Chapter 3.41: Soft Hands and Fair Faces

Chapter 3.41: Soft Hands and Fair Faces

Theo woke the next morning feeling refreshed. Good experiments within the Dreamwalk, a new ability, and the waving away of cloudy thoughts found him eager to meet the day. Whatever happened, he was happy to face it with a smile. Experience gain from the night was good, but not enough to push anything over. The [Governance Core] was a sponge that absorbed all actions within the town, hurtling it forward every second. The damn thing would overtake his alchemy and herbalism cores any day.

Tresk was in rare form. As they made their way out of the lab, waving at passing citizens, she talked about their new skill. Even after she devoured her leftover swamp-style biscuits and gravy, she went on. Theo let her ramble on about the skill, even after they ate their fill.

You could come to the bottom of the [Swamp Dungeon]! she shouted.

How would we get out?

Damn. Youre right.

Fenian came to collect his [Hallow Ground] potions, bringing with him a live plant. The [Starbristle Flax] was exactly what Theo needed to get the sails for his future shipping industry going. It would take time to cultivate them high enough to be worth planting at the farm, though.Fenian stopped being standoffish and returned to his normally jovial self. The Elf described the massive profits hed made so far and promised to remain within the Broken Tusk until the end of the day. That gave Theo time to think of the other things hed forgotten he needed. Alise and Gwyn should have handled the [Administrator Core] situation, and the citizens were capable of buying whatever they needed for their own businesses.

After meeting with Fenian, and watching Tresk depart for the dungeons, Theo considered his growing list of things he needed to do. He planted the [Starbristle Flax] plant in his garden before finding Aarok by the square, claiming they needed to have a meeting with all the higher-ups. Xolsa had something dire to portent. The alchemist also needed to sort the butcher situation, a task generated by Gwyns swift attention to the food problem. Then there was his new mushroom cave, more [Mana Constructs] for his golem army, upgrading his herbalism core, and more things that didnt come to his mind immediately.

As the portal in the center of town flickered to life, blurred edges like broken glass with a sheen of impenetrable darkness in the middle, Theo decided Xolsa came first. Aarok was still rambling when he stepped through the portal, the world spinning for only a moment before he appeared in the wizards tower. The wizard himself stood awkwardly on the far side of the room, staring into Zaralis eyes.

Awkward, Zarali said.

Not really. Lets discuss whatever you have for me, Theo said, gesturing to the stairs.

Zarali joined them, always in the know for whatever horrible disaster awaited them. Xolsa summoned the array of magical symbols on the roof, creating a tangled webwork of angry red symbols mingling with happy blue ones. Theo had a basic understanding of what was going on, but only by instinct. He couldnt read the symbols or make sense of them, he just got a feel for what they did. Even then, it was vague.

Look at this, Zarali said, poking her finger into one symbol.

No touching, Xolsa said, smacking her hand away. This is an active array.

From what Theo understood, the symbol in question was part of the formation that dealt with the dungeon system at large. It was the sinew that held the network together; the thing that relayed information. The symbol pulsed between red and blue, slow and with purpose. Unlike the other fluctuations in the array, this seemed deliberate. There was a pattern.

A signal, Theo said, boiling down an absurdly complex problem to a simpletons estimate.

Hes so smart, Zarali said, grinning.

He has eyes, Xolsa said. The pattern is too constant to be anything other than a message. A signal.

But that gave way to a problem none of them could solve. From Theos understanding, dungeon cores worked in a mysterious way. They were part of a collective that shared information and energy, and might be at least a bit self-aware. They grew in level when raw power was introduced and could generate creatures, money, and items. But thats where the alchemists knowledge on dungeons ended.

Thats cool, Theo said, nodding. He studied other parts of the array, finding it to be mostly like he remembered. There were small alterations that could have been anything. But, they were just symbols preserved in memory by his [Wisdom]. What would it mean if the other dungeons were sending a signal?

Anything, Xolsa said. My working theory is that this is a response to the changes we made.

Which brings us to a point, Zarali said. Mister Feintleaf

Oh god, no, Theo said, groaning. He thought about how Khahar could think a thousand steps ahead, and how Sulvan could see 10 steps ahead. The alchemist could see two steps ahead without effort. What did you promise him? Where did he get the core?

He doesnt have it, yet, Xolsa said. I would need to compromise my morals, and some ethical issues, but he promised to put me in contact with a [Priest of Tworngoth].

We consider Tworngoth to be an ally of Lord Drogramath, Zarali said.

Theo ran his hand over his horns for comfort, then switched to stroking the egg. An egg engineered by the Demon Lord Tworngoth. Or was it a Demon Lady? The trustworthy lords and ladies of the Demonic Pantheon could be counted on a single hand. Drogramath the Potioneer, UzXulven the Queen of the Bridge of Shadows, and Tworngoth the Master of Artifices. What was one more Demonic entity in the town?

Alright, Theo said. Tworngoth offers you a core and you take it. Where does that get us?Ñøv€l-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.

Besides another step toward someone elses plan, Theo thought.

What? Tresk asked.

Even my thoughts arent safe anymore, Theo said. Somehow, that was comforting.

Nothing.

What? Well, a legendary [Dungeon Engineer] core would help my current studies, Xolsa said. I already consider myself the foremost expert of dungeons on Iaredin. Not to rival the True Elves in Tarantham, but Im getting there.

