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Ruby stayed and counted the cases of wine as they were loaded onto a delivery, one hundred and three cases returned to the Harris’s. We delivered one hundred and thirteen cases of Cabernet Sauvignon to the merchant.
Ruby and her bodyguard used a portal Muffin to portal to Duskhaven. From Ruby’s traveling saleswoman days she thought there might be two wine merchants in Duskhaven. We agreed no matter what the merchants wanted was theirs if they agreed to return all of the Harris’s wine today. We would even pay the shipping to have it returned.
Next Ryder and I portaled to the Guard House. Nora was at the front desk.
“Hi Rose, wow who’s this with you.”
“Nora, I'd like you to meet my friend Ryder Fontaine. Ryder is the head of my security team, I bought a farm in the hills and I need to protect it. Ryder, this is Nora, the best guardswoman in town. Please cooperate with her if you meet in the field. I was hoping to introduce him to Dogberry, do you think I could see him?”
“Sure Rose, you know the way.”
We proceeded to Dogberry’s office, all the guards were eyeing Ryder in his protective gear. He looked even bigger, then he actually was. I knocked on Dogberry’s door.
“Hi Dogberry, I came to introduce my friend Ryder Fontaine. Ryder is the head of my security team. Ryder, this is my friend and the head of the guard Dogberry. If I ever give you an order and Dogberry countermands it. You obey Dogberry. Understood. I bought a farm in the hills, today Dogberry. The town guard can’t protect it, so I’m hiring a small force to keep it safe. They all have portal wallets and if they are attacked they are under orders to not fight, if they are protecting someone they are to portal here to the guard house with whoever they are protecting and make a complaint. Is that all right?”
“Certainly Rose, it’s nice to meet you Ryder. I don’t know how well you know Rose, Ryder, she looks like a creampuff, but I’d be willing to bet she could take us both out at the same time without breaking a sweat.”
“Not true, Ryder, would you give me and Dogberry a few minutes. You might go out and talk to Nora, maybe ask her out for coffee. I may be mistaken but she seemed like she might be into you. I’ll meet you back at the store.”
“Sure, Rose. Nice to meet you, Dogberry.”
He left, hopefully to ask Nora on a date.
“Is this about last night, Rose? The watch will protect you.”
“No, I bought fifty one percent of Sophie Evans’ farm today, later today or tomorrow work begins out there and I want my workers out there safe. You have no jurisdiction. If they are attacked by gang thugs and are out numbered they are under orders to retreat here. They are also under orders to follow yours and Lu’s orders. If they can safely apprehend any gang thugs, they are to bring them to me and I’ll give them a nice new life in Tranquility two. But the Evans farm is going to crawl with gnomes and other workers of mine. I intend to keep them safe, while I slowly ruin the Harris’s. Our town’s wine merchant was my first shot, he returned around one hundred cases of their wine today. My traveling salesperson is in Duskhaven with orders to do whatever it takes to obtain a similar result.”
“You might be interested to know that Kristi Noem is in a cell. We found ten dogs buried in her back yard, she also admitted to being blackmailed by the Harris’s. She strongly denies knowing that the Harris boy was going to kill us last night.”
“That’s great Dogberry, are the rest loyal to you or are you worried there may be more that the Harris money compromised? I have a way, we can test any or all if you like.”
“No, I think we are all right, but if I change my mind I’ll come to your store, Rose.”
“Not my store, Sparky’s store, I have my hands in enough pies right now. Alright, I’ll go, but if you need anything you know where I am and thanks for last night. If I hadn’t questioned David Harris, I wouldn’t have known about the wine angle.”
“You could have just asked me, the Harris’s are the only non farmers out there that sell in town.”
“I should have asked, I just assumed they were all farmers. I have to get to city hall.”
I portaled to city hall, and went right to Michael’s desk.
“Michael, could the Burgomaster see me for just a moment?”
“Let me see, Rose?”
He was back just a second later, with Arthur.
“Rose come right in, Dogberry filled me in on what happened last night. I’m sorry it’s come to this.”
I went into his office and sat down.
“Our other problem at the farms seemed to have solved itself.”
“Yes, I noticed the growth seems normal now, I haven’t had a chance to ask Draco what he thinks.” Now comes the big lie. ”My best guess is the magic field was extra potent, it woke up trees and caused the rapid crop growth, but having used up all the ‘extra’ magic. It has now started to just behave as any normal magical field.” That was a complete fabrication, I knew that Woody had cast a growth spell, but no one else can ever know that Woody has the ability to do that or I fear he’ll be exploited.
“Well if by chance it starts again we can always implement the plan Orin and I came up with, Rose.”
“Great, it’s always good to be prepared. I came to talk to you about something else. I purchased half of the Evans farm and I’m going to redevelop it into affordable housing. I spoke to Alvyn about hiring gnomes and he offered me free gnome labor if I agreed to them establishing another gnome colony there. I agreed, but told him I wanted to talk to you before I proceeded.”
