While the group had more to discuss at the labor guild, they decided to take a small break and let those who wanted to leave do so. Ves could see Cassandra watching from the side with a warm smile. Ves could only guess that someone paying off contracts out of charity was not common.

  “Well, you're free now. What you do from here on is up to you. Curtesy of my wife, I have some coin for each of you. It’s enough to get started. It is my understanding that Xeeta and Alice plan to stay, working for me. What about the rest of you?” One by one, Ves handed out the coin as the women gave their answers. Unsurprisingly, the group warmly thanked her, one of the human women whom Ves embarrassingly could not even remember her name, even hugged her in thanks.

  As Ves reached the end of the line, the last woman fidgeted nervously as she was handed the coin. Ves was about to open her mouth to ask before the women spoke up. Only, rather than speaking to Ves, she turned to Alice, “Umm, Lady Alice? May I stay and learn from you? Your skills are incredible. I feel that if I work alongside you, what I learn will last me a lifetime.”

  Alice looked a bit surprised, but in a happy way, so she turned to look at Ves, and Ves simply nodded in response. The group quickly wrapped up their goodbyes, and those who wanted to leave left. As for Motoko and her child, Ves also gave them a small coin. Not that they were leaving, but just so the mother and son could enjoy a day as a family. With that done, the group sat back down to continue business.

  Cassandra asked, “With that business settled, what else may I help you with today, my Lady?”

  “I am looking to hire a labor force for major land clearing and temporary home construction. I would also need a foreman who could manage and take charge of the work crew.”

  “May I ask if you are building a new settlement somewhere?”

  “Yes, we are, we would need people willing to relocate at least for the duration of the project. Provided there are no issues, I am also willing to provide a small plot of land as a bonus if anyone wishes to stay.” Ves added.

  “What is the location?” Cassandra asked.

  “Is that required information upfront? Details are something we would like to keep, need to know, and limit to anyone who is hired. I can say the City Lord is aware of the details.” Ves hesitantly answered.

  “Normally, yes, but with the City Lords backing, I won’t force the issue.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I would also prefer to avoid hiring contracted.”

  “No contracted? May I ask why?” Cassandra asked as she narrowed her eyes.

  “Binding someone with magic does not sit well with me. I rather hire free men and women,” Ves answered.

  “I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

  “And why not?” Ves asked on edge.

  “First, a question. Do you view Contracts in the same light as slavery?” the torgal asked.

  “Same light? It is slavery, no matter how much this country pretends otherwise.”

  “I see, I’m afraid that’s where I will have to disagree.”

  Ves opened her mouth wide in shock, about to protest, before the woman held up a hand, “I can see you have strong feelings on the matter, but let me explain from the perspective of one who is willing contracted.

  First off, I won’t deny for a moment that the current system is rife with loopholes that are often exploited. The fact that you had to free a child from a contract is proof enough. It’s one of the reasons I live in Corinth as the City Lord, a known proponent of closing the loopholes and increasing regulation.”

  “If you admit all this, how can you still be for contracts?” Ves nearly shouted before Ryuko placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

  “My Lady, to be blunt, there is no country in which the powerful don’t exploit the weak.

  Contracts, though, at least ones written and signed in good faith, provide the weaker party protection. Remember, it’s a contract, the obligations go both ways. Any violations are recorded by the magic and are usable as strong legal evidence. As a result, even a commoner can win in court against a noble when it comes to breaches of contract. The same cannot be said in other lands where nobles cheating commoners out of payment or any other agreed-upon terms is commonplace.

  As a result, to any reputable laborers, no contract on top of an undisclosed location is a warning sign if there ever was one.”

  Ves wanted to protest the woman’s words. To her, it was such a na?ve way to look at it. Sure, in a perfect world, contracts could be used responsibly, but in a perfect world, people wouldn’t be assholes to each other in the first place. She had seen first-hand bastards starving people all to force a signature.

  Still, she had also heard stories. Stories from foreigners who moved to Kohdessia from lands where physical violence or sexual assault was almost common. For your average servant in Kohdessia, such a thing was unheard of. The contract violation would immediately alert the authorities, with extreme repercussions for the offending party. Ves wondered if that was part of the reason her old master beat her so often. She was the only person he could do so with no consequence.

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  Still, she couldn’t bring herself to admit that the woman had a point, to do so out loud. It just felt wrong.

  “It’s to the east,” Xeeta said of nowhere, breaking the silence that had befallen the room.

  “Xeeta!” Ves snapped.

  Xeeta shrugged, “Word will get out quickly, no matter how secretive we try to be. Building a city isn’t something you can really do subtly.”

  Cassandra was lost in thought for a moment, “To the east… But there is nothing east of here aside from farm lands unless… wait, you don’t mean!”

  “Too late to hide it at this point, yes, we mean the fangswood.” Ves sighed.

  “I thought all construction was forbidden…”

  “Normally, yes, but we have all the required permissions. We already discussed this with the City Lord as well,” Ves explained.

  Surprised, Cassandra turned to Lyra, who simply nodded her head, “While I can’t go into the details, know that this is all above board and sanctioned by Lord Varsray.”

  “If you are truly planning to build a city, you will need far more than a handful of laborers,” Cassandra said.

  “I suppose you’re right, we will certainly need a blacksmith,” Ves commented.

  “What we really need is a city planner!” Xeeta added.

  Ves turned to Xeeta in surprise, “I thought you were taking care of that?”

