B3 C35: Offerings and Gifts

“I will confess, I may have been somewhat overeager in selecting my attire.” Verin glanced down towards her pair of blindingly white pants with a hint of a scowl. Or at least, her pants had been blindingly white. Streaks of brown dirt intermingled with a few dashes of green, the surrounding forest seeming intent on granting her a level of natural camouflage. “Had I perhaps thought more carefully, I would have chosen something with a self-cleaning enchantment; however, I’m afraid I did not recall that forests were so… rugged.”

I chuckled as she brushed her pants off. After she’d packed her things, Verin had essentially demanded that we head to Emer’Thalis right away. For all her enthusiasm, though, it appeared she wasn’t too used to the great outdoors. I idly wondered how long it had been since she’d stepped foot in a forest.

“I mean, I’m pretty sure there’s not a single noble in the city, so I don’t think anyone’s going to judge you for a few grass stains, you know?” If anything, she’d probably stick out more without them, though I opted not to tell her that.

Something about my words seemed to please the noble scion -- possibly the reminder that she was free from noble politicking for a few days. This far away from Sylum, she was most certainly on a mini-vacation right now.

With practiced steps, I led us deeper into the forest, navigating back to the main forest shadow encampment. Well-accustomed to my presence, the various forest shadows we passed didn’t react much to the sight of me. Of course, that didn’t stop them from staring at Verin, but to be fair, Verin was also busy staring at them.

“Possibly this is a fault on my part, but I cannot say that I’ve had much exposure to other races. Your descriptions did them justice, though somehow I failed to envision them quite so tall.” Not particularly vertically gifted herself, Verin was forced to crane her head upwards as she took in the surrounding forest shadows.

“You get used to it pretty fast,” I replied. “In any case, you said you wanted to try sleeping in a tent like I usually do, right? Let me go set one up for you, and then I can give you a tour.” Having already played host before, I knew exactly where the spare tents were kept, quickly erecting one a short distance off from my own. I led Verin into hers, revealing the interior with a grand flourish.

Her expression was entirely, unflinchingly neutral as she took it in. On spotting the various gems which were embedded into the leather, however, she gave out an audible sigh of relief.

“I see. This is some form of portable shower, then? It is a tad smaller than I am accustomed to, but I am certain it will be an enjoyable change of pace for me. Are we to set up the living quarters next to it?”

I simply stood there, blinking a few times while doing my best not to laugh at the noble heiress. Repeating my earlier action, I once again waved my hands in a showy flourish.

“Shower, living quarters, all of it! All this bad boy needs is a few furs to sleep on, and you’re in action! Welcome to the forest life!” I beamed at Verin, silently betting that I would need to find her somewhere to stay outside of the forest. If somewhat amusing, her outlook wasn’t unexpected, nor could I really blame her for it. I’d seen her shower before, and she was right: It was bigger than this. By a lot.

Verin opened her mouth a few times, only to then clamp it shut. I was half-convinced that I’d broken her, her Etiquette skill likely working overtime to figure out how to say what she wanted to in a passably polite way. Thankfully, she eventually succeeded.

“It is quite… quaint. On second thought, however, I am realizing that it would be a touch rude of me to impose upon the forest shadows in such a manner. Would it be possible for you to lead me to some form of clearing instead?”

Good save! I considered insisting that the forest shadows wouldn’t mind, if for no other reason to see what mental gymnastics she would concoct instead of telling me it was too small for her. Luckily for her, I wasn’t that cruel. I wasn’t sure how finding a clearing would help, but it was a pretty simple task.

We walked off into the forest, coming across a few clearings that apparently wouldn’t work for some reason or another. Eventually, however, we found one that would suffice for whatever she was planning.

“Excellent. I am… relieved that I decided to plan for this eventuality. One moment please.”

In a single graceful, fluid motion, she reached down to where a small circular disk was clasped to her pouch, removing it and tossing it into the center of the clearing.

“Verin, what-”

Abruptly, the disk exploded in a surge of spatial mana, blanketing the entire area in a dark void. The air about it raced inwards, forming a wind which buffeted us for a split second. Right as I was about to repeat my earlier truncated question -- at a much higher volume this time around -- it was over.

Without further fanfare, the void disappeared.

And in its place, there was an entire, fully built, house.

Not a simple log cabin or a one-story shack, either. If not quite palatial, it was the sort of home I could have only dreamed of affording back on Earth, built out of glossy silver bricks which looked entirely out of place surrounded by the dark-veined trees.

