got two chapters edited. 15 to follow in a second and then back to writing Soldier Seraphim 588 (has 300 words at the moment)

Chapter 14: Preparing

I opened the NPC auction window with anticipation. I selected a master enchanter that fit my needs. She was a sun elf with mastery over all three enchanting skills. I didn’t hesitate as I hit the bid button. A message popped up.

You do not currently have the minimum bid for this NPC. 1 platinum coin is needed.

What? Crap. I had one platinum coin. I checked, and nope, I didn’t have any coins. I had given them all to Elice for the town coffers. I walked over to the store and withdrew one platinum and one gold. I placed them in my bag and bid one platinum on the enchanter. With the gold, I could bid on one expert.

So, what did I need most? Galana wanted potions, so I needed an alchemist. There were many expert alchemists. I could choose pretty much any race. I limited my selection to just sanguine temperament again and then found a female elementalkin with the earth subrace in the list. She was also an expert in nature magic and herbalism. Guess I was playing matchmaker for Sanso today. I hit submit for the bid.

It was late, and I had just spent a few hours searching the NPC auction. I stretched and went outside just as Jaesmin was coming down the path. I smiled at her, and she returned it. “I will have dinner for you in an hour.”

“Excellent! Looking forward to it!” I headed off for the inn. One more round of casting today should complete the lower basement floor.

I looked down into the pit at the site and saw a massive boar trapped. It looked like it had fallen in and the walls were too steep. It was aggressively pacing and obviously didn’t know how to climb. I saw Simba on the far side of the hole. He was staring at the boar and I walked over to find out what this was about. “Bit more than I could chew. I led the beast here into the hole, and now it is trapped. Guess you will steal my kill now,” he said bitterly. I analyzed the boar.

Shiverwood Forest Boar, Level ??, Health ??, Experience ??, Attack ??, Defense ??

“What? Were you going to use it for a scratching post? How did you get it across the river anyway?” I asked as I walked over to the cat. The massive boar focused on me after I analyzed it.

“It was on the far bank, and I cast a few entangling vines on it to entice it to swim across. I was hoping the vines would tangle it and drown the beast. When that didn’t work, I led it here,” Simba grumbled.

“Well, it is almost dark, so Galana should be back. No point in angering the beast just to have it get out and wreak havoc on the town.” I could already see Galana’s large form coming from the west with the day’s hunters as if on divine summons. I waved to her to come. It took her a little while to cover the quarter mile. On seeing the boar, she raised her eyebrows at me. I just pointed at the tiny. “He did it,” I said accusingly. Simba started to purr loudly and proudly.

“Best to kill it quickly. Well, we can get some good experience for the town guards. I will go fetch them,” Galana determined. Once we had fourteen of us surrounding the pit, we all opened fire. The boar raged from numerous arrow strikes, trying to escape, smashing the wooden ladder I used to get down in the pit.

After a few volleys, it fell dead. Simba’s tail twitched irritably as his kill was stolen. I was able to summon two slabs in the shape of stairs to lead into the pit. Galana had one of the militia harvest the boar. I finished expending my magic on slabs to complete the floor. I then returned home with Simba in tow.

Simba spoke as we walked, “I need a more powerful spell. My nature skill is at 13. So, a tier 7 spell would be best.” I raised my eyebrow at the kitten. The little fluffball was becoming dangerous.

“Well, excellent work getting your magic skill so high in a short time. I have recruited a mage with nature magic. When she arrives, she can teach you all the spells you want.”

Simba’s tail changed to excitement. “About time,” he said and dashed off after a squirrel.

Shaking my head, I went back to my house and decided to take a nap. A roast with potatoes was on the table, with Jaesmin beaming happily at me. I ate quickly to get my satiety bar to maximum and went upstairs. When I got into bed, I found Jaesmin had followed me, pausing in the doorway. She had changed into her sexy negligee. I admired her athletic figure, my lust stirring. With a focused will, I got up. “Sorry, I forgot you sleep in this room.” As I passed her, she looked disappointed but didn’t say anything.

After a few hours of sleep in the smaller second bedroom, I woke up and went to my drafting table. As I worked on drafting the library, I thought about my goals for the coming day. Should I hunt or work on the inn? My experience bar was bringing me closer to level 11, and with a good hunt today, I could get there.

The inn was important because I thought that if I could finish before the next auction ended, I could raise the village’s quality enough for another NPC bidding slot and bring in more expert NPCs. However, I had no wood after the foundation was done. I guessed hunting it was, but I would expend my accrued magic pool on slabs on the way to the tower.

I had finished using all my magic pool and was walking through town toward the tower. I ran into Sanso in town on the way. “I finished petrifying all the wooden buildings in town. They have more durability and will not burn,” he said amicably.

“That is amazing! We should build the second guard tower by the river. Overlooking the docks.” I said to the earth mage. After Simba’s stunt, I thought a tower would increase the safe area and push back the animals.

“Understood. Do you have any specifications?” the earth mage asked patiently.

“Uh, yeah. I will get those to you tomorrow. I want something big enough to shelter everyone in town who can’t fight and high enough to watch the river and the forest,” I replied as plans started to settle in my head. Sanso had zero building skills so plans were needed and I would still need to supervise.

“What else do you need of me today?” Sanso asked.

“You are free to do whatever you want the rest of the day,” I immediately replied. He was already working well past his required hours, and I appreciated the NPC’s willingness. Sanso nodded and headed for the general store. I headed to the completed guard tower.

At the west tower overlooking the plains, I found 14 militia and Galana drilling. That meant only four guards were in town. It was getting close to the time the orcs could be mounting an attack. The earthen wall was coming along, but it would not make a difference. It would help eventually, but not for this attack. I talked with Galana as the militia drilled and analyzed each one.

I was very disappointed their progress was so slow but needed to remember they had only been under Galana’s wing for a short time. Ten were level 9, two were level 8, and two were level 7. I wondered if NPCs got anything for reaching level 10. I opened the wiki, and finding the information took a few minutes. NPCs could only learn five total skills up to level 9, and at every level that was a multiple of 10, they could learn another skill. I turned to Galana, “How many skills do you have?”

“Eleven, Lord Tallis,” she answered. Did that mean she was between levels 60 and 69? I suppose she could be even higher. Would it be rude to ask? “I am going to grab some quills, don’t range too far with the militia,” Galana said, leaving me before I got the courage to ask her level.

I decided to take the four lowest-level militias and two level-9s. I created a route that would hit nine pride masters and go out to the buffalo plains area since the hides were better quality for Currean. The day became repetitive until we reached the first buffalo. They were huge at around seven feet in height and two thousand pounds. We picked one of the smaller ones to start. It fell quickly with seven of us, but our attack drew a larger one. I went into melee to hold its attention while the others whittled its health down. I found the beast could barely hurt me with my new armor.

When it fell, I found the exp gain was good. “Okay everyone, the new plan was to harvest buffalo! When our bags are full, we will return.” I leveled three hours into the grind. I put two points into intelligence and four into magic. For my skill points, I put one into masonry and woodcraft.

We maxed out our carrying capacity from harvesting the buffalo and everyone was in high spirits as they had gained a level. We harvested over 80 buffalo and my storage was packed! The herd just milled about as we had plucked one or two at a time. It was easy experience for our low levels.

It was twilight when we got back to the tower. I had the militia deliver the hides and meat and went home. Jaesmin was reading a book, and I had to do a double-take. “What are you reading?” I asked, confused. I had never seen her or any other NPC read.

“It is a story of a king with many wives, yet he favors none. One conspired against the others to have the king all to herself and caused turmoil in his household,” she said. So it was a trashy romance book. I guess even NPC women had their vices. Still, it was the first non-skill book I had seen, and I asked to read it—fore research purposes. It took me less than an hour to read the rubbish. However, my reading skills leveled twice! I guess skill books didn’t count as reading in the game.

While I had read, Jaesmin prepared dinner. Dinner was a burger with veggies. Her cooking skill barely gave any buffs, and I told her she should work on raising it. Jaesmin nodded stiffly and went to do the dishes. I filled my satiety bar and went to my drafting board to complete the river tower. It was the simplest design I could make and took only half the night.

Building Plans Crafted: Uncommon Stone Guard Tower/Barracks, Health 15000, Requires Masonry: Foundations 7, Masonry: Structures 7

I had made the walls extra thick since it would serve as a refuge. It was three stories with no basement to expediate the building process. The first story had a large open kitchen and dining hall and a small secure armory. The second story had room for sleeping bunks for fifty people. The third story was half storage and four large private rooms for officers. There was roof access as well. The tower was fifty feet round with small windows for light on the floors. I knew the summon stone would make this project manageable. Sanso could alter the shape of my stone summoned, and he should be able to build a robust structure with the plans. I hoped Jaesmin could help Sanso because, looking at his home, I knew he had no masonry skills.

