by Rae Nantes
"Oh, you're finally awake." Willow was on the other side of the room, nose deep in a book. Sunlight flooded in from the window behind her, bits of dust floating across the rays of light between us.
"The town." Two words and I was already out of breath. "What happened? Are the people safe?"
She smiled as she snapped the book shut. "Relax, Alex. Everyone's fine."
"How many?"
"How many what?" she asked.
"How many of ours died?" I hung on to the words with baited breath.
"Maybe a dozen."
I dropped back onto the pillow and rested my arms over my eyes. "That's a dozen too many. I fucked up, didn't I?"
She snorted. "A dozen, Alex. That's a dozen out of, what, three thousand?”
“Still,” I said. “It doesn’t feel like a victory.”
“Yet it was,” she said. “If you hadn’t distracted them, it would’ve been much worse.”
“And if I were stronger, it would’ve been way better.”
“Don’t be a downer, Alex. You did well.”
Boots tapped at the doorway. "Well," Yun said. "Except for the part where ya got shot."
"And," Willow followed, "the part where you cast an overpowered spell."
I started to chuckle, but the pain gripped me. "Did you see it?"
"Saw the ash," Yun said.
"Did we at least kill all the players?"
"Beat the fuck out of ‘em," Yun said with pride. "And the horses they rode in on. Well, not the horses, they only had a few of them, but we did take the few ships they had. They won't be comin' back for a while, but..." He trailed off, assuming that what he had to say we already knew.
We did. "Now they know we're here," I finished.
There was no doubt the players saw the bounties on our heads and the crazy spells that we cast. They would either spread word of our existence here or keep the intel - and thus the bounties - for themselves. Regardless, we would need to be prepared for that eventuality. There was no guarantee that they wouldn't just sell the information to Vellen or whatever nation.
"Willow," I said. "I thought Yun healed me. Why do I feel still crappy?"
"You overdrew your mana."
I had no idea that was a thing, but it did make sense. I swung open the status screen to check. Sure enough, the mana bar was empty, sitting pretty at -13.74.
"Oh, I see you've been busy," Willow said. "Greg told me about your training."
"Training," I echoed. "Yeah, a little. I'll make you one later." From what I could tell, the alteration of the pyrolize spell made the mana cost shoot way up. That combined with already running dry during the fight, it was no wonder I felt so hungover. If that's the case, what was the mana cost for boot-hat man's meteor? I couldn't even begin to imagine his seemingly endless well of mana to draw from. Could the spells that the priestess used have caused her to overdraw? I felt terrible when I realized that it could've taxed her already failing health for her age.
"Earth to Alex," Willow sang.
But I knew this was no time for feeling sorry for myself. Blaming myself here wouldn't give me anything but heartache, and even that would ruin me further in this state. I needed to pour my whole effort into the town. We needed to improve our defenses, maybe build some walls, some cannon emplacements, some—
My derailing train of thought halted. A plate of cinnamon rolls was set on my chest, the glistening frosting drawing me in, the fresh steam sending tendrils of sugary aromas that wrapped my soul. I gulped and sat up.
They chuckled at my reaction. "Don't worry so much," Yun said. "Just relax and build your strength back up."
I stared at the plate in my hands, feeling too guilty to bite into the moist heaven while still having work to be done. "Willow, can you have your information network look for any open quests that would involve us?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Anything that would target us specifically here on the coast," I answered. "If nations such as Vellen start handing out quests to attack us, then that would mean they found out."
She nodded. "Yeah, they can do that."
"Also see if we can expand the network out to the borders of warring states. Aim for those lands that are right between rival nations. We can have our guys cultivate word about us, and maybe we'll be able to bring in hordes of refugees. Just recruit from the townspeople here if we need more agents." I paused to catch my breath. "Also use some of our silver to place bounties on the player guild that attacked us, because fuck those guys in particular."
She sighed, but a faint smile crossed her lips. "You're delegating work to me, aren't you?"
I smiled in return.
***
I rested for a week. It felt like forever moving back and forth between the bed, the living room, and the porch, but the entire time I was busy assigning tasks to Willow and Yun and any other unfortunate soul that crossed into my field of vision.
The first and most important improvement to the town was the establishment of a reactionary force - a militia. Common townspeople who worked normal jobs as citizens would train every other weekend with one of our mages. There was no shortage of volunteers. I also had to subsidize the employment of security forces for the town, paying the wages and benefits for guards and policemen.
Along the shore, I had several cannon batteries installed and several more watchtowers. We built a number of forward outposts along the islands as well as developing an early warning system. If foreign warships or vessels that bore a flag of a player guild were seen, the information would be passed along the posts until reaching the town. It would give plenty of time for the militia to muster and the cannons to be manned. Woe be unto he who dares try to raid us again.
Before long, we received word that countless settlements abroad have heard our offer and thousands upon thousands of people would be seeking asylum with us. With this, we needed to kick the republic into high gear.
