The interior of the townhall did not reflect the opulent exterior. The walls were barren, banners were torn and the curtains had been ripped from the top, as if someone had stolen them in a frenzy. In the middle of this desolate, broken townhall sat a dejected man, not much younger than me, sitting on the ground and staring at his feet.
“Hello?” I said, looking over at him.
The young man, with blue eyes and brown hair, glanced up at me and squinted. “What is it this time?” he groaned.
“I’m assuming you’re the champion,” I said.
“Champion? Hah,” Peters said, shaking his head. “That’s what they call you at first. Chosen by the gods, granted incredible powers. But if you screw up? You make a few mistakes and then…they all leave.”
“What happened?”
Peters sighed at the question, burying his head in his hands. “I’m trapped in a cycle. I grow the village, it flourishes, then something happens and I make the wrong choice. It all blows up, and back to square one. Everyone either leaves, or gets killed in some stupid fight with another village. It’s always the same problem.”
I nodded at that. “So are you from Earth?”
Peters looked up at me sharply, squinting. “Yeah, yeah I am. You too?”
“Indeed,” I said, pulling up a wobbly wooden chair to sit across from him. “I was retiring when I ended up here. You?”
“Retirement? Hah, I should have been so lucky. I was uh, let’s say that where I was from, I had a very tight schedule, one that was controlled by a warden and several guards.”
A prisoner? Interesting. I wondered what would make him qualify for the Chosen One position and not myself. Was I feeling a shred of jealousy here? Or maybe it was just embarrassment, at the fact that a grand CEO didn’t seem to count for much.
“So I’m guessing you aren’t in a rush to get back,” I asked, pulling a flask of water free from my hip and offering it to him. He took it eagerly and drank, but frowned when he realized I had been handing him water and not something stronger.
“When I first got here, I was overjoyed,” Peters said, giving the bottle back to me. “I mean, I was in for thirty years for a couple of youthful indiscretions, let’s say. That was really most of my life. Thirty long years of doing nothing. And to be taken here and given all of this? I mean, come on! I was chosen by the gods, granted powers! But I was a goon back there and I’m a goon here, it would seem.”
“So what do you intend to do?” I asked.
Peters shrugged. “No clue. Sulk for as long as I like, I guess, then take another crack at it. There’s not much else to do in this world. At least, not when you’re broke as hell.”
This was a golden opportunity for me and my village. This man was completely broken and dejected, having endured too many failures. His own holding was in shambles and he was able to acknowledge that he wasn’t terribly good at what he was doing. If I acted now, I could potentially secure a lot of resources through trade, giving him the basics to get back on his feet, but receiving significantly more from him in the deal. We were far enough from each other as well that I did not have to worry about any kind of warmongering on his part, as it would take quite some time to move a military towards me.
“I suppose I should introduce myself, I’m Charles Morris,” I said, extending my hand.
“Tomas Peters,” he said back, reaching up to shake hands.
“Well, Mr. Peters, I run a village a good ways away. We have quite a bit of resources that could assist you in getting back up on your feet. I would like to start a trade relationship with you, one that would be mutually beneficial.”
Tomas shook his head at that. “I mean, feel free to look at what I have in the trade section, but it’s nothing worth caring about.”
I nodded and pulled up the trade overlay to take a look at what my new connection had access to. The resources he had available were scant, but there was a large amount of resources listed as unavailable. Among those resources were Horses, Iron, Exotic Spices and Wool.
“I notice you have a few resources that aren’t up for trade,” I asked. “Can I persuade you to open them for trade?”
“Oh those? I can’t access them either,” he explained, standing up and gesturing for me to follow. We walked up several flights of stairs until we reached the balcony. He pointed to a few icons that were hovering over the landscape. I normally never saw these icons without use of the book, but maybe it was because he was sharing the vision with me that I could spot them. “You need special equipment to access those, and specialists too. And I’m a long way off from being able to afford them.”
“What if you were to sell me the land rights to those areas?” I asked. “Instead of spending all the money to build those buildings and hiring specialists, it’d be better in the short term for you to just sell them to me.”
“Can we do that?” Peters asked. “I mean, is that part of the rules?”
“Rules?” I repeated. “From what I’ve observed, there aren’t really any rules to this, just systems that enhance our abilities. Even if there’s no function in the overlay to do a deal like this, we can still write a contract in real life.”
Peters gave me an odd look and tilted his head. “Are you sure?”
“Who’s going to stop us?” I asked.
He pondered those words for a few minutes and slowly nodded. “Okay, sure. Why not? But I’m going to want a lot for these territories.”
“Here’s what I’m willing to offer. I can pay you 20 gold per land plot—”
“That’s it?” Peters interrupted.
“Let me finish. I’ll pay you 20 per plot, after which all rights of development are mine. I’ll be able to build my own buildings on this territory and operate them as I please. As I generate resources, you’ll receive 30 percent of them in perpetuity.”
“30 percent of each resource?” he asked.
