“Pay up old man before I shake it out of you!” Lin screamed, slamming her fists onto the counter.

“Half the products are covered in water or are soiled. Did he store them in the ground or were you just careless?” Rodney sneered back.

I sat with my back against a shelf with Rolada beside me, she slouched and seemed exhausted. We watched Tiff try and mediate the argument but was met with little success. So far our reward had dropped to only two gold but Lin had managed to wrangle nearly four gold for each of us. Burn and Bent were around and doing their own shopping while these two had their spat.

“Lin has quite the temperament to these merchants.” I said.

“It’s almost like she gets off on this. I didn’t think anyone was this aggressive over a few coins.” Rolada said.

I watched Lin’s tail whip back and forth as her debate over prices with Rodney grew even more heated. She had her feet in a wide stance and leaned over the counter trying to bear down at the strange goblin merchant.

“Final offer, four gold and fifty silver each. Half off magic gear for you, the fox wench and the dude who needs a brush. I’ll even throw in a brush for free.” Rodney shot back, slapping the table.

The poor beaten table was covered in cracks from repeated strikes from our furious cat girl. As Rodney’s hand hovered in the air with his final offer Lin finally relented and shook his hand. Several coin pouches dropped onto the table out of nowhere and Lin took them around to each of us.

“Pick out what magic items you two want. I’m going to try to see what this charlatan has for food supplies.” Lin said.

“Can’t we buy it from the food market, or somewhere else?” I asked.

Lin rubbed her cheeks and rolled her eyes back towards the ceiling. She hissed quietly before crouching over the two of us to whisper. “When I was walking around to pawn off the trinkets I saw everyone had jacked up their prices. Rodney is still a bit more expensive than I want, but it's the best we can get.”

We split up and I was immediately lost. I didn’t even know what I needed or what would be a good idea. A magic bag like Rolada for storage was helpful but didn’t have the impact I was looking for. I felt my hand drift to my chest and I felt the phantom pain of what could have been if that spear had hit me. I needed protection, or better yet the ability to move like Lin and dodge hits.

Following the overhead signs I went to the armour section of the store and immediately regretted my decision. Racks and stands full of defensive equipment had a hefty price tag. Normal non magical gear was within my budget range while the cheapest gear listed as having enchantments were upwards of one hundred gold pieces. With the only exception being a set of snow white scale armour.

The long sleeves were made of dozens of fading white scale pieces while the chest piece was made of thick cloth with a huge singular piece covering most of the chest with smaller ones providing support where it didn’t cover. I checked the tag and it was named as a set of white dragon scale armour. It was also discounted to fifty gold pieces and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

Knowledge Arcane : Success!

Weapon and armour enchantments can fade over time and require maintenance to ensure their powers last. When enchantments start to fade due to time or stress their abilities can misfire or fail. Sufficient mana crystals and skill can restore it.

+1 XP gained.

It was within reach of my budget but would leave me with only a fistful of silver left. I kept it in the back of my mind, it would be an upgrade to being in only a t-shirt. I regretfully left the armour section and found a section full of odds and ends.

Rolada was looking at jewellery while Lin was picking through a section of small bags and tea pots. The other party members cashed out at Rodney’s counter and waved to us goodbye. After shouting my thanks for their help I went back to searching and did a double take when I saw a pair of striking white boots.

They were on top of a cushion and were the same boot size as my work boots. The white leather was so shiny it was almost glowing. The insides looked lined with soft material and I checked the soles. The bottom of the boot was solid while inside the boot I felt a cushion pad that was a cloud of comfort. The ends of the toes flicked up and curled to a point looking quite ridiculous.

Knowledge Arcane : Success!

Mage shoes are boots built for equal parts comfort as they are for work. They are never dirty. are reinforced against low grade acids and fire. They are completely watertight and enchanted to keep a comfortable temperature.

+2 XP gained.

Around the heels I could see there were markings that glowed and I wondered at their purpose. Rodney appeared beside me and clapped his hands together making me jump and nearly drop the footwear.

