The Saint Goes House Hunting

There was some debate over whether to head back to Carrolly’s Inn or find a place in the city. It was still early in the day so we went to a bunch of different places to check prices. Merlin couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. It wouldn’t be strange for the guild or some third party to be trailing his movements. As long as they kept their distance he decided it would do any harm.

The cheapest Inns were about 40 Malba a night and the more expensive were upwards of 300. Money wasn’t a huge issue for his group but it also wasn’t a good idea to stand out more than necessary. They decided on a large Inn called The Sleeping Beauty. The Sleeping Beauty charged by the hour and was a bit of a walk from the guild, we later learned that it was right on the edge of the “entertainment” district. The price of food and rooms doubled once the bar opened at 8. Merlin expected it to get noisy, as it turned out long term lodgers had their own wing and the walls of every room were enchanted with a noise cancelling attribute making it a very quiet and peaceful place to stay. That peace however came with a 1500 malba per day price tag.

We entered the suite. We paid an additional 2500 Malba for the grand suite which included a common room, kitchen, three private bedrooms, and a bathroom. It was more expensive than anticipated. We’d blown through almost 10,000 of the 25000 malba Ruth had left us with.

“We’re going to need to curtail our spending a bit from now on. I’m sure Mrs. Carrolly will get annoyed if we have to keep going back to her for withdrawals.” Merlin would also feel bad for the bank manager Mrs. Ruth has to bully for money.

“We’re g-going to find somewhere else tomorrow?” Cate still seemed a bit shaken from our meeting earlier that day. She’d actually been quieter than usual since then.”

“Well duh, we don’t have the money to keep staying in inns and hotels every night, especially ones this fancy. We’re going to be here for at least the next six months, right?” Lila asked.

“Exactly. I want to find a house to rent or even buy. I really like this place and even though I want to live the life of an explorer, it would still be nice to know we have a home to come back to.”

“Home…” Cate echoed the word wistfully. Merlin noticed her faraway look. She was likely thinking back to her mother.”

“Oh yeah,” a question popped up in Merlin’s mind, “What happened to your house? Didn’t you live up in the mountains? Is the house still there?” They originally came down to get back Cate’s necklace, it had completely slipped his mind that they might have somewhere to go back to.

Lila grimaced, “The house was originally storage for the orphanage. Mom and Cate were living off the land for and staying away from cities for reasons we didn’t learn till recently. The Mistress allowed them to take up residence in the store house and fix it up. In exchange mother would go out and hunt for game and monsters, providing food and protecting us all.”

Cate was starting to tear up as Lila recounted their circumstances. “When the orphanage was destroyed mother tried to zone the house as a new orphanage and took me in. A Clergyman named Phoebus from the Church of Seraphina came to negotiate.”

“They went into mother’s room to figure out the details. It was really loud, there was a lot of banging. We were led out of the house for a bit. We were b-both really worried.”

“After around 30 minutes they came back into the living room, blessed the house and instated Mrs. Myra as the caretaker. From then on he came back every other week or so and they would go into her room for a bit to talk then he’d leave.”

“He always brought us sweets and mom flowers.”

“After about a year he stopped coming back and a few months after that mother started to get sick. I tried to get in touch with Phoebus but the receptionist at the church said he was on a mission and had no idea when he’d be back.

Once mom died and Mr. Leer had ransacked the place, some people from the church came and evicted us, saying we were squatters. Long story short: no, we don’t currently have a home to go back to.”

“Sounds messy.” Merlin thought about paying the Church of Seraphina a visit and perhaps contacting their saint if they were willing to meet with him. Seraphina rung a bell but she wasn’t one of the Eight worshipped by the people of Eden. It was possible she was a Demi-god, the daughter of one of the eight or one of their descendants. It was also possible there were other Gods outside of the Eight and she was one of them. Merlin was pretty clueless about the world and was willing to accept that the Eight were not the only supreme gods. His heart palpitated at the thought. Something in him insisted they reigned supreme, but he would keep his mind open to other possibilities.

In any case, it probably wasn’t a good idea to get swept up in the affairs of another church, not after he was finally free. Starting from scratch was the easiest way forward for all of them.

“If you really want to get your house back I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise any-”

“I want to live with you.” Cate said with surprising confidence, “I don’t want to cause you any t-trouble. My future is with you.”

“I’m happy you feel that way.” Merlin turned to Lila.

“I’ll go wherever she goes.”

“Aww, I love you both so much!” Merlin wrapped them up in a big hug. Lila seemed as annoyed as Cate was happy. They said goodnight and went to their separate rooms.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CECILIA:

“Why do I even try?” I went in there and practically begged for them to let me be an adventurer and yet nothing. What am I even worth? “I have money. Isn’t that good enough? I pay you pretty well, amiright? They say money money is power but that’s all wrong. People are power. You see what I’m saying!” I slouched on the couch big enough for ten people, my legs out open in front of me.

