Thaddeus stood on his cottage’s newly finished porch and proudly looked at his Level 1 village. There was a new bank, trading post, weaver shop, inn, and general store. Just down the street were the bakery and butchery. Businesses and houses lined the highway. The church and his blacksmith, carpentry, and tannery shops were just off the highway.
From his porch he could hear, see, and smell many of 55 of his villagers hard at work. Hear could hear the lumberjacks felling trees and Marcus sawing timber. He could see the builders finishing the construction on their homes. And he could smell Lidia’s freshly baked bread.
Seeing his village safe from guild wars or the empire gave him a sense of peace. He managed to turn his biggest opponent, the Mythical Guild, into a reliable trading partner and ally. Now he could reliably ensure the peace and prosperity of his village. For the last couple of weeks, he left Brand, Thera, Jameson, Arthur, and Vakdraen alone to manage the day-to-day operations of the villages. As the workers had their default schedules, the villages ran smoothly. Which gave him time to finish constructing his house, and crafting orders placed by the villagers.
Travis, a Mythical Guild player, arrived in the village a week ago. He used a build scroll and instantly constructed Trading Post. The Mythical Guild’s crafting and trading company was called Vulcan Trading Company. Having a trading company in his village allowed him to sell items across the empire without leaving the village. Moreover, he could also purchase goods and livestock from the trading company. Which was a necessity for his rural village.
Thaddeus greeted him and quickly sold 12 units of pelts, 66 units of dry lumber, and 10 units of goat and chicken meat. He also purchased 20 more goats, chickens, pigs, sheep, and 10 bags of seeds. Thanks to the trading post, Woodhaerst was successfully able to make a net profit of 23 gold. But the real earnings would come when they started selling ore and mana crystals.
Most of his earnings right now came from villagers’ paying rent on their homes or business. Thaddeus was able to charge rent because he owned the land under every building in the village except for the trading post, and the general store for which he was a minority owner. As a part of his contract with Mythical Guild, he had to sell them a piece of land at a fair price to build the trading post. Cassian negotiated for the construction and land to build a general store. Although Cassian and the Mythical Guild didn’t have to pay rent, they still had to pay him taxes by imperial law.
And today was Tax Day. Taxes were due quarterly, on the first day of every season. The system withdrew rent and taxes and deposited them in his settlement account. With his settlement account growing, he didn’t need to loan the settlement money anymore. Moreover, he was flush with cash thanks to his live stream deals with two agribusinesses, his consulting with Mythical Guild, and his new job with Heaven’s Gate.
He left his porch and walked to the farm where Mathew, Sean, and Arthur worked tirelessly to harvest a wheat crop. When they saw Thaddeus walking over, they stopped and bowed at him. If being called Lord Brown was enough, the Town Council mandated villagers should start bowing to him out of respect. Thaddeus guessed Imperial Decorum was something no imperial citizen could outrun.
“How’s the harvest,” Thaddeus asked
“Lord Brown, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a harvest this bountiful. In all our years, we’ve never seen crops produce double the yield or the livestock as fertile. Is it true? Are you blessed by Demeter?” Matthew asked.
“Yes, Demeter is my patron deity. She has blessed my land claim,” Thaddeus explained.
“I have followed the Goddess of Earth my entire life. To think she blessed the land we live and work upon is a miracle,” Matthew replied.
“I can see why the goddess chose our lord. You have a strong affinity with nature,” Arthur said approvingly.
“No other lord dare uses their dainty hands to farm and construct,” Sean agreed.
“Nature provides us with subsistence and resources rooted in the land. Nature is a gift from our creators. So, we must be good stewards of the land. Although we fall trees, till the land, and mine for ore, we do it in relationship with nature. Everything comes from the earth and all things will eventually return to the earth,” Thera said walking up to Thaddeus and the farmers.
Mathew, Arthur, and Sean nodded their heads in agreement. Their devotion to Demeter was like Josh and Mitchell’s in White Pines.
“Greetings, Thera,” Thaddeus called.
“I see they are almost done with harvesting the wheat. Lord Brown, do you wish to hold a harvest celebration?” Thera asked.
“What has the Council decided?” Thaddeus asked curiously.
“By imperial law, only lord may call for holidays,” Thera advised
“Everyone’s been working hard and can use a break. Let’s have a harvest festival! We should make it an annual festival held every year after the last crop is harvested,” Thaddeus declared.