  Xeeta’s eyes went wide, “You thought I was?” Xeeta started to wave her arms in front, “No no no no… I’m an architect, I can mold stone into buildings worthy of being called works of art.”

  “I know…” Ves said.

  Xeeta placed her palm on her forehead, “Ves being an architect is not the same as knowing how to plan out a city. Even if I did know how, your palace will be my full focus for at least the next two years!”

  “Palace?!” Cassandra said in surprise, nearly dropping the notepad she was holding before catching it with her second pair of arms.

  “Opps… wow, we really suck at keeping secrets, don’t we?” Xeeta apologized without a hint of sincerity. Ves simply glared at her.

  Hiroko stepped up, “While we cannot reveal who at this time, our Lady here is a Consort to a foreign ruler. This city is sort of a wedding gift and a means to establish trade with Kohdessia. I hope you can see why we were being secretive. As to the contracted, I do ask for your help to accommodate the request. We mean no ill will, but many in our group have an unfortunate history with Kohdessia’s contracts.”

  Cassandra took a moment to collect herself before replying, “I understand you have extenuating circumstances. I will try to accommodate, but to do that, I will need details. I will assure you I will only share them with trustworthy persons on a need to know basis.”

  With the cat out of the bag, they gave Cassandra the complete breakdown of the current state of the settlement, with the notable exclusion of who ultimately ruled them. The woman said to return in a few days to continue discussions after she had a chance to sort through who may be available and willing.

  After returning from the labor guild, Ves, Farren, and Taythes joined Count Varsray for dinner. To allow for open discussion, the room had been cleared of all but the bare minimum staff. Ryuko and Roland stood guard at the door, with the only servants allowed in the room being Alice, Erin, and one other woman in the count's employ. As Erin was inexperienced, Alice and the other woman did most of the work.

  “It will be hard to eat with your veil on, feel safe to remove it in this company,” the count said, only for Ves to nod her head towards the woman helping Alice serve the first course.

  Noticing this, the woman stopped and bowed towards Ves before showing off a bracelet on her wrist. “You need not worry, my Lady, I am contracted, and I have already been ordered to keep anything I see or hear in this room to myself.”

  Ves had to admit she was uncomfortable with the fact that her ‘grandfather’ kept contracted, but she knew it was an unavoidable part of life in Kohdessia. It would be hard to find the staff he needed without them.

  Ves was surprised when Alice placed a steak in front of her. It was raw. Ves looked up at both Alice and the count in surprise. She had been prepared to suffer through whatever meal was placed in front of her. They could digest and survive on pretty much anything. The problem was that it all tasted off to them. Some primal part of their being still craved meat, the rarer the better. Anything else was flavorless to outright revolting. Even foods that Ves knew she used to love as a human tasted horrible now.

  “Lyra informed me what happened in the Market. So I asked your lady in waiting to prepare a dish that would suit your tastes.” The count said as he eyed Ves.

  Ves sighed, she should have expected as much.

  Without needing to be asked, Alice then reached down and cut the steak into bite-sized pieces and helped Ves remove her veil.

  “Your servant helps cut your food?” the count asked as he cut into his own properly cooked steak.

  “Hard to cut a steak with only one hand,” Ves said as she lifted her left arm.

  The count gently set his silverware on the table and looked Ves straight in the eyes. “Ves, I ask you this not as a noble of Kohdessia but as a grandfather concerned for his granddaughter. What happened to you?” Ves didn’t say anything but averted her eyes, unable to hold the man’s gaze. His genuine concern for her was plain as day.

  “I even had the servants set out those pastries you loved. I heard how you kept stealing them when no one was looking last time you were here. Yet now you haven’t touched a one”, he added. Ves had noticed that. In fact, she was deliberately refusing to eat them to not taint the memory of how wonderful they tasted in the past. She hated keeping secrets.

  ‘Ves I know what you want to ask, it’s your call. I will stand by you either way’ Nell comforted her.

  With Nell’s blessing, she turned to Taythes, who had said not a word all evening, catching her gaze, he simply replied. “Do as you like, you answer to no one but our Queen”.

  “Not helpful…” Ves responded.

  Taythes gave her a gentle smile, “I know, but that’s the point. If I think you're about to do anything truly foolish, I will step in.”

  ‘I think he wants us to use this as a learning experience,’ Nell added, and Ves reluctantly agreed.

  Turning back to the count, “I won’t go into all the details, but I can at least give you some of the basics.”

  “I understand, know I won’t tell anyone, and I would trust my staff to keep a secret even if they were not contracted.” The count said while giving Ves his full attention. So was Roland.

  “Something happened to me in that forest. It changed me,” Ves said.

  Her grandfather stayed silent, letting Ves continue at her own pace.

  Ves finished his sentence, “I’m no longer human, and it’s not just physical, even my soul has been altered.”

  The count turned to glare at Taythes, but before he could accuse the dragon of anything, Taythes spoke up. “I see that look in your face, human, know we had nothing to do with what happened to Consort Ves’Nell only meeting her after the fact. Though I won’t deny it’s why my Queen made your granddaughter her consort.”

  “Is that true?” The count asked, turning to Ves.

  She nodded. “It is.”

  “May I ask what you are then?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ves admitted.

  “It’s half the reason we are here. See if the temple has any answers, especially regarding the changes to my soul. Even Sen, my wife, isn’t sure of the full significance.”

  The count sat quiet in thought for a moment before, “I see… I hope the temple can find you answers. I will have a carriage ready to take you come the morning.”

  Ves smiled, “Thank you.”