Jaxin met them in the tavern section of the Guild Hall, at which point Cerise snagged a token for the counters.
"What took you guys so long? It's after lunch!" Jaxin complained with a smile.
"We had to buy land and get our things moved over. We'll be camping while we build the house, and I think we already promised to help a neighbor get to the classing room," Mykhal said the last with a wry smile to Cerise.
"Escort missions are dangerous," Jaxin said, scratching his chin.
Cerise pulled out her copy of the Dungeon Laws of Druerjan and flipped to the back. She found the passage she was looking for and turned the book to Jaxin, tapping where she wanted him to start reading. "I'm not so sure it will be so bad, but I want to confirm that here in the covenant copy where it says, 'those who remain with peaceful hearts may with suitable sacrifice depart' that it means something like the priests say about the holy places."
Jaxin looked at her skeptically, but things were slow at the counter right then and their token lit up. Cerise took back her book and they went up to talk to the clerk.
He was a shorter guy with an aesthetically pleasing face and well groomed beard. He went from looking bored to mildly interested on spotting them. The roll of his Inspect skill passed over her and he got a panicked expression.
Cerise held up her hands. "It's okay! You saw the Free Lancer part, right?"
The clerk's reaction had not gone unnoticed, and waves of Inspect skills fired off. There may have only been the one clerk helping guild members, but there were two others behind him handling paperwork and one bolted for a door deeper into the building. Cerise sighed and let her shoulders drop. She continued to the counter with Mykhal, who was pulling out receipts, since they had already gone over to the Consortium side to turn over their commissions.
Mykhal had to wave at the poor clerk to get him to look away from Cerise. His gaze still flickered between the two of them uncertainly, so Cerise pointed with both first fingers to her team lead.
"H-how can I help you?" the clerk asked.
"Miss Cerise and I are the Delving Lights, currently a duo. Mister Jaxin traveled with us from Va'Veltan, and we have a contract to share commissions. Here is the contract. Here are the receipts. We arrived yesterday. Jaxin, have you already filled out the residency papers? Because Cerise and I need to do that."
The poor clerk looked a lot overwhelmed, but managed to stumble through getting together some paperwork. However, before he could hand anything to them, the door to deeper into the building opened and a tall woman wearing heavy robes swept into the room. Cerise suspected she knew the woman's strata, but she still used her Appraise.
Name: Yanasi
Race: Human
Strata: Compound Master, Free Lancer, Freeman
Class: [Combat Artisan] Uncommon, Adept; [Administrator] Common, Initiate
Health: Good, Full
Mana: Good, High
The woman's own Inspect skill rolled over them, and she smiled at Cerise while cutting a semi-hostile-maybe look to the clerk.
"Hello, Miss ban Silverwood. It's a pleasure having you in our guild hall. How may we be of service?"
Cerise smiled. She pointed to herself. "Free Lancer, turning in commissions and establishing residency. If I need to do any diplomatic stuff, I'll come in the client door. I do appreciate the personal greeting, and I will be sure to mention the respect you've shown for the Lady of the Silverwood Grove, Whisper in the Leaves, Daughter of El-Ahrand, when next I converse with her."
Yanasi's smile just did not reach her eyes. "Why don't we discuss what that residency will look like in one of the private rooms?"
"Mykhal is my team leader. Is he invited, too?" Cerise asked.
"Of course," Yanasi said.
Mykhal asked, "Jaxin, are you okay if we leave the receipts with you?"
"Not a worry to be had," their traveling companion answered.
A few moments later, Cerise and Mykhal were seated in a private room with the Compound Master.
Cerise opened things up by asking, "Are we here, having this conversation for any reason other than the authority I bear? I mean, Mykhal and I are a duo of emancipated youths, barely two months with the guild, and still turning in commissions to earn our chance to prove for Bronze Rank, so I can easily see being called in for an interview on those grounds, but we do recognize that we are youths with quite a lot we haven't had the time yet to learn, so I prefer to ask over assuming." She delivered that with a relaxed cheeriness intended to disarm the tension she could practically taste from the woman.
Yanasi's smile relaxed in turn, though her eyes remained wary. "The sole reason we are speaking is your authority. As a copper rank team, you will either rise or stagnate on your own accomplishments. That is the point of the commission system and rank advancement requirements."
