“The thing is, when you turn the handle you’re automatically giving consent to the system and agreeing to bathe, so there’s no notification required,” Urz explained. After we got back to my Headquarters, Urz was there waiting for us by the entrance. He was absolutely bursting at the seams to give us the tour of town and what he’d been helping the Eidolon to build. First, though, he wanted to give us a demo of what he’d built at my request. I’d sent him a message in the dungeon for this very thing, and he had leapt at the opportunity. Jasmine was dubious, yet curious.
“So this contraption just brings water from the river into the house?”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that, but basically yeah,” I said. “Now I won’t have to take ice cold dips in the river every time I want to wash up. I can do it right here at home, and it’s heated.” I paused, looking back at Urz. “You did manage the second part, right?”
“Yes, sir,” he said, proudly. “I had the clan’s shaman help with the runework – I believe you’ve met her. She’s the one mentoring young miss Juniper.”
“Maybe in passing,” I said. “Can you explain to Jasmine how it works?”
“Absolutely. The water flows in through pipes we’ve laid between the river and the town, here. We had originally thought to just use wells, but the underground water doesn’t have the same effects as the Ancestral River. Master Rockland was specific about wanting those effects. So, we set it up to his specifications. In any case, once the water reaches the building here, it passes through the first of a series of destructive runes, which clear out any sediment that may have been swept through the pipes along with the water. Then, it just sits in the pipes and waits for you to turn this handle. When you do, the water passes through a series of fire runes. How many runes activate depends on how far you turn the handle, letting you adjust the warmth of the water. I have to say, Master Rockland, it’s an ingenious system. I was skeptical until I tried it myself, but I may just install one of these in my own home…assuming both you and the Matriarch would approve.”
I had no particular issue with Urz having a shower in his house, but Jasmine put the brakes on it for the time being. She was beginning to see the value of the technology at play and wanted to hold off for a bit so that every orc in the outpost didn’t request one of their own, all at the same time. She had a point. That would tie up the construction crews something awful. Of course, Jasmine wasn’t Matriarch for no reason – she was already plotting how to profit from this little project. She was in the middle of planning ahead to full-scale production of showers, setting up trade deals with Slagfall and other clan outposts when Urz politely interrupted.
“Those are great ideas for the young town to make a name for itself, Matriarch, if only we had someone to build a factory,” Urz said, with an apologetic tone. “I can build a great many things, but a fully functional production facility might be a bit beyond my means.”
“Actually, I may have someone who can help with that,” I said. “Talk with Juniper and see if she can act as an intermediary for you. Tell her you and I have been talking and we have an idea that Therin Oreclaw may be interested in. Just be sure to run whatever plans you come up with by Jasmine or me first, before doing anything that can’t be undone.”
“Of course,” he said with an appreciative bow of his head.
After showing us the shower and the rest of the plumbing features – two sinks and a toilet – Urz took us on a tour of the burgeoning little village the Eidolon were building around the Headquarters. The postal shop was almost complete, and a few of the younger Eidolon were already out completing deliveries. There was a bakery, an art studio, and a tailor, all of whom were primarily servicing customers from Jasmine’s Outpost. We would need to find a way to bring in more customers for the Eidolon soon, or this little experiment would end before it began. I’d have to talk to Juniper about that. Now that we knew Eidolon past a certain level could move freely beyond the borders of the Plains, we should assign a few to be a sort of sales and tourism committee. Maybe they could even get other spirits to immigrate to the Plains.
“There will be a small saloon on the corner here,” Urz said, gesturing to an ongoing construction project. “There are a couple of Eidolon brew masters here, and more than a few farms springing up around the prairie to supply the saloon with everything they’ll need. The brew masters have recipes for drinks I’ve never even heard of, and I’ve been in my share of taverns and pubs. If they’re any good, you may have your own vintages here that no other region on the continent can replicate.”
“That would be amazing, assuming we ever get people actually coming into town. Better still if we could get some of them to stay a while.”
“There will be rooms for rent above the saloon, Master Rockland. Matriarch Jasmine here has already seen to it that any visitors to the Outpost will be redirected here for the duration of their stay, whether they be political advisors or tradesmen. We may even need to think about putting up a lodge with some of those … what did you call them?”
“Showers,” I said.
“That’s it. If we built a lodge that had rooms with showers in them, I’d be willing to bet this little town would be a destination of choice for all sorts of travelers.”
