Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
----------------------------------------
Oh wow.
Destiny: Infernal finally got its 3rd review.
And I think I fell in love with this person!
Everyone, please give Mad Fax a good cheer of five, because this guy hit everything on point! Very Happy [https://forum.royalroadl.com/images/smilies/biggrin.png]
He even placed a very nice DO NOT READ sign for vikkutoria's trashy review.
Could we please get this man to the top? I would be truly grateful to y'all if you went to upvote his review because it might just make more people decide to read this story that are not already reading Euphoria.
Not that there's anything wron-ok, I'm gonna stop here before I dig my own grave. You guys are all awesome, new and old and older!(ppl who are reading my stories since my FF days LOL, you guys are the MVP's in my heart. Very Happy [https://forum.royalroadl.com/images/smilies/biggrin.png])
Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you all enjoy, let us begin!
----------------------------------------
Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break..
----------------------------------------
A few seconds later... - Castle Pendragon (Council Room) - Alice's Point Of View...
----------------------------------------
"So I suppose we should start with something that I am aware off. Yvain, how goes your attempt to organize a meeting between me and the elder of Dirkhaven?" I asked of my dear mayor, who bowed respectfully and began his explanation."As you wish, milady. My attempt has been successful and you are scheduled to meet with the elder this evening. Do not worry, there is plenty of time to rest since the village is just a few kilometers away from here and I've already prepared your entourage. That is, unless you wish to use, ahem, Fluffy."
"F-Fluffy?" Tibald, aka the fat hunter man, asked in a disbelieving tone. Yvain quickly turned to answer him."A-ah, it is our lady's favoured mount."
The lords in the room blinked and nodded in understanding. Me and Yvain promptly let out a massive breath of relief."Alright then... I'll decide this later today, after I am fully rested and prepared for the journey."
Yvain bowed once more."As you wish, milady."
Looking at the map once more, I noticed how there appeared to be no bridges between my castle and the city of Hail's End."Lady Cognat, how is it that a sizable force of soldiers would reinforce my castle from your city?"
The young woman then pointed towards her city on the map and drew a V shape towards Yarrin and then to my castle."They would need to march to Lord Yvain's city and then turn back towards you... it is not a very efficient way of delivering reinforcements, yet has proven stable enough for no lords to change it."
"As if we need any more soldiers crushing our fields beneath their feet!" Granny Elaria, as I shall from now on refer to her by, spoke with her ever present spite."Oh? And what do we need, Lady Rehn." My sentence ended up being more of a sarcastic statement than a question, yet the older woman took it to heart."Farms! Farmers! Granaries! We need to ensure that the next generation has enough to eat."
I promptly turned my head towards the others."Let me guess; her husband or children or both died in the war?"
Granny Elaria appeared utterly horrified at my words as the others merely nodded in silent reply."Lady Elaria, as much as I hate to deny you like this, the last time I checked my lands were not plagued by famine or just general lack of food. They were however, plagued by rampaging orcs, greedy lords of the nearby duchies and an ever increasing amount of bandits and brigands. We need more security and soldiers."
The old woman, shocked to her core and utterly disheartened, promptly fell back into her chair."Nevertheless, if you have any ideas about new farmlands then I will always listen, but industry, economy and millitary are far more important to develop than food production."
"Yet, it is the food that fuels all of the three things." She replied while giving me the stink-eye as Yvain replied to her in my stead."Or we can just invest into the economy and trade for whatever food we may need... Much tastier foods than what can be grown here, too." Tibald seemed to wholeheartedly agree with Yvain, especially the latter part of his statement.
"Or invest into the millitary to the point where we can easily fend off all of our enemies and not have to worry about going hungry because some ragtag bunch of mongrels decided that we've had too good a year!" Lady Cognat thew in her fifty coppers, causing the older woman to quieten once more.
The dwarf in the group coughed to grab our attention."I'd like to point out that whatever you are all planning on doing here will require great amounts of construction. So rather than immidatelly opening up new trade routes and making millitary outposts everywhere, perhaps we should establish supply lines first?"
