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Fabulosa watched Charitybelle with interest. “I’m game. What’s got you so worked up?”

Charitybelle grabbed a piece of blue rock and fidgeted with it before speaking. “Remember how the riverboat crew complained about river tolls?”

I didn’t recall the conversation but realized I’d slept through much of our upriver trip.

Fabulosa nodded, and I did the same, not wanting to break the flow.

“What if we could establish a trade route across Miros—on land—over the route we just crossed? If we could somehow secure an area here, build an outpost, and keep the kobolds away, we could start our own village.”

Fabulosa and I exchanged puzzled looks. We had planned for a hunting lodge when six of us agreed to hit the wilderness, but a village seemed farfetched. We researched the buildings and practical things like crafting facilities, creature comforts, and basic defenses. But enticing NPCs to join us seemed like a different enterprise.

“Think about it, Fab. If we can keep the route safe between east and west, this big rock could become a rest area for merchants and travelers. And that might require killing hostile monsters.”

Fabulosa leaned back on her elbows. “I dunno, C-Belle. That boat ride seemed awfully nice. Assuming we could keep varmints off their caravans, why would merchants haul goods across the land? Isn’t water transportation cheaper?”

Though I knew the answer, I let Charitybelle field the concern. This was her show.

“It’s twelve times cheaper, but that’s the problem we found in our research. The Grayton River is the sole option for trade. Since it’s a given that traffic goes through Arlington, they’re strangling everyone with tolls. And they’re taxing merchants in both directions. And then there are the oceans. Tidal effects wreak havoc on seafarers, and irregular lunar timetables are a constant source of scheduling problems. All the while, Arlington rakes in harbor fees. And they monopolize maritime magicians and shipping in the West.”

I followed her thoughts. “You’re saying a few guards to keep the kobolds off isn’t such a bad alternative.”

Charitybelle bounced her ankles in excitement. “Exactly! And we could ferry people across this river to the eastern cities.”

I looked at the river. Building a ferry big enough to hold a horse and wagon wasn’t something we researched. We found almost no nautical engineering in Belden, and this river spanned a quarter-mile across. It didn’t seem feasible, and none of us knew how to sail.

“I’ve been talking to Chloe about the area, and she says it’s only a couple of days east until you hit another river. She says there’s a human fortification, and it sounds like Fort Krek. That means we’re at the midpoint between Basilborough and the East!”

Fabulosa stretched across the rock, squinting into the sky as she spoke. “Okay, that’s cool, C-Belle, but I thought we were fixin’ to kill monsters and explore dungeons. The game is called The Book of Dungeons, and Patch is the only one who’s seen one. I’m not saying it’s a bad idea—but how does that fit into the battle royale? Didn’t we come out here to hunt and level up?”

Both Charitybelle and Fabulosa looked to me for support.

Even without diplomacy skills, I knew the importance of not ganging up on Fabulosa. “There’s no reason we can’t do both. Right?”

Charitybelle being my girlfriend made me biased, but her proposal made sense. Salt fetched precious prices in the West, yet it barely seemed worth mining in the East—or so I had read. Commonplace grains and spices sold for lots of money in exotic eastern cities like Malibar and Torzda.

When reading through myths and histories in Belden, I found no references to teleportation. While this world played with time, no cheats existed for distance.

Charitybelle jumped in before Fabulosa spoke. “We can search for dungeons. But if the hunting lodge grows into an outpost, we’ll have something to invest our money in. If we’re playing the long game, there isn’t anything longer-term than base-building.”

I liked the idea even though it called attention to ourselves. Anonymity might be challenging regardless, especially as we leveled up. Powerful people earned reputations. And pets inhibited hiding. Chloe covered broad sections of the continent, and Tardee’s hound tracked Fabulosa long distances without error.

If we outed ourselves to other players, it made sense to do so in an environment we could control.

Miros was big, but I didn’t see how anyone could live in a log cabin and expect to be left alone. Even I planned to drop in on Sune Njal. A colony would keep Charitybelle and Fabulosa busy while I could look for the Pentarch. I had many reasons to like this plan but didn’t want to jump onto the bandwagon without Fabulosa’s endorsement.

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Charitybelle smiled nervously. “It could be something to do on the side while we hunt monsters. If we’re taming the land, then we might as well profit from it.”

Fabulosa reached over to grab Charitybelle’s wrist. “Well, sure. But you’d still adventure with us, right?”

Charitybelle nodded. “Absolutely! We would do everything we normally would do to establish a base camp. As we harvest goods and craft reagents, we could use them to buff up our settlement.” She stood up and swung her arms. “This big rock clinched it, but I didn’t want to say anything until I could be sure.”

At this point, she lost me. “Sure of what, babe?”

“This place is perfect. We can quarry stone and build a castle right here!”

Fabulosa raised her eyebrows.

I expressed the same incredulity. “Uh—a castle?”

“Yeah! A castle is a living, breathing entity. We could staff it with guards and repel attacks from kobolds and goblins. Oh—and we could also defend ourselves against orcs. They have siege engine technology and live across the river!” Charitybelle grinned as if this last bit of information counted as a selling point.

