Moving Mountains

7

.^^ elf twins ^^

— Josef —

When I appeared again in front of the desk down in the basement, there was a new woman there, while the old man was visible in the slaughterhouse behind the long desk, skinning and butchering a boar the size of a Semi. Four other men were on the other side, sawing through the bones and removing massive racks of pork ribs.

"Oh! Hello! I saw your display yesterday, that was really funny! You told Saccharine she was a shitty Healer!!!" She laughed, slapping the desk.

"His name was- Wait She?" I asked, appalled.

She grinned slowly. "You thought-"

"Nein, Shut your mouth, I will not mention it at all!" I snapped, and rubbed my forehead, still shook a bit that I'd been calling a woman an asshole and a shitty Healer, snapping at her and everything.

Then I realized something, which was that they'd had an Adam's Apple, and spoken with masculine pronouns, in the 'Elven/French' language. I supposed I was going to have to apologize, if it turned out to be my faux-pas, but it was also possible that this person was pulling my leg.

She smiled and slid over a few different things. "Alright, the leather wallet is your Proof you work for the Guild, the silver B represents your rank. The scroll is the deed for the property on top of the arch; plant it in the soil somewhere up there, and it'll grow a Tree, it's a whole crazy little magical proof of ownership. In the wallet is a quartet of Nomadic Merchant, Blacksmith, Huntsman, and Alchemist licenses."

"And I don't need any other licenses?" I asked, to make sure.

"Yes, those will allow you to sell products in any situation, though when you return, your tax still goes to this city, as you own land here, and of course making gold inside the kingdom is still Illegal, I was told to remind you of that. It's a Capital crime, so if you don't want to have your pretty head removed from your incredibly buff shoulders..." She explained casually, still smiling up at me in blatant interest.

"Nice... And are Saccharine and the clerics here, then?" I asked.

"They're up there." She waved vaguely at the upstairs lounge, and then placed a leather tube full of maps on the counter, followed by a thick leather portfolio folder. "And here's your maps and the paperwork that elevates you to LandLord, that's finalized when you stake your claim, and will allow you to return to the property at will, which is nice, if you need to retreat or if you just don't want to walk all the way home."

I raised an eyebrow, pleased and intrigued by that particular opportunity. "Interesting..."

She grinned, setting a massive bag of silver and a much smaller purse of gold on the counted. "Last is your pay for this month, which might prove difficult to carry around. Five gold and 1,000 silver." She nodded.

"Anything else? Licenses, Deed, Identification, Maps, Money, and Lordship?" I sent the bags into my Hidden Space casually, as soon as it was below the desk and beyond her eye-line.

She nodded. "That's all I've got for you, except Luck. Have some." She hopped and kissed my nose, then sat back down, laughing at the perplexed look on my face. "Maybe some more luck when you come home. Now shoo, sweetie."

"huh... Cute." I chuckled, then headed up the stairs.

Lounging in one of the front lounges was the Healer from last night, 'Saccharine,' and two other elves, identical, and wearing simple woolen clothes. Their hair was wildly styled with multiple braids, the sides cut short with Norse Runes shaved in. It seemed that Short Twig and Long Branch were magic languages here.