Over the past few weeks, migrants from the capital arrived increasing Woodhaerst population. It was clear, Odin was treating his village like a receptacle for Redwood’s trash. But one man’s trash was another treasure. He was fine with Odin bankrolling his villages’ expansion. Moreover, most of the outcasts brought their families.
In Heaven’s Gate might equaled right. The strong were revered and venerated. The weak were deposed and cast out.
Each week brought more gaunt and emaciated NPCs. Their only crime, upsetting Odin or his guild members. Thaddeus found most of the NPCs were thankful for a new start, someplace away from Redwood. A few wished to return, for which Thaddeus was happy to oblige. He didn’t want any who didn’t want to live in his villages to stay.
The migrants that did say found jobs in construction, shops, logging, or farming. Woodhaerst was going through a housing boom. Businesses competed amongst the others for applicants. Busiest of all was Captain Joseph, who desperately solicited new recruits. Captain Joseph wanted 70 recruits to join the village guard.
Then finally, on the first day of fall, Thaddeus finally unlocked the marketplace. Now his people could set up stalls and exchange goods with each other. Vendors came from nearby settlements to hawk their goods. With the marketplace, Thaddeus now earned 40 cultural points a week. Even better the settlement leveled up and Thaddeus received the message he anxiously awaited.
System Message:
Congratulations, Woodhaerst has advanced to Town Level 1. Congratulations you are the first to reach this achievement. Reward: Plus 10 gold, 10 cultural points, +5 fame, +2 specialty building.
Luxurious
Cultural
Scholarly
Pugilist
Fashionable
Auction House
Atelier
Aviary
Brothel
Salon
Villa
Theatre
Schoolhouse
Tamers
Marina
Magic Tower
Philosopher Forum
Book Store
Battle Arena
Coliseum
Airport
Bardic Academy
College
Archery Range
Winery
Being the first and advancing to a town, earned him quite the landfall. Thaddeus was surprised that the number of specialty buildings increased from six to 20. Towns offered a greater selection of specialty buildings. Moreover, the specialty buildings he already had, namely the barracks, Town Hall, and Church were no longer on the list. The other six specialty buildings, Magic Tower, Battle Arena, and Airport now fell under themes.
The Luxury column drew his attention first. He was attracted to the auction house. Outside the game, he used the player auction in the past. The player auction operated in the forums and offered players a chance to trade one-on-one. In contrast, the in-game auctions were open to players and NPCs alike. All the auction houses were linked together across the system. Which meant he could purchase items from other servers.
The second thing that caught his eye was the villa. Honey Barrow was slated to be a noble district. But Thaddeus had never constructed a manor or villa by hand. If he had the villa scroll, building up Honey Barrow would take days instead of months.
He ignored the magic tower and airport. He wasn’t a mage, nor did any mages reside in Woodhaerst and he was keen on letting anyone just fly to his city.
The next column that piqued his interest was the cultural. The theatre really drew his interest. He really liked the idea of providing his people with entertainment. Theatres increase settlement happiness and tourism ratings. Once placed, the theatre would regularly attract traveling troubadour troops. Entertainment and increased tourism really excited him.
After examining the atelier and bardic academy, he was surprised to find that building them would open the Arts cultural skill tree. As much as he wanted to open the cultural skill tree, he decided to wait. He rather progress to the tier 3 mercantilism skill tree first. Lastly, the Philosopher Forum allowed players to change their population’s cultural traits. Since his cultural traits were locked, the forum was worthless to him.
Thaddeus decided to ignore the Scholarly and Pugilist columns. A good education and fighting skills could wait till later. Right now, he had to prioritize groups. The only thing that gave him pause was the bookstore. The idea of reading books on the rocking chair he was crafting really appealed to him.
Finally, the last column fashionable drew his attention. He was amazed to see the winery was a specialty available to towns. He was even happier now; he stole it from his uncle. Specialty buildings were easy to acquire. As he only needed a winery between his two settlements, he moved his attention briefly to the coliseum. The coliseum was a large, impressive monument. Unfortunately, it shared the bonus as the theatre and theatre came with a roof.
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The last two he looked at were the marina and salon. The marina was a dock that unlocked the yacht feature. But adding a marina to the river was pointless. The salon was only a little more interesting. The salon was an upscale boutique lady’s wear shop. In vogue clothing and fabric could be purchased there. He might be biased, but the most valuable thing about the salon was it drastically increased tourism and happiness.
After selecting the auction house, he debated between the theatre and the salon. Finally, he went with his gut and selected the theatre. He quickly placed the two buildings in the Central Plaza and watched the settlement’s name change to Woodhaerst Town.
When the name changed, a new system popped up.
System Message:
Your tourism rating has risen to 10%. Reward +1 Tourist Attraction
Casino
Racecourse
Marina
Botanical Gardens
Monument
Ski Resort
Beach Resort
Mountain Resort
Amphitheater
Cathedral
Coliseum
Battle Arena
Thaddeus was blown away by the new buildings. The first thing he noticed was that there was some overlap. The coliseum and marina were both specialty buildings and tourist attractions, were explained why they were listed under the fashionable column. At once two buildings caught his eye, the casino, and racecourse. Horse racing was known the world over as the sport of kings. On the hand casinos were pure gold generators.
But gambling could also adversely affect his people. What if someone blew their pay on gambling and couldn’t feed their family or pay rent? Was he prepared to make his people homeless just to enrich himself? As he debated the ethical and moral implications, he received a third message.
System Message:
The Goddess Demeter requests a trade. Upgrade the Church of Earth to a cathedral. Reward +1 Tourist Attraction, + citizens' resistance to gambling addiction.
“Why would Demeter want a cathedral? Don’t most towns only have churches? I could understand if this was a city, but it’s a Level 1 Town, ” Thaddeus asked.
