(Master of Dungeons has reached 100 pages! Its a great milestone for me!)
In a flash an entire week had gone by.
It had been a busy time, and there never seemed to be enough time in the day to go around for just about everyone involved with Edwin's plans.
To start with, Cormic's newly minted Patrol was officially opened, and already the buildings picked out for demolition were being torn down. Carting away the rubble and picking out what could later be re-used was actually an excellent method of physical training, so its no surprise that Cormic had his new recruits out there doing it for hours at a time.
It also cut down on the costs, which was a great help to Edwin.
Secondly, the Commerce Guild was up for final approval. Edwin had spent more than a few headachy hours mediating over that. To start with, Edwin wants to do away with the current currency. Not literally, of course; but the names were atrocious. Its easy enough to understand that the Demon's don't want to use the same 'gold, silver, coppers' of the Human lands, but it made no sense not to do so.
It was one of the things that the Adventurer's Guild actually agreed about. In terms of the actual minted coins, the amount of gold and silver in the better coins wasn't that far off from each other to begin with. Forcing adventurers and merchants to exchange them for the demon currency under different names was actually a detriment.
So Edwin had given them an ultimatum. Change the names, or do without any oversight over the treasury at all.
It was an underhanded way to go about it, but it works. None of the guilds' being folded into the Commerce Guild wants Edwin to have any more power than he already has. Not that they'd even try to stop him. It was already too late for that.
But hashing out all the details for the new Commerce Guild was painfully time consuming.
Thankfully Edwin had some help from some surprising places.
The estates of all of the nobles that Edwin had done away with were finally audited, and it turned out to be a pretty big haul. Hundreds of thousands worth of golds in valuables and stockpiled resources.
Precious metals, gems, antiques, treasures. You name it. And books, journals; and they even managed to find Lord Gallon's hidden stash. Notes and records going back decades; with detailed information on all of his rival nobles as well as the wealthier merchants and guild leaders. It was an intelligence treasure trove.
Edwin even picked up his own efforts in learning the language so we could actually read them himself.
It was slow going, but at least he could -read- at this point. Like a child; but it was better than nothing.
But the biggest surprise was from the families of the nobles that had accepted Edwin's offer to stay in the Citadel. Most of the younger kids were great, and Edwin actually smiles at the sound of laughter as the kids played around the large place.
At first the widows and distant family members of the nobles had been cold; but with everything going on they got to see Edwin in action and their expressions and demeanors changed bit by bit.
Especially after Cormic finally got around to escorting them through the shanty-town of Lower Jottenhiem. The conditions there are horrible, and more than one 'lady' had to be carried back to the Citadel after fainting. It was that bad.
So several of them decided to pitch in. Advise, lectures, information. Several of them had been married for their advisor-like demeanors; and it was easy for Edwin to see why.
Even if some of them were just a bit too forward with their interests. It made Edwin break out in a cold sweat down his back just thinking about it.
Too many women were after him. And it didn't matter how many times he said 'no'.
More than one nobles' daughter had been offered to him too.
Then there was the issue of the farm. Every afternoon Edwin would ride the carriage down to the aptly named 'dungeon farm' and work on his own bit of field. As the week had gone by, volunteers had come forward wishing to work, and with Cernette's approval they were allowed into the Dungeoneering barrier to do so.
It was really quite amazing what almost four hundred people could do. The fences were mended, the outbuildings, stable, and barn almost rebuilt from the ground up. The well was repaired. The fields were tilled and fresh crops were already sprouting. It was rather glorious.
Edwin's own part of it was well into middle growth as well. His Earth's Blessing bonuses were working miracles. Cernette's wasn't that far behind either. She probably had even greater Earth affinity than Edwin did.
With his constant work, his farming skills had also greatly improved. The sub-skills of Tilling, Watering, Planting, Growing and Harvesting were already levels 7 or 8, while the main skill, Farming, was 9, almost reaching the next skill rank.
Not to mention the Identify (Plants) skill. He made sure to use it all the time. Seeds, growing plants, even weeds along the roadway. It was already level 5 itself. He could even identify trees, shrubs, bushes and other things with it now, as well.
His stats had also increased with the constant repetitive labor. His Strength and Constitution were up 12 points each, while his Wisdom was up 8 points. Intelligence was raised due to the Identify skill by 6 points. All told, it was a nice bonus on top of everything else.
