System Change

“It’s lot number 33,801.” The clerk said.

Derek nodded and said his thanks. The man smiled and walked back behind his counter to help the next person in line.

Jacks and Derek walked out of the City Building after acquiring the information they needed. In total, they were only inside for around half an hour. Within that half hour, more and more people poured into the building.

Outside, the city was beginning to come alive. The foot traffic was at least double what it was when they first left the hotel. Derek did a quick look around to get his bearings before pointing.

“It’s that way.” He said. “Let’s go.” He began walking.

Jacks nodded and followed.

“So, did you get your letter taken care of?” Derek asked.

“Yeah. He should get it in the next few days, depending on what he’s doing.” Jacks said with a trace of excitement in his eyes.

“You can finally talk with him without the burden of Torith hanging over your head.” Derek said.

Jacks nodded. “I just hope he isn’t too angry with me after all this time. I almost cut him off completely to keep him out of everything. I only secretly checked up on him throughout the years.”

“Well, you’re not bound by oath anymore, and he’s an adult. If you need to, you could always explain things to him. Surely, he would understand. Hell, he probably already does. You trained him up and got him into the Academy. If nothing else, you set him up on a path to success.”

“Hopefully.” Jacks muttered. “I’ll just have to see.”

Jacks wasn’t his slightly sullen self when he talked about his son. The man had come out of his silent shell since getting out of his oath. Derek was sure that behind his rough and tough exterior, there was a chatty adventurer just waiting to get out.

Derek and Jacks made their way northeast through the city. Savannah was huge. At their current walking pace, it could be hours before they make it there. Of course, Derek wasn’t in a rush. He didn’t have to get everything done in one day.

As they moved deeper into the northeast part of the city, they had to dodge more and more people running around, mostly young men and women. After what seemed like the fifth near collision with one of the kids, Derek grabbed the boy by the arm.

“What’s the rush?” He asked. “You should be more careful.”

The boy looked up, surprised and flustered. “Ah, sorry, sir. I’ll be more careful.” The boy looked at Derek’s hand on his arm with pleading eyes.

Derek sighed and released the boy. “What’s with all these kids?” Derek asked Jacks.

“The Runners?” Jacks asked. “Well, this is one of the business sides of Savannah. You heard Shelby talking about the city helping orphans and younger kids. Becoming a Runner is another occupation for them.”

“Oh, so they’re deliverymen?” Derek asked.

“Yeah. Though they are only recommended by the city, it’s up to the business owner whether they want to hire them or not. It’s also one of the jobs that orphans who are lucky enough to pay the entrance fee or find a less savory way into the city are able to get.” Jacks said. “Like Shelby said, those children aren’t supported by the city.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Derek agreed. Now, he looked at the flood of Runners in a different light. It also made him see the city in a different light. It was so early in the morning, yet dozens, if not hundreds, of deliveries were already being made throughout the city.

After some time, the duo made it closer to the edge of the city. Still, the buildings and businesses there weren’t anything to scoff at. Even the worst looking business was multiple times better looking than anything Derek had seen in Torith. The same went for all the inns and restaurants. Well, the Crown Restaurant in Torith could compete at least.

“I don’t know.” Derek suddenly said, getting Jacks’s attention.

“What?” The scarred man asked.

Derek shook his head. “I’m not sure about having a place this far from the center of the city. Just look how long we’ve been walking to get here.”

“If the quality of your items is good enough, an extra hour or two of travel won’t matter. Besides, you can always change locations.” Jacks said.

“That’s true.” Derek said. “I just don’t want to waste money building just to move to a different location.”

“You could always hire someone to deconstruct your building and get the materials back. You would just have to pay labor fees to build it again.”

“I guess…” Derek said.

Finally, the duo walked over a patch of very smooth stone that stretched out through the city as far as Derek could see.

“What’s this?” Derek asked.

“It’s where the old wall was. Before they increased the size of the city.”

Derek whistled. “That must have taken a long while.”

