Day 2
It was well into the night before Bloodstone could get settled enough to sleep. A lit candle burned by the table, the only illumination, it was a luxury, he knew, there were no electric lights, the building they were in felt cool. A small fire was burning in the main room, another luxury. The king had explained several hours ago that Newton had uncovered a monumental theft from the kingdom.
The Steward had been diverting funds to build the fifth wall, the project was years behind schedule, and now the king knew why. His steward had diverted thousands of gold, to something else. That something else was still being investigated, as well as how far back this had started.
Bloodstone, had scared the steward with fear, he had used the man’s fear as a tool against him. He had a lot of things to think about before he went to sleep.
The maid stood at the door, she was skinny, and had a uniform on her hair was neat, and only a few dark locks could be seen out of place. “Do you need anything else my lord?”
“No, it’s Hellen, right?” He asked politely.
“Yes, my lord, it’s my responsibility to see to your needs, a lit candle makes me nervous.” She said nervously.
“I see, I will put it out shortly, and thank you for keeping this suite in shape. Let me know if we are causing you any issues.” Bloodstone said seriously.
She seemed confused by the comment, “It’s my class, I’m a servant or the [maid] class, though I’m only level twelve.” She seemed a little sad by the admission.
“Nonsense, you can be whatever you want to be. What would you want to be if you could choose?” He asked.
The question seemed to startle her, “I’m a [maid], a servant. There’s no way I could be anything else.” She had turned red from ear to ear.
“Out with it, what do you want to be?” He coaxed.
“It’s impossible, I’m just a [maid], but if I could I would want to be someone who can protect people like you did, a Knight or a Lady.”, The blush got redder.
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to protect others.” He paused thinking, “I can talk to the commander, if you wish.”
“No, no, no” she bolted from the door, he heard her scuffling about in the main room.
Bloodstone stood and snuffed out the candle, he sat back on the bed. He kicked his sneakers off, and then leaned back. He sighed, and closed his eye trying to decide what class would fit with him, he had a few ideas, but until he heard that strange voice in his head, he wouldn’t really know.
—
The King awoke, early and was very happy, he had leveled, not once, but twice. He was even happier that he had gotten a new skill, one of the rare ones that kings sometimes get.
[skill – Know Class]
He could tell what class or classes someone had by talking with them, it wouldn’t tell him the levels they were, but knowing a class, that was valuable, and since there were records of known classes, at least to the aristocracy.
Today he was going to take his kingdom back from whatever his steward of coin had done. He had some heroes in the capital and others in the field, things were better than they were yesterday.
—-
Amethyst or as the maid had called her [Lady] Amethyst, awoke, she was a little upset at the situation. They were in a strange place, and she wasn’t sure how long her parents would be able to watch the cats back home. It was a surreal, this weird world, that seemed to have levels like a role-playing game, or video game. She also had gotten a class when she fell asleep yesterday after having her brain scrambled, by the weird colors. She was very sure that the spell book she had was a very similar book she had had from her raid days. She lived and breathed being an enchanter, now she supposedly was one for real.
“Summon spell book” She said, the book appeared. The mage from the day before was both right and wrong, the spell book had been filled, already, just it had been on a page that was blank. She was already a level one [Hero], whatever that ment. She also had picked up two more levels, in the [Raid Enchanter] class. Also, two levels in the [illusionist] class, the other skill she got was,
[skill – summon visage]
She hadn’t used it yet, however there seemed to be many visages she could use she just had to name it.
She had turned over in the bed starting at the wall, it was still early, so she got up and got dressed. The alarm on her phone would most likely go off shortly. She didn’t really feel like dealing with the situation, she heard voices and a knock on the door.
Eve, sat on the corner of the bed, still trying to figure out if it was a dream or real or bad acid trip. Miguel had been dragged off yesterday; it wasn’t that she wanted to see him. She sighed, and looked out the door, no one had gotten up yet so she sneacked out into the main room, the main door was locked, the servants entrance was slightly open. She wandered down the servant’s hall listening. A small flight of stairs led down, and she caught a scent of baked bread. It didn’t take her long to find the bustling kitchen. She grabbed an apron and wandered around.
A large man was shouting, something about butter and rolls. “Who are you, why are you in my kitchen? Well!?”
