Discovering a new area seemed to give a variable amount of EXP. This spot gained him 200 EXP, but the last two only gave about 150 each. Still, free EXP was not something he was going to complain about.
It meant that he would be rewarded for exploring their new home.
When Durvin stomped up to join him, the dwarf let out an appreciative whistle. One by one, each of his friends came to see what he was looking at and were similarly blown away.
It was exactly what Hal was looking for. The emanations from the Manaseed agreed.
But it was Elora that truly surprised Hal. She placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to peel his gaze away from the valley below. “I take it all back, this is perfect, Hal.”
“Let’s find a way to get the caravan into there.” Hal couldn’t help the smile that spread on his face. He knew just where to put the Manaseed and he knew just who could help him plant it.
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Hal turned to Elora, motioning at the lump in Elora’s heavy jacket that warded off the cold. Catching his meaning, she pulled out the slumbering pobul. She shivered and clung to Elora, coming awake abruptly.
Her whiskers twitched as she scented the air, turning her dark brown eyes on Hal.
“Komachi, would you like to help me?” he asked.
“Komachi?” inquired the curious pobul.
“I have a very special task for you, should you accept. One, I think, that only a pobul of your exceptional talents and-” Hal stopped, as Komachi seemed to tune him out.
The pobul was digging one dexterous little pad into her nose. When she noticed, she paused and turned to Hal. Her little paw came out and so did whatever she was digging around for.
Komachi gave her paw a little shake, but the lump of strangely golden-colored snot didn’t dislodge. Frantic, the pobul shook her paw all around spastically until the glob swung free and disappeared somewhere in the grass to the side.
“Komachi,” she said sagely, putting on a straight face.
Continuing, Hal said, “What I was trying to ask was; would you like to help me plant the Manaseed, Komachi?”
“Komachi!” cried the happy little pobul.
Hal took that for a yes.
It took them hours to get the caravan through the adjacent valley and up to the towering gate that granted admittance into the wide valley that would soon become their home.
The Guild had Leveled just after arriving at the mountain and Hal kept the newly granted perk in reserve for the express use of spending it to improve their settlement archetype.
With the slower speed of the wagons, it would take them at least another hour to reach the spot he intended for the Manatree. A location dead center of the valley’s main floor.
He didn’t want it anywhere up high, where people might look at it but never know its shade. The Manatree was meant to be something for everybody. Not just the ruling class or the wealthy.
This was a gift to his people.
Every one of his companions joined him as he made the trek by foot through the forests and clambering along the stony outcrops to reach the center of the valley well ahead of the caravan.
The spot was unremarkable to Hal’s eyes. A clearing of tall grass with the occasional tumble of stone sticking up like an island of white in a sea of green.
“Here,” Hal said, turning to Komachi who laid on his shoulder - something she never did before.
Komachi fussed with the Manaseed in her paws, rolling it about like it was a stone. She looked over at Hal and slithered down his shoulder and extended arm to the tall grass below as if he had no friction to his clothing.
In true Komachi fashion, she looked up at Hal, then darted to the side three or four yards. “Eh, this place better.”
Hal looked at her with heavy lids. “Does Komachi say that, or the Manaseed?”
She fussed with the Manaseed a bit more, rolling it around in her paws as she stood on her hind legs. With a furtive glance to the side, she hurried back to Hal. “Maybe this better.”
“She has a strong independent streak,” Elora said softly to Hal. She had something in her hands, a small parcel she was opening with great care.
Turning his attention back to Komachi, he crouched and motioned for her to begin. The pobul looked at him, then Elora, then back to the Manaseed in one paw. She handed the glassy looking orb to Hal and began to dig with surprising speed.
Dirt flew in every direction and within a minute a deep hole of rich, black loamy soil - perfect for farming, Hal noted - stood before them. Hal handed the Manaseed back to Komachi and she scampered into the middle of the hole she made.
With delicate paws, the pobul scooped out just enough dirt to place the Manaseed within and covered it with the remaining dirt. She stood up on her hind legs again, but this time took her tail in both paws.
Komachi looked at all the gathered faces and squonked loudly. “No looking!”
Most everybody turned except for Hal and Elora. Komachi seemed to find this acceptable, if not ideal, and hefted her thick tapered tail a bit higher.
She pointed the tip of her tail at the spot she buried the Manaseed. Hal understood it was just a tail. He knew that. But he still couldn’t dismiss the fact that when Komachi slid one bracing paw back and forth against its furry length, it made the exact sound of racking a shotgun.
A glittering spray of water erupted from Komachi’s tail and darkened the already black soil further as she watered it. Tiny rainbows arced in the air wherever the water splashed and created a faint mist.
It lasted only seconds and then Komachi was quickly scampering back to Elora, chirping and squeaking the entire way.
At Hal’s side, Vorax imparted his curiosity to Hal and his approval. The Manatree would grow strong there.
As if to accentuate the point, the black soil shifted and a tiny seedling erupted. Two leaves on a thin stalk stretched toward the sky.
