Their lecture continued for a while after Lucas and Belial had passed them at the gate, laughing like a couple of hyenas, but luckily their arrival and mirth threw Kieran off balance and made him lose track of his lecture.
"...Look, just make sure you approach in a more civilised manner in future and not hellhounds collecting on a contract. Lottie and I will swing by later and make sure you're getting settled, she was there most the night with Gregor's young apprentice getting the place ready for you." The other guards were stifling their amusement, being under Kieran's guard meant they could be punished unlike the other two.
"Sorry, Kieran. We were eager to get back and relax after the dungeon, it was particularly difficult for young Kayla." Jonah crossed his right arm over his stomach and bowed slightly the gesture accompanying his apology, in a way that demonstrated humility.
"Gahhh, just get out of here already, we'll see you later." Funnily enough, it was watching Kieran try to maintain his position of authority that finally broke his mens' discipline and gave him something else to deal with as Jonah, Orcette and Kayla slinked off.
On the way back, after what Kieran had said, they decided to swing by Gregor's shop to say thanks to Clara for helping out with the house.
She ended up being much more humble than expected, playing down the role she played and the effort she invested in an entirely charitable act, which made Jonah feel like he should enlighten her a little bit.
"...Clara, you need to think." The phrase struck a note of disappointment that even Gregor picked up on and Clara was outright panicked, thinking she had overstepped and the first thing Gregor saw as he appeared from the forge room was Clara about to cry.
"Buck up, Clara!..." The dwarf dusted his hands off then approached and slapped her on the back. "...I believe Jonah's trying to tell you, "Clara, you're an apprentice, you should be using things like this to build your reputation." A sentiment I happen to agree with him on." Gregor nodded to Jonah for speaking up, then another gesture to suggest he needed to tone down the bluntness with her.
"Oh, really? I thought you were saying I should think about my position and not be over-reaching."
"Well that says you need to work on your confidence and time to do so. Gregor, how far are you in need of her?"
Gregor sighed, but made a gesture of thanks, trying to keep Clara in the dark about what was going to happen. "About a week, she can have the forge for two after that at a gold coin per."
"Here's the two gold coins. In three weeks time Clara, I will come and collect a short-sword and longbow for Orcette and a throwing knife on a chain for Kayla, for materials we can leave all that we got from the dungeon. The equipment will be displayed as mementos of our first dungeon when they are no longer effective to use, so bear that in mind."
"Oh, that sounds great and I won't have to wait for the special one that Lucas is getting me!..."
"...And it will mean I'm not standing around useless where magic isn't effective or I've run out."
"Hear that girl? Now stop looking so sorry for yourself when you have nothing to do and start sketching!..." Gregor flung open a draw on the back wall, making her jump to her feet as it grazed her head. "...Thanks Jonah, she has potential, but no confidence to offer her services. Hopefully seeing an Angel carrying her wares will promote her a little, I'll buy whatever materials she doesn't use as thanks."
"Appreciated..." After that, the girls and Jonah unloaded all the materials they received and headed home.
As they got to the house, a carriage was waiting outside, bearing the crest of Duke King-Mason. The sight of the carriage left them all unified in thought, though they had been for quite some time without knowing it.
'All I want to do is bathe, is that too much to ask...'
They all sighed, then looked at each other and chuckled before heading inside, not entirely sure what to expect but excited to find out all the same.
"About time you three returned!.." The booming voice of the excitable duke rang out before it had opened the width of a broomstick, the energy of it making them consider a hasty retreat but they continued in. "...I must say, I think they did a fine job on your behalf."
The duke wasn't wrong, their new home looked incredible and they could scarcely believe it was the same property.
From the centre point of the ceiling now hung a five-candle chandelier that looked antique, but well maintained all the same. Overall it was a perfect balance between decorative and plain, with a floral motif molded into the brass structure.
