In recent years, remote work has become a popular trend. More and more people are working from home, which has led to an increased demand for home office spaces. However, not everyone has the luxury of having a spare room or space in their home that can be turned into an office. This is where a smart garden office in West Midlands can come in handy. In this article, we will explore what a smart garden office is, why it's an excellent option for remote workers in West Midlands, and how it can enhance your work-life balance.

Table of Contents

• What is a Smart Garden Office?
• Benefits of a Smart Garden Office
• Choosing the Right Location for Your Smart Garden Office
• How to Build a Smart Garden Office
• Smart Garden Office Design Ideas
• Types of Smart Garden Offices
• Lighting in Your Smart Garden Office
• Heating and Cooling Options for Your Smart Garden Office
• Smart Garden Office Furniture and Decor
• Smart Garden Office Technology
• Making Your Smart Garden Office Eco-Friendly
• Maintaining Your Smart Garden Office
• Adding a Personal Touch to Your Smart Garden Office
• Enhancing Your Work-Life Balance with a Smart Garden Office

What is a Smart Garden Office?

A smart garden office is a separate, detached office space that is located in your garden. It is fully equipped with all the essential amenities you need to work comfortably, such as electricity, heating, and lighting. Smart garden offices also come with a variety of technological features, such as smart lighting and temperature control, to make your work experience even more comfortable.

Benefits of a Smart Garden Office

There are many benefits to having a smart garden office, especially if you are someone who works remotely. Here are a few of the most significant benefits:

• Separation between work and home life: Having a separate office space in your garden can help you create a clear separation between your work and home life. This can lead to a better work-life balance, which is essential for your mental health and overall well-being.
• Fewer distractions: When you work from home, it's easy to get distracted by household chores or family members. Having a separate office space in your garden can help you stay focused and productive.
• Increased productivity: Working in a space that is designed specifically for work can help you be more productive. You will have everything you need within arm's reach, and you won't have to worry about interruptions.
• Saves money: Renting or buying office space can be expensive. With a smart garden office, you can save money on rent and commute costs.
• Increases property value: A smart garden office can also increase the value of your property. It's a great investment that can pay off in the long run.

Choosing the Right Location for Your Smart Garden Office

When choosing a location for your smart garden office, there are several factors to consider. You want to choose a spot that is:

• Private: You want to be able to work without distractions, so choose a location that is private and secluded.
• Accessible: Make sure the location is easily accessible from your home and that you can walk to it without having to go through your neighbor's property.
• Level: The ground where you build your office should be level, so you don't have to worry about uneven floors or sloping walls.
• Near power and internet sources: You will need access to power and the internet, so make sure the location is near a power source and has a strong Wi-Fi signal.

How to Build a Smart Garden Office

Building a smart garden office can be a DIY project if you have the necessary skills and tools. However, if you don't feel comfortable building it yourself, you can hire a professional to do it for you. Here are the basic steps to building a smart garden office:

1. Choose your design: There are many different designs to choose from, so pick one that fits your needs and style preferences.
2. Get planning permission: In most cases, you will need planning permission before you can build a smart garden office. Make sure to check with your local council before starting your project.
3. Prepare the site: Clear the area where you will be building your office and level the ground.
4. Build the base: Start by building the base of your office. This will provide a stable foundation for the rest of the structure.
5. Install the walls: Once the base is complete, you can start installing the walls. Make sure to use high-quality materials that are weather-resistant.
6. Add windows and doors: Install windows and doors to let in natural light and provide ventilation.
7. Install electricity and internet: Hire a professional to install electricity and internet in your office space.
8. Install heating and cooling systems: Install a heating and cooling system to keep your office comfortable year-round.
9. Decorate: Add furniture and decor to make your office feel like a comfortable and productive workspace.

Smart Garden Office Design Ideas

When designing your smart garden office, you want to create a space that is comfortable, functional, and stylish. Here are some design ideas to consider:

• Choose a color scheme that is calming and conducive to work.
• Use natural materials, such as wood and stone, to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere.
• Add plants and greenery to your office to improve air quality and boost your mood.
• Incorporate plenty of storage space to keep your office organized and clutter-free.
• Create a designated area for your desk and office supplies.
• Add a comfortable chair or couch for breaks and relaxation.
• Consider adding a sound system or white noise machine to block out distractions.

Types of Smart Garden Offices

There are many different types of smart garden offices to choose from. Here are some of the most popular:

• Traditional garden office: This is a classic design that looks like a miniature version of a traditional house. It's perfect for those who want a more traditional look and feel for their office.
• Modern garden office: A modern garden office has a sleek and minimalist design. It's perfect for those who prefer a more contemporary look.
• Eco-friendly garden office: This type of office is built using sustainable materials and designed to be energy-efficient. It's perfect for those who want to reduce their carbon footprint.
• Modular garden office: A modular garden office is built in sections, which can be easily assembled and disassembled. It's perfect for those who want a flexible and portable workspace.

Lighting in Your Smart Garden Office

Lighting is an essential part of any workspace, and your smart garden office is no exception. Here are some lighting options to consider:

• Natural light: Position your office to take advantage of natural light. This will not only save energy but also boost your mood and productivity.
• Task lighting: Install task lighting above your desk to provide focused light for working.
• Ambient lighting: Use ambient lighting to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere in your office.
• Smart lighting: Install smart lighting that can be controlled with your smartphone or voice commands.

Heating and Cooling Options for Your Smart Garden Office

To make your smart garden office comfortable year-round, you will need a heating and cooling system. Here are some options to consider:

• Electric heater: An electric heater is a simple and cost-effective option for heating your office.
• Air conditioning unit: An air conditioning unit will keep your office cool during the summer months.
• Radiant heating: Radiant heating is an energy-efficient option that heats objects rather than the air. It provides a comfortable and even heat.
• Heat pump: A heat pump is a more expensive option but provides both heating and cooling capabilities.

Smart Features for Your Garden Office

A smart garden office should be equipped with modern technology to improve your productivity and make your work life easier. Here are some smart features to consider:

• Smart thermostat: A smart thermostat can be programmed to automatically adjust the temperature in your office based on your schedule and preferences.
• Voice assistant: Install a voice assistant like Alexa or Google Assistant to control your smart devices and manage your schedule.
• Smart lock: A smart lock allows you to lock and unlock your office remotely using your smartphone.
• Smart blinds: Install smart blinds that can be controlled with your smartphone or voice commands to adjust the amount of natural light in your office.
• Smart plugs: Use smart plugs to control the power supply to your devices and save energy.

