We didn't waste much time after we left the war council. We only returned to our rooms here in the palace briefly to get the rest of our things and Kaele's familiar. The cat seemed a little reluctant to leave. Of course, the rich green garden within the courtyard of the guest wing would have been a more than fitting home for the little feline. My sister finally managed to coax it back out of the greenery and into her arms with promises of remodeling our home in Caer'zoth more to its liking. That had me raise an eyebrow but the smile she flashed me suggested that she already had plans. Well, good for her. My mind was still reeling as we made our way back to the treasury and the people and treasure waiting for us there. It was not just people and coin awaiting our return. There was plenty of work waiting for us as well.

I had acted confident in front of the council but this would be not easy. No, this would not be easy at all. Sure I had more than enough coin to solve a whole lot of problems but just throwing money at problems did not always or even usually lead to the best solutions. We returned to the treasury the same way we left it. It was the shortest way after all. Sadly this meant that we would miss out on the grand piazza above us. Supposedly it was a sight to behold with the fronts of the palace and all the other important buildings framing it. Maybe we would get to enjoy the view some other day. As we entered the grounds of the royal treasury once again there already was someone waiting for us. It was Gash'zur, the young giantess with the fiery hair, the protegee of the lady of the treasury.

She looked exhausted but greeted us with a friendly wave. She smelled of sweat and hot metal and although she sounded tired the tone of her voice still hinted at good humor. “Well, well, look who is back. You had the whole city in an uproar ever since you set foot here and somehow I don't get the impression that you are quite done yet.”

I couldn't deny that and flashed her a grin. “You look like you didn't sleep a wink since we last met. I guess we kept you pretty busy, didn't we?”

She just shrugged with a smile on her lips. “For sure. We had the foundry and the mint running at full force ever since you showed up and dropped off that load of loot. No one here has gotten any sleep. Not that anyone would dare to complain. You keeping us busy like this is good news after all.” She gestured to follow her deeper into the vaults of the treasury, so we did. I could already hear people somewhere ahead and a few of those voices sounded familiar. Soon the men and women of our caravan came into view. They were busy loading pack animals with strong chests full of coin, with the help of some treasury clerks.

As we got closer, Kaele stepped up to walk besides me. “If you don't mind I would like to do some shopping of my own as well while you go and hire those mercenaries we will need.” I shot her a questioning look thus she elaborated. “I want to get my hands on some more spells and maybe a few enchanted items.” She paused briefly to scratch her familiar under the chin. “Like some enchanted tree seeds that can grow to a decent size if you just provide them with enough Mana.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. Those enchanted seeds sounded useful in more than one sense. First they would allow her to do the remodeling of our home that she had promised to her familiar. She would just have to take care not to damage the house's foundations. Then these magical trees would come in really handy for stabilizing the hill we had burned down. That was something that had priority in my mind. And last but not least magical seeds like that could come in handy during the campaign that lay ahead of us as well. My mind worked overtime, coming up with new applications for magical trees. Need to block a road? Plant some trees. Need cover? Plant some trees. Running out of firewood or provisions? Maybe the right kind of tree could help with that as well.

At last I nodded, signaling my agreement. Curiously enough even the cat perked up at that. More trees probably was a good thing on general principle as far as the little one was concerned. Then another thought occurred to me. “Do you think you can get your hands on a weather manipulation spell? Something that will let you brew up a nice storm?” Something like that could be useful in general as well, for example if you needed to move unnoticed. A good storm could provide the needed cover in that case. My mind mostly went into another direction though. A direction related to my lightning strike spell. I saw some potential in that direction and judging by the look on her face Kaele could see it as well. She nodded.

At that point the giantess at our side budged in. “There is a school for wizards and enchanters along the road to the mercenary market. They sell enchanted gear and spells as well. Maybe you can get the things that you need there?”

“Oh! Convenient!” Kaele sounded genuinely happy that she didn't have to scour the city for a place to get started on her shopping spree. She probably would have found that place or another like it before long anyway, she knew to ask the right questions after all, but if it saved us some trouble and time I would gratefully accept that piece of advice.

I patted her on the back gently. “We will drop you off there with a few chests of coin and some of our carriers or animal handlers. Does that sound good to you?”

“Mhm.” That sound of agreement was all that came over her lips. Her mind probably already was on the things she would buy and the spells she intended to learn.

As we reached the others Zul'gar stepped out of the general bustle to greet us. He bowed to the giantess as well. He was all geared up and ready to go. “We are just about ready to depart. Your orders?”

I relayed our plans to him. “To the mercenary market with a quick stop at the school of wizards and enchanters along the way. Pick two or three porters to accompany Kaele with as much coin as she needs when we reach the latter. We will meet up again at the mercenary market afterwards. Our business there will probably take some time.”

He nodded. “Negotiations with sell swords are something you shouldn't rush if you can avoid it. How many are we going to hire anyway?”

Of course he wanted to know. He probably wasn't the only one either. I doubted that keeping it a secret would benefit anyone, especially as it was a secret that would be lifted soon anyway, thus I decided to share this particular information. “I was tasked to raise a banner of at least three hundred.”

His eyes opened wide at the revelation and the giantess whistled as well before commenting. “That is quite a number. I guess you have further orders as well. You wouldn't hire that many armed men and women just to have them sit around, twiddling their thumbs, doing nothing.”

“Indeed.” That much was obvious after all. “But I will keep those to myself for the time being.” Loose lips and all that. Some things would probably be revealed during our negotiations with the mercenaries anyway. The rest I most likely would keep to myself until we were back home.

Zul'gar grunted in agreement. He turned towards the gathered men, women and pack animals heavily loaded with coin. “Up! Up! On your feet! Don't fall asleep! We are departing! Move it!” Everyone was only too happy to oblige him and we got moving.

The giantess waved good bye as we left. “Safe travels and a speedy return! We wouldn't mind you keeping us busy, like you did, a little more often!”