The Land: Predators

by Aleron Kong

  The Scholars were looking at their new building in amazement. He walked up to Bartle, and laid a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I hope you like your new digs,” he told the man with a smile.

  “My lord, I-” Bartle stopped talking at a loss for words. “I never imagined when my training debt was purchased and I was asked to come to the wilds of the forest that I would see such wonders. Not only have you brought a Dungeon and Core buildings, but, with only a wave of your hand, you have created a level three house of knowledge. I-” he stopped talking again searching Richter’s face for long moments. His face firmed and he went down on one knee.

  Ritual words of fealty spilled from the man’s lips. Bea looked at him with surprise that matched Richter’s own, but the other scribe fell to his knee before Bartle’s oath was even done. That was a true shock to the chaos seed, until he saw the two men interlace fingers as they spoke. Oh, he thought to himself, realizing he should have guessed before. The two men had always had a Bert and Ernie kind of vibe.

  He accepted their oaths and upon Bartle standing, offered him the Job of village Wiseman. Even if the man hadn’t been first to bend the knee, the job would still have gone to him. Of the two Scholars, he was by far, less… prickly. Bartle promptly accepted with an excited grin and Richter was notified that their relationship had advanced to loyal, the tenth positive rank.

  An unexpected benefit to Bartle’s new position was that it also pleased Bea. Apparently, the man was so pleased at the honor that had been shown to his beau that Richter’s relationship with him improved to rank-nine, trusted. Much better than the result the chaos seed had feared of Bea being pissed that he hadn’t been given the position. Richter had to wonder if the cascade of events was because of the relationship boost of upgrading the House of Scholarship. Like so many things in The Land though, he’d never know for sure.

  Having a village Wiseman offered immediate benefits to the whole settlement.

  Congratulations! You have filled another Job. Bartle is now the village Wiseman.

  His highest ranked science-focused skill is Scribing at the rank of: Journeyman

  His Profession of Scholar makes him well suited for this task and increases any boons by 100%

  +1.2 Research Points generated each day

  +12% to village Research speed

  +1.5% chance of having an Epiphany

  +12% Scribing speed

  With the building completed and the awesome new perks from having a Wiseman, which in his opinion was just a bombass name for a Job, he checked the current state of the village’s research capabilities.

  VILLAGE RESEARCH

  Daily Earned Research: 23.79 (20.59 RP/day + 3.2 RP/day)

  1) Point per Ley Lines: 4 Total

  2) 0.1 Points per level of Research Skill*: 9.3 *Normal research restrictions apply

  3) Wiseman: 1.2

  Research Rate Modifiers:

  House of Scholarship (Level 3): +30%

  Wiseman: +12%

  0.2 RPs/Researcher/Research Rank/Day: +3.2

  Current Research: Construction I

  Current Progress: 22.09/132 RPs

  Time to Completion: 4 days 14 hours 52 minutes 49 seconds

  Advancing the building to level three had nearly doubled the RPs the village made every day. He was absolutely sure he’d spent those points wisely. He was also super excited that upgrading the House of Scholarship had cost him much less than he had thought it would, thanks to the original Building Point cost of the level one version being deducted. The wooden hut would let him deduct two hundred and fifty-two points from the final cost. It meant he still had enough Settlement Points to make another purchase. Considering the deal he’d just made with Krom, he was pretty sure his life expectancy would be greatly improved by doing something nice for Sumiko.

  He left the Scholars behind and ran over to the Healer’s Hut. It looked more like a stone wall-white tent hybrid than anything else. Peeking inside, he saw the beds were all empty and only a few healers were present. Sumiko was there as well, giving last minute orders to her people. Battle wouldn’t just be busy for the warriors. Unfortunately, there would be a good deal of wounded as well, and that was part of the best-case scenario. He prayed his people would make it back to be healed. The alternative meant laying more good men and women down for their final rest.

  The Healer did not take being asked to leave her own building nearly as well as the Scholars had. Richter was almost forced to order her outside before she agreed. Once she had though, he wasted no time.

  Know This! Upgrading an existing building will subtract its current worth in Building Points from the final upgrade cost.

  Healer’s Hut

  Current Level: 0

  Cost (in Building Points) to Upgrade to a Level 1 House of Healing:

  Wood: 461 / Plain Stone: 597 / Marbled Quartz: 664

  Cost (in Building Points) to Upgrade to a Level 2 House of Healing:

  Wood: 1003 / Plain Stone: 1,410 / Marbled Quartz: 1,633

  Cost (in Building Points) to Upgrade to a Level 3 House of Healing:

  Wood: 1,495 / Plain Stone: 2,148 / Marbled Quartz: 2,480

  Effect

  Level 0

  Level 1

  Level 2

  Level 3

  Village Health

  5%

  10%

  20%

  30%

  Disease Prevention

  5%

  10%

  20%

  30%

  Recuperation Speed after Injury

  5%

  10%

  20%

  30%

  Bonus to Healing Potions, Magics, etc

  +10%

  +20%

  Bonus to Population Growth

  +10%

  +20%

  Building Durability

  +10%

  Villager Hit Points

  +10%

  Richter chose a level three building made entirely of marbled quartz. Minutes later, a new building appeared.

