"Noted. We’ll need to purchase prepared food from the city tonight." More money they didn’t really have to spare. But starving wasn’t an option.
Mira appeared looking harassed. "Your Highness, the plumbing doesn’t work."
Elara looked at her. "Define ’doesn’t work.’"
"Water cos out brown. Sotis. When it cos out at all. And two of the toilets are completely non-functional."
"So we need a plumber."
"We need several plumbers. And possibly divine intervention." Mira held up a list. "Also, half the beds have broken fras. Most of the mattresses are mouse-eaten. And I found sothing dead in one of the closets that I’m choosing not to identify."
"Noted. Continue the list."
"The kitchen stove doesn’t light. The pantry has a hole in the wall that sothing is currently living in. And there are only seven beds total in the entire house."
Elara processed that. "Seventeen rooms. Seven beds."
"Correct."
"So twenty-five people have no beds."
"Correct."
That was a problem.
***
## Scene 26 – First Night Chaos
The realization that they had seventeen rooms but only seven functional beds hit around the sa ti the sun started setting.
"How is this possible?" Dimitri asked, staring at his inventory list. "Seventeen rooms. Seven beds total. So of those are broken."
"The property was sold as-is," Mira said grimly. "Apparently ’as-is’ ans mostly furniture-less."
Elara had spent the afternoon magically cleaning five rooms—her own, the three female quarters, and one male room. She was exhausted from the magical drain but the rooms were at least livable. Dust-free. Bug-free. Mostly.
But now they had clean rooms with no beds.
"We have three intact bed fras," Dimitri reported, consulting his list. "Found in various rooms. All the mattresses are destroyed—mice, mold, completely unusable. We have broken furniture, so chairs that might be salvageable, and a lot of empty space."
"So we have rooms but nothing to sleep on," Mira said.
"Correct."
Elara calculated. "We brought bedrolls for travel. Use those tonight. Tomorrow we purchase mattresses and basic furniture."
"With what money?" Petra asked quietly. "The house cost most of our funds. The carriages, the supplies we bought—we’re running through silver fast."
"We have the contract signing bonus from Verin. That covers imdiate expenses." Elara pulled out a small ledger. "But you’re right that funds are limited. We’ll need to be strategic."
"What about food?" Soren called from the kitchen. "Your Highness, you need to see this."
Elara walked to the kitchen with several others following.
The kitchen was tiny—barely large enough for one person to work comfortably, let alone cook for thirty-two people. But worse than the size was the condition.
The stove was ancient and half the burners didn’t work. The water pump was rusted and creaked ominously. There was one counter, cracked and stained. No pantry. No proper storage. A single small window that barely let in light.
"We can’t cook for thirty-two people in this," Soren said flatly. "It’s impossible."
"We have to," Dimitri replied. "We can’t afford to buy prepared als for thirty-two people every day. We’d burn through our funds in a week."
"Then we rotate cooking duties and use the dining area," Elara said. "Multiple shifts. It’s not ideal but it’s functional."
"Speaking of food," Mira said, appearing from the hallway, "we have a problem. The larder is empty except for cobwebs and rat droppings. And I’m not sure the stove even works."
"Lovely," Dimitri muttered.
"We’ll need to purchase food tonight," Elara said. "Is there coin remaining from the relocation funds?"
"So. Not much. And feeding thirty-two people is expensive."
Another problem. Add it to the list.
Lisa appeared looking stressed. "Your Highness, the beds—most of them are broken or unusable. We have maybe six beds that are salvageable. Everyone else is sleeping on floor pallets or nothing."
"The water pump in the kitchen doesn’t work," Soren added, appearing from that direction. "We have no running water except what we manually carry from the well in the back garden. Which is also disgusting and probably needs cleaning before the water is safe to drink."
"And half the windows don’t close properly," Mira reported, coming down the stairs. "So the rooms I’ve inspected are freezing. We’ll need to seal them or everyone will freeze tonight."
Elara stood in the dusty entrance hall—the only clean space in the entire mansion—and absorbed the cascade of problems.
No functioning kitchen. No reliable water. No heat. Thirty-two people who needed to eat and sleep tonight in a house that was barely more than a shell.
"Right," she said. "Priorities. Food first. Dimitri, take Marcus and two beast knights. Go into the city and buy prepared food for tonight—bread, cheese, dried at, whatever’s cheap and doesn’t require cooking. Enough to feed everyone."
"How much should I spend?" Dimitri asked.
"Whatever it costs. We need to eat."
"Mira, check if we have any bedding at all or if we’re sleeping on floors tonight. Petra, assess the plumbing situation—if the water doesn’t work, we need to know now. Soren, you’re with . We’re checking if the kitchen functions at all."
As people scattered to their tasks, Elara headed toward the kitchen with Soren following.
The kitchen was small and dirty, but after so magical cleaning, it was at least usable. The stove worked—barely. The water pump in the corner sputtered and coughed but produced water after several attempts.
"We can cook," Soren reported. "But it’ll be tight. Maybe enough space for two people working at once."
"We’ll rotate cooking duties," Elara decided. "Everyone takes turns regardless of rank. Thirty-two people need to eat. Everyone contributes."
Back in the main hall, chaos was developing.
"There are no beds!" Lisa’s voice carried from upstairs. "The furniture that’s here is broken or rotting!"
"We have bedrolls from the luggage," Dimitri called back. "We’re sleeping on floors tonight!"
"The plumbing doesn’t work in half the rooms!" Petra shouted from sowhere. "The water barely runs!"
"Use the working rooms for washing!" Mira responded. "We’ll rotate!"
Elara stood in the entrance hall listening to the mounting disasters and calculated solutions.
No beds. Minimal plumbing. Broken furniture. Thirty-two people trying to organize themselves in a house that was barely functional.
"Your Highness," the fox knight appeared beside her. "The kitchen has a working stove but no fuel. We can’t cook tonight."
"Buy prepared food from the city," Elara said. "Bread, cooked at, whatever’s available and cheap. Enough for thirty-two people."
"That’s expensive."
"Not as expensive as everyone going hungry on the first night." She pulled out coins. "Take two others. Go now before shops close. Get enough food for tonight and breakfast tomorrow."
He left quickly.
More problems surfaced:
"The windows don’t close properly in three of the rooms!"
"There’s a leak in the roof over the east wing!"
"Soone found rats in the storage room!"
By evening, when the beast knights returned with food, everyone was exhausted from dealing with cascading disasters. They gathered in the main hall—the only space large enough for everyone—and ate bread and cold at sitting on the floor because there weren’t enough functional chairs.
"This is terrible," Lisa said, tearing into bread like she was starving.
"This is survival," Mira corrected, chewing chanically.
"How long until this place is actually livable?" Marcus asked.
User Comments
0 comments from readers