Ogre Tyrant

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 58 - Blood and sweat - Part Two

We spent three days near-constantly testing the Empowered Pathfinder’s Beacon. Becoming attuned to the Empowered Beacon required exposing the beacon to your blood. A single drop or a gallon made no discernible difference. Just like the Gateways, the cost could be paid by the person teleporting or the Empowered Beacon itself.

Furthermore, the Empowered Beacon could be linked to harvested mana stones through close enough proximity, which allowed the Empowered Beacon to regenerate mana over time. The higher Tier of the mana stones, the greater the mana capacity and regeneration that would be lent to the Empowered Beacon.

There was, of course, a limitation.

We discovered early on that someone could only be attuned to a single Empowered Beacon at a time. In hindsight, it made sense. There wouldn’t be much of a point of a Gateway if pairs of Empowered Beacons could replace them.

Dwergi and Deep Orc smiths had worked tirelessly over the past day to create dozens of hardened steel poles with hollow cores and threaded tops and bottoms. Four-sided spiked caps would be screwed into either end to seal a carefully packed payload of mana stones within. Finally, a pair of small threaded steel hoops anchored near the top end would allow a banner to be attached.

Attaching the banner had been Randle’s suggestion.

The vessels for the Empowered Beacons had not been intended to be used as weapons. With that in mind, it made sense to capitalise on their presence as much as possible. Allowing for Banner Bearers and Custom Classes to bring their buffing Abilities to bear.

We would have begun testing the new Empowered Beacon prototypes but the time of Iristrixanthrax’s challenge had come due.

I had held the latest floor acquired from the Asrusian capital in reserve for this exact reason.

The Asrusians had initially expressed their disappointment in my seizure of the hard-won territory. However, the attitude of the Asrusian leadership shifted radically after Jayne informed them of our experiments with the Empowered Beacons.

Besides, I intended the newly named territory of Valhalla to serve as a military training base with the express purpose of hosting exercises to capture footholds.

To that end, I manipulated the distant reaches of the territory to host twelve potential sites to emulate the portal site to the second floor.

It would only be a matter of time before a serious armed response was organised against our Conquests in enemy territory. So it made sense to prepare everyone for that eventuality with high-stakes war games.

With Sebet providing insurance against fatalities, and a code of conduct to support it, I was optimistic that accidental deaths would be few and far between.

A special quest was made available for six dozen low-level Humans to fill the roles of the defenders. They would have the advantage of knowing they would be attacked, but not by who or when. Exp and mana stone rewards would be based on how long the foothold held out and would be shared amongst all participants.

The slots for volunteers were filled within a matter of minutes.

A second team of volunteers were recruited to serve as guards within the newly constructed Asrusian City of Geralt. The maximum level limit was removed but was restricted to Humans to keep things as true to expectations as possible. They were given the condition of catching insurgents and spies and would collectively earn Exp and mana stones for every spy and insurgent they caught. However, they would be penalised for every false accusation.

It wasn’t perfect, but I couldn’t think of anything else on relatively short notice.

The fountain in one of the market squares was designated at the portal that would allow entry to the foothold. It wasn’t a perfect stand-in for an Adventurers Guild headquarters, but it was good enough. I would just need to stress to Iristrixanthrax that her operatives would need to treat the market square as a roofed space to better mimic real conditions.

After I explained the parameters of the test, Iristrixanthrax seemed somewhat relieved. No doubt, she had expected a real enemy city to be her target.

For the moment, I withhold knowledge of the Empowered Beacons from Iristrixanthrax and her commanders. I wanted to find out what they could come up with on their own first.

As curious as I was to watch the wargame unfold, I knew that my presence would only complicate matters.

To keep myself busy, I returned to Sanctuary to continue my training. However, my training was interrupted by the unexpected return of Fesk, Nadine and Ushu. Admittedly, it was Ushu’s landing in the lake and the resulting waves that proved the most attention-grabbing and disruptive.

With the training ground thoroughly washed out, it would be hours before it could be used again safely.

“Sorry about that!” Nadine called out as Ushu dropped her and Fesk off at the shore.

“The muddy ground does help replicate less favourable battle conditions-” Ophelia began to suggest optimistically but stopped when she realised no one was paying attention to her.

“Perhaps a change in training to take better advantage of the environment? Sebet suggested, earning surprised stares from Ophelia, Jayne, Randle and Faine.

“Such as?!” Ophelia asked eagerly.

“Grappling would seem the most appropriate choice, would it not?” Sebet grinned, her dark lips parting in a smile that revealed perfectly aligned and pearly white teeth.

“Hah!” Clarice barked and began to snort and giggle in amusement, “Fucking mud wrestling?!”

“Well, I suggested only the latter...” Sebet replied with exaggerated and animated innocence, “However, if the former were to occur, I wouldn’t be averse to it.”

My three champions made a point of pretending that Nadine and Fesk’s approach was of critical importance. Even going so far as to make their way over to the shore to help them out of the lake.

