The place had changed much in the time we'd been away. For starters, the walls around the perimeter of the city looked massive. Since they were set a little downhill from it, they thankfully didn't hide too much of the amazing views it offered, but their sheer thickness and height made them a true marvel of engineering. No other fortifications at any other Greek guildhall could compare, not even those around my father's hall on Mount Orthys.
Just looking at the dozens of large steps required to get to up to the top made me wonder how the people had managed to build them so quickly. Multiple squadrons of warriors were now able to fit along the top, which would make defending and patrolling much easier but would also require a lot more people as well. But it seemed that wasn't going to be a problem. As I looked around me, I could already see the three neighborhoods forming. Checking on the progress of the manors, I saw that some of them had already been completed and the vast majority had less than one full day before they were finished.
Once those construction projects were done, our population would increase dramatically and all of our worker needs would be filled--and then some. We would have enough people living in the city to man the walls and have full, strong patrols. We would be able to run the upgraded lumberyard and mining camp on three full shifts and even have people on regular maintenance jobs.
The last group of projects with a long upgrade duration was the farms. All of them had been built by now, but most of them were still being upgraded to level five. None of them would be fully upgraded for at least another week but Aphrodite had reassured me that our food provisions would definitely last us that long, even with the increased population.
Once the farms were completed, however, we would finally be able to enter a routine of regular growth. We would still be building and upgrading, but we would also be able to start saving up and storing resources for a rainy day--which was kind of ironic considering I could just make rain go away.
Once our citizens took notice of our arrival, they pretty much stopped everything they were doing and started showering us with praise about the continuous development of the city, some of them showing us their gratitude for accepting them as new citizens, and a few trying to approach Artemis and Aphrodite to update them on what had happened to their posts during our absence.
Ares and I had an easier time escaping the gathered crowds. Ares because people did not know him and were a bit wary of his title and reputation, and I... well, because I had made it clear that daily operations were not my thing. Those tasks were better handled by the goddesses, while I looked at the bigger picture.
I didn't offer for Ares to come stay with us at our manor, and thankfully he didn't ask about it either. Instead, I said he could choose any building he'd like to live in and he took a liking to a newly built manor on the other side of the valley.
Having settled where he would be staying, I let him get acclimated to the town and his new residence while I headed back to our home. I couldn't wait to see what new magical items might be waiting there for me--at least, I couldn't wait to check whether there was more than one.
My first stop after entering the manor was the room with the hexagonal prismatic ambrosia cell tower. Unfortunately, leaving the cells unattended meant that it hadn't produced more than one portion of ambrosia or made it any more potent than usual. I was kind of expecting that, but was still a little disappointed.
It wasn't like we were suffering from a shortage of ambrosia, but it was our top secret magic item and I wanted to get as much value from it as possible. Which meant that, moving forward, perhaps I would need to leave one of our guild members behind to collect it, or build some kind of contraption that would allow me to remove the ambrosia once it had formed each day.
I made a note to myself that I should provide Ares with a few portions of the immortality-inducing food before heading over to the altar. Not only had it continued generating magic items daily, but it had thrown the ones from the previous days onto the ground.
The thought had crossed my mind that perhaps the new item would be generated in the same physical space as the last--causing at best, a useless hybrid of the two, and at worst, some kind of small disaster--but the items on the floor suggested that each new one displaced the previous one. As long as there was space enough in the whole room, the altar would continue generating items.
I picked them all up and placed them in my inventory before leaving the room and locking it behind me. I chose one of the tables in front of a wide, floor-to-ceiling window that let in plenty of natural light, to sit down and I examine the items I'd picked up more carefully.
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Their grade was still low, but that didn't mean they wouldn't fetch a pretty gold coin from the hundreds of merchants visiting us every week. Worst case scenario, I could pass them down for our mortals to use, provide them as rewards for quests generated in the Monster Slayers' Union, or break them down to get their enchantment cores.
I decided to start with the jewelry and trinkets, as they were usually the easiest ones to sell.
* * *
Item: Ring of Daily Nourishment
Type: Magic Item - Ring
Durability: 70/70
Grade: E Grade
Weight: 4st.