"Good!" Cerise said. "Let me tell you the stances the Lady of the Silverwood Grove has asked me to take." Cerise waited for Yanasi's dipped head. "First, avoid the politics of mankind as much as possible. The Lady views all mortal sapients, natural or magical in birth, as mankind, by the by. Second, if I am dragged into such politics, I am to favor that which favors the wilds or the interests of El-Ahrand would promote. Those are my two big directives.
"Now, because of the whole diplomat under Druerjan laws thing and having the el-Treborant present when I came back with the ban Silverwood name, I've had to stop off and make nice with nobles all the way from Va'Veltan to here. That includes Sir Brais.
"He seems very concerned that Sea Crest be able to support itself, which means farm land. That was of personal interest because my parents are with us and they have Writs of Residency from Hirsel Veltan. We went this morning to buy land, and the only plots available were the new farm plots. They are all five fields to a plot, non divisible. That was problematic because my parents are not [Farmers]. The concerns Sir Brais raised about potential food shortages if he can't get [Farmers] working decent farm lands is of a larger concern to my mother, who wants to open a Food Hall.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"My parents were able to work out a compromise where they leased parts of the plots they purchases to [Farmers] for equivalent yields to the annual liens, and got authorization from the mayor to do so for a fee of half the liens paid in produce to the village.
"Now, Sir Brais heard of this when we went to collect our things and came with us to congratulate my parents. Along the way," Cerise dropped all of her cheer, assuming an expression and tone of grave severity. "he reiterated the request he made of me last night to get involved in local politics by claiming my diplomatic residence in the full forty fields of land due me under Druerjan law. This land cannot be used for commerce or noxious crafts, cannot be sold or leased, and reverts to the local noble upon my loss of authority or death. He wants me to claim this land between the walls of the Village and the dungeon."
Cerise relaxed just a bit at the squint trying to manifest around Yanasi's eyes. Cerise continued on. "I refused him. I told him, honestly enough, that I do not want to make such a claim until I can defend the land. I did not tell him that I will not be the one defending any such land, because it will become an extension of the Silverwood Grove, and the authority I bear belongs to a Land God who does not concede a single nails width of land she claims."
Cerise sighed, letting her reluctant acceptance of what she was about to say show clearly. "I also did not tell him that if I am forced into politicking, that I will have to make that claim and do so in a way that prevents further expansion of the town. He seemed frustrated enough not to care how permanent that restriction of expansion would be. "
Making an obvious attempt to be cheerful once more, Cerise smiled brightly. "So, as long as you're not trying to drag me into politicking, the Lady who anointed me ban Silverwood will be perfectly fine with you treating me as an emancipated youth, a [Healer] of the Delving Lights, and a Free Lancer freeman.
"Would you like some time to consider the information I've shared with you? I'm happy to schedule a time to come back through the client door, in my diplomat's face. I was probably being a bit naive thinking that I'd simply be treated like a Free Lancer when I walked in the guild's door, but that is my preference."
Yanasi leaned back and took a moment to think. She had let her fake smile fall away during Cerise's speech. The woman's serious, unsmiling countenance was, in Cerise's opinion, more suited to the woman. "I think," Yanasi began. "That you have addressed all of my concerns quite directly, except for one. If you want to be treated as a Free Lancer, you will have to answer challenges to you as a Free Lancer, and not as an authority bearer."
"Reasonable," Cerise conceded. Then she added. "Challenges to my family, who are not Free Lancers, will be assessed by the Lady of the Silverwood Grove. If she decides to intervene, well, I bear her authority; I do not dictate it."
Yanasi raised her eyebrows. "So you have a way to speak with her?"
Cerise thought of the seed token, and the hints of sylvan speech that she felt more than heard from it. "Communicate, yes. Speak isn't quite the right word." Cerise stopped herself from admitting that she believed the Lady understood far more than Cerise was currently capable of understanding back.
Yanasi appeared far more relaxed without her fake smile. "Good enough. Now, you mentioned your parents bought land today?"
"Yes," Cerise said.
"How much were you charged?" the Compound Master asked.
"One gold per plot was due to receive the deeds. My parents aren't [Farmers], but with only farming plots available, they had to work out a compromise to secure the land. The were ecstatic to hear there is already a local farming cooperative, and were talking about inviting the co-op to run a small produce market on a part of the commons fronting the street, probably near to where Mama sets up her Food Hall.
