Mom could gamble. Gods Above, she could gamble and when she was lucky...

I had buckets. Two buckets of gold sitting on my bed. Two large casino security men were standing in our room's doorway behind my mother. They were going to take the buckets away with them and leave us with a credit note we could redeem at our convenience on the mainland.

Mom just wanted to bring the buckets up to prove something to me. To show me what she'd been up to the last three weeks. I knew she'd been winning since she had been sticking to our bargain and leaving her extra coppers in the room, but I'd had no idea she'd been winning.

I felt faint.

This was more money than I'd probably used in my entire lifetime. Probably more than she'd ever used in her entire lifetime. If handled carefully we would be ok for the rest of our lives. I wouldn't have to worry if the bills could be paid, have to decide about eating that week or paying the rent.

Gods Above.

No, don't get too excited. This was her money. All of it. That meant that she'd probably gamble it all away within the year. It was her way. She'd win big, want to live luxuriously for a while, then inevitably lose it all in further gambling.

Damn.

"You don't look happy." Mom uncrossed her arms going from looking smug to looking upset in a blink of an eye.

"Congratulations," I said simply. What did I say? I knew how this would work. I couldn't meet her eyes. Visions of the same cycle repeating itself through my childhood swimming in my head.

"We are rich now, Rille. We can buy a house on a hill just like I've always wanted." She moved to stand in front of me. If she touched me I'd cry. "Why aren't you happy, baby?"

"This is your money mom, you can buy your house." I finally looked her in the eye and took a deep breath. Our relationship had been a bit strained after the fight over the dress and my unwillingness to wholeheartedly accept Cantrel. Did I want to pick another fight?

"Think about it," I whispered. "How long will you be able to keep your house?" I winced as her face became cold and her lips pursed. Damn, it was going to be another fight.

"It's your money Rille," she crossed her arms and huffed.

What?

"I've already got my credit note for my half, this is yours. I know we agreed on ten percent, but Cantrel told me this would be fine. It's more than enough, even if I do 'lose my house'." She moved her fingers in quotes.

Were we fighting? Wait. Mine? My half. This was only half of her winnings? Gods Above.

"I know how I am. You're right that I will probably lose what I've won. I know how I am Rille. Cantrel helped me see that I have impulse issues. I'm working on it.

"This money is for you to keep for when I die. The rest will go to buying a house. I will leave you in charge of the daily expenses and we will live like we always have. You won't have to work if you don't want too, but I thought you might want to continue with your soap and make it a genuine business.

"I will give myself one silver a month allowance. Once it's gone, it's gone. I promise, not even I can spend this much gambling." She waved her hand.

A knot in my gut loosened but didn't disappear. I knew her too well. She could go through this much money, but if she was serious about limiting herself it might delay the inevitable.

In the meantime, I would be able to set up a legitimate business. If I could get it going, then by the time mom spent all her money I'd hopefully be making my own money. I wouldn't touch the money on the bed if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

But she would know I'd have it. She'd want to 'borrow' just a little at first. If I said no, it would be a fight. If I gave in, this money would be gone as well. I just couldn't be happy with it. Not as happy as I think I should have been.

Perhaps it showed on my face.

"Hold on," Mom said and scooted over to where she'd left her knitting bag. She pulled a small stack of papers out.

"It's a contract. It says I relinquish all rights to this money," she waved her hand with the papers at the bed. "These nice gentlemen can witness for us."

She placed the paper's down on the writing desk and using the hotel pen signed her name at the bottom.

I walked over to the desk and picked up the papers.

She was giving me just a little over 122 gold. It would be placed into the Guild reserves under my name.

I wasn't officially registered in the Guild, but I could take care of that easily enough.

That meant that only I, with my Guild Id, could access the money.

It wasn't like the Kingdom's Bank where she could access my money since I was still unmarried. The interest rates would be lower with the Guild, but I could be assured I was the only one with access to it.

It still didn't solve all the problems, but at least there was something in place to prevent totally losing all the funds in a year.

I signed the paper.

The two guards signed as official witnesses.

They had me sign over a transfer agreement.

I was given an official Guild Credit Note.

Then they left each holding a bucket of gold. I'd requested 10 gold up front and they had altered my credit note to reflect that.

Gods Above, it was a lot of money.

"Mom, we still have some time before we are due at the docks and the shops are still open..." I smiled at her. "Only this much though ok?" I showed her the ten coins. It was still a lot of money. I still got my discount for the climbing class though and I really had my eye on several pairs of Rammy's boots. I'm certain mom had spotted a few things as well.

