《AEO Alt Earth Online》 Chapter 1 AEO AltEarthOnline Chapter 1 My vision flared from white to dark and suddenly I could open my eyes. Swinging my legs over the bed I stood and stretched, old habits die hard. I was now in the VR world of AEO, AltEarthOnline. I opened up my stats with a thought and had a brief look, Stats Class Paladin Strength 9 Agility 5 Intelligence 7 Spirit 4 Toughness 8 Life 200 Mana 100 Spells Holy Hammer instant single enemy attack spell, toss a hammer of light at an enemy. Cost 10 mana Damage = strength +agility* number of levels *2 9+5*5*2 unmodified=140 DPS HolyHealth A single instant healing spell that uses 2 Mana to increase 5 health, unlimited use until Mana is empty. Both spells are usable while moving. Gear A mixture of white leather and cloth items, no information available on items that are less than Green quality. Weapon The club, white item, no information available. Yep not so good, but I was not here to play the game, I was here under contract as a miner for the EVRAZ corporation out of Russia. Being born in Canada had greatly limited my life, both the US and Canada no longer had a middle class, that was now in India and China. Over here it was the large mass of poor people and the small mass of the rich. The Government guaranteed free education, but the fact was with Europe self-destructing under Sharia law with armed conflicts between the Muslims and the Governments the borders were closed, and really, they were no better off than North America and the best education in the world would not open up a job over there. It was into this bleak world that VR had finally been perfected, but not in the way that anyone had thought. There were no cocoons or game pods, instead, surgery was required which inserted a bio ware AI interface directly into an individual¡¯s brain. Once activated the AI would control the human host''s body, while the consciousness of the host would be inserted into the game. The cost was high, and only the rich could afford it. Once the gaming economy took over the world¡¯s economy, things changed as big business always was looking to make more money and this was a golden opportunity. Corporations were eager to sign up people to play as long as they signed a contract, 20 years in game time for the implant, and once you were done your daily quota you were free to play the game. That 20 years in game time worked out to 5 years real time and it was a small price to pay. Millions flocked to enter the game, believing that for a few hours of gathering or creating they would then be able to play and have fun in a world that was in every way better than the real world. It did not work out that way, the competition was too numerous, and the mining nodes and flowers would have hundreds of people waiting, sure you could move out from the starting zone which was level 1 to 5 but the chance of dying dramatically increased. Death was not permanent, but it did have consequences, a person had to run back to their body and hope that no one had looted it. Your personal gear was safe but anything in your bag could be looted. Many people had lost all that they had worked for. The Age of corpse camping had begun, if a player could hit level 10 they would get a faction bag that could not be looted but that was almost impossible unless you were friends with a rich player. There were stories of Elven boys and girls agreeing to be ¡°Friends¡± with players if they helped them get out of the starting zones. I do not judge but that route was not for me. The starting zone was huge and I had explored most of it when I got lucky. I had discovered a hidden valley with a ruined Inn and some abandoned farms and at the back of this valley was a closed down mine. It was now inhabited by Goblins, little green bastards that would kill you without a thought. Fortunately, I had also found several mining nodes scattered throughout the valley, they were all copper at this level but without anyone to mine them I could make my rounds of the valley and by the time I finished the last one the new one would have respawned.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. My luck had continued when I had looked the ruined Inn over, it turned out that the mailbox out front was still active. Magic is beautiful I thought when I realized what this meant. I would mine all day and then I would mail myself the copper, then hearth out to my home Inn in the city. There I had opened a bank account and would deposit my ore. I would drop off my daily quota to the EVRAZ office then head back to the Valley where I would slowly work at killing some of the few mobs that roamed the area. Today as I dropped off my ore at the EVRAZ office the clerk, a level 10 Rat BeastMan NPC looked at me and then with an oily leer asked, ¡°Lightborne, you always make your quota don¡¯t you, what is your secret I wonder?¡± I looked at him and nodded then said, ¡°Hard work and healthy living.¡± Once I heard the ding that my account had been credited I turned around and I left the office with a twitchy feeling between my shoulder blades. I did not like the ¡°Rat¡± as we miners called him, he was always trying to scam people out of what they turned in. Making my way to the Inn I stopped at the nearest store and sold all the grey items I had collected from the occasional roaming wolf I had killed, the sounds of coins clinking together showed my account had just received another 2 silver and 3 copper. I called up the total and smiled, 2 gold 7 silver and some copper. I was rich as far as most low-level noobs were concerned. I could go to the Auction House and try my hand at playing the market but I knew I did not have the brains for that. Also, If I bought a better weapon or gear it would attract attention. Best to continue to save. Leaving the store, I made my way out towards my Inn. As I turned the corner I glanced to my left and was not surprised to see the Rat before he ducked out of sight. I knew that he wanted to know how I had managed to make my quota every day, most of us Noobs didn¡¯t. That was alright with the corporations, for every day that the quota was missed you had to work another day. It was self-induced indenture, a modern form of slavery. Entering my Inn, I walked over to the bar and sat down, the only good thing about being a noob was the Inn was free, this was important as rest gave a small XP bonus and food and drink gave a small buff. Grabbing the Stout Ale that the barkeep sent my way, I took a drink as my mind thought about the Rat. A level 10 BeastMan, he had no class as an NPC but he did have a racial attack called Swarm, this spell called forth about 10 rats who would attack the nearest target with the highest aggro rating. It started getting busy in the Inn when the cook came out and started talking to the barkeep. ¡°Alex, my helper did not show up and there is no way to keep up with the demand tonight, what do you want me to do?¡± The cook was a Troll lady named Greenleaf, who while stern looking had a gentle heart, often sneaking us noobs a little extra in our lunches. Alex looked pissed but simply shrugged his shoulders and said, ¡°Do the best you can, it is all we can do.¡± A quest window suddenly opened and I read, Help the Inn Volunteer to assist the cook Rewards XP 2000 Cooking skills level one I immediately accepted, the XP bonus alone would move me to level 6 plus to gain the cooking skill for free was unheard of. Most players took it at level 20 as the need for the bonus buffs it would give began to outweigh the cost of the recipes. Waving at Alex I said, ¡°Hey man I heard that you guys need some help tonight, I would like to help.¡± Alex looked at me and grunted then nodding he turned to Greenleaf and asked, ¡°Can you use this guy?¡± Greenleaf stared at me for a moment then nodded then said, ¡°It can¡¯t make it worse and might help.¡± She then stretched her hand over to my head and said, ¡°Do you accept the cooking skill level 1 from me?¡± I nodded and suddenly I received the message, Cooking level 1 learned Recipes Baked bread, tastes even better with Peanut Butter Wolf steak, if it ain¡¯t red in the middle you ruined it Wild Potato, even the Irish love em Greens Salad, momma said to eat your greens Lizard Breast, that ain¡¯t chicken you been eating ¡°Come with me, we going to get you started on making bread and then a big salad.¡± I followed her into the kitchen and then we got busy, I was amazed that I just knew how to do stuff, it was as if I had been cooking for years. I made 25 small loaves of bread and 2 large bowls of salad, by the time I was done the evening had fled and it was now late at least 11 pm. Greenleaf finally called for a break and I sat back. Seeing her gesture, I followed her out back to a small enclosed space. At one time it might have been a private garden but now it was used to store some boxes of beer. We sat down on a bench and I watched as Greenleaf rolled a joint. She offered to share a toke but I declined, smoking in the game was harmless but still, it was nothing I wanted to do. Giving me a smile Greenleaf said, ¡°You did well helping me Lightborne, and I thank you, it would have been difficult to manage without you. If you want I will put in a word with Alex and we can make this a permanent part-time thing? I am willing to pay you through both XP and a wee bit of coin, what do you say?¡¯ Damn tooting Pappy I thought as I said, ¡°Yes Maam, I would like that, what are my hours?