“Mud wrestling?” Ophelia’s curiosity was piqued, “Because the mud makes maintaining a solid hold or gripping one’s opponent difficult, the challenge for both parties is increased...Yes, I see it now!” She grinned enthusiastically, “Who wishes to grapple in the mud with me?!”

“Sorry Ophelia, but I’m married. It would be inappropriate,” I backed away and began removing my training armour.

“I will gladly serve as your first opponent,” Sebet volunteered, stripping her leathers with the release of a single buckle, exposing her surprisingly modest underclothes.

“Yes! No need for armour!” Ophelia agreed, stripping off her training armour but otherwise remaining fully clothed.

The pair squared off and began to slowly circle one another.

“What are the rules?” Ophelia asked with barely restrained enthusiasm, “Pinned until the count of five? Until the opponent surrenders? Or until the first broken bone?!”

“Until submission seems appropriate,” Sebet smirked and licked her lips. The way she looked at Clarice while she said it made it overtly suggestive. Not that I expected otherwise.

Clarice’s cheeks flushed in response and I pretended not to notice.

The mud wrestling match between Sebet and Ophelia went about how I expected it to. Ophelia had Sebet beat in terms of raw strength. However, Sebet was many times more flexible and had evident experience.

Sebet went out of her way to make it as awkward as possible to watch for any other reason than sexual titillation.

So I left.

Unsurprisingly, except for Clarice, everyone else wasn’t far behind me.

I couldn’t help but notice that Fesk seemed confused by what was going on. However, I had no way of knowing why without having an awkward conversation I didn’t feel like having.

For the time being, I was willing to chalk it up to his draconian upbringing.

It occurred to me that I may not be able to use that word in public. Draconian would certainly take on a different meaning to the locals in under a few years. What with having actual dragons and dragon-like Species around the place.

“Sooooo...That was definitely the Succubus, right?” Nadine asked her escorts warily.

Faine, Jayne and Randle all nodded in silence.

“I figured as much...” Nadine sighed and glanced back toward Clarice with a complicated expression on her face, “Tim knows about this, right?”

My champions, to their credit, did not immediately look to me for an answer.

“Clarice and the Succubus I mean,” Nadine clarified before realising no one showed any signs of answering her question.

“Is it different from your own...situation?...” Jayne replied somewhat discreetly before looking pointedly down at Fesk and Nadine’s interlocked fingers.

Nadine’s cheeks flushed, “This is!... It’s different!” She squeaked, earning a nearly imperceptible faint smile from Fesk who then tightened his grip on her hand, “Herm! We have permission!” Nadine insisted.

“His Majesty demanded you seek his permission?” Randle asked curiously, seemingly unbothered by Nadine’s discomfort, “I was not aware that was a requirement for mixed Species..erm...couplings...” He seemed somewhat dissatisfied with his word choice.

“Ah, well... No, not as such...” Nadine admitted nervously, “But he knew about us and...oh...I’ll shut up now...” She had no doubt remembered my deliberately ambivalent stance on mixed Species relationships.

I would have to be a special kind of hypocrite to be against it when I was in such a relationship myself.

Randle looked like he would have liked to continue the conversation further but allowed the topic to drop.

“Hem. Where is Tim anyway?” Nadine asked with a forced casual tone as she made an exaggerated show of scanning the area.

Jayne, Faine and Randle glanced conspicuously at one another.

“I’ll take that as further reassurance of Sebet’s craftsmanship and skill,” I replied with a smirk.

Nadine very nearly jumped in fright, “Tim?!” She exclaimed incredulously.

#Hello. Fesk.# I signed, using the unique sign we had decided upon to represent his name.

Fesk gave a small smile in reply and bobbed his head. #Hello.# His proficiency in signing had now thoroughly outstripped my own and seemed to come to him as easily as breathing.

“Tim?! But...how? Also, why?” Nadine demanded as she looked me over with an expression of utter incomprehension on her face.

To his credit, Fesk didn’t seem particularly fazed by Human form. If anything, he seemed contemplative. As if he was trying to decide if I had somehow been capable of changing form all along but had only done so in his presence now.

“A disguise, mostly,” I replied casually, trying my best not to be too smug about fooling her, “But it helps with training as well.”

Fesk nodded in understanding.

#What does he mean?# Nadine signed at Fesk.

#No one is big enough to fight with when you are that big.# Fesk signed back. #Like fighting children.#

Nadine settled down somewhat. #You have a point.# She signed and let out a sigh. “What do you need a disguise for?” Nadine asked me bluntly, “Have there been attempts on your life?”

“No. Well, not that I’m aware of,” I replied, suppressing a sudden flare of paranoia as my subconscious considered the possibilities, “It is just refreshing not being the centre of attention all the time.”

Nadine winced, “Oh...Sorry, Tim. I hadn’t considered what that must have been like for you...”

Fesk stared blankly into the distance for a moment before his eyes regained their focus. #Ushu want’s ****** to return to Sanctuary.#

#****** ?# I signed back, unfamiliar with the word.

#Little Ushu. Female. ******.# Fesk kept signing until he was sure I understood.

