Chapter 170 - 170

RhickJaymz has a list of all properties in the city belonging to the Nut Up Guild, and it's not a small list. Other than the Beach House that Lancelot wanted back, there is also a house near the commercial wharf, west of the public beach, five store fronts on the west side of town and a smithy on the east. 

Honestly, Cain has no use for any of them except maybe the house near the wharf, depending how big it is. Darklight Host simply doesn't have the manpower to need 6 stores in one city. One maybe, but not six. 

"Duke Cain, might I inquire as to your rental rates?" A burly Dwarf with a fire Red beard but black hair asks. Call him biased, but Cain is almost certain that's the Smith. 

"What are you paying before? Or did the Guild provide the space free of charge?" There's a round of quiet laughter at that, so the space was certainly not a free perk from the Guild. 

The Dwarf comes over with a piece of paper in his hand, a lease agreement from Nut Up Guild, charging 150 gold monthly for the rental of the space. Cain is shocked, he knew rent would be expensive in higher level towns, but that's years worth of wages for his Guild. He's going to have to rework his pay structure to hire staff here if they're keeping a vacation property. 

"Arial, is this considered reasonable locally?" Cain asks, gesturing for the Dragon to come over. 

"Yes, that's about right for a large Smithy. Rent prices are structured in the city to avoid gouging. The agreement includes the magical device that powers the forge as well you see."

"Alright, everyone who wants to discuss continuing their lease, come talk to me later. What is the deal with the house by the wharf though? If the Beach House is the Guild House, why a second property?" 

"Spoils of war. It belonged to a Guild that attacked Nut Up a few years ago and they forfeited it as part of the peace agreement." The Dwarf who was interested in the rental rates informs Cain.

"It's being used as a storage warehouse at the moment, filled with random stuff that didn't sell and winter season stuff that isn't needed right now." Another Guild member adds. 

That makes sense then. And that also means it might be big enough to qualify as a Guild House, and not just a vacation property. Which would be awesome, because the transfer runes Cain got from Graska and installed in the other locations only work in Guild Houses, you can't just drop them anywhere. 

Red seems to know what Cain is after, and brings out the property information for Cain to look over. It's definitely not Guild House sized, it was a shop with living space above it before being turned into a warehouse. That might still be the best use for it too. They'll eventually have good enough items to sell that someone here is bound to want them. It is a trading port after all. 

"It looks like our beach day has been cut short." Misha pouts, looking over the blood soaked sand.

"The tide will wash everything clean tonight. The entire battle took place below the high tide mark, and I know you're not planning to leave us already." Arial counters.

"We should find a hotel then, call it a day." Kone suggests. 

"Follow us then. I know a good spot by the wharf, not far from here. Stay there tonight and the Guild should have all your properties ready for tomorrow." Arial tells them. 

"RhickJaymz said he will tell everyone to see you tomorrow about their shops. I suspect some might want to buy them outright, since you're not attached to them. If you're lucky you might even get some cool stuff in trade." Red adds.

With rent being that expensive every month, Cain can only imagine what the properties are actually worth. Certainly enough for them to live like kings in the Beginner Valley. Even in Montauk, the Exit City they would be considered extremely wealthy. But with many in the city near level 200 and a steady stream of ships coming in, Assah doesn't want for much. 

In fact, Cain doesn't even know what is in demand here. Certainly not skill books, since they've got that massive library, and not seafood, or sheep, he's seen plenty of both here. 

"Hey Red, what are the major exports from Assah? All I can see are deserts and oceans meeting, not much being produced." Cain asks as they walk towards the hotel. 

"Dungeon loot, precious gems and metals. But those are technically also dungeon loot. There's a Stone Giant dungeon nearby that adventurers like to mine for the wealth of gems and raw ore, then smelt it here and ship the ingots off for trade. There's also a Lizardmen dungeon that is level 200 exactly, so it's top tier gear for most first advancement fighters. It's harder to do for most, usually only full parties of Red armbands will attempt it, but you shouldn't have too many problems." The Dragon says thoughtfully. 

That sounds like an excellent money making scheme. "Do you know where to find Symbia? She ran off when the fighting started, but I want to buy a lot of puppets from her. They would be perfect for mining the Stone Giant dungeon. With dozens of miners it should go quickly."

"That it should, normally only 5 can enter, and not all will be suited to mining, due to having other life skills already, so they take what they can and return. But if you can animate dozens of puppets strong enough, you could likely clean the place out." Arial laughs. 

The Dragons must have her in their friends list, because she's waiting at the hotel when they arrive. "Is it true you want more? They're a bit expensive, but the best you can buy."

"I'll be selling off the stores tomorrow if anyone wants to buy them outright, so I'll have money. Ideally, I'd like to have a hundred matching puppets. We're going to use them as household staff and a mining crew in the Stone Giant dungeon, if you can equip various ones for the two tasks."

"Does the form matter? I mean, if they look strong will they be strong? Because I don't have many of the large male ones, but I do have some." Symbia informs them. 

"I don't think it matters, they all get raised to a level 10 default setting, which should be strong enough to swing a pickaxe. They might not be great at it like someone with the skill, but they should be able to do it."

"There's a book for that. I know there is. It gives Summoned creatures a base skill level. There's a Druid in town that used it to teach his bear to cook. It's not great, but it doesn't burn the pancakes. I'll find it tomorrow when the library is open." Arial says. 

The hotel they're approaching is a simple thing. Stone block walls roughly cut out of the local limestone, as most buildings in town are, with a wooden shake roof. The hanging sign simply has coins and a bed, leaving no doubt it's a hotel, and the name "Wharf Front Inn" is carved into the sturdy light oak doors. 

"Greetings and welcome to the Wharf Front Inn, I would be Sam, and you must be Duke Cain and the Darklight Host. To think an up and coming local legend is staying at my humble inn." A Dark Elven man wearing the same pirate looking garb as Nila greets them.

The two ocean loving Elves greet each other silently, but Cain is sure the change in body language means something. A secret language maybe? 

"So, that will be rooms for a whole crew. Don't worry, we've got the space, not many Wave Riders or Water mages in the Anchorage tonight." The innkeeper continues. 

"That makes a difference? Or does every fleet just have their favorite place to stay?" Misha asks. 

"The various nations fleets mostly keep to their own to avoid troubles in the city. If they upset this lovely lady she will punish them with a No Disembark order, and nobody wants that when there's drinking and socializing to be done, if you catch my meaning." The Elf says, nodding his head at the curvy ebony form of Arial. 

"The Water Mages, Wave Riders, and the Corsairs they travel with are the only ones who don't believe it's bad luck to have women in the crew, and it can take over a month between ports, so things can get a little rowdy when they do finally see land." Red jokes, mostly seriously. 

This is the first Wave Rider male Cain has seen, and he's much larger then Cain expected of an Elf. Lloran was tall for an Elven male, but it seems that trait is common to Dark Elves, because Sam is slightly taller than Misha's 5 foot 6, and muscled in a lithe way, not burly as would be expected of a human in the same physical condition.

"You'll be busy in the morning too, we're expecting visitors about property sales and rent, so I'll apologize in advance." Cain says to Sam, who just laughs it off. 

"Aye, I'm looking forward to seeing them grovel. That punk has been a thorn in my side for years, but his Daddy challenges anyone who gives him trouble, and the old man has too much power in the Holy Landis Kingdom to have him snuffed out without starting a war.." The innkeeper answers, as if having annoying people assassinated was definitely an option to him under normal circumstances.