Whadda Want? [Roland Moonstar]

[Theying]

Second Cycle of Spring in Era XIV

The master herbalist knew an opportunity when he saw one. This Moonstar fellow was supposed to be a political bigwig or something. And there was an inquiry about his profession, so that could be a big deal.

The master herbalist wanted to open a number of shops in a number of places, and the more different sources of income to build that dream the better. Theying didn't want to be beholden to a single individual or group of individuals. There were always a large number of benefits that Theying was willing cede to partners as long as he could maintain independence.

Well, this was the address. Theying knocked at the door and waiting for a reply, he was hoping that he would be able to wrap things up quickly.

[Roland Moonstar]

Roland opened the door. "Serale, Theying. Let me step outside, we can talk on the porch. I would invite you in, but as you can see, the combination of war and fire did a great deal of damage, and I'm still assessing whether to raze the whole place or to rebuild from scratch."

He had been evidently scavenging in the fallen debris inside his house for mementos of his family and friends. These he put down in a pile on a proch, then wiped off his dusty hands on his trousers.

Roland rubbed the back of his neck. "I apologize for bothering you, but one thing I'll never forget in Jaedaxia is your insistence on not being labeled any one particular thing, that you were both a herbalist and a healer."

He smiled at Theying. "I won't waste your time trying to get you to work for House Moonstar. I remember well enough when I tried to recruit you for the Legion of Justice how strongly you felt about your own independence. Still, I desire to hire your services for House Moonstar, at least on a temporary or freelance basis, much as I might get a doctor or dentist."

He pointed out into the woods outside Paxia. "Here in town, it is easy enough to get a healer should the need arise. But I have organized an expedition in the forest to get lumber and other resources for Paxia, because the fire here burnt so much. And of course the fire spread, so my expedition had to go basically halfway between here and Mileswick, so it is a few hours away. Would you mind coming with me to the expedition site?"

[Theying]

"I'll go," Theying answered. "But I can't stay for long, but I can provide some assistance while I'm there. As far as any longer-term stuff goes, I can sell you some of what I brought with me. As it so happens I did bring some extra Ta'Finnel with me which is excellent for speeding injuries."

He sighed at the notion of being a pet herbalist. It happens more often than not, but that was generally not good for anyone in the end. The herbalist gets locked away somewhere and his/her skills decay, and the so called "patron" gets a tool that they don't know how to use properly. But, Theying did want something that Roland Moonstar had, so deals could be worked out.

"Look, about the hiring thing," the master of herbalism continued. "You can hire me to do things, just like anyone else. If you want me to consult you on something or other that's something different. If you really want to establish a more concrete business arrangement then I do have one idea, you see I'm going to be opening a number of shops all over the Empire and I'm looking for some people to work with in the funding. I'm not offering part ownership, just repayment and some of the 'intangible benefits', like offering jobs as favors assuming that you pay them and moving hidden assets into and out of cities with my stuff. If you're interested, we can work out the deals on the way."

[Roland Moonstar]

Roland shrugged. "It's not just a question of money. If that was all that was required, Paxia would already be rebuilt. You may find the Aedile here very uncooperative, but that's because here in Paxia, seeing the Aedile is the easiest part of the whole operation."

He pointed at the ruins all around them. "Finding raw materials and builders for your shops will be the hard part. House Moonstar has the raw materials and the builders, and we offer our services cheaper than anyone else. So I expect we may in fact work together, though perhaps not in the way you may have first thought."

He smiled at Theying. "Though you raise a good point: I don't think Paxia has much of a bank right now, perhaps I will open one here. I know how to do that, from Diana. If you can't get a loan from the Imperials or the Town, I'll see what we can work out."

Roland then gave Theying directions on how to reach the expedition site. "Here is a map of the Arium Wilderness. Come with me now, or as fast as possible, over to here. Thank you."

[Theying]

Now, Theying got most of the commentary, and the blanket rejection of his offer, but one part didn't make much sense.

"Why would building material be expensive or hard to come by?" The master herbalist inquired. "The rubble and ruins are building material, are they not? Why not just rebuild mostly from the good stone, brick, and wood that can be reclaimed? Sure, they will need some work to be made servicable, but that was what made the foundation of Jaedaxia when we rebuilt there."