“Sorry, I wanted to get something to eat, and the bread smelled wonderful.” She said meekly.
“Ah new help, then go with the others you serve then you eat after.” He turned and started yelling orders to two other women who were gossiping. “Gossip later, the king will be up soon, as will his new guests.”
He put her to work taking out the bread from the oven trays and putting it into baskets covered with a cloth. The bread itself was small like rolls, and the woman who was separating it took great care in placing them on the tray. She sat on a small stool sorting the bread.
“Not too bad, I did not catch your name.”, The large man said.
“Eve, this reminds of my parents shop back in,” and she choked, and the tears started.
The large man stopped, and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, “It is ok, many people I know have lost loved ones in the blight. We are safe here, behind the king’s walls.”
She sniffled, “I can’t go home, I…” the thought of the situation she was in came crashing down.
The cook, knelt, it was a little awkward him staring her in the eyes. “I too have lost my parents, to demons. its ok, Here.” He handed her a roll from off the baking sheet. He stood and returned to work, mixing tasting, and barking orders.
The warm roll in her hand smelled great, she took a bite, and found she was mentally comparing it to her mother’s cooking, it was different.
No one said anything when she slipped out of the kitchen, leaving the apron behind.
The cook watched her leave, he was a cook, and yet he wanted to help the small woman who had visited his kitchen.
Beth or BB, as she was sometimes called, only her mother used her full name. She was still in shock from what had happened. The older guy, had helped insulate them from the situation at least to a smaller extent. His heart was in the right place, sort of. Another world and summoned, no way back, at least not that anyone seemed to know about. She wondered what would happen back home, would she be listed as a missing person, she had been traveling and stopped in the rest stop and then was here. She still had her car keys, not that they would do her any good here. The other keys on the ring reminded her of the things she had just lost.
Her boyfriend would probably lose his mind, trying to figure out what had happened. Would he get blamed, she wondered?
She pinched herself again to see if she was dreaming, “Nope.”
She also had heard a strange voice when she woke up.
[Hero Level 1]
[Mage Level 1]
[Engineer Level 1]
[Skill Perfect recall]
It was kind of odd, she had all the books she read about statistics and probability tables in her head, they were just very clear now.
The bedrooms were very well kept, and had a Victorian feel to it, there was one small window, the glass was frosted, at least, it wasn’t very clear. It looked like it had been in that location for a very long time, as it appeared that the glass was a little thicker on the bottom, than the top. She did the math in her head, and figured it had been put in there about sixty years prior.
She opened the door, and looked out the other maid was busy straitening the room, Hellen was the night maid. The day maid was, Marie. So, this was Marie, she was taking care of the main common room. There were two other main rooms here in this side of the palace on the third floor. One side was taken by the guys and the girls had taken the larger of the two side areas. There were four bedrooms off of each of the common rooms and each had a second doorway to the main hallway. The rooms were lavishing, but not modern. She reflexively kept looking for the light switch.
Marie looked over, at Beth, “Morning miss, do you want me to bring some food, the others are still sleeping.”
Beth nodded, “Please, the king mentioned you’re a maid, is that a class?”
“Yes, miss, I am a level twelve [maid], I don’t have any other classes, been in the service of the king since I was little. My mum passed and the head maid said I could stay. Enough about me miss, I will go see about breakfast, do you have any requests, and the cook prides himself on being good at making anything.” She said waiting.
“That’s fine, Eggs and toast. Coffee would be nice.” Beth said yawning and stretching.
“I don’t know what coffee is miss, I’ll ask the cook, I will be back shortly”, she opened the small door for the servants and went into the small back hall, and closed the door behind her.
She had changed into the clothes she had worn when she arrived, at some point she needed to get a proper wardrobe.
Looking over the room, it was decorated in a manner to cover the stone walls, the ceiling was high, and there were rafters. There were also two large tapestries on the wall opposite the hallway. It depicted a woman in armor, attacking what looked like demons or beasts. She found the workmanship was impressive, considering what she had seen so far. The maid returned with several trays and saw her staring at the tapestry.
