by Sean Oswald
“I won’t. Tomorrow I will come to the dungeon to formalize our pact.”
“Very well,” Altracia said before moving her massive head to nuzzle against Sara. “Be safe my little one. I will be waiting for our first play date.”
Emily tried to ask him what that meant but was once again buffeted by the draft from the drake’s take off. By the time the air had settled again, Dave said, “Just wait. I will explain everything, but I only want to say this once. There is a lot to talk about, and we still have to discuss the matter of choosing a patron. We need to pick a few advisors and then meet in the town hall in an hour, but I think that Jackson has to leave now, and it seems silly to waste his last few minutes with business.”
From the expression that he got, Dave knew that he only barely got away with pushing Emily off like that, but it was good enough. The rest of the town was returning to its workday while two parents were once again forced to say goodbye to a child.
“If you have any trouble at all, I want you to go to the church of Shanelle. The people there can get word to me. You have to promise me that you won’t put up with the things that you were letting them do before. You don’t have to stay at that school no matter what Harold says.” Emily rambled on as she hugged her son.
“I think we sorta do have to do what the king says, mom, but don’t worry. Dad already set it up where he will send a magical messenger bird to give me updates about what is happening here every week,” Jackson said.
“That isn’t the same as you having a way to call for help. I just wish we had a phone or some kind of magic that would let us talk to each other.”
Dave chimed in. “Maybe we will be able to develop something like that, but I think it is the bullies who are in for a surprise this time. Jackson left there as a lamb, albeit a determined lamb, but he is going back as a lion.”
“Well that is another thing I worry about. You aren’t going to try to take revenge on those boys, are you? I mean, I guess they probably have it coming to them, but that isn’t the right way to live. We don’t go around seeking revenge.”
“Geesh mom. First it’s don’t let them hit you, and now, it’s don’t hit them.”
“That isn’t what I mean. You do know that, right?” Emily asked.
“I think what your mom is trying to say is that of course you are free to defend yourself, but make sure that you do it for the right reasons and not with a heart full of hate. Hate always hurts those who hold onto it just as much or more than the object hated.”
“I get it guys. I’m not a little kid anymore.” As Jackson was saying that, Dave couldn’t help but shake his head as he realized how much Eloria was forcing them all to grow up. “I will follow what you have taught me. And I will be back in like six months during the spring festival or whatever they call it. I guess at least assuming that we can arrange for me to get teleported here. Or maybe, if you have kicked the butt of the goblin army, you can come visit me in the capital. Mom and Mira might like to get to go shopping again.”
After a few more hugs and family jokes, Jackson went over to stand next to Gunidar and Tabor. Steffen said, “Don’t worry I will make arrangements for him to have a way to communicate with you as soon as we get to the capital. Also, I will insist that King Harold hears about the situation here. Even if he is mired in the drama surrounding his indiscretion, he will undoubtedly not want to allow two dungeons to fall into the hands of goblins.”
“Thanks, my friend. I hope that you can help sort this out. I know that battles over lines of succession can get messy, and I don’t want to deal with goblins only to find out that I have to deal with my neighbors as well,” Dave said.
Emily thanked Steffen too, giving him a hug, and he then went to stand by the royal mage who only nodded his head before casting the scroll of teleportation which whisked them away.
After this, Dave said, “Mira, sorry, but I need you to take Sara back to the house and stay with her. Emily, I’m gonna go ask Talvenicus, Eisuke, Daichi, Aoi, and Hiroto to join us at the town hall so we can get their input. Do you want to select a few people to invite and then meet me there?”
Emily growled but said, “Fine, I will be over there in a few minutes, but then you better spill everything.”
Dave simply nodded and walked off. He heard Mira complaining to her mother but already knew how that would end so no reason to listen in. He figured he was gonna get yelled at enough by Emily pretty soon.
Chapter Thirty-One
“What will a man trade for his soul? Hmm … I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got some in stock.” — Dwarven merchant Arnot Duntotar
Eris’ Rise - Emily Nelson
Emily was pacing inside the town hall. She waited for everyone to be seated but kept looking over at Dave. He looked so smug and assured. She wanted to know what he had agreed to because she was sure there was a hook in it that she wasn’t going to be happy about. She trusted him, for the most part, but he was still a man and made stupid decisions from time to time.
Finally, the last of the invitees arrived and were seated. She looked around and saw one priest and one paladin of each of the three churches represented in town, the former mayor, the military commanders Morganthal and Ozakai, one of the head lumberjacks, a fisherman, Emmaline as a representative of the cooks, Daichi, Eisuke, Aoi, and Hiroto. It was an eclectic group, but she thought that most of them had some kind of wisdom to add. The humans slightly outnumbered the elves, but that was true for the overall population, so she didn’t feel it was skewed. In total, they had a council of fifteen advisors here.
“Dave, I think everyone has been waiting long enough. I know we all want to hear about your conversation with the drake,” she said.
“There is that, and also we need to discuss the choice about patrons because we only have twenty-two hours left to make that decision, but before either of those things, I have another matter that I want to discuss.”
