Dismissal

-The Cartagan Orchard. Mid afternoon, 2 DSTR-

It would have been extremely rude to allow Randel to leave the estate unaccompabied, so as they concluded their business within the office, Tyreth walked with him to the door of the estate. Casting a gaze towards Cordelia with the meaning to wait until he had returned from walking the money lender out, he felt a twinge of confusion play at his gut. She looked undeniably attractive in her summer dress, but he could not look past her station. A free man who laid with a slave was a man of extremely low morals and worth to society. However, he could not help but aee her as slightly different from the others. It was mainly in the way she carried herself, with pride and a certain degree of intelligence and confidence that were uncommon in slaves, at least those slaves that were not forced in slavery through a failure of military might. He had seen many warriors who were made slaves, and they held a sense of pride and confidence about them that was not extremely dissimilar to that of Cordelia. Pulling himself from his thoughts as they arrived at the main door to the estate, he offered Randel a kind smile and a hand to shake before speaking, "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Cartwright. Don't be a stranger, you are always welcome to return and inspect our progress. Just please, send a messenger to alert me so that I can provide food for you."

Standing by as he watched the half-elf and his men load up before leaving, he lowered his smile into a scowl when they were out of sight. Looking out over the fields before him, he pulled the front door shut before stepping forward on the porch and settling in beside one of the support columns that held up the pitched roof. Leaning a shoulder against it, he watched the slaves work at the trees and weeds as his thoughts went back to the meeting. He would pay back his uncle's debt and make right with Cartwright before severing ties or choosing to go further into business with the man. Tyreth was not sure what his choice would be when the current terms were satisfied, but at the moment he was leaning more towards cutting ties and starting anew. Randel had agreed to become a business partner for the duration of repayment and had hinted at making purchases that would increase productivity, but would be an added price to the overall debt.

Fifteen thousand gold.

An astounding figure on its own, but to think of the ten percent interest that his uncle had been accruing over the past twelve years. It was almost inconceivable, more than enough to feed and arm an army equal in size to that of Dalen itself. The payment plan was steep, but Tyreth wanted to be rid of this dark cloud as quickly as he could. 30% of his annual profit would go to the debt, and Randel would be providing mages to ensure that every year had a healthy crop. Scoffing at the thought of a mage running their hands over the trunks of the trees, he brought his right hand up to his mouth and bit down on a callous with his incisors. Cutting off the rough flesh that had ridged up from the rear of the callous, he looked out on the trees once more before turning on his heels to reenter the home. Moving towards the study where he expected Cordelia to be, his brows came together in a frown as hd saw that she was not there. Heading towards the kitchen, he pushed the doors open and stepped into the warm room.

He caught the surprised looks of the slaves that were cooking and realized that they must have never thought their Master would go to an area clearly set aside for slaves. Smirking as he strolled through, he toyed with that thought, rousing them all earlier than normal by going to the slave house himself. Yes, he just might do that tomorrow, but first things first, Cordelia. Moving throught the kitchen and out the back door, he cast his eyes left to right until he saw a particularly familiar, and unfortunately shapely, figure moving toward another slave to help with the duties. Narrowing his eyes, he rolled up the cuffs of his sleeves and followed behind her at a healthy pace. Arriving as Cordelia began tossing the apples into her basket, he caught one out of the air and threw it down beside her knee. Watching the rotten fruit explode and coat the side of her knee with its juices, he scaled down at her before speaking, "Your previous Master may have been lenient, but I am not. You do not leave until expressly dismissed. Do you understand? Do it again and you will receive five lashings. Now, get up and come with me. I have business to attend to and it says in your file that you can write. Now, come!"

-Tag Cordelia and anyone who might want to work there-