OG: Chapter 38

As we waited outside, the silence was tense, and at least two of Piers' Bodyguards in Iron Hans and Gaspar the Blue were still glaring daggers at Anders and Martine, respectively. I frowned as I realized that this wasn't likely to end any time soon. Even if I tried to interject or do something to cut through some of the tension, it would likely wind up backfiring. I could only sigh and look over at Bori. The Dwarf was clearly getting too old for this shit and he simply shook his head as if to warn me off trying anything pointless. I groaned a bit at the fact that the Dwarf clearly wasn't willing to help me break the ice unless he absolutely had to. This was going to be a long wait if this kept up. Bori had to realize that, I know he did, but instead of trying to help me out, he produced a clay pipe and a bit of tobacco and lit up, smoking as if he wasn't concerned about a potential brawl starting. I figured that if the Dwarf wasn't concerned, I may as well not be either, deciding to lean back against the Strigany Vardo as we waited.

It turned out to be the right choice, as nothing went further than glares, at least for the moment. The silence was tense, but it held, with no battle cries, insults, or sounds of a scuffle to cut through it. That, at least, was something. It might not be the best outcome, but at least things weren't devolving. I couldn't afford to alienate the richest man in Alynda by having my companions start a brawl with his Mercenaries in the middle of town, after all. Not only that, but I especially couldn't afford to alienate the Man's Patrons. On the list of people in the Old World you did not want to have pissed off at you, a sitting member of the Marienburg Directorate was up there, after all.

At some point, both sides had sort of gravitated naturally to themselves. Martine, Anders, and Ruggiero gathered next to me, while Gaspar the Blue and Iron Hans made their way behind Bori. Thankfully, this agglomeration of seeming battle lines didn't amount to much either. For that, I was thankful as well.

Soon enough, however, Piers Van Rijn came strolling back toward his shop, returning from his meeting with the De Roelefs. He was a small fellow, thin in the sort of way you got from late nights at the office that made you miss dinner. He wore mostly black, with a bit of gold here and there, and kept his dark brown hair coiffed in a way that suggested he had just rolled out of bed, but which actually took some effort to achieve in that particular manner. Likewise, he kept his beard cropped close to his face, showing off his chiseled jawline. Piers carried no weapon, not even a dagger. He didn't need to, thanks to the companion walking beside and slightly behind him.

That companion was a Man in an outfit of blue slashed with yellow, a large cavalier hat with a white plume was perched rakishly on his head, and tipped slightly to the side. This man clearly was a practiced swordsman, as his frame was packed with tight muscle, and he walked in such a way that suggested a predator. His dark brown hair and beard were a shade or two lighter than Piers' and were longer and bushier, respectively, than Piers' more close-cropped hair and beard. At his hip were hung a matched rapier and parrying dagger. As he walked, he kept one hand on the hilt of his rapier and the other around the neck of a bottle that appeared to be partly filled with brandy. This then was the Diestro, Diego of the long name and backwater Marquis Title that we had been told about.

"What's this? Come back already, Kostek?" Questioned Piers as he spotted us.

"Come back successfully, Meneer Van Rijn. We have lots of loot for you to peruse and a proposition for you as well." I offered.

"Would this loot be inside that Strigany Vardo, then?" Queried Piers.

"It would at that." I nodded.

"I see. And who are your companions, then, Kostek? More treasure seekers hoping to claim my Bounty?" Asked Piers.

"We banded together to take advantage of the strength in numbers that approach presented. It's honestly a good thing we did, because we had a Hell of a Time dealing with everything. Not just the Greenskins that had taken up residence near the ruins, either, though we still did deal with them." I frowned.

"Oh? Was there some monster in the ruins, then?" Questioned Piers.

"You could say that, aye. It's a bit of a story, one best told inside over a drink, actually." I nodded.

"Well, then by all means. I trust Bori already had a glance at the contents of the Vardo to prove the authenticity of your statement?" Queried Piers.

"Aye. That I did. It's all genuine, and there's more that they have in there than a few trinkets. You'll want to hear what the Manling has to say." Answered Bori.

"Well then, there you have it. I doubt anything you could put together in the few days you have been gone would be enough to fool a Dwarf of Bori's experience. Shall we adjourn to my office to discuss things?" Asked Piers.

