The group entered Serendipity and were immediately taken back by the sight and smell of the large tree building Interior. Where William expected the smell to be one of oak wood and bark, instead was a floral, more sweet aroma. It was to his nose a stronger and sweeter version of lavender. He wasn’t a big fan as his mother and sister always used a lavender smelling shampoo back on Earth that would always creep under his door when it wasn’t wanted. The sight made up for the smell however, as the inside was lit by candles made from green wax. William assumed it was beeswax from the Green Bees. To his surprise, the candle wick on every single candle burned brighter than any he had seen in his life. Either life. They were about as luminescent as a typical lightbulb from Earth.
As they walked, Wylton caught his glance at the unique light source and with an amused smile, said, “Green Bees are amazing creatures. They produce honey that is both delicious...and flammable. The candles are made with the creatures’ wax and the wick used is soaked in the honey for several days until every single thread of the wick was easily lit and burned brightly when set alight. The wax, when mixed with certain herbs is also a good anti-poison.”
William couldn’t help but be amazed at the versatility of the product. Greenwell could really use something like that. It was then another item to add into a mental wish list forming in his head.
Serendipity on the inside had many wooden walkways leading to different rooms and open spaces with a smooth, wooden ramp spiraling up the inside wall of the giant tree’s trunk. Wylton led the group up the ramp and pointed out various things along the way to their destination. William learned of quite a few notable items and systems from Wylton. Two of which took particularly large parts of mental real estate in William’s head. The first was a security system for anti-theft. Thin, green capsules were attached by string to certain valuable items on display that without a matching wooden key to deactivate the trap. The trap, when triggered would explode, sending a liquid spray, laced with pheromones out and onto any person or surface they touched. With the use of certain insects that were attracted to said pheromones, it made finding stolen items or criminals much easier. William was less interested in the system for theft and more for intruder and trespasser detection.
The second system that took his interest was a system for running water. From what Wylton said as they passed the various wooden pipes containing water that lead down to wooden bowls below, the system came from a special plant that tapped into the regional Ley-line to constantly expel water from an orifice on the plant’s top. It was apparently a lesser equivalent to what the Wyrdlings habitation used. That made a thought occur to William and he knew that not asking would bug him.
“If this water and the Wyrdling water come from the Ley-Line, do they provide Mana or MP when drunk?”
A practiced smile came easily to Wylton, indicating that it was a familiar question. “On its own, the water is just that. The Mana potential exists, but is innate. When used in potions and poisons however, the potency is doubled for any product output from the brewing process compared to naturally created water.”
William was impressed and disappointed. The concept was interesting and had a lot of potential, but it was also disappointing that the Mana benefits only came after being turned into potions or poisons. His original intent for such a system was still valid fortunately. Greenwell did have a water supply, but it was incredibly basic. A rope, bucket, and large hole was what allowed the people of Greenwell to not die of thirst. A similar plumbing system would work wonders for them and even with his limited knowledge of the farming stuff back on Earth knew that irrigation was something that made crop generation vastly more efficient. He wanted it for Greenwell. His father came into his mind, dampening William’s upbeat plans, but after some thought, he felt even more vindicated in his plans knowing that his father as a lifelong farmhand would love to see a growing agriculture system in Greenwell.
With newfound vigor, William mentally prepared for the meeting ahead, wanting to be in the best head space possible so everyone came out a winner.
Wylton stopped the group as they arrived at a set of double doors.
The old man took in the four and with a more professional expression said, “I am one of three councilors for Everglade. My seat on the council is perpetual as the grove itself is mine. The two other councilors have equal voting power for all other things. These two seats do change with new election opportunities every decade however, and each manage different aspects of Everglade. They are inside and waiting for our arrival. I apologize for not saying sooner, but any discussions about official positions, partners, and/or alliances must be voted on by the council.”
William felt a sudden increase in anxiety internally. He was at the stage where knowing such meetings ahead of time didn’t overwhelm his emotions, but this sudden revelation hit his mental state hard. Images of interrogation style questions came to mind and his blood both cooled and boiled at the thought as the two extremes of mood fought for control in his mind. The air suddenly felt thin and clammy as he felt beads of sweat start to tickle his back and forehead. He had to make sure first impressions were good otherwise the people inside could have their way with the negotiations. His heart began to thump louder, faster, seeming to nearly jump out of his chest.
Stacey seemed to notice William’s mood shift and grabbed his hand with hers, providing him with emotional support.