But his time for farming was coming to an end. There was still too much to do.
Cernette actually pouted when he told her that he'd be moving on once his first harvest was in. But she understood. Edwin had to push her away to keep her from coiling about him again. She was also rather aggressively forward. But he couldn't deal with the daggers stared into his back by Allisa every time Cernette tried to kiss him.
That was one of the things he'd been forced to recognize as well. As his stats go up, his body grows and changes. He becomes more muscular, gaining hard edges and overall mass. His previous clothing no longer fit, for that matter. It was all too tight around his chest now.
And the women seemed to love it. Even his most baggy clothing felt tight and showed off every rippling muscle while he worked. He often took his shirt off due to sweating, and he'd stop only to find that everyone was looking at his red skin. Covered in a sheen of sweat, it was like he'd been oiled up like some Roman gladiator from his old world.
Lucien only laughed when Edwin complained to him about it. But there was no helping it. There wasn't anything they could do about it. Its like Edwin was a teenager coming into a growth period. The cost in mending or producing more clothing for him was bad.
Edwin just had to deal with it.
But after being hit over the head with the fact that more than one woman was after his favors, he had to deal with that too, on top of everything. Even Jottenhiem had started making comments about his physique. It was more than a tad embarrassing.
Two days later, his crops were ready for harvest, and everyone who'd started working the farm had gathered around to watch him.
It was easy to pick the crops though, and soon enough several large baskets had been filled with everything from potatoes to carrots, onions and beans, and some very large sweet cabbage. The biggest haul came from the red peppers he'd planted first. Those were bloody huge, and there were hundreds of them on the vines. The tomatoes were almost as big! Each of them was full and ripe and a glorious red color almost as deep as Edwin's skin.
After Cernette tries them out, a very satisfied smile crosses her juice-covered lips.
“They're good to go, my lord!” She announces, to the applause and cheers of the other farmers.
The quality of them were great too. They'd pick a very nice price in the markets. Edwin grins and cheers with the rest of them.
“Thanks for the space, Cernette.” Edwin says after the others finally broke up to continue their own work, leaving only him and the lamia together.
“No problem, my lord! Whenever you want to give it another go, I'll be here!” Cernette says with a grin of her own, thumping her chest with one of her hands. Even the tip of her tail was flicking back and forth in excitement.
Edwin simply chuckles and shakes his head.
“I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'll probably start a garden up at the Citadel. But I am going to leave this dungeon zone up for a while longer. I doubt I'll need it at my next job.” He says, starting to stretch his body. He wasn't use to standing in one place anymore. Constantly being bent over while working had limbered him up quite a bit.
“Eeeh?! Well, alright then.” Cernette says with a slight pout on her lips.
Edwin flashes her a grin and straightens up again.
“Why don't you come and visit sometime? Never know, I may hire you as my personal gardener.” Edwin says, his tone obviously teasing; although Cernette actually blushes.
Like any position at the Citadel, it was a high ranking job. There are actually quite a few run-down gardens in the Citadel's various courtyards. At the moment they're full of weeds and overgrown trees and not much else.
“I might just do that...” Cernette finally says, although her voice isn't much more than a mutter. Edwin doesn't catch it at all.
“Anyway, why don't you keep this harvest, Cernette? With the quality, you'll fetch a good price and it'll help get you back on your feet here. Might actually be able to start paying these people something.” Edwin says then, motioning to the others working the farm.
Being volunteers, they were out here day after day, but none of them were being paid. Edwin had set up a kitchen tent and was paying for their meals; but proper workers need a regular pay to survive.
Cernette looks like she's about to argue; but after a moment simply nods.
“Alright, my lord. I'll look into doing that. Some of them are quite good, after all.” She finally admits.
The woman already has plans. After meeting Edwin, she no longer wants to stay around here and farm on her own anymore. If they can bring in a good enough harvest for the rest of the crops, she's going to assign the farm to others and become a manager.
Edwin doesn't know that though, and simply nods with a slight smile.
“Hopefully I'll see you soon, Cernette.” Edwin says, turning to wave over to Lucien who was waiting with the carriage and the horses.
