The courtyard of Narmidor's house turned from a place to cultivate in peace and quiet to a rowdy gathering of simple men.
Those simple men, while not exactly shunned, lived mostly in the background of the sect, taking care of things that cultivators would never bother with themselves.
It was a fair deal, though.
In exchange for protection, low taxation, and the ability to live where land was abundant, those people provided all sorts of services to the sect, turning it from just a bunch of buildings into a community in its own right.
With that said, what anyone could spot missing in the crowd were the town's artisans, all too high and mighty to bother with Theo's request.
It wasn't about money they were missing out on in Theo's job. It wasn't even about the risk of not getting paid—something that no one would actually expect to happen, given how Theo used his very own name to announce the recruitment.
No.