The four of us, not including the granny, blinked in stupefaction for the briefest moment."W-well, does Kilnchapel not have a direct path into Yarrin? Surely, whatever builders and construction materials we require can be delivered through Yvain's city?" Tibald was the first to offer a suggestion, but both me and Yvain shook our hands in negative. Well, I only had one hand to shake but you get the point.
... who the hell are *you*, anyways?
Whatever, focus Alice."That would not work in our favor, especially since we are already constructing a whole new city around Castle Pendragon... I have worked my arse off ensuring that my city's north gate is completely free to allow for the passage of materials, goods and men alike. If we turn my city into a massive supply center, it would completely shatter its core affinity for trade! I am already getting a whole lot of insults and moaning from my friends in the Merchants Guild."
"Den hows about we cut a path through the eastern Prosper Valley, make a new bridge over Winters Heart River and make the village of Dirkhaven our new supply post." Me and Yvain shared another look."Master Dwarf, the people of Dirkhaven have already proven entirely uncooperative with us before which is why I shall go to parlay with their elders later today. What makes you think they will be willing to allow this to happen?"
The dwarf rolled his eyes in response."Who cares? They're just peasants. If they don't want to move by themselves then we will move them ourselves."
"W-wh, how dare you even consider that?! Is it because theyre just humans and their lives have no meaning to you, you fat, ugly, DWARF!?" The old lady screeched in protest, causing us all to stare at her incredulously."Servant, please guide Lady Rehn to her guest quarters. Her journey here has obviously been taxing on her and the old woman could clearly use some rest."
"As you wish, milady." Several butlers immidiatelly sprang to action."W-WH-LET GO OF ME YOU DIRTY SLAVES!"
"Lock her door but remember to feed her before the days end." The butlers nodded in response and dragged the insufferable woman away as I turned back towards the others."So, I've been wondering this for a while, why the hell are you people just taking her insults like that?"
"W-well, its j-just that... shes an old lady with less than a few more years to go. She may as well live through them without being insulted back, eh?" Yvain was the one who answered me, eliciting a curious raised eyebow."I hope she has a successor if she really only has a few more years in her."
"Aye she does, several of 'em, in fact. However, she aint lettin' any of those fine lads and lassies take what shes fought for all of her life so long as she stands." Our resident dwarf replied with a massive sigh as the other adult lady in the room continued our previous discussion."In any case, after we build this Dirkhaven-Kilnchapel supply route, whereever do you plan on constructing the reinforcement... route...?" I chuckled at Lady Cognats inability to remember words, even though I myself did not truly know what word to use there. Instead, I improvised."What about not constructing a simple path, but creating a well-defended and hidden fortress in the mountains just before the northern flow of the Prosperity Descent river instead? This fortress would be stocked up on general supplies such as bandages, weapons, armor and food, as well as any facilities that soldiers may require in order to rest and recover. There would also be a permanent detachment of soldiers within the fortress itself which would not only guard the place, but allow us to ambush any enemy army that may be travelling in that general direction. In addition, the soldiers stationed in this fortress would go on regular scouting missions in order to learn the lay of the land, set up traps and so forth, as well as report anything suspicious to both Castle Pendragon and Hail's End, potentially also allowing us to end an orcish intrusion before its even begun."
As I finally stopped talking, the lords around me were dumbly staring directly into me."Truly, you have inherited all of your fathers blood." Tibald was the first to recover and praised me for my idea as Yvain put a finger on his chin in thought."This is... plausible. I mean, we are already building a new city so its not like importing even more stone would bat any eyelids our way which is good since the fortress should remain hidden in order to attain full efficiency."
"May I suggest we add on to this plan, your highness?" Tibald continued and I nodded towards the man, who then pointed towards the river of Prosperity Descent before saying."Before we begin constructing the fortress itself, perhaps it would be a good idea to first construct a pathway connecting Castle Pendragon and Hail's End directly? Because hiding the construction of an entire fortress is... a difficult and potentially very costly endeavour, if we were to construct the path first and then secretly divert a number of builders to the fortress itself as the majority of the workers would go to the castle itself to aid in the construction of the new city... Well, the construction of the fort would be slowed immensely, but this is the only way I can see its construction remaining a total secret."