Edwin was looking forward to a bath and a half-day of rest before starting his next project tomorrow.
“You will, my lord!” Cernette calls as Edwin is climbing into the carriage. He turns and waves bye and then they're off.
“Definitely! I'll do just that! Hehe!” Cernette is speaking to herself while she watches Edwin disappear back into the city.
-|- -|- -|-
Edwin, on the other hand, doesn't get any real chance to rest. Almost as soon as he and Lucien arrive back in the Citadel, a messenger shows up from Cormic stating that the first batch of bandits were being carted up there.
It seems the bounty had worked rather well in Lotash. Nearly three dozen bandits had already been captured, most of them with only light wounds. It was a good haul, and Edwin is quite pleased.
But that changes almost as soon as the carts pull up in Citadel, along with the Patrollers set to guard them. And some of the more exemplary bounty hunters that had been involved.
While the prisoners were being offloaded, Jottenhiem's worried voice whispers to Edwin.
“Edwin... Some of them are not bandits...”
Edwin is surprised, and after a moment of stillness activates his Crystal Vision.
It was true. Jottenhiem had already marked those who were bandits, each one with a crossed-swords icon floating above their head. But the others had an odd shackled icon instead. With a thought, Edwin realizes what it means.
They were slaves. Villagers or travelers who'd been captured!
Edwin's glowing eyes almost go red at the sight. He does clench his fists tightly enough that his knuckles pop.
It seems some of those bounty hunters were willing to use such unscrupulous methods in order to line their own pockets.
“Lucien, go and fetch Cormic as quickly as possible. We have a problem.” Edwin calls, his tone hard and as cold as Lucien had ever heard it. Lucien simply salutes and starts off to the stables.
Within moments, the old man is riding a horse nearly full-steam down into the city to fetch the Patrol Commander.
“Keep the prisoners here.” Edwin instructs the Patrollers who were getting ready to lead the mass of people into the cells below the guard barracks. His words surprise them, but they salute and instead start lining the prisoners up in several rows.
Edwin is seething, and not even breathing deeply is able to calm him as it usually does. But he does eventually start to calm down, looking over the prisoners. The bandits were all men, most of them in their middle ages. Strong backs, wide shoulders. Their faces are gruff and some of them had the cold glint in their eyes that say they relish the pain of others.
Others were simply plain, desperate enough to turn to banditry in order to survive.
It takes only about ten minutes for Lucien to come back, with Cormic on his own shorter, stouter pony. Its obvious the dwarf doesn't care to ride; but Edwin's call was important.
“What is it, lad?” The dwarf asks, almost as soon as he'd jumped off of his horse.
Edwin motions both the Commander and Lucien aside and tells them what he's found.
“About a third of those 'bandits' are villagers who were kidnapped.” Edwin says shortly, making both Cormic and Lucien flinch at his tone.
They glance at each other and nods.
“Oh stones...” Cormic even mutters a curse.
They aren't able to say anything else before Edwin turns around and marches toward the awaiting group, stopping in front of the rows of prisoners and their patroller guards and the bounty hunters.
“Patrollers, take the bounty hunters into custody.” Edwin calls, and with a quick nod from Cormic, their various weapons are drawn and the bounty hunters are surrounded.
“It was foolish to expect you could take villagers and others as prisoners in order to line your own pockets.” Edwin calls out, seething all over again. Most of the prisoners are surprised, but those who Edwin was talking about looked up with sudden hope in their eyes.
“You, step over here.” Edwin says then, pointing to an older woman in the front row. Her clothing was tattered and there was a large bruise on her face. He motions to a spot beside him, and then starts pointing out the other villagers, separating them from the bandits.
Each of them showed signs of a scuffle. Unlike the bandits, they didn't have any signs of being attacked by weapons though. Only fits or blunt weapons.
“Each of the bounty hunters brought you?” Edwin finally asks when they were all called forth.
Two of the hunters were pointed out, and Edwin nods and has the guards cuff them after disarming them. Their possessions were taken, and Lucien notes down their names; along with those of the bandits.
“It seems you will have a bit of company to keep. Now then, here's the deal. You prisoners will not be jailed. Instead, you will sent to one of the nearby mines to work. If you work well, you will be released after six months to a year on probation. You will make a fifth of the wage the regular miners will have; but you will be given proper meals. If you have families, your wages will be sent them; otherwise you'll be able to collect the full amount upon release.” Edwin starts detailing the plan to them.
