As Persephone enters the office, she notices that Gorm isn't there. She takes a seat at her desk and looks around if there is anything obvious to do. Otherwise she'll wait.
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"It's to late for that. We've done too many jobs together." Persephone replies with a wry smile. "See you at the Whistle." She parts from Menan and enters the office building of Marinelli Inc.
"Why not. Worst case I fall asleep at work." Persephone catches a few things and then comes out to walk with Menan to the docks.
"I definitely have too much ongoing in my life. No I haven't. He probably gets his nails done or something in preparations for the horse race."
"The only thing suspicious is, that Marinelli offered the deal to Vanderbuilt and didn't do it himself. I don't know if Marinelli has the money to finance this alone. But he also loses. He won't get the brokerage mentioned in the contract. It's no real loss though."
"I can't tell if he paid, but I assume so. The wares listed were on the ship that exploded. They are out of Marinelli's books, so they were his."
"I'm no lawyer. If you tell me you'll sell me your horse for 10 gold and give me your hand on it, I consider that binding. And if I got witnesses to proof the handshake, I'm sure it'll uphold when I take you to court over it. Why wouldn't a contract." "Latest when you got the gold and I got the horse, the thing is settled. I guess the question is not so much if that contract is valid, but if it was fulfilled. What exactly was written there? I know that Vanderbuilt guy signed it at Marinelli's office, but I don't know what's written in it."
"Yes?" Persephone inquires as she opens the door.
It takes her a very long time - compared to how easy it was to become a cat - to get back to her human form. It is a strange feeling to be in that body again. She shakes it off and starts the cleaning to get her thoughts off this. She changes all sheets and stows away the dirty ones together with the washing utensils from the noble. Once everything is done, she tries to find her way to the entrance she always comes in. Can't be that hard, after all the times she walked that way.
Persephone is uncomfortable changing in front of the elf, but it is clear, that there will be no discussion. She washes her hands and face, dries herself up and then changes clothes as quick as possible. It is easy! Easy for you to say. Persephone is skeptical, but casting new spells is easy too. Maybe it's the same? She closes her eyes and feels if there is a new way her powers could flow. There is something, but it is different from the powers she knows.
Persephone wakes on the straw bed, next to some bloody, torn apart fur. She is somewhat tired. The white dress now looks a lot like the one she cleaned from her last full moon experience at the temple. But at least this time it is not her own blood. Her hands are full of dried blood and she guesses that her face also looks like it took part in a massacre. But she is strangely calm. There is no panic or distress, just the annoyance that she has to clean all of that up and lacks the tools for it.
Persephone lays down on the straw, trying to get some sleep. There is nothing to do here anyway. She watches the bunny that tries to stay as far away from her as possible, while nibbling on the straw.
Persephone dresses up in normal clothes and leaves the house. She looks into the evening sky searching for the moon on her way to the House of Flames. She takes the usual 'secret' entrance and waits.
"Thank you for coming along." she tells Father Grimburrow. "I wish you luck for the race." she tells Arawyn and Menan. Then she leaves and fetches the cart that is ruined anyway by old corpses from her yard. She also brings a pitchfork and a cover. She laughs at herself that she volunteers for cleaning work that is so much worse than what she had to do with her stepmother. Back at the castle she tries to animate a goblin as a zombie. That works like a charm, but that stupid little sucker doesn't understand what "Pick up this corpse and put it on the cart." means. After playing around a bit and finding that she can make it follow or stay and probably attack she leads it on the cart and destroys it with two castings of cure light wounds. It would have been more clever to make a skeleton. That she could have smashed with her mace. The rest of the corpses she collects with the pitchfork. Once she got all, she pushes the cart back to her yard. There beneath the outhouse is an opening into the sewers. She throws one corpse in and flushes it down with a casting of create water. That she repeats until all corpses are gone in hopes, that Garfield will find them himself without being told. To improve the chances she shouts into the opening "Garfield, feeding time!"