Derrick Mun Hagen, the head of the paladins and military forces sent by the church of Mishpat, interrupted and said, “Pardon me, my lord, but what could possibly be more important than the choice of a patron for this town. I am sure that your discussion with the beast was fascinating, although one wonders how many interesting things a monster can say, but we really need to focus on the most important issue first.”
Emily could see that Dave was tense, and the way he had been acting lately, it seemed just as likely that he would go across the table and flatten the cocky paladin as offer words in retort, so she took it upon herself to clear the air so to speak. “I’m sure that you mean well, Sir Mun Hagen, but I will ask you kindly to refrain from speaking over my husband or any other speaker here for that matter. And that doesn’t just go for him,” she said with a gesture to the upbraided paladin, “but all of you and us too,” she added while motioning to include Dave and herself.
Then trying to defuse the situation, she said, “Don’t make me break out the talking stick.” She referenced a tool that Dr. Lipschitz strongly recommended in his fourth book as a way to determine whose turn it was to speak around the family table. None of them got her reference, obviously, but they all understood her tone.
Adopting a formal manner, Dave said, “Thank you Lady Emiri. Now if I may continue, you all have been invited here as we would like the input of each of you on the question of choosing a patron. This is a colossal decision which will affect all of our futures. To be clear, this decision belongs solely to myself and Lady Emiri. You are all pledged to obey our decisions, so it will be final, but we are likewise pledged to look after the best interests of the Murkwood, and that means you the people. You are here because each of you has a perspective to offer in the new type of town that we want to build.
That said, if we are going to stay true to the principles that Emily and I want to live by, then we want to have an advisory council which has been elected by the people of Eris’ Rise.”
Emily was thrilled to hear him say this. They had agreed that democracy was
their ultimate goal but equally that it would take time to institute it here. She was a little hurt that he hadn’t discussed the idea of using the council as a way of introducing this method of governance, but it was in keeping with Dave’s demeanor lately. Since his trip to the north, he had been a bit rougher around the edges. His confidence and assertiveness appealed to a part of her, but she also wanted to be included in important decisions and didn’t want to be treated as a secondary partner. She was also concerned about signs of growing arrogance in him, although he seemed to be able to rein it in so far.
Eisuke asked, “Pardon my ignorance of human customs, but what is meant by democracy?” He spoke slowly as he pronounced the unfamiliar word.
She fielded this question. “It is a method of selecting leaders where we come from that gives all people a say in how they will be governed and the laws that they will live under.” She expected questions and confusion but was met by dumbfounded silence from all fifteen they had invited here for their wisdom.
Finally, out of all of them, Emmaline was the one to speak up. “So you are saying that all of the knights and forest wardens and other important people get together and chose who is best suited to advise you and Baron Murkwood, your ladyship?”
Everyone but Dave continued to appear confused as they looked from Emmaline back to her. “No, that isn’t what my husband means. He means that everyone in Eris’ Rise will get a vote, which is a chance to say who they think should be on the council.”
The lumberjack, whose name was slipping her mind at the moment, asked, “You mean that we all stand around and call out names?”
“Well, it was done like that in olden days where we come from, but no. I mean that each of you will mark a ballot which will be like a piece of paper, I mean parchment, that will signify your choice for who will be on the council.”
At that, the bubble burst and questions were fired at her rapidly. They didn’t understand how such a system would distinguish between the wishes of the knights and the cooks or the strong and the weak. They all had so many ways of designating the value of people, and they almost all revolved around might. Her elves were no better. They couldn’t seem to envision any system that didn’t have leaders appointed from the Throne telling everyone else what to do. In fact, they seemed to feel that voting was disrespectful and kept insisting that she would have to tell them how they should cast their ballot.
She was to the point of pulling out her hair when Dave broke in. “I know it seems confusing now, but just trust us. It will make more sense once we have done it.” Emily almost laughed at his statement, but since she couldn’t make herself understood, she just let it stand.
He continued, “The first question that I have for all of you is how many people do you think should be on the advisory council?”
That caused a variety of comments about which groups should be represented on the council, but Emily was happy when Dave quickly cut that off by saying, “We are united now. So we aren’t going to have elvish representatives or human representatives. We are also not going to have representatives chosen based solely on the basis of their personal power. The only thing that I am going to say is that practical realities suggest that we should have at least a couple of military and a couple of non-military advisors.”
Emily added, “As reluctant as I am to divide it in that manner, it probably is logical. That said, you can see that with fifteen of you here that this can be a bit disjointed. Too many voices will diffuse your wisdom and slow the process, whereas too few voices will not give us enough input or a broad enough perspective.”
After a good hour of discussion, they finally narrowed it down to a council of seven members. With considerable guidance from Dave and Emily, they also came to the conclusion that every citizen would be allowed to cast three votes into a ballot box and that the seven individuals who received the most votes would be appointed to the council. It was determined that the council members would be voted in for two years at a time. By the time that this decision was reached, Emily already felt exhausted. It was so hard to convince the native Elorian’s that there was more to leadership than power. Actually, who was she kidding? They hadn’t convinced anyone of that, but they were falling in line with their appointed leaders.