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Several of the bandits hang their heads; but quite a few are glaring at him. Edwin only gives a cheeky grin in response.
“You two bounty hunters will be joining them. Except you will be held for two full years, and then you may plead for your case for release.” His words shock the two of them, and one starts to shout.
One of the Patrollers clout the man over the head with a short wooden rod, knocking the hunter on the ground.
“Any other bounty hunter that does the same will share the same fate. Pass the word.” Edwin says, glancing at Cormic who nods with his own frowning face.
Done with the prisoners, he turns to the villagers who had been taken against their will.
“Free them.” Edwin says, much to their relief.
“Thank you, my lord. We're all villagers or refugees from Lotash who got separated in the forest and captured.” One of the men says, glancing to the others around him.
“The patrol will cart you guys back. Once the rest of the bandits have been captured and the forest cleared, there will be new work set up in Lotash.” Edwin says, finally relaxing as the Patrollers move along this group, unlocking their shackles.
In his sight, the icons disappear one at a time as the chains fall off.
“Also, spread the word that farm and mining work is starting up here in Jottenhiem again. Volunteers are welcome, and once things are going they'll be paid. All workers will also be fed daily until then.” Edwin says, and a ragged cheer goes up.
Amongst the refugees, there is little chance to find work. Most of them have to forage for food daily in order to survive.
Not being paid is only a minor concern, given that Edwin is offering to feed them for working.
“Quarrymen, blacksmiths, and other craftspeople should also come forward. Tell them to report here to the Citadel and we'll find them as much work as we can.” Edwin then says, and even he cannot help but smile at the cheer that comes from that as well.
“Lucien, please have Allisa start preparing a meal for these people. Anyone who can do kitchen work can go and help, then we'll send them on their way.” Lucien nods and salutes again, although there's a slight smile on his face as he quickly leaves.
Turning to Cormic though, its obvious the dwarf is still in a sour mood.
“Its alright Cormic, none of us caught that until they were here in front of me.” Edwin says, clasping the short man on one of his broad shoulders.
“Aye, lad. But this is an issue we should have considered. The hunters are likely as desperate as anyone else.” Cormic says, his gruff tone cold.
“That's true, but I'll be here to inspect every prisoner as they show up.” Edwin says, promising the man that. For a moment Cormic simply looks at him, then nods.
“Fair enough, my lord. I'll get back to the Patrol and make sure the word is spread. I'll personally beat the next bastard who tries to use others in such a manner.” The dwarf says, clenching his fists before saluting himself. This time he rides out on his pony much more willingly.
It seems that Cormic has a streak for justice a mile wide. The thought actually brings out a slight grin for Edwin. But he shakes his head and gets back to business.
“Take the prisoners to the western mine. Another group of Patrollers have already set up the prisoner camp.” Edwin commands, being saluted in return.
By the end of the day, he'd get the message that the two hunters had been beaten by several of the prisoners, but they were all put to work under guard. To Edwin, it just meant that justice had been done.
The villagers were fed and then sent home with their own messages.
By the next morning, a crowd had already gathered outside the Citadel, and Lucien reports that several even larger bands of refugees were making their way to Jottenhiem.
People wanted to work and to eat. Edwin nods over his own breakfast in the kitchens. After a couple of minutes a thought, he thinks of a plan.
“Alright, Lucien. Have the volunteers separated out by trade. Send the farmers and ranchers to Mistress Cernette's place. Send her a note telling her to use who she can and open up one of the unowned fields. Tell her to focus on flax and cotton there. Also tell her that we will be buying up all the produce she can produce as quickly as she can produce it.
“Also tell her to buy sheep and goats and set up a pasture as quickly as possible. We need weaving materials now too.” Edwin instructs, and Lucien notes it all down as quickly as possible.
“Next, the miners will be going with me to the western mine. Send the quarrymen to the closest quarry. Also ask the volunteers for cooks to go with them and set up a supply camp there. We don't have enough Patrollers yet to set up a soup kitchen there yet. Also ask for those with fighting experience to act as unofficial guards for the quarry and the farm. Send the blacksmiths to the mine as well.”
