Timestamp: Fall 1, 519 A.V.
The evening was beautiful. Kelski couldn't hardly believe the wheel of the year had turned and Summer was just a memory. She'd gathered the books, the coin the guild had earned, and her extensive ledgers of expenses and needs for the guild. Plus she had small pouches for each member the guild employed itself which formed their payroll for the previous season.
Kelski had settled in the bottom floor of the old tower, the one they were slowly laying out the manor house off of. The Gem was fully awake now, invested, and helping them with the expansion. In the mean time, however, she'd been flexing her magical nature and had somehow vanished her walls facing the sea because the lingering warmth of summer hadn't quite turned into the chill of fall yet.
So Kelski sat near the fire, at the big table, with a magnificent view of the coast of Matthew's Bay to one side, a burning hearth at the other side. There was a nice breeze tinted with the spice of conifers and salt air. The table would house everyone and allow them to linger close enough to talk. And there was quite a bit to talk about.
The Gem had let everyone know earlier in the day the meeting would happen at sunset where a meal was laid out. The table was already occupied by Mosa who had the best spot by the fire next to Hattie. The two hags were arguing over how fast the snow would fall while Dessarian's niece was busy rolling her eyes at the pair. The blacksmith was about and so too was the farmer in charge of the crops. He'd been busy, getting in the summer produce and planting winter wheat. More people came, some opting to fill a plate and take various chairs around the room rather than sit at the table.
Kelski felt the pull of family, glad everyone slowly gathering... even Anja's dogs now grown a bit from their puppy states. Kelski smiled, knowing the dogs barging into the room meant Anja wasn't far behind. Vasin had a pouch on the table for his wages, and so too did Dessarian. There were others to be paid out too... and Kelski would see to their wages tonight as well.
But they had things to talk about. Important things. The Sea Eagle glanced down at her notes. The Guild had turned a profit. It was a miracle, but it had. She credited it completely to everyone's hard work. And they deserved something for it. Kelski just wasn't sure what to give them.
She fingered her ledger.
18 GM x 91 days = 1,638 GM for the Season and a total of 3,188 GM for the books total added to their startup funds. It wasn't a phenomenal amount, but they were just getting started. Painted Sky had done well also, bringing in a total of 4,368. She'd donated part of her income to the guild since she felt it was necessary as the Guildmaster. But it gave them some options for the future, options the whole guild needed to discuss.
Kelski was all for expanding the guild. They had multiple options for doing so, but she wanted to put it to a vote. If the members wanted the money paid out, she could do that as well. Some of her options were simple. They needed a real stables and not just a pavilion to house the horses in. It would cost them 3,000 GM and house up to six horses initially with room to expand next season. The stables she had drawn up would also be housing a small smithy. It was one of those things Kelski hoped Crylon could look at and do a better job of drafting past her awkward sketching.
Due to the resources and influence available to the guild, Kelski would be able to arrange for an enhanced structure for housing and caring of their horses. The stables offered larger stalls as well as higher quality facilities overall. It includes wood or stone flooring covered in wood shavings from their own lumber mill. The stable would also offer fresh hay and independent water supplies for each mount. The troughs are stone and there is a small fireplace included in the structure for warmth. There are small turnouts outside of the stable that allow for mounts to exit their stalls while still being contained in 20 x 40 foot paddocks. Houses up to six mounts and requires one groom to tend to mounts. One large area for all the goats was also included in the stable, replacing what used to be a plan for an included smithy which they didn't need as they'd had one built last season.
The other plan was for a ship. The group needed both. But now that the dock was done, a ship was far more feasible. She'd checked prices in the city at the shipyards, and they could have a Sea Runner built for them that would cost roughly 6,000 GM. She didn't mind throwing her income into that project to get a ship put together. It would be a slimmed-down fishing boat re-designed for speed and use flexibility. A single mast, with a lateen rig that allowed for great maneuverability. A strictly coastal and shallow water ship, A Sea Runner is often found in use as a courier ship, quick delivery merchant boat and even a swift explorer. The compact lower deck serves as a modest cargo hold while the main deck sports a single enclosed cabin with a small crew area. It isn't the most comfortable ship but what it lacks in comfort it makes up for in diverse use. It supports a single light mount and automatically comes with a ballista. It took a crew of five, which meant recruiting more people for the guild, or else some of them needed to take up sailing. It wasn't cheap, but it was something she'd throw on the table.
There was also profit sharing, which she was willing to do. And there were other options open to hire workers from Zeltiva to build. Adding the sawmill had been a stroke of genius. They were able to harvest the wood they cut down, turn it into raw materials they could use, and she'd frugally sold the excess lumber to both the svefra and people in Zeltiva. It worked beautifully and had added to the income the group had received.
Thinking ahead, Kelski had made multiple copies of her notes, listing her suggestions for their profits, the costs of those suggestions, and had left them laying about the table for people to browse through. It was easier, sometimes, for people to make a decision on what they wanted done when they could look and see for themselves.
Once everyone was gathered, Kelski started the meeting.
"You'll see laying around that we've made a decent profit. It's not absolutely astonishing, but as we grow in numbers and we get more work, we will raise that profit up I predict. We have some income now, and a nice bit of coin in reserve. I've proposed some options for spending it. I myself turned a profit with Painted Sky, so that income is at our disposal as well. I'd like you all to look over the options and make suggestions for the allocation of these funds... if you see something on the sheet you like, speak up. If you have other ideas, I'm more than open to hear them." Kelski added, picking up one of the sheets and waving it around so people knew what she was talking about.
Several of the members were already looking over the finances with curious looks on their faces, some decisive, some indecisive. Kelski looked forward to what everyone would have to say.
