As the merchant orc left the office, the gnomes came back and brought the items fixed for me.
We were able to finish the deal and as soon as everyone have what they payed for, I sent every non-human on their way and quickly closed the restaurant.
'Phew!' I exhaled exhausted. 'How is everybody?' I asked them.
'Uuughhhhhhhh!!!' Everyone grunted.
'Well, at least we received more meat for the next few weeks.' Orson cracked his back. 'I have already gave most of them the payment. But, there's still more to go.' He let me know.
'Do not worry, the orc merchants gave me the payment in human money plus a barrel of orc beer.' I told him. 'I'll help you with the payments.'
'Thank you.' Orson exhaled exhausted.
Twenty-five minutes later. . .
Everybody was finally payed and I left them go. Not before I told the dishwashers that they still had to come tomorrow to clean the rest of the dishes.
They were not very happy about it. But they promised that they will still come after I bribed them with sweet leftovers.
After that, I took my children, gave ourselves a very deserved bath, barely had the energy to read a bed time story and then we went to sleep.
The next day. . .
I woke up late, but renovated. The children had not woken up so I decided to quickly do chores such as feeding the horses, chickens, goats, Scout the dog and the cat.
After that, I went to wake up the children and brought downstairs so they could play in the kid's area. Aurora has become quite the mischievious little escapist if she's not entretained.
Soon, the dishwashers came and started to work into the cleaning, while I went to check the inventory of the no-human payments.
"Dwarves:
— Ten dwarf gold coins.
— One polished emerald.
— One barrel of dwarf beer.
— A small group of spices and herbs."
I put the dwarf gold into the savings chest along the polished emerald. Then I added the barrel of dwarf beer and the spices and herbs into the stock list.
"Vampires:
— A "favor of protection brooch" -> break it and the whole clan will come to your aid."
I put the brooch inside the savings chest for safe keeping.
"Nymphs:
— Water nymph -> blue pearl.
— Tree nymph -> leaf sack full of (possibly) magical seeds.
— Rock nymph -> three amethysts in the rough. (Polished by the gnomes)"
I put the blue pearl into the savings chest, then put the sack of seeds in a bigger bag so after checking everything I would bring it to Ivy, and ask her to use the smallest cottage to plant them in the small garden yet to be used.
"Satyrs:
— Sacks full
of copper and -> First sack had five hundred copper, and twenty silver
a few silvers -> Second sack had six hundred copper, and five silver."
It was enough to give half the staff the share and compensation for their suffering yesterday.
"Gnomes:
— Fifty copper coins + 25 bronce coins.
— Five small jars of sweet pollen.
— Mini pumpkin seeds (Can grow in a matter of hours in summer and days in autumn).
— Handmade tools for bread, soup and woodwork.
— Two wind-up mechanical toys -> a spinning top (it spins on it's own) and a wood puppet (shaped of a small gnome).
— A Pocket watch (has been fixed by gnomes).
— Completely carved quartz (they even made them into small figures like triangle, circle, hearts and squares).
— One mini crystal lantern (has fluorescent bushes inside).
— A jar of fermented honey.
— Messengers of positive words about the restaurant."
The fifty copper coins and twenty-five bronce were given to Minerva for taking care of my kids for far longer than expected.
The five small jars of sweet pollen and the jar of fermented honey were sent to the warehouse for safekeeping.
I then put the pumpkin seeds in the bag I would take to Ivy so she could plant them as well.
The handmade tools went to the kitchen.
The wind-up mechanical toys (spinning top and wood puppet) went for Liam to play with.
The pocket watch now looked brand new and polished and even had a timer that went up to sixty minutes. Needless to say, I'll extremely useful from now on.
The carved quartz from both the gnomes and nymphs will be sent to Lottie to be made into hairclips and good luck charms for the girls for when they grow more hair. Lottie will be allowed to keep some, but she will still send some back.
The mini crystal lantern is now the "nightlight" for the babies and me now that the nights are getting longer.
Last but not least, they were sent to expand word about the restaurant which is nice.
"Goblins:
— A pouch full of old money coins. (24 coins in total)
— Three mouses trained to guard the merchandise and more.
