The party appeared in the middle of the town square, several workers looking up in surprise at the bright flash of light that heralded their arrival. Once the party had managed to stabilise themselves after the sudden teleportation, blinking the spots from their eyes, they looked around.
The town was very different from when Jake had been there last, most of the buildings around the square half complete instead of simply dilapidated, except for the Mayoral Manor and Jerry’s shop, which stood slightly out of place amongst the new designs. Shaking his head, Jake stepped off the Teleport Pad, hearing a familiar voice call out to him as he did.
“Ah, your lordship, you have returned!” Merina said as she hurried out of the doors of the manor house, “And you’ve brought guests. I shall have the guest rooms prepared immediately.”
“Uhm…yes,” Jake nodded as the rest of his party stared at the elf in surprise, “Thank you, Merina.”
“Of course, your lordship,” the elf bowed to him, “I am sure you will be glad to know that the construction has started in earnest, especially after the supplies and materials that were ordered through Ser Jeremiah arrived the other day. With the funds you provided us with, I believe we will be finished with the construction of the town square within the week.”
“That’s good to hear,” Jake nodded again, glancing at his party as he heard Sophie and Shadow snickering, “Anything else?”
“Yes,” Merina nodded, pointing to a large empty space that had been cleared beside the manor house, “I took the liberty of assigning the location of the Temple you requested. It shall be right beside the Mayoral Manor if that is not a problem. However, I have not found a suitable Temple structure in the options for the construction.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Jake said, “I said I would handle that myself, didn’t I?”
“You did,” the woman nodded, “Very well, I shall leave it up to you. Is there anything I can do to make you and your guests more comfortable during your stay?”
“Oh, well,” Jake floundered slightly at the question, “I was thinking that we would just head into the forest for a bit. See how the construction of my own home is going.”
“Of course, your lordship,” Merina smiled, “I am sure you will be pleased with the progress. I even had a special Blueprint chosen for the design, following your request to not disturb the local environment too much.”
“Thank you,” Jake nodded, “Well, uhm…I suppose we’ll be going, then?”
“Best of luck to you all,” the elf called as Jake started to lead the party away, “And be wary in the Dark Woods, the creatures within are rather dangerous.”
The party walked in silence for a bit, the quiet only broken by the sound of construction around them and the occasional snicker from Sophie and Shadow.
“What?” Jake sighed, looking at the pair in annoyance.
“Nothing,” the Rogue hummed, “She was very pretty, is all.”
“She was,” Sophie chuckled, “And very respectful. All ‘your lordship’ this and ‘your lordship’ that.”
“Don’t tease Jakey, guys,” Andy laughed, “He is the lord of this town after all, he demands a certain level of respect. Don’t you, your lordship?”
“Please don’t you start with that as well,” Jake groaned, running a hand down his face, “I feel weird enough having the natives call me that.”
“Sorry, couldn’t help myself, Jakey,” Andy laughed again, “Anyway, what was that about you having a house of your own? You never mentioned that before.”
“Oh, right,” Jake nodded, explaining himself, “Merina, the elf back there, insisted that I have a Lord’s Manor House built nearby. I chose to have it constructed in the Dark Woods by my old camp.”
“A Lord’s Manor House?” Shadow gasped, “Wait, do you think we could make it the Guild House for our Guild?”
“Guild House?” Jake asked.
“Official residence of a Traveller Guild,” Andy answered quickly, “Most Guilds would just rent a building in a town or city for the same purpose, but if we can use your personal house, it’ll be a hell of a lot easier. Cheaper too.”
“Oh, okay. I don’t see why not, then,” Jake shrugged.
“Awesome! I want the biggest room!” Shadow cheered as they left the back gate, the guards saluting Jake as they passed.
“You can’t,” Holi said calmly, “That has to be reserved for the lord of the manor himself, isn’t that right, Jake?”
“Damn, then I want the second biggest room!” Shadow laughed, falling quiet as they entered the woods, walking along the rough dirt road that had been cut into it, “Is it just me, or is this place creepy?”
“Nope, not just you,” Andy muttered as they walked between the tall trees, “It feels like we shouldn’t be here.”
“Probably because it’s a high-level zone,” Sophie whispered as the party, except Jake huddled together, “I think we’re feeling the effects of a monster or something.”
Stolen story; please report.
“Really?” Jake blinked, “I don’t feel anything?”
“Yeah, well you’re almost level fifteen, so it’s probably not as bad,” Sophie huffed, “Come on, let’s get through here before something attacks us!”
The party hurried down the road, pausing to marvel at the beauty of the lake, glittering in the mid-morning sun as fish leaped from its surface, a small dock being built on its edge. They quickly moved on; Jake amazed at how fast they were able to travel through the forest thanks to the road. A journey that would have taken his several hours of running and dodging around trees was reduced to just under an hour and half, the group emerging into a large clearing, the construction of the Lord’s Manor House apparently going swiftly.
The foundations were already laid, a large ‘U’ shape of stone having been sunk into the ground, the ground floor walls having already started to be constructed. What surprised Jake the most, however, was the fact that his small clearing had been expanded to almost four times its original size, the structure sprawling across it as it crawled with workers. A shout drew his attention as a familiar burly man jogged up to them.
“Hail, your lordship,” Edward Carp said as he drew near, “I had not realised you would be visiting today. Pleased by what you see, I hope?”