"Well, I really should pick up some souvenirs for the ladies at home. Maybe a nice hat for Miss Gee."

"Let's go then," I smiled and opened the door for her so she could scoot out the door.

I was more happy about being able to buy some new boots than I was with the money in general. I still had some trepidation, but for now, it would be alright.

The Guild had been more than accommodating when I'd presented them with my credit note. The Id process was done swiftly and I was suddenly the newest member of the largest organization on the continent. By leaving my money in the Guild's hands I could expect a modest interest rate. They'd use the money to invest in the Guild and with the profit they made I would receive a minor portion.

The first thing I wanted to do, besides finding a nice trunk to place all my new boots, was to invest in my soap business. I knew just the store. It just happened to be beside another store I was familiar with.

I'd brought my dyed swimsuit to show Annie since I hadn't run into her on The Island, but the store was closed. Well, that wasn't the main reason I was here. Beside the swimsuit shop was a pottery and glassworks shop.

The old man that made the items had left the counterwork to his grand-daughter years before. However, on this day he was the one working.

Mr. Fronz was an old friend of my mother. They grew up together, went to school together, and for a short while they even dated. Mr. Fronz was a master potter, but his son decided pottery wasn't his calling and became a master glass blower. So Fronz's Pottery became Cottage Collections: Master Pottery and Glasswork.

A little bell tinkled as I opened the door.

"Ah, Rille. So good to see you. How is your lovely mother? I'd heard some very remarkable things about your trip." Mr. Fronz came out from behind his counter and grabbed both my hands before pulling me into a friendly embrace.

"I'm not sure what you've heard, but Mom hit a big streak. We have some extra funds at the moment and I was hoping to expand my soaping business before winter really kicks in."

"Oh, I hope she is more circumspect than she has been in the past." Mr. Fronz was well aware of my mother's ups and downs.

"She's left a decent amount in my control so I hope we can keep afloat for a while at least."

"Well, it's good that you are trying to invest it. She can't spend it if you invest it in yourself now can she?"

"That's the idea, but we are looking into buying a house and I'm thinking of really expanding my soap business into something more. I was thinking I'd buy a stall at the market."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"A house? Well, she really did hit it big didn't she? That's great Rille," then he frowned, "but if you give up the place you have now will you have somewhere to go if she um..."

I understood and saved him from having to come up with a polite way to say what we were both thinking.

"If she loses the house. Yes, I know. She has left a decent amount in my care so if she loses the house we have some funds to hold us out while I find another cheaper place to live."

Mr. Fronz nodded and looked into the distance a bit.

"Rille," he began rubbing the top of my hand with his calloused thumb. "How serious are you about setting up a stall? I mean, would you be willing to consider going bigger perhaps?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know the place next door? It will be going up for sale shortly I hear."

"The swimsuit place? I was hoping to visit them today."

"It's sad, very sad. You know Miss Ruth was pregnant and had to miss the trip? So her sister Annie took her place?"

"I had heard that. I was supposed to meet up with Annie on The Island but we never ran into each other."

"Knowing you, you probably didn't visit the casino once did you?"

"No I didn't, why?"

"Seems that Miss Annie spent nearly all her time there. All her time and all her money. She's so far into debt it's worse than anything your mother's ever owed. She came back expecting her family to help out only to find Ruth had passed giving birth. The family has to sell the store and everything in it just to pay the debt."

"Oh, no," my gut clenched. I knew that not everyone would win at the casino, but I didn't realize that the casino would allow people who couldn't afford it to fall so deeply into debt.

"Naturally, the store would go to Ruth's husband and child, but he's decided to sell it and pay off Annie's debt. In exchange, she has to marry him."

"What?" I couldn't have heard that right. His wife dies and he wants to marry the sister?

"It's a complicated family," he shrugged like it was something to be expected. I certainly didn't think it was normal.

"My point," he continued, "is that the store is going to be for sale. A real shop Rille. You could set up your soap business next door. There's a basement space and a second floor with an attic. There is a well out back but the girls had a hand pump installed in the basement so they could dye their suits. I think with a bit of work it could be turned into a good space for you."

"It's a big step..." I hedged.

"I think you can do it. I know there is demand for your soap and you just haven't been able to make it in large enough batches to have a decent profit margin. Having your own soap studio, bringing yourself out of the kitchen, will help you a great deal," he patted my hand again and started to pull me towards the back of his shop.

