So, short chapter today. I'm currently edging into the last few weeks of college, so I need to prep for some tests. That cock and ball torture should only last until halfway through May.
However, there is currently a tie on what the riding lizard should be called. Dodogama and Predator Agrinator were the top contenders for right now. So, vote if you want either of those to win or want the other choices to climb to the top.
Tending to the fire, Jaune flipped over a piece of ham frying in the centre of a skillet. The gentle sizzle of the meat and popping oil filled the early morning air. Its powerful aroma radiated from the dish, causing the boy's mouth to water. Flipping it once more, Jaune poked the meat with his knife to transfer it to a small plate.
"Fuck," Sun cursed from inside his tent. "Oh, goddammit, it's cold!"
Jaune looked over at the cloth shelter, finding Sun stumbling out of the flap. The boy was dressed in his new pants and boots, sporting a wool shirt he paired with his armour. Despite the warm clothes, he appeared to be freezing, wrapping his arms around his waist to conserve whatever heat he had remaining.
When Sun spotted the hot food and fresh coffee, he bolted to the fire and poured himself a cup of the brew. Taking his cup, the boy refused to leave the vicinity of the flames, sipping his beverage with a shiver. Jaune merely watched his friend suffer from the side as he prepared some mushrooms for breakfast.
"Cold?"
"It's freezing, dude," Sun whined, gripping his cup to draw its heat into his body.
Doesn't feel that bad...
It was a brisk morning, but only the occasional gust of wind would make you regret going outside. To Jaune, it was perfect for working in the forge. It was even better Valean weather before the hot and humid summer bore down on the country.
"Doesn't it get cold at night in Vacuo," Jaune replied, drinking from his mug.
"Never freezing," Sun said with a shudder. "Always warm by the jungles..."
I see why Sun suggested we go to Vacuo eventually.
"You could have stayed inside," Jaune expressed, pouring the mushrooms into the skillet. "It's probably warm once you get a fire going."
"Not with the vampire," Sun protested, shaking his head vigorously. "Ruby told me about you guys finding that girl in the mines. The house is a deathtrap if someone's lurking around there."
Right about that...
Jaune never wanted to fight vampires in enclosed spaces. The vampire would just wait around a corner for your back to be turned. At least in the open, there was never a place where the vampire could hide. With the exception of Pyrrha, Yang, Blake, and Ren, nobody had become instinctually aware of anyone sneaking up behind them, so it was exceedingly dangerous to try it without practice.
"Minus the vampire's lair, would you," Jaune posed.
"Hell yeah," Sun chirped. "This place is pretty sweet. Better than the monastery... But I have no idea what I'm gonna do here." He cupped his chin and began staring at the house.
It made sense. Sun was an orphan with little in the way of any personal valuables. From his own word, he'd grown up in a communal shelter with likely no individual space. A massive house like this was nearing the tip of his fantasies. It was a place where he could have his own room and do whatever he wanted.
"Got any hobbies," Jaune inquired with a curious look. "You said you liked brewing..."
"Hmmm, not really," Sun denied. "It was always work, study, or go hungry, so we didn't have the time for art or any fun stuff." He looked around the yard, eyeing a small section of cobblestone that used to be the wall of a house. "Now that you mention it, I can probably use that spot to make a still. Just need to put a roof over it and get some copper vats to put it all together. Then we can make alcohol for potions and stuff... Maybe try distilling some brandy too."
That sounds like a good idea...
As long as he had an idea, Jaune was all for it. That arak Sun gave the group was proof enough for the Paladin. And since he would use that collapsed house, the still could be housed outside and away from the main structure. There would be no risk of burning the place down because the still exploded.
It also gave Sun a reason for living here beyond just being a place to lay his head down. He could customise his section of the house as he saw fit.
"We can check out the orchards later," Jaune suggested.
"Oh yeah, I want to see what they're growing," Sun expressed almost giddily. "If they got any good strains, I can make some awesome cognac out of it."
We're going to be vintners by the time we leave Beacon...
Jaune wasn't opposed to it. Being a vintner was hard work from what little he knew about the industry. However, there was a romantic appeal to the profession that Jaune saw.
"Jeez, my dad's going to love you dorks," Yang said from behind the pair.
"We are discussing the time-honoured tradition of getting people so shitfaced they can't look each other in the eye," Sun retorted with feigned indignation. "Sorry, you're not cultured."
"You can keep the culture; I'll take the good brandy if you make some," Yang expressed, not contesting the accusation. "Anyway, you see my dad?"
