Scratch that, I was going to be found and screwed in three days, tops. I just hoped these people might be like the French, at least the guillotine was fast. Which made me wonder, how high of a level would an executioner be?
The cold night sky was dropping small flakes of snow that melted when they hit my mittens that looked like little foxes on my hands. A peaceful, almost charming moment at stark contrast to my inner thoughts.
The hastily scrawled blueprint in my grip was little more than something to buy time, and my anguish only grew as the two villagers ahead of me hummed and spoke together in the entryway.
Beyond them and the rapidly built bakery were several new or modified buildings. A smithy, a bath house and a cook house were a few of the amenities ready for the people. The issue I had run into is I forgot bakers woke up before the crack of dawn.
I popped another Go Berry into my mouth, feeling more awake. I checked the minion logs yet again, assuring myself I had them just enough out of sight it shouldn’t be an issue. Wherever the guests followed me, I had the minions work elsewhere. With any luck I would be ready as the sun rose.
“Hey, machine,” the hefty man with sunburnt skin and scaled armour said, waving a hand. “Bring me that hammer, you're making a muck out of this. I won’t have my wife working on a table that bent up out of shape.”
His wife, a friendly woman with auburn, slightly tapered ears and hazel eyes, smiled. “Lord Hale’s machines are doing their best. I can make enough bread for the morning with this-”
“And have the bread roll off when you are busy?” Her husband asked. He gave the squat clay oven the minions had slapped together a kick, rocking the oven side to side. “I don’t trust this oven to keep the heat in, nor stay together. Also is that chimney square?”
The lady patted my shoulder and gave me a pained smile. “Sorry, ever since he retired he put all his energy into getting worked up about my well being.”
“He does have a point,” I said, rotating the page. “I think I ordered that support beam in the wrong size…”
I slid the page up to hide my gaze and saw a string of curses appear in the work order queue, an assassination request or a jailing request for the man. Mason, our wonderful stoneworking minion wasn’t taking the criticism very well. I followed them inside the building and shut the door, blocking out the wind.
“Why are these hammers so small?” the man asked as he struggled to deliver a proper hit to an offending nail. He looked back to see his wife’s tense expression and he scratched at the back of his head. “I guess they were goblins who made ‘em. My apologizes your lordship, I know you're trying to do right by us, but I’d rather it be done right the first time.”
I rolled up the paper and tapped it on the oven, hearing it shift on the supports under it. The goblin automotion rushed over to put an arm up to stop it, and it ended up pushing the oven off the support, straight onto the ground, shattering it apart into a hundred pieces.
“Why don’t I order them to quickly rebuild the place,” I said, clasping my hands. Under my feet I could feel the hidden trap door quiver as my minion Mason vibrated with barely contained rage. “I thought a dwarf was going to be a baker and I messed up on the proportions.”
The man rose and set the hammer down, furrowing his brows. “Maria needs time-”
“It’s fine,” his wife said, placing a hand on his arm. She gave me a warm smile and looked up, reaching out to tap a snowflake. “I would appreciate the roof getting finished.”
The hobgoblin up on the rafters pulled a cloth to cover the hole, and we heard him hammer into place a few boards, with shingles soon to follow. Then followed me out and I racked my head for ideas. I needed them out so Mason could build a proper one, and Carter could lift all the shelves up a few inches so it would be easier on Maria to work.
Ahead of us was a green head, and a body mostly covered by thick green plants with a dusting of snow. It was Burn, who was equally surprised to see me.
“Hey boss, what are you doing up and about?” he asked. “You usually curl up with the cat girl till noon.”
Maria hid her laugh behind her hand. “So Lord Hale is a tail chaser?”
Burn shrugged and fumbled with the knob to his workshop. “Eh, you can blame me. I put catnip into his soap, one of the reasons the beast-kin girls take a liking to him. You're welcome by the way, boss.”
I worked my jaw thinking of a response. Did it actually work like that? I sniffed at my hood and didn’t smell the herb on me.
“You're the soap maker she talked about!” Maria ran over with her husband in a perplexed state following. “Do you have materials so I could make quick bread?”
Burn paused by the open door and looked at me. “Hey, if the boss is cool with it, I got stuff. I just won’t be able to make some bombs this week.”
I strode ahead, my boots crunching down on the snow. I waved the paper at him, and leered. “I distinctly told you no bombs after what happened last time. Also how the hell do bomb materials make bread?”
