Having dinner in Mr. Garrick's estate ? Even if the food here would just be half as expensive and good-looking as the building itself, this would be the greatest meal he'd ever had. The thought lifted Mardyn's mood significantly and it was clearly visible on his face for a small number of moments if one paid any attention to him. However... what if Mr. Garrick had a poisoner mapped to an equally lavish entry in his payroll ? One could pick people by hand for a lot of reasons, as many malicious as benign probably. Fortunately though for the goliath this kind of random thought had not much of an opportunity to last as it now was his turn to state any questions.

The others had already eliminated some of the items on Mardyn's list, so he wondered if his first inquiry should actually be something along the lines of whether Mr. Garrick would prefer him asking questions still sitting on the floor or standing upright, inevitably staring down at the man.

What a stupid idea! The protest of the more strictly rational part of Mardyn's mind was quick and resolute. If their employer was susceptible to even the slightest bit of discomfort caused by an imposing individual, how would he then be able to handle the plethora of large creatures in his backyard ? Something told the goliath that a dozen griffons and a phoenix were neither the first nor the only thing this Mr. Garrick was dealing with. This, in fact, was even related to the first question he'd actually put up.

With his scalp having approached the supporting beams of the ceiling almost to the point of touching them, Mardyn addressed Mr. Garrick with a calm tone: "I would like to ask whether any and if so, how many of your personnel will accompany us. Maybe this is not the first time you send people on this route and you got some kind of dedicated, experienced expert for flora, fauna and the like ? Just as an example."

[i]Please tell me that this elf won't come with us! Please tell me that behind his pointy ears he's a sickly man with a weak heart and an obsession with cleaning he'd never be able to maintain in a desert! I don't like him, even if it's just my mere intuition and maybe he's a very nice person![/i]
 
"There will be four of my men in total, which makes eleven of y'all. I mentioned it a bit earlier but there will be two experts for the hippogriffs, and they've been on many drives before so they'll probably be able to keep you fairly on the right path. The other two are wagon drivers. Oh one of thems is a cook by the way, so that's covered too. Between all of you, that's about three hippogriffs per person, plus the phoenix, so y'all ought to be alright. As for experts in flora and fauna, well... I'm sure the alchemist knows a bit given how many tinctures they tend to use. My men all know the basics for survival so I suppose between all of you, you've got a fair bit of knowledge. I know a few of you travel by yourselves fairly regularly so surely you've got some useful knowledge in that area."
 
Two wagon drivers ? If one added the one person of the party who had mentioned having a wagon as well that were three in total. Mardyn was really not experienced in terms of long, complicated travels that involved more individuals than his mere self, but that appeared to be a little on the short side for comfort.

"If I'm not mistaken that makes three wagons in total or some have to be driven by people who are no dedicated drivers. Most of that space will probably be occupied by our living cargo and supplies. I assume the remainer will be left to make the journey on foot ? Nothing against it, just asking."

Mardyn shrugged his tremendous shoulders slightly. It really was more a question out of pure interest, but on the other hand there certainly was the possibility that there'd be somebody whose capability to fight or make proper decisions in a dangerous situation would be impaired by the lack of comfort.
 
"Unless you've brought your own transport, then I suppose so. Of course you're always free to grab something before y'all leave. I'm not against you all bringing your own comforts on the trip, it's going to be a very long journey and anything to make it easier is hardly worth protesting, but given that I'm paying you a substantial sum of money I'm not going to just... Provide everything you could possibly need. I may be wealthy, but even I have my limits, hm?" He chuckled a bit.

"I'm providing all of the food you will need, along with water rations, and tents for each of you. Whatever other luxuries you require are your responsibility."
 
Well, that response was a little more harsh than Mardyn had anticipated. However it wasn't like he had come entirely unprepared for this, so his next question was clearly aimed and squeezing some more information about their employer out of the latter. Maybe even some information Mr. Garrick was not all too easy with sharing:

"Well, I have one more item on my list: How did it happen that you found us, or rather that we managed to attract your attention in the first place ? I mean... it hasn't been exactly like there would have been an overabundance of posters and pamphlets for the job hanging around, and as far as I can remember at least I did not reach out proactively to you either. So, just for a bit of mutual trust, may I ask what kind of elaborate network I've trapped into that alerted you so efficiently about my existence and potential suitability for the task at hand ?"
 
The old man gave him a deadpan stare for a moment, as if trying to process his question. His face was struggling to remain neutral but his eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion while he formed his response. 

"Well lad, there was no 'elaborate network,' for one thing. I simply asked around my circle of acquaintances. I told them the sort of people I was looking for, they had worked with you before on some sort of job- I believe it was guarding a marriage or some such -and recommended you to me. I asked around a bit more to get an idea of your work history and then sent off a letter once I was confident in your abilities, and it was a similar circumstance for the rest of you as well. There was nothing efficient about it, let me tell you. I've been searching around and planning this journey for months. Word of mouth, my boy. That's all it was."  

Now it was Mardyn's turn to grant himself some processing time, but rather not for Mr. Garrick's answer but how the man could actually see any difference between a 'circle of acquaintances' and a network like he imagined it. After some noticeable amount of time, the goliath came to the conclusion that there simply was none. He did not bother with telling Mr. Garrick however for it really hardly was much of an issue. The whole point of the question had been his interest and desire to see whether Mr. Garrick would be willing to gain his trust and actually provide a reply that made sense.

It did, everything else was nitpicking about details.

"My boy ? Okay. Well, let's see what your boy can do for you." Mardyn said with a grin. "I do not have any further questions at this point. Thank you."