Evren entered the gate under the persona of Chesterfield Cunningham. Along the way towards the Lady’s Moons Inn, he spoke with every shop keeper he could about getting a job. He used his time speaking with the residents to try to find more information about the city. Some of the information he gathered included the guard headquarters and barracks, the slums, three additional inns and information about the clergy and nobles.
Grandia as a holy state has only existed for one hundred years. The previous reign of which was a monarchy. Corruption and debauchery lead to the downfall of the royalty, and the takeover of the church. All royalty and nobility above the rank of marquis were removed from power and executed, thus severing all blood ties of a possible revolt.
In the time since the beginning of the holy war, the corruption and debauchery has far exceeded anything the previous reigning leaders committed. In the forty-seven years since the summoning chamber’s construction ended, hundreds of thousands of people have been sacrificed to the Goddess Helles to summon the puppets. Those who spoke out against the church were always ones to go. Prisoners of war, criminals, slaves, any who the church thought beneath themselves was to be considered fodder to be used in summoning.
As the churches enemies became fewer and fewer, their desires increased tenfold. When a pope dies, the cardinals fight for the seat, and it is only through political bartering and bribery that a new pope is chosen. Many fights among archbishops and cardinals lead to assassinations in political vies for power. This led to the church making possession or creation of weapons to be against the law unless an authorized person of the state.
Once weapons became illegal, it was only a matter of time before magic was made to be illegal as well. Initially the clergy hoarded all magical knowledge, hid it away from the people, saving it only for themselves, but eventually the clergy became to lazy to even learn the most basic of spells. No clergy within the state, from the pope down have the ability to heal anyone by magic. Not that they would use their ability to save others anyway.
Before he reached the center of town, he found a job working for an older blacksmith. He would be repairing and making tools and would be allowed to sleep in the loft of the shop. Evren thanked the man and told him that he would be returning shortly and left to meet up with the others. Upon arrival, he found the others had all arrived before him and he sat down with them at a couple tables in the dining area.
“Tim and Bryan,” Evren started with, “how would we go about to buying a house, or some place to live in this city?”
Bryan asked, “We’re going to live here?”
Evren nodded, “We’ve got things to do in this town and we need a place to speak privately and work out of.”
Tim said, “Well, I s’pose you could speak with tha public works office. We dunno where that is though.”
Evren sighed, “That’s right. You guys were cooped up in the cathedral. If its with most of the other government buildings, it’s on the road leading to the south gate. Did you guys see anything?”
Walter shrugged, “I think I saw a government building, but nothing indicating there was a public works in there. Big building on the right as you’re heading south.”
Harley added, “I remember that. It was something like ‘Minister Bureau.’”
Evren stared down at the table for a moment before nodding. “Thanks guys. I’m going to head out again. See if anyone can find a job while we’re out. We may need more income than we brought.”
Ellis spoke up, “There’s a dungeon about a month west of town.”
Evren pondered it for a moment, “Are you thinking of splitting up to earn money in the dungeon?”
Ellis looked to the others and shook his head, “No, it’s just… I mean I guess we could and sell whatever we get in there.”
Evren considered what he said for a moment, “We can’t sell most of the stuff that drops in dungeons, because they’re weapons or armor. If it had an area like the undead section of Aernide, then money would be available as a drop. Hold onto that thought. I know it’s probably boarded up and restricted access but see what information you can get about it without drawing too much attention to yourself.”
Ellis nodded and Evren continued. “I’ll head out to the government building and see about getting a place to live. You guys will have to act as my servants and guards. Well, I guess Walter, Fletcher and Isobel would be the guards, everyone else would-be staff. I got a job at a blacksmith this morning, so after I finish my business there, I’ll go see the shop owner and speak with him about employment conditions.”
Karina said, “You got a job already?”
Evren nodded, “Yeah, I’ve been looking since yesterday. I got lucky and found a guy who was getting too old to swing the hammer anymore. He just asked me a few questions and told me he’d teach me the rest.” Evren then smiled and said, “I wonder if he can teach me anything.”
“Can I go with you, Mr. Evren? I can show you the way.” Harley asked.
Evren thought about it for a moment, making a face like he was thinking and said, “Yes, but you’ll have to act the part of a servant. Stand behind me, stay quiet. Yes sir. No sir. That sort of thing. Can you do that?”
“Yes sir, Mr. Evren, sir!” she said with a big smile.
“Alright, let’s meet back here before the evening meal.” Evren finished as he stood up.
Everyone made their way out of the inn and Evren walked down the street heading towards the center of town. Harley was just one step behind on his right and kept pace with him. They reached the center of town and walked south around the cathedral. When they reached the southern road, they headed south.