I nodded. “Indeed. So, the initial amount of gold may be low, but in the long term, you’ll be making a great deal of resources for doing absolutely nothing. And the profits of having all of these additional resources generated each month will be well worth the deal.”
“And if I want the land back?”
“Then you’ll have the option to buy the land back, by paying the total value of the yearly production of the resource, times two.”
Peters scratched his head at that. “You were a businessman, weren’t you?”
I laughed at those words. “Yes, and I was a damn good one.”
“20 gold per resource, 30 percent…” he trailed off, fidgeting a little. I needed to sweeten the deal somehow, in order to get him to make the decision right now.
“And on top of that, I’ll be willing to gift you 50 units of silk next month, when our silkworms have finished production.”
“Silk? Done,” Peters said. “I could use some more comfortable sheets for sleep. Between you and me, the only thing I miss about the old world was the fact that beds weren’t made of several lumps of hay.”
“Agreed,” I said, shaking his hand. This was going to be a very, very good year for the both of us.
Chapter 11
Securing the land rights to the village of Cornet was a major victory for me. Fortunately, there was an advanced contract system that existed within the Great Picture—Peters had just never bothered to spend too much time looking at the diplomacy and trade sections. We were able to create the deal just as it had been discussed: 20 gold per resource, and I selected the Spices, Wool and Horses. Iron would be too expensive to set up an operation. Perhaps later I would purchase the rights, but for now, a spice farm, a wool mill and a stable combined would still be cheaper than the iron mine.
Parting with 60 gold wasn’t too hard, especially since by the time that I returned another shipment from Reed had arrived, refreshing our coffers. The default terms of the deal set by the system had been 10 years. I wasn’t terribly concerned with making use of the resources immed
iately, but the moment of opportunity would not be there forever. By locking in the contract now, I could begin development of the properties within a few weeks, once things in Tine were looking up.
Still, in spite of making such a great business deal, there was no change in the Satisfaction level of the population. They were still eagerly waiting to tie me to a rock and slit my throat. I could see a list of reasons why they were unsatisfied, and most frustratingly the words Poor Judgment had factored into my score, countering any of the good will I had built up with the rest of the community. Even though I had judged fairly in the situation with the old woman who lost her coins, she had gone about spreading word that I was a poor judge.
This was the beginning of the second week. I had 173 gold pieces available for use. I began to scroll through the list of buildings that I could make. I needed something that would not only be useful for our growth, but would also give the people confidence in my abilities. There were dozens of different building types to choose from and the sheer number of options was overwhelming. Some of the buildings were highlighted by the Mayor, as he had the ability to make recommendations to me.
One particular structure that had been highlighted was a Tavern. The Tavern added +2 to our Traveler Rating per week, and would generate 10 gold per traveler who visited. In addition to that, it would also increase the Happiness of the population as well as the Satisfaction. But the Traveler Rating was a new statistic I had never encountered. It was self-explanatory, at least, I hoped so. I couldn’t just make assumptions as to what these things meant, not if I was going to do this right.
So I called upon the Mayor for a quick explanation. It turned out that every village had a Traveler Rating that would influence how many people would visit the village at any given time. Travelers spent gold, purchased items at stores and sometimes would even settle down and join the village. Different types of buildings would bring in different qualities of travelers. A Tavern would bring in those who were simply on long journeys, and who needed food, beer and shelter for the day.
There were other elements that would influence our Traveler Rating, however. The quality of the roads, the presence of major trade routes and the size of nearby cities would all factor in. Our current TR was at -5, thanks to the fact that we had nothing to offer passersby and that our roads were in a miserable state of disrepair. Adding the Tavern would only bring the rating up to -3. If we could get the road fixed, it would solve the problem.
But maybe I wasn’t interested in the residual gold generation just yet. While it would be a bonus and something to strife after, I needed to give the residents of Tine something to make them happier. They had good meat, now all they needed was good drink and a place to fraternize.
The Tavern would cost 120 gold, and all that was needed was a barkeep—which only cost 10 to promote. This was an easy choice to make. And so, I put in the work order and watched with excitement as the workers (who had healthy schedules set) began to build the Tavern near the entrance to the village. I placed it there because it would make sense for it to be the first thing for guests to see.
Construction went by quickly, perhaps faster than normal because the workers realized they were making a place where they could sit and drink when they were finished. I watched with pride as the building was erected, but frowned upon seeing a large red circle hovering above the building. The circle had a line through it, meaning that something was wrong. Resource Missing it said.
I investigated to discover that just because we had access to a Tavern, didn’t mean we had access to the Beer resource. The Tavern was a place to distribute beer and food, but it did not generate either. This was a little frustrating. There were a few things about this world that didn’t quite make sense. For example, the food made at the Butchery was preserved, despite the fact that we didn’t have access to salt yet. Villagers had a set weekly income that seemingly came from nowhere. So why couldn’t the Tavern just magically have beer?
