Two months of regular trips between Carcosa and VTR has made the experience much easier. We know the safest (ish) routes, best times, and what to expect. Coming in at ~7.5 miles, it takes a while to get there.
Monsters are always a problem. We tried sending teams to clear the nests to no avail. System spawns an endless supply, and though it’s good experience, it’s a futile effort overall. Rival groups, unlike the monsters, aren’t dumb enough to press their attacks. So far, it’s been small skirmishes to test our resolve and capture our trade goods. I figure people don’t like to die, so until one of us does something stupid to piss off the other, things will stay tense and not deadly.
The Bloods don’t like us, though. We killed one of their groups shortly after our first trip to VTR. Lucky for us; they stick to the west side of town and are happy to leave us alone. I’m sure they’ll become a problem sooner rather than later, but until then, it’s a problem for future me.
Our Sleipnir horses are super fucking cool. Sadly, they’re slow. We debated for a long while on if we should try to make the trip with one. Their value in helping us plow fields is too high right now, so we schlep the wares ourselves.
Andy and his crew found another horse a few miles to the south, and with my Befriend Animal Class Ability and Speak to Animals spell, it’s easy to wrangle in. That gives us two males and one female. We haven’t figured out how to get them to breed yet.
Taking the place of pack animals, Dominick, Doctave, four non-combatants, and I stand in front of the System granary. VTR requested another month’s food supply, so the seven of us are loading our inventory. A neat trick we learned is to take a strength enhancing potion before the trip. With them we can increase our loads by 15-20%. Another trick is to have the food packaged in crates. So long as things are in a container, System inventory lets someone carry about 40% more stuff.
The System granary can hold a lot of food. And I do mean a lot. The building uses a form of dimensional storage, giving us 50% more space than there actually is. We haven’t been able to fill it yet, though our farmers say two more harvests will do the trick.
“Alright, people, everyone got what they need?” I see nods. “Let’s get to it!”
*****
Rounding the last corner, we see VTR’s ramparts ahead. Their heraldry, a green field with two blue rivers meeting at the base of three brown mountains, flies on tall poles at each of the four entrances. Shining, full plate wearing warriors stand guard.
Through the open doorways, I see a new house. And a nice one to boot. Curious. It wasn’t there a week ago.
I find someone who looks important and tell them to find someone to register our delivery with. A few minutes later, Nagi shows up.
Nagi, Majordomo of VTR, is quite the character. Hailing from Uzbekistan, the older gentleman has shoulder length gray hair, a pencil-thin mustache, and eyes so blue they look fake. The man speaks something like nine languages. It’s impressive to hear him switch between French, English, Russian, and Uzbekistan at the drop of a hat. We all assume he’s cursing much of the time. His incredibly thick eastern European accent only helps sell this assumption. As usual, he’s wearing a full length royal blue robe.
“Good afternoon, Leader Jordan. How do our friends in Carcosa fair?”
Leader Jordan is Nagi’s formal name for me. He doesn’t call me anything else.
“It goes well. As per our agreement, we’re here to deliver a month’s worth of food. I apologize for the delay.”
“Straight to business.” Nagi raises an eyebrow. “The goods, sir?”
The seven of us empty the crates of food into a space nearby. Nagi inspects the items, nods once in approval, and transfers the funds to my account. He snaps his fingers at a trio of people who happen to be walking by.
“Gentlemen, please transport these items to the granary.”
The dismissive tone Nagi uses, and the looks of annoyance on the conscripted men’s faces, reaffirm my thought that few people like the Majordomo.
“Leader Jordan, we appreciate the generosity of Carcosa. Your supply of food has been more than a boon.”
I gesture to the new building. “I’ve noticed. Getting more residents?”
“That building is designated for a delegation from Braycott.” Nagi notices my blank stare. “The Hamlet at the north high building.”
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“I almost forgot about them. How are they doing?”
“Well enough. So far, they’ve let no one visit them. Until these two, we’d only spoken to their people a handful of times. Mostly by our adventuring parties running into one another.”
One of the four non-combatants that came with us clears their throat. I nod they can leave and return to the conversation.
“I’d like to meet with them and see if they’d be open to trade.”
Nagi smiles. “They were thinking the same thing.”
“Great. When can I meet them?”
“Unsure. Will you be here the rest of the day?”
I nod.
“I’ll get something scheduled before you leave.”
With a respectful bow, Nagi excuses himself.
Doctave slaps his stomach. “Anyone else hungry? I’m hungry.”
Dominick thinks about it for a moment and nods his head. “I could eat.”
I decline their invitation. There are more important things to do.
Making my way into the old south high building, I’m still impressed the thing’s standing. Then again, it was built in the early 1900s without many modern materials. System’s degradation mechanics have made silicon, rubber, plastic, fuel, and other advanced materials rapidly degrade into nothingness. You don’t realize how much is made from those substances until they disappear.