“Do you have any special request?” Arthur asked.
“Make it a big celebration with lots of food and beer,” he instructed looking at Arthur. Then he looked at Thera, who looked like she was patiently waiting for him to say something he forgot. “We also need to commemorate the goddess Demeter. Thera think of something, but make sure it’s big and meaningful,” he said watching as Thera nodded her head like he was a student who got the correct answer in class.
“Then can we use your livestock?” Thera asked.
Thaddeus owned 62 goats, 48 chickens, 5 pigs, and 4 sheep. On one acre he could raise 6 to 8 goats. Most of his territory was still undeveloped prairie. He could comfortably have 200 to 250 goats ranging on his land. And still have ample land to raise chickens, pigs, and sheep. He could afford to buy 100 more each but lacked the workforce.
“Only for festivals,” Thaddeus said walking away before they asked for a larger budget. The Village Council had a budget of 50 silver to spend how they saw fit.
“We will obey,” Arthur and Thera said in unison.
He left the farm and walked to the inn. Inside Travis, Kira, Andrea, and Hunter were already eating breakfast. Sitting at her feet was her new pet wolf, Luna. When Huey left, the Bright Guards split. Kara and Ward went to Redwood. Raine, Kast, and Brynn returned to Pinewood to recruit new guild members. Andrea was the only one that stayed behind. Before leaving the adventures lured the mother wolf out of the forest and killed her and her pups, except for one, Luna.
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As an assassin, there wasn’t much work to do, but she managed to convince Hunter to let her join. That brought the number of hunters in Woodhaerst up to three. Which help increase the meat supply in the village tremendously, as he did not allow the villagers to eat the goats. Instead, the villagers used the goats for milk, cheese, soap, and candles.
“Good morning,” he said sitting down in his usual seat.
“Be right there,” Phoebe shouted walking into the kitchen and coming out with a fresh cup of coffee.
“Oh, Phoebe, you’re a lifesaver,” Thaddeus said smelling the coffee’s rich aroma.
“Don’t thank me yet, you haven’t seen your bill. I’m trying to get Travis to give me a discount,” Phoebe said.
“And I told you, only guild members get a discount!” Travis said obstinately.
“Phoebe, I’ll buy the coffee, for a free cup,” Thaddeus said.
“One free cup a day? Deal!” Phoebe said shaking my hand.
“Travis, when Phoebe wants coffee use my account,” Thaddeus said.
“Fine by me. Just know 10 units of coffee cost 40 silvers. There’s more demand than supply, and the cost keeps rising. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Travis said.
“Thanks for the warning, but she and Phillip are paying for it not me,” Thaddeus said.
“You want your usual?” she asked.
“Yes, please,” Thaddeus said checking his Settlement Page to check up on his village.
Title: Petty Lord
Settlement Level: Woodhaerst (Village Level 1) and Ironwood (Village Level 5)
Residents: 261
Banner: A brown bear on a green field.
Faction: Guild
Sovereign: Emperor Raymond Archibald van Conifer
Woodhaerst met the building requirements for a Level 5 village, all that was missing were people. Reaching Level 5 required 250 residents. If we wanted to reach a Level 1 Town, it required 500 residents and a church. By his account eight days from now, his village would reach at least Level 3. Moreover, his village had enough gold to sustain the population.
Rent: 5-copper/ month
Settlement Tax: 10-copper/a season
Imperial Tax: 50 silver/ annual
Imports: Livestock, clothing, weapons, ingots, tools
Exports: Pelts, livestock, meat, lumber.
GDP: 23 gold
Settlement Account: 17 gold
“Phillip, make Lord Brown his usual!” Phoebe shouted behind the curtain separating the dining area and kitchen.
“Kira, how about a song this morning?” Travis asked flipping a silver coin onto her table.
“Sorry, I’m resting my vocal cords,” Kira said sipping an herbal tea and pocketing the coin.
Thaddeus, Hunter, and Andrea laughed at Travis’ misfortune when Kira refused his request and pocketed the coin.
“Don’t worry, I’ll dedicate my first song tonight to you,” Kira said
“Thank you,” Travis said smugly, his spirits lifted.
