Yesterday Thaddeus and the three farmhands Arthur, Sean, and Matthew finished the goat pen in the afternoon. Thaddeus used his Architectural skill and [Erosion] to submerge the post in a pentagonal line. The posts were sawed beams cut into thirds. The triangle of the pentagon was used to mark the walls of the goat enclosure. Thaddeus used [Stone Wall] to make the sides and roof of the enclosure. He also built a small gate so goats could enter and exit at their leisure. Finally, he also forged a small hook and loop latch to keep the door closed at night.
Arthur, Sean, and Mathew were impressed by the straightness of the post line. Most farmers used string or yards to measure posts and make sure the lines were straight. But watching their new lord eyeball perfect measurement was a sight to behold. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, they watched Thaddeus cast stone walls. They watched stone walls appear seeming from the ground until they formed 5ft walls.
Now they understood why all the houses had stone walls. Stone was expensive. Normally basic houses were made only of wood. Only lords and kings lived in stone houses. That’s why Lidia asked if the stone houses were for them when she arrived. Most lords made laborers build their own homes from scrap wood. When Priestess Thera told them their new lord built their houses, they didn’t believe it. But when they saw it was true, they were blown away.
When Thaddeus stepped out of his yurt, with Betsy and Carl in tow, he looked at the settlement. It was peaceful outside. There was a light morning drizzle, and the mud path outside his home was filled with little puzzles. The sun was shining brightly behind the fluffy white rain clouds. He looked over and saw the pigs out enjoying the mud, they rolled around and covered their body in mud. After letting the horse out, he walked over to the sawmill.
The pile of dried wood, he planned to use was looking thin. He used the wood to build the fortress doors and goat pen. He also planned to use the wood to build the pig pen, trough, and hunter’s lodge. That meant tomorrow, he’d need to spend all day cutting, sawing, and drying lumber. If there weren’t any distractions, he’d be able to start building his house in mid-May and finish in late June. Sabrina was expected to arrive on September 1st. Which gives him time to build furniture, shelves, dressers, cabinets, and a kitchen table.
He took six beams from the kiln and brought them into the sawmill, he measured twice, then used a handsaw to cut three identical 3-foot posts. He was always measured twice and cut once. When he finished, he planned the post until they were flat and then cut ovals near the top, middle, and bottom. When the finished he walked over to the goat pen and designed a spot nearby. The 3D translucent green light displayed a 9-square foot pen. Thaddeus cast [Erosion] and buried each post. When he finished, he walked by the sawmill to grab some planks.
When he walked back to the pig pen, he saw his residents were up and about. Brand and Lidia opened their shops for the day. He observed Thera making her way to the bakery and Hunter running in the direction of the dam lake with his bow and quiver. And he saw Sean, Arthur, and Mathew walking toward him.
“Good morning, Lord Brown. It looks like you got an early start to the day,” Sean said smiling.
“No, I usually wake up this early. Did your families sleep well?” Thaddeus checked.
“Yes lord, we were truly blessed to sleep in such comfort,” Matthew replied.
“Oh, and please stop calling me lord, just call me Thaddeus,” he explained. Hearing lord this and lord that was getting tiring.
“Sir, not calling you lord, is tantamount to a crime punishable by death,” Alfred warned.
“Why is addressing me by my first name a crime?” Thaddeus asked curiously.
“Commoners addressing a landowner, such as yourself, by your first name breaks the law of lese-majesty which is a crime against the dignity of nobles. And technically, landowners such as yourself are considered petty nobles like rich merchants,” Alfred instructed.
“Lord Brown, we do not feel comfortable addressing you by your first name. I hope you can forgive us,” Arthur said, taking the wood from Thaddeus’ hands.
“It’s fine, I don’t want you to get in trouble,” Thaddeus said understandingly.
With the pig pen post already in the ground, the four of them were able to insert the planks between the post easily and they finished the job quickly. Thaddeus left, to let the men handle the crops and livestock. He decided to visit Lidia and Brand’s shops.
As he walked down the road, the children ran up to speak with him. They asked him kinds of questions about the hamlet, what he was going to build next, and where he was going. He enjoyed the children until they asked about his love life, then it was time to send the little brats away back home to their parents.