"Thats.. wow, how unexpectedly genius from you, Tibald." Lady Cognat said what everyone here was thinking. To his credit, the large man merely smiled at the silent insult and bowed."I aim to please."
"However, this all rests on the situation in Dirkhaven... not only is it sitting on a pile of wealth in the form of shapestone, it is basically the basis of our entire construction plan for without the supply route, none of this would be possible." Lord Clauss spoke with his usual dwarven accent, causing me to lamely start rubbing the back of my head."Actually... promise not to tell the angry grandmother of our little group but I uh, I've already ordered the village razed to the ground."
While the other three adopted faces of pure shock, Yvain just let out a sigh."I should have known that thats why the orc had to suddenly leave with only his best and most trusted soldiers. Though, what he told me he was going to do was probably not a lie either."
"What he told you he was going to do?" Sending an inquisitive glance towards my good mayor made the man sigh once more."He said how there aren't enough people around to build the castle city quickly enough so he was going back to the Edgelands through Winters Heart Pass in order to make a tour of the orcish clans and villages and pick up as many willing settlers as possible."
"Nice. That sounds useful." Was my reply just as the other lady in the room basically screeched."YOU DID WHAT? YOU SENT -ahem." She calmed herself and started whispering."You sent orcs to raze a village?!"
"So? We can just blame it on orc raiders if people ever start questioning it. Also, I don't want to hear one word from you Lady Cognat, that shapestone deposit is going to be feeding much of our future progress and if everything goes according to plan, you and your soldiers will be the first to reap the benefits." My answer quieted the woman, causing her to steel herself and nod."Whatever. No use being mad about people I never knew dying horribly... but what are we going to do about the old lady? She hears everything!"
"Nothing. I will go there today to meet up with the village elders and come across a horrid scene of burned wood and half-eaten human corpses." Yvain and Tibald let out a cheery laugh."What a horrid scene... and that a little girl had to see such a thing, especially after so many horrible events happened to her in quick succession..." Tibald said with a snort as Yvain continued for him."Why, if they don't crown you as the Queen of unfortune events after that then I don't know when they will."
"Anyways, what shall we name the fortress?" Lady Cognat asked and I nodded towards her, taking a nearby quill and drawing a circle with an x onto the map, along with the name."Dragon's Shadow Fortress.. there, what do you think?"
"Hmm.. a name which seems to be put there for its sheer epicness, but in reality its just an inside joke since the fortress is meant to be hidden and is literally within Castle Pendragons shadow. How incredibly amusing." Yvain offered me a beaming smile and I had to look away in shame.
He was absolutely, totally correct about the name."Well, you got me there."
Shaking my head out of my stupor and waiting for the others to finish chuckling, I said."Alright, thats enough about millitary for now, lets talk some industry!"
I pointed towards my dwarven councilor."Lord Clauss, earlier you told me how your city is a blacksmith one and not a mining town, yet you also said that your main source of trade is iron and other such metals with a bit of fur added onto that. This tells me that your city either rests on a giant iron deposit or you have a mine somewhere close by."
The dwarf chuckled in response."Well lass, you're right on both accounts. To explain the situation better, lemme tell you of Kilnchapels history. Kilnchapel, as a city, is actually an incredibly young one. Eighty years of age, I think. It was built indirectly by the actions of your grandfather, Lucian Pendragon. Now, I would not be surprised if you don't know much about Lucian considering that your father did not get along with him and the fact that Anthony never really was the father you needed him to be, but your grandfather was an incredible adventurer who traveled across the land and met a lot of people... leaving both his family and his county to fall into disrepair and ruin, kind of the reason why yer dad hated him so much. After he decided to finally retire, yer grandpap finally noticed the state his lands were in and invited a bunch of dwarven prospectors to see if there were any rich mineral deposits around which he could exploit to help his deadened lands return to their former glory. They found one such deposit; a large offshoot of lake Palemoore whose ground was utterly drenched in crimson, which indicated that there was a load o' iron just waiting to be ripped out of the earth. And ripped out it was, as the offshoot lake was drained and a new, rich mine opened. This mine attracted a lot of people of both human and dwarven origin alike, eventually resulting in the birth of a new city which was then named Kilnchapel for its massive amount of kilns, obviously enough."
