Esau was huge. HUGE. Even though it was only the third largest city. I was technically in Esau once we reached the docks on the boat. Technically. It took another hour of riding in the mail coach to reach the heart of the city. There were so many buildings that I didn't know where to look. It didn't help that many of them all looked the same.

The crowds were bad, but because the streets were so wide multiple coaches could pass by each other to get where they were going. I would see how owning a coach could be a lucrative business. The city was just too large to get from one end to the other on foot. Hiring someone to drive you would be common sense. That probably explained why there were so many coaches.

You didn't want to linger around in certain areas because the city smelled bad. I couldn't really figure it out. A combination of sweat, manure, and iron? With the breeze, it wasn't so bad but if the air would have been stagnant I may have just turned right back around.

I was glad I wasn't exploring today. I knew that without a guide I'd get lost trying to sightsee. With all the similar looking buildings I knew I'd get turned around. Just finding Imogene and then finding the inn Maybelle recommended would be a difficult task.

I was lucky that the mail station was more than willing to give me a sketched out map and some detailed directions. My other option would have been to hire one of the coaches and have them drive me. It was well within walking distance so I felt more than silly doing that, but if I found myself turned around I would do it.

There were a few unsavory looking people who tried to stop me to solicit something. I would speed up my walk whenever someone tried to approach. I had more money on me than I was comfortable with carrying and I didn't want to take any chances by stopping to politely reject people.

Now I will readily admit to pausing to look at a few shop windows. I even bought a remarkable looking teacup for Mr. Fronz along the way. I really should give him something as thanks and the odd shaped cup was something he'd enjoy. It wasn't expensive or anything, but it was pretty and unique.

I picked out another one in a different pattern for my mother. She'd never forgive me if I didn't bring something home for her. I'd give Mr. Fronz his green patterned one tomorrow morning, show him my mother's blue one just so he could look at the pattern. Then I'd give Mom her gift. The bonus of buying teacups was that I could just slip them into my bag for safe keeping.

I double checked with the shop clerk that I was going in the right direction then went back out into the city.

I passed the inn I was supposed to be staying the night on the way to the agency. It sort of snuck up on me since I'd been expecting it on another street. The address was right, it just happened to be on the corner of the street I was currently on. The address was on OrangeRiver which ran perpendicular to MoonLake where the agency had its building.

I paused and debated on if I should get my room first since the inn was right there, or if I should just come back when I finished my business. Did I risk them running out of rooms? No, it was mid-week they wouldn't be too busy. So I walked passed with a little bit of anxiety over my decision. I didn't want to spend the night out on the street because I couldn't find an inn with a room.

I slowed my steps again hesitating. This wouldn't have even been in question if I hadn't passed by the inn first. Get it together me.

A few more blocks and I found myself in front of a plain building with no signage. I walked by it once before I realized I'd gone too far and backtracked. Then I walked by it again. I was looking for some indication that this was the hiring agency and from the front of the building, I really didn't know.

I double checked the addresses on the buildings to either side and confirmed that this must be the place. Did I just walk in? Knock? There wasn't any sign, what if I was wrong and this was actually some elderly old lady's house?

I finally decided it wouldn't hurt to knock. So I did. I tapping on the front door. I waited for a minute. No answer. Should I just walk in?

I tested the doorknob. It wasn't locked, but that didn't mean much considering it was still light out. I slowly opened the door and peeked my head inside.

A well-lit hallway and a business sign. Finally, a sign.

I let the rest of my body through the door and discovered that this building housed three separate businesses. The top floor was for a private investigation firm. The second floor was for something called Alternative Healing Therapy.

What did that mean? I'd be more than willing to try something else if it meant a long term cure. So far I'd been doing very well. Whatever treatments I got on The Island had long-lasting effects, but I wasn't betting the farm that it would last forever.

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The first floor was the hiring agency, Demi-Human Employment. I was in the right place.

I wandered down the hall looking for an open door or another sign telling me where to go. I spotted the stairs at the end of the hall, but no sign or open doors. This was getting frustrating.

"Hello?" I called out.

"Hello, in here," there was the sound of something crashing and a curse under someone's breath.

The door in the middle opened and a very large woman stood in the doorway. She was very very large which was to be expected since she was a bear Zyanthrope. She had little rounded ears on the top of her head which were more prominent since she had her hair pulled back into a messy bun. Her hands looked normal until you saw her nails. They weren't human nails but claws at the end of human hands.

"Sexual healing is on the second floor," the bear woman pointed to the stairs then went to close her door.

