48. The Lake 5 (Recruitment)

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.

Novum walked into the shop and the girl behind the counter recognized him right away. She was a little shocked when she realized that he was a Baron. "How can I help you Baron?"

"Is you Nana available? I have a favor to ask her."

"I am not sure that she would want me to get her for a favor, Baron."

Novum held the bottle out towards her. "How about a trade?"

The girl saw the bottle and slipped out the back and up the stairs. "Nana, there is a Baron here that would like to ask a favor of you. Well trade he brought a bottle that I am sure you will want to take a look at."

"A bottle you say. Didn't know we had a Baron, a Earl and a knight I was aware of but not a Baron."

"You remember the great big guy that was here a while back when all that trouble happened around the city? He is now a Baron."

"The big lug that made me a fortune. Then I would have come and met with him without the bottle." She got up and headed to the storefront. "Hello Baron. What can I do for you today?"

Novum held the bottle out towards her. "I have a favor to ask. It is a little bit sensitive so I thought I would use this to shamelessly bribe you."

"That is a damn good bribe young man. Let's go back here and talk." She led the way through the door and locked and sealed it behind her. "So what is so sensitive?"

"I need a professional locksmith. One that will not rip me off more than a little and can get a job done."

"And what makes you think that I can introduce you to someone like that?"

"The items that we traded last time were thieves tools. Not sure about the mirror but the two rings were custom made for a thief. That means that you know one that you have a working relationship with and I need to hire one of his or her men."

"Funny a guy your size and you do not assume that the leader of a group of thieves is a man. That is interesting. Give me the details and I will see if it is something that they can help out with. If it is I will set up the meeting and give you my price. For this the bottle is not enough."

"The bottle was just so that I could ask the favor." Novum broke down everything to the woman. He told her more than the man at the guild. He had a feeling that the right thief would be more important to the tower than the right mage. "So that is why I need to make sure that not only are they good with locks but also traps, both mundane and magical. I am not sure what I will be running into and I do not think a mage will be enough to handle this. So can you help me?"

"I think that the guild might have just the right person for you. But it will not be cheap. And there is my fee as well. I want first pick of the magical gear that you pick up in the tower."

"To an extent. I have two mages going with me and if something there will save our lives I will give it to them without hesitation but then I will not take it back. But outside of something like that I have no issues."

"Well a gift for each of the mages that you are taking with you is acceptable. But given the levels of the mages that you could hire the stuff they could use is way down on my list."

"Then we have a deal. I would like to leave tomorrow or the next day can you set up a meeting that fast?"

"Did you get that sister?" Suddenly a voice seemed to come out of her pocket.

"It will be Topaz and she will be ready to go tomorrow morning. If something changes comes up just come back here. Topaz will cost you a hundred fifty and I will get second pick of the gear after the ones on the trip. And that is a set rate as long as it is less than a month. Any issues or questions?"

"Does Topaz have a horse or do I need to rent her one? Or can she even ride? A lot of people never learn."

"She can ride and I have a contract with the stable will not be an issue. Leave the coins there."

"Well there you have it Baron." She held out her hand and Novum dropped the money into it. "If you are not leaving in the morning please stop by and let me know when you are. If you don't come back I will assume tomorrow is a go."

"Thank you ma'am." Novum picked up a new item out of the shop and headed out the front and to the church. He still needed to get a cleric for the group. The temple seemed a little busier than last time he was there. Apparently there was a graduation that morning and a few young clerics and knights were stocking up before the headed out for their assignments. Novum headed over to the window where he bought the potions last time.

The older man he dealt with last time was sitting at the counter. "How can I help you today Baron?"

"I need to hire a cleric for something that has come up on my land."

The man motioned to the newest kid working in the shop. "Take the Baron to see senior brother Ted and come right back."

The boy stood and gave both of them a bow. "Baron please follow me." Novum followed the boy down a long hallway until he came to a series of doors. The young man knocked on an open door and waited for a response from within. "Sir I have brought a Baron looking to hire a cleric."

"Thank you acolyte send him in." The boy stepped back and motioned for Novum to enter. When Novum stepped through the door the man behind the desk looked up at him and kept looking up. "You certainly stand out Baron. I am senior Ted how can I help you today?"

"I have discovered a mages tower collapsed into the lake that I recently purchased and some magical energy is leaking out and affecting the local fauna. I am putting together a crew to assist me in finding out how to stop the energy from leaking out. I have myself and another fighter as well as two mages and a locksmith. I would rather not pull the young cleric from the local temple and wanted to hire one to assist me."