I had Yun study the economy. It was already on shaky foundations, and much of the money that was going in and out from the citizens was their own. The money from the silver mines was entirely ours, and we spent it on construction and city wages. We would be expanding at a lightning pace, and it was vital to have a healthy, stable economy. Government subsidies would need to be given in sectors that were weak, and elsewhere to cultivate growth. This included food production.
My greatest fear was an embargo on food, and farming was almost nonexistent here. Aside from a few private gardens and family-owned homestead animals, most of our food was imported. It seemed silly that we had stretches of valley and plains that had long recovered from devastation that seemed rich enough to use, and yet we hadn't touched it. The biggest reason was that it was out of season for most crops, and by the time the season would arrive, the player gate would be closed, and our problems would be over.
But deep inside me, I knew the gate wouldn't close on its own.
So in order to boost food production, I had the Seekers create something called manaseeds. These would be ordinary seeds that were, in essence, genetically altered to thrive in colder climates. It rarely got below freezing here, and so there were already various crops to choose from, but we needed broad availability to ensure self-reliance. Though it would've been easier to just force the plants to grow with magic, that ability still escaped us, and I was told the mana costs would be prohibitive. At least with this, the people could just use the seeds on their own, without the high skill ceiling. We sold the seeds at cost, hoping that people would jump for the opportunity to start their own farm. And so they did.
On the second week, we were already drawing property lines and counties. We even had to hire administrative staff to pump out all the land ownership deeds, file the paperwork, and manage the entire mess. That of course meant that a city hall would need to be built. And with a city hall, we would need departments to handle the growing sectors - energy, economy, food, defense. By the time we had the bureaumancers and administrators employed and working,
we were spending the entirety of our silver production. If we were going to bring in dozens of thousands more into our lands, we would need more money.
"This one here, and... that one." I surveyed the map and double checked it with my own, pointing at the other mines in the region. There were a few other silver mines around the mainland, a likely empty gold mine, and numerous common ores and metals. After buying a few more airships, we would be able to set up small mining colonies to help transfer the production. "Any questions?" I asked.
"No, ma'am." The young woman offered a slight bow and left. She was one of the Seekers, one of us.
The Seekers had taken the initiative to designate their own uniform, their own colors. They ditched the robes for a long cloak that wrapped across their bodies. The clothes underneath were in a standard military fashion, charcoal grey with rustic red accents. They explained that there was a vital reason for their color choices but neglected to tell me why. It didn't matter, because I thought the outfit looked cool as hell and I had already ordered my own.
A breeze passed and pulled at my hair. On the porch, I sat in my squeaky rocking chair and watched as people passed by in their busy lives as if I were some old retiree. It was a cool, sunny day, quiet beyond the distant shuffling of the nearby port town, and I was happy to be relaxing. Willow walked around the corner of a nearby cabin, noticed me in my usual spot, and smiled. The wind caught the grass and her hair, and she came over.
"I've come to deliver the demands of the people," she sang.
I groaned in my seat. "What the hell is it now?"
She read the slip of paper in her hands as if reciting a script. "We the people of the republic demand the presence of the colonial governor, Jimmy James McShuffleson - that's you - else we shall act more aggressively in pursuit of our reasonable requests."
"They want to revolt," I said.
"They want to revolt," she echoed.
Chapter 34
The Redress of Grievances
The town square was packed with people, loud with impatient conversations and passing glares. The sea wind shook the transplanted trees and brought the smell of fresh bread to us from the local baker. It was chilly here.
We were invited to stand at the wood platform that overlooked the crowds, likely because they were expecting a speech - maybe an excuse or an apology for whatever crime we might've committed. Yun pushed my wheelchair up the ramp where we steeled ourselves against this grumbling mass of people. Willow stood beside me in her usual gear - beard, aviators, turban. I remained faithful to my furs and mustache.
I stared down at them and dreaded the attention. Hundreds if not a thousand pair of eyes bore into us. I waited for one to speak until I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Yun.
"Probably should introduce yourself," he whispered.
I took a deep breath. "Hallo, mein people! I am ze gubner, yesh, and I come to listen to ze vords." I felt my face getting red with embarrassment. It wasn't every day I could act a fool in front of such an audience, let alone try to keep up the charade for the sake of peace.
A lone man broke through the crowd and into the center. He seemed an ordinary man - balding, tan mustache, round glasses. "Governor!" The echo carried his conviction across the buildings and far into the valley. "We demand answers."
"Yesh, go ahead," I said.
"Though we would like to thank those strange mages who saved the town and protected us against those pirate raiders, we demand to know who they are and if they live among us."
I paused. Now I knew what this whole thing was about. When we fought off those players, we completely neglected the fact that we were using spells that even they knew were illegal. I considered lying, considered just telling them that they must've been passing guilds that operated beyond the eye of the law, beyond our eyes, but I knew better. I knew I wanted to respect their wishes, their demands to the truth. I knew how it felt to have the truth dangled in front of me and just beyond arm's reach and the desperate stares I was now receiving were the same I had given to the players.
