Startup 66: Job Interview

Rova 25, late afternoon

Filli’s quill scratched on paper as I interrogated Linu, pausing only occasionally to knock on the small apartment’s desk and ask a question of her own.

Rosie, the poor girl, had fled to the next room over to try to take a nap. I’d explained the situation as well as I could, but I didn’t have the ability to magically grant her Undercommon. She’d patted Filli on the knee gently, thankfully not surprising her like I had, and trotted off.

She was taking notes for two main reasons. First off, she was used to acting as my secretary so it was a far more familiar task for her than being argued over. Second, it would give her a written record she could review at length instead of having to rely on her own memory.

That was good, because I was doing my best to ask every question under the sun. Anything at all that might be useful for Filli going in, whether as leverage or a warning.

“Alright, so front of house at this temple is a whorehouse.” I said, “Will Filli be expected to participate in that?”

“It’s entirely optional, of course.” Linu said. “Forcing disciples of vengeance to sleep with people against their will is a terrible idea.”

“And yet the overwhelming majority of your acolytes are also prostitutes.” I said dryly, “Why is that? Not everyone is into that kind of thing.”

Not to mention that she’s either a virgin or only slept with one or two of the other mutants in a **** pit.

“There are financial incentives.” Linu admitted. “The stipend initiates receive is modest, and workers at the temple are paid based on their task. Sacred prostitutes are given a percentage.”

How very HR of you. Not a good sign. I’d be willing to loan her some money once I’m not over a barrel. Hell, she even has some savings after helping to take Gobron’s Ship. That’s a handful of gold right there.

“How modest?” I asked. “Modest could mean anything from five copper to five gold, depending on who you ask.”

“Five silver per month, to be spent at the acolyte’s discretion.” Linu said. “As well as a room here, two robes, and one meal per day.”

Filli knocked. Both of us looked at her, almost surprised that she’d decided to chime in. Her off hand twisted around as she attempted to recall a word she hadn’t ever been called to know.

“How much is that?” She asked. “Not know.”

She drew a small circle on the corner of her paper and pointed at it.

This girl has never handled money in her life. Yeah, savvy budgeting is not going to be her strong suit.

“Money.” I said, signing along with my words as I spoke, “One gold is ten silver. One silver is ten copper. Two copper is a loaf of bread. One silver is servant clothes. One gold is your slate. Fifty gold is a ****.”

I couldn’t give her a full breakdown of economics mid conversation, but I could pick a few concepts I was certain she knew and help her ground the numbers. I made a mental note to give her a more thorough overview later.

Honestly, it’s about time I start pushing her mentally; I know she’s smarter than she looks but I don’t actually know how smart that really is. If she can understand budgeting and basic supply and demand she’ll be more economically literate than most people.

“Your average initiate could probably live on it if they were frugal, since core living expenses are covered.” I said, “I assume it’s calibrated to let them cover things like soap, ink, and paper. Stuff that the temple doesn’t want to waste its time and resources supplying.”

Linu nodded, eyes slightly narrowed, and focused on Filli.

“We are not a charitable organization, we are a temple.” She said. “No, we do not afford our initiates an exceptionally comfortable lifestyle, but I gather you are accustomed to a far rougher standard of living. I can promise you that even the most destitute of our initiates lives far better than a **** from Rampore.”

Filli cocked her head at the mention of Rampore. She glanced at me.

“Rampore?” I asked, voicing our shared confusion.

“Oh?” Linu said, eyes widening with alarm. “I’m sorry, I assumed you were from Rampore, Filli. Are you not a former L’Rath **** soldier?”

Filli took a deep centering breath at the mention of the drow house that had turned her into what she was today.

House M’Dair routinely trades with Rampore. It’s likely that well trained L’Rath mutants sell quite well in the **** markets there. (Knowledge (Local) 19+2=21 Success)

“She is,” I said, “but she’s never been to Rampore. We are getting off subject. Now, back to prostitution; how big of a cut are we talking?”

“I don’t mean to be offensive,” Linu said, leaning back with exasperation, “but do you honestly expect there to be much demand for her in that area?”

