“Think about it!” Adam said, excitedly. “A Mert escency, or even a Mert agency, one which has its own Priests and Mages and Warriors. The Priests get to have their own little temple for their gods, Mages with their own studies, Warriors with… whatever they might want.”

  “If you find a p the wild he Iyr, you cim it and build around it,” Jurot said. “As long as the tax is paid, the Kingdom will not refuse you.”

  The others looked to Jurot, w why he was encing the madness Adam eaking. This had gone beyond just a gathering to cheer Adam up, it was now enabling his delusions.

  “How much is the tax?”

  “Ten pert of what the Chief collects in tax?” Jurot asked.

  “So I’d make a vilge and bee a Chief?” Adam asked.

  Jurot paused. “There are wild inns which operate differently. Each month, one gold per worker must be sent. It is a silver for any children which live on the premise. As long as money is sent to the Kingdom, they should not care.”

  Adam nodded his head. “Is there a pearby? An abandoned gem mi the side of a mountain, an abaown?”

  “This is no pany,” Jonn said. “This is an…”

  “Order,” Dunes said. “An Order of gold.”

  Adam fell silent. “Should I do that instead?”

  “That is far more difficult,” Jurot said. “You must offer assistao the Kingdom when it requires it, and si will be newly made, it may be easier for the Kingdom to demand more.”

  “Then maybe I don’t make an Order,” Adam said, casually. “I’d like a ruiown to make the pound. Would probably be easier, as long as the ruiown was ruined because of something sensible.”

  The fact that Adam used the word sensible caused the others to gween one another.

  “Some pear the Iyr, maybe with an enting shrine,” Adam said, letting part of his secret slip. “Magical ons may be a really good way of, you know, making tons of moo afford everything.”

  “Acquiring Enters is a difficult task,” Vonda said when no one else interrupted.

  “Leave that to me,” Adam said, winking at her. “That’s what we could sell. Magid magic accessories. Ented ons, armour, items, and stuff like scrolls. That could pay for everything, bank rolling the entire operation so other stuff could be run at a small loss.” Adam thought about how a certain pany operated, losing money yearly, a making billionaires and millionaires.

  “It would be best to situate such a business within a town,” Jurot said. “tral Aldnd would be best, though the nd is safe. South Port? From South Port, you could travel to most of the South Aldnd towns, then to West Aldnd, circle around the hills and mountain, then to North Aldnd, to East Aldnd, and if you wish, tral Aldnd.”

  The others looked at Jurot, w why he tio ence Adam’s lunabsp;

  “South Aldnd?” Adam asked, pointing to his ears. “With these bad boys on my head?”

  Sky looked up upon hearing bad boy, but dropped down again.

  “East Aldnd will treat you better,” Jurot assured.

  “How long does it take to get to the East Aldnd from the Iyr?” Adam asked.

  “No more than a month,” Jurot assured.

  “A month?” Adam asked, groaning. “Seriously?”

  “About a third as long on ship,” Jurot said. “Though it would be a ship from the middle of tral Aldnd.”

  “Is it legal to run at a loss?” Adam asked. “Bank rolling it with ented ons and stuff?”

  “No,” Jurot said. “As long as the tax is paid, they will not care. Records should be kept so that Iors uand the business in case there is an issue.”

  “You sure know a lot about how to set up business in Aldnd,” Adam said.

  Jurot nodded his head, and did not eborate further.

  “Do we have to reveal who ented the stuff?” Adam asked.

  “No,” Jurot replied. “Though if they suspect you are w with Elves, there may be an issue.”

  Adam groaned. “We’ll just say we have an ior who funds the business or something, I don’t know.” Adam rubbed his eyes with is wrists. “I should speak with the Iyr, maybe they’ll want in oion.”

  “It may be best to open up an inn first,” Jonn said.

  “An inn?” Adam asked. “An inn which moves and escorts people?”

  “A wandering inn?” Dunes asked.

  ‘I’m not sure I do that,’ Adam thought.