Around Yang, the rest of their friends were crawling out of their tents. Blake and Ruby appeared to be refreshed and ready to go. Ren, Nora, and Weiss were lagging behind. Their Mistrali counterparts remained bundled up in blankets or cloaks to shield themselves from the cold. Weiss looked exhausted from sleeping rough.
"He left before I got up," Jaune answered with a shrug.
"Crap, I was gonna help him find the steward..."
"Should we start working on the house now," Pyrrha proposed from inside her tent.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Weiss contested. "If this home isn't for sale, we'll have done the work for nothing. We will be better off waiting for Mr Xiao Long."
"We can get all of our gold ready, I guess," Nora suggested as an alternative from inside of her blanket. "Just so we're not waiting around."
Not a bad plan.
"Okay, I'll wait for it to warm up," Pyrrha squeaked, diving deeper into her sleeping bag. The chattering of her teeth was nearly audible from where Jaune stood. "S-So c-cold..."
Need to take everyone up to the mountains. Do some cold weather adventuring.
They needed the practice before the group made their way to Argus or Solitas. Adventuring wouldn't be fun if half of their friends refused to leave the tavern because of a slight chill. A blizzard or subzero winds would devastate them if they were ever caught out in the open. So, Pyrrha needed some suitable cold-weather clothing before deciding on that journey. It also meant suffering until the girl who lived in the tropics of Anima would finally acclimate.
...
"I'll play the catapult, which pairs with the siege expert, doubling his strength," Ruby announced, laying down her final card. "That makes my total one-ten!" She then looked at Jaune with a toothy grin, knowing that she had just demolished him. "What about you?"
Jaune looked down at his measly hand, finding he had few options to turn this around. In fact, there was no way for him to win this uphill battle. Ruby had thoroughly trounced him. Her skill in this game and a decent hand ensured he lost.
"Eh, you lost bad, dude," Yang whispered, looking over his shoulder.
With Yang's help, Jaune still lost. Remnant: The Game was not a forgiving mistress by having you conquer each kingdom on the board. They were even playing the cards only version, and Jaune still had a tough time with it.
Glancing to the board, Ruby had feigned her initial assault using ranged units. When Jaune conservedly played his mid-tier close combat cards, these weak characters served as her cannon fodder. She sacrificed a few poor yeomen to draw Jaune out. When they concluded the first round, the Paladin won confidently. The second and last rounds were total disasters. Ruby played her highest-level cards, pairing them with the bonuses tacked to them. This allowed her to sail past Jaune and claim victory.
"I guess I need to play this more," Jaune concluded, folding by laying his cards on the stump serving as their table.
"It's okay; Yang can't even beat Ruby," Pyrrha consoled from behind, hugging Dreizhen as a source of warmth despite being wrapped in a blanket.
"You guys gotta collect the good cards," Ruby insisted, putting her deck back together. "You're still using a beginner's deck. Remnant: The Game is all about it."
"Well, you fleeced Dad and Uncle Qrow out of their cards when they taught you how to play," Yang pointed. "Then you won all the other special cards from the kids at Signal."
The apprentice surpassed the master?
"You're just jealous that I'm good at it," Ruby replied with feigned indignation. "I won King Reinhard and Cervantes from them fair and square."
In some nonverbal communication, Yang took that as a challenge. "Okay, let's go again," she shouted, laying down her own deck. The two quickly went at it, losing any focus beyond the game.
"We lost them," Pyrrha surmised, standing from her chair.
"Yeah..." Jaune stood as well. "You guys figure out how much gold we have?"
Pyrrha waved the boy over. Following her, Jaune discovered their horde in the centre of the camp. Nora, Ren, and Sun laboured over the stack of gold and valuables, counting them up and ensuring their prior estimates were accurate. Blake stood at the side, tossing a bag of coins up and down as she glanced around the area.
"We have something around seventy-thousand lien," Ren announced as the pair walked over. "Ten-thousand in coin, the forty-five in the letter, and maybe another twenty from the artefacts and weapons. At least if they're as valuable as we think."
"Do you think the steward will take the swords," Nora wondered, unsure if they really had enough. Her face was painted with concern, and anxiety Jaune had never seen before.
"It should be," Jaune said, trying to encourage the girl. "If not, I have another twelve coming in from Cardin and his friends."
I'll give up the golem core if I have to.
"Still weird you're working for them on armour, dude," Sun expressed annoyedly. "They're complete dickheads who'll just use it for fucking with some other poor guy."
I hope not... Really hope they won't.
"It's lien, Sun," Ren countered. "If they don't pay or try something, we can deal with it. However, Jaune said they were desperate for the armour."
Sun's expression relented. "Okay, still don't like it..."
Me neither.
