Chapter 12: Foundations 2

Elania leaned back in her chair, the plush velvet cushioning her as she stared at the sheaf of papers spread out on the ornate desk. Beside her, Yolani hummed softly, eyes scanning the documents with keen interest.

Darius stood on the other side of the desk, hands clasped behind his back. “The Neftasu Guards have provided a detailed list of their expected supply requirements and needs, broken down by month, for the maintenance of the men.”

Elania slid the papers across the desk, arranging them in a neat stack in front of Yolani. The raven-haired artificer’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I can actually read this!”

Yolani traced the pages, brows furrowing as she took in the information. “There are breakdowns of equipment needs and repairs, but it’s the housing and rations that we need to worry about.”

Elania leaned forward, scanning the numbers. Her breath caught in her throat. “How are we going to find ten thousand crits a month?” she asked, voice tinged with disbelief. “Not even Neftasu had that many mana shards.”

Yolani tapped her chin thoughtfully, green eyes meeting Elania’s. “While the mana shards are the currency’s backing, most trades don’t actually involve them directly.”

Darius nodded. “We’ll likely need to either disband and let every guard go out on their own or figure out employment to bring in income.”

Elania’s mind raced as she considered the options. Disbanding the Neftasu Guard would leave her people vulnerable, scattered throughout an unfamiliar city. However, finding employment for such a large group would not be straightforward.

“What if we sell our services?” Yolani’s voice broke the silence, eyes meeting Elania’s. “Guards, bouncers, protection services. The Neftasu Guard has the skills and experience.”

Darius shook his head, arms crossed over his chest. “While most of the guards are professionals and likely capable of such tasks, the city isn’t exactly in need of such a massive influx of them. There is also a prohibition on foreign military units taking action inside the city. We would need to clarify if this work counted as such.”

Elania groaned, rubbing her temples as she leaned back in her chair. Every fucking thing had a prohibition. In fact, Darius had spent an entire day reading a stupidly thick book of city ordinances.

What could they do?

The image of the slums came to mind: abandoned buildings and crumbling facades.

“What about the slums?” Elania asked. “We saw plenty of ‘abandoned’ buildings there. Maybe we can take ownership of those buildings and rent them out to others as ‘safe’ housing in return for cheaper rent?”

Darius stroked his chin, eyes narrowing as he considered the idea. “I can look into the requirements for licensing buildings from the city, what it would cost, and if we’d need any permits.”

Elania frowned, eyes fixing on Darius. “You and the cultists are banned from leaving the estate by the Four Towers,” she reminded him firmly.

Darius nodded. “I will use one of the guards as my messenger, as problematic as the restriction is.”

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Elania frowned at another stack of papers they hadn’t even gone through yet. She picked up the top set. The helpful label “Ironfist” hinted at the contents. She flipped through them while Yolani leafed through another set.

A long list of the names and professions of the civilian refugees caught her eye. She let out a low whistle at the sheer diversity of skills among them. There were even artificers and other skilled craftsmen.

“The Ironfist have done a thorough job compiling this list,” she said, sliding the papers across the desk to Yolani. “They’ve even broken it down by profession, which should make it easier to allocate resources. And pick out the right people for different projects.”

Yolani’s green eyes widened as she took in the information. Her fingers traced the pages, pausing occasionally to tap on a particular entry. “Blacksmiths, weavers, carpenters… artificers.”

Elania nodded, leaning back in her chair. She ran a hand through her vibrant red hair, brows furrowing as she considered the challenges ahead. “Integrating all these people while maintaining responsibility for them is going to be even more difficult than for the Guard, which is at least a cohesive unit.”

Yolani hummed in agreement, eyes still fixed on the documents. “We can’t just dump them in the slums and expect them to fend for themselves. They’ll need support, resources, and a sense of community.”

“What if we establish an entirely new district in the slums?” Elania suggested. “We could work on providing the various people the equipment and tools needed to restart their professions and businesses.”

Darius, who had been standing silently by the desk, nodded slowly. “It’s a daunting task, but it might be the only plan that can work. We’ll need to secure the buildings, ensure they’re safe and habitable, and allocate resources based on each profession’s needs.”

Elania leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, trying to picture it.

“Having a stake in all the businesses will connect them to you, Elania, but we need to be careful not to make them dependent,” Yolani said.

Elania nodded, a frown creasing her brow as unease settled in her stomach. The plan was based on her need to keep the refugees as followers, to provide her with [Divine Power]. But it also felt underhanded, like she was manipulating them for her own gain. Still, the alternative was far worse.

If they didn’t find a way to help the refugees rebuild their livelihoods, most of them would end up in poverty or be thrown off the island by Arlois when the month ended.

Elania took a deep breath, shoulders straightening as she met Yolani’s gaze. “Now we just need to figure out the original problem: money. How do we get enough crit to rebuild the livelihoods of thirteen thousand people?”

Yolani’s fingers tapped nervously on the desk. “It’s a daunting task, to be sure. We’ll need to secure funding from somewhere, whether through loans, investments, or some other means.”

Elania, Yolani, and Darius sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts for several minutes.

Yolani’s voice broke the stillness. “Maybe my work assisting Ember can be compensated with money,” she suggested. “And you should ask for payment for your services with the arcane beast cleanup, Elania.”

Darius nodded. “The corpse of the arcane beast could be very valuable in the right hands,” he added. “If possible, you should claim it, Elania.”

Elania rubbed her temples, a wry smile tugging at her lips. “It would be very convenient if dragon blood would pay for everything,” she mused, the comment tinged with sarcasm.

Yolani and Darius stared at her, eyes wide with terror. “Is it really a dragon?” they asked together, voices trembling.

Elania’s brows furrowed. “Are dragons bad?”

Darius swallowed hard, face pale. “Dragons are primordial beings,” he explained in a hushed tone. “Only seven of them are known, and they are essentially nature written in beast form. Entire nations are destroyed when they rise.”

Elania shook her head, red hair swaying with the motion. “Arlois said it was a land beast of some sort,” she corrected quickly.

The other two visibly relaxed and Darius cleared his throat. “Land beasts cover a wide variety of large ground-dwelling creatures,” he explained, tone more composed. “Without more information, it could be anything.”

Elania felt the prick of another demi-divine entering the estate grounds, the sensation unmistakable. It was Arlois.

Standing up, Elania turned to Yolani. “It’s time to go off to do our missions,” she said firmly, reaching out to give Yolani’s hand a gentle squeeze.

Yolani nodded, green eyes meeting Elania’s with a mixture of determination and affection. She returned the squeeze, fingers lingering for a moment.