“You are going to put a gnome colony next to the Harris Vineyards.”
“Yes I thought a little diversity, rich capitalists next door to poor communists, but not just gnomes, they are going to build affordable housing for anyone in town that needs it. According to Maz the gnomes are brilliant at making all sorts of things.”
“I’m all for it Rose, I’d love to see the Harris faces when they realize that the gnomes are moving in.”
“Me too Arthur, me too.”
I portaled to the gnome colony and asked to see Alvyn.
“Alvyn, we are all set, Arthur seemed genuinely pleased about a second colony.”
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“Rose, you needn’t have asked him he has no jurisdiction in the hills.”
“I know but it was the polite thing to do and the town is growing, so it may be included in the town some time in the future. So I’d like to hire thirty of them to act under my security team. I don’t want any fighting, but if they are threatened I want them protected. If the head of their security team could come by the store later I’ll introduce him to his boss and make body armor for their whole team.”
“Sure, thing Rose, by the way, I filed the paperwork for your and Sophie’s lawsuit, against the Harris’s.”
“Harvey didn’t have anything to do with cheating Sophie did he?”
“No, I don’t think so, I don't think that the Harris’ used an attorney, it looked all hand drafted. Plus any attorney would know that it was illegal. They may have consulted an attorney and found out that what they were planning wouldn’t hold up in court.”
“I’ll go back to the store and wait for the security gnomes, if they send their construction engineer we can all look over the property and put in a portal.”
“Ok Rose, that sounds good.”
I portaled to the warehouse portal, Mossbeard was directing the gnomes but handed his clipboard to the bossy gnome, when he saw me arrive.”
“Hi Rose, is everything okay?”
“Yes, but I need you back, can one of the other gnomes take over from now on?”
“Yes no problem, let me tell them who’s in charge and I’ll meet you back at the store.”
“Alright, it’ll be good to have you back Mossbeard.”
I portaled back to the store. Ryder and a few guards were waiting.
“Ryder, I hired a gnome security team to work under your orders, they are due here this afternoon and we’ll all walk out and look over the new land. While I’m there I’ll put a portal in and then we can portal straight to the city gate, so no surprise attacks on the road will be possible. I hired the gnomes because for the time being it will be almost all gnomes on the site except for a few specialists like my friend Maz. I want the gnome workers to feel comfortable, so I thought a detachment of gnome security under your command would accomplish that. If it doesn’t work for you then we’ll come up with something else.”
“No Rose, I’m fine with it, it actually is really smart. Community policing by people of the same community always works better than some outside force imposed on a population.”
Mossbeard portaled in and I introduced him to Ryder and I went looking for Elma. I found Elma leaned up against a wall in the back room, reading.
“What are you reading Elma?”
“Walden.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes I love it, this guy knew what he was talking about. What could possibly be better than a walk in nature, plus he felt sorry for the guy who had to carry around all those possessions. A shame more humans don’t pay attention to this book.”
“He’s criticized now because while he lived in the woods his mother did the laundry.”
“He should have been a tree, he could have skipped the cabin and the laundry and just did what he enjoyed. But sadly trees don’t write, so if he was a tree we wouldn’t have this masterpiece, or his essay on walking. Maybe his mother did his laundry so he had more time to write, unless his mother was a writer?”
“No, I don't believe his mother ever wrote anything.”
“All these people that criticize Thoreau for not doing his own laundry, they all do their own laundry by hand?”
“No, I highly doubt that Elma.”
“Then they at least write as well and have such deep thoughts on the people and nature as him.”
“Again, sadly I think not.”
“Well if they can’t write as well, think as well, don’t do their own laundry by hand, they must have at least built their own house and can give an account of how much it cost them.”
“That I can say with absolute certainty is a no.”
“Then why would anybody care what they say? Perhaps they should spend time in a cabin in the woods, along with daily four hour walks before they disparage Walden, shouldn’t they know what they are talking about, to have lived it.”
Mossbeard called from the other room, The gnome security force is here.
“You haven’t heard any threats or rumors about us today have you Elma?”
“No, nothing, Rose.”
“Thank’s Elma, I’ll be back later, we're going out to the hills.”
“Are you walking or taking a portal?”
“We are walking there to install a portal and will portal back.”
“Can I go with you?”
“Sure if you’d like to take a walk.”
“I would, Walden got me in a walking mood.”
“Okay, come out front and meet everyone.”
The gnome guards all wore a type of uniform, all the men wore green jackets and pants, while all the women wore green jackets and blue pants. All wore perfect green cone hats. Someday I’d remember to ask Mossbeard why he wears a bent brown cone shaped hat.
Mossbeard introduced me to Bimble Blossom. She is in charge of the gnome security force. Then we jumped to Juliet’s World where I authored thirty sets of body armor.
“Do you expect to see combat, ma’am?”
“I certainly hope not Bimble, but better to be prepared. Please call me Rose.”
“Yes, ma’am.