¡± ¡°Greenleaf thought for a moment as she took another toke and then said, ¡°How about Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings, from 8 to 12. I know you visitors sometimes are called away to your homeland but can you do that.¡± I nodded and said, ¡°Yes Maam, not a problem.¡± We finished off the night and then I left the kitchen to go up to my room. I had been pleasantly surprised to see another chunk of 100 XP had been added to my total. These situations were rare, in fact, players had a better chance of finding an Epic item drop then a permanent quest from an NPC. As I crossed the Inn I glanced down at the booth at the far end and there he was, the Rat, the chump must have followed me home. Then and there I decided that I would get rid of him. As an NPC he could die and there would no respawn, so I had no worries about him coming back for revenge. Still, he was level 10 and I was only at level 6. Upon entering my room, I shut the door with a sigh, this was a safe place within the game, no one could enter a room but the owner. At the higher levels players could purchase or build their own homes but you had to be rich and achieve a certain reputation in your home city or town. I laid down and then logged out, many players preferred to just sleep in the game and never logged out but I made it a point to always log out. I opened my eyes and then slowly stood and stretched. Glancing at the mirror I saw myself I stood at 5 feet and 6 inches, my body looked like that of a competing weightlifter. My AI who took over while I was in the game and worked my body hard, I had started out as a flabby couch potato and now I looked great. I noted that my small bachelor apartment was also sparkling clean, with everything in its place. The AI kept my body busy while I was in the game. One of the benefits of having the wetware AI was the ability to connect to the internet without a computer. You could also watch movies in the most realistic 3D or attend rock concerts. It was pretty amazing but it got boring quick. I walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water then ordered up my supper. The food was free for people in the real world but it was not the quality that you had from the game world. I had a ginger beef with fried rice with a side of udon noodles. It was not that food tasted bad but compared to the in-game taste everything but the spiced food tasted lame. Finishing my meal, I sat down and began to go through the forums, this was something I had never done before in any great detail. I downloaded all the information on Beastmen that I could find, it was interesting, not much was available about the Rat race, they were sneaky bullies who would try to steal or cheat and generally could not be trusted. I then looked up the history of the starting zone I was at trying to find some information about my hidden valley. All I could come up with was there were several locations like this scattered around the world, they were very hard to find but if a player played his cards right they could be very lucrative. Apparently, they had been part of an expansion that the developers had decided to not implement. Instead of deleting the millions of lines of code that was needed to remove them they were hidden. I was getting tired and had decided to go to bed when I received a message from my AI. Opening the message, I read, Hello player, you have been randomly selected to participate in the update to your AI. This new update will enable greater synchronization within the World of AEO. There is no cost to you but be aware that this update cannot be rolled back. If there are any issues your AI will be regulated to the Standard user interface. If you choose not to participate click the no link. Sitting back on the couch I stared at the message hanging in front of my eyes and thought about what it meant, I had not known there was anything else but the basic AI. It was a no-brainer for me, added functionality compared to what I had now, I clicked yes and then after reading that the download would happen overnight, I went to bed. Chapter 2 Chapter 2 I awoke to the alarm my AI was projecting and silently stood. Taking a minute to stretch I made my way to the bathroom stall and did my business. It only took a couple of minutes to have some toast for breakfast and then I called up my AI interface and noted that the update had completed and gone active. I was surprised when a voice suddenly spoke and said, ¡°Good morning Lightborne, I am your upgraded AI, do you wish to name me?¡± I took a moment and thought then asked, ¡°Well you be able to communicate with me in the AEO or only out of the game?¡± ¡°I will have the ability to communicate within the game but to achieve maximum benefit of all my available resources I will have to take the form of a symbiotic pet that will be aligned with you. This will give you several advantages within the game, my ability to process data will enable you to succeed at the auction house. My senses will enable you to be aware of being tracked or hunted and depending on the form you choose for me I will have access to healing or offensive spells that will scale as you level?¡± With my thoughts racing I decided to see what could be done with this and asked, ¡°So what would you recommend?¡± The AI was silent then spoke, I suggest that you accept a ghost companion, this will enable me to remain invisible unless I manifest which will give us the element of surprise.¡± I nodded, it made sense and would give me an advantage. We continued to discuss the game and what I had hoped to achieve. In the end, we agreed that the Rat had to die and developed a plan to implement it. I named my new AI companion Caspar and he took the form of a ghost snake, then we logged in. Opening my eyes, I noted that I now had a small ring on my finger, it was in the shape of a python and as l looked at it the head shifted and he winked at me. Clearly, Caspar had made the transition to AEO. Are you ready I thought and was not surprised when I heard, yes Boss lets get this done, I want to see this world with my own eyes, going into scan mode, I will let you know if anyone starts tracking us? Leaving the Inn, I made my way to the EVRAZ office and entered, there to no one¡¯s surprise was the Rat. I waited till I could approach him and then once we were face to face I said, ¡°Hey fleabag, I have seen you stalking after me in town here, so let me be clear I don¡¯t roll that way, bestiality is not my thing so take a hike.¡± I turned and left before he could do more than growl and then waited about half a block down the street. Soon Caspar informed me that the Rat had emerged and was now tracking us. He had picked up our scent ad soon had a visual. I looked back and made eye contact and then flipped him off. I could see the snarl on his face as I slowly walked away, it was a balancing act, he would not attack me in the city but once on the road, it was open hunting season. I was counting on his greed to dampen his desire to hurt me. Once we left the city I began to jog down the road, but as soon as I went around the first bend I went cross country. The terrain was hilly with trees and small streams, it was late summer and the sun dappled the ground with a soft light as it passed through the trees. We continued to travel across the starting zone making sure that we did not get too far ahead of the Rat. Eventually, we left the groups of people who were gathered at every mining node and flower spot and began to approach the taller hills. Caspar, I thought, how close is he? I want to make sure we don¡¯t lose him now. Agreed, Caspar thought back, now would be the opportune time to attack him and then enter the valley. By attacking a non-enemy player or NPC you would be flagged as both a criminal and a PVP participant. Basically, for one hour it gave anyone who could kill you the freedom to do so without punishment, and of course, loot your bag. By attacking the rat and then fleeing into the hidden valley I would be safe from other players and with the insult of my attack on him the Rat would be sure to follow me. At least that was my hope. Standing right in front of the cleft I waited for the Rat to show up and when he did I was not surprised to hear him threaten me. I interrupted his threats by casting Holy Hammer twice on the Rat, it was interesting watching a glowing fiery hammer get flung from my hand and hit the Rat, each attack took him down about 10 percent. The attacks stunned him for a moment and I took the time to shout at him, ¡°Keep following me and I will put you in a cage and keep you as a pet.¡± I then ducked around the edge and wiggled my way into the hidden valley ignoring the roar of threats that the rat was directing at me. The plan was to kite the Rat all over the valley before ending up in front of the mine. We had timed everything carefully, I knew the Goblin chief a Rare NPC would emerge from the mine for about 5 minutes every day. My plan was to have the Rat attack me in sight of the Goblin chief and then let the NPC Chief aggro on the Rat. A rare level 7 elite versus a level 10 BeastMan. It would be interesting to see who would win, I would hopefully be able to finish off the loser. Lightborne, relax, we have this simply kite the Rat for about 15 minutes and then approach the mine. With Caspar¡¯s reassuring thought encouraging me I turned around and sent another Holy Hammer at the Rat as he emerged into the hidden valley. The next 15 minutes passed quickly with the Rat yelling out threats at me and firing off a couple of Swarms as we went back and forth in the Valley. The Goblin Chief has left the mine, Caspar informed me as we stopped just short of the outcropping the hid him from my view. At the same time, the Rat finally revealed himself and seeing me he charged. I waited for him to close with 10 feet and noted he released a Swarm. Turning I went to the rock outcropping and immediately aggroed the Goblin chief. I managed to dodge the first blow when the Swarm of mini rats closed in and began to attack. The Goblin chief reacted to the aggro and began to make short work of the mini rats, just as the Rat came into view and sent another Swarm out to attack me. I had backed up behind the big Goblin and the Swarm went straight at him to get at me. Seeing this the Chief triggered an attack and charged the Rat. The Swarm turned from me and began to attack the chief from the back, this enabled auto criticals to land and I watched as both the Chief and the Rats life bars begin to plummet.