Collin

“Hello everyone! Thank you for agreeing to meet. This should be a productive meeting for all as we have many new things to talk about” Collin said in the now filled council room.

The preceding weeks after the Ray’s defeat of the Goblin King and activation of the Beacon were an absolute mess. Ray spent three days in the medical wing followed by another five days resting in his home. Collin took over most of the duties while he was recovering. The first issue was the village stores. When the Beacon was activated, hundreds of items were transported to the two story warehouse at the East end of the village. The caretaker showed up to work that following morning and couldn’t even open the door for all the cloth, food, weapons, and other such items that were emptied from the boar canyons. It took fifteen pledges and three days of constant sorting before inventory was able to be reported to Collin. The next task was securing the boar canyons. All current missions to other areas were temporarily suspended until further notice. The adventurers guild sent nearly fifty adventurers back to the Canyon to dispose of the dead and to fight off any goblins that tried to move back in after being expelled. Their second objective was to explore the canyons. All passages in and out were documented and a report was made of what natural resources could be mined from the canyon. This process took two weeks and Collin had a detailed report sitting in front of him waiting to be talked about. After Ray recovered enough to leave the wing and go home. He spent half the day helping Collin and the other half meditating and storing Mana into mana Crystals. The increase in his mana reserves was a much needed blessing, however it required him to spend more time meditating then he was used to performing. Ray hated to meditate. He hated sitting and doing nothing which is why Collin sent him on a fishing trip with Theo and Dayton. He was out of Collins' hair and they needed fish for the upcoming winter festival.

“Why are we meeting without Lord Ray present?” one of the elders asked motioning to the empty chair at the end

“I am with you in spirit Mr. Reginald, Please continue as if I am here.” A voice echoed from the system. One of the skills provided to Ray was the ability to access the system from anywhere inside the region. He was also able to communicate through the system which meant he was not physically needed in the meeting room to be part of the meeting.

“Right, now that we have addressed that, on to the first matter of business. I have a report of the current inventory from our stores. Most of the food has been disposed of and our current stores have been replenished to an adequate amount. We have collaborated with village guilds and have a substantial amount of Goblin Made weapons, clothing, cookware and other such objects that we need to do something with. Any ideas?” Collin asked the group

“Can we sell them to the kingdom or to other villages? An elder asked.

“Goblin made items are typically of very low quality and so we would not get much for them if we sold them to the kingdom or to another village” A representative of the commerce guild explained.

“Vice Lord Collin, Can the cloth and metals be reused? Would the leather and blacksmith be able to forge better quality items using the material obtained?”

“Jordan, Richard, What do you think?” Collin asked directing his attention to the master leather smith and blacksmith of the village

“We have inspected metal, and it is possible to smelt it down and use it for other such items. I recommend smelting them to bricks which will allow for better storage and easier use for when they need to be made into other such items.” Jordan of the Blacksmiths advised

“The cloth and rope are good. We can certainly use them also. We have many villagers with only one or two changes of clothes to their name. It could help with morale if we were able to distribute them especially with winter coming ” Richard stated in agreement.

“Any objections?” Collin asked, pausing for a brief moment. “ Wonderful, Master Jordan, Master Richard, please proceed at your own discretion.”

“Next up, as many of you have heard. We have secured the boar canyons. This includes the abandoned mines and the surrounding land. System, please show us a map of Region XI.” Collin stated, directing everyone's attention to the map.

The system brought up a full display of their region. The areas under Lord Rays Control had exquisite detail and with elevation, landmarks, and distances between each other noted. The areas not in control were grayed out.

“If there are no objections, I believe we should reopen the mine and begin negotiations with the neighboring villages. We have already begun mining in the lower depths of the mountain that we are sitting on. If reports are correct then we should be able to add silver, copper, and mithril to our current coal, gold and Iron.” Collin stated.

“Do we have the manpower to perform this task?” an elder to the left asked

“We have sent some correspondence to the neighboring villages and to the kingdom and have received word that ten pledges and two Masters are willing to relocate to help run the additional labor. We would need to build some additional housing but that should not be an issue if we chose to move forward.”

“We need to either add on to the current warehouse or to build a new one. Poor Jasper nearly had a heart attack when he opened the stores a few weeks ago” Rays voice came through the system. ”Theo cast over that direction, the fish are swimming downstream not up upstream”

“Sir, are we able to explain how we acquired the land?” an elder asked.

“It appears that this entire region used to be under the control of a Baron. Through a series of unfortunate events and the course of time the land was split or conquered. All of you should have seen this appear recently?”

An image of the beacon appeared.