“The only Cathedral of Earth in the empire is in Redwood. Have you noticed every city in the Akkadian Empire has a Cathedral of Light? Demeter hasn’t had a capable follower in a long time,” Priestess Thera said walking up behind him.
“That doesn’t explain why she can’t wait.”
“Why should she, she’s a goddess. Besides it’s not a request, it is merely a trade. You help her, she helps you. Besides what’s the harm? Woodhaerst gains to tourist attractions,” Priestess Thera chuckled.
Thaddeus couldn’t find a reason not to, and she was right. Gaining two tourist attractions for the price one of one wasn’t a bad deal. Moreover, once he upgrade the church, he wouldn’t have to worry about his people becoming gambling addicts.
“Fine,” Thaddeus said, selecting the cathedral.
Thaddeus watched as the church morphed into a tall cathedral with soaring minaret-like towers, graceful domes, ornate arches, and intricately designed stained-glass windows. The Cathedral of Earth towered above the town, giving it a picturesque skyline. As the last stone settled into place, a radiant glow emanated from the cathedral, a tangible blessing from the Goddess Demeter herself. The transformation was more than physical; it represented a spiritual elevation of Woodhaerst.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” said Priestess Thera, her eyes softly misting up at the sight.
“Yes, it's—” Thaddeus was cut off by the sound of a new message.
System Message:
The Cathedral of Earth has been added as a pilgrimage site. Reward +5% tourism rating.
“Pilgrimage site?” Thaddeus gaped in awe.
“Yes, followers of Demeter will stop here to visit the cathedral. Cathedrals can now train priests and paladins. Cathedrals are acted as a temporary safehouse. Congratulations, on your settlement’s advancement. Now if you excuse me, I must prepare for pilgrims,” she said walking away.
As she left, all he could imagine was having an army of priests and paladins at his command. Coming out of his daydream, he admired the bustling Central Plaza. It was already a hive of activity with the general store, marketplace, trading post, and bank. Now, with the addition of the cathedral, casino, theatre, and auction house the Central Plaza would be bustling with activity.
Woodhaerst was at the regional center of an economic, agricultural, and mining boom town. Settlers and people from the frontier came to visit, stay, and shop. What the other smaller settlements lacked, Woodhaerst had, and what it didn’t new settlers were opening. Settlers and local business owners admired Woodhaerst's low taxes. Once nearby settlements learned of his casino, theatre, and auction house business was sure to increase.
Moreover, Woodhaerst was the largest agricultural producer in the region. With the expansion into the dragon territory, tenant farmers raced to stake land and build farms on Woodhaerst's exterior. Farms lined the river and traveled southward into the dangerous open plains, away from the safety of Woodhaerst's strong walls. The farmers knew if they planted on Thaddeus' property, their crops grew fast, plentiful, and free of pests and weeds. By mid-October, hundreds of acres would be ready for harvest.
Finally, Ironwood’s mana stones, gems, and ore were transported and sold in Woodhaerst to feed Odin and the consortium's increasing demand. The sale and tax from the stones, gems, and ore were enough to ensure Woodhaerst and Ironwood never went bankrupt.
As if the mining wasn’t lucrative enough, the dwarves opened a weapons shop near the Adventure Guild. Dwarven swords, staffs, daggers, spears, shields, and wands were popular. Ironwood staffs and wands were popular with mages. Ironwood was as strong as iron and a great conduit for mana. Outside Ironwood Village, Ironwood trees were scarce.
The progress of Woodhaerst Town and Ironwood Village was remarkable.
The day had been a whirlwind of decisions, planning, and growth. As the sun dipped below the horizon, bathing Woodhaerst Town in a golden glow, Thaddeus felt a sense of satisfaction and anticipation. The town was evolving, and so were its people. And at the heart of it, all was his connection with his people.
When Thaddeus entered the manor, he found Sabrina arrived herself. She changed, but he still saw dirt marks on her earlobe.
“You went to the cabin again?” Thaddeus asked knowing the answer.
Sabrina nodded, “The garden in your grove is a treasure trove, it's an alchemist's dream come true. I had to pick some herbs for class tomorrow. Tomorrow is my first alchemy lesson and I wanted to have enough for each student. By the way, you look exhausted," she said with concern, stepping forward to gently kiss him.
“Have you heard?” Thaddeus asked joining Heather at the dining table.
Soon dinner was served, with a bottle of the newly crafted wine from Ironwood’s vineyards.
“It's anyone’s talked about. The cathedral, casino, theatre, and auction house. Woodhaerst is starting to feel like a big city.”
“Cassian told me he can stock your low and mid-grade potions because they sell out so fast. People stop and tell me how much they admire I married an alchemist. At some point, we should tell them we’re not married.”
“Do you want to get married, IRL I mean?”
“Eh,” Thaddeus choked on his food.
“I didn’t mean, now. I mean eventually.”
“Of course, at some point. Speaking of IRL, tell me how the first day of classes went?”
Sabrina who recently moved and started her job as a science teacher in the Austin Independent School district talked about her good, lazy, and troublemaker students. Overall, she enjoyed her first-day teaching chemistry and advanced chemistry to high school students.
After dinner, they settled into her cozy chairs in the library. As they sipped the wine, they shared what happened at work, and their schedule for tomorrow.
As the evening wore on, the conversation shifted to forum news. They sat in comfortable silence and scrolled on their HUDs, only discussing interesting news. Raid parties were exploring and uncovering new and never seen before regions of Heaven’s Gate, delving into never-before-seen dungeons, other parties celebrated getting the first kill or best score on well-known dungeons. They read about new or evolved monsters and how to defeat them. The forum was an ever-growing repository of news. When they ran out of news, they man their way to bed and logged out.