New Horizons (Emerilia Book 4)

by Michael Chatfield

  Josh gave Dave administration rights to see the screens. There were three tabs: Map, Units, Resources.

  The map was a three-dimensional representation of the guild hall. He could select anything from it, find out more information, or in the case of the automatons in the workshops and the drill, he could give them orders.

  At the top of the map, there was a builder button that opened up a menu of different buildings, halls, walkways, and other areas to add to the guild hall. Each of them had upfront requirements. They needed a drill to carve it out, building machines to clean up the areas, as well as resources, which climbed up steeply for anything like forges or working areas.

  The different facilities gave access to different items, just like when they were capturing Aleph facilities. More barracks, more sleeping areas. More greenhouses, more oxygen. More power stations, more power and so on.

  There was also a running cost over time which related to the counters at the top of the menu. There was air and current power supply.

  The Units menu had automatons listed on it, with numbers next to them. Clicking on them showed that they were all listed on standby status. From the Units panel, he could order new automatons from the Aleph, or he could commission more from his own workshops, though they were much slower than an Aleph automaton workshop.

  There was also the option to hire people from the Aleph. They could look after things that the automatons couldn’t, like the gardens, or look after the day-to-day maintenance, or increase the building speed of the Stone Raiders’ guild hall.

  The Resource tab made Josh’s eyes go wide.

  “Holy mother of resources,” Dave said. He must’ve got to the same tab. He looked to Josh and then back to his sheet.

  Resources

  2x Teleport pad

  1x Terminal

  10x Vault Soul Gems (charged)

  100x Steel ingots

  50x Silver ingots

  10x Ebony ingots

  5x Mithril ingots

  Josh pressed Teleport Pad, his finger quivering. Teleport pads were something that kingdoms gained. Not a guild!

  Two options came up: [Place] and [Remove from storage].

  Josh pressed [Place].

  Place Teleport Pad

  There are 2x Drop pads under the Stone Raiders’ ownership that these teleport pads can be placed at.

  Do you wish to place a teleport pad at:

  [Verlun]

  [Devil’s Crater]

  “Drop pads act as a beacon for the teleport pads to be moved to them, I guess,” Josh muttered.

  “So, where we going to put them?” Dave asked.

  Lucy, who had been checking out the different areas, came and joined them. Josh sent her an invite without her needing to ask.

  “Well, we need one at Cliff-Hill,” Josh started.

  Dave cleared his throat before he scratched the back of his head. “Well, there might be one showing up there soon.” Dave looked a little embarrassed.

  “What do you mean?” Josh frowned.

  “Well, might have kind of made Kol make a drop pad and then put in a buy order for a new one, or will be in a few days, so, don’t need that one. I’ll let you guys use it for a discount.” Dave grinned.

  Josh stared at Dave as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “Fine. Okay, so, really then, we’ve just got Verlun, though having a place for us to use in Ashal and with the dungeons that are in the area, it would make sense to have a place there. It would also allow us to transport people and resources from Verlun to Devil’s Crater,” Josh said.

  “Agreed. And with what Dave said about making a forge, now that we’re not in Aleph, then they’re probably going to be testing out those materials themselves, making us drop off in production and sales of materials to the Dwarves. We’re raking in money for all of that, but with the guild hall, I think it will be pretty fast for us to start burning through it. Also, being one of the only Player guilds with the materials, maybe we can get a deal with the Dwarves for them to make us some special weaponry out of it all,” Lucy said.

  “What are you thinking?” Josh asked.

  “We connect to Devil’s Crater and Verlun as fast as possible. Keep goods moving. We’ll be making enough in gold to get the resources that we need. Biggest thing is getting that drill mining. I say we put all of the guild’s resources into building the guild hall. We’re going to need to create a command area, dedicated mining areas, forges, power plants. Everything.”

  Dave nodded in agreement. “I like that plan, but I say we go a step further.”

  Josh, Lucy, and the other Stone Raiders listened in.

  “We don’t just make an extended housing complex. We copy the Aleph cities. Massive drills going all the time, expanding constantly as we build behind them. Power stations to keep them fueled up. Doesn’t need to be a big city, like the Aleph, we can make it in the shape of a cylinder and spin it to maximize room.”

  Josh rubbed his face. “I like it, but it’s going to cost a hell of a lot,” Josh said. “Let me look after that. I’ll leave the city designing to Dave and Suzy. First thing we need to do—Dave, see if you can detect any pockets of resources in the area and then we’ll send the drill after it. We’re going to need a ton of resources and room. We can expand out one end of the guild hall, widening it out with the drill and automatons. We’re going to need a refinery, so that we can make use of the materials the drill is pumping out. Dave, you get with the crafters and start planning. We’ll make this the ground floor and start building accordingly.”

  “I can supply you with designs of other Aleph cities,” Shard added.

  “Great. We get that going at the same time. We’re going to need Aleph people to help out with the greenhouses here and I can run that. For now, we don’t need any more automatons for anything other than maintenance. The rest we can use for scouting the Demon Horde. Once we have the refinery up, then we need to focus on getting a power station. Going to need to find out where the nearest ley line is, so we can tap right into the Mana lines.”

