Bob The Innkeeper

"Do you want to come with me?" asked Bob, as they spotted him coming towards them. It wasn"t hard, with two bodyguards, to see him.

They made their way almost to the gates.

"I was wondering where on this row, you think the best spot would be for your location?" asked Bob, turning to look back down the road towards his store.

Charlie looked back down the street, then at him, as if he didn"t know what he meant.

"Surely you are joking, Master Bob. There is no way I could just choose a spot like that!"

Bob smiled. "Of course, but allow a little but of imagination. If you could choose a spot, where would it be? I was at first thinking close to the gates, so the adventurers didn"t have far to travel, but that would mean any who used this gate would have the smell of any animals waiting for butcher to worry about."

Charlie nodded, taking a sip of his soup absentmindedly, as he looked back down the block.

"Close to the gate would be good, because it would also allow me to dispose of the waste outside of the city, instead of having the trash men haul it off."

Bob nodded. "What all would you need in your butcher shop?"

"Well, my last shop had a holding pen out back for the larger animals, waiting to be butchered, and a killing area inside, where we did the initial cutting of the carca.s.s, to remove things like the head, hide, feet and guts. Then I had a spot inside for making smaller cuts, and a place to display the meat for sale."

"There"s been some talk about a coming festival, that the king himself might come to our city. If that happens, the need for a butcher in this area could be very important. If I have a shop built for you, I would be the owner, and you would answer to me. Whenever I need meat for my kitchen, you would provide it, and you would pay me for your taxes, so you don"t have to worry about that. I don"t know much about a butcher"s shop, but I trust you to be honest and fair with me."

Charlie was gaping at him, his soup bowl drooping in his hands, as complete shock and surprise overcame him.

"Master Bob! I thought you wanted us to work in your new kitchen, not actually have a full butcher shop built!"

"Well, I fully intend to fill this entire block with stores and businesses that would cater to the adventurers, and would employ the poor who were interested in working. I think it"s a shame that this s.p.a.ce has been allowed to sit unused when there is such an obvious need."

Tears were streaming down Charlie"s face as he finished the last of his soup in one big gulp. His son seemed dumbfounded. As Charlie turned to him with a big grin, he also finished his bowl in a gulp, causing a coughing fit. He finally got a breath with a whoosh of air and a sigh, causing the two of them to freeze.

Bob raised an eyebrow as the two looked at each other in wonder.

"What"s wrong?" he asked as Charlie started to laugh, wrapping his arms around his son.

"My boy, Benjie, lost his voice during the plague. Just couldn"t talk anymore. This is the first time he"s been able to make a sound.

Bob watched in confusion, as the two laughed and carried on in the middle of the street. Benjie would open his mouth and make random noises, that may have sounded like words if you tried hard enough, but they carried on like he was a famous bard.

"It must be this soup! Your soup must be magic!" cried Charlie, rushing over to give Bob a hug.

Leo and Zach stopped him, causing him to snap back into reality, but the grin on his face was still there.
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"Sir, whatever you decide, we are more than willing to agree to it! If you want us to run a butcher shop for you, then we shall do that! If you want us to work in your kitchen, we"re okay with that, too!"

Bob shook hands with the two of them, then watched as they almost danced away, laughing and carrying on. Shaking his head, he turned back to his store.

He spied Martha just as he was getting back, heading his way. Lys and Fergus were with her, carrying stuff. Bob waited on them, then held the door open.

"Master Bob, you didn"t have to wait on us," she complained good naturedly, giving him a smile.

"Those are my goods; I see no reason not to hold the door for you. Besides, it can stick when it gets cold like this."

She laughed, and had the boys unpack the tunics for him to see. They all had his sigil on them, and draped over the shoulders, meant to be worn over one"s clothing, and cinched in place with a belt around the middle.

"These are fantastic. I can"t believe you have them all done already."

"Well, this is only the first batch. You had wanted each of your workers to have two, so they can swap them out for washing. The gals that are helping me are sure enjoying the extra coin you"re sending our way."

"How are the widows doing?" he asked, sending Lys and Fergus to take them to the back.

"Well, I have a few more than just the widows working for me now. They all sure appreciate a few extra coins. Especially after the plague and the cold coming on."

"Do you think you could handle some more work?" he asked, moving out of the way of some adventurers who were trying to make a purchase.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked.

"Well, I"m looking to hire on a couple of butchers, and they could use some good clothes. I have adventurers clothing, but that wouldn"t work too well for a butcher."

"Are you talking about Charlie and his son Benjie? Those two are such a sad pair! I would love to make them some clothes. Does this mean you might have some meat for sale soon, too?"

"Possibly. I won"t say much about it though. It"s still in the works," Bob gave her a wink and she laughed.

"You will make someone a wonderful husband, some day."

Bob laughed. "I"m not ready for that! Having a wife causes all sort of things that I"m not ready for just yet."

"Orcs!" someone shouted outside, and all of the adventurers that had been in his store rushed outside.

Bob followed behind them, much to the dismay of Leo and Zach.

"They"re outside the walls! Everyone to your posts!" cried a guard, rushing past them.

The adventurers were grinning and they rushed to the gates.

"Best get inside, Bob," said Leo, grabbing his arm. "I don"t want to explain to your father how we kept you safe from a.s.sa.s.sins, but lost you to an orcish arrow. Those things are nasty!"

Martha rushed back inside as well, looking a bit queasy.

"Protect Bob"s store!" shouted several adventurers rushing past, and Bob couldn"t help but grin in appreciation.

"I"ll find out what"s going on," said Trudy heading outside.

"Is that all you wanted to ask me?" asked Martha, trying to get back on topic.

"Do you know Primrose?" he asked, shifting gears back to what he had wanted to ask her earlier.

"Who doesn"t? The woman"s an angel. There"s been some talk among us women about the good she does those poor babes. Whenever there"s a woman who dies and had a young babe, they always take it to her."

"I want you women to make her some blankets and baby clothes out of all of the sc.r.a.ps. I can buy some more fabric if you think you need it."

"That might be best. Some of the gals have been thinking about how we could help her out more, because of how old she is, and all, but they don"t want to stop making money to help. Some of them would die this winter, if we didn"t get your money."

She looked down at her hands, as she spoke, making it obvious how hard it was for her to tell him that.

"You are providing me with valuable resources. I would pay anyone who was doing the same. I"m just glad it"s helping you out so much. Be careful you don"t get everything stolen, though. Not everyone in the poor section are good people."

She laughed, and patted his shoulder. "I know that better than most. Don"t worry Bob, some of the gals" husbands and sons, who don"t have work at the moment, have been helping here and there, and the majority of the thieves leave us alone with so many men around."

"Good, I"m glad to hear it."

Outside, there was the sound of fighting, and they looked at each other, stepping behind the counter, as Leo took up a position by the door. Zach had them all get onto the stairs, with Vivian and the few kids who were there at the moment, and he took up a position at the foot of the stairs. If any orcs came into the store, they would have a world of hurt coming.