“I’m here for you. If it’s your...anxiety playing havoc, I’ll be by your side as you work through this. Right now, we have to win the council over. Think about the things they have here that we can use. It may be hard, but you can do this William. You have done harder things in the last few weeks at least ten times over,” Stacey said in a whisper.
William considered her words and had to admit that he was impressed that she was taking some ideas and wondered what those would be. He both hoped it was something similar to his own thoughts, but also got excited at the potential of her spotting something he may have missed or glossed over.
“Thank you Stacey, if you don’t mind, can we hold hands in the meeting? Your presence is soothing me somewhat.”
The statement was the truth, as her presence made him feel even more capable. He did feel a bit weak for asking such a request of her, but anxiety was a bastard after all and clung on hard.
Stacey smiled, and leaned her head on his shoulder as she replied, “Of course dummy, whatever you need to get through this.”
Once again, the amazing woman proved that William didn’t deserve her, or her beautiful heart. The fact he had earned a spot in her life and heart, made William feel like the luckiest man alive, even as he walked into the chamber.
Inside was a surprisingly plain wooden walled, floored, and topped room with a large and circular table in the center, with a large number of chairs circling the table. In two of the three taller chairs at what appeared to be the head of the table were a pair of individuals in less druidic style clothing and more tailored robes.
The pair had to be the council members. With a smile sent their way from Wylton, William’s guess was validated.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Denlar and Milla, may I introduce to you: William, Jane, John, and Stacey,” Wylton said with a sweeping wave of his arm to William’s group.
The first of the two, the man called Denlar stood up and offered a cordial bow as he said, “Good day, Welcome to our humble town and I hope your stay is pleasant.”
Milla, the lady beside Denlar also stood and mimicked the man’s bow as she spoke, “Welcome, I hope the old man hasn’t talked your ears off.”
Wylton chuckled warmly as he turned back to face William’s group and said, “Milla is the one with the wit amongst us three councilors as you can see. I however, have the years and memory. Isn’t that right, Silly Milly?”
The lady councilor went a couple shades pinker at the name and let out a long suffering sigh. William learned that ol’ Wylton wasn’t to shabby in the shit chatting department.
Before anyone else spoke up, Wylton added, “Jokes aside, I believe we have things to discuss. Please take a seat everyone.”
With a flick of the wrist, Wylton had moved four chairs into a line at the opposite end of the table without touching them and teleported into the center Councilor chair. The two other councilors sat down and this was shortly followed by William’s group. The table felt larger once all were seated, but that was clearly a design intent by the carpenter.
No one spoke and William decided to fight his anxiety and open the dialogue as he grasped Stacey’s hand under the table slightly firmer.
“Um, thank you for taking the time to meet with us. We...uh...have some things we wish to discuss as matters between our two settlements.”
The three councilors assessed William with their gazes, an act that made William’s anxiety slightly worse. Milla was the next to speak as she said, “Yes, we expected as much from the settlement of newly integrated members of our world. You need to incorporate your settlement to fit into local civilization. This is something that we here could most likely accommodate. The three of us agreed to give a service or item as thanks for dealing with the bandits, and that can include things regarding our two settlements, within reason of course.”
William felt a wave of relief crash over him as he considered what the three could provide.
Denlar quickly added to the statement as he said, “You should know our roles before asking of services from us as we three split the required work between us based on our skill sets. Wylton is the father and founder of Everglade and as such, the natural flow of Mana, nature, and building planning is within his remit. I manage the security and justice system for Everglade. Milla manages trade, matters regarding our citizens, and partnerships with various other settlements and organizational bodies.”
The added info gave William pause as he considered the man’s words. The role distribution made sense as a means to not overwork one poor sole. It was something he had mentally struggled with when watching Wallace. A sole leader managing everything was a leader that didn’t last for the long haul typically, unless those lead are smaller in number and have some agency of their own. From the roles alone, he knew what he wanted from Wylton and Milla. Denlar was another matter however.
William took a moment to gather his thoughts but managed to say, “From Wylton, I’d like a...um...resource to work with our well so we can generate flowing water...uh...like yourselves, and how to make and set up those pheromone marking traps we saw, as well as how to set up a...plumbing system. From Milla, a...um...trade agreement to supply some vegetable seeds and equipment to expand our fields beyond Greenwell’s wall properly so we can create a small farming community that has the ability to grow over time.”
He fired his shot and hoped it would land. Wylton smiled and Milla looked contemplative for a moment before also nodding.