"Once we get our house built, Mama said she will be over to post a request for [Alchemists]. We've been collecting seeds from wild gather all the way down from the North, and a lot of them are from magical plants. We don't know which are worth trying to grow beyond the ones Mana uses to make her Healing Potions."
Yanasi's eyes brightened. She help up two fingers. "Your mother makes healing potions? And you have magical seed stock?"
Cerise glanced to Mykhal, who shrugged with her. Together they turned back to the Compound Master and nodded.
The smile that lit up Yanasi's face now started at her eyes. Aesthetically speaking, her face really was more suited to severity, but in the emotional sense, that smile was beauty. Cerise decided she preferred the emotional to the aesthetic sense.
"Why don't I just relieve her of the need to make that trip and go see those seeds now?" Yanasi asked.
Cerise considered a moment and said, "Mama probably won't be able to speak with you today, and Papa will be busy building, but we could probably grab the seeds and return. To be clear, though, Mama decides what happens with the seeds. I know she wants to know what they are, special properties, commercial uses, and any growing instructions. Mostly, she wants to know what the plants may be good for beyond monster fodder. Most of the magic plants we picked up because our horse went dire on us during our journey and they were the plants she wanted to eat."
That last bit only seemed to brighten Yanasi's day even more.
----------------------------------------
Cerise and Mykhal quickly found themselves back in the guild hall. Jaxin was waiting for them and handed a receipt to Mykhal. "You seem to have made a good impression on the Compound Master."
"We mentioned needing to learn more about the seeds of the plants Daisy likes," Mykhal said, not bothering to keep his voice down.
Jaxin said, "Ah!" with a smile. "She's an [Alchemist], did you know?"
Cerise shrugged. "I kind of guessed from the [Combat Artisan] description. Seeds are one of their things?"
"Seeds that attract dire beasts are their thing," Jaxin clarified. "Most of those are reagents." They headed for the door.
"Well, we're off to collect the ones that we need more information on, and probably we'll bring back some of Mama's Healing Potion to get assessed for the Consortium. I'm also hoping they can help me find someone who can make the injectors I want for Surgical applications of potions," Cerise said, recalling the syringes she dreamt of from that life before this one.
A woman blocked them from leaving the foyer.
"Hey, [Healer] girl! You looking for a real party?" she asked.
Cerise pause and Appraised the woman while looking her up and down, not bothering to hide her skepticism. "Hildai, do you know why you don't piss off a [Healer]?"
"Hey, I'm just asking a fair question here," the woman said.
"No, you're not, and you're too stupid to pull off an 'aw shucks, I'm just a blunt [Barbarian]' routine. Now, you will step out of our way or we will be stepping over you."
Jaxin looked at Cerise like she was crazy, but Mykhal just smiled.
"Move me," Hildai said, puffing out her chest. Then her eyes fluttered closed and she toppled over, flopping to the floor.
Some people started to splutter and chairs scrapped back. Cerise ignored them, stepped next to Hildai's prone form, and clearly said, "[Triage]," as she assessed the woman for harm, using a poke with her booted toe for dramatic effect.
"What did you do to Hildai?" a man asked looking warily at Cerise.
She glanced over, Appraised him, saw he had the same party name. "Are you claiming her? As a party member?"
"Yeah, now what did you do to her?" he demanded.
"She's asleep right now. She'll have a new bruise from falling over, but that's the extent of her damage. She might even wake up by the time we get back. Until she apologizes for her rudeness, any party she's in will be on my nuisances fee list. That means, if you're not dying, I'm not healing you, and any healing I provide costs you double." Cerise delivered that with a professional cheer, then stepped over the downed woman and walked on, Mykhal right behind her.
She heard Jaxin saying, "You're going to want to get your [Warrior] to apologize. Miss Cerise is usually much nicer than that, but even if she weren't, she's the only [Healer] I've ever heard of to earn Noq-el's Blessing, and she's Blessed by El-Ahrand. You don't want the darling of multiple gods pissed off at you, do you?"
Cerise and Mykhal didn't linger to hear the rest. Jaxin had apparently decided to stay for soothing ruffled feathers, and she trusted him to know when to stay and when to go.