Feral Beast Master: A Gamelit Adventure, page 28
“Guess who can power a FarPortal without exhausting her mana?” Eve asked.
Kaden didn’t need to ask, but he had business. “The Farmhouse is repaired. If I were going to pay Builder Willis to keep working, what would we want next? What makes the most sense?”
Sara had at least five plans for this and shifted constantly. Kaden could see it any of a dozen ways. Trella refused to involve herself, and Eve simply said ‘fix it all.’
“We’ve never needed more than the farmhouse,” Sara said. “We all fit comfortably there. Though I’d love to buy some bedroom furniture, if that’s ok.”
They shared Kaden’s old bedroom, but the nursery that had been meant for his baby sister still stood empty. “Of course.”
Sara exchanged a glance with Eve, probably planning two sets of furniture. “So the guest towers aren’t a priority. The crafting workshop isn’t useful without general crafters. If we seriously need provisions, something is terribly wrong. Fields don’t [Decay], in fact, [Decay] revives barren fields, turning them into [Fallow Fields], and I had three [Farmers] who were going to see about sharing this spring.”
That told him what she thought should be next. “The smithy.”
“Blacksmiths are always in demand and in need of a place to work, and with a Charm of Veela on the building, they’d be safe,” Sara said.
“The charms. I need to take them down and take them back to be recharged.” Kaden went to climb up and take them down, as the silver charm holders were the biggest part of the cost. Mr. Willis was standing out front, working on the railing with a thin black man with bushy hair and a wide nose.
“Kaden, this is my son and soon-to-be-ex-apprentice, Lark Willis.”
Lark offered Kaden his hand. “I remember you. I lived at the Saint’s Hall when I was six, until Mom and Dad took me in.”
Kaden did not remember Lark, but he wasn’t going to say so. “I need a Builder. We’re going to repair the smithy and use it to raise funds for the rest of the repairs.”
“I knew it!” Lark said. “I have a plan drawn up. Actually, I drew up plans for all of the buildings. I’m not as fast at removing [Decay], but I can do it. Including materials, how does thirty gold sound?”
The shock was not what Kaden expected. Thirty gold was over half of what it had cost to repair the entire farmhouse, and he’d learned the hard way that kindness was often mistaken for weakness. “How many points of Decay?”
“Twenty, but I’m not as efficient as Dad at removing it.”
“I’ll pay twenty gold, but I can only pay in increments. You don’t have to come and stay and work, you can do it when I have enough for a section. Deal?”
Lark thought about it, then shook his hand. “Deal. You’ll need fifteen gold for the rotten beam repairs, everything else is piecemeal.”
You have entered an agreement with Lark Willis to repair your smithy. You may still employ other [Builders] but it will not alter the parameters of your deal.
Kaden needed to go hit the crafters, trading for coins and equipment. But he wasn’t worried. The farmhouse was repaired, and the rest would come in time. Even now, he could imagine the fields rich and green, crafters working out back while smoke drifted up from the Smithy. One day.
“Gotta run, I’ll send a bird when I have the gold,” Kaden said.
Lark went back to work on the rail. “I’ll be waiting.”
Kaden ran into the house, down to the basement to grab a burlap bag. The Party was waiting when he reached the Far Portal, but as he approached a flock of messenger birds descended, landing on each member’s hand. “All Adventurers report to the Guild for Monster Surge assignments.”
ALSO BY J.C. NELSON
I write a lot of different books. If you’re reading this you’re probably a GameLit or LitRPG fan, but if you want to enjoy other books in other genres, here they are.
Urban Fantasy
Grimm Agency Series
Free Agent
Armageddon Rules
Wish Bound
Young Destroyer
Hunter
Soulbreaker
Soulbreaker
Waybreaker
Cursebreaker
Oathbreaker
Stormbreaker
GameLit/LitRpg
Beast Master
Stray Beast Master
Lost Beast Master (this book, you don’t need a link, you’re reading it)
Feral Beast Master
Beast Dungeon Master
Demon Dungeon Master
Beast Quest Master
CONTENTS
1. One - Pack Light
2. Two - Party Animals
3. Three - A Bloody Mess
4. Four - Hydra-tion
5. Five - It’s a Zoo
6. Six - Failing Memories
7. Seven - Flocked Up
8. Eight - Making an Omlet
9. Nine - Heirs & Spares
10. Ten - Party Patrol
11. Eleven - Adapt or Die
12. Twelve - Plans Change
13. Thirteen - Rotten to the Core
14. Fourteen - Flushed Opportunities
15. Fifteen - Bad Attention
16. Sixteen - Fight Like A Girl
17. Seventeen - Terra-pain
18. Eighteen - Trade Craft
19. Nineteen - Hold Out
20. Twenty - Beneath the Trees
21. Twenty One - Pack Fight
22. Twenty Two - Re-Posession
23. Twenty Three - Skill Core
24. Twenty Four - A Promised Death
25. Twenty Five - Jungle Hunt
26. Twenty Six - The Long Haul
27. Twenty Seven - Crawl
28. Twenty Eight - Walk
29. Twenty Nine - Run
30. Thirty - Cook
31. Thirty One - Clean
32. Thirty Two - Kill
33. Thirty Three - Easy Decisions
34. Thanks
35. Sneak Peek - Lost Beast Master
Also by J.C. Nelson
J.C. Nelson, Feral Beast Master: A Gamelit Adventure
