Stan and Lucas entered the new baronial residence with their full three-man escort. The home was technically complete but there was still work being done on the grounds and fence. The new baron had taken over a section of the town near the northeastern section of the town. His new home was situated on a hill that had a great view of the lake over the palisade that sat approximately 500 meters away.

The home was extremely large by the standards of the village and there was an open room with no purpose other than for people to stand in as soon as they came through the door. The loud guard asked them to wait and wandered off.

Lucas stood in boredom trying his best not to reach out and touch the flowers in the vase. They were Morning Dewdrops and were incredibly rare in the area. They would slowly filter any water they were placed in and the petals would gradually change colors near the stem and radiating out as it deposited the toxins in the petals. The stems were used in certain cleansing potions. He bet he could mix it with a couple of the plants he picked up in the beast range and level up his achievement by a couple of more points if only he hadn’t promised not to try to mix any more potions until Randolph said it was okay.

He wasn’t sure why someone would put it in such a nice house. As they filtered the water they absorbed they let an odorless set of chemicals that caused anybody near them to become anxious and irritable. His [Herb Lore] skill had kicked in as soon as he walked in. He figured it must be one of the oddities of the new baron. He wasn’t sure what a baron was, but he was certain that they were odd just from the changes he’d seen around town and the fact that he was trying to make people pay him to keep doing their jobs.

They weren’t waiting long before the loud guard returned with a man dressed in a jacket, vest, and tight-fitting pants. The entire outfit was the same red, almost maroon, of the piping on the soldier’s legs with a black vest and gold buttons. The entire ensemble was definitely attention grabbing.

“The baron will see you now,” said the poorly dressed man. He turned around without another word and proceeded deeper into the house. Lucas followed along and tried not to break anything. The house didn’t have a lot of furniture in it yet, but he still saw more than his fair share of vases and paintings. As they worked their way deeper into the house, the sounds of the outside world became distant, the almost perpetual beating and sawing going on throughout the city faded and they came to an office that was almost serene in its quiet.

Sitting behind the biggest desk that Lucas had ever seen was the fattest man that Lucas had ever seen. He had to be almost three of Randolph, and Randolph was twice the size of his father. His face made him look almost piglike with beady eyes and a small, upturned nose.

“Your guests, my lord,” said the poorly dressed man.

“Thank you, Robert,” said the baron. The poorly dressed man then pushed the doors to and stood just inside the room and to the right of the door. Lucas was sort of surprised when words came out of the baron’s mouth instead of a loud “squee”, and he wondered briefly if the baron was a pig that had somehow gained a class. He had read about animals becoming human in many of his mother’s books and even about beast-men, but he didn’t say anything because that was something that he figured his father would get on to him about.

“You must be Stan Hunter,” said the baron. “Please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thank you.” Replied Stan.

“The proper form of address for a baron is, ‘My Lord’” said the poorly dressed man whom Lucas now knew was named Robert, but whom Lucas also decided that he didn’t like so he was going to keep calling him the poorly dressed man.

“Thank you,” said Stan but he didn’t correct himself.

“Yes, well you can dispense with the formalities for the time being,” said the baron. “It’s just me and you here, and of course your son. Luke wasn’t it?” asked the baron.

“Lucas, sir my lord…sir,” replied Lucas. He didn’t know why the man wanted the extra words, especially since his father had spent the afternoon proving that this man wasn’t actually their baron, but his father had taught him manners and it was always good manners to say yes and no sir, especially when correcting an adult.

“Just, ‘My Lord’ or ‘Sir’ is fine, Lucas,” said Baron Sucro. “Now, Stan, the reason I asked you here today is because you came highly recommended. It’s my understanding that just a few short weeks ago you slew a new group of bandits that had set up in the area and that you are one of the most proficient hunters of the beast range in the barony.”

Stan didn’t reply just waited for the baron to get on with his pitch. He’d been through similar and knew exactly what this was.

“Well, one of my mandates is to turn the city into a profitable center of trade and source of tax revenue for the kingdom. Imagine the crown’s surprise when it realized the ‘village’,” with the word village said with extra emphasis and two air quotes, “of Emmit’s Lake was home to over a thousand people and a guild certified alchemist and enchanter. All of whom traded some of the most expensive luxury items in the kingdom without paying a cent of tax to the crown.

“You can rest assured, we will have the city up to snuff in no time, but that takes money. Money doesn’t just appear on trees, unless you happen to be in the beast range,” said the baron with a chuckle at his own joke. “What I need is a competent group of [Hunter]s that can work directly for me, and by extension the crown, to harvest the many treasures found in the beast range. In return, they’ll receive training and pay commensurate with the risk they undertake.”

