[Hanako] Chapter 10: Work Plans

[Asta]

"Just me and you." she said with a wide smile. Trudy's excitement filled Hanako's chest with a sort of swelling warmth, and she found herself to be a little excited too.

"For now let's get cuddled up, its been a long day and I need some skinship to recharge!" and started to pull both girls up toward her, even though Trudy hadn't had time to put her pajamas on.

[Throndir]

Minette who was already clinging to your side was pulled in closer, while Trudy found herself falling into you.

"Aah.." Trudy began. Once she was pulled close, it didn't take long for her to be at ease.

"My pajamas..." She mumbled softly to herself. But a moment later, she began climbing into bed, under the covers still anyways.

She couldn't look at you in the eye however, and only timidly began shifting herself under the covers.

[Asta]

"Mmm~! Mmm~!" Hanako hummed a chipper little nonsense tune and rubbed her cheek against Trudy's bare shoulder. She managed to slip her arms around both girls and intertwined her fingers with theirs. "Oooh~! I can feel my strength returning... This is truly the way to recover from a busy day!"

After a few moments she whispered, more to herself than anyone else present; "I hope we can stay this way forever."

[Throndir]

"Oh...That would be nice..." Minette said, as she gently smiled.

Trudy continued to flush red though, especially when you continued to rub your cheek on her shoulder.

"I w-would like that..." She said dreamily. "Forever..."







Before Trudy finally fell asleep, you heard her whisper and talk to herself.

"Hedge... maze... with Hanako..." She said softly, and she let out a short giggle. Her breathing was steady an rhythmic, telling you that she was indeed fast asleep.


Location: Your Room
Date: Day 10 - 6 AM

The morning eventually came, both Minette and Trudy were fast asleep. Trudy never wore her pajamas, and she remained in her panties and bra. She seemed to get more comfortable with the idea. At the very least, what Trudy was wearing was very much similar to Minette's, in the fact that she wore nothing but the bare minimum.

Slaver will be coming by very soon, around 7-8 AM. Feel free to post any potential preparations, state how many soldiers you might have 'up front', and etc.

[Asta]

Hanako got out of bed as quietly and as quickly as possible, though she did take a moment to admire her sleeping companions. The sight brought a smile to her face, but she tried not to linger too long and got dressed in her soldier uniform. After finishing up the usual morning routine of washing her face and the like she made her way downstairs and started to prepare for the slaver's arrival.

Hanako will get about ten people or so ready to go for the meeting, putting on collars etc. Then she'll go over the details previously discussed one more time with Aldric. She will be present for the meeting, acting in the same capacity as the previous meeting. Presumably everyone else has been informed to be out of the way.

[Throndir]

-10 MP
Trudy, Minette, +8 soldiers

"Alright... So we'll go ahead and purchase any slave the slaver brings to us. Do you think I should bring up reducing our meetings with the slaver? Sending each of them letters beforehand though of the change might work... Ah, Minette?" Aldric asked as he turned towards the demihuman soldier.

"Oh? Hmm..?"

"Do you know how Klein's dealings with the slavers started?"

Minette nodded.

"He had requested slavers to come by his estate in the mornings. Usually they would leave us a letter stating when they'll drop by, or potentially follow up with a previously scheduled meeting. With Klein being a business man in need of slaves, the word's already spread around that he's looking to buy."

Aldric thought for a moment, then turned towards you.

"We could potentially try telling him to spread the word that we no longer need slaves too... But I'm not sure."

[Asta]

"As much as I would be glad to not have to deal with them dropping by entirely, I think it would be too suspicious to stop them all from coming." Hanako tapped her fingers against her thumb, thinking. "I think... you could probably just say something along the lines of looking to buy less. Maybe that will make them think of this as a less profitable place to come by."

It was already shaping up to be a long day. The promise of what was to happen after the meeting however, was reward enough to make Hanako want to resolve the issue quickly.

[Throndir]

"Very well..." Aldric said as he nodded. Soon enough the preparations were complete, and it wasn't long until one of the soldiers on watch came back in to report that a carriage followed by a wagon was approaching.

The carriage was being driven by a coach, though there were 6 soldiers that surrounded them. Each of them wore the regular uniforms that your own soldiers wore, and they also had collars around them. The wagon that was being pulled by two horses seemed to have a tarp over it, so it wasn't visible to see what was inside.

The soldier you had posted outside approached the group, with one of the slaver's soldiers handing him a letter. Soon enough the outer gates were opened, and the carriage along with the wagon started making their way into the estate.

Once the carriage stopped, a man appeared from it, he had round glasses that almost made his eyes seem to pop up more, along with a tall hat. In terms of girth, the man rivaled Aldric or Klein in weight.

"Helmut Klein!" The fat slaver roared out loud, staring at Aldric who was at the entrance to the estate. "Already out here to greet me? Well, this is a first! But it just means you're interested in my goods, eh?"

Aldric nodded, as you heard Minette, hidden still inside the estate whisper to Aldric.

"Herr Burkhardt  Cramm. Age 47. Has as many or more soldier slaves as Klein. Prefers Refedorian wizenbock for alcohol. Kleins calls him Burkhardt. He's one of the first slavers Klein dealt with... and the slaver who sold him the most of his soldiers..." Minette quickly tried to explain.

