The Royals drank late into the night, and eventually needed the maids to help them back to their own bedrooms in the outlying courtyards.

Dominic had suggested that they just stay in the guest rooms here in the Manor, but when the officers came looking for them in the morning, there would be panic if they weren’t in their own rooms. Plus, they would wake everyone in the house up, searching for their Princes.

Not that Dominic got to sleep in, even with them gone.

The veiled maids came to rouse him right at dawn, and the smell of cooking breakfast kept him from going back to sleep. There was just something about the smell of frying eggs that resonated with his brain and told him that sleep time was over.

Pops, Mead and Guild Master Stone of the Adventurer’s Guild were already at the table when he arrived, but they were the first.

"Oh, the full smithy team is here now. Good morning, Lord Dominic." Stone greeted him as Dominic flopped into his chair.

"Good morning, Guild Master. How is the establishment of the new house going?"

The Dwarf smiled. "Quite well, thank you. We’re up nearly twenty thousand gold coins after last night’s festivities. But I suspect that will change quickly. Either the officers are going to run out of money or get on a hot streak and start winning some back."

Dominic chuckled, and Mead giggled at some memory. "Perhaps you should put up a sign warning them that if they’re not good gamblers, they should remain upstairs? The Merchant Caravan Boss was quite pleased with the extra couple of hundred he won.

They’ll be leaving in the next few minutes, they were all finished with repairs just after midnight, and they were already awake when we left the forge this morning.

But there is another caravan coming today. Headed west this time, so I don’t know how much they’ll buy. But I hear that they might load up with food and turn around for Castle City.

They’re paying better than Lympsbury is, and nobody thinks that a load of fresh produce will make it all the way to Kinewen from here."

"Kinewen is having issues?" Dominic asked curiously.

Mead and Stone both nodded, and the apprentice smith motioned for the Guild Master to speak.

"The Dagos Army has stripped the city bare to feed the troops. They’re right on the river, so they’ve had enough irrigation that they didn’t have to worry about the drought. But what they have has been going to the soldiers, and they’re rationing everything that’s left.

We had a chat with the Merchant last night, and from the sound of it, most caravans have been avoiding the region entirely. Only the local merchants out of Kinewen are servicing the area, so they’re not getting the imports they need.

But there are reports of rebels in the area, and that’s worse for business than bandits.

Bandits will steal your money and valuable goods, perhaps kill some of your men. However, the rebels will self-righteously take everything from your wagons to your life, drafting you into their force." Stone explained.

"Well, that does explain why so many of the merchants have stopped servicing Dagos entirely. It’s a bit of a shame that they couldn’t sort their mess out, the new King seemed like a half decent sort.

But that’s only our problem if the rebels are going to keep causing trouble here.

Did the merchant say how large the convoy coming this way today was going to be?" Dominic asked.

The Dwarf shook his head. "No, he just mentioned a caravan coming this way. From the sound of things, they want to increase the travel along this route, moving from old Cygnia to Stansia Province.

Everyone is trying to recover from the war, and there are shortages of everything."

Dominic nodded. "So I’m told. I will have the staff alert me when the caravan arrives, but I’ll be in the new forge for the rest of the day.

I’ve got entirely too many rifles to make, and the matter has become suddenly urgent now that we know the mages aren’t simply hiding in the wilderness but using portals to actively target the region."

Guild Master Stone frowned. "Do you think that Skiple will get pulled into the mess? I heard from some of the other branches that things are getting spicy there, with their largest Mage Academy completely closed, and all remaining students sent home for the semester."

"Oh? That I didn’t know. We were wondering if the Academy had gone completely rogue and thrown in with Prince Kaizon. Their Acolytes and Elders have been found with multiple monster hordes in the past, and might have been involved in yesterday’s attack.

I didn’t stick around for the cleanup and investigation, so I don’t have the details yet. But there were multiple mages killed in the attack." Dominic explained.

He paused for a second, then rummaged through his storage cube for a pen and paper.

"I will put out a bounty for information with the Adventurer’s Guild. Ten gold coins for verifiable information proving that a monster group was moved into the region. We will also pay the ear bounty for Goblins, Hobgoblins and Ogres.

We’ve seen all of them in the area recently, along with a pack of bugbears. But those are unlikely to be around in large numbers.

Unlike the Goblins, which seem to be everywhere lately." Dominic sighed.

Master Stone laughed. "It only seems like that to you because you were in the Axbridge desert until last year. It’s practically the only spot on the continent other than the high mountains that isn’t overrun with the filthy things.

The reproduction rate of the Goblin Horde is keeping half my guild employed, while the other half sees themselves as above hunting such low bounty threats."

"That brings up another point I’ve been delaying. Do you have master ranked Adventurers among the members who are here? We’re still short on trade skill cores for the town guard.

The Generals have been working on them, but they take time to make, and the Generals are all old men." He asked.

Guild Master Stone smiled. "You know, I just might be able to help you with that. You see, the Adventurer’s Guild keeps them in stock, and in multiple options.

You never know what fighting style a new adventurer prospect will want to try, and starting out with a small debt and some gratitude to the Guild is the best way to keep them coming back."