"It's gorgeous," Kathleen breathed, slowly walking around the left side of the miniature keep.
"Yep," Cora agreed, unable to keep the smile from growing as she circled to the right.
"There's just a little bit of touching up to be done," the grumpy looking guy said as he hovered just out of reach, held back by a slightly smiling woman dressed in scuffed leather armor.
Cora looked up and met Kathleen's eyes. An almost palpable wave of silent communication commenced. Then Cora turned towards the grumpy guy and smiled, trying to turn up the charm. She wasn't sure if it worked, but she'd been trying to understand Hoda's coaching.
It had been a consensus between Hoda, Heidi and Wen of all people that Cora needed to smile more. The mere thought infuriated her because of those three, Heidi was the only one who'd bothered to weaponize her smile. 'It's part of being political,' was all she got back when she tried to argue with the trio.
As far as Cora knew, Wen had gone off with Hoda on the latest caravan run, looking for 'inspiration.' Hoda had welcomed the company, saying that Wen was a good suppressive force towards her partners. And Heidi…well, Heidi was off doing whatever it was that she'd dragged Cora to the auction to cover for.
The fact that Juniper had also dragged Kathleen along was a bit disconcerting. However, the presence of the keep was more than enough to distract them from that impending disaster.
"What sort of touching up?" Cora asked. "Do you need a lot of time for this? A work area of some sort? I think I might be able to provide you with one."
"He doesn't need a work area," the woman answered. The grumpy guy looked offended. "You don't need a work area, and the piece doesn't need touching up."
Kathleen bent down, peering through one of the tiny windows. Then she widened her eyes and stepped back.
"There's a tile missing in there," she said, sounding scandalized.
Cora bit back a smile as the grumpy man deftly dodged his companion and hustled over to where Kathleen had been standing. He frowned into the window and pulled out a pair of almost impossibly small tweezers.
"Love," Kathleen whispered, her eyes actually wide this time.
Cora resisted the urge to slap her hand to her forehead and massage her temples. The man's friend had no such hesitation.
"Nathan!" She said sharply, her leather armor creaking.
Cora felt a moment's commiseration. She knew that whisper. It haunted her memories, decorated by a mental image of a shipload of rough stone being poured into a tunnel that ended in her warehouses. It was Kathleen's special ability as the majordomo of Wilderven – creating a tunnel that led directly to the warehouse area.
It hadn't been 'love' that time. It was just a whispered 'we just have to have that.' It was the same tone, however. It was just the first of many times she regretted offering Kathleen the majordomo position.
There were times she even wondered just why she needed one despite the satisfaction of completing that mini-quest.
"Kathleen," Cora began.
"My name's Kathleen. What's yours?" Kathleen said, inching closer to the grumpy guy.
"Nathan," Grumpy Guy replied. He looked up at Kathleen and smiled.
Cora knew that her instincts were spot on when the man's companion slapped her hands to her hips and turned away, swaying back and forth as if trying to stop herself from saying anything.
*****
"It's been three hours already," the woman, who Cora now knew was named Janelle said. She pulled out another pretzel from her inventory and offered it to Cora. "Pretzel?"
"Thank you," Cora said, taking the pretzel and taking a bite. "This is pretty good."
So far, Janelle had eaten three of the giant baked goods. Cora thought that it was pretty good that you couldn't gain weight in the game because otherwise, Janelle wouldn't be that slim if she ate like this every day.
"I know, right? The bakery doesn't exist anymore, though," Janelle lamented as she took a bite of her own pretzel. "Do you think it's going to take much longer?"
"I'll worry if they start talking about marketplaces and houses," Cora sighed.
Nathan and Kathleen were still poring over the keep, finding the most miniscule of errors that they had to correct. They'd even pulled out spyglasses from somewhere to focus on details.
"We can't stay here much longer," Cora prodded, walking over to the entrance of the storeroom.
The auction staff had loaned them the use of the room to examine their purchase. The room was empty save for the giant dollhouse keep.
Cora had been amazed they hadn't been gently suggested to leave earlier, but there had been some sort of commotion going on. Remembering Heidi and Juniper with their heads together, Cora found that she didn't want to know just what was going on.
"So, when I offered him a workspace, I meant it. I happen to have a vast amount of space to fill with," Cora said to Janelle. "It's not just him. You're part of a guild, right?"
Janelle stopped eating her pretzel and stared at Cora for a long moment. Then she took another bite.
"We're not a small guild," she said after swallowing.
"I have the space," Cora shrugged. She looked over at Nathan and Kathleen who were now on their knees with their heads nearly touching as they examined something at the back of the keep. "I might regret this, but I'm extending my invitation."
"We might have enemies," Janelle cautioned.
Cora smiled.
"I don't mind that at all," she assured the woman. "Here. The invitation," she added as she flicked a small white square at Janelle. "Give it to your guildmaster and let him decide. You might not like where you're housed now, after all. I hear a lot of guilds are moving around lately."
Janelle stared at her again, brow furrowing before shrugging. She carefully tucked the square under a strap of her armor.
"Nathan! Nathan!" Janelle bellowed. Nathan's head came up, his expression grumpier than ever. "I'm going to see the boss. Don't leave this room."
"I'm not a kid," Nathan grumped before Kathleen tugged his arm. "You found it? Good!"
And just like that, his attention was diverted back to the keep.
Cora shook her head. She had a feeling she wouldn't have to worry about the eventual grass ent village she wanted to develop at all from now on.