by L. R. Wolf
“I truly am very sorry, ladies.” He bowed his head contritely, feeling incredibly guilty for hurting the two women who had been nothing but kind to him and his people.
“It’s ok, big guy, it was an accident. Don’t worry about it.” Aya smiled at him trying to reassure him. “See? I’m good as new!” She flexed and rotated her arm around to show him that she was ok.
His smile returned, “I appreciate your understanding, Lady Aya. Truly. Now, as to the matter at hand. We razed the wall separating the keep from the city as it was already falling apart and beginning to lean. Now, we could demolish the keep if you’d like, but it appears to be structurally sound overall. If you choose to retain the keep I would recommend both a Dwarven builder team and Gnomish Engineers to test just how sound the rest of the keep is, whether areas will need to be demolished or repaired. You will also most definitely want a professional cleaning crew to, shall we say, air out the keep.” He wrinkled his nose a bit at that last part as the smell within the keep was downright nauseating.
Aya looked to Elohwa and Va'lore who was hovering next to his sister. “It’s up to you two. This was your home and I’m sure you have many fond memories within those walls. I will stand behind whatever decision you two make.”
They both looked at each other in silence, while it was true they had made many memories within those walls, it was just so difficult to reconcile those memories with the thought of gnolls having walked within those very same halls and desecrating every inch they possibly could.
“May we have a bit to think about it?” Va'lore voiced what both he and his sister had been thinking.
Aya nodded, she didn’t envy the decision they needed to make. “Of course, take as much time as you need.”
Askar was nodding as well, “I agree with Lady Aya, take your time, my men and I will disperse through the city and assist anyone who requires it. Would that be acceptable?” He was looking directly at Aya as he said it.
“Thanks, Master Askar. We do appreciate the assistance.” Aya’s mouth rose into a smile.
Askar waved the compliment away, “Bah, you’ve given us tools, fresh meat and animals to assist us when you didn’t have to, that means quite a bit to me and mine. Because of your kindness, we’ll be giving you a discount as well as priority over other projects, should you need us in the future! Oh, and please, just call me Askar!”
Aya laughed, “Only if you call me Aya! I’m not much for formal titles.”
“It shall be done, Aya!” Askar laughed a deep booming rumble of a laugh. A few people turned towards him with inquisitive looks on their faces before they shrugged and turned back towards their tasks.
Aya looked out over the vast open expanse before her. She could see a few of the buildings that were being raised in the distance, but most of them were out of her sight. All of the different races that had been hired were bustling about on their way to one build site or another. She chuckled to herself as she noticed that the temporary kitchen and dining area had the most workers and was very nearly finished. Aya was quite sure they would then move on to assist in the building of those that produced food such as the fishing and hunter’s huts. Something suddenly struck her, between those two huts, they would be well supplied with meat, but they had no vegetables or the like. A fact that Voksil was sure to love considering he despised vegetables of any sort. She knew they could erect farms, but they would take entirely too long to grow crops. She opened the City Interface to see if there were any options to bring more variety to their food.
She opened the Food Production tab and skipped the buildings they already had or were going to wait on building such as the farms. Finally, on the third page she found what she was looking for.
Food Production (p3)
Forager’s Hut-A Forager’s hut allows the collection and processing of herbs and other edible plants to be used in cooking or alchemy. Total Cost 25g 50 wood planks 150 nails
She assumed the best place would be at the edge of the woods where it was likely there would be herbs, berries and the like. When she focused her thoughts on the building an overlay of the area came into view as well as a building overlay so she could tell where it would be placed. With another thought, she moved it over towards the woods. She could see where the lumber mill was going to be set up, so she set the Forager’s Hut away from the lumber mill. Like some of the other buildings, this would be a temporary building for the moment. Once she had a place she liked, she placed the building.
Would you like to place a Forager’s Hut?
She confirmed with a thought, the building outline made a thump as it settled into the position she’d chosen.
Would you like to place a priority of this building?
