"Mother, if you want to rest, we made a room for you upstairs," Cithis said, appearing at Jenn's side like she materialized out of thin air, making Jenn jump.
"Thank you,' Jenn replied, doing her best to not let her surprise show.
She wasn't that sure about what to expect overall, but she had a feeling that her headache was only going to get worse. That what she just went through was just a taste of what was likely to be in store for her.
Jenn followed Cithis up the stairs and saw a door waiting for her, in addition to more stairs that looked like they'd lead to another floor once they finished it. Though, Jenn wasn't sure what was going to be up there. Not to mention, the fact that they were able to get all of this up in just four weeks made Jenn's head feel like it was going to explode when she thought about it. Though she could only assume that they'd used magic to help speed things along. Whether or not it would create more problems down the road, Jenn wasn't sure and had a feeling that they'd merely have to wait to find out if that was the case.
On the second floor of the building, Cithis led Jenn through a door near the stairway that led to a decent sized room. She wasn't surprised to see that there was a pile of what looked like to be straw or other grasses for a mattress, though there wasn't much else at the moment in the room, aside from a stack of folded blankets by the 'mattress' on the other side of the room.
"Oh, Cithis," Jenn said as her daughter started to leave. "I have a pack with me when I came in and I set it on the ground downstairs. Would you be willing to bring it up here?"
Cithis looked confused for a moment, then she looked like she was going to refuse when she merely nodded and said, "Of course, mother."
"Thanks," Jenn replied as she ruffled Cithis' hair earning a wry grin from the girl.
As Cithis left, Jenn turned to the 'mattress' and could feel her eyes growing heavy with the mere thought of laying on it. She wouldn't be surprised if it was itchy and uncomfortable, but having had nothing but hard dirt floors, stone flooring, and solid wood to sleep on for the past long while, made Jenn willing to endure anything that was uncomfortable about this mattress in order to have something soft to lay on.
As Jenn lay on the mattress, she also pulled a blanket over her. She wouldn't mind a pillow, but at the moment, she knew this was better than anything she'd had for who knew how long. Almost like it was a luxury beyond anything she'd known up to that point.
Closing her eyes after getting herself situated, Jenn briefly thought about what to call their settlement. She wasn't sure what to refer to it as, but felt like the name would be important. Almost as important as her staying away from Beth in order to keep her best friend alive. Although, she couldn't be sure why that would be important. Just that it somehow was.
However, as she slipped into a peaceful sleep, she hadn't come up with anything that came to mind as something that would work. Not that she would have been surprised if she'd have forgotten anything she had come up with just as she entered a deep slumber.
Even when Cithis put her pack inside the room a minute later, Jenn didn't wake up. She just continued sleeping like nothing was going on around her. Like none of the basic noise that rose up from all the activities going on outside, from the construction to arguments that popped up from time to time, even existed.
When Jenn opened her eyes, she could feel that she wasn't going to get back to sleep, but also still felt rather tired. She wanted to just lay in the bed and not get up, but for a few problems. One, she could feel the need to find a bathroom. Two, she really wanted to take a bath, even if it was by a stream, though she'd much prefer hot water instead. And three, her stomach was complaining about being empty.
Even though she had a feeling she'd only need to ask about those things from someone and they'd get them for her, Jenn didn't like the idea of having others doing that for her. Maybe down the road she might get used to it and like it, but at the moment, she didn't plan on getting used to it. Though, she had a feeling she'd need to endure it if others insisted on doing that for her. She just hoped that wouldn't be the case.
As she got up, one things she didn't have any complaints about was the fact that she'd gone to sleep fully dressed. It was merely one thing that she didn't have to worry about as she left the room and descended the stairs.
While she had hoped to sneak out of the building unseen, those hopes were dashed by the time she reached the base of the stairs to find Cithis leaving the office that Laer had shown Jenn earlier.
"Mother! What do you need?" Cithis asked right away.
Jenn stifled a sigh, partly because she wasn't sure it would come across correctly, but there were two reasons for it. One was naturally because she hadn't left the building unnoticed, but the other was because of how Cithis seemed to have stopped being her daughter as much as she'd become her direct servant or something.
However, she doubted she'd be able to say anything that would fix the problem. Or at least what she saw as a problem, since as far as she knew, this was typical behavior for a 'daughter' in their culture. Although, it would make things easier if she just peeked into Cithis' head about that, but Jenn pushed that thought out of her mind the moment it appeared. She was confident that if she did that and it got found out, that she'd lose the trust of everyone there. Something she dreaded more than being trapped here as their leader without any chance of leaving, even to return to her family on Earth or to search for the griffin canyon.