Conclusion

A smart garden office is a great investment for anyone who wants to work from home in a comfortable and productive space. By following these steps, you can build a stylish and functional office that is equipped with modern technology to improve your work life. Remember to choose a design that fits your style preferences and to add smart features that will make your office work for you.

Lived in current house for 6 years. Since moving in my ex husband and I have divorced and he moved out 3 years ago. In the 6 years of living here, no maintenance has been done on the house by the LL. No checks, no annual boiler service etc. nothing.
The LL has had 6 valuations during my tenancy and is aware of damp/mould but has done nothing. Sockets have blown due to moisture behind them, he’s been advised on electrical safety checks but done nothing.
I have had no heating since December as the boiler has packed in. I reported the LL to environmental health as I am getting nowhere with the boiler etc. They inspected the property and issued an improvement notice with category 1 and 2 hazards.
However, I have withheld rent. Which, I know I shouldn’t have. I’m happy to pay what I owe I was angry that the LL is happy to let me and my children live in a house with no heating, along with the fact I was/am struggling financially.
So, now the LL is saying my ex is also liable for the rent arrears as ex is still on the tenancy. But-the LL knew ex moved out 3 years ago and didn’t update the tenancy agreement. So, can the LL still chase ex for arrears?
Also, I’ve had a printed out letter posted through to say my rent will increase in 3 months time. Can the LL do this while there’s a notice of improvement? LL has also stated that he will startcharging interest on rent arrears, although I’m happy to pay what I owe, like many I’m seriously struggling financially at the moment (LL is aware). Anything I can do at all to help the situation? I am trying to move out but I don’t have the funds to move and the council can’t help much as I don’t have a section 21.

We will be renting out our apartment soon and are looking for recommendations for a good property manager in the area. We are wanting to be as ethical as possible in how we rent out the property (i.e., not looking to charge market rent, will fix urgent repairs in under 24hrs etc.) We want the tenants to feel at home, but we don't have the capacity to privately manage this property at this time. Anyone have a similar stance who have a PM they would recommended?

I worked at a hotel front desk. This was during covid, so we were skeleton crew with only a few rooms rented each night.
Early one morning, some guy, probably 25-35 comes down in nothing but a towel. I'm the only person there. This guy is talking to me at the desk for probably 30 minutes. Yeah, it was one of those kinds of guys.
Just talking about anything. Asking me very personal questions, telling me about his dating life, talking about very random shit, etc. I think he was on some kind of drugs, because his eyes were all glazed too. He was being a creep.
I'm the Queen of Deescalation though, so I'm just being nice, giving short responses, and keeping this guy within my line of sight until somebody else came in, and I wouldn't be totally alone.
Well, another guest walks up to the counter behind this guy. Another man around the same age if not a bit older. He's politely waiting behind Towel Man, listening to his nonsense for a few minutes. He's giving me sympathetic eyes of awareness of the situation. The "sorry you have to deal with this clown" look.
Because Towel Man could have gone on all morning, I give a pretty obvious "I need to help this other guest" cue, and put my attention on the man who was waiting. Towel Man wanders off back towards his room.
This other guest steps up to the desk, I get him all checked out, and he's asking me about Towel Man, making comments about the fact that he's being a weirdo. He heard the things he was saying, and was understandably a bit creeped out himself.
He says "I hope you have somebody else back there with you". I told him I didn't, but would soon. He looked concerned, but I reassured him it was okay and that help was coming in shortly. He went on his way and Towel Man didn't come back.
Well, about an hour later I get a call. It's the man who was checking out. He called just to make sure everything was okay. He said he had been thinking about it since he left and was worried about the weirdo and just wanted to check in.
I was honestly so shocked and touched by this, and I told him that it was really nice of him to do that. I will literally never forget that guest and how he genuinely cared about my well-being.
Like, totally different ends of the spectrum of men. One made me feel unsafe at my job, and one made me feel looked-out-for. I wish more men were like the second guy.

So this happened in TX in August 2021, which means the two year statute of limitations is this year. I think it'll be easier to break this up into two parts.
The event:
On a major highway in smallish town at around 10:30 at night, I was driving a white Chevy hybrid North as was an 18 wheeler. I was in the left lane, and he was in the right. I was traveling the speed limit of 55 mph. As we neared a crossover (put there because of a few businesses and a residential road to the west, directly across from this crossover [4 lane highway, 2 lanes south, 2 lanes north, and a median separating them - hence, crossover, which also had it's own turning lane]), I had just begun passing the 18 wheeler when he began an illegal left turn from the right lane. He did not even put on his blinker until he began turning.
At first, I thought he was switching lanes, so I decelerated. However, too late I realized he was turning, and that my only chance of escape was to make a hard turn left into the crossover as well, and hope he saw me in time to change direction. He didn't, and collided with my rear passenger door and did significant damage to the rear of the car. It ended up being totaled.
I am a brain injury survivor from a horse accident in 2013. I suffer from many symptoms due to this injury.... Including, but not limited to, seizures, disorientation, problems with balance, and stuttering. The stress of the situation brought on all of these symptoms and then some. To get me out of the car and to the ambulance, even with my cane that I keep with me, it took two emergency personnel on either side of me. Suffice to say, when asked what happened, I answered to the best of my ability, but my communication skills were highly compromised at the time.
After:
I hired an attorney literally the next day. It took the PD longer than expected with the report. When it came out, they ruled the accident both the truck driver's and my fault, saying that though I was not speeding, I still had failed to control my speed. Interestingly enough, in the report, the write up about the accident did not match the diagram, which my attorney noticed.
I also have a chronic neck injury from past injuries. The wreck aggravated it. I went to months of chiropractic care.
I spent a long time scared to drive, and longer scared to drive long distances. I would have mild panic attacks when I ended up at red lights next to a big rig. Never got treatment for that.
Eventually, my attorney made sure that both my insurance and their insurance paid out... But did not believe that my case was worth pursuing in court for his office.
Today:
I'm disabled because of the brain injury, which means I'm on a fixed income. Which means that because of all of this ordeal, my car insurance has gone up pretty noticeably. It's almost to a point that I can't afford to pay it. I lost a vehicle I had less than a year. My neck bothers me more than it ever has in my life. Driving is better... But I used to make my ends meet by doing rideshare or Door Dash, and I was Dashing for the first time in a long time when the wreck happened. I'm really, really reluctant to do it again even though I know I shouldn't be. And I still get anxious if I'm next to a couple of 18 wheelers for too long.
Do I still have a case? A case worth pursuing? Could I get the wreck off my record and get my insurance down?

