[Farmer] Mage

Cal shaded his eyes from the setting sun and looked toward the tree line. The first cart that passed wasn't what he expected. Instead of Mirren and her builders, it was Seris and Orrin, the former who waved excitedly when she saw him.

Orrin's belongings filled the following carts. It looked like the kid was finally moving in permanently. While the new arrivals weren't who he expected, this certainly wasn't a downgrade.

Orrin was far more cautious in making connections compared to Seris. Cal didn't begrudge him for that. In fact, he thought it was the smart thing to do. He had noticed how Orrin probed his intentions towards Seris before relaxing and taking a distant yet still watchful position.

Cal often wondered what fallback Orrin had in place if Seris was in trouble, because there simply must be one with Orrin's personality. It was something he intended to ask in the future, when it no longer mattered.

The most important thing was Orrin's willingness to relocate to the farm. It finally meant there was a level of trust that now existed to allow such an action.

Cal waved their carriage to park near the stables when he saw another party following them. He instantly recognized Mirren's carriage, which was followed by many, many carts filled to the brim with building materials, often to the point of excess.

A bright smile appeared on his lips as he called for Orrin to follow and waited for Miren's carriage to come to a stop.

"You came at a perfect time. Are you ready to have your smithy built?" Cal asked Orrin, making small talk.

"Yes, Apprentice Cal. Thank you again for doing all this for me."

"I'm sure I've said this before, but there's no need for any of that. Helping you also helps me. And even if it didn't, it makes Seris happy. And despite how she's currently glaring at me for ignoring her, I do like seeing her happy."

Seris's voice covered Orrin's chuckle. "Well?! Why are you ignoring me?"

Cal ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance, and said, "Completely unintentional. I got a little too excited imagining how the farm will change."

"Isn't it just Orrin's forge?" Seris got over her irritation as quickly as it had arrived.

"It turns out it's a lot more than that. I'll need more buildings for future storage and maybe even an extension of the house since we have another member joining us."

"Oh, I'm not causing any trouble, am I?" Orrin asked with a worried frown.

"Not at all," Cal assured. "These are structures I would likely have built, anyway. But now I'm just getting a head start."

"Hey Cal," Seris said with a sugary voice, "Could you ask Miren if she could make something for my archery range while she's here?"

Cal's immediate reaction was to cover his storage pouch, as if to protect his precious guildmarks. However, Seris wasn't asking for anything out of the question, and he came into an unexpected windfall, courtesy of the guild foregoing their cut of the harvest.

Still, he was cautious in what he said. "I can ask, but I can't make any promises. And even if Miren agrees, it won't be a priority since you have a functioning archery range already."

"That's more than enough. You know what? I'm going to go make some plans before she gets to it!" Seris left, but not before waving a hello to a descending Miren and Torin.

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"Did we offend her?" Torn asked as he helped Miren down the carriage.

"Nothing like that. Seris wants to plan out some additions to the range I made her. Let's put that aside for now. Are we ready to build the smithy?" Cal asked, taking in the building materials hauled by the carts.

Miren nodded, and Torin answered. "We sourced everything necessary. Orrin might want changes, but we can easily replace those as needed."

"Fantastic!" Cal smiled widely. "Orrin here can keep you company just to make sure everything is to his desires. But before you start, I want to talk about additional construction I need."

Torin returned the smile at the opportunity for new business. "We would be more than happy, Apprentice Cal. Do you wish to expand the smithy? Or perhaps build a greenhouse, which I've noticed your farm is missing. Of course, the greenhouse will be a little delayed as we collect the materials, but it's more than possible."

Cal blinked, finding the idea of a greenhouse surprisingly desirable. Vaela and Liora were [Gardeners], so having one on his farm wasn't a wasted expense, especially with the new crop seeds that would soon be available. Even without considering the new seeds. The Sunfire Grain that they were currently experimenting on would get better results in the controlled environment of a greenhouse.

"A greenhouse sounds like a good idea. Let's add that to the list. In addition, I want a second storage room that is detached from the house, an expansion of the house itself so Orrin moving in won't make it feel cramped. And I want a secure area built into my storage room. If that's not possible, or a separate structure would be drastically more secure, that's also fine."

Miren pulled Torin towards her and spoke into his ear, Torin nodding every few whispered words. "The greenhouse and the secure space will vary in cost depending on materials used, but the others are more of a standard fare. Would you like to discuss the plans now or wait until the smithy is done?"

"It can wait," Cal said. "It sounds like building what I asked isn't too difficult. Would you be able to build it quickly?"

"The second storage room and the expansion of the house won't take that long, perhaps a few days at most. But the greenhouse and the secure area could take longer than expected. Again, it depends on the materials that you wish to use."

That makes sense. Why do I feel this will be more costly that I imagine?

"Well, I won't keep you any longer." He was about to back away when he remembered the most important thing: the cost of the smithy. "Right, before I let you go, how much is all this going to be?"

"We came in just under the budget you gave us at ten guildmarks and eight gold," Torin replied with a proud look.

Cal supposed he had something to be proud of. Though he had mostly been sheltered in the inner guild in his past life, even he had heard of the cost overruns of construction projects.

He handed over the coin and said, "I appreciate you for staying within my budget." He spoke to Miren, but given the strange dynamic of these two, Torin was the one who gave him a firm handshake after taking the coin.

Cal motioned for Orrin to follow them as he stayed and watched the builders jump into action. They were in controlled chaos. It made little sense to him as they moved building materials from the cart to different spots around the area where the smithy was to be built, but clearly they had a system in place.

He left them to it and returned to keep the golem company. He sat down and relaxed, watching both Seris and the mass of builders getting to work.

Seris trotted from one elevated platform to another, jotting down whatever idea hit her on the spot in the little notebook she carried. Every time she wrote something, Cal felt a hit to his coin stash. And Orrin occasionally pointed at something to which Miren nodded and switched out before writing something in her own notebook.

Cal feared he would lose several more guildmarks before everything was said and done. He closed his eyes to block out the telltale signs of financial hits and waited for the slurry to settle on the field.

***

Cal finished spreading the mulch on the last area left on the field. It was well into the night, but he had finished prepping the field for planting, which he planned to do tomorrow.

He paused on his way back to the house and watched the builders continue to do their work. They had already raised the walls from the ground after laying the foundation. At this rate, he wouldn't be surprised if they finished the smithy by the end of the day tomorrow. Given his experience with the speed of Miren's team, he might even underestimate the time.

Cal glanced at Orrin and Seris sitting close by the work site before looking away. He was just happy that they were no longer making changes or jotting down notes that could spell trouble for his coin.

He entered the house and shrugged off his clothes before falling onto the bed with a silent moan. It was a good thing that Tavia hadn't returned from Lumina. Sleep really was the only thing he needed right now.