“Tis the Princess Beledara, she saved the kingdom two hundred years ago from being overrun. Took the fight to the Blight lands. Though she died fighting, she saved the Kingdom. I have breakfast for you, some sweet rolls and bread, eggs and some bacon. Cook didn’t know what coffee was, I have tea, and a lite ale, and I can get some wine if you want”
“Wine? At this hour? Tea should be fine, eggs and bacon sound wonderful.” There was enough for a dozen people.
“I don’t know when they are going to wake up, they were up talking till late last night. There a few things I want to know, well lots of things, it’s too bad there is no internet here.” She took the plate with the eggs and bacon on it. The maid poured a tea out into small cups.
“It’s hot miss,” she stepped back and waited while Beth started eating.
“Uh, you can have some, I don’t think they will mind, and really if they do I will give them a piece of my mind.” She said noticing the maid was hovering.
“I’m um just a maid miss. You’re a hero.” She said not moving.
“Nonsense, if you’re going to hover, I insist you eat and talk with me, though not at the same time.” Beth smiled.
The maid tentatively sat down, and made a small helping for herself. She munched on a slice of bacon.
“So where are we?’ She asked.
“Pardon miss?” the maid asked.
“This Kingdom does it have a name?”
“It’s the Kingdom of Rhir, I think.” The maid said.
“You’re not sure,” Beth asked her.
“I’m just a maid miss, that’s the only name I have ever heard it called if it’s called something else I wouldn’t know, “she took a small bite of the over easy egg and chewed.
“Is there a library, where I could check out the books?” Beth asked.
“The King has a library, though I have never seen it. There is telling that it houses knowledge.” She shrugged.
“Books, that’s a start. Where is this library? “Beth asked.
“Um, I think it’s in the south wing, I can ask if you want to go there,” She said setting down the partially eaten egg and bacon.
“Finish first then we can go find the Library.” Beth said shaking her head slightly.
Beth finished the meal and the tea, the meal filled her up, she was anxious to find out more about this place.
Marie, covered the serving trays and lead her out the main door. Outside two soldiers stood guard.
The two guards stood opposite the door, the bold had swords and chain armor, there faces were serious when the two of them came out.
“Miss, um”, She look at Beth.
“Bell.” She replied.
“Miss Bell would like to go to the library, can you help her?” Marie asked.
The guards looked at Beth and at the maid, the one on the right spoke,” We cannot, sorry we have orders not to leave this post.”
Marie frowned, “No one has thought to assign a page to your group it seems.”
“I’ll figure it out, thanks Marie,” She turned and went down the corridor. The two guards watched her go.
One nodded to the other and called out, “Miss, go left, not right”
She replied, “Thanks!” and took a left.
Xach woke up to a banging, his first reaction was to yell “What!?”
He heard a voice in his head at about the same time.
[Hero Level one]
[Mage Level one]
[Warrior Level one]
He got up and stumbled to the door, it took him a few moments fiddling with the weird handle to open the door.
Newton heard someone knock on the door. He had been up for about an hour, still trying to figure out the meaning of the voice that had spoken as he awoke.
[Hero Level one]
[Knight Level one]
[Mage Level one]
[Arithmagi Level one]
He was a little confused about the last one, and was not sure what that was, it sounded like he was a math mage. The knight title annoyed him a little, he wasn’t a knight at least he didn’t feel like one. It was something the king had given him.
He got up to see who was knocking.
There was a knock on the door, and Marie answered, The [commander] of the royal guards stood at the door.
“Morning, sir may I help you”, Marie said
“I’m here to see the um, knight Newton and Bloodstone and his son.” He replied.
“I believe they are still asleep”, she said.
He strode past her and went to the first room, and knocked loudly.
Newton opened the door, “Oh hi, something up?”
The commander, knocked on the second door, a voice inside said,” What!?”
“Get up we have things to do.” He replied.
The last door opened and Bloodstone looked out, “Morning.”
The commander waited while Newton and Bloodstone ate, and looked a little more awake, Xach stumbled out of his room, saw there was food and started stuffing his face.
“What are we doing today?” Bloodstone asked.
“You asked for more information about the kingdom, The Library seems the ideal place to start, Miss Bell is already there, I met her on the way here. Whom else is going to join us?”
“I think I should be good with the Library, Xach, Newton?” He asked.