  Total Settlement Points Remaining: 7

  It had almost wiped out every remaining Settlement Point, but he was sure it was worth it. In the next few minutes, Richter discovered just how important advancing the buildings of his settlement could be.

  Congratulations! You have created a Level 3 House of Healing. Your settlement will now enjoy the Building Bonus of increased Health, Population Growth and Hit Points allotted from having such a building.

  Know This! You have greatly aided your Settlement by creating this Level 3 building.

  +100 Relationship Points with any villagers possessing healing skills.

  +50 Relationship Points with every other villager.

  Then a prompt appeared that inverted the normal colors of his village prompts, something he had never seen before. When he read it, his mouth dropped open in shock.

  Know This! You have built a Leveled building that exemplifies one of the four Powers your village is built upon. For reaching the third level of this building the bonus is 3x higher.

  Life Magic is an Unusual or Scarce skill, depending on race and other factors, making the normally occurring incidence of a person being born with an affinity greater than 50% in the skill 1 out of every 100 or 1,000 individuals respectively.

  The presence of the Quickening may affect this in days to come if the ambient magic increases sufficiently, but this has not occurred yet.

  For creating a Level 3 House of Healing over a Life Place of Power your village is given the following boons:

  1) The incidence of those being born with an affinity greater than 50% in Life magic has increased by a factor of 3.

  2) Every villager with Life magic has their Life Magic skill affinity increased by +15%

  3) Every villager with Life magic gains 3 levels in Life Magic

  Advancing this building in level again will increase these boons.

  No more than one building can be used to exemplify each Power in a Settlement.


  Congratulations! You have reached skill levels 17, 18, and 19 in Life Magic. New spells are now available.

  Know This! Increasing any affinity above 100% will trigger an automatic increase in skill level. This increase will continue, decreasing the total affinity by 10% per level, until your affinity is 100% or less.

  Know This! Increasing your affinity in Life magic by 15% awards you a further 2 skill levels in Life magic.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill levels 20 and 21 in Life Magic. New spells are now available.

  You have received 5,000 (base 4,000 x 1.25) bonus experience for reaching level 20 in the skill: Life Magic.

  Sumiko and Richter looked at one another in astonishment. He hadn’t been expecting any of this was delighted. His reaction was nothing compared to the Healer’s, however. Tears began to fall down her face. She embraced him, burying her head into his armored chest.

  “Thank you,” she told him, weeping tears of joy. “I never thought I would advance my Life magic again. Even the fruit of the Quickening did not do this, but you did! When I reached skill level one hundred, my affinity was only 49%. I should not have been able to advance, but with decades of the Hearth Mother’s aid and personal guidance, I finally became a master. Bonding with my Life pixie greatly increased my affinity, but I still might have spent years to advance only a single level. You, my lord, have made an abandoned dream come true, not only once, but three times!” Love and dedication lay in her gaze.

  Lord Richter! You have fulfilled the most Heartfelt Desire of Sumiko. In doing so you have gained the maximum number of Relationship Points possible for a single action. +250,000 Relationship Points with Sumiko. Total Relationship Points: +311,154

  Congratulations! Your relationship with Sumiko has improved from Loyal (+55,000) to Soul Blooded (+250,000). Sumiko will fight by your side unto death, and if she can ever find her way back through the veil, she will fight for you again.

  Richter had no idea all this was going to happen. Other prompts showed more relationship boosts with every other biomancer in the village, though none nearly as profound as Sumiko’s. He also received prompts showing that the village-wide health boost had pleased his entire people and further ensured their loyalty.

  Know This! Your people have all benefited from your choices with a boost to their health of +10%. Their Morale and Loyalty will change to reflect this.

  +50 Morale Points for increasing the Health of your villagers by +10%

  Base: +1,131 x 1.84 (+25% Undefeated x +41% Administrator x +10% Health x -2% Crime x +10% Vassal State)

  Total Morale Points: +2,081

  +20 Loyalty Points for increasing the Health of your villagers by +10%

  Base: +2,398 x 1.86 (+25% Undefeated x +41% Administrator x +10% Health x +10% Vassal State)

  Total Loyalty Points: +4,460

  “I will fight with you through death,” Sumiko told him with an almost zealous fire in her eyes.

  For once, Richter didn’t make a joke, “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I only need to know if you are ready for what comes next?”

  CHAPTER 98 – Day 150 – Kuborn 39, 0 AoC

  Sumiko nodded and called for her biomancers to walk with her to the Dungeon. Richter stopped her though, saying there was a better way. They all gathered around him and he cast Dungeon Transport. Nine seconds later, he, Alma and the healers appeared next to the Well of Offering. Roswan was waiting.

  “There are too many people in the Dungeon,” the elf stated without preamble.

  Richter couldn’t say he was wrong. Hisako’s sprite army and the Mist Village’s own force had already started to fill the Entrance Chamber. More were arrayed on the ramp leading to the surface. All were steely-eyed and ready for whatever the day would bring. Almost none knew the full extent of the plan, but that did not matter. Every man and woman in the allied forces was ready to once again fight for their lord and lady.