— Three hundred copper and two silvers.
— A supply of small traps for "intruders" (small or medium sized animals).
— Concoction recipes (five of them) + one sample of each.
— A bag full of colored raven feathers.
— Two groups out of three are being sent to expand Word about the restaurant."
The pouch full of old money will be put into a safe little box, and then sent it to the twins. They'll have better luck selling them among the noble's and rich children than me all the way over here.
I gave the three mouses a name each: Cocoa (because it was chocolate Brown), Hazelnut (because I found it eating one of my hazelnuts from my personal stash), and Pecan (because I caught it eating a pecan but from my personal stash). Cocoa is in charge of guarding my office inside and out, Hazelnut is in charge of looking out the warehouse, and Pecan the kitchen. Fortunately, the cat and Scout quickly learned that these mouses in particular were harmless (as long as you fed them), so they mostly ignored them.
The copper and silver were used to pay the staff, which was fortunate.
The supply of traps included a few snap traps similar to the ones I have previously used back in JackForks, three cage traps (for small mouses), two medium sized funnel traps (for fish or small rodents), and a medium sized drop trap (it catches small and medium sized animals in a tope next in mid-air. I put the snap and cage traps around the kitchen and the warehouse, the drop trap outside of the warehouse, and sent the funnel traps to Charlie, who sent me news that a camping trip is coming and they'll be going to a lake.
The concoction recipes have been shown to be truthful, therefore, Orson and I will check o. What should we used on the next week.
The colored bag of raven feathers, come in dark red, forest green, white, black, dark blue, grey, and dulled yellow. I divided each group of colored feathers and put them away until I could know what to do with them.
As for the informants, I will receive news from them next week.
"Orcs:
— A "small chest" full of iron and steel materials (orc sized) (aka, big chest for a human)
— A full supply of dried and smoked meat.
— Fifteen animal pelts: One gray wolf + five orange foxes + one silver fox + one beige rabbit + two black rabbits + two spotted rabbits + three white rabbits.
— One thousand and fifty hundred silver + three hundred copper.
— One barrel of orc beer."
The small chest was divided intro three parts. I sent two thirds of them to the twins to see if they could come up with something on their (probably knighthood or witchcraft), and kept one third for myself to sell it later. As for the chest, it was very sturdy so I kept it for myself as well.
The supply of meat was already sent into the warehouse by Orson and the chefs.
I put the pelts in a sack and brought them into town to make a bed cover out of the wolf pelt; four of the five common foxes went to be made into two pelt sacks (one for each babie), and the last one was made into the hoods of each sack; the silver of fox . . . Well, I decided to put it (hide it) away in the savings chest, while I think about it a bit more (silver foxes are rare, which means they are more pricey); as for the rabbits: the beige one became a small cap for Liam, the black rabbits became gloves for me, the spotted ones became gloves for Liam, and the white rabbits became a small cushion for the living room.
The rest of the copper was used to pay the last bit of he staff, and then I kept the rest for the savings chest (it was around three hundred silver of what was left, thank goodness).
The orc beer barrel along with the black beer of the dwarves went straight into the warehouse where it was save.
'Hmmm. . .' Once I put everything away I started to think what I should do in these free days.
*Knock Knock Knock!* Someone knocked on my door.
I straightened myself. 'Come in!' I let them pass.
'Please excuse me.' Ivy came in and sat down on the chair infront me. 'I would like to change houses.' She declared.
I blinked. 'How so?' I asked.
'I, would to transfer myself from the apartment complex to the small cottage to the garden.' Ivy explained more detailed. 'The cottage, while it is bigger for my size, it has a better garden for me, and I get to have more space for myself.'
'Oh. . . I see!' I smiled for her. 'In that case, let me make some papers to discontinue your payments for the appartment complex and transmit you legally onto the cottage. . .' I told her. 'You will have to pay more though.' I let her know. 'You will still have the employer discount, but it will still be more rent payment to do.' I clarified in advance.
'Hmmm. . .' Ivy thought about it for a sec. 'How much are we talking about?' She asked.
'One silver and two hundred coppers.' I told her.
