Stores: Without having to look into the Guild Bank, the stores section shows the remaining materials and items the guild has accumulated. Any positive production is placed within the Guild Bank, increasing the stores of those items. Negative production removes from the Guild Bank. It is also possible to list out the remaining days of supply for various items.
The Guild Chests were useful enough on their own. The efficiency of the dwarves’ nightly forays into the nearby region for valuable ore and stone could be dramatically increased. Without having to haul their finds back to camp, they could take a Guild Chest out with them and deposit the items into the expanded space within.
And that wasn’t touching on the deeper information it would afford him.
Hal looked back to the current status menu for the Guild, noting how little it actually told him.
[Guild Status]
Guild Name: Bravers
Emblem: N/A
Guildmaster: Hal Williams
Members: 87/140
Guild Level: 1
Experience: 135
To Next Level: 3,500
Perks: 1
Guild Points: 10/200
Generation: 10/day
Territory: 2,112 feet (-60% from Caravan Type)
Alliance: N/A
Opposition: N/A
Guild Skills:
Regeneration
+50% HP Regeneration within Territory/Influence
Cost: 10 Guild Points
Duration: 24 Hours
Effects:
+10% Reputation (Bonecraft Discovery)
Without having to see the other Archetypes, Hal knew this would be the one to choose first. If only for the Guild Chests which would be an amazing improvement not only to security but utility as well.
It wasn’t like he expected anybody within the Guild to try and steal from the Guild Bank but if he could keep it safe under Vorax’s ever-watchful eyes, he would sleep easier at night.
The Guild Chests could have food and other useful items in them for people to easily extract as they needed. He would need to talk to Durvin and the Guild at large about organizing their stores into the Guild Bank and subsequent Guild Chests.
He knew several wagons had duplicate stores and many of the wagons were filled to the brim with construction materials weighing them down. As a result, the entire caravan was slowed.
Hal’s mind was a whirlwind of thought when he placed the Guild Perk into Statistics. There were so many new things for him to consider, the Guild was only one of them. His discovery of Bonecrafting was another that he deeply wanted to explore.
No longer tethered to just weaponry that he was familiar with, Hal could now make almost anything his heart desired. Though he wondered what the difference would be between his Blades of Bone and Bonecrafting.
Soon after the Guild Perk was assigned, a pair of silver-chased oaken chests appeared at Hal’s feet. With a thought, he could dismiss or summon them. Provided they stayed within a 1,000 feet from the Guild Bank.
Opening the Guild Status again, he was expecting a bit more information but not that much. His mouth hung open as he parsed all the information before him in an easily digested format.
[Guild Status]
Guild Name: Bravers
Emblem: N/A
Guildmaster: Hal Williams
Members: 87/140
Guild Level: 1
Experience: 135
To Next Level: 3,500
Perks: 1
Guild Points: 10/200
Generation: 10/day
Territory: 2,112 feet (-60% from Caravan Type)
Alliance: N/A
Opposition: N/A
Guild Skills
Regeneration
+50% HP Regeneration within Territory/Influence
Cost: 10 Guild Points
Duration: 24 Hours
Guild Chests
2 Chests summoned within 1,000ft of Guild Bank
Effects:
+10% Reputation (Bonecraft Discovery)
[Statistics]
Production
Food: -12u (-2u from Caravan Type)
Stone: +2.1t (-0.7t from Caravan Type)
Settlement Type: Caravan
Consumption: +20%
Production: -25%
Influence Area: -60%
Stores
Food: 548u
Days Remaining: 45
Stone: 30t
Rough Stone: 15t
Stone Bricks: 5t
Dressed Stone: 7.4t
Unrefined Crystal: 6t
Shardite: 1.2t
Empyreal Shardite: 0.4t
Wood: 20t
Raw: 0t
Lumber: 20t
Metal: 5t
Copper: 1t
Iron: 2.5t
Steel: 0.5t
Silver: 0.7t
Gold: 0.3t
The food stores were something he was concerned about, even though Angram and the dwarves had repeatedly told him they were fine for well over a month. It would seem he worried for nothing. Though the production rate seemed odd to him.
From what he understood, the Mirrorlands hardly had anything they could forage or find to eat. And yet, they were only losing 12u of food a day. With the malus to production and consumption that the caravan settlement type inflicted on them, they were still gathering a great deal of food each day.
Taking a closer look, Hal could see the consumption rate as well as the base production rate.
[Statistics]
Food Production
Raw Production: 92 (-31u from Caravan type)
Consumption: 104u (+17u from Caravan Type)
Food Total: -12u (-2u from Caravan Type)
Stone Production
Raw Production: 3.3t (-1.1t from Caravan Type)
Consumption: 1.2t (+0.2t from Caravan Type)
Stone Total: +2.1t (-0.7t from Caravan Type)
Hal hissed when he saw how much food and stone they were losing each day from the caravan status. His brow furrowed at the stone consumption. Who the heck is using a ton of stone a day?
Ultimately, it didn’t matter. The dwarves were producing a surprising amount of stone per day, even if they were using a ton on their own works. Which he wasn’t about to limit.