[Roland Moonstar]

Roland shrugged. "Because that was a very different situation. The damage, though severe, was localized. The war only lasted a cycle or so. Here there were two invasions, six months apart, followed by a fire that wiped out most of the surrounding woods and forests. It's simply put, destruction on a whole different scale. In Carmelyn Province, there were no 'bad' guys: simply two cities fighting each other, with the one helping the other afterwards. In Arium, there have been orcs, warlords, pirates and highwaymen all taking advantage of the situation."

"But that's not even the biggest difference. There, Governor Sarista did all she could to work with Thane D'Jones. Here, Jenius De Merchante turns a blind eye to the affairs of any city but Nexus Prime. Mileswick, Evile, Vortex and Paxia can all go hang so far as he's concerned. He did not help the Paxia refugees that came to Nexus Prime, and he certainly hasn't sent any aid or relief efforts here."

"Still, I do not want to sound like a pessimist. I am an optimist, and I believe Paxia will rebound, being as it has spent the last four months digging itself out of the ruins. If you truly have the goal of opening a shop here and living here to manage it yourself, I will do what I can to help you, both with financing and donated materials. But Arium has had enough carpetbaggers: I want people living here, not just coming and going. Please ponder on that while we walk."

OOC: and of course, there you had GM Steven handling everything from start to finish. Here we've had 4 GMs in the space of 12 months, and no GM for several of them. Both IC and OOC, a very different situation.

[Theying]

IC:
"I guess that you have a point on a number of things," Theying commented carefully. "Things did happen quite differently, but stone is still stone and brick is still brick. There certainly is at least some of the stuff laying around to build things from."

That last little bit was somewhat targeted. Theying said in complete earnestness, "I still have a life waiting for me in Jaedaxia, but what I can do is open an establishment and train an immigrant to fill that role for me."

OOC: I'm talking about natural rebuilding patterns. Look at any major European city and you'll see the canablization of old, destroyed, or unoccupied buildling for building materials up to and including the firebombings of Hamburg. While the complete destruction of the the forrests would be a problem, there still should be a good deal of solid building material laying around. The issue would really be lack of skilled labor. I have no idea what the population is still like.

[Roland Moonstar]

Roland pondered the situation. There was no point in further discussing Paxia as there were too many variables that neither had at hand, such as the amount of people available for labor.

Instead he decided to tackle the subject of the store itself. "You have made some very good points." He sighed, looking around the ruins. "There are just so many variables, even with that. Anyone can be a store clerk, but what you'd have to do is spent a few cycles, perhaps a few seasons, adequately training someone to be a herbalist and alchemist, so they could go out and pick the correct flowers, then process them as needed.

You couldn't do all that remotely, as there are way too many bandits and highwaymen on the road between here and Jaedaxia. The cost for insurance and for enough guards for a caravan to ship goods here would eat into your profits. It's not enough to attempt to buy a store and then run out the gates again once you're through with the Aedile: I can almost guarantee that a corrupt clerk would steal the profits for himself and a good clerk would donate them to his needy friends and family here.

If you want to do this, you have to do this right, and stick around to make sure any one you train has actual loyalty to you. I wish you luck on it, and I hope you succeed, but I think you're underestimating the time factor required to show real profilt."

[Theying]

Theying snorted at the concept of operating a herb shop remotely. That was truely insanity. You can't explain how plants are doing in a letter, and if there was a problem then the crop would be lost long before any answer could be replied.

"I have to explain some things," the master herbalist replied. "I already found a clerk, a good fellow and an immigrant who intends to stay. I will, in fact, train him myself and pay him with partial ownership. I have no need to ship herbs on a regular basis, just one very large shipment would be good to start and let them propogate, with an occasion supplimentation from the surrounding environment. A properly organized herb shop can be totally self-sufficient with the basic stuff, it's the rare and unusual thing that need to be shipped and moved. I dare say that demand for those things will be low until Paxia renews itself. Although, I am interested in hiring several more people so if you find anyone with a green thumb send the over."

[Roland Moonstar]

Roland listened carefully. Theying had adequately addressed and answered his points one by one, showing rare patience in the meantime. A good man, with a solid character. Roland could not help but respect him.