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
"You speak of this as if you were there when it happened." He smiled at me."Clever girl.. and that is because I was, though I was not a friend of your grandfather or anything like that. I was just one of the dwarven prospectors that came along with the people he originally invited. Eventually, figuring how the permanent winter and boreal forests around the new mine reminded me of home, I brought my family to the place. They liked it too, or well my wife did, and so we began sharing the idea for a new city. Lucian loved this idea and even funded the founding of the city, evantually naming me its first and, up till now, only mayor."
"I see. So I guess the city has an equal population of dwarves and humans?" To my surprise, he shook his head in negative."Nay, mostly just us dwarves. The humans of this region cannot handle the permanent cold for very long."
"Is that so? And why is the area so cold? I thought my county was temperate and sunny for the most part." Lord Clauss shrugged in response."To be perfectly honest, I have no idea. Tales say that because the winds from the Edgelands blow sideways and to the east, what snow isn't caught by the Edge End Gorge is just deposited on this small patch of land sourrounding Kilnchapel. This has caused the area to be a completely different climate to the rest of your lands, though."
Hmm... but what exactly has the power to push the very winds in a constant, singular direction like that? ... Something is very wrong within the Edgelands."Does anyone know if this was always the case or?"
"As far as I can remember, yes..." Yvain muttered out much to the others approval, yet I remained unconvinced."So this wind.. is it coming from Winters Heart Pass or just through the gorge?"
"I.. don't rightly know, your highness. Does it matter?" He questioned me as I nodded."It does, because unless the wind is being forced into a singular direction by something powerful enough to do so, the area around Hail's End should be just as permanently cold."
Lady Cognat shook uncomfortably at this."Brr, I'm getting shivers just thinking about it. Thankfully, my home area is nice and warm for most of the year."
"Maybe the rest of the land is protected by the Star Of Vytar?" Tibald spoke with a tone of clear reverance, his amulet of Vytar only now becoming visible to my eyes. Of course, he is a hunter and a man who lives his life to the fullest, he is the incarnation of what Vytar asks of her followers. I am only surprised that I didn't notice it earlier."Perhaps, though I would advise not telling this story to the priests." Yvain joked and we all laughed in unison.
The Star Of Vytar... it is a magnificent, magical glade in the middle of my county which rests upon a powerful lay-line, infusing the very lands around it with fertility and wealth of the soil. Because of this, Vytar is the most beloved of the gods within my county and this is also where my original idea to worship her comes from in the first place.
Thing is, the glade is not available for mortals to walk. Powerful dryads and ancient beasts protect its borders with savage fervor. Nevertheless, the place is an immense tourist hotspot, as many visitors to my lands visit solely to see the glade, even if they have to do so from afar.
"Anyways, let us get back on track: the mines within Kilnchapel and their industrial benefits." Lord Clauss adopted a rather saddened look upon his frame as I said this though."I.. I am sorry to say that the mines are worthless to us as they are right now, milady. While the lake-mine still has decent yield, even the most optimistic of us know that it wont last much longer. For this reason we have created a new mine on the outskirts of the city however.. I'm afraid that while this mine has proven to be a good source of ore, it is also currently occupied by insidious ratmen."
A look of shock forged itself onto my face. Ratmen... this must be where I can get my hands on the Sthakorians!"Then I shall pay the city a visit with a regiment of soldiers and take care of the ratmen as quickly as I am able, maybe even tomorrow if things go without a hitch."
"T-truly?! I was hoping that this would be the case but I figured I'd have to beg you for aid." I shook my head in negative."Nay, master dwarf. Your city's wellbeing promises to be profitable in the long run for all of us here. Now, I have another question for you regarding your trade of iron... Yours is a city of blacksmiths, so why are you trading in iron instead of tools and weapons?"