Description: A magic item with the ability to provide the necessary nutrients and energy for one person to survive one day without eating or drinking anything else. This ring can store up to 1 use and its uses are replenished every 7 days.
* * *
It was kind of a weak start but I could see how this might be useful for mortals. Since their bodies still ran on organic food instead of divine energy, they needed to nourish themselves daily. The strange, unending night in the northern lands and in Niflheim had made it difficult to tell how many days we'd actually been there--had it not been for the notifications from my construction projects, it would have been much harder to keep track--but thankfully we'd never had to worry about getting too hungry or tired to survive. But something like this might be a good fit for mortal adventurers when they were hard-pressed for resources or on the road for longer periods of time.
It wasn't exactly what I'd expected but magic items could have a wide range of uses and values. I only hoped that the next ring would be a bit more useful.
* * *
Item: Ring of Sending
Type: Magic Item - Ring
Durability: 65/65
Grade: E Grade
Weight: 4st.
Description: A magic item with the ability to send a telepathic message of up to sixty words to any individual. The user of the ring has to know the recipient of the message personally, or know their approximate location and appearance. The sending will not reach its target if the recipient is in a different plane of existence. This ring can send one message per day.
* * *
Now this was more like it. At least its usefulness wasn't limited to just mortals. There was probably no one I'd actually want to communicate with outside of those already in my guild, with whom I could just use the guild chat, but I could definitely see how this might be a highly sought-after item.
Being able to communicate over large distances had its strategic advantages, but even if it was only ever used for leisure, it could be sold for a good price. A general or merchant making their way through a faraway land would certainly pay a good sum to be able to communicate instantaneously with their loved ones every day, even if the communication is one-sided.
I put the two rings back into my inventory and pulled out the next small item, which was actually a pair of ivory earrings hooked around a thin loop of gold. Their craftsmanship was impeccable, but masterwork jewelry alone would not command a high price. Their enchantment, however, certainly would.
* * *
Item: Earrings of Communication
Type: Magic Item - Earrings
Durability: 90/90
Grade: E Grade
Weight: 8st.
Description: A pair of earrings that allow verbal communication between them. When the earrings are each worn or used by any individuals, said people can communicate verbally at a distance by touching one finger on the ivory part of their earring to speak. Communication is two-way and always on as long as the earrings are in contact with the ear. Communication can't be obstructed by non-magical means and has a range of 500ft.
* * *
Now these earrings were more like tactical gear. I could see how a scout might be able to use them to communicate with the rest of their team if they spotted something interesting, or how two different squadrons approaching a target from different sides might be able to coordinate a simultaneous strike on their enemy.
Of course, it didn't have to be combat-related uses. I had no particular preference for trading with military branches or adventuring groups, but they were the ones that usually had the most gold to offer. If, for example, a very wealthy couple that needed to stay in contact at all times were to offer us a good price for them, I would be more than happy to fill the coffers of our city with their money instead.
Putting them back into my inventory, I pulled out the next item I wanted to check. It was a cloak that was made out of some supremely soft white material. A simple metal button and small leather loop would make sure that it stayed in place.
* * *
Item: Cloak of Shade
Type: Magic Item - Cloak
Durability: 50/50
Grade: E Grade
Weight: 20st.
Description: A cloak that grants the wearer the comfort of a shaded, cool environment on even the harshest of sunny days. The wearer's body temperature remains at comfortable levels even in very hot weather. This item does not offer any protection against fire or temperature rises that are magically induced.
* * *
Another item with a very specific use that would probably not stay unsold for long. I for one hated traveling in realms where they made no effort to control the weather or the temperature. Moving from one place to the next via portals or teleportation wasn't always possible and doing it under the scorching sun was tiring and annoying.
The more I considered it, the more I thought I might just keep this one for myself. Being able to summon clouds and travel under an overcast sky was definitely helpful but most of the time, this wasn't enough to drop the ambient temperature. I could only hope this cloak might make a difference.
Our home was just the right temperature on the inside and the climate at the top of Mount Olympus was probably set up to be mild since it was a place of power. That meant I had nowhere to test the item right now, but I trusted that it would eventually come in handy.