Directly beneath it was a knee-high, surprisingly modern-looking, table with slots underneath containing cushioned box seats, positioned on a rug that was blue in the centre, white on the outer edge and green between them.
It wasn't exactly the most appealing rug any of them had ever seen and their faces apparently mirrored that sentiment.
"I had the same expression when I saw it, but Calum explained Lottie's choice and I must say it was quite touching and oddly symbolic for a random find." Roderick chuckled, gesturing to Calum for him to recount the tale once more.
"Indeed, Lottie's sense of sentimentality was a boon in the task of decorating a first home. She stated that the blue reminded her of Kayla's young and colourful personality, the green represented Miss Orcette and the white represented Jonah."
"I agree with both sentiments personally..." Jonah laughed, pulling a face at the colour choices. "...I do like it though."
"Good, bear it in mind, I have a matter to discuss which it may assist you with. For now though, please finish ensuring that everything is to your liking." Calum shook his head and nursed his brow as Roderick rambled on with seemingly boundless energy.
Surrounding the table was a couch that could seat three, on the far side from the door, which Roderick was occupying and an arm chair at either end.
On the wall to the right, were two lanterns hung at a third and two thirds of the wall, each next to a heraldic tapestry. The space closest to the front of the property was bare, the next centre was the duke's and the third was one that hung beneath the tower that Jonah now believed was the royal family's.
On the back wall and the wall that ascended with the stairs, was the same setup, but bore plain white fabric as though waiting for them to make allies.
Also along the back wall, were ready for use mounting points for display weapons and shields between the lanterns and balcony, while a glass-topped display case stood below.
The three bowed respectfully as they moved into the kitchen, though the gesture proved wasted when Roderick couldn't resist following.
The kitchen and dining space was better equipped, with utensils hanging from a floating rack above a worktop island between the table and kitchen. The most significant changes by far were the oven and stove in the workspace and the kitchen larder that stood in the corner.
"The stove has been upgraded to one that uses MP, though it can also be powered with magic crystals if you hire a cook not possessing any." Calum explained the situation whilst gesturing to a usage manual resting beside it.
With that, they back tracked and headed upstairs, able to see that nothing had changed with the garden and saving the most important bit for last.
Looking into Orcette's bedroom first, she quickly earned a disapproving glare from Jonah. To call the room simple would be an understatement, there was enough room to open the door without issue, immediately to the left was a storage chest, then a large wardrobe that filled the space up to the wall. Then a monstrous bed that occupied almost the entirety of the room.
There was no headboard, nor rhyme or reason to it, just a mess of cushions that made a mockery of the word excessive. It was barely gracious enough to give the inward opening balcony door room to open, which had been furnished with a small table, a woven reed chair and a fabric shelter that could be collapsed or erected.
"It's perfect!"
"It's an abomination. Do what you want with your room, but if you want to decorate anything else, we vote on it." With a nod of agreement from Kayla, the first house rule had been set, to the bemused chuckling of Roderick and Calum.
Next they moved onto Kayla's room and it was far from what any of them expected.
A single bed with posted corners covered in a black veil, a pot of black paint with a small note in top reading "get permission first", a desk equipped with stationary and several rolls of paper standing next to it, the same balcony set up as Orcette, as well the same chest and wardrobe with the addition of a chest of drawers.
"Kayla, you're a gem. Don't pick up any bad habits and don't go too mad with the black paint." Jonah was honestly just relieved to see a normal room after Orcette's and even she had to admit she might have gone overboard once faced with a normal room.
"Well Kayla, now let's go take a look at Mr. Judgey's room." Orcette was trying to maintain her position with admirable dedication, but having Kayla immediately destroy her argument didn't help.
"Orcette, not really fair since Jonah doesn't sleep, it's more like a study than a bedroom." With that, they moved across to the sound of her ranting and destroyed the last of her resistance.
The door opened in line with the wall to the far right of the house, with the space beyond where the door opened occupied equally by ingredient draws and a bookshelf, both of which were fully stocked.