Though I’d seen my fair share of oddities by now, I still found myself staring at her incredulously.

“Verin, did you pack an entire house in your travel bag?” She had to realize that wasn’t normal, right?

She merely shrugged. “In truth, I was planning on doing this at the end of this trip. Under the expectation of our continued friendship, I was considering installing a vacation home here. Given that I am much more… familiar with this style of accommodations, I imagined it may be a good idea to move those plans slightly forward. I trust you have no objections?”

Is that a thing a person can do? Just summon up a vacation home whenever they want?

I mean, I guess it was when they were rich enough and friends with a settlement owner.

Do I have a reason to say no? It was the sort of ridiculous thing that felt like something I should have an issue with, but it wasn’t really like I had any issue with there being a house here. Although…

“I guess not personally? Before you leave, though, you should probably run that by-”

A strong gust of wind tore through the clearing, whipping both of our hairs into a frenzy.

“Me, young one.” The words came from behind us, and spinning about, we witnessed as a figure pulled herself out of a nearby tree, the bark rippling like water at her passage. “This should be ‘run by’ me. What sort of garish building have you decided to defile my forest with?” She gazed imperiously at the vacation home as if it were a worm.

Although she probably doesn’t mind worms that much being a dryad and all. Not really the point though.

Before I could intervene, Verin bowed lower than I’d ever seen from her.

“It is an honor to meet the revered dryad,” she said. “You may call me Verin, and I apologize for my haste. It was my hope to establish a residence here, and to that end, I have prepared a gift to you as a sign of respect. Should it not be to your liking, I will of course move the building elsewhere.”

Huh. It was the first time I’d really seen Verin displaying any form of deference to someone else. Then again, I strongly doubted Elphaea cared much about Verin’s noble pedigree.

The dryad snorted, summoning up a percussive gust of wind. “Very well, child. I shall withhold further judgment until I see this ‘offering’ of yours.”

Having already lifted herself up, Verin gave a bow once more. “You have my gratitude. I am afraid that my knowledge of the taste of dryads is somewhat lacking, however. As such, I prepared a number of offerings. Please choose whatever would appeal to you.”

The ground before us shimmered for a moment, and the next instant, an entire treasure trove worth of various objects lay spread out across the forest floor. Gemstones, jewelry, a number of strange-looking plants and seeds, and a dozen random trinkets and consumables besides.

Wait, did she pick all of this up as she was packing her bag, or how long has she been planning on this? Maybe she’d been waiting for me to invite her here for a while now. Oops.

Elphaea arched a verdant brow, summoning up a host of roots to grab the offerings, bringing each one closer to her eyes in turn. With each object, her initial hostility was chipped away at one step further, until at last she set down all the objects but two: a bottle and a small, blue gem.

“The gem. For storing illusions? A curious addition.” She lifted the gem higher while curling the bottle towards herself, seemingly already intent on taking it.

“That is correct,” Verin replied. “It was my understanding that dryads did not stray from the forests. I wondered if perhaps you would wish for some variety in your scenery and took the liberty of having a number of different environments stored into the gem.”

As if to prove Verin’s words true, Elphaea activated the gem. The terrain around us twisted into a brown, sandy desert. A moment later, we were on a beach, the sea spreading out before us. A grassy plain. Even the streets of Sylum made an appearance.

Truth be told, it all looked very… low-tech to me, faded and transparent, although I couldn’t tell if the fault lay with the gem or if my high resistance to illusions was rearing its head again.

At the sea and the city in particular, Elphaea looked inordinately pleased. She curled the root holding the gem towards her, bringing it next to the bottle.

“I will be taking it, then. As for the bottle, you may give it to the bartender child. I believe she will be quite pleased to have access to a new drink.” The root holding the bottle extended out towards Verin, depositing it in her hands. “Altogether, a suitable offering, young one. I suppose I will suffer your home’s presence here. For now, at least.”

Verin bowed a third and final time. “Gratitude, honored dryad. I will be sure to bring more on further visits.”

Elphaea waved a hand dismissively and began moving back toward the tree line. “Very well then. Although at some point, come seek me out for a longer discussion.” She tilted her head back towards the glossy building, her face puckering up despite herself. “If I am to endure this building of yours, we will strive to make it… less hideous.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With housing figured out -- even if somewhat less conventionally than I’d expected -- it was time to show Verin exactly what the settlement had to offer. Admittedly, that wasn’t much compared to Sylum, but as I started to take her around, I realized that I was beginning to feel sort of proud of Emer’Thalis. The transformation the city had gone through in under a year was dramatic, and it was starting to feel like a real settlement instead of a hastily erected outpost.