I know that sounds ridiculous. At some point of my life, I needed money and was willing to do anything for it, I joined all sort of sites and put a profile up on them, I started entertaining older wealthier men who were lonely, bored and ready to spend their money on pretty much anything. One of them went as far as paying my rent. It was the easier option, I wouldn’t have managed to push through school without it, I grew up amongst eight siblings in a family with low income, things were rough.
Anyways, it all escalated quickly after I was part of that world, I joined OF and made more money, then I had men I’ve known offer a ridiculous amount of money just for a night of sex, that’s prostitution, I know, all I can say is that now, I left it all behind, my boyfriend of eight months is a nice guy, a lawyer with a clean record, he also thinks that I’m this incredible girl and has a great amount of admiration towards me, I’m genuinely scared that he might change his view of me or look at me differently after he finds out about this, which I know can be a deal breaker to many men out there, I also know how lowly people who do/did things like me are seen, especially by men like him. I really need some solid advice on all of this.
To add; I’m doing social media now, he thinks it’s what I’ve always done, I have no doubt that it’s still very much possible for him to find old sexual videos of me anywhere around or stumble across a page I’ve had in the past or a comment talking about what I used to do. But he doesn’t pay much attention to those things as he is not that interested in social media and views it as a shallow waist of time, but respects that I managed to build a career off it. The possibility of him finding out without me telling him truly makes me feel terrified and nervous, I think things would turn out to be way way better if I shared it with him myself but at the same time that’s not something I’m so sure of either.

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I've currently got an enquiry in with the Central Coast Council, but they say a minimum of 5 business days turnaround, so would love some feedback from this group!
The property I'm looking at has a house from the 1950s (approximately) era. It is in very poor shape and may be a knock-down / rebuild situation, or require a complete gutting. The property is zoned RU1, and is 10acres. I'd like to suss out what we would be able to do.
The various PDFs I've found (ranging back to 2009) say that Secondary Dwelling and Dual Occupancy (both attached and detached) are both permitted with consent. I guess the information I'd like to find out:
1) How likely is a secondary dwelling application to be accepted?
2) I know there's mention of buildings having to be "clustered" on a property, but that's so vague! How far from the first dwelling, is a secondary dwelling allowed to be? (150-200m too far?).
3) Would we be more likely to be able to build a secondary dwelling if we weren't planning on living in or renting out the existing dwelling?
4) According to the core logic property report, it doesn't have a build year or number of dwellings listed. How would I find out if the original house is even listed?
5) I know some people have success building a barn shed to live in while building their main house. Is this something that might be possible as a secondary dwelling?
6) The central coast council allows granny flats (<60m2) to be build without a DA, just a CDC. If getting a larger secondary dwelling DA for 150-200m away from the main property wasn't possible, would it be possible to build a granny flat as a DA isn't required?
I'm aware appropriate and official DA applications would need to take place if we were to go with a secondary dwelling, but I would appreciate any information on the above to see what may be possible.
Thanks in advance!
Jarrod.

I just purchased a used M3 RW drive. All the information in the app says received and completed. I paid the deposit Saturday 3/18 at which it said estimated delivery of two weeks. It said the car was in Houston,TX. I am in Austin,TX, is there any way I’d get it earlier than two weeks? My family will be in town this week and was hoping to take them for some rides. Thanks in advance and I’m so excited to join the fam finally!

Hi I signed the lease and payed the security deposit and 1st months rent for a new apartment a few days ago and today when I went to pick up the keys the landlord and realtor had me check for damages around the apartment, well the landlord went down to show me the basement and I noticed a huge pile of obvious rat droppings and brought it up and asked about getting that checked out and if there's a known rat problem, he said there was but he had the upstairs Tennant fix it, so I asked about getting it checked out again and he mentioned buying things and telling the upstairs Tennant (who apparently fixes things around the apartment) but the droppings didn't look nessicarily old (I've had pet rats) and I don't really trust that, I don't know what to do if I should move forward or is it too late to cancel?? They said they'd call someone in tomorrow but I'm worried they're gonna just have the other Tennant try and "fix" it and don't want to waste my time and money at an infested apartment

Hi, In a dilemma on lease renewal. Live in a 1BHK in San Jose and my apartment complex which was recently bought by a capital management firm hiked the rent by 10% at the end of 12 months and did give an option to either go month-to-month or 12 months lease for the same rent.
I work in tech and currently in fear of being laid off. Under the new leasing rules the company wants me to pay close to $7k - 2.5 months of rent if I decide to end the lease, which is hefty. Which is why I am thinking to go month-to-month which would require only a month of notice Incase of bad news.
Q1 - Can the company hike my rent again in the next 12 months if I am month-to-month? The complex doesn't come under rent control, but Cali has a rule of AB 1482 which puts a cap of 10% increase per year period.
Q2 - Any severe downsides of doing month-to-month?
Any suggestions here appreciated. TY

Me(28M) and my GF (27F) have been dating for over 2 years now. A little background on us :- I am a SW engineer and make a modest salary(about 5 times what my GF makes), my GF was in University until 6 months ago. After she graduated I got her a job in her field through a friend of mine, she gets about 2 times the salary a normal fresh graduate with no experience gets. She lives at home with her parents and doesnt have to pay for anything(rent, food, bill) so her entire salary is for herself. I on the other hand support my mom and 2 siblings, I pay for 2 cars(Mine and my moms), for groceries and other bills at home but still have enough left from my salary to save and to also spend on us(me and my gf).
In the 2 years that we have been dating I have paid for all our dates(movies, food, parking, vacation stays, etc.) and she has almost never paid for anything. This was fine by me because when we started dating she was a university student with no job and not much disposable cash. Even after she started on her job I still kept paying for everything as she wanted to save up her salary for an exam that is required for her career. She has since saved the required amount for the exam.
We recently got talking about how we would be managing our finances when we got married and she said that "both what we earn is OUR money that we should spend to make our future grow WHEN WE GET MARRIED". The operating words here being when we get married not before. So I asked her why it is only when we get married and not when we are in a relationship. She has no proper answer to that except "Thats just the way I am".
Her view is that during our relationship I should spend for everything because thats what her dad did for her mom while they were dating. I said they dated in the late 80s and the world has changed since then. I asked does she think its fair that I spend thousands and thousands of my money while she does nothing. This might be my bad - I also asked her whether "she didnt feel ashamed or have any guilt to just let me pay for everything". We had a fight due to this and now she thinks I am a greedy a**hole who just keeps tabs on all the money I spent on our relationship and that I should find a gf who is willing to pay when they go out.
Some extra information:

