Rashid stood. "I will go talk to the members of the Nature Clericâs farm, and see if theyâre willing to meet with you. Your reputation is a good one, so I donât think that it will be a problem, and theyâre already becoming quite unhappy with their current situation."
Karl nodded. "Thank you, that would be wonderful. Iâve got a portion of farmland that I believe they would enjoy, and a need for more of the magical herbs that grow there."
"We should all let you get back to your work. I know that youâve been busy lately, and we can come by again if we want to place a custom order with you now that you are Totem Ranked." Governor Shin agreed.
The town leaders all left together, leaving Karl alone in the garden. The statue in the garden was happily pulsing, healing someone either in the house or in the front yard, so Karl decided to go check on that before he got back to business.
A group of merchants were in the front yard, slumped against the wall and looking relieved.
"Is everyone alright? I can call for a proper healer." Karl asked as he realized it was every member of their party that needed the healing.
The Merchant gave him a weak thumbs up gesture.
"We should be good now. We thought that with the attacks by Bomgon no longer focusing on the Drodh border that everything was sorted, but we came across a group of zombies, and the crew caught something from them that our zombie curse breaking potions didnât cure.
We had Commander Rank healing and cleansing potions, but they didnât last long." He explained.
Karl frowned. "Where is your caravan now?"
"Outside the outer city. The guards stopped us and escorted us here for quarantine while they inspected and cleansed the cargo."
Karl sighed in relief. At least they hadnât brought a contaminated caravan of goods into the city.
"Alright, they can do their jobs out there. You should be alright in a few minutes, I think. Youâre already looking better. Where are the guards that escorted you?"
The Merchant smiled and gestured at the shop.
"They went in to flirt with the vampire."
Karl looked over his shoulder. "No hitting on Mick, you old lechers."
Soft laughter came from inside. "Donât chase away all the cute Guard Recruits, boss."
Mick waved at him from the door, and Karl saw that the pair of guards who had come with the merchants were clearly still teenagers, fresh out of training, and probably no older than Mick was.
Come to think of it, they were likely no older than Karl was. It was just that nobody could tell his age in this transformed state.
"Fine. I wonât scare them away. Just make sure that theyâre fully cleansed before they touch you. We donât need a plague spreading through the Guild House."
Mick nodded, then her red eyes flashed with mischief. "I have an idea. Gentlemen, this is our new signature cleansing soap. Take a bar and go wash both yourselves and your uniforms. Davis, Iâm going on break."
The Fallen Angel laughed at the vampire and the two blushing guards that she was dragging up the stairs.
"Is that even allowed?" One of the guards on gate duty asked, standing at the entrance to the compound with a smoking pipe in his hand.
Karl shrugged. "Iâm sure theyâll be fine. Even if she bites, the totem will heal them in a few seconds."
The Gate Guard puffed a smoke cloud and laughed. "Those two are not prepared for the attentions of a hormonal teen vampiress. I will pray for them on my break."
The Merchant in the yard was already looking much better than he had been, and he gave Karl a suspicious look.
"Is that any way to run a shop?"
Karl frowned at his rude tone. "Weâre right next to the gates, all the guards are friends to our staff. Itâs not like sheâs flirting with strangers. Besides, I donât hear any complaints from the involved parties."
Probably because the shower room was soundproofed.
The noise brought Ashbringer out of his forge between projects.
"Oh, Karl. Welcome back. What brings you in today? How are things in Sholaha?" He asked.
"Excellent. Weâve got the Manor House all set up there, and we just got some new staff. So, I wanted to talk to you about how we were going to balance things. We really do need more full-time smiths, leather workers and sculptors.
The Runecrafting team includes a number of Royal Ranked apprentices now, and Remi is working on a gift for everyone that will help your growth.
That will bring a number of you close to the point where you can make what Zilaz needs. But weâre still nowhere near the number that we need. The Immortal Regent said that we can sell Overlord Ranked gear to Zilaz without too many issues, so I was thinking of expanding the forge and sculpting workshop."
Ashbringer nodded. "I have found a group, but theyâve got some conditions that only you could fill. Theyâre all Dwarves, you see."
He subtly glanced at the guests in the yard, meaning that he didnât want to detail it in front of them.
"Alright. If you bring them over tonight, I will work it all out for them. How is the outbuilding working for you? Itâs not too much trouble being in a secondary building? I was going to expand it for the purpose." Karl asked.
Ashbringer knew that he meant with an illusionary Domain, not a larger building, so he just shrugged.
"Even in the rain, itâs good to get outside for a few minutes a day. It keeps you grounded in the world when youâre getting lost in your work. Expanding this building should be just fine."
[I can make a basement level to the workshop as well. Dwarves like dens, donât they?] Tian suggested.
[That is a wonderful idea. We might not even need to make an illusion. But weâre right on the ocean, I donât think that basements work here. They would just fill with water.] Karl replied.
The little fox extended his senses out. Karl was right. Only a few metres beneath their feet, there was water in the stones. Not a good spot for a crafting den.
Sister Opal would have to help with this one.