Timestamp: 66th of Winter, 518 A.V.
The four people sat at the tavern's corner table discussing business openly in quiet voices. Two men were contractors that the Kelvic had worked with before. They’d both remodeled her jewelry store and had built her stable in the late fall. But she wasn’t done. Davyd Rodgers and Ergus Rodgers were taking notes carefully on parchment with inked quills while a third woman, Sastivas sat with what looked like a contract.
Kelski slide a sack filled with coins to Sastiva – one of Goldfinger’s agents – and in return the woman passed her the contract which she signed in duplicate and passed half of it back. The woman smiled pleased and then gestured to the two contractors. “You can build whatever you want on it…. now that it’s yours.” She added and Kelski smiled, glancing back at the contractors. They both nodded, looking up from their notes.
“It looks like what you want is going to cost more than you have, Kelski.” Davyd said plainly. The Kelvic nodded, not surprised by this. “In essence you want to build a tavern, add in a kitchen, and put in a space that people can do events from. This is more like an Inn, than anything else. Lets break down the cost. First level… 1 Simple Tavern, 1 Simple Stables (double sq.footage), 1 Servants' Quarters, 1 Simple Storage, 1 Elaborate Kitchen (basement), 5 Simple Bedrooms. The second level will be 5 Simple Bedrooms. Total Cost: 8,700 gm + 400 gm for basement built with wood + 2000 gm for second level built with wood, an office at 200 gm and a dining hall for 1500 gm = 12,800 (-25% or 3,200) for a total of 9,600 GM. And its going to take us a while to start building it.” Kelski nodded.
“And I just bought the land, which was a thousand. So… that means I need to come up with the 9,600 GM. How much do you need down to start on it?” Kelski asked, curious.
The men put their heads together and looked thoughtful. “We’d need half down to start, and the other half when you take possession of the finished property. So, 4,800 GM.” He said firmly. Kelski nodded. “And when do you have time to start? I know you have other projects.” The Kelvic added, glancing at Sastiva who only smiled. The Assistant was glad to see another business in Sunberth, but was not inclined to offer Kelski another loan. The Kelvic was too good at paying them back and since Goldfinger could not default on people that paid in full, he really made no profit off of those who were good to their word.
“We can start around the end of Winter. We have two other big projects and if they don’t get delayed then. In the mean time you’ll need to clear rubble off the property, lay out where you want the building to be, and draw up plans on it. We don’t frankly think you have time to do all of this yourself, so you might consider hiring a project manager to oversee the initial stages and someone who will talk at length with you to know what exactly you want so when we do break ground and start building we have access to them whenever we need a decision made.” Ergus suggested.
Kelski nodded.
“I’ll find someone. And I’ll have the first half by the end of the season. Will you please put me on your schedule? I will have the coin to you before you are ready to start so you can supply yourself with materials like usual.” Kelski said, looking thoughtful.
Both men agreed, and then they too handed over a document which Kelski borrowed their quill to sign in duplicate. Keeping one of the two pages, she passed the document back over to the contractors and smiled. At that point, all three rose, two shook her hand, while Sastiva took a moment to hug the Kelvic. “I think you are doing the right thing. The land next to The Midnight Gem has been vacant a great deal, and another place for people to gravitate towards will be welcome. Maybe with this part of the city slowly cleaning up, others will think to do the same and maybe everything will get a bit better.” Sastiva said gently, giving Kelski a wave as the trio headed out of the tavern.
Kelski sat there a moment later, opening the documents she’d carefully folded when the ink had dried and re-read them. “A manager, huh? I need to find a project manager… and someone not minding getting their hands dirty in order to get the site ready….” The Kelvic shook her head, not knowing who else she knew that might want a job or would be inclined to work a job for a living rather than steal or cut throats as was Sunberthian habit. Sighing, she refolded the parchment, looked around, and tried to decide what was on her agenda for the rest of the day. This business was secured and the land held in her hands firmly. She also had a tentative timeline for the project, so the next step would take time but would also give her something to look forward too in the future.