Proofread by Thomas F
I looked outside my window at the tower, covered in mist.
I could see every floor and the thousands of people working on them.
Barely two months remain, and there is still a lot of work to do, but I am confident in their ability to finish it before the opening.
But before that, I have to deal with the threats coming from the dominion from all sides.
"General Axseer had left Lauryl with her army," informed Zela, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Tell her to be careful," I replied.
I am reorganizing my forces. So they could defend every front while posted with maximum concentration of power and efficiency. General Axseer's army would be in Greltheaven.
This time, defending isn't the only target.
No, this time the enemy needs to know there is a steep price to be paid if they dare to attack us. Some might laugh, given we barely have forces to defend ourselves, but we will make the enemies pay.
Or they will just attack us over and over. It's not something I want to see.
I took one last look at the tower before sitting back in my chair. Today, I am working from my office in the park. It is my first time in two weeks.
I wanted to do it more, but I didn't have time.
There is so much work, and with all the moving around, the office in the city center is better for me.
It is temporary, so is this office. The work on the administration building is progressing quickly; they will be finished by next month, and when it is completed, I will move in there with all the staff.
So will Valentina.
Hers will be in the city hall; mine will be in something new.
'Master Silver, Sister Andrea is here,' Jill informed, and a second later the door opened, and Andrea walked in.
"Master Silver," she greeted before sitting in front of me.
"Have you finished?" I asked. She nodded and placed a file in front of me. I took it and opened it, and in the front were the names of seven people.
Half the names I didn't even recognize without Instant Recollection.
They are of all ages; two are in their teens, while one is in his sixties. Their ages or even their levels didn't matter; what mattered was capability and, more than that, loyalty.
This is the second list of names; the first had only five. We are being extremely careful; we need to because the slightest leak could bring an extermination-level threat to us.
"Have you forwarded the list to Rayna?" I asked.
We will only move forward once we have gotten the all-clear from her.
"Yes, right before, I had come here," she replied and glanced at the clock. In a few minutes, someone else would join us.
"Do you think he will accept?" She asked, turning her eyes toward me.
"I don't know, but giving up the store wouldn't be a simple choice to make," I replied. A store in Velvet Garden; the store that we had planned to be one of the biggest attractions among the stores in Velvet Garden.
I have no desire to do that, but here, I am forced to give him a choice.
"How is production?" I asked.
"Good."
"After the months of training, many artists have become proficient in using the mist; their levels have also risen. It is steadily increasing the quality and pace of the mist goods."
Twilight Hall and the two stores have a massive demand for the mist goods, despite our restrictions.
That will be nothing compared to when the Velvet Garden opens. It will have tremendous demand, and I want the Artisan Garden to meet it.
"The recruitment?"
We are constantly expanding and recruiting people. It is why I gave her the responsibility of finding people, because Artisan Garden has the best people in the whole dominion.
"Quite good, actually. We are attracting talent from across the continent, and the world; everyone wants to work in Velvet Garden." She replied with a pleased smile.
"Also, you were wise in offering apprenticeships at Artisan Garden to schools and academy pupils."
"There is massive potential there," I nodded at that.
We offer apprenticeships to pupils who are interested in the crafts and trades.
It is one of my proudest achievements; every interested pupil gets an apprenticeship. It is helping a lot, gaining craftsmen, but also solving the shortage.
Especially within the baronies.
The best among the pupils gets the apprenticeship at Artisan's Garden. If they do well in the year, we extend their apprenticeship and also fund their education at the academy.
"Keep focusing on that one; attracting talent from all across the continent is good, but we should also train our people. They will be the ones who will become our foundation," I replied.
I have built the institutions, and I only need time to make it so strong they churn out powerhouse after powerhouse.
I need a little time, a decade at most, and I know I will have to fight for every bit of that time and for the safety and prosperity of my people; I will.
Minutes passed; a few more things before I turned to the door.
A moment later, it opened, and a man in his mid-thirties walked in.
He was a tall man, lean, with dark brown hair and cheekbones he got from the elvish blood in his veins. He looked at me with his dark eyes; there were questions in them. Though he was hiding them well.
"My lord," he bowed. "Chief."
"Veyrien, take a seat," I said, and the man sat in front of me, beside Andrea.
The man is Seril Veyrien; he could be considered the most talented person in the Velvet Garden. He is a mage, an enchanter, a blacksmith, and a metallurgist.
He worked for Gagarin forging kitchen knives until the legacy advanced to Grade IV.
In the new Velvet Garden, I have given him his own store, which he would have to give up if he accepted the offer.
"I have an opportunity for you, Veyrien," I said, and the man's expression became serious. "I am honored," he replied neutrally.
He is quite smart. I laughed before my expression became serious.
"I cannot tell you all the details, but it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Something that some people would kill for, and Dominion is offering it to you," I stated.
If he accepts it, he will be the first artisan to enter the Forge Base.
His name is first on the list, and he could enter the Forge Base directly, with no background investigation. It had already been done on him.
He had also given up his citizenship of Merchan States and become a citizen of Greltheaven last year.
I had a different plan for him. It was to send him to Archmage City, to enroll him in the elite forge class by a grandmaster smith; a person capable of forging half-artifice.
They rarely let outsiders into the course, but I have secured a spot for him, three years later.
So Rayna had done a deep background check on him.
That is not the only reason I chose him. Another reason is that he was interested in golems.
He studied them in the academy and tried to get into the merchant state's golem forge, but was rejected because of circumstances outside his control.
"Can I know more about it?" he asked, and I shook my head. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you more about it," I replied.
"One more thing, if you were to accept it. Will you give up your store?"
Immediately, the shock appeared on the man's face. He worked hard for that store; he earned it, but now I am asking him to give it up for the opportunity; he can't know the details about it.
I wish I could tell him, but I cannot.
"You should also know that if you accept it, your movements will be heavily restricted, and so will your ability to communicate," Andrea added.
Her warning seemed to have the opposite effect on the man. Rather than alarming him, it sparked a hint of interest in his eyes.
"You are asking me to make a massive decision based on almost no information, Lord Silver," said the man, looking straight into my eyes.
"I wish I could tell you more, Veyrien, but I can't."
"What will happen to my store and my people?" "Will they be joining me?" he asked after a few seconds of silence. I shook my head.
"We have selected one person from your people, but until a deep background check is finished, we won't be offering an opportunity to them."
"Some of your people will remain part of the store, while others will be spread around; as for the store, it will be handed over to someone else." I already know who I am going to hand the store over to.
"You did a deep background check on me?" he asked, catching it, and I smiled.
"We do background checks on every person we hire, but for you we did a deep one before I had negotiated a slot for you in the Archmage Tower's half-artifice course."
His eyes widened, hearing that, with excitement appearing for a moment before his expression became deep.
"So, this opportunity, bigger than that?" he asked, and I smiled.
"Okay, I accept!" he stated, to my surprise. "You have the rest of the day to think about it," I offered, but he shook his head.
"There is no need; if you think this opportunity is bigger than a half-artificecourse, then it is something I absolutely would leap at," he replied.
A few minutes later, he walked out of the door with Andrea. Since he accepted, he will now need to sign a powerful contract.
A ritual will be performed on him to protect him from prying eyes.
"An undead ship has surfaced in Ashton Harbor," said Zela as the door closed, and my good mood vanished; I sighed. I thought this would be a day without any bad news.
Unfortunately, I am not that lucky.