#Cooper.# I repeated the sign a few times to increase my chances of remembering it and then directed my attention to Faine, “Contact the Asrusian forces in the capital’s Labyrinth and inform them that Cooper is returning to Sanctuary. Nila and her team may visit Sanctuary, but only Nila is permitted within The Grove.”

“I will see it done, Majesty,” Faine bowed his head and stayed behind as we continued circling the lake.

“You may continue our Empowered Beacon experiments with trusted subordinates,” I suggested to Jayne and Randle as a polite means of sending them away.

Jayne didn’t seem to mind at all and looked quite eager, “Yes majesty!” She slapped her hand down on Randle’s shoulder, “Come cousin, you have to see this for yourself!”

Randle grinned, “So I have heard!”

Using my authority, I relocated them both to the storage facility containing the Empowered Beacon prototypes. After a moment's thought, I relocated Jayne as well, saving him the trip by foot later.

“What was that?...” Nadine gasped and searched our surroundings for signs of the now thoroughly absent knights.

“Oh, right...I can move things around in my Demi-Plane,” I explained somewhat lamely, “People, objects, terrain, anything really...” The concept itself didn’t seem particularly alien to me compared to other things I had recently experienced, and I generally didn't think about it all that much.

“Okay...” Nadine grimaced slightly and closed her eyes before taking several deep breaths, “I guess that sort of makes sense, in its own way.”

Fesk just shrugged, apparently unconcerned by what the ramifications might be.

“So this disguise...” Nadine clumsily changed the topic as an obvious means of distracting herself from the previous subject, “Is it an illusion? Or?...”

“It’s real,” I offered my left arm and made a point of exposing the pair of tattoos.

Nadine cautiously poked at my arm like it was some sort of dangerous sleeping Beast, but her curiosity quickly overwhelmed her caution. “It definitely feels real,” Nadine commented, “But what are the tattoos for?”

“It’s part of the conditions of the Contract,” I explained and resisted the urge for a demonstration, “They let me change without requiring the experience and insane degree of bodily awareness that would otherwise be required by the Spell.”

“Interesting,” Nadine mumbled and I felt her use one of her Abilities, “And Lash is okay with this?” She asked tentatively.

I nodded, “She seems quite happy about it actually. It shifted the dynamic of our sparring back in her favour.”

Nadine stared blankly at me for a few moments and then slapped her forehead, “Right...She’s as bad as Clarice...I forgot about that...”

“Maybe, but with different motivations,” I agreed with a casual shrug.

“So...What is going on with Clarice?” Nadine asked awkwardly, “Is she okay? The Succubus isn’t using its powers on her or anything, right? That was the Succubus, wasn’t it?” There was an unmistakable measure of fear to match the concern in her eyes.

“Sebet-” I made the point of using her name, “-has an explicit code of conduct involving her interactions with her fellow subordinates. She has sworn oaths and signed a Contract to that effect and is the most highly regulated being in my service, bar none. So I am confident that her behaviour, as related to her use of Abilities and Spells, is entirely above board.”

Nadine nearly tripped over a loose clump of grass. After regaining her footing, she stared back toward the mud wrestling contest still in progress.

“I don’t think Daemons and Devils are nearly as bad as people think they are,” I insisted adamantly, “I think it has a lot to do with who holds the reins and their upbringing. Just like humans. A shitty childhood and bad role models can turn anyone evil. It’s just, for them, they are more vulnerable because of their biological imperatives to obey the higher authority. Can you even imagine what that would be like?”

It was an issue that had been on my mind since my confrontation with Ril. There was a large amount of room for free will, but only if the lesser Daemons were allowed the opportunity to develop a degree of independence first. Somewhat ironically, it was the higher-ranked Daemons that had the most difficult time exercising agency. They seemed to be engineered to transmit orders and extend the reach of authority, but little else.

It had taken a long time for Qreet and Dar to demonstrate any degree of interest in activities beyond the scope of what they were ordered to do. Even then, they often seemed lost. Reacting to outside stimuli rather than making real decisions.

Then there was Gric.

I honestly didn’t know what to do when it came to him. Gric thrived when given instructions to follow and parameters within which to act. But he made no attempts at doing anything else. Worse than that, he seemed to actively avoid it.

Every attempt I made at trying to encourage other activities failed its purpose because my position made every suggestion an order to be obeyed.

Even so, Gric’s behaviour showed that nurture could direct Daemon nature to more constructive ends when given the opportunity.

“I...hadn’t considered that...” Nadine admitted guiltily, “But, the way Clarice was just standing there-”

“Is probably no different to how you would react if Fesk and I stripped down and started wrestling in the mud in front of you,” I interjected with a reserved smirk, “Especially if Fesk was making a deliberate effort to embarrass and excite you.”

Nadine’s cheeks flushed, “I er...that’s...”

“As Randle somewhat alluded to earlier. I distinctly recall having made my stance on your personal lives quite clear,” I added for good measure, “So long as it’s consensual, it’s none of my business. You even had me rephrase a certain law and everything. Or have you forgotten that?”