“Special order footwear. It has two sets of enchantments, the first lets you jump far beyond your normal capacity while the other negates any damage from a long fall. It was ordered by a wizard trying to refine magical flight.” Rodney said.

“Why didn’t he come get it then?” I asked.

Rodney didn’t meet my gaze and mumbled. “His experiments didn’t really work out.”

I grimaced at the thought and checked the price tag. Five gold wasn’t terrible and looking down at my own footwear I could tell I needed a change soon. With winter approaching, having warm footwear was something I knew all too well was a necessity.

“I’ll take them. Two gold and fifty silver.” I said, holding out the coins.

Rodney scratched at his chin and regarded me coldly. He looked at Lin for a brief moment and must have decided it wouldn’t be worth the effort to barter more. He took the coins and boxed them up for me.

“Enjoy my good sir and remember, no refunds!” Rodney said with a crooked smile.

“Can I get this necklace please?” Rolada asked.

In her hand she had a simple iron ring with small details etched into it. The neat small engravings were nature based with leaves and vines all throughout it. I couldn’t see the tag on it but tried nonetheless to figure out what it was.

Knowledge Arcane : Failure!

Guess not. It wasn’t expensive and only took a single gold coin for her to buy. She put it on afterwards and checked herself out in a nearby mirror. Lin made her decision and brought over a small cloth bag. A length of rope stuck out the end and she didn’t even debate with Rodney over the price of five gold.

“Your magic items are done with. Let’s get the rest of your items and you can leave me in peace.” Rodney said.

“About the price of that salted pork…” Lin said, cracking her knuckles.

…

As we walked through the woods back home I was starting to feel the weight of the bundles of silk on my back. My ears were still ringing with random numbers from the bargaining match and Rolada also looked to be suffering still as well. Hoping to drum up a bit of conversation to distract her I asked what was on her mind.

“It all started after Rodney talked down to her. It’s like she took it as a personal challenge to make her voice echo off the walls of his shop. She was nearly as loud as when the two of you were going at it in the shower.” Rolada said.

I was taken off guard and felt my face get hot. “We weren’t-”

Rolada leaned her head towards me and hummed. She traced her nails on the back of my hand and whispered. “I could hear everything, sounds like she was having quite a bit of fun.”

Her hot breath caressed my ear as she whispered to me and she seemed delighted in my reaction as I started to blush. Rolada’s face was flush and I could almost hear her heartbeat. There was a light to her eyes and she kept looking at Lin’s rump. Her hand grabbed at the hem of her skirt and bunched it up as she seemed to be trying to hold herself back.

“You think so?” I asked nervously, still taken off guard.

“She was quite happy the next morning. Don’t look too hot under the collar Josh, I’m from a bard academy. Wild hookups were the norm.” Rolada said.

I was momentarily distracted and tripped over a root getting a chuckle from Rolada. Lin on the other hand was oblivious to our conversation and was merrily skipping along with her heavy backpack barely slowing her down. Rolada frowned at the scene and shook her head at our happy cat girl.

“Not everything needs to be a fight next time we go shopping, Lin.” Rolada said.

“It’s how a lady barters. If you don’t fight for a good price then you are not doing it right. Trust me, I spent years watching the lady of the house do her shopping.” Lin said.

Lin’s merriment stopped suddenly and she became rather reserved after her statement. Curious what had caused the sudden shift I tried to carefully pry into her past.

“You must have learned a lot from her then. She must have been quite the lady.” I said.

Lin’s ears flattened and she hissed in annoyance. “I did learn from her, and if I ever see the bitch again she is going to end up dead.”

Rolada touched my arm and shook her head, stopping me from asking anything else. The rest of the short journey was silent with us listening to the wind and the occasional bird call. We followed the stream all the way back and we found our little home quite different.

Sten was out with the minions erecting a brick wall around the outskirts of the buildings. As minions laid down bricks the dwarf held Drone 2 under his arm and walked along aiming the minion as it let out a steady stream of mortar. As we came into view Sten shut the minion’s jaw cutting off the flow and set him down.

