Li cut away an overgrown bough from a blueberry bush. He used a large pair of scissors, recently sharpened and cleaned to the point that they reflected sunlight, to prune. He didn't really think much while pruning because his hands instinctively knew where to direct the scissors. All he had to do was listen to the bushes. Where the life beat a little too strongly, choking out the precious berries, he sheared off.
"You've got steady hands, sir. You'd make a fine addition in my crew."
"Yeah, I'll pass on that. I've never been into building things. Reminds me too much of the city," said Li as he circled the bush, smiling in satisfaction as he saw how plump and heavy the blueberries were. Good color too, a nice dark blue that stood out against the green of the bush.
Li gave a short glance to the builder. He stood a few meters away from the bushes, beyond the flimsy wooden fence that enclosed the berry bushes. The builder stared at Li with round and shifty eyes that didn't seem to know how to settle in just one place.
The adventurers from the day before had, as promised, referred the builder to Li, and the man didn't seem all too bad. He was a short and squat man with a round, pudgy face and a noticeable belly but his arms, visible through his short-sleeved shirt, were well-padded with muscle. Plus he had the hands of a builder, wide like bricks and worn with calluses.
There was a constant jitter to the man that was rather odd, though. He never seemed to stop moving. Even when standing still, some part of him would always be moving. His hands would twitch or maybe his eyes would shift here and there.
"Why stand so far away?" said Li as he moved on to another bush with his scissors. "I'm here to negotiate a contract with you, not threaten you. "
"Aye, sir, but no offense – that hound makes me mighty scared." The builder pointed a shaking finger to Li's feet.
Zagan lay there, eyes closed in sleep as he basked in the sunlit dirt. His great, barrel-like chest rose and fell with each of his breaths.
"He's reasonable. And smart. He won't kill you unless I want him to," said Li nonchalantly, momentarily forgetting about how much the builder would value his mortal life. "Or, er, I mean to say he won't hurt you."
Li didn't like hearing Zagan referred to as a simple hound, but for purposes of a disguise, it would have to do.
Zagan, at the least, didn't mind. When he and Li had first met at the forest, Li had told him he would be a farm hound, and apparently, the demon had taken that command to heart, fully preparing to spend his days guarding the farm from threats. In fact, Zagan was even honored to have a role in protecting something so precious to Li now that he understood how strongly it was tied to his master's soul. Said that being an Elder One's hound was honor enough to ask for.
"I'm a careful man, sir," said the builder. He coughed into an open palm for a few seconds and regained his breath.
"Then listen carefully to this," said Li. "I want a retractable roof over this berry garden and the herb garden on the other side. I want to get out a stall up front by the main road that's got locking mechanisms and enough space to store twenty pots. I also want a stable with enough room for three horses. Of course, the stall's the main priority and everything else can come later. Think you can manage that?"
Li understood he was asking for a lot, but he figured he would go big from the start and negotiate down from there. The builder seemed to be a nervous wreck, so Li was relatively confident he could browbeat the poor man into a less than favorable deal.
The builder, however, took Li's request seriously and drew a step back to size up the cottage and farm, his eyes slowly moving from side to side as he analyzed the feasibility of Li's request. His constant jittering stopped when he applied his mind to his trade, and for a few moments, he seemed as serious as the gravest of army generals pondering battle plans.
"It's certainly doable, but sir, I don't mean to offend, but I understand that you have no coin?" he said nervously, as if each of his words were liable to land him into the depths of a dungeon. "Don't mean nothing with that, of course, times are hard and all."
Li sighed as he buried the scissors into the dirt and put a hand into his pocket. He, for a second, considered withdrawing coins from his inventory, but he stopped himself. Any kind of official transaction with a tradesman was recorded in his accounting records, and those records were reviewed by duchy officials. Unexplained income would make for an undesirable scene later down the road.
At the same time, Li knew the adventurers weren't dumb. Well, at the least, Sylvie wasn't dumb. She knew Old Thane had no coin, and he didn't think that she would ever make the mistake of sending a builder that was costly.
"The adventurers sent you here knowing we didn't have much coin to toss around," said Li. "So stop beating around the bush. That tells me you're not exactly here to get paid conventionally. Tell me what you want."
"Mind if you come out here? It's a matter I don't want spoken out loud," said the builder as he nervously glanced around. Though it was noon and the occasional traveler or adventurer passed by the cottage while taking the main road, they didn't spare a second look at the ordinary farm.
"You expect people to care about what a farmer has to say to a handyman? But if you really want to have some level of secrecy, then how about you come here?" said Li as he picked the scissors back up and went to pruning. "I'm a little busy, as you can tell."
The builder shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Aye, I would sir, but the hound-"
Zagan awoke and shook his body, cleaning himself of dirt. He gave a glance to the builder that made the man shiver before heading away to rest in the wheat field. Li had no doubt the demon was hearing the conversation and had decided to leave to expedite the deal.
"Okay, nothing to be afraid of now," said Li. "Unless the blueberries scare you, and at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that's true."
"Mighty apologies, sir. I'm normally not like this." The builder slowly walked up to Li, casting glances over to make sure Zagan had left.
When he managed to muster enough courage to lean on the fence, he said, "Well sir, I can do everything you want; it's just the price is a little special."
Li waved the scissors. "Go on."
The builder took one final look around himself to make sure nobody was listening before whispering, "The adventurers couldn't handle it, well, atleast not permanently, but they told me you had a mighty fine ability to tame beasts. Sir, I beg you, there's this terrifying beast that wants my head. It knocks on my doors and prowls around my windows every single night. Can't get a single lick of sleep because I fear for myself and my children. The adventurers could drive it off, but it just keeps coming back and back and gods, I haven't slept in days."
The builder shivered before he blinked several times. "I'd be willing to do anything for you, sir, if you can just free me from this accursed thing."