Chapter 29. Sharing the Land.
“Bhalkur is a living entity, and as such, can be destroyed. On the other hand, he is extremely powerful, and normal weapons may not be enough. You will new more power to face him. I believe that is why the System placed the layers of his prison in the manner it did, so those seeking to deal with Bhalkur can grow in power as they conquer the layers before facing him directly,” the elder said.
“I get it, there’s a lot of work to do before we can deal with Bhalkur. I’ve never been afraid of hard work, I just hope my old body can handle it,” Silas said as he Elder Lhass spoke on their own after Nebram and Talixs left to organize the expedition to retrieve their supplies.
“Your age will become less of a problem as you grow in tier and rank. The power of the System can halt, or even reverse the ravages of time. I take it you are new to the System, but even with the limited time you have lived with it, surely you feel the improvements,” the elder said.
He was right, Silas’ body had changed for the better ever since that portal opened. His stats showed that his age was dragging him down, but with his class upgrades, he felt better than he had in decades. Even today, the trek through the jungle and the fight with the corrupted had exhausted him, but he had pushed through it. The aches and pains were still there, but they didn’t cripple him like they had for the last few years.
“I think I get what you’re saying, Lhass. We’ll see how things go when me and Buster gain a new rank,” Silas said.
“Thank you again for letting us stay. This land was one forbidden to my people before, and despite the problem’s we’re facing, they seem to feel safe here,” the elder said.
Silas looked around the clearing. It was a huge space, and far more than he could manage on his own. It felt good to have the naga here, like the land needed people on it to thrive. For the most part, the naga had seemed very respectful of the space he had granted them.
“One thing I wanted to ask. How are there so many of these corrupted running around. Unless your village was on the smaller side, and there are other villages out there that Bhalkur is recruiting from, they should have been weeded out for the most part,” Silas asked.
“Our village was considered one of the larger ones, but yes, there were more villages of my people out in the layer. Ours was only one of three, and there were also smaller, more nomadic bands of my people. For the gnomes, they had but two of their cities, but those were more populous than our homes.
“We have been pressed hard by the corrupted and haven’t sent scouting parties to observe the other villages in some time. I fear that they may have all fallen into Bhalkur’s influence. Perhaps some hope remains, and some may have escaped his grasp,” Elder Lhass said.
“We’ll try and rescue any normal naga and gnome that we come across. In the meantime, after your collect your possessions from the village, I’d like your people to continue work on the defenses here,” Silas said.
“I agree, for as long as my people are granted refuge here, we will do what we can to assist you,” Lhass said. Silas considered himself a good judge of character, and he was certain that Lhass would try to hold up his end of the bargain. The only fly in the ointment were naga like Talixs who didn’t quite trust him, and Silas feared would try to usurp control of the naga village at some point.
“Lhass, would your people be interested in living here on a more permanent basis?” Silas asked. Lhass was silent, looking around the huge clearing as his people gathered and prepared for their salvage journey. The land wasn’t a bad one, and it seemed to Silas that it would be much easier to grow food in the open grasslands and maybe fish in the lake instead of foraging in the deadly jungle.
“This is a good place, and I feel my people would be content here. While I worry that there are those that would resist making this our home, should you ever offer, I would gladly accept the chance to permanently move my tribe here,” Lhass said. It seemed that the System had been listening in as a prompt appeared.
Stolen novel; please report.
Do you wish to offer permanent residence in this critical location to the Stoutfang tribe? Should you make the offer, all members of the tribe would have access to the land that this critical location contains, as well as make decisions on how to develop it, save for a few locations that will remain under your personal control.
You may request payment in some form to allow the Stoutfang tribe residence here. In addition, they would be more inclined to lend you aid in the ongoing conflict with the forces of Bhalkur.
Silas read over the prompt twice and tried to see if the downsides outweighed the positives. On one hand, he would be giving up territory, but it was territory he didn’t think that he would ever need with just him and Buster around. On the other hand, he would be granting free, permanent access to this critical location to the entire tribe, including those that may harbor bad intentions.
“What do you think Buster?” Silas asked. He was just trying to organize his thoughts when he asked, but Buster seemed to understand him. The dog trotted over to Elder Lhass and placed his paw on the naga’s coils, causing the elder to pat the dog gently on the head.
“It seems Buster approves of you, Lhass. I’m going to offer this location for you people to live in, but there will be a few conditions. The portal, and the area around it are mine, and you cannot build there. I have a feeling I’m going to need space for new construction around that spot in the near future.
“Second, I want final say on any defenses that are constructed, and any training facilities that might be used by your warriors. Finally, there was something about a payment to me, but I’m not exactly sure what your tribe can offer other than the labor you’re already providing,” Silas said.
“I think I can agree to your terms. As far as payment for this land, I fear we have little that you would value other than our work, and perhaps the help of our warriors. We share a common enemy, and wish to fight alongside you to defeat Bhalkur,” Elder Lhass explained.
“Good, unless you got a gold mine or something I don’t know about, having your people’s help is all I can ask for. No, I think there’s one more condition I want to put on our agreement. I haven’t explored this area completely, so if you do find a gold mine, unknown resources, or anything of value as your people settle in, I want a share of those finds,” Silas offered. As Lhass considered the proposal, Silas also thought about the name for this place. It was just called a critical location now, which seemed sterile and dull to Silas.
Please confirm that you wish to offer the following terms to the Stoutfang tribe.
1. Permanent Residence for their tribe in the unnamed critical location in perpetuity. This residency can be revoked in the event of outright conflict between the being known as Silas Ward, and the Stoutfang tribe.
2. Access. The being known as Silas Ward is to be granted full access to the Stoutfang tribal village, with the exception of personal residences. The members of the village may only enter the portal structure and any additional structures that are built by Silas Ward or his associates, with the direct permission of Silas Ward.
3. Assistance in defense of this location. Both parties, their associates, and any allies they command are required to assist in the defense of this critical location.
4. Construction Rights. Outside of the previously indicated areas and designated defenses, the tribe will have free reign of the location and can build and improve it as they see fit. The being known as Silas Ward has complete authority in terms of the construction of defenses and any training facilities in this critical location.
5. Sharing of resources. Any resources discovered on the lands of the critical location will be shared between the Stoutfang Tribe and the being known as Silas Ward.
6. Recruitment. Silas Ward may freely recruit from the warriors of the Stoutfang tribe to serve as auxiliaries in your warband.
It looked good to Silas and seemed like a great way to see that his location was protected while he was back home. If he had arrived at the portal and faced the entire corrupted that force that had earlier engaged the naga on his own, he and Buster would have not likely survived the battle. Silas confirmed the offer and waited as the System presented it to Elder Lhass.
The Stoutfang tribe has accepted your offer, and the terms are now bound by the System.
New upgrades for this critical location have been unlocked.
Areas required for future upgrades to your critical location have been designated and will not be utilized by the Stoutfang tribe.
“Thank you, Silas Ward, for your generous offer,” Elder Lhass said. There was a ripple of conversation among the naga as the System made the offer known to the tribe. Silas noted that Nebram was grinning brightly over where they were organizing the salvage operation, but Talixs’ face looked far from happy with the recent announcement.