Chapter Thirty-Two

**News in the Shadows**

Jason opened the front door of his cottage to be smacked by the savory aroma of roasting meat. Eliza was busy stirring a pot over the fire while Vanna worked on sharpening her sword with a whetstone. When she saw the door open, Eliza’s hand stopped stirring momentarily but she was able to greet Jason. “Welcome back Jason.”

“Hi Eliza, seems like you’re fitting in well here,” Jason said. He looked around the house and saw there was now a large sack of apples hanging from the rafters, fresh hay laid on the floor, the water bucket was filled, and a dozen other small improvements and upkeeps had been made.

“Is it almost ready Eliza? I’m starving,” Vanna cried.

“How many times have I told you almost,” Eliza screeched back. Vanna huffed and continued to run the whetstone against the edge of her sword. Eliza sent a quick glance towards Jason then put her attention back on the soup and said, “Jule found someone that can fix the coop for us. He said he could do it for ten coppers, that’s including the wood he’d need to get. It would only take a day he said.”

“Oh great, I’ll give you the money for that before we leave tomorrow,” Jason replied.

“Jule also said she would sell me half a dozen chicks for a silver. It will take a while before they produce anything and we should get a dog to guard the yard from foxes,” Eliza continued.

“A dog!” Jason exclaimed. He loved dogs but never had the time to take care of one since moving out of his parent’s house.

“Yes,” Eliza responded with a half concerned half amused look. “One of Jon’s herding dogs is about to have a litter and Jule thinks he will give us one for free as long as none of the other herding families don’t need a new dog.”

Jason's heart fluttered with excitement over the idea of another pet. He thought of Skippy and wished their cottage had its own stable so the animal would be closer. “Good job organizing everything Eliza,” Jason said, “did anything else happen while we were gone?”

“The man fixing the coop can also repair the shutters for an extra five coppers,” the woman said. “I used all the money you gave me, but I was able to get a sack of potatoes, carrots, and apples. They should last us a week.”

“Oh here, I got this in Laxtar,” Jason exclaimed then reached into his bag. The sausage string slithered out of the bag's opening creating an interesting sight for Eliza. “Here.”

“I’m sure I can add this to our meals,” Eliza said then roped the hard sausage to the rafters. “Vanna brought the ale you bought in Laxtar,” Eliza added pointing toward the keg next to their water barrel.

Vanna lifted a cup next to her towards Jason in a silent cheer. Jason laughed then poured himself a cup. He offered some to Eliza, but she said she didn’t drink alcohol unless their water was unsafe. The woman then announced their dinner was done and ladled generous helpings into wooden bowls for Jason and Vanna.

Jason gobbled down the delicious mixture of rabbit and vegetables even though he knew he was burning his tongue, he couldn’t wait between bites to blow on his stew. “Eliza, that was wonderful,” Jason exclaimed when his bowl was empty. Vanna, with a full mouth, nodded in approval next to him. “I bet you’re just a good a cook as Jule,” Jason said.

Eliza shrugged, but she smiled. “It is Jule’s recipe. She taught me it last night. There is enough if you want more but if you eat too much you’ll have to have oats in the morning again.”

Jason wanted more of the food, but his stomach was full and he didn’t like oats so he decided not to get a second bowl. He set the bowl down and began to say, “Eliza I want to be open with you. I pay Vanna five coppers a day and I want to know what you think a good wage for you is?”

The woman looked to Vanna shyly, but Vanna didn’t step up for the woman. “I’ve never worked for a wage before,” she said quietly. “My husband and I always worked for ourselves.”

“Well as far as I’ve seen, you’re doing a good job here. I think two coppers are too low a day, but I’m also paying for your food and housing. How does three coppers a day sound?” Jason offered. He liked Eliza’s work ethic and wanted her to know that her work was appreciated. He believed if he paid her well then she’d want to work for him longer and keep doing a good job.

“That is good with me,” Eliza nodded. She still ate across the room from them and it was hard for Jason to hear her when she became shy and her voice quieted. Jason nodded back reassuringly. Some moments it seems the ice has thawed between us, Jason thought, and the next it’s like it's frozen again. A notification blinked in his vision and Jason's eyebrows arched in confusion. They were all sitting down so he opened the message.

**Skill Learned: Management (Beginner I): Allows the player to manage groups of people more efficiently. +50 Exp.**

**Note This: Player now has two people in their hire. The organizing of workers is broadly grouped into the Management skill. Management is improved by making managerial choices and proficiently managing more workers. The player's workforce can be viewed in the Management tab, more features are unlocked as the Management skill increases. View the Management tab in the player’s interface.**

Jason closed out the notifications and navigated to the Management tab.

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Worker

Role

Wage

Vanna (Player)

Guard [De facto Captain]

5 Coppers per Day

Next Payment: Two Days

Eliza (Non-Player)

General Caretaker [De Facto Head of House]

3 Coppers per Day

Next Payment: Undetermined

That’s convenient, Jason thought. The management skill seemed like automated accounting and human resources departments. He was interested to see what additional information it would unlock as it was improved.

Jason hoped he hadn’t been detached for too long and spoke back up, “I almost forgot. I pay Vanna weekly and her next payment is in two days. Are you alright, Eliza, if I give you six coppers now and then the rest of your payment in two days so that I don’t have to pay you guys on different days. I pay in advance,” he added.

Eliza nodded. Jason guessed he had been quiet for too long, both Eliza and Vanna’s eyes were ballooned with shock from the sudden outburst. “Yes that works,” Eliza finally said.

