The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds Book 1) (28 page)

 Richter’s expression must have
fallen a bit because she sharply said, “Pay attention! I said normally! You may
be a special case. There are a few things in your favor. One,” and she held up
her closed fist, extending her forefinger, “You showed patience this morning.
Two,” another finger went up, “
Terrod
sent you. If
that old warhorse vouches for you it means a lot. Three, there is something
about you that makes me want to trust you. That doesn’t often happen. Now,
while those three things might make me want to buy you an ale and see how firm
that
toosh
is, they wouldn’t bring me to entrust the
wellbeing of any of my workers with you. While you were waiting though, I had
some people ask about you. There is a rumor that a particularly loathsome gang
by the docks was attacked, and had a good portion of their members wiped out.
During this bloodbath, some nonhuman captives were freed. No one is quite sure
who did it, but a close friend of mine confided that his brother’s friend’s
girlfriend’s long lost schoolmate, or some such rubbish, had been part of the
raid, and that there was a curious late addition of a man and a sprite. Now you
wouldn’t know anything about that would you?” As she had related the last
points, they had walked to a secluded part of the terrace where there was no
one to eavesdrop.

 Richter looked at her. He was
somewhat alarmed that she had made connection so easily. Not for any direct
concern that she meant him ill, but that it raised the real possibility that
the remaining gang members could find him and the others. True, she apparently
knew
Terrod
well and he had said he trusted her
implicitly, so it would be easier for her to connect the dots than someone
outside of
Terrod’s
immediate circle, but it was
disquieting nonetheless. It made him anxious to conclude his business in the
city and get back to the Forest. Despite his discomfort though, Richter still
needed help, and
Terrod
had vouched for this woman.
How could Richter ask her to trust him if he was not willing to do the same?

 “I am sure that you understand
the dangers of your question, for me,
Terrod
or
anyone else involved. I am equally sure that it’s not necessary for me to
stress how important it is to be discreet, but I will anyway. That being said,
yes, I was a part of the raid to free the nonhumans. We succeeded, but
unfortunately lost some men along the way. We also did not free of all them as
some had been sold as slaves to various nobles. We don’t know who yet, but
Terrod
has a ledger that we were told can point us to those
that were involved. The ledger was coded so he is working now to figure it out.
When he does, we are going to help him get the missing back. Specifically
Isabel.”

 She listened closely while he
related his story, when he mentioned Isabel though, her face broke with shock.
“Isabel is missing? He tried to smuggle her out of the city? The fool! I told
him not to trust those shifty Night Blades!” She stared out over the promenade
for several minutes. “Okay. I understand why
Terrod
trusts you now. I have decided to help you. Now have you given thought to the
type of people you need?”

 “I was thinking masons,
carpenters, farmers for crops and livestock, and guards.”

 “That’s it? That’s all you
think is required to grow a village? How will you feed them while you wait for
crops to grow? You will need hunters and fisherman. How will you clothe them
when the seasons grow cold? You need weavers to make those clothes. How will
you help those who get ill or injured? You will need a healer! There is more to
a community than just buildings and defense!”

 A host of responses went through
Richter’s head, but he ultimately decided on, “Will you help me?”

 A smile replaced her stern
expression, “That’s what Mama is for!”

 They went over the specifics
for several more hours. Afterwards, she promised would speak to her workers and
feel out who would be interested. When she told him the weekly wages most lived
on he was shocked. These people were just being blatantly taken advantage of.
She agreed it was well below what each was worth, but seemed resigned that this
was now the way of the world. Richter told her that anyone that he decided to
take with him would be paid the basic wage of four silvers per fortnight, and
he would cover room and board for the first year. This brought another smile to
her face and she assured him it would make it easier to convince people to
leave Law. They moved onto other topics.

 The first was that the workers
had families, and she needed to know if they could come as well. Since Richter
was planning to grow his community it seemed well in line with his goals and he
readily agreed. The next topic was how to get people there. Trekking a large
amount of people through rugged terrain with the possibility of animal or
monster attack was daunting. He would have to hire a large amount of guards.
The other option though was to use the river ways. Now buying several boats was
not feasible, but renting a few river craft while expensive was manageable. It
would also let him transport needed items like anvils and the core components
for a smelter to his village. Even though he was getting excited about the
increased possibilities, the costs he had not foreseen were becoming daunting.
He was relieved again that he had found the chest of jewels. Without their
capital, reviving his new home might have been an insurmountable task.

 The conversation continued to
evolve to topics of hiring a ship wright, needing a saws and tools, and
investing in a new stationary buzz saw that could be powered by the river to greatly
increase productivity (he hedged off the last one, what were Mist Workers for
it not hard labor). At the end of their conversation, Mama had a list of items
that should be obtained and categorized them as necessary, beneficial, or
simply desired. Richter had told her that he had worked with Hafiz before. She
said she knew him and agreed he was a good choice for obtaining what was
needed. She also said that by tomorrow there would be a strong list of
candidates to join him. With a final thank you, Richter and Sion left, and made
their way back to the Laughing Imp.

 There were several men lounging
out in front of the inn. It didn’t look like anything special to the untrained
eye, but one casually got up to meet them and the other three tensed. “Inn is closed
today, friend.”

 “I’m here for a meeting. I
helped
Terrod
secure the precious cargo inside. Get
him.”

 The man still stood in front of
Richter, but sent one of his fellows inside.
Terrod
came out soon after and waved him inside. The mood of the former captives was
much improved as they sat in small groups and talked smiling. It was amazing
what being clean, warm and fed could do for your attitude. He followed
Terrod
to a back table that had five older nonhumans
present, two dwarves, two elves and small humanoid that Richter couldn’t
identify. He then used Analyze on all of them and found they were
subraces
: a mountain dwarf, hill dwarf, wood elf, high elf,
and arcane gnome. More importantly though was the prompt that he was awarded.

