[Bargain, Leadership]
I portaled to the Evans estate, I was looking for Bimble but I was surprised to see two lounging gnome guards at the entrance to the mansion. Gnomes are the most incredible workers in the world. Watching gnome teams perform a ballet whilst working on a construction job, toting lumber only to be placed by another gnome dancer as a pair of dancers nail the board in place. So I wondered for the umpteenth time, why are the guards so very lax.
As I approached the door the two gnomes saluted and opened the door for me. But instead of going in I just addressed the guards directly.
“I was hoping to have a word with Bimble, do you know if she is around?”
“Commander Blossom is in a meeting ma’am, but we will get her for you immediately.”
“No, I don't want to interrupt her. I just wanted to ask her something. I’ll come back again, some other time.”
“No, please wait, ma’am, she’ll blame us if you leave and we were just promoted to door guard and don’t want to lose the position because we inconvenienced you or made the commander hopping mad. Please wait, just a moment inside.”
“Well just tell her it can wait, if she is busy, otherwise it should only take a few minutes.”
“Yes ma’am, would you like some tea while you wait ma’am?”
“No thank you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
It couldn’t have been much more than a couple of minutes, when Bimble appeared.
“Hello, Rose, ma’am.”
“Hi Bimble, I want to establish a Board of Directors to determine what happens with the four estates that we own and the vineyard next door, when we purchase it from the town. I’d like you to be on the board, will you do it, please?”
“I’d have to ask the elders, but why me ma’am?”
“Well, because you are great at your job, your people have a colony on the land that the board will have power over and it’s important to get everyone’s perspective. The more diverse the board is, the wider the range of opinions. I plan on asking Mossbeard to also have a seat on the board and in addition I plan on hiring him to run the estates for the board. Of course at some time in the future, the board could vote to replace him with someone else, but that would strictly be a board decision. He might turn me down, I haven’t asked him yet. He’s next on my list.”
“Would you mind waiting just one minute ma’am? I’ll ask the elders right now and come right back.”
“Certainly.”
I waited for a few minutes, in the marble hallway with the polished floor, so polished I could see myself reflected.
“Ma’am the elders say that I’m acceptable but they have better diplomatic gnomes, that would be better suited to the task.”
“Bimble you are going to live in this colony right?” She nodded her head in the affirmative. “And you defended this land did you not?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You want the gnomes and humans that are going to be living side by side to live happily, peacefully, and successfully.”
“Yes, that goes without saying, ma’am.”
“Then as far as I am concerned you are the perfect gnome for the job.”
“Thank you ma’am.”
“No, Bimble, thank you, if it hadn’t been for you and your fellow security forces we wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
“I don’t mean to disagree with you ma’am but we both know that either you or the dragon could have easily taken out that sorry excuse for an army.”
“No, I'm no soldier, Bimble.”
“It took thirty of our soldiers to take out the same amount as you ma’am and you were only in the field for a few hours, not counting the time that you portaled them to another world. Plus you just as easily could have killed them, just portaled them to the moon, no air and no water.”
“Maybe but that would have violated our core principles, we don’t kill people until we can also bring them back from the dead. Even then it’s still a horrible idea.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Bimble, just call me Rose, please.”
“Yes, Rose, ma’am.”
“I’ll let you know when the first board meeting is.”
“Thank you Rose, ma’am.”
Then I portaled to the warehouse to find Mossbeard, who was directing a large group of gnomes, distributing the free food to the vendors.
“Hey Mossbeard can you help me do a portal,and I need to ask you something too.”
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“Sure Rose.”
He handed off his clipboard to the other gnome and after giving him a few instructions we portaled back to the Evans estate. From there we walked across the Harris’s vineyards to the Davies estate. It was beautiful up here with a fine view of the town and all the tenant farmer cottages. I decided to enclose the entire estate in a magical field, it would save me from having to make a single field for the portal plus at some point in the future I’d want it done completely anyway. Might just as well handle it today.
It took me a few hours to completely enclose the estate, but by the time it was done Mossbeard was done with the drawing and had Opal activate it for me. I jumped to Juliet’s World and authored a portal wallet for each of the Davies. Then I jumped back to the estate and knocked on the door.
James Davies answered the door.
“This is a nice surprise Rose.”
“Hi Mr Davies, I just installed a portal for you to use and two portal wallets for you and Pearl. If you have just a few minutes, I’d be happy to show you how to use it.”
“Sure Rose, just let me get a coat.”
He went back inside to get his coat and I asked.
