Mark played some games on his phone while waiting for Manuel to arrived. Once he received a text from the agent that he was waiting outside, Mark went to invite them in. He saw that Manuel brought a small truck with containers of gasoline for his car and asked the driver of the truck together with his companion to bring the containers inside the garage. Mark thanked Manuel and asked how much he owed him and Manuel said that Donald Dren asked to be billed for any business that went through the agent. Mark felt exasperated but allowed it to happen because honestly, if he was a super rich guy, he would like to be friends with someone who could cure cancer as well. He was also thankful to Donald that he allowed him his privacy even though he said that he would welcome any rich guy who asked for cure.
Mark knew that Donald, as a shrewd businessman had a criteria that he was using to filter the people that he would introduce to him and Mark really didn’t care as long as he would get paid and would retain his privacy. Manuel then introduce a man who came out of the car who was following him. The man said his name was Sebastian Johnson and he was one of the architect from Ludwig Engineering Company based in L.A. Mark greeted the man and invited them to sit in the living room. Once everything was settled and Manuel saw that they were preparing to talk business, he asked Mark if he needed anything more from him and when he got an answer that there was nothing else, he took his leave while reminding him that if there was anything else, to not hesitate in calling him.
When Manuel left, Mark showed Sebastian the pictures and videos of the forest clearing and told him that he needed a two story villa with three bedrooms with bathroom on each bedroom. It would be out of grid so it needed to be connected to a large enough generator and the fuel of the generator would be delivered to the house each week so it needed to have enough electrical and fuel capacity to support the house for a week. It should have a large enough gaming room attached to one of the bedroom. It would also need to have a good enough septic tank to handle the waste product. All in all it should be self sufficient.
Sebastian took note of all of his requirements on his tablet and asked some details of the design that Mark would like to have. Mark said that he didn’t know any design so it would be better if he showed some pictures that he could take look at. The architect then showed some pictures on his tablet regarding the design of houses and Mark felt unsatisfied. He then told the architect that he was a gamer who would like a house that was designed as something from a medieval fantasy but it should be made of wood and it should have all the modern conveniences.
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Sebastian said that his request was not unique because there were lots of clients who had requested the same thing, basically clients who liked to romanticize the medieval setting. Castles, taverns, guild halls and such things. He said that some of the clients who requested those types of design were also players of MMOrpg or who liked to watch animated series from Japan.
Mark was taken aback but was not really surprised. The anime culture, MMO rpg style and nerd culture had started to become prevalent especially when the TV series The Big Bang Theory became a hit show. The Cosplay scene boom also added to the culture’s expansion. He then said to the architect that since he was a bit familiar with what he wanted, he would like to have some design that he could take a look at. The architect agreed and said that he would have something to show him in a couple days.
Sebastian also mentioned that the forest clearing that Mark showed him was really beautiful especially the spring and tiny waterfalls. The architect then said that unfortunately, they usually couldn’t build something near body of water because the foundation would be softer than usual especially if the builder would not be professionally trained to handle such construction. Mark then said that it was okay to choose a location not near the spring. The architect also requested more pictures of the location and possibly wide angle pictures. He noticed that Sebastian was experienced enough not to ask the location of the forest clearing.
Mark was happy with the first meeting with the architect but would know for sure after looking at the design he would show him after a couple of days. Once the architect left, he called Donald Dren. He was expecting to talk to a secretary but after a couple of rings, Donald was the one who answered the phone.
“Hey thanks for footing the bill for the gasoline for my car.”
“No worries. It’s just litters of gasoline. Are you busy right now?”
“Why? Do you need something?”
“A colleague of mine who’s based on London has a son who is suffering from ALS. Can you cure something like that.”
“Oh that’s tricky! You know what, I actually don’t know but I’m willing to try.” Mark said while wondering if his Dryad’s Circle or Forest Sanctuary Skill could cure something like ALS. “Are they coming to the states?”
“That’s great! Actually, the kid’s so sick it would be very difficult for them to come here. Can you travel to London? I have a private jet that we can use.”
“We? Are you coming with me?”
“Of course! You’re my guest and it would be better if I’m there to prevent any misunderstanding?”
Mark suddenly thought of his meeting with the architect two days from now so he told Donald about that. Donald said not to worry, he would have the architect fly to London after a couple of days to meet with him or he could re-schedule with the architect. Mark said he would just re-schedule and promptly called the Sebastian. He did wonder about the power of money could bring after Donald said that he would fly the architect to London.