“It was teleported to us from the Boar canyon shortly after it was activated by Ray and Myself,” Collin explained. “It seems by finding and activating these beacons, we can acquire not only access to the land but additional abilities such as Lord Ray now being able to communicate with us while he is ten miles away fishing for trout in the Maxwell River”

“What Steps are we taking to find the other beacons?” Adam asked.

“We have tasked the adventure guild to explore the region and be on the lookout for similar structures” Collin replied “If more are found than Lord Ray and I will activate them and we will use whatever resources to help return the village and its people to a better way of living”

There was a nod of approval from the room.

“We have one more item to discuss and agree on regarding what was mentioned above. In order to open the mines and ship the resources properly, We will need to build a railway to the boar canyons. Since we are already in discussions with the fishing villages near Poorman's Harbor to the south, this would be a great opportunity to begin building the railway from here to there with a checkpoint at the boar canyon. Dayton’s Father Reese Ryan is already there negotiating the contract for the fishing imports. We plan to send a team lead by Kono who will meet with Mr. Ryan to update him on the new plan and conclude the negotiations. They are to leave tonight.`` Collin explained ‘ Does anyone have any objections to what has been mentioned. Do we have any questions or concerns''

All nodded in approval. This of course had been talked about behind closed doors and in separate committee meetings for the last few days. The official meeting here was just for the official records. The people of Golden leaf village agreed on that darkest day to rebuild and to focus on the health and wealth of the village. Everyone knew what it was like to be forgotten and mistreated. To scrape by in order to survive. No one wanted to return to that way of living. Ray made a promise to never let that happen and it was Collins job as Vice Lord to help Ray see this kept.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Last thing to discuss everyone and then we can go about our day and let Lord Ray get back to his fishing. We have been working to restore the village's academic privileges for the magical adept pledges. As many of you know, for the last century we have been sending pledges to compound’s Gamma and Delta for training. We have noted that the pass rate of Golden Leaf Pledges is considerably low. As such we have requested that the pledges be allowed to train here with us before being shipped to the Compounds. This has been accepted on a trial basis. Starting Monday, Lord Ray will begin training the magically adept. They will be trained, tested, and then shipped to Gamma. The hope is that our pledges will have a sort of head start and the pass rate will increase. Higher pass rates mean more support from the kingdom and a better chance that our children stay alive long enough to retire and come back home to us. We do need volunteers and any help we can get so if you are a capable fighter, adventurer, or have any skills in magic or mana control or know anyone with such skills, please consider aiding us in this endeavor. I know many of you have had children in the past that did not make it home. We want to give these kids the best possible chance that they can in order to get them home safely. “ Collin explained.

There were murmurs around the room but all nodded in approval.

“If there is nothing more to talk about then I shall adjourn the meeting.” Collin said. Everyone promptly got up and left the room.

Ray

Ray sat on a boat floating down the Maxwell river. The system went silent as the meeting ended and he returned his attention to the three children in the boat arguing over where they should each cast their line. Dayton and Theo stood at the edge while a short curly haired blonde girl sat in between them trying to untangle her line. Mace sat next to Ray napping in the midday sun.

“Mr. Ray, Can you fix my fishing pole?” Georgie said, thrusting her tangled mess in Ray's direction.

“I can do it for you Georgie!” Theo exclaimed, putting his pole down and reaching for hers.

“Thank you Theo!” Georgie said giving him a soft smile

“She’s not even seven and she already has those two wrapped around her finger” Ray muttered watching his line bob up and down.

Georgie was the granddaughter of one of the village elders. She was seven years old. Blonde hair, blue eyes and considered the jewel of the village. Ray was not sure what that meant but wherever Theo and Dayton went, Georgie was there. Whatever Georgie wanted, the village seemed to make it happen. She loved the attention especially on Sundays when she was usually singing her heart out at the village church.

Dayton reeled in a trout and threw it in the bucket. He had been quiet the last few days and Ray was concerned. This was why he had them come along. Georgie just happened to be there when he asked them and he didn't have a reason to tell her no. He needed to get away after all of the fighting and he wanted to check on Dayton and Theo. The report that was given to him from Jackson after the two were rescued suggested that Dayton and Theo managed to kill nearly thirty-five goblins. They had Mace with them but still, to be only eight years old and be put into that situation. Most adults wouldn't have been able to take on a goblin much less thirty-five. Dayton and Theo were both still wearing their daggers. They refused to take them off and tried to fight any adult that tried to take them.

“Dayton, Can I see your dagger? I promise to give it back, I just want to check it.” Ray asked, setting his pole down also.

Dayton carefully unsheathed and presented it to Ray. The dagger did not appear to be goblin made. It had a ten inch blade that was sharpened on both sides. The handle was about six inches long with a loop for a pommel. This took on more characteristics of a throwing dagger versus one for fighting and hunting. Runes marked the side of the blade.