"Aye, I think we should." I nodded.

"Kostek?" Questioned Ruggiero.

"Stay with the Vardo. Keep an eye on Martine and Anders and make sure they don't start fights with Gaspar and Hans, will you?" I queried.

"All right. Just get us a good price." Nodded Ruggiero.

"We won't start any fights." Protested Anders.

"We will finish them, though." Intoned Martine.

"J'aimerais te voir essayer, Putain des Marais." Scoffed Gaspar, daring Martine to come at him in Bretonnian.

"Je vais te couper la bite, espèce de salopard." Growled Martine, threatening Gaspar's Manhood in response.

"Control your woman." Ground out, Hans.

"You control your Bretonnian." Retorted Anders.

"Ruggiero, please pull those two back from the brink." I ordered with a sigh.

"Bori, do the same with Hans and Gaspar, if you would." Commanded Piers.

"Come on, Manling. Let's go wrangle our allies." Nodded Bori at Ruggiero.

"Indeed, let's deal with this before they cause an incident that leaves a deeper mark than just words." Agreed Ruggiero.

And with that, Ruggiero and Bori went to go sort out our respective arguing companions and make sure that no blades were pulled or spells flung. In the meantime, I followed Piers into his trade post. He led me through the main area, filled with racks of jars of various expensive substances such as Tobacco, Sugar, Various Dyes, Medicinal Herbs, Ginger, Peppercorn, and so forth, and through a short hallway just past the Armory Room, which was filled with all manner of weapons, armor, ore, and metal ingots. On the other end of the hallway, the Clotheir Room lay, filled with various clothes, pieces of jewelry, and bolts of cloth. Set into one side of the hallway, a door led to a privy, while the other side bore a door that led into a spiral staircase. Piers led me up that spiral staircase and into the turret tower.

At the top of the Spiral Staircase, a door of strong Cathayan Teak was set into a wall alongside an Iron Lock. Piers pulled a key out of a pouch on his belt and unlocked the door, revealing that the tower room at the top of the Turret Tower was a small office. The office was appointed partly as living quarters, and as we entered, I noticed a goose down mattress and silk cushion tucked in the alcove just under the window. I knew that Piers had a manor house just outside of town, where he owned several acres of land, as well, but if I was being honest, I was willing to bet this bed was far more slept in than the one in his manor house. As he gestured for me to take a seat, Van Rijn moved over behind the desk of Lustrian Mahogany and pulled a large, leatherbound ledger off one of the bookshelves, setting it down on his desk before he sat down in his own, overstuffed leather seat. I took a seat in the more austere wooden chair indicated while Piers' Bodyguard, Diego, took a seat on a stool next to a small end table.

"Now, what have you brought me?" Asked Piers.

"Thirty, Full, Best Quality Suits of Arabyan Plate Armor, Thirty Best Quality Arabyan Scimitars, Thirty Best Quality Arabyan Horsemans Axes, Thirty Best Quality Arabyan Shortbows, Forty Pieces of Arabyan Noble Jewelry of Best Quality, Three Arabyan Windglasses, Two Arabyan Enchanted Ropes, and Two Arabyan Flying Carpets." I answered.

"That is far more than I hoped for." Mused Piers.

"It's also far from everything that was in there." I added.

"Just what you could carry back with you, then?" Questioned Piers.

"Strigany Vardos can hold a lot. They are, after all, the Strigany equivalent of homes. A home can't hold an entire city's worth of loot, though." I nodded.

"An entire city, you say? Just how much did you find in there?" Queried Piers.

"It's a long story, Meneer Van Rijn. Are you sure you have time for it?" I asked.

"For this? I'll make time. What you've brought alone is worth that much." Agreed Piers.

So I told him the story. I started with our trip into the Badlands, continued into the fight with the Bloodhillz Tribe, and through to the end of the battle with Wadjer. Of course, some things I kept carefully edited. My deal with Ion and Lavinia of the Solomance Clan was edited down to just having saved Lavinia and been given the Vardo and Pony as thanks, and the Encounter with the Skaven was carefully edited to avoid any mention of the local warrens, as while knowledge of Skaven wasn't actively suppressed outside of the Empire, the extent of their Dominion wasn't well-known, and I wanted to be careful about who I let in on the extent of the Under-Empire, just in case widespread knowledge caused unintended consequences.

