold in the Iyr,’ Adam thought, trying to remember how much money he had. ‘No, two thousand? I have a lot of the tiger eye gems…’

“Breastplate’s a dream,” John joked. “I’ll paint it tonight.”

“What did I say?” Adam smiled. “I make dreams come true. How many breastplates do we need? Five?”

“Charlie, Greg, and I do well with chain mail and a shield,” Rick said. “We don’t worry so much about the noise.”

“So really, it’s only two?” Adam asked. “My porters?”

Remy chuckled nervously. 

“Then how about I pay for the breastplate, and we can consider it upfront pay?” Adam asked. “I’ll hire you at full price and you’ll pay me back as time passes?”

Remy and Jeremy swallowed. They both exchanged glances between one another, unsure of what to say.

“Look. Jurot already kitted out Nobby and Brittany, and it’s not fair that I don’t get to do it.” Adam smiled. “Plus, I would like it if I didn’t have to worry too much about either of you, and apparently, you’re quiet in breastplate, and well protected in it too. If push comes to shove, I’ll eventually kit you in full plate so you won’t have to worry about being noisy.”

Remy and Jeremy remained staring at one another. Last year, they were just typical yokels. Yet, after meeting Adam, and assisting him during their adventures, they had grown far more experienced. When they fought recently, they found themselves being able to last longer and strike harder.

“We…” Remy began.

“We know the deal you made with Nobby,” Jeremy said. “You’ve helped us out a lot, mister Adam. We appreciate that.”

“That business you mentioned. If you need us, we’ll be there to help.”

“So is that a yes?” Adam asked.

“Aye, mister Adam.”

“That’s a yes from us.”

Adam smiled. “Great! I’ll get you guys sorted out then!” He sighed with relief. He wanted to eventually help Remy and Jeremy out too, not realising that he had already helped them a great deal. They, too, had been part of the XP share in the last month.

Rick wondered what kind of man Adam was. He was something which transcended understanding. He was an enigma. He was… a Half Elf.

Adam continued to eat his bread, glad he could share it with the farmers. He had finally solidified what he wanted to do, though it could still change in the future. ‘No. I can’t keep changing everything. I need to lay the foundations now that I know what to do.’

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Adam makes a hundred gold and spends a thousand. 

I'm not sure he knows how finances work.

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