66. The Manor House 2

Now that he had his potion maker taken care of and a mage to help with the defense of his manor it was about to flourish. He knew that it was not enough to stand against anyone that was higher than him in nobility if they brought their forces against him but it was a start. Now he had a few more people to talk to but that would have to wait until they woke up and got rid of their hangovers. As he walked out of the small house and to the spot where he was planning his manor house he realized that he had another small problem.

He saddled up Noctis and headed to town before anyone had really started anything yet. The general store might have what he needed but if it didn't he could always talk to the loan shark. He assumed that old man might have what he was looking for since he bought land. Fang was right beside him and since he did not cause any trouble yesterday he figured it would be okay to bring him along today as well.

The guards waved him in and Novum gave them a nod of his head. The general store had barely unlocked its doors when Novum walked in and went straight to the counter. "Good morning sir, do you guys have the survey kits that they use to mark and level ground?"

"You know boy, excuse me, Baron, you ask for the most unusual of things for one so young. You have a broad array of knowledge that many men a lot senior to you have never even thought of and it makes it seem that I have amazing foresight. I bought one about a year ago and it has been sitting behind the counter collecting dust since I bought it. So here you go."

The two men agreed on a price and Novum headed back out to the area where he was going to be setting up the manor. He set up the device that he bought that morning and then went back and grabbed a late breakfast. He saw that the workers were getting ready to head out for the morning. "Mike, Steve and Mr. Jed could I talk to you guys before you head out."

The three man came over but the two younger men let Jed set the pace and take the lead. "What is it we can do for you thing morning, young Baron?"

"Mike I need you to switch the size of the wood that you are cutting. You remember the list that I gave you and set as priority?" Mike nodded his head. "Good, then jump all the way to the stuff for the mines." Novum held up his hand. "I know that the other wood is for houses and barns and the like but I have came across something that will greatly alleviate that burden. You will see is over the next few days."

"Of course Baron. What would you like us to do with the smaller lumber that we have cut?"

"Set it off to the side for now. It should be okay for a few days. Now Mr. Jed I am going to need to barrow a few of your farmers to come and work under Steve for a few days. I need some ground leveled and they would be the quickest ones to do it. So put the famers on the bare minimum that you need to not get behind and send the rest over to Steve."

"I will keep my nephew and the rest can come to you. He will moan and complain about it but he is young and respects his elders. Though depending on what you are doing I may send him over later to learn."

"That is fine sir. We are going to be leveling the ground for a building to be put on top of. If the ground is level it it easier and safer for it to be built."

Steve spoke up, "and since digging and leveling are what I do the most I am going to be in charge of the crew. Sounds like a great plan, but I do not know how to do it outside."

"I have something that will help with that. Follow me." He led Steve over to the area where the tower was going. Mike gave a wave as he went to cut more wood, he was not needed and Job headed over and gathered up the famers and sent all of them in the direction that Novum took Steve and told them to follow his instructions.

Novum pulled out a shovel and cleared out all of the grass and topsoil so that the legs of the device would have something hard to sit on. He then took the measuring stick and marked it at the number that he wanted based on the height of the device. "Okay Steve. Now what you are going to do is clear all the grass and dirt until you can set this stick on the ground just like this and see the number I marked through the sight tube on top of the legs. If you can do that then it is complete. Start from the middle and go out thirty feet in all directions in a big circle. Pile the grass up so that it can be taken to compost and the dirt is going in a pile so that it can be moved to the farm plots later."

"Okay that is pretty simple to understand. But what is the little yellow stuff on the top of the legs for?"

"Oh I forgot that. You see how there is a little bubble in the fluid?"

"Yeah I see the bubble."

"And see how there is a little ring that seems to be sitting above the fluid?"

"Yeah, right now the bubble is in the middle of that ring."

"That means that it is just where is needs to be. If you move the legs around and things like that the bubble will move out of the ring. Apparently some smart guy figured out that if the bubble stayed in the middle then it would make the ground level. The level ground makes it better and safer to build on. If the ground was wrong it would mean that the building might tip over. That is the reason that a lot of the big cities have buildings that are getting taller."

"Okay then. I will make sure that the bubble stays in the middle." Steve measured out a few things with the measuring stick and make marks on the ground to indicate where they needed to go. The farmers seemed to understand what was going on and started digging.

"Oh, Steve if a couple of mages come over the one called Berry will be in charge. She has more details about the thing being built and may need you to change the distances."

"Okay Baron." Steve went right back to work.

Novum headed back to his little house and saw that the ladies were in a group together. Erica seemed to be the worst of them since last might was the first time she had even drank in excess. She was pleading with Crystal to use her divine magic to ease her suffering. "Please Big Sister. I am in so much pain."