“Theo, Can I see yours also?” Ray asked, still holding on to Dayton's. Theo presented his blade to Ray also. It was an almost identical blade to Dayton’s however the runes on his were different.

“Do you know what these symbols mean?” Ray asked the two boys. They both shook their heads. “This one is the symbol for wind and this one is the symbol for water. If you were able to imbue them with mana, they would give different effects accordingly.”

Ray transferred some of his mana into the wind dagger and threw it at the nearest log. It shattered into a million pieces before the knife dropped to the bottom of the river.

“Hey, where did it go? You promised to give it back!!” Dayton yelled, standing to jump into the river.

“Hold on Dayton, don’t jump just yet” Ray said, making a motion with his hand. The Dagger came out of the water and Ray caught it. “Here you go.” Ray handed both daggers back to the boys.

“Please be careful with these. Runic weapons are very rare and highly sought after. People will kill and steal and do any number of things to obtain such tools. Do not go waving this around showing everyone okay?”

Both boys nodded in understanding.

The four continued to fish for the next hour catching fish and talking about weapons and monsters. Dayton and Theo retold the story about being captured and rescued by mace. They even told Ray about the game they played and the different ways they teleported or “warped” to make the kill. Ray sat and listened and occasionally gave a glance at Mace who would yawn and nap as if this was not a huge ordeal that he should not have done. Bad dog.

They came up to a bridge where they were supposed to get out. A wagon should be coming to pick them up in about a half hour. Ray helped the kids out of the river and they drug the boat and the sack of fish up to the road. There they waited and took turns throwing their daggers at a makeshift target that Ray made in a nearby tree.

“Lord Ray, Can I tell you a secret?” Theo asked, walking up to Ray.

“Sure buddy what is up?”

“I didn’t need Mace’s help to warp strike. I mean I did at first but about half way through I was able to do it without Mace being near me”

“Can you do it now?” Ray asked.

Theo threw his dagger at a rock on the other side of the riverbank and disappeared in a flash. He reappeared holding the dagger and sitting on the rock.

“You told him!?” Dayton yelled furiously. “We promised not to tell anyone!”

Dayton threw his dagger at the top most part of the nearest tree and disappeared also. He landed in a branch also holding the dagger. Ray’s eyes got wide and he looked at Mace. Mace was sound asleep in the boat. His King chess piece was not glowing and he did not seem to have noticed.

The two boys teleported back to Ray's side. Georgie was in complete shock and asking a million questions about how and why and if she could learn to do it also. Ray had never seen this before. The two boys not only were controlling mana, but managed to mimic a skill that they had borrowed from a magical bonded beast. Ray handed each of them a rock and asked that they try to do it without the dagger. Maybe the knives had the skill and not them. It took them a few tries but they managed to throw a rock and catch it mid air. The two then began throwing rocks at different objects and in weird ways to make the other catch it. They made a game of this soon after. Dayton would skip the rock down the stream and Theo would teleport and catch it. Theo would then throw the rock at a tree and Dayton would catch it. They continued this until the wagon came to fetch them. They then loaded everything up and started on the journey home.

“System, status window for party members.” Ray said

The system popped up in front of him.

Ray's Health 100/100%

Mana 99/100%

Dayton's Health 100/100%

Mana 35/100%

Theo's Health 100/100%

Mana 35/100%

Mace's Health 100/100%

Mana 100/100%

Georgie's Health 100/100%

Mana Not Applicable

Georgia must be too young. She may not be adept for it. Dayton and Mace are a different story however. They will need to begin schooling. I better talk to their moms tonight. Ray thought as they ventured home.

They arrived at the village just before nightfall. Georgie’s father came and took her home. Dayton and Theo helped Ray unload the boat and carried the fish into the local stores. Their pledges began to cut up and progress for storing. Ray took Theo home first. He told Dayton to wait outside and he went in to talk to Theo’s Parents. They had many questions and Ray did his best to assure them that he would train them as much as he could before they were to be shipped off. He advised that because of the young age, they would not be shipped away until they turned eleven and became a full blown pledge. After leaving Theo’s house, Ray took Dayton home and spoke to his mom. This went by much easier. Reese was a cousin of Ray’s as his brother and Ray’s mother were siblings. Ray advised Dayton’s mother of when and where Dayton was to be on Monday and then he departed. Ray stopped by Adam and Jane’s for dinner. There he told them of the new development and they talked more about the meeting Collin had led. Ray and Mace made it up to their house on top of the village main building just before midnight. Ray undressed and passed out for the night.