Lounging in one of Cal's comfortable and expensive chairs, I made sure to lean back just far enough on the legs, like I knew he hated. He was somewhat surprised about the quickness I had gotten some of his requested items to him, but I suppose this isn't too far outside expectations. Muck rats weren't exactly difficult prey. 

"You want what now?"  Cal replied dismissively.

I inspected one of the still bloody muck rat gall bladders on the table using my alchemist skill, able to tell it had some sort of beneficial effect on constitution, somewhat amazed that Cal had deduced on his own that these otherwise unwanted parts of the monster could be useful in some way. I heard that rich folk in the capital liked to eat monsters, but looking at the effects from these maybe there was something to that. 

"A house, and a few small things." I replied, imitating Cal's usual disinterested mannerisms, as I took to picking the fingernails of my unbandaged hand clean with my crude dagger. Perhaps this was a little too forward, but I was growing sick of seeing that disgusting inn-keeper's face and I wanted a place of my own. Especially now that I had the skill to afford it, "I'll grant you a favor. Surely the second son of the Marcet family has some ambitions? Pick something, and I'll do it. " I followed up crassly. 

Cal paused for a second, his eyebrows bunched together in thought.

"What's gotten into you lately, Keaton? I've heard some strange rumors and I don't know what to think about them. Have you been doing alright away from home?" He asked somewhat lightly, concern showing in his voice. It seems word of my 'strange' behavior was now making it back to my friend's ears, possibly from the guild, more probably from Belle. Clearly he thought I was losing it. 

"Rumors are rumors. Hiring me to dig through rat bodies isn't helping my reputation on that front." As I motioned to the bloody parts on the table. 

Cal's eyebrows were furrowed less out of concern now and more in anger, "Didn't you beg me for the opportunity? " He responded somewhat defensively. 

...

"I'm not complaining. I'm proposing we expand our cooperation. " Still leaning back in my seat, unconcerned. "I told you what I want, now name your price and I'll see it done. "

"Fine. Just bring me more monster parts. I'll give you your house. Father gave me some abandoned property near the outer walls, you'll need to furnish it yourself. Let Ashley guide you there, she knows where it is." Cal seemed somewhat disgusted now. Given that I was practically a beggar in his eyes, it seemed he didn't particularly believe me. 

"You're already paying me for the parts." I said exaggeratedly, rolling my eyes. "I'll take the house as payment. I'm good for one favor, so think about it."

Cal seemed to think he was doing this out of pity, but I didn't feel too bad about pressuring him for it. My worth wasn't yet readily known, and I'd make sure he got far more than its value back in return. Considering what a few months more of preparations would do for me, he bought my favor rather cheaply. 

Getting Belle and Ashley, we fetched our things from the inn which mostly consisted of trunks of clothes and everyday supplies. I carried as many as I could, but without hiring a coach or a horse I needed the girls both to take a case each. 

We walked through the town the way out the inner gate and into the farmland beyond. The property itself was abandoned farmland and a small single-story home. No neighbors, I thought to myself wickedly.

The door creaked when we opened it, worn with disrepair. The floor was bare wood and coated in a layer of dust. No furniture anywhere. There was a fireplace and chimney in the main room, but no wood to burn. I thanked Ashley for her help, Belle and I bidding her farewell as the sun started to get late in the sky. It wasn't that late yet, but the winter months had less daylight for us to work in. 

It was still quite cold, the sunlight not doing anything to burn off the accumulated moisture left over from multiple days of rain. I looked for some firewood while Belle got to work dusting the floors.

Standing outside the home it was easy to see how isolated it was, being positioned a ways off from the main road that ran the circumference of the exterior gate. There were no other buildings nearby, only open fields that lay fallow. Weeds creeping in place over the tilled and abandoned rows. It wasn't the planting season yet, but this field looked to have been abandoned for far longer than a winter. There were few trees on this land, only a handful dotting the field's exterior. Given how wet it was currently, I was hesitant to collect anything. There was a small stable next to our new home, which I decided to push open and check for anything burnable. It was relatively dry inside, raising my hopes. 

There I found plenty of straw covering every inch of the ground, and to my joy a small stack of split logs assembled in a far corner of the room, which I took several trips carrying into our new home. I decided to bring in some of the straw too, given that it was the best alternative I could find to using actual tinder. Setting up the straw as a base, and neatly arranging the wood into the common room fireplace as Belle continued to wipe the floors down in the room with a wet cloth. The water having been drawn from a nearby well on the property. 

Straw wasn't the most burnable substance as a starter, but I had a good quality striker and flint rock that I could keep trying for a long time. The sparks eventually finding a place as the straw took and before long spread to the dry logs. Just in time to offset the ambient darkness that was starting to settle our new home as the sun began setting beyond the horizon. Warmth finally filling the room as I laid out a blanket on the floor. We'd need to buy a bed soon, but for now this would have to do.