Burn tossed the plants down into a drying bin by the door. The entry room was a little more than a coat rack room, with eye protection by the entryway. He grabbed a pair of goggles and slapped them on, gesturing for us to do the same. “Time for a quick alchemy lesson.”
…
Maria held the jar of white powder, and shook Burn’s hand. “I should have more than enough for the day's bread. I prefer sourdoughs or yeast breads, but this will do in a pinch!”
Burn’s vials, tubes and cauldrons bubbled and spat. Maria’s husband tried to hide behind me, untrusting of the goblin’s glassware. He did however grab one of the many soap bars off one of Burn’s drying shelves and sniffed it.
“That was a bad batch, the colours leached out, so it’s just plain, scentless soap,” Burn said, catching him in the act. “If you're fine with it you can have it.”
The man thanked him and pocketed it. He leaned over to smell another and recoiled, his eyes drifting apart. “That one…is strong.”
“He also makes great stuff for the bath water.” I said. I looked at the jar of powder ahead, seeing the label. It was written in Burn’s native tongue and as I tried to make out the text the works twisted, turning into English.
Knowledge World : Partial Success!
This material is a stable compound made by a skilled alchemist. It is called ‘Soda of Potsaz’ or sometimes potassium, and is a chemical for use in glass making or soap. The powerful chemical agent can be used in tandem with other materials for fire suppressant bombs, gas bombs or water breathing potions.
“So how does this work?” I asked. I could feel a headache build as I tried to force myself to remember. “I swear I remember something about this from chemistry class.”
An info box appeared in the corner of my vision, a long textbook definition. Something I was too tired to really read into at the second.
Maria held up the jar, tapping her nails on the lid. “Lifts the bread up when I add it to the sour buttermilk. Gives you a nice airy loaf that’s good on taste, and cancels out the acidity of the buttermilk. There’s some better ones out there, and letting it naturally rise is best, but for a quick hearty bread this can do.”
Burn opened the exit door and gave us a salute. “Glad to help our starting bread industry. Now, if I could get back to work I have a partially volatile mixture I need to work on.”
We shuffled out, and shook Burn’s outstretched hand. “Thanks, for the help Burn.” When the couple left I leaned over and lowered my voice. “How bad do I look?”
Burn sucked in his breath. “Honesty is the best policy right? Well honestly Josh you look like the undead with how sunken those eyes are, and I can smell the Go Berries. You need to cut back on those things, combat only okay?”
I winced. “I’ll try to get a nap soon.”
“Don’t worry boss, you're stressing out over nothing. You did make us part of your royal council, let us work with you. You go rest, we can take care of them.” Burn patted me on my lower back and escorted me out the door. “But seriously I have stuff bubbling all night, and if it gets a temperature shock it will explode.”
After saying goodbye I put my goggles back and shut the door behind me. There was a slight pop and the alchemist house rocked side to side. I heard a weak ‘I’m fine’ come from inside and went back to the bakery to make sure Mason didn’t rig any traps for Maria's husband.
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The sun creeped over the horizon, finally bringing bright light straight into my eyes with more ferociousness than the many foes I had faced here. The pain settled behind my eyes and I squinted, bringing my hand up to shield my eyes. “Come on Josh, one or two more stops and we can go nap.”
I made it back to the bakery, seeing the roof was done, and the couple were already inside. I entered to find the hobgoblin and goblin automatons were loading the woodbox with some firewood and sweeping the floor. The couple seemed shocked at the drastic difference inside. The bakery was more open, with tall cupboards and shelves at waist height. The oven was wider, and easier for Maria to work with, and the chimney was square now. The brick wall even had a small wood framed art piece of a loaf of bread.
The rustic bakery looked ready for business.
Maria opened cupboards finding cups, bowls and everything she could need, all in copper. She twisted a copper pan in her hand and tapped on the bottom of it. “Not bad, looks like those ones that funny goblin shop had.”
Her husband turned and gave me a swift nod of respect. “You do well by us. You can expect some of the finest bread in the valley, good sir!” He saluted me, and sent off a prompt to share information.
Vance, Human, Level 5 Light Cavalry Scout
My stomach grumbled when he mentioned bread, and the couple shared a laugh with me. “Well I’ll let you two explore the place. I need to check around before I head off.”
The other buildings were interesting with their design choices and more varied in quality level. The minions had to hide, or jump between projects using the tunnels underneath. The automatons were okay as helpers, but as primary builders they sucked, lacking the skill bonuses of the minions. I could see furious orders appear in the queue as the minions tried to keep them to superficial work, while they did the more delicate tasks, like hooking up the water pipes.