Again, she confirmed with a thought and added the highest priority to the building. She was hoping she’d be able to get some foragers out and working as quickly as possible to start clearing the area behind and around the lumber mill so that none of the forageable items went to waste before the area was cut to produce planks.
She switched to the workers tab, again skipping over the workers they already had.
Available Workforce-
Dwarven Stone Masons-5[2]0g a day per 20 Mason’s. Dwarves make excellent miners and stoneworkers. Dwarven Stone Mason’s are specialized in building with stone. Stone structures built by Dwarven Stone Masons tend to be much stronger and of a higher quality. Grand Masters further increases speed, efficiency, yield, quality and durability by an additional 25%.
Aya filed that away in the back of her mind when they started to build with the stone they removed from the quarry.
Wood Elf Foragers-40g a day per 20 Foragers. Wood Elves make incredible foragers. Due to their strong affinity for nature, Wood Elves are able to sense the presence of forageable items and are able to harvest more from a plant as well as being able to harvest faster than all others.
Aya focused on the Wood Elf Foragers, bringing up another confirmation box.
Would you like to hire Wood Elf Foragers for 40g a day per 20 Foragers?
With a sigh, Aya mumbled yes yet again.
How many Wood Elf Foragers would you like to hire in increments of 20.
Aya thought for a moment trying to decide how many would be enough to clear out the area surrounding the lumber mill before they began cutting. She settled on sixty for the time being, they could always hire more later if they needed to. She confirmed that yes she did indeed wish to hire sixty foragers.
You have successfully hired 60 Wood Elf Foragers for 1p 20g (40g a day per 20 Foragers)
A few seconds later, she heard the now familiar whoosh of a portal opening near her. She watched as a slender wood elf woman appeared out of the portal first with three more elves following her leading their line of workers behind them. The woman that had first stepped out approached Aya.
“Greetings M’lady. I am Grandmaster Forager Rhia. What are your orders?” The woman was incredibly professional and cut right to the point.
“I was wondering if two groups of foragers could immediately start looking around where the lumber mill is going up and clear it out before they start cutting there. I’d hate for any edible items there to go to waste. The third group can start building the foraging shack and get that up for when the foragers start to come back. Once that’s up, then I’ll need everyone out foraging what they can, please.” Aya smiled at the woman who was tilting her head to the side a bit as she studied the human in front of her. “Oh, and there are some tools over there if you need them, and I can hire some carts or something if you’d like as well.”
That brought a smile to the woman’s face and she bowed her head slightly in respect. “Indeed, that is a wise choice, M’lady. We won’t let anything go to waste.” Rhia turned to the three Master Foragers behind her and issued the orders. All three groups headed to the tool wagon to pick up some better tools. Once they had what they needed, they gathered back around their respective bosses. Rhia held her hands up, the air shimmered a bit as
the group suddenly disappeared leaving Aya and Rhia alone.
“Where did they go?” Aya hadn’t seen a portal open, they had just vanished.
“Apologies, Lady Aya, I should have warned you. I used a spell to teleport them where they would need to be so they could get to work immediately instead of having to run all the way down and lose precious time.” Rhia’s demeanor had changed dramatically from when she had first arrived. Then, she had been stiff and professional, and while she was still professional she seemed much more relaxed after the items Aya had offered to the foragers.
“Thank you for your help, Grandmaster. We really do appreciate it.” Aya knew it was their job, they were, quite literally, made for these specific jobs and while deep down Aya knew this was a game, everything within the Dreamscape seemed so very real. So far, nothing that had happened to her or around her seemed scripted.
Rhia seemed to soften even further. “Your thanks is greatly appreciated. It’s not often we get placed with such a kind Lady. Also, please, call me Rhia”
“I will, Rhia, thank you!. My mother taught me to treat others the way I want to be treated, although it hasn’t always turned out so well for me.” Aya frowned as some of those memories swirled around in her mind. While sometimes her kindness was returned back to her, more often than not it had led to people taking advantage of her.