“I see your point, madam Cecilia.” The pile of old bones in front of me responded. I wasn’t speaking literally of course, but give it time and he’d probably decay faster than you’d think. My butler was never far behind me. I asked dad and the butler himself if I could maybe get an upgrade, like his handsome son or even handsomer granddaughter. Father said I was being rude and Old Bones just laughed. Meilyn, wait for me, my sweet!

“So, Bones, what have you been up to in my absence.”

“That’s not my name, Madame Cecilia.”

“Oh, did I call you that out loud? Well, no point in changing it now…actually can you change your name to Old Bones, that would make me pretty happy.”

“I’ve had my name for 80 years, I’m not sure-”

“Really.” I interrupted, I was just joking and wasn’t really interested in his response.

“I’ll look into it.” His wrinkly face dropped.

“Were you spying on me, today?” I already knew he was but lived to make him squirm.

“I’m sorry to say I was-”

“In the shower! What a pervy old man. Hehe.”

“I would never! You’re twisting my words once again.”

“So, you were spying on me.”

“Well”

“At the adventurers guild.”

“Yes, Madame.”

“Can you believe they had the nerve to reject me.”

“I’m not sure they knew who you were?”

“Huh?”

“You never gave them your name.”

“Shoot. That shouldn’t matter I have money.”

“You never offered them any money.”

“They should know I have some.”

“But you never gave them your name.”

“They should know who I am.” I was fuming, This conversation is so tiresome. I got up from the couch and went into the main entrance hall. Bones trailed behind me.

“If I may,”

“You may not. Even setting aside my wealth and prodigious abilities what is this rule about having to register as a party and a freelancer cap.”

“Adventurers have always had a high mortality rate, it was put in place to-”

“I know why it was put in place, but that’s for the weak rabble. I once slayed a Water Dragon and I obtained it’s mana stone.” I felt the jewel that had been fused into my abdomen. The jewel was cold yet sparking with energy. “That’s an achievement especially since I was fighting with it’s own element!” I yelled as I crossed into my father’s study.

“I can handle monsters on my own.”

“It’s for everyone’s safety and I’m sure it’ll bring your father some piece of mind knowing you have someone watching your back.”

“He should grow a backbone.”

“Young lady!” Bones stood straight backed and centered in the doorway, “I can tolerate your jabs at myself and my family, but I will not be idle while you insult your father.”

“When have I ever…” I was going to ask when I’d ever insulted his family but something caught my eye. There was a note scribbled on the desk: New Client Meeting, Adventurer Party 10am Sunday (Ruth Referral). Carrolly’s Place.

Carrolly’s Place. Meilyn will be there! Aah. Just what I need to recharge. And while I’m at it I can recruit some meat shields to get my feet in the door of the Guild.

“You know what, Bones, you’re right. I need to play within the system. It is what it is, I guess. Thank for the talk.” I crumpled up the paper and tucked it in the waistband of my skirt.

“You’re very welcome, though your change in attitude is rather eerie.”

“So’s your face.” I said as I walked past him.

“Good one, Madame Cecilia, good one.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I think today will be a fruitful day of house hunting.” Merlin declared as he and his sisters exited the inn.

Merlin actually wasn’t sure where to start, so their first stop would be the Guild.

They waded through the surprisingly dense early morning foot traffic. The entertainment district wasn’t quite what one might expect when you heard the word, or more like it was exactly what you’d expect if you didn’t know the connotation. It was actually relatively wholesome during the day. There were theaters and bards, gambling houses and bars, even a zoo. At night is when the brothels opened up but even then everything was fairly well managed. He’d heard this from a patron at the bar last night.

Merlin was technically old enough to drink but he’d never actually done it and thought it might be cool to try some. He didn’t like it but the people around him were lively and eager to talk, so he enjoyed the company.

Kids under 15 weren’t allowed into the entertainment district after 7:00pm. They had to either leave or find an Inn to stay for the night. Innkeepers actually had special rooms for kids to take shelter in if they didn’t have anywhere to go or if the walk was too far. The guards were very strict about keeping minors out. That being said most of what went on after dark wasn’t much different than what happened during the day aside from the addition of scantily clad women and scattering of drunks wandering about. One of the men he talked to mentioned that in the capital’s entertainment district it was complete chaos. There were no rules. You could literally get shot in the street if you weren’t careful. That was good to know. He’d try to stay away from there when they got to the capital.

Now that Merlin thought about it all the foot traffic was heading out of the entertainment district which made sense. He took his sister’s hands and they let the current of strangers push them along.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They finally reached the Guild. Unlike yesterday, they appeared to be the first ones there. Merlin knocked as they entered.

Inside it was clear they were still setting up. There were a lot more staff visible than there were yesterday. Several kitchen staff were setting up the counters around the bar and another was cleaning off tables and resetting benches.

There were three receptionists behind the reception counter.

“Welcome in! We’re still preparing for the day. Give us a few minutes, if you would.”

“We’re here to talk to Rashell.”

“Does she know you’re coming? Did you schedule an appointment? If not, you will need to do so and come back at the appointed time.”

“We don’t have an appointment I’m sorry!”

“Whoa whoa, ease up a little, Amber.” A blond receptionist whacked Amber on the head with rolled up paper.