• The problem for me is not the money but her attitude that I should pay for everything
• I never asked her to pay 50/50. Just contribute a little I understand she doesnt make the same amount as me. Even volunteering to pay would be enough( for me its the thought that counts)
• While she has not spent on any of our dates she has spent money on gifts for special occasions like birthdays.

Am I the one who is wrong in expecting her to contribute for our relationship?
Obviously there is more to the story but this is the main jist of it. Will provide more info if required.

Hello everyone!
I am writing seeking advice in Washington state. Really on behalf of my mom. She is a younger person (56) with serious health issues. Including; beginning heart failure and copd. She has since quit smoking and is on a better track. Only issue is she is caught in between a rock and a hard place. Makes just enough(34k pre tax) to barely pay her rent and bills food etc but above the line for help and state assistance. She drastically needs health insurance for so many reasons and needs to see doctors asap. I feel so bad for her. I am doing everything I can to try to find some type of assistance. I try to give her money here and there but I am trying to make it myself, too. I am here to ask if someone has any ideas or process or grants or suggestions to help the situation. I know many people of her income level who can barely pay rent in Washington state and keep food in the fridge but can’t even see a doctor. I am so scared she is going to just pass one night and I didn’t do everything I could. Any suggestions would be welcomed and appreciated. With love ❤️

