Homesteading in a fantasy world

Falyr watched out from his office window. The village was now a lot busier as about half the people were here that they are planning to bring. There was still a lot of work to do but the defences were now a lot better.

They had sacrificed one of the more damaged buildings to make watchtowers so they could keep watch from every direction. The gate was also beefed up making sure that any monster on the silver level couldn't get through.

The surroundings were a lot calmer than they were expecting. The only problem seemed to be goblins although there were a lot fewer of them in the area than expected and the only tribe in the area was a weird one that didn't seem to have any breeders.

He had never in his long life seen a goblin tribe so big yet have no breeders. It was worrying but only in its implication the fact that they didn't have them meant they weren't a threat, and they weren't going to become one anytime soon.

Otherwise, this area was quite perfect for habitation even downright pleasant. The only other thing that was out of the ordinary was further north the lands of Rich. His lands seemed to have a higher energy density, yet they did not seem to spill over to the surrounding areas, a weird phenomenon.

Another bad thing is that the dungeon that was supposed to be at the edge of his territory was now inside meaning they couldn’t run it as they originally planned without coming to a deal with him.

This was a problem as the older teenagers needed some experience and the next closest dungeon was a bit too far away. I might need to make a trip to talk to him and work out a deal that would work for both of them. I would be willing to give quite a lot as I do not like the looks on the teenager's faces as they just loitered around.

Falyr was quite out of it for a long time just watching out of the window without seeing anything. He was broken out of his thinking by a guard that was running across the village towards him. As soon as the young man saw that his commander was looking towards him, he waved his hand in a sign that meant there was urgent news to give. Not wanting to let the problem go unattended Falyr quickly went down and met the guard.

“Commander four people are approaching from the north. They looked to be quite well armed, and one matches the description of Rich.” Said the newly promoted guard just fresh from completing his certification to become a green guard.

This news came as a surprise to Falyr it was not expected that Rich would bring anyone else here, but he was not surprised about the additional members as he already knows about them. “Get back to your watch and let them in without any challenge. Dismissed.”

The guard nodded, saluted and quickly made his way back towards his watch to notify the watch Lieutenant of their orders. Falyr moved towards the training grounds and watched as multiple instructors gave pointers to different ages of students. He was surprised to find Bert sitting on a bench and watching how the young trained. He decided to join him and hoped that Rich would seek him out so they could talk.

“Good day Bert.” He said in a cheerful tone, but he only got a nod in response. Understanding that his friend might be in a bad mood he asked. “What seems to be the problem? Something on your mind.” Bert snapped out of his daze and properly looked at him. He saw him thinking before he answered.

“It’s the land to the north. Rich Dirt’s land.” A stone hand gripped Falyr's mind making him worry and he quickly asked. “Is something wrong with it or do you think that something is wrong with him? If it’s needed, I will get our top team here and we will get to the bottom of this no matter what.”

Bert looked surprised at him and quickly shook his head. “No no nothing like that it’s just that the land reminds me of the Grove where I grew up.” He seemed to take a few moments before continuing. “The land up there just feels so familiar and well the best I can describe it is the correct way a land is supposed to be.”

This relaxed Falyr mind. He had already come up with dozens of different scenarios each one more horrifying than the next and what might have been going on up there. But now he felt himself relax. “Please don't scare me like that.” He said in a breathless voice

Bert laughed at that then his ears seemed to twitch, and he looked towards the gate. “Yes, he is here and with three other people it would seem.” Bert took a moment before speaking. “I truly hope I will get a moment to talk with him. He seems like quite an interesting fellow.”

At that moment Falyr remembered something that he hadn’t done and groaned out loud. “Bert you are going to find this funny, but I might have forgotten to inform you of something.” Bert did not look amused at that and just asked. “What is it?”

“Yes, you know how I am forgetful sometimes, but we knew of Rich before you contacted us.” Bert looked quite shocked to hear this, but his eyes didn't waiver as he waited without comment. “Yeah, you see it turns out he might be a low-impact traveller.” He saw Bert’s eyes going wide and a small growl coming from his throat.

“Nothing to worry about, they had a mage with them when the adventurer's guild made first contact and you know how the mages are all taught how to recognize soul markings. His soul markings are from this world and there is no red marking. Even more importantly he seemed like a well-adjusted person eliminating 99.99 percent of any true trouble he might bring.

Hearing this Bert was finally able to calm his racing heart he still remembered one of his last red marks. Those things are the worst monsters in existence. He had to remind himself of one of his old friends that was not from this world and how he was a good person. Unfortunately, bad memories seem to come quicker to his mind.

One of the most frustrating things about outsiders is that every time one comes you can flip a coin to see if disaster comes or wisdom awaits. He thought back on his experience with Rich. He was pretty certain that the coin flip was a good one in this case.

It was at that moment that Bert looked up and saw him. He instantly used identify to confirm that there were no red markings and after simple black text came up he let out a calming sigh. But the next thing he noticed made him go completely still.

The three people that were with him all had a nature connection similar to him, exactly the same. But now that he had the comparison, he knew why Rich’s nature connection was different. He couldn't put his finger on it before because it was so long since he last visited his Grove and saw the matriarch. Rich had true nature connection.

It was something that only the truly lucky druids were able to get. Why did he have it? Just in case he checked again but there was no red which means that it was gotten legitimately. This completely stopped Bert’s brain and the next time he came back to himself Rich was already introducing his companions to them.

He needed to talk to him right now. “Rich.” he interrupted the current conversation. “Can we talk in private?” He indicated towards the back of the village hall which seemed to be empty of anyone else. Rich was a bit surprised but nodded and started to follow as everyone else was dumbstruck about what had just happened.

When they were alone Rich still had a smile on his face when Bert asked him. “You have the trait true nature connection?” Rich just tilted his head a bit and nodded. “Didn’t we already discuss this?” he asked in a confused tone.

To his surprise, Bert seemed completely serious and didn’t get his small joke. “No, we didn't. How do you have it? Why do you have it? It doesn't make any sense.” To his rambling Rich keep smiling and eventually asked. “It seems really important to you but why?”

Bert was completely dumbstruck by that question why. “You ask me why. Because it’s an important trait to the druids and any who get it can make their own Grove. A sacred place for anyone that is connected to nature.”

“So yes, it's vital. Did you get it through a certain action? How were you able to get it and more importantly how were you able to give a lesser version of it to the people you came with?” To that Rich responded. “Why do you assume that I gave it to them, perhaps they already had it.”

“Do you think me a fool? There is no way some random villagers have it.” Bert said in a louder and angrier voice. At that Rich finally stopped smiling. “Why would I just give away my secret? It makes no sense and don't raise your voice at me. Keep this conversation civil or we will talk no more.”

This finally shook Bert out of his shock, and he took a moment to centre himself. “You are correct and I’m sorry. It’s just sacred to us. I am guessing it’s something not that easily gotten and yes, I am willing to discuss a fair trade for this information.”

Rich nodded to that, and his relaxed and happy face returned. “Good it is not something strictly hard, but it absolutely takes quite a while to get. At least my version of the trait but anything further we truly must discuss some equal exchange of knowledge.”

“But don’t worry it’s not something that can be given on a whim, it's a commitment for both parties.” Bert was a lot happier about this answer and for his blunder and future goodwill he thought up a good way to start by giving some of his knowledge.

“There is a reason why I was, let's call it intense about this discovery. It affects a lot more than people might think and it can give advantages in areas people might not think about. Its one of the more powerful yet subtle traits out there.”