Yet standing amidst them I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe. This new growth to the town, my town, was slapped together in a night. Such a thing on Earth would be nearly impossible, and I had managed to do it under the cover of darkness. Well, the minions did. Those guys needed a pat on the back.
Mala and Elkan with a few dwarves were inspecting the smithy. It was closer to some of the families and as such the automatons had done most of the work, and it showed. The walls were not square or level, and one side was taller than the other. The anvil was a slab of metal from the goblin tower, and seemed fine to me, but most of the tools were rusted or slightly damaged. One of the dwarves picked up the billows to see the sides were full of holes. They hadn’t seen me yet and I hovered by to hear them talk.
Eklan chuckled and tossed a hammer to the side. “Well, it wouldn’t be a proper dwarven smithy unless the first thing done was rebuild and replace every damn tool eh?”
Mala frowned and let out a huff. “At least the saws I found in the wood workshop actually seemed good. They should be good to replace the few we lost. Plus it was insulated pretty well, and had one of those neat little magic heaters they made.”
A plea for help from Carter appeared in the work order queue, they were his saws and begged me to arrest the thieves having taken them.
One of the dwarves took a seat in a chair by the forge and it collapsed under him, sending him sprawling onto the ground. He laughed, and rose to his feet. “Aye, it seems this was built to goblin standards alright! Still, the gesture is nice. I hate being idle with my hands.”
“Like all good folk,” Mala said, patting him on the back. “I’ll chat with him tonight about the work week. With any luck we can use clan crafting schedules and it will be like living at home.”
The dwarf with the billows set it down and nervously tapped the wall. “At least the place won’t fall down. If it was leaning anymore I would have thought the builders were powered by cheap spirits.”
Stealth Check : Success!
+5 XP gained.
I slipped away, quietly making my way towards the wall. The public bathhouse and toilets seemed far better in quality than the others. The single story building was wide, with a solid stone foundation, and dense wood walls. A billow of steam rose from the several chimneys and inside I could hear people singing or chatting. The double doors leading inside had some simple carvings and paint on it, showing a nice valley with a few beasts around a pond.
Perception Check : Partial Success!
Someone was watching me. My eyes scanned the area, and in the shadows was the wolf-kin from before. He shied away, but a moment after he leaned out and waved me over. I followed him, with my hand drifting down to my belt, resting on a dagger.
He was nervously biting his hand, his eyes watching the shadows. “Lord Hale, I went to…relieve myself out in the woods, and when I tried to return I saw something. A thing of dark fur, that crept quietly. I think it was watching me.”
“Oh really? What did it look like?” I asked, feeling the sweat trickle down my temple. I felt my hand flex, my usual ritual before casting a spell. I wished I had one of Rolada’s charms, but I wasn’t about to pull the same trick she did on some random guy.
He raised a hand, going over my head. “It was tall, and had horns maybe? I-I don’t know it just made my heart race.”
I put a hand on his shoulder, feeling him quake. “Listen, you head to bed. Also don’t worry we have a public restroom now. Stay inside the walls and I’ll get my friends to take a look. If we need to, we can hunt it down.”
“T-thank you,” he said. His cheeks burned and his wolf ears flopped down. “I, uh, don’t need to use the washroom anymore.”
I stepped back out his way. “Also a public bath.”
He politely excused himself and hurried off. I turned and jumped, sailing up high into the air and landing on the wall. An automaton patrolling on the wall stopped beside me, the cold metallic eyes waiting for my orders. My gaze swept across the dim outline of the forest ahead, challenging whatever beast was hiding in there to come out. My blood pounded into my ears, drowning out whatever subtle sounds there could be. Nothing happened, only a few light flakes fell between the branches.
I cracked my knuckles. “Nap first, level up, then kick ass. Right?”
The machine stood there waiting for orders. I rolled my eyes and got out of the way, letting him pass on his patrol. I looked at the tree tops over the wall, wondering what the wolf man had seen. At the very least it sounded like it was a creature that wasn’t a minion, so that was a relief. I wondered if it would be a good idea to send out a scout, but decided against it. If I got new powers I might want to test them out.
The walled settlement was waking up, the new life wandering and exploring their surroundings. It seemed like the people here were early risers. I made my way towards the dungeon, only having to stop a few times to share morning greetings. When I reached the shack I made sure I was alone, and went inside. I brushed the snow off my boots with one of the pig brushes, seeing we were down some stock.
