New businesses

New businesses

Year 79 Month 1

Roots, the subterranean network of trees. Through it, I am connected to the tens of thousands of trees within my valley, and beyond.

These roots, they cover vast lands, serving as the forests backbone, carrying information, minerals, essences, and mana. These roots, they go through many kinds of soil, so they pick up the subtle shifts of the mineral composition, and, a feature of my various subsidiary trees, act like little sensors, collecting measurements.

When it rains, when it snows, when the earth shakes a little, when theres a bit of shaking, through [rootnet], the roots and the subsidiary trees all collect data. Data, which my root-brains, Trevor, Dimitree, and Ivy feed on. Vibrations, humidity, magic. Together, all these sensors form a vast array, and so, we can now triangulate the sources of tremors, and unusual magics, to determine direction.

Some trees in the distance would feel it first, a tug, a pull. Then later more trees pick up on the tremor.

An earthquake. A minor one. Even the volcano gives out little warning signs, the small tremors before it starts to erupt, when some part of the volcano starts to spit out lava. This ability could have saved more beetles, if we had it a bit earlier.

Its Trevors newest skill addition.

[Tree-iangulation]

Crunching all the data, to tell me whats happening in a distant location, without having to actually be there.

If we had magic sensors Alexis is about to start with her usual marketing of magic labs.

Lets start material labs first. I understand thats a prerequisite to the development of magic labs?

Ah.. erm.. Yes. We would need to have the ability to analyse materials, and develop mana-sensitive materials, then only magical labs.

So lets do it. What do I need to get to material labs? Once we have that Id like to analyse that dismantled airship, again.

What? Really?

Yes. Ive decided to get magic sensors. I imagine that would be very useful if we had another case of that super-blizzard.

Alexis nods, Ah yes. So, material research first?

Yes. Get to it.

Sure. Alexis looks awkward, she floats around, a part of her happy, yet a part of her quite confused. ...What made you change your mind?

Was I changing my mind? I thought I just wanted more time to mull over whether thats the right direction for us.

Alexis seems like she is about to bark some kind of retort, before she seems to realise ...do tree spirits normally take so long to think?

Hmmm. No?

Well, it makes sense, that is a common kind of myth associated with tree-people that they tend to be sluggish and take forever to decide. Alexis is talking to herself now. "It's like that council of trees in LoTR. Took them forever to decide, didn't they."

Huh. Is she complaining that I took too long to decide? But at least I did decide, no?

Ah never mind. Starting material testing and tree-lab varieties.

Eye-Tree Stage I research option unlocked - 2 months remainingBeetle - anti-magma armors stage 2 - completedBeetle - anti-magma armors stage 3 - 3 months remainingTree - volcanic adaptation stage 3 - 2 months remainingRoots - Volcanic mineral harvesting - stage 1 - completedRoots - Volcanic mineral harvesting - stage 2 - completedRoots - Volcanic mineral processing - stage 1 - 5 months remainingMaterials testing - stage 1 - 3 monthsTree-lab varieties - stage 1 - 12 months

Research is taking longer, as earlier predicted. Magic is going to be necessary, and though I have to take precautions on who and what gets access to magic, I'm starting to lean on the side that it's an eventual step I have to take, one way or another, I cannot face the threats this world has with one hand behind my back.

A necessary risk.

I will have a long conversation with both Meela and Alexis, on magic, on the sorts of magic I will give them access too, though with Meela, I have less ability to control her. My hope is, they would be able to give some contribution to the defense against the next demon king, as they have more experience in magic as heroes.

Meanwhile, New Freekas having a small boom in terms of growth. The era of peace, and the reputation of stable, secure food supplies attracts more refugees, even from the other nations, not just Salah. A busy time for the council of New Freeka, and theyve been hard at work, to expand their town premises, prepare new farmlands. More people, more food, more homes, public services need to be expanded. Of course, there's usually a need for refugees to 'buy' their way to 'public' services, such as the right to use some of the new housing.

At the same time, theres been more focus on security and screening, so the NFHC hired some of the laid off soldiers to work as guards. Ivy says some of the councilmen feel a need to bolster their forces, now that they are actively threatened by the presence of the Valtrian order as a competing political power, what more, with Jura and the Valtrian orders secure, legally protected position.

A faction in the council emerged which wants to assert 'independence' from the Orders growing influence, and this faction somehow managed to coerce Yvon, such that she voluntarily resigned from her position as the chairperson of the council. Her position has been tenuous and under scrutiny for some time, as it's an open secret by now, that her soul is contracted to me, and that leads to a whole lot of corridor whispering and rumors about Yvon being 'compromised'.

But to the layperson unfamiliar to the nuances of New Freeka politics, her statement to the public at large sounded voluntary enough.