​
Griger Kel-Am watched from his cell in the old town jailhouse as workers busily erected a scaffolding in the courtyard below. It was shaping up nicely, he thought with an appreciative nod; the skeletal beams reminded him of the bones of dead animals in the Karel Desert and that comparison almost disturbed him.
Which was no easy feat. Griger had seen the worst the world had to offer. He fought beasts in the Staygin Mountains, fended off feral bandits in the Jarel Plains, and weathered more attacks, fights, battles, and death than most people even knew existed. Nothing on earth could rattle him. He couldn’t afford to let himself be shaken. Life, he had learned, was like a surging storm tide. You either stand strong against it, or you get knocked down and swept away. Griger refused to be swept away. He refused to wind up like the old bones he stumbled across on the North Road and in the snowy stepps at the top of the world. A man must be hard and stoic to survive, and he must be harder and colder to thrive.
Despite his grizzled face, many scars, dead eyes, and unseemly facial hair, Griger, a sword for hire since before the Great Plague, had always thrived.
Sighing, Griger left the window and walked over to the door; three brisk paces. He threaded his arms through the bars and tried his best to look up the corridor. In the cells across from him, other men, their faces dirty and white, cowered, waiting for their judgement.
Their open fear disgusted Griger.
Cowards.
Griger wasn’t afraid to die. Dying was easy; you closed your eyes and went to sleep. Living...living was hard, every day a knock down, drag out fight for dominance against something. Outlaws, nature, your own inner darkness. He did not seek death, but he welcomed it. The prospect of a noose tightening around his neck, of his body jerking and dancing before many jeering eyes and spitting mouths, however, almost bothered him.
But as a wise old man he once knew had said, This too shall pass.
A sardonic smile touched Griger’s chapped lips and he shook his head like a man who couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Of all the things he’d done in his life to deserve a hanging, self-defense is what did him in. Ha.
Two weeks ago, he was following the river from the North, on foot and alone save for his sword and his rucksack. He stopped at a tide pool to drink, and was beset by a man with a knife. In his frock coat and rubberized boots, he was too well dressed to be a highwayman; he never spoke a word until he lay in the grass, his throat laid open and gushing rich red blood. “Scoundrel,” he gurgled.
Griger relieved him of his boots and pocketbook and carried on. Before dusk, he came across the village and rented a room at the inn. Women in cheap, homespun dresses haunted the halls, knocking at doors to sell their company, and Griger, lying in bed by the flickering light of a lamp, was considering spending the rest of the money on one when three constables broke down the door.
The man he killed, they told him later, was the son of the mayor. At that moment, Griger knew he was in trouble.
They refused to believe that the son attacked first and pointed to the things Griger had taken from his as proof of overland piracy, theft, and murder. He was tried in a packed courtroom and found guilty, standing tall and proud but alone as no lawyer in the land would take his case.
Out in the courtyard, someone shouted, and a team of horses neighed, Griger, sitting on the edge of his cot, looked up at the window. The light was getting weaker as night approached. Shadows, long and black, fell through the slats and made unwholesome shapes across the earthen floor. Down the hall, a man cried out for water, and elsewhere, someone raked a metal cup back and forth across the bars. Would they hang him tonight, Griger wondered, or would they wait for dawn?
“You,” someone spat.
Griger looked up to find the mayor standing at the bars, his bloated face filled with hatred. Another man was with him, this one taller and thinner. They were both clad in the finest garments, but the stranger was undoubtedly better suited. Griger took him for a government official.
“What do you want?” Griger asked, an edge in his voice.
The mayor opened his mouth to speak, but the stranger silenced him. “My name is Urick Farbin. I’m the governor of Ezk Province and I have a proposition for you.”
“What’s that?”
Farbin flashed a tight smile.
It looked to Griger like he wouldn’t be hanged at all.
And that made him smile.
***
Griger watched the countryside pass slowly by, all green hills, trickling brooks, and dense thickets. The occasional straw hut loomed out of the wilderness like an antsy thief, and six miles out of the village, they passed a stately manor house that could only have belonged to the mayor.
It was mid-afternoon and the overcast day wrapped itself around Griger like a wet blanket. The previous night, Governor Farbin sprang Griger from his cell and brought him to the inn, where he was kept under armed guard. Griger spent most of the evening in a straight back chair and whittling. You don’t have to worry, he said to the sentry standing at the door, I’m not going anywhere.
And he wasn’t. He was not an honor bound man by any stretch, but Farbin saved his life, and Griger reckoned that earned him a little loyalty.
The guards didn’t stand down, but Griger didn’t blame them. He wouldn’t have either.
In the morning, they set off in a horse drawn carriage, heading northwest along the Western Road. Now, hours later, Griger sat next to the Governor, who wore a dark cloak and wide-brimmed hat befitting his office. Beside him, the driver held the reins and stared ahead with the practiced indifference of a man used to tuning out things he wasn’t supposed to hear.
“Will you explain to me what I’m doing?” Griger asked.
Farbin was quiet for a moment, then he looked up at the sky, the muted light bathing his craggy features. “Your file says that you’ve done work for the Government.”
“Some,” Griger replied.
“You’ve handled things of a singular nature,” the old man continued. “Things that most other men have never dreamed possible.”
Gringer nodded. He had. His only oath was to himself, and he worked for whoever paid him the highest sum. Men like him were called mercenaries but he preferred to think of himself as a businessman.
“There’s a matter in a nearby village that has been ongoing for quite some time,” Farbin said, picking his words carefully. “I have sent my best agents and they’ve done nothing for it. When the paperwork on you came to my office, I checked your name, as I do all condemned men, and knew at once that you were the man for this job.”
Griger was almost touched. “What’s the job?”
The Governor turned to face Griger, his expression bloodless and sober, as though he had something great yet terrible to impart upon him. “Do you believe in werewolves?”
“Yes,” he said, “I do.”
“Have you ever killed one?”
Griger hesitated. “No,” he said, “not personally, but I was with a party that did.”
Five years before, Griger wintered in a village among the steep foothills guarding the forbidding expanse of Mount Grez. In the deepest, darkest days of the freeze, local livestock began to die, ripped asunder and strewn across snowy fields like trash. Wolf tracks larger than any Griger had ever seen led to and from each scene, and at night, high, ghostly howls rose above the shrieking wind, curdling the blood of even the most sturdy men.
After a watchman on patrol was attacked and gutted in the main square, the men of the village banded together and tracked the beast, eventually cornering it in a cave near a frozen river. Even if he lived to be a thousand, Griger would never forget the monster they encountered. Seven feet tall, coated in matted gray fur, its face canine yet human, its eyes blazed with the fires of hell, and as the men approached, it snapped and snarled, the sounds it made so close to words that even now, Griger wondered if it were trying to speak. They beset it with swords and torches, and when the dust settled, five men were dead and three were wounded. The wolf lay crumpled on the ground, decapitated and aflame. Even with no head, even with its heart divorced from its body, it screeched as the fire consumed it, a high, hitching wail that haunted Griger’s dreams for many moons after.
Farbin nodded. “I figured as much. A man as well-travelled as you has to have seen such things.”
He went on to explain that a suspected werewolf was loose in the countryside around the village of Koreth, a tiny fishing port on the sloped and muddy banks of the Rey River. Three weeks before, sheep and horses began to turn up dead, their bodies laid open and their intestines pulled from their stomachs. Before long, travellers along the Western Road started to die in a similar manner. Every time a new victim appeared, officials found large wolf tracks and strands of fur nearby.
Several nights ago, it broke into the home of a land baron and killed him, his wife, and his daughter. His young son survived, but was blinded in one eye.
‘It was a massive beast,’ the boy told the Governor, a personal friend of the baron. ‘It stood seven feet tall, was as wide as it was long, and had the snarling face of a man mixed with a dog.’
“You want me to kill it,” Griger said. It was not a question.
“Yes.”
The carriage jostled as its big wheels splashed through ruts and puddles. “And in return…?”
“You’ll get a full and unconditional pardon.”
Hmm. Griger considered the offer carefully, even though he was in no position to bargain. “Alright,” he said at last, “I’ll do it.”
They arrived at the village three hours later. Perched on the banks of the lazy river, it seemed a single estate rather than a town. A stone wall, roughly a dozen feet high, enclosed it, pitched roofs visible beyond. Two guards in helmets and chainmail, swords on their hips and crossbows in their hands, stood at the gate, their expressions stony and as hardscrabble as the fields sloping away from the walls.
Inside, tiny buildings lined narrow dirt streets and people in plain, homespun clothes went about their business, pushing carts, hawking vegetables, and playing dice. Old men sat in canned chairs before the town pub and a group of boys chased each other back and forth through shadowed warrens, their faces smudged and weatherbeaten beyond their years. Chickens and pigs, both plump and hale, ran free, the former flapping their impotent wings and the latter snorting happily as they wallowed and shat. Griger spotted a blacksmith in his quarters, striking an anvil with a hammer, and wondered idly if he had any interesting items for sale.