"Who would we sell them to, your majesty? Aside from the few pickaxes and shovels needed for the mines, we have noone else to sell our vares to but ourselves. Guards weapons rarely break and sharpening is not exactly costly considering that most dwarves can sharpen their own tools and the few adventurers who pass through our city do not usually linger for long enough to make any real purchases." Clauss spoke with tired eyes, as this was most likely something he had given much thought on, yet I saw the solution to his plight in the very sentence he explained it."Yvain, I need you to get me in contact with the Adventurers Guild. Tell them that if they open up a new Guild Hall in Kilnchapel, I will fund it. Hell, I'll even fund the building of new taverns if I have to."
".. easily done, but I must admit that your thought process on this escapes me, young lady." Yvain replied with a quirked eyebrow as I excitedly turned towards him."You mean you don't see the potential goldmine that Kilnchapel actually is?!"
"Eh?" All of them collectively responded to my seemingly outrageous claim. I took in a deep breath and began my explanation."Look, as far as I can tell, Kilnchapels problem is NOT, with its supply of iron as we can easily remedy that by diverting some trade power from Yarrin. Its problem lies in the fact that its many blacksmiths do not have anyone to sell their goods to!"
"So if we create an adventurers guild hall within my city, you think that it will attract more adventurers and urge them to stay long enough in the city to actually buy something?... Hmm, well my lands are sourrounded by dangerous forests and monstrous beasts, so its not like they'll ever run out of quests to do and the nearby wolf population could certainly use a few extermination orders, plus carrying around iron and metal tools all day can grow tedious and having someone to do this for you would certainly be something that my fellow dwarves would be willing to pay for." Lord Clauss mused mostly to himself before nodding."Very well, you have my approval and my support for this endeavour, your highness!"
"Good. Take into consideration that my interests in Kilnchapel will not end even if this plan ends up backfiring as I still want to turn it into my millitary supplier of arms and armor. The tools that your blacksmiths forge for the adventurers are going to be little more than an opportunity to both test and improve their capabilities before they start making weapons and armor for our own armies." He nodded towards me."Aye, I figured as much."
"Having our arms and armor made by dwarven smiths is sure to have a positive impact on our soldiers morale as well." Lady Cognat threw in her fifty cents. Tibald then turned towards the dwarf."Lord Clauss, if your city has problems with the ratmen well, my hunters often exterminate whole nests in joint attacks. If you'd like, I can have them compile their tactics onto parchment and send this to your guardsmen to inform themselves."
"I would like a copy of these tactics as well. More over, I'd like to get my hands on some dwarven soldiers as we are currently lacking in decent frontliners. Orcs usually require a quicker, more lethal touch..." Lady Cognat bowed towards the dwarf, to which he replied with wide eyes."A-ah, to see so much support from my countrymen. I am truly humbled."
Yvain beamed a smile towards him."Well, its not like we have nothing to gain from all this, master dwarf. Dwarven tools are a prize for any craftsman or farmer, the iron your city produces will be a boon to trade everywhere in the county, it wont be long before Tibalds hunters start asking for hunting muskets which will result in more bountiful hunts and continue to improve the trade and prosperity of the lands. The already established millitary benefits will serve to protect this very wealth and allow Axilar as a whole to enter an entirely new era of prosperity." The eyes of the dwarf were now full of tears.
"You do realize that even if we pull only ONE of the things that we discussed today off successfully, the entire duchy is going to be reaping the benefits for years to come!.. if we, by some miracle, manage to do everything, then Axilar may just become a capital county of the kingdom." Tibald added onto this with a smile of his own.
Lady Cognat scratched the back of her head."This may be something completely normal to you people but... all that we've discussed today, you have to realize... this is our first meeting. It will not be the last... if we can successfully plan and discuss all of this in a single day..."
Then imagine all the things we could do in the near future, eh?"To be perfectly honest, I think that our success to do anything today is due to the fact our lady here decided to boot out the one problematic person within the council who had the insults and arrogance required to block and deny everything."
"True... if Lady Rehn stayed here then we wouldn't have ever gotten past Dirkhaven and her.. farms. Come to think of it, how are you planning on dealing with her, your highness?" Tibald asked me with a raised eyebrow. I merely let out a massive sigh in turn."I'll go to her chambers and discuss whatever she wanted to tell me alone."
