Delfus grumbles about procedures, but pulls out some papers. Then, after Courtney looks over them and points out that some papers must be missing, he digs through his pack for another few minutes.
After that, Rosha, Courtney, and Jason signed the lease. Well, not directly. They do it under the umbrella of their group, the Odd Ones Out. It doesn’t quite work like an irl LLC, but some of the concepts behind it are the same.
Delfus is about to put the paperwork away when Courtney stops him. “We’d like our copy, please?” And he hands a second set of the papers before putting the first set into his pack. Yeah, there was definitely something up with Delfus, though at least he admitted that they had to go to the Guild within three days and pay the first month’s rent upfront. Then he left, earlier than planned, but still after his shift technically ended.
The group watches as he walks away until Delfus finally disappears into the crowd.
Rosha spits on the ground, “And good riddance.”
Courtney frowns, “Manners! Though I must admit, at the end there, it was quite clear he was up to something. He certainly wanted to drag his feet on finishing things despite all that nonsense about when his shift ends.”
Rosha, “He was slime and we definitely need to report this.”
Jason scratches the back of his head, “I could definitely tell he was up to something, but you seem to know what.”
Rosha nods, “It has to do with the deal on renting these places. So, like, this place is perfect for us, right? Well, his scam circles back to what that receptionist said.”
Courtney, “I think I know what he was attempting, but I’m not sure how it would work. How does it circle back to the receptionist?”
Rosha smirks, “So I caught a legal matter you missed.”
Courtney rolls her eyes, “Yeah, yeah, you might have caught something. What was it you caught?”
Rosha, “Well, first of all something unrelated to what I caught. The standard rate only applies when renting directly from the Guild. Which gets us to what the receptionist said about our viewing. The receptionist said, and I quote,”
Rosha draws herself up and does a poor imitation of the receptionist’s voice, “We are not holding them for you. While they will be ‘off the books’ for a short time because I just scheduled them for a viewing. The second you walk out the door, it is possible for someone else to lease them.”
Rosha smiles wide after finishing. “So you see, if we had left the building without renting it, someone Could have rented it out from under us. And I bet that idiot had someone waiting in the wings to file paperwork. Then they could rent it to us after we realize the next place isn’t as good as this place. Maybe they don’t even charge that much extra, just fifty gold more would be quite a profit for people who aren’t adventurers.
“After all, 500 gold a month is the going rate for people visiting who want to stay awhile. Who knows what the cost of living is for locals who are permanent residents?”
Jason laughs, “Oh, that’s a trick and a half! I wonder if they even have to put the first month down to reserve it? After all, we have three days to pay the Guild. I bet you can cancel if you know the bureaucracy and red tape. Maybe they need a cut-out to reserve it for them as I’m sure the Guild won’t let you keep reserving and dropping said reservation.”
Courtney frowns, “That doesn’t seem like something the Guild would be okay with.”
Rosha shrugs, “They don’t have to be okay with it. The Guild isn’t truth spelling every single gopher that they aren’t abusing the rules. This isn’t irl where at least five cameras would have caught this going down and snitching on them. Or rather, I guess the same System that would report us irl is seeing it happen, but it just won’t bother reporting it.”
Courtney shakes her head, “Someone has to notice!”
Rosha, “Oh sure, someone will eventually. And then that dofus Delfus is going to take the fall for whoever it was that set him up. Dancing like a puppet only to have his strings cut.”
Courtney sighs, “Fair enough. Clearly this has worked despite how squirrely he was there at the end. Maybe this was his first go at it?”
Jason nods, “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. Someone found him down on his luck and put him up to it. Would make sense why he didn’t know about needing to stay after his shift. I guess the question is whether the receptionist knew about it or not.”
Courtney shrugs, “We would have had to see the last house. If it was as bad as the first, then yeah, I could see it.”
Rosha shakes her head, “I personally doubt it. A Guild receptionist position is actually quite sought after. No reason to chance ruining it over this small-time nonsense. Whoever set this up probably has three people in the wings to reserve each of the houses.”
Jason turns back to the house, “Well, I guess we should go in there and set our stuff down. We still have this giant preservation box I’ve been carrying around. Courtney, are you sure it stayed fresh all this time?”
Courtney shrugs, “Should be. Though we can’t open the box to check. What I cludged together is keeping things fresh right until we open it and the whole enchantment falls apart.”
Jason sighs, “Well, will it keep until tomorrow? I figure we can hand it over when we pay our first month’s rent.”
Courtney laughs, “One more or less day aren’t going to matter. Maybe if we kept it till the last second to pay the rent, it would be up in the air. As it is, though? Either the monster’s body is a mess or it’s perfectly fresh.”
Jason, “I wish we had remembered to turn it in.”
Rosha rolls her eyes, “I wouldn’t say we forgot, so much as we didn’t want to stick around.”
Jason nods, “Fair enough.”