I raised an eyebrow at my girlfriend. “But won’t it take a lot of money and time and people to build something like that?” I didn’t know if these amounted to the most important questions, but they seemed a sensible place to start.

“I’ve been thinking about that since I first saw this rock through Chloe’s eyes. We could start small with our lodge and add buildings as needed.”

The resuming rainfall hurried the discussion to a conclusion, and Fabulosa gave in. “I reckon that makes sense, but I can’t make any promises. That sounds like a lot of work, C-Belle. Just don’t be too disappointed if it doesn’t work out.” Fabulosa looked at me.

“If it doesn’t work, we can still use it for a base camp.”

Charitybelle clapped her hands. “It could be so cool. We can call this Hawkhurst after Chloe—because she found it, after all. Hawk is for Chloe—and hurst means a hill, and this rock overlooks the lake.”

Fabulosa looked over the water. Comparing this rock to a hill might be a stretch, but it didn’t look like Fabulosa wanted an argument. She shrugged. “Sure, why not? The double-H sounds good, anyway.”

Charitybelle pounced on her with a tight embrace.

“Hey, where’s my hug? Come on, C-Belle, share the wealth.” I only half-joked. Charitybelle and I hadn’t shared physical contact since we lost half our friends. When it became my turn for a squeeze, I wondered if we would renew our intimacy soon, now that Fabulosa was on the mend. Charitybelle hadn’t expressed romantic interest since we’d taken to sleeping in the Dark Room.

My girlfriend’s libido wasn’t the only reason the transdimensional space cramped my style. Even I had to admit that it wasn’t the most comfortable atmosphere. Even though the wind wafted in from the trapdoor opening, the interior air smelled artificial. It felt weird despite its comfort, convenience, and safety. The sooner we slept in tents, cabins, or castles, the better.

Charitybelle rendered unsolicited opinions about recruiting tradespeople as we reconnoitered the region. She babbled about several topics, covering ship-building, defenses, storehouses, roads, drainage, farming, and long-distance communication methods.

She speculated on our chances of finding a financial sponsor to help fund it. Nobles from the West or East might want to invest in the trade route venture.

A wind swept in from the lake, making it challenging to understand all of Charitybelle’s details. It howled in our ears as it buffeted the shoreline.

The rock elevation peaked at the river’s mouth, looming over the surface by several stories. Its height tapered over the next few hundred yards to the waterline, where it disappeared beneath a thick covering of lily pads.

At its highest point of the ledge, we spotted evidence of occupants—a waist-high cairn. I feared it to be a burial site or, worse, a place of sacrifice. Placing my hand on a stone, I cast Mineral Communion and searched through its memories.

The magic conveyed vignettes of goblins stacking stones into a pile. The cairn served as a turnaround marker for patrols. Like dogs with fire hydrants, the scouts used it as a toilet, fouling it with their scent to signify their domain’s extent. Kobolds and orcs hadn’t knocked over the assembly, attesting to the boundary’s legitimacy.

I pulled my hand off the rocks, wiped it on my robe, and made the mistake of informing my friends how the goblins used it.

“Eww, gross!” Charitybelle wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“Ugh. That’s a boy thing.” Fabulosa shook her head, exchanging looks with Charitybelle.

I widened my eyes. “Hey, don’t blame me. I’m just the messenger. Although, to claim this ground, we ought to leave our scent next.”

Charitybelle turned and flapped her hands. “Oh! Get away from me.”

Fabulosa narrowed her eyes. “You men are all the same.”

I laughed as I shifted back into my stone sense and picked up colored spots on the rocky ground. The footprints circled the cairn and doubled-back north toward goblin country.

My companions couldn’t see the glowing prints on the stone, but they appeared clear as day to my magically endowed eyes. “I see footprints here. They circle the stones and then go back north. It seems goblins patrol the riverbank.”

Charitybelle and Fabulosa followed me as I followed the glowing footprints. The double vision from the spell dizzied me, so I stepped gingerly, taking care to avoid falling into the water. I stalked the shoreline north until we ran out of rock. The invisible trail aligned with a vague parting of weeds along the river’s edge. It made a subtle divot in the vegetation, but we would have missed it without the benefit of my stone-sight.

I pointed out the trail. “The goblin patrol goes up there, along the river.”

Half-jokingly, Charitybelle rested her hands on her hips. “Well, I’m sorry for them. This rock is our castle now.”

Not joking, Fabulosa crossed her arms. “Bring ‘em on.”

I chuckled in agreement—gamers were going to game.

We followed the path north along the river until Charitybelle cried in alarm. “Chloe spotted someone lying under a pine tree a few miles upstream. I’m sending her back for a closer look.”

Minutes later, Charitybelle gave us a more detailed report. “I see a person clothed in leather skins. It looks as if vines grew over their face. The body isn’t moving, although it could be sleeping.”

We walked along the bank for hours before reaching the shelter of riverside trees. Chloe led us straight to the body, proving again that the hawk had become indispensable. The figure lay close to the forest’s edge, away from the goblin’s path.