“Did it work?” she asked.
“Like a charm, get this place to Capital and one more settlement for the big quest,” he answered. “It reminded me about that, updated to tell me I only needed one more settlement plus the upgrade to the city to complete it.”
She smiled at him.
“Good, hey I talked to Erich, he'll be playing music we can dance to tonight, shall we?”
He sighed as she extended her hand, but remembered that he really hadn't minded that much last time so he let her escort him out and into the center of the pavilion that was once again cleared to use for dancing now that the mobs of adventurers had left.
~ ~ ~
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aaron opened the logs he'd been sent. Evidently the virgin server was up and running and the people assigned to debug the output from it had been having problems doing their job.
“Oh come on, redacted data?” he said. “How the hell do they expect me to debug this when part of it's redacted?”
Tom, on the other side of the room, started laughing, but bent his head down and continued his work.
Aaron's initial impulse was to just flat out not do it. Technically the virgin server was not included in his job duties. His employment contract had specifically stated his work was on the game Light Online, not anything else. But he knew that it would cause issues if he just flat out refused.
Yeah, they couldn't technically fire me for it, he thought, but suddenly funding would tighten, my employees would get shifted to other areas and the replacements wouldn't be worth jack shit. And all that other political bullshit you run into in corporations. So, how do I do this?
In the end he simply replied to the message that had contained the link to the data, saying that it was impossible to debug with redacted data as he couldn't determine which interactions to check, the problems might be in the redacted portions themselves, and if they wanted him to debug this he needed access to the non-redacted data and potentially even more access than that in order to trace the problems.
He and Lydia normally kept their private phones open to text back and forth with no sign of it on the company network. Now he typed out a quick message.
'You're not going to believe this. They just tried to get me to debug redacted data. I told them I couldn't without the non-redacted data and potentially more access than that.'
Her reply came quickly so Aaron knew that the network must be running smoothly. If it weren't she would have waited until she had it that way before answering.
'Of course I'll believe it. Remember, I work for the same company. One of these days a corporation is going to require all their higher-ups to know the basic limitations of everything they have to deal with and the employees at the company will be zealously loyal, you know? Imagine if the people telling you to do things actually knew what they were talking about and knew what you needed to get the job done and what was actually possible?'
Aaron chuckled. He'd actually expected an answer like that since he knew Lydia pretty well by now. They shared a certain disdain for those in positions of authority that were clueless. Not that either one of them showed said disdain to those in question since that would be a great way to find themselves out of a job so fast their heads would spin.
“The Peter principle,” Aaron said, aloud.
Tom was working on the other side of the room. He'd obviously heard Aaron's earlier statement, since he'd laughed out loud when he heard it. He'd heard this one too, but his head came up.
“I keep hearing people say that, what the hell does it mean?”
“The Peter principle?” Aaron asked.
Tom nodded.
“That's the one that states that people will be promoted to their level of incompetency. You know, they do a job well and get promoted, then keep getting promoted until they can't do the job they've been promoted to, but they get left in that job.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Tom said. “Sounds about right though.”
Tom didn't mention any names, but he didn't have to. Much like he now did with Lydia, Aaron had used to bitch about the same things with Tom.
About an hour later another email came in for Aaron. When he opened it, he found another, more specific NDA that he had to digitally sign before he could get access to the data he needed to debug something that wasn't technically his job.
He sighed, signed, and sent it back. Within five minutes he had access to the unredacted file.
“Holy shit,” he thought. They're using the virgin server to test mechs? Yeah, they call them constructs, but they're mechs. Oh look, they're using variables taken from Light Online. But you can't use an armor variable to represent a solid metal limb or joint, they work totally different. That grenade shouldn't have destroyed the entire leg there, only burned a centimeter or two of metal off of it. Their modeling is way off for that.
He kept skimming the data, finding about five major problems in the first pass. He added those issues to the notes file attached to the data, along with suggestions on how to remodel the data so it would function more like it would in the real world. Light Online had material interactions, so he pointed out the interactions for solid metal as being closer to what they needed for modeling damage to their constructs.
He'd spent an hour or two at that when he realized that it was lunch time. Closing the file and locking his workstation, he headed out to meet Lydia for lunch.
~ ~ ~
Eddie slept better than he had in a while that night. Getting another settlement under the jurisdiction of the Meadowlands meant that as soon as the other qualifications were taken care of the settlement level would go up. The castle was progressing well now and there had been more people slowly filtering in to take up residence in the Meadowlands right along.
Bjorn was on another run to Brightport and Eddie wasn't sure when he'd be back, but this time Eddie had asked him to find tradespeople that were unhappy with Brightport and bring them back. While talking to some of the other refugees, Eddie had found out that the tradespeople that had recently showed up in Brightport after their home cities were destroyed had been put into positions that were mainly entry level shit work that didn't allow them to use their skills at all.
