Apinsig
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Chapter 134 Homesteading in a fantasy world
🕑 Added 2022-12-22 18:32:11 +0000 UTCI watched as my energy completely consumed the last of the holy power. This was not the way I want things to go but I guess it could have always been worse. I think I was fast enough to stop the ball from connecting to wherever it wanted to connect to but it was a close call. The ball was probably made so the church can portal their way here.
Why must there always be people like that who think because they have been given some power, they can abuse it? I at least know that there are some good people where the priest came from because he did hold back knowing that he will not be able to get away with everything.
It actually made me a bit hopeful that the church that’s working for The Thorne Rose company is just another organization that is trying to do the best for its members and take as much as it can from others. I believe that’s the basic operating policy for any organization on this planet and I don’t think mine would be too much different.
I snapped out of my contemplation and looked up and saw wide eyes all around me. They were all looking at me some with fear some with awe, but everyone seemed to have a newfound respect for me. I let out a mental sigh because I couldn’t do it physically. This was a perfect opportunity to address the people that live under the future rule of whatever we are going to be calling our land.
“Sorry about all of this but there was a security issue that needed to be taken care of,” I said in a loud voice using my commander’s ability so everyone could hear me. “I know that every one of you knows who I am but let me introduce myself once again. My name is Rich Dirt and because of some circumstances I have put together a group of people that will be taking over leadership of this village and surrounding lands.”
There were some murmurs as this was not known to everyone and there were some groups of people that wanted to throw their hat into the ring for leadership, but I think my demonstration remove those inclinations. I waited a bit more but it seems that no one wanted to argue that point so I continued.
“We will be fair leaders but everyone else is also expected to do something for the betterment of our community but that, of course, will be compensated to the best of our ability. If you are worried that your particular set of skills will not be useful, I would like you to know that will never be the case. I personally believe that there's always something that any skills can be useful for so do not be afraid to be open to us.”
“What I do care about is if you are working against this community. And believe me, crimes will be punished heavily. This does not mean physical harm or death sometimes it will just mean banishment. But again I would like to remember that whatever skill set you have it can always be useful. Currently, the leadership doesn't have much to offer but that will change over time, and I will guarantee that you will be glad that you chose to participate.”
“While most of our plans are for the future and not relevant currently I want to assure everyone that there are long-term plans to make everyone's lives here while not easy certainly rewarding and most importantly everything to do with the achievement page will be one of our top priorities. We would like everyone to advance, and we will be sharing as much knowledge as we have so you can all make informed decisions.”
“Myself and everyone else that has currently started to work for the betterment of this community would like to get your help and advice. We have a lot of things to do and the planting season is approaching quickly. We will all be focusing on procuring food and ensuring our safety. While we currently don’t have anything to pay you all the contributions made by everyone will be accounted for and rewarded at the later date.”
“Let’s not just work for ourselves but for the people around us so we can all rise together and make our land a safe and strong place for our children's future.”
There was a moment of silence, and I gave myself a nod. It wasn’t a perfect speech but hopeful it was good enough. But then I started to hear clapping. I looked up and saw that everyone started to clap and some even cheered.
I was a bit confused as I didn’t think it was that good of a speech but then I recognize the look that people had. It was the look of hope. How broken must their past be when so little gave them so much hope?
David came to me and shook my hand. “I hoped you had that in you.” I looked at him confused and he gave a small chuckle and continued.
“You wouldn’t guess how many people I have heard speak as you did between his followers but when the time came to make his beliefs come true they all changed into tyrants expecting everything from their subject. At least you passed the first trial. Let’s hope you continue to impress.”
That came as a bit of a shock to me, but I also couldn’t argue with the statistics as most of the time that did actually happen. A few more came and shook my hand as well but when the clapping started to end.
I announced to everyone that they should get back to their daily activities and that the leadership needed to start the long meeting that will probably take days. I got chuckles out of that from the people who knew bureaucracy but also a few sighs from the people that were going to join those meetings.
Before the first meeting started the business of our defence needed to be addressed. For that, the caravan guards became the village guards and started to patrol the walls.
When my apprentice got back with some of the people that wanted to become adventurers, they were also temporarily put on guard duty as we didn't have enough people to properly secure everything. I also noticed the necromancer hanging back. I gave him a nod so that he knew that I hadn’t forgotten about him.
We were finally able to get inside the village hall and set up a meeting room that was big enough for us all to fit comfortably and for it to have even more room so more people could fit in if needed. David brought up the merit system and how he wanted to implement it.
I had to shut him down and tell him that it was not the correct time for it but to start tracking people’s contributions. I explained to him that I wanted to see how it would function during the next few months and if I was happy with it, we would then be introducing it to the community.
