93 Plans Between Friends (1/2)
”Well, that was exhaustively pointless.” Corco took off his crown and, with reckless abandon, threw it to the side, onto a cupboard set up in the hallway, to his convenience.
”In the end, they are nothing but barbarians. They would not understand your grand vision,” Tama answered as she walked after the king.
”They're too materialist is what they are. No human spirit, no spirit of discovery. What boring bastards.”
Since Corco walked ahead of his new assistant, he couldn't see her face. He had no idea how the girl's expression would look upon his curse. Would she find his comment funny, confusing or displeasing? He still found it hard to read Tamaya di Pluritac. Something to be careful about in the future. Rather than think about unpleasant things, he changed topic to something he had been wondering for a while. In fact, he had no idea where his confident, dynamic steps were taking him at the moment.
”So what's next? The prisoners?”
”Next would be this.. doctor Hieronymus Bombasticus.” Corco could hear papers rustling behind him as Tamaya tried to get a hold of their itinerary. She wasn't all that good with names... or schedules, for that matter.
”Good. Much better, actually. I need a break from all the thinly veiled greed and hostility.” As he put his much more comfortable woolen head band back on, Corco could feel a smile spread across his face. Hieronymus was exactly the sort of debate partner he'd need to unwind somewhat. The alchemist's first task would be important as well. Thus, he took a right at the next intersection, back deeper into the main castle. The old lords of the south had done the best with what little lands had been available on the island of Rapra. The end result was this monster of a palace, packed with annexes, side-castles and cul-de-sacs. It would take a while for him to get used to the layout again. Still, for now, at least he remembered enough from his youth to find his way back to his own place, and to his old friend.
After a considerable march, they had reached the main palace at last, a grand structure atop the highest portion of Rapra Castle. When they entered the small salon, Ronnie already sat, ready and waiting, engrossed in his talks with Atau. Corco's cousin had been with them just minutes ago, but had stayed behind to get the arcavian craftsmen organized. Once they heard the steps come closer, the two men looked up from their conversation and put away the wine in their hands.
”Hey boss, you've taken your sweet time, huh? I thought we'd meet up here right away,” Atau said.
”...yeah, there was something I had to take care of first.”
Though Corco was almost sure they knew better, none of the men present would try to embarrass their friend, and now king, on purpose, so they simply glossed over the discrepancy. Instead, they waited for Corco to take his seat next to them before they continued their talk.
”All the craftsmen have received their new houses?” Ronnie was the first to speak up, as Corco was still busy rubbing his hands together to drive the cool sea breeze out of them. He really hated having cold fingers.
”Yeah. With all the warriors gone from Saniya's inner city, there's lots of free real estate, so getting a handful of newcomers settled wasn't hard. I'm glad you're back, by the way.” Corco's sentiment was genuine. He really could have used the alchemist's experience when he was fumbling around with chemicals back in Arguna. However, having too many foreign advisors would have made a bad impression, so Ronnie had stayed behind with the fleet.
”To be frank, I would much rather stay within Puscanacra. Although the accommodations provided by Lady Ogulno were not luxurious, the city itself was a sight to behold. Not to offend, but this Saniya, how should I say this... it can hardly be considered regal.”
Corco took the goblet of wine from his assistant Tama with a ”thank you,” before he turned back to the chemist. ”You can say that now, but I guarantee you that you'll have a very different view on things in no more than five years. We'll revolutionize the town, the lands and the people themselves.”
”I thought we were to revolutionize the world?” Ronnie smirked. ”Are we adjusting our goals already?”
”One step at a time.” Corco really had missed the alchemist's quips. As always, they played off each other to create a smooth flow of conversation. As former stage partners, the alchemist simply knew how to set up Corco's speeches much better than others. Plus, Ronnie had a scholarly attitude he wouldn't find with his other friends, a refreshing change from the burly men who would otherwise surround him. However, even in Puscanacra it had taken a while for them to meet up, as all the artisans and accountants had been let into the city. Only the mercenaries had been forced to stay outside. The unruly combatants had been considered dangerous by his cousin Mayu. Though he didn't like the new lord's attitude, Corco could at least follow his logic in that specific case. Dedrick's men really were a handful. ”First, the town, then the world. I'll need your help with the second part as well.”
”Ooh, at last the time is ripe for the great Bombasticus to show his talents. What great works will I be creating?” The alchemist put one leg over the other as he swayed his goblet. He really tried his very hardest to look as self-aggrandizing as possible.
”You get to take a tour around the villages of Chawir,” Corco said with a smile. He had been expectant of the chemist's reaction, and it didn't disappoint. The goblet was still being spun in expert fashion, but dark clouds began to cover the smiling face of the great Bombasticus. A comical contrast only a true actor could achieve.
”Surely you mean to say that the great alchemist is to produce the rare and incredible wonder known as fertilizer, would you? And that he is to enlighten the common folk with his talents?”
”Nope,” Corco said with a widening smile. ”You get to walk around the various villages in the bog and organize them. We'll want to centralize things properly, and set up some measures early. Education is gonna take half a decade before there's any results, so we best start now. Plus, spring farming will start very soon. We need to be ready if we want to have a good haul in autumn.”
”Well and good, but how could the great Bombasticus be forced into such meager work? Would there be no one else more fitting of these simple tasks?”
”...no one I can trust, at least. For the moment, there's three people in Saniya I can task with important matters. Tama here stays with me, since she's gonna have work in the city proper. That just leaves you and Atau.” In the end, Corco decided to count Tamaya among trustworthy people. Though they hadn't met too long ago and he still had a hard time figuring the girl out, at least she had proven her loyalty to the main line of Pluritac through her actions over the past two seasons.