Chapter 50: Council Meeting, Pt. 3

  Having finished the vote, Theo next input the two specialisations. The others had assured Theo that the primary and secondary specialisations had no impact on the bonuses themselves. It was simply the order that the building provided them. A simpler building provided only a primary bonus, whilst a higher tier of building—which was far from Sigil Lake’s current capabilities to raise—could provide a tertiary bonus. Rumours spoke of a legendary fourth bonus that the queen’s palace provided, but that was nothing but hearsay.

  Theo selected trading, then brewing, before noticing that the building was no longer unnamed, as it had been when first completed. While Wen had called it the Barge, from her father’s old tavern, its new name also reflected its new location, Theo thought; The Sigilist’s Barge.

  He confirmed the two specialisations and waited for his system to react to the changes in his surroundings. He didn’t have to wait long.

  You have been affected by Town Trade.

  Town Trade: Trades in Sigil Lake that include only Sigil Lake trade goods are valued 15% higher.

  Town Notification System

  Specialisations have been selected for The Sigilist’s Barge:

  Primary specialisation: Trading

  Secondary specialisation: Brewing

  The Sigilist’s Barge:

  Primary bonus: Town Trade: Trades in Sigil Lake that include only Sigil Lake trade goods are valued 15% higher. Affects Sigil Lake.

  Secondary bonus: More Vatage: Vats, barrels, tanks, and other liquid containers can store 25% more liquid. Affects a small area outside the building.

  A town-wide buff to trading was nothing but excellent news, but Theo was more interested in More Vatage, the bonus from the brewing specialisation. It broke the laws of physics as he knew them, and he reckoned he knew more about them than his friends did. This world didn’t completely abide by them, though, which he also knew. They were more like directions for the world to follow, though it could take its own shortcuts if it wanted to. This was nothing if not a shortcut, but Theo approved.

  “Perfect! Both of them!” Wen exclaimed. The others sharing part of Theo’s system agreed, but the others only felt a change they couldn’t put into words. Rather than explaining, Theo found The Sigilist’s Barge in the council chamber’s book menu, which was visible for all. He then selected it and showed them the details of the building in a more graphic manner than even he had seen it.

  “You don’t mind sharing this with us and the other villagers?” Bella asked.

  “I don’t see a reason to—provided everyone feels this place is where they belong and will strive to improve it—we have nothing to hide,” Theo said.

  “An impressive outlook,” Hank said.

  His wife seemed to agree as she said, “It might bite you in the ass someday, but I don’t think anyone living here right now would do any harm.”

  “Will people usually do something bad if they have knowledge of what goes on around them?” asked the sigilist.

  “Most people won’t,” Julie said. “But one is enough.”

  “What can they even do with the knowledge of these bonuses?”

  “The first example I can think of that’s a direct crime is to stuff a container with twenty-five per cent more explosives,” the Lumberlord said. “Maybe wreak havoc on the economy. Bonuses like this can be dangerous. Do you know what will happen to a tank if it’s removed from the area of effect?”

  “Okay, so bad actors can find a way to game the system—that will be the case no matter what.”

  “I agree,” Julie smiled. “So, I appreciate the openness. I think we all do. Just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing.”

  “When it seems like any of us knows what we’re doing, please let me know so I can assure you otherwise,” Theo said, and returned the smile.

  “With that though, I think the next thing on the agenda is a proper plan for the future. Buildings, people, goals, the whole shebang. Where does this go? Where will everyone sleep? What do we do to make the economy go around?”

  “How much coin do we have left?” Wen asked.

  Theo checked before placing the pouch containing the entire monetary wealth of Sigil Lake on the table.

  “Five-hundred and sixty-six.”

  “This time, things won’t come as cheap as last time, I fear. We should take another look at the people who approve a fresh start to save some coin. We found all these skilled people on that list earlier, after all.”

  Theo agreed. He had sneaked a peek at the list a week ago, to see if anyone with any magic affinity skills were on there. He had no such luck then, but just in case, he checked again, using the same filters. As his town wasn’t a Fresh Start Town, he also had to set that filter on the applicant list. He received a warning, one he relayed to Wen, Willam, and the rest of the room.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Applicant filters active: Fresh Start + Skill Level Two (Earth Affinity / Water Affinity / Wind Affinity / Fire Affinity / Dark Affinity / Light Affinity)

  Attention: Recruitment under false pretences is impossible, and any attempt to do so will end in swift punishment. Sigil Lake raised its Town-Central Building 0 days ago and may recruit applicants with the Fresh Start keyword for 0 more days. Rules are rules, but see if the Town Management Book is as lenient as I am.

  Wen was quick to snatch the book from in front of Theo, and she fiddled with it so fast she seemed an expert. The Fresh Start filter was gone.

  “I should’ve expected,” she said, grimacing.

  “Well, at least the system is more radical and open to cheating, I guess. Works in our favour?”

  “Why would your system play by different rules than the world’s own rules?” the hostess asked.

  “Well, Arcana gave it to me, so…I guess she’s become nicer?” Theo didn’t quite believe it himself—it was just cheating. Arcana was cheating her own rules. What kind of crazy person would do that? For that was what she was—just a person—before she became a goddess, that is.

  “Right…The Lady works in mysterious ways, I guess.”

