Cain knocks lightly on Carlos's door the next day at lunch time, not wanting to startle him, but needing to borrow Symbia to increase the security at the Montauk Guild House.
That ability of hers is truly useful, making permanent security forces. The limitations on them might be strict, but seem irrelevant when you don't expect them to ever have to leave a set location.
The two come out a few minutes later, freshly showered and looking only mildly hungover.
"Glad you made it. We had a minor security issue in Montauk last night, so I was hoping you could set me up a security force there before we go back to the Castle. It's not as safe as the Beginner Valley, and without anyone there last night, some fools thought they could take advantage."
"So, how bad of shape is the city in?" Cixelcid asks, coming down the hallway.
"It shouldn't be too bad, but I didn't really check. I let the Snapping Turtles and Dragons deal with most of the chaos."
Cid smiles as Cain comes to the same realization he did. That the city is likely trashed.
"Yeah, I'll go talk to the Mayor and provide a repair fund."
Cain, Carlos and Symbia all head for Montauk, dismissing the guards when they arrive, much to the dismay of some shopkeepers who were using the Turtles for heavy labor.
"Sorry guys, I should have checked before I sent them away." Cain calls out the front door and the locals laugh. The summons are immensely strong, so having them do all of the morning's heavy lifting saved them a lot of back ache. Their shops were long since repaired from the minimal damage they suffered last night.
"Alright, what we need is a Guard Force for the house. Then add some basic protective hexes and we can call it good. Even a half dozen guards would have been enough to deal with the problem until the local police arrived under normal circumstances."
"So if six will do, use twelve?" Symbia asks happily.
"That's about right. Another dozen Elven Guard type security forces should secure the house well enough. Normally there are people here too, we just all gathered in one spot yesterday, so nobody was here to give us the heads up until the actual notification came through that they were trying to claim the Guild House."
"I have prepared all the necessary items. I thought we might want more of them, so I got a hundred matching uniforms and fifty sets of armor and weapons." Carlos laughs.
"Good thinking. Make it ten here then, and we can Station the other forty armed guards at the castle. How did your sojourn into the dungeon go, by the way? Get anything good while mining?"
"Mining was a bust. Ends up, Symbia can't place the guards in a temporary location like the dungeon instance, so we dug the few good things we found ourselves and skipped the rest." Carlos explains.
"The hex and curse spells worked great though. I was like a real dungeon team member." She says proudly, working to place spells all around the Guild House.
"These have a one year shelf life by the way. So you'll eventually need to redo every one of them, but for now, they're good. I'll create the Guards and we can go to Assah to meet the rest of my Guild. I think our parents want to meet you too, to make sure you're not some creep who is going to abduct us all."
Ah, meeting the parents. The final boss of Guild recruitment. Well, at least it is if you're collecting normal people who are born here.
It only takes a few minutes to create, equip and give directions to the Guards, who are all stationed inside the house for now, hopefully not to be needed anytime soon.
Cain also leaves behind five puppets with maid outfits and a set of instructions that should keep the house clean and tidy. With armed guards and maids, the essentials of a high society home from his last life are now in place. The basic skills ability that Arial found for him really made giving instructions to the Puppets easy. They understand cleaning and other basic tasks now, so he only had to tell them to make sure the house was clean twice a day, in the morning and evening, and to follow any other instructions the Guild Members give them.
"All finished here. Should we go meet the parents?" Cain asks, giving Carlos a wink that makes him chuckle.
"You have no idea how nervous I am. I hope they'll all approve of the Guild change. Some of us were barely allowed out of the house, their parents aren't as forgiving as my grandma." Symbia says nervously.
"Fortunately, we're not the low level and vulnerable sorts that moms need to worry about being able to survive on their own." Carlos teases, breaking the tension.
"Plus, we've got respectable, good paying jobs for all of you. What parents wouldn't approve of that?"
The three head to the basement, using the transport circle to get to the beach house in Assah. Fortunately, everything appears to be in order. Cain left Puppet maids here the last time he visited and their orders seem to be working as intended. The guards are stationed front and back, looking just as pristine as when he left. The old Orc next door waves them down when they go outside, excited about something.
