BOOK 11: CHAPTER 26: REPORTS AND LOGISTICS

26 – Reports and Logistics

The days following Victor’s consumption of Dro Vah’s heart were filled with myriad logistical problems and solutions, mostly involving his new army and what, exactly, he wanted to do with regard to the thousands of former thralls wanting to sign up for service. He was startled by the enthusiasm displayed by the people of Riverbend. Putting himself in their shoes, he liked to think that, given sudden freedom, he’d want to put some distance between himself and the demigod-like beings who were battling for control of the planet.

He figured that he’d accept one of the many grants for land out in the countryside and build a farm or, heck, maybe a smithy in one of the many villages. Whatever he did, he’d want to be independent after being under the heels of Fausto and his vampire henchmen. Of course, he was speaking with the mentality of someone who’d been born free, won his freedom a second time, and fought many battles since.

The people of Dark Ember were not born free. They hadn’t been free for tens or hundreds of generations, and they didn’t have it in them to really comprehend what the concept truly entailed. How could they own land? How could they choose what to craft or grow, or sell? These were things that were always dictated by their “betters.”

True, there were some strong spirits among them—people like Tasya and Timmet—but for every one like them, there were a hundred who stood around listlessly, waiting for the current thing to pass and their next nightmare to begin. They were, quite literally, the opposite of self-starters, and Victor needed some self-starters if he was going to get this new kingdom going. That was what he was calling it for the time being: a kingdom.

All that being said, Victor found himself managing the minutiae of a medium-sized city like he’d never had to before. He had to direct everything he wanted done. Sure, after a day and a half, he had Kris and his assistants there, but they were only marginally better than the other thralls. They’d had a few weeks to get used to the idea of not being a mindless servant, but they still didn’t know how to assert themselves or come up with solutions that to Victor seemed obvious.

The biggest problem was that the vampires had functioned as “middle management” for Fausto. They’d directed the various industries of the land, food production being the lion's share of that. Now, people had to learn to distribute food on their own. They had to understand what an economy was and that just because the vampires used to give them a portion to keep them from starving, it didn’t mean anyone was still looking to do the same. Naturally, Victor was trying to ensure they didn’t starve, but he was one person, and the system for distributing food to tens of thousands of people was larger and more complex than he’d anticipated.

The first thing he did was sit down with his clerks and scribes—Kris and his people—and take inventory of the various produce and livestock farms. Then, he had them draw up papers to officially designate the thralls working those farms as co-operative owners. Then, using the System Stone, Victor purchased a System-driven marketplace with stalls and dimensional inventory bins.

At first, he’d thought the cost would be prohibitive, but not only did the marketplace add to the level of the System Stone, but it was surprisingly cheap—that is, until Victor took into account the fees the System charged. The convenience of a market that handled inventory and kept it fresh came at the cost of exorbitant taxes on the Energy beads earned. So, the farmers and herders could bring their goods to market, list them on the exchange, and sit back while people slowly learned to buy those goods with the Energy beads they earned, but the System took a sizeable cut.

Victor didn’t mind; in his opinion, it was like training wheels. People would learn the economy, and when they wanted to start earning a bigger percentage of their sales, they’d eschew the System Market and set up their own stalls.

Meanwhile, as the blight of death magic fled the countryside, crops and livestock thrived, people regained their health, and a slow, gradual transformation began to take place over the dark, cold valley. Victor continued to build his army, and by the third week of his stay in Riverbend, he’d named his third captain, Von Moss, and built out his third cohort. His troops were still mostly tier-one, but there was a growing percentage of tier-two soldiers and even a small group of tier-threes who’d earned enough money through payroll, commendations, and System quests to buy their first racial-advancement treasure from the System Stone.

Victor had intended to purchase a large supply of the “basic” level treasures, but he’d held off, wanting to ensure he had plenty of funds to get the System Stone open to world travel. As it was, he figured he’d have to buy travel to at least one or two hub worlds before he’d find an option to travel to one close to Fanwath and Ruhn—likely Sojourn. He wasn’t worried about the cost, but some part of him, the old Victor who’d struggled to pay for travel to Sojourn, wanted to keep a large stockpile of beads “just in case.”

On the second day of his third week at Riverbend, Victor opened the curtains to his balcony and stepped outside to check on the progress of the Astral Observatory. There was a wooded hill to the north of the city that he’d selected as the best site for construction when he’d made the purchase from the System Stone. His balcony provided a clear view of it, and more than that, he could see a large portion of the city, including his gardens and the work being done to unearth the System Stone and construct a proper, outdoor amphitheater around it.