Nadine’s cheeks turned borderline iridescent as she determinedly stared at the ground.

#What if we had children?# Fesk signed and caught me completely off guard.

“Do you mean, what will happen to them because they will be cross Species? Or where would they be allowed to live?” I asked, uncertain of what exactly Fesk was asking.

Fesk nodded. #Yes. Both.#

“Well, the Factions will probably implement their own laws,” I hedged briefly, just so Fesk would be aware of the wider picture, “However, citizenship and residency for Sanctuary are allowed by marriage and birth. This means, if you had a child with Nadine, your child would be free to live here. If you married her, you would be allowed as well.”

#What about the other Thralls?# Fesk signed with a curious expression on his face.

“Assuming they want to live here and not somewhere else?” I asked.

Fesk nodded determinedly.

“So long as they complete the service for citizenship program, then they will be full citizens of Sanctuary. And so would their children,” I added almost as an afterthought. “If they wanted, they would be free to found towns or villages of their own. It doesn’t have to be Sanctuary or bust.”

Many of the Thralls were on the fast track to citizenship, so it wasn’t strange that Fesk would ask. The voluntary activities undertaken by the thralls during their military service were steadily chipping away at the initially substantial term of service requirement. Far from being against it, the Asrusian command structure was going out of their way to accommodate it.

The Thralls made good soldiers, but they lacked Synergies other Species would otherwise have provided. Unfortunately, the relationship between the Thralls, the Vampires and the undead, in general, had generated a certain degree of discord in the lower ranks of mixed units.

The majority of the Thralls had been shifted to logistics for those reasons. It presented abundant opportunities for earning time off their required term of service and kept them from negatively impacting morale in the combat units.

Fesk seemed satisfied and gave me a nod in thanks.

I was sorely tempted to go against my no-prying policy but ultimately decided against it. If Nadine was going to get married, I figured she would probably let me know. If she became pregnant, that would be obvious all on its own.

“Is there a reason Ushu wants Cooper to come back to Sanctuary?” I asked curiously, having just remembered Fesk’s initial request.

Fesk stared at nothing in particular again. His expression became complicated to read. #Ushu won't explain.#

“That’s fine, I’ll just ask him myself later.” I had initially suspected that Ushu just wanted to spend time with his daughter outside of a battlefield, but now my interest was piqued. “Do you have any plans?” I asked conversationally, unwilling to let the silence drag on too long and be dominated by Sebet’s entirely deliberate and highly suggestive grunts and moans.

#Nadine wants to visit the hospital and learn new things?# Fesk didn’t seem especially confident that he was explaining things well but I smiled and nodded for him to continue. #We want to pick a house to live in.# He added bluntly but with a considerable increase in confidence.

“Do you have preferences?” It felt nice to have a relatively normal conversation.

Fesk shrugged and pointed to Nadine.

That seemed about right.

“Somewhere near the hospital?” Nadine seemed quite glad for the shift in focus away from her love life, “A nice view would be good as well!”

“Have you thought about asking Hana or her sister to grow you a house?” I suggested and motioned to The Grove at large, “You could have your own tree house here in The Grove if you like.”

Nadine was momentarily taken aback, “You would let us stay here? Permanently, I mean?”

“Why not? You helped found Sanctuary, so it only seems appropriate you would be allowed to live where you would like,” I replied honestly.

If it wasn’t for my having stumbled into the girls on my first day, there was no telling how much darker my path would have been. Even if they had acted out of self-interest in the beginning, I liked to think that we had become friends.

“So...you wouldn’t mind if we had a big tree house just over there?” Nadine pointed over to a large open patch of grass on the opposite side of the lake to the training grounds.

“I wouldn’t mind, but it’s worth asking Hana about things first,” I advised positively, “She had all sorts of meadows and things planned out for when we migrate the trees again.”

“Migrates the-” Nadine took a moment to look around then gasped in surprise, “I thought this place looked bigger than I remembered...”

#Who is?# Fesk signed with obvious interest.

“Hana and her sister, Kohana, are usually over by the big tree in the middle of the lake,” I pointed over to them and then waved when they happened to notice me pointing at them.

Fesk waved as well but was probably just joining in for the sake of being polite.

“If you don’t want to swim, the large lily pads should be strong enough to support your weight,” I motioned toward the giant lily pads on the eastern side of the lake. They were one of Hana’s latest projects to liven up the lake.

The lillies were quite beautiful on their own, but the pads broke up the otherwise open expanse of the water.

“One of the Lizardmen could probably ferry the lilypad for you and help out if you fall overboard,” I added as it occurred to me that Fesk probably didn’t know how to swim. Neither did Nadine for that matter. “Swimming lessons might be a good idea as well. The Lake is perhaps even more beautiful below the water than above, and knowing how to swim is just good insurance anyway.”

Fesk nodded and considered the lake with a serious look in his eyes.

I was going to suggest something else but was distracted when I noticed someone dithering near the entrance to The Grove.

Before I could investigate further, Gric arrived on the scene and escorted the person into The Grove proper.