"And you tried the mercenary guild and they sent you my way. I will say that I am not to happy sending one of my clerics out with a locksmith."

Novum started to stand up. "Then I will go to one of the smaller temples and find someone. I am sorry to take up your time."

"Wait Baron. I said that I was not happy about it not that I was going to refuse. Please tell me about what you are facing and then I will see if I have anyone that fits the requirements that you might need."

Novum broke down everything that he was facing to include the oversized animals and the fact that he had potions for the time that they spent underwater. The senior cleric's mouth dropped as he listened to everything that they had faced already. He was running through his mind who he had in the temple that might be up to this huge task. Honestly it could be nothing or it could be a life and death fight. "So Senior Ted do you have someone that might be of use for this situation?"

"I may have one. I have been debating back and forth with myself over who would be a good fit for this situation. Honestly it sounds like it could be nothing or a fight to the death. That is why I am debating back and forth. Sister Crystal, Sister Crystal would be the best fit for this." He put his hand on a stone and sent a little energy into it. "Send Sister Crystal to me right away. I have an assignment for her."

"What amount of donation is required for this type of service?"

"You have obviously dealt with some temples before. We are not like them. We have a set amount for our people. It will be a hundred gold for ten days and then ten gold a day after that. And before you ask he has a horse and will be ready to go when you are."

"I plan on leaving in the morning but I may have to push a day depending on the progress of my travel companions." About that time Sister Crystal walked in.

"Sister Crystal this is Baron Novum. He has an issue with a mages tower and has hired you to assist him in clearing it and protecting the people on his manor."

"It is a house in the woods with lots of people I am not sure I would call it a manor."

"How is this tower affecting the people?"

Novum quickly answered. "There is a weird magical energy that is leaking out of the barrier that is surrounding the tower and it is altering the size and disposition of the local fauna. I have not seen any affects of flora but sometimes those might take longer to appear."

"How are the animals affected?"

"I had a family of bears grow to over fifteen feet tall and become rather more aggressive as well as a hive of bees where the queen was almost as big as my head and her workers had killed a few animals in the area. Oh and a ten foot turtle."

"Yes I can see how that would be a danger to the locals. I am not a mage I am not sure I can be any help with parts of the mission."

"I have hired two mages as well. There is also myself and another fighter. I also hired a local locksmith."

"You said the tower was underwater?"

"Yes and I bought a lot of potions for us to breath underwater. At least enough to get into the tower and look around. If more are needed then I will send for more and pay you for the time that you are waiting."

"When will we be leaving and actually where are we going?"

"I would like to leave in the morning but I brought some store owners with me to stock up as well and I need to escort them. Especially since the huge influx of people in the area were my fault. And the tower is in the lake to the north of Three Mines."

"It will be good to see Sister Racheal. Wait are you the Baron that assisted her right before she left?"

"Yes that was me."

"Very good Baron. I will pack up and be ready to go in the morning and also be prepared to postpone as the need arises." She gave the men a bow of her head and left the room to go and get packed.

"And Baron thank you for what you did last time you were here. I was not aware of what was happening but I have been doing to best that I could to find how far the effects have made it and tried to provide help and support. So thank you for you help"

"I am glad that I was able to help and that someone is still trying to work it all out." He put the gold on the desk and headed to the market square to find the Mayor and Tom. He did not need the guide out of the temple or form the temple to the marketplace.

Novum walked to the marketplace and saw that his wagons and Noctis were in the holding area that he used last time and three of the wagons were already full. A lot of the stuff that was filling the wagons was stuff that he was going to be needed for all of the people on his land. He also saw another big tent that the mayor let him barrow. He was about to head into the crowd and saw Tom and the Mayor walking out of the crowd.

"How did things go today, Baron?" The mayor asked.

"I got all the people that I need now all I need to do is make sure they know when we are leaving. How was your day?"

"I got everything that the towns needs based on the recent upswing in the number of people. I also need to let you know that I petitioned the Duke through the paper pushers that with out population and school we are probably going to need to be considered a town next tax season. I asked so that we will have the new numbers ahead of time so that the people can be aware."

"And I got everything that we needed and we made a fortune off the honey that you got. I gave the money to the mayor and Dan and they used it to pick up a a lot of the things on your list. The crap that Richard wanted was really expensive. The last of the stuff will be here in just a bit. I hate that the forth wagon will not be as full."

"Actually I do not mind the extra room. I need a bigger bed. The one that I am on now is killing me. But other than that will we be ready to go in the morning?"

"No issues we will be ready." Novum nodded his head and went to find a bigger bed for him.