Wayne didn't want to return to the net cafe. If it weren't for the fact that his constant absence during business hours would trigger rumors, he would have stayed in the cellar. Two sets of VR glasses and gaming chairs remained in the cellar, unable to fit into the crowded cafe upstairs.
Someone knocked on the door. Through the iron cellar door, Wayne heard Tess's voice: "Boss! Boss! There's an uncle looking for you!"
An uncle?
Tess knew the SI:7 agents. She wouldn't shout so loudly if they were here.
Wayne climbed out of the cellar. He made a noise like someone who had just woken up while closing the door and covering it with a rug.
He opened the door, rubbing his eyes. "What is it... I was just about to nap..."
A middle-aged man spoke with a tone of strained politeness and impatience.
Wayne opened his eyes. A blonde man around 35 years old stood there. He was dressed in fine clothes and wore a headband. Beside him was a female dwarf wearing a yellow miner's hat, a sleeveless vest, and jeans.
The dwarf woman saw Wayne looking at her. "Hello, young Mr. Wayne. I am Bryston, Mr. Alexston's assistant and chief apprentice."
Wayne nodded and said hello. He left the net cafe in Tess's care. He hired a carriage at the inn and took the two of them to the lumber yard on Seventy-Sixth Street.
Wayne handed his blueprints to Baros. In the dim moonlight, Baros could not see. Bryston laughed and turned on the searchlight on her miner's hat.
"Hmm... Hmm..."
Baros studied the drawings. The sounds he made were rising in pitch, indicating the drawings looked messy and unprofessional.
Baros spoke: "I understand. You want soundproofing between floors, an internal drainage system, and pipes connected to Brightwood Lake. You want a water wheel and a water tower to provide pressure for the upper floors."
"You also want 24-hour electricity. This is very advanced. The generators must be ordered from the gnome engineers in Ironforge. They are the specialists; no one in Stormwind can build these."
Baros looked at the papers. Despite his dismissive words, his eyes were bright. Wayne's blueprints included many forward-thinking ideas, such as the automatic irrigation system, which Baros had never had a chance to build.
"You want to build a small pier on Brightwood Lake? Why?"
Wayne asked: "Didn't your friend tell you? This is a trial for a much larger plan. Mr. Alexston, you are here because you are interested in that plan, aren't you?"
Baros nodded. "Good ideas, young man. But the blueprints must be redrawn. Fortunately, you are standing in front of the best architectural designer in the Kingdom of Stormwind."
Wayne knew he wasn't exaggerating.
His predecessor was Edwin VanCleef.
The Stonemasons Guild had waited for payment after rebuilding the city. To the workers, the pay was a right. To the House of Nobles, it was greed.
The citizens sympathized with the stonemasons, but the nobles refused to pay VanCleef's price. They paid a fraction of the cost and ordered the guild to disband.
The guild demonstrated. The demonstration turned into a riot. The situation became irreversible when the Queen tried to calm the crowd and was killed.
The Queen's death became King Varian's nightmare. The Stonemasons Guild was branded a rebel organization. The Stormwind army moved in.
VanCleef led the majority of the members away. They attacked Westfall and occupied Moonbrook and its gold mines. The Stonemasons Guild ended, and the Defias Brotherhood was born.
A few guild members did not participate in the riot or leave the city. They stayed and helped the army and SI:7 end the unrest.
Baros Alexston had gathered these remaining members and became the Chief Architect. He improved many of VanCleef's designs to make the city's defenses stronger.
This work was his way of making amends for the deaths of the Queen and the civilians during the riot. After that, he stopped working for nobles and only took jobs for the Church and commoners.
Baros looked at the site. He still did not know what a "net cafe" was for.
"Because of what happened in the past, we have changed our rules," Baros said as he put away the drawings.
Matthias Shaw had already warned Wayne about this at the Hunter's Lodge.
Wayne asked: "How much will it cost?"
Baros calculated the costs, labor, and time. "400 gold for everything. It will take two months."
Wayne said: "What? Two months? Why so long?!"
Baros and Bryston stared at him.