Chapter 85 (1/2)

They had a problem, although Randidly supposed it was a good problem to have. The amount of people who wanted to come back with them to Donnyton was staggering. Almost 700 people showed up, their items packed and their expressions nervous as someone from Devan’s squad walked around, speaking with them, marking down their stat distributions and skills, slowly getting a tally.

This was insisted on by Daniel, with Regina’s support, and Randidly knew that he was never going to be the one to actually handle the details, so he had just shrugged and assented. But now that he had seen the exacting detail that it demanded, his mood started to sour. Very quickly, he went to Devan, looked over the questionnaire, and then ripped most of the pages up.

Instead, Randidly inserted a rather straightforward question:

In Donnyton, people are generally divided by their jobs. Which of the following jobs would you prefer? -Administration -Warrior -Doctor -Farmer -Archer -Scout -Mage -Crafting -Construction

Randidly knew that people would shy away from things like Administration and Farmer, but he had hopes that some of the practical women and men who were coming north with them would gravitate towards crafting and construction positions.

Of course some would become actual Classers, and among those, a few would insist on becoming mages, but that was acceptable for now. After all, they had witnessed Clarissa’s abilities first hand. After seeing that power, it was hard to accept just swinging a sword around.

“With those changes, we should finish in about two hours.” Devan said calmly, his eyes scanning the crowd. Honestly, Randidly had removed 90% of the material Daniel wanted.

Now it was basically just stats people focused, their skill level, and the job they were thinking about.

Randidly nodded, his eyes scanning the crowds. He even recognized a few faces. The man he had met while chopping vegetables, who wanted to learn to move faster. Cassie, looking around nervously as she stood next to a hooded woman who was obviously Raina. That determined man, Cesar,  who had been paired with Randidly while digging holes.

But there was one face conspicuously absent.

“I have to take care of something. If the process finishes, no need to wait for me; I’ll catch up.” Randidly said to Devan, and then walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

He knew that he was being foolish, that he had no reason to force her to move. He also had no idea why this was such an issue for him. He had, after all, broken up with her quite a while ago. Deep in his heart, he was sure that there were no buried emotions. But what he did have were positive memories of their time together.

For that, he wanted to spare her the struggle that Franksburg was going to become.

As he ascended to Tessa’s floor, and exited the stairwell, the men pressed themselves against the wall, standing at attention.

The head “bouncer”, who Tessa had told him was named Ezzie, stepped forward. “Mr. Ghosthound sir, I’m very sorry for the misunderstanding on your last visit. Let me assure you it won’t happen again.”

A thin, hot rod of tension slid down between his shoulders, but Randidly forced himself to relax. He even smiled at Ezzie.

“...It’s not an issue. You were doing your job.”

Then Randidly brushed passed him, moving towards Tessa’s room, but Ezzie awkwardly coughed.

“Um… sir…. I just… uh…. My b-boss has a message for you.”

Randidly stopped. “Oh?”

“Yes, it’s just…. It’s from Missy Carp. She owns the…. Establishment that Tessa works at.”

“Oh.” Randidly’s frown deepened, his voice turning cold. He wondered idly whether Spearing Roots would reach up from the ground to here. Probably not without quite a lot of mana expenditure. It was something to be aware of, in the future, that distance from the ground would make the use of that skill more difficult.

Of course, he had others.

“Don’t misunderstand!” Ezzie said hastily, stepping backwards. “Missy Carp allows all of her employees to come and go freely. She wishes you luck on your recruitment drive, and hopes you enjoyed your time in Franksburg. And that if you would return to the city, she is willing to make her compound and connections at the disposal of the good people of Donnyton.”

Randidly’s eyes narrowed, but he relaxed. Rather than a threat, this was a business proposition. God, why had he agreed to come on this thing anyway? This was becoming decidedly political. He supposed he had found a clue about Sydney and Ace, which ended up just demonstrating they weren’t here, but still…

Still, it surprised Randidly how astute this woman was, to attempt to approach him directly. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but it could also mean that this was a woman who listened very closely to the direction the wind was blowing.