[Indulge, Opposition]
I portaled from the bakery to the bookstore, delivering breakfast, then portaled to the tower. Lu and Ronja’s apprentices were going to be moving and setting up Ronja, Martha and Henry’s rooms. Lu had already had the room create three side boards, dressers and beds. The three departing tower dwellers would decide on their own tables, chairs and magical lamps.
Once I was sure that they didn’t need any more help from me, I portaled back to the bookstore to find Alvyn waiting for me.
“I’m sorry if I kept you waiting Alvyn, I had some house guests moving out.”
“Not at all Rose, I had the chance to meet Mossbeard’s boss and see what a fine job he’s doing. I was rather surprised to see a Fey witch working side by side with a dwarf.”
“We will not allow racism in the shop or my home.”
“Do they never fight though?”
“They better not, Masstat is a grown dwarf, Opal is an eleven year old girl. That would not be acceptable hopefully in any setting. It’s a silly grudge, started by people mostly long dead. I hope that today’s generation of fey can get along with today's generation of dwarfs.”
“Well said, gnomes are so small and weak, we have no grudges against anyone.”
“I think it’s wonderful what the gnomes have done for the town of Wyldwood, donating your time on civic construction projects. That’s really what made me think of the portal network, that and Mossbeard's injury, if someone is seriously hurt, seconds can mean the difference between life and death.”
“Yet Rose it doesn’t seem it was a matter of transport that would have saved Mossbeard's life, nor the doctor. It was you that truly saved Mossbeard’s life. You jumped him to another world with more advanced medicine, but even that wouldn’t save his life. You paused him, stopped his every bodily function so that the doctor had enough time to repair him. But she didn’t know how to repair a gnome so she asked you to transform him into a human.”
“Yes, it’s true, if he had been conscious I would have asked for his consent before ever doing that.”
“What about the vile little man you turned into a toad?”
“What about him?”
“Did you ask his consent?”
“No I gave him a choice, tell the truth and go to prison or lie and become a toad for life. I regret that I made him a toad for life, I wish I had made it for a period of time. But he was given a choice.”
“Rose, I’m not saying what you did was wrong, many people would say that the vile man deserved to die.”
“I believe what Tolkien said ‘ Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo?’ When I can bring back the dead, that’s the day it’ll be alright to kill, not before then, maybe not even then.”
“I’m just trying to understand your power. None of the other elders have ever encountered anyone with powers like yours before. I’m trying to understand your motivations, why not profit off of your transport network for instance.”
“I’m not from Wyldwood, I’m from a tiny little town called Tranquility and I always longed to live somewhere bigger. I moved to Wyldwood, I was accepted here and I love it here. So I owe Wyldwood, that’s just one small way I can pay back that debt. You should understand that your community does the same thing but on a larger scale. You built the library, theater, retirement home and medical facility. Why do you do it? Why not profit from your labors, which involved more of your people and time than our network took?”
“You really don’t know do you, of course you don’t. You weren’t here when we arrived. We do it because that is the requirement a former Burgomaster placed on us if we wanted to relocate our colony here. It seemed like a harmless requirement. When we moved here it was a small town, how many civic projects could it afford to build.”
“But our idea of a community theater that morphed into a three story medical facility, I’m so sorry I had no idea. But let’s go fix this, first off how long have the gnomes been working for free, how many workers and how much are they paid on private jobs?”
“Nine weeks without pay some families are really struggling. Sixty four gnomes are working for Orin’s firm and each is paid four gold when working or one gold if there is no work.”
I got a pencil and paper and it came to just over twenty three hundred gold.
“Alright Alvyn, let’s go fix this injustice. Please just hold my left arm.”
We portaled to townhall. We walked in and went to the Burgomasters office, where I asked his assistant if we might see the Burgomaster. The Burgomaster came hurrying out, but seemed a little taken back that I was with the elder.
“Rose, Elder Glimmerdus, please come right in. I’ve already asked for tea.”
A minute later we were seated and tea was poured.
“Now how can I help you both?”
“Arthur, are you aware that slave labor has for the last nine weeks labored on first the theater then the retirement home and then a medical facility that I dreamed up. Nine weeks times sixty four gnomes times four gold a week, we owe the gnomes two thousand three hundred and four gold.”
“Rose, they are not slaves, they volunteered.”
Stolen novel; please report.
“Arthur, first they did not volunteer, they were coerced, when they moved here they agreed to work on civic projects in exchange for being allowed in. I was allowed in and no one informed me that I had to work for the government for free. Besides that Arthur, how would your family fare if you weren’t paid for the last nine weeks. We have to fix this.”
“How Rose the town doesn’t have a quarter of that much gold. That gold is earmarked to pay the guard and other town employees.”
“First off, You have to repeal that agreement, welcome the gnomes as hardworking, honest citizens with no more free civic construction. Second, announce the auction of an exclusive single private portal network. It can have up to three end points and will also function on the public network, the starting bid is two thousand gold. Third, some kind of ceremony thanking the gnomes for all they have done for the town. What do you say Arthur?”