“The people here are stubborn and refuse to flee,” Farbin said.
Griger faced forward. “These types usually are.”
“You are not to worry about their safety,” Farbin warned. “They can see to themselves. Your only concern is to be the wolf.”
“Understood.”
The driver parked near the town inn and tied the horse to a hitching post while Griger and Farbin got out. Griger rolled his neck and flexed his shoulders. After so many years of walking wherever he went, he was unaccustomed to sitting for long periods and inevitably ended any long, stationary trek sore.
Past the batwing doors, a shadowy lobby lit by candlelight greeted them. Farbin led Griger directly up the stairs and to a tidy room with a single, neatly made bed and a desk beneath the window. “These are your quarters,” Farbin said.
“Spacious,” Griger said unsarcastically. He sat on the edge of the bed. “What leads do you have on this wolf?”
“None beyond what I’ve told you,” Farbn said. “My men have scoured the countryside but they haven’t found a thing.”
Griger hummed. “No tracks? Droppings? Nothing at all?”
“Not beyond what I’ve told you.”
That was odd. Werewolves rarely strayed far from their den. Unless they were of the rare half-breed that turned upon the cycle of the moon, man at day and beast by night. But those were as common as an honest man in the High Council - not very damned common at all.
“What are you thinking?” Farbin asked.
Griger said what was on his mind.
“But those aren’t real,” the Governor said, a hint of confusion in his voice.
“I tell you they are.”
Farbin’s brow furrowed with incredulity. “A man cannot simply change his form, nor can a wolf, for that matter. It goes against all logic.”
All Griger could do was spread his hands. That a man - even a large one - could transform into a werewolf (and that a werewolf could shrink back to the size of a mere man) did defy logic. Griger could not account for it, but he knew it to be so, and he said as much. Farbin, shaken by the confidence in Griger’s tone, nervously scratched the back of his neck and looked constipated. “Put aside what you think you know and ask yourself. What if it is a wolf-man?”
“But what if it isn’t?” Farbin countered.
Griger ticked his head to the side in acquiescence. “Maybe it’s not. Maybe your men have failed to uncover a den large enough to house a seven foot tall monster. Maybe they’ve been looking up each other’s backsides instead of where they should be.”
A dark shadow flickered across Farbin’s face. “My men are highly trained and highly skilled.”
“That’s why you came to me.”
Farbin fumed. “I came to you because you have experience in such things.”
“Right,” Griger said. “I do. And I’m telling you - in my expert opinion - that if there is no den, the wolf is a changeling. I cannot explain the science behind how and why it is a changeling. I don’t know how it can happen...but it does. You have to consider the possibility that you are looking for a phantom, that your wolf may be out there right this second ploughing a field or herding sheep and not asleep in a cave waiting to be found and made.”
Farbin turned away and put his hands on his hips. No shoulder had ever been colder, and for a second, Griger thought the old man was going to send him back to the gallows. “Alright,” Farbin finally said, “suppose it is a half-breed. What then?”
“I want to see where the latest attack happened.”
A half an hour later, Griger and Farbin stood before a large stone house with a slate roof and wide windows. A dirt drive looped around an ornate fountain and tall trees rustled in the new breeze. Several Provincial Guardsmen accompanied them, all with swords and crossbows and one, the commander, with a rare flintlock on his hip. Farbin led Gringer to the west side of the structure. “The wolf came in through the servants’ entrance,” he explained. A set of paw prints led to the door and Gringer knelt to study them. Roughly half a foot apart, they were slightly larger than any other he had seen.
Inside, the house was dark and cold, shadows clustered in corners like demons waiting for the fall of night to advance their ghoulish aims. Dried blood stained the wooden floors and spackled the bare walls. “Has anyone seen this creature and lived but the boy?”
Farbin shook his head. “No.” His face was white and strained, the somber, funeral atmosphere affecting him.
“You’ve told me everything?”
“Yes.”
Griger nodded to himself. If the wolf were a changeling, someone, somewhere likely would have seen it coming or going. That was a strike against his theory. On the other hand, there were likely dozens of isolated farms and homesteads scattered through the surrounding countryside. The wolf could be anyone from anywhere.
“I want to talk to the locals,” Griger said as he and Farbin walked back to the carriage.
“Right.”
“I’ll also need a team of men at my disposal,” Griger said. “And a sword.”
They were sitting across from each other in the carriage’s enclosed cab. Without, the sky was beginning to cool to purple and evening gloom stealthy crept from the forest. “We’ll get you one.”
“It must be made with silver,” Griger said.
Farbin frowned. “Silver is a poor alloy for sword-making.”
“But it’s the only alloy for werewolf killing,” Griger said. “It shouldn’t be made entirely of silver, but there must be some in it, the more, the better.
Farbin nodded that he understood.
By the time they made it back to the village, full dark had fallen. The streets stood deserted, the animals locked up for the night and most of the people hunkered in their homes. A few guards walked the lanes and dooyards, bows and swords at the ready, and a stray cat with no tail slunk furtively between piles of refuse, its ears laid flat against its skull and its fur matted and crisscrossed with scars from battles past.
The only activity was at the pub attached to the inn, where lights burned in the segmented windows and the chatter of many voices drifted into the street, occasionally flaring in laughter or song. Apparently, those hearty souls refused to let a wolf stand between them and their end-of-day festivities.
Griger’s respect for them increased.
Before entering, Farbin and Griger called on the blacksmith, a burly man with a bald head and a mustache that reminded Griger of walruses he had killed and eaten at the top of the world. Griger explained his need and impressed upon the man a sense of urgency. “I need it as soon as you can possibly have it ready.”
The blacksmith nodded gamely. “I’ll have it by dawn.”
Farbin took out his purse and paid, then they made their way to the inn.
Inside, a roaring fire crackled in the stone hearth and lamps on the walls sent shadows flickering across the floor. A dozen men sat at the bar with stines of beer and a half dozen more occupied the many tables in the middle of the room. A barkeep kept the drinks flowing while a pretty waitress with her blonde hair done up in an elaborate braid like a golden tiara brought trays of beer and pretzels to the tables.
Griger and Farbin sat at an empty table near the fireplace and Farbin removed his gloves. “Men will make merry even while the world burns around them,” he mused.
“Why not,” Griger said, “they can’t do it in the grave.”
The women came over and they ordered a pitcher of beer and a sandwich each. While they waited, Griger went to every man one-by-one and asked them about the wolf. They responded, to a man, with an eye roll or a dismissive laugh. None were worried in the slightest. One man lifted his brow in a pitying sort of way and looked Griger up and down as though he were mad. “Werewolves? Why, those were banished from the Realm centuries ago, it’s all much ado about nothing.”
“It’s a big wolf,” the barkeep said, “and dangerous too, that much is fact. But it’s a lot of hysteria. People today are too goddamn soft. In my time, we had wolves and bears too. If they acted out of line, we hunted them down and cut their heads off.”
The last man Griger came to was a wispy, white-haired oldster with rheumy eyes and three days’ worth of stubble covering his angular chin. Baggy brown clothes, old and wrinkled and caked in the dirt of the field, hung slack from his scrawny frame, and his long, spindly fingers threaded through the handle of his mug like fleshless bone. If Griger had ever seen a man who bore the official title “Town Drunk” he wouldn’t look the part any more than the old man.
Before Griger could ask him a single question, he spoke in a rusty voice that conjured images of graveyard gates in the dark Province of Helem. “I seen it,” he said, “and it weren’t no regular wolf neither.”
The barkeep sniffed. “You see lots of things, Sel. Like them little pink elephants.”
A wave of mean-spirited laughter ran through the bar, and Sel’s jaw clenched. Griger sensed that Sel was often made sport of at the bar.
Ignoring the other, Griger asked, “You’ve seen it?”
Sel nodded and held up three fingers. “Thrice, in fact,” he said with a belch.
“Tell me.”
The old timer looked up at him with a twist of suspicion. “Down by the road leadin’ up,” he said.
“All three times?”
“All three times,” Sel confirmed.
Once a mason, Sel had moved to the village ten years before to try his hand at farming, he explained. His homestead, comprising five acres, a tumbledown barn, and a decomposing shack masquerading as a house, sat below the walls, in a hollow between the hill and the river. Many nights, he sat on the front porch and “communed with the King” (King Rum, Griger assumed). From that perch, he witnessed “The damned beast” loping toward town. “The first time, I seen’t it over in the road,” he said, pronouncing road as rud. “I have good eyesight and I knew right off it weren’t normal, so I jumped outta my chair and ducked down real low so ways he couldn’t see me.”
Sel couldn’t provide a description of the wolf beyond “near eight damn feet tall and built like a mountain” but Griger didn’t need one. The old man’s story supported his supposition that the wolf was coming from somewhere else and not a den in the hills. Why would it come down the middle of the road each time? The only thing to the south was the river and open fields dotted by stands of forest, all of which Farbin’s men had already searched.
