With Alice out of Evalyn’s immediate vicinity, the secretary wrongly assumed she’d be able to focus on the tasks before her.
Before the Guild opened, Evalyn and Lineah welcomed the Guild Members who hadn’t returned the previous night. They processed returned commissions and doled out payments. As the Guild members who arrived last night began filling into the hall, gossip naturally turned to the half-giant woman who visited the Guild and whether or not she would join.
Evalyn did her best to keep her head down. To focus on the work before her. Eventually Daryl returned from his outing and Lineah stepped out from behind her desk.
“Alright! Everyone on the schedule for training in the yard, get your assess moving! If you don’t remember if that applies to you, check the announcement board in the upstairs lobby.” Despite her casual demeanor and friendly smile, her voice boomed with authority that cut through the clamor and sent the Guild members scurrying down the hall.
She chuckled at their retreating backs and leaned on Evalyn’s desk.
“So, is there a reason OTHER than worry that has you looking at the door whenever someone mentioned Miss Irving?”
Evalyn casually brushed Lineah’s elbows off her papers.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “I’m not worried about her… I’m not anything.”
The Branch Captain squinted at Evalyn skeptically then shrugged her shoulders and stepped away.
“Hold down the fort,” she said as she walked away to the training yard.
As the crowd thinned, Evalyn sighed and let her shoulders droop. Was she worried? Perhaps. There were too many unanswered questions filling her mind. Could Alice still speak the language without her around? Could she read? It didn’t seem like it.
I might have to teach her, Evalyn thought. Her pen stopped writing.
Did she even have the time to teach her? What she should be doing was getting ready to run again. Even if she took care of the immediate problem of those men seeing her use her powers, she still used them against people and felt the recoil.
If they were still searching for her that recoil would surely be noticed.
Crossing the border without raising suspicion is out. It might confuse them for a while if I move closer to the Capital. After that…I could make my way to the coast-
Her fist clenched around her pen.
I still don’t have enough clues about his plans… All I know is he can’t realize them without me. And even then… it’s been so long. Maybe he’s found a way to move forward without me…
Her thoughts returned to the books on the desk in her room as she flipped the open sign around on the Guild door.
She longed for nothing more than to be forgotten about that man. She also wished to forget everything about him.
An uncomfortable prickling across her back was all it took to remind her. He had made himself impossible to forget.
Townsfolk poured in in the morning while the Guild members were away or upstairs, and it was Evalyn’s job to receive them.
“You want farm help,” Evalyn said as she flipped through her books. She pulled a bound book about farming related commissions and laid it flat on the desk. “Pretty standard…but also kind of vague. Be specific, please.”
“I got enough hands to do equipment maintenance and soil preparations,” the farmer said. He took off his wide brim hat when he entered the building and wrung it in his hands. Evalyn couldn’t tell if he was nervous to be dealing with her specifically or because he was in town at all.
“I need hands ta move tha transplants from tha green houses and plant those, as well as ta harvest tha early spring crops so we can turn over tha fields.” He scratched his beard with nails that still had dirt underneath. “Boxin’ em up for shippin’ would also be good. Sum a ma boys quit this past winter.”
Planting, harvesting, boxing… Evalyn went down the checklist.
“How many left?” She asked without looking up at him. He shifted his weight from foot to foot. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“My boys? Three ‘em, ma’am,” he replied. “Said they wanted ta get trainin’ in how ta fight cuz of them monster attacks lately.”
Evalyn looked up.
“Where’s your farm?” She asked.
“On tha river bordering tha Central March,” he replied. She set down her pen. Townsfolk waiting in line behind him murmured to each other.
So that’s why you’re really here… Evalyn thought.
The kingdom was divided into five governances. Root Hollow existed in the West March. Over the past few years massive monster attacks had been reported all across the North, East, and Southern Marches. Though the Central and West Marches had mostly gone untouched, people whispered it would inevitably happen.
If he’s behind those attacks it’s guaranteed. Evalyn frowned and stared down at the ledgers before her. But monsters? I know the rumors… but could it be true?
“Ma’am?”
Evalyn’s head snapped back up and her professional mask quickly fell back into place. Realistically, the man could afford the cost of new farmhands or security personnel. Not both.
“I understand,” she replied and tallied up the expenses. “Will you be providing lodging?”