Denlar looked at his fellows and considered them for a moment before he said, “Those are both great things to provide. My abilities lie with security and justice systems. The best things I could offer would be related tot hose, though at level twenty five, William, I doubt you need such things for yourself or those around you.”
William agreed with the man’s assessment of him, but he wouldn’t be around to protect everyone in Greenwell forever. Figuring out what he felt was a decent and fair request, William replied, “Uhhh...would you be willing to take on some of our fighters for training in combat and siege defense? They could potentially attend any transport delivering our seeds and such back here, thus learning the way here and...um...being able to show others where to come for such training.”
Denlar smiled at the reply and said, “That’s a good choice. I’m more than willing to introduce the best guards and trainers in Everglade to anyone from Greenwell that wishes it.”
That was the perfect answer to William and his smile gave that away, but he didn’t mind, the atmosphere had ceased being so tense and William’s anxiety began to creep away from him. It was still there, but fading.
“Thank you all three of you,” William said, bowing his head slightly in gratitude, before returning to his normal seating position.
Wylton scratched his beard before speaking up, “I can tell that as newly integrated people to this world, you probably have questions about a lot of stuff regarding the levelling system and beyond. We are more than willing to spend some time answering what we can, so please, go ahead and ask whatever is on your mind.”
Jane was the first to speak and William was happy that her question was one that burned on his own mind as she said, “What are Capped Classes?”
Wylton smiled wider knowing that he had probably caused them to ask that question, before he replied, “They are singular classes that limit the person to a more specific role or set way of life. For example, Guards would get EXP for guarding their charges well. Nobles, and Royals gain EXP based on their following and how many heed their commands. This is agnostic of will or fear too. I’ve already said what Druids do. There are many more such Classes too. Essentially, They are akin to Advanced Classes that can come at any level below fifty, as long as criteria is met for the Capped Class. These classes are limited or ‘Capped’ by reduced EXP gain, difficulty in progressing from one rank to the next, and removing the ability to bear an Advanced Class.”
William’s long period of curiosity at the inconsistent readings from [Identify] suddenly made sense. When he identified bandits they had actual class levels displayed. The Guards and Noble he had fought as well as the recent Guard Captain were all Capped Classes.
Stacey gently stroked William’s hand and with curiosity of her own, she asked, “Can you explain how Jobs fully work? We were told by some people we met and took in, but half of them were traitors so I want to make sure that what they said was truthful.”
This time, Milla spoke up, “Jobs work differently from Classes. First is scaling. Classes at each full rank will scale up in the attribute points they provide per level. This also applies to Race level. Jobs do not scale in their stat allocation. When a threshold is breached, three stats of the primary attribute used by the class are awarded. To prevent harm and physical limitation, Jobs have built in point accumulation where certain attributes may increase in the odd point to compensate for growing workloads as the Job grows. A good example would be a Chef. Their primary stat is Wisdom, but through their practice and labor daily, they would gain points to the secondary stats of Vitality and Dexterity every now and again.
“This is not easily calculated as it varies from person to person, but the universal principal is that Jobs are built not to debilitate the worker. It is also recommended that if you take multiple Jobs, try to spread out those with primary stats and if possible, pick jobs that gradually flesh out secondary stats. Stacking the same overlapping Primary Stats ignores the Job fail safe, for lack of a better word, and can truly ruin someone’s health and/or life. Going back to the Chef example, that Chef could also be a Blacksmith. The Blacksmith Job has a primary stat of Strength, with Dexterity and Vitality as secondary stats. With that Job combination, their Wisdom and Strength get healthy boosts per threshold, with Dexterity and Vitality getting decent secondary boosts. If a person only takes one Job however, the stat gain for primary and secondary is typically enough for people to live a normal life. The system is harsh as you are either forced to fight and level a Class or Classes, or you have to take a Job or Jobs to grow certain stats higher. Five stat points across the board as you all would know is not unhealthy but you wouldn’t be able to do much heavy lifting, running, public speaking, and so on.”
As Milla finished, Jane and John raised their hands with more questions of their own, and William had a feeling that the group would be there for a good while. With Stacey and Jane asking the two big questions on his mind, William wanted to sort out more deals that provided Greenwell with more good shit, like the Green Bee candles and some Rellzin for their own transport methods. With the requests of gratitude already made, he would instead offer to do the classic adventurer thing; solve their problems to gain more of their stuff.