“Sorry, I had a notification I was checking,” Jason said sheepishly. He checked the Management tab quickly and saw Eliza's next payment note had already changed. With that over, Jason sat back and listened to Vanna and Eliza exchange the details of their time apart.

Eliza told them about her dinner with Byron and Jule. From what she said, it seemed like she spent most of her time with Jule. Besides looking after the house, Eliza also found a woman with a pigpen. Eliza said the woman sold the animals for three silvers when they were no longer suckling. Jason didn’t think the price too expensive, but Eliza went on to explain she would need a pen for her own animals and their yard didn’t have space for one. She would need to rent from a villager and pay someone to build her a pen. In addition, she believed it would take multiple generations before the pigs would be trained enough to hunt truffles effectively. Jason kept his thoughts to himself but saw that the woman had a long way to go before she reached her own dream. Jason wished he could help her, but he had to worry about his own advancement.

When the conversation died down, Jason excused himself to go look for Byron. The sun hadn’t fully set but Jason still brought a torch with him to light his way. It looked like Trent stepped up the village security for Jason could see a guard at each entrance to the town and an additional two wandering the streets. Most of the militiamen knew Jason’s face and didn’t question him. Jason found the reeve walking down the main street towards the town hall from the direction of the river.

“Byron,” He called out.

The reeve twisted his head back frightfully and Jason could see he had surprised the man. “Oh, Jason it’s you,” Byron said with a sigh. He stopped in the middle of the road and allowed Jason to catch up to him.

“Byron, what’s going on? I hear there is a meeting, but only with the elders,” Jason said.

“Yes,” Byron answered and continued to walk. “Look Jason, you’ve done a lot for this town in a short time and this scuffle might have started with you, but at the heart of the matter, this is an old feud between Finchead and Fallows. So I’m telling you, stay out of it lad.”

“Byron,” Jason said in a raised voice, “I’m invested in this town and I want to know what’s going on.” Jason hushed his voice so that it wouldn’t be heard by anyone other than Byron, “are we in danger?”

Byron didn’t say anything and continued to walk. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “Please just stay out of this. We can handle it.”

“Byron, Finchead is my home now, I can’t do nothing if I think it's in danger,” Jason said causing Byron to stop.

“Jason this is the last time I’m going to say this. GO!” Byron roared. “If there is something you need to know, you’ll know it.” Jason stopped and let the man walk ahead of him. Jason watched as the back of Byron’s head faded into the darkness of the night.

*****

“What are you going to do?” Vanna cried, the warrior was as confused and adamant about learning what happened as Jason. Eliza stood wearily in the doorframe to her room as Jason and Vanna spoke hotly.

“I’m getting into the meeting,” Jason said full of determination.

“How?” Vanna asked with her arms raised. “Walk through the front door? I bet they’ll lock it. Sneak in?”

Jason pulled his cloak from his bag and put it on, “that’s exactly what I plan on doing.”

“What? How? I’m coming with you,” Vanna determined.

“No,” Jason said looking the woman right in the eyes. “I promise I’ll tell you everything, but it will be easier if only one of us goes and I’m smaller and more people know me here so they won’t question why I’m walking around at night.”

Vanna huffed but didn’t add anymore protest. Jason stared at her for a moment then pulled his hood over his head and went through the front door. He didn’t bring a torch to avoid detection.

In the streets, it was now completely dark except for the odd guard’s torchlight. Neither of the patroling guards was near Jason’s position or in his path toward the town hall. Jason turned on his sneak ability and took off.

Jason made it to the back of the town hall undetected. He didn’t know how he was going to get inside but he remembered the small window in the jail and thought that might be a place to start. Unfortunately, as soon as Jason saw the little window he knew he wouldn’t be able to squeeze through. On top of that, he would have also needed a ladder to even reach the opening. Jason looked around and saw one of the guards walking in his direction, not fast enough to tell he’d seen Jason, but if the trader didn’t move in a minute or two the watchmen would see him.

Jason hugged the back of the town hall where the shadows were darkest and made it to the stable. He tugged on the door’s latch and sighed in relief when he discovered they we unlocked. An inch at a time, Jason slowly pulled the door open wide enough for him to slip in. He worried the hinges would creak, but they stayed silent. What wasn’t quite were the animals inside the barn. Jason heard the familiar neigh of Skippy snort out. Soon the other animals began to bleat and stomp around. Jason winced, hoping no one could hear the ruckus.

“Shhh, shhh, Skippy,” Jason called out, “it’s alright buddy.”

The donkey calmed himself after hearing Jason’s voice and the other animal soon followed Skippy's lead. When everything was quiet again Jason felt a wet bead of sweat run down his forehead. He blew a sigh of relief and began to paw his way around in the barn.

Now that Jason was in the stable, he remembered something. Jason had seen Byron pull hay from a closet at the back of the town hall on a few occasions to lay out fresh bedding on the floor. Jason also remembered seeing a similar shed inside the stable every time he dropped off and retrieved Skippy. Maybe they’re the same closet, Jason wondered.

Jason groped around until he felt dry straw between his fingers. His heart leaped and he held onto the hope his guess would prove true. With steady arms, Jason began to lift away stacks of hay, stacking them away from the wall. Jason continued to move the hay until he was five stacks deep and then a glint of light appeared. He moved another bundle from near the light and saw he was on the other side of a door.

Along with the light, Jason could hear muffled sound pouring in through the door’s cracks. Jason climbed onto the bundles he had yet to move and peered through the largest hole.

“Our situation has turned dire and I’m afraid for the days to come,” a voice bellowed.