To the left was a cushioned lounge chair, with a small table either side and a lantern protruding from the wall to act as a reading light.
Opposite the chair, at the far end of the room, was a sturdy, square wooden table, with a heavy stone slab set into the top and a dozen peripherals attached to either side.
Positionable calipers, drippers, glass lids for covering mixtures and calcinators and magnifying lenses of varying intensity.
The balcony had been covered completely in preparation for a remodelling and in front of the door was an easel.
"Apologies for the delay with that point, the architect was rather insistent on you choosing your preference from the concept sketches he completed." Calum's words struck him more as a request to make a decision post-haste, so Jonah took it as a nudge to look at them immediately.
One immediately stood out to him, not because it was his non-existent dream alchemy station, but because it carried a note. "This stained glass motif would of course be customised with your coat of arms."
"Roderick, I find myself wondering if you are intending to place a minor title on us and I adamantly reject the proposal." Jonah gave him a somewhat dangerous look, the current idea being to enjoy the benefits of noble acquaintance without the responsibility or expectations.
"My lord did intend that, but I reminded him a mortal title would be a demotion to your grace. It is a bureaucratic necessity to have a coat of arms for any homeowner however. Many adventures use their party emblem, or more commonly a variant of the guild's." Calum's interjection came as Roderick stumbled on his words in the face of Jonah's perceived offense.
Jonah chuckled lightly and asked if that was what had been referenced earlier with the blank space colour of the rug and the empty space between the lantern and front of the house.
The confirmation was followed by Kayla confirming the topic before running back to her room, furiously etching something then running back in with her idea.
It was a very rough sketch, with notations to explain what each piece was supposed to represent.
"The circle is Jonah's shield, the chained knife around the edge is mine and looks like a symbol called Ouroboros and the line in the middle is Orcette's staff."
"Splendid! I didn't realise you were a little artist, would you like to design it properly and we will collect the final draft tomorrow?"
"Sure. Jonah, can you bring me food later? I won't move and get grouchy when I'm drawing." Despite the way it was structured like a question, Kayla's instantaneous disappearance contradicted that.
It was only a few seconds however before she returned, suddenly remembering the fact that none of them were particularly fresh and used her task to claim the bath's first use.
In retaliation, Jonah decided to heap the pressure on and handed Calum the concept drawing that bore the crest she was designing and asked her to make it inspiring.
Both the duke and his attendant seemed to greatly approve of the choice and Roderick passed the selection to Calum before they led the way back downstairs.
Descending the basement stairs without losing a single feather, was a far more significant personal victory than even he would have guessed and he couldn't help but wear a self-satisfied grin as he looked back at the featherless boards that made up the ascent.
The far stretching basement, once as dark as any cave, was now warmly lit with stitched together furs creating a walkway from the stairs to the bath and lavatory.
Backing onto the stairs, there were two wine racks each a metre wide and two tall, partitions separating the bottom, middle and top, with a few vintages supplied in each as an example of what goes where.
"Apologies, it is a hobby of mine to collect vintages and selfishly I've long hoped for an adventurer friend to share it, that way I might have more efficient means to source foreign vintages." Roderick laughed, but clearly more out of coy sincerity than it being a joke.
"I'm largely ignorant of the subject, but not sleeping leaves one with much time to study and tend to hobbies." The weary expression Jonah wore was answered with an almost pitying one from Roderick.
On the other side of the space, opposite the wine racks, were food cupboards and storage barrels, filled with enough supplies to ride them over for a few days easily.
Hidden behind the back of the stairs was a grindstone and workbench fully equipped for basic maintenance on weapons and armour with a log training dummy a few feet away.
Opposite that, a couple of meters from the last food cupboard, was a small gym area that they all largely ignored to the duke's amusement.
They all immediately made their way to the bathroom and held their breath as they pushed open the door.