Filli’s pen stopped scratching for a second, and I heard a deep breath out of her. If I could be certain she’d take it well, I’d have put a comforting hand on her knee.

“We have people filling the niche for clients that like large women, and those clients still prefer conventional attractiveness.” Linu said, her voice becoming a touch gentler. “Niche appeal is all well and good, but this does not seem like the correct path for you, Filli. You’d require far too much external support and you will have other things to focus on.”

I steepled my fingers and leaned towards Linu.

“I believe training in cosmetic magic is among the list of things you have offered her as enticements.” I said, “If that is on the table, then it is very relevant. I’m not clear on details, but I imagine that if anyone is pressured it will be someone who can look however they like. Let’s assume I’m being optimistic about her odds.”

I’m adding her to my party as a follower as soon as I can, and with any luck she’s going to level up in something that teaches magic. I’m not sure exactly how talents and feats are chosen, but she’s going to have that going for her.

“Optimistic indeed, but I suppose that if she proves talented in that area you have a point,” Linu said. “The worker gains 30% baseline, which increases to 40% if she is requested by name, and as much as 70% if she handles the logistics with the client herself. This is before gifts, tips, or other considerations from the customer.”

“She receives that percentage of what?” I asked.

“Of whatever the customer pays.” Linu said, rolling her eyes. “The temple negotiates a price with the worker based on what she brings to the table, what services she is willing and able to provide. I’ve seen it go as low as five copper per hour in poorer cities, but in Quent we generally start at one gold. If we can’t secure that much, it’s not worth dirtying a room unless the worker is willing to perform maintenance themselves.”

That is absolutely massive compared to 5 silver per month. Holy shit. 30% of one gold is 3 silver for one hour. I don’t actually know all that much about the average prostitute’s work day but if they can work for 5 hours a month they’ve quadrupled their income. For that much, I bet the real bottleneck is getting a time slot.

“What about scheduling? What determines when she works?” I asked, “I assume from what you said that she won’t be **** to sleep with someone she doesn’t approve of.”

“Certainly not. Our workers can always turn down a job, though being overly particular can lead to fewer appointments being offered. The clients do not like having their time wasted any more than the managers like their rooms unused,” Linu said, then turned to Filli and spoke gently. “We have enchanters and transmuters on hand should you require assistance, though they take a cut. Typically ten to fifty percent of your profits depending on the intensity of your intervention. I’m told that some girls rather enjoy falling in love with a new man every night, but I’ve found that good acting is far more effective.”

Love potion party ****? That’s honestly kinda fucked up. I mean, if they are consenting to the point of paying for it themselves… still weird, but I guess it beats sleeping with someone you hate?

“Good acting, eh?” I said, “I imagine that doubles up on the spy training.”

Linu’s entire demeanor shifted. She relaxed her posture, gave me a soft smile, and she did something with her face that made her eyes seem to grow bigger. She even seemed younger. Her ears perked up and oriented towards me.

“Oh yes, Myister M’Dair!” She chirped, her voice becoming high pitched and slightly nasal, “It’s wonderful practice! I’ve been trying so hard!”

I blinked, and she straightened back into the priestess I’d met outside the court house. She gave me a dry smirk.

“Ten gold per hour,” she said, “I’ll knock it down to nine if you don’t want the act, or if you have something more fun in mind.”

I adjusted my seating slightly.

I don’t think I’ll be doing that, but I might want to ask Sosima how she feels about turning into a catgirl for a night. I’m pretty sure her earrings could manage it.

Linu turned to look directly at Filli, not bothering to wait for my response.

“If you do manage to master alteration, I’d suggest finding something you enjoy doing and building a clientele around that.” She said, “My own specialty was chosen based on profitability and I have regretted it at times. Also, try to keep the hair. The red is quite nice; I think it would be a good grounding element. I’ve met women who don’t maintain any constants and they struggle to establish a recurring clientele.”

Filli nodded thoughtfully.

“Enough consort. Guard coin?” She signed, using the sign for coins I’d just shown her. “Clean coin?”