The lake seemed to be doing well, with the greenery that ringed it now extending outwards for several meters. It even looked like someone had introduced a few fish into the water, and as I showed it off to Verin, I even spotted a few adventurers sitting by the lakeside with fishing rods in hand.

Given that Elphaea had charged Verin with delivering whatever fancy bottle of booze she’d brought to Nadja at some point, I made sure to point out where the bar was, too. From a distance. For obvious reasons, I did not give her a tour of the insides of the bar.

Emer’Thalis central -- consisting of the town hall, the mess hall, and the various carts and criers which made up our mini-economy -- had expanded even more since last I’d been around. In addition to the standard food vendors, there was now a large board where people could post requests. Curious to see what everyone needed, I picked one out at random.

Looking for armor repair. Preferably someone with a Journeyman Smithing or Repair-like skill. Pay negotiable.

Given the makeup of the population, I supposed that was to be expected. Maybe I would look into building some sort of smithy if possible.

Outside of a few “I see”s and “interesting”s, Verin remained largely mute during the tour. Thankfully, I got the sense that was less because she was judging or looking down on the settlement and more because she was just taking it all in. She did, however, express some level of interest in the bathhouse, and we branched off from the central area to show her just that.

Making a slight detour, I wove our path around to check on the in-progress trading outpost. Given how close it had been to completion last I’d been here, I was a touch surprised I hadn’t been greeted on my return with a notification about it being finished.

Only, when we at last arrived, it looked like the trading post was complete. The building itself was a fairly standard square with polished darkwood walls and a flat roof. Despite its simplicity, there was a certain sharpness to it which made the entire thing look particularly official. A trio of canopies surrounded the building on three sides, each of them erected over large stone slabs which had been cut into tiers as if to show off merchandise. Despite this, two of the slabs lay empty, exuding an oddly lifeless aura.

The third was much the same, save for the fact that one familiar stubbled figure sat atop it. No other builders were present which was odd in and of itself. Making matters one step more concerning, the foreman stared off into the distance with a pitifully melancholy affect.

“That man looks rather sad,” Verin noted. “Is this a matter we should be concerned by?”

As if sensing he was being talked about, Foreman Tuk spotted us in that exact moment. Abruptly, his entire demeanor shifted, and he started sprinting towards us frantically. Unsure what his goals were, Verin summoned a sharp icicle at his hasty approach, but with a quick signal from me, she dismissed it just as fast.

“Oi! Tess! You’re back! Why didn’t anyone tell me? It’s horrible!” He stopped right before us, panting and oblivious to the icicle that Verin had been prepared to send at him.

“Uh, hi Tuk. This is my friend Verin.” At my introduction, Verin gave an impassive nod. “I was just showing her around. What’s horrible, though? Is something wrong with the building? It looks like it’s done.”

Gripped by some sort of builder’s madness, Tuk grabbed me by the shoulders and began to shake. “Exactly! It is done! Only it’s not!” Letting go, he started to pace about in a small circle. “That damned guildmaster of yours didn’t bother telling us that we’d need to get an approval before we finished building it. Look at your settlement interface -- there should be a notification there.”

Not quite understanding but happy to play along, I went to my settlement interface, quickly finding the aforementioned notice.

You have finished construction on a Vassal Spatial Trading Post! To complete the building, please select a compatible settlement to establish the building’s vassalage. Note: Settlements may only be chosen after getting approval from a relevant official.

“Huh. Sorry Tuk, I didn’t know. I can try to find someone for the next time I visit.” Admittedly, I wasn’t really sure who to ask, although I knew someone who I figured would. “Verin, any chance you know who I’d need to talk to to get approval here? Someone in the Chamber of Commerce, maybe?”

Verin ever-so-slightly tilted her head to the side. “From your words and the appearance of the building, am I to assume that this is a Vassal Spatial Trading Post? You neglected to mention that you were building such a thing.”

Likely that was less because it had slipped my mind and more because it just hadn’t seemed important. When I confirmed that she’d hit the mark exactly, though, Verin responded with a firm nod.

“A good addition to a settlement such as this, and one that will likely make my future vacation stays more pleasant. As for the approval process, there is no need to worry yourself. For a simple issue such as this, I am more than sufficient.” No sooner did she finish her sentence than a new notification sprung into existence.

You have been granted approval to bind your Vassal Spatial Trading Post to the city of Sylum! Would you like to do so now?