Im resigning from my post as chairperson of the New Freeka council, with immediate effect. Ive led and held this position since New Freekas founding, and finally, after almost 5 years, I believe this fledgling nation is in safe hands, and I can finally hand the reins over to someone else, and spend time with my son.

How sweet. Spend time with Roma, whos now almost 6 years old.

The pressure to counterbalance Juras growing influence meant the person holding New Freekas chairperson role had to more than independent. In other words, against the Order, against me.

Frankly, its just silly political struggles. A large faction within the councilmen themselves understand this, after all, they know I can crush them. So they are left in this uncomfortable situation where they yearn for to be the ruling group, but acknowledge that without me, they have nothing to rule.

Anyway, silly silly things, these jostling for 'authority', as long as nothing unreasonable happens, Ill let them be. Ivys got all of them monitored, and retaliation wont take much time at all.

Lady Yvon. Jura was one of the few she met after her voluntary withdrawal. I heard the news, frankly, its disappointing, but the Tree Spirit expected it.

She laughs, Hah, well, thats life.

Jura shrugs. So, really, retirement as a mother?

Why, do I not look like I have motherly desires?

Juras turn to laugh, and he takes a small alcoholic beverage and offers it to Yvon. Frankly, no. Youre the warrior-queen type.

Yvon sips on her little drink. Well, to be fair, it has some truth, I admit feeling a little jealous that Romas a lot more attached to Eriz than me. For all these time Ive been trying to get this town in order, Eriz has been more like his mother, more than I ever have. So yes, a bit of it is a desire to make up for what I have failed to do.

"Really? I really didn't see you as the actual mother type, though most of New Freeka regard you as the 'mother' of this city." Jura laughs, he offers his small cup of alcohol and the two cups meet softly. They both take a sip.

"Anyway, my times up. And time management has never been my strong suit. There's never enough time to do right by New Freeka, or by Roma."

Times never enough. It comes with the job. Look at me, or Laufen. Both of us are so busy these days, we only have a bit of time to spend with Lausanne and the kids. I try to make dinner happen, at least we still meet up Lausannes been bugging me for combat practice every time we meet.

Oh yes I have heard a few captains sing praise of her talent. Shes really good for her age. My son's not showing any interest yet, though.

Well, may not be a bad thing. Laufen constantly worries shell injure herself. At least Romas just playing chase, or spending time with wooden toys. I just hope Lausanne doesnt find someone who doesnt know how to hold back and injure herself from practice.

You know, I could offer to spar with Lausanne. Yvon nods. Now that I have free time.

Jura smiles, I would appreciate that. It will be good for her growth, that she fights someone with a different style.

So I take that as a yes?

Yes, yes. Please tell Lausanne youre her new sparring partner.

Yvon nods, Great! Their cups are both empty.

Jura leans forward. Ah, all of you, can you leave? The guards nod to Juras instruction, and so they leave, leaving Jura and Yvon alone in the room.

Huh. Something important?

[Limited to 5, and each lodge must be a distance away from the other nearest lodge]

Uh. Odd, it's the first time a tree skill has a minimum distance requirement. I cant cram all the tree lodges in one place?

Meela, I got the skill. I can make you a tree lodge already. Well, once its fused with Meela, the slot would free up again. Meelas her own person and she doesnt use my tree lodge slot. Its like Alexiss own independent biolab-thing, which is now a weird crazy looking tree with lots of vials, tubes and other contraptions, and strange blobs flowing up and down its side. It's so weird that I have to use beetles to guard it.

Awesome. I had ideas for names again. Want to hear it?

What?

Hotel Treevago. Hey, I know that joke. Do they all come from the same generation? Is there a kind of speed difference in time between this world and ours?

Alexis facepalms. Meela, thats lame. And it sounds kind of wrong. Like a bad reproductive disease.

Meela laughs. I know, its a joke. Im probably going to call it something a bit more proper. Perhaps, the Faraway Home-e.

Thats not much better!

The palms, then? I think theres a luxury hotel by that name, isnt it?

The palms but were not at the beach!

How about the Pinewood?

Oh, okay, the Pinewood sounds better. Alexis puts her spiritual fingers on her chin. She's thinking rather seriously.

"Or the Oakwood. I think that sounds quite classy as a hotel."

"Meela, you sure you want to be a hotel?"

"Hell yeah. Alexis, stops questioning my decisions, I know what I want to do."

"Ah, I know you won't change your mind. Fine, fine. You'll need to hire workers and you will need money. And where can you get it?"

"TreeTree, can I get a loan? You're rich, right? I'll pay you back when I start to make money."

"Okay. 30 gold for now. Consider it my investment."

Alexis smacks her head. "TreeTree, you're being awfully generous."