“That one there, Mr. Evren.” Harley said as she pointed to a big building on the right side of the road.
They approached it and Evren read the faded sign on the front of the old building, “Ministry Bureau”
He walked inside and was immediately met with a desk with a mousy looking man sitting behind it. He was engrossed in a task and didn’t notice Evren and Harley’s approach.
“Hello hello!” Evren said as he captured the man’s attention, “My name is Chesterfield Cunningham, of the Madelaya Cunninghams. How are you this wonderful morning, sir?”
The mousy man stared at Evren for a minute only blinking in surprise, Evren continued without pause, “I have come to this wonderful city of St. Glory to rebuild my familial name and honor, and I ask if you should happen to have an abode which might currently meet my living needs?”
The man stared at Evren with confusion and said, “What?”
Evren paused but continued unabated, “I seek a home, my good sir. I wish to purchase a home.”
The man pointed over his shoulder and said, “Fourth door on the left.”
“Excellent! Excellent! I shall see you again shortly, good sir.” Evren said and prepared to leave.
The man asked, “Why?”
Evren stared at the man confused and said, “Well, wouldn’t I have to return this way to exit the facility?”
The man nodded his head in understanding, “Ahh, right. Bye.”
Evren strode past the man and entered the fourth door on the left to find an office space stuffed with six desks covered in books and papers. He turned to the desk closest to the door and asked, “Where might I find the chap who’s in charge of selling properties?”
The man looked over his shoulder at Evren, then turned the other way to point at a woman in the back of the room, working by a desk covered with stacks of books and papers.
“Thank you, good sir, thank you.” Evren said and headed towards the woman in question.
“Hello hello,” he said as he introduced himself, “My name is Chesterfield Cunningham of the Madelaya Cunninghams. I have newly arrived in this wonderful city to rebuild my familial name and honor. I seek a residence to call my home.” He leaned in closer to the woman and said in a lower voice, “For a reasonable cost, of course.”
The woman didn’t even look back at Evren, she only stopped what she was doing and asked, “How many rooms?”
“Five rooms, for myself and my servants.” Evren replied with a smile seen by nobody.
The woman sighed and looked around her desk. She deftly yanked a folder out from the middle of one pile and handed it over her shoulder to Evren. “One moderately priced home with five rooms.”
Evren took the dusty folder and opened it to see a drawing and the layout of the home. As he flipped through the pages, it showed past residents, the number and types of rooms, nearby shops and a map, showing its location within the city.
“Would we be able to see this home before making a decision?” Evren asked.
The woman opened a drawer in the desk and pulled out a large keyring. She fished around for a key and pulled it off the ring and dropped the keyring back into the desk. She stood up and turned around, Evren thought she was going to escort them to the home but instead she stared at his face, so Evren gave her a big smile.
She handed the key to Evren and said, “Return after you’ve taken a look. We can sign the papers when you get back.”
Evren’s eyes opened wide in surprise, and he looked down at the key for a minute before taking it in his hand. “Yes! That seems like an excellent idea.” Evren held the folder and key out for Harley to take and said to the woman. “I shall return shortly and hopefully we can complete this transaction favorably. Thank you, good lady.” He bowed, turned and left the room. As he passed the mousy man at the desk, he said, “Good day, sir.”
Evren had memorized the location and when they got out onto the street, they immediately started heading there. Over his shoulder he said, “Harley, if you see anyone, have them follow along with us. Tell them to just quietly follow along.”
“Yes sir, Mr. Evren, sir!” Harley said with enthusiasm.
The home was located on the northeast side of the town. By the time they had reached the house, they hadn’t found anyone else. Evren could tell from a glance it was an old building. It had been built like a cube. The entrance was centered in the front, and there were two floors. The key fit the lock and opened the front door. The stairs were to the left of the entrance, almost straight out from it with a door at the base to the immediate left of the entrance. To the right was a large room with a fireplace. Beyond that was a room that could be used as a dining room and then the kitchen in the back right corner.
Through the room to the left of the main door was a small office. There remained an old desk in there along with empty bookshelves. Beyond the office was a master bedroom with an old copper tub still inside. Past the master bedroom, was a small room with a toilet. Below the stairs was a set of stairs that led under ground to a pantry. Going up the stairs, there were two large rooms on the left and two large rooms on the right.
From the kitchen was a back door that led to an area with an overgrown garden. There was a fence built to separate the property from the neighbors, but it would need several repairs to get back to functional. After Evren examined the house, he looked to Harley and took the paperwork from her. He browsed through the filled sheets of paper until the end and looked around again. “I think this’ll do.”