  The Dungeon Master looked at his Dungeon Keeper, “Don’t get your knickers in a twist. I’ve got a little gift for you too.” He converted the seven remaining Settlement Points into Dungeon Points to be used at Roswan’s discretion. The mustache wiggled in appreciation. After hearing a contented grrmm, Richter told him, “Come on.”

  The two men and Sumiko walked through the shimmering energy field into the Dungeon proper. A moment later, they were in the inner room of the Barbican. As soon as they walked inside, a warning prompt appeared in Richter’s vision.

  WARNING

  You have now exceeded the maximum occupancy of this Room. Reduce the total occupants to 50 or less within the next 7 minutes or the Barbican’s gates will be opened and all bonuses suspended.

  “Greetings, my lord,” Terrod greeted him, unknowingly echoing the prompt. Sion just nodded. They were both fully armed and armored. They, as well as every other person in the Barbican, had also received the Dungeon’s warning. “Before anything else, please know how much I appreciate you providing us with the barracks. I have not seen it personally yet, but my men have told me it is a sight to behold!”

  “No less than you deserve, my friend,” Richter responded, “but let’s celebrate it after we kick some zombie butt, huh?”

  A smile creased Terrod’s face, “Quite right, my lord.” He went back into report mode, “The Barbican has thirty guards and twenty meidon sprites, including myself and First Meidon Sion. I believe having you in the Room will exceed the maximum occupancy, however.”

  “No time to waste,” Richter agreed, nodding. “It won’t be a problem in a moment, though. Follow me to the battlements.”

  They all walked up the steps and out to the front of the battlements. Terrod had already started stocking it with spare bundles of arrows and barrels of oil and water. The captain would not take part in the assault through the portal, something he had argued long and hard against. When Richter had made it clear that the captain’s place was to safeguard the village though, he had bowed his head in assent and committed himself fully to the task.

  He had even brought the scorpion ballista that had been made for Shiovana’s ship and had rigged a brace for it. It sat in one corner and could easily be swiveled to cover the area in front of the Barbican. Richter gave the captain his thanks. Terrod saluted back, saying nothing. To the captain, this was his responsibility and he would see it done, praise or no.

  Once they were overlooking the sea of red columns, Richter also saw that his tamed mauler was still standing in the same place, awaiting his command. It might have been his imagination, but he thought he saw hate behind the creature’s eyes. True or not, it was still under the thrall of his Blood Magic for the next several hours. As he checked the barrier though, it felt… unstable compared to the last time. Contrarily, the mauler’s true consciousness was not railing against the wall of Deeper Magic like last time. Instead, it just looked out quietly, almost like it was waiting.

  Richter shook his head. The Blood magic would hold. It had to. Even if his control was weakening, it only needed to last another hour. After that it wouldn’t matter. No matter how the battle played out, the Labyrinth creature would not be returning to the village. A few jenit prowlers and koran tuskers loitered in front of the Barbican, but none approached the gates. To Richter’s eyes, there was nothing out of place and no reason to wait. He accessed the interface for the Barrow of the Chaos Serpent. The old options were there, but at the top was a new tile called Call of the Dungeon. He mentally selected it.

  Greetings, Dungeon Master Richter. You may use your 1 Call of the Dungeon to marshal the forces of the Barrow of the Chaos Serpent to fight on your behalf for one day and one day only.

  Do you wish to do so now? Yes or No?

  Without hesitation, Richter chose “Yes.” A massive HISS filled the air and every monster currently living in the Dungeon made its way to the central chamber

  CALL OF THE DUNGEON

  The following changes are in effect for 1 day:

  All forces that you mark as friendly or neutral wil
l be immune to traps and monsters of the Barrow of the Chaos Serpent.

  As Dungeon Master, you may command these forces, though their level of compliance will be contingent on the intelligence of the forces you now control.

  As Dungeon Master, you may give others control of these forces as well.

  No Loot or Resources can be claimed by any friendly or neutral forces until the Call has elapsed. Any attempt to do so will negate that individual’s immunity.

  All occupancy limits are suspended.

  Dungeon Forces at your disposal:

  2 Chupacabras: Levels 21-22

  42 Jenit Prowlers: Levels 10-17

  41 Koran Tuskers: Levels 8-15

  Due to the Call of the Dungeon, the Warning regarding the Barbican occupancy is suspended.

  Richter looked at Terrod, and gave a simple command, “Bring everyone.” Then he gave command of the Dungeon forces to Terrod, Caulder, the two Mist Village corporals Ox and Schroeder, Sion and the sprite’s second in command, Kentyiro. Yoshi and Hisako were also given the ability to control the beasts.

  Thirty minutes later, the battlements were fully manned. The rest of the allied forces were in the courtyard below and were also arrayed in front of the Barbican. Nearly a hundred monsters loitered nearby along with several hundred warriors of the Hearth Tree and Mist Village. The soldiers sent many nervous looks at the century of bloodthirsty beasts standing only a few yards away, but they retained their composure and trusted their commanders. The same commanders who were listening to Hisako go through the battle plan for a final time.