"Ok, if that is done now, I guess I'll get the cart to remove those goblins. Time to feed our Otyugh. Or is there anything else to do?" Persephone inquires.
Persephone gives Menan a thumbs up. "Looks promising. What do you say Father?"
"I don't know. Faerveren wasn't home and the Variels I haven't checked on. I think they still live with that horse lady, but I'm not sure. Never been there."
"Well, could be better, could be worse." Persephone replies. Because What are you going to answer if you found out it wasn't your brightest idea to murder your little brother. Change of topic. "I'm here, because Dearil wants to know if the ghost is gone before he sends the masons and carpenters there. Would you come along to check? I mean it is easy to go into the room with the table and the throne and see if it shows up. But if it doesn't is that proof?"
"Delivery it is. To the orphanage to the hands of Grelod." She puts the ten gold on the counter. "I have things to do and places to be, so goodbye." Outside she wonders. She hasn't seen Faerveren and also no sign of the Variels so far. Anyhow - at least Father Grimburrow shall be found at his usual place. Persephone walks over to the cemetery and takes some minutes to stand at the family grave.
"Yeah I do. For quite a while now. The pay is quite good. The interesting thing is, I still don't know who was screwing with you and the others. I see the wine in the books and in the warehouse. Regular business." "But I have no clue who decided to make you buy it and who messed your shop up. You met Finn today. He is a nice guy. And so are most of the others. A little rough on the edge, but they're dock workers, not nuns." "Did you have any further problems after your shop got messed up?" She finishes counting. "It's only 14 blankets."
Persephone walks over and feels what quality they are. "I like them. I'll take twenty of them."
"I can do that. A nice opportunity to visit Zolkar. See you later." Persephone keeps the coin and walks through town, taking in the scenery. The old houses, some of which are in good repair and some not. Most of them built from wood, straw and clay. And the change towards the boulevard, where most houses are in top condition and many are even. "Hello Zolkar. I need blankets, warm ones. What do they cost?"
"I got some clothes and the coins for this month." Persephone tells. "Shall I put it on the table?"
"I'lkl take care of that and will ask Father Grimburrow to check that there are no undead left in the place." Persephone acknowledges and leaves again. She walks to the orphanage and knocks at the door. "Hello, I'm back."
"I can do that. This starts around sunset, right?" Persephone enjoys the ale with Finn and speculates with him what might have gotten Gorm to extend the bookkeeping to this branch of the enterprise. Then she leaves to meet up with someone. She doesn't need a drink, as she just had one, and it's too early to go to The Pig's Whistle for fun anyway. Finally she decides to fetch the clothes for the orphanage and visit Dearil at the Golden Knight to discuss modalities of handing the money over. "Hi. I went to the orphanage and met Grelod. Ten gold a month is a big deal there. But I don't think it is worth making a big deal of it. Going public might also make public that you lived there once. And posing with poor kids for sympathy points looks like bad character to me. And it wouldn't impress those vain nobles. How shall they receive the money?"
"Hello Zolkar, how's it going?" Persephone greets the shop keeper. "Finn, I need you to explain to me how the collection of the service fee from the ladies worked so far, that I get an idea how to organize that properly for bookkeeping."
"Ok. I'll find Finn and see what works best." She closes the notebook and takes it along on her search for the foreman of the workers. First she does a walk up and down the docks, taking a look into the warehouse and if he isn't found there she moves on to look inside the Blue Marlin.
"Shall I start a new notebook for that?" Persephone inquires. On Gorms agreement she takes an empty book from the shelf and ponders how to create a table in it to have an easy overview. "When and where will that be collected?" Persephone asks Gorm.
Persephone wonders what happened right there. "Hi. The ship sunk. Is this a problem?" Persephone inquires.
As the show is over Persephone leaves and checks if Gorm is at the office.