The short answer was that every other job available to acolytes paid less than a fifth of what an entry level temple prostitute would make in the same amount of time. Full priests and field agents had quite a few more well paying options available like spying or serving as a ship chaplain in Fairwind’s fleet, but the big money for the temple came when the customers did too. I wrote down a few questions while Filli was on a roll, as well as creating a cheat sheet for the math when I saw she was using her fingers to keep track of numbers.

You go, Filli. I hope this works out, if it’s really what you want.

••••••••••

“You’ll think on it?” Cog asked, eyes narrowed, “what do you mean you’ll think on it?”

“You aren’t deaf, my son.” Dindreanne said, “I have no intention of committing substantial resources to your pet project.”

The high priestess of Quent sat in her ornate chair, ankles crossed, one hand idly stroking a massive wasp in her lap. It was a gift from her goddess, a living symbol of her goddess’s favor and a symbol of office.

She was a beautiful woman with a body designed with an artist’s eye, partly blonde though she’d been born with black hair like that of her son. Cog knew for a fact she’d spent more than twenty thousand gold upon alchemical treatments on her body alone, maintaining the face and body of a woman younger than her son despite having left sex work behind more than a decade prior.

https://postimg.cc/d7ZCvrf7

“He’s good for it.” Cog said. “I’ve seen him make golems out of broken junk, practically on a whim. Real golems.”

“Very impressive.” Dindreanne said, “Would you care to enlighten me as to what use that is to the Savored Sting?”

“Ushinawa would buy them in a heartbeat. Charter one ship down south and it would be a done deal.” Cog said bluntly. “You have the money. You could buy him out of debt, and he could pay you back tenfold in goods, services, whatever. He’d go for it. Everyone wins.”

Dindreanne’s eyes narrowed, any trace of demureness vanishing in a flash. The wasp flitted away, landing on top of a dresser.

“And what lesson would that teach you, Crimson?” Dindreanne asked acidly. “You’ve grown awfully comfortable demanding favors. It really is a shame Captain M’Dair needs to pay for your misconduct.”

“Damn it, Mother!” Cog roared, “I’m asking you to help my friend! Do you even care?”

Dindreanne checked her nails, actively refusing to look him in the eye when he got angry. It was a pattern she’d used whenever he got emotional, ever since he was a child. That pissed him off all the more.

“I’d love to help you, Crimson.” Dindreanne said, voice dripping with venom, “Unfortunately it completely slipped my mind. I’ve been so busy embedding a new agent into Captain Harrigan’s fleet, you see. The first agent I sent decided to go traipsing off in a random direction.”

“I was nearly killed!” Cog said, “I made it very clear in my report.”

“Yes, and then you decided to follow the mutineer instead of your target’s son.” Dindreanne said. “Now we don’t know where Sebastien Plugg is at all, and to my knowledge Captain M’Dair did not come here as a new recruit despite your proposal on that subject.”

“I brought someone!” Cog said. “She’ll be great with proper training.”

Dindreanne sneered, the expression marring her beautiful face.

“Ah yes, the charity case.” Dindreanne said, “Clearly the giant rat will be of equal value to a powerful sorcerer.”

“A sorcerer you could still bring into the fold if you tried,” Cog said. “Is punishing me really worth hurting your own interests? What happened to the wasp surviving its own sting?”

A buzzing noise filled the air, like an entire swarm of wasps taking flight. Dindreanne glared at Cog, her eyes glowing a faint amber.

“Don’t you quote our Lady’s scripture at me, Crimson!” She snapped, “I’ve been very tolerant of your new faith, I think.”

“Right up until I stopped doing whatever you wanted.” Cog said.

“Get out.” Dindreanne spat, “I don’t have time for spoiled children throwing tantrums. Come back when you have something for me other than demands and excuses.”

Cog turned on his heel and slammed the door on his way out. The wasp perched on her dresser looked down at her and buzzed. She sighed and took a swig from her flask.

“Oh shut up.” She said, “I’m not rewarding that kind of behavior.”