They would have no stone if not for the dwarves except that which they carried with them from Murkmire. On that note, Hal remembered his desire to organize the Guild Bank - which was practically empty at that point.
With so much data at his fingertips, he could make a big difference with the way the Guild worked. At the very least, he knew he could lighten a few wagons by placing all the goods - provided the dwarves didn’t object - within the bank and setting up Guild Chests for deposit and withdrawal across the caravan.
Even if the Guild Bank didn’t cut down on weight - as nearly every magically imbued storage system seemed to - it would still consolidate more than a couple wagon’s worth of materials into one.
That alone would be worth the effort if not for the organizational benefit.
Hal set off to find Durvin at once, only remembering halfway through his short trip to the surly dwarf’s wagon that it was still incredibly early.
A glance eastward toward the lightening sky told him he didn’t have long to wait and instead Hal found his attention settle on an older dwarf to the side of the glowing campfire.
The copper-bearded dwarf was bent over a piece of crystal with a telescoping monocle over one eye as he used a small tool to sculpt the glassy substance. Bit by bit the raw crystal became bright and faceted, shining in the campfire’s warm glow and reflecting across the grim and determined face of the dwarf.
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Hal walked over and quietly watched, not wishing to disturb the grizzled dwarf. Up close he could see the individual ruddy veins on the man’s large hooked nose.
The dwarf’s mouth was nearly covered in the rough coppery whiskers that blossomed about his face and were tucked into his wide belt buckle. His hair was swep
t back and gathered into a single thick braid that draped down the back of the chair.
“Ye stare any longer, son and me hairy cheeks are liable to start blushing,” the dwarf said without looking up. He finished the final facet with a flick of his calloused and thick fingers. Fingers Hal never would have thought to have the fine motor skills to perform such beautiful work.
The world of Aldim never ceased to amaze him.
Hal chuckled and pulled up a seat offered by the dwarf. “I’ve never seen somebody do that,” he admitted.
The dwarf looked up at him with a steely gaze. Only when he popped off the telescoping monocle device did Hal realize that the man had two different colored eyes. One green as an emerald, the other purple as amethyst.
It was clear to Hal that the dwarf was trying to tell whether or not he was being facetious or not. With a loud dwarven snort -which sounded a lot like a bull about to charge - and a soft “Bah!” the dwarf relaxed and sat back in his seat. He rolled the faceted crystal in his stubby fingers, studying his work.
“I heared about ye,” he said at length. “Thought the other dwarfs were daft. Ain’t no way a human-” The dwarf leaned in and squinted his amethyst eye shut to regard him with the emerald-green one. “Ye are a human, ain’t ye?”
“Mostly,” Hal replied with a slight quirk of his lips.
“Ye, yer a weird ‘un all right.” Just when Hal thought the dwarf was going to get up and leave, he shot out his thick and muscular hand. His bare arms were corded with more muscle than Hal’s bicep, even though at 10 STR Hal had more muscle tone than most people who weren’t bodybuilders. “Name’s McDervish, Crag McDervish.”
Hal shook his hand, and the dwarf eyed him appreciatively. “Yer grip ain’t as flimsy as I thought it would be,” the dwarf added by way of explanation.
“Thanks?”
Crag merely shrugged his shoulders. “Just the way it is. So, why’re ye out here e’ery night, looking up at the stars like a fool elf?”
“Can’t sleep,” Hal answered simply.
The dwarf eyed him again, then nodded and pulled out a small silver engraved hip flask. “Ye, I know what that’s like.” He took a swig, wiped his lips with the back of his thick arm, and then handed the flask to Hal.
It was hard not to wipe the deeply discolored mouth of the flask. But Hal lifted it and took a swig, coughing almost immediately as the fiery and smoky elixir scoured all the taste from his tongue. His throat burned all the way down and felt like a chimney after a long and cold winter.
Your Leadership has risen to Level 23 (+5).
+1% Party Damage (28%).
+2% Leadership Efficacy (56%).
Bouldergut Clan Reputation: +2,200 (Extended Family)
Dwarves of this clan will offer you aid and shelter when in need. No dwarf will turn their back on you or deny a request for honest assistance. However, you are now considered part of their family and are expected to treat other dwarves with the same level of familial respect and aid them as they would aid you.
Dwarven Reputation: +1,100 (Curiosity).
Having gained a level of renown among a dwarven clan and not being of the bearded persuasion yourself has endeared you to the larger race of dwarves as a whole. Dwarves are more likely to hear out any requests you may have, offer you discounts on their goods, and when trespassing will beat you unconscious instead of simply killing you as they would anyone else.
Handing the flask back, Crag broke out in a deep belly-laugh. If he had warmed up to Hal before, he was now downright jovial. They talked for a while about Crag’s craft, he was a Goldsmith by trade and worked with all sorts of fine and precious materials.
The [Shardite] they pulled from the Mirrorlands was some of the finest quality he had seen in well over a century. He was practicing some designs on the [Unrefined Crystal] they often pulled up alongside the more expensive stuff.
