The next morning arrives and as I walk out of my house I can't help but smile at the sight of everybody rushing around and getting ready for our next adventure. As I make my way towards the cave to check on the settlement stone and set up whatever is needed before we head out. On my way over I watch as Jeff yells at Bubbles and Wake while they do their drills, both of whom look both miserable and proud at the same time. After finally making it to the cave I open the new doorway that's been made and find myself in a roughly made hall, the once natural cave having been worked through by Fey and now sporting several small rooms as well as a passageway that's still in the works. Making my way past several of the empty rooms I finally find myself walking into the settlement stones room and smiling at the glowing sphere resting on the pedestal. As I touch it I can feel various bits of information hitting me at once before Dawn flits over and starts organizing everything for me and a display pops up for myself.

{Settlement Missions for the Leader}

Recruit Citizens- 13/50(Required for Settlement to level up)

Recruit warriors-4/15

Recruit archers-1/15

Recruit assasins-1/5

Recruit healers-2/10

Recruit leatherworker or armor master-0/1

Recruit experienced chef-0/1

Recruit Blacksmith-0/1

The recruitment quests keep going making me flinch at the unending requirements of our settlement before I take a deep breath and try to calm myself. After a few minutes I finally get myself calmed enough and look over all the missions I have and realize that even though it says I need to do them, that doesn't mean I need them all done immediately. After a few more minutes of looking over our progress I head out of the cave and move towards the gate to meet up with those who decided to come on the expedition with us and I find myself shocked to see a majority of the camp waiting, many of them laughing or joking with each other as everyone quiets themselves upon seeing my approach.

"Okay guys so not everyone can come since we need to keep everything going here as well. Jeff and Bubbles are going to stay as defenders as well as Fey to keep us constantly improving. The adventurers as well as my group shall be joining us due to their combined knowledge of the world as well as varied skills. Wake will help translate when possible since I learned his people may also be in the swamplands. Other than that we will be traveling fairly light since this is more of a making contact kind of thing so lets get pumped!" I say as several sighs and moans are heard from the crowd before everyone disperses and leaves us with a medium sized group that's ready to go. After double checking to make sure we have everything that we need I finally give the order and we make our way out of camp towards the swamplands and their possible resources.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

We make our way through a heavily forested area for a few hours before taking a break at the edge of the forest to rest, several of us pulling out fruits and dried meats to snack on as well as flasks of water.

"So Sir Noortain what are your hopes for this foray into the bogs?" Harold asks as he walks over with Mog and offers me a purple coconut like fruit.

"Well after we activated the settlement stone we were told that our home is only level one. To level it we need more citizens as well as resources and crafters so our main goal is to just scout the swamps and maybe come into contact with some of its inhabitants like the bullywug and catswisk since they may be the most agreeable trade partners or recruits I'm told." I say as I work at cracking open the fruit and finally managing it before poking curiously inside as the liquid jiggles like jello. Out of curiosity I inspect the fruit and laugh afterwards while scooping some out and eating it.

(Gelatinous Shell Fruit Uncommon)

A fruit with a hard shell that surround a gel like inside that's edible. Eaten due to its cooling effect as well as its fun to eat consistency.

"The....the bullywug you say.....are you sure that's a good idea Sir Noortain..." Harold asks in a shocked voice as I look at him curiously.

"Why wouldn't I be serious. What's wrong with the bullywug exactly?" I ask after a few seconds wondering why the gnomes face has gone pale with fright.

"Well///I've never met one of them before but from all my readings, as well as all information from the adventurers guild the bullywug as a species are considered just evil. They worship dark gods, practice sacrificial offerings, and use extremly evil magic which if I may clarify is different from dark magic. Evil magic is the result of magic that's steeped in nothing but true evil emotion and experiences and nothing good ever comes from it." Harold says nervously as I stare at him for a few minutes before nodding my head and continuing to eat my fruit.

"That may be true but on the other hand they may just be misunderstood or more primal like alot of the monsters I've met. I refuse to judge any race just based on rumors until I have my own chance to see what they're like but thank you for at least being honest with me and giving me an idea of what I might be walking into." I say as I watch Harold's shoulders relax as he breathes out in relief before Mog also walks forward.

"Master I also had an idea that may boost our population but could also be very dangerous. There are small primitive creatures called vegepygmies that are small plant and mold like humanoids. They live a tribal life and are very primitive even in terms of monsters but they can communicate with myconid's like myself and view us as leaders due to us being larger and more intelligent. If we happen upon a smaller tribe I could attempt to take leadership of them which could help us considering they're very good ambush hunters as well as warriors as long as they're in groups." Mog says as my eyes brighten before I smile and nod along with him.

"That sounds like a good thought as well Mog so keep an eye out for signs of these guys so we can make contact. We are definitely in need of hunters as well as warriors so a small tribe coming back with us could give us some manpower. Fantastic idea Moggy keep it up!" I say watching as the button mushrooms white flesh turns a blushing green around his mouth as he bows to me before both healers walk off leaving me to think about the new information.