Aoki_Aku

Chapter 277: Purity Sect Mages

Chapter 277: Purity Sect Mages


The Architectural team sighed as they saw the mages go inside.


"You’re going to have trouble with those ones, My Lord. They absolutely refuse to break a contract, and insist it’s beneath their dignity to do anything less than speak the whole truth.


Even when they’re being absolute jerks about it." The Architect insisted.


Wilkes nodded in agreement, and Dominic shrugged.


"Well, we can have you build them a nice tower on the edge of town where they won’t bother anyone. But what contract could they have that would be an issue for me? Are they currently working for someone else?" He asked.


The Merchant laughed grimly. "No. Their criminal slave contract. They were sentenced to a life of servitude and sold. But the contract requires that in order to be transferred, the owner must take a fair price for them.


It’s a normal thing for prisoner contracts, but what is ’fair’ is usually up to interpretation.


The thing is, they refuse to accept negotiations, and every time I’ve tried to kick them out for a handful of coppers, the magic of the contract stops me from leaving town."


The Merchant looked over his shoulder to where the closest of farmers were already approaching with carts.


"Your people are far too proactive. They didn’t even check if I had space before bringing over trade goods." He joked.


Dominic shrugged. "There is always space by the time a convoy gets this far. The process hasn’t failed them yet. Besides, their pantries are full, and we’re running out of canning jars.


Unless you brought a bunch, that is."


"Not worried that I will try to lowball them because they have excess?"


Dominic smirked, and pointed to the large half Ogre woman who was coming from one of the farms closest to the manor.


"If you try to scam her, she’s likely to take you over her knee, and I’m not sure that you can stop her."


The Merchant gave the woman an appraising smile. "Now that’s a whole lot of woman. Reminds me a bit of my own mother, that one. Except for the face."


"I will let you get to business, and you can check in with me when you are ready to leave, so I can give you your commission payment." Dominic explained, then turned to lead the Architect into the house.


The mages were all sitting in a group on the floor facing Alexis, who had turned one of the padded recliners to face them.


Beth had brought food for them all, sandwiches and soup, but they had chosen not to eat at the table. It took Dominic a moment, then he realized the issue. They refused to go against the rules.


Any rules.


So, as they were currently condemned prisoners, they were refusing to eat at a Noble’s table.


Dominic could understand why everyone got frustrated trying to deal with them. But once they were in a tower with even basic directions, they should be a valued asset to the Duchy.


Julio handed the Architect and his people the prepared work contracts, as well as the stack of potential city designs that they had come up with. The actual building designs would be up to them, but some of the original plans were there for reference.


"This shouldn’t be an issue. We’re all familiar with the traditional styles and construction methods. The wages and terms are what we were expecting. The only thing we will ask is leeway to alter the layout as needed to keep city design functional and safe for residents." The Architect requested.


Alexis nodded. "That shouldn’t be an issue. If there are safety concerns, you can address them before the buildings even go up. As long as they have the basic amenities that we requested, you’re free to do your job as you see fit.


Now, I have one more suggestion, though it’s not part of the contract. Perhaps you would like to stay in the Manor for the first few days, and begin the reconstruction with your own homes?


We are beginning to run short of homes in town, and I suspect that you would not care for a hunter’s lodge or a farmhouse." Dominic offered.


The men smiled and bowed politely. "Then we will prevail upon Your Grace’s generous offer. Indeed, we are not well suited to life on a farm. We did come with a full set of household goods, though."


The Architect gestured to the ring on his finger, and Dominic nodded. "That makes things much easier. The surviving homes mostly had the basics, so we will save them for the refugees.


The locals have also salvaged as much as possible from the burnt homes, but the vast majority of goods did not survive the fires."


They would have to make new ones at some point. But obtaining pots, dishes and bedding was much easier than creating the house to put them in.


Then Dominic turned to the mages. "So, I am told that you are requiring a fair payment for the transfer of your contracts. That likely wasn’t easy to get at any of the other locations.


Not many will pay good money for criminals that they can’t discipline or abuse. Even if you are skilled mages.


Well, I assume that you’re skilled mages and not just a bunch of fresh acolytes who don’t know one end of a rune string from another."


One of the older boys laughed, and a teen girl shushed him.


"Duke Dominic, I don’t know if you are aware, but the magic imbued in our oaths requires us to uphold all contracts we have made. We agreed to this contract in exchange for escaping execution. It requires fair payment to transfer ownership, so we cannot allow it to transfer without payment." She explained.


Dominic nodded. "What did the Merchant’s Guild pay for you?"


"Five silver coins each. The standard rate for fresh convicts."


"Then I will give him seven and a half silver coins for each of you, a fifty percent profit on his investment." Dominic offered.


The Mages all looked confused for a moment, and Dominic realized that they had been calculating in a very different way. Likely based on the lifetime earnings potential of a mage.


But when Dominic framed it this way, it would definitely seem unfair for him to make thousands of times his investment just to transport them for a while.


Especially when they had helped with all the domestic duties during the trip, and protected the caravan with their magic.