About partway through, however, Piers sent Diego out for wine and cheese from the Tavern he owned in town, the Tilean Vine, a competitor of the Sollander's Soujourn that catered mostly to those travelers heading up the Khypris Road to trade in Aldium, whereas the Sollander's Soujourn tended to attract a more local and rough and tumble crowd. When Diego returned, it was with a bottle of Tilean Policella and a platter of various cheeses. Piers poured two glasses of the Policella and gestured to the cheese platter with a nod at me.

"Please, have some." He insisted.

"Thank you." I grinned.

When that happened, I knew that Piers was hooked. He wouldn't break out wine and cheese unless he was hoping for something more out of the deal than a simple one-time transaction. With this, I knew he would cut me and my companions a decent price for everything in order to try and keep us sweet for future deals. Once we both had wine and cheese, he bade me to continue my story, and I did, finishing up just after we had managed to slay Wadjer. Piers paused for a moment, slowly sipping from his wine glass as he mulled everything I had just told him over silently. Eventually, he seemed to come to some sort of decision because he nodded to himself, put down his wine glass, and fixed me with a look that I knew bade good things. I could see the gleam in his eye that said he wanted more shining through, after all.

"I will be frank with you, Kostek. This all sounds quite fantastical, Vampire Lords and Skaven? Not just a mere outpost, but a hidden Arabyan City leftover from the Crusades? The Last Resting Place of a Famous Kislevite Prince, long thought vanished? Were I not looking at the fresh equipment you are wearing that looks nothing like what you left Alynda equipped in, I would be sorely tempted to say you are having a jest at my expense." Intoned Piers.

"However?" I questioned.

"Yes. However, you clearly have brought back something of worth. Something good enough to convince Master Burisson of its authenticity, and I have learned that when it comes to material wealth, a Dwarf of that level of experience is not so easily fooled. And of course, there is the aforementioned equipment you have on you." Nodded Piers.

"So, what is your initial offer for our salvage?" I queried.

"First, how many pieces of armor and weapons salvage are there in total?" Asked Piers.

"At least a thousand dead soldiers of Kislevite and Arabyan Origin. Some of those won't have resaleable equipment. At a conservative estimate, call it five hundred full pieces of kit with at least four hundred of those being Sleeved Mail Coats and Mail Leggings instead of plate harnesses." I answered.

"And how many of those would you estimate to be of finest quality?" Questioned Piers.

"Maybe fifty, mostly among the plate harnesses." I hedged.

"And the flying carpets, Winglasses, and Enchanted Ropes. You know they are active?" Queried Piers.

"The ones we found? Yes. We also didn't enter the gilded tower of Abdul Ibn Salaf, so there may be others that we didn't run across." I opined.

"What did I say, Diego? Ten Thousand Per Enchanted Rope, Twenty Per Flying Carpet, and Five per Windglass?" Asked Piers, addressing Diego.

"You did. I don't think you expected quite so much, though." Pointed out Diego.

"I didn't at that. This proposition of yours. I assume it was to enlist my aid in looting the rest of the City of Zarwai?" Questioned Piers.

"It was. Do you have an idea about that?" I queried.

"I do. First, though, if you will allow me to do a bit of quick maths?" Asked Piers.

"By all means." I affirmed.

Piers then opened one of his thick, leatherbound ledgers, grabbed a quill and an inkpot, and began crunching numbers. For someone who didn't have my powers when it came to running the numbers, or any of my cybernetic, chemical, or mystical enhancements, Piers' calculating such large sums by hand with a quill, ink, and parchment was extremely impressive and just one more thing to add to the tally I had been mentally keeping track of. It seemed the fan theory from back on my original Earth that the average human on Mundus was more than just baseline human, thanks to exposure to various energies, was once again being borne out in the feats of the inhabitants. It wasn't that such a feat wasn't possible for the average baseline human, mind you, but it did take a certain level of genius to do accounting at that level of scale and complexity by hand.