Jacks shook his head. “Not really. Just a couple of days. A lot of work, maybe, but not a lot of time. With Savannah’s money, they can afford it.”

“I guess the foundation is kind of a sidewalk now?” Derek asked.

“You can think of it like that. You’ve walked over a few of them already from previous expansions, but they’ve been seamlessly integrated into the city.” Jacks answered.

“Ah. I guess all the streets and alleys are curved.”

Finally, after over two hours of walking, the duo made it to a less populated part of the city. Before making it there, it was rare to see an empty lot or abandoned building. Now, although he wouldn’t say that the area was littered with vacant lots and foreclosed businesses, there were vastly more of them than before.

Derek kept his eyes vigilant as he looked around, searching for the lot he planned on buying. “Look for lot 33801.” Derek said.

The two searched around for another fifteen minutes before Jacks found the plot of land.

“33801.” Jacks pointed. “It’s right here.”

Hearing Jacks, Derek moved over to him. The clerk at the City Building had said that because the previous owner failed to pay, the materials had been repossessed.

Derek could tell where the previous building had stood. There was some rubble from the foundation, and an imprint in the land. Surprisingly, the outline of the building took less than half of the allotted space on the lot. Whatever business was previously here wasn’t a large one.

Maybe they planned to build onto it once profits started rolling in. Derek thought. The lot was even a little bigger than the 2,500 sq ft he had wanted. That, and taking into account the cheaper price, he could see himself buying it.

There were also other vacant lots on both sides. If he needed to expand, and he was making money, they could also be purchased. Well, until they were bought up by others.

“What do you think?” He asked Jacks.

“Well…” Jacks stomped on the land. “It’s pretty level, and from what I heard, the price is much cheaper than anything else around here. If you believe in whatever it is that you plan on doing, it wouldn’t be a bad start.”

“I think so too.” After seeing the lot and the surrounding area, Derek’s worries had subsided. Besides, with the people he brought with him, it would be better to find a place for them to live sooner rather than later. Staying at the hotel was just eating money that Derek wasn’t even sure he had.

Derek nodded. “I think I’ll buy it.” After that, he checked his storage bracelet and ring. He had enough gold for the first couple of months, and possibly enough to commission the building as well. This came from the generous donation he received from Malcolm Torith. He hoped to have more, but the two assassins were pretty broke for being so well known. No telling what they spent their money on.

He shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. “Didn’t the clerk say that one of the best smiths in the city lives around here?”

Jacks nodded. “He’s close by. His shop is at the previous edge of the city. It’s where I got my current sword. You know, the one that barely left a scratch on you. Want to have a look?”

“Sure. Maybe he has something useful.” Derek said. “There’s no penalty for running through the city, is there?” Derek asked. There shouldn’t be, considering all the Runners they passed along the way.

“As long as you don’t injure anyone.”

“Let’s go.”

Five minutes later, the duo arrived in front of a big shop. There was a banner with a glove crossed with a sword hanging above the entrance. There wasn’t anything special about the outside of the building. After looking around, Derek and Jacks went inside.

Surprisingly, there wasn’t anything special about the inside of the building either. It was a large open floor room with shelves, counters, and display cases.

“Aye! How can I help ya?” A very short, robust woman with messy blonde hair greeted them as they walked in. “Well, if it isn’t the Crimson Blade back at our little store.”

Derek stared at the woman for a moment longer than he should have before realizing that the woman wasn’t human. She was a dwarf. He knew Cydaria had other races and was told that they were much less rare in the bigger cities, but he had all but forgotten that fact.

Jacks elbowed Derek in his side before speaking. “No, we’re just looking around today.”

Derek coughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“That’s aright. Just let me know if ya need me.” She said and walked away.

Jacks chuckled. “First time seeing a dwarf?”

Derek nodded dumbly. “I think I made a fool out of myself.”

“She’s already forgotten it. Dwarfs are thick skinned people. She’s the smith’s wife.”

Derek half laughed before walking deeper in the store, excited to see what one of the better smiths in Savannah had in stock.