The boring diplomatic stuff was finally over, and while Gin took care of his affairs back in Doma, I was busy creating the southern border of my fledgling nation. I converted plants along the edge of the forest into hollow trees, then made them into towers. Once the towers along the southern edge were all connected together, I decided to work on the eastern and western borders. Since the forest extended farther north, I just kept building along the edges until I hit the part of the continent that dropped steeply downward.
On the southern part of the continent, where Doma lay, there were sheer cliffs on all sides due to its altitude. Heading north, past the Grimwood Mountains, there was a steep drop, and the shores there were sandy beaches closer to sea level. This, coupled with the Grimwood itself, had kept Doma isolated almost completely for thousands of years. My construction would eventually fix that, if everything went well.
Once the wall around the southern half of the forest was complete, I created accommodations for the farmers who would soon be moving in. While I was at it, I installed towers along the route from the royal capital to Finnelbraugh. These would need time to gain enough dungeon points to grow tall enough to connect in the way I wanted. The ones along the border were much easier, since I could just connect them to the network of towers I already had and use points I’d already accumulated to grow them.
Once the residential areas were done, I had my Irregulars set up fences to separate the different pieces of land each farmer would get. The fences were made of special metals that wouldn’t rust. Hammer was the one who crafted the pieces; the Irregulars just had to assemble them.
They fenced off each individual parcel of land. There was a spot by the gate where a name plate could be added for the individual or family who was farming there. It would be up to each individual farmer what they built on their parcel, and what types of produce or livestock they would cultivate. Each parcel was four plots long. In this instance, a plot was a measurement of land roughly equivalent to an acre, which was also about the same size as one of the big squares on my map grid. So a four-plot lease was pretty attractive. Oh, and “lease” didn’t mean the farmer was renting the land. It just meant that the king owned the land and he would allow the tenant to grow food on it in exchange for a share of the harvest. The produce or livestock would be collected seasonally, and the crown sold off what it didn’t need through vendors in the royal capital.
In addition to that, those who chose to live in my towers would owe me a portion of their yield as well. However, I planned to make the portion modest and affordable, and most of it would likely be sold to other humans, since Sprigians could only eat fruit. I was actually quite eager to help people. I planned to have my Irregulars guard the farm plots, to prevent disputes between farmers. They’d be able to handle things like crop-eating rabbits, too, and nonmonster predators that might attack livestock.
As I was putting the finishing touches on my preparations, a group of unexpected visitors arrived.
It was the first time in quite a while that I’d seen Hegram and his men. They looked pretty much the same as last time, though. They were pretty blown away by the changes around the main tower. I think the thing that surprised them the most was my improved command of the Ausbarlian language.
“Wow, little lady, your language skills have improved a lot!” Hegram complimented me warmly as we greeted each other.
“Thank you very much, I had an excellent teacher,” I bragged.
“So you found someone to teach you? That’s great!”
I grinned as Hegram praised my progress, but quickly got back on topic. “What brings you back? Need to stock up on potions?”
“N-no, we were actually hired to try and arrange a meeting.”
Hmm. He sounded a bit nervous when I brought up challenging my dungeon again. I wonder why.
“Ah, who did you want to introduce me to?” I asked.
“King Dalvas of Gunzverg. It’s a small country to the north, and he wanted to talk to you about walling off the Grimwood and setting up a trade route.”
“Oh! One of the northern countries! Shall I just set up the wall and trade route on the way there, then? I’d eventually like to wall off the whole thing, but going to each of the northern countries one at a time sounds tedious. Do you think we could schedule a big meeting of diplomats from each nation, so I don’t have to waste my time talking to one at a time?”
Despite my enthusiasm, Hegram was in no position to offer guidance on this issue. “I’m afraid that’s something you’ll need to discuss with His Majesty.”
“Ah, of course; after all, you’re just the messenger in this case.”
“Yes, quite right,” he said with a relieved smile, glad that I understood his position.
“In that case, can I ask you to do something for me before your return trip?” I asked.
“What might that be?”
“Could you please challenge the dungeon again?” I really needed the points after all of the border building.
“Dungeon?”
“You know, the thing where you climb the tower and defeat the monsters inside. Then you get treasure for your trouble.”
“So you call that ‘challenging the dungeon’?”
“Yes. It would help me out quite a bit if you could run through at least once. If you like, we can discuss what sorts of treasures you want the chests to contain.”
“Wait, you can change what ends up in the chests?” Hegram asked, in a surprised sort of tone. I guess I shocked him a bit with that one.
“Well, there are rules, but yes,” I admitted.
“Couldn’t you put money in there, then?”
“No, that’s one of the rules.” Technically, I could put money in there, but it wouldn’t be a currency he and his friends recognized. I didn’t feel like explaining all that, though, so I skipped it.
“So, the items in the chests don’t come out of your own pocket, then?”
“Correct. They are created by the tower, so losing them doesn’t impact me in the slightest. I can’t just have my own guards open them, either.”
Hegram thought for a moment, then asked, “What do you gain from it?”
“That’s the key. The more of my minions you defeat within the dungeon, the more resources I can generate. In other words, the more you fight, the easier it becomes to grow and connect my towers. The items in the chests are meant to reward you for your trouble.”
“I see.”
“I noticed you don’t have the shield anymore. Did you sell it?”
“Er, yes.”
“A pity. I was planning to increase the power of your equipment to make it easier to defeat more powerful enemies. After all, I gain more from you defeating stronger enemies than weaker ones. Unfortunately, I couldn’t prepare equipment for all of you.”
“That makes so much sense.” He sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t understand your intentions back then.”
“It’s understandable, I couldn’t communicate very well last time.” I pulled out my tablet, and opened up the treasure menu to show it to Hegram. “Why don’t I show you how item chests work, and you can tell me what you’d like to receive? That way, it would be worth your while.”
“I think the men would probably be happier with booze,” he chuckled.