“Welcome back folks, you sure took your sweet time to come back to old Sten. I’ve been able to measure the length of my beard growing and it looks like your half past when you should have already been home.” Sten said.

I leaned on the wall and prepared for the flooding list of notifications. The information left me reeling and I shut it out. I needed a way to filter the list or sit down and take them one at a time. Whatever magical thing controlled the system did just that and cut the list down to only a dozen messages I could check over later. I then took a look around and checked up on what else had changed.

“I see you fixed up some of the other houses too.” I said.

“Aye figured we might-” Sten’s voice wavered as he peered past me. At once he reached over, grabbing Rolada and I to pull us to the other side of the wall. “Two in the tree line, get ready.”

Lin hopped over and crouched low with a knife in hand. I drew my sword and opened my hand itching to cast a spell. The minions dropped the bricks and picked up rusted tools, joining us at the wall ready to fight.

Rolada stood up straight and jumped up on the wall putting her ass and tail right in my face. She waved towards the woods and laughed.

“It’s Burn and Bent guys.” Rolada said and hopped over the wall. “Come on over guys.”

Sten grabbed my shoulder and asked. “Do they know what you are and can we trust them?”

I shook my head and ordered my minions towards the secret trap door. “They don’t. Minions get down below ground and do your best to not be seen. Sten these are some people we did a quest with they are-”

“Ogre!” Sten cried and rammed right through the brick wall. “Rolada behind me, I won’t let this brute get you.”

Sten charged in front of the fox girl and waved his pickaxe in front of a confused Bent Plate. Sten hurled out insults and shook his fist trying to intimate them. He jumped from foot to foot and swung his weapon wildly at the ogre.

“Careful little friend.” Bent Plate said, catching the savage swing easily. “You might hurt someone with that.”

“Sten, please calm down. He’s friendly!” Rolada cried desperately trying to slow the dwarf down.

“I’ll kick his ass and that diseased gremlin with him!” Sten snarled and head butted the ogre's leg. The harsh crash of his helmet cracked off Bent’s leg with no discernible damage. “What is this oaf made out of?”

“I’m not a gremlin, I’m a goblin. Names Burnt Meat and I’m the best alchemist you have ever seen.” Burn said, putting his foot down.

“Then where are your damn eyebrows?” Sten asked.

“There was an accident making soap, these things happen. I thought dwarves had waxed beards.” Burn shot back.

“I let her run wild, it inspires my poetry.” Sten said.

As the dwarf tried to pry the pickaxe out of the ogre’s grip he kicked out and stomped on Bent’s toes. It had little effect and the ogre yanked him up into the air and the dwarf’s short legs kicked in the air.

“Josh, throw your rope spell at him and I can take him down.” Sten said.

“It won’t work, he has over twenty strength.” I said.

The dwarf halted immediately and looked over the hulking ogre. He squinted his eyes at him and sighed in defeat. Once his aggression had settled the ogre set him down and realigned Sten’s helmet on straight. Bent Plate held out a meaty hand to Sten and grinned. Sten wasn’t pleased and grumbled letting out his complaints, but he still shook hands signalling a ceasefire.

“Only because Rolada said you are a friend. If I had my way I’d chase you back to the dark woods you spawned from, beast! By my forefathers no dwarf shall fail in his oath and this one won’t either.” Sten said in a gruff low tone.

“I like foxie’s funny friend, dwarves always talk fancy.” Bent Plate said completely unfazed.

“Nice place you guys got here. Are you willing to rent a house out to two pals down on their luck?” Burn asked.

“What did you do with the gold you guys just got?” Lin asked in disbelief. “That should have lasted you a few months in a cheap apartment.”

“In Wyrmbreath? Are you crazy?” Burn asked. “Not in this economy. So do you have spare room-”

“No.” Lin said firmly, standing beside me. “Sorry but we are struggling here on our own and can’t afford much more.”

I could tell she was trying to get them to leave and as much as the help would be appreciated I couldn’t bank on a positive response on them finding out I was a keeper. It would be nearly impossible to hide the minions from them for long.