The bath was much more sophisticated than they expected, circular and a metre deep with a few railed steps leading up to it.
Two metres in diameter left it big enough to hold several people, which made Jonah wonder if communal bathing was the norm and the shelving along the back wall alternating between squares filled with towels and ones left empty for the bather to put their things. Whilst at the end was a bin for laundry.
"Roderick, Calum, I speak with utter confidence when I thank you on behalf of us all." Jonah's words were accompanied by vigorous head nodding from Orcette and Kayla, all approaching the luxurious bath as though it were the hallowed ground of the most sacred altar.
"Your group's fixation and appreciation on bathing facilities makes me feel wholly unclean..." Roderick laughed. "...I wonder if you will ever actually use that alchemy station, or whether you will simply while away the quiet hours in here."
Calum approached and turned their attention to crystals embedded into the rim of the bath at regular intervals. Sitting in pairs with one red and one blue, he explained that they allow the user to regulate the temperature in their area. He then gestured to the centre of the bath where a trio were embedded in the floor, again one red and one blue, but with the addition of a purple one.
"...Unlike the others, if you introduce MP into the purple stone..." Calum decided that a practical demonstration would be best and began, exhibiting the energy the others started to think was hereditary. "...As you can see, it causes the centre disk to rise so that you may use it as a table for soaps or even refreshments if you are in company and wish to enjoy a night cap."
"I'm surprised artisans would consider such an occurrence. I thought that the idea of a private bath was, well..."
"...Privacy?..." Calum chuckled. "...Of course, but many homeowners are guild adventuring parties used to communal bathing and use that time to plan upcoming jobs."
"That makes sense." Calum nodded curtly then moved around to the space between the shelving and the bath, then explained that the white crystal embedded on the side was to purify the water.
With the tour officially concluded at that point, Kayla tried to push everyone out so she could collect on her claim of the first bath, but Jonah grabbed her by the top of the head. "Kayla, not while we have guests and not until you have some fresh clothes to change into."
"Oh damn! Right, I only have these and pajamas. Well, thank you both for coming... We need to go shop-... Ow!" As Orcette pinched her shoulder to put a quick end to the rudeness, Calum and Roderick chuckled and began leading the way, whereupon Calum retrieved a roll of papers from the inside of his coat and handed it to Jonah.
"This is the last thing we wanted to discuss anyway. It is impossible to be both an adventurer and an adequate housekeeper, not to mention Angelic and low profile which is a state you seem to prefer."
"I won't lie, I was thinking the same thing, but then Orcette got that absurd bed and now I feel like we'd be detestable clients. I assume this is a list of potential candidates, but I'd rather leave it to your better judgement, just apologise for us in advance." Jonah felt a bit bad, making all of those kinds of decisions, but felt like basic stewardship would be part of a guardian angel's duties.
"I shall see to it then, I already had a first choice in case you asked, a young woman who might be a more comfortable choice for young Kayla. She isn't very experienced, but served six months in her last pos without issue and was only relieved due t-"
Suddenly, Jonah felt a pang, a deep certainty that the words he was hearing were false. "Please, I suspect she is a member of Roderick's house who has just finished training and possibly has relatives still working. You want to stay informed and that's fine, I will choose to believe that you just want to know if anything that might anger Avalon happens so it can be dealt with quickly."
"Of course, it is for that reason, I will never personally hold you to suspicion. I will ask you to study the art of wordless conversation along with wine. If you sense anything, find a way to send Lilly with a message. She'll start this evening and prepare your supper and then head home."
Jonah agreed and asked where she lived, admitting that he'd feel more comfortable escorting her to and fro, but Roderick simply laughed and clapped him on the back as they emerged into the lounge.
When Jonah was about to clarify that he wasn't joking, but Roderick beat him to it and clarified that it would simply be a short trip since she lived across the courtyard.
After that, he left in his usual whirlwind fashion.