Life of a Nonhuman

"Hmm... Usually you need to have a natural talent in channelling to get anything near good mana to enhancement exchange... Which is significantly rarer than natural ability in more general magics, but considering how easily you used the transformation ring after umm... Ingesting it, I'd be willing to bet that you could do it".
Hasuki told him after thinking for a moment, she din't know for sure though, because while she could more or less sense how much Mana someone could wield and generally how threatening they were, finding out someone's exact abilities was a whole class of magic she was never much good at.

The gem didn't answer straight away, though Nibbit got the distinct impression that it was thinking about an answer.
"Theoretically that should be possible as my own methods of enhancing your body differs significantly from normal physical channelling, however I can not be certain how the strain might affect you, so I would recommend taking care if you were to attempt such a thing".
Well it seemed doubling up on enhancements was possible, if rather risky, then again half the things he had done since entering this would could be described as 'rather risky'.

"Ehh?! But Mr Seyo is super smart! Has all these ideas to make money and he gave lots to a many in shiny armour and now the guards leave him alone!"
Nychia clamped her paws over her mouth, clearly she wasn't supposed to say that, but it wasn't super surprising that someone who sounded very much like a career criminal was all paid up on bribes to people in power.
She seemed to cheer up as soon as Nibbit said she could still help them.
"Yay! I can still be helpful! You're more fun than the other people I sometimes help".

The gem seemed to pick up on his thoughts about Plumbing, which likely meant it was more or less watching him go to the toilet.
"It likely would not be impossible to attract dwarves to your settlement, as they lack any major settlements of their own many bands offer their services in exchange for coin, however I would suggest securing a large source of steady income before attempting recruitment, dwarven work is far from cheap".

The woman looked uncomfortable as she spoke, just barely throwing off Nibbit's adorable looks, as a mouse girl she was used to adorable people!
"Coin is not the problem, I am sorry to say but as of this moment the Guild is unable to allocate any resources away from our current holdings, now if you would please leave..."
The woman was cut off by a cough from a large, grey furred dog man, with significantly more notable animal aspects than Hasuki and a robe that was clearly finely made, standing in a stark contrast with the utilitarian looking blade hanging from his belt.
"That is enough Verrity, can you not see these visitors are eager to help? They are either foreigners with no stake or unafraid of the threats levied against us".
The man spoke with authority, and the Mouse secretary seemed relieved that he was there to take care of this adorable visitor.
"You visitors should come into my office if you are serious about offering aid, however I must ask that she stay here".
He requested in a tone that brooked no argument, looking over at Nychia before heading up a flight of stairs and into a rather elegant looking room with comfortable seating set around a large table.
"Oh... Umm, that's okay with me Mr Nibbit! I'm used to being asked to wait, just umm, don't forget to come get me..."
Nychia didn't seem overly bothered and would wait in the lobby.

Once everyone joined him in the office and were seated the man cleared his throat to speak.
"Firstly I believe introductions are in order, my Name is Grigori Hant, I am the guild Master of the Local Farmer's guild, my apologies for Verrity's dismissal, we are all rather on edge, and seeing you with a member of a known enemy group... Well she likely made assumptions that were none too flattering".
Grigori was genuinely apologetic, or at least seemed to be.

"Now I am sure you are curious as to why we cannot help you, and to put it simply, the Farmer's guild is fighting a war".
He let that sink in for a moment before continuing.
"Not a war against a nation or army, but rather against a group attempting to squeeze us for every coin we make, they attack our deliveries, burn our warehouses and crops, destroy stalls and damage larger stores, it is taking every guard, farmer and connection we have to hold them at bay, while the guard seems unwilling to act, this group intends to replace the guild with their own racket of 'protections' and demands, they even want to replace the majority of food crops with more valuable luxury crops, seemingly not caring about the effect that would have on both the land and the people who rely on us".
The apologetic tone of a moment ago was replaced with pure, barely contained rage as the man bared his fangs instinctively, his tone was enough to make Hasuki's ears droop.