“Morning Lidia and Thera,” he said as he approached the bakery.
“Morning Lord Brown won’t be much longer until the bread’s ready to come out,” Lidia said happily.
“Good Morning, Thaddeus. The people have been raving out their new houses all morning…and your magic! Would like to come to buy the church later and buy a new spell?” Thera said asked happily.
“Can I buy spells from you?” he said excitedly.
The two spells he had were excellent at both building and combat. He wanted to buy more spells, but they were expensive. But now he could afford them. He checked the timer on the skill book he put up for auction. He had a day left before the auction ended. Since Heaven’s Gates allowed people to exchange real money for in-game currency, the wealthy were spending gold like it was mere coppers and the same was true for the Fast Slash skill book. The current bid on the skill book was 452 gold.
Thaddeus almost feinted from shock at seeing that amount. Owning one gold equally ten thousand Standard Dollars. One silver was equivalent to 100 Standard Dollars. Copper equaled one Standard Dollar. Thaddeus looked up the current price of a Standard Dollar on the cryptocurrency marketplace. One Standard Dollar costs $19,240 American Dollars, the total market value was more than $708,798,239,852, and the volume traded in the last 24 hours was 25,456,761. Which meant one gold cost $19,240 times 10,000 or $192.4 million. The wealthy truly lived separate lives from the rest.
With that kind of money, Thaddeus could retire easily in the real world. He didn’t need to look for a job after graduation, and that’s when he realized, his residents were paying him four coppers a month for rent. That meant each resident, 18 and older, had to pay him $76,960 Standard Dollars a month. If his settlement became a city wouldn’t that make him a billionaire? He understood, why people rushed to build settlements. How could he have been so ignorant?
“Yes, sir. I wondered the same thing myself,” Alfred chimed in.
“Alfred now is not the time,” Thaddeus said having a little existential crisis.
“Lord Brown are you all, right?” Lidia asked worriedly.
“Yes, the delicious smell of your bread knocked me off my feet,” Thaddeus lied.
“Yes, it has the effect. One loaf cost two coppers,” Lidia said proudly.
Thaddeus paid her and then went to see butchery and told Brand, “give me a deer steak.”
“On the house, Lord Brown. Thanks to you, I have more than enough meat to feed the town for two weeks,” he commented.
“Well went you can afford the rest, I’ll happily sell you the rest,” Thaddeus said laying three coppers on the counter and walking back to the yurt to make breakfast.
He cooked the venison over a slow fire and nibbled on the bread. He flipped the steak while he read the Heaven’s Gate forum. Players reported on the beast wave in different towns and cities. Most cities and towns were fine. There were enough players in every city to deal with wave after wave of beasts. However, the same was not true of settlement lords.
Some lords armed their slaves or laborers before the beast wave started. When the first beast appeared the slaves and laborers ran away with the weapons and armor they just bought. They cursed the workers just before they were killed, and their settlement was destroyed. Others believed the false rumor settlement protect rumors. When they logged back into the check on their territory it was not a dungeon. Thousands of lords complained to the developers. But Heaven’s Gate just put out a press release that said next time read the disclaimer, loss, and risk was a part of the game.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
The Global 100 and Settlement ranking list were trending. Everyone wanted to know what was in the treasure boxes. Thaddeus also noticed the first and second-place winners in Settlement Rankings were guilds. Everyone wanted to know who Thaddeus was and where his territory was locked. Anonymity was key. He hoped the players who arrived with the caravan yesterday, didn’t blab about his territory on the forum. The last thing he wanted was more players stopping. All he wanted to do was build his city in peace.
When the steak was done, he let it rest on his plate, while he fried the eggs. Steak and eggs were his favorite in-game breakfast. Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about cholesterol in-game and eat as much red meat as he wanted.
After lunch returned to the livestock pens and started building the chicken coop. He was working on the chicken coop when he got a notification.
Quest Received: Emergency Shelter
The Goddess Demeter requests you save her followers from religious persecution. Run to the bridge and stop the Rhine Theocracy from capturing the refugees. Reward: 5 gold, + 5 Authority in the Church of Earth. Penalty: -10 Nature Affinity.
