Blackrock Mercenaries

The inside of the building containing the Mayor's office was no less chaotic than what I had seen on the street. Not a single desk remained empty, and all around I could hear people yelling or pleading for things to be delivered on time. Few of the workers bothered to look up on our entry, aside from one rather familiar figure.

Mr. Simmons, his large bulk towering over the rest, turned towards us and waved. His bear ears twitched, and he made to stand, but I waved him down. He was close enough to our destination that there was no real reason for him to come to us.

"It's good to see you again, Mr. Simmons," I said, my voice dropping low as we reached his desk. "Have you had any trouble since our last visit?"

His glance towards Mr. Yates, who was glaring daggers at us from over the shoulder of the man he was meeting with, didn't go unnoticed. "Not at all. Are you here to see the mayor again?"

"We are."

My gaze moved to the piles of paperwork that covered his desk. Requisition forms, documents detailing the cost of the flower arrangements, and a pamphlet for the events were amongst them. An itch travelled up my hands, and I wondered how long it had really been since I had gotten to deal with a workload like this.

"I almost don't miss it." The thought made me glance over at Rita. "It has been an odd couple of weeks."

"You wouldn't want to help me sort this out, would you?" He asked, though I could hear the hint of amusement in his voice.

"Rita? We have some time before Mr. Yates is available, it seems."

Sasha rolled her eyes, and Rita shrugged. "If you have the time."

"Thank you."

Mr. Simmons shifted over, and between the two of us, we jumped into the paperwork. I explained my sorting system, and it didn't take long to get it to where the piles were far more functional. As we worked, a pamphlet fell towards Rita's feet, who picked it up and leafed through it. She paused at one particular page.

"Is there a problem?" I asked, not looking up from my stack of forms.

"Nop." She shook her head and then passed the pamphlet to Sasha. "They've changed the duration of the flower hunt, is all. A single afternoon, and only once. You won't have to work as hard as I feared."

I finally looked up from the paperwork. "Pardon?"

"Did you forget your promise to me?"

It took a moment for me to remember exactly what she was talking about, and then I frowned. Sasha grinned as she looked away from the pamphlet and even Rita smiled a touch.

"Are we really still going through with that, considering our special guest?" I looked between them.

"Yes." Rita gave a firm nod. "No backing out. Besides, if you're taking part, it'll be a good look for the company, right? Penny will keep an eye on you while I do some other work."

"Is she one of the hunters?"

"Gatherers," Rita corrected me. "It is a flower festival, after all."

"My apologies." It took effort not to let the snark enter my words.

The last thing I wanted, with everything going on, was to be traipsing around the woods for half a day. Penny's training or not, I didn't want to put myself in that situation. Rita was the boss, though, and it was part of my agreement.

"Perhaps I can get caught quickly?"

"And you need to do your best," Rita added, as though she could read my thoughts. "Your performance will reflect on the rest of us."

I sighed. She was right, and I hated that fact. Before I could try to come up with a way out of it, the man talking to Mr. Yates left. Rita was over by the desk before anyone else could approach. With a quick apology to Mr. Simmons, I followed her and stared down at the secretary. He looked up at me defiantly.

"The Mayor is not to be disturbed." Ice filled his tone, and he leaned back in his chair as though daring me to argue.

"He asked me to bring him his payment as soon as possible." I gestured to the bag that Sasha had grabbed as I had helped with the paperwork. "Mayor Gage will want to see us."

"Such a thing was not communicated to me."

"And that is my concern…?" I trailed off.

Mr. Yates glared at me, and I sighed when I realised he wouldn't take the bait. "Sir, we need to speak with him. It is urgent, and he did request that we return to him as soon as we can."

Neither of those things was technically a lie. He had sounded like he needed his gambling debts paid off rather quickly, and he wanted us to do it. That he hadn't actually ordered us to come find him as soon as possible was rather unimportant, in my view.

"There is a list, sir." Mr. Yates emphasized the last word with true venom. "You aren't on it."

My mind whirled, and I gave him my best sinister smile. "Would Captain Roderick be on this list?"

"That's none of your concern." Mr Yate's returned my smile, but his expression faltered as he saw mine widen.

"Oh, but it is. Perhaps you haven't heard, but we brought a special guest back to town. Lord Henry is his name."

"It has come to my attention that he is visiting."

"Then you might want to know he is currently discussing his visit with Captain Roderick at the moment. I'm not sure he would want to be disturbed, but if you need someone from the list to vouch for my entry…"

This time, there was a much longer silence as he digested my words. He was on the brink of agreeing, and he simply needed another push.

"I, of course, would need to go alone to get him. Miss Rita here could use the break. I'm sure you wouldn't mind her staying here. Alone." I stressed the last word, as I glanced meaningfully at the stairs that lead to the Mayor's private office.

