“What kind of weapons do you like to use?” Adam asked, having made his rounds at the fort.

“We brawl with our fists,” Cobra replied. “We kick too.”

“Right, right,” Adam replied, slowly nodding his head. ‘I guess they don’t want to use weapons?’ “I suppose we’ll need to equip you with more defensive equipment then.”

“Armour would slow us down.”

“I mean Cloaks of Protection, Rings of Protection, and there’s some other stuff, like bracers, that can help.”

Cobra blinked. ‘Cloaks of…’

‘I really should think about magical items which aren’t just weapons. There are so many magical weapons that could be made to speed up our travel speed or make it nicer. I really should make something that pops up a house for us to sleep in rather than the towers…’ Adam remained deep in thought. ‘I already made a steed ring, shouldn’t I make more?’

“He’s thinking again,” Korin said, dicing up the vegetables for lunch.

Dunes let out a long sigh. “Why is he working so hard when it’s the Month of Quiet?”

“Is he Aldish?”

Dunes threw a look towards Korin, whose lips formed a small playful smirk, the young Aswadian returning back to dicing his vegetables. ‘We are lucky he is far enough away he could not hear your words.’

Adam made his way to the village, his eyes scanning across Nobby, Jonn, and Fred, who were assisting the village. Fred and Jonn were assisting with training the villagers, who held long staves of wood in hand, practising their slashes, blocks and lunges.

“There’s going to be a lot of trouble now that there’s an enchanter beside our village,” Chief Merl said, letting out a soft exhale as she stared at the villagers training.

“It’s scary you were thinking what I was thinking,” Adam replied, glancing towards the older woman. “I was thinking about increasing our workforce, including the guards. I thought it might do us well if we ended up finding some guards here, who can assist during the Twilight Month.”

“The young are always eager to fight. It would be nice for them to work for the business, but what is your offer?”

“Once their training is complete they’ll join our lowest pay rate, ten gold for each month,” Adam said.

“It’s… an acceptable pay.”

“Is it high or low?”

“Lower than expected.”

“Well, we also provide them food, shelter, clothes, and we pay for their education, their equipment, their taxes, from their religious tax to their land tax for the kingdom, and lend out magical items which they earn through their work.”

The Chief tilted her head, eyeing up the half elf who always spoke so queerly, and spoke of such ridiculousness with a straight face. “Why do you provide so much?”

“Our pay scheme is pretty low, but every copper you earn, you keep. The Enchanter allows us to make a lot of money, and our business will hold enough sway that we can provide all these items for cheaper than an individual can procure them.” Adam shrugged, feeling the Chief’s gaze against his skin.

“Ten gold is not so bad if you do so much.”

“Anyway, it’s not like the pay doesn’t increase. Every few years the gold goes up, and those who have additional tasks earn more coin, and with enough responsibilities, you’ll go up a tier too. Our Experts earn double, but we also equip them with heavier armour and magical items.”

“What will you equip the guards with?”

“After they’re done training, chain mail, a sword or spear or something, and as time passes, we’ll improve their armour so they’ll have heavier armour.”

“Chain mail or a chain shirt?” Merl asked.

“Full mail,” Adam assured.

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“That is…” Merl wasn’t sure how else to describe what she was thinking. “Kind.”

“There’s nothing kind about making sure our worker don’t get killed so they can keep working for us,” Adam said.

“Some place a worth on a worker’s life to be a few gold,” Merl said.

“Well, I don’t mind losing gold, I don’t like losing people,” Adam replied. “Once they’re experienced enough, we’ll be sure to equip them with greater armour, like full plate, and magical weapons.”

“How old do you think I am?”

“Have I ever lied to you before?” Adam asked, feeling a rush of memories fill his mind. “I may not have assisted properly previously, but I made sure you were okay.”

“How many guards do you need?”

“I’m not entirely sure. We’ll be getting more money soon, and next year we’ll begin our operations more seriously, but we’ll take some on right now with the intention of beginning their training next year.”

“I won’t stop anyone from joining, unless there are too many.”

“Do you have any orphans?”

“A few…” Merl asked, glancing towards the half elf once more, her eyes more cautious now.

“How many?”

“Twenty or so, perhaps more?”

“I’d like to speak to them. I’ll accept any and all orphans, regardless of their age.”

“How pragmatic,” Merl’s voice grew cold.