'. . . You know what, I'll try it out from October to December. If I can't keep up, transfer me to the complex again.' Ivy said.
'Very well.' I nodded along and made the papers. 'But, do you know how to sustain yourself in winter? While the food I make you to produce can sustain you with food and money supplies, I haven't been able to find a way to obtain you work besides shoveling the paths and surroundings.' I admitted.
'Do not worry, I have it contemplated.' Ivy promised. 'I am actually working in some jams to sell with the fruit you are, somehow, capable of still getting and capable to sell it at a such a cheap price. I am just waiting for fall to actually hit to start the sells.' She explained to me. 'Another thing that I am working on fermented products like apple cider and wheat beer. I have also went into a small orc caravan that was passing by and, since I am the "open arms"'s working gnome, they offered a ridiculous (very high) amount of yarn and cotton thread which I'll be most happy to use in making this up. . . Do you think I should do just do clothes and things for children?' She asked at the end.
'Oh most definetely.' I encouraged her. 'That and also clothing accesories like shawls, scarfs, socks and hats for adults. Just in case.' I added.
Ivy nodded in agreement. 'I was also thinking of, maybe getting a part-time job at your restaurant. Maybe as a "beverage server," or, maybe repairing cooking tools?' She asked.
'Hmm. . . While I cannot employ just even as a part-time, I can ask you for commissions whenever something important breaks or needs adjustment.' I offered adding a few notes. 'Starting now if you want.' I proposed.
'Yes please.' Ivy nodded.
'Good. . . Anything else?' I asked her.
'Hmm. . . Oh! I know how to make candles from animal fat! You just gotta give me some of the fat that you have in your supplies, and we'll trade!' Ivy said with enthusiasm.
'Really?! Good. I'll give the animal fat right away so you can start making them, as I believe it takes a long time.' I guessed. 'I will also give some "surprise seeds" that the wood by oh gave and the mini pumpkin seeds that the gnomes gave me so you can start planting them on the apartment gardens and your new cottage garden.'
'Not so many days for the candles, but, yeah. And thank your the extra work as well.' Ivy nodded in agreement. 'Also, I know how make wood toys and ornaments, so. . . If you could supply me with extra wood during the winter, it would be much appreciated.' She asked.
I know taking notes. 'You, sure like to stay busy.'
'Well I am a single woman in a world controlled by men who only care about themselves.' Ivy pointed it out. 'You and I know that we all have to do what we need to do to survive.' She crossed her arms.
'Hehe, I know I know, do not worry.' I assured her as I kept doing the paperwork.
Twenty minutes later. . .
The paperwork was done, and Ivy signed. Now, she can transfer her things to the small cottage and, she will still work on the appartment's gardens from morning to mid-day, and work on the cottage's garden for the rest of the day until Mid-November, and from Mid-November to April, she'll be working as a comissioner for tool repairments, shoveling my properties after snowfalls and blizzards, and selling her own stuff. And I also gave re the sack of special seeds from the nymph and pumpkin seeds from the gnomes to her, so she could start planting them as soon as she could.
After everything was settled, Ivy left with her contract and quickly left to do her own thing.
After a few more minutes, Bailey came to feed the babies once more and I payed her what was due.
After a few more hours, the dihwahsers, finished washings everything and I payed half the copper they were used to, but compensated them with smoked meat, a few loafs of bread, some honey candy and water to take home.
After that, everything else was going on as normal. So, I cleaned the animals poops, fed them again, fed myself and my children, took a bath with them and then went to bed.
The next day. . .
I woke up, did chores, fed my babies and went into town to check how the world was doing.
The streets of the town were full of pumpkings, orange and red autumn things, the book store was selling more and more people were covering themselves in more warm clothing.
I then went to check out the center of the town, where I found the place being decorated and arranged like a festival.
'Excuse me?' I asked a man carrying a huge pumpkin getting closer. 'Can I know what is going on?'
'Eh? Oh! It is the first fall festival of Berrywood!' The man went on to carry the pumpkin to a place close to the scenario. 'The mayor officially is declaring us an actual town and this will be the first festival of many.' He explained.
'Oh! Wow, I wasn't aware of it.' I admitted a bit embarrassed.