Edwin pauses for a moment to take a quick drink, his mind rolling over everything else.
“Oh, and post a message board here in the front courtyard, just beside the gates. Have the guards here tell the new volunteers to check the board for the job postings as I just instructed.” Edwin says then, nodding his head. After that, he cannot think of anything else, and Lucien doesn't seem to have any ideas either.
Together though, Edwin was tempted to call all of these people the 'Jottenhiem Volunteer Army'. The thought almost brings out a chuckle. But then he thinks of something else and curses.
“Builders! Damn. Post a notice for builders and architects as well. We need worker barracks at both the quarry and the mine. That's a priority, and have them use what they can quickly gather from the quarry to do it. Its fine if its a little ratty to start; we can always tear them down and build them again later with proper stone.” Edwin says then, causing Lucien to blink before nodding, writing out the new order.
With that thought, Edwin activates his Crystal Vision, and looks around at the position of the mine he'd picked out and the quarry on the other side of the city. There's a small wooded area near the quarry, and after examining it Edwin nods to himself.
“Send the woodcutters and carpenters to the woods south of the quarry. Have them clear-cut the woods, and gather everything they can. It looks mostly like new growth, but we'll need a large amount of firewood and timber anyway. It'll work for now. Send hunters with them to collect any game they can. We'll use the meat at the camps.”
It was getting more and more complex, but Edwin was trying to settle as many issues as he can at a time.
After that though, he cannot think of anything else, and quickly finishes up his own breakfast, already late.
Once he walks out into the courtyard though, its already plain to see that his orders had been carried out. A brand new notice board had been hammered into the ground, and the volunteers were talking excitedly after reading the notices. They were separating out by ground, and then heading out almost as quickly as new volunteers were showing up.
And not just from the refugees at Lotash either. As word spread of work, hundreds of people were showing up from Lower Jottenhiem too. The Patroller-Guards stationed in the Citadel were a bit worried at the crowd, but Edwin can only smile at the excitement going on around him.
“Which group is heading to the mine?” Edwin soon calls out to the crowd, and the silence that falls makes it easy enough to hear a pen drop.
“We are, my lord.” A man speaks up after a moment, motioning to himself and several other guys. Some of them are not much older than teens; but many are in their middle ages, and probably have families of their own.
Edwin nods and walks down to join them.
“We'll go together then.” Edwin announces, unable to help himself from laughing at the looks on their faces.
“Come now, it isn't that surprising. I'm not the sort to sit in the tower up there and fiddle my thumbs.” Edwin says, laughing as he points his thumb up to the tower above their heads.
The big man who'd answered him gurrufs out a laugh of his own and gives a nod to Edwin.
“Fair enough, my lord. The carts should be here in about ten minutes.” The man says politely, and several of the others nod as well.
All told, Edwin spent the time talking with the men, and once they climb up onto the carts he starts to ask about their lives and their families and what they've been doing.
Mostly it was the same sad tale. Lost their jobs, their homes. Couldn't find work or food. Many of them had heard of Edwin's fight to become Demon Lord, and are plainly surprised that such a man would be talking with them.
Edwin for himself actually enjoys it. He'd spent a lot of time cooped up in the Citadel, training for this or that. It was nice to relax and chat with others who didn't really expect anything from him.
Sadly it ends all too quickly as the carters rumble up to where the mine is situated outside of the city. Carved into the solid rock of the mountain slop, several mine-shafts can be seen, along with a great many people gathered about one of the entrances.
Edwin jumps down from the cart as soon as it comes to a stop.
“Patroller, what's going on?” He calls to one of the men who was stationed here to guard the prisoners.
“Ah, my lord.” The man says, snapping a quick salute.
“We opened up one of the tunnels this morning to start working, and found the place infested with monsters. A contingent of the Patrollers and several of the prisoners willing to fight went through to push them out, and they found a collapsed room with signs of life inside.” The man explains, motioning to Edwin to walk with him as they head toward the mass of people.
“They opened the room only to find a woman there. She'd been trapped inside for a long while.” The patroller says then, and Edwin nods his head.
Pushing through the crowd, soon enough a path is opened as people start recognizing Edwin.
“What now?! Who the hell are you?!” The woman the patroller mentioned is screaming, and finally points out to Edwin.
