Regicide: The Dimensional Wars, Book 3, page 13
A sparkle lit her eye, and Arthur swore he saw a single tear escape and run down her cheek. It disappeared so fast he thought he might have imagined it.
“Mistress Holly, to clarify, your title, Master of Holds, does that refer to the city manors or our new freeholds?” Arthur asked.
“The new freeholds, Your Majesty,” Holly said.
“Perfect. Organize some courier crews to haul the supplies from the freeholds to the city. The first ones should head out in three weeks. From there, we could probably run a courier once every week. If that isn’t enough time for the freeholds to build up a stockpile to send back, then increase it to a courier every two weeks. The magical aspect of the freeholds should drastically increase yield and decrease growing time.”
“Are there carts or anything we can use to haul these supplies? Some of those freeholds are almost a week from the city. It would require a large labor force to haul everything.” Holly said with concern in her voice.
“It’ll only take one person. I’d recommend they have traveling partners, maybe even a trained fighter or two with them. I’m going to make bags of holding specifically for the couriers. I will bond them to Mistress Holly, so if anything happens to those carrying them, the bags will return to her. Any person found in possession of a specially marked bag of holding without direct permission will face strict punishments. Anyone found to have harmed a courier to gain such a bag will face the death penalty. I will not tolerate theft of the supplies needed to run this city.”
Looks of shock met Arthur’s revelation. Bags of Holding were almost mythical. Only a few had been seen in the past few hundred years. So casually mentioning handing them out to couriers in mass must’ve sounded absurd.
“Do you have Bags of Holding, Your Majesty?” Lord Ealin asked.
“Not yet, but I plan on making some with a portion of the leather brought in. That reminds me,” Arthur said as he turned his attention back to Lady Gemmalin. “Can you have a couple dozen bags made for me to prepare for this work?”
“Oh… uh sure.” She said, shaken from her surprise.
“Does anyone have questions about anything?” Arthur asked.
“The supplies you gathered. Where are they?” Lord Trip asked. “We haven’t seen any wagons with you.”
“Just gather me a bunch of workers outside. We will get this all sorted and arranged. Lords Trip and Ealin and Lady Gemmalin, ensure you have storage locations prepared. I’ll need access to some of your food storage facilities tomorrow. I have to install cold cellars to keep the food from spoiling. If anyone needs tools, let me know. I can create a handful quickly if need be,” Arthur said.
Lady Gemmalin perked up at that. “Your Majesty, we have a very limited supply of cutlery for butchering and skinning animals. We also don’t have many round knives or punches for our leather working. I also wouldn’t turn down some decent quality needles.”
Arthur smiled at her shopping list. Give an inch and she’ll try and take a mile.
“I have a limited supply of metal with me to use, but I’ll see what I can do. If you have any old or broken tools I can melt down, it’d help me produce more.” Arthur said.
“I’ll have the city searched,” Lady Gemmalin agreed.
“If there is nothing else, let’s head outside and get to work unloading supplies.”
No one said anything, so Arthur walked over to Allendria and held out his hand. She rose from her chair and took his hand with a smile before they walked out at the head of the group. In the courtyard outside, he stopped and turned to the small crowd.
“Let’s find space for this and get it unloaded,” Arthur said, gesturing toward the empty courtyard.
Looks of confusion mixed with looks of anger. Apparently, some of them thought he was making fun of them or that he failed to find anything and led them on.
Instead of dragging out the situation, he started dual casting. Portals popped open all over the courtyard. A few of the storage spaces were packed so tight that boars fell from the doorway as soon as they snapped open. The crowd now looked properly surprised. Some onlookers fell to their knees and cried at the sight of so much food on hand.
You have gained 1,800 total experience in Dimensional Magic.
You have gained 400 total experience in Dual Casting.
Arthur walked over to the first of the three dozen storage spaces and reached in. He couldn’t see the back because of the animal carcasses crushed together like a gory Jenga puzzle. Each of these spaces was roughly the size of a small U-Haul truck from back home.
His hand wrapped around the leg of a particularly husky boar and pulled. It popped free and spilled a few other carcasses across the courtyard.
“Lady Gemmalin, where do the animals need to go for processing?” Arthur asked.
“Your Majesty,” she said in shock, “What are you doing? Such a task is beneath you.”
“Nonsense. No task is beneath a king. A king who isn’t willing to do the jobs it takes to run a kingdom has no business ordering others to do those same tasks. Now, where to?”
Lady Gemmalin looked like she would protest further, but she must’ve seen the serious set of his jaw and let it go. Instead, she ushered him out of the courtyard and down a street. They turned into a sturdy-looking building. The bottom portion of the wall was neatly stacked with stone, and the top two-thirds of the wall was close-fitted wood. Inside were large wooden tables and countertops, all cleaned to a glistening polish.