Eddie had seen another win-win situation there, telling Bjorn that he could offer to set any of these tradespeople up with a business of their own using Eddie's standard offer that he'd provide them with a building and tools, and would receive a portion of the profits generated.
He was hoping for another surge of new residents from that offer, but wouldn't know until Bjorn got back and he saw how many people he had with him this time.
All in all, it seemed as though he were making serious progress on the settlement quest, at the very least, now he just had to set it up so he'd be able to complete the King's quest as well.
So, I need to find Ingolf today and ask him if he's made a decision. If not, I'll have to figure out who else to offer the position to that would actually do a good job of it, Eddie thought.
It was later than normal, with all the exercise the day before and the late return to the city he'd slept in. Tiana had as well, so now he got a tray. With her coffee right nearby he started to wake her.
When they went downstairs together, Eddie discovered that the first task of his day was going to be quicker than he'd thought. Ingolf was waiting, sitting at a table. One of the servers was trying to talk to him, but Ingolf was giving short, miserable answers to the questions she patiently asked him.
“Huh, if I'm not mistaken, that server is trying to flirt with Ingolf and he just isn't noticing,” Tiana said softly.
“Well, I'll tell him that while we talk, but from the look on his face, he isn't going to believe me,” Eddie said.
Eddie slipped into a chair at Ingolf's table and the forester's head came up, a look of relief flashing onto it. Eddie looked at the server, he wasn't sure of her name, and shrugged. She looked disappointed, but walked off, only to be intercepted by Tiana.
&nb
sp; “So, Ingolf, I was going to look for you first thing today. I need a decision,” Eddie said.
Ingolf sighed.
“I know, I had to think long and hard on it, but I think I'm willing to give this a try.”
“You are?” Eddie said. “Good, I'm glad.”
“Yeah, it'll be nice to get out of this place. Even the people that aren't suspicious of me are acting differently. That server was trying extra hard to make me feel comfortable, like she knew that lots of people hated me and she was trying to make up for it.”
He shook his head.
“Pity is even worse than hatred,” he said.
“Um, Ingolf? I think you might have misread that badly. I'm not one to notice either, but Tiana told me that she was trying to flirt with you.”
Ingolf's head snapped up.
“What?” he said, an almost panicked tone to his voice.
“Why the fret? Is that a bad thing?” Eddie asked.
“No, it's not, but she's going to think I was trying to give her the cold shoulder. I don't want anyone to feel the way I do. If she was flirting and I shut her down like that?”
Ingolf shuddered, then looked around quickly.
“And now she's gone, so I can't apologize and tell her I didn't understand. Damn it, I don't want to contribute towards anyone feeling the way I've been feeling, dejected and rejected. I need to find her and apologize if I can.”
“Leave it for now,” Eddie said. “If she was serious with her flirting, she'll know you were just not in a good mood and she'll come back and try again sometime. You can apologize then. For now, you'll need to make a list of what you're going to need to start the settlement.”
Ingolf pulled out a scrap of paper and tossed it on the table.
“I already did, although I'm sure I'm missing things.”
Eddie picked it up, then pulled up the list Charles had sent. He compared the two and started making additions to Ingolf's list. When he was done, he slid it back across the table.
“I had a copy of Charles' list, so I just compared the two and added things that I thought would be useful to your efforts. You won't need the mining equipment and stuff like that, but you do need the tree specific stuff you were mentioning. So let's go see what we can do.”
Eddie led Ingolf out of the inn and the two of them started to see what was readily available from the lists and what they'd have to ask Bjorn to get on his next trading run.
~ ~ ~
Eddie went to the smithy to get Delgar and Kerr working on some more metal fittings that would make construction in the new settlement easier. Charles had taken a bunch with him as well so Eddie just asked the smiths to duplicate Charles' order minus the mining equipment.
While he was doing that, Eddie had Ingolf taking the wagons and loading up on rough planks and stone. He wouldn't be able to take all the stone he needed since the wagons wouldn't hold it all, but hopefully there was somewhere out there to easily mine some more.
I wonder if stone would be salvageable? Karl said it looked like there were buildings out there before, so maybe they can supplement the stone they bring with salvaged materials? Any wood from those may well be history, depending on how long it's been, but stone should survive, right? Eddie thought.
Delgar told him three days on the materials order and Eddie was fine with that. Ingolf hadn't set a departure date yet, so he could adjust depending on how long it would take him to find the proper materials.
Then Eddie worked on the next problem they'd encountered. All the masons that had been willing to move had gone with Charles. There had only been five of them, but now Ingolf was going to need some as well.
So, do we find people willing to go and train them up or do I ask some of the others with the skill already? Maybe get some of the ones that learned both Carpentry and Masonry to go? They could train anyone else in both of those, but they'd have to be willing to go and I don't know how many more people beyond those who went with Charles will be. Hm, maybe see if the other three masons that were with Olaf are willing to go elsewhere? Didn't Ingolf say something about that? They'd be valuable out there so long as they actually worked.
