Chapter 81: Champion, Chapter 14: Building Blocks

Aidan

The Realms

Thirdday, 1st week of the 9th month, Age of the Chosen 1

Mid-Morning

The Lord's Chambers, Caer Macht, Mistvale Highlands

"I'm sorry I can't invite you to the meeting, Sunnild," Aidan said, wiping his mouth to clean off lingering pancake crumbs. No maple syrup, but this spiced honey is almost as good.

"Mm, I understand." She flashed him a warm smile. "Ya need to go off and do ruler stuff, and I am too new for yer advisors ta trust me even if I had any business bein' there."

"Did you say you know Engineering?" Brighid asked. "The Starchasers do not have anyone with that Skill. We do not build large buildings or complicated machinery, for the most part, so we have not needed it. But I have a feeling Aidan will soon." She turned her attention to him. "You should build a temple to the Brighaid, love. Maybe not as the first priority, but do not put it off too long. Given your connection to Them, spreading Their worship may bring direct personal benefits to you. Even if not, Their teachings mesh well with your goals."

"I'll consider it, and Sunnild, she's right. If you're a skilled Engineer, I can definitely make use of that. But for right now, you're too much of an unknown quantity. I hope that'll change down the line; I already know I'm going to miss you while you're at the Ayrie." He slid a sealed letter across the table towards her. "Here, give this to Estrith. It's a letter for your leaders; among other things, I'm asking them to assign you here as a permanent cultural liaison. My hope is that they'll recognize there's more strategic value in appeasing a potential ally than in keeping you at the Ayrie where they don't know what to do with you."

The young harpy bounced over to him and delivered a thorough kiss. "Thank you, my... Aidan. I..." she bit her lip, then kissed him again before spinning away to give Brighid a hug and a kiss as well. She gave them both another smile, then vanished out into the central chamber.

"You made a good pick," Brighid told him.

"We'll see. I would still be beyond happy if it were only the two of us. I worry that adding more people to this relationship will make it all fall apart." He paused, then snorted. "Of course, I can't pin it all on you. I invited your mother over to bathe with me last night while you and Sunnild were getting to know each other."

"Ohhh?" Brighid's smile stretched ear-to-ear. "Did you fix things between you?"

"Well, there's a bridge where there was only a chasm before, at least. It's still a little rickety, but we're both working on it. Last night was just talking and cuddling until the very end; we're taking it slow."

Brighid yanked him into a hug and squeezed him hard enough that Aidan could feel his ribs creaking. "That is wonderful to hear! Mother has been alone for a long time. I am so happy you two are getting along now!"

"It isn't weird for you, knowing that I was doing things with your mother? I know that I'd be uncomfortable being with someone who was also with one of my parents."

Brighid shook her head. "Maybe it is different because your parents are both alive and still together, but for me, I have only ever known my mother as a woman standing alone against the world. My father was already gone by the time my memories become more than fuzzy impressions, and if she became involved with anyone since then, she hid it well. I do not think of her in a romantic or sexual way, but I have no problem sharing you with her. I want you both to be happy."

"Alright. I trust you to tell me if something or someone does make you uncomfortable. For now, let's go find Ailis and Sarpedon; I have some big news to discuss.

Neither was hard to locate, so ten minutes later, Aidan's inner circle—namely, his three vassals, Brighid, and Sarpedon—convened in his office. Riama was present as well, curled up in Brighid's arms, but not as an official member; she just wanted attention. Aidan summarized his new quest for everyone, then asked, "So, what are your thoughts? It's nice to have goals, but I'm a bit worried about those deadlines. I only have about half a year to complete them, and I have no idea what any of them signify."

Brighid piped up right away with, "Well, I know what the first deadline is. Or, at least, I think I do." She blushed, but continued, "That is right around when I expect my heat to come upon me again. Given the quest objective it's tied to..."

Aidan blushed as well. "Yeah, okay, that one does seem obvious and benign. So, what are the requirements for a Profession Specialization?"

"Skill level 50—Journeyman rank—and completion of a quest," Ailis responded. "The quest varies depending on which Specialization you choose, and there is no telling how many different Specializations you might be offered. When I faced my Specialization trial, I had seven options, but I have heard of people with dozens."

"How long did it take you to complete your quest once you reached Journeyman? My time limit for that is less than two months, so while the Skill won't be much of a problem, if the quest is going to take me five or six weeks, I need to hurry up about it."