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. To my surprise, the Rat suddenly attacked with another spell, called Ratattack, and I watched as the Chief went down to 30 Percent life. Casting Holy Hammer, I hit the Chief with it and then attacked the Rat with my club. The Rat had so much aggro with the Goblin that the Chief ignored my attack. I continued to attack the Rat with my club as both the Chief and the Rat fought hand to claw. In the end, the Chief went down, with the Rat having 20 percent life left. I noted that a copper ore deposit had spawned directly behind the rat just as my club broke. Staring at me the Rat laughed and said, ¡°I am going to kill you slowly, and then take this lovely valley and then bury your bones. I watched as he flipped over and began to push himself up using the copper deposit to regain his footing. Caspar suddenly thought at me, attack him using your mining pick. Just mine the ore ignore him. And then suddenly Caspar appeared as a ghost Python and bit the Rat on his back. I noted the poison debuff appear on the Rat as I swung my pick at the ore. The long blade of the pick entered the Rats back and then hit the ore with at least 5 inches of the pick going through the Rat and sticking into the rock and earth. Back away now, Caspar thought and I slowly backed away from the pinned Rat. The Rat screamed out in pain and frustration as he frantically tried to pull the pick out. Unfortunately for him, the only way to remove a mining pick is to slam the handle forward which pops out a chunk of ore. He simply did not have the strength or power to remove himself and could not even face me to try to attack. How did you know that would work? I thought at Caspar as I watched the Rats life bar hit zero and saw the Rat die. It was a chance, Caspar admitted, but based on how mining works, you did not attack the Rat you just tried to mine some ore, he just happened to be in the way. With the real-world physics that the game uses I thought it would have a good chance of pining the Rat. Now if you had attacked the Rat it would have seen that as an attack and the pick would not have penetrated the ore. I nodded it had been a risk but it had worked out in the end. I slowly approached the Rat and waved my hand over the body looting everything. I stared at what I had received, 2 green rings that gave plus 1 for agility and intelligence. Nothing special but still much better nothing. The rat had also had his personal bag, opening it I sat down in surprise, it was a bottomless bag extremely rare and it held ore lots of ore. I pulled up the amount of ore it held and whistled, the Rat had been stealing from us noobs for a long time. The bag held over 232000 pieces of ore mostly copper but with some tin and iron also. With that amount of ore, you can pay off your debt to EVRAZ corp and start really playing the game. Caspar¡¯s voice sounded distant, I could not believe what I had found. How the hell could an NPC steal that much ore from us noob players, without the game developers being aware of it? I was suddenly standing with my fists shaking, it was bad enough that we were tricked into virtual slavery but then to discover that we were being robbed out of any chance to actually get out of debt, it was overwhelming. Suddenly I could hear Caspar and I nodded, I am okay let¡¯s go loot the Goblin chief. I had almost lost control and that scared me, that was no way to play the game. Caspar, I thought, If I lose control like that again do what you have to snap me back. I will boss, no worries I will bite you, in fact, I am going to bite you now. Wait, what why are you biting me now, I thought as I felt my neck suddenly pierced. What the hell. It is for your own good, by biting you on a regular basis you will develop an immunity for poison attacks. A brief moment of discomfort now will reap a large benefit for you later in the game. Caspar thoughts made sense but I could feel a hint of amusement from him at the thought biting me every day. I shrugged and walked over to the chief, waving my hand I looted him and stared at what I had received. I stared at what I had and then equipped the vambrace. They immediately scaled to fit my arms and I stared at them in wonder, the stats were amazing. Plus 10 to defensive and plus 10 to offensive, the defensive was easy to understand but the offensive less so. As I thought about this I was suddenly away that by thinking about elbowing an enemy a blade shot out of the vambrace near the elbow, it was about 8 inches long. Straightening my arm, the blade retracted, it happened so fast that the eyes could not focus on it. What do you think I asked Caspar, this is frikken overkill, I have never heard of this kind of armor? Caspar replied It is a named blue set, incredibly rare and literally worth your life the fact that it is bind on equip means that you can¡¯t sell it but if someone were to kill you they could loot it. Damn it, my frustration began to grow, How the hell can I have this great gear but not be able to use it, wearing it would be a death sentence, this damn game is supposed to be fun for players not impossible. My question was rhetorical but suddenly Caspar spoke up. I think I have a solution, by writing a gear equip macro, I can swap out your good gear for plain gear more level appropriate for you, I can also change your average gear for your good gear when appropriate. A macro, when were macros added to the game? I asked. Caspar replied, They have always been in the game, but contract players are not informed about them. Just another way to keep the noobs working for the corporations forever, no chance of giving them any kind of a break. Most players have not bothered to use macros to help their gaming experience, an ability to code is needed, and the average person does not have that skill set. Caspar¡¯s thoughts had a certain smugness to them, clearly, the AI upgrade had included some personality tweaks. So, what do you think we should do, I thought as I sat down and stared at the empty valley, a gentle breeze warm on my skin. The abandoned farms still had wild wheat growing in the fields and off in the distance a fish jumped on the clear surface of a pond. It was very peaceful and relaxing, after the morning I felt like having a nap. Caspar interrupted my thoughts by stating, First we have to finish this dungeon. Then we have to pay off your debt to EVRAZ then we must sell the location of this mine to the highest bidder, one of the established guilds will pay a great deal for this place. Dungeon, wait this is a dungeon, I thought it was just a mine. Caspar replied, No it is a dungeon mine, a normal mine would not have a rare Elite in it. Also, the fact that we have killed the Boss mob already should make doing the dungeon that much easier. The only problem is I don¡¯t really have any weapons, aside from the Vambraces and they are only effective if someone is attacking me from the rear. Without weapons, I can¡¯t do much I thought. Caspar acknowledged my thoughts but then replied, The average level of the mobs is going to be 3 to 4, my calculations indicate that you can do enough white damage with punching and kicking to be able to clear the dungeon if you use your Paladin spells. White damage, what is that? I asked in surprise. Damage is categorized into two types, white or purely physical damage and red or what can be called spell damage, if you punch someone that is white damage, if you use your Holy Hammer that is red damage. I nodded, it was the cards I had been dealt. Standing I made my way to the locked gate and using the key I opened the gated and entered the tunnel. There was a brief moment of disorientation and suddenly I was at the beginning of the dungeon. You ready? I thought at Caspar as I glanced down the tunnel. Seeing his acknowledgment, I stepped forward. Chapter 3 Chapter 3 As I charged at the last of the Goblins on the third level of the mine I saw the one facing me open his mouth in surprise and then grab at his two companions and push them around to face me. As I entered combat range I kicked out and connected with the Goblin on my right. At the same time, I grabbed the Goblin on my left and arm locked him then rolled and with a surge swung him up and over into the last Goblin who still had a surprised look on his face. Standing up I noted that all three Goblins were done. I had finished clearing the dungeon. The first level had comprised of single Goblins patrolling around, they had not offered any challenge. The second level was the same with 2 goblins walking around. Again, not too difficult. The third level had proven to be more of a challenge, the patrols had three Goblins