Warriors could be housed in barracks, but it would take a long time for Zuban to research those blueprints. So, I needed to recruit a Researcher to speed up the process.
Another issue was that in order to stay ahead of the construction demands, all six of the Warriors were assigned to chopping down trees all day. If I wanted them to train as Warriors. I had to get them off lumberjack duty. I could summon a couple new Lumberjacks, but the best thing would be to build a Lumber Mill. One Lumberjack could currently cut down about five trees a day while another could split the same number of logs, producing about ten rough lumbers. A Lumber Mill could double that amount, by cutting the logs into four pieces of fine timber. So essentially, one Lumberjack and one mill worker would produce over 20 pieces of timber per day, a task that currently took the combined efforts of eight goblins. Additionally, the Lumber Mill was an Apprentice ranked building, when finished it would be the second Apprentice rank building in the village, meeting the requirements for me to progress to the next boss rank.
We could also use some of the increased wood production to build housing. I checked the Interface. Even without Zuban’s contribution, since he was researching the barracks, the Builders were generating 77 Build Points a day. I can put the points toward building Huts… I considered this idea; Each Hut, which was a decent quality housing, could house two goblins and cost 50 BP. I had about two dozen goblins without a house at the moment. In order to put a roof over everyone's head, I’d have to construct 12 such dwellings, which meant my Builders would have to work exclusively on building Huts for eight days. I still thought investing in our infrastructure was more important at the moment, and eight days were simply too much a delay from constructing higher priority buildings. For now we had various bonuses to negate the housing morale penalties. Besides, I wanted to build Cabins, not Huts. They cost about 50% more in terms of resources and BP, but they also provided a +5 to morale rating. It might take longer to get there, but once I did, the settlement would be all the better for it.
“Zuban” I approached the foreman, still busy with his breakfast. “Let’s build the Lumber Yard next.”
He looked up at me over his plate and nodded his agreement, “That would be wise, wood is starting to become an issue. Even with all the warriors chopping down trees, the Mess Hall builders were delayed.”
“That was what I was thinking. Let’s build it near the logger’s site.”
“Very well,” he got to his feet. “We will need a large circular saw-blade for the Lumber Yard, which shouldn’t be a problem with our new Smithy. You should get Barzel to start forging it as soon as possible so he has plenty of time to finish. If I remember correctly, he will need 10 units of iron for the job.
“Thanks for the tip, Zuban. Will do.” I started to walk toward the Smithy, then remembered something. “Oh, one more thing, I will be recruiting a researcher to help you research the Barracks blueprints as well, so keep him busy.”
“Of course, Dark Totem,” he bowed his head respectfully.
“Gandork,” I approached my busy Cook, “time to show off what you can do with your new Apprentice rank. Start preparing as much of your new Advanced Food recipe as you can.”
He looked gloomily around his miserable kitchen, but pulled himself together. “Yes, Dark Totem.”
I nodded in satisfaction and turned away.
When I reached the Smithy I saw Malkyr hammering tirelessly over the anvil, fashioning some sort of tool. Barzel, my new goblin Blacksmith was busy smelting ores into ingots. By the looks of it, he had almost finished converting our entire stock of raw ore.
“Don't tell me you worked all night?” I approached Malkyr.
“Oh, hey man.” he put down his hammer and wiped his sweaty brow. “It’s hard work, but invigorating really. This time dilation thing is weeeird! It actually felt like I’ve been up all night, when in fact only about an hour passed IRL. I already got my Smithing skill up to level 8,” he added proudly. “Could have done it a lot faster, but all I can produce here are simple tools. I need a proper steel anvil and better quality ore to make decent weapons.”
“I have a guy working on that, don’t worry,” I reassured him. “So you’ve been crafting tools all night?” I added curiously.
“Yeah man. I told you, I wanna help out,” he said with his usual gruff manner. “Got some quests from the NPCs around here, made a saw, another pickaxe, oh and a new fishing hook for your Fisherman.”
“That’s awesome, I really appreciate it!” I said enthusiastically.
He waved me off, “Na don’t mention it. Got decent XP and reputation off it. Nothing like your quests, but still made it worth my while.” He grinned suddenly, “Hoshisu’s gonna be mad at me for gaining XP and influence while she’s gone.”
I looked around, “She’s not in yet?”
“Na. Should arrive any moment, though.”
“Excuse me.” Barzel walked passed us, loading the last of the raw ores into the furnace and began pouring the liquid metal l into molds through a stone channel.
I looked at him. “Barzel, I need you to forge a circular-saw for the Lumber Yard.”
he nodded, “Yes, Dark Totem.”
“Can you give me an update on our metal stocks?”
The large goblin grunted and pointed to a neat stack of cast ingots. “Been working on all the ore you got stashed around here.” he waved vaguely around. “Took me a while to fish them all out of that big pile” he added with a dissatisfied tone. Clearly, he didn’t approve of our previous organization method. “It takes five pieces of raw ore to cast one pure ingot, so now we have 9 Copper,1 Tin, and 2 iron ingots. The casting process doesn’t take very long, so I can convert the ore the Miner brings almost immediately. But there’s a problem though.”