Thaddeus threw down his tools and ran south to the bridge. He took his axe and shield from his bag of holding and ran down the road. The residents looked at him with a mix of surprise and fear. Mothers grabbed their children and watched the lord run to the bridge. Cassian who had just woken up quickly followed him. Priestess Thera too walked slowly to the bridge. The excitement gripped the residents, and they followed behind the priestess to the bridge.
Thaddeus with his axe and shield extended watched as a group of people ran for their lives. In the distance, he could make out a group of knights traveling on horseback. He watched the people who run until they made it to the bridge. They collapsed to their hands and knees and prostrated themselves before Thaddeus to beg for sanctuary.
He neither accepted nor rejected them. But stepped forward, so they were behind on the bridge. He wanted to hear from the knights what these people were accused of before admitting them as his residents.
“Halt!” Thaddeus yelled when the knight approached the bridge. “What business do you have in the Arcadian Empire?”
“Why do you protect those heretics?” the knight shouted, not answering Thaddeus’ questions.
“I protect this border! Tell me what crimes they have committed!” Thaddeus asked.
“They are accused of worshiping the false god Demeter. I am to escort them to the Rhine Theocracy so they may be put to death,” the knight commanded.
“These are not crimes in the Arcadian Empire. Per our laws the lord may decide to grant them the sanctuary or cast them aside,” Cassian said walking next to Thaddeus.
“Hurry up and return them, do you wish to make an enemy of the Rhine Theocracy?” the knight said spitting at Thaddeus maliciously.
“Do you wish to make the enemy of the Arcadian Empire?” Cassian shot back, spitting toward the knight.
“Speak Lord, your dog’s leash extends too far!” the knight said vehemently.
“They committed no crimes in the Arcadian Empire. Had they been thieves or murderers, I would have returned to you. Now leave my territory, or I petition the emperor for war,” Thaddeus explained rationally.
“Ha-ha, a petty lord who takes in filth is no noble,” the knight said turning his horse and galloping away.
“That bastard, to have slandered you wantonly deserves to die,” Cassian cursed.
Thaddeus turned around and looked at the refugees. They were covered in dirt and grime. Their clothes were ripped, and their cloaks were full of holes. They wore no shoes, and their feet were bloody. They looked starved and dehydrated. They fled persecution due to their beliefs. They had suffered so much to just get here.
“My lord is it true, you’ll grant us sanctuary?” and an old gray-haired man.
“Yes, welcome to Woodhaerst,” Thaddeus greeted, as he received a new notification.
Quest Completed: Emergency Shelter
The Goddess Demeter requests you save her followers from religious persecution. Run to the bridge and stop the Rhine Theocracy from capturing the refugees. Reward: 5 gold, + 5 Authority in the Church of Earth.
System Message:
Congratulations, Woodhaerst has advanced to Hamlet Level 4. +1 WILL, +100 EXP, + 1 common building.
“Move, out of my way. Let an old woman through,” Thera yelled walking through the crowd. When she arrived, she cast [Greater Heal] on them.
“Priestesses thank you for healing us, but we have no money to pay you,” a young woman said sadly.
“The first one’s free,” she said with a wink and a smile, before walking away.
“Go with Cassian, he’ll get you some new clothes. Then get cleaned up. There’s one house available, that will be your house in the future,” Thaddeus ordered walking away.
He took two steps, when a guard came running, and said out of breath, “Lord, there’s a group of refugees wishing to join the hamlet?”
This time he ran north to the fortress. When he arrived, he saw a large group of people, he counted just over 30, waiting for him.
“Greetings Lord, we’d like to join your hamlet. We’re a group of laborers from a nearby hamlet, but it was destroyed in the beast wave,” explained a middle-aged black man with brown hair, eyes, and a beard.
“Alfred what’s going on here,” Thaddeus asked.
“Sir, homesteaders, and laborers like these people are not welcomed in towns and cities are too expensive for them to live. So, they move to the nearest territory for work,” Alfred answered.
Thaddeus opened the settlement subforum and saw other players were being with the same thing. As real as this game felt, he should have expected something like this. Migration was a part of human history, so why wouldn’t it happen in the game?