••••••••••

We eventually moved past Filli’s situation. She didn’t seem to be in any hurry to make her choice while Linu was present. She wanted to consult with Cave Mother first, apparently. That stung a little bit, though I couldn’t really explain why.

Maybe she wants someone with a bit more distance? I don’t think anyone would mistake me for a disinterested third party.

As she wasn’t under house arrest, the traumatized mass of muscle that had recently pulled off a cold blooded **** was allowed to return to my ship if she was willing to go alone. After all, she was clearly the least dangerous one here. I loaded her down with notes for my team so she wouldn’t have to relay everything through Cave Mother, and we sent her on her way.

“I do have a few things I’d like to ask about before you leave.” I said, turning to face Linu. “I’m going to be here for a while and I’d like to be a good guest.”

“Are you expecting difficulties with that?” Linu asked, standing up. “Just stay in your room. I’ll have an acolyte stop by with those reports you purchased. Ring that bell if you need to call for a runner.”

“I have a pretty serious debt I need to pay off.” I explained. “I have some things I can do to work at it while I wait for the trial to finish, but not all of them are the most savory.”

Linu gave me a flat look.

“Yes, Cog mentioned something about that.” She said. “One of the few letters he sent included a request that I loan you money. He seemed confident in your ability to pay it back, which is a strange assertion to make about a man so deep into debt that he needs to borrow to pay it off.”

Yeah, to be fair that is almost always a terrible idea.

“I’m pretty sure I can pay back any sane amount of money based on what I can do.” I said, “Assuming, of course, that I’m allowed to use my magic with no questions asked.”

“Provide answers before I need to ask questions, then,” She said. “I’m responsible for your behavior.”

I took a deep breath, considered several different ways I might explain the situation, and settled on the most direct. There really wasn’t any remotely honest way to make this sound better.

“I have a proven method that will allow me to create at least one golem by the end of the week, as well as growing my stockpile of quintessence,” I said. “To that end, I would like to have a space where I can summon and kill demons, as well as access for my crew so they can retrieve and safely dispose of the bodies and equipment. I’m willing to accept any oversight or additional security requirements you demand.”

Linu blinked several times at that.

“I’ll consider it, but I’ve already dedicated quite a lot of time to you today. I’ll get that report to you tomorrow morning at the very latest; in the meantime, try not to summon any demons.”

“Are non-demons allowed if I don’t kill them?” I asked.

“If you can control them, then I will allow it.” She said. “I’ll hold you accountable for any mischief.

“Good enough for me.” I said. “Have a lovely evening.”

I really do need to catch up on my mail. If I’m going to be stuck in one place for an extended period I’ll even be able to get mail sent back to me.

••••••••••

“That Ve’ra girl sounds like a petitioner. It’s not uncommon to make an eidolon with a petitioner as the core, but quite rare to do so accidentally. You continue to make me question what I know of the arcane arts, but I think I could probably get her into a body if you can summon her in my laboratory.

I appreciate the goblins, but by all the gods find a different messenger. The devil you’ve been using is having far too much fun at my expense.

I’m considering moving to a different island, somewhere Annalise can go outside unescorted. Would you say Quent is good for that?

-Jerry”

I looked up from the short letter at the Zebub in question, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m told you’re having fun at my business partner’s expense.” I said, looking at the disgusting little fusion of fly and baby.

“It would appear so.” It said, its voice shrill.

“Is there any reason you didn’t inform me of this up to now?” I asked, “I believe your orders were to tell me everything you did and relay any messages he gave you in full.”

“It did not seem relevant to your objectives, so I did not elaborate upon my method of delivery. I may have summarized his messages in turn.”

I groaned. He wasn’t lying or even really wrong. He wasn’t endangering my relationship with Jerry; he was just being a dick. I’d have swapped him out for something else weeks ago if I’d had the option, but it could take days worth of spell slots to find an outsider who happened to know any given location, and Goatshead wasn’t exactly a hotspot.

If I have any spell slots left over, I can start a few auditions for new messengers. There’s got to be something capable of teleportation that isn’t a complete asshole.