I grimaced, “what problem?”
“I’m going to need much more fuel for the forge. I’ve used some of the trees the loggers cut down. It’s enough for simple tools made of softer metals, but if you want steel, I need coal.”
“Shit.” I hadn’t thought of that. The Smithy was another consumer of logs. “How much wood do you need to run the Smithy for a full day?’
“Two to three logs will be enough for now.”
Well, that’s not too bad, I thought. I just needed to summon a third Lumberjack to fill the increased demand. It would also increase our general wood production, allowing us to build our stores of wood faster.
Well, no time like the present, I concluded and opened the Interface. I accessed the Breeder’s Den and selected a new Lumberjack worker.
“Vic,” I spoke to my shoulder, “Please go greet the new worker. Give him one of the axes, and put him to work with the Warriors.”
My cloak flowed from my shoulders. “Sure thing boss, I was starting to get bored with all this shop-talk anyway,” Vic answered, once again in his goblin form.
Malkyr shook his head, “I still can’t get my head around you wearing a freaking purple goblin as your personal cloak.”
I shrugged, “Vic’s my companion, he’s pretty useful to have around.”
Vic smirked and gave me a condescending look, “I was just about to say the same of you.” He turned to leave, laughing raucously.
Malkyr shook his head. “Man, you are TOO much, how the hell did you get such a cool NPC companion?”
“It’s a long story, I’ll tell you about it some other time.” I evaded the question. “By the way, did you say you forged another pickaxe?”
He still seemed bewildered. “Yeah man, it’s over there, with the rest of the tools.”
“Great, thanks.”
I opened the Interface again and summoned another worker, a second Stonemason.
Vic, I just summoned another worker. Give him the pickaxe from the Smithy, and put him to work in the Quarry.
I opened the Energy screen and raised both new workers to level 2, which left me with 198 Energy Points.
&n
bsp; The boost to resource gathering should be sufficient to meet our growing demands, for now.
Back at the campsite everything was progressing nicely; everyone was working and had access to whatever resource they required.
It was time to grind my Runecraft skill some more. Problem was, I’d run out of spare weapons to enchant. I could enchant the pickaxes and other tools, but the workers wouldn’t be able to work while I did. Well, the goblin Warriors still have plenty of weapons on them, I reasoned and changed direction toward the logging site.
The Warriors were using battleaxes to hack at the trees. Not the most efficient tool for the job. Each one also had a dagger.
I swapped out all their weapons, rearming the warriors with the axes I had already enchanted. Now I had plenty of practice material. I sat and started the skill grind.
Runecraft skill level increased to 9
Runecraft skill level increased to 10
I enchanted weapon after weapon as the night passed. It was time-consuming, and the concentration it required was tiring, but I was one level away from Apprentice rank. I was staring unenthusiastically at the last remaining dagger when a voice called out to me.
“It’s finished!” It was Gandork. He’d come to find me.
“What is finished?” I asked tiredly.
“I’ve finished cooking all the meat using the new recipe.” he clarified. “We now have 60 units of Advanced food ready.”
“How the hell did you manage that in a single day?” I asked astonished.
He furrowed his brow in annoyance. “I told you I am a great cook, didn’t I? What, you didn’t believe me?” he snapped, his petulant tone resurfacing. “I also mentioned I reached Apprentice rank, remember? I had an inspiration to cook everything together in the cauldron. It worked perfectly. I had to use 40 pieces of raw meat, mushrooms and herbal ingredients. What should we do with all the prepared food now?”
“Just load it all up into the Breeder’s Den,” I instructed.
He shook his head, “Such a waste, those damn breeders can’t appreciate the subtleties of a fine meal, but I’ll do as you ask. Did you want me to prepare the fish as well? It will take longer as each one needs to be prepared individually, and our herbal ingredient stock is low.”
“Wait, are you saying you’ve learned Guba’s Seasoned Fish recipe?”
He looked down his considerable nose at me, condescendingly. “Of course. Just as I told you, it was only a matter of time. No mere chemist can match my Cooking skills!”
“I’ll be sure to tell her that. I’m sure she’ll appreciate your contribution,” I offered offhandedly.
His eyes bulged in fright, “eh...no need for that, Dark Totem” he quickly said in a more respectful tone. “No need to bother old Guba with such trifling matters.”
I grinned to myself. Seemed like I had found an easy way to keep him in check.
“As you wish. Keep up the good work, and there won’t be any need to involve Guba.” I watched with satisfaction as he took my thinly disguised threat to heart.
I now had over 60 units of Advanced food in stores to play with. I could summon three advanced workers, or three crafters. I opened the Breeder’s Den Interface again to refresh my memory on the available recruitment options.
The Bowyer caught my eyes. With bows, I could recruit hunters and ranged warriors. But, I’d also have to recruit a Fletcher to produce arrows, leaving me enough food for only one researcher. Or I could summon three Researchers right now, I reasoned. Together, they could probably finish researching the barracks in a few days.
I thought it over. I didn’t really need the Barracks blueprints right away. My builders were currently busy with higher priority buildings, and I was a long way away from being able to equip and provision a sizable fighting force anyway.