and one of them always attempted to run away and get help from another nearby group. I had a few scary moments until I developed a rhythm to deal with them, a lightning fast light attack on the two closest and then a heavy hitting attack on the third one. This made sure the first two had a lot of aggro on me and would not run away until I could finish them off. It helped that I was now level 7 and they were level 3, another thing that made it possible was the fact that Caspar had helped to get my human body into shape by using a regimen of several different martial arts. Unsurprisingly the muscle memory transferred over and with my greater strength and power, I blazed through the Goblins like an angry Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon. Shaking my head at that thought I caught a whisper of Caspar laughing, the upgraded AI had come with personality tweaks and I think that Caspar was developing a snarky sense of humor. Turning I walked into the last room, it was empty, we had defeated the rare elite boss, a Goblin Chief outside of the dungeon. I walked over to the throne and saw that the footstool was actually a chest. After making sure that no one was hidden I waved my hand over the chest and watched as it opened. Looking inside I saw several small bottles, mana and health potions. I popped them into my bag and then picked up two scrolls, one taught Transmorph and the other Teleport. Just my luck they were both Mage spells. The final item was a leather-bound book, scanning it I was surprised to learn that it opening up the profession of Magical Engineering. Caspar spoke, Lightborne that it another incredible find, an unknown profession. I am calculating the value of selling it or keeping it and using it to make money. After several seconds passed Caspar said, Lightborne I believe that the long-term benefit of having a unique, at least at this point in time profession is worthwhile, I suggest you read the book. Once we sell the location of this mine we will not have to worry about money, but having the ability to handcraft a one of a kind item will make money and provide you with unique gear. Deciding Caspar was correct I sat down and began to read the book. Time passed without my being aware of it and I finally closed the book. Once done I noted that at my current level I could make some simple items, once I had the materials needed. I decided that the first thing I would make would be a simple remote bomb. All I needed was lots of copper ore and rock dust along with wiring. All of which mining could provide. Standing I made my way to the throne and observed a small doorway hidden behind it. Going through it I climbed a long ladder and ended up in a cave west of the mine. Exiting the cave, I noted on my minimap that I was now on a ridge between the hidden valley and the larger starting zone. I crept forward making sure not to highlight myself and observed the area. I could see that there were more hidden valleys along the ridgeline. Looking out past them I could see several of the small farms and one of the other mines located nearby. The area was crawling with noobs and off in the distance was the village of Rosewood. The village lore stated that a Mage had been in love with a maiden from the village who had loved roses. He had magically produced flowering roses to grow all over the village but it was not enough to win her over from the local boy. The Mage in anger left the village but before he did he cursed the roses and to this day if a rose is touched it will immediately stab the person touching it with 4-inch poison thorns. Beautiful but deadly. Turning around I made my way back to the hidden valley and found a path which I followed to ground level. Once at the ruined Inn I mailed my entire bag of goodies to myself and then left the valley, and headed towards the city. I jogged and walked, sticking to the king¡¯s roads. I bypassed the village of Rosewood and continued on to the city. The city, how to describe it. A melting pot of many different cultures and races. No, it was not a melting pot, a mosaic perhaps was a more accurate definition. The city had several populations. It was the starting point for Humans but also the home to many other races. The location itself was nestled in a valley that was formed by 4 hills. The city had grown and spread up out of the valley and over the hills. It had a seaport with a natural harbor on the east side that was the home to a huge fleet of both commercial and war vessels. The trade district was on the two hills facing west into the country and full of manufactory buildings along with the occasional home of merchant barons who preferred to be close to their warehouses and goods. The closest hill to the sea is where the warehouses are that led down to the docks and where great merchant vessels brought the trade goods into the city that showered wealth onto the Kingdom. The last and highest hill was home to the nobles and the top of the hill was where the King resided. In the valley nestled the homes of the ordinary people, but the city itself had continued to grow and now the outskirts of the city were full of homes and markets and courtyards. All of this was policed by the Magistrates, men who were the judge, jury and the final word of the Kings law. Any citizen could call upon a Magistrate at any time, but Gods help you if you wasted their time. They were Battle Mages who were well versed in the law. Each held a commission in the Kings service and the city watch would answer to a Magistrate in any situation. The city was peaceful with very low crime and the home to many of the guilds in AEO. Once a guild developed enough reputation with the King they could apply for a permit to build a Keep on the King''s land. Dotted throughout the kingdom were these Keeps, castles which were built on land purchased by the King. Everything depended on a reputation earned, and many guilds would have the lower level members running endless minor quests within the kingdom to earn a small but steady stream of rep for the guild. The King was the ultimate authority in the city a level 250 NPC who literally had the power of life and death over all in his realm. He presided over his city of Anchar and ruled with a velvet fist. As I entered the city I thought of these things and hoped that one day I might have the privilege of meeting the King. It was said that with his favor epic quests could be given to the fortunate few and the rewards were so great that only whispered rumors were told.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I made my way to the mailbox at my Inn and grabbed my bag, then turned and made my way to the office of EVRAZ corporation. Taking a breath, I entered the office and walked up to the clerk. He looked at me and then said, ¡°I will open a window, you transfer your daily ore to my window.¡± I shook my head and said, ¡°No I am here to pay off my remaining ore debt to EVRAZ, please call forth a witness.¡± The clerk a human with greasy hair looked at me in amazement and then sneered as he said, ¡°It is impossible for you to have earned the ore, therefore you must have stolen it, at any rate, it is EVRAZ property as are you now turn it in and get out. You will be paying off your debt for the next 25 years noob.¡± I stared at this man and then suddenly was aware of Caspar saying, Call a magistrate now, this man is trying to rob you and make sure you will never get out of debt if you don¡¯t stop it now you are going to be a slave for the next 25 years. ¡°I call out for a Magistrate, I need Justice.¡± I listened to the words and was not surprised when suddenly a Gnome appeared in the middle of the room. He looked at me and then at the clerk and then said, ¡°I have come to render judgment, what is the accusation?¡± The clerk immediately began speaking and said, ¡°This noob has attempted to pay off his debt to EVRAZ, clearly he has stolen the ore, at any right, all ore he has belongs to EVRAZ and he must hand it over, then continue to work out his contract. We will accept nothing less.¡± The magistrate looked at the clerk and then looked at me and asked, ¡°Do you have anything to say?¡± I took a breath and then spoke, ¡°I have the ore needed to pay out my contract, as there is no clause in my contract that stops early payout or penalizes me. As for how I gathered the ore that is my business, has there been any report of theft? No, because it was not stolen by me. The fact is that EVRAZ is trying to steal from me and continue to keep me in servitude. Please note I have worked hard to make my payments daily and now that I have come into possession of extra ore I simply wish to pay off my debt and be a free man.¡± I stopped talking and looked at the Magistrate as he mulled over my words, then watched as he turned to the clerk. ¡°My judgment is as follows, you will accept payment of the ore and immediately end the Lightborne contract. In addition, you will return to him 10 percent of the payment to EVRAZ for your actions in illegally trying to steal from Lightborne.¡± The clerk stood up stunned and then said, ¡°You damn NPC, you think you can dictate terms to EVRAZ, I will have your code erased. I will make you disappear I will¡­¡± At this point, the Magistrate waved his hand and the clerk simply burst into flame and was incinerated in about 2 seconds. A new clerk quickly spawned and the Magistrate repeated what he had told the first clerk. Only this time I was to be given back 50 percent of the ore. The clerk looked at me and swallowed then transferred the ore and handed me a contract that showed my debt paid off in full. Then he transferred over 115000 pieces of ore back to me all the while giving me the evil eye, finally once done he told me to get out. I nodded and left with the Magistrate stopping in the square to thank him. ¡°Think nothing of it lad, they were clearly trying to steal from you and that is something that the King frowns on, so now that you are free and relatively well off, what are your plans?