By the time that he was finished, Piers sat back in his leather armchair and folded his hands in front of him, looking at me with a gleam in his eye. He frowned thoughtfully as he regarded me before coming to a decision.

"I cannot pay you even a quarter of full price for all that now. I simply don't have the Guilders to hand and would need to contact my Patrons. Fortunately for you, my primary patron should still be in Alynda until tomorrow. I can contact her and begin setting the wheels in motion for gathering the requisite coin." Mused Piers.

"What is your offer then?" I questioned.

"My offer is this. For the amount of salvageable equipment you quoted, plus the artifacts you have brought, plus the jewelry, I will offer you two-hundred-fifty-thousand Guilders. It is just under half of the full price, which I think you will find quite generous. For every intact piece of kit we find above the quoted five hundred full kits, I will offer you one third of full price, up to the thousand soldiers you claimed were in there. For every piece of kit we find beyond that, you will only get a fifth of the full price. You will also forfeit the rights to any Flying Carpets, Enchanted Ropes, Windlgasses, or other artifacts in the city, as well as any goods found within the city itself. Those we will be taking for ourselves. As for the City and Alcazar of Zarwai, I reserve the right to disburse the real estate as I see fit." Offered Piers.

"You mean to disburse as House De Roelef sees fit?" I queried.

"Possibly, yes. You could find a lot worse people to have as neighbors than House De Roelef, though. I certainly have no complaints about their conduct." Pointed out Piers.

"How do you know I plan on purchasing the Barony of Alynda? For all you know, I could go for someplace more populated. After all, Alynda is barely a small town. Somewhere like Mantreba and Cabanal are larger. What makes you so sure I am planning to purchase the title here?" I asked.

"Had you been seeking to purchase the Title of Baron of Cabanal or Baron of Mantreba, you would not have asked about the dibursement of the land and city of Zarwai." Retorted Piers.

"Fair, I suppose. That's at least two-hundred-fifty-thousand Guilders, though, yes?" I questioned.

"It is. More than enough, split four ways, for each of your companions to also purchase baronial titles from among the vacant titles belonging to Prince Detz." Nodded Piers.

"You're remarkably well-informed." I mused.

"No, Kostek, I am simply clever and observant enough to notice patterns and put them together. It is a skill you will find comes in great use when dealing with markets." Smirked Piers.

"It would seem so." I allowed.

"So, do we have a deal?" Queried Piers.

"We do. Truthfully, this was more than I had hoped for." I confirmed.

"In that case, allow me to offer you some free advice. Never make such an admission to those with whom you are negotiating in the future. You will find it gives them a certain amount of leverage." Opined Piers.

"Instructions from the Master Merchant as well? Truly, this is my lucky day. What's next, I wonder?" I asked facetiously.

"We can't all have your skill at arms, Kostek. Some of us must make do where we can." Shrugged Piers.

"If you start giving me advice on how to woo women, I swear I am going to find a priest to perform an exorcism." I grinned.

"Perish the thought. Now, if you will wait a moment, I shall have Diego take a letter to Lady De Roelef. She should still be conducting business, though only just, I think." Mused Piers with a chuckle and a gaze out the window to judge the position of the sun.

I followed his gaze and saw that the sun was beginning to set. When we arrived at the Van Rijn Trade Post, it had barely just turned noon. Had we really spent the rest of the day in negotiations? I sincerely hoped that Ruggiero and Bori had kept a lid on our respective teammates. Otherwise, this was going to be the shortest-lived business transaction I think I had ever been a part of. When I turned back to face him, Piers was finishing writing a note on parchment, before sealing it up with wax and stamping it with his signet ring to ensure that it was properly sealed and signified. He then handed it off to Diego, who nodded and swaggered off toward the Tana Dante Docks, where Anita De Roelef's Ship, the Rijke Griffioen, was currently tied up.

