Dark omega shadow puppet.., p.12
Dark Omega: Shadow Puppets, page 12
It is plenty, but I always like to have information, so I can make the best decisions. If there is another thing that I can do to protect you and this nation, please let me know.
Thank you, Nerene.
Of course, Keeper. I sense you have much you wish to do. I will be here for millennia. Go and deal with those pressing things. We can talk when more when you have time.
Carn was excited about the new quests, but he did have a lot to do. Lina and Sevelle had already transported back with Vect using the fairy ring. The three of them made their way to the palace to find Senwick.
Blossom and he were getting acquainted, but they stopped discussing as he entered. He reiterated his expectations for Blossom’s role and then explained the Razz Cola deal.
“That is very exciting,” Senwick said. “We will need to recruit some researchers and repair the academy to develop the blueprints they send over. I will put that into the queue. Our first priority right now is repairing the residential buildings that were damaged in the attack.”
“Finally, an auction house,” Sevelle said with a moan. “I have all this money and no way to spend it.”
“It seems like a good deal, even if it is a little weird.”
“We can use the help,” Lina added. “Grovehaven is nice, but it has a long way to go before it is like the other major cities.”
Carn sighed. “My biggest worry is about the damage clauses. They expect us to keep the factory safe from damage. It will take a while for them to construct it, but our city is far from safe, as the recent attack proved. I can’t afford to pay damages in real life for in-game threats.”
“I guess guild recruiting needs to be our priority. Maybe there is a way to find peace with the goblins. We could send someone there to talk with them,” Lina suggested.
“That’s a good idea. We need a lot more information. For one, we need to figure out where these cities are. We also need to know their motivations for attacking us. It could be a carryover from the shadow avatar, or it could be something bigger. We have other players attacking us, and they may be part of something larger.”
“Why don’t we assemble a group of goblins to investigate?” Sevelle said with a shrug.
“Vect, could you assemble a team to gather this intel?” Carn asked.
Vect was a young goblin general who stood tall and proud despite his small stature. He was wiry and agile, with sharp, pointed ears and a keen glint in his eye. His skin was a deep green color, and he was dressed in his usual armor, but now it was adorned with spikes and other fearsome embellishments.
Vect was already playing his part well. During the meeting, Vect stood at attention, his eyes fixed on his ruler. Despite the reputation he was building with his men as an exacting general, Vect was respectful and deferential to his king, bowing his head in acknowledgment whenever he spoke. Vect was intensely loyal to Carn for saving him and was eager to do whatever he could to serve and protect him. As the meeting went on, Vect listened attentively, his mind racing as he considered the various options and strategies being discussed. He was a cunning and strategic thinker, always ready to devise a plan to outmaneuver his enemies. “Of course. I’ll get right on it once I am back at the command center. I am bringing back a large force of goblins to aid in the city's defense. I want to get the guard rotations set up here first, and then I will help you with the raid.”
“Thank you, Vect. We will ramp up guild recruitment even further now. Senwick, concentrate on building up our industries. The mother tree has increased in level, and I allocated points so that new fairies will be at level 20. Go ahead and recruit as needed, but please leave a reserve of at least 10,000 points. In addition to the fairy rings Blossom will be establishing, I will be placing them whenever Alpha team claims a new location or when I deem a location strategically important. For this reason, I need to have enough points to place those whenever necessary. How are the construction efforts?”
“The work teams completed the construction yard, warehouse, barracks, four farms, and two orchards. This has significantly improved our productivity. We exhausted the existing housing with the influx of goblins, so the housing situation is particularly dire at the moment. We have several teams fixing up more in addition to the teams repairing the battle damage. Still, other teams are working on the forge, sawmill, and palace. We need a lot more residences with all the people who have been coming in. Right now, many live in broken-down houses, so morale is low, which directly impacts productivity. We will also need more food.”
How much of an impact is the low morale having?” Carn asked.
Senwick checked his interface, and Carn realized he could’ve done the same. “Right now, we suffer a 20% productivity penalty due to the housing shortage.”
“That is quite significant. How long will it take to fix up enough housing?”
“We have the manpower, but we are having difficulty felling enough trees and quarrying stone and transporting it to the sites, even with the help of the ants. Many of the new immigrants to the city have higher-level skills. They can work in these roles but receive no bonuses unless they are properly equipped, which we need the forge for. We make do, but it will probably take a week to complete enough houses, and we are almost out of materials.”
“The goblin army used tents from hides in the field,” Vect commented, “and I know a few soldiers with basic crafting skills that should be sufficient for making tents. It’s not much, but better than sleeping on the ground.”
“Excellent idea. Please have them start right away. I’ll message the guild and ask that any spare hides be brought here. Senwick, could you find a place for them to store the hides until they are used?”
“Of course. The tents might hold off the worst of the morale impact until we can fix up enough housing.”
"Is the guild finishing the quests you’ve been handing out?” Sevelle asked.