The knight commander then brought up the problem that we didn’t have system-recognized land that we controlled so we couldn’t be recognized as a proper diplomatic entity. I then showed everyone the token that I was given that will allow us to make this village and the surrounding lands into system-recognized land.
Everyone was ecstatic when they heard that and then the problem of a name was brought up. I know that this discussion might take a long time so I asked if the name can be changed later on. After getting an affirmative answer, I then made the executive decision to call the land that we will be claiming. Grass Sea Freehold.
There wasn’t as much bush back as I thought so I was glad that I was able to get us past this hurdle without spending hours arguing. Then I brought up the problem that we needed to start gathering everyone's information and seeing if they are willing to work for the community and if so, we should make a small information packet or a lesson that they can attend where the achievement page information will be given.
It took quite a long time to start sorting out the kind of information we needed and what promises we wanted to get from them if they were willing to work for the community. There was also the problem of how much information we will be giving in return.
We simply didn't have enough resources to give out information on paper and most likely a lot of people didn't even know how to read it. So, a lesson plan was necessary.
It was quite late now so we ended this meeting. I took one of the bedrooms in the village hall so I can stay here for tonight. But before I did that, I located Khris as we had some things to discuss.
Finding him wasn't hard as he was in the inn. I didn’t even have to talk with him just indicate for him to follow me back into the meeting room that was now empty beside me and him.
“Long time no see Khris. I see you decided to stay here and I’m quite glad about that.” I talked with him in a normal tone as I didn’t want to spook him.
“There didn't seem to be any better place for me at least as I understand. It seems that you are quite accepting of people that have certain skills that might be disliked by other places.” His speech was full of pauses as he was thinking about what to say. It will take a long time for him to be able to speak in political talk
“You do not have to play the games with me let's just say things as they are. You have a way to control the undead. Is it just an ability or do you have a class I do not know, and you can keep that to yourself if you want to?” My words seem to freeze the man for a moment but it didn't take long for him to seem a lot more comfortable with the situation, so I continued.
“You might be wondering what I’m looking to get from you, and I will not keep that secret. In the short term, I would like you to join the combat training with other people who want that kind of life. When you are trained enough I would like you to go outside of our lands by yourself or with the team and start rounding up the undead and bringing them towards here.” At first, I saw understanding in his eyes then disbelief and by the end utter confusion.
“You do not have to look so shocked, but I will explain myself. The combat training is pretty obvious. Anyone who would leave would need that and if you don't leave it is always a good idea to learn how to defend yourself. Now the more important part is why I want you to round up undead and bring them here.”
“First of all, it’s not good to have uncontrolled undead that just roam around and get stronger over time. It’s just a bad recipe. And why I don’t want you to kill them is because it will take way too long, and I believe it will be better if you can just take control of a large amount of them and bring them here. Why do I want you to bring them here is so we can level up our people with combat classes.”
“But isn’t that too dangerous? I could never properly control a large group like that at least not anytime soon.” He answered with a little bit of panic in his voice.
“You do not need to completely control them just do what you did the last time. When they are on our land, they will be just walking experience a resource for us to use. But eventually and hopefully the roaming undead will be dealt with but you do not have to worry as there will still be a need for your particular skills. You do not have to worry about not having a home to come back to” I said in a more fatherly tone.
He was quiet for a while, and I could see him working out what was best for him. I do not know exactly what his values were or what he wanted from life but I could see no malice in him but there was sadness.
I think I helped a lot when I killed that noble because of that the need for revenge didn't have enough time to become rage that wouldn't be satisfied by anything. I saw a nod but not to me I believe that was more a nod for him. A bit later on he asked a few clarifying questions which I was quite glad about, and we discussed his situation for a bit.
In the end, we agreed to not be too open about his abilities but also not keep them completely hidden because how could we explain away another undead horde coming to our doorstep and us being completely ready for it?
But that would most likely not happen this year as there was a lot to do before we were ready for any of that. I could see the determination and happiness that the young man had now that he wasn’t without a goal.
It was a long day, and I still didn’t know how bureaucracy can be more exhausting than fighting for your life. It's the one thing that has never made sense to me and I’m guessing it will never make sense.
I was lying in bed with Goose next to me on the nightstand. My mind was filled with everything that needed to be done and I looked at the symbol that Bert gave me. When would be the best time to use it? For some reason I did not want to use it right away but what was my subconscious trying to tell me? Was there a better time to use it or was the current time bad for some reason?
The snow was melting quite fast. We would also need a couple of rangers to keep an eye out for any monsters that may come close. I have a feeling that my own homestead will not be improved for quite a while but there was no way in hell I wasn’t going to maintain what I currently have. But perhaps not it will all depend on how many people will actually put their weight behind making the community better.