As much as he privately looked down on the spirit of the former thralls, he had to admit that they could be industrious when given a task. Fausto’s underground vault was gone, and a great, dirt- and rock-filled depression had been dug out around the monolith, exposing it to the sunlight. There was a temporary stone-paved pathway leading to and from the stone so citizens could handle their business with it—selling things directly to the System for beads, collecting and turning in quests, and even purchasing minor, magical items.

Victor had to admit that, without the System, it would have been a hundred times harder to turn things around for these people. Its infusions of Energy as they completed quests, learned skills and spells, and gained levels were having a profound effect on each individual’s morale. More than that, it gave people guidance and purpose on a scale that Victor couldn’t manage alone, not even close. In a way, he was beginning to see how the System, while a crutch for someone with a strong spirit, might be a tremendous boon for a downtrodden populace.

In that light, he began to wonder if he was too harsh on the System. Perhaps it, or whoever had created it, had seen a great need in the universe. Perhaps there had been far too many worlds like Dark Ember where a few dominated the many with their knowledge and power. How easy had it been for Fausto and his Vampires to keep these people ignorant? They’d controlled knowledge, power, food—everything. If a person couldn’t know that there was a possibility of another way, how hard would it be to fight for it?

It was a lot of food for thought, and Victor had kept his mind busy trying to digest it for the last few weeks. Now, though, as he looked out at the excavation and the drab stone buildings of the city, then up to the wood-covered hill where he’d designated the observatory be built, he smiled. It looked nearly completed—a great white tower that rose some sixty feet over the tallest trees. It had a copper and crystal dome that glittered with the morning light, and Victor felt his heart warm at the thought of how inspiring the construction would be for his newly freed citizenry.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

The System-constructed buildings he’d purchased, including the marketplace, were the only structures in the city that were on par with the quality of Fausto’s castle. The castle was distinct in every way from the surrounding buildings—its materials, style, and quality. It made him wonder if it had somehow been magically, or perhaps mundanely, transported from Earth. Perhaps Fausto or his predecessor had brought a thousand wagons through the portal the ancient vampires had created, and led a procession of human slaves and building materials on a trek to settle this distant valley.

Questions like that made Victor want to look through Fausto’s journals, but he knew there would be things in those books that would have him gnashing his teeth and wishing he could kill the vampire again. He didn’t want to face or think about those things at the moment, not when he was already so occupied. Sighing as he stretched his back, twisting from side to side, Victor turned away from the balcony and made his way into his bathroom.

The plumbing in the ancient castle was copper, but it was clear that it had been maintained by magic. Victor hadn’t explored the depths of the basements, so he wasn’t sure how the boiler and other mechanical aspects of the place worked—mundane or magic—but he didn’t think it mattered. He’d be moving on in a matter of weeks or months, and so long as things kept working until then, they could remain a mystery; he didn’t care.

He cleaned up, got dressed, and made his way down to the kitchens. Though his body didn’t need food the same way it used to, he certainly enjoyed eating, and breakfast had always been his favorite meal. While he sat at the long table usually reserved for staff, enjoying some sausage, biscuits, and fresh-churned butter, he pulled out his Farscribe books and checked for updates from the people he kept in contact with.

Edeya and Olivia had both written him a letter, and they spoke at length about a party they’d attended with the Ridonne. Victor grimaced at the thought, but he was pleased to see they were both more than suspicious of the host, Warin-dak, blatantly accusing him of wanting to use them for political favor and introductions to some of the wealthier, higher-tier iron rankers in the up-and-coming generation. Edeya wrote more about the food and music, and Olivia focused on the intrigue of spending time with Ridonne, who were more than happy to badmouth their cousins back on Fanwath.

It was interesting, to a degree, but Victor skimmed through the letters, eager to get to the book he shared with Arona. Before opening that one, though, on the off-chance she might have sent him an update, he checked the one he shared with Valla. He thought of it as an “off-chance” because her notes had been very infrequent and she’d told him they’d be that way for a while as she undertook a quest of sorts for the strange, aquatic creature who’d taken her on as a mentor.

To his surprise, there was a new entry from her. Smiling, he stuffed a sausage in his mouth and leaned back to read it while he chewed:

Victor,

I was excited to read your last letter! I don’t know why; perhaps it’s second-hand excitement, as I experience your latest adventures vicariously via your notes. As usual, I’m in awe of your success. I still struggle to wrap my head around the idea that you’re already a steel seeker! I know this may sting—hopefully only a little by now!—but I think it helps me recognize that we were wise to part ways when we did. This is a time of significant change for you and me. Our lives will be tumultuous for a while, but when things settle and we’ve learned more about who we truly are, I look forward to spending more time with you again.