"Is there any place for me to go to the bathroom?" she asked, figuring she should take care of the more immediate problem first.
"Bathroom?" Cithis asked, sounding more confused than Jenn was happy about.
"Yeah, where I can relieve myself?" Jenn answered, not sure how else to describe it, though she felt like she was forgetting something about the very same subject.
"Relieve?" Cithis echoed, clearly not understanding what she was trying to communicate.
"Uh, yeah," Jenn said, trying to wrack her brain to think of some way to get her point across. Yet, while she didn't feel like her bladder was at critical mass, just yet, she was confident it would get there soon enough. So, pushing her attempt s to think about it, she instead pulled on her magic, and put in Cithis' mind an image, and sensation, of Jenn having gone to the bathroom in the past. She hoped that it wouldn't create more problems for her, but she knew that it would at least solve her more immediate problem.
Cithis blinked as she processed what Jenn sent her. Then after a moment her eyes widened in clear understanding of what Jenn was wanting. "You're looking for the privy," Cithis said, sounding relieved. "I'll take you there."
Jenn wasn't sure she really needed that, but from what Cithis said, she had a feeling that it wasn't likely inside this building, not that she'd really expected it to be so. She just had hoped it would be there. However, reality typically doesn't work the way she'd like it to, so she could only just endure the walk to wherever it was.
Yet, Jenn was surprised to see Cithis lead her to what looked like an outhouse next to the building that they'd just left on the other side of where Jenn had originally approached the building in the first place.
While Jenn felt like she should have been surprised at how close it was, she couldn't really say that it was that surprising. Given how important they likely saw the building as, such as how they'd given her a private room there, as well as how it was likely a central place for the settlement. Such as where disputes could be mediated, where decisions were made, and where reports were submitted.
When Jenn was done, the only problem she had was the lack of toilet paper. Not that she was really that surprised that these people didn't have any. So instead, she'd used her magic. Which actually made for more of a weird experience than she had expected.
While she was taking care of that, she'd heard some noise outside of the 'privy' but didn't think anything of it until she left. When she stepped outside of the outhouse, she stopped as she saw Polelin, Laer, and the woman with lilac hair and eyes standing next to Cithis. With how they looked at Jenn, it was clear that they wanted to talk with her about something.
"Let's take this inside," Jenn said, not sure what else to say at that moment. Especially since it wasn't like she had expected them. Though, inside she was wondering if she should start mourning her chance to bathe or get something to eat.
Jenn led the way, though she had to step past Polelin and Laer in order to do so, with how close they were standing. While she didn't know if whatever this was about could have been taken care of inside, she was pretty sure that it was going to take longer than she'd like it to. Just with how everything around her had been doing just that since she'd pretty much had to endure it just to get through everything that had come up so far.
When they were inside, Jenn walked to a corner and sat down. She motioned for the others to sit, but they hesitated, looking at each other as if Jenn had asked them to do something completely wrong.
"My lady, it wouldn't be proper for us to sit with you like this," Laer said.
Jenn merely sighed. "What wouldn't be proper about it? We're discussing a matter that you haven't told me what it's about. So, unless you're willing to explain to be how it's not decent to discuss whatever you're wanting to talk to me, then I'll leave. I have other things I'd like to look for myself."
"Mother, it's that they can't sit around you like this It's too public," Cithis complained.
Jenn wasn't sure what that had to do with anything, but she didn't feel like pushing on with the matter. Not when she didn't really feel like she understood much of what was going on around her.
"Where would you suggest we take this to then," Jenn asked, not sure what response she might get, though even if they had to go back through the gate for them to all sit while they talked about whatever it was that was on their minds.
"We could discuss this in the office," Laer suggested.
"There's always the lady's personal room," the lilac haired woman suggested.
Jenn sighed. She'd much rather deal with this here, rather than anywhere else, but if they weren't going to let her, then she figured she might as well go with her 'personal room' rather than the office. That way they'd have more room and it wouldn't feel so cramped.
Only, Jenn had a feeling she wasn't going to like when she asked about her room. There were a few details that were nagging her at the back of her mind that she planned on asking about. At least when she'd been able to fully settle in, that is.