  With the warning gone, Theo looked back at his personal system’s applicant list, feeling blessed for getting the Fresh Start opportunity for the rest of the day. His eyes widened as an applicant showed up.

  #76 Sherblanc

  His bio stated Sherblanc had worked as an investigator in Ercheat, before a failed case had dishonoured him. He had since worked as an occult private eye in a location called Baluhi. Theo had never heard of it. The odd thing, occult private eye notwithstanding, was that magic wasn’t mentioned. Theo could see that the applicant filter triggered based on Sherblanc’s Level Two or higher dark affinity, earth affinity, and water affinity.

  “What’s a ‘private eye’?” Willam asked.

  “Private investigator,” Theo said. Then, he doubted himself. “Right?”

  Wen giggled, looking through his doubts. “Yes. I don’t know how great a match he is for you or the town, but it’s a risk we can take. Odd that we found him here if he’s situated in Baluhi, though. That’s too far away.”

  “Where is that?”

  “It’s a coastal city, its territory spread out to several small isles off the coast. Picture tropical sun and heat, sandy beaches, and fruity drinks, and you’re picturing Baluhi.”

  “Sounds nice. Do you think his magic deals in the occult?”

  “Wouldn’t know where to draw the line, to be honest. All magic is occultism in my mind.”

  “Touché. How many sleeping spots do we have now that the Barge is completed?”

  Wen counted on her fingers. She had more to do with the planning of the layout, and Theo was certain the builders would know, considering they built the thing.

  “Twelve rooms, twenty-four beds. Enough floor-space for one more in an emergency. No bedding,” Hank stated matter-of-factly.

  “Right. Mattresses and all that,” Wen said with a nod, having come to the same conclusion. “We should recruit and plan the sleeping arrangements and future buildings all at once. More people mean more beds, which means more housing, which means more work. How fast can each of those plotted houses be built?”

  “Without any other projects and no waiting around for lumber or equipment? Two full days per house.”

  “Unfurnished,” Hank’s wife added.

  “Meaning, no beds. A crafter can take care of those, right?”

  “Probably better than we can,” Hank chuckled. “We raise buildings for a living, not furniture. We knew what we signed up for, though.”

  “Do we have a list of people we need and the priority of recruiting them? We already have twelve people who all deserve better sleeping arrangements than we’ve had these two weeks,” Theo said. He knew that a magic tutor wasn’t the highest of priorities right now.

  “I agree that the barracks have outstayed their welcome,” agreed one builder who built them.

  “The most important people we’ll need are a trader or two. No matter what we’ll need, we need the currency to buy it and someone to bring it back here. We’re running out of nails. We need duvets and pillows or blankets at a minimum—someone to craft them would be preferable, but then we’d need materials, be it animals or plants—not to mention food, spices and whatever else. Along with traders, we’ll need wagons,” Wen said. “But then with wagons they can bring more stuff along with them. They’ll be the most expensive recruitment but also the most beneficial in the long run.”

  “I agree,” Grace said, dismissing the stares that earned her. “I can agree with Wen,” she added.

  “Wow, this feels weird,” said the brewer.

  “What else do we need? A crafter? Do we need more builders?” asked Theo.

  “The two of us should be enough, provided a crafter takes care of the smaller projects everyone needs. Unless you’re all looking to expand faster,” Bella said.

  “We’ll need another farmer soon so we can start the third field, maybe start tending animals. That will require a farmhouse at the least,” Willam said.

  “And a cook, considering the number of people we’re reaching,” said Wen.

  “Preferably a miner,” added Hank. “Stone and metal will be necessary for most advanced buildings, this included.”

  “This’ll be a long day,” Theo sighed.

  Time went on, and the council and its guests soon needed a well-deserved recess. Fresh air did them all good, but not long after they went back in for another session. By the end, they had decided a list of roles that needed to be filled and what priority each had, where priority one was the highest—this was where the traders were—and priority three was at the bottom, only to be recruited right now if they had the space and funds for it.

  Also, following the same structure, they had created a list of materials and tools, along with the list of roles. Wagons and bedding reigned at the top, followed by brewing equipment for Wen. The rest of the list followed the recruitment list; a crafter would need crafting tools, animals only if another farmer was recruited, and spices and cooking utensils for an eventual cook.

  The last second priority role to fill besides farmer, crafter, and cook was a miner. Third priority roles were, among others, a smith for metalworking—great to have, but without raw materials and the means to build a smithy, a smith wasn’t too important right now. Importing metal would be expensive as well.

  A dungeoneer could double the yield of abbles, provided they could solo the dungeon like Grace did, though that was not a given they could do. Few dungeoneers powerful enough to solo even a young dungeon stayed in one place too long.

  Of the same priority were also a keeper and a magic tutor. A keeper’s job was to maintain cleanliness and order—a secondary job in a place where survival was most important, but with another influx of people and visitors, it was better to keep things clean. It would also serve well for morale. As for the tutor, Theo was hoping for a better match as Sherblanc only had Level Two skills in a few of the elemental affinities, but his background fit for a peacekeeper, if worst came to worst. There were likely better options for policing if required, but Sigil Lake didn’t have any crime…yet.

  With the list finished and worked through, having received everyone’s agreement, it was time to recruit more villagers.