“Oh. Neat. Thanks for that, I didn’t know you could do that.” I confirmed the prompt, and a new block of text immediately replaced it.

Congratulations! Your city has built a Vassal Spatial Trading Post (bound to Sylum)!

For adding a Rare building to your settlement, you gain 5 Prestige.

The building quality is: Great.

The following bonuses will be applied to your building based on its quality and the manner in which it was made.

Great bonus and material bonus:

When selling any dark-mana-infused material through the trading post, the settlement will generate a small percentage of the items’ sale’s price into settlement points.

I focused on the bonus and sifted through the exact details, finding the “small percentage” to be a pretty painful calculation that took into account local currencies and inflation rates amongst other things. Considering how many mana-infused resources we had here, though, I trusted the ability would serve us well.

My reading was quickly interrupted, however, as Tuk rushed forward, throwing Verin into a bear hug. She stood there, arms pinned against her side, throwing me a notably bemused look.

“You finished it! Hah! Who would have thought you’d just happen to be a high-ranking official, eh?” Seeming to repeat that last sentence in his head, he froze for a moment before jerking backwards. “A high-ranking official! Ah, sorry about that, miss. But still, thank you! You don’t know how much I’ve been moping around lately with this thing being unoperational.”

Sparing him from any further embarrassment, the building chose that moment to hum to life. The dark veins of the wooden exterior seemed to glow all the stronger, and where once the stone slabs had been bare and destitute, they suddenly sported all manner of different goods.

Before he could receive any form of rebuke from Verin, Tuk dashed away towards the merchandise, clearly eager to see what we could buy. Even if somewhat miffed, Verin followed behind him, as did I.

“Fascinating stuff, eh? I’m sure this will make people’s lives a good bit easier here.” Tuk pointed to a few foodstuffs that were clustered together on one side of the display. Curious to see how it all worked, I reached out, grabbing a simple loaf of bread. It was oddly light and grew faintly transparent as I picked it up, and I greatly doubted that I’d be able to eat it before paying.

Bread

Cost: 6 copper*

*Note, this price is in the local currency of Sylum. Please pay using Sylum’s currency or see more details to view currency exchange rates.

I opted to do so, only to find that the rates were ruinous. It looked like we wouldn’t be buying much unless we sold things first to build up enough currency. Still, I had a fair bit of coin on me, and just to test things out, I decided to buy it. The bread flashed, growing more solid, and I took a bite.

It was even still warm.

Hopefully that will solve the food issue, at least. We’d been managing to feed everyone pretty well with the introduction of the forest farms, and I imagined the new presence of fish in the lake helped us out even further. Still, that relied heavily on the shadows to be constantly hunting and gathering for an entire settlement. It was part of the deal they’d struck when inviting everyone here to save the forest, but it was hardly a long-term solution. Trading for food would be considerably easier.

I browsed the remaining wares for a while and was delighted to discover that the items on display would change to show me whatever I requested. Simply saying aloud what I was looking for would cause the merchandise to be swapped out. Only, the more I asked for, the more I realized that my options were… lackluster, to say the least.

As a different sort of test, I fished out a piece of darkwood from my pouch, brandishing it before the stall in an effort to sell it. The notification I received didn’t overly thrill me.

Currently, the trading post can only be used to buy or sell extremely common goods. To trade other items, please establish a contract to do so.

“Wait, a contract? We need contracts?” I vaguely recalled Tuk telling me something to that effect, but it still took the wind out of my sails a bit.

“Indeed,” Verin chimed in. “It would perhaps be more apt to think of the trading post as a transportation hub. Should you find a buyer in Sylum for any of the resources you produce here, you will need only to bring the required objects to the trading post to complete the trade. Normally, the acquisition of contracts is handled by a dedicated contract broker who works with a settlement. Am I to assume you have not acquired one for yourself?”

I felt myself slump downwards. “No. And I’m honestly not sure how I’d get one, either. Do you think I should ask Suds?”

Verin flicked her hand to the side as if swatting the question away. “While I do not doubt that he could eventually find someone, the commons is not normally in the business of managing settlements. This is much more a frequent concern for the nobility. I will see to it that someone is assigned to you.”

That was both nicer and easier than I’d expected. I felt kind of bad making Verin do all that for me, especially when she’d already helped us to complete the building, but I wasn’t going to say no to her if she was offering.

“Thanks Verin. I owe you one.”

A predatory grin slid across her face. “Oh? Is that something you’d like to sign an Oath for, Lady Tess?”