He paled. "Let me, um, go see if he can squeeze you in."

"Thank you."

Less than a minute later, he returned and ushered us up without a word. I stepped past him, and soon I was holding the door open for Rita and Sasha to enter the office.

It hadn't changed much, not that I had expected to. The most recent addition was more paperwork on the wall to deal with the festival. Mayor Gage was behind his desk, and he looked at us, the bags under his eyes deeper. With a quick attempt to flatten his thinning black hair, his attention locked onto the bag in my arms with obvious greed.

"Have you brought it?" Desperation tinged his words.

I let the door shut as I stepped further into the room, and then over to him. He watched me the entire time until the bag hit the desk with a satisfying thump. To his credit, Mayor Gage didn't rip it open, though his hands shook as he reached for the drawstrings. We watched in silence as he carefully spilled the coins onto his desk before he counted them.

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Together with Rita and Sasha, I stood and waited until he had assured himself that all were present and accounted for. When he realised there was more than the one hundred we agreed on, he momentarily paused before continuing to count the rest. On finishing, he turned to me, relief and excitement crossing his face.

"You brought enough to pay off my interest?"

"Oh, that's good to know. I only wanted to help lower it." I thought, as I smiled and gestured to the coins still shining from the light coming in through the window.

"Our deal, I believe, is complete," I said, with a small nod of my head. "Rita is to be unbanned, and you help us make sure the visiting nobility is taken care of. Where do you need to go to pay off your debts?"

He adjusted in his seat, and moved forward to touch the coins again, his shoulders appearing to have dropped a great weight. "The debtor office in Crecia."

"And it comes full circle." As I had the thought, a part of me wondered if my coach would still be there.

"We would be willing to accompany you. Provided you aid us like you said you would."

My smile remained, but I could see he understood my meaning. With a quick motion, he swept up the coins into the bag and deposited them into the lowest drawer of his desk. He produced a key, locked it, and then tucked it back into his pocket.

"What do you need me to do?"

The utter readiness to get to work made my smile turn genuine. With a steady eye, I turned my attention to the board. It held everything from the events being run to the food being served, though in annotations rather than full lists.

"Let me see." I studied what I could do as I thought. "We'll put him on the panel of any event that needs judging. We need to figure out lodgings. Perhaps he can take over Mr. Linsen's property for the event? It's ostentatious enough that he'll probably approve."

"You don't want to put him with Sheryl?" Sasha asked, moving to my side.

"No." I shook my head. "Her customs are too different. I know the etiquette, and as a noble son, minor or no, so should he. We want him somewhere more familiar, however. Besides, we've already taken Reeds horses into danger. No point inconveniencing the man more than we have."

Mayor Gage stood and gave a curt nod. "I can convince Linsen, and getting him on as a judge won't be difficult. What else?"

"Meals. He needs the best, and we'll have to feed his servants as well. Do you have enough food?"

"Ah." Mayor Gage paused. "Maybe? We might need something else. Ale especially."

"I can see what I can do."

"It's a pity I don't have time to bring down Theo and Maddison. Oh, well."

"Ted and Hester might be able to get more ale here." Sasha couldn't keep the smile off her face at the mention of Hester's name. "I can go check."

"That would be great. Perhaps we can get something hunted too. Are the rest of the people from Leyloon going to come?" I asked.

Rita answered with a shrug. "They might. But I wouldn't count on it."

"Alright."

Discussions quickly devolved into logistics, and I was grateful for Sasha, who came up with the idea of a cook-off. It would be a good excuse to wait for a meal and give Lord Henry another thing to judge. The display would also give us a reason to hunt and forage during the event itself. Rita said she could handle that, as she knew the people would be the best fit.

That worked for me. Hours passed, and soon a knock on the door interrupted our work. When Sasha pulled it open, I found a man in full plate, one of Lord Henry's knights, standing there. He looked at me and gave a small nod.

"The Lord wishes to see you. He's been greeting people in the square, but wanted to know if you and the mayor are finished with your discussion."

I glanced at Mayor Gage, who hurriedly adjusted his office before heading to the door. "Yes, yes, we're quite done. It's almost time for the opening ceremonies and the display of the night lilies, anyway. Please, let us be going."

We all pursued him, and I found quite a different sight out in the square than when we came in. Lines of people now stood at various food carts, and someone had set up a small stage. Lord Henry sat on it, in a chair that looked like it had used to be used in a stage production. He smiled as he spoke and laughed with a variety of the populace.

By the coach, I saw Reeds, who was patting the horses and checking them over carefully. I wanted to speak with him, but the Mayor shot me a glare when I tried to peel away. With resignation, I followed him to the stage where we met with one of Lord Henry's aids. The mayor and the aide chatted briefly before they ushered us onto the stage. Guards held back the line as we approached the noble.