“The iron mine was cleared by a team called the wolf pack. They immediately moved on to clear another mine after they turned in the first quest. A few other quests are still in progress, but I am pleased with the progress. The main thing we are lacking is workers to harvest the materials.”
It was clear that Senwick had assigned everyone jobs and kept the town running as efficiently as possible. They were just low on resources. This would only worsen once they started work on the auction house and factory for Razz Cola. The solution, however, could be on its way to the city now.
Chain Quest: Building an Empire (1) Completed
You have raised your population above 500. Current population 880.
Reward: +2 levels to the administration skill, +200 fame
New Chain Quest: Building an Empire (2)
You now have a population of over 500. The next step is to construct basic resource processing buildings.
Difficulty: Moderate
Success Condition: Build one of each of the following: Sawmill, Warehouse, Blacksmith, and Granary.
Fail Condition: None
Reward: +2 levels to the administration skill, +200 fame
“Senwick. I may have a solution. In addition to the fairy rings, the red ant queen has been extremely generous. There are 450 workers on their way to Dhardix. Once they arrive, we can transport them here via fairy ring.”
Carn had requested the ants to work on his raft idea, but now he needed to scrap that idea. He needed to ensure the city was defended. Plus, the fairy rings may be the key to transporting his army if he really needed to, but he doubted the wisdom of bringing an army to the goblin cities.
“Four hundred and…” Senwick was so surprised he stopped mid-sentence. Carn could see him doing calculations in his head. “Sire, this will more than cover our needs. The fairy rings will cover our logistical issues, and the ants should be able to harvest what we need. We will have a great surplus of basic materials once the resources are cleared of threats, and then we will be able to develop more advanced resources.”
“What do you mean by more advanced resources?” Lina asked.
Senwick walked back and forth with his arms folded behind him. “Wood, stone, sand, copper, and iron are basic building materials. These are all available in abundance nearby. However, other resources are needed for advanced buildings and crafting, such as crystals, aluminum, basalt, pixie dust, and sulfur, as well as precious resources such as gold, silver, or precious stones.”
“I see,” Lina said. “So, the ants could help harvest these too, once we find sources of them, correct?”
“Yes. Once those areas are cleared, we can build resource collection facilities at each.”
Carn smiled. “Summon what you need to make the city productive.”
“Yes, sire. There is one other thing to report. One of the guild groups, the Tombstones, was completely wiped out by a rival player group in the forest. They reported that the enemy players were significantly higher level than them. They now focus on quests instead of exploration until they level up a bit higher. Some of the guild members donated extra equipment to them to replace what they lost.”
“I’ll need to figure out how to deal with the enemy player groups. I have some ideas, but I’m unsure which one will pan out. Was there anything else?”
“Yes. Celestine has been looking for you. She took over an office two doors down from the throne room.”
“Great. We will head there now to see if she’s in.”
Vect figited with anticipation. “I have much to do, so I will leave now if that is alright. I will join you at the fairy ring for the raid. When do you want to leave?”
Carn smiled with appreciation for his loyalty and eagerness to serve. “Of course. Good success, Vect. Orca is less than an hour away, so let’s plan to leave in an hour. We can transport back to Dhardix and resume our hunt for the rogue gnolls.”
“I will see you there along with some of our best troops.”
Carn flew through the throne room, admiring its impressive appearance despite being dirty and full of leaves. Carn wondered how spectacular it would look when the palace repairs were finished.
***
Celestine was in her office when they arrived. She was a striking figure, with long, light pink hair that flowed down her back like a river of rose petals. She had piercing green eyes that seemed to see right through you, and her sharp, angular features gave her a serious and stern appearance.
Celestine was middle-aged, but she carried herself with the poise and grace of a much younger elf. She wore a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, giving her the bearing of an attorney or a strict librarian, which made sense since she was an attorney in real life.
Despite her no-nonsense demeanor, Celestine had a kind and generous heart. She was impeccably dressed, her hair neatly styled and her clothing spotlessly clean and pressed. Ah, the wonders of living in a magic society. She carried herself with confidence and dignity and commanded respect from those around her.
A large dark wood desk sat in the middle of the office, and tasteful artwork adorned the walls. There was a table with four chairs on one side and a red loveseat on the back side of the wall next to a mostly empty bookshelf.
“Hello, Celestine,” Carn remarked, extending his hand to her.
The two shook hands, and Carn introduced Lina and Sevelle before flying to the couch to lounge. Given his short stature, it felt good to put a little distance between the tall elf and himself.
“It is nice to meet you,” Celestine said with a genuine smile. “Todd has told me quite a bit about you, and he gave me plenty of warnings before I joined up. From his description, I expected to see something like Hiroshima after the bomb, but this city doesn’t look half bad.”
“We are delighted to have you on board. I was quite nervous about recruiting here without someone experienced to head it up. How’s it going so far?”
