Having Rae know every time that your measurements changed by a centimetre was annoying, but not the end of the world for Dana. She was plenty active, and rarely changed weight. Still, it was a sensitive topic, and she knew that the spider pared everyone that she met in a dozen different ways. From how they would look in different outfits to what sort of flavour their blood might have.
The shops were beginning to slow for the evening, but Karl did notice that everything was staying open, as they had enough customers to justify being open all night. The guests who had e to the New Home for the recruitment event had heard of the outpost here, and many decided to e see what was going on, or to find a room here instead of camping out in the New Home's outskirts.
The town wasn't really set up for guests yet, but there were some empty houses. Unfortunately, there was nobody present who could tell them which ones those were, so they would still end up camping on the edge of town if they stayed here. However, the two towns were actually hundreds of kilometres apart, more than enough to put them out of the way of potential rivals, while the portal allowed them to easily return to the New Home Merchant Clan's home city, where the recruitment event would be taking place.
It was a bit of a loss not being in the area to scout, but avoiding the crowding was an advantage that was difficult to quantify.
Karl gave up on trying to get back up into the second floor workshop, and decided to simply work in the front room, where intrigued customers could watch him making simple Rare Grade rings for the many warriors that the Clans were expecting to take in.
It was a convenient option, as any bat class could use the rings, even if it wasn't quite perfect for them. Even tank type druids could use the warrior rings, so they made a great recruitment option.
"You know, I never get tired of watching you do that. But I should go set up camp somewhere on the edge of town." One of the men sighed. "I'm sorry that we don't have more set up for guests. We're just getting set up, and our Guild is still in the process of moving into their new homes, so we haven't even started setting up guest hostels, lodging or hotels of any sort." Karl apologized.
"No worries. Half the Clans are too paranoid to do it or to stay in one if it was offered. For an event like this, everyone is worried about being spied on. Getting a bit of advance information on prospects is vital to the process, and stealing a top recruit from one of your rivals is a huge victory. That's most of what you're making here, by the way. The bribes that will let people steal recruits from each other."
Karl laughed. "Well, if they all buy their bribes from us, then it's a win, no matter who finally ends up with the recruit, isn't it?"
The Immortals watching him work all laughed. At the rate that he was going, the Darklight Host was going to be the biggest winners of this year's recruitment event, and they weren't even intending to attend.
If they did, and they managed to steal a few talented craftsmen, as well as all that they were making from their shop, they would likely outshine the New Home Merchant Clan who was hosting the event.
The two were clearly affiliated, as Karl was listed as a member of both factions, but the Darklight Host was the crafting branch.
The sun came up, and many of the crafters retired for a few hours before the morning rush, slowing the process of making the custom items. The demand level had also dropped, as people didn't want to wander a strange town in the middle of the night, so it worked out well. Karl didn't have high hopes for what was going to happen once everyone had finished breakfast and was ready to start putting their all into getting new members.
Either they were going to get a flood of customers that were desperate to get their hands on the good stuff immediately so that they could close a deal, or the entire pound was going to be empty, and everyone was going to crash out hard, sleeping the entire day away in the spare rooms closest to the workshop.
That second one was bound to happen eventually, but usually Immortals could push themselves for days or weeks at a time without sleep.
The room slowly emptied as the sun came up, and Karl could hear the business at the bakery, coffee shop and diner all picking up. Mostly with Immortals who had been hanging around the Guild House all night, but also with fresh visitors from the Clan pound, and the Lycan Pack themselves, who were in need of something quick before they went to work.
The Cooks had something made in the Guild House kitchen, Karl could smell it. But those who weren't staying here, and weren't working here, were avoiding the place this morning, so they didn't get mistaken for one of the craftsmen and badgered to make items they had no ability to help with.
And even staying away didn't always help. Not when there were Immortals who couldn't tell Lycans apart.
To some of them, a petite Lycan girl with black fur was the same one they had seen earlier in the shop, and they were unwilling to accept that this one was a pastry chef, not the same person they had seen six hours earlier.
"You know, half the reputation of the Lycans as being stubborn is likely due to that," Opal joked as she listened to the barista explaining to the third person this morning that they had not just seen her across town.
Elder Blackwoods laughed. "They're not even wearing the same outfit. I don't know how much more we can do. I would say to put name tags on them, but those are already available, and nobody reads them."
"We could open a salon? Perhaps some fur dye?" Opal offered.
The ancient Lycan shuddered in horror. "No, I don't think that would be the best option. I suspect that some of the young ones might disagree with me, though. But the thought of dyeing my fur is just wrong."
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