Werewolves are nocturnal creatures who sequester themselves somewhere dark and dry during the day. Farbin’s men should have found it by now. That they hadn’t suggested that it was a changeling.
Thanking Sel for his help, Griger went back to the table and sat across from Farbin. “The baron’s house lies in the direction of the river,” he said, more to himself than to the Governor. “What of the other attacks?”
“Mainly in that area,” Farbin said, “why?”
“The changeling - and that’s what it is - comes from across the river. How many homesteads are there beyond the banks?”
“At least two dozen,” Farbin said.
Griger crossed his arms and thought for a moment. “I want your men, tomorrow, out there going door to door with garlic. Make everyone they come across smell it and anyone who sneezes is put under watch.”
The Governor looked stricken. “But...why?”
“Changelings are allergic to garlic,” Griger said.
Farbin pursed his lips in contemplation. “Alright,” he said, “I’ll have them start at first light.”
After dining, they adjourned to their rooms, Farbin on one side of the hall and Griger on the other. A team of six Guardsmen took up position in the empty saloon and kept watch, ready to roll out at a moment’s notice. Griger threw the window open and perched on the ledge, the night breeze washing over him and rustling his graying hair. He rolled a cigarette, lit it with the bedside candle, and looked up at the glowing face of the waxing moon. Tomorrow night it would be full and the changeling would be compelled to turn and hunt as the tide was compelled to crest. It could come tonight still, but unless it was killed, it would return tomorrow for certain, mad with bloodlust.
Well past midnight, Griger blew out the candle and retired. The mattress was far too soft and it took him nearly a half hour of tossing, turning, and muttering curses to himself to find a position he liked. Once he did, he fell into a light sleep from which he was aroused near dawn by a knock at the door. One of the guards informed him that the blacksmith was finished with his sword, and after dressing, he and Farbin went to collect it. Comprising a simple blade with a guard and a grip, it was far from the most opulent weapon Griger had ever wielded, but it was well-suited to his needs and fit comfortably in his hand.
Back at the inn, Farbin gathered every available man under his command, including the constable and his three deputies, and ordered them to sweep the countryside as Griger had suggested the night before. They showed no reaction despite their lord’s strange request, and departed in a single file line.
The saloon opened for breakfast at six and Griger and Farbin each had a plate of eggs, bacon, and beans. People began to drift in as they ate, Sel the Drunkard at the head of the pack. The maiden, who quartered somewhere upstairs, came down in a simple white dress beneath a waist apron, and Griger’s eyes tracked her as she carried out her functions. The dress - loose and high cut - revealed nothing of her bosom, but pulled tight across her bottom when she leaned over to set food and coffee in front of her guests. Their gazes met, and her eyes flicked quickly away like two timid minnows in a fish bowl.
She was beautiful.
She reminded him of someone.
His mind went back to the jagged mountains atop the world, to a little cabin where weary travellers waited out the snowstorms that raged sometimes for weeks in the winter. There, in one of the most isolated outposts of the Realm, lived a woman Griger had known. She was tall and gaunt whereas the barmaid was average and healthy, her hair was black to the maiden’s blonde, but their eyes were the same breathtaking hazel. Now, staring at his plate, his chest stirred in a way that it hadn’t in years.
He didn’t like it.
“...else,” Farbin was saying.
“Yeah,” Griger said, as though he knew what Farbin had said. Now, the woman he loved one winter was on his mind and his mood was verging on foul. He recalled the way her hair brushed the creamy slope of her throat when she turned her head, the sound of her laughter, how her heels dug into his behind, urging him deeper unto her.
He was young, then, and a fool. People, he learned later, come and people go. Loving someone...indeed even hating them...was pointless, for in a breath of summer wind, they’re gone.
After finishing with breakfast, Farbin requested a metal tub be filled with water so that he could bathe. While he did that, Griger threaded his sword through his belt and walked down to the river, keeping his eyes open for wolf tracks. He spotted a few in the dirt edging the road, all pointing in the direction from which he had just come, and squatted down to examine one more closely.
Just before reaching the water, Sel’s farm appeared on the right, the main house seeming to sag in the middle as though under the burden of years and the field out back overgrown and gone to seed. The place looked as though it had died, come back to life, then died again. The screen door, which naturally hung askew, banged open, and Sel himself backed out butt first, a ceramic pot in his hands. He turned, saw Griger, and hesitated, then ducked his head and scurried down the stairs, disappearing around the side of the house Griger lingered a moment, then followed, tangles of grass pulling at his boots. In the back, a clear patch boasted several pots like the one Sel had come out with, each blossoming with an assortment of multicolored flowers. Sel knelt before one and heaped rich soil in with his hands. A gust of wind flipped his lank, white hair back and forth, and a satisfied smile played at the corners of his thin mouth.
“You garden?” Griger asked.
Sel shot him a dirty look. “I do,” he said, a defensive edge in his voice. He stopped, favored the flowers with a sober look, and added, “These plants are the only friends I’ve got.” He chuckled self-consciously.
“Plants seem like they’d make poor friends,” Griger said. “When the first frost comes, they leave you.”
Sel ticked his head to one side in acquiescence. “Tis better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all.”
An image of the girl at the top of the world flashed across Griger’s mind, and for a moment he could feel, feel, her presence. “I don’t believe that,” Griger said. “Loss is hard for a man who’s known love.”
“Still better than never knowing it at all,” Sel said and got stiffly to his feet. He dusted his hands on his pants.
“You’ve never lost someone,” Griger said.
“You’ve never loved someone,” Sel countered.
Griger stiffened. Mouthy old bastard, yes I have.
“What do you want?” Sel asked.
“I wanted to ask you about the werewolf.”
Sel’s face crinkled. “I told you everything I know.” He started walking back to the front of the house, and Griger fell in beside him.
“Is there anywhere around here you think a werewolf might live?” Griger asked. “Caves? Dens? Anything.”
“There’s some caves about,” Sel said, “other than that, I can’t say.”
They were on the porch now, Sel holding the door open.
“Can you tell me your story one more time?” Griger asked. “Maybe it might jog something you forgot.”
Sel sighed. “I don’t have nothin’, okay?”
He started to go inside, but Griger stopped him. “Please?”
The old man looked at him, then sighed. “Fine. Come in.”
They sat in Sel’s tiny and cluttered parlor. The furniture was as old and threadbare as the man who owned it, and the simple walls were crowded with old photos, many of them featuring a smiling woman with dark hair. She looked nothing like the girl at the top of the world, but Griger was reminded of her anyway. “Your wife?” he asked.
Sel, seated in an armchair across from him, busied himself pouring Griger a cup of tea. “Yes,” he said shortly.
From his tone - and the woman’s absence - Griger inferred that she was dead. “I’m sorry.”
Sel’s hand shook as he pushed the cup across the table. “So am I,” he said.
“Children?” Griger asked.
“Three,” Sel said. “Two boys and a girl.” Tears crept into the old man’s faded eyes and he fixed his gaze on a point over Griger’s shoulder. Open displays of emotion made Griger uncomfortable, and he shifted in his seat, sorry that he had brought the topic up. “We were married thirty years,” Sel said. His lips trembled and Griger thought he was going to break down crying. Instead, he smiled. “Those were good years.”
Griger nodded to himself. “I bet.”
He must not have sounded convincing, because Sel creased his brow. “Are you married?”
“No.”
“Ever loved someone?”
“No.”
Sel looked at him with a frank directness that bordered on mind-reading, and though it wasn’t possible, Griger could almost imagine the old man was seeing into his mind...and his heart. “You’re a liar.”
Griger considered his reply for a long time. “When I was a boy,” he said. “I thought I was in love.”
“What happened?”
Perhaps the old man had cast some kind of pall over him...or maybe he was in a rare mood...but Griger heard himself answer honestly. “I left her.”
A heavy silence lay between them.
“You left her?”
Griger nodded. “I moved on. She had her ways and I had mine. I didn’t see us working.”
“You regret it.”
“Yes,” Griger responded instantly. “I wish I tried.”
Sel nodded understandingly. “All boys make mistakes. Some are just luckier than others, I reckon.” He laughed, his posture relaxing, and Griger realized he was starting to like the old bastard.
“True,” he said. “Now your story…”
Sighing, Sel lifted a hand. “I don’t have much ways else to say.” He ran through his story just as he had before, with no additions or subtractions.
Griger nodded that he was satisfied, and got to his feet. “That’ll be all.”
Sel walked him to the door and stuck out his hand. “That damned thing’s a monster,” he said as they shook, “you watch yourself.”
“I can handle a werewolf,” Griger assured him.
Later on, after returning to the inn, Griger and Farbin rode out to meet the men on the other side of the river, catching up to them at a fork in the road. “No one’s sneezed or broken out, sire,” Farbin’s second-in-command, a tall, rodent-faced man, reported.
“Expand the dragnet,” Griger said.
Rat-face looked at Farbin for confirmation, and the Governor nodded.
They would find the wolf...or the wolf would find them.
Griger wanted the former, but would settle for the latter.
If he had to.