“We have a lot of interest in the guild. I’ve been getting players organized into teams, and then I give them a trial run with one or two members from our existing teams to see how they do. Based on that feedback and my own interviews and background checks, I then decide, and we work out the best place for them in the guild. We have three new teams so far in addition to the two you already had here in the city, and I will be ramping up more over the next few days. Senwick assigned me several fairies to do some of the basics so that I could concentrate on the more detailed work. I’ve been putting together standard operating procedures for them to follow.”
“Sounds like we are in good hands. Is there anything I can do for you?”
Celestine shrugged. “I am just working through the guild membership requests. We still have more requests than we can handle right now.”
“You can have whatever you need. We are going to need more members for this war. However, don’t skimp on the background checks. I don’t want to get any bad actors in here as we recruit. By the way,” Carn said, handing her a wand. “This might help in your efforts.”
Truth-seeking Wand
While holding this wand, you can detect any lie told to you. Will not detect lies of omission nor lies said unknowingly. Grants +10 to perception.
“Yes. That will do nicely. Thank you. Well, I am glad we could meet, but I have an interview coming up. I’ll message you if I need anything.”
“Alright. Keep up the good work.”
Carn left the office and then flew at top speed to the academy. The three of them spent the next forty minutes organizing the books, but they didn’t find anything on gravity magic. There were some books on magical theory and another on mana, so he set those aside for later reading. He really needed someone to organize all the materials here. Orca should’ve already arrived, so he grudgingly left the search for another day.
Chapter 12 – The Ant Whisperer
Carn rode astride Orca. Orca was an impressive sight to behold, approximately the size of a rhinoceros. She had a sleek, glossy exoskeleton that shimmered in the sunlight, and her wings were large and powerful, capable of lifting her into the air easily. Her antennae were long and delicate, constantly moving and sensing her surroundings.
Her head was triangular in shape, with large mandibles that she used to grasp and carry prey. She had six legs, each one ending in sharp claws that she used to dig and defend her colony. Overall, Orca was an imposing and formidable ant, with a solid and muscular body that spoke of her strength and determination.
They had returned to Dhardix to resume their hunt for the rogue gnolls and had been in transit through the forest for about an hour. Vect had a group of his best, and Carn brought two of the new fairy squads. The fairies were scouting from the air as the rest traveled on the ground. Traveling as a group was fun for the first ten minutes, but then it grew tiresome.
Lina brought her alate closer to him and called over. “I’ve been thinking about the Razz Cola deal. We need another income stream in addition to the factory so that we can keep growing the city. Fixing and securing the city is going to cost a lot. Maybe we can think of something to produce with those factory schematics. Something no one else has here in this world yet. We could build our own factory and start selling whatever it is we come up with.”
“Ants. We could sell ants,” Sevelle said, patting her alate on the rump. “This baby would sell for enough to buy some nice boots.”
Carn knew she was joking, but Yolanda was his friend, and her joke felt too much like slavery. “Don’t joke like that. These ants will never be for sale. They are our friends, not our property,” he said sternly.
“Woah. Lighten up. I know the queen is intelligent, but most of these are just drones following simple commands.”
“No. I’m serious about this,” Carn said, staring her down. “We will treat all the ants with respect, from drone to queen. Besides, these alates are an offshoot of the queen. I think they are more intelligent than average. I’d prove it to you if only I could understand them.”
Carn’s eyes widened as a thought suddenly came to him. “Orca, what is your top speed at maximum stamina consumption?”
Lina and Sevelle both gave him queer looks, then Sevelle shook her head and rolled her eyes.
Click, click, click, click. The gaps between the clicks and the length of each click varied. Carn continued to concentrate on the clicks.
“…depending on which unit of measurement you use.”
“Wait! Orca. Please say that again.”
“I can move 242.19 feet per second if I use maximum stamina, but that will deplete my stamina in 6.2 seconds. My normal cruising speed is 178.24 feet per second.”
That comes to a little over 120 miles per hour if you do the math, Sparky added.
Thanks, Sparky. Do you realize what just happened? We spoke ant!
“You won’t believe this, but I just understood Orca. My ambassador’s ring translated it for me.”
“Thank you for bearing with me for so long, Orca. I didn’t know how to communicate with you until now,” Carn said, but Sevelle and Lina only heard a series of clicks.
The two of them went back and forth for quite some time in the strange language. Lina and Sevelle ignored it and talked to Vect instead. Vect was a poor conversationalist, as most of his concentration was closely monitoring the troops, terrain, and other things, while keeping the entire group organized. Carn had done the right thing by picking him to lead the army. He clearly showed skill at it, but the operational tasks had not yet become a habit.
Carn and Orca finally finished their conversation, and Carn announced that they were a few minutes away from the gnoll mages. Orca could smell them ahead. They flew low to join with the rest of the group, and then Carn told Lina and Sevelle about the messages he had exchanged with Ruepathian.
Lina watched Carn and felt her respect and admiration for him to grow. “You were very kind to reach out to him after he spread lies about you on the forums and VidFeed. That shows a lot of character. It’s too bad he couldn’t get over his anger,” Lina said.
