259: Calm
The inn quickly returned to a loud, rowdy state as Gilain again purchased another round, each time paying in gold coins which I'm sure could have purchased all the rooms, food and multiple rounds with a single one.
Not that Clara was going to protest; she had already pocketed three gold.
"Milo, that mage you were unsure about was in here sitting in the booth over there when the ash closed in," I said, keeping it as casual as I could.
I didn't want to forget to mention it this time either, just in case.
Milo turned around, I guess in an attempt to spot him.
Jen spoke up, "I can go find him if you like."
"No, it's okay, I'll head to the guild tomorrow and find out what's going on, perhaps learn who he is as well. It's very possible this isn't malicious and he's just taken an interest in the oddities of the party. The only flag right now is he's pretending to be an average mage," Milo said, still looking around.
"Well done, Trev, you handled yourself surprisingly well, though I wasn't expecting you to bring the orphanage into it," Hari said, his frown finally cracking.
"I wasn't expecting to either, but if I don't at least try in the towns I have some sway in, then I'm no better than the people who are messing it up to begin with," I said, feeling embarrassed.
I really had no idea what to do if I found the orphanage was not being looked after properly.
"Milo, we're doing alright on funds, right?" I asked curiously.
I knew we had a lot but I didn't know how much was left behind in the capital.
Milo's response, however, seemed to answer that; he just laughed.
It was Hari who responded, "Yes, Trev, we have plenty of funds, why is that?"
"It's nothing, just wanted to make sure," I said, waving it off.
It wasn't so much that I wasn't sure; rather, I just really wanted to believe it wouldn't be as bad as I was expecting. I knew the King sent out notice to all towns and cities to improve them over the winter, but who knows what each town considered improvement.
What I really wanted was to provide proper training and proper food for the orphans, and if I could use my money to achieve that and save another from the same fates as Darren and George, then I would.
Then an idea struck me, "Milo, how much would it cost to have a mage teaching magic at an orphanage?"
Milo seemed shocked for a moment, "Uh, well, it really depends on the sort of mage you want, but I'll assume you're fine with just the basics, so a few dozen gold a year plus accommodation."
"That's it?" I asked.
Milo chuckled, "Not really, no. You need to think of the other costs associated with it too. If you want to teach magic, you also need to teach proper reading and writing, far more than the basics they teach now, which will likely involve another instructor. You also need to buy the books and supplies as well."
Jen joined in, cutting to the core, "You want to replace the instructors with competent ones."
"Maybe," I said, rather embarrassed.
Milo nodded, "Assuming you will likely need all new equipment, all new instructors, and better food and diet to withstand proper training, I would guess fifty gold per year? At most, maybe seventy."
I waited, wondering if that was feasible, but it was Jen who jumped in.
"To answer the question you're thinking, no doubt, yes, it's affordable for you, but it's not really something we could organise in the single day we're here, and I certainly wouldn't entrust giving the money to the lord to see it done."
The conversation was interrupted as Clara came over with another round of drinks for Hari, Milo, and Gilain.
"Didn't realise we had such high-ranking officials staying here. Not often you lot come to the inns," she said, putting the drinks down.
"We prefer the inns, truthfully," I said.
"So who are the merchants you came in with then? They must be pretty special if you're travelling with them, secret guards or something?" she asked with a laugh.
Hari spoke up, "Believe it or not, we're just here as adventurers, and they are really just the merchants we're running guard for up north."
Clara just laughed it off, "Alright, keep your secrets. I won't pry."
As she walked off, I couldn't help but wonder if it was so outlandish for someone to still want to be an adventurer. After all, this was far more enjoyable than dealing with nobles in the capital, even with the interruption.
I couldn't help but notice Jen was laughing to herself.
"What is it?" Hari asked her.
Jen pointed at me, "I bet Trev's wondering why she doesn't believe us."
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
This caused all of them to have a laugh, even Gilain, as I felt embarrassed.
"I wasn't, I was wondering why more don't do this instead of sitting in the capital," I said, my cheeks probably glowing red at this point.
"I don't think you have realised how unique and lucky your group actually is, and it's far from normal. You have an earth mage who is able to essentially build a house wherever you stop, provided you don't sail anywhere. You have a fire elemental for essentially endless warmth and fire." Gilain began, earning a burst of sparks from Crisplet, along with an expression of pride.
Gilain smiled, but carried on, "You have, from what I can tell, a ridiculously large storage skill that keeps all your food fresh, and a cooking class so you can cook it with flavour. Most groups stay in some pretty rough shelters, have to struggle to find wood in a lot of places, and survive on rations. Even something as simple as your endless supply of water is not normal for all groups. Generally, adventuring is hard, normally."
"Why wouldn't you make a group like this normal then?" I asked.
"They do in some regards. Most groups have a balance of ranged and melee, and usually at least one person who can track and hunt, but earth magic is not exactly what people think of as flashy, so it's not very common," Milo said.