"I don't know. The logistics of a simple cart seems overwhelming, but a store?"

"You could be a wholesaler or you could go the other route and present it as a luxury item. I know most of your business is done at the docks so maybe you can make a working man's brand and a ladies brand and sell both?"

"I only really make one type just the gradient of the scrub varies."

He pulled me through the back of his store, passed a few closed rooms and a room filled with shelves of drying pottery. He took me out the back door and showed me the courtyard that was behind the stores.

He had two outdoor kilns going full blast so it was hot out. However, there was a well. A small grassy area with some chickens pecking about.

"See," he pointed to a patch of area that had a small circle of bricks.

"I don't understand," I told him flatly. What was he trying to show me?

"That used to be a burn pit. Before the girls took over they had hair cutting place. They would sweep up all the hair and burn it. My point is you can widen the fire area and make the pit higher. I'm not certain what is best for making the ash, but as long as the fire is contained it is fine."

So I wouldn't have to burn the palm leaves somewhere else? Then there was this dyeing set up they had in the basement. Could it be converted for soap? Or heck, I had my dyeing skill now. I could actually dye items as a side business to the business. I'd done it before.

"I think I'll have to talk to Mom. Maybe take a look around the place," I hedged. I was beginning to get excited about the idea.

"You'll want to have an independent inspector look at the foundations and the building too. Spot any repairs that need to be made. You 'll have to do some renovating, but I don't think you will have to do a lot to the building."

"Is that what you do? An inspector I mean?" I really didn't know. I'd never bought any property let alone had it inspected.

"Yes, you'll have to have someone come in and look at the building to make sure it's structurally sound and can be turned into a soap shop. Then you'll have to have another inspector who will make sure your soap making process is safe and not liable to blow up the block. Then you'll have to pay the fees for a license to run the business. It is a lot of work, but there are intermediaries you can hire that know what they are doing and can get all this taken care of for you."

"Mr. Fronz who would I talk to about this?" I waved my hand at the building in question.

"Inside, I'll write down the address for you. I'll also let you know that they can handle any intermediary work as well. Just give them my name and tell them I sent you." He led me back inside and using a bit of scrap paper he wrote down the address. Then on another piece of paper, he wrote a short note signed it and put it in a sealed envelope.

"Make sure Maybelle gets this," he gave me the note.

"Oh, um, I came to get oil jugs..." I began.

"I'll have three set aside for you," he waved me off. "I don't know when they will put the building on the market so you should try and get to it before there is a buying competition."

Maybelle was a whirlwind of efficiency. She made an appointment for me to do a walk through with an independent inspector for the next morning. She ran over the logistics of opening a business with me and even said that her company could handle all legal paperwork.

The amount that Annie's family was asking for the building was insane. I could afford it but I still must have winced. Maybelle rushed to reassure me that Mr. Fronz's name had a lot of pull and that she would work hard to have Annie's family accept a more reasonable offer. They'd placed the price of the building higher hoping to make more than the building was worth. Maybelle would have none of that nonsense, thank you very much. She would make it a fair price.

The fact that I was interested so early on was both a good thing and a bad one. Having a prospective buyer so early might push the family into waiting to see if they can get their higher price by starting a bidding war. However, if they were trying to sell in a rush that might not be the best situation for them. It all depended on how far in debt Annie had gotten and how quickly they needed it paid off.

I felt bad for Annie, but not bad enough to be willing to pay extra just to pay off her gambling debts. I'd been dealing with that drama all my life and I'd run out of that sort of charity a long time ago.

Maybelle also suggested that if I was serious in starting a business, even if I didn't purchase the building I was looking at, I should look into hiring a part-time employee. Even if all I was going to do was a cart, having someone with magic who could help tend it would make things easier.

The sooner I hired someone and began teaching them the trade the better. Winter would be coming and extraction season over. Having an extra person helping would do a lot to push my business to the next level. Maybe even hiring an extra person on a seasonal basis just so we could get enough oil to push through winter.

Part-time employment. I was supposed to start back up at Juzz's in two more days. I needed to tell them I was going to stop working. I'd heard they were having some issues finding a new cook that was decent and I felt bad adding the extra problem of finding another dishwasher to the list.

Still, it had to be done, but maybe I could do something for them?

I told Maybelle about the situation and asked for advice. After all, I was paying her for the entire hour.

