553. Business II

553. Business II

“Didn’t I mention that we worked for an enchanter?” Adam asked, glancing between them. “I’m sure there are plenty of people willing to pay you, what, fifty gold per month? One hundred gold a month for an Expert? Still, how much of that month would you send home? How much of that money would be used to maintain your equipment? How much of that money would be spent on potions for healing?”

“A fair amount,” Rick admitted. Though Experts earned a lot of coin, it came with the expectation that they were in danger at all times.

“We’ll deal with those sort of things through the business. You don’t have to worry about your equipment, potions and such. All you need to worry about is where you’re going to spend your money. Now, who can offer an Expert an enchanted weapon to borrow, and then eventually, keep?” Adam tapped his chest. “This guy. I mean, obviously the business, but you know what I mean.”

“We would borrow the weapon and then we would be able to earn it?” Rick asked. “How long would that take?” He noticed Charley was tapping her knee, falling deep into thought. There were no doubt many questions she had too, but she remained silent, leaving it to Rick.

“After enough years of service, you’ll keep the weapon,” Adam assured.

“How many years?”

Adam remained silent for a short while, thinking. A Basic magical weapon typically went for about a thousand, which was more money than they’d probably ever be able to save. “Do you have any recommendations?”

“An Expert makes roughly fifty to one hundred gold each month. If they saved every penny, then a year or two, but that doesn’t include the shelter and food. If they had the discipline to save and scrimp, then that might be realistic, but that isn’t reasonable. I’d say four or five years.”

“Sure, but if they had to send money back home to their family, it’d take longer, right?” Adam asked. “Then there’s the matter of buying appropriate gear to make sure they don’t die, as well as health potions and such, again, to make sure they don’t die.”

Rick nodded his head, agreeing with Adam’s statement. It did take a long while for most people to save up when they worked as mercenaries.

“Still, five years isn’t a terrible idea,” Adam admitted. “Though I heard that the price of magical weapons is fluctuating due to the war.” ‘Five years might be good, but ten years might make more sense? Unless we also offer magical shields and armour?’ “We’ll have to think about that a little deeper, since we may also offer magical armours too.”

Rick was now certain Adam was crazy. He hadn’t heard of such an offer in his entire life.

“We should probably also discuss hours. If you’re a guard, and you’re at the business, then I expect something like... six hours a day, six days a week? Something like that? It would depend on the number of guards, but that would be the end goal.”

“Though, if they do end up learning a greater trade, then we will need them to sign a contract stating they will work for the business for much longer than typical,” Adam said. “We’ll allow them to buy their way out of the contract, though it’ll be quite costly. I want to make it difficult for you to leave after we provided you with all the benefits, but I don’t want to force you to be with us forever if you don’t want to be.”

“I can’t speak for anyone else here, but I will accept,” Rick said. “If what you’re telling me is right, that you’ll take care of all our needs, and you’ll offer my children the same, and educate them with a trade so they can live decent lives, then I’ll accept.”

Adam smiled. “That’s wonderful to hear, Rick. I’ll get the contract written up once the business is up and running properly.” ‘I still need to figure out how businesses operate in Aldland. Ah, well, can’t I just pay someone else to do that?’

“If you really will take care of our needs, from clothing to food to shelter, then I suppose I could spend the gold on paint supplies,” John said, his thoughts trailing off.

Adam looked to Charley, whose fingers were tapping along her thigh. “You can spend the spare coin on dyes.” He smirked slightly.

Charley replied with a similar smirk. “I could...”

“Of course, if you’re an archer, a magical bow, or sets of arrows, will be offered instead,” Adam said, looking to Ivy, who remained half hidden under her cloak, still hunched over. “Though, I’m sure the Enchanter will probably provide a few magical arrows when you go out on duty, if they’ve enchanted any. It won’t be good to lose capable warriors by being stingy.” Adam looked to Greg, thinking about what to say to him. He really didn’t have much, he supposed, since Greg was always so quiet.

“Anyhow, this was just me telling you about the business and what to expect. We’ll figure out the proper terms later, and then you can accept or decline then. Our current deal, with everyone earning the same share, remains intact, so you don’t have to worry about that. However, if you need to send more gold back home, let me know and I’ll send some coin back to your families. I’ve got enough coin to deal with it from my personal purse, but we can also use the party fund.”

“We’ve send coin home already, but thank you,” Rick said, not wanting to give Adam too much leverage over them. “Once the loot is split, we’ll be able to send more home.”

“Good shout. Alright, well, enjoy the snacks and drinks, on me. I’ve got to speak with the other Executives about the matter, and bring them up some concerns that our future employees may have.” Adam winked. “I’ll be sure to speak to them about the matter of magical weapons, and also the pay for Experts and such.”

As he stepped out, a thought came to Adam. ‘This is becoming more expensive than I originally thought.’

Free clothing, housing, food, clothes, healthcare, education, gear, magical gear, a day off every week, a month of paid holidays, and twenty gold a month?

This really is a fantasy novel.