Newton looked up from chewing, he said a few words that were completely incoherent, as he chewed.
Xach said, ”Nah, where can I practice?”
“Perhaps you could assist me on my rounds, Xach”, Commander Ferald said.
“Sure.” Was the reply
Bloodstone knocked on the door for Amethyst, she opened the door. “Were going to the library, feel like tagging along”
“I’m busy” was the non-committal reply.
“With what?” with a serious tone of confusion.
“Visages, I uh found that I have a bunch to look through.”
“Oh!”, he replied, “Let me know if you find the Siren one”
The four of them left, Marie began cleaning the mess that they had made.
Bloodstone yawned, as they walked down the corridor. It was covered in a thick carpet, the air in the space was cool but not cold. There were a few guards it seemed in key locations, they were also in pairs, or in groups of four.
There were two double doors that entered into a foyer, from there, the library could be seen. Or at least part of it could be.
They were on the third floor of what appeared to be a five story open layout, there were books and shelves with books, with stairs and high ceilings.
An older woman with gray hair, walked down a flight of steps. She was wearing a dark long dress that had an apron with several pockets in the front of it. Two books were visible in each of the pockets. As she approached them the commander said, “This is Ferella, she is the [Librarian] here, and the [historian] in charge of this place, she also is the kings aunt.
“First before you lot get the book here dirty, you will wear gloves, and you will respect the books here. That means no tearing out pages or getting ink on them. Also you will not leave with a book without my permission, is that clear.” She said looking each of them in the eye.
“Yes,” Was the response as she reached into one of the pockets and handed them white gloves.
Xach and the [commander] left before she could get to them with the gloves
“Your friend Mrs Bell has already made a number of suggestions. She mentioned something about a decimal system. She said you might know more about it than she did.”
Newton smiled, “Yeah it’s a way of cataloging books, by author, title and subject. Each subject has its own prefix number like 100 would be, I think psychology and philosophy, then by a subtype in that field, the title of the books are arranged alphabetically by the authors name, then each book ends up with two numbers on the spine to track them as well as some letters of the author’s name.”
Ferella smiled, ”how are they attached to the spine of the book?”
“Oh that’s easy they use a clear tape. Oh um, humm not sure how you might be able to do that here glue most likely. Sorry“
“What are you gentlemen interested in?” She asked.
There were four answers, and she took them up a flight of stairs, past rows and rows of books, into a small sitting area. Beth, was reading a book, and didn’t see them enter.
“You may read here, no one will disturb you, I also ask you do not disturb any of the mages reading here.” She gestured to the side of the room. There was a younger boy at a desk reading a book. His legs dangled a few inches from the floor.
“Othius, have you finished reading the treaties,” Ferella asked.
The boy turned and looked over, “Auntie, it’s so boring,” he whined.
The woman glared at him, “Those treaties are important, for you to know by heart.”
“Treaties?” Bloodstone asked.
“Rhir has treaties with several nations’ states on Izril and Terandria to defend the kingdom if it falls, and to restore the rightful heir to the throne.” The boy said.
“Can you name them,” Ferella asked quizzing him.
“Uh, I Forget.” he replied.
“The five houses, can you name one of the current monarchs in charge of one of those houses?” She asked.
“The flower lady, um Magnolia, Lady Magnolia?”, He didn’t seem very sure of himself.
“And what is her crest,” She asked.
“I haven’t gotten that far”, he said someone embarrassed.
“Good go back to reading.” She said turning back to the people standing there listening.
“Lots to learn it seems how old is he?” He asked.
“He turned eight last snowfall” She said.
“Ok I have a bunch of questions,” Bloodstone said.
“Um well I have other duties, perhaps you could write them down, and then we can find books on any of the topics your interested in.”
“Sure, that could work; I just hope the language is the same.” Bloodstone said.
“It should be, some of the others from your world had issues with the written script, it appears they are similar enough for understanding.” She replied, setting out several sheets and a quill and ink.
She left them, and they talked for a bit about what was important. Beth chimed in occasionally, with a request.
“Ok so let’s see, we want to know the following, history of this Kingdom since its founding, maps or charts of the region, what the king meant by demons. Anything on this Leveling thing the king mentioned.” Newton said after the discussion.