I wrote my response underneath Jerry’s; when I’d been on a ship I’d needed to resummon my messengers to get a response. Now, I could just command the Xebub to come right back immediately.

“Quent is a pretty nice city from what I’ve seen, with a fairly robust legal system. Assuming your former master isn’t willing to go to war with Fairwind over you, anyway.”

Personally I could go with a slightly less robust legal system at the moment, but that doesn’t make it a bad thing. Wait. Wasn’t his girlfriend a ghost?

“If your concern is Annalise causing distress and the ensuing fallout, their civilness might work against you. They have delicate sensibilities from what I’ve seen. On a related note, if you do move to a more populated island that should make it easier to find a more palatable messengers.”

I sent the letter back via devilgram with strict orders to hand it directly to Jerry without doing anything to cause him or anyone else distress.

“Good news, Ve’ra.” I said, looking into the corner of the room. “I have confirmation that Jerry can give you a body. It’ll need to wait for a while, but I’ve set aside some of my line of credit with him for you specifically.”

“Great,” Ve’ra said, “do I still need to wait here?”

“Yeah, its a bit weird!” Rosie chimed in from the bedroom, where she was doing pushups as part of her ongoing physical therapy.

My familiar was currently sitting naked on a large silver platter with auburn hair and faintly glowing yellow eyes. Her skin was a pale pink, more like an albino than the white she had as a fetchling.

“Yes,” I said. “Syl said your bodies break down into quintessence naturally; I think we can use it.”

“You’ve got me sitting around naked so you can make a couple silver pieces?” Ve’ra asked archly. “I mean, I hope I’ll get a cut.”

“You’ll get all of it.” I said, giving her a mischievous smile. “I’m setting aside the quintessence we make this way for a big project that I think you’ll like.”

“Don’t be a wanker about it.” She said, “I don’t like surprises.”

“Fine, fine.” I said, “I think I can have someone paint you a new body if we use the right pigments.”

“What?” She asked.

“I think paint made out of quintessence from your body will be able to hold your soul.” I said. “We make a painting of a body for you, I’ll animate it, you can pop into that whenever you like.”

“What exactly makes that any better than a normal body?” She asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Do you want a sub century lifespan?” I asked, “If not, then we are going with the magic painting. Besides, I’m not thinking of this as a real body for you; that would have some pretty bad side effects. It’s more a tool you can use to have a body for a few hours without burning half of my spell points for the day.”

“Oh nice.” Rosie called, proving that she had sharp ears, “What did Jerry think of that?”

I blinked a few times and started writing a description of the plan down, which I’d send over the next time the devil came back. Autopilot had signed off on the mechanics as sound from a magical engineering perspective, but Jerry was the expert when it came to souls and the system didn’t always leave hints when I rolled a 1.

“I haven’t actually asked him yet.” I admitted. “I imagine it’s pretty cost inefficient, but maybe some people would like the idea.”

A magical painting would be pretty close to immortal, allowing the inhabitant to leave the frame and respawn in a few days if killed. That sounded great until you factored in that the painted body was unchanging. Always the same outfit, always the same age, and it my spellcraft checks were to be believed they’d have a hell of a time learning any new skills.

I wouldn’t risk it for Ve’ra if she was planning on living in the painting full time. If she wants to be a real girl, I’ll need to help Jerry find a good elf body for her.

Our pleasant chat was interrupted by the door slamming open, revealing a fuming Cog.

“Mister Cogward!” An acolyte in black and yellow cried from behind him. “Be careful! This is a guest room!”

“Thank you, Miss Candace,” Sosima said, patting on the acolyte’s head, “I think you should leave the task of calming Cog to us.”

Sosima strode into the room, only briefly noting Ve’ra, and set down a long, dark brown rectangle. I smiled at the sight; it had been too long since I’d had the opportunity to just sit down and play my piano. I gave her a thankful kiss and took it, gently leaning it against a chair.

“So, Cog,” I said, turning to him. “The good news is that things seem to be going about as well as we could hope for on my end. I assume you have the bad news?”