That was definitely one reason for me to purchase the Barony of Alynda. The Tana Dante was, of the Rivers that crossed the Border Princes, the most navigable. Most had too many rapids to be navigable by large vessels, like the Howling River or Wrecker's Run, while others had dangers of a more sentient bent, like the Blood River with its Orcs or Wrecker's Run with its River Pirates. Some just plain weren't deep enough for decent-sized vessels to travel, like the River Skiros, which was only navigable to the small, flat-bottomed pole barges that ferried a few dozen people at a time back and forth up and down the river. The Tana Dante, though, was both deep enough, safe enough, and navigable enough to take cargoes all the way from Donkelzee on the Black Gulf up to Mantreda, passing through Alynda and Cabanal on the way. It would definitely be good for my prospects to build Alynda into a proper trading port on the River.

To do that, though, I would need to partner with House De Roelef. They controlled River Access from the Black Gulf via Donkelzee. If I tried to act counter to their economic interests, they could fairly easily strangle any trade I might try to get from there. Fortunately, Piers was right about House De Roelef being one of the better partners on the Directorate. They would deal with you as fairly as the circumstances dictated, at least. It was one of the reasons why people as disparate as the Sultan of Copher and the Caliph of Ras Karim in Araby, the Princesses of Pavona and Miragliano in Tilea, and the Kings of Magritta and Avila in Estalia considered them to be personal friends and reliable trade partners. I would need their support, especially if what I had heard about Eric Dahl over in Pugno was true. I did have to eventually face him, after all. It was the whole reason I was on Mundus in the first place.

Eventually, however, Diego returned and brought with him a big bag of Guilders, a Promissory Note, and instructions for Piers. Inside the bag was the first payment of seventy-five-thousand Guilders, with Piers Instructed to pay me a further fifty thousand Guilders, which he could cover with what he had on hand. The rest would require time to gather, and was what the Promissory note was for. I was to turn that note in once we had cataloged everything in the ruins to receive not only the remaining hundred thousand Guilders I had been promised, but also the payment we had worked out for the uncollected salvage of Zarwai.

Of course, none of that mattered to my Companions when I told them. They were mostly annoyed that it would take so long to get full payment, but thankfully, Ruggiero helped me to point out just how ludicrous the amount was, so that the complaints never amounted to any more than just a few mutters and grumbles.

"Do you lot have any idea how much two-hundred-fifty-thousand Guilders is?" Questioned Ruggiero.

"I'm from a small village. We barely even used money except for trade with other villages. Mostly, we used barter. It just sounds like a big number to me." Admitted Anders.

"A lady does not engage in commerce unless she is of la classe paysanne." Sniffed Martine.

"To put it in terms you can understand, Two-Hundred-Fifty-Thousand Guilders would be enough to effectively buy a medium-sized town." I pointed out.

"So?" Queried Anders.

"Oui, there are even a few of those here in Khypris. I do not see what is so special about this?" Asked Martine.

"Not a medium-sized town by the Standards of the Border Princes, or of Bretonnia, where your nobles are skeptical of towns and the charters that come with them. This would buy a medium-sized town by Imperial or Tilean Standards." Informed Ruggiero.

"So like Yremy?" Questioned Martine.

"Like Meissen." I retorted.

"Oh." Frowned Anders.

"Is Meissen Large?" Queried Martine.

"How Large is Yremy?" Asked Ruggiero.

"Ten Thousand Souls call Yremy home." Answered Martine.

"It's one and a half times that at least." Explained Anders.

"That's no town, that's a city." Blinked Martine.

"By Bretonnian Standards, perhaps. By Imperial Standards, it's a town." I answered.

"The same for Tilean Standards. In Tilea, you are not considered a City until you have reached at least twenty thousand people, and that would be considered small." Added Ruggiero.

"Nuln in the Empire has over one-hundred-fifty-thousand inhabitants. So do Miragliano and Luccini in Tilea. Kislev City is similar, though I'll admit that outside of Erengrad and Praag, the rest of the towns in Kislev barely ever reach past fifteen thousand, and not much farther than that to boot. My Father's Holding of Ptorsk, for example, had sixteen-thousand-four-hundred people living in it when I was last there. That's largely due to trade going down the River Urskoy into the Talabec to Bechafen in the Empire and beyond, though. Most places in the South and Western Oblasts struggle to reach fifteen thousand, and in the Eastern and Northern Oblasts, you'd be lucky to get ten thousand people to a settlement, if that." I listed off.