¡± Deciding to be fully honest I said, ¡°I don¡¯t know sir, I recently came into some information about an unknown mine that I want to sell, if I could make some gold happen than I would be glad to simply work at leveling up and getting stronger.¡± The magistrate looked at me and then said, ¡°Come with me for a drink, and tell me more, I might have a bit of a solution to your problem.¡± With that, the mage grasped my arm and we teleported into a tavern, looking around I could see I was in a place that I had never been to. ¡°Welcome to the Hammer and Gavel, it is a pub that caters to Magistrates and others who work for the King. Here we relax and discuss issues of importance to the Kingdom as well as recent cases of Judgement. Occasionally the Kings Ministers join us, we are all equals in this place.¡± I listened to the Magistrate and looked around, clearly the rich and powerful gathered here. ¡°Sir,¡± I began when he interrupted me, ¡°Call me Cornelius, Magistrate and Chief Justice of his Majesty Edwin the third, King of Anchar and ruler over the western realms.¡± Gesturing for me to sit down he called several people over and when we had all been served he spoke to a tall dignified looking man, ¡°Lord Stephen, if I may, this man here is in possession of an unclaimed mine, one which I believe the Kingdom would love to claim, what can we do to help both or kingdom and this good man?¡± Lord Stephen looked at me and then said, ¡°Speak lad and tell your tale, you have my word as the first minister to his Majesty your words will remain in confidence among us, but tell us of this mine and how you came to discover it. I know the area outside the city is overrun with low-level people desperate to make their daily payments to the foreign business that has taken up root here. How did you find an untapped mine, it seems impossible?¡± I looked around at the people gathered at the table clearly, I had managed to involve myself with the rich and powerful, if I was not careful things would not go well with me. Still, things could be worse and I had no doubt that these people would quickly see through any lie, besides I did not like liars and was not one myself. ¡°Sir,¡± I began ¡°I was one of those people struggling to make my payments to EVRAZ not that long ago when by the grace of the Gods I happened to find myself at the entrance to a hidden valley¡­¡± I spoke for a long time and when I was done I realized that I had revealed that I had taken the Rats bag and that was the source of my ability to pay off EVRAZ. Cornelius looked at me and said, ¡°No worries lad, I have no doubt that the RAT had stolen all that ore, but what is past is past but now we must deal with the future, would you be willing to accept a payout of one million gold for all the information you have shared with us?¡± I sat back stunned, that was a lot of gold when suddenly Lord Stephen spoke up, ¡°Lad I have a better offer for you, this valley it could contain several farms and a mining crew, I would like to offer you¡¯re the Lordship of this valley in the Kings name. We well send miners, farmers, and workers as well as a detachment of the Kings guards, you will be granted the noble title of Baron of Hidden Vale and will be subject to all the privileges and responsibilities that entails. The reality is you will be called upon to support the King in any manner. You will be taxed fairly and well earn an appropriate income for your station. Also, we will pay you 250000 gold up front and the Kingdom will pay for the first year of settlement. What say you Lightborne, this is a far better offer than a simple gold payout?¡± I smiled and nodded, then said, ¡°Yes my Lord I would very much like this.¡± Suddenly I was facing a man who had sat quietly and listened to all of us talking, he looked at me and pulled a rapier out and then called for me to kneel. As I went to my knees I felt the blade of the sword touch me on both shoulders and then I was told to stand, as I stood I heard the man say, ¡°By my right under the Gods and my power as lawful King I declare that Lightborne a freeman under my reign now be given the title Baron and accorded the lands of Hidden Vale.¡± I stood in amazement, this was the King of the Western Realms. He had just made me a Baron. I noticed him looking at me and smiling, then he said, ¡°I trust in my ministers, and my judgment, I am sure that you will make a fine Baron, your lands are given directly from me and you will answer to me in all matters of importance.¡± I watched as he turned and gave orders to Lord Stephen, then I was hustled away by Cornelius the Magistrate. He teleported us to a fine Inn where I was told to submit to the services of the Inn and then he left. What this meant was I was washed and dressed in good leather clothing, with my hair cut and braided and made to look presentable. Once I was ready I was led outside to where a narrow wagon awaited, boarding the wagon I noted that 5 more wagons were following along with a squad of 20 guardsmen and about 50 other people. We left the city after a couple of hours of navigating, with the commander of the guards riding alongside me. I told him the directions and while we attracted a lot of attention once the guards told the players and NPC to back off we slowly made our way through the countryside on our way to the hidden entrance of the valley. Chapter 4 Chapter 4 The guard captain was named Ajax and he was a fine fellow to talk with, he had a steady stream of jokes and observations while at the same time keeping an eye out as we traveled. While we did attract a bit of attention from the players it was not that unusual for the guards to be out patrolling or for the Kingdom to have wagons on the road, Anchar was a port city and goods needed to head inland. As night fell we continued out travels with roaming patrols ahead and behind us. By midnight we had reached the entrance and here I was amazed to see the wagons unloaded and disassembled then brought into the valley and reassembled. Once we were all in the valley one of the guardsmen a mage went back to the entrance and sealed the valley, I was told that we could leave but no one else could enter without permission from me. We decided to set up camp and soon all the people were fast asleep with a crew of 5 watchmen on guard. Not being able to sleep I walked to the firepit and saw that Ajax was standing there with a hot drink in hand. ¡°Hello my friend,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°How goes the night, I see the camp is tucked in for the night?¡± Ajax smiled back at me and said, ¡°Yes milord, the folks are tired, it was a long and unexpected day for many of them, but now we have arrived. Now the real work will begin. What are your plans, should we rebuild the Inn first or should we get the farmers and miners working, it has been my experience that if work needs doing it is best to get right to it?¡± I asked, ¡°If we put them to work what kind of a work crew will we have to work on the Inn, as well as a smithy and of course barracks for your boys?¡± I watched as Ajax thought for a moment and then he replied, ¡°If we start on dividing the farmland we can have half the farmers assist each other to build or repair a simple dwelling for themselves the other half can assist with repairing the Inn and all the other buildings that are needed. Tomorrow we will have to set up work crews and then you and I will scout the valley and you will have to divide the land for farming if I might suggest a lottery for the farms, that way it will be fair for all. I would encourage you to take the best land for your farm, milord. It is what is done.¡± Ajax continued and said, ¡°Also we must send a team of guardsmen and miners into the mine to see what needs to be done. I sense that you would like to accompany them? I nodded it was exactly what I wanted but I also had a task for Ajax. ¡°I would like to have you send out scouts tomorrow to explore the hidden valleys and gullies that surround the valley, I would not be surprised if we were to find an entrance into another valley. I want a map accurate and to scale made up that shows everything in the valley. The idea of something sneaking into the valley concerns me, something happened to the people that once lived here.¡± Ajax nodded and spoke, ¡°Good thinking milord, I will send out two scouts tomorrow to begin the mapping.¡± Ajax then turned and looked at the valley lit with the soft glow of moonlight and then he said, ¡°This is a pretty place, it feels peaceful here, I hope that this is true, if it is then once you have established yourself here I would suspect that you might be petitioned to have more settlers come to live here. These folks will tell their family and friends, and so on. If it is a good place to live people will want to come.¡± I nodded it was something to think about. Saying goodnight, I went to where my bedroll was and crept under the blankets, I had a lot to think about and I was suddenly tired. The realization that these people were depending on me was settling in and I felt a real sense of responsibility. Closing my eyes, I was soon asleep. ¡°Good morning milord.