“Mossbeard, would you please get a couple of gnomes from the warehouse and go to the tower and create a sideboard for the Davies then portal it here and put it where Pearl tells you to. Then just show her how to use it.”
“Right away, Rose, I’ll teach her the delights of gulasch.”
“Teach her how to make her favorite meal, not yours.”
“Rose, once she eats the gulasch it will be her favorite meal.”
Then he portaled away. Gulasch was pretty darn good but it couldn’t compare to my favorite meal, pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, breakfast, lunch or dinner. James came back wearing his jacket. I showed him how to portal to the pub, where the food is free. I asked Lu to put whatever the Davies ate on my tab. Then I walked him over to the bakery so he could pick out something to bring home for Pearl.
“Mr Davies, I know you are retired but I was hoping you’d consider being on the board of directors for the foundation that will be running the estates.”
“Call me Jim, Rose. But why me, I’m sure lots of younger people will be moving in, wouldn’t it be better to have one of them.”
“No, Jim, I think the board needs someone who knows the history of the estates. While the estates are fundamentally changing, that doesn’t mean that everything should just be thrown away. The board is going to be quite diverse, I have a sentient tree, hopefully two gnomes and a few prominent local business women, a doctor and a librarian. These are the board members I hope will agree. I haven’t asked everyone yet. That’s what I'm doing today.”
“I’d be honored Rose, and unless you already made arrangements for a meeting place we have a huge formal dining room that would be perfect for meetings and whoever is in charge of the estates could also use it as their office for day to day operations. The older Pearl and I get the fewer rooms we actually use.”
“That sounds perfect Jim, I’m hoping that Mossbeard will take the position of estate manager at least until the board meets and votes on someone else if they don’t care for the way Mossbeard is managing things.”
Jim picked out some baked goods for Pearl, I introduced him to Lily and told her to put the Davies goods on my tab. To which she just laughed, because I haven’t paid since the first day I’d met Lily and she sold me a magical bake that she warned me not to eat. I listened to her advice and she’s been one of my closest friends ever since. I planned on stopping by later to ask her to serve on the board.Then we portaled back to the estate, where Mossbeard showed Jim how to get his favorite meal from the magical sideboard.
Then we left but before we portaled away.
“Mossbeard, I want you to be the managing director of the estates, we can hire as many people as you need to help. Now the board may choose to appoint someone of their own, but you’ll still have a spot at the bookstore and even if you keep the director job, I may need you to make portal drawings at times and I want you as one of the board members.”
“I’ll need to talk to the elders.”
“I thought you might say that, so let’s portal to the colony and we can talk to Alvyn together if that is all right with you.?”
“Yeah I’m fine with that, Rose. But are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure, you are a really hard worker, you know about construction. You can supervise others effectively. I’m one hundred percent sure.”
Then we portaled to the gnome colony, Mossbeard and I were shown into the meeting room by the lounging guards. I felt oddly safe by their casual guarding. The war truly was over.
A few minutes later Alvyn joined us and I told him that I wanted Mossbeard as the interim managing director and a board member.
“I can’t stop you Rose but I’d advise against it.”
“Why Alvyn?”
“Well Mossbeard isn’t your typical gnome is he, look at his cape, it’s the wrong color and much worse look at how crooked it is. A hat is supposed to be a perfect cone shape, with a perfect slope. Mossbeard’s is bent at a ninety degree angle and the color is for teenagers, he never upgraded his color.”
“I think it looks jaunty, cocked to the side like that.”
“Thanks, Rose.”
“We have real ambassadors trained to do just what you are asking Mossbeard to learn how to do.”
“I have a great working relationship with Mossbeard, plus he was invaluable during the brief war doing every manner of job that I asked him to without complaint. If you give him a list of gnomes that he can hire as needed as the manager, that way we’ll have the best of both worlds, you’ll be putting forward gnomes that you think can help the most and I’ll have someone I already, know, trust and already have experience working with. It’d be a win-win for both of us. Plus we already have a gnome with a perfect hat on the board so a little variety is the spice of life they say.”
“As you wish Rose, if you want that vineyard you better get to city hall next, the Burgomaster was talking about auctioning it off before they even win the case.”
“Any advice on what to bid?”
“Well you kind of made their wine cellar worthless but the already planted and producing grape vines are probably worth as much if not more than the land. If I was bidding, I would start at one thousand and go as high as fifteen hundred, after that it’d be diminishing returns.”
“So, Alvyn Mossbeard has your blessing if he wants both of the jobs?”
“Yes, Rose.”
“Great, come on Mossbeard, let's go buy a vineyard. I know just the girl to manage it.”