"Um, no, I think I'm here to see you. Imogene?" I held out the papers Maybelle gave me.

Wait, sexual healing? What on Elrich was that? I swore to avoid the second floor of the building. I didn't need to know, but I will admit to some morbid curiosity.

Wait, why did she immediately assume I was here for that?

"Maybelle? From Blue-Palm Bay?"

"Yes, I'm Rille. I'm looking for some help. I'm starting my own business, but it's not up and running yet. However, I'm also here to get kitchen staff for some friends of mine who run a small inn in town."

"You realize this is a Zyanthrope hiring agency?" The bear-woman furrowed her bushy eyebrows at me. "We don't normally have new people..."

"Um, I don't quite understand. Is there a problem with my hiring a Zyanthrope?" Maybelle hadn't mentioned any issues.

"No, no, I just..." she paused then looked me over again. "Come sit down I'll make some tea and we can talk." She waved her hand at me to enter the room.

Her office was large with a giant support pillar in the middle of it. She had a huge desk with multiple stacks of papers tossed all over it. There were some cabinets that looked like they used magic cores as locks. Or maybe they were decorations? Why would you use magic cores as decorations? There had to be a purpose and the only thing I could think of were locks.

The rest of the room was tidy enough. Odd plants placed in corners, one or two wilting a bit. There were bookshelves and enough seating for a group of eight or more around a large conference table on the other side of the office. I tried to politely ignore the claw marks on the surface. Would damage to the furniture be a hazard of hiring a Demi-Human?

"Have you worked with Zyanthropes in the past?" Imogene asked as she set up a tea tray from a small kitchenette near the back of her workspace. It was a little odd seeing someone so large handling the dainty little tea things. Like a child playing with a toy tea set.

"No, I've recently come into some money and wanted to expand my soap business. Maybelle is helping me with that. I'm looking at a building tomorrow, though to be honest, I had been thinking more along the lines of a stall in the marketplace. Maybelle and a friend of mine seem to think I could manage with an entire building."

Imogene nodded at me and gestured for me to go on.

"Um, even if I don't get the building I do want to open a stall. I'd like someone to help me with the business. I don't have magic and Maybelle insists that I should have someone with magic working with me. I do understand why. I don't want to be scammed by magical means."

"Ahh, I see. I was wondering about that," Imogene nodded and added a large basket of cookies to her tray. "I thought you were for upstairs because you lack magic."

Well, that sort of explained it, but how did she know I didn't have magic? Why was my lack of magic criteria for sexual healing? No, I really didn't need to know.

"I'm going to need help with extraction. I'm behind for the season and if I'm going to expand the business I need to increase my production on top of what I'd normally gather. Buying from a supplier is far too expensive, so I'd prefer to do it myself. I will provide training of course. The extraction skill isn't a common one."

"Can you explain what you normally do to maintain your business by yourself? Then I can ascertain what sort of qualifications you may need." Imogene handed me a teacup and a plate of cookies. The tea was warm in my hands and smelled amazing, but it was still too hot to sip so I blew on it a bit. Imogene did the same with her giant hands and even longer claws.

So I explained to her what I did. What sort of person I thought I needed. Then I explained the dangers of the Goblin Crabs. I didn't want anyone I hired to think I'd kept a potential hazard quiet.

Imogene was kind and made some suggestions on certain talents or skills that may be helpful in my sort of proposed business. However, she wanted me to wait until I was certain of what type of business I was getting into before I hired anyone. She suggested meeting again next week so we could interview some potential candidates together.

She told me she had the perfect couple for Mr. Juzz and Wembly. A cousin of Imogene, Fender and his wife Zeedra were looking for steady employment outside the city. She was pregnant and expecting their first child but would be able to do something like part-time dishwashing easily enough. He used to be a camp cook for a neighboring country's army until he married. He'd been working part-time at a local inn to support them both.

They sounded perfect for the job and I agreed right away. Anyone would be a step up from Grunck. Him having inn experience was a bonus I wasn't expecting. I signed the paperwork and was told that the couple would be at Blue-Palm Bay in a weeks time. They needed some time to get their affairs in the city in order before they left.

A stack of contracts and paperwork loaded into my bag I made my way to the inn and to my rather luxurious featherbed. I had worried over nothing. The inn had a few rooms available since it wasn't a weekend. I chose a simple one, but still, it was far better than my own room at home. I felt like a princess sinking into all that down fluffiness. Slumber crept up on me in moments and I fell into a dreamless sleep.