As for me, things are going very well. I’ve met many people who have helped me broaden my understanding of the universe, not just in terms of power, but in all aspects of life and the people and creatures who strive to appreciate that fleeting quality. I study philosophy and creative arts as much as I do Energy manipulation. It’s a broader course of study than I’d intended, but each time I fear I’m wasting time, I find myself surprised by how rewarding the lesson was.

I told you I was on a quest for the Booraghi, but as usual, I learned that my perception of my task was far too one-dimensional. I thought that I had to complete it in order to advance my studies, but it turned out that the quest itself was my next lesson. I’d love to tell you more about it, but it’s a lengthy tale—and humorous!—and I think it would be shared better over a bottle of wine next time we meet. Perhaps we could try to come together at my mother’s over the next Freemarch Day celebration?

I hope so, but either way, I’ll be looking for more correspondence from you.

With much love,

Valla

Victor sighed happily as he closed the book; he’d write back soon, but his mind was too busy at the moment. With that warm message in his thoughts, he turned to Arona’s book and checked for her latest status update. She’d been corresponding with him daily, so he wasn’t surprised to see a new note:

Dear Victor,

I hope this message finds you well and that the progress you’d hoped for with your System Stone has come to fruition. On my end, I have the update from Florent that you asked for, and it’s good news. He’s finished this end of the gateway to Fanwath and anticipates having the one to Dark Ember complete within the week. Naturally, while the gates are under construction, he’s been working on the keystones that need to be brought to each prospective world, and he thinks it's reasonable to expect having them both finished in the same timeframe.

As you requested, he’s spared no expense ensuring that the gateway to Dark Ember is powerful enough to breach the distance. That said, he’s been gathering a rather impressive list of reimbursements. I’ve taken a look and spoken to Draj Haveshi, and he’s confident that the Ducal coffers will be able to bear the brunt of the expense. He said so grudgingly, and only after I reminded him that much wealth stands to be generated by your conquest of that undead world.

You’ll be pleased to know that recruitment goes well here. Bryn has, as you suggested, proved to be an enthusiastic champion of that cause. She’s been driving interest by promising opportunities for combat and the Energy rewards that go along with victory. She’s also taken to heart your suggestion that land grants will be plentiful and has been suggesting that this is an opportunity for small houses to rise, perhaps not on Ruhn, but in the new world.

Granted, there are many worlds and many wars where the adventurous and disenfranchised youth of Ruhn can run off to earn their fortunes—or meet their deaths—but none carry the same allure as a summons from Victor, Prime Champion of the Imperial House Dar, Hero of the Succession War, and the Reaper of Iron Mountain—the man who stood alone and slew thirty Steel Seekers at the Battle of the Broken Veil Watch.

That said, she’s gathered nearly a thousand iron rankers, and that’s after turning away twice as many of whom she disapproved. At the same time, your staff here at Iron Mountain has been working hard to gather the supplies you requested. Foodstuffs weren’t a problem, nor were the low-tier bits of equipment—armor, weapons, etc.

As for the growth items, the low-tier natural treasures for racial advancement, we’ve gathered several hundred, but run into a supply shortage; they just aren’t in demand on Ruhn, and the System does not charge a fair price. I thought you might rather check some other worlds before we give in to its demands. Please let me know one way or the other.

-A

“Nice!” Victor grinned, picturing a full cohort of high-tier iron rankers ready to provide guidance or, at least, an example to his nascent military force there on Dark Ember. Besides those volunteers from Ruhn, he also had troops gathering on Fanwath—former members of the Ninth, as well as some of the other cohorts, who were eager to get back into an active campaign. There weren’t as many as he might have hoped; the challenges of building a new life in the Free Marches had taken the desire for war out of many of them, but at last count, Nia had listed nearly two hundred names.

More importantly, those veterans knew how he did things; they’d learned the same military structure as Victor had under Borrius’s tutelage. They’d help him build a cohesive army out of the disparate groups, which would become more and more critical as he continued to conquer territory.

Feeling good about things, Victor closed his Farscribe books and sent them into his spirit space to sit on the desk he’d built there. Pushing away from the table, he stood and walked out the back door into the gardens, where he followed a path down to the newly unearthed System Stone. It was time to see what options for world travel he’d opened up with the Astral Observatory.