"Very impressive. It does indeed sound like you've covered all the basics. I did not think you had thought it all through as much as you did, but I must give credit where credit is due: you have, and it's duly impressive. I expect you will do fabulous."

It was too bad Theying had no desire to stay. A fellow like this could change the fortunes of a province if he put his mind to it. Even so, the shop would be useful to the new Paxia, and would hopefully make a major dent in the disease so rampant in an impoverished, war-torn city.

"All right, I will keep a look out for potential employees for you. But that should be easy enough: there are so many unemployed refugees you have your pick of pretty much anyone you want. Some supplies may be depleted or out of stock, but not personnel. I think you will do very well, Theying, all things considered. Very well indeed."

[Theying]

"I hope so," Theying answer quite simply. "Things never go as planned, and I don't quite know what challenges will be in store for me in getting things up and running. I will, however, make a better future exist if I have to build it with my own two hands." That was true, the master herbalist did have an eye toward the future. He had a family now, and he had to provide for them as much as possible.

[Roland Moonstar]

Roland nodded. "I believe you will. I haven't seen such earnest determination in a long time."

He paused, contemplating Theying. "You make me curious about you. I will respect it if you are a private man and don't want to talk about yourself, but I will ask a question or two anyway: answer as you wish."

Roland pointed at the land around them. "I ask for nothing I won't do myself, so I shall volunteer a bit about myself, too. I am from Arium, born of this land. My family is here, and my friends are here. House Moonstar is here."

"I spent a long time-- too long-- being a carpetbagger and a roamer, traveling the world, but ultimately I found that home is where the heart is, and I have decided to stay in Arium, put down roots here, and do what I can for Paxia and the cities here. I had a wife here once, but she was lost in the orc invasion, along with my brother-in-law. Now, in her memory, I dedicate myself to rebuilding Paxia."

He then gestured at Theying. "And so now I wonder about you. Who are you? What motivates you? What drove you to become a healer, and a student of herbs? What brought you to Paxia at this time?"

Roland paused then, allowing Theying to decide what questions, if any, he felt like answering.

[Theying]

Those were some interesting questions. Most of which he really hadn't thought of before. Things often just sort of happened, and for a long stretch there he simply reacted to the things that went on around him.

"I don't really know how to explain who I am," the young man commented introspectively. "I want to create something that wasn't there before, and protect what I have. I have a wife and small child in Jaedaxia, they don't want to move but there's little room for me to grow something brand new there. In many respects I still don't belong there, but if I can create something new and grand and... worthy... here in this place that needs it so much then maybe I can create a place for myself in that insular world as well. I became a healer so that I would not find myself helpless when those I care about got hurt, and then a herbalist so that I would always have another option to try. But in time I realized that I am needed as a herbalist, and by borrowing the unused power of plants I can do great things. They grow as well, you know. I guess there's something poetic about that, somewhere..." He was rambling, thinking aloud as he did from time to time when people asked him pointed questions. Often times, as in this particular case, he would even forget that he was in the process of holding a conversation.

[Roland Moonstar]

Roland nodded. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I sense that you are not the sort who often opens up, and so I appreciate even more your attempt to tell me a little something of yourself."

He pondered what Theying had said for a moment. "I did not realize you were a family man, with a wife and child. So now I understand why you can not stay in Paxia, and why it would be ill-advised for you to relocate here."

He shrugged. "I wish you well in your endeavors. If you wish to hear my speech, I will be giving one later in the cycle. In it, I go into further details of why I do not want carpetbaggers; the people of Paxia are poor and our crowns can't be spent on helping outsiders grow richer. We need people here, helping us to grow and rebuild, and putting their time and passion into our little community. It is nothing personal against you: I sense you are a good family man. But my first loyalty is to the natives of this province."

Roland thanked Theying for his time and attention, shook his hand, and told him to come by to Roland's office before leaving, to let the Lord Protector know how everything went during Theying's vacation in Paxia.

[Theying]

There was logic there that Theying could not deny, and had no intereste in doing so.

"You're quite right," the master herbalist responded. "There is no extra wealth here to be carted off. But I don't have much interest in robbing the people of Paxia, either. I will provide new wealth to the city, even though I will take some of that off. I do intend to generate much more wealth for the city than I take, though. It's good for long-term business."

Theying accepted the later invatation and meandered off. He still had much to do and little time to do it with.