"If this had been caused by another then I would have gladly treated your condition but since you did this to your self I feel that this is a good learning opportunity for you. There is nothing wrong with enjoying life but when you take it to far this is the start that your body will end up in. You need to remember that." Crystal had the hardest time not treating the girl but she needed to learn her limits and some self control if she was going to be a powerful mage some day. This was good training for her.

Novum walked over and spoke in a voice that was a little louder than necessary. "Good morning all. I hope that you all enjoyed last night's festivities."

Erica grabbed her ears. "Baron that is just mean."

Novum chuckled, "my apologies Erica." He did not sound sorry but he did lower the volume of his voice. "Berry I have decided where the building are going to go. I have a crew out leveling the ground where the tower is going to go and I would like for you to keep and eye on them. I do not know the size of the tower when it is full sized or anything like that. If you want you can have them start on leveling the ground for the manor house once the tower is up, but that is up to you."

"I will head over and take a look at things. It should not be a big deal for the tower but the manor on the other hand is huge and the walls need to be taken into account."

"Well start with the tower and then speak with Master Norvil while reading through the books on everything. But given that they are farmers and a miner it might be possible to have the tower up today or early tomorrow if they have guidance."

"That fast. Then I should get over there and keep an eye on things." She grabbed her cup of coffee and headed that way.

Novum rolled a smoke. "Crystal did you pick out the spot that you wanted your shop?"

"I found the spot that I want. I would like to take one of the houses that you are taking out of the tower and converting it. But I am going to need a little bigger area than most so I can plant the garden with the necessary herbs and plants that I need."

"Are you thinking close to the manor house so that the area that would be kept clear anyways is turned into gardening plots?"

"Right as usual Novum. If my stuff is close then the guards will have an easier time with watching the area. I will make sure to keep any of the big plants or bushes far from the wall."

"That is fine with me Crystal. I think that it an efficient use of space. Erica what are your plans?"

"Well I was thinking about going back to the guild but see the thing is.....the only person there that really works with me is Berry. So I am not sure."

"Well you are more than welcome to come and work for me. Berry will be the main defense of the manor but without someone to take the fight to anyone that threatens us then what use is an amazing defense. You and Berry can still work as a team. It is an idea and I am not going to rush it but you need to know that the option is there for you."

Erica gave him a deep bow of her head. "Thank you Baron. I really appreciate the offer. I will think about it and talk it over with Berry."

"Sounds like a great plan. Topaz would you take a walk with me. I would like to talk to you away from the ears of some of the locals."

All three ladies raised an eyebrow. "Of course Baron. You hired me."

The duo walked towards the lake and Fang trotted along beside them. "Topaz I would like for you to come and work for me. I am not talking about liberating things from people or making people disappear but I need an information network. If your guild allows it you can still belong to them but the protection fees and commissions will go away. My city will be mostly on the up and up. I understand that there is no way to prevent all crime but I will not tolerate blatant offenses. What I am actually after is for you to make contacts all over the region so that I can stay on top of what is going on."

"Why the sudden interest?"

"Well it is not that sudden. Since I was appointed as a noble I have had it on my mind. I know nothing of the politics and situations going on in the region. But this is more sudden than I had planned on. You see an idiot showed up in town yesterday and said that our town had changed hands at the regional leadership level. I threw him out of town. But you see the problem with that don't you?"

"You have no idea who he is and who he works for. Was he a guy that was just doing his job or was he trying to rob the town, and who would get the benefits of the situation. If you know you could eliminate the threat early or possible come to an agreement with the third party. But given what you told me that is not going to happen but it could be an option for other people."

"So what do you think? You can open up a shop like the guild has in the capital and run my areas information network. Of course if you do not want to that is fine I am sure that I can come to an agreement with the guild and if they say that you can't without a fee then I am fine with the fee."

"Why me? Why not go straight to the guild?"

"Because over the last week I have realized that you are a great thief but it seems like you do not enjoy parts of the job. You are great with locks and traps but you are not excited when you open them since you are so good at it. But the information that you already have and the languages that you know on top of the way that you reacted to the mages study. They were clues on what type of person that you really want to be. A spy or better yet a spymaster. I am simply offering the position to someone that I have some to rely on over the last week."

"I will talk to the guild when we go back. I am not sure what type of compensation they will be after but given the position it should be minimal."

"That is great to hear. Thank you Topaz." The two of them had slowly made their way back towards the house. Erica came walking back from where Berry was working. "I am in."

"Looks like the team is sticking together." Novum had a big smile on his face.