Arthur dropped his animal on the first counter and turned to head back. He saw the line of people carrying more animals trailing behind him. Men and women hefted deer and boar carcasses. Arthur’s smile grew wider when he saw a handful of children carrying smaller game. Squirrels and rabbits made wonderful stew, and the soft pelts could make warm clothing.
His mind wandered while he went about the monotonous task of hauling dead animals, plants, vegetables, herbs, and a plethora of other supplies around. He remembered the talents for his combat skills he forgot to spend. The knowledge of them approaching the city distracted him, and he forgot to assign those points. With that in mind, he started by pulling up his Throwing Knives tree.
You have 6 unspent Talent Points.
Talent
Description
Tier 1
True Sight (0/5)
Increases your accuracy with Throwing Knives by 5% per point.
Chain Reaction (0/10)
Each point allows you to palm an extra knife without affecting your throws. You can hold up to 11 knives at once and throw in rapid succession if you invest all 10 points.
Enhanced Reflexes (0/1)
Increases your perception speed and allows you to better chose the target for your throw. Consumes Stamina during the increased speed.
Stamina Use: 15/second
The options were interesting, but there was no way he was passing up Enhanced Reflexes. That sounded like slow-motion aiming from some of the crazy action games. The five remaining points all went into Chain Reaction. His accuracy wasn’t terrible, but being able to throw more knives faster would be a big win.
His next set of talents to review was Small Blades. He realized he never spent his last two points.
You have 2 unused Talent Points.
Talent
Description
Tier 1
Bleeding Strikes (0/5)
Wounds caused by Small Blades will deal 4% additional bleed damage per point.
Blurring Speed (0/5)
Attack speed with Small Blades increase by 3% per point.
Riposte (1/1)
If any of your attacks are parried, you are able to activate this skill for a guaranteed hit with your Small Blade.
Cooldown: 45 seconds
Tier 2
Twist (0/10)
Each point causes wounds inflicted by Small Blades to deal 3% additional damage.
Blade Weaver (7/10)
Increases your chance to parry blows with Small Blades by 2% per point.
Might as well stick with the defense build and put the two points into Blade Weaver.
Finally, he looked into Dual Wield.
You have 2 unused Talent Points.
Talent
Description
Tier 1
Off-Hand Power (0/5)
Increases damage of your off-hand weapon by 5% per point.
Deflection (5/5)
Increases your chance to successfully parry by 5% per point.
Arm Strength (0/5)
Increases damage of your main hand weapon by 5% per point.
Tier 2
Off-Hand Coordination (0/1)
Allows you to use a full-size weapon (IE sword) without additional penalties to off-hand speed or accuracy.
Main-Hand Dexterity (1/10)
Increases swing speed with main hand weapon by 3% per point.
Think I’ll drop those two into Main Hand Dexterity.
With the skills sorted out, he let the work drown his thoughts into the evening.
Chapter 10
Enchanting in the City
Arthur started his morning fulfilling promises. He sought Lady Gemmalin, and she led him to the storage rooms. The large warehouses were cylindrical and reminded Arthur of farm silos driving through the small cities back in Texas.
Shelves lined the walls from top to bottom, and a single ladder stood propped up, reaching all the way to the top. Instead of worrying about the room itself, he activated his Earth Magic and delved his power into the ground. In quick fashion, he carved a spiral staircase below ground and then leveled the floor out. The dirt melted in front of him as it peeled back and created stone. The walls and ceiling formed, and a few pillars of stone helped hold the ceiling’s weight.
When all was said and done, a new underground cellar spread out in front of him. The space encompassed nearly a thousand square feet. It took a few of his enchanted temperature controls to keep the entire space cold enough. He designed this room to get gradually colder as you reached the back. When first walking in, it felt more like standing in a refrigerator, and by the time you reached the back, it was the chill of a deep freezer.
“This should suffice,” Arthur told Lady Gemmalin as she walked down the stairs to observe his work.
“I’d say so. Bit of a surprise you finished so soon. I was only gone for a little over an hour.”
“I’ve done this enough to move quickly. Try and keep your root vegetables closer to the stairs and meats farther toward the back. It is colder back there and will preserve it better.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. I have to find some shelving for this space to make it easier to organize, and I’ll hire some staff to keep track of the supplies here.” Lady Gemmalin said.
“Just make sure they know not to stay down here for prolonged periods of time. It can seriously harm and possibly kill them.”
“I’d imagine so. I’m pretty sure they’ve been through enough winters to understand that.” Gemmalin smiled.
Of course, they understand cold. Arthur scolded himself.
“How many more storage buildings are there?” Arthur asked.
“Four more like this and two that are smaller. Do you plan on doing this for them all?”
“Might as well. All it costs is some mana for those maintaining it and working here. It could help keep lots of food from spoiling and causing even more of a shortage.”
Lady Gemmalin agreed, and they moved on to the next building. They continued that pattern for the rest of the morning, and around midday, Arthur finally breathed a sigh of relief as he finished the last storage space.
“I can’t thank you enough, Your Majesty. Others may not understand the importance of this, but it isn’t lost on me. We should have the first shipments of processed meat come in today. They’ve been working on it most of the night. Those few cooling devices you left with them have kept the carcasses fresh so far, but we can’t let it linger.”
“It would suck to get all that meat only for it to spoil.”
“I’ll have everything ready for the feast tonight.” Lady Gemmalin said.
“Thank you, My Lady,” Arthur said with a curt bow. “I planned to do it last night, but everyone worked late into the evening, and there wasn’t time.”
“It’s fine. The people were thrilled seeing all the supplies. Individual portions were handed out last night for the citizens, so they should be well-fed for today’s work. The feast tonight should help raise their spirits higher.”
“Then I look forward to the feast. I’m going to run and check in with Samson to make sure nothing needs my attention, and then I’ll get to work on those tools you requested.”
“I still can’t thank you enough. I had a load of scrap metal dumped near the city manor for you to work with. Good luck.” She said as she reached up and patted his cheek.
Arthur smiled and headed back to the city hall. The people he passed appeared in higher spirits. Smiles decorated their faces, and some children scurried around. They laughed and played without a care in the world. Arthur stopped in the center of one of the major intersections and just soaked in his surroundings. Just a few weeks ago, this was nothing but a pit of despair. Now joy and laughter riddled the street.
You look like an idiot standing there with your head looking up and eyes closed. Balair huffed.
Arthur cracked an eye and spotted the small drake circling overhead.
It’s barely noon. Isn’t it far too early for you to be awake? Arthur asked.
Ain’t that the truth? I was sleeping near the city hall, and all the noise woke me up. Decided on a quick flight to stretch out. Thought I might go hunting while I’m at it.
Hmph. That sorry excuse for a dragon couldn’t hunt anything larger than a house cat. He’s too fat and lazy. Calfuray butted in.
Good to see you too, Cal. Arthur sent as he watched the purple streak on the horizon glitter in the sunlight.
That’s rude as hell. What did I do to you? Balair said.
You tarnish the reputation of dragons everywhere with your mere presence. Nothing but low-class filth.
Alright, you two. That’s enough of this same old argument. Either of you doing anything productive today?
Some hunting and some scouting, I suppose. Cal said.
I guess I can as well. Balair said in what almost sounded like a whine.
Then get to work. I’ve got some smithing to do. Arthur said.
Anything is better than what you were doing before. Cal agreed.
Really, you too?
We can’t all stand around basking in the sunlight. Cal told him.
Arthur didn’t even bother responding and just continued his trek toward the city center. As soon as he arrived, he searched for Samson. The large Paladin was nowhere to be found, but he did find Rayne.
“You know where Samson is?” Arthur asked.
“He is at the city dungeon taking care of the guards who were plotting the coup. Passing judgment, I suppose.” Rayne said.
“Definitely not going to bother him while he’s doing that. Do you know of anything going on that might need my attention before I go hide and do some crafting?” Arthur asked.
“Sure don’t. Have fun. I’ll keep whoever I can from bothering you unless it is urgent.” Rayne said.
“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.” Arthur told him.
They shook hands, and Arthur scurried around the building. He found the pile of scrap metal in the back of the building and set to work. Without a proper forge in operational condition, it forced him to use pure magic to work the metal, so it drained him faster than normal. The feeling of accomplishment when the pile of rusty and battered metal was arranged in a neat stack of fresh ingots left him refreshed.
When the metal was prepped, he started with the leather working tools. While the regular butcher knives were important, he knew the city had a bunch of usable knives for that. Almost everyone carried at least some kind of small personal blade. Many of them were pitted and old, but they were still functional. He also planned on making the butcher blades as well, anyway.
His Arcane Smithing gave him the opportunity to make these tools as intricate as he wanted. It took marginally little extra effort, and the mana cost was nearly the same. Still, he went with plain tools. No special ornamentation or design work. Handing out fancy equipment usually only led to jealousy and expectations of more. It could also stagnate the local economy when it finally restarted.
Smiths and leather workers would return as the supplies came in, and he didn’t want them to feel that they needed to compete with his fancy tools. It could create destabilization.
The problem Arthur had was the handle. Finding wood wouldn’t be a big deal, but finding people who had the knowledge and tools to shape it fast enough for his purposes was almost impossible. It would also take special resins and glue to connect it all.
Instead of dwelling on that problem, he determined to fix it with a design. Typically, he’d create a long, tapered tang that would slide into the handle, and then you could heat and peen the end over on it. Since that took too long, he cheated with modern technology, similar to how he had done before. He threaded the end of the tang into a rod and created small nuts with a rounded end on them. This would allow him to slide on a handle and just screw it tight instead of having to do the extra steps. It also made it easier to replace damaged handles in the future.