“Hello, Edward,” Jake nodded, looking over the construction site, “This is…a lot. I hadn’t realised that the building would be so…big.”
“Aye,” the man nodded, “The new Mayor certainly found an interesting Blueprint for it, insisted that I focus on getting it done as soon as possible for you.”
“I see,” Jake hummed, “Well, I don’t want to interrupt you, or anything, so I suppose we’ll go.”
“Not a problem,” the man laughed, “You’re not interrupting anything. In fact, I’m pretty sure the lads will work twice as hard knowing you’re here. Come, let me show you around a bit.”
The party was led around the back of the building to a second, much smaller foundation, stone walls already rising a couple of meters up from it. Edward grinned as he began to explain the layout.
“This’ll be your private forge, set apart from the house to reduce noise and risk of fire,” He said, before pointing back to the main house, “East wing will be servants’ quarters and the kitchen, west will be a large crafting room and a smaller alchemy lab. Central area will be the foyer and dining room, as well as some other private rooms like a library and meeting room.”
“Impressive,” Jake nodded along, the others all staring in amazement.
“Aye,” Edward grinned, “Second floor will be guest rooms mostly, with the east wing being your private room and study. Whole thing is being made from the logs we’ve harvested from the woods themselves. There’ll also be a main courtyard in the middle, with a small fountain and garden, and a training ground off to the side. Rest will be the main gardens themselves, with a patch for farming and botany and the like.”
“Wow,” Shadow grinned, “This place is going to be massive! What’ll you call it?”
“Call it?” Jake asked, looking at the Rogue in confusion.
“Yeah,” He said, “It’s gotta have a name! Something cool! Like…The Crib! Ooh! Or The House of Darkness!”
“Those both suck, Shadow,” Sophie laughed as the short man pouted, “And it’s Jake’s choice, so don’t go trying to give him weird ideas.”
“I don’t know,” Jake shrugged, “I guess I’ll just name it once it’s done, and I’ve seen it fully.”
“Fair enough,” Andy laughed, “Anyway, any where else you want to go before we head back to town?”
“Yes, actually.”
------
The forest was cool and calm as the party moved through it, almost three hours having passed since they left the construction site of Jake’s new Lord’s Manor House. It had been an interesting trip, with Sophie and Holi marvelling over the mushrooms and plants they found, the latter levelling up her [Botany] Skill several times just from seeing them. That wasn’t the only Skill to level up, either. Andy gained several levels in [Prospecting] when he spotted an ore deposit in a small rock sticking up from the ground, excitedly explaining that it was called Dark Iron Ore to the others.
“Imagine a shield made from this stuff!” Andy said happily, having managed to mine a single chunk with his [Mining] Skill, also levelling it up several times before his pickaxe had broken, “I don’t even know what kind of Ability it might give!”
“Right,” Jake laughed at his friends’ antics as they walked through the woods, eventually coming to their location.
The Shrine stood proud in the centre of the small clearing, the stone benches clean and the altar gleaming in the midday sun. The rest of the group went silent as they entered the space, simply watching as Jake casually approached the white stone altar.
“Gaia?” he called, looking around for the statue form of the goddess, “Are you here?”
“Of course, my Champion,” the familiar voice said, the party spinning around to see the statue standing behind them, striding past the others as she walked up to Jake, “What can I help you with?”
“Oh, well,” Jake said slowly, thinking over his words, “I want to build a Temple to you in the town, but there are no appropriate structures. Can you help with that?”
“Of course,” Gaia nodded, “Simply retrieve a branch from the East Oak, a stone from the West Cave, and some water from the South Lake. You will also need a shard of my altar. Place them in the correct locations at the site of your Temple and call my name. Then observe as a miracle occurs.”
Jake blinked as the screen appeared in front of him.
Quest: A Place of Worship
At your request, Gaia, Primal of the Wilds, has given you instructions on how to construct a Temple in her name.
Objectives:
Branch from the East Oak 0/1
Stone from the West Cave 0/1
Water from the South Lake 0/1
Shard of the Altar of Gaia 0/1
Place the items in their correct locations and call Gaia’s name 0/1
Rewards:
A Temple to Gaia
“Thank you,” Jake smiled as he turned away, stopping when Gaia chuckled.
“You forgot something,” she said, running her finger over the top of the altar, a small piece of the white stone rising up into her hand, forming a perfect cube, “Here.”
“Oh, thank you,” Jake nodded as he took the item, looking at it.
Shard of the Altar of Gaia
A piece of the Altar of Gaia.
Quality: Divine
Skill [Inspect] has levelled up.
“Now then, I suppose you and your friends will be off to complete your new Quest?” the statue asked, Jake nodding, “Very well. But do try to come visit more often, it gets lonely around here without you.”
“I will,” Jake smiled as he rejoined his friends, all of which were staring at the goddess in shock.
“What is that?” Shadow hissed as Jake drew near, “I can’t even use [Observe] on it!”
“That is Gaia, Primal of the Wilds,” Jake laughed as the others jumped, “Or, at least an avatar of her. From what she’s told me, if she truly appeared before us, our minds and spirits would be crushed beyond repair.”
“Spooky,” Holi said, making the other look at her, “What? I just think that the skull head is a little weird.”
“Well, we have a new job to do,” Jake said, “So let’s go do it.”