The new city of Winterhome lifted its head over the canopy and roared its stupid, blunt defiance for the world. Thousands of birds burst up into the sky, forming a spiral of black bodies in the air above the newborn city-beast.

Nic had chosen the shape of a massive turtle with a singular horn of black jutting from its head and a blocky, almost geometric beak. Its feet were tremendous flippers, awkwardly shaped for moving on land, but a thin layer of clouds drifted underneath them and lifted it up from the earth by a few feet. Given the order, the whole city could take flight.

Massive thorn-shaped warts extended from the side of its skull, and on its back sat Winterhome itself. The city was made of simple huts on stilts, raised above the lake that dipped into a crater on the great turtle’s back. Waterfalls dripped over the edge of its shell but the water was endlessly replenished by great underwater blocks of springstone, a material that absorbed the world’s natural essence to produce fresh, clean water.

The huts were simple accommodation, but clean and spacious. They filled the core of the city in a series of half-rings. Where they met, a town square made of interconnected rafts floated on the shallow water.

The whole town made up a semi-circle. On the flat side of that circle was a massive temple, half-submerged, that rose up into the sky with towers. That was where the warriors would live and train. The lowest rooms contained the lapis lazuli meditation chamber, and the entire structure was guarded by the stone warrior golems.

The rune-artisan frog lived in the village, in a hut that was made out of the bones of some ancient creature. Flourishes like that had cost Nic some of the ‘budget’ he was allotted to design the city, but he felt it was worth expending a little energy to make things stand out. In the end, people would have to choose to live here, after all.

Beyond the town and the temple was a vast forest sprawling across the turtle’s shell. Nic had allocated most of the energy here, seeding down precious and medicinal plants, as well as simple beasts. The rookery tower stood out as a splash of color among the dark mangroves. At its base, the crystalline forest-library sprouted up. A smaller grouping of huts stood on the outskirts of those petrified trees, where Nic imagined a few warriors would choose to stay outside of the main encampment.

Cultivators were all obsessed with being lone wolves, after all.

Nearby, there was a two-story house, the lower layer submerged into a pond. It was surrounded by the medicinal mud pits and the house was meant for their caretaker.

As for the three trees?

Nic had set them in the temple’s courtyard, well-defended and sealed off from outside eyes. Two of the golems constantly patrolled the walls surrounding it. Nic wasn’t sure when he’d be ready to use them, but his plan was to conceal them from the world until he did.

His own house was the skull he’d found in the forest, which he’d left intact, seated in the center of the dense woods. It was a good place for him, and now with the thin layer of water flowing between the roots and the numerous lakes dotting the marshy landscape, he was truly at home in a land of mud and algae-tangled depths.

---

Walker on the Path of Ancient Kings

Set yourself against the world and become the mountain that holds up the sky.

Requirements to advance your Settlement are as follows

+ Forge an alliance or conquer a Vassal (0/1)

+ Conquer eight Territories (1/8)

+ Gain 100 citizens (4/100)

+ Build three Territorial Arrays (0/3)

Three of the four must be completed before the path is open.

Nic awoke to see a protective cocoon of the System’s energy falling away from his skin, and the birds lifting into the sky as Winterhome’s roar echoed and echoed. He smiled. All around him was a world he had shaped, and it felt good.

Leaning down, he pushed a lotus seed into the earth beneath his dwelling, feeling the energy flowing through the earth as his fingers dug into the dark soil.

He’d spent a considerable amount of energy on adding the watery elements and cleaning away the parasitic Luminarch flowers. While he’d seeded some plants, he’d actually added more power to the soil, counting on picking up specimens to transplant as he adventured. Gathering arrays buried underground drew natural energy down to fertilize the earth.

But best of all was the benefit of the Spatial Bubble he’d gotten from Mattias long ago. It had filled the forest with thousands of bees, each from a rare and precious species. Not only could they serve as a defense, delivering thousands of poison stings, but they would carry pollen and nurture anything that grew in Winterhome.

Nic was satisfied as he wandered the small island of humid, marshy paradise, enjoying the feel of the damp air against his amphibian skin. His tongue snapped out to snack on a few choice bugs and he soon found a stream that carried him to town.

He had something to attend to before he roamed out to claim more Dominus Nodes.

In the center of the town’s floating plaza a Totem rose from the waters, made from layered bones, wicker, and shells. It had a grim air around it and the island’s energies could be felt underfoot as he approached, as if this was a center of a web that extended to every corner of the Settlement.

Sofia’s form flickered into view as a pale hologram.

"I guess you're going to be out and about more now?"

"Yes. Hopefully I didn't scare you, appearing suddenly like that..."

Nic winced. It looked like that was going to haunt him...

"I'll be delivering quests that direct our citizens towards enriching the area. For that purpose I'll need to deduct 5,000 of your First Wave Credits as a small pool of rewards. I'll also help you interface with the functions of your totem..."

"I guess I can stomach 5,000. And I can buy things through this totem, right?"

"Mm. Somewhat. The choices won't be as wide as those offered by your merchant seal, but the items are truly unique. The System offers particularly rich rewards during the First and Second Waves. The catch is you can only purchase one, and each item can only be purchased once."

She waved her hand to conjure up an information screen.

