Ants, as it turns out, are not fireproof.

Who would’ve thought?

Of course, I predicted this obvious outcome, but I’m still satisfied with the results.

Why? Apparently, a super helper is significantly more resilient than a dungeon helper. With a much thicker exoskeleton, the flames take longer to cook the hardy insect. If I’d had these fellas available when I was attacked, I’ve no doubt they would’ve easily been able to close the distance to the pyromaniac in time to do some serious damage or perhaps even disarm him.

And what really bothers me is that I easily could have obtained them sooner. Hindsight is twenty-twenty…

Along with the latest version of my beloved ants, nearly every other animal species has proliferated. By now my domain is populated with innumerable inhabitants, both large and small. Through the dense foliage slither green and blue snakes, in the soil burrow paradoxical digger squirrels and other critters, and through the air dart birds of all kinds, feasting on the bountiful fruits, seeds, and insects of my domain. Indeed, if anyone other than myself were to listen to the sounds of my dungeon, they would be assaulted by a cacophony of vigor and vitality.

It is wild and beautiful.

While simultaneously expanding and maintaining my dungeon, I’ve been managing my inventory of archer pods, goliath2 beetles, and cave centipedes!

I’ve been spreading the stealthy nonluminous variant of the venomous gastropod in clever locations such as behind lips in passages and in handholds and crevices where an aggressor might stumble. My encounter with the non-human mage has proven that my archer pod containing concealed trapdoors will be ineffective as I won’t be able to perform telekinesis to reveal their dangerous contents in the presence of a mage. While upsetting, I have several other trap ideas to implement later which should nicely cover the gap in my defense.

I’ve excavated dedicated breeding warrens for both the cave centipedes and goliath2 beetles, though I think I will phase out the latter species now that I have super helpers to fill their roles. While many cave centipedes have integrated themselves into the increasingly complex ecosystems I’ve nurtured, for the most part, I’ve been breeding them independently of the food-web. That is to say, I command a certain percentage of the larger fauna to sacrifice themselves to serve as feedstock for my menacing myriapods. Logically, it is more energy efficient to provide effortless meals for my defense force, thus allowing me to support a higher carrying capacity. Altruism, albeit forced, is an effective strategy.

I do appreciate the concept of a hands-off approach for ecosystems because they are so adaptive, however, in this case I feel the interference is justified as it directly contributes to my safety. Sometimes intelligent guidance is the best option when efficiency is the end goal.

…

Through the rest of the night I managed my dungeon and continued with my ongoing quarrying.

It is time to speak with Wes.

The crafty merchant is already up and dressed in one of his signature red coats, sitting in an uncomfortable looking wooden chair in his sparsely furnished office. I go ahead and initiate a mental link between us.

“Greetings Weston, it’s been a while.”

His eyes widened slightly in surprise, finally! An actual reaction, I see this as an absolute win!

“It has, I’ve been waiting, you know,” said Weston with a hint of annoyance. As always, he replied through the mental link, not out loud. Even now, it never ceases to amaze me how all the nuances of spoken language carry over to this surprisingly compatible mode of communication. It’s suspiciously convenient, and I don’t understand a thing about it yet…

I said, “I’m terribly sorry, I’ve been occupied with some difficult matters and have been unable to spare the time. Though I’ve managed to take care of everything so not to worry, I’m available again for the foreseeable future!”

Nodding his head as he knew I could see him, Wes replied, “that’s good to hear. I have some news to inform you of; you may not know this, but Sevit has been assigned fifteen governors by our Local Chamber. Oh, are you familiar with our government structure already?”

“Actually, I’m not, my knowledge of it is probably outdated. You wouldn’t mind enlightening me, would you?”

I will never pass up an opportunity for more information, therefore, despite having already read a couple books on the subject of Lyrian politics, I feign ignorance and allow Wes to explain the process to me once more.

…

Unfortunately, Wes gave a very broad crash course, so I didn’t glean any new info from his account. However, it was still a pleasant conversation and I can confidently say Wes is warming up to me. Probably.

It’s good to know I’m not completely unlikable!

Wes said, “The governors are here to manage the city and are already very influential in their own right. They’ve asked me to put you in contact with them, what say you?”

“I’m more than happy to cooperate, strengthening my ties with the people of Sevit is within my interests. Afterall, as I’m sure you of all people are aware; our fortunes rise and fall together,” I said.

“Good, good! They’ve asked me to show them the block cache, I was thinking you could introduce yourself when we arrive there? It’s probably for the best if you don’t yet reveal your apparent…observational omniscience, it could spook them.”

Expressing my agreement, I said, “Understood, I’ll recontact you when y’all enter the mine and then you may simply tell me when you think I should announce myself.”

Smiling under his scruffy beard, the merchant said, “Excellent! They’re a hard-working sort so I’ve no doubt they’re already up and busy; I’ll go collect them for the excursion now, I’ll talk with you later.”