Great, thanks TreeTree! Lets totally do this. Uh.. but wait. If the soul forge merges me with the [Tree lodge], does that mean I take the position of the current Tree Lodge? Thats not a great location, I would prefer one right in New Freeka!

Ah hmm.... I mentally connect to the soul forge, and then, a little prompt appears. Alexis and the Tree-minds didnt have this issue since they are located right next to me, so after the merging is complete I can just spawn them there. But New Freeka outside the range of the soul forge so I have to use the Carrier Drone.

[Carrier Drone. After a soul is merged with an object, skill or person, it can choose to become a deployable egg. The carrier drone will then carry the egg within it to the desired location, where it will spawn into the merged structure! But beware, the carrier drone is vulnerable, and destruction means death to the cargo as well.]

Once again, the system to the rescue." A little too convenient, but hey, that's life.

And so, I initiate the soul forge. Meelas soul leaves my [soul realm], and into the forge, together with the [Tree Lodge], which melts into a greenish like liquid, and the soul forge then spins the two together. Meela's soul takes the form of a white light, and together with the greenish liquid, it mixes into a mild green light.

Lightning strikes at the branches of the [Forge Tree], making an electrical connection to the heavens above, and it periodical pulses, and the thickness of the lightning increases.

And the spinning within the forge speeds up intensely, as more power and mana are drawn through the roots. Activating a soul forge result in a lot of mana and energy flowing through the roots, especially from the leyline, it feels like having a whole lot of water flowing, spinning around me, like I am stuck in a whirlpool.

Zap! One large lightning strikes the [forge tree], and then, its complete. The merging is done.

A small greenish egg appears from the forge tree, containing a sleeping Meela as a hotel-spirit-tree.

A drone beetle appears, its bodys hard shell open to reveal something resembling a small but very long limb, it lifts up that small egg, the size of a dog (its relative), and places it in a compartment on its body, then the shell closes.

Wow. It even has a little storage space.

I command a dozen beetles to quickly escort the drone to the marked place in New Freeka, a place Meela chose beforehand, where she wanted the hotel to be. It's nighttime, and Jura has already made arrangements for the beetles to enter the town premise. Once the carrier drone arrives safely, the drone beetle starts to dig itself into the ground and it starts to melt?

Its melting? The body of the carrier and the egg liquefies into a greenish goo and it seeps into the ground.

Whoah. Alexis is quite amused by it. "Magic?"

"I.. I think so?" Well, I have no idea. I don't know how the deployment works either.

Its actually an empty plot of land, owned by the Order, and now, a wall starts to appear around that plot of land. The ground starts to expand, actually, inflate upwards, but still entirely covered in earth.

Its still inflating, and the inflating earth starts to take the shape of a cuboid block made of dirt and roots. Its like somebody took a hardened cube of earth filled with roots and placed it where the empty spot once was.

Then suddenly, a sign appears on that large mound of earth, on the frontage that faces the towns streets.

Under construction. Grand Opening in soon!

Meela, you there? Alexis asks, a little worried. Meela's her only friend.

Yes, but Im very busy! Meela replies back, Ill let you know when Im done! I got tonnes of options before this thing opens!

And Meela vanishes, merges into the wooden block, and she didnt speak a word for the rest of the month.

The odd mound of earth, that strangely manages to remain cube-shaped draws a whole lot of curious onlookers, but most people didnt think about it too deeply. Just one of those strange things that happen in a world with magic, oh look at that strange earth-block.. Must be some magical shit happening in the Valtrian Order, again. Compared to trees that spit fire, relatively mild as weird things go.

Shes busy in there." There's some kind of noise come from that wooden block. I think it sounds a bit like construction work, but it's a tree-structure, there would not be actual construction going on. Maybe it's just some kind of sound effect.

Running a hotel isnt going to be easy, and after lazing around for so long, itll take some time before she gets the hang of it. Awww, Alexis is worried. Hey, take your time, alright? Yell if you need help, I'll try to help out."

Meela did not reply. The noise is getting louder.

Alexis sulks. Meela, you're okay, right?"

"She's in there. I can feel it. Just give her space."

"Okay Meela, let me know if you need anything alright."

Meela didnt respond. But I think the message got through, she said it so many times, she's almost nagging.

--

Is it something youre working on, TreeTree? Well, I told Jura to set aside that plot of land for me, but I didnt really tell him what exactly itll be, so now that theres a cube of dirt there, he had to ask.

Sort of. Its going to be a project by Meela.

Meela? Is that the hero? Oh wait, Jura didnt know about Meelas soul. Even when hes in front of Alexiss biolab, all he sees is a glowing blob, and not Alexiss ethereal form. So, hes not spoken to them at all.

Come to think of it, nobody knows about Alexis and Meela's second life as a soul.

Now I hope they don't accidentally expose themselves as former heroes.

Announcement No chapters next week. Taking a break.