Staring at them for a few moments, my authority identified the person as Talia, one of the handful of Elves that lived inside of Sanctuary. The name was vaguely familiar but she was too far away and the memory was too faint to put a face to the name. My curiosity was outweighed by hesitancy and reluctance I struggled to place and recognise that fact only served to make me more hesitant to investigate further.

“More visitors?” Nadine asked curiously as she realised the source of my distraction.

“Gric seems to have it in hand,” I sighed and shrugged.

Hana saved Fesk and Nadine the trip, traversing the lake to sate her own curiosity.

Incidentally, the tree Hana began growing to serve as the base for Nadine and Fesk’s home allowed me the opportunity to practise the Plant Growth Spell until the supervision of a master. With a functionally infinite mana supply to draw from, the part I struggled with the most was balancing the needs of the tree against the surrounding environment.

I could have grown the tree in a tenth of the time, but I would have killed just about everything within The Grove smaller than a bush.

I lacked Hana’s intuitive sense of the flora around us, so she was forced to guide the roots as I powered their growth.

Unlike the first tree that served as our original home, Nadine and Fesk would benefit from the services of Dwergi smiths and engineers' gravity-powered elevator to raise and lower them from their home beneath the canopy. It wouldn’t be installed for a couple of days, but it would be far more convenient than stairs.

The war game continued for nearly three days before it was brought to an end.

As I had expected, Iristrixanthrax’s forces succeeded. What surprised me was how they accomplished it.

Iristrixanthrax paid dozens of people to act conspicuously and draw the attention of the guards. That allowed Kobolds that were hidden inside of supply wagons to enter the city without incident. Taking things a little differently, the Kobolds then left the city shortly afterwards.

The Kobolds had only intended to scope out the portal site with their own eyes. Passing through the portal took place later.

More people were paid off to unwittingly deliver Kobolds carrying teleportation wands into the designated portal site and then leave. The Kobolds then retreated to their hidden staging area outside of the city.

They waited for the wands to recharge and then stormed the Foothold in force. The first Kobold to enter the faux Labyrinth carried a Beacon, allowing the other Kobolds to Teleport to his location. With each wand capable of teleporting dozens of Kobolds before depleting its charge, hundreds of Kobolds overran the Foothold before the defenders ever realised what was happening.

The transportation of the first Kobold into the faux Labyrinth required my personal intervention. Even so, most of the plan had still come as a complete surprise when I received the rundown from Iristrixanthrax afterwards.

Some weaknesses would present extreme risks ‘in the field’, but on the whole, it seemed viable.

Of course, the Empowered Beacons would streamline things somewhat. Especially if they had willing human collaborators and allies.

They would need a key to engage in a Conquest. Without it, they would only be able to fortify and engage in a war of attrition.

To that end, I offered the assistance of my Champions. Capable of serving as intermediaries to hire the necessary cover for entry, as well as safeguarding the key Blackthorn, they would eliminate two barriers to the Kobolds' desire for additional territory.

It would also allow me to observe their efforts remotely.

Iristrixanthrax was ambitious, but I didn’t have a decent measure of any other element of her character. Her respect for me and my position as leader was unquestionable, yet it was profoundly lacking for her peers. Hopefully, that opinion would change over time as Iristrixanthrax’s exposure to the other Species increased. If they didn't, I would have to consider certain intervention measures.

Reports pieced together from the first-hand accounts of Werrian refugees made it clear that the empire was in a state of collapse. So it came as no surprise when the Asrusian high command forwarded the announcement by the Confederacy that a new campaign to seize the empire’s territory would begin within the month.

The urgency of the campaign was described as being for the sake of seizing as much territory as possible before the empire’s neighbours could do the same, not for the sake of saving the civilians.

To maintain their cover as a compliant city-state, the Asrusian high command would need to send a force under their own banner, or contribute soldiers and supplies to someone else's.

As it was explained to me, the wars of expansion, or ‘liberation’ as the confederates called it, were used as the opportunity for noble families and merchant enclaves to expand their influence. Technically, voting would determine the distribution of new territory. However, the first group to establish an administration in a city had a much greater chance of leveraging that position to keep it.

The overall weight of one’s vote would be in parallel to their observed contributions to the overall war effort. Not contributing at all wasn't an option, but many of the weaker cities only sent nominal forces and supplies. This was due to the most powerful families and enclaves dominating the political scene and ensuring that the efforts of those on the fringes would not be formally recognised when the spoils were to be divided.

The Asrusian high command wanted to know what I thought on the matter before they announced their plans to the Confederacy.

Perhaps contrary to their expectations, I told them to announce a major mobilisation. The Asrusian turncoats would be marching for the Werrian capitol.

It was time to put down the undead menace for good.

Several high-ranking officers had been uncomfortable with the idea of fighting a war to liberate the subjects of their enemy. However, the threat posed by the undead, especially the Liche, could not be ignored forever.

It had been easy to remain complacent within the safety afforded by Sanctuary. However, with each piece of territory added to my Demi-Plane, my authority would increase a little bit more. Each increase in my authority also increased my access to knowledge previously denied to me.