¡± I opened my eyes and stared at a pretty woman who was bent down over me with a hot bun with cheese and meat in it in her hand which was held out to me. ¡°Good morning,¡± I replied while commanding my eyes to look her in the face and not on her breasts which were about two feet from my face. Her loose top hung down and I could see her firm mounds and two rosy colored nipples. In this game world, women did not need to wear bras. With an effort, I looked her in the eye and asked her, ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°Bethany milord, I am the oldest daughter of Garrick the chief miner. Master Ajax and dad had a talking and it was decided that I am to be your servant girl. Master Ajax says all Barons have servants and that it is a shame on us that we have not volunteered to serve you.¡± I leaned back and took another bite of the hot bun, it was tasty. ¡°All right Bethany, I guess that you are now my servant. Here is what I want you to do, please put away my bedding, and get the wagon ready for today, you will ride in the wagon, I will be busy with Ajax and others getting things organized. Be helpful if I am not around but do not let others take advantage of you.¡± I smiled at the pretty girl and then stood up, brushing the crumbs off my shirt I walked over to where Ajax and several men were standing. ¡°Good morning men, ¡°I said with a smile, ¡°I see I now have a servant.¡± ¡°Yes, ye lordship, that is my daughter and a good lass she is, I have no need for her to help me now, and I would be grateful for ye to take her in. she is a hard worker and knows her place, ye will not regret it, my lord.¡± I nodded and said, ¡°I will make sure she is taken care of, I suppose I need a servant, it will be a help to me especially once I have a Keep built. Thanks, Garrick.¡± Ajax spoke up, ¡°Lord it is time that we ride across the valley and survey the land, the wagons will meet us at the Inn later if you are ready?¡± I nodded and was handed the reigns to a horse, I stared at it for a moment and then mentally asked, Caspar I don¡¯t have a clue how to ride this damn horse, can you help out here? Caspar replied, allow me to take over for a few minutes you will soon get the hang of it. Just enjoy the ride for the first half hour. Trusting Caspar, I allowed him control and was not surprised when I swung up and into the saddle like I had been riding all my life. I followed Ajax and a group of 5 soldiers out of the camp and we began to ride in a rough circle around the circumference of the valley. We spiraled inwards until we reached the lake and then headed over to the Inn. Ajax had been writing notes and as we cantered along he held them up to me and said, ¡°Milord I have counted enough land here for about 15 freeholdings, small farms of 2 to 4 acres. I have selected the land here along this hill with the creek going into the wooded valley as your personal land. The rest will be assigned a number and then the farmers can choose what they want. The truth is we could use another five or six farmers but for now, this will do.¡± I stared at the rough map and realized that the valley was, in fact, larger than I had thought. ¡°It sounds good, let¡¯s set up some work crews and then get going on the Inn and the farms. If we send out two sets of farmers they can help one another get the dwellings in place and then turn to work the land.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Yes, milord and in fact, I think they may be able to get the fall harvest off the fields, it is wild wheat but should still be harvested. This will set us ahead, and I suspect that we will need to set up a grinding stone to make flour, but all in good time.¡± Thinking for a moment I asked, ¡°Ajax I don¡¯t know how much you know about farming, but instead of a grinding wheel, would the creek on my land have enough current to drive a water wheel? That would make grinding the grain so much easier.¡± ¡°What is a water wheel milord?¡± Ajax asked with a smile. ¡°I have never heard that term before, well it be able to help us to grind the grain?¡± I nodded and with a smile said, ¡°I think it will Ajax, I will sketch out a diagram later and you can let me know what you think.¡± As we dismounted I could see that a considerable amount of work had been done on the Inn, the outer stone walls were still standing along with the fireplace, about half the inner wooden walls were done for. Badly burnt and in need of repair, the rest while damage could be cleaned off and still used. The ceiling was gone, but I was told by Garrick who had taken charge of the repairs that a new rough roof would be in place by tomorrow night over the main dining hall. He also told me that my room would be finished by tonight. The perks of being the boss I thought as I listened to both Garrick and Ajax. After they were done I had Ajax call everyone together and taking a piece of burnt wood I used the carbon to sketch out a rough outline of the valley. I subdivided all the farms I would give out while keeping the land closest to where I would build. I then numbered them and had everyone choose the land they wanted. With only two disagreements about the property, it was all settled quickly. Ajax and I then divided the farmers up into teams and sent them off each with a wagon and some wood and tools to start on making a dwelling. At the same time, I had the two scouts come forth and gave them their orders to explore every nook and cranny in this valley with special attention giving to the gullies and hidden areas. Once they were sent out, I had two guardsmen head out to hunt, there were wild deer and game birds in the valley and we could use fresh meat. Ajax had a team of 5 guards to come with us to the mine and the rest were divided between guarding the entrance of the valley and patrolling. The remaining farmers and miners were all busy working on the Inn and once that was done they would start on the barracks. Finally, they would work on the smithy, but I had my own plans for that. ¡°Ajax, I think we will head to the mine now, I would like to make sure it is clear so we can send half the miners to begin operations tomorrow.¡± With that, we mounted and led the way up towards the mine. Ajax wanted to know how I had cleared it and I spent the trip explaining the fight with the Rat and the Boss of the mine. Once I was done Ajax nodded and said, ¡°Damn good tactic, but I bet it was a close call still, we will have to get you leveled up sir. Perhaps once we have secured the valley and become permanently established we can have you train and run some patrols with the guards.¡± Caspar suddenly mentally said, we need you to level up so that should be a priority as soon as we get things going here. Meanwhile, I will institute a training program of martial arts and weapons training so that your body will not just rely on spells but will be able to handle a regular fight. He was right, I needed to make sure that my training did not slack off, there was a lot to accomplish but I would make it happen. I had gone from being a serf little more than a slave to being a minor member of the nobility. I was damn sure I would not waste this chance. We soon arrived at the mine and I studied the gate, it was thick iron and while it had some rust appearing it was clearly very strong. I dismounted and walked up to it and swung it open. Ajax said, ¡°Milord we will let these two go first then me and you then the last three guards. If we engage in combat I ask that you only allow us to maintain aggro and you do not place yourself in danger.¡± I nodded I knew he was concerned if I died or was injured it would not look good for him, but still, this dungeon was a low-level mine that I had managed to clear myself, I was not worried. Half an hour later I was worried, we had one badly injured man and were not finished the first level. Somehow, we were now going against level 10 opponents who would aggro on us at sight. I called Ajax over and said, ¡°Damn it all, how did these damn monsters get in here and at so high a level?¡± ¡°Milord, sometimes once a place is cleared other monsters may find it and take residence, it is not unheard of, but here and now we are facing level 10 to I would guess level 15 monsters, we are still on the first level and we are not going to finish this. I need you to leave the mine where we can regroup and bring back more guards.¡± ¡°All right lets head back, but I want to cast some healing on the wounded guard.¡± I highlighted the guard and began to cast HolyHealth I watched my mana drop down and once it hit ten percent I stopped. Holding up my hand I waited until my mana had recovered and then started healing the guard again. I healed 5 times and then waited for my mana to recover 5 times which gave us all a chance to rest up and then with the guard at 60 percent health we began to leave the mine. It took a while, we were cautious and, on the lookout, but eventually we reached the gate and slipped out. Walking over to where we had picketed the horses and mounted up, then slowly we made our way back to the Inn. I did not feel great about this, it was my first defeat and it must have shown on my face. Ajax looked at me and said, ¡°Milord do not be hard on yourself here, this was not a defeat but rather a strategic move that probably saved a lot of lives including yours and mine. Now we have the measure of what we are facing we can develop a plan to deal with it.