I peered my head around the corner, looking down the ramp towards the now hidden dungeon entrance. I was alone, for now. There was conversation coming in from the hall under the village houses and I narrowed my gaze, seeing the blue lines in the wall where the tendrils were.
“Still a bit cramped down here,” I said.
I reached up, unable to fully extend my arm as my forearm brushed the ceiling. After a week out and about I had learned to love the open space again, and now the enclosed space was less cozy than it had been before. There was a possible solution, contacting the spider woman and her living doll assistant. I drummed my fingers on the wall, imagining having the wide open spaces, the underground gardens and halls, like that of the four keepers.
“Call a duck a duck Josh, you are jealous,” I said to myself.
“Jealous of what?”
My head cracked off the ceiling and I hit the ground in a pile of tangled limbs and cloth. In an instant I had my back to the wall, dagger in hand, and in a defensive pose while my vision swam. Through my dazed sight I could see Sliva, with a loaf of fresh bread in hand. The fox woman looked rather perplexed and concerned, and waved her hand, washing away the dull throb from the lump on my head.
“Thanks, Sliva,” I said. I rubbed my eyes, and returned my dagger to my belt. “I’m just thinking about making the place better.”
“Is that so? I have a few ideas.” Sliva said as she wrapped her arm into the crook of mine and went down the ramp. Her hand holding the loaf of bread glowed faintly, and the bread broke into perfect slices, one hovering towards me. “Did you happen to gain a rank in toughness? I swear if you put any more into that jump you would have soared above the middle of town.”
I gulped, and took the offered slice with a shaky hand. Bad memories surfaced and I stomped them down, drowning them out with a slice of hot, fresh bread. “Hey, this stuff is great.”
The fox woman hovered a piece towards her mouth and chomped down. Sliva’s ears and tails fluffed up in response and she hummed, savouring the taste. “A dash of salted butter would be perfect with this.” She turned one ear towards the corridor, and listened to the family talking in the hall. Seeing they were far enough she waved at the wall and the hidden wall slid open on greased tiles. “Now, as a guest I have little say, but as a mighty cleric I’m saying you can go to bed on your own, or I’ll knock you out with a spell.”
“I’m not that destitute, yet” I said. I rolled my shoulders seeing the familiar first layer of my dungeon and a wave of tiredness beat down on my back, drooping my head down. “Nevermind, if we get invaded make sure to wake me up.”
As I yawned, Sliva patted my back and escorted me towards my bedroom, using her tail to slide the heavy dividing curtain out of the way. My office was organized, the spare weapons I had been inspecting were neatly nestled in a weapon rack, the papers and writing supplies in cute little shelves, and a new chair at the desk.
“You guys did some upgrades,” I said. Sectioning off the bedroom was now a nice oak door with a little bit of rubber around the edges to get a good seal to cut down on noise. The door itself had been carved, with a rose at eye level, the stem wrapped around an oak tree, and several floating crystals around the base. “Whoa, that’s impressive.”
Sliva hummed happily. “You're too kind. I found Carter at a loss and wanted to apply a bit of work myself. Now.” She lightly patted my back. “Rest up, you look like a ghoul. If I didn’t know you I would have tried to cast the undead spell to check on you.”
After saying good night, or well good morning, I slid the curtain close behind Sliva. The happy fox woman hummed herself a tune as she devoured her bread. I lightly tapped on the frame and opened the door seeing the lights were dim, and Lin and Rolada were gone. I stepped inside the lavish bedroom and the trapped warmth soaked into my bones. My companions had set up along the wall beside the wardrobe what looked like half mannequins, and I saw Lin had one in use, leaving behind some daggers, her shortbow and quiver. I claimed the next, and stepped back to inspect my cloak, sword and armour.
The cloak was dirty on the outside, the battered scabbard needed fixing as the crossguard didn’t seat in perfectly and the scales had several, clearly visible scratches. I took the moment to absorb it all in, those were signs of my accomplishment, the battles won and loot earned. The magic satchel on the mannequin swayed side to side, and I could smell fresh air, as if a forest breeze could be felt.
“Right, the magic bow,” I said. I waved it off and collapsed on the dense layers of blankets and softness that was the massive bed. “Problems for later.”
I wiggled into the covers, and felt the warmth from the blankets heat me right up. A few stray red and white hairs told me Lin and Rolada must have just woken up. Stealing all the heat they left behind I drifted off to sleep. The dungeon lights turned off, the darkness lulling me to sleep, and a faint whisper, a melody came from nowhere, yet everywhere. The wordless song was the final nail, and my body gave out, finally able to rest.