  “I have a plot for the nearest Mana lines, but they are far away. You would have to do blind portalling to get near and then push in another mining drill to carve out the facility,” Shard said.

  The excitement in the barracks grew as everyone looked to one another. The guild hall was more than they ever thought it could be; the possibilities and hope to grow and thrive was a powerful drug.

  “Well, we’d best get started. We can plan this out in a few hours and then leave it going before heading off to Devil’s Crater. Be something of a surprise to come out of our own teleport pad.” Dave smiled.

  “That will be something else. I can already hear Kim complaining about how she had to walk all the way.” Josh laughed.

  ***

  Dave rubbed his face. It had been just a few hours since they had made it into their new guild hall. Already, they had a semblance of a plan for what they wanted to do. They’d use the Aleph automated mining drill to start cutting out apartment buildings and the taller structures of their new home. Automaton mining bots would carve out a refinery in that area before moving on to make a class C power station and the different areas that would need to be made to create a power collection system.

  “How goes the planning?” Deia sat next to Dave as he and Suzy took a break from planning.

  “It’s mostly done. Really, we’ve just got to figure out what we want later. We’re cutting out blocks that can be made into factories or storage areas. The main tower we’re building will be laid out like the one we used in the city Anais. We’re leaving tons of space for anything that we might expand into. With the Stone Raiders’ resources and our people, this could be one of the biggest projects I’ve taken on.” Dave put his arm around her and pulled her tight to him.

  “Excited?” She smiled.

  “Very,” Dave said with a big smile.

  Deia shook her head, passing him a bagged burger and fries.

  “Th
anks, babe.” He kissed her on the cheek as his stomach grumbled.

  “At least one of us knows when you forget to eat.” Deia ate some fries from Dave’s lunch. Dave would’ve argued but he had taken a bite of his burger. He made sounds of bliss as he chomped through the food.

  “You didn’t eat while you were working on the portal factory, did you?” Deia shook her head.

  “Nope.” He continued to devour the meal. They were in the second barracks. There were supplies and gear all over the place. Lucy’s people were getting it organized while she dealt with the different Aleph people they were looking to hire. There were more applicants than Dave had thought there would be.

  “So, I heard that you’re having troubles with your plans?” Deia asked.

  Dave took a deep drink from his waterskin. “Well, we’ve got the city sorted. Well, it’s just going to take time and power. The biggest thing is we need to have the refinery up and running, so that we can start processing down the materials and making them useful instead of just crap left behind by the mining drill. The power station is going to take a lot of materials to be made and to be burned, so that will help us lose some of the mass that we’re pulling out of the ground. The thing is that we need to keep having the teleport pad active to get more air in here so we don’t spread it too thin and make it unbreathable. So, as we work, we’re going to have to make air locks everywhere, opening them when we open the teleport pad. It’s going to be expensive having the teleport open for all of that,” Dave said.

  “Sounds like a lot of work,” Deia said.

  “Oh, it is, but it also means that we’re going to be designing this thing like a damned space station. Have air locks all over the place so that we can cut off one area from another. Stations are the coolest thing to build.” Dave grinned.

  “I keep forgetting all the things you did back on Earth, and how normal that sounds to you.” Deia shook her head.

  “Just another day at the office.” Dave laughed, dusting off his fingers, as he finished off the remaining fries. He opened his interface, looking at the next set of tasks he’d put out for himself.

  “Don’t you want to sit with your fiancée instead of messing with all that right now?” Deia said.

  Dave made to argue but stopped, shrugging and sitting back. He closed his interface and gave her a kiss on the lips.

  “Mmm, burger flavor, gross,” she said, unable to stop smiling.

  She rested her head on his shoulder as he just took a step back from his work. Enjoying the feeling of having something that inspired him, ready to be worked on and taking a break. He had more than just work and the next thing in his life.

  As Austin Zane, he’d always rushed off to the next project. There was always something that needed to be done. The real reason was because if he stopped, then he constantly felt lost; there were no real peers for him. He and Suzy would congratulate each other on a job well done, but the next day, they’d be working on something else. Work had become his everything, with no room for the small pleasures in life.

  Here, he was doing stuff because he wanted to. When he stopped, he wasn’t stuck wondering why he had no friends and lamenting over all the things he’d lost to get to this point in his life.

  Instead, he was surrounded by people who would love to have a beer with him, were interested in hanging out, or just talk about random things. It was only when someone had no friends that they learned to appreciate them for all the small things they brought to his life.

  Deia made him take a step back at times and think about what he was doing. Think about his plans and for the first time, he actually allowed himself to look over what he had done instead of charging ahead.

  He’d always been proud of what he had done with Rock Breakers, but it had turned into his life, rather than just something he had done.

  Deia pulled out two more burgers from her bag of holding.

  “What would I do without you?” He took the new burger.

  “Starve, probably.” Deia laughed at Dave’s grimace.

  “Fair,” he admitted. A big smile grew on his face as he picked her up and pulled her onto his lap.