It was also determined that Beth had the best hand writing, since Kuya wasn’t there. She helped them write the topics.
Recent history of the Kingdom of Rhir.
History of the Kingdom and the walls.
Level information, how it works, and a list of known classes.
People locally who are influential.
Maps of the Kingdom and the rest of the area.
After they had finished the requests, they looked at the book Beth was reading. It was titled War with the Antinium, the Rhir conflict.
“It’s really weird, they were fighting them and only them about forty-two years ago, and then they just stopped. Why would you break off a conflict if you’re winning?” Beth asked.
“I could think of a few reasons, though loss of forces is a big one, the cost is too high” Newton said.
“Are they a problem still?” Bloodstone asked.
The Prince chimed in, “No they all left, went to Isril, no one knows why they left. I think my aunt has a book about them when they got there. Its um..” He said thinking. His aunt had at that moment came into the room.
“It’s the Antinium Wars of Isstysil, you should read that once they are finished with it.” She said.
“Ah we will have to read at it.” Bloodstone said, holding out the sheet with the requests.
“I can find something on these subjects, I will be right back.” She said leaving the reading area.
She brought twelve books and placed them on the table, “If you need anything I will be around”
Each of them grabbed a book and started reading.
Hours later they had eaten lunch, the books were removed, and then lunch was brought in. There was an ongoing discussion, about the class system.
“What I am saying is that numerically it doesn’t make much sense.” Newton said.
“Sure it does, it’s just that we don’t know what the underlying criteria are, we can infer some of it though evidence, and observation.” Beth countered.
“So what you’re saying is that if someone wants to be an [empty] class, and they strive to be an [empty] class they will be an [empty] class?” Bloodstone said.
“What is an [empty] class”, the prince asked.
“Oh sorry, it’s a computer programming term, one way to think of it, fruits are a class, and vegetables are a class. So if you have those two classes, where would a dog fit?” Bloodstone asked.
“You’re confusing him, what he means is what if someone wants to be a class that doesn’t exist.” He asked.
“How can they be a class that doesn’t exist? “, The prince looked really confused.
“It’s would be a null class, something that you can add to, if it’s a set list and its finite, then once you know all the classes you can figure things out, If however its constantly updated, then you can figure out the mechanics behind it. What defines a class, the individual or society? Or is it something else entirely?” Bloodstone asked.
“You’re making my head hurt,” the prince said.
“What if I told you that I reject the class system, and substitute my own class?, “ Bloodstone asked.
“Ok, so what is your class?” The prince asked.
Bloodstone smiled, “I am an [empty] class, I level up, by having you reject my class, tell me it’s impossible.”
“That’s a class doesn’t exist. You’re just making it up.” The prince chided.
“Of course, but my [empty] class can be anything I want it to be.” He teased.
“There is no class like that.” The prince said.
“Not that we have been able to find, that doesn’t make it so.”
“So what does an [empty] class do?” The prince asked.
“Told you he wouldn’t get it”, Newton said.
“It’s not what the class does, it’s what it defines. Really hard to explain”, Bloodstone said. “So what classes do you have?”
The prince turned a little red, “Uh I’m a level 2 [prince]”
“Ok, so that means you’re in the monarchy class hierarchy, you can level up as a prince, but can you level as a princess?” He asked jokingly.
“I’m not a girl! That’s a girl’s class.” He said a little louder than necessary.
“So there’s a distinction between male and female classes in the monarchy hierarchy, so you can become a [King] but not a [Queen]. It appears there are many classes that don’t have a gender bias, are there any classes that have a race bias? So we know a class can be tied to male female or either or both. A prince can level up another class say as a [cook], or a [sailor], or a [fighter]. You could stay a level two [prince] but gain other classes, [mage] as an example.” He said lecturing
“So how does that explain the [empty] class you mentioned?” The prince asked.
“What would you call someone who, knew every class, or could be any class,” He asked.
“That’s impossible, you can’t be every class,“ The prince said.
“Ahh but that’s not what I asked, I asked what would you call it.” Bloodstone fired back
“I have no idea, but calling it [empty] doesn’t make any sense,” he said thinking about it.
“Neither does the leveling system at least the way we understand it, think of it as an experiment.” Bloodstone said.
