47. The Lake 4 (Recruitment)

Novum rode into town on Noctis with his two wagons behind him. The guards just gave a wave and let him in. As they got further into town Tom and the Mayor were both outside beside their rented wagons. Novum did not stop he just slowly rode by so that they could catch up. Tom was putting the last case of honey in his cart and climbed up beside his driver. Greg called out as he rode by. "Richard sent a list with me so that you can refill the stuff that you bought yesterday."

"Thanks for that. I will provide you with some gold so that you can pick it up for me if you do not mind."

"Not a problem Baron." He had one of the city guards on the wagon with him and they fell into line with the other wagons. There were also two guards that were riding with them. This is one of the reasons that Tom liked to join the mayor on trips. He did not have to pay for security. Though the guy driving his cart was paid for double duty with the cases of honey that they had.

As they rode to the Capitol Novum felt like he was being watched a few times and made sure to pay attention to the location. He had a feeling the someone with bad intentions was watching them to prepare to meet them on the way back. He had originally hoped that he could hire the people and return without the wagons but now he was not so sure. He would see how long they would be and hire guards if he needed to. This tower needed to be taken care of.

They entered the city with no issues. The guard was about to try and extort a jar of honey from them but he saw Novum's rank as a Baron and quickly shut his mouth before he could say something that would cost him his job. As soon as they were through the gate Novum sent his wagons and a list with Dan. The list was not small since he was picking up a few things that would last them for the winter. He also passed him a bag of gold his last bag of gold. He did not like the idea but he was going to have to head to the bank and get his last writ from the Duke turned into liquid funds.

The bank was quick and efficient and he soon left with a lot on fresh coins in his pocket. It had been quicker since he was more than willing to use gold bars as well as some pieces of platinum. Now that he had taken care of that issue and broke himself, he headed to the mercenary guild. He walked in and saw that the building looked more like an office then a place where a bunch of crazed mercenaries would hang out.

A young man was sitting at a welcome desk. "Hello Baron, how can I help you today?"

"I need to talk to someone about hiring a few of your people to help me clear out a magically sealed tower that somehow ended up on the bottom of the lake that I recently bought."

"Oh, okay that is a lot. Let me get one of the hirer up to help you in figure what you really need."

"That is fine." The young man got up and headed back a hallway. A few minutes later he came out and motioned for Novum to follow him. The office that he was lead to was not big or fancy but you could tell that the man took a lot of pride in his work and his office.

"Greetings Baron Novum. How can I help you today?" Novum gave him a look. "I apologize for that Baron. We have a lost of all the nobility in the city and you becoming a Baron at your age was quite a big deal."

"Yeah not really used to the Baron thing yet. So, I am looking to hire some help."

"What kind of help do you need?"

"I discovered a mage's tower on the bottom of the lake that I just bought. Apparently the tower has been sealed in some kind of clear bubble. Now it has started leaking and whatever is leaking out of it has been altering the local animals. I fought two bears that were over fifteen feet tall and a snapping turtle that was about ten foot across."

"Holy shit. Yeah so you are going to need two fighter, a mage, at least one, a healer and a locksmith."

"I have the two fighters, but the other three I am going to need. I am a fighter and I have a heavily armored colleague that will serve those rolls."

"Okay then. I have a mage that I can hire out to you. We have an agreement with the church on the use of the clergy and you will have to talk to them about one of theirs. And as for the locksmith, we currently only have one and he is currently serving time in prison for the next month."

"I will go and talk to the church about the cleric. Do you happen to know someone in the city that might be able to provide a locksmith?"

"Well I know that there are a few small guilds in the city but I do not have a contacts with them."

"That is unfortunate, but I may have someone that I can talk to about that. And as far as the mage goes I will be leaving tomorrow or the next day depending on how things go. Is there any way that I can brief them on what is going on and pay them and let them prepare anything that they might need?"

"Of course. The mage that I have in mind goes by the name Berry."

"Like the little things you eat Berry?"

"Well that is the way that she spells it out on things but it is mainly a play on words as she is amazing with barrier magic. She can build up walls and shields like no ones business. Her offense is severely lacking but given the obstacles that you face I think she is probably the best person that I have for the job."