“I hope you get where I’m going with this, Stan. You are the best [Hunter] around, and I want the best. I would like you to train this group of [Hunter]s for me and lead them. In return, I will be more than happy to reimburse you for your time. I might even be able to grant you a knighthood or get your boy into one of the academies in the capitol,” he finished as if he had offered something truly special.

“No, thank you,” said Stan. “I thought we were here to talk about the gob migration.”

The baron’s relaxed attitude suddenly shifted with Stan’s blunt refusal. This time when he spoke his voice came out a little bit of an edge to it.

“The gob migration is definitely something I am concerned about. I understand you killed fifty of the dirty little monsters by yourself. That’s impressive for someone so far from the capitol. We will surely discuss the gob migration in a bit, but my primary purpose for inviting you here today was to hire you to train and lead my [Hunter]s,” said the baron. “You didn’t even ask about the pay and the offer to have young Lucas enrolled in one of the academies is an honor generally reserved for nobility and individuals who have served for at least a decade in the army. It is not something I offer lightly, and the position is not something I would generally be able to accept a refusal about.”

The baron waited expectantly for Stan to respond. Clearly, he thought that a little bit of intimidation was going to work. Lucas could tell from the stiff posture that his father had that it had not. His father was pissed. Lucas was only glad that it was at the baron and not him.

“I’m happy with the way things are,” said Stan brusquely. “I don’t answer to anybody, I get to spend time with my family, and I get to explore the beast range. The only thing that’s changed recently is your ridiculous [Hunter's License], and if taxing the people under you out of work is how you plan to run your barony, I’d just as soon trade with Norvos.”

The baron did not take the answer well. This isn’t going to end well, thought Lucas. The baron’s big, fat cheeks got bright red and his eyes narrowed in anger. Lucas could tell that the man was about to lose control and planned on where to get out of the way if he called his guards on his father.

“I see. You wished to speak about the goblin migration and the imminent threat it poses to the city. I spoke with my guard captain and he was indifferent to the threat. He believes that we can handle it if the migration should come to pass. Thinking about it now, though, I’m tempted to give credence to your claims and treat this as a threat to the well-being of the city,” the baron finished and paused for a moment to let this thought sink in. He smiled an evil smile as he continued.

“As you know, I can draft individuals with specific skills into the guard in certain situations. A report of a potential gob migration by a [Hunter] as skilled as yourself definitely qualifies,” said the baron.

“Yes,” said Stan without hesitation. “You can draft individuals for a term of service. As a tier 2 [Hunter] with two or more maxed level class skills, I would qualify for a rank equivalent to a knight, a private residence, a valet, a unit of no less than 100 men under my direct command, two days of leave per month, and a base pay of 50 gold pieces per month with an additional 50 gold pieces per month, as this would qualify as hazardous combat pay. You may draft me for a maximum of six months for a potential migration or dungeon outbreak and must petition my lord for an extension of that as I am a citizen of the kingdom but not a citizen of your barony and not under your direct command.”

The baron was taken aback by Stan’s sudden shift from his normal country drawl to the precise, well enunciated, statement. It was almost like a different person. Lucas had heard his father talk like this before, generally when dealing with people who refused to listen to him or when teaching Lucas, which sometimes was the same thing.

“Yes, that’s...,” the baron stopped for a second, clearly flummoxed. “Robert is that correct, a hundred gold per month and all that other stuff?” he asked. His speech was fast and he had lost the cultured tone he had employed until this moment.

“Yes, my lord, if what he says is true about his rank and skills, then he would be entitled to at least that much,” replied the poorly dressed man.

“Look, Stan, I want you to work for me. I don’t think I’m going to draft you into the army just yet, but what will it take? Clearly you can see that I’m serious about having you train my men and if I do have to draft you and write your lord to have him sign you over, I will.”

Stan waited for a moment before replying. “I want housing here in the city, private, with a garden and seclusion for my wife and son. Pay’s 50 gold a month ‘n 50 percent of anything my team brings back from the forest. My son gets admitted to the Royal Academy, your baronship gets one every 10 years n’ he’ll have your first. I have a home that needs to be taken care of. You’ll pay for a licensed enchanter to come out to my place and ward it. This’ll include at least a phase shift for the house and barn,” said Stan.

“I’ll train your men to be [Hunter]s, and I’ll turn over command to one of them when I’m done. I’ll work for you for no more than a year. All of this is smoke up a donkey’s ass if my wife don’t agree. She likes it out of the city and she might get ornery about it,” Stan finished.