Ailis shook her head. "Unfortunately, there's no way to guess. The Specialization I chose took me two years to complete, but I could have finished in two weeks instead by pursuing a different choice." She raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "I would say that you are going to be very busy for the next few weeks."

"Alright, alright," Aidan cut that line of conversation off. He was fine teasing Brighid with it, but he wasn't much of an exhibitionist himself. "Any ideas on what the other two deadlines might represent?"

The others shook their heads. Sarpedon rumbled, "Those dates hold no apparent significance to me."

When no one else spoke up, Aidan shrugged. "Well, the meaning behind the deadlines isn't the important part, anyway. So, we have to get me into a Prestige Class before the new year. I assume, given the other parallels between Classes and Professions, that it involves a quest as well?"

Ailis and Sarpedon both nodded. "Yes, Lord Aidan," Sarpedon confirmed. "Just as for a Profession Specialization, you will have several options, each with a task for you to complete. I would not dare to speculate on what choices you might have or what quests they might ask of you, given your status and power. I would set aside at least a month, however. More would be better, but the experience to reach level 25 will be an issue, even with the Labyrinth. You need the better part of two million experience."

"Two million?!" Aidan was stunned. "The entire Battle of Ceallach Macht, Taig and all, was a million experience before the party split. How am I going to earn two million in six months?"

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"By dedicating yourself to it," was Ailis's answer. "You rose as high as you have within a single month. I doubt we will face anything else with the same ... density ... of experience within the next five, but if you break it down, you are looking at four hundred thousand a month. That is high but achievable." She offered him a sad, sympathetic smile. "It will not be easy on you, I know. You can expect more days like yesterday than the day before it. Your friends will help you as much as we can, but your shoulders will bear the burden."

"At least," Sarpedon added, "your second and third objectives can share effort. Reaching and defeating the boss of the first stratum will grant you substantial rewards. What else is it that you need for that quest?"

Aidan checked his log. "Um, let's see. 500 permanent population within Caer Macht's domain; that'll be easy with the Starchasers relocating. Also, 10 Essences of Fire, Earth, Air, and Dreams. I think I have some Essence of Earth from when we cleared out the Fetid Lair." He stuck his hand into his Handy Haversack and accessed its inventory. "Yeah, here, three of them. So only thirty-seven to go. Anyone have any idea where to get the rest?"

"Aside from being generated as quest or dungeon rewards, Essences are primarily found in areas with a strong association to them; Earth in caverns deep underground or inside rich mineral veins, Fire on the ground in the center of a forest fire or in volcanic pools, and so on."

"Thus encouraging me to explore my lands and exploit its resources," Aidan concluded. "Not that there are any forests or volcanos nearby. I wonder whether allocating the Throne's elements to Resources will help?"

"It cannot hurt," Sarpedon replied, "although I cannot guarantee that it will help, either. Even for us, the workings of Places of Power are mysterious."

"Alright, so that's the primary goals covered. I also have four optional objectives: negotiating treaties, forming trade routes, leveling Ceallach Macht, and," Aidan blushed, "fathering heirs. Obviously, I've already got some progress on the first two, thanks to the Sisterhood. However, all of them give scaling rewards, so as long as they don't compromise the big three, we should try and maximize these as well. Any ideas?"

Cai wasn't afraid to point out the elephant in the room. "I would make a joke about not needing our help with that last one, but, ah, how are you planning to get yourself an heir, my Lord?"

He exchanged a look with Brighid. "I have a couple of leads on that," Aidan admitted. "First, I have a quest that implies that Brighid and I can have a child, although it gives no hints on how to bring that about. And, as a Chosen, I have access to rewards from my Patron. One of those is a unique Profession Specialization. Given everything else—my quests, my Patron, my Profession—it seems possible that will provide a solution."

"And, if not, there's always Sunnild," Brighid added. "What? She would be ecstatic to have a child with you; she believed she would die childless, given her status in the Sisterhood. And it may be a moot point anyway."

"I know," Aidan groaned. "Ecgwena brought it up at the meeting; it was what pushed me over into banishing her. Poor Sunnild, none of us thought about it, but she was the one caught in the crossfire."

"Speak for yourself!" Brighid waggled a finger at him, prompting Riama to reach up and drag the paladin's hand back to scratching her head. Aidan blinked at her, thinking back. His eyes widened.