“We’ll see,” Jasmine said. She was being very protective of my property rights, which I appreciated. She was the political one, here, so I’d leave the wheeling and dealing to her.
After a few more stops at various workshops and other points of interest, Urz excused himself so that he could get back to work. Jasmine and I headed back to the headquarters, but were stopped by Moira the apothecary as we made our way back through town. She was more than pleased with the work that had been done setting up her little apothecary shop in town, but before she could actually make use of the place she was going to need materials. She’d already put an order in with Jasmine’s shaman, who promised to have some delivered to Moira, but the shaman could only provide so much. So, it seemed, it fell on me to get the rest. She gave me a list three pages long.
“Moira, I don’t know what half these things are or where to get them…you realize that right?”
“There’s no rush,” she said. “It’s not like I’m gonna die of old age. Just dinnae forget old Moira when you’re out on your adventures, aye?”
“Fair enough,” I said, and Moira left Jasmine and me to continue on our way. We were stopped three more times by various Eidolon, all of whom needed some sort of material so that they could set about the work we’d offered them. I hadn’t realized that becoming the head of my own ghost town was going to turn me into the official gopher, but apparently I had some resource farming to do. For now, though, all I wanted to do was to get back to the headquarters and try out my new shower.
Unfortunately, I would have to wait a bit longer as Jasmine promptly demanded her own trial run with the shower as soon as we set foot in HQ. I just stood with my back against the wall, watching her let the hot water stream over her body. The smile on my face was a mixture of the pleasure one gets from seeing his wife happy, the joy of seeing someone experience something new for the first time, and the satisfaction of proving that I knew what the hell I was talking about. Sometimes. The fact that I was watching an objectively gorgeous woman luxuriating while naked in my steam-filled bathroom had nothing at all to do with the smug grin plastered on my face. Not at all. Well…not until she walked over to me and pulled me into the shower with her, anyway.
“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” she said. We were laying in bed, a bit worn out and probably needing another shower. Well, if I’m being honest, I was the only one really worn out. The Draught of Unrivaled Frenzy had a fairly brutal come-down once the effects started to wane. That’s not to say that it wasn’t worth it, though, because it definitely was.
“Fire away,” I said.
“What do you know about the construction that’s happening in my back yard? The crew won’t let me anywhere near it.”
“Of course they won’t. I specifically asked them not to. It’s a surprise.”
“I knew you put them up to it!” She laughed. “The poor things have been almost apoplectic when I try to go see what they’re up to. They all fall to their knees begging me not to ask them or peek for myself. You’ve really put them in an awkward position, you know.”
I actually did know that because Urz had been messaging me nonstop about it for the past two days. I assured her that the crew would be fine and that the surprise would absolutely be worth it. We talked for a while longer before she decided to head back to the outpost. Jasmine wanted to start preparations in earnest for if and when Brakk ever discovered our location. I wholeheartedly approved of that particular decision. As for myself, I would spend the night here in HQ before heading out again in the morning. I wanted to go explore a bit and see if I could find a way to gain some quick levels before anyone in town had a chance to tie me down with busy work. After a couple of short messages to Juniper and Shrek, it seemed like I would be doing a solo hunt, however. Juniper was already obligated to help the Eidolon set up shop as much as possible, and Shrek had meetings with the Council back in Slagfall.
“Looks like it will be just me and the stoat,” I said to Jasmine as we stood at my door, saying our goodbyes.
“Just…promise you’ll be careful, ok? We don’t know where Brakk is, what he knows, or what his plans are.”
I lifted one of her hands to my lips and gave it a little kiss.
“I promise,” I said. “In fact, I’ll head the complete opposite direction of Slagfall. Since some of the herbs Moira wanted only grow in snowy areas, I’ll go north and see what I can find up there.”
Jasmine didn’t argue, but I could see that worry from earlier creep back into her eyes. We kissed for all too short a moment, and then she left. After watching her disappear into town, I stepped back inside and closed my door. Though I found myself wishing we had more time together, I knew this was how it was going to be for the foreseeable future. We would meet up here and there, enjoy one another’s company, and then go our separate ways. Until I started to catch up to her, there was never going to be any down time from leveling. That was just how things worked, in this place. The law of the land was progression at all costs. Stagnation was death. Brakk was the physical embodiment of that dilemma. To overcome one, I’d need to overcome the other; and that process would start first thing in the morning, when I set out to pick some pretty flowers for my manicurist who would use them to make essential oils. A man needed to have his priorities straight, after all.