The air rippled with a magical shockwave spreading out from the epicenter of the newly planted Manaseed.
Area Effect: Blessing of the Manaseed.
+50% HP Regeneration.
+50% SP Regeneration.
+50% MP Regeneration.
-25% Strain.
Negative area effects nullified within the influence range of the Manaseed.
Influence Range: 1 Mile.
[Manaseed: Unnamed] gains 3,000 Experience Points.
[Manaseed: Unnamed] attains Level 2.
+10% Influence Range (1.2 Miles).
Your Leadership has risen to Level 25(30).
+1% Party Damage (30%).
+2% Leadership Efficacy (+60%).
Your Manatree Skill has risen to Level 8.
+3% Manatree spell potency (+24%).
You learn Manatorpor.
By focusing your attunement with the Manatree’s essence inside, you have gained the ability to create a magical bubble. All enemies that enter this bubble of magic will be dramatically slowed, their movements sluggish as if in a thick gel. All stamina costs of enemies caught within Manatorpor’s range are doubled.
Casting within the influence of a friendly Manatree doubles range and duration.
School: Manatree.
Range: 30ft radius.
Duration: 100 minutes.
Cost: 208 MP.
Manaseed Guardian Unlocked.
As the Manaseed’s Guardian, you now have access to the Manatree System. As the Manaseed grows and evolves through its stages, it will become more powerful and capable. Each day the Manaseed generates Elysian Points (EP).
EP can be reinvested to bolster your Manaseed’s capabilities or to speed up its progression toward the next evolution or Level. EP can also be utilized to provide benefits within the influence range of the Manaseed.
[Manatree]
Guardian: Hal Williams
Level: 2
Experience Points: 750/2,650
HP: 350/350
EP: 0
EP Generation: 2/day
Soul Tether Unlocked
.
As the Manaseed’s Guardian you are tied to your Manaseed. If you so choose, you can tether your soul to the Manaseed, binding this location as your respawn point. If you fall, and your Manaseed is still standing it will pull your soul back to the material plane and resurrect you.
Resurrection Cost: 100 EP.
Impenetrable Defense Unlocked.
A Manaseed is incredibly vulnerable. While in this state, you can forego all EP generation, instead funnel that strength into a spherical barrier that surrounds the Manaseed. Any damage it receives will emit an alarm sound that all sentient creatures within its influence range will be aware of.
The barrier will also slow the growth of the Manaseed considerably as it will no longer be able to pull mana from the air or draw from the Worldshard. With the barrier up, however, the Manaseed is practically invulnerable.
Cost: All EP Generation.
Would you like to initiate Soul Tether?
Hal started at that. He thought it was something that would take a lot longer to achieve. This was what Elora had told him about so long ago. It was something more than the selfish desire to safeguard against death that drove him to accept it.
Looking after the Manaseed was important to him. It was more than a symbol. More than the promise of safety. It was a life all its own and it deserved to be nurtured.
As the Manaseed tethered his soul to it, a thin silvery cord stretched out between Hal’s navel and the Manaseed. He understood that the process was costly. At its current rate of EP generation, it would take 50 days for Hal to come back if he died.
Long enough for his home to be wiped out. His first priority was to grow the settlement and the Manatree as fast as possible.
His thoughts were derailed as he felt a glowing warmth emanate from his chest. A golden tether, one he had not seen in a long while, appeared between him and Noth.
Noth, similarily surprised looked at the tether then him. Her eyes followed from Hal to the green seedling where his silver threaded tether connected. They both started in surprise as their golden tether became streaked with silver.
When it was done, Hal felt the same as he always had. And his friends, all standing nearby, didn’t seem to notice anything was amiss.
The golden tether faded from view, but Hal knew it was still there. And so did Noth. Rather than be concerned, Noth shot him a bashful smile.
He didn’t know if the Manaseed could tether more than one soul, but considering the unique bond Hal and Noth possessed, perhaps its protection extended to Noth as well.
It was a comforting thought. That come what may, he wouldn’t be alone.
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Hal was about to tell them about the Manaseed’s abilities when another prompt stole his breath. And judging by the sharp intake of breath around him as Elora’s pobul cried out in distress, his friends all received the same notification.
Guild Mission: Claim Dispute.
By planting the Manaseed and declaring your intent to settle this untamed land, the monsters of the Shiverglades have been roused to your presence. They will rise against you to push you from their land.
Survive against their hordes throughout the night of the assault to claim this land as yours. Fail and you will be just another unfortunate group that was laid low by the Shiverglades.
Objectives
Survive all waves of enemies until the light of dawn.
Manaseedling survives.
More than 50% of your force survives.
Additional objectives available.
Rewards
Manaseedling EXP (Variable).
Guild EXP (Variable).
Guild Reputation Bonus (Variable).
Shiverglade Tribes Reputation (Variable).
EXP (Variable).
Additional rewards available.