"These criminals are led by a foreigner calling himself 'The Seyo' he appeared seemingly from nowhere and had most of the city's criminal groups and a large portion of the guard in his pocket within a year, we know generally where he tends to be, but with our resources stretched so thin, there is nothing we can do to him, one farmer who used to be a soldier tried to... And is currently rotting in a dungeon for his trouble".
That last sentence spoke volumes, Mr Seyo was protected by the guard, in addition to what was likely the best criminal enforcers in the area.
"As long as this group operates we cannot aid you... However, if this Seyo was to be removed, his organisation would collapse, and I would no doubt be able to find a sturdy group of farmers eager to break new ground in a foreign land... And of course we would strike favourable deals with their new home to ensure they would be able to support the new farmers".
 
Judging by what both Hasuki and the gem said to him, Nibbit, at least for the time being, put the idea for physical enchantment in the “risky, must be tried carefully later” category. Or maybe it could be one of his “only use in desperation” kind of moves.

“Ah, I get it.” Nibbit smirked with his arms folded. “I think I understand now what kind of man this Mr. Seyo of yours might be.” A crime boss, that’s what he is, most likely. And this girl doesn’t seem to know anything about it.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Nibbit replied with a smile at her compliment.

Hearing the gem’s reply to his thoughts on plumbing, he replied, “Steady income, huh? For now, that only means farming. We really need to plan to diversify our income in the future somehow…” It seemed he didn’t realize in the slightest that the gem could see him doing his business.

-----

Finally! Someone that is actually in charge!

Those were Nibbit’s first impression when the dog man made his entrance. He readily accepted his offer to talk to him in his office, with his sharp mind already knowing why he would want Nychia to be excluded.

Once there, he listened to his tale carefully, not instantly trusting everything he had to say but at the same time, not dismissing it willy-nilly as well. From how he looked, he didn’t seem to be a liar though.

Nibbit sat on the couch there with his arms folded over his stomach, all with a serious expression on his face.

“And I’m Nibbit,” he replied with a smile. “I happen to be the new Lord of the Nameless Forest. We’re building a haven for monsterkind there, which is why we come here in the first place. We require your aid and we would be willing to compensate you equally for your services.” Even though he might look young, at this moment, he certainly looked like a proper Lord that could lead his people with confidence and wisdom.

“A war?” he replied to his explanation why he couldn’t help them with a surprised look. “I see. So you’re up against a group of organized crime, I take it?” A group that Nychia and that Mr. Seyo guy belongs to. “And you want us to dispose of him.”

Nibbit paused, mumbling to himself as he began to think on whether he should accept his terms or not.

“If I might voice my opinion, Milord,” Eirsha decided to chime in. “I am favorable to this term myself. We already saw by our own eyes how one of his underlings (referring to Nychia, obviously) was engaged in the acts of thievery. And we would be doing the city a favor to get rid of such a powerful criminal—a favor that would be a good stepping stone for our future relationship with this nation.”

Nibbit didn’t reply. Instead, he resumed his thinking, until finally, “Fine. We’ll accept your term,” he declared to the dog man. “Just point us to where we could find this Mr. Seyo and we’ll go take care of him.”

Once the man told them where to go, Nibbit replied, “Very well. Then we shall take care of your problem immediately.” His eyes then narrowed. “Oh, and I would require a written contract from you that after we did our part of the bargain, you would do yours.”

He waited until the man came up with the document. He wasn’t going to leave without a certain assurance that they weren’t just being used by him.

When the contract was displayed, Nibbit said, “Eirsha. Take a look at the contract. Make sure that it was written in a fair manner.”

“Of course, Milord.” She nodded. She wasn’t going to disappoint him, even though doing this kind of stuff really wasn’t exactly her field for expertise. Of course, she had her own secretarial duties back when she was still working with the dwarves, and she had to examine contract documents back then, but she really wasn’t officially trained as a notary. The things she knew about contracts were the things the senior secretary taught her.

“There is no problem, Milord,” she replied, after reading the paper for a good five minutes. “We can proceed with the transaction.”

“Very well then.” Nibbit smiled in a satisfactory manner. He took the feather pen offered and signed his name on the document. “And now, we shall depart to take care of your little problem immediately.”

Once outside the room however, he stopped the group for a short chat.

"Everyone, don't tell Nychia anything until we left the building," Nibbit commanded in a half-whisper, being careful not to be overheard by anyone.

“To not make a scene, right?” Eirsha replied with her own whisper. “Clever. Yes, it would be best if we discuss our next step elsewhere, away from prying eyes and ears.”

They then promptly returned to the lobby where Nychia was waiting anxiously for their return, taking the stairs down instead of up this time around.