Shortly after, Phoebe returned with a large oval plate with three large pancakes stacked high on top of each other, scrambled eggs, and three strips of bacon.
“Only the lords can eat so extravagantly,” Kira criticized.
“She’s right,” Andrea agreed.
Thaddeus felt bad eating such a large portion size.
“Don’t criticize Lord Brown. If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be able to afford the luxuries we have. Name another hamlet, village, town, or city that has such low rent, and taxes, and pays salaries on time. Most lords are fat and greedy and see us only as lambs for slaughter and never experienced a hard day’s work. Moreover, he’s half-bear kin. Have you ever seen one that doesn’t eat a mountain of food at every meal?” Hunter said coming to his defense.
“I once heard a story about a bear kin from another bard. Let me see if I remember it,” she said tuning her lute.
She strummed a melancholic rhythm. At once she captivated everyone’s attention. As he played, she used her magic to display a heartbreaking tale of a happy family ripped apart. Her soft words gripped their hearts as she sang,
“A mother grieving at what she lost
Her newborn cub was stolen and tossed
By her angry family for eloping
Dashed her dreams and her hoping
The mother and father were star-crossed lovers
But when discovered by their brothers
They were persecuted and defamed.
For ruining both their families’ names.
Now the mother searches for what she lost
Searching, searching, at all costs.
She mourns that cub that was taken
Never stopping for what was forsaken
Although she mourns, she’ll soon find
Her lovely cub long left behind.
Cry no more mother dearest, be excited
You and your son are soon reunited.”
“What a sad song,” Phoebe said wiping a tear traveling down her cheek.
“What a terrible family,” Thaddeus agreed.
“It’s just an old folktale I picked up on the road,” Kira said shrugging with her shoulders.
They continued to talk and eat until Thera, Jameson, and Brand entered the inn. When they entered the inn, the conversation stopped, and everyone looked at them.
“Good Morning, Lord Brown,” Brand said bowing to him. Then he turned to the residents and said, “This afternoon we’re asking all villagers to help with the harvest. Lord Brown has announced once the harvest is over shall perpetually be known as the Harvest Festival. If we all work together, we can finish the harvest by this evening. There are four plots and Arthur will assign villagers to a plot to harvest,” Brand explained.
“I’ll help! This should make for a great song,” Kira said excitedly.
“Count me out! I came here because I’m lazy,” he said between bites.
“Phillip and I will help. We used to have a garden. We harvested vegetables for years,” she replied to Brand. Then she turned to the kitchen and yelled, “Phillip we’re closing the inn this afternoon to garden!”
“Hmph,” Phillip grunted from the kitchen.
From afternoon to evening the villagers harvested wheat, barley, carrots, potatoes, onions, green beans, cabbage, lettuce, corn, tomatoes, squash, and peppers.
At first, Thaddeus wanted to help, but the Village Council declined. He’d already done enough allowing them to have a harvest holiday and donating his livestock. Now it was the villager’s responsibility to harvest and prepared for the Harvest Festival.
Instead of harvesting, Thaddeus live-streamed the villagers harvesting. His viewership increased from 20,000 to almost 60,000, and the engagement rate also skyrocketed. His viewers enjoyed his rural sleepy village, way out in the frontier. Like old villages on Earth, his village had a prominent main street. The stone houses and businesses looked old and prominent. The only thing missing was the ivy crawling up the walls.
Shortly before nightfall, the villagers finished harvesting. They let out a loud cheer. For the first time, their village would have a festival.
Brand raised his to silence the villagers, “With the blessing of Lord Brown, the Village Council declares tomorrow the start of the Harvest Festival.”
And with that, everyone cheered in unison. They shouted, hollered, and clapped.
“For the next two days, we shall commemorate the Goddess Demeter who has blessed his land with fertile crops, livestock, and wives,” Brand announced.
The villagers laughed and cheered again, as did the pregnant mothers.
“Let us also not forget our lord, who built this farm and village with his own hands. He planted this large field knowing to feed people and families whom he never met. He welcomed us, strangers, with new homes, and businesses. We who came with nothing were given everything. He served us tirelessly for months, now we shall serve him tirelessly for the next two days!” Brand exclaimed.
The crowd cheered and clapped even louder. A few even chanted his name. They all looked to him to give a short speech.
“You honor me greatly. Let the festival preparations begin,” Thaddeus declared.