“I was right, you are crazy” Beth said. Everyone laughed at her statement.
“Seriously though, how do new classes get added, or found. Take for example the profession of space flight, would that be a class? So if we define each class in a hierarchy, from low to high and the types we would get a class tree. So name three different classes that most likely are not in the same family of classes.” Bloodstone asked the group
“Well what about [blacksmith] where would that fall.” Beth asked.
“Manufacturing, most likely, anyone making something like a [cook], [brewer], or maybe even a [farmer].” Bloodstone said thinking.
“So why have this weird class system?” Newton asked.
“Well from what we know they had gods at one point, not that we know what they represented or if they had a favorite race. At some point in the past they fought, and apparently died. Was this leveling system a way to level the field for the different races?” Bloodstone replied.
“What is your idea on the wall?”, Newton asked.
Beth smiled, I think I know what we can make to speed up the wall, and they have the knowledge at least the basics, just need to see if they have the right materials.
“Now you are just messing with us, I can’t think of a technology that would make a wall faster.” Newton said
“Concrete, a little lime stone and a few chemical processes and you have concrete.” , she relied.
Newton just stared at her, “Holy crap!, your right”
“What is con crete,” The prince asked.
“Its liquid stone, add water to a special mix and once it dries its hard as stone, you can even mix in real stone to get more structure, or rebar, that’s metal rods. You know how to make concrete?” Bloodstone said catching on.
Beth laughed, “Yes, took an internship at a concrete plant, you know to learn the tools you need to make buildings. It would take a few months to get a working plant, it is doable with the tech they have, give them a couple of years at it and I can pretty much see them getting it up to our modern standards.”
“Here I thought you were talking bull dozers, or dynamite.” Bloodstone said.
“Sleeping bulls, what is that other thing you just said?” The prince asked.
“Dynamite, is an explosive, nitroglycerin, with a stabilizer. I don’t recall how it’s made. A bull dozer is a piece of machinery, a big tool that can push and move dirt.” Bloodstone replied.
“Oh yeah, that’s not too hard to make, just need to not go crazy and make big batches in a populated area, I bet an [alchemist] could make it” Beth said.
“Yeah, then you would get [explosive engineers] as a new class,” Newton joked.
“The leveling of that class would be dangerous, one mistake and you go to pieces” Bloodstone said deadpan.
They cleaned up the food, and when it was gone, the prince left shortly after. The books were brought back out as well as new books were retrieved. The group was fairly silent as they continued to read through the different tomes.
Newton was the first to get up, “It’s weird, there seems to be a pattern here, I just can’t figure it out”
“A pattern of attacks, can you chart them?” Bloodstone asked.
“Maybe, if I have enough data to make a chart. They don’t have a good way of organizing things,” Newton said gesturing, “Its maddening they don’t use a standard notation, This book is a log book of the attacks on Valantius keep on the fourth wall, it’s pretty accurate, however if you were to put it on a time line, I wouldn’t have any clue what the length of time was from start to finish. The book also seems to have had at least three authors, its maddening.” He said throwing up his hands.
“At least they have records we can sort, and view. Are you going to ask about the ripped out pages that one book had?”
“Yeah it looks like there were about four pages, torn out. There is no mention of them in the text.” Newton said shaking his head.
“it’s late, I am heading back to the rooms, if you two are going to continue reading I’ll see you later.” Bloodstone said getting up and putting the book he had been reading back on the table.
“So did you find the class you were looking for in that list?”, Beth asked.
“Nope, I didn’t expect to either.” Bloodstone said smiling.
“You’re still not going to tell us what your classes are?” Newton asked, putting the book back into a large pile.
“Well I have a [Wizard] class, the [hero] class, and [engineer] class; I’m not sure why I got that one. The [Lord] class, from the king. One [swordsman] level, and one other class, I know what it is but I want to keep it a secret for a bit.” He said ticking them off on one hand.
“It’s not that stupid class you were telling the prince is it.” Newton asked.
“No, that was me speculating. I’ll tell you two if you promise not to say anything.” Bloodstone said seriously.
“We told you our classes,” Beth said.
“Fine its ….” He said.” Happy now?”