"My grandchildren say they're going to be in your house in Montauk tonight something about having captured a runaway Cleric. Do you suppose you could send me there?" He asks happily.
"They must mean Morgan's boyfriend Nathaniel. He's still a little low level to be leaving the valley, so take good care of him." Cain laughs.
"I'll activate the circle to send you to the house there and you can wait for them to arrive, surprise them if you want."
"Excellent idea. I'll have to grab them some gifts, give me a second." With that he disappeared into his shop before coming back out with a bag in his hand and a scroll. He placed the scroll on the front door, chanting a spell to secure the shop while he was gone.
The Dwarf across the street noticed the commotion and came out to visit as well, passing over a list of Dwarven essentials he needed. Montauk has a large Dwarven population, but Assah doesn't. The stout folk much prefer the mountains to the sea, so few of them choose to live at the beach.
Once through the portal he immediately heads out shopping, intending to return when the kids are there. Cain sends a message to the core members of the Guild, giving them the heads up without alerting Nathaniel, as Cain suspects what Morgan meant by capturing him is really a marriage proposal.
You can't just go ruining a moment like that.
With all the distractions taken care of, Symbia leads them to the Sculptors Guild House.
A group of teenagers and what look like their parents are waiting for them to arrive, standing in the front yard of the Guild House. The old Elf who runs the library waves in recognition, while Symbia moves to the front to introduce Cain and Carlos.
"Everyone, this is Cain, leader of Darklight Host, and our potential employer as well as Guild Leader. The other is Carlos, a local merchant that I believe many of you know already. I sent everyone the details of the construction proposal this morning, hopefully you've had the time to look it over."
The Guild members are super excited, but their parents aren't as easily swayed.
"Is there a formal contract? I'll need to read that before I let my baby girl sign anything." One father says possessively.
"Of course, Guild Contacts, with payment details and lodging information, as well as a detailed work order are both available and will need to be reviewed and signed." Carlos agrees, pulling them from his inventory. Cain made up the Guild Contracts, the same as everyone else's, but Carlos made up the work order contract, as he's been doing them much longer.
"This pay schedule in the Guild Contract, what is that all about?" One parent, an elegant looking Elven fellow, asks.
"It's the standard of a skilled worker in the Beginner's Valley. Any of our members can move there at will, and being a Guild Member will guarantee they don't starve. There's a section on availability of Gear from the Guild Bank, as well as the right to retain all income they might earn, except for the base tax rate the System charges that goes to the Guild." Cain explains.
The Guild Contracts are generous, and have few limitations, so they all pass parental muster after only a few minutes. The work order, on the other hand, covers hundreds of thousands of square meters of area to be decorated, with great detail, including materials to be used, provisions for employer funded tools, schedules and quality requirements. Carlos really did an excellent job of them, where Cain would have essentially just left it up to fate how things turned out.
"I require an additional addendum." The possessive father declares after reading everything.
"That shouldn't be an issue. What do you need added?" Carlos asks, paper and pen at the ready.
"My girl is to come home every weekend for at least one family dinner. I want it in writing." Many other parents agree, and Cain can see the laughter in Symbia's grandmother's eyes.
These are definitely sheltered kids with good families looking out for them. And the parents are far from ready to actually let them out on their own.
They weren't helping them start a sculpting business by paying for the Guild House, they were ensuring their precious babies didn't go far, while still giving them a little independence.
"Can we put in an option for the family to come to us? I'd like it if they could see that we're doing real work, with real skills and not just playing around?" A teenage looking Beastkin of the wolf persuasion asks.
That's when Cain realizes they again have recruited all females. He thought there were two males in the group, but they're actually all female according to the system.
"I don't see why not. Maybe a monthly gathering might be in order, but for now, we'll just add the right to bring family visitors for visits in to the contract." Cain suggests and Carlos gets to work adding the details.
That was seriously all the parents wanted, a codified agreement that their kids were coming to visit, so in just a few short minutes the Sculptors Guild is disbanded, and Darklight Host has gained five new members.
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