As I thought to myself, the man continued. "Are they the ones who live in the cabins up the valley? Are they the ones who cast those forbidden spells during that raid?"
The crowd began to murmur louder, recounting the battle. A woman stepped into the conversation. "I saw a player get eaten alive from the inside out by cockroaches!" People pulled their stares away from her in disgust, others nodded with morbid affirmation.
An older man broke the noise. "I saw a player turn into a pillar of salt." The people were losing themselves by the horrors they saw.
"One was evaporated into mist!"
"And another cut in half by a portal!"
"One of the mages used a crowd control spell that caused a dude to shit himself!"
"Actually," another said, “I don’t think that was a spell. I think that dude just shit himself."
"It doesn't matter," the speaker shouted. "What matters is that we demand more transparency from the colonial government!" The crowd turned silent, and the breeze returned. "It is obvious to us that the direction of this city is coming from the cabins up the valley, the same direction that the mages came from and went. And so I ask - we ask - who are you?"
This was likely the result of my carelessness. The result of just bullshitting my way into creating a port into a town and into a city and then a government. My actions had real consequences that not only I would feel. Yet if they knew we were illegals, they might decide to abandon us.
That line of thought was selfish, I realized. They should have the very sovereignty that I desired for myself, for my people. If they wanted to leave for safer places, then so be it, even if those places were no better than where they escaped from.
I struggled to my feet, grasping on the last sore spot at my side. Willow and Yun held my arms for balance until I could plant my feet before the crowd as a leader should. The air was tense, the silence palpable. I stared into the eyes that reflected my gaze and brought my hand to my mouth. With a single, convicted motion, I ripped the mustache from my face.
Gasps. Hundreds shook back at the revelation, hundreds more when Willow and Yun dropped their own disguises.
"Then it's true!" the man shouted. His eyes were wild as if he just proved a million people wrong. "As I suspected. You aren't creepy foreigners at all, you're..." He eased the glasses off his face and stared into us as if witnessing a natural wonder. "You're... beautiful men." Whispers and hushed voices of agreement swept the town square.
"Thank you," Willow said.
"We're not men!" I shouted. "And that doesn't matter. What matters is that we are the ones who fought off the players, we are the ones who use forbidden magic, we are the ones who carry the bounties." I took a deep breath to stave off the panic of social anxiety. I was not prepared for speeches. "We are the Seekers."
Silence. The breeze returned. Birds chirped, and the waves crashed up the shore. A middle-aged woman spoke through the quiet. "I recognize her! She's the one from Nisa."
"They're the ones who attacked the capital," another man said.
"And the ones who destroyed it," a woman finished.
The speaker looked up at us. "Is it true, then? Is your cult responsible for the destruction of that entire city?"
I didn't know what to say, for even I felt guilty about taking their homes from them. Willow stepped forward. "Yes." She spoke like a queen to her people. "We are the ones who destroyed that city. We are the ones who saved the people from its destruction. We do not kill nipsies. We destroy those who dare wage war against us, and Vellen did so. Without cause for war, they invaded our homes, destroyed our livelihoods, and stole our comrades." She gestured to me.
The silence returned, and I gulped. I just wanted this day to be over so I could crawl back in my warm bed and have leftover cinnamon rolls. "It was a war," I followed, "and people's lives are often ruined by war. Though we ensured your safety, I deeply apologize for destroying your homes and livelihoods."
"Is that what this is?" the speaker said. "This entire community, this entire city, this is you giving back?"
I dropped my gaze in shame. Lord Gaia wouldn't act like this. I pulled it back and into the speaker in front of me, drifting on throughout the crowd. "This city is not just for you, not just for the people of Nisa. It's for all people who are displaced by war."
"Yet war will still come!" the man shouted. "If we are governed by felons, then the world will turn on us!"
"And yet the world flees to us." My voice found its resolve and its echoed into their hearts. "A town, a city, a nation is not defined by its walls, its buildings, its castles, or its wealth. It's defined by its people. Our world isn't defined by the mountains or the deserts or the oceans. It's defined by the hearts of those that dwell within it. Hundreds, thousands, and soon hundreds of thousands will our nation grow. We will be filled with more hearts and minds that reject the world of conflict and war brought to us by the players."
"Your words are spun well," the speaker said. "But the words of a false governor are just that - words. We have no reason to take seriously what you say. You weren't even elected. What right do you have to lead?"
"No," a voice spoke out. It was the father of the two young girls. One of the girls was riding on his shoulders, and the other stood in front of him. "She was the first who came to our defense. I saw it. That woman risked her life, even mortally wounded, to protect me and my family. To protect us. A person on the run from the law would've just run. But she did not. I can't think of a king who would've ever done such a thing for a peasant."
The speaker eyed him. "Only one." He waited for the silence to return, the wafting smell of bread to find us again. His eyes searched us for his answer, and when he found it, he spoke. "We demand a legitimate government. A government with elections."
***
"That was rough," I said. We sat at the kitchen table, steaming coffee warming our faces to melt away the tension. "But I'm glad they didn't resort to burning the place down.”