  “That is too impractical,” Jurot said. “The amount of money required to make the entments, and the time it would take, it is too much. It would be easier to build dozens of inns across the nd.”

  The others pulled back from the whipsh of Jurot shooting down the idea, even though it was good he did so.

  “A wandering inn does sound cool,” Adam said. “Quite a novel idea. Has it ever been done before?”

  “Yes,” Jurot said. “There are a great number of wandering things.”

  Adam inhaled deeply. “Inns across the nd. Half way between each town? A franchise of inns…” Adam smiled. “I’m slowly warming on the idea.”

  “They are difficult in their ht,” Dunes said. “There is a reason why it hasn’t been done before.”

  “The reasons being?”

  “You would essentially be making forts each time you make an inn,” Dunes said. “It is a dangerous world out there.”

  “Yeah,” Adam said. “I did think about that. Jurot and I went to an inn on the way to finding a herb for Aunt. It retty much a fort too.”

  “They are slightly out of the way for a reason,” Dunes said. “Some people it’s dangerous to get to them, so taxes are reduced, or because other business is attehere.”

  “The more I hear about it, the more I want to do it,” Adam admitted. “Inns all across the nd. Each with their own speciality dishes, pizza in one, a different meal in another. Each with a small army to protect the inn, made up of people we’ve trained, with det enough pay and generous bes. Magics all about it, for an added yer of prote. It would be the greatest innly service this nd will know. I’m talking hot water, undry service, on and armour maintenance, potions, maybe even basited ons and armours for sale.”

  “That is a tall order,” Dunes said. “Nigh on impossible to fulfil. Where are you going to find someone who…”

  Adam raised his brows towards Dunes, waiting for him to tinue.

  Dunes pulled back, sipping his wine. “I’m sorry. I fot who I eaking to.”

  Adam smiled.

  “Adventurers would love an inn iweeowns,” Dunes admitted.

  “It would be difficult to keep it safe from all manner of creatures, from Raiders to Rocs,” Jonn said.

  “We’d keep a few nukes in our back pocket, just in case,” Adam said. “Or have enough Guards, with enough ranged onry, maybe magical arrows, to keep pests from thinking twice.”

  ‘Newks?’ they thought.

  “I really want to do that,” Adam said. “That sounds so cool. It might be profitable, might not be, but sidering hoeople travel, and hoeople want guaranteed safety along their travels. ces are, we’d made the areas much safer too.”

  “I ’t stress how difficult it would be,” Dunes said. “You would essentially be creating forts between towns, which has its own implications and issues. The cost of materials to create the forts, the supplies for food, the defence against all manner of creatures, not to mention the pay to vince people to live near death at all times.”

  “We think about that ter,” Adam said. “It was o throw out all my crazy ideas to bouween you all.”

  “You k was crazy?” Jaygak asked.

  “Of course,” Adam said. “What, you thought this eime I thought it was normal?”

  “I ’t tell with you sometimes,” Jaygak said.

  “I think Adam is someone who has great thoughts, thoughts which may not be those that others think, but thoughts I wish more people held,” Vonda said.

  Adam chuckled. “If other people had these ideas, then I wouldn’t be iing enough for you all to stick around.”

  “I do not stay here with you because you are iing,” Jurot said.

  “First of all, that’s rather hurtful, but sedly, you’re family, that doesn’t t.”

  “He’s right,” Jaygak said. “He needs something to make up for the ck of-“

  “Horns,” Adam said. “Yeah, yeah.”

  Lucy exged a look with Jaygak, nodding her head. “Adam’s weird, but he’s my friend, so I’ll stick with him.”

  “Not yeneral?”

  “Who wants a General like you?” Lucy asked. “You’re too crazy to be a General.”

  “It’s crazy people like me who will bring workers’ rights to the world,” Adam joked. “Just like how…” ‘Wait, if I bring workers’ rights to this world, I still say I’m British.”

  Dunes was about to call for Adam, but Jurot shook his head.

  “Leave him,” Jurot whispered. “He is thinking about something stupid again.”

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