A small timer appeared in the upper left quadrant of Hal’s vision. Hal breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the time until the attack: 7 days. For a moment, he thought it would be far sooner. Even that night.
If it had, they would suffer more than a few casualites. Even the Manastorm for all its fury was a battle that hardly took an hour and they had magical defenses against the creatures.
This would not be a battle that would be won by killing an enemy commander as Hal had done. It would be a brutal pitched battle that would last all night long. In the dark.
Already the slanting rays of the sun were only cast over half of the valley, courtesy of the high western walls. Hal looked south toward the mouth of the valley.
While most of their new home was sheltered by sheer cliff walls, the entrance was several hundred yards across. A sizeable force - far more than they could handle - would have no problem flooding through that gap.
Seven days no longer seemed like such a luxury of time when a large amount of fortifications would need to be made. They had near to 30 tons of stone, but Hal was under no illusion that it would build a significant portion of the needed defenses.
A sturdy, defensible wall would be his first priority.
Without it, they would be overrun. Luckily, a good portion of his Guild contained crafters and gatherers. Even the most battle-hardened dwarf was a skilled mason.
And right then, that’s what their settlement needed. Strong stone walls to hold back and funnel the tide of enemies that threatened to wash over them.
Maybe he was blowing things out of proportion. Perhaps it would only be a few scattered pockets of enemies. And if that was the case, he would be happy to have wasted the time building strong defenses.
Because the next time the force arrayed against them may not be so small.
Guild Missions
Belonging to a Guild allows you to participate in wider world events. Aldim will now react to the presence of your Guild, prompting Guild Missions at certain times. Any member of a Guild may trigger a Guild Mission. The event, while optional, will have negative repercussions for failure (opting-out counts as failure). The more Guild Missions your Guild completes, the more Renown attained.
Renown Unlocked
Separate from reputation, renown acts as a baseline modifier for your interactions with the other Guilds and Societies of Aldim. Like reputation, it affects your standing with these groups. However, unlike reputation, renown increases your starting reputation level with others.
Higher renown not only increases your reputation level with already known factions but with those you have yet to come into contact with. With a high enough renown, even far-away empires will know of your Guild’s deeds.
Durvin nudged Hal in the ribs. “Good thing ye got a narrow gap. I’ll get me best engineers on it, don’t ye worry. We’ll have fortifications up in half that time!”
Before Hal could offer his thanks, the dwarf was already turned around and pumping his short powerful legs in fast retreat.
Hal sighed and shook his head. He didn’t doubt Durvin’s enthusiasm but the entire caravan only recently found their new home. They didn’t even have a name for the settlement yet.
What materials they had on the caravan needed to be properly rationed.
Elora and Ashera were watching him. The Ranger had Komachi in her jacket once more. It was cold in the Shiverglades. Far colder now that they were at the base of the mountain at its heart.
The little pobul didn’t like it. Elora even received a quest to find something to keep Komachi warm. As much as her familiar loved rooting around in Elora’s clothes, she needed something more.
But they were all so busy as of late - and soon to be even busier, it seemed - that Elora settled to bring Komachi with her wherever she went. Hal wanted to help, particularly for the role Komachi played in spurring the Manaseed along.
It would have to wait, he knew, until they were safe from the impending threat. There was so much to do.
“Elora, I need you to take some of the Rangers that are skilled at gathering and scout the forests. We’re going to need a lot of strong timber. Ashera, I need you to take at least one or two Ran
gers with you to find any useful herbs that may be scattered about. I’m going to entrust you to make medicine for the coming battle.
“Angram, take as many people as you deem necessary. We need this entire valley scouted from wall to wall. If there’s a gap where something can come through, I need to know of it.”
“Aside from the huge hole in the mountain?” Mira asked, pointing to the north.
“Yes, Mira aside from that. But that gives me a good idea,” Hal said, turning toward her. The other three were already gone, headed off to deal with their assigned tasks. “Take a few dwarves and see what’s in the mountain. Don’t go far, I just need to know if it’s dangerous or not.”
“And if it is?” she asked.
“Then we’ll need to cave it in so it’s not,” Hal said simply. Mira’s face lit up at the prospect of destruction.
“Man,” she said, putting one hand on her hip and fanning herself with her other. “Thicc boys and explosions? Hal, you really know how to show a girl a good time.”
“Enjoy yourself,” Hal said with a shake of his head. “But make sure it gets done. I’ll not have us fighting on two fronts. We barely have enough to fight on one.”
A cold breeze ruffled Hal’s long hair and he took a moment to settle his thoughts. Noth gently tapped his shoulder. “Am I to have a great task?”
“I was hoping you would help me,” Hal admitted.
“I know nothing about building or planning,” Noth confessed. “My skills are… in other departments. But I will gladly learn, if you wish it.”
With a smile, Hal said, “We’ll learn together then. I’ll need somebody that can help me coordinate the building and resource management. If you find something you would rather do, by all means, see to it. I hardly want to hold you back, but in the meantime I could use the help.”
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