Startled by the noise Persephone jumps out of bed and 'runs' to a window to take a look. From a window in the upper floor she can see the upper third of the ship and the smoke. Damn. She puts on clothes and leaves the house to go to the docks, to see what happened.
Persephone blushes. Way to put my foot in my mouth. The kids are a welcome distraction from that. She plays with them and chats some more with Grelod about this and that until it is time for bed. She leaves and walks home. There she looks through the closet and puts out all the clothes of her brother. Tomorrow she will bring them to the orphanage. And her stepmother's clothes too. She will for sure not wear any of them, but it would be a shame to burn them. Even though she'd really like to do that.
"You gave him away for a bag of coins?" Persephone is shocked.
Persephone opens her mouth to ask, but closes it again. Of course she knows. How is it to be hundreds of years old and remember the things, I haven't even heard of in tales? "Would you tell me about that little brat?"
"No. It's Dearil Duke of Seacrest."
"Fallon, Duke of Seacrest" Persephone answers. "I know, he is dead for a while already. But his will was recently found and there is money left so that mention is actually worth something."
Persephone stands in line too. "I guess ten gold a month is a big deal then." she thinks aloud. Looking around it seems to be a happy place to her. It's not a nice place. It has to be horrible in winter with all the obvious places where the wind blows in. Everything is old and used. The floor, the clothes on the kids, the furniture. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it. But what's past is past. She receives her sharing of the stew and takes a seat with the kids and Grelod at the table.
"I'm here for two things. The orphanage is mentioned in a testament and some money is coming your way. I shall inquire how the orphanage is funded to find out if that money is a big deal or peanuts." "The other thing is personal. I lived many years in fear of being dumped at the orphanage. And I'd finally like to know how that would have been."
Persephone approaches the woman. "Hello, I'm Persephone. Are you in charge of the orphanage?"
"I'll leave to. Maybe check on the orphanage already." Persephone leaves the hotel and walks to where she things the orphanage is. Worst case she asks around.
"I can do that. But so far I got mostly walking out of the honor to belong to your guard. The least that is due is a meal now. After that I can go and find out who is in charge of the orphanage." "I got threatened to be put there every now and then. Might as well find out how it would have been there."
Persephone does as told and once she is finished she leaves. Half way to The Pig's Whistle she realizes, that she could instead visit the Golden Knight and see if the job of guard comes with free board and lodging. So she walks home instead, puts on her 'work clothes' and then walks very slowly to the new residence of the Duke.
Persephone smiles and leaves the ship. She visits Gorm at the office to return the lists. "So what are they going to tell the one who has to accept it when the ship reaches its destination?"
Persephone pulls the pouch with the coins out of her pocket and put it on the list.
With the last item checked off, Persephone looks over the list. She checks off all the items, that are hidden in the basement and not loaded onto the ship. Then she approaches the first mate. "Here for you to sign."
"Great. And I thought, we could save us to put that into the warehouse." After the large amount of boxes for one of the next ships is stored away, she has Finn put in the boxes for Zolkar and Fioravanti at the front end of the row. The lists to hand it out she puts at the back. Finally she walks over to the first mate to sign off his lists. "That's done, now to our wares that you shall take along." She has Finn fetch the wares from the small warehouse.
Persephone greets the mate and check with him if he has everything that is on his lists. And in which order it will come off the ship. The number of crates for the local merchants isn't that big, so Persephone has them stacked in front of the warehouse. "Who tells Zokar and the tailor, that their goods are here?" She inquires from Finn.
Persephone takes the lists and goes to the ship to find whoever is in charge of checking the unloading and loading.
Persephone snaps to attention, salutes and then walks out of the room. She doesn't need to watch a duke play dress up. After a short stop at home to change into more casual clothes, she walks to the harbor to watch the ship arrive and moor at the docks.
"I'd like to find out if being rich would lead to me being bored." Persephone comments. I the corner of her eye she notices the ship through the window. "Is there anything else you need me for? Because I have to be somewhere else in two hours."
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