They both jumped, “How the did you do that!?” Newton said.
Bloodstone grinned, “Concentration and practice, amongst other things.”
“What else can you do?”, Newton asked.
“Let us talk about this later,” Bloodstone replied still grinning, as he started walking back to the room.
He heard both of them groan, “That’s not funny.” Beth said getting up to follow him out with Newton.
The three of them went back to the rooms. They walked in silence down the hallway.
When they arrived back in the suite, the day maid had left and the night maid was in attendance.
“Evening, would it be too much trouble to get something to eat?” Bloodstone asked the maid.
“No my [lord], I can go get something from the kitchen. I have already gotten food for the others”, she said pointing to a tray of used dishes.
“No rush, Xach is still training with the [commander] and he says he’s sore all over, they should be back shortly”, Bloodstone said winking at Newton.
The maid left with the dishes and then returned shortly with full dishes. She left one covered, for Xach when he returned.
“Well that’s interesting.” Bloodstone said.
“What?” Newton asked.
“King sent some items to us, should be interesting they should be here in a minute or so.” Bloodstone said.
“Now you’re just showing off,” Beth said.
The door opened and the commander and Xach walked in, he headed straight for the covered dish and started digging into the chicken and potatoes that were covered in gravy.
The commander looked at Xach, questioningly.
“What I’m hungry”, he said.
“The king asked me to drop these off to your group,” He said and dropped onto the table, two worn looking bags, a ring, and pendant. “The bags have some funds to get your project started; the prince really took a liking to you. He is the one who convinced the king to fund your con treat. The bags have coin in them, the ring is a signet ring, until you can get a personal one made, it’s from an old house that doesn’t exist anymore, so it should be fine to use. The amulet is a truth stone; it will glow if someone lies.
“It is concrete.” Beth said.
“Ahh, well I have further duties to attend to, I will see you in the morning.” With that the commander left.
They gathered around the table to see what was in the bags, dumping the contents out revealed thousands of gold coins.
“Is that real gold,” Eve asked.
There was a gasp as the maid watched them pour out the gold onto the table.
“Humm, let us see how much we are being given here, Newton you want to track the expenses, There are some papers here, they got buried.” He picked up the packet of papers.
“Newton, Eve, Beth, Kuya, Xach, mine and Amethyst, It looks like this is his way of saying thanks, It’s a letter to us.”, Bloodstone started reading it.“To the Lord and lady and the hero associates, I have decided to give you seed money to start your project, the two bags here contain twenty thousand gold, you should be able to do what is needed with this. I am heading north on the morrow, to deal with some issues that you have uncovered, until then feel free to use the room until you find better accommodations. I should be back in a week or so, my sister will answer any questions until then. ” He signed it seal and everything. ” He set the letter down.
“That’s a lot of gold, not sure I feel safe with that much just here.” Eve said.
“considering, that it’s a good amount to get started, tomorrow we should see about getting things moving, Newton and BB library duty, Xach I guess with the commander. Kuya, with the mages, see about getting us a spell book or two. Eve, tag along with me and Lady A. I think we should split up the gold amongst us, or at least have some so its not all in one place. One more thing,” He turned to the maid.
“How much do you get paid?” He asked.
“Paid, I don’t get paid, I’m a [maid] I work for the crown”, As if that explained it.
“We want to hire you, when we leave here, what is a fair wage.” He asked.
“I wouldn’t know, I have been in the service to the crown all my life. I have everything I want at least, Let me think about it”, She said.
“Sure no pressure and I really don’t like the fact that you don’t get paid,” he counted out ten gold coins and offered them to her.
“I can’t accept that” she said backing away.
“No this is for you and Marie will get ten as well, where I come from people get paid for work, otherwise it’s just wrong.”, He said.
“One, I’ll take one” she said, taking the coin.
“Well you are due nine more, for all the work you and Marie it’s the least we can do.” He handed her the one coin and set the rest on the table in a stack. He pulled a second stack of ten and put them next to the first stack.
Coins were divided up and most of them were returned to the bags.
“I guess I am elected to get us all something to hold coins with tomorrow.” Bloodstone said.
Bloodstone took one of the bags and the signet ring to his room and Amethyst took the other bag and amulet to her room.