Two things, in particular, were of significant importance. The first was that my extradimensional holdings would be inherited by blood relatives upon my death, prioritising my children or potential siblings. The division was able to be manually determined in the form of a spoken will of intent. As insurance, I had nominated Pete to inherit everything. Dividing things would only lead to trouble. I had chosen Pete over Suzy due to their respective temperaments, but there wasn’t telling how that would change in the future. It just seemed like the best choice given the available information.

The second thing was that my Demi-Plane was only one expression of many. Extradimensional spaces had thresholds for growth, and mine was fast approaching its first major stage of development. I wasn’t precisely sure what that development would change, only that something would change.

I had another free position to elevate another potential champion through The Tyrant’s Fists Ability. To create a list of candidates I decided to host a Demi-Plane-wide tournament. As an added incentive to maximise the number of participants, I also decided to award Underlord promotions to the finalists.

The tournament would be open to everyone, but the quest system would pair the weaker contenders against one another first and seed stronger participants later. This would ensure that the lower-level participants would have the opportunity to level up against one another before facing those of higher levels.

My original plan to create a single grand arena for hosting the selection tournament required architectural and engineering expertise I did not possess. Thankfully, the Dwergi were able to provide experts in both fields. However, in exchange for their services, they made a request I had not expected.

“You would want to use the site as the grounds for your own city?” I asked the Dwergi representative> Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t keep the hesitance from my tone.

To their credit, only the youngest Dwergi amongst their delegation showed signs of irritation at the perceived slight.

“Majesty,” Johan Shaleheart did his best not to lean on his cane, but his old age and the extreme height difference between us made it a doomed effort. “We are few in number, and we do not refute this fact,” he stated boldly despite his aged frame, “But we are, in our hearts, a strong and independent people. We must prove we can stand on our own two feet!” Johan’s shock white moustache and hairy ears trembled as a burning passion took hold in his eyes, “For the generations that follow, we must show strength so they will have the will to persevere!”

“So you need a symbol with which to rally your people.” I could understand where they were coming from. They had been Enslaved for generations. Some more or less than others, but they had all been Slaves, and it left a mark.

For most of the liberated Slaves, they were happy to live their lives in peace. But not all of them. Some of the former Slaves couldn’t reconcile their anger and resentment, resorting to violent vocations to vent their emotions.

The Dwergi were different.

They were, in their hearts, builders and makers. It was a part of who they are. Being Enslaved and performing those tasks had made them no easier to bear. From the accounts I had listened to, it had been its own unique form of torture. There was a part of them that wanted to do things a certain way, no matter what they were told or ordered to do, and suppressing that part of themselves generated a severe depression.

Sanctuary had been accommodating to the Dwergi, giving them nearly free rein below ground. But it wasn’t enough.

Unlike the dwarves in modern fantasy and cinema, not all Dwergi preferred living underground. A full third of their current population had a sub-Species specifically adapted to living in the light, and nearly a quarter were half-breeds of the two major groups.

In hindsight, I should have anticipated the request sooner. Numbering in the thousands, they were one of Sanctuary’s most numerous Species, only falling behind the Orcs and Goblins.

“Fine,” I agreed, surprising the other members of the Dwergi delegation into stunned silence. “Do you intend to have your own Faction?” That question seemed to catch Johan off guard. Just judging by his reaction, and those of the other delegates, it became clear that they were going to ask but hadn’t anticipated that I would raise the subject first. “Assuming you didn’t know already, the Faction Leader has the power to assign and revoke promotions within their Faction. That person will also represent your Faction on the Faction Council. So whomever your people choose must remember that the position carries an immense degree of responsibility.”

Johan took a few moments to rally, but his determination had not wavered. “Our council of elders has already held a vote, Majesty, and I have the honour and responsibility of having been chosen to represent my people.”

“Very well,” I gathered my mana and Summoned a projection of Sebet, “You will need to detail the procedures used to decide upon the position of Faction Leader for your people. Sebet will then write up a Contract that will ensure both yourself and your successors abide by that system. You will also need to provide a means for those you represent to peacefully replace you if needed.”

It took me about an hour to explain why the Contracts would be necessary. The Dwergi delegation only relented once I pointed out that every other Faction had been required to do the same to have representation on the Faction Council.

I wasn’t going to force democracy on everyone, especially since I was occupying the position of supreme monarch. However, I wanted order, and the Contracts would ensure that. I hoped that the provisions for peacefully replacing the Faction Leaders would ensure uneventful transitions down the line, but I wasn’t so naive that I didn't anticipate intrigue and corruption to rear up eventually.

I just had to hope that my children and their descendants would be up to the task.

The news of the formation and official recognition of the Dwergi Faction spread quickly and by the end of the evening, I had received several requests for others to form their own Factions. Most lacked the requisite numbers to have individual representation on the Faction Council but otherwise had legitimate cause for self-governance.