Rhia nodded in understanding. “Your mother is a smart woman, she raised a fine young woman in you.”
Aya blushed a bit at the compliment. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to tell her that next time I talk to her.” Sadness quickly fleeted across her face before she smiled once more. Her stomach grumbled again reminding her she had come out from the spring with the intention of eating something more than just rations. She flushed red with embarrassment.
Rhia chuckled and reached into the pouch at her waist. “My forager’s have already found a rather bountiful harvest in your forests. It seems fitting if you were to be the first to taste what your land has to offer.” She pulled a bundle out of her pouch and held it to out to Aya.
“Thanks!” Her stomach rumbled again even louder at the thought of food being so very close. “Err, sorry about that.”
Rhia chuckled again and waved away the apology. “It is understandable. From what I have heard you have been rather busy of late. My advice? You may wish to eat before your belly rebels and then get some rest. You look like you are about to fall over at any second.”
“Yah, I think I will do just that, thanks again.” Aya turned and walked to a nearby stump to sit down, placing the bundle in her lap. She untied the knots holding it together letting the flaps fall away to reveal freshly picked berries, vegetables and mushrooms. She picked the mushrooms out as she wasn’t much of a fan of the things. Wild strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples, oranges, carrots, and some others that she didn’t recognize were overflowing out of the bundle. As soon as she put some of the berries in her mouth her stomach rumbled again, this time softer as if it was telling her to hurry up. She obliged by scarfing down the delicious bounty before her.
“Someone was hungry.” Va'lore suddenly appeared in his elven form in front of Aya.
Aya jumped a bit at his sudden appearance. “What did I say about sneaking up on people?!” Now that she was sated, she put the remaining fruits and vegetables back into the bundle and tied the flaps back together before placing it back within her satchel.
Va'lore laughed and shook his head, “I have only been waiting in front of you for the last five minutes or so.”
Aya blinked at him. She hadn’t even noticed him hovering in front of her, she’d been so focused on eating. She suddenly realized just how very tired she was after the long night of fighting gnolls. “Guess I should probably go take a nap. Was there something you needed before I go do that?” Elohwa was walking towards them, eating out of a bundle just like the one Rhia had given her. Once she was standing in front of Aya with Va'lore she put the bundle away.
“My sister and I have come to a decision regarding the castle.” He turned his glowing eyes to Elohwa. “Would you like to tell her or should I?”
Elohwa rolled her eyes at her brother before she took over the conversation. “We have decided to let the keep stand and let it be a reminder that though we can achieve greatness, we can also be brought low if we are careless, but also that through perseverance we can regain what was once lost.”
Aya nodded. “Good, I know how hard it was for the two of you.” She thought for a moment as she bit her lip a bit. Her eyes unfocused as she opened the city interface and gave Va'lore access to the menu so that he could issue orders while the women were unavailable since he didn’t require sleep at the moment.
Va'lore raised his eyebrows in surprise as he received a notification informing him of the change. “You...you would entrust me with this?” He looked absolutely flabbergasted at the thought of being a very real part of rebuilding his beloved city and home.
“You’re the prince of the city, and you’re Elohwa’s brother. I trust you to do what needs to be done for the good of the city. I’m just sorry I didn’t think about it sooner. Your first task will be hiring the workers needed to inspect and clean the keep because, I don’t know about anyone else, but” She glanced over briefly to Elohwa who was stifling a yawn, “I’m exhausted and going to bed.”
Elohwa nodded in agreement, another yawn escaping her mouth.
“Thank you for this great honor, Aya. I will not let you, my sister, my people or my city down.” Va'lore bowed deeply at Aya. “I vow to you that once I am returned to my body that I will follow you to the ends of the world and beyond until the day I die and even then in death!”
Aya’s eyes shot open as a trumpet like sound rung in her ear and a new notification opened in her interface.