My brother now lives out of state. I told him to loan my parents $xxx in money which will be paid back in 7 days time and he wants to know in detail what they are spending the money on before he trusts them with that much money. He is using distance and requesting a meeting with my parents so he knows in detail how every dollar is being spent. Context: both his parents have no income coming in and forced to share rent with other sons who decided to “grace their kindness of remaining with them.” he was unemployed from 18yo to 29yo living with our parents rent free. The $xxx he feels forced to loan is too much stress for him to help out his parents who never questioned his laziness to do nothing for a whole decade. AITA to test his fialty when he has been complaining about how no one tells him anything relating to the family? Does he only want to help if there’s an audience?

I am 23 weeks pregnant, and we have recently moved to a rented house so it is closer to my husbands work, so he could be home more regularly and help with pregnancy and when baby arrives. To do this, we have rented out our owned property with view of potentially moving back or selling next year.
This has been the biggest mistake we have ever made.
We used a letting company to avoid stress. The amount of stress this has caused has resulted in me having high blood pressure, increased pain and having to be on bed rest a lot. The emotional toil has also been extreme. I have cardiac problems that need to be closely monitored through this pregnancy. It’s not directly linked, but obviously not helping.
They have bled us dry, with constant “emergencies” and fees and lack of communication. The rent is near £1000, this month following all costs, we got given £8 (honestly not an exaggeration).
So far I have a cot and a Moses basket for the baby. No pram, no car seat, no changing table, clothes etc. There is absolutely no way we can afford anything for them and I have never been so scared in my life. Both for the baby when they are here, but for both of our health now.
We both have good jobs and work full time. But now because of this horrible company, a baby almost seems unrealistic, but it is 100% happening.
I have become so depressed. I wanted to enjoy this pregnancy and first child. Now I’m scared that social services with be involved with us because I will be neglecting my child because I can’t afford anything for them. I’m a terrible mother already.

Hello! I live in Tempe & my lease is ending in May. Right now I live with a bunch of roommates & figured it’s time to move in with my boyfriend. I really want to be prepared & also still want to live in Tempe. What are most of the requirements here when it comes to renting? Do they look for anything specific and what deposits do I have to drop & do I have to move in right away? I know a lot of apartments already but still haven’t check them out yet but will do so in the span of these 2 months.