“I’m sorry about that.” She tipped Amber’s head forward.

“No, we’re obviously here too early, we can come back.”

“No, please. Can I have your name?”

“Merlin Bethel of the Bethel Knights”

“As I thought, Mrs. Rashell was expecting you to be by today, she even told us to keep the doors unlocked in case you came early.”

“So, that’s why.”

“I’ll escort you upstairs to conference room 1. The guild master is away today, so it’ll just be Mrs. Rashell.”

She led us upstairs to a bigger room than the Guild Master’s. There was a long table and a dozen high back chairs. “Mrs. Rashell must be a prophet or something cause even I didn’t know we’d be coming back here today.”

“She’s a-amazing.”

“Are you two stupid or something?” Lila quipped. Cate and Merlin looked over at Lila, question marks popped up over their heads.

“Hello again.” Greeted Rashell as she walked in and took a seat. She had a small stack of papers in front of her.

“I’m shocked you knew we’d be coming.”

“Yes, well I’ve been doing this job for a long time.”

“How l-long?” Asked Cate.

“A long time.” She responded and pushed forward, “You’re new to the city and expect to be here for at least six months, and you can’t afford to keep staying at Inn and hotels. I know for a fact there are no long term free lodging spaces in the city and Carrolly’s generosity can only hold out for so long. You have no other contacts in the city so I made the assumption you would come back here to speak with myself or the guild master.”

“She’s a-amazing.”

“So cool!” Even Lila was beginning to warm up to Mrs. Rashell.

“Awesome, you know why we’re here, that makes things easier. We want a place either close to the harbor-”

Merlin heard the sound of extreme disagreement from Cate, “No stairs, p-please, no stairs!” The staircase they had to climb to get from the harbor town to the city was pretty rough and it’d be a pain to have to make that climb every day.”

“We want a place that either close to the harbor but avoids any steep climbs or stairs, or a place near the adventurer guild.”

“I wouldn’t mind s-something near the woods.”

“A bit walk won’t hurt me any.”

Merlin nodded as his sisters widened their housing criteria.

“If I’m understanding, you’ll take any location so long as their no stairs or steep hills, is that correct. What about price range? I can’t imagine you have much in the way of disposable income.”

“That’s where you’d be wrong. Money is not an issue, we’re looking at either renting or buying outright depending on the offer on the table. We have approximately 15,900 Malba.”

“That’s not a bad starting price. You could get something small and cozy for that, or a midsize fixer-upper.”

“You underestimate me, that was just my what Mrs. Ruth gave me to spend. I actually have a net worth of…” Merlin told her the number and she stared at him for a solid minute before closing her pile of papers and leaving the room. We waited for a while.

“Is s-she coming back?” Cate wondered aloud.

Mrs. Rashell came back a moment later with a new stack of papers, she sat back down at the table and opened up the top one.

“If that figure is even half correct then I think this place would be well suited to you.”

“But that’s not a house?” Lila was confused by the building Mrs. Rashell was showing us.

“No, it’s not a traditional housing structure but it is for sale and it fits your parameters. It’s 125,000 Malba. Would you like to tour the property?”

Merlin trusted Mrs. Rashell’s instincts and it would feel improper to turn her down. He agreed and they left to go take a look at the property.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10 miles south of the adventurer’s guild and 2 miles east of Leopold harbor, the saint and his sisters stared up at a majestic white stone tower with a hole at the top.

Encircling the base of the tower an oddly shaped mansion. The tower itself had to be at least 150 feet tall.

“This is what some people refer to as the Ghost Tower, but don’t let the name fool you, it does not contain ghosts. I assure you.”

Merlin had lived in a building only slightly smaller than this one for most of his life, so it’s size wasn’t that big a deal, but it was a church with people going in and out of it all day long not that he saw any of them. This building would just be for him and his sisters and any party members they added in the future.

“The tower has been blessed and purified several times over.”

“Where d-did it come from?”

“Huh, now that you say that, how did I not see it.” This tower should have been visible from the city even under the cloudiest conditions and yet none of them had noticed it.

“That is one of the reasons folks call it the Ghost Tower. It has some kind of enchantment that conceals it until you’re standing right outside it’s doors. Also, watch this.”

She picked up a rock and threw it at one of the mansion windows. Merlin expected to hear the sound of shattering glass but there was nothing. The rock passed right through the house as if there was nothing there.”

“That’s the other reason people call it the Ghost Tower.”

“Does the same thing happen if there are people inside?”

“Yes, physical and magical projectiles all pass through. It’s a little unsettling since you can see it pass in front or even through you.”

“I’ll take it.” It was a bit creepy sure, but my number one goal at the moment is to keep my sisters safe and this would definitely aide in that goal.

“Good. You’re doing the guild a favor, taking it off our hands.”

“When can we move in?”

“As soon as money changes hands, it’s yours.”

“I’ll go see Mrs. Ruth about withdrawing money. Hopefully, I’ll get it to you tomorrow.”

“Then you’ll be able to move in tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you.” They shook hands and he and the girls went back to the city.