Wake up. Get dressed. Go outside.
Wake up. Get dressed. Go outside.
Wake up. Get dressed. Go outside.
No matter how many times Sean repeated the phrase, he still found himself struggling to follow the sound advice. It wasn’t until a knock came at his bedroom door that he stirred to action.
Sean rushed over to the wardrobe and started to undress—he’d inspected the room last night and found spare clothes waiting in the furniture.
“My lord, can I come in?”
It was a woman’s voice. It sounded familiar, probably one of the villagers.
“One minute,” he shouted back.
The clothes were system provided like everything else, so not anything like the Mcdavid's uniform he’d been wearing yesterday. He pulled out a shirt and pants and underwear—Thank God. All were of simple make and much rougher, closer to wool, than Cotton.
Dressed, he rushed to the door and yanked it open to find one of the peasant women from the system. Her name was Sheba if he remembered correctly.
“Sorry I took so long,” Sean said. His face was flushed. “Leopold told me when he swung by earlier in the morning that he’d be sending someone to help out.”
“It’s no problem, my lord. Leopold asked me to put the kitchen to use, seeing as you have no other attendants at the moment,” Sheba said. In her hand she had a bowl of what looked like porridge and a glass of water.
Sean took the foot and water from her.
“Thank you Sheba. Did Leopold say what he would be doing before he sent you.”
It was best to get started on putting the game mechanics to test sooner rather than later. Leopold would prove helpful in that area.
“Not that I heard, my lord.”
“Hmm. Thank you Sheba—for the help and for the food. I'll be out soon.”
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“No problem, my lord.”
Sean shut the door and sat the bowl of brown muck on a nightstand. He kept the water though, he was thirsty.
[Daily quest: Discover the boundaries of your land for one bronze token.]
He paused mid-sip as the message came through, reminding him of the system ever present in his head.
“Well, I know what I’m doing today I suppose,” He sighed. It was probably for the best. Seeing his land in his mind's eye with the [strategist trait] was different then seeing a place up close-in-person.
“System, what's a bronze token?”
[A bronze token is the lowest denomination of all tokens in the reward system. When a player completes a notable achievement or completes a task the system deems worthy of a reward they will be given a token. Tokens go up in valuation from bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and finally wolcornium, and can be used to summon a randomized reward in that corresponding level.]
“What about my token from yesterday? I don’t remember getting a reward.”
[yesterday's reward was an increase in loyalty from subjects.]
He did remember seeing something similar to that after placing the core, but that wasn’t much of a gift compared to things he remembered the system offering in the reward system.
“I see….I’ll be sure to get this token then.”
If the system heard him, it didn't acknowledge it, choosing silence which Sean much preferred anyway.
Sean ate a few bites of the brown muck which turned out to be a foul tasting porridge like he thought it would be; he left his room soon after.
His room was located at the end of the left side upstairs hallway. It was the only bedroom on this side of the house. The other five were in the west wing of the manor and much smaller than his room in comparison–his came with a fireplace and another sitting room as big as the one downstairs.
He walked down the hall to the stairs in the middle that separated the two wings, and opened to a giant foyer.
A magnificent lamp made of light blue crystal-glass illuminated the foyer. It was like any well made chandelier with hundreds of tiny dangly bits that were very well crafted. God and system were quite the artists.
“Hello…”
No one answered. He was alone. Sheba must’ve left. Sean walked out to the courtyard, leaving the opulence of his new home behind.
The courtyard of the manor estate was a flurry of activity. Villagers were moving in and out of the store house carrying tools and barrels.
“Good morning, my lord.” It was Leopold who called out. He was standing next to the barn door as people filtered through.
“I got started on distributing the tools as you wanted and got the peasants situated in their homes. Once they get started on the land you can decide on what they should grow. Also you need to assign a guard shift with us warriors and possibly others. Also….”
Leopold started to list a smattering of issues that all needed Sean’s attention. None seemed pressing at the moment but they all required answers that a good ruler would probably see to have immediately resolved. But seeing as he was the same man who’d flunked out of community college because he couldn't pass a history class, Sean wasn’t too high on his own opinion. Still, choices had to be made.
“For the farmers, tell them to focus on making any food that can be easily maintained with a long shelf life. I don’t know much about farming, but something tells me they do. For guard shifts just have you, the other soldiers, a few peasants, and the huntsman alternate watches ever like…six hours? I guess I can help out too if you need me,” Sean said reluctantly. “To your other questions I don’t have immediate answers, but the wall you mentioned might be a good idea. I remember the system saying we’ll have to defend ourselves soon.”
Sean didn’t know much about statecraft, but if he’d learned one lesson from his father growing up, it was make decisions fast because the faster you make the decision, the more chances you’ll have when you ultimately screw up an opportunity.
The advice didn’t work all the time, but it did most times and that's all you can ask for.