A whistle from Blake alerted the group to her. As their eyes drew to the faunus, she gestured with her head towards the road leading onto the estate. Riding in on horseback were Professor Goodwitch, Tai, several guards, and a young man. The latter was a human, wearing a fine doublet befit of a civil servant. His orange-brown hair swayed in the wind as his fine horse carried him to the campsite.
"Hello," the young man opened with a refined and educated tone. "I presume you're the students I'm to meet today?" He jumped off his horse and approached the group with a hand held out. "I'm Carnelian Adel. I serve as the steward for this property."
Adel?
If you looked hard enough, the boy was the ginger version of Coco. Of course, with all the features and alterations to make her into a man. The familial resemblance was there, like how Jaune and his sisters appeared to be each other in a dress or armour. Yet, Carnelian lacked Coco's confident exterior that commanded attention. He was a sly person with a sharp wit and much going on behind his eyes.
"Are you Coco's brother," Ruby asked, cocking her head to the side to get a better look at him. She leaned in and squinted hard, picturing Coco next to him.
"She's my little sister," Carnelian admitted. "But yes, I am. In her own words, 'the nerd of the family.'" He stepped through the group and began walking to the mansion. "However, we brought Professor Goodwitch along to serve as a third party. She will observe this negotiation to ensure it is acceptable."
"Huh," Yang vocalised her confusion, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm here to make sure you're not taken advantage of," Professor Goodwitch translated. "Students have been ripped off by those posing as agents for the Kingdom or whoever rightfully owns the property. So, we've chosen to involve ourselves as a third party to sit in on talks." She moved to stand next to Carnelian. "Also, Cinder is handling my class this morning, so I'm to speak on her behalf. If I feel this deal is fair and affordable, I'm to say yes."
Smart. At least we won't get robbed.
"I see," Weiss said aloud. "Then could you tell us about this property? It seems like it has been abandoned for quite some time."
"There's also the dead guy we found in the basement," Sun added from his chair. "Vampire had him for a snack..."
"Oh..." Carnelian said as his expression dropped. He turned and noticed the wrapped corpse lying at the base of the stairs. "That's not-" He cut himself off as he moved to inspect the body. Bending over, he pulled the cloth from his face to look at him. "Oh my. Sorry, you had to find this here." Carnelian looked to one of his guards. "Jax, could you take this man to the morgue? Once you're done, could you possibly look into finding his kin? He's likely from the nearby villages."
"Got it, boss..." the man said as he picked the corpse up and loaded it onto his horse. With a click of his tongue, he quickly departed from the property.
"Well," Carnelian said, taking a deep breath. "I'm sure you've been inside, so there's no need for a tour." He paled at the thought of going into the house. "This is a rarity for me, I can assure you. We typically keep these properties tightly locked."
"It's fine, Mr Adel," Ren politely replied. "We're used to seeing things like this."
"Okay, I'm disturbed but content to see you're not as repulsed by it as I am," Carnelian expressed, taking a moment to clear his head. "However, I was telling you about the property." He fixed his doublet and put on a confident expression. "There are dozens of abandoned castles, estates, and homes across the Kingdom that I serve as steward for. Many were constructed recently or repaired since the Great War. This estate, The Torchwick Family Manor, was one of those. The manor's namesake is an ancient and formerly prestigious clan whose line can be traced back to King Gratian the Fair over four hundred years ago. Their entire fortune was built upon trade, and production and manufacture of crops or foodstuffs, namely wines or various fruit products."
"What grapes did they use," Sun asked, having his interest peaked.
"A strain of Cabernet Sauvignon and Ugni Blanc," Carnelian answered. "Though, you would need to consult with a viticulturist or enologist to be sure. I have a few friends who could put you in touch. But, the rest of the crops were primarily apples, oranges, or other fruit-bearing trees. The peaches do come into season rather beautifully this time of year. Each of the orchards surrounding the estate goes on for several miles in all directions. It's a wonderful walk regardless of the season."
"Then why is the place so run down," Blake inquired. "Something happen to it or what?"
"The Torchwick Family used to own this estate," Carnelian revealed with a sigh. "A few bad harvests and debts caught up to them. The last son, Roman, decided it was best to go into smuggling or other criminal acts to stave off the creditors. Though he did manage to clear his debts, his association with the criminal underworld of Vale was his undoing. A few adventurers managed to break up an exchange of stolen merchandise, which Roman was arrested for. His friends gave him up for leniency. This led to the estate being confiscated, and his titles stripped."
Roman? Is it that guy from the meeting?
A former noble named Roman was too much to be a coincidence. It was a reason for him to have a bone to pick with those in charge. So, he took advantage of those who shared his attitude against the nobles for his own goals. However, his actions were not in any way justifiable. It was his fault he lost everything.