Eddie's tentative plan came down to seeing if those three would like to relocate. Their involvement with Olaf's plan had become fairly well known, so much like Ingolf they might like the change of scenery that being in a new settlement would bring. It still left the issue of carpenters, but there were lots more of those around than the masons and Eddie was sure he could find some that would be willing to move and help set up a new settlement.
Eddie planned on heading down to the house crews working on the road south of the crossroads, but he stopped when he came across another large crowd near the inn. Most of them weren't wearing armor or other gear that would identify them as adventurers so he was puzzled for a moment, until he heard a familiar, deep, booming voice.
Bjorn was telling his men to take care of unloading the wagons and that he'd get the animals settled.
So that's what that crowd is, I wonder how many of them are actually skilled crafters and tradespeople, Eddie thought.
He made his way through the crowd carefully, moving around the back to talk to Bjorn while the animals were taken care of. Eddie saw the truth in what Liv had told him a while back. One of the pseudo oxen balked for a moment and Bjorn just thumped it on the head. It was obviously a light blow for Bjorn, but the ox didn't think so. It staggered for a moment and then was much more docile as Bjorn led it into a stall.
“Hey Bjorn, welcome back. I see you had a lot more people come with you this time, please tell me they're crafters and the like,” Eddie said.
“About half and half. Half are crafters and tradesmen that I made your offer to and the other half aren't as skilled but were willing and able to work. I talked to the people who hire unskilled labor and found the ones that were actually willing to work. Told those hiring folks that I wanted to hire some people that wouldn't slack off. Didn't tell them that the jobs they'd be doing were here in the Meadowlands and not in Brightport.”
Eddie was convinced that for Bjorn that was about the highest level of duplicity he could manage. The massive hauler just wasn't built for that, he was normally blunt and straightforward. Eddie was actually surprised that he'd managed to pull off what he had.
“Wow Bjorn, I wouldn't have thought you could do that. Not what I see as your style, but a good idea and well done,” Eddie said.
The hauler blushed.
“Yes, well, they weren't even paying the better unskilled laborers enough to live on. I thought that they could do much better for themselves here. I actually took three of them onto my own crew, that's how well they work,” Bjorn answered.
Now Eddie was impressed. He'd seen Bjorn and his haulers in action. Somehow, every last hauler Bjorn used to work with before coming to work for the Meadowlands had made their way here and gotten hired on as a hauler again. Eddie hadn't said a word about it even when he'd noticed since they worked so well together. That Bjorn was willing to take three more men onto his tight knit crew said all Eddie needed to know about them.
“Well, good, you want to talk to them or you want me to go do that?” Eddie asked.
“Let me tell them who you are, then you can talk to them. I have Liv doing another one of those massive pots of soup to feed them and then we can see how they'll settle in.”
“There are more people than are going to fit in the bunkhouse Tiana had made, so I hope a few don't mind camping for a little while,” Eddie replied.
“I did warn them that it might be a while, but told them we'd get them a basic house. I told the skilled types that you'd help them get set working in their craft like you asked me to. Most of them were overjoyed by that. They'd been being taken advantage of for a while already. The ones with families couldn't even support them by themselves any more. Eldest children going for unskilled labor, wives taking whatever jobs they could get. I don't think they'll mind things being rough for a bit with what they kn
ow is coming eventually.”
“Well, it won't be that long, but it could be a week or two,” Eddie said.
“Alright, that's the last of the oxen put away,” Bjorn said. “Let me go introduce you.”
Eddie gave his standard talk, the one he'd given to all of the other large groups that had arrived. It was short and to the point. When he was done, he told them all there'd be soup for them soon and asked if he could talk to the skilled workers to see what they would need to set up their profession.
The skilled workers came over to one side and Eddie was happy to find quite a few people who had skills that would be very useful. There was a tailor/seamstress married couple, an NPC weapon smith who had his smithing at an eighteen, another smith with no specialization with his smithing at twelve, and a number more. There were seventeen skilled people. The biggest problem was also the biggest bonus. There was a high variety of skills among them so Eddie was going to have to build more buildings.
Another smithy too, he thought. I don't want to kick Delgar out, I'm not about to fire Kerr, but we've got two more smiths and the current smithy can only handle one more. Wait, didn't that smithy blueprint say it could be expanded? I'll have to look into that.
When informed that it could as much as a month before they'd get a building to work in, but they'd get houses within a week or two, Eddie was surprised at how happy they were about that. A few questions told him that while some had had their own business before, most hadn't. Even those that had their own business earlier had been in contracts even worse than the one Eddie had offered. Evidently the guilds and town officials had fees for this, fees for that, a percentage paid to the landowner, a percentage to the respective guild, and taxes on top of everything else.
He actually got a cheer when he told them that there were no guilds of that nature in the area and that he was inclined to keep it that way.
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