"And if she asks about Dirkhaven?" Lady Cognat questioned me with a rather pitying glance."I'll just tell her the current truth. I'll be going to visit the village later today with VERY FEW other people with me, certainly not enough to raze a village and return unscarred, and then deliver the unfortunate news to her some other day."
"What if she asks to come with you, though?" Yvain suddenly pointed out something very likely. I paused in thought for a moment."I'll just tell her to fuck off then. Honestly, I don't trust her enough to take her with me and its not me that has to earn her trust, its the other way around."
"I kind of don't see the old crone seeing it that way, though." Lord Clauss said, much to the approval of the others as I let out another annoyed sigh."I do not care. She needs to learn that I'm in charge here, not her or her blasted farms."
The others agreed with my assessment and the council was officially dismissed. Maybe now I can finally get to eating the meal thats been in front of me this whole damn time...
Yet before I could begin eating, Yvain lightly tapped my right shoulder."One part of this discussion seems to have gone over everybody's heads... how in the hell are we going to pay for all this?"
I smiled at the man, beaming as bright as gold."I made a deal with a master tailor back in Sorcierre that was building a machine of some kind. Its virgin venture coughed up a sum of five hundred gold, all of which he decided belonged to me. My investment into his work will also ensure that I get a good portion of gold every single week."
"You sly little.. okay, and where is this gold exactly?" A moment of shock passed through my body before I slammed my right hand onto my waist, only to exhale in relief as I found my demon purse right where its supposed to be."Right here." I unloaded the purse onto the table, which caused Yvain to nearly scream at the sheer amount of glowing gold... yet, the gleam in his eyes was quickly diminished."Huh, this is not all clausian gold, though."
"Yeah, I was planning on having Alex do a little exchange operation... sadly he died. Thankfully, I got my hands on a massive flying bat in turn. So I'll be doing this instead. Care to come with?" He momentarily recoiled at the thought on flying on the back of a giant fucking bat, but somehow the glint of gold and the promise of profit made the man nod in approval."Alright, I'll do it."
"Hey, that reminds me.. the tailor said he wanted to expand his business and that he needed new workers. Can I count on you to find some promising people for me?" Yvain surprisingly shook his head in negative to this one."Sadly milady, I am no tailor. .. I hate to say this, but you'd be better off asking the old crone about this than any of the others."
Ahh... well, hell in a handbasket, here I come...
Also, this is what the map looks like now, enjoy!
[https://pre00.deviantart.net/5ce9/th/pre/i/2017/322/b/d/axilar_map_by_helman114-dbu4npd.png]
----------------------------------------
A few minutes later...
----------------------------------------
So, after a few minutes of mustering my courage and rabidly devouring my food, I found myself at the front of the door leading to where the, ahem, old crone currently resided. Lightly, I knocked on the door and unlocked it.
Receiving no answer, I decide to enter."Uhmm, miss Rehn?"
"I am right here, my child." The old lady was currently sitting on a guest bed, her frame composed and yet, tired and sad."I-uh, I've come to say that I'm sorry..."
"N-no child, this was not your fault. I am..no, was... uncharacteristically racist and impossible to deal with today. I shall have to apologize to Lord Clauss when I next see him. You throwing me into this room is the equavilent of a child being made to sit in the corner for misbehaving, even if you did not mean it this way." She explains with a saddened face.
Looks like sitting in the corner did this granny some good, as cruel as that sounds."I-uh.. well.. um... oh damn it, this is so awkward."
Approaching the old lady, I promptly took out a miniature map of my county much alike to the larger one we used back in the council room."Lady Rehn, what happened today was a bad first introduction, but we MUST both get over it. The people of these lands literally depend upon it."
Her eyes regained some light as she turned to look at the map I was showing her. My pointer finger was pointing directly onto her city of Verdia."I've already discussed things with the other councillors and your lands are the only ones that remain unobserved. I cannot allow this. You clearly had some ideas before getting kicked out of the room, so please, enlighten me on what you wished to be done now."