Think of a childs playground. Like the school in town, Zarali said. Outsiders are already paying us to hit the dungeons. If we can control the process more closely, we can tailor their experience.

You see this as a money-making opportunity? Theo asked. His hand hadnt left the egg. The alchemist did enjoy having large sums of money.

More than that. Xolsa swiped through the web of arcane symbols. I would have better control of this network. We could understand things better.

I hope your 100 Elves enjoy the taste of wolf meat and Zee, Theo said, narrowing his eyes at the trader.

Theyll be executed by the empire, so Im sure theyll learn to love it! Fenian said. Calm down, my dear alchemist. The 250 Elves Im bringing have all been primed on their new home.

The color drained from Alises face. She stammered. 250?

Yes, the civilians are separate from the ship builders. But theyre part of the same deal, Fenian said.

Theo slumped in his chair, falling into thought. No, 250 new citizens was a great boon. Fenian wouldnt lie about their willingness to integrate into Broken Tusk society, so theyd make great workers. His mind swirled with the possibilities. Everything hed heard about the Elves painted them as artisans of the highest quality. A town could only hope to have that many of the people show up at once, even if it put a strain on the town. If the alchemist had learned anything about managing this place, it was that with the systems features he could expand rapidly.

Were happy to take them, Theo said.

Whats the split? Aarok asked. Manual labor, artisans, adventurers?

Uneven split favoring workers, Fenian said. Most of House Wavecrest was annihilated. I have whats left, roughly 260 souls, sequestered in a Ah, well dont worry about that.

Workers are good, Azrug said with a nod. We can always find something for them.

Agreed, Theo said. Are they shy about working the mine? The farm? The lumber mill?

Absolutely not. Despite our completely gorgeous appearancesoft hands and fair facesthe Elves of Tarantham are no strangers to labor.

Whats the chance we can feed 250 more mouths? Theo asked, turning his attention to Alise.

How soon are they coming?

Four days Make it five days, Fenian said.

If we can get the butcher going, Gwyn said. Her eyes went glassy as she consulted her administrator screen. Theo smiled, happy that theyd sorted the core problem on their own. Well enter a rationing phase.

But only if they tried to produce all the food themselves. Drogramath blessed the lands with absurd growth rates, but that didnt mean they couldnt lean on their allies for help. Theo turned his attention to Azrug and smiled.

Then I ask the Lord Merchant Azrug, Theo said, nodding his head to the young man. Contact whoever you can and work out a deal for the food. Alise and Gwyn, work on zoning these new [House Seed Cores]. Get the information from Fenian on what these people are going to be doing and zone them accordinglyI dont want an enclave of Elves, Marshlings, Half-Ogres or whatever. I want them to integrate. Also coordinate with our gorgeous trader here to make sure they have the right cores for their jobs. Questions? Comments? Concerns?

I think its foolish to rely on Rivers, Throk grunted. Grow the food here. Thats what I say.

The administrations number for food is based on current [Marsh Wolf] meat rates, Luras said. Were forming a special team of adventurers that collect their corpses to be butchered in town.

Broken Tusk was already defined by multiculturalism, Azrug said, shrugging. Another culture isnt going to harm us. I mean Do they speak Qavelli?

Most do, Fenian conceded. A grin spread across his face. Taranthian isnt that hard to learn, though.

Theo barely had a handle on Qavelli and Bantari, let alone another language. He worried about it for a moment before he realized that Fenian had made a joke. He laughed.

Oh my! Fenian said, fanning himself. What a coincidence! Your refugees will arrive on the exact last day of the season. Hmm, strange.

Another ripple of laughs spread through the room. The meeting went on for hours after that, everyone working to hammer out details that really didnt matter. Alise and Gwyn had formed a new group within the administrative staff meant to weed out bad administrators. The Junior Administrators were a group of sheepish youngsters that looked equal parts eager and scared. But when the meeting ended and everyone cleared out of the meeting hall, Alise and Theo remained.

I just wanted a word, she said, blocking the door.

Theo had a lot to do today. He hadnt even touched any alchemy for the day and was itching to do so. But he smiled and sat back down at the table, finding the look on her face worrying.

Please, Theo said, gesturing for her to take a seat.

I wanted to say Im sorry, she said. She couldnt look at him.

For what?

When you trusted me to run things for you, I thought I could do it. I really wanted to do it, Alise said. But when things slipped through the cracks, I couldnt forgive myself. I cant find a way to make it up to you. How can I live with myself if I fail again?

Theo tried not to laugh. It came out as a stifled chuckle, which drew her attention.

Allise Plumm. Lady Administrator Alise, you stumbled. Im not about to rake someone over the coals because they messed up. If we punished people for messing up, Id be locked away in a cell.

But the food, Alise started, trailing off.

You gave the job to someone else because you were busy, Theo said. Remember that if the work you assigned falls to you, it ultimately falls to me. Lets dust our hands off and think about those refugees. You and Gwyn have a better system now. We fail, we learn, we move on. Thats it.

Alise sat there for some time. After a time, they both stood. She had her eyes locked on the floor, but approached and pulled Theo into a hug. He placed his hand on her back and waited for her to stop, but she didnt. They just stood there for a long while, letting whatever fear and anxiety she had built up over the weeks fade away with a hug.