She asked which agency's Juzz went through then nodded and asked me several questions.

Maybelle looked at me and asked straight out if they had any prejudices against Zyanthropes.

As far as I knew Juzz and Wembly didn't. They'd always been very nice and accommodating event to magicless persons like me. Maybelle nodded and gave me another address and then re-sealed the letter Mr. Fronz had given her and told me to give it to a woman named Imogene in Esau.

I bulked at a trip to Esau, I'd only ever been there once to see a specialist healer. It was the third largest city in the kingdom and the one time I'd been there hadn't been pleasant.

Esau was dedicated to the god Erasmus, but it abandoned it's fisherman roots for the progress of city building. The city was originally a town full of demons and the head demon was named Esau. Humans drove the demons out and took over the town dedicating it to Erasmus. Why they didn't rename the town no one knew. There were rumors that demons still walked the streets at night, but those were children's tales.

Maybelle assured me that there was a mail boat going up the coast leaving in about ninety minutes. I could catch the boat, then catch the mail coach heading into Esau. I could spend the night and catch the early mail boat back the next morning. Maybelle could push back the meeting for the building a bit so as to give me time.

I didn't really think about it. I agreed and Maybelle sent out her workers to buy all my tickets. I would go to Juzz's explain what I was doing where I was going and ask if they wanted me to be their liaison in finding two new employees. Maybelle also gave me paperwork for Juzz to sign allowing me to be his proxy in the matter of hiring. We'd both sign it and then I could legally hire people on his behalf.

I ran home packed a small overnight bag and wrote a letter to my mother explaining everything. I told her not to buy a house while I was gone since I'd engaged the services of Maybelle and she would help us find the perfect place and deal with all the legalities in the process.

I went over to Juzz's and was glad it wasn't busy so I could speak to both of them.

I told them the circumstances, explained what I was doing, where I was planning on going and showed them the paper that would give me the ability to hire for them.

"Esau? Well, I must say that we hadn't thought of going that far out for just a cook and dishwasher," Juzz mused sipping his tea.

"We hadn't considered a Zyanthrope either. Not many in town," Wembly commented.

"A Zyanthrope might know how to make some unique dishes. It could be a good business move," Juzz said.

"You also have to consider prejudice. Will people stop coming if we hire Zyanthropes?" Wembly frowned. Then sighed. "Well, if they are those sort of people maybe we don't want them here anyway."

"Well said," Juzz smiled at her. Then he nodded. "I think we should go for it. Rille can hire someone she thinks suitable with the understanding that it would be probationary at first. Just to see how we get along. I've learned my lesson after Grunck. I think three weeks probationary is a long enough time to figure things out."

"What is the word on Grunck?" I asked. After all, I'd been gone.

"He's to go to the work camps. They couldn't prove that he intentionally tried to blow us all up. So it's the work camps. First time I'd seen him sober was at the sentencing," Wembly told me.

"Hopefully, he can get his life together," Juzz added.

I nodded in sympathy. I was glad he wasn't to be executed. Maybe some time in the work camp would help him in the long run.

"Well, I better be going if I'm going to make the boat. Is there anything specific you want me to look for? Type of cooking? Experience? Skill?"

"I'll leave it to you Rille. You have a good understanding of what we need here. Thank you for thinking of us," Wembly smiled.

"Of course, you've both been more than kind to me."

"Silly Rille, You saved our lives we owe you a great deal," Juzz smiled.

I certainly didn't think so. I'd just tossed a pot of dirty water on a stove, but I wasn't going to argue with them about who was more grateful for whom.

"Rille let whoever you find know that they will have free accommodations at the inn during the probationary period but they will have to either pay after that or find an apartment in town. We can't afford to leave one of the rooms rented out rent-free for an extended period."

"Oh! Where to stay!" I hadn't thought of that. Damn. If I brought people back they'd have to live somewhere and the little place I had with my mother was already crowded.

"If you hire someone for what you're doing, we can have them double up. They can all share the room for free," Juzz added.

"I don't know if I'll be hiring one or two," I said. "I'll pay you for a room for two. Until they figure out their own living situations."

"Nonsense, we aren't so busy right now due to renovating. We have the space for now."

"No I really must insist," I tried to pull out coins to pay them.

"Rille, we can talk about this when you get back. We'll figure out the room situation then," Juzz pushed my money back at me and reminded me that I was in a bit of a hurry.

We signed the paper and I left at a light jog to the docks. I didn't want to miss the mail boat.