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 5 in Analyze! In addition to the information you already received
you will also be provided with basic information of the target’s race, the
target’s name and the target’s disposition towards you.

Curious he quickly used his ability
again on everyone present.

Name:
Terrod
.
Human: Lvl 6. Health 170. Mana 120. Stamina 160. Disposition: Friendly.
Humans are one of the shortest
lived, but most prolific breeders in the Land. Humans have a broader affinity
for skills than other races. No special bonuses to race. Humans get four points
to distribute per level.

Name: Sion. Wood Sprite Lvl 9. Health
210. Mana 190. Stamina 120. Disposition: Ally. Sprites have several subclasses
which determine their specific powers. Wood Sprites are naturally gifted in
tracking and woodcraft. They have a skill of imbuing their strikes with mana
greatly increasing damage. Sprites get three points to distribute per level,
and each level gives +2 to Dexterity.

Name: Hilda. Mountain Dwarf Level 10.
Health 240. Mana 120. Stamina 260.
Disposition: Friendly.
Dwarves have several subclasses
that determine their specific powers. Mountain dwarves are a hardy folk that
get bonuses to Constitution and Endurance each level. They have keen eyesight
that gives them excellent night vision. Natural miners, it is said mountain
dwarves can “smell” veins of precious metals. Increased resistance to negative
physical effects. Increased affinity and resistance to Earth Magic. Mountain
Dwarves get three points to distribute per level, and each level give +1 to
Constitution and +1 to Endurance.

Name:
Poltan
.
Hill Dwarf Level 8. Health 250. Mana 130. Stamina 210. Disposition: Friendly.
Dwarves have several subclasses that determine their specific powers. Hill
dwarves are the most social of the
dwarven
races.
Highly skilled in crafting. One of the few dwarf races known to be skilled in
ranged combat. Increased resistance to negative physical effects. Increased
affinity and resistance to Earth Magic. Hill Dwarves get three points to distribute
per level, and each level give +1 to Constitution and +1 to Endurance.

Name:
Ulin
.
Wood Elf Level 10. Health 170. Mana 260. Stamina 110. Disposition: Friendly.
Elves have several subclasses
that determine their specific powers. Wood elves are gifted in archery,
woodcraft, and healing. Increased accuracy and damage when using ranged
weapons. Bonus to dodge. Wood Elves get three points to distribute per level,
and each level give +1 to Dexterity and +1 to Intelligence.

Name: Wisteria. High Elf Level 12.
Health 130. Mana 300. Stamina 110. Disposition: Friendly.
Elves have several subclasses
that determine their specific powers. High elves are gifted in archery and most
magical arts. They have increased resistance to magical attack. Bonus to
Intelligence and Wisdom each level. High Elves get three points to distribute
per level, and each level give +1 to Intelligence and +1 to Wisdom.

Name:
Berin
.
Builder Gnome Level 9. Health 140. Mana 190. Stamina 210. Disposition:
Friendly.
Gnomes
have several subclasses that determine their specific powers. Builder gnomes
are obsessed with the application of knowledge. Known to make amazing devices
and build fantastic structures. Gifted in magical crafting. Builder Gnome get
three points to distribute per level, and each level give +1 to Intelligence
and +1 to Endurance.

 It was a pleasant to see how
they all viewed him. Not overly surprising though, considering the role he had
played in freeing their people. Well no reason not to grease the wheels.
Looking at each in turn, he willed himself to speak their native languages. All
had surprised looks that only grew as they observed his apparent mastery in
multiple tongues.

 
Terrod
and Sion sat, but Richter remained standing. He had given some thought to how
he would address them. He decided to maintain his customary tack of honesty and
strength. Switching to the common tongue, “I am Master of a Village and a Place
of Power. I need help to grow the village into something good, something to be
proud of. When I came to this Kingdom I thought that only meant getting people
with skills to grow the physical village, raise crops, and erect walls. I don’t
believe that any longer.”

 “I can give you many reasons
why coming to my village is the smart thing to do, but only you can truly answer
that. Only you have lived through the past years of oppression in this kingdom.
Only you know how it has affected your lives, your livelihoods, you families.
Only you can make a simple decision. Do you continue to live here being forced
to kneel, or do you take a chance to come with me and stand on the merits of
your own skills and hard work? I make no promises for the future, but I do
promise that if you come with me, we will meet it together.”

 Richter sat down. No one spoke
for a moment, and they simply watched each other. He was pleased with what he
saw. No doubt there would be more work to fully convince them, but from the
nods and speculative looks on their faces, he was confident the Mist Village
was about to have dozens more residents. It was good to be the king of
Charisma!

 They all agreed to come with
him in the end, and had already spoken to their people. Richter now had
dwarven
smiths and crafters, elvish hunters and healers,
and gnomish builders and farmers. There was even an elvish shipwright and his
apprentices. Each race had a smattering of fighters and casters of various
types as well. All told including families, wives, husbands and children, one
hundred and eighty two souls agreed to come with him. The topic of wages came
up and he interrupted them in the middle of their proposal. He refused to pay
the wage they would have made in the Kingdom, and instead promised to pay the
wage their human counterparts would have made for the same work. Richter had
already resolved he would not sow the seeds of discord and disharmony in the
early days of his new community. He made it clear that all would be treated
equally. Tears welled in several eyes at that, and the gnome freely shed a few
tears and reached out to shake his hand. Richter merely nodded in response, and
further told them that for the first year as they built the village he would
also provide free room and board. They in turn would help to grow the village,
protect it as needed and respect his position as Master of the village. He was also
firm on the point that all would help each other advance their skills. Richter
planned to have a skilled population that was versatile. There was no
dissension.