V4: Chapter 14

…

The region of Talon Hills was no longer recognizable.

Gone were the rolling green hills, swathes of forests, and uncleared land.

Instead, as we returned home, we were greeted by stone, wood, and steel.

All fifteen sites of the region were now occupied by Encampments and Towns, with the two other spots where Citadels could be spawned used as additional sites raising the number to seventeen. Each one was connected with cobblestone roads, which were policed from the air by patrolling flying knights. The sky was filled with a constant stream of flying-horse-drawn containers, using the roads below to navigate. During the day, the gray roads and their dirt clearings made navigation easy, while at night they navigated via small lighthouses which led towards to Citadel.

People and materials flowed through the air and across the ground in every direction where wildlife and monsters once roamed.

The outer sites were encampments, designed to train troops and host buildings that lowered their cost and contribute to technology trees. The encampments overlooking roads and choke points were being upgraded to fortresses. Our armies could sally forth from them with ease, and they were well-stocked for long sieges. If I could get away with it, I'd dig into the hills and use them as bunkers and strongpoints, but I knew for a fact that the enemies coming our way were very mobile and very unlikely to starve.

They ate people, and even their own when pushed, so they 'foraged' just fine.

Anyway, the towns were around the Citadel in the 'inner' region and were lesser in number, but they were being built up quickly into cities. Six manufacturing/civilian sections to eleven military locations meant that I was running a very thin bottom line that was closer to the red than black. If not for all the schemes I thought up to make money, from products sold by the state, to even plays cribbed off fiction from back home, and actual government bonds and taxes, we'd be deep into the red, even with a whole other region and Citadel dedicated to making money.

But we weren't in the red, most of our debt was owned by our own people, and our military industrial complex was larger than the next three largest nations combined.

Any fellow player would call me a turtling, min-maxing, and no-fun bastard the moment they saw what I was doing… and I'll take that compliment with a smile.

Prove me wrong by winning against me, nerd.

With a third Citadel, and our current Citadels upgrading, we were set to gain some more funds to spend, even with a renewed drive to produce food and ship it out all over the continent.

I know what you're thinking.

I should speedrun a Wonder before anyone else gets one.

Or, maybe, you think I should make a fully-stacked army.

Those are both good and solid ideas, but if I picked one of those two options, I'd be constraining myself to game logic.

No.

The game was a good road map and a good idea of what was to come, but it didn't answer everything about what was going to happen. The truth was that I needed to make decisions that couldn't be made in the game, just like the Goblins did, and learn from my opponents in order to win. Thinking how I used to was too dangerous, so I needed to augment my game-knowledge with lateral thinking, cunning, and ideas that could happen in reality but not in the game.

So, with the extra leeway given by our 'temporary' Citadel, I was going to try to launch an Expedition before they officially unlocked in the mid-game.

Expeditions are excursions into the rest of the world by an Army led by a Champion. The Ancient Ruins were the tutorial for them. You got them by mid-game, once the first real Crisis hits, and when most of the Ancient Ruins have been found. The Expeditions were longer, had more requirements, and needed long term support, which basically meant you sent out an army, funded and supplied them, and couldn't use that army and its Champion until the expedition completed.

The shortest Expedition was four turns, or an entire year, and the most worthwhile ones could last twenty.

Five years… but the rewards were worth it.

Ayah had mentioned that the Ancients left nothing behind for their enemies out there, but that wasn't entirely true.

The places and facilities that they left behind are simply so well-defended that the people out there don't have the ability to get in.

That's what the Expeditions are about.

Finding and locating intact Ancient structures before they were wiped out by the weapons they unleashed on their enemies. And, wouldn't you know it, the first successful Expedition mounted amongst all the factions is guaranteed to find an Ancient Wonder and bring it back to your home region.

Yeah.

That's why I've got a ring of fortresses being made around my Citadel.

Whichever one that I find, it's going to stay mine no matter what.

Yeah, yeah. I know what I said about not believing in gameplay over reality, but honestly anything they bring back would be great!

…

Interlude: Khanrow

…

Relief filled my bones as I finished reading the letter from Cynthia.

Gilbert nodded at me, upon noticing.

We were both in a safehouse, resting after the long travel back the Talon Hills, after the Scholar's Citadel was secured and Riegert was installed as its interim ruler.

"Fair news, teacher?"

"Aye, all the preparations are complete. They'll be here at the Citadel in a fortnight. A month and all shall be brought with them. Your family will be here within a fortnight as well." The revelation that Ancient foes would come at see gave me pause, but the knowledge that there was a whole world filled with enemies beyond that vast sea had me move to bring my family and supporters to safety. With the aid of Jack's transports, the matter was simplified and made easy. "They will be safe and secure before the year is done."

The journey to return to Talon Hills had been quick. The armies had split and were sent back to their homes, save for a contingent held to tame the region of the Scholars. The mountainous land filled with evergreen forests was filled with brigands and small villages living in small valleys with mountains. Some hadn't even known that the Scholars had ruled over their region, while others hid collaborators and struck in the shadows. Riegert and his men, with all their experience in the region and with no need to hide, were the best candidates to tame the Claw Peaks.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Some called the land the Scholars' Downfall, now, though that name wouldn't stick for long as the new maps used the old name.

But back to more important matters, now that my family was safe and the security of the third Citadel was ensured.

"Gilbert, I have need of you to stay here."

"And, I have need of you to stay alive. Going forth on this damned expedition will be the death of you. You know what lies beyond!" Gilbert shook his head and huddled over the table between us. His eyes were resolute. The last battle was something that he had needed, and I was glad to have taken him. He knew what had to be done, what was necessary for war, and what we opposed. "The Scholars are still out there! Who knows what they will do, if you're gone "?

"You will. I have all my people ready to report to you, Gilbert, and you need the experience. Meanwhile, those going forth into the darkness need all that I have learned and gained. Out there, the lands are still filled with warlords and brigands and unknowns." Jack had volunteered to go forth, and with all his talent and ability, it had been a tempting offer. However, he was needed here. It was a simple matter of reward and risk. Sending him out there would cost too much when he did so much here, and the risk of losing him out there was beyond question. After my body was rejuvenated, after all the strength that I lost returned, I knew what I had to do. All the decades I spent as a warlord meant something. It can do better now. "Out there, all is not known. That is where I excel because of all my years and knowledge. You have all my knowledge, but not my years. That… you will gain here."

Gilbert's features contorted and he almost lost control, but he breathed as I told him to, calmed himself, and counted in the depths of his mind. The fog of emotion that had fallen onto his features faded away and the taciturn mask he crafted returned.

He's a good lad.

"I understand… but before you leave there's much to do after we rest. We can't risk the King of Wisdom like we did then. He almost died securing that Citadel." I nodded at Gilbert's words. The tale of taking the Scholar's Citadel was embellished. None were told of the violence inflicted upon the people of the Citadel by Guardians for their rioting. None spoke of the thousands of dead criminals we purged after the city was taken. Finally, none knew how close to death Jack came, as he had to send his guards away to save the whole region. A lack of power at his side nearly cost us too much. "We have a season before everything is gathered and it is launched. Do you have anyone in mind to act as his bodyguard?"

I pondered the question, but Gilbert spoke with his mask nearly breaking into a smile.

"Teacher, this isn't the time to play matchmaker for your grandchild."

"You'll understand when you have a daughter and raise her that those words are foolish." I scoffed, while Gilbert leaned back into his chair. I allowed myself to relax as well, with graver topics left behind. Now, I could appreciate being clean of dirt, grime, and freshly dressed in washed clothes. The fireplace was warm even fed heat into pipes that ran water through the floor. Then, there was the food at the table between us. A whole roasted chicken on a platter of grilled vegetables along with uncorked wine and bottled nectars. My body almost went limp in my chair, as I forced myself to relax from head to toe. The operation was done. It was time to rest, before the next began. "Morgan is not only a mage of high caliber, but a swordsman and a capable adviser. Since her birth, and when my daughter was known to be barren, she was raised to lead… no… to rise up from even the ashes of our house with only her skills and talent at her behest."

A Champion in all but name, free of the Academy's clutches, and a land of her own.

If I had failed, she could have carried on upon whichever path she chose, because she had the strength, intellect, and talent to stand above others.

As her grandfather, why would not want her installed as the permanent guard and advisor to Jack?

"Old man, Morgan is brighter than you know and sharper than a razor's edge. She'll know what you're up to."

"And, when she asks, I'll tell her the truth: to pursue him shall be her decision. I want her safe and secure. She'll find no shortage of courtiers with the position, as well." I grunted and tried to ignore the insufferable grin playing on my apprentices' lips. Only once he had a daughter, will he know how fretful nights could be knowing not if his daughter could find love and affection and security and care and… the rejuvenating elixir has undone my ability to withstand spirits, hasn't it? I grunted and poured myself a glass of water to take a deep draught. "And, I have no intention of asking Jack to consider her. That young man, as much as he stares in wonder and praises without words, knows his place… and what he must do."

Gilbert nodded seriously, and I grew sober as I recalled the face of Jack when he looked upon the whole world filled with foes. As I had been filled with fear and dread, as even Ilych recoiled, Rita almost fell to her knees, and Ayah whispered a soft denial beneath her breath… he had looked upon the globe with only understanding and determination.

His words at that moment echoed within my mind, along with his devotion to learning, training, plans, his latest decision to risk his life, and finally his decision to betray the Conquerors and sully his honor to keep our Third Citadel.

"There's a lot of work ahead of us, and many sacrifices to be made, but I'll always choose the path where we live rather than die." His words echoed in my head, along with the slight smile that played on his face. "I quite like living, don't you?"

With those words, Jack quelled their fears and their determination relit… along with mine.

Jack would do what needed to be done, to survive what was to come, and to that end he would do everything in his power. Though I wished to secure her future and ensure her prosperity with the position, I hoped that Morgan would see that and stay far from Jack. He reminded me of myself, at my youngest, but with far more brilliance, more power, and more to lose.

He would sacrifice any of us, even Ayah who was beside him every day, if it meant guaranteeing victory.

I knew this because I was the same.