Immediately, I just wondered if I could specifically recruit an earth mage to teach orphans; that was likely getting ahead of myself.
The rest of the night Gilain kept buying drinks for the inn until most of the patrons were getting far too drunk to even stand. Clara even went as far as cutting them off, not wanting to clean up the mess if she kept going.
Liane still had not returned, and although I spotted Luis a couple of times throughout the night, it was only briefly and he had somehow blended into other tables, joining them for a drink before vanishing again, clearly integrating himself well into the crowd as no one seemed to notice.
Lily was curled up sleeping in front of the fireplace where there was a clear berth around as nobody seemed to want to get too close. In the fire itself, I saw Crisplet was building a statue of some kind, and it looked suspiciously like Clara carrying multiple mugs at once.
I suspected I knew what Crisplet was going to be working on for the rest of the night.
My concerns, however, were solely focused on the next day, and I fully expected the Lord of this town to have immediately made sure the orphanage looked better than it actually was, so I was going to need to figure out a way to get the truth.
***
The next morning I woke up pushed to one side as Lily had stolen my bed almost completely, and I was right, Crisplet spent the night working surrounded by dark ash, clearly not wanting to show anyone his statue until it was done.
Though this morning it looked like it was ready, as there was a statue of Clara, carrying six mugs of ale, stepping over a figure of Lily, with a small figure of Crisplet sitting above the mugs, almost like a candle since he was made of pure flame.
"That looks really good, Crisplet," I said as I saw it properly.
Immediately, I felt pride and happiness from him.
Turning around, I caught Lily vanishing into the shadows, clearly not ready to wake up yet.
"Are you ready to go to the orphanage?" I asked.
I knew Crisplet was always ready; he would have gone last night without question, and my asking was purely working up my own courage as I put on my armour, making sure I was as best dressed as possible.
Crisplet just sent across confirmation and happiness as he picked up his statue; it wasn't overly large, it came up to just below my knee.
"Did you want to give that to her now?" I asked.
Crisplet let off a single ember.
"Okay, wait here, I'll see if Jen has space to store it," I said, earning me a burst of sparks.
It didn't take me long to find her; everyone was sitting downstairs already with breakfast sitting in front of them, and Jen quickly went upstairs, storing the statue and returning with Crisplet.
"Are you ready for today?" Hari asked.
I shook my head, I wasn't at all ready, but I'd do it anyway.
My plan was to arrive early in the morning to give a shorter period of time for things to change.
"I'm proud of you, Trev!" Liane said happily from the end, with far too much energy for this time of the morning.
"How are you even awake right now?" I asked with a laugh.
Jen let out a snort, "Because she hasn't even been to sleep yet."
"I was busy, I'll tell you later, but I couldn't miss this visit," she said simply.
"You're coming as well?" I asked, kind of surprised.
It was Hari who joined in there, "Trev, we're all coming, just to be clear."
I didn't know what to say, I knew Crisplet and Jen or Milo would join me, but not everyone.
Hari went on, however, "Milo, if you would."
There was a rush of air mana as it moved past us, cutting off all other sounds of the inn.
"You need to be prepared for what's going to happen, Trev, they are almost certainly going to try and guide you personally around and show you only what they want to show you, so it's important for us to spread out when we arrive," Milo said.
Liane added, "Someone went in last night who didn't look like they wanted to be there at all; they left early this morning, so they are up to something."
"You were watching?" I asked, surprised.
She just grinned.
"I also have an idea on how we can address your instructor concerns, it'll be a bit rough, but it's the only place we can leave money and know it won't be spent incorrectly," Milo explained.
This immediately caught my attention, because this was the largest issue. It didn't matter if I had the money, I only had a single day to sort it out if it was not good, and I didn't need to visit to know there was not a mage or proper reading lessons; the goal was to produce basic soldiers after all.
"We can possibly use the guild to do it through contracts. It would be a bit more expensive with fees, and the instructors initially would be a little rough around the edges because they are adventurers, but it might work," Milo continued.
"Wouldn't the adventurers treat them like they do once they hit the guild, though?" I asked, worried that wouldn't work.
Milo nodded. "It's certainly a possibility, but I think it's possible to make the guild only send people who are suitable for the role, more experienced members, or adventurers who might be looking to settle down. I think we could make it work."
Luis, who I hadn't even noticed at the table, spoke up. "I have already sent off a message to the capital about the events here, and there will be a guard presence before long. I don't believe the lord is mistreating his subjects going by the conversations last night, but he is certainly wealthier than we'd expect for a lord in his position. I can send off another message after today to either monitor the instructors, or even send some from the capital itself."
"A scholar who's able to teach proper reading and writing would at a minimum be ideal; they wouldn't be too common out here," Milo said.
I stood up, having only taken a single bite of my breakfast.
“Let’s do this then.”