I shivered for a moment, picturing myself signing another blood Oath, but as quickly as her fierce expression formed, it was gone. Instead, she chuckled.

“A jest. Although if you’d like to pay me back, that bread you’ve bought has sparked a touch of hunger in me. Perhaps we can see that I get fed before we continue our tour?”

Despite finding Verin’s sense of humor a bit warped at times, I agreed readily. After enduring a few more heartfelt thanks from Tuk, thankfully sans bear hugs this time, we made our way back to Emer’Thalis central.

After the debacle with the housing situation, I was admittedly a bit nervous about introducing Verin to the local cuisine. It was possible I was worrying for nothing -- she’d eaten what I’d prepared for her back when I’d thrown a dinner party, after all, and my Cooking skill had only been a measly level 8 at the time. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if it would be up to snuff for her.

As if to save me from finding out, however, right as we were about to enter the mess hall, a voice called out to me from behind.

“Tess! You’re back!”

The two of us spun about to find a wrinkly if deceptively spry old man with a meticulously groomed mustache adorning his face. He held a book in one hand, and off to his side stood two kexids, one tall and the other much shorter. It appeared as though Barb was coming back from his book club.

The moment we faced him, he took a step back, obviously startled.

“Pardon, but is that- Would I be correct in believing you to be the Lady Verin’Sylus?”

If Verin was shocked, she didn’t show it. Instead, she bowed her head just the slightest bit. “Ah, the Barber. It is a pleasure to see you again, and of course, you are correct. I would like to thank you for the gift of tea you sent along through your daughter last semester. If you’ll pardon me, however, I believe I am being rude.” Unexpectedly, she turned from Barb to where Ava stood, this time bowing at the waist. “Forgive me for not bringing an appropriate gift with my arrival, your majesty -- I was not aware that there was any royalty residing within this settlement.” For all that she’d gawked at the forest shadows, Verin seemed to have no issue with Ava, if perhaps only because of her Etiquette kicking in. I often forgot about it, but I supposed Ava was a queen, wasn’t she?

To this, Ava chittered with delight, nudging her companion beside her. “Look, Edgar! It’s a noble! Oh, I do love a good noble, Edgar. We should invite her along, yes?” She clapped her claws together before pointing at Verin. “Hello noble lady! For gift, you come and you talk with us, yes? You help I learn language more. You like tea? Wine?”

Not missing a beat, Verin nodded, not at all off-put by Ava’s slightly broken Common. “I am greatly conducive to both beverages, your majesty. It would be my honor to continue talking with you.”

“Good! You come then. Barb and me and Edgar go to see musician friend now at the bar. Come, come, deary!”

The rapid turn of events caught me off guard, and sensing my surprise, Barb shot me an apologetic smile. “Apologies, Tess, but we’re headed to the bar. I don’t suppose you’ll be joining us…”

Well-aware of my issues with Nadja, Barb knew that I wouldn’t be coming along. Ultimately though, that was fine. I wanted to finish showing Verin around, but I still needed to check in with Amak and Carpin, and I had no desire to drag Verin along for all the boring administrative stuff.

“I think I’ll pass. But you all go ahead -- Verin, I’m going to handle a few logistical things, but I’ll wait back here for you when I’m done. Barb, Ava, Edgar, I’m sure I’ll see you again before I leave.”

All four of them bobbed their heads in agreement, with Verin being the one to respond.

“Apologies for cutting our tour short; however, perhaps this is fortuitous. If you recall, I do have some business to take care of at the bar, and it will be enjoyable to catch up with your… father.”

Ava pouted a bit that I wasn’t coming along, but with that settled, we all said our goodbyes. Before the four of them were fully out of earshot, I overheard the first snippet of their conversation.

“I see a book in your hand, though I confess I find myself unable to read the title. Have you been reading something of particular note?”

Barb coughed, and I watched from afar as he hastily threw the book into his pouch. “Ah, that! I’m afraid it’s rather dry, truth be told. Just something to help me learn Old Common, is all.”

Of course, it was at this point that Ava chose to helpfully chime in.

“Dry? Not dry. Exciting! Noble lady, do you read smut?”

Not fazed in the least bit, Verin simply nodded.

“As it so happens, your majesty, I believe you will find I am quite well-versed in the subject matter. Did you say you were making an attempt to learn Common?”

Before the four at last walked far enough that I could no longer hear, I caught one final sentence as Verin pulled a large stack of books from her spatial pouch.

“If so, I believe I may have a gift for you after all...”