SS - Chapter 17 - Corners of the Kingdom

“The citadel is about four kilometers away, which isn’t that bad but isn’t that good either,” I muttered, staring at the map on my system window. “We should probably build any new facilities closer to it, so it doesn’t take everyone an hour to retreat there if we’re ever attacked.”

“Assuming the citadel is big enough to shelter everyone,” Camille grumbled. “We have no idea how big it’s going to be, ”

“That’s true… I probably should kick off construction, so we know what we’re working with,” I replied.

Flipping over to the Citadel tab I tapped the ‘Assemble Citadel’ prompt. A warning flashed up:

Creating a citadel will require you to assign 50 magic to this project for two weeks. Are you sure you want to begin this project?

[Yes/No]

“Is forty magic a lot?” Camille asked blankly. “How much magic do you have to work with?”

“I have no idea, but it’s probably something I should invest in early. It protects the people, and the stone,” I said. “Better to have it and not need it…”

Camille shrugged, “Your choice.”

I tapped the ‘Yes’ prompt and the window changed to:

Citadel Construction in Process: 13 Days 11 Hrs 59 Min Remaining.

“We’ll have to walk over and see the changes in a couple days,” I mumbled. “No point in rushing over if it’s going to take so long to finish.”

“Then put it out of your mind for now, and bring up your map again!” Camille said excitedly.

“Why does it have to be my map? You have one in your system tabs too,” I grumbled.

“Because I saw yours had extra options. Bring it up, chop chop!”

I rolled my eyes, but did what she asked. When I bonded with the stone it automatically updated our maps with everything within my kingdom. It was a lot, an area approximately forty thousand square kilometers, or a two hundred by two hundred kilometer chunk of land. The system appeared to be fairly intelligent too, because it didn’t expand very far west, cutting off at the mountain range, and instead expanded east.

It was an absolutely massive area, more than our tiny village would ever need, but it still paled in comparison to some of the other kingdoms. There was probably a way to expand the borders in the long run. Maybe that would be a priority one day, but not today.

I kept my map in traditional mode, which used simplified pictures to represent landmarks like a traditional map, but there were a ton of other map modes which I could have used. 

Before I could do anything Camille jammed her finger against the lower right corner of my system window. “See! What’s this?”

Brushing her finger away, I focused on that corner of the screen. There was a tiny button that said ‘Strategic options’, so I pressed it.

A sub window popped up over the map with a couple options.

Identify Strategic Resources (Requires 5 magic) [Enable / Disable]

Enable Real Time Tracking of Invaders (Requires 10 magic) [Enable / Disable]

Generate [ - ] Resource Node (Requires 10 magic) [Enable / Disable]

“Again with the magic,” Camille whined. “Why can’t they just display how much you have?”

“I don’t know, that might actually be an option somewhere, I’ll look into that next,” I told her. “It says I can scan for strategic resources, do you think I should do it?”

“It definitely seems like a good idea,” Camille replied, nodding. “It says you can disable the scan, so you can always get that magic back if you need it. Doesn’t hurt to take a look.”

After tapping Enable my map flashed behind the option screen, so I closed the sub window to take a look.

The map looked pretty much identical to before, but now there were colored patches all marked all over the map. A new legend that had appeared on the side of the screen identified a huge list of resources. 

“Grab the paper map, and some charcoal, we’ll jot down the most important resource locations so others can find them without a system window,” I exclaimed.

“But… aren’t you willing to make everyone in the village your vassal? Won’t they have access to a full map?”

“Do you have access to the resource locations?” I asked Camille. Her eyes widened, and she quickly pulled up her system before shaking her head. “I’m not super surprised, there’s probably an option to give access to specific vassals. I imagine giving that information by default could lead to some conflicts…”

“You don’t have to worry about that with anyone here!” Camille proudly announced.

“You’re probably right, but once we start attracting new people? I can’t trust everyone,” I muttered. “Besides, it’ll probably take some time to get everyone setup in the system. I don’t want to run everyone through at once, so it’s better to have the information down on paper.”

Camille nodded and ran off to grab the maps, and something to write with. While she was away from the table someone knocked at the door. 

“Come in!” I shouted.

“Is now a good time to talk?” A melodic voice asked from the front of the hall. 