"Let's take it upstairs then," Jenn said as she stood up. She had a feeling they wouldn't argue her choice unless they had some reason to, like why they couldn't just meet where they currently were. Especially since she didn't want to be the only one sitting down. Not only did she thing it would set a bad precedent, but also she felt like it could lead to other problems that she couldn't think of just yet.
As she passed those in front of her, she was vaguely aware of them nodding, but she didn't pay It much mind. If anything, she was already starting to feel tired again. Maybe she'd get used to this sort of thing or maybe it was just because they were still ironing out some of the other difficulties, but she had a feeling that she might be rather tired for the next little while at least.
When they were all in Jenn's room, she then turned to them people and asked as she sat down, "Alright, can you sit down with me now?"
"Of course, my lady," they all said, almost as if they had rehearsed saying it together just for this moment.
Jenn could only sigh, not caring how she might appear at that moment. Even though she was trying to keep her temper in check as well as to try not to be annoyed with the way things were here.
"Okay, then. What's the problem? What do you need to talk with me about?"
Polelin spoke first. "My lady, we were looking at what you said you wanted to do, but we have a few problems with that right now."
"What are they?" Jenn asked, at least happy that they were being upfront about this subject rather than avoiding it altogether.
Polelin looked at the woman with lilac hair and eyes. Jenn wished she could remember the woman's name, since she was quite certain she'd been told what it was. Also, if she used her magic to probe for that much, not only was she likely to see other things as well, but she knew that it'd make it easier to justify another time later on. Which would lead to her eventually disregarding the trust she should be trying to foster with those who were looking to her as a leader.
Jenn waited, but no one said anything else, and she wondered if maybe they had some communication issues of their own. She wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be true. Especially since she suspected that these things were new for these people as well.
"We want to fulfill what you told us to do, but we're encountering a problem," the woman with lilac hair and eyes, that Polelin was looking at, said. "First, we have no problems with purchasing slaves to help with our population problem, but right now we don't have enough to send out as mercenaries to create a band. Typically the mercenary guild offers jobs to solo mercenaries, but those jobs are just enough for that person to take care of themselves and maybe some family members. Not to the level we'd need." The woman then paused, looking rather hesitant to continue.
Some of this was information Jenn hadn't had before, but it certainly made sense. Though, she wasn't sure if they were seeking her help with a solution or if they'd already come up with one that they'd yet to get to.
"We were hoping that you might have an idea to suggest that might help us out," Laer finished. "Maelia doesn't like asking for help."
Jenn nodded. Though, she thought she might have an idea, she first wondered if maybe it was still possible to get out of being their leader by getting them to try and solve the problem. She wasn't holding out much hope for that possibility, but she did know it was there.
Laer looked at the others in the room, including Cithis before looking back at Jenn. "We've discussed this and we could only think about becoming bandits and forcibly relocating people to our village."
Jenn closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm herself. While technically a solution, she knew she wouldn't have agreed to that and quite possibly have gone off on them if they'd given it as a serious suggestion. However, since they'd discarded the idea, they either didn't like it themselves, realized that Jenn wouldn't have approved of the idea in the first place, or hadn't been serious about it in the first place.
When she felt like she wasn't going to go off on them for having mentioned it, Jenn opened her eyes and looked at Laer. While she hadn't had any ideas a moment ago, the mention of 'bandits' gave Jenn an idea. While the bandits might not be the most ideal individuals, at least it would supply them with an increased labor force. Even if it was just on the mercenary side of things.
"On the other side of the gate, are there any bands of bandits nearby?" Jenn asked, feeling like the idea was still forming as she spoke. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not, even as she sounded it out in her mind after she'd finished speaking. Yet, it wasn't like she could 'unsay' the idea.
When the only reaction she got was stunned silence, Jenn figured she should at least take that as a positive sign. She wasn't sure what else might be coming down, but since they weren't saying that there weren't any bandits, then that should mean that there were some.
"Why would you want to talk with them?" Polelin asked, rather carefully, though Jenn had a feeling like he wasn't sure as to where any might be.
"If we can get them to join us, then we'll likely have a mercenary force already trained. Plus, they'll probably know a little more about where other bands of bandits might be."
While Jenn let them digest that thought, she was already preparing any possible rebuttals to any arguments against it. As she expected the idea to be pushed away as soon as they recovered enough to voice their objections to it.
To say that she was surprised when after taking a minute to think about it and they all nodded in agreement, was an understatement. Like there wasn't anything wrong with the idea. Such as the fact that they were letting people who had been making a living through committing crimes wasn't a problem. Like they should be able to trust the people without reservation.