Chapter 44: Romon, It’s Time to Turn in Your Homework
Romon looked up and sized up the burly, bald man standing at the table. Golden Stone—the name rang a bell. Back when he’d first hired Talia, he’d gone over Golden Stone’s file.
This man was a specialist in earth magic and had a bit of a reputation around Stone Town.
"Welcome, ’Bedrock of Stone Town.’"
"Lord, how much would my monthly salary be?" Golden Stone asked, his demeanor honest and a little embarrassed to bring up money.
Romon thought for a moment. If he remembered right, when he’d seen Golden Stone on the hiring market before, the man’s ideal annual salary was 50 gold coins. That worked out to a monthly salary of about 4.1 gold—so rounding down, Romon set it at 4 gold, treating the leftover 2 gold as a sort of agent’s fee.
"Four gold a month, with paid leave," Romon offered.
Golden Stone did the math in his head. Four gold a month meant 48 gold a year, plus three months of paid vacation. During those three months off, he’d also get free passes to the Thune Grand Labyrinth—worth another three months’ wages. Altogether, the total value easily exceeded 50 gold.
He grinned broadly. "Lord, I can start right now."
"Fill out the contract. Five-year minimum. The terms are straightforward—ask the mayor if you have any questions."
The mayor had brought down a stack of partially filled-out contracts, with blanks for years of service, monthly salary, and notes, so they could be tailored to each recruit.
For everyone so far, Romon had insisted on a five-year term. He couldn’t have people coming and going; the three-on, one-off schedule was already a huge perk, so he needed long-term hands.