"Come, Nychia." Nibbit said to her with a stern look. "We're leaving."

Thanks to his commanding instruction, Nychia didn’t talk back or ask anything else. She did as she was told, following out of the building. The others were the same. Just like he had instructed, they only stopped to talk once they were outside on the streets once more.

"Nychia." Nibbit stopped her. "Is it true? That you're working for a crime group? Your Mr. Seyo—he's the leader of the organization, isn't he?"

Nibbit wanted to determine the truth first before he acted. And one step to do that was to hear the argument from both sides.

"It's alright." He smiled in a comforting manner. "You can tell me the truth.”

“However, if you lie,” His smile turned scary all of a sudden. “Then you would be out of our group. In fact, I would personally hand you over to the city guards myself. Or even, I might just take you outside the wall and—” He made a cutting motion near his neck. “You see, I don’t need nor want people who would trick me as my retainer. So P=please, answer carefully.”

Nibbit felt bad doing this. But it was necessary, as he needed to coax out the truth from her—the truth, and nothing else.
 
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Grigori didn't seem phased by Nibbit's claim of rule over the Nameless Forest, though did give him a once over, raising an eyebrow at his less than impressive physical prowess, of course Grigori just assumed he must be either some sort of mage or an excellent speaker, how else does someone small and weak rule such a wild land?
"Ahh yes, one of my contacts among the elves in that area had mentioned as much, I must admit you are far from what I was expecting, of course, physical strength and intimidation are far from the only way to rule a nation".
The man stated, he probably knew a lot about such things, after all you couldn't make a guild of farmers as wealthy as he had with just big muscles and scary faces!

"Organised crime... Yes, that was what his underlings called it, I am glad you catch on so quickly, as long as this group is active the guild can offer no services, and in all honesty, if this continues too long there may not be a guild to offer you assistance".
Grigori looked tired for a moment there, though it quickly vanished and his determined look returned, it must have been exhausting to fight against such a strong group with seemingly no aid from the guards that were supposed to protect the citizens.

Once Eirsha voiced her opinion Nibbit's other companions were eager to offer up their own thoughts.
"We can't get help if we let the bad guys stay right?... So we need to stop them... And people who hurt weaker people are bad..."
A rather simple but undeniably correct statement from Mimir.
"Organised crime sounds scary... But less scary than other things we have fought, I'd wanna stop them even if we had nothing to gain".
Hasuki declared.

As soon as Nibbit accepted Grigori broke into a wide, toothy grin.
"Haha! I knew I was right to ask you! If half of what I have heard of your exploits from the elves is true, then you should have little trouble in this task".
Huh, someone had heard of him... Maybe he was starting to build up a reputation?
"Of course of course... No one worth their salt would do anything without a proper contract..."
The guild master withdrew a piece of parchment and an ornate quill from a draw, and with a series of quick motions, words appeared on the page without the pen ever making contact, and after making a few alterations to what must have been some sort of default contract he handed it over to Nibbit along with the quill.

The contract stated that the guild would provide well trained and equipped farmers carrying seeds suitable for the region, who would work land assigned to them by the local ruler (in this case Nibbit) and would grow crops mandated by a mixture of both concern for field health and local needs.
They were to be taxed at the local rate, in either crops, coin or a mixture of both and would hire local labour when possible, as well as training local farmers to be able to manage their own land independently of the guild.
There were protections for the farmers as well, they were to be granted full citizenship with all protections and responsibilities that might entail, as well as 50% ownership over the land they were assigned, and should be offered the chance to purchase it outright once they raise the coin.
The next part was something that had clearly been added by the guild master stating that for the first two years any crops sold by the farmers would be purchased by the guild at a higher than market price, giving both the farmers higher income, and Nibbit's town higher income through tax.

Once they were outside the building Mimir moved to cut off Nychia's escape in case she chose to flee, something that seemed necessary as Nychia's instincts were strong enough for her to sense danger.
She seemed almost about to piss herself after Nibbit finished speaking, but was able to face Nibbit and answer him.
"I... I don't know about crime and stuff... Mr Seyo sometimes does some bad things... And makes me and Dash help... But he saved me, fed me and took care of me... If you wanna hurt him I won't help you!"
She declared, raising her paws as if preparing to fight, it seemed she was loyal to him, or at least felt like she owed My Seyo for helping her.