Congratulations Dreamer! You have proven yourself time and again to the Royal House of Shadow and you have now bestowed a great honor upon yet another member of the House! By allowing Va'lore the chance to actively rebuild his home he has pledged his life in service to you and your cause! As his body is currently encased within crystal, you will not receive him as an active Companion until his body and spirit are reunited. In his true form, Va'lore is a Poison based dual wield Rogue. He is highly skilled at the detection and disarming of traps, as well as being able to detect hidden loot or other rogues in stealth. He is a Master Trap Maker, Master Alchemist specializing in both poisons and their antidotes, a Master of Stealth and Master Pickpocket.
She quickly checked his status page to get a better idea of what she could expect when she freed him from his crystalline prison.
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Name: Va'loreRace: Shadow Elf (spirit)Current Skill Level-Unavailable
HP 120
Mana 100
Stamina 100
Stats:Intelligence- 1
Strength-3
Agility-10
Dexterity-10
Endurance-5
Constitution-6
Willpower-1
Charisma-5
Luck-5 (Do you feel lucky? Well do you?? Luck begets luck! Good Luck!)
[Armor Class] (AC)-
[Spellpower]- 10
[Melee Attack Power] -100
[Ranged Attack Power]- 100
[Mana Regeneration]-10/min
[Dodge]-100
[Resists]-None
[Tradeskills]-Trap Maker (Master), Pickpocket (Master), Alchemist (Master-Poison/Antidote Specialization)
[Adventuring Skills]-Detect Traps (Master), Disarm Traps (Master), Perception (Master), Survivalist (Master)
[Harvesting Skills]-Herbalist (Master)
[Combat Skills]-Dual Daggers (Master), Shortbow (Journeyman), Small Thrown Weapons (Journeyman), Poisoner (Master)
[Accolades]-Prince, Pure Spirit, Imprisoned,
[Titles]-Prince, Master Rogue, Master Trapper, Master Pickpocket, Master Alchemist, Master of Daggers
[Mounts]-None
[Pets]-None
[Creatures]-None
[Bonuses]-All stats and skills have degraded to that of a level one (Temporary), Gains bonuses to Mastered Tradeskills making it easier and faster as well as giving higher quality on crafted items, Gains bonus damage and crit damage when using Dual Daggers, Poison effects are more potent and have a longer duration, Can detect traps from further away and easier to detect traps, Easier to pickpocket, Traps are more potent, Traps are easier to disarm 90% chance to recover a disarmed trap in perfect condition
____________________________________________________________________________
“Thank you for your trust, Va'lore, but I’m the one who hopes that I don’t let any of YOU down.” Aya had always feared disappointing people or letting them down. Yet another reason she was taken advantage of in her life.
“That would not be possible. In the few days you have been here, you have completely changed our lives, such as they currently are, more than most people who have been here for years.” Va'lore once again bowed towards Aya in deep respect. “Now, go and sleep, Ladies. You have earned some peace and quiet.” He actually shooed the two women back towards their tent. Both Aya and Elohwa were too tired to argue so they nodded and headed for the tent. As they entered the tent the women collapsed onto their cots, both were sound asleep within moments.
Chapter 29: Good News
∆∆∆
Aya awoke to a beeping sound. Her hand reached out in an attempt to silence the alarm clock going off, when she couldn’t reach it she rolled over and pulled the covers over her head to try and silence the incessant beep which only seemed to get louder. “What the…” She sat up and rubbed her eyes expecting to be in her bedroom, but instead she was in the tent she shared with Elohwa in the VRMMORPG Infinity. With a yawn she opened her interface and noticed she had missed two calls from home. She quickly blinked the sleep away and immediately opened a video chat home. After a few beeps, her husband’s face appeared in the corner of her vision, with a thought she expanded the view in her vision so that she could see everything around him as if she were in the room with him. “What is it? What’s wrong?!” Worry had washed over Aya, Ray only tended to make multiple calls right in a row if there was something going on.