Aldric never took his eyes off the new slaver.

"Burkhardt!" Aldric responded back heartily. "I'm always interested in your goods!" Aldric laughed loudly. "As you can see, the ones I've procured from you thus far have been quite good." He grinned as he stepped forward outside, planning to meet up with the slaver.

The slaver made his way up to, and the two men briefly shook hands.

"Gained a bit of weight lately Helmut?" Burkhardt Cramm asked. "I heard some rumors too going around about you... But we can discuss it all once we get inside."

The slaver grinned.

"I have some goods I know you'd be interested in." He winked.

[Throndir]

"Looking forward to see it old friend." Aldric declared as he lead the way into the estate.

"Old friend? You're not looking for a discount, are you? You know I keep my prices fair."

"Of course Burkhardt, I'll ensure to pay for what you ask. Now, tell me about the goods? You brought any with you? Couldn't help but notice the wagon."

"I have some interesting ones you might like." Burkhardt said, when he noticed you however he spoke. "Well, it looks like you have an Isikawan already..."

As the assembly filed into the estate, he eventually lead the way to the meeting room. From there, he opened up a briefcase on the table, and pulled out some papers.

"I have here the profiles for each of the soldiers I have that I'm willing to sell. A batch of 17 this time around. But..." With that, Burkhardt shifted over two papers over to Aldric. "I don't normally trade in exotic goods, as you know, but these two might interest you enough that I figured I'd bring them..." He flashed a toothy grin.

Aldric looked over the papers quickly.

"An Isikawan and a... Valkyrie?" Aldric asked questioningly.

"Yes, from the Hierdsvain Valkyrie kingdom, at least what's left of it. She's heavily sedated, and I have one soldier keeping watch on her at all times... However..." He smiled earnestly.

"You'd be the first slave owner I know of that has their hands on one." He winked.

[Asta]

A valkyrie...?

[Throndir]

Aldric grinned as he stared at the papers.

"These the only two you brought with you?" Aldric asked.

"Yes... They're both in the wagon at front, with one of the soldiers guarding them. The Valkyrie is heavily sedated, and won't wake up for another few hours most likely."

"I'll buy both of them!" Aldric declared. Burkhardt smiled in response.

"Great!" He said, pulling out two more forms. "I figured you would, so I already prefilled these forms... Just sign like before. Both the slaves already have the collar you prefer, and we can proceed with the binding ritual after too." With that, the man pushed the forms over to Aldric.

This time, Aldric grinned, and going to the place on the paper to sign, he wrote his name 'Klein' in a perfect replica of the man's signature.

"With business out of the way... I did hear some things about you...."

Aldric raised an eyebrow.

"Primarily that you've holed yourself up in your estate... You were planning the hero ritual, right? I was expecting you to visit on that day too, but you never arrived. I didn't think much of it though, since I was planning to visit you again today..."

[Throndir]

"Ah, yes..." Aldric began. "Realized it's not my place to handle such things."

"Did you even find everything you needed to get that to work? A mage versed in the summoning ritual is quite rare, not to mention the summoning runes..."

Aldric shrugged, but chose not to say much on the topic.

"It's a pity... The government would have paid a lot to get their hands on a hero." He paused. "Well, maybe. They might have been just as likely to kill you, too."

Aldric Bluff 1d20+10 : 14 + 10, total 24

Burkhardt Sense Motive 1d20+5 : 10 + 5, total 15

[Throndir]

Burkhardt himself laughed.

"Well, no worries about that." He began to pull out a stack of papers. "I'm glad you decided to buy the two, the price is more than fair for the Valkyrie though. As far as I know, I'm the first slaver to get my hands on one... And likewise, you would be the first nobleman to own one. Even if you can't say you have a hero, having a Valkyrie might be the next best thing."

Aldric nodded.

You could attempt perception to see the prices listed, otherwise just wait to talk with Aldric later.

Burkhardt pushed the stack of papers to Aldric.

"The profiles for the 17 soldiers. None of them are particularly skilled, such as Minette that I sold you before." Burkhardt said as he eyed the demihuman soldier with them. "It's a good batch. A couple of experienced fighters in it. Interested in these?"

Aldric began flipping through the papers, reading each one carefully, and feigning interest in them as well.

"How many other nobles are you working with today?"Aldric asked, his eyes still reading through the stack of papers.

"Just you. You need more time to go through the list?"

Aldric flashed a quick eye towards you, then proceeded to ponder.

"I plan to expand soon, as you know I'm sure. So soldiers would always be good... However... I need to ensure that what I'm getting are good too. I'm trying to cut some costs you see. Expanding into Flensberg will be a costly endeavor, so I'll need to go through these more carefully than before."

"I've been considering selling more of the mining site rights I have to the competing companies, which would allow me to secure enough funding for the expansion to Flensberg."

Aldric Bluff 1d20+10 : 16 + 10, total 26

Burkhardt Sense Motive 1d20+5 : 10 + 5, total 15

[Throndir]

"Very well... If you'd like I can come by tomorrow morning instead once you look through those, all I really need is the signature, and I assure you the prices are fair."

[Asta]

Hanako assumed a submissive posture, letting her shoulders slacken and she looked at the floor. "Master, we have the meeting in Elstergen tomorrow..."