The Thralls were one such example. They lacked the numbers to stand on their own but were too numerous and culturally alien to fully integrate either. Rikit’s pack, almost numbering in the thousands, was another such group.

I formed a second council, Sanctuary’s Council, that would preside below Gric, the existing Faction Leader and representative of Sanctuary.

When the Factions reached sufficient size to strike out on their own, they would receive a seat on the Faction Council. For Rikit’s pack, that would likely arrive during their next Mothers Moon, which made the need for expansion all the more pressing.

As usual, Gric seemed quite happy with the official expansion of his authority, even if it was mostly only in name and was accompanied by increased responsibilities.

The following morning, the tauric arachnid Daemon Yor requested on behalf of the library and all of its associated staff for a faction which caught me somewhat off guard. They wanted a Faction similar in nature to Wraithe’s. However, instead of training Surgeons and furthering medical knowledge exclusively, they wanted to train historians, librarians and the like, and gather all kinds of knowledge. It seemed like a noble goal that would provide benefits to all, so I agreed.

It only later occurred to me that one of their requests in particular would ruffle a great many feathers. To pursue their goal to preserve and gather knowledge, would almost certainly mean they intended to accompany the army when it went on campaign. It was commonplace for libraries to be set ablaze or ransacked during the looting spree after a siege. This meant that only Yor’s librarians would be able to minimise the damage, who would be there in person to make sure of it.

I did not envy the commanders who would be forced to listen to the anthropologists' demands nor the poor soldiers who would have to help fulfil them.

***** Nila - Sanctuary ~ Tim’s Demi-Plane *****

The decision to visit Sanctuary with her family had made her husband Giles uncomfortable, to say the least. However, now that they were exploring the bountiful orchards and rolling meadows, Nila could tell that their two children weren’t the only ones enjoying themselves.

“I thought this place was meant to be in the middle of a swamp?” Giles commented with a bemused smile on his lips.

“Pway?!” Beni, their youngest, pleaded, pointing to a mob of small children screaming and giggling atop the back of a giant amber-scaled Beast.

The Beast moved with deliberate patience that defied its fierce appearance. However, a chance moment of eye contact revealed the unexpected depth of the Beast’s intelligence and true nature.

“I don’t think so...” Giles replied in a placating tone, “It looks a little, uh, busy. How about we take a look at the pretty flowers over there?” He pointed to a nearby meadow that was covered in exotic flowers that would normally be reserved for the private gardens on a noble’s estate.

“Pwetty!” Beni agreed emphatically.

“Are we allowed?” Vera asked uncertainly and worried at the hem of her tunic. Already a young woman of thirteen years, she had taken more from her father than Nila herself. Not that Nila minded. After all, it tended to keep her out of trouble and harms way.

Nila took note of the other visitors already touring the meadows, “I think we will be alright,” she replied confidently and led the way toward the meadow.

“It really is beautiful here,” Giles noted with a sigh, “And everyone is so...happy...”

“Full bellies will help with that,” Nila joked. Sanctuary was an agricultural powerhouse, and so far as she was aware, the food that could be picked off of the trees and bushes was free. “But I understand what you mean.” Some of the locals were overtly distrustful of them, but that was true of most places Nila had visited, except for the cities. However, most were either ambivalent toward them or mildly curious.

Humans were a rarity in Sanctuary, so as strange as the residents of Sanctuary were to Nila and her family, she knew that it cut just as deep the other way around.

“How much do you think a home costs in the merchant district?” Giles asked conversationally, fully aware that their combined income wouldn’t come close to renting such a place without dipping into their savings, let alone buying a home outright. The merchant families were practically champing at the bit to buy even the smallest houses just so they could place orders with Sanctuary’s residents directly.

The shift to mana stones rather than coins had presented several problems all its own. Thankfully, the government had a standing offer to make the conversions at a competitive rate for all military personnel.

Giles and Nila weren’t quite sure where the wind was headed just yet, so they kept a reasonable stash of the coins, just in case.

“Too much,” Nila chuckled and briefly knelt down to admire a strange flower with two large overlapping petals.

“A shame,” Giles sighed with a wistful smile, “Custom fitting would do a brisk business here I would imagine,” he nodded toward a trio of short Goblin women who were wearing long human-sized tunics cinched at the waist as makeshift dresses.

“CHOOO!” Beni sneezed hard enough to rip the petals off the small flowers she had been playing with. No doubt scared by the sudden noise, and sad because of hurting the flowers, Beni began to cry.

Giles gently pulled Beni into a bug, “Oh there there, Beni, it’s okay...” His voice caught in his throat as new petals bloomed from the injured flowers. “What was?...” Giles’ voice failed him again as he noticed Nila’s attention was directed elsewhere.

A tall lithe woman with dark amethyst skin and a pair of black branch-like horns had been walking by when Beni sneezed. The same woman had restored the flowers with a casual flick of her wrist. Thick keratinous strands hung from the woman’s head like limp spines, and hooked claws adorned her fingers and toes.