The man nodded. “N meals too,” he smiled, showing a missing front tooth. “Mah missus is tha best damn cook in West March. We’ll feed em good.”
Evalyn chuckled internally.
“Parties usually consist of four members,” she said. “But I can’t guarantee their farming skill. My members don’t usually take a commission if they don’t have the right skillset… but the allure of the best food in West March might be too tempting to pass up.”
“I doubt I could afford more than that,” he said with a chuckle. Evalyn nodded and scribbled in her notes.
“And transportation?” She asked.
“Ah. Brought ma wagon,” he replied. Evalyn nodded and scribbled some more.
“Including travel time, training, actually planting and harvesting… Would you say you’re looking to have them employed for a little over a month?”
He nodded.
“You’re looking at a commission cost of three thousand Alraths,” Evalyn replied. “Half is paid upfront at the signing of the commission contract and the second half is paid halfway through the commission duration."
She filled out the contract with his information as she spoke, mechanically going over the details and explaining each clause for the farmer to understand. As she spoke the hands wringing his hat relaxed.
“I’ll make sure to find a party invested in your farm’s success,” Evalyn said at last. “If these terms are satisfactory then please, sign here.”
The hours ticked by as Evalyn worked. Drawing up contracts, taking payment… turning those contracts into Commissions… She could do them in her sleep.
Several farms had the same idea as the first one throughout the day. The desire for trained fighters but the inability to pay them brought them here in the hopes of a work around. And if it got them extra hands in the fields, then that could only benefit them. Get faster updates on NovelPing.
Evalyn didn’t quite like committing job fraud… but the gnawing of guilt in her heart prevented her from being more stern with the poor farmers. After all, every job carried risks in a world full of monsters.
As the line of civilians thinned and the Reception hall grew peaceful, a waitress from the Dove Tail next door popped in with a small plate of food for Evalyn and took a lunch order for the Guild.
Evalyn nibbled as she continued to classify the new contracts into their respective difficulty. Occasionally her eyes drifted to the front door, but Alice and Patty had yet to return. She shook her head and sighed.
I don’t understand why I can’t get her out of my head. This divine connection is troubling.
She stood up from behind the desk to begin posting the commissions on the Guild board when the hunt board behind Lineah’s desk lit up frantically.
Startled, Evalyn rushed over as the machine beneath the board began to spit out paper tape, punched with a myriad of holes. She grabbed the end of the tape and began to read the message the punched holes conveyed.
“Goblin packs - Three - Gilly River - West March - Rank C. Bog Mare - One - Marshwood - West March - Rank C.”
The tape kept printing. Ten abnormal monster sightings in West March alone was unusual and a cold feeling crept into Evalyn’s stomach, twisting it into knots. The tape kept printing.
She gripped the tape, half determined to crumple it. “What is going on?”
The leyline phone on Lineah’s desk rang.
“Root Hollow Adventurer’s Guild, Eve speaking.”
“Hey, Vee!” A chipper voice from the other end. A smile, visible from miles away. “Did you get the hunt requests?”
“About that,” Evalyn looked down at the long strip of paper, riddled with holes. “This isn’t a mistake right? It’s… way too many.”
“Not a mistake, I’m afraid,” the voice said. "The Lord's Seat location has just as many if not more. We sent you the overflow because your Guild is a busy one.”
“Between you and Lineah, my work is never done,” Evalyn sighed. The voice on the other side laughed.
“Speaking of more work-”
“Please no.”
“It’s time for Rank Assessments.”
Evalyn groaned.
“I know,” the cheery voice said with added sympathy. “They need to be completed by the end of next week. Hang in there!” The call ended.
The tape stopped printing so she tore it free of the machine and rolled it up. Her thoughts scattered in a million directions as she pulled out the hunt tokens required for the enchantments. Annoyingly, they frequently returned to Alice.
“What am I supposed to do?” She mumbled as she cast the tokens across Lineah’s desk. The fae language rolled off her tongue, fluid as water and breezy as air. The Tokens on the desk rattled as Evalyn infused them with magic. As the tape in her hand burned away, the hunt assignments moved to the tokens and they eventually fell asleep. Evalyn gathered them up and carried them along with the commission contracts to the board.
“I don’t like this,” she muttered as she hung them. Outside the light grew dim.
Alice had yet to return.