"Sounds great to me. If you have a younger mage that you want to get some training in feel free to send them along. I will officially hire them as well. I know that training young mages can be a challenge."

"I do have an ice mage that needs a lot of development. I will send her along as well. Berry will cost you a hundred gold deposit which covers her for ten days and there is an additional fee of ten gold for every day after that. You will also be responsible to pay any fees, city entry fees or the like, as well as any healing that is necessary. Erica will cost you fifty and five."

Novum pulled out the money and put it on the table. "Now based on your policies in the event that something valuable is found how will the split go?"

"You are hiring them. They are your employees so anything that they find belongs to you. Also keep in mind that anything that you give to them will not change the deposit that you have provided. That is simply a bonus to them. I understand that you talked about it being underwater so the potions that are required to use to get down there need to be provided by you."

"I have no problem with any of that. One more question and I think that I will be good. Do they need transportation or will they have horses?"

"Berry has her own horse and we will provide Erica with one from the stable. Though if you have room in a wagon it would probably be quicker to put Erica in one of them. She does not have a lot of experience riding."

"If it becomes an issue I will have one of my guys swap out and put them on the horse. My plan is to leave first thing in the morning but if that changes I will let you know."

"I will introduce you and you can work that part out with them." He put his hand on a stone and spoke in a normal voice. "Berry and Erica please come to my office." A few minutes later two young ladies showed up at the door.

"You wanted us sir?" The older of the two girls spoke first. She looked to be a few years Novum's senior and the other girl might have been right around his age maybe even a little younger.

"Berry, this young man is hiring you and Erica to help him clear a tower."

Berry looked at Novum and gave him a once up and down look. "Just us sir?"

"Berry...." The man growled at her.

"It is understandable sir." Novum stood up and willed his armor and sword into his hands.

When Berry saw him stand up she immediately realized that he was way bigger than the chair made him seem. Then he magically summoned his armor and weapons and she could feel the magic radiating from them. Erica stepped back behind Berry a little. "I apologize for my question."

"There is no reason for you to apologize. You are concerned for your safety and so am I. That is one of the reasons that I wanted to come and hire professionals."

"Thank you for your understanding. So what is the jest of the job?"

Novum spent the the next little bit explaining the situation and his timetable and things like that. Berry asked a few questions and Erica nodded along just listening and learning. "So you need me to get in and support and you have two fighters, so what is your intention in hiring Erica. She is good for her age but she is young."

"Given your limit on attach magic I asked William about another young mage that might need training and had some offensive capabilities. If you do not feel comfortable with her coming with us I will not force her. Given your defensive abilities I assumed that this would be a good mission for her to start with since you have a higher chance of keeping her safe."

"I apologize, I just want to make sure about your intentions towards our resident cutie."

Erica blushed everywhere that you could see skin. "Berry don't tease me like that. Especially in front of the new boss."

"I assure you that I have no idea about either one of you when I walked in here. I have only spent a few days in the capitol and that was several weeks ago. My plan is to leave first thing in the morning but I have to make sure that the rest of my group will be ready to go by that time. Not only do I need to find a locksmith and hire a cleric but I have some wagons from my town that are picking up a lot of goods. If something happens I will leave word here. And as far as I am concerned your ten days starts today so even if it takes three days to get out of here it will count against the deposit."

"That is very generous sir. We will be ready when you need us. I will help Erica pick a horse and have it ready to go in the morning just in case."

"Thank you. I will see you later." Novum headed out of the building and towards the mage he had dealt with before since it was obvious to him that she had ties to the underworld. He was almost there when he saw a potions shop and detoured there first. The man behind the counters jaw dropped when he heard the order but at the same time his mind was running as fast as a horse with the money that he just made. Novum grabbed the potions and dropped them into his bag that never seemed to get any bigger.

Novum walked out and headed to deal with that crafty old mage and hope that she was in a good mood. He saw a stand and after a few minutes he finally convinced the old man to sell him a bottle of wine that was actually worth something. Anything to help.