Dave then said, “Now we have to discuss the next issue. Some of you have been into the dungeon an hour north of town, and I’m certain the rest of you have heard about it.” He paused as there were nods from those who had not been in the dungeon and something like grimaces from those who had. Then he continued, “This dungeon presents a massive resource for Eris’ Rise. By that, I don’t mean that the dungeon exists to make me rich. I mean that it exists to make us all stronger and, more than that, to improve our quality of life here. The pressing issue, of course, is the goblin army that is a week or so away at the very northern edge of the Murkwood. But since I expect that we will defeat the goblins, we are also going to plan for the long term.”
His positive attitude was infectious as others got excited. Dave discussed that value of the time dilation for conducting research and gave them some very limited ideas that he had for improving their lives from paved roads, electrical lights, machinery to help with construction, and other things. Emily couldn’t tell how much of it they understood, but they caught his excitement.
“So with everything that we have to gain, I will be going to sign a magical pact with the dungeon tomorrow. The dungeon is going to provide us lower level hunting areas so that we can increase the level zeros amongst us. It is also going to expand the lobby areas to make room for workshops for not only research but for various types of crafting.”
Hiroto lit up at this point. “Consort, you mean that it will be possible for me to perform enchantments within the dungeon?”
Emily couldn’t help but chuckle as Dave bristled at his elven title, but he managed to keep focused and said, “Yes, do you think it will be beneficial to do so with the increased mana density of the dungeon?”
“Yes, very much so, Consort. I may be able to break into the next Tier of enchanting if the density is great enough.”
Dave continued, “Besides the benefits to blacksmithing, enchanting, alchemy, and other crafting skills, the dungeon is also going to make more materials available to us such as iron, gold, silver, copper, tin, and mithril.”
Emily finally broke in and said, “And what do we have to give the dungeon for all of this?”
“That is the beauty of it. Most of what the dungeon wants goes hand in hand with what it is providing us. We will be establishing a symbiotic relationship with it,” Dave answered.
“That sounds great, but what specifically do we have to supply to the dungeon?” Emily asked.
“Well, the dungeon wants us to send as many people into it as possible. Although, it wants to slowly build its capacity. What I was able to deduce is that the dungeon somehow gains power from the presence of people inside of it. It may have something to do with the mana that we expend or the damage we take. I don’t really know, but it was insistent that if it provides us rooms for crafting, we keep them as occupied as possible. Because of the time dilation, this means that so much more work can be done.”
Emily frowned as she said, “That can’t be all there is to it.”
“No not at all. It will handle security inside the dungeon, but we will need to build up a guard tower and walls around the dungeon. It doesn’t want random forest creatures to enter it. That matches well with what you were asked to do by the Elder Treant. Apparently, it prefers more intelligent creatures over animals. Then it also wants us to try and bring in members of the other sapient races like dwarves, centaurs, and sun elves. I told it that it may take time, but we will do our best. Hopefully, the Adventurer’s Guild can help both by having members of other races and by providing a steady stream of dungeon delvers”
“Again, it doesn’t seem like very much. Is it going to just kill everyone that we send into it?” Emily asked.
“I couldn’
t get it to agree not to kill anything, but it is going to expand the Scavenger and Survival Modes of the dungeon to start at Tier 1 and work up from there. I am actually hopeful that someday it will be able to produce Tier 4 monsters, and we can really level up our strongest people. I was able to get the dungeon to concede that it would not make things truly deadly until the Tier 3 stuff. Again though, it only agreed to that because the benefit of bringing in more people outweighs the gains it makes from killing a few.”
Emily watched as everyone nodded. Even the civilians like Emmaline were oddly okay with the idea of a dungeon as long as it was a little less deadly. She shook her head. By her Earth standards, the people of Eloria really were quite insane.
Then Dave continued, “There are two more parts to the deal that I negotiated. First, we will have a mutual pact of protection. If the dungeon is ever attacked, then the forces of the Murkwood are obligated to help protect it. The guard tower and walls around the entrance will of course make that easier, and if Eris’ Rise expands onto the other side of the Seinna River, then the dungeon won’t even be that far from town. In return, if Eris’ Rise is attacked, as in the case of a certain goblin army, then the drake from the dungeon will join us in fighting against our enemies.”
That announcement brought a whistle from the military folk in the meeting. Emily could see the wheels turning in some of their heads as they thought about the tactical advantages which could be gained by having a flying drake on their side. Morganthal even asked, “Will the dungeon send out other monsters to fight with us?”
“Good question. I asked the very same thing, but apparently the drake is the only dungeon creature which can leave the dungeon. I was told that the dungeon is working on that problem, but for right now, the drake has a connection with my daughter, Sara, the same way that the goblin Krinnk does. She cannot control it fully like she does the goblin and the thumper, but it is able to leave the dungeon because of that bond,” Dave answered.