“Is it because your minions take up so much space?” Bent asked.

Behind me Guard 1 stood ready at the hole in the wall, his small shield out front and his spear pointed towards the ogre. The fuzzy little guard shook in terror but approached still and put himself in front of Rolada to defend her. Lin rubbed her temples and swore silently.

“Didn’t take you for a keeper.” Burn said, striding forward. He stared up at me and grinned. “Goblins were the original minions, so I offer you a deal. Sign Bent and I up as minions, we get a place to stay and you get two skilled workers.”

Lin took me by the shoulder and turned me around for a private huddle. She seemed hesitant of Burn’s offer but turned over the possibilities in her head.

“We could use the ogre and if we still send them packing they might talk in Wyrmbreath. You need to level up and be strong like that dark mage before we can start dealing with invaders.” Lin said.

“Can an alchemist make things too?” I asked. “We are on our own here and if he can make stuff for us to sell or use we can save money.”

We broke the huddle and I stood in front of Burn and Bent. When I worked for Dan I had been responsible for hiring a few folk but it felt very odd to be hiring someone to work for me rather than my old boss.

“We can try to fit you in. So I guess welcome to the team.” I said awkwardly.

“What’s our pay rate? Are we getting benefits like dental or holiday?” Burn asked.

I was taken aback, and failed to come up with an answer. As I tried to stammer out a response, Burn cackled madly and slapped his knee. He smirked and walked past me to enter my little town.

“I’m just messing with you, having a place to sleep and work at is good enough for me. Show us around.” Burn said.

I did just that and took the two of them around the town. The observation platform had been reinforced and had a chair covered in a pelt for comfort where Scout 1 took his post to keep an eye out. With dusk setting it was going to be hard for him to see but he seemed to like it.

The other homes had their walls rebuilt with new freshly made bricks and strengthened so they wouldn’t collapse. The roof tops had been patched with a mixture of long dried grasses and the minion cement vomit. They had placed brand new furniture inside each one to make it look lived in and I checked my skill page seeing improvements.

The minion crafting had risen to three and the builder had gone up to five. Management had not yet improved but that would be coming soon. With the increase to the ranks some of the blueprint recipes I had were now in reach with the fancy bathrooms just needing one more level of crafting. In a short amount of time Sten had vastly improved their skills and I was thinking the dwarf might need a reward.

We stopped by the water pump and grabbed a drink letting our two new guests take in the sights. Burn whistled seeing the quaint little town and even I was starting to feel impressed. The overgrown bushes had been removed and while the ground was still cracked and uneven some effort had been made to fill in the cracks.

Perception : Success!

+1XP gained.

Some of the homes had large stones at the bottom for support and scratched into the side of them was Sten’s name. Each one had a claim of certified dwarven approval for the work and I chuckled.

The town however wasn’t the star of the show and I took them down into the dungeon. Bent had to crouch down to walk in but once we entered the main room we all were amazed at the changes. During our brief absence Sten and the minions had expanded and spiced the place up.

The storage room was extended and stocked full of material. The mess hall had nearly doubled in size with new tables and chairs. The new furniture was rough and rather shoddy in construction. The ceilings had been reinforced and covered in coloured tiles giving the whole place more colour. It felt less like an underground mine and more lived in.

“This is amazing, you guys have been hard at work.” I said.

“Aye these little guys work as much as a full dwarf clan around the clock. If we had these back home we could double production and even set up a new mountain fortress in a year's time. It’s a shame some many keepers are warmongers and I always wondered how they fielded their armies. I see now how a dungeon can spring to life in months and start raiding the local countryside.” Sten said, giving each minion we passed a high five.

With the tour wrapping up I let Bent and Burn choose an unused room and had the minions build them some basic furniture. I looked through a new list of all the wooden pieces they could now make. Most of them were copies of what we found in the buildings above, but the simple accommodations were better than nothing.

Checking over our stacking up supplies and the remaining gold I could add to my treasure hoard we were looking ready to make the shrine. I cracked my knuckles and got ready to start planning.