She moved with a predatory grace and absolute confidence in her abilities as she approached them. “Do not fret, little one,” The woman of indeterminate Species made as if to pluck a nearby flower, except the stem extended in her grip rather than breaking. Once it had reached a certain length, the stem separated of its own accord. The length in her hand curled around and twisted upon itself many times over before becoming joined end to end. With a flourish, and blurring speed, the horned woman placed the stem crown on Beni’s head, “For you, little one,” the woman hissed with a small smile that revealed far too many sharp and pointed teeth.

The initial shock had stunned Beni into inactivity, but she looked like she was about to start crying anew. Then, quite suddenly, buds erupted from the crown on her head and bloomed into a rainbow of colourful flowers.

The horned woman’s smile widened at Beni’s obvious surprise. “Be good, little one, and be safe.” Without saying anything further, she stood up and walked away.

“Pwetty! Pwetty!” Beni cheered, hopping up and down in Giles’ arms.

“I, uh, guess you can’t just judge people by what they look like, eh?” Giles chuckled nervously.

“Oh my gosh...” Vera was trembling and breathing hard.

“Are you alright?” Nila asked worriedly and reached out to support her daughter.

Vera waved her off and pointed toward the retreating figure of the horned woman, “Don’t you know who that was?!” She looked like she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

“Vera, sweetheart-” Nila felt a pang of panic at the uncharacteristically assertive behaviour of her daughter.

“That’s the lady of the harvest!” Vera exclaimed excitedly, “She looks different without the robe, but Willum showed me a picture! It’s definitely her! She’s the one that makes all the crops in the villages grow real fast after they perform the special planting ritual!”

Nila wasn’t sure what to do. She had thought Vera was upset, but now she seemed excited more than anything else.

“I want to go talk to her!” Vera declared and began to chase after the horned woman before Nila managed to catch her daughter from behind.

“Sweety! Vera! She might be busy! It’s not good to just impose on people!” Vera’s reference to the special crop-growing ritual had confirmed Nila’s suspicions as to the horned woman’s identity. She was one of his Majesty’s most powerful Daemons and they would do well not to upset or inconvenience her. They were guests, after all.

“But mom! When am I ever going to have a chance like this again?!” Vera pleaded urgently.

“Pwetty!” Beni giggled temporarily drawing everyone’s attention before the illusion broke a moment later.

“Why thank you!” A husky feminine voice purred appreciatively.

Looking for the source of the voice, Nila instinctively held her daughter tighter as she laid eyes on an impossibly perfectly proportioned pale-skinned and blonde-haired human woman standing behind them. Wearing a dress missing more panels of cloth than were in Nila’s whole tunic, the woman knew exactly how to stand to expose as much flesh as she wanted and not an inch more. A primal instinct in Nila’s brain caused her to position herself between the woman and her husband.

“Pardon me, but I couldn’t help but overhear you mention your services as a tailor,” the woman commented conversationally while looking past Nila and toward Giles, “By chance, are you looking to relocate?”

“Uh...” Giles shifted nervously while his eyes stayed firmly locked above the woman’s head.

“You see, I have been looking for a good tailor,” the woman continued unashamedly, “Of course, I would see to it that you are well compensated for your work.”

Giles began sweating profusely, “Uh, well, my wife, Nila, she’s in the army, and we, my wife Nila and me, we, my wife that is-”

“Oh I’m sure arrangements could be made,” the woman waved away his concerns dismissively, “There is a Gateway for easy transportation to any major staging ground in the Demi-Plane. I doubt your current residence is nearly so convenient.”

That stung Nila’s pride somewhat due to how true it was. Even with the steps the engineers had taken in trying to ensure travel throughout the city would be as fast as possible, it still took Nila the better part of an hour to arrive at muster each morning from their home.

“Let’s not forget that living within Sanctuary carries other benefits,” the blonde-haired woman added as her penetrating gaze shifted to Vera, “There are advantages and opportunities to be found within Sanctuary that simply do not exist anywhere else. To mention but a handful, there is the teaching hospital and the grand library, both of which are freely available to the public,” she smiled and revealed her perfectly white and straight teeth.

“You could arrange for a house in the merchant district?” Giles gasped with a conflicted sense of longing as his desires warred against his hard-earned scepticism.

“Oh no,” the woman replied flippantly before becoming contemplative, “Well, I suppose I could, but why would you want to live in the merchant district when you could live within Sanctuary itself?”

“We could live here?!” Vera exclaimed.

“Of course,” the woman replied with absolute surety, “While I have a considerable degree of influence, I don’t doubt that your mother could probably negotiate for such a thing herself. There are not so many people that can claim His Majesty’s confidence, and he does like to keep them close at hand.”

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Nila challenged with her metaphorical hackles raised to their limits by the noblewoman’s blatant goading.

“I am another who claims the honour and privilege of His Majesty’s favour,” the woman replied amiably with apparent amusement sparkling in her pale blue eyes, “As of right now, your husband, Giles, may call me his patron if he so wishes. My offer is both genuine and generous, for I am indeed in need of a talented tailor. As for you, Captain Nila, you may call me Overlord, Spymistress, or even Sebet.”