I guess it's time for me to find a firm. His mind wandered as he rode closer and closer to Wakefield. The city is more industrial than Beanfield, and it shows even from afar. Above the industrial district, the sky shifts and glints behind the vapor produced by manufacturers. Downtown is easily identified by the many tall buildings that play host to apartments, offices, and shops. Cole rides almost entirely by muscle memory to the Courier Center. He parks his bike out front and steps onto the sidewalk in front of the large brick building. Cole looks at the heavy wooden double doors for a long moment. A slight grin on his face, he turns away and walks down the sidewalk.
His walk takes him to the doorstep of a small freestanding cottage with a sign out front with painted blue text that reads WINDFALL EXPEDITIONS. A smaller rectangular shingle dangles from the bottom of the sign reading HIRING HEROES, SURVEYORS. Cole almost walks past, intending to register with the region's powerhouse firm, Dark Lotus Expeditions. This is the first time he's heard of Windfall Expeditions, but the sign catches his eye. Hiring surveyors? Now that might be an interesting choice. He walks up the three steps to the modest doorway of the firm. He takes a deep breath before gently pulling open the door.
Immediately, Cole can smell an amazing aroma – it's the scent of baking bread, warm cinnamon, and fresh citrus. The lobby of the firm is a modest space filled with wooden furniture cushioned with quilted blankets. Heavy, colorful rugs add color and warmth to the hardwood floors. Cole sees a woman sitting at a round table at the far side of the room. She appears to be middle-aged, with her greying hair put up into a bun. She makes eye contact with Cole and smiles warmly.
"Welcome to Windfall Expeditions. Care for a cup of tea?" The woman gestures to the seat across from her. There is a teapot at the center of the table, as well as several ceramic cups. She picks up the teapot and begins pouring a cup of tea.
"Thank you, that sounds nice. I see from the sign out front that you're hiring?" Cole walked over to the table and took a seat where she indicated. He wasn't planning on having tea with a stranger today, but it was better than the surprises that yesterday brought him. Might as well roll with it.
"We are, yes. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though. My name is Lula Charlemagne, and I am the Clerk of Operations for this firm. It's a pleasure to meet you." Finished pouring the tea, she slides the cup over to Cole on a saucer.
Cole picks up the cup, blowing gently on the steaming tea. "It's nice to meet you, too. I'm Cole Bridges. I'm a courier, but I'm interested in a change." He says, taking a sip of his tea.
"Interesting. Can I ask why you're feeling the need for a change?"
The question is innocent enough, but it causes a reaction from Cole. He shifts in his seat and looks down to the cup in his hands. "A lot of reasons, really. Personal reasons though, I don't have any problems with my current job. I think they would even provide a letter of recommendation if you need one."
"That won't be necessary, Mr. Bridges. As you could probably tell by the modest facility, this is a newly established firm. Our hiring process is much less stringent than some of our competitors. I can assure you that your interview is going well so far." She says with a smile. She takes a sip of her tea, then continues. "As you indicated, you saw that we are currently hiring for two positions." Then, Lula places her cup down on the saucer and looks at Cole with an unsettlingly serious gaze. "Which is it that you're interested in?"
Cole felt like she was seeing through him. He blinked several times, stunned, before he could muster a response. "Uh, s-surveyor might be a good fit for me since I have experience navigating the roads out of town."
She nodded slowly, one corner of her mouth pulling into a slight smile. "Excellent. You're hired. I'm glad that's settled." Lula said, standing up from the table abruptly. "I'll get your onboarding paperwork ready – can you start tomorrow?"
"What?" asked Cole.
"You got the job. Welcome aboard, Mr. Bridges."
"Just like that? Are you sure?" He felt like he was being tricked or pranked in some way. It can't be this easy.
The kindly clerk continues the conversation while gathering a clipboard and pen, placing both in front of Cole at the table. "I'm certain. You'll soon come to learn, Cole, that my intuition is my greatest asset. I stopped second-guessing it years ago. Your talents will be of great use to Windfall, I have no doubt about that."
Cole looked down at the paperwork in front of him. It was a standard agreement of employment which laid out the title, hours, and duties of the job. He perused the various sections and clauses, finding nothing unusual or out of the ordinary until he reached the clause outlining rate of pay. The document was written in the flawless flowing script of a magical Autoscribe Pen. Blank spaces were left to include date, rate of pay, and signatures from both employer and employee. When Cole saw the pay rate that Lula had just written into the blank space, his mouth dropped open in shock.
As a courier, his daily rate is a respectable 7 silver coins per day. His earnings put him slightly above average for the town of Beanfield, but would likely fall just below average here in Wakeville. For reasons unknown to him, this surveyor position pays an incredible 25 silver coins per day. Cole couldn't help but ask about it. "Excuse me, Mrs. Charlemagne, surely there is a mistake here. Are you really offering 25 silver coins per day?"
"Please, call me Lula. And yes we are truly offering that pay rate. Our organization operates in a different way to our competitors – we operate on a lean philosophy. Our numbers are small, and as a result the burden on each of us is larger. It is only fair that we compensate that work appropriately. We would hate to lose quality talent to a rival firm." She was rifling through a desk on the other side of the room now, pulling things out of various drawers to collect in one arm.
The explanation was sensible to Cole, but it still seemed too good to be true. He hesitated for a moment, worried that the job wouldn't be a good fit for him. I'm literally a Hero. Shouldn't I just tell her that I'm a Hero instead? It didn't take more than a second for him to decide against being totally honest about his abilities. If I'm getting paid like this, I can put off being a Hero for a while.
Cole didn't really want the fame and notoriety that came along with being a Hero anyway. He signs the employment agreement then. Just as he lifts the pen on his signature, Lula is back at his side dropping the items she collected from the desk onto the table in front of him. She picks up the clipboard and signs her own name on the line marked Employer. That move elicits a confused face from Cole.
"It's true, I'm the owner/operator of this firm. I prefer the title Clerk of Operations because the scope of my duties is wider than any other firm owner I've met." She said with just a hint of a smile, then gestures to the items on the table in front of Cole. He looks at the pile for the first time.
The first thing to catch his eye is the round brass tag which on one side has printed the words 'SURVEYOR COLLECTIVE' and on the other side the number '246' – his official credentials as a surveyor. He picks up the tag and brushes his thumb over the smooth surface, committing his number to memory. The tag hangs on a small brass ring, intended for use on a lanyard or necklace. On the table beside the tag is a length of black metal chain, clearly intended for the tag. Cole strings the tag through the chain and clips it into place on his neck. It feels good. He can't help but crack a small smile.