The baron’s eyes grew wide as Stan’s demands started and continued to widen until Lucas thought his eyes would pop out of his head.

“You think pretty highly of yourself Mr. Hunter,” said the baron.

“You think pretty highly of me,” replied Stan throwing the baron’s earlier words about having the best [Hunter] train his men.

“10 gold a month, a free hunter’s license, you may collect 5 percent of the spoils from your hunter’s work in the beast range,” replied the baron. As soon as this statement came out of his mouth there was a gasp of surprise and a sudden exclamation from the poorly dressed man.

“My lord, surely you don’t plan to give in to this peas…” the poorly dressed man stopped talking immediately as soon as Baron Sucro raised his left hand.

The baron continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted by his manservant, “You will be given a home in the city that meets with your approval. Your son will be given a letter of recommendation to the royal academy, but he will not receive my admission token. I will endeavor to have him placed in at least one of the academies,” he stopped here to clear his throat.

“The [Enchanter] is yours, but half the cost of the enchantments will be deducted from your pay over the first year. You will work for me until one of your men meets with my approval to take over. I’m sure your wife will agree, but if she has any demands of her own then I’m sure we can work something out,” he finished.

Stan waited a moment before replying, “40 gold a month, 40 percent, 2 years hard limit, but I’ll try to make sure there are multiple candidates for you to choose from, the admission to the Royal Academy is non-negotiable.”

The baron wasn’t pleased with Stan’s counter and Lucas could tell that he was barely holding his temper in check. Lucas wondered how different this would have been if his father had been the baron’s subject.

“I’ll pay 15 gold a month, 20 percent, 5 years and you can have the token to the Royal Academy if your son meets the minimum requirements for admission by his 12th birthday,” responded the Baron knowing full well that most children didn’t get system access until age 14.

“My family gains access late. I didn’t get it till I was 17. My wife didn’t get it till she was 16. He has until his 18th birthday to meet the requirements. Gold is tight in the barony, so I’ll take your 15 gold a month, 35 percent of what we bring back, 2 years hard limit but I can go in 1 if I can get you someone to tier 2. Speakin’ of that [Hunter's License] that you started, I want a baronial writ granting my family the rights to unrestricted trade for all goods that are considered legal to trade without royal approval by the crown in perpetuity in this barony,” Stan said. Lucas could tell that the two men were getting closer to an agreement. He’d seen his father haggle before but never like this. He wondered what was so important about the Royal Academy.

“10 gold a month, 25 percent, 3 years hard limit but if you can get me someone to tier 2 that I approve of you can leave after 2. Royal Academy token if he meets the requirements by 16 and a baronial writ giving you, personally, limited trading rights in the barony for goods not under my seal,” the baron barely replied without eveing waiting to think over the offer.

“I’m about done negotiating, Baron,” said Stan. “15 gold a month, 30 percent, I’ll take your hard limit of 3 years of service with an option to leave after 2, Royal Academy admission if Lucas here meets the requirements by his 16th birthday,” he continued.

“We get a house in the city, bought and paid for with a deed and exemption from taxes on the property. Last, my family may trade without restriction or tax on all legal goods with the exception of items that are restricted by the crown. It’ll be tied to the bloodline and doesn’t expire, I can pass it to my son and he can pass it to his son, n’ so on n’ so forth. I’ll also work for the barony for missions of C to A rank at half the price of the adventurer’s guild for an additional 3 years after I complete my service, and my wife still has to agree to all of this,” Stan finished his list and crossed his arms over his chest.

The baron waited for a moment before replying. “I’ll have a clerk draw up the agreement. Welcome to my service Mr. Hunter. How long will you need to get home and square things away with your wife?”

“I’ll leave tomorrow ‘n be back in two days to sign the agreement. I’ll need a couple of weeks to get our property ready. If you have one of your men start huntin’ properties in the vill…city for me and my family we can be packed up and here by the end of the month. I can take then enchanter back with me after I sign the agreement, and he shouldn’t need but a week or two to get the glyphs laid down.”

“Excellent, I’ll see you in two days to sign the contract. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have a great deal of work to do to make sure I have an adequate selection of recruits for you as well as for the increase to the guard. Robert will see you out,” said the baron with a fake smile.

The poorly dressed man escorted Lucas and Stan back to the door without saying a word, he obviously disapproved of Stan and how he had spoken to the baron. With the door of the estate slamming closed behind them with a dull thud and the sounds of construction ringing in their ears, Stan and Lucas headed back to the inn to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day when Stan told his wife exactly what he’d agreed to.