First Wave Treasures

-- Four Directions Sacred Beast Pill, 150,000 Credits --

-- Aeon-Soaked Patriarch Pine Sap, 120,000 Credits --

-- Blood-Kindling Marrow, 120,000 Credits --

-- Heavenly Serpent Lacrimal Gland, 120,000 Credits --

Nic felt hungry just reading through the names, and his head began to drift with idle fantasies. Every treasure there was a medicine that could change the course of a life. What could he do with one of them?

But Sofia kept him tethered to the earth. "You currently have 76,640 Credits. That’s mostly from the explosion killing off various small enemies in the F- and G-Classes, as well as the rampage you went on in the sand devil lair. Add to that the bounty on your friend with the boots, the quest to kill off the elves which you completed accidentally…”

“And you should be in a position to buy something magnificent before the First Wave ends.”

Nic grimaced, rubbing his chin as he examined further down the list.

-- Preserved Underworld Fruit, 75,000 Credits --

-- Cinder of Soulfire 75,000 Credits --

-- Flower of Lamenting Willow, 50,000 Credits --

-- Serpent Reincarnation Venom, 50,000 Credits --

They weren't bad, by any means, but Nic found the idea of settling for second-best didn't sit well in his stomach. If he didn't at least try to reach the mountain peak he might as well give up now...

Try for the heavens, or don't try at all. There was no in-between with him.

“I know that look…”

Nic paused, and shifted his expression to be more innocent. “Who, me? I’m afraid of my own shadow. What could I possibly be plotting?” He tried to purse his lips and whistle, but it didn’t exactly work with axolotl anatomy.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not that I’m worried for your life, Nic. At this point, having seen what couldn’t kill you, I’m afraid of what could.”

“Bet it’s not on this planet.” Nic said with full confidence. He lifted his arms and crossed them overhead, stretching. “I’m just thinking, I’m about halfway there. And a lot of that came from the sand devil cavern. I can find more dens like that…”

It would only take a few days.

“Can you warn me when time’s about to run out for the First Wave?”

She nodded. “There will be a three day period of grace before the Second Wave begins. But Nic, you should consider taxation.”

One slimy axolotl eyebrow was raised. “Sofia, there are some things my poor little brain is not meant for…”

“Many things.” She agreed. “But I’m saying, if you charge people a thousand credits each to join the Settlement, you’ll accumulate the needed amount quickly.”

“Ahhh.” Nic paused. One-thousand didn’t seem so bad, but…

“A lot of people can’t pay that.” He eventually said. “And I’m not about to turn them away.” It wasn’t just a matter of mercy either. There were all kinds of skills besides killing that were needed to make a strong foundation, and yet the System only gave out credits for those who killed.

“In that case, how about this. We take a portion of all the credits they earn. Perhaps five percent...”

He just waved a hand. “I get the feeling you wanted that from the start, right? Just do what you think is best. You know me well enough to know where my lines are drawn.”

This wasn’t why he’d chosen to found a Settlement. Tedious management was something that Sofia was born for and he didn’t have an interest in. Why not let her handle it?

He paused and then glanced sharply at her. She was trying to look busy with the information screen that unfolded in front of her hands, but now that he could see Sofia’s face, he could read something triumphant in her features.

“Wait a second.”

“Yes?” She asked, looking up. It was the exact tone of false innocence he’d used before.

“You know I don’t care about taxes or any of that. So if you were really serious, you would have just skipped past them to begin with. You wanted me to brush you off and leave you with the authority…” Her lips pursed together as she realized she was caught.

“There’s a decision you want to make without me knowing about it. So what is it?”

She sighed reluctantly, running a hand through the flames that extended from behind her mask. It was a little like how someone might nervously fuss with their hair.

“We have the ability to choose a Trial for the entire Settlement. A quest shared between all citizens.”

“And you want to pick?”

“I want to hunt down the heretics. Killing the Inquisitor released them, Nic, and it will be our fault if we don’t lay them to rest once and for all.”

“Are they even, y’know, alive?”

“Not alive, exactly. Wandering spirits. Discarnate souls. Ghosts, Nicolas. But they have the power to whisper and deceive. Once they gather more strength, they’ll be able to possess bodies and continue their work. The ones of them that weren’t reduced to rabid animals by their time in Logos’ prison.”

He frowned, and cracked his neck. “I can handle that.”

“Are you sure? Ghosts aren’t going to be vulnerable to your usual methods…”

“I’ll find a way.” Nic said, and meant it. “Anyway, you’re right. It’s my problem and so I should handle it myself. The town can focus on something better.”

“Alright, if you say so. The other choices we have are somewhat less specific. We can hunt Natives, with bonuses for purging one of their Settlements. We can gather resources and build a kind of array that will help the System propagate on this planet. Or…”

She smiled faintly.

“You’ll like this. There’s a hunting ground nearby. A segment of five triangular territories where certain beasts dwell. The Trial is a contest between Settlements to cull as many as possible when they emerge from hibernation next week.”

“And why would I be so keen to kill my fellow monsters?”

“Because they’re the reincarnations of murderers and worse. These particular creatures were given souls culled from the death's rows of a dozen prisons, and bodies meant for slaughter.”