¡± I nodded he was right and I should not be moping in front of my men, I turned around and looked back at the mine with my thoughts already moving into high gear. ¡°Men,¡± I said, ¡°Don¡¯t fret tomorrow we will clear the mine and take what is ours, I have a cunning plan to deal with those curs in there and I give you my word they will be dealt with.¡± Once we arrived at the Inn I had Ajax send out a couple of people to bring everyone back to the Inn, I would need them all. Eventually, we were all there and I called the men I had chosen to lead my raid together and explained the duties I needed them to do. ¡°Garrick, you will be on top of the mountain to the west of the mine where there is a cave. It is small and I need you to build a large fire in the cave and keep it going. The rest of us will be doing the same thing at the main entrance, I want to use fresh green wood, we need lots of smoke, and Ajax I need a wind mage I don¡¯t care if you have to rid3e back to the city to get one, we need to have a powerful steady wind blowing into the cave that will carry the smoke. I want every living thing in that cave to be dead by this time tomorrow, we will gather wood early tomorrow and then light this fire to burn out our enemies.¡± Ajax said, ¡°I already have just the man for your plan, trooper Calhoun is a minor battle mage whose affinity is wind. He will do nicely for what we want. I think that this plan is the best, it won''t matter what level those Arghounds are they will all die.¡± I nodded and we finished off the discussion. I was tired but felt that I had to present a confident appearance to my people. I spent the rest of the evening walking around and greeting people talking to the farmers about the crops and the miners about the ore. Sometime during the walk, I was joined by Bethany who introduced me to many of the people letting me know their names and a little about them. Eventually, I called an end to the evening and sent everyone off to bed. I walked over to the water barrel and scooped out a bucket and washed then headed towards my room. Entering the room, I undressed and crawled under the covers to discover a very naked Bethany waiting for me. ¡°What are you doing here Bethany?¡± I asked in surprise. ¡°I am here to serve your needs milord, this is part of what a servant girl does.¡± I looked at her and then lifted the blanket from her and gazed at her body, her breasts were firm with white skin and blue veins visible under her skin. Her nipples were large and chocolate brown fully erect. I reached out and gently stroked her breast teasing her nipple with my thumb. Looking down I saw that her bush was trimmed I reached down and gently touched her. Feeling her wetness, I slowly brought my mouth to her breast as I continued to stroke her. When in Rome, I thought as I began to breath faster as I continued to touch her with my hand as I kissed her nipples. I could hear her breathing becoming heavy and throaty and she slowly started to moan. Bethany whispered, ¡°Yes milord, touch me there, oh-oh yes kiss my breasts.¡± I continued on, taking my time, I would have time to sleep later. Ya baby it was good to be the king. Chapter 5 Chapter 5 I looked at Bethany sleeping beside me, her face was peaceful as she slept. In truth we had not slept much, the fact was we had both been inexperienced but made up for the lack of skill with a great deal of enthusiasm. I was looking forward to continuing our nocturnal activities tonight. She was pretty, smart and willing to try anything, it was a winning combination. Too bad I could not meet a woman like her in the real world. I left the bed and dressed then quietly left the room, there was already a fire going and coffee was waiting, grabbing a cup I greeted the few people that were up and about. Seeing Ajax walk into the Common room I grabbed him a cup of coffee and we sat down to plan the day. The plan was already in motion but the review never hurts so we went through it all. Garrick and a few men would be at the exit cave with a large fire burning just inside the entrance. We would be outside the mine with a huge fire burning with a wind mage blowing the smoke from the green wood into the mine. Ajax thought that it would take about two hours for the smoke to kill everything in the mine. We would then put the fires out and have the battle mage blow wind throughout the mine getting rid of the smoke. I had decided that we would drag out the bodies of the Arghounds and burn them. Bloody monsters with huge jaws and sharp teeth they stood about 6 feet tall and were vaguely wolf-like in nature. Ferocious fighters and not showing any mercy they had to be killed. We needed that mine and I would kill any monster that stood in my way. Ajax waved at me and said, ¡°Milord the scouts have some news for us, they have not finished exploring the valley fully but they have found what appears to be a ruined temple in a gully that deepens into a small valley it is located behind your land.¡± I was not surprised to hear about this, my hidden valley had secrets. ¡°Which God is the temple dedicated to?¡± I asked. ¡°That is the strange thing, the scouts could not tell who the temple was dedicated to, it is a ruin but still in good shape. Once we have some time we should head there and see what it is all about.¡± I nodded, another thing to add to my growing list, first the mine, then the Inn and the farm homes, then my home which would be a cross between a small keep with a tower and a country home. I wanted to build a water wheel there in what would be the outer area. Then a smithy, I had a ton of ore to work with which I could use to start on Magical Engineering. I also wanted to start a trading post something I would own outright located near the Inn. I had plans, lots of them but first I had to make my valley safe. By now the morning light had overtaken the darkness of the night and we were able to prepare. I went with a team of men and we spent the morning cutting trees, lots of them, they were green and wet, the kind of wood that needs to be dried out for a couple of years before burning or it burns badly with a lot of smoke. Exactly what I wanted. By midmorning we were ready, and once the runner from Garrick arrived letting us know that he had a roaring fire, we soon had a roaring fire going inside the mine. The minor Battle Mage Calhoun was skilled in wind manipulation and soon had a strong steady wind blowing into the mine. I busied myself making sure lots of wood was nearby to stoke the fire and we all waited, in the end, we gave it about three hours and then let the fire die out. Calhoun was as good as it gets and kept a steady wind blowing, eventually, another runner came from Garrick and told us that smoke was coming out of the cave like a winter chimney being fired up. After about an hour of this, we received word that no more smoke was leaving the mine so we proceeded into the tunnel. Ajax again warned me, ¡°Milord stay in the middle and do not venture away from these 5 guardsmen they have one task and that is to keep you safe.¡± I nodded it was something that I was coming to appreciate. Caspar, I thought, Can your senses pick up anything in the mine, a little foreknowledge is a good thing. Not much, the curvature of the walls and the fact that stone absorbs sound makes it difficult, but if I do I will alert you, he replied. Good enough it was the best warning system I had and I was glad I had it. We made our way deeper into the mine finding bodies in groups of two on the first level. It was slow and difficult work, I originally had the bodies double tapped, a sword thrust through the heart or the neck slashed. I could tell the guards were not happy doing it, but it needed to be done. Calling a break, I addressed the men, ¡°I know that this is difficult for you, it would seem that we are desecrating the dead bodies of our enemies. I know that does not find favor with you, and I understand. I may be the Lord of this valley but let it not be said that I would not pull my weight. I will take over double tapping the enemies.¡± The men nodded a few with relief evident on their faces, but one asked me, ¡°Milord what does double tap mean?¡± I spoke quickly, ¡°It means that when you fight a hard and strong foe who is cunning and full of wiles, you make sure that he is actually dead, the first tap so to speak is what kills him the second tap is what makes sure he stays dead.¡± The men all nodded and I heard one of them say something about that is how you deal with the undead. I strode to the front of the men surrounded by my bodyguards and we continued on. Approaching each body, I made sure that the pike I had borrowed would penetrate the heart and then we moved on. I had a group of men dragging the bodies out to the front of the mine where we were now throwing them on a huge funeral pyre made from the leftover wood from our fire. We continued on until we hit the end of the third level were Caspar informed me that there was a new hidden entrance, behind of which he stated he could hear a high-pitched crying sound. I gestured for the men to stop and called Ajax over and pointed at the wall. ¡°There is a hidden entrance here that is new, with a small cave carved into the stone behind it. At least one living thing is in there, I would like to take it captive.¡± Ajax quickly gave orders, ¡°I want you two men here with pikes, and you two here with swords and boards. Don¡¯t mess this up, men, something is in there and Baron Lightborne wants it alive.