'Do not worry. The news are supposed to be a "surprise" for the town during the festival. Buuuuut, like always, the people always talk.' The man shrugged smiling.
I nodded in agreement. 'Hmmm. . . So, there will be a lot of people coming from other towns, or just loca people?' I asked.
'Em. . . As far as I am aware, I believe it will be just local the first few years.' The man answered. 'To test whether the festival will be a success and maybe even attract more people into moving here!'
I smiled back at him. 'Well, guess I better prepare for the festival as well.' I scratched my cheek softly.
'Will do!' The man nodded in agreement and started to let me leave, but then he ran up to me again. 'Hold on! Are you the woman who runs "Spice Delights"?!' He asked with wonder in his eyes.
I was surprised to be recognized, but nodded slowly and shyly. 'Y-Yes.'
'No wonder you look so familiar!' The man exclaimed amazed. 'Since you are now aware of the upcoming festival, are you planning to put up a stand with your baked goods as well?' He asked with awe.
'Well, I am not sure. Maybe.' I tried to keep things a mystery. 'Maybe I'll just come to enjoy the festival. . . Or maybe I'll do something else.' I said.
'Oh, please do something! Ever since you made your restaurant, the village has grown and has made us a well known place for goods and food!' The man told me with excitement.
'Em. . . Maybe, but, just to know, do you know what people think of me about employing non-humans?' I changed the subject with a bit worried.
'Well. . . Non-humans are not well seeing in places where human population is bigger, but, because you have been able to manage them really well, there has been some visitations of non-humans wanting to exchange and sell.' The man told me. 'While there are a lot of skeptical people still unwilling to deal with non-humans, they can't exactly blame it on you either, for the visits of non-humans have always been happening since the start of the village.' He reassured me. 'And those who do, they are quickly shut by those who know better. You just treat both non-humans and humans so fairly, that no one can really shun you as a traidor or a non-human lover.' He shrugged his shoulders again.
I sighed of relief. But I still have my doubts about how honest humans can be in this town. . . And in this world. I thought. 'Well, thank you for telling me this.' I thanked me.
'No problem mam, I'll get going now, hope you travel safely.' The man bid me goodbye and then he left.
I waved goodbye and followed the path to the scenario. There they were, the mayor and a few merchants and some local nobles (or so I believe).
I hop off my horses and still had it with my hand as I came forward to some distance and waited for him to finish speaking to his group.
It took a few minutes, but as soon as I saw him dismissing everybody else, I came close and called his attention. 'Mr. Mayor!'
The mayor turned around and smile carismathically. 'Oh! Lady Baker! What a surprise to see you outside of your restaurant today.' He noted looking around. 'Has another "incident" occurred or is just a free day?' He asked with worry in his voice.
'It is only a few free days Mr. Mayor.' I told him. 'For now. . . If something else happens then I'll let you know immediately.' I assured him.
'As always.' Mr. Mayor nodded.
'I heard that you are preparing to make the village's first fall festival, am I correct?' I inquired.
'Why yes! I plan to surprise everyone with a big anouncement.' Mr. Mayor listen his chin proud. 'Everybody in town is welcome to either put up some posts or just enjoy the festival itself.' He told me.
'I see.' I nodded along.
'Are you planning to do something, Miss Baker?' Mr. Mayor inquired now.
'Eh? Oh, well, I just received the news today so I do not really know.' I smiled ackwardly.
'Oh, do not worry.' Mr. Mayor said. 'Even if it is improvised, the point is to get people to see that this village is meant to prosper, so if it is just a small food stand or game stand, then it is all well.' He reassured.
'Hehe, I'll think about it then.' I let him know. 'No promises though.' I added.
'No worries!' He assured me. 'Although, I would like to know the final answer at least a week before mid-October, which is when the festival is supposed to start if you do not mind.' Mr. Mayor added.
'I'll make sure to send the answer as soon as possible.' I promised as I jumped back into the horse and galloped back home. 'Hope you have a good day Mr. Mayor!' I bid him goodbye.
'Have a safe trip home!' The Mayor waved goodbye to me and left as well.
Hmm. . . What could be a good game. . . I wondered.
. . .