  She giggled like a little girl as Dave sat back, eating and looking at his girl and his guild.

  “Dave, when are you going to make your new armor?” Deia asked.

  He could hear the worry in her voice. She didn’t want him to be without protection in whatever fight they found themselves in next.

  “Well, there should be a teleport pad in Cliff-Hill in two days. Want to go on a little trip home?” Dave asked.

  “I’d like that. Could we go to Per’ush? My father’s there, learning.” Deia stole some of his fries.

  “Of course, be good to see him again.” Dave smiled.

  “And you’ve always wanted to see Per’ush,” Deia added.

  “Well, that is a part of it.” Dave shrugged and gave her a wide smile.

  “I think he approves of you.”

  “Oh thanks, makes me feel like such a prized piece of beef.” Dave smiled and rolled his eyes.

  She shook her head, snorting at his antics as she grabbed more fries.

  Dave, enticed, started tickling her sides.

  She sent the fries flying as she tried to fight back against his tickling attack. The other Stone Raiders smiled and shook their heads.

  “St…stop! Ha-ha—it hurts! I can’t breathe!” Tears came to Deia’s face.

  Dave gave her a kiss and wrapped her up in his arms to protect himself. He saw a dark look in her eyes as she freed her hands; it was his time to giggle and laugh, trying everything to get away from her. After some time, they settled down, tired and flustered from the tickle fight as they just hung out.

  “I think Steve is going to start climbing the walls, he’s so bored,” Dave commented. The behemoth carried goods around as Lucy directed him.

  He seemed to have heard Dave and shot him a baleful look.

  “Looks like Josh has news.” Deia pointed at Josh, who had been off in the first barracks talking to various contacts and organizing things for the Stone Raiders.

  “Everyone gather in!” Josh said. It didn’t take long for the Stone Raiders to do just that.

  “Okay, so, it looks like Dwayne will have a place for the teleport pad to move to in a few hours. Those who want to are welcome to join us at Devil’s Crater. We’re not expecting to do anything for a week or two. If you have anything you need to do, now would be the time for it. After this, we’re probably going to have a pretty busy month kicking some Demon Horde ass!” Josh said to the hoots and hollers of the Stone Raiders. “It seems that everyone thinks we just walked off the edge of the world. With the Demon Horde, you can record and send as much video out into the world as you want once we’re done! It’s time we showed those people who have been missing us just why we’re the best raiding guild in all of Emerilia!”

  “Want to do Per’ush, then Cliff-Hill?” Dave asked Deia.

  “Let’s see if the others want to join us,” Deia said.

  “I feel like I might know what Steve is going to say.” Dave shook his head.

  Chapter 25: Verlun

  “What?” Florence said, in an almost screech. The door opened; her two guards walked in and looked for threats.

  “Sorry, talking to Josh.” She waved them out.

  “I said that I have a teleport pad and I was thinking it would be a good idea to start making a trade network. I want to put one of the teleport pads within our branch at Verlun, though if you have a better location for it, I would be happy to go with that. Right now, Dave is putting one in at Cliff-Hill and we’ve got another going in at Devil’s Crater.”

  After joining the Stone Raiders guild as a sub-guild, Florence and the others who were high up within the Exdar’s had been told about the Aleph, Demons, and Beast Kin, as well as the coming war. Their excitement had been palpable, but they understood the need to keep things closely guarded.

  Having a teleport pad in Verlun would be hu
ge. The next nearest teleport pad was fifty miles away, but the tax on it was incredibly high, just under the taxes that the mage’s guild put on the goods coming onto their islands.

  “We could make a lot off the teleport pad’s fees and we have the drop pad already; it takes quite a number of soul gems to power it, but you can send us goods through it. Having the ability to send them back without having a week and a half lag time between our people taking them up to a hidden Aleph teleport pad would be nice. What kind of trade goods do the Devil’s Crater residents need?” Florence tapped her lip in thought.

  “First things they need are food, weapons, clothes. All of that. Party Zero is going to Per’ush, then off to Cliff-Hill. I’ve sent them to look into these supplies as well. They can get high quality weapons and armor, though I need someone to buy it from them and then we can sell it to the Devil’s Crater’s Army. For clothes and food, we don’t have many contacts, though I’ve heard that Verlun is a large agriculture community?” Josh asked.

  “That it is. If I can’t get the suppliers here, I can go through some contacts I’ve made to find out where they are,” Florence assured him.

  “Okay. Also, we’re going to need you to send us some people to come and check out Devil’s Crater and set up a branch location here. If we have our own teleport pad in Verlun, then we can send everything to you. If it doesn’t sell there or there is another location looking for items, you can distribute as the market dictates and gain a better return on it,” Josh said.

  Florence was silent for a while, thinking it over. There was a lot to do and she really didn’t want to waste the teleport pad, though if she wanted to keep her current Exdar’s Traders branch in Verlun, then it would make only too much sense to get it. Mages could just teleport from their islands directly into her branch to get their supplies instead of sending their aides every few days to gather it.