Everything seemed to be a test with the dwarves. They would feign ignorance or act stupid if anybody ever called them out on it, using the stereotype of a “thick-headed dwarf” as a rather ingenious defense against their behavior.
For whatever reason, the dwarves took a shine to him. And the more he was around the surly folk, the more Hal enjoyed being around them.
Oh sure, they complained about the open sky and the constant rolling plains. Often they would nudge Hal and tell him about their dwarven homeland deep in the northern mountains.
They always spoke reverently of their underground homes. And how warm of a reception Hal would get if they ever returned. He would, by all accounts, be a bit of a curiosity among the dwarves.
Befriending Durvin Bouldergut was no small feat it seemed and that alone endeared him to the rest of the clan. Which, by way of dwarven “laws” meant that Hal was considered an extended - though very distant - relation to the rest of the dwarves.
Bidding his new friend goodbye, Hal got up and headed over to Durvin’s wagon long after the rest of the camp had woken up and started preparing for the day.
Cookpots were brought out, massive skillets laid upon iron tripods over the now brightly-burning campfires. The whole caravan filled with the bustle that heralded the start of a new day.
The wondrous scents of cooking filled the caravan and any late riser would be drawn out from the confines of their bedrolls soon enough.
Not wanting to wait any longer, Hal rapped soundly on Durvin’s wagon door.
It swung wide so fast that if Hal had continued to knock, his hand would have gotten wedged between the door and a series of tall barrels to the left.
“What’re ye fer?” Durvin bellowed. “Can’t ye see a dwarf be needing ‘is beauty rest!” His ranting was cut off as soon as he saw Hal’s wry expression. “Don’t ye start with yer sniggerin’ and snickerin’ boy! It’s too durned early for yer foolery! Tell me quick what ye want or get ye gone so I can fill me rumbling belly.”
Hal stepped back and ushered Durvin down from the wagon, following him to a seat not too far away. “I wanted to talk to you about the storage situation we currently have and how we could make it better.”
Durvin eyed him up and down, rubbed a thick fist into his crusty eyes to clear them, and blinked at Hal again. “Ye want what now?”
“I know that the Bouldergut Clan is still independent of the Guild,” Hal said, sitting down next to Durvin and placing his palms on his knees. “I’m fine with that and more than a little surprised that your clan wholeheartedly joined the Bravers.
“But our storage system could be dramatically improved. How many wagons do we have with duplicate stores just in case one gets attacked, ransacked, or somehow destroyed? Not to mention the weight and space constraints. How many dwarves are walking alongside the wagons rather than riding within?”
Durvin’s grumbling meant that Hal was on the right track.
“If you missed it, the Guild has risen to Level One and with it got a Guild Perk. I won’t bore you with all the details but as a Councilor, you have the authority to look over the detailed statistics of the Guild now. Go ahead, try it.”
“Durned fool,” Durvin muttered, which meant it came out at a completely audible volume for anybody within thirty feet. “Botherin’ me afore me belly’s full. Makin’ me-”
Durvin’s burnished bronze eyes went wide, all semblance of sleep or fatigue vanished in that one moment. He must have found the statistics menu Hal was talking about.
His thick lips moved about, his quickly growing beard quivered with each mouthed word as Durvin read everything that was there. “Dagdamora, boy! Ye know what ye got here?”
“I have an inkling,” Hal said with a smile. Talking with the dwarves never ceased to make him feel better.
They were so surly and grouchy that he couldn’t help but love them like a favored uncle. Ultimately they were loyal to a fault and understood the depths of honor and sacrifice better than anybody else could ever fathom. And if you were patient and tolerant enough to see through all their bluster and their crusty exterior
you could see the warm beating heart of the people.
“We hire fancy-pants statisticians that do this kind of stuff over the course o’ days! And yer tellin’ me that we got this new-fangled thing… all o’ the time?”
Hal nodded.
Durvin slapped his knee and hooted. “Yer not fer knowin’ how much this’ll be a help to us, Hal! I find meself in a strangely good mood, and without a drop o’ holy water or meat in me belly. Go on, tell me what fool ideas ye got in yer head about storage and I’ll give it a listen.”
That was as good a deal as Hal could expect to get from Durvin.
And, despite what he said, Hal knew that even tired and cranky the grouchy dwarf would have given his idea its due attention. Not out of some strange sense of fealty because Hal was a Guildmaster. Which Durvin clearly didn’t much care about. Nor that he was a founder, which Durvin also didn’t care much about. At least not enough to apportion any sort of respect Hal didn’t earn.
It was because Durvin, for all his surliness, was ultimately fair-minded and equitable. And so Hal told him his idea about how he thought they could speed up the caravan's course.
Even if the only thing that they accomplished was allowing every single person to ride in a wagon without running or walking alongside it, they could shave a few days off their trip.
And if most of the dwarves were free to craft and use their materials without hopping from one wagon to the next? Then the Guild could generate some EXP in the meantime as well.
Beastborne Page 33