My head shot up, and my eyes locked upon Selena and another older gentleman, the one Selena had called Elder Luceria in the citadel, standing at the other end of the hall.

“Of course. Just a moment,” I said, grabbing my system window and firmly pulling it away from me. There was a moment of resistance then it moved freely, allowing me to park it above the table where Camille had been sitting. I caught my friend's eye, and gestured to the screen. She just nodded in understanding.

“I assume you’re here to talk about today’s announcement,” I said, swiftly making my way back down the long table. “I apologize for not discussing it with you yesterday, but I’ve been quite busy trying to get a handle on my new system abilities. I didn’t feel right announcing my discovery to you before my own people.”

I pulled out a pair of chairs, gesturing for my visitors to sit before rounding the table and sitting across from them.

“It’s quite alright,” Luceria chuckled, “I understand your caution. One has to be careful with such power, especially around people you don’t know.” 

I glanced at Selena, who was glowering at me. It seemed she didn’t share the elder’s monogamous attitude towards the situation. 

“I assume you have questions for me. Feel free to speak freely,” I said.

Elder Luceria slowly stroked his beard, his gaze locked on me for several seconds before speaking. “I’ve heard about your offer from the few younger members that were brave enough to come to your announcement. And I have to admit, your offer is tempting… Why take the risk with us?”

“Honestly? If I hadn’t found that stone, I wouldn’t have. It would be dangerous having so many strangers running around our tiny village. What if you turned out to be a threat to my people, or Skylia sent more people to track you down? My people would be in danger.”

Elder Luceria raised an eye. “And now?”

“Now I have them,” I said, throwing a thumb over my shoulder, at the small squad of maids organizing the books and parchments. 

“I know what they look like, but they’re very effective troops,” I told the unimpressed elf bloods. 

“I’m sure…” Elder Luceria muttered. “You mentioned that if we would have to stay, we would have to pull our own weight. What did you mean like that?”

“Just that. We’re a small group, and we can’t afford free loaders, so your people will have to work for their meals. I don’t expect your people to work themselves like slaves, and if they have specializations they’re welcome to work in those fields. As long as your people work, they’ll be welcome ,” I explained. “In exchange, you’ll be provided with food and lodgings. Your own homes, not the workshop you’re currently staying in. Once we develop currency, and have need of it, you’ll all be given proper compensation for your work. In short, you’ll be treated as citizens like everyone else.”

“And we won’t face any prejudice here?” Selena grunted.

“I can’t make that promise,” I said after a moment, shaking my head. “I trust my people, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be suspicious of you, and you’ll have to earn their trust. They’ll be tough, but fair, and if they’re not you can come to me.”

“And you’re willing to accept us as vassals too?” Selena asked quietly.

“I don’t see why not. It provides you with power, but also binds you to the country and makes it nearly impossible to betray me and my people,” I said with a shrug. “Seems like a win-win situation to me.” 

The elder nodded slowly, still stroking his beard. “I’m not going to lie, what you’re offering is very attractive, I’m sure that many of our people will take you up on your offer, but not all. Will those people be free to leave?” 

“I won’t imprison anyone, if that’s what you’re asking. If someone wants to go, I won’t stop them,” I said simply.

“Very well, then I don’t have any other questions,” the elder announced. “Selena?”

“Not right now,” the girl grumbled, glancing over at me. “I may have more later though.”

“Well, you’re welcome to come talk to me at any time, just like anyone else,” I said. “Now, I’d like to chat more but unfortunately I’m extremely busy right now. Now that I have the power of a Stone to help us, I need to completely redesign our plans for the next few months. I’d appreciate it if you could provide me with a list of people that want to stay as soon as possible, as that’ll help me iron out these plans.”

“Of course, I’ll have something together in a day or two,” Elder Luceria announced, standing up and holding out his hand. I took it, and gave it a firm shake before offering my hand to Selena. She took it, much more tentatively, but still shook before the pair retreated from the table.

“We’ll talk later,” Selena said over her shoulder as they left the hall.

“I’ll look forward to it,” I announced before they disappeared. 

Once they were gone I stretched out my shoulders, and turned back towards Camille, who was busy scribbling on the map. We still had a lot to do today. 

“So, what’s next?” I asked.