In my past life I wasn’t hugely social, but I was well liked. Unfortunately, I’ve had very little human interaction in the past months of my new life, and what interaction I have had has been with a single person, an agreeable person at that. I’m understandably nervous.

--------------------

A few of the new governors spent their first morning in Sevit speaking with the residents in order to get an idea of the local affairs. Among them was Draven, who spent his time talking with the head of the primary blacksmith’s group who’d decided to settle Sevit. The man running the operation was named Gustave Felefi. Along with is apprentice, Telford, who was also his son, the man was taking care of the nascent city’s miscellaneous metalworking and tool repair jobs.

Doing much to earn Draven’s respect, the father-son duo has managed to substantially expand their business in the last two months. With so many new immigrants looking for work, the labor was cheap. The family had started to run the enterprise like a company more so than an individualistic profession.

Excitedly, Gustave said, “We’ve been drowned in so much work and odd jobs lately that Telford and I’ve been thinking of speaking with Gregor about expanding our facility. Furthermore, we’ve been hearing from the miners hushed talk of stoz iron traces down in the first subterrane. Let me tell you, I’ve been yearning to work with that miraculous material again and lately I’ve been doin’ some more of my own research into its handling!”

Raising an eyebrow Draven said, “You’ve worked with stoz iron in the past, eh?”

“I have! In fact, when I was younger, I was employed as an Upheaval Project metallurgist! While I wouldn’t call it my life’s work because, well, I’ve since become a freelancer, my time spent there shaped me into the person I am today. It’s one of the reasons I decided to move here, as a sort of homage to my roots,” said the blacksmith.

Surprised again, Draven said, “That is impressive, from what I’ve gleaned Sevit should be able to maintain it’s current growth rate for a long time yet, you’re smart to’ve gotten in early, it’ll serve you well in the long run for sure. While it’s a bit too soon right now, I can go ahead and tell you that our governor’s board should have a project to commission from your men in the near future. I’m relieved to hear we have someone of your caliber in the city.”

Draven knew flattery could be a double-edged sword, too much and the recipient would upsell their own worth. Of course, just as the blacksmith was an expert metalworker, Draven was an experienced manipulator, he could tell from Gustave’s personality that he was the sort of person to reciprocate on the respect he was shown.

On a similar note, Draven decided not to pry into why a former Upheaval Project metallurgist was just a common blacksmith now, it was most likely a touchy subject.

Gustave was, in Draven’s opinion, the right person to have in his pocket.

Most of the governors were in the administration building organizing their board, rather than out speaking with the city folk. Though this didn’t mean Draven was proactive for doing so, regardless of his own perspective, because it was entirely by design. Alton proposed that they make their rounds in shifts and though he disliked the brat, Draven could see the merit in his plan. If all fifteen of them had set out simultaneously, they’d have been stepping on each other’s toes.

Of course, that Alton suggested Draven be among the first few governors to meet with the influential people of Sevit had nothing to do with his approval. Nope, nothing to do with it at all.

Conveniently, just as he was wrapping up his conversation with the talented blacksmith, a messenger walked through an open arch that led to Gustave’s workshop. Draven was already making his exit, so he waved the young boy over and said, “What do you have?”

“Sir, Weston Lomarec and the board are ready to visit the underground block cache, they’ve requested for you to join them whenever you’re able.”

“Oh good, Gustave and I were just about to part ways for the day, this is perfect timing. Where shall we meet, the administration building, I presume?”

“Exactly that sir, you can make your way there at your leisure, there is no rush.”

Nodding Draven said, “alright, you’re dismissed, I’ll head there now.”

…

As much as he hated having to dirty himself by walking through the city as opposed to riding in his carriage, Draven could not deny the practicality in this situation. He’d spent his life on his family estate, which was itself somewhat removed from the city of Rendum, thus he was used to the distances justifying more sophisticated modes of transportation. Still, here, with everything so close together and his own mansion not even planned yet, he couldn’t rationalize the use of a carriage.

Though he had no doubt they’d be riding one to the mine, that certainly was much too far foot travel.

When Draven left Gustave’s shop, he was rejoined by his minimal entourage of two mage bodyguards equipped for close-combat fighting with their staves doubling as hybrid short swords. Cutting down assailants from the safety of a bubble shield is a simple, yet effective method of combat to be used against mundane attackers.

Draven passed through the bustling streets of the city under construction, he was amazed by how quickly everything was moving. It really goes to show just what can be accomplished when an entire chamber mobilizes as a united entity. Before the discovery of this mana well in the former Merival Wood’s footprint, the Rendum territories were already considered to be one of the fastest developing provinces of the Lyrian Empire, all thanks to the tight bonds their predecessors had worked so hard to forge.

This wasn’t an unusual progression though, several other chambers operated under similar conditions. Indeed, