The initial pleasantries were exchanged, all polite and proper. Too much protocol and etiquette for my tastes, but for such a monumental event, listing out all those details for the meeting minutes is important. I get it, but still, it took like half an hour to get through all the introductions.
To summarize, there were [Paladins] there representing the major Pantheon of Light and Dark gods. For the Light Gods, there are Hulonch (Light/Life), Echludoro (Time/Space), Sulvio (Matter/Energy), and Rufastrodun (Elements/Nature). For team Dark, the members are Icanthyicthus (Darkness/Knowledge), Gulthar (Fear/Courage), Juvumwambi (Trust/Lies), and Kimelidae (Fertility/Death). It is important to note that Light gods do not represent ‘good’ and Dark gods ‘evil’. More accurately, Light gods represent Domains that are complementary, whereas Dark gods represent Domains that are seemingly antagonist but ultimately enhance one another.
Additionally, some racial gods were represented, notably, Hammerrabi for the dwarves (Construction/Law) and Gubberloodoo for Goblins (Reincarnation/Judgement). Some other god that I did not recognize was also represented, and given his symbol of a skull with bones arrayed around it, he was either a pirate or a necromancer. Oddly, three demigods were also represented. Considering my moniker as a demigod is "The Dragon of Roads", I consider myself lucky that I did not end up like these guys. Like seriously, how does one keep a straight face while praying to them? The demigods represented were Many Words Paperman (Pamphlets/Instructional Media), Old Man Moneybags (Currency/Economics), and All-Weather Transporter (Mail/Couriers). No joke, those are their names.
Despite the ludicrous naming convention for demigods, the gods bend over backwards to keep the demigods happy so they do not leave this universe for better ones, especially Old Man Moneybags. Every single coin that is legal tender is made by him, each and every one of them imbued with his unmistakable magical signature. That is what stops a country from minting and distributing tons of inflated coins of arbitrary purity, which, as some of you know, does terrible, terrible things to the economy. It completely eliminates forged currency and doesn’t allow one nation to bully another by dictating the currency of trade. The other two are nice to have, but not as essential. Still, it is a luxury and convenience to be able to get your mail anywhere in the world in a reasonable timeframe instead of literal months or years later after paying exorbitant shipping fees.
In hindsight, I totally get why they were there. The roads I would build in my time in that universe would greatly facilitate trade, which is what all of them depended upon. In short, I would be making their lives very easy when roads connect pretty much everything, so they clearly had a dog in the fight of making sure I had everything I needed to do my job.
Anyway, boring meeting stuff happened until we got to the meat and potatoes of it all, with [Paladin] Gamgrox being the primary speaker for the gathered [Paladins]. I guess he was picked because the Domains of his god (Time/Space) most closely matched my own compared to what the other gods had to offer.
“As to the nature of the requests of the gods, they would like you to lead a team of engineers in building a grand highway that runs north and south on this continent. A series of roads already exist in most places, you just need to improve them and connect them to enable large-scale deployments of troops to and from the south. Upon completion, it is furthermore the hopes of the gods that you would likewise rebuild the roads that connect the highway to major cities.”
“I see,” I stated once he finished the big reveal. “I do have some questions before I can agree to fulfill this request.”
“Naturally,” replied Gamgrox. The orc smiled at me as he gestured with his hand spread in invitation. “We are here to answer your questions and help in any way we can.”
“First off, how do you or the gods know about me and why was I chosen?”
“We learned about you a few days back, the same day you completed building your road to the northern mountain. Our gods informed us that you are the new Emperor dragon, one whose flight has yet to be named, so you certainly have the desired upper limit in power and finesse to tackle the challenges of building this road. The skill and speed at which you built your road is extremely noteworthy and far in excess of what even skilled teams of professionals can accomplish when working together. Logistically, you have the capacity to quickly collect, shape, and distribute the resources needed for creating roads and bridges. You are likewise capable of defending yourself against the many threats in the wilderness through which this highway will pass. Your reputation precedes you as a man who is honest, fair, and competent; all desirable traits in a leader. Likewise, you are a politically favorable candidate, for you have no strong allegiances to anyone. All things considered, you are by far the best man, er, dragon for the job.”
I took a moment to consider his well thought out answer. No doubt he and the others had plenty of time to come up with answers to any likely questions I would have. I could find no holes in his reasoning, for what had started as a labor of convenience to help rebuild Berkerin turned into a major undertaking that I finished with flying colors. By now, I certainly had the Skills to put down road quickly, provided I had a nearby supply of suitable stone. Somehow, in all of that, I overlooked that the road had nothing to do with it, but rather, that shrine next to my road was practically a giant beacon saying, ‘A new demigod in the making is right here!’.
“Let’s say I were to agree to do this. What would I get out of it?”
Gamgrox took a few moments to exchange a few looks at other [Paladins]. Heads nodded in turn, and so he faced me and answered clearly for all to hear.
“You will be granted ownership over the roads you create, with full power and authority to tax those who utilize the road, provided you do so fairly and without discrimination based on protected categories. This includes the land immediately next to the road, which is all outlined in a contract that we have drafted for your review. All the political hassles will not be your concern, for you will have certain powers of eminent domain to build this road. In short, you will have the authority to boss around pesky nobles and royals who try to strongarm reparations out of you for the road.”
That got a few knowing laughs from those gathered. From my take of it, [Paladins] had little love for the minutiae and posturing of politics, preferring instead to actually get things done with grit and steel.
“This will also include rights to any discovered troves of resources, such as veins of ore, rare groves of valuable plants, dens of powerful beasts, and so forth. Much of the road will go through relatively uncharted and unowned territory, so it is considered fair payment that you and your flight be granted the rewards of anything valuable you find along the way.”
I took a moment to confer with my allies. Everyone seemed to approve of the deal, and Nanu advised me that having free and uncontested legal access to the lands I would come across would be a tremendous boon for my flight, provided I had the power to seize them from the local beasts and monsters.
“Okay, all that sounds reasonable, but now let’s get to the heart of the matter. Why the sudden need for this road? What is really going on down south?”
The [Paladin] of the strange god rose, and only now did I realize that he had not introduced himself during all the fanfare at the start. Gamgrox yielded to this mysterious individual, letting the newcomer speak. This guy wore a black and gray cloak over his armor. The whole ensemble looked to be made of bone and rather tattered, but perhaps that was just an edgy aesthetic and not a result of poor maintenance.
“I am [Paladin] Ulrinth, and my god is Lenthnegrel. He is the god of Bone and Ash, and it is no wonder that you do not recognize my god, for he had almost faded away into obscurity. For thousands of years, the faithful have collected bones of all manner of creatures and buried them in the Ashlands far to the south. The magically rich ash there empowers the bones and grants them unique properties that are useful in necromancy. We have been stockpiling these bones, because of all the gods, only he remembered what has happened before and what will happen again very soon. Such is the nature of the gods, that something forces them to forget important things until the hour is nigh, but in this case, one remembered what others could not. Though he was considered a mad doomsayer, the gods have recently come to an agreement that everything he said is true and will come to pass soon.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“You may be familiar with how in recent years, most countries forbade funerals, instead mandating that all bodies be stripped of flesh so that their bones may be sent south. Those bones end up in the Ashlands, for we will need them in a coming war. An enemy seeks to invade our world, one that has powerful magic that can strip the flesh from the bones of anyone within a great range of where they will appear. They seek to kill each and every one of us, to devour our world in some foul crusade for resources and plunder. As such, conventional soldiers, being made of flesh and blood, will be worthless, and so warriors devoid of flesh will be required to fight off this threat.
“Hence, constructs of necromancy being easy and cheap to make are the desired solution, with bones being the primary ingredient in creating such skeletal warriors. However, all manner of long-ranged warriors will be needed, along with those who can create magical shields and barriers. A veritable army of specialists will be needed to bottle this threat up until the gods find a solution to close the connection between our planet and wherever our enemies come from. While the faithful can make the journey through the wilderness with the bones they bring back, large armies could not hope to move through such terrain, hence the need for a good road to facilitate a constant and efficient supply chain. Our very existence is on the line, and so all will pitch in or we shall all perish.
“Ossimandias, Emperor of The Bone Wardens, has long worked in cooperation with my god and his mortal servants. This may be an opportunity for your budding flight to forge an alliance with his, for he is keen on ensuring this threat remains contained. I cannot speak as to the other flights and what motives they may have to either you or this coming war, but they too will perish if we fail to contain it.”
His speech over, he sat down without any fanfare. Everyone present appeared grim at the news, and I suspected while most of the [Paladins] knew the broad strokes of what was to come, most did not previously know this level of detail. None showed any signs of doubt, so surely the gods truly considered this to be an existential threat to our world.
The rest of the day devolved into examining maps and looking over contracts, with several corrections or clarifications made by both Chooka and Nanu. I had expected them to be competitive over paperwork, but perhaps the stakes we faced cowed them into cooperation. Overall, the contracts were made in good faith and aligned both with what had been said and my own interests. I was poised to become extremely wealthy from this undertaking if I saw fit to push the limits of the contract.
Surprisingly, the documents outlined a great number of specific individuals who were requested to muster at the rally location for this whole operation. A good number came from Berkerin, no doubt since I knew them and I was the star performer in this grand affair. For instance, Chooka, Skull, Alterez, Gambino, Bambina, Hopper, Ribbette, The Boys, Bellwright Muddlespoon, Serideth, and Blythnin were all explicitly listed as tier one personnel.
Serideth was Chooka’s coworker and a woman capable of effortlessly killing a band of assassins sent after her. She also had at least one other personality rocking around in that noggin of hers, but hey, them’s the breaks when you are a stone-cold killer. Blythnin was the ashen-skinned elf whom I dueled and defeated in the city arena just before the war broke out. Like, literally, the announcement that we were at war happened right as I was being congratulated for my victory.
Other names I recognized appeared in tier two, so still important, but not as critical. Garro and Rarro, the twins who liked blowing things up, along with Gulfore, a rather stoic female orc, were part of my merry band of scouts back in the war. It certainly seemed like we were getting the band back together, so to speak. Countless more names appeared, but I only recognized some of them. They were either other Adventurers or skilled craftsmen from the city that I had trained under when I had the time.
A fair amount of the contracts were ironed out by nightfall, but large swaths of paperwork governing logistics yet remained to be processed. The [Paladins] and their retinues were largely of the militant variety, and few had experience in large-scale construction projects, let alone one that spanned half a continent. They were knowledgeable about how to supply and feed armies, which certainly helped, but they didn’t know the exact resources and supplies that would be needed and where to get them. Generally, most of that fell to my discretion and that of the engineers and other experts assigned to me. A lot of good faith was offered both ways in this deal, and I would not be the one to besmirch my character and risk the wrath of every god by taking advantage of it.
Fortunately, the various religious orders and whatnot would help to strong-arm prices to ensure that ‘enterprising’ merchants, or ‘greedy fat slobs’ as I like to think of them, wouldn’t bend us over a barrel with the sudden demand for certain goods. Like, the sheer amount of S.M.A.R.T. crystals I would need throughout the road to maintain enchantments that would prevent wear and tear, water damage, sinkholes, and other such things would drain most regions dry of supply. For that and more, I would have to look into finding a way to craft them myself on a large scale. I can make them, but for a 2500 or so mile long road, I can’t make that many in an acceptable time frame. Auspicious that I am sitting on a huge chunk of unused Experience Points from the fight with the Count, for I would need to bolster my Skills to get this done.
As for the continent, Rubioco, it is much taller than it is wide. Both the northern and southern tip are very well-developed and populated, but that tapers off closer to the center where various deserts, wastelands, and indeed the Ashlands lie. The southern portion has a large amount of jungle, so most of their settlements are coastal, whereas the northern portion is more temperate with traditional forests. Berkerin itself is a little left of center and in the north, but the staging area for all persons involved to muster would be to the southeast. Enough roads existed this far north that rebuilding them would happen much later, probably as the capstone of this whole affair.
The tricky part to all of this was in the terrain. Three mountain chains would need tunnels dug through them, and one river over a mile wide at its narrowest point along the way would need a bridge to cross it. Considering the river floods during the spring thaw, the bridge I would need to build could span over two miles in length. Fortunately, after the third mountain and into the wastelands, the terrain is fairly smooth and flat, so the speed at which we build the road should pick up considerably after that point. However, I would also be responsible for creating aqueducts and the like to ensure water would be available all along the route. With the river being the last abundant source of known water along the way, the aqueduct would span over 800 miles in length if I had to take it the whole way, which would be a massive undertaking.
The reality of it all definitely sunk in. Chooka did her best to remain upbeat, but I could tell she knew as I knew; this would take years to make, and we would not be returning to our home in Berkerin for some time, if ever. She had spent most of her life here and all her friends lived here. She loved her job at the guildhall, so losing all of that would nearly devastate her. A clever little idea coalesced within my mind on how to salvage the best parts of that to make her happy, so I would pitch it to her later when all of us made it home.
We agreed to adjourn until tomorrow morning. It would take several days to hash out all the paperwork, and though none of the [Paladins] openly showed boredom, I could tell that the fatigue of wheeling and dealing was getting to them. We were granted an honor guard to escort us home. I suspect it was so we didn’t run off to the hills like raving madmen, but it did actually turn out to be useful. Large crowds gathered all along the route home; some eagerly tried to talk to us and others at least attempted to be more subtle about their inquiries. Some of our guards posted up outside our home to keep away the riff-raff, which ultimately brought some semblance of peace. The whole city knew by now that I was involved in something big, and everyone and his brother was itching to know more.
After giving the newcomers a tour, I deployed beds from my pocket dimension for Alterez and the kobolds to sleep in the living room. My mind nearly cooked from the day spent going over paperwork, I ambled over to bed to turn in for a few hours. However, I could feel the eyes of hungry predators gazing upon me as I took off my boots. Three pairs of hands joined in ‘helping’ me out of my clothes, for in my haste to get some shuteye, I forgot that other labors yet needed to be performed. Oh, the sacrifices I make for those I love! At least Nanu had the decency to place up some wards to keep the sounds and vibrations from spilling out of the room.
And so another night passed with my body being used to provide pleasure for one insatiable woman and two others not far behind in the magnitude of their lust. Oh how awful! Just tell me the exact time and place where it will happen next, you know, in case I wanted to avoid it or something. In all seriousness, it was all a pleasant distraction from the events of the day, but I would need regular and hefty supply of it in the coming years if I were to manage the stress of taking on perhaps the most ambitious construction project in the current age. Each of the lovely ladies by my side assured me they were up to the task, and so the night ended in one big happy cuddle in a bed that quickly approached the limits of how many occupants it could hold.
I don’t think Nanu slept a wink. I don’t even think she needed to. I had not bothered to ask about her sleep and food requirements. That and so much more about dragons remained to be asked. And so, while Chooka slept, Nana, Skull, and myself sat around a table with a sound ward in place to talk about where to go from here. We would fill Chooka in on the pertinent details later, for she needed her beauty sleep. Long was the road ahead of us, but we were ready to tread it.