¡± With that two other men grabbed along the wall and pulled a large somewhat flat slab of stone away, this exposed a small hole. Ajax grabbed a torch and held it into the hole which brought enough light into the darkness for us to see that at least one body was in there along with what looked like a humanoid puppy. It was clear that the female had died and the puppy was not doing too well. I walked past Ajax and called out for water, grabbing the skin that was given me I grabbed the puppy and dragged him out. He growled and tried to snap at me but was very weak. Uncorking the skin, I slowly poured a trickle of water into his mouth. After briefly coughing he began to lap up the water.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Well, what should I call you,¡± I said softly to myself. I looked at Ajax and smiled, then said, ¡°Everyone should have a dog, I am not sure how intelligent these Arghounds are but I bet I can tame this bruiser here. I am sure that these things are much smarter than a dog but not as smart as Humans or BeastMen. They are primitive and seem to have been functioning at the pact level.¡± I stared at my pet, he was a dark gray-blue color and judging by the size of his paws and hands he would be large when fully grown. I was now fully committed to keeping this wolf monster and I gestured for the men to come close and listen. ¡°This little guy is mine and I don¡¯t want anyone screwing with him, this goes for you guards, the farmers, and the miners. If someone does something to him, the will answer to me.¡± I stared at the men surrounding me and noticed that many of them nodded and a few looked grim and looked away. Standing we made our way back to the entrance, where the fire was roaring with all the bodies now piled on it. As we walked Ajax strode beside me and chuckled as he said, ¡°Will you put the fear of the Gods into your men today. They listened to you and saw you covered in the blood of your enemies as you warned them. It is a rare thing for a Lord to do what you did today and the men greatly respect you for it and they also fear you. Be gracious to them and you will have their loyalty to the end.¡± ¡°Thanks, Ajax, I appreciate what you are saying, once we get back to the Inn I want the cooks to prepare a special celebratory supper for the men. I also want a detachment of guards at the mine tonight along with a crew of miners. Let¡¯s get this thing happening.¡± I was getting tired carrying the puppy, he was about 40 pounds and had decided to have a nap with his head on my shoulder. Eventually, we made it back to the Inn and Ajax quickly had the men heading towards the mine. Garrick came over and said, ¡°I will be getting three crews working, and will have a stockpile of ore waiting for you by the end of the week. The first couple of days will be slow, we will carve out a room to bunk in. Once that is done we can swing into full production." Thanking him I grabbed the mug of ale that appeared and then smiled as Bethany brought me a plate of meat and cheese. Blue, my Arghound, sniffed at my meal and I asked for another plate of meat to be brought over. Once the tray was delivered he set to it eagerly tearing into the meat all the while growling with delight. I snagged Bethany and sat her down beside me while asking, ¡°How was your day here?¡± She looked at me with a smile and said, ¡°It was busy, I helped out in the kitchen, baking bread and cooking some of the meat that was about to turn. It was a little strange but all the women were very kind and a little subservient to me. Is it because we are together now as a man and a woman?¡± Thinking for a moment I said, ¡°I would suspect that is the case, by sharing my bed you have intimate access to me, much more so than anyone else. I once read that aside from a king¡¯s mistress the closest people to a king are the Grooms of the Chamber and the closest of all to the King is the Groom of the Stool. This man, in particular, was often called the Chief Gentleman of the Chamber and would often control the purse of the King and as such would end up having immense power. Lucky for you I am not a king and the only person I want in my chambers is you.¡± Bethany listened intently and then when I finished she blushed and then gave me a full kiss. ¡°Thank you, milord, I will do my best to be the kind of servant girl you will want.¡± I smiled, life was good. Tonight, once Bethany was asleep I would log out and get some exercise and food. I would have to be quick, as I wanted to be back in the game before morning broke, I had a lot to do. I was hoping to head out and help erected a couple of the farmer''s dwellings. They looked a lot like a simple wooden Yurt and should not take too long to build. Once dinner was served I cheered the men and toasted them, thanking them for our victory today. Blue was sleeping curled up next to Bethany who seemed to have fallen in love with the puppy. I mentioned that he was mine and I would not tolerate anything bad directed at him. I then had an impromptu meeting with most of the people and was happy to hear that within a week all the farmers would have the homes up and running and would start working on bringing in the harvest of wild wheat. I was also told that the Inn would be repaired by weeks end and that it would have 5 rooms, the common area, and a small private bar room. Once the Inn was done work on the guard¡¯s barracks would begin. Everyone was happy until one of the kitchen maids asked, ¡°But what about your keep milord, surely you need to have your place done before the rest of us?¡± Standing I looked at the suddenly silent crowd and then I said, ¡°My keep will be built, but the needs of you come before me, I will stay at the Inn until after the harvest by then most of the work will be done and we can all work on my home.¡± The people began to clap slowly until someone shouted, ¡°Cheers to our Lord, Baron Lightborne. Hupp Hupp hurray.¡± Once the crowd had stopped cheering I thanked them and then grabbing Bethany and Blue I made my way to my room. Many of the folks stopped me to thank me and several blessed me. Eventually, I made it into my room and closed the door. ¡°Wow that was something else, I am glad that all these folks are happy but what the heck it was like I just gave them the winning lottery ticket.¡± ¡°I am not sure what that is but what you have done is unheard of, for a noble to put his people first and to wait for them before seeing to his own needs. I can truthfully say that you are not like any other noble that I have ever heard of. Oh, some of them are kind to us peasants and a few have promoted the low born to positions of trust and respect within their homes but you have done more. You treat us almost as if we matter to you. Thank you, milord.¡± I stared at Bethany who was now softly crying, and then I gave her a hug and said, ¡°Please call me Cam, it is what my parents called me and it is what I want you to call me in private, okay.¡± I looked at Bethany her eyes soft and wet and suddenly I felt a surge of emotion, something I had suppressed for a long time, really, from the day that my parents had died. I was beginning to care for this girl, and it did not matter to me that she was an AI, she was as real as any woman I have ever met and it was obvious that she cared for me. Maybe that was her programming, she would probably care about any Lord she bed. Thinking about this did not bother me, I was here living in an artificial reality that was so much better than the real world, it was not a surprise to me that I cared about Bethany, really that I cared about everyone in my valley. Did I love her, no not at all but I did like her and I could feel my emotions begin to come alive again. I leaned forward and kissed her gently at first and then with passion. Grabbing her blouse, I lifted it off her and then dropped to my knees and pulled her down, then reaching out I grabbed her breast and began to suck on her nipple while I undid her skirt. Picking her up I placed her on the bed and then began to kiss her neck slowly working my way down to her breast. Her nipples were thick and tender, gently biting on them I heard her whisper, ¡°Don¡¯t stop please don¡¯t stop.¡± I had no intention of stopping and slowly I moved my mouth down between her breast kissing the underside of them as I played with her nipples. Continuing to kiss her I worked my way down to her belly and the grasping her hips I let my tongue go lower licking and tasting her aroused wetness. Lifting her legs over my shoulders I began to work at her pleasure flower, kissing and licking I continued on until I felt her hips buck up as she orgasmed. I continued on until she bit her lips as her hips began to rock against my mouth as I tasted her and made her come over and over. Finally, I slowly began to kiss my way up until I held her head and then began to kiss her gently as our tongues danced with each other. ¡°Cam,¡± Bethany whispered, ¡°The older ladies have told me that all men love to be pleasured by women who suck on them, let me try this for you, the idea of you in my mouth is making me weak.¡± I nodded and slowly pulled her head down to my rock hard little buddy. She slowly began to lick it and then suddenly began to suck on it, moving her head up and down she began to moan with pleasure as she took my full shaft in her mouth. After several minutes I could hold it no more and I released into her mouth, I could feel her swallowing all my seed and then licking my shaft clean. She finally finished which was a good thing as I was half hard again. Pulling her up I kissed the top of her hair and then spooned with her. In moments she was sleeping and I logged out.