“Yes, Rose, you are right. I even have an idea how to force the council’s hand if they won’t agree.”
“Good I knew you’d do the right thing Arthur, I have an idea for the auction. First make it a silent auction. I’ll pay a gnome crew to erect a big billboard, each bid will go up on the billboard so everyone in town can see who bid and what they’ve offered. The first bidder is anonymous and bid twenty three hundred gold. Then I’ll need to know where all the rich wives gather.”
Later that day the giant billboard was put up next to the library, it also included instructions on how to bid. After making sure everything was correct I paid the gnome crew. Then I jumped to the bakery.
“Paula, we need to talk.”
“Sure Rose.”
“We’ve had slave labor working for us for the past nine weeks. When the gnome colony originally moved here they were coerced into working for free on civic projects. For the past nine weeks the gnomes have worked eighteen hour days for free.”
“Well, I’ll pay them Rose.”
“No I have a better idea, I need you, I need master spy Paula Becker, but first we have to go shopping in Paris.”
We jumped to Paris, I authored tens of thousands in Euros for us and we went to the salon and had simply everything done that could be done then we decked ourselves in the latest fashions, then the jewels came next. When Paula reckoned that we couldn’t look any more like new money we jumped back to Wyldwood and the exclusive ladies club we went into the lounge. Paula ordered us two martinis, I’d never tasted anything so awful in my life. But I held it in my right hand waving it around. When a table of suitably richly clad middle aged women sat next to us. Paula started talking loudly like she had a few two many of these cocktails.
“And i told him if he expects to TOUCH THIS BODY in the next six months HE BETTER WIN THAT AUCTION, It’s worth it JUST FOR the DOCTOR ALONE, I MEAN DOESN’T HE LOVE HIS FAMILY. It’s not like he can’t afford it.”
I sat there nodding agreeing with every word that she’d said. The middle aged ladies cleared out, and a richly dressed crowd of twenty and thirty year olds took over the booth. Paula began again.
“NO SEX FOR A YEAR if WE DON’T WIN THAT AUCTION I’m tired of TAKING COACHES ThAT Smell OF HORSE CRAP. I WANT MY OWN PORTAL AND I WAnT it NOW.”
She kept going on like that until this group left. My martini was mostly gone, not from my drinking it but from waving the drink around and nodding to Paula’s drunken rants. A group of very wealthy looking elderly ladies sat down. Paula started in earnest.
“IF HE HAS NO REGUARD FOR HIS MOTHER’S HEALTH, HOW’S HE GOING TO TREAT ME WHEN I GET OLDER. ALL HIS MOTHER WANTS IS A PRIVATE PORTAL THAT WILL GIVE HER HEALTH CARE WHEN SHE NEEDS IT.
After about fifteen minutes we stood up Paula waving back and forth.
“If I had a PRIVATE PORTAL, I COULD BE HOME BUT OH NO I HAVE TO TAKE THE STINKING CARRIAGE.”
Then we walked out the door and I portaled us to the bakery.
“Wow, Paula, you said you were going off to fight injustice. I expected tights and a cape, not the latest fashions.”
“Lily, sometimes you have to break a few eggs to bake a cake.”
“That’s not the saying, Paula.”
“I know Lily. I adapted it for a baker.”
“Thank you very much for your help.”
“If there are no bids tomorrow, can we go back the next day, Paula?”
“I’m tempted to bid on it myself, Rose, just so I never have to go back to a club like that in my life.”
“Well thanks for today Paula, at least Paris was fun. See you tomorrow, Lily.
The next day I portaled to the library, there were five bids, the auction stood at twenty eight hundred gold. We had all the money owed the gnomes plus a little more. Arthur had promised anything extra would go into a fund for the next big civic project.
I portaled to townhall and asked to see the Burgomaster.
“Rose, I’m so glad you’re here, have you seen the board, twenty eight hundred already. I was worried that no one would top your fake bid, but you are a genius. I have good news, the town has voted to void the original agreement, welcome the gnomes to Wyldwood with no strings attached. On top of that this Friday we are having a little ceremony out front of town hall with the gnome Elders. The Elders made a special request that you be here.”
“I’d be honored Arthur.”
I portaled back to the bookstore. Alvyn was talking to Sparky.
“I won’t accept any blame for anything that she has done, Elder Glimmerdus, yes she is my apprentice. But she just runs off and causes all sorts of problems for people and won’t pay any attention. See, look at the time and she’s just now strolling into work. Rose, I believe Elder Glimmerdus would like a word with you.”
“Yes, I would Rose, on behalf of the gnome council, we want to thank you for your efforts to see the gnome colony treated fairly. If there is ever anything that we can do for you just name it.”
“Thank you Alvyn I appreciate it, but it was everyone here in the shop that built the network. Without the network, we would never have learned of the problem, so let’s all work together for a brighter future for all the citizens of Wyldwood.”