No, it would be best to do things in stages. First, I’d build the infrastructure to support a large force.
Decision made, I opened the interface and queued in three new workers: A Bowyer, a Fletcher, and a Researcher.
Much to my amusement, Gandork started running from the pile, carrying armloads of mushrooms and other types of Simple food, and dropping them into the Breeder’s Den. Despite being an intelligent, VI operated NPC, he was still a slave to the system that now had him running around as an errand boy.
It took a few more minutes for all the food to be loaded, 150 units in total. Shortly after the familiar disturbing clamor and commotion, there was an audible ‘ding’ and three new goblins emerged from the structure.
I spent 150 energy, purchasing level 2 for all of them.
The three looked around and at each other questioningly. Their eyes brimming with intelligence. I analyzed them.
Bosper, Goblin crafter, M. Level 2; HP: 30, MP: 15; P:3, M:0, S:-1; Skills: Bowyer 1
Harvey, Goblin crafter, M. Level 2; HP: 30, MP: 15; P:3, M:0, S:-1; Skills: Fletcher 1
Romil, Goblin scholar, F. Level 2; HP: 20, MP: 25; P:1, M:2, S:-1; Skills: Researcher 1
“Greetings and welcome to the GreenPiece clan” I approached.
They were startled by my presence. They all bowed and murmured in unison, “greetings Dark Totem.” At least they had better pronunciation ability than the standard workers...and Gandork too. As usual, I granted them all the Lucky Bastard skill.
“Bosper, what kind of bows can you make and what is needed to make them?”
He bowed before answering, “Simple Shortbow. I can make do with a small hatchet and a wood carving knife, though a proper Workshop would greatly increase the quality of produced bows. I can find and chop the proper wood myself.”
As expected. Shortbow was the least powerful type of bow, but it should suffice for the time being. “Go to Barzel, our blacksmith,” I ordered, “tell him to craft you those items, and start making as many shortbows as possible.”
He bowed once more before leaving, “yes Dark Totem.”
I turned toward my new Fletcher. He was an extremely hairy goblin. A thick dark brown coat of hair covered most of his body. Hairy Harvey, that’s a suitable name for him. I thought with a grin.
“Harvey, what do you require to produce arrows?”
“Carving knife need, for okay arrows.” This goblin was obviously less intelligent than the Bowyer. “Can make wood pointy; or make bone point, but need bone; or metal point, but need pointy metal for heads.”
Metal tipped arrows would obviously be better, but I didn't want to overtax Barzel or our resources mass producing arrowheads. Luckily his remarks reminded me of something. “We have a stack of Hugger’s bones, use them to create arrows for now.” Each of the thin long bones that formed the Hugger’s blanket-like body, was listed as a crafting component for arrows. “When you run out of bone, make wooden arrows. Use the bone resource at the Construction Yard to make bone arrowheads for them.”
“Okey.” he obediently moved to follow my orders.
Lastly, I turned to Romil, my new Researcher.
Other than Bek, she was the first Goblin I had met that prioritized her Mental attribute. She looked sharp and alert. Her eyes were large and bright. She studied me quietly, waiting for me to address her. I had a vague feeling I should select my words carefully with this one. I accessed and viewed her skill description.
Researcher (M)
A specific field of study must be selected for the researcher to specialize in. The Researcher generates Research Points (RP) which can be used to develop plans, schematics, formula, blueprints etc. - in her field of specialization.
When not researching a specific goal, the Researcher can engage in general research, accumulating RP to be used later, albeit at 50% efficiency.
Level 1: Novice
Effect: Daily RP 5.5
“Please follow me,” I motioned to her.
We walked over to the Construction Yard. Romil looked around with inquisitive eyes, drinking everything in.
“So what do you think of our new settlement?”
She looked around, taki
ng in the sight of our few buildings. “Acceptable condition. Could be optimized to maximize potential.” She looked at me suddenly with apprehension. “Though it does show great promise, my lord.”
That was a new one, they usually called me by my full title.
“Our resources are currently limited, so our progress might seem limited, but in time I intend to turn this little settlement into the greatest goblin city in the world. As a matter of fact, that’s why I summoned you here.”
“Oh?”
“Can you research new building blueprints?”
“Of course, my lord. I only need to select it as my main field. With time, I may be able to select another.”
“That could come in handy.”
We reached the Construction Yard and went inside. Zuban was sitting idly on the floor, his back against the wall, a piece of chalk in his hand and he was staring blankly at the board in front of him. Appearing ‘hard at work’. He jumped up as he heard us entering the building
“Zuban, I brought someone to help you out.” I motioned toward the goblin beside me. “Romil here is a proficient researcher, she should help speed up the barracks blueprint research.”
Romil reached down into her simple skirt, and to my surprise produced a pair of small metal framed eyeglasses and perched them on her nose. For a moment I was reminded of Brain, the spectacle wearing psychopathic monster in the movie ‘Gremlins’.
Romil surveyed Zuban’s sketches on the board with interest.
“Yes, I do believe I can assist with that. The base design looks quite promising, though I do detect a few weak load bearing beams. We should correct those immediately.”
Zuban approached her “Show me where.”
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