Chapter 328: Social Facilities
Then, the Innkeeper gestured at the side of the Inn by the kitchen. It looked like a store room to Dominic, but when the old man opened it, he revealed a small secondary dining room.
"The actual supplies are in the second basement level. A bit of a pain getting it all clean, as the magic of the sump pump failed during the years everyone was gone, but we’ve got it dry and back in use now." He explained.
"Well, that’s a good start. So, you think a convention centre? It might only get busy a few months a year at the most. It would be a bit of a shame to make a large enough facility for all that, and then just have it sit." Dominic replied.
"Well, you can always use it for something else when we don’t have guests. Most of the officers will need to stay with their men, but a force that size should have at least a thousand officers. Three thousand total if all three forces send their men in to blow off steam. I think we can do that in one room.
The grand ballroom in the Governor’s Mansion in Causter has room for that many during a party."
"Good point. Do you have a moment? We can take an open table, and I’ll get your expert advice on what we need." Dominic suggested.
The Innkeeper smirked. "To host a party? Her Highness would know better."
Dominic shook his head. "We’ll do that at the house. I’m going to have an expansion made for the dignitaries and parties. What we need is to keep the lowborn and the minor officers from causing trouble in town.
I was thinking of having the market open every day when there were soldiers in town. It will cut down on them pressuring the nearby farmers. Then, it’s just a matter of entertainment."
"You know, the Adventurer’s Guild might be good for this as well. They have connections, and everyone trusts them to handle the requests you can’t make in broad daylight."
Dominic smiled. "I hadn’t thought of that. I don’t really know anyone at the Adventurer’s Guild, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get them on board. I wanted them to invite adventurers here anyhow. We’ve got plenty of wild monsters, and we make things they’ll want."
The Innkeeper whistled, and a young boy came running in.
"Go get Sheriff Nate, Betty from the Coven, old man Khalil and Captain Brass. Tell them all to come here, the Duke and I need to speak with them."
Then he turned to Dominic. "Captain Brass is as bold as his name suggests, but he’s in good with the Adventurer’s Guild. Old man Khalil is the best option to operate gaming and entertainment if you get my meaning.
His boy Ravi is much more innocent, but the old man used to run a basement casino and dancers under his shop.
You didn’t hear that from me."
Dominic patted the Innkeeper on the shoulder. "Certainly not. I think a nice basement under the convention centre would get us just what we need. Nobody would miss it the rest of the time, it wouldn’t need constant staff, and as long as it didn’t trouble the town guards, I wouldn’t give it much trouble.
I’m not going to approve private rooms off the casino, but dancers and gambling aren’t an issue."
The Innkeeper shrugged. "That’s not an issue. Wistover isn’t large enough to have a bawdy house anyhow. Besides, if you start hosting Nobles all the time, that sort will show up in a higher class form all by themselves."
Dominic chuckled. He had seen that more than once. The "Noble Daughters" who showed up to Palace social events but didn’t seem to come from any family directly.
Everyone referred to them as young ladies from branch families, but they didn’t speak like one. The accent was wrong for someone raised in high society.
Dominic knew. His was as well.
"Alright, so a convention centre, perhaps a few floors of rooms, and we will hire staff to clean and work the events. Normally, they would come from my personal staff, but we don’t have that many yet.
I will talk to Alexis about that later. She might want to expand her maid staff if we’re going to need another group for the convention centre." Dominic suggested.
"I think that it would be better to have the Guild run it. Some things you don’t want to be tied too closely to the Duchy if you get my meaning. Let them take the heat if things go wrong, then you can brush it under the rug for them."
Just as he finished speaking, Sheriff Nate walked in. "I can see why I was called now. What are we brushing under the rug?"
"Any incidents that might happen in a convention centre for the officers of three nations worth of visiting dignitaries. Take a seat, and we will wait for the others to arrive." Dominic explained.
"So we’re waiting on Khalil and Brass?" The Sheriff asked.
"The witch Betty too. The visitors will likely need medicines of various sorts, and I have a strong suspicion that the witches also make some strong liquor. The refined palette might enjoy wine, but we will also host common soldiers, and they’re not going to appreciate a fine local bottle." The Innkeeper explained.
"Oh, good point. We will have to get the Guild to drop more liquor. How is your stock holding up, Flick?" Sheriff Nate asked.
"I’ve got plenty, no need to worry. I’ll send the boy over to the military camp after dark with a few welcoming gifts."
The Sheriff cast a glance at Dominic, who simply shrugged. "There isn’t any rule against giving liquor to soldiers, only about them drinking on duty. As long as it isn’t causing fights or thefts and intimidation of our farmers, I don’t see a problem."
The Sheriff sighed. "I was afraid that you’d say that. My boys are going to have their hands full once the soldiers all arrive. But I’ve been working with the town guard on ways to peacefully apprehend drunks and other troublemakers without causing an incident."
Shooting drunk soldiers for fighting probably wouldn’t go over well with their commanding officers.
Especially if they were titled Nobles.