"Brighid—"

"Hush, love. I told you at the start that I cannot bear your children. Even if you might find a way around that someday..." she shook her head and scrubbed at the corner of her eye, "how could I hold you back from the happiness of being a parent for maybe years or decades just so that I could be the first? I am not that selfish. If somehow you find a way, it would be fulfilling a dream to give you a daughter—but how could I deny that same experience to others, or deny you the experience of being a father?"

The group was silent for a moment as Aidan and Brighid wrestled with their emotions. "Ahem," Llwyd broke the silence. "So, moving on from that which it seems like our Lord has well covered... Alliances and trade deals are straightforward, if not easy. The Snow-Water Riders and Ebon Bone-Kin are the most likely friends. The city though; how do we go about increasing its level?"

"That," Sarpedon replied with a tone of deep satisfaction, "I can provide no small amount of assistance and advice toward. There are three aspects to a city's growth: population, infrastructure, and administration. Population will handle itself; oh, you will need to put in some effort, but for the most part, as long as the city is prosperous and its citizens are happy, it will grow. To an extent, so will infrastructure; here at the start, you will need to decide where to build roads, how many houses to construct where, and so on. Once Ceallach Macht has had time to gather momentum, however, your citizens will do much of that for you.

"Finally," the gargoyle continued, leaning forward and gesturing with his hands, "there is administration, which covers everything from the city's leadership to its core buildings. And what is a core building, you might ask?" Sarpedon continued, not giving anyone the chance to parrot the question, "they are the buildings that define a city's character! While any town might have a blacksmith or five, if you build a Grand Smithy for your lovely mate, that will play a part in determining the direction and requirements for your lands' growth. If you instead opt to invest in a Great Library, that too will affect Ceallach Macht's path. Why, the possibilities are endless!"

Aidan hid a smile behind his hand. Sarpedon always tended towards being wordy, but this was more animated than he'd ever seen the gargoyle. "I see. Thank you for that information, Sarpedon. So if, for example, I decided to build a Cathedral to the Three Flames, that would change the way the city develops and grows?"

"Exactly! Core buildings are, in their own way, the soul of a great city."

"So what is required to build these core buildings? Are there any limits to what or how many Ceallach Macht can have?"

"There are limits to everything, Lord Aidan. In this particular instance, your central government building's style and level set the parameters for this and many other things. Once you have enough homes for your people, it should be your next construction project; doing so should advance Ceallach Macht to level 1 and open the door to further progress."

"Thank you, Sarpedon. That's actually quite helpful. It seems you have a considerable amount of knowledge and enthusiasm for this aspect of my realm; would you be willing to walk me through what you know sometime soon?"

"Of course, Lord Aidan! I would be most delighted!" It was curious seeing a gargoyle beam, but that was what Sarpedon was doing.

"Excellent, thank you. It seems that we have a general plan for everything, then, except for the Labyrinth exploration. Brighid, what's your status on the escape tokens?"

"Bad news there, I am afraid. I need some specialized equipment. At one time, the forge here had what I need, but it has suffered as badly from neglect as everything else here. I do own everything, but none of it was with the essential gear I brought with me. We will need to wait for the rest of the Starchasers to arrive before I can make the tokens." She sent him an apologetic look. "Sorry, love."

"It is what it is. I don't like losing that time, and maybe we'll do some resource gathering-slash-monster hunting expeditions while we wait, but I cannot countenance further exploration without a means to retreat from an untenable situation. I will not risk any of you if there's a reasonable alternative."

"It would give us a chance to explore both the lower sections of this complex and the surrounding area as well," Cai pointed out. "There are bound to be Lairs and Dungeons in the hills; patrols of this area have been minimal since the Taig moved in."

"Alright, that sounds like a good idea. Does anyone else have any suggestions or ideas?" Aidan looked around the table. "Then this meeting is adjourned. Sarpedon, if you'll stick around, I want to discuss the development of Ceallach Macht with you. Ailis, I'll track you down when I'm done for another magic lesson. Brighid, Cai-and-or-Llwyd, whoever isn't on-shift right now, you figure out a Labyrinth expedition and territorial exploration schedule. I'll go over it with you once Ailis finishes hammering more knowledge into my head."

"Yes, Sir!" "Yes, Lord Aidan!"

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