I need to see if he's been dealt with. Professor Ozpin never said anything about the letter.
"Then we can assume that's the reason for the estate's condition," Weiss posed. "Nobody wanted to buy it because of its history."
"In a word, yes," Carnelian agreed. "My department also does not have the funding to maintain a property of this size. Our small budget only ensures a few staff members make their rounds. We mainly check the homes for squatters, such as yourselves at the moment, or a potential monster infestation, which we then summon those such as you."
"It sucks that you couldn't take care of this place," Pyrrha expressed, looking over the home with a disappointed expression. "It was beautiful at some point."
"I understand," Carnelian sighed. "The Kingdom doesn't have the coin to spend on renovations for these old manors, so it's not the only one that's fallen into disrepair. However, it also means the price will be far lower than we initially valued. So, for you, there is that silver lining."
"What's the price, then," Ruby inquired further.
"Well, we currently value the manor at around ninety-five thousand lien, including the fields surrounding the estate and everything contained within," Carnelian explained. "But, due to the poor state of the property, we can take off twenty-thousand as that will be needed for repairs. Then, for adventurers or those associated with Beacon, we knock off another twenty per cent due to an initiative by the Kingdom to encourage their settlement in Vale or its cities. This will land you squarely at sixty-thousand lien."
"Got it..." Yang said, trailing off with the final word. "Okay, group huddle, guys."
Leaving Carnelian on his own, Professor Goodwitch and Tai joined the nine students. Each appeared relieved, stressed, or somewhere in between the two. Tai and Goodwitch were the only ones genuinely calm and collected.
"Okay, so how are we feeling about this," Yang opened the discussion. "You can back out now if you're not sure. Nobody's gonna hate you for it."
"It is cheaper than renting a room at Beacon," Ren added, baiting the hook further. "This manor will only cost us six thousand lien per person to buy it."
"Make it ten thousand with all the repairs and buying furniture," Tai expressed.
"So, we save like twenty-five thousand lien by taking the house," Jaune concluded. "It's a win-win no matter what."
"I'm all for it," Sun expressed. "Just need a few hard quests to make the rest of the cash. Not too bad, right?"
"We're coming to our final quests for the semester, so the rewards should make up for what we need," Pyrrha agreed with Sun.
"You are correct, Ms Nikos," Goodwitch confirmed. "Cinder will also be paying from an amount granted by the Academy, so dividing up your treasure will make this more affordable to each of you."
"Then everyone agrees," Blake asked one last time, looking to each person for their confirmation. One by one, they nodded to her.
Breaking the huddle, Ruby stepped out from the group to speak with Carnelian. "Okay," she said loudly. "We'll take it!"
"Ha, excellent," Carnelian replied with a smile, clasping his hands together. "I'll get everything finalised in a few days. For now, you may move your things to the manor, but do not begin working on repairs just yet. Professor Goodwitch and I will need to go over the details of the deed with you before we come to that." He paused for a moment. "And if you have any questions about the area, I would find the local representative of the nearby villagers. He's more knowledgeable about it than I am. A recent emigrant to Vale, but very intelligent and respected by the local farmers. Ask for Brawnz Ni at the stud farm north of here. He and his companions will usually be there."
With a final exchange of pleasantries, Carnelian, Professor Goodwitch, and his guards left the estate. The party merely stood around, realising the magnitude of the project they purchased as the steward disappeared beyond the treeline. None were exactly sure where to begin.
"Does anyone have any ideas for a name," Weiss asked. "I don't think we should keep this place as the Torchwick Estate."
Yeah, this is our place now.
"Ummmm, crap..." Ruby cursed as a name was lost to her. "I don't have any ideas."
"We can think about it," Pyrrha said. "We're not exactly pressing for an answer."
"Yeah, let's go grab our shit and drag it out here," Yang declared, grabbing Ruby and Pyrrha. "We got a bunch of work to do."
So, due to time constraints, I am basically using this chapter to set up where the mansion came from. Also, some interaction with the characters.
The pricing for the mansion I got from PG 128 of the 5e DMG and the building prices from the 4th edition. This mansion is basically the upper tier of what a normal manor would be. (40,000 gp to buy (4e) or 25,000 gp to build (5e)) I also factored in what a kingdom would do to get adventurers or those responsible to protect the kingdom to buy a home. So, exemptions from taxes or just a flat discount on whatever property you were buying.
However, I need some names for the manor from you guys. I got a few like the White Rose Estate or Hunter's Hall, but you guys are also super creative too, so I wanted some ideas.