"A productive meeting, I hope?" Lord Henry asked as he looked at me, and shook the Mayor's hand.

"Yes sir. We were discussing where best to fit you into the Festival, and Mayor Gage here had several ideas."

"Indeed." The mayor, thankfully, didn't hesitate to enter the conversation. "We would like to know if you would be willing to judge some contests, including a new cook off we discussed."

"Oh? I would be honoured."

Mayor Gage put up his hands. "No, the honour is all mine, I assure you."

While they danced with pleasantries and responsibilities, my gaze swept over the crowd. Yellow headbands were abundant, and I wished I hadn't left ours in the coach. Not that I believed for a second any of The Howlers would try anything this openly. That didn't make me any more comfortable.

Other than then, people appeared to be having a good time. A smile tugged at my lips as I heard Tenner's name already being discussed with disdain. I didn't know who had started that up, but I was glad for it.

Reeds caught my eye and waved, accepting my small wave back. I would need to speak with them. An idea came to me, and I bowed low to both the Mayor and Lord Henry.

"Would you both excuse me? I believe there is little more to the preparations that I can do, and there is a man I need to see about transportation."

Lord Henry waved me off imperiously. "Yes, fine. Do you have somewhere for us to stay?"

"The mayor has my recommendation," I said, bowing again. "You shall be satisfied."

"And the hunt?"

"Organized for the day after the festival. It may take a few days to track the beast, at maximum."

"Then dismissed."

A quick smile, and another bow, and I was gone. Reeds greeted me with a powerful slap on the back, and I saw Sheryl nearby as well. Her expression was as pleased as her husbands, and I gave her a more traditional greeting.

"Ma'am, sir, I'm grateful to see you both. As you can see, I've taken good care of the coach."

"Care of her?" Reeds laughed, but it quickly turned into a hacking cough. "You don't think I can't see the upgrades? I'm impressed. The horses are well fed and healthy too. It seems I don't need to beat any lessons into you, after all."

"Believe me, my father already did. I hope you don't mind the upgrades, but they were on offer, so I thought we should take the opportunity."

Sheryl gave a long-suffering sigh, and her eyes flicked towards the stage. "Before you two boys get into the specifics of coach maintenance, tell me. Did you get what you needed?"

"We will ma'am."

"Glad to hear it. Is the noble up there really a friend of yours? I've spoken to some of his servants, and they were adamant he's here with you." Sheryl tapped her foot and crossed her arms as she watched Rita.

"He's here at our invitation," Rita said. "Why?"

"So he's not here with you?" This time, the implication was clearer. "Anna almost had a fit."

My mind went to Healer Anna at that, and I could imagine exactly how upset she would be at the idea. Rita's cheeks went red, and both Sasha and a recently arrived Penny, laughed at the expression. The fact she looked my way was worrying. I didn't know how to answer that question.

"No. I'm not romantically entangled with Lord Henry."

"I would hope not." Reeds was glaring towards the stage as he spoke.

"He's here for a hunting trip, and nothing else." I stepped forward as I spoke, feeling the tension in the air. "Besides, from the way he's looking around the village, I'm not sure if beastkin are his thing."

"Not like you, Money man?" Penny said, her grin wide.

It took effort not to roll my eyes at her teasing manner. Reeds crossed his arm, mirroring his wife, as he turned to us.

"Is he staying for the festival, then?"

"He is."

Reeds chewed his lip. "Will you be needing the coach, then?"

"Not for a few days. If he's staying in the city, we should." I paused. "While I hate to impo—"

Sheryl cut me off. "Of course you're staying with us. Don't think anything of it. Now come on, we need to find good seats before the mayor does his speech."

I knew better than to argue, and I followed along. It was how I found myself perched on the end of a rather large and long flower pot. Rita on one side, and Penny on the other. Sasha was off somewhere, having found Hester in the crowd. None of us mentioned that. Reeds and Sheryl were close by too, sitting side by side and watching the stage.

Someone had cleared it of the throne, and now mayor Gage stood on it. Night Lilies bloomed from large pots beside him. As he spoke about the glory of Floranian, I watched the proceedings with interest. I couldn't really remember the last time I had gone to a festival like this.

Those held in the city were far bigger, and then I spent most of them with clients trying to butter them up. Beside me, Rita leaned forward, tail and ears twitching, and I couldn't help but notice her.

"When was the last time I attended one with company I didn't find boring?"

"You're staring," Penny whispered in my ear.

The last thing I saw before Mayor Gage officially opened the festival was Penny's grin and Rita's arched eyebrow.

"This is going to be a long few days."