"Your Homeland sounds like a curious mix of Imperial and Bretonnian Population Densities." Mused Ruggiero.

"That tends to happen when you're beset by massive invasions by Waste Marauders, Greenskins, Norscans, or Beastmen every decade or so. The places closer to Civilization get to stay standing, while those closer to the enemy get damaged or destroyed outright. The Northern and Eastern Oblasts are always repairing and rebuilding settlements. It makes it hard to build up a decent population." I shrugged.

"I suppose it would." Allowed Anders.

"Oui, it sounds tres difficile." Agreed Martine.

"You learn to adapt if you survive long enough. Anyway, that isn't the point. The point is there's a reason we didn't get paid in full right away, and now you know." I answered.

"It will take them some time to scrape the coin together. In the meantime, everyone gets their share of this first." Nodded Ruggiero.

And with that, we divided up the hundred thousand Guilders between us. That gave everyone thirty-seven-thousand-three-hundred-sixty-four Guilders in their pockets right now, with at least another thirty-one-thousand-two-hundred-fifty Guilders to come. As it would happen, there was quite a bit more salvageable loot than anticipated, enough for us all to gain a further thirty-eight-thousand-six-hundred-guilders on top of the other payments. It took around nine days to arrange everything, but by the end of it all, we had each gained some one-hundred-seven-thousand-two-hundred-fourteen Guilders out of the entire enterprise, not including the magical equipment that we had kept for ourselves. Minus ten thousand guilders each to purchase our respective Baronial Titles from Prince Harmis Detz meant that we each came out ahead of this entire thing ninety-seven-thousand-two-hundred-fourteen Guilders ahead.

In the end, I did indeed wind up purchasing the Title of Baron of Alynda, moving into the Baronial Keep as I did so. Meanwhile, Ruggiero chose to become the Baron of Mantreba, while Martine chose to become Baroness of Donkerzee, and Anders chose to become Baron of Cabanal. Of the four of us, Martine was in an odd position. As Baroness of Donkerzee, she had things both the easiest and the hardest. That was because of how Donkerzee was ruled in truth, not by its Baron, but by Anita De Roelef. All Martine really had to do was rubber stamp Anita's decisions, sit back, and collect the more modest portion of taxes that went to her instead of House De Roelef. Of course, that also meant that it would be more difficult for her to actually do anything of substance in her Barony.

I wished her luck, for myself, I had my own issues to deal with, largely these came in the form of consolidation and expansion. My first order of business? Deal with the state of the Baronial Keep of Alynda. The Baronial Keep was a small castle perched on a hill overlooking a small tributary of the Tana Dante River that flowed out of the Zarwai Hills before merging with the Tana Dante just to the South of Alynda. The Castle was in fairly decent condition for something that guarded a small town in the Border Princes of maybe five thousand people, if that. For my purposes, though, it was wholly inadequate. Fortunately, as soon as I had gotten my Title, I felt the presence in the back of my mind of my Factory Workshop.

It took me forty-eight hours to put the pieces in place to rebuild my Baronial Keep into something worthy of my latest holding. Twelve of those had been spent unconscious, after utilizing the Chakra Books to awaken my Chakra. Two more had been spent learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu from the scroll I had been given that held it, now that I had access to my Chakra. One had been spent learning the Henge from the Uchiha Jutsu Library, so as to camouflage my actions for what I was about to do better. The rest had been spent in gathering materials and transmuting them into more suitable building materials using Amestrian Alchemy, cheating with the Philosopher's Stone from the DCU so that I didn't need to worry about Equivalent Exchange or any of the other things that limited Amestrian Alchemy for mere mortals without access to outside context capabilities.

Once I was done with my setup, I got to work. Dozens of Shadow Clones, under Henge to appear as Dwarven Craftsmen, worked with materials transmuted by my powers and tools crafted by my Factory that were better than anything the locals could put together. My new Baronial Keep began to take shape, with Rockcrete walls coated in Alchemical Whitewash that would make them much sturdier than normal, built incorporating Astromantic and Geomantic Principles that would help refresh defenders physically and mentally, keep out unwanted or corruptive energies, attract luck to the residents, and hinder those with hostile intent. The foundations were likewise enchanted to be strong enough to resist any attempts to undermine the structure, while the structure was reinforced with Uru and Adamantium to better resist siege weapons.