I had a few hours before sunrise, so I also made a simple stone schoolhouse. I had decided the grand library was not going to be for the kids.

Building Plans Crafted: Uncommon Stone Schoolhouse, Health 7000, Requires Masonry: Foundations 7, Woodcraft: Carpentry 7

I think my high drafting skills made the buildings uncommon and allowed for lower requirements on skills when building. I definitely wasn’t trying to do anything spectacular. The school was just a two-story building with two large rooms on each floor. Each floor had 30 desks, so the school could accommodate sixty students and four teachers.

The sun came up, and I went to find Sanso. He was walking from his tower into town, and actually looking for me. He had a big smile on his face. “Lord Tallis! I have great news! I found a copper vein under my tower!”

“That is remarkable. What does it mean?” Internally, I was wondering if he was rich or if I was.

“I talked with Elice yesterday for a time. The town is in desperate need of coins. I suggest we make copper coins. Most of the copper vein extends pass my tower’s boundaries, so it is yours,” he added quickly.

“That sounds like a fantastic idea. Do I need to build a mint to stamp the coins?” I inquired.

He shook his head. “I just needed a design for the two sides and can use my metal shaping to make them.” I quickly agree, and I would have to work on the faces of the coin tonight. There were many coin designs, and the coin’s metal composition and size mattered for value.

We went over the two plans, and I told him to have Jaesmin help, as she now has some construction skills. I told Sanso the guard tower was the priority in case the orcs or something from across the river showed up, but he could decide which to start with. Jaesmin joined us after a bit and seemed a bit melancholy this morning.

Sanso quickly cast the entire foundation for the schoolhouse next to the general store and a few walls while Elice was watching him. I think he was trying to impress her, but I was not sure. The entire building was about 20% complete in 30 minutes! I conserved my own magic pool for the inn. When we got to the site of the river tower, I marked it off and left Sanso and Jaesmin.

I worked on the inn by myself, draining my own magic before heading to the plains. It was mid-morning when I arrived. Galana had already returned from her porcupine harvest. She was on one of the black mounts and looked quite imposing. We chatted briefly before I gathered the six lowest-level guards and went to the plains. Our route to the buffalo was more direct than yesterday, and we only harvested six pride masters. I planned to get four more on the return trip. I will say the repeated monotony of grinding was losing its allure and excitement. We knew our prey now, and there was no challenge, and I was mostly watching the slow progress of my experience bar in my interface.

We did find an alpha bull boss, but he wasn’t a challenge for the seven of us, being only level 11. We returned at dusk with our haul, and I left the militia to handle the distribution of the spoils to the crafters and butchers.

Elice found me as I was headed through town. “Lord Tallis, there is a problem,” she said seriously.

From her tone I stopped and scenarios were already playing through my head. “What is it?”

“We have so much cured meat in town that there was nowhere left to put it! Every family had enough meat for two years, and their basement stores are full!” She said in exasperation. “Your produce is selling well, giving your people a varied diet, but people have too much meat!”

“I will take this as good news,” I said. The town now recognized the little wood elementals as a boon. Much of the produce was wild varieties that were hard to raise on farms and difficult to find in the wild. “I will have to think about the meat issue,” I said and went to check out my ‘garden.’

Two of my elementals were at work, and the garden was almost twice the size as before, covering an acre of land. There were even some fruit trees now. I opened my interface and selected a four-acre area for my ‘garden’ and restricted the elementals to cultivating only four acres of it. I marked the new border for a future stone wall.

The third elemental arrived from the woods as I worked the interface with a bright yellow leafy plant. They were tireless workers, each doing the work of three people. I called them all over and gave them a short speech. “I am impressed with your work and the garden's variety. But it is okay if time off, as long as the plants don’t wither in the garden.” They seemed to nod and understand, but when I was finished, they went right back to work. I shrugged and considered the spell a great investment.

Jaesmin had made me a beef stew with buffalo meat tonight. Her cooking was still so-so, and I had to add salt. She told me about her day while I ate. “We returned to the school and Sanso has it half-completed now.” This made me unhappy because the tower was the town’s priority for safety. But I didn’t want to upset the earth mage.

“Can you see about encouraging Sanso to work on the tower?” I asked.

Jaesmin flushed. “I think he has a crush on Elice.” Dammit. I had a new female earthkin coming in the next NPC auction specifically to make Sanso happy. “Sanso did lay out the foundation of the tower, but it is less than five percent complete,” she added tentatively. I groaned.

I went into deep thought, missing what Jaesmin was saying. She stopped talking and started on the dishes. Should I order Sanso to work on the tower over the school? I had given him the choice, but I thought he would deduce the correct decision on his own. In the end I decided it was best not to upset Sanso. I would just be more specific in my orders next time.

I did need to increase our defenses. I would order Galana to train another ten archers tomorrow. Paying a militia was just a few silver a month, and we needed the security. I wished I had done it sooner, but my previous line of thought was that the monetary cost and taking people away from their regular daily activities were detrimental to the town.

After dinner, I went to my drafting table and worked on the library again. As morning approached, I decided on my coin images. One side would have a wolf’s head, and the opposite side would have the silhouette of the library I was drafting. Under the library, I put, “Knowledge has a beginning but no end,” in Latin. Under the wolf’s head, I put, “The strength of the wolf is in the pack,” in Latin. I thought it was a cool design. With the sun, I went to find Galana.

Galana was at the site of the new tower. She was looking confused. “Lord, why do you have so many projects? This new tower is far from the probable point of attack of the orcs.”

“It is to serve as a refuge for the townfolk who are not fighting. Speaking of which, I would like you to train more militia to wield a bow.” I replied.

“I thought the stone mage was making each home secure with his petrification spells? I have twelve bows in inventory, so I can train twelve more militia.” She was still staring at the stone slabs by the docks confused.

“Twelve would be good.” Better than 10 I thought. “Spend the day with the new volunteers.”

“I have twenty-two volunteers, Lord Tallis,” She turned to face me. “Everyone who has an available skill slot and can wield a bow. I was hoping you would have called on them earlier.”

“You should have asked to increase the militia. I would have allowed it,” I said, slightly annoyed.

“It is not my place to question your decisions, and my currency for additional troops had run out. We already have a large military force for the size of this village,” she explained patiently to her inept lord.

“Train all twenty-two then. Have them share a bow while they train until you can make enough.” I walked away. I was feeling stupid. I was used to video games making a simple path to victory possible, but wasn’t using all my resources. I had also been distracted by my compulsion to draft the grand library. I could have drafted dozens of other buildings instead.

I passed Sanso, who was working at the school, and shook my head. I stopped and handed him my drawings for the coin faces. Then, I traveled to the other guard tower. I arrived to find eleven militia there. I put the nine best together and told them to hunt close by today. They were to avoid any combat that would endanger the group. They were also to return with all haste if they spotted the orcs.

This was a huge risk in my mind. If mounted orcs caught them on the open plains, they would be massacred. I added the order they were to remain within 2 miles of the tower. I told the other two militia to remain in the tower and send word for two more guards. Ophelia was due to drop off food soon so she could relay the summons back to the guards resting in the village.

I went to the site of the new tower. I used up my magic on slabs, then worked with my hands until my magic was replenished. About midday, Sanso arrived with news that the schoolhouse was almost complete. Jaesmin was finishing and doing the detailed work. I was not mad at him. I should have changed his orders, but I was not assertive enough. I really liked the NPC too. He smiled as we worked together and talked about the town and Elice in particular. He produced a mushroom-based rice dish from his bag and gave it to me when we stopped for lunch. It reminded me of rice pilaf in taste.

Dark Mushroom Rice Bowl, +42% magic recovery, duration 1 hour

This was an amazing buff, but what I needed were magic potions that didn’t expire quickly like food. When evening struck, Sanso let me know he was headed home for the night. I thanked him and watched him go. Without his magic, Malcum would be struggling. I needed to do everything I could to keep him happy.

I continued to work into the night under torchlight. I could see and hear things in the forest, and it was spooky working in the torchlight. Jaesmin found me with some food and started to help without my asking. I was shocked when she cast a spell that molded an existing rock! I stopped my work and talked with her. “When did you get magic?”

“Sanso taught me earth magic yesterday and stone magic today,” she informed me, hiding a smile at my excitement.

“I didn’t know you had more skill slots. This is great!” I praised her.

Jaesmin smiled, “Oh, I didn’t, but when I became your companion, I got more.”

That made sense. When she became my companion, she opened more skill slots. Wait! Companion? What is a companion?

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