The villagers had gathered around initially to watch the new opening of the building, but without the resources, it would not open. They dispersed, no doubt disappointed in their leader’s inability to procure them with beer.
I gritted my teeth at this realization. I had just wasted quite a bit of money on something that was just going to be sitting there. Why hadn’t I checked the building requirements? Instead, I had been so focused on gaining a higher Satisfaction rating that I didn’t bother to look at anything else. This kind of tunnel vision was what got you killed in business. I couldn’t believe I made such a rookie mistake.
But now, I was committed to this plan of action. I had a building, now I just needed the beer for it. Brewing our own would be the best option, but doing so would require us to build a Brewery. That would cost 200 gold. But this time, as I weighed my options, I made sure to check the resource requirements. The Brewery was a refinement unit, meaning that it did not generate raw resources; rather it took them and refined them into a finished product.
I would need to grow Barley if I wanted to produce quality beer, although it would be possible to use wheat as well. The only problem with wheat was that it was a much slower process than using barley. Besides, we needed wheat for trading with our partner. Still, having a steady supply of beer would be helpful for us and perhaps could even be exported.
I took a look at the Farm, to evaluate what my options were. The Farm was only level 1, which meant it had exactly one plot of land to grow things. By upgrading it to level 2, it would increase the production capacity of existing plots by +5 per week. In addition to the increased production, a new plot would be available. While we were only growing wheat, we did have seeds of all types of different crops, including barley. The cost of upgrading would only be 50 gold. That would wipe out the remaining gold that we had for the week, but it would at least get our barley crops growing. I’d be able to build the brewery next week and then things would be looking up.
So, I upgraded the Farm, watching as it quickly changed from a creaky old barn to a larger one with slightly better paint. A new plot of land appeared and a symbol of growth materialized above. It would take 7 days for the Barley to grow out. Conveniently, this was when we’d have the Brewery operating.
Having spent all of our gold for the week, there wasn’t much more for me to do on the economic development front. I closed the book and approached the Mayor, who was out in the front yard, sitting in his rocking chair.
“Ah!” he said, waving at me to sit in the chair next to him. “Have you finished your work for the day?”
“I’ve finished some of it,” I replied. “But once I’m out of coin, what else is there for me to do?”
Hemmings shrugged and returned to his rocking.
“I wasn’t asking a rhetorical question. Mind you, I am on a ticking clock here,” I said. “I need some advice on what to do next.”
“You could always go visit the city,” Hemmings replied. “Cities work differently than villages. They aren’t run by any one ruler, rather each district has its own Earl. These Earls are quite concerned with their own affairs, so they pose no threat to outside villages. For if an Earl were to go to war with the outside, the rest of the Earls would plot to assassinate him and take his holdings.”
“Sounds very cutthroat.”
“There is a lot of money that pours into these cities,” the Mayor explained. “They are economic powerhouses, but holding on to that power is the real challenge. Still, while the Earls’ districts grow or shrink, they still have resources to trade.”
“And the guilds?” I asked, thinking of the Tradesmen who held such exclusive contracts with other villages.
“I wouldn’t know much about that,” Hemmings said as he leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. “My recommendation would be to pay a visit to the city of Igithor. You’ll find plenty to do to keep you busy.”
“I’m not looking to be busy, I’m looking to be productive.”
“I’m sure y
ou’ll find something,” Hemmings replied as he drifted off to sleep. I was tempted to shake him awake and ask more questions, but then again, I would probably be better off seeing the city with my own eyes. Perhaps I’d even pay a visit to these Tradesmen, to find out how they ran things…
Chapter 12
Igithor was gigantic compared to anything else I had seen in this realm. The walls towered over 12 feet in height, sealing the city off from the rest of the world. Any invasion would easily be repelled by such a wall. The gates themselves were made of steel and there was a checkpoint of guards, watching as the steady stream of people entered and exited the city. Having been surrounded by only a scant amount of people for the last two weeks, I felt a little overwhelmed at the sheer number of individuals around me.
I took my place in line at the checkpoint and patiently waited for the time to be admitted into the city. I was curious to see how Igithor looked on the inside. Did they have access to powerful magics in order to modernize the buildings? Would I meet actual wizards? The feelings of anxiety began to melt as I pondered what marvels stood within these walls. I resolved to return home with at least one thing of value that I could bring to the people. All I had was three gold to my name, but I would find something worthwhile.
I approached the guard at the checkpoint, a man wearing shimmering plate mail that seemed to move in place. An enchantment of sorts! I watched it for a moment, fixated on how it shifted about, displacing the guard’s position, despite the fact that he was standing still.
“State your business,” the guard said, leaning against his pole arm. Behind him was a small team of clerks who were organizing paperwork.
“I’m the Champion of Tine, here to meet with Earls,” I said. While I wasn’t chosen by the gods, I was starting to embrace the title of Champion. I mean, I was responsible for the entire village and was supposed to take over them. In times of crisis, it would be me making the hard decisions. If I was to do all of this, I might as well start calling myself the Champion—blessing or not.
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