Edwin, of course, is caught back by the woman's tone; but soon enough sweeps his gaze over her.
Standing barely two feet tall, the woman looks almost like a child, even more so than Cernette. Except her skin has a silvery sheen to it and her deep, copper-colored hair looks as fine as wire, hanging all the way down to the ground. Covered in dust and coal soot, her overalls are ripped and torn and barely holding together.
But what really surprises Edwin is the two small wings fluttering on her back, and the normal-sized pickax she's carrying on one shoulder.
I'm Edwin Cast, the new Demon Lord of Jottenhiem.” Edwin finally responds, being brought back to reality by the woman's glare.
“Demon Lord?! When did that happen?!” The woman screams; her wings starting to flap more vigorously until she's several inches of the ground.
“I beat the mercenary Krash a week ago for the title.” Edwin says, while many of the people around them nods.
“Krash?! That old rocky bastard!” Apparently just about everyone knew of Krash.
“Yes, now if I may, who are you?” Edwin asks, raising one of his brows at the woman. He almost wants to call her a 'kid'.
“Me? I'm Deloria Bargest, and this is my mine! Why are all these people here?!” The woman introduces herself, and then starts screaming again. Edwin actually frowns.
He has a hard time dealing with 'screamers'.
“The mine was reported abandoned over six months ago. Just how long were you trapped inside?” Edwin finally asks, having to think for a minute to remember what Lucien had told him when he planned to start using this mine.
This mine was the closest to the city, and had a rich vein of not only iron, but coal as well. Coal is needed to smelt down iron and could be turned into coke, which is used to make stronger steel.
“Six months?! That means I've been down there for almost a YEAR!!!” Owned property is considered abandoned after four months of unpaid taxes and the owner is nowhere to be found. Edwin also remembered that when he asked about the taxes before. Being abandoned meant that the city gained ownership of the property, to be sold or kept in order to off-set the tax debt.
“Hm. So it would seem. These people are here to reopen the mine and to work.” Edwin was starting to get another headache.
“But... but...” First the first time Deloria seems to be unable to say anything, much less scream. That was good, at least in Edwin's opinion.
“There's a food tent set up over there. Why don't you go get cleaned up and have a meal? We'll talk then. Cleaning out the monsters in the mine takes priority at the moment.” Edwin says then, which snaps the fairy-looking woman out of her shocked state.
“WHAT?! Are you making fun of me?!” Another scream, and this time Edwin does sigh, reaching up to massage the bridge of his nose.
“GO EAT, NOW!” Another voice calls out from behind Edwin, and he jerks around to find Lucien striding toward him. Edwin blinks for a moment before shaking his head.
“Sorry, my lord. I got word some trouble was brewing here. I didn't expected to see Deloria out here making trouble.” Lucien says, giving a salute and a bow. But the old man turns his gaze to Deloria, who'd suddenly frozen all over again.
“Deloria here is an Iron Pixie. Small in size, but with a great amount of strength. She owned this mine and the largest foundry in Jottenhiem at one point in time. But she went missing almost a year ago. I never imagined she'd be trapped in her own mine.” Lucien explains, ignoring Deloria's suddenly glare as she regains herself.
“Humph! I was perfectly content in my mine! The monsters couldn't get to me and I could spend my days mining!” The woman yells, sticking her nose up in the air as if it was something to be proud of. Lucien simply gives her another glare.
“Fine! I'll go eat! And you, Mister High-and-Mighty Demon Lord! You better come speak to me as promised!” The woman yells even as she flies off toward the cooking tent.
Both Edwin and Lucien let out a sigh once she's gone.
“Has she always been that hard to handle?” Edwin asks.
Lucien rolls his eyes at the question.
“You have no idea... my lord.”
-|- -|- -|-
Hey guys, here's Chapter 8! More of the story is unfolding, and I finally decided on the sort of woman I wanted Deloria to be! Haha.
I hope you enjoy it!
Now then, I'm not going to post the updated status screens yet; cause I have to work out the math for all the new stat gains, but I'll add them as I finish them this afternoon!
Things are starting to shape up for Jottenhiem, and new information and plots are going to unfold here soon!
Also, the first dungeon is going to be started about Chapter 10. Look forward to it! Haha.
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