“As someone who had no family a few years ago, I know how rough it is. I hope the business can provide the same warmth I’m now receiving.”

Merl furrowed her brows slightly. Adam was close to the Iyr, and he did always assist them, even allowing them to use his magical steed. The magical steed assisted greatly in their work, even when it wasn’t required, it was useful to have on hand.

“Gimon is an orphan who grew up during my generation. He helps around sometimes, but he’s always been alone. No wife, no children. He’s old, but he can walk and move fine, for now. Will you take him?”

“Of course, if he wants to join,” Adam said.

“He may not make a good guard, but he can still carry around some weight, and his eyes are fine.”

“Like I said, I’ll accept them all.” Adam smiled, not the polite smile of a businessman, but the smile of reassurance. ‘I can make thousands within a month, so it’s not like we need to save up all that money.’

The Chief sent word that day throughout the village, and when the next morning came, Adam eyed up the sixteen orphans. One was an older man, in his sixties or so, leaf thin, as though he could fall over with a breeze. He eyed up the rest of the orphans, each ranging from as low as eight or nine, to those who reached their early fifties.

“The Chief has already informed you of the deal. If you wish to join, you can sign a contract. We’ll have you train for some time before you take your official duties. You won’t be paid quite as much during that time, most of it will go to training you, but once the training is done, you’ll receive your pay monthly.” Adam pulled out his notebook to start taking notes.

Vonda and Dunes began to teach the newcomers, Vonda reading from her holy book, beginning to teach the ethics of the business, while Dunes assisted in their exercises. Korin cooked for the fort, while Pam and Bam baked, the pair providing all manner of desserts for the fort.

‘They’re letting us use all these fruits for our baking?’ Bam thought, staring down at the frozen fruit which the business had stocked up on. It was beginning to run out, so they were rationing some of the fruit towards the end of the year, but them rationing their fruit was greater than a typical family’s normal fruit budget.

It was during the end of the first week of the Twilight Month when Ted approached Adam. He had waited until Adam had finished playing with his children, who abandoned him to play with their grandparents.

“This contract says you’ll pay Nobby twenty gold,” Ted said, settling opposite Adam, tipping his hat slightly as a greeting. “I want to know why you’re paying him less than you promised, not that you’re paying him, uh, not paying him enough, I was just curious.”

“We changed the pay structure for the business, so the pay we promised had to be decreased in line with that, though we ended up giving him magical weapons sooner due to it.”

Ted bowed his head. “I’m not complaining at all, I was just asking.” Ted revealed the contract his family had signed, including Anne’s contract, which Ted and Annie had both signed, even though only one signature was required.

“Nobby will one day become a Lead, so he won’t be at twenty gold a month for long,” Adam said.

Ted thought about the pay his family was receiving. Twenty from Nobby, twenty from himself and his wife, and then there was the fact Anne was being taught by a Ray. “Thank you for helping us like this, Executive.”

“How did I help you?” Adam asked.

Ted raised his brows slightly, his eyes full of a disdain for these kinds of jokes.

Adam blinked. “We’re both helping each other. Nobby has been doing really well, and he’s one of our strongest. The fact that he’s stronger than some of the monsters I know, that’s only beneficial for the both of us.”

“He only became that strong because of yourself and your brother.”

“He became that strong because he fought Iyrmen and hydras,” Adam replied. “Sure, he was lucky in meeting us, but I saw him take heavy blows that would have killed any other man.”

“Nobby mentioned a stranger you met on the road, a man of fire, or a dragon.”

Adam furrowed his brows. “Who?”

“He said that the dragon fellow, he beat you all.”

“Oh,” Adam replied. “Right.”

“Nobby said you told him to step back.”

“I didn’t want him to die.”

Ted took off his cap and held it over his heart. “Thank you.”

Adam smiled. “Any time. I hope he’ll live a happy stress free life, and I hope his marriage to Merl goes well too.”

“I wanted to thank you for that too.”

Adam waved his hand dismissively. “He only grew up so well because you and Annie raised him so well.”

Ted could feel his cheeks fill with heat. “We did our best, but we couldn’t provide him what he should have had.”

“It’s only because of you that we managed to meet him,” Adam said, reaching out to pat Ted’s shoulder. “A father’s life is hard, eh?”

“Aye,” Ted said, the images of Adam’s children flashing through his mind. Ted placed a hand atop the back of Adam’s hand. “It is.”