Surrendering to my apparent greatness, the old lady gave me a slow nod."W-well, while much of the Prosper Valley is a collectively fertile farmland, the parts of it which are close to the very rivers which give it its fertility are also incredibly vulnerable to flooding. However, rather than creating dams and blocking the rivers, I feel that we should instead turn these natural flows into organized canals by reinforcing the river banks with stone. I... I wished to ask that we use the shapestone from Dirkhaven, though I had only recently learned that the village was directly on top of the mineral vein."
"Do not worry about Dirkhaven, Lady Rehn. I shall go to parley with the elders... surely they will adhere to their High Lady's commands, yes?" My question made her shake her head in negative."Nay miss, they will not. They are but backwater peasants, they adhere to no lords nor ladies. You will have to move them from there if you seek the quarry."
"Well, I am currently constructing a whole new city... I mean, even if their homes have to be removed, there is no need to needlessly waste the lives of my people, right? I can just have them relocate to my new city, yes?" She blinked in momentary confusion before embracing me in joy."T-that is a brilliant idea, your highness!"
"Yet that still brings us to the problem of flooding farms... I don't think that using shapestone is a good idea here as it is highly corrosive and vulnerable to water. Instead, we shall use a combination of wood, iron and imported stone to build riverside piers. This will, of course, slow the construction but its not like the farms are going anywhere, are they?"
The old woman appeared to be more joyous for every word I spoke."N-no, your highness, they most certainly are not!"
She then steeled herself."There is one last problem I wish to discuss. This is something that only money can help solve, however. We have need of sturdier and larger granaries."
"Huh, why?" My question was filled to the brim with fake interest, something that the old woman had thankfully not caught as she nodded and closed her eyes before explaining."Through my hard work and dedication to the Prosper Valley's development, I have managed to usher forth an era of plenty for our entire county. However, this has had the unintended effect of us producing far, far more food than we actually require... and what we do not eat or trade..."
"Rots away. Not to mention how needless produce will just drain the soil quicker and potentially leave it dry when we really need it to be fruitful." I concluded in her stead as I put a finger on my chin in thought."Hmm.. there is two ways I can see us solving this; either we create better granaries as you've already said, or we simply stop using so many farms. The latter will most likely cause a lot of people to suddenly be jobless though and this could have very bad unforeseen consequences in the near future."
"We could stop using a few farms, but ... well, as you said, the more we stop using, the more people will lose their jobs and possibly their only source of livelyhood." My eyes suddenly widened at this."What if we do both then? I am building a new city and this city needs workers as well as settlers. We could swap some farmers and turn them into builders. Their first jobs as builders would be to oversee the construction of the new granaries... but now we come to the titan in the room: how much would this all cost me, Lady Rehn?"
She swallowed down hard."W-well, perhaps I was a bit too rash with all of this. Y-your coffers are currently nearly empty, y-yes?"
"Just tell me the numbers, Lady Rehn.. I'll find a way to make it work somehow, with Yvains help." She nodded and yet adopted a look of spite in her eyes."It would take us an approximate amount of fifty gold per granary, give or take depending on the locations we decide to build them on. Not to mention that each granary will have to come with a decently sized well nearby in order to prevent any damage from wild-fires. And... Lady Pendragon, you should really not trust that man so much."
"Yvain? But why not? He has been very helpful these past few months. In fact, I don't know if I'd still be alive today if he wasnt here to help." I answered her honestly, causing the older woman to let out a sigh of discomfort."There is.. I do not know how to properly explain this to one so young such as you, milady but... That man..."
She stopped for a dramatic moment before continuing on."There is something very wrong with him."
----------------------------------------
Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
----------------------------------------
And that is it for this chapter of DESTINY: INFERNAL! I hope you've enjoyed it!
Once again, please go and give Mad Fax a like or two just to put him up as the top review so people dont waste time on vikkutoria!
Cheers y'all!
And yes loli, I know that I said this was supposed to be another 1.5k words but hey, I may have miscalculated a bit.
Its actually 6.5 thousand fucking words...
Damm.. the last chapter was 3.5k words.
Which means that this whole chapter is around 10k words. My biggest chapter yet...
Woah.
----------------------------------------
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!