In the meantime, I set my Factory Workshop to producing cannons and Alchemically Enhanced Gunpowder, while also beginning to produce armor and weapons for my Guards that were better than literally anything any other Human Force had in all of Mundus. Even the Dwarves and Elves would have to admit that my forces were equipped well. I stockpiled it all, drilling what Guards I had on it while my new Keep took shape behind me, and I sent out feelers looking to hire more guards using the wealth I had gained from the expedition to Zarwai.

By the time one month and eight days had elapsed for me on Mundus, I had turned my modest Border Princes Castle into an Impregnable Fortress, and the few guard forces I possessed into a well-equipped force who drilled regularly, even if they were not exactly large. With that done, I turned my attention to the walls of Alynda, beginning the process over again and beginning to turn them from Drystone Walls held together by hope and interlocking stones, to rockcrete bastions, built based on Geomantic and Astromantic Principles in an attempt to keep out corruptive energies, with enchanted foundations to prevent undermining, and coated with Alchemical Whitewash to make them stronger than normal. This proved much easier to do than my Castle had, as the basic designs and spellwork had largely already been finished.

Once that was done, I started work on the docks, helping to create a proper commercial river port that was able to take multiple large cargo vessels at one time. Like a proper river port in Kislev or the Empire. The development of this port was aided by the discovery of several veins of ore on my lands, mostly in the parts of the Zarwai Hills that hadn't been ceded to Piers Van Rijn and House De Roelef. In actuality, these veins were a function of my powers, as I would consistently have several veins of rich minerals on my lands thanks to the Mineral Rights Perk. At the same time, I utilized my own skill with farming and with chemistry to help improve local crop yields by creating fertilizers and implementing better farming practices. Khypris was already the most fertile part of the Border Princes, but with my help, I was turning Alynda into the most fertile part of Khypris.

All this attracted settlers, as well as attention. By the time that three months had elapsed with me in Mundus, Alynda had grown from maybe five thousand people to just over seven and a half thousand. It was still growing as well, as settlers were attracted by the sudden prosperity. This, however, had not gone unnoticed by various other notables in and around Khypris. My Neighbors to the South and West, in House De Roelef, were, it had to be said, fairly pleased to trade with me, as there was money in it, but that same money also brought with it less-pleasant attention.

Far to the North, Prince Harmis Detz of Khypris had been fighting an ongoing Campaign against Beastmen in and around the forests near the Black Mountains. He was in need of money, troops, or both to continue this campaign. Now, he saw one of his Baronies transformed over the past few months into a profitable territory, perhaps the most profitable in Khypris. Now he sent a pair of agents to Alynda to try and compel me, as one of his Barons, to take up the fight and aid him, as was my duty.

I would meet with them both in my Castle, and what I would learn during that meeting would set me on course for further territorial Acquisitions in the future. . .

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AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. A lot happened here, we see character interactions, the beginning of a partnership between the MC and House De Roelef of the Marienburg Directorate via their designated agent of Piers Van Rijn, the new shape of the Baronies of Khypris begin to form, as well as setting up for a lot of the Kingdom Building Stuff that the MC will be doing in the Border Princes going forward. We also got a bit of a hint as to what is going to happen next at the end there.

As for why nobody is questioning the sudden transformation of Alynda from a small, backwater town to a viable river trade port, a lot of it comes from the way that the MC worked it through. He had all his shadow clones Henged into Dwarven Craftsmen. If anyone can do something like this in that amount of time, it would be Dwarves. Nobody questions the skill of Dwarves when it comes to crafting, after all. As for how the MC got said dwarves? Well, everyone knows he recently came into enough money to effectively buy Alynda wholesale. He probably hired them. Dwarves love Gold, after all, and he just got a shitload of it. It's actually a lot easier to buy for most folks than what Eric Dahl was doing out in Pugno which got the Witch Hunters called on his ass.

At any rate, the next chapter will include a visit from Prince Harmis Detz's designated agents. I'll also have another character sheet update and a few more images of the newly rebuilt Alynda out before then as well.

Stay tuned. . .