TOWN MEETING

Two days have gone by peacefully. Victor will hold a Town meeting later at Yellow Leaf square.

Gus talked to Sarah, about formally introducing himself to the town of YellowLeaf. Doing so will finally give Gus the freedom to move about the town as he, please. His new identity is Gusford Redfeather. A Charitable, Nobleman from the Eastern Shores. Due to a terrible civil war during his youth, he suffered blindness along with a head injury forcing him to hide his disfigured face behind a mask for the rest of his life. He simply wishes to cultivate and sell potatoes on the continent of Circa. His local business partner is Mr. Nico Humphrey from Bluefox Company of Tenrocks city.

Gus decided to wear a medieval helmet, with a human face as its visor. Because Gus is presumed to be a blind person, there is no need to have eye holes on his steel helmet visor. He is heavily cloaked and wears a suit of armor underneath. The reason behind Gus' decision to be a handicapped person, is so that people would take pity and would avoid asking too many personal questions.

A day before the town meeting, the children wished to prepare breakfast by themselves. After only being guided for a few days, the children wanted to practice cooking, and start from simple breakfast dishes such as omelets and unleavened bread. With enough money left from Nico's investment, Gus makes sure to keep their pantry well-stocked every night.

It wasn't perfect, the omelets were overcooked because some parts of the eggs have turned brown, and the bread is tough because the pan is too hot.

Gus would never have expected them to cook perfectly on their first try.

Nonetheless, the breakfast they made was better than what they used to have.

Just after eating, the Townhall's bells have rung. This signifies that the meeting will start in about 15 minutes.

At the Townhall----

"Everyone! Settle down, as we are about to start the meeting."

Victor raised his hand, telling everybody to sit down.

"Before we start, I would like for us to wholeheartedly thank our saviors and benefactor, Mr. Nico, a merchant of Tenrocks City and his bodyguard, adventurer Ms. Rhoanne," mentioned Victor.

Everyone in the hall stood up and applauded.

"Thank you Mr. Nico!----"

"You have saved our daughter!"---

"Many more blessings to you Ms. Rhoanne!"---

The duo of Ten rocks city simply stood up to appreciate everyone's gratitude.

After a while, the townspeople have finally calmed down, letting Victor continue with his announcement.

"Hmph! They didn't even bother to thank Mr. Gus!" whispered Gretel.

Judging by her sibling's reactions, it seems they agreed with their sister's statement as well.

"In light of the recent goblin attack, I have just received word from Fahnzal City, that they will send a representative to investigate how the goblins have reached our town. Most likely, they will investigate the Novice Dungeon inside the town. I sincerely request from everyone, not to offend these investigators throughout the duration of their stay. Second, The damages caused by the Goblins were indeed disastrous. They destroyed four homes and made multiple major damages on several properties. Although there are a few minor injuries among our people, I am very happy to report, that there are no casualties." Victor still considered this to be a blessing.

Everyone in the hall applauded once more.

"Now may I kindly present Mr. Gusford Redfeather.

An associate of our savior Mr. Nico. He came to me a few days ago because he wishes to say something to all of us." Victor stepped aside to guide the supposedly blind Mr. Gusford.

"Thank you, Mr. Victor. I may be blind, but because of my impairment, I have learned to further enhance my other olfactory senses and still move about properly I now use magic to aid me in my surroundings," said Gus.

He started to introduce himself, using the description he used earlier. A lot of people gasped at his past experiences and impairment.

Gus then brought out a few potatoes and gave it to his audience to pass around. He explained what a potato is, how it's grown, cooked and preserved and how it's harvested. His explanations we're precise and informative. They didn't even question Gus why they can only sell their potatoes to Mr. Nico. They were satisfied enough to have sustainable food in the village.

Besides the potato, Gus also taught them about fertilizers. He started from animal manure, wood sawdust to food wastage. Gus also introduced compost pit making for the whole village to use.

At first, the curious townspeople only cared to listen to this mysterious masked stranger, because he was their savior's associate. But the more they listened to Gus, the more interested they have become.

Lastly, Gus explained what to say and do if ever someone asks them about their potatoes. It's really actually simple. Everyone will say that it all came from Tenrocks' Bluefox company, and they should look for a merchant named Nico Humphrey.

But for now, everyone is strictly advised not to say anything about the potatoes until Mr. Humphrey gets his affairs in order with the Merchants Guild.

But they can already proceed to plow the soil to cultivate their potatoes. They only need to wait for Victor to decide on a place where they can start the project. The meeting that was supposed to be only an hour-long, became two hours instead.

"That is all I wanted to say. If you have any further questions, please feel free to approach me. I am currently lodging in the Orphanage, under Ms. Stillwater's hospitality. Everyone, thank you for listening." said Gus as he gave back the stage to Victor.

As the meeting ended, people have started to go back to their work and chores. But most of them are repairing their property from the recent goblin attack.

"Sarah, you and the children should go ahead. We have a few more matters to discuss," said Gus.

"You better not be late again, do you hear me, Papa?" said little sage.

Gus simply laughed and ruffled Little Sage's hair.

"You go on ahead to Ms. Sarah. We have a little errand to do as well..." said Gretel.

After giving them a suspicious look, Sarah reminded Gretel, Griffin, and Cindy, not to stray away from the village and to be back before sundown. Gretel and the rest left the Townhall right away.

"See you later everyone, Come on Little Sage, Big Sister Sarah needs help with a few more errands back home," said Sarah.

"Okay!" said little sage as she grabbed Sarah's hand in her anticipation to go home.

Sarah and little sage said farewell to Gus before leaving the Town Hall.

Looking at Victor's troubled face, it seems what he wants to say is nothing good.

Victor apologized to Gus for rejecting his request. Due to the goblin's attack, four families are forced to look for another home. The Vacant home actually belonged to the recently deceased, Mr. Ralph.

Two families have decided to live here temporarily as they rebuild their homes as the rest decided to stay with their in-laws. It would take 2 months for them to rebuild, due to the lack of building materials, tools, and funds.

"It's perfectly alright Mr. Victor, Please do tell me if such opportunities surface once again," said Gus.

"Oh! Thank you for understanding Mr. Redfeather. Again, I sincerely apologize." Victor bowed his head once more.

Gus is back to square one. While he did make money and relations to build his tavern, It will all be for naught if he couldn't find a vacant structure. Victor was kind enough to offer the late Mr. Ralph's property to Gus once the families have rebuilt their home, but choosing that option will take too much time and the mission will expire by then!

The troubled Gus can only rethink ways to own his tavern. If he doesn't think up of a solution very soon, then this will not end well for him.