“I’ll gladly accept you all. If you have a profession speak up first,” he said placing a bunkhouse next to the church. He quickly checked to see if it had enough beds. The bunkhouse was a 15-bedroom, one-bath, motel-like building with two cots in each room and little privacy. When he finished checking out the building, he received two notifications.
System Message:
Congratulations, Woodhaerst has advanced to Hamlet Level 5. +1 WILL, +100 EXP, + 1 common building.
The beast wave really was the gift that kept on giving. The new residents increased his population to 55, just putting him just over the number needed to advance to a village. In the span of 10 seconds, he earned a common and specialty building.
System Message: Word’s First Bonus
Congratulations you are the first person to advance your settlement to a village. Reward: +5 gold, +5 fame, +1 specialty building.
Only two people spoke, the first to speak was the man spoke addressed him first, he was clearly the leader.
“I’m Marcus, I’m a novice carpenter.”
“Oscar, I’m a novice tanner.”
“What happened to the blacksmith?” Thaddeus asked.
“He was a Traveler, that the lord paid handsomely. Neither the lord nor the blacksmith was there during the beast wave,” Marcus said spitting on the ground in disgust.
Thaddeus quickly assigned Marcus and Oscar to the sawmill and tannery, respectively. Then he randomly chose ten loggers, five builders, two to assist Hunter, two to assist Brand, two to work on the farm, and the last five were selected to be guards.
“Any questions?” Thaddeus offered after he was finished assigning roles.
“Where will be sleep?” Marcus asked
“In a bunkhouse,” Thaddeus replied, and he could see them all smiling and nodding, pleased at hearing the news.
“What’s the wages?” Oscar asked nervously.
“Huh, Alfred a little help here?” Thaddeus called out.
“Might I recommend sir, 25 coppers a month for the sawmill, tannery, and farmhands? Guards should be paid 30-coppers a month. Loggers and builders should be paid 20-coppers per month,” Alfred suggested.
Thaddeus repeated the wages, rent, and annual tax. When he finished the men were all pleased and left immediately to explore their new home. He sent the loggers and builders to visit Cassian to get tools.
When he finished, he walked to the house, where the refugees were staying. When he knocked on the door, Priestess Thera greeted him. When he walked inside, he saw a clean and well-dressed group of people.
“I greet you in Demeter’s name,” Thaddeus said, using the greeting he when Priestess Thera introduced herself.
“Please Lord Brown, there is no need to speak formally to us. We are your subjects to command. We are eternally grateful you offered us asylum. I am Jameson and this is my family. My family has long been followers of Demeter. We lived on a small farm until a noble fancied my daughter. When she rejected him, he informed the capital of our heresy. Thank you for saving my family,” he bowed low, and his head touched the stone floor.
“Rise, there is no need for that here. Do you like your new home?” Thaddeus asked.
“Is this really our home,” as a beautiful brown-haired, green-eyed, young woman. She was truly stunning. Thaddeus couldn’t help but stare.
“Ahem,” Priestess Thera said nudging him.
“Ah, yes, this is your home. You may live here from now on. Rent is 4-copper per month, tax is 5-copper, and a farmhand earns 10-copper a month. I’ll assign you to the field,” Thaddeus said.
“No, lord, my father is old and weak, he can no longer work the fields and mother has arthritis and can no longer weave. It’ll serve as the lord’s maid, please spare my parents,” she begged.
“You know I could use someone to help me clean the church, might you be interested? It pays 20-coppers a month, enough to feed a family of seven,” Priestess Thera inquired.
“Thank you, priestess,” she said giving the old woman a hug.
“My lord, my daughter is right, I am old. But I can still work. If you have a poll, I can fish and sell my catch to the local butcher,” Jameson said.
“I have a fishing pole in my wagon, when your done here come find me, or send one of your sons,” Thaddeus said walking out the house.
He made his way back to the chicken coup, only to see the new builders constructing it.
“The more residents that come, the less work, I have to do,” Thaddeus complained, placing the hunter’s lodge by a grove of trees just outside the village, and barrack inside the small fort.