Walking up marble steps and through arched granite doorways, I follow the red carpet to the fourth floor. Plinths, tapestries, and other royal trappings line the floors and walls. It’s all quite ostentatious.
In the throne room, upon a creamy white marble throne, sits King Malkav. He’s listening to someone complain about a neighbor and how they’re too annoying to live next door to. The look on Malkav’s face is one I know all too well.
“...and that’s why Frederick should be forced to move. I can’t stand listening to him and his wife screwing at all hours of the night.”
I blink several times in surprise at that last sentence.
“Yes, yes, I understand. You're the third person to make that same complaint.” Malkav sighs as he runs a ring-covered hand through his long brown hair. “If there’s nothing else?”
The man gives a deep bow and excuses himself. I wait patiently to be addressed, standing near the entrance to the throne room between a pair of ferns. Malkav notices me after a few minutes.
“Skulking around, are we?”
“Figured I’d give you a few minutes' respite.” I walk towards the throne. “It’s tough being the boss.”
“You’re not wrong.” Malkav stands and meets me halfway. “Always a pleasure.”
We shake hands and exchange smiles. I’m still surprised by how strong Malkav’s become.
“Same to you. Brought that month’s food supply you wanted.”
“Excellent! A few of the smaller Settlements are asking to buy food. Their lack of Shop access is hurting them.”
“Why don’t they buy from Ketrell? Prices too high or something?”
“Probably the lack of variety. Ketrell told me he’s only allowed to sell prepackaged food. And let me tell you, it’s not the most robust selection.”
“Obviously you can do what you want with it, but I’m just wondering if you’re turning a profit from the food we’ve sold you.”
“Eh, not really.” Malkav motions for me to follow him. We continue to discuss as he leads me into the dinner hall, where a respectable feast is laid out. “Right now we’re trying to help build up the other Settlements. Lot of them don’t have any means to produce their own food, nor do they have Shop access.”
I sit down and dive into a bowl of fried rice. “Speaking of, any idea how many people the others have?”
“There’s maybe two hundred more people spread across three Settlements.” Malkav notices my confusion. “The Bloods have absorbed five Settlements in the last month, putting them in the low hundreds.”
“That’s just fucking great.” I curl my lip at the thought. “More people means they’re going to get aggressive.”
Malkav slurps from a bowl of soup, then wipes his mouth on a hand embroidered tablecloth. “Our scouts report more engagements with their forces. We lost two people earlier this week.”
“Well, shit.”
“My thoughts exactly. Have the Diplomats from Braycott talked to you yet?”
“Nagi is arranging a meeting later today.”
“Good. They’re not saying it outright, but they’re here to make a defensive pact with us. Probably you, too.”
“Things that bad?”
“Not for us. We’ve got a lot of mages, while the Bloods have mostly melee fighters. That gives us an advantage. Scouting reports show Braycott has 70% crafters, though they’ve gotten their conscript production going.”
I perk up at that comment. “Really? Where are they getting the money from?”
System, besides the RPG mechanics, includes RTS ones, too. Just like a video game, you build the requisite buildings, pay for the cost of a conscript, and voila! You’ve got yourself an instant army.
“They’re based out of the north high school building, remember? Take the books from that library, plus the libraries of the middle and elementary schools nearby, and you’ve got yourself a sizable nest egg.”
“I bet they didn’t spend it on all the fancy stuff you did, huh?”
My smirk elicits an amused huff from Malkav. “Fair enough.”
We continue our meal in silence for a little while. I ponder on how a defensive pact will affect Carcosa. Right now, we’re far enough from everyone to be insulated against any human danger. VTR is our unofficial ally. Having another friend would be useful, especially if it gives Carcosa access to another dungeon or two.
But entering a defensive pact with Braycott means taking sides. If we want to stay safe, and expand, that means having friends and showing a united front. And, it’ll open up trade, immigration, and access to a more advanced Shop.
“Well, Malkav, as long as the Braycott people aren’t unreasonable, I don’t see a reason not to enter a pact with them. What about you?”
“Mayordomo Nagi laid everything out for me, and I concur.”
“Speaking of, should we formalize something?”
“It’s not a bad idea.” Malkav thinks to himself for a moment. “We’re already in what System would call an agreement. Putting an official label on it will only help.”
“How do we do that?”
Malkav opens his menu and shoots me a guide. “System has a mechanic for just the occasion!”
With a quick read through, I learn that System mechanically binds signatories to the terms as they’re laid out, enacting harsh penalties on those who break their promises. Pacts, treaties, agreements, and alliances all have different rules and regulations, but all in all it’s fairly straightforward.
“Right now they don’t mean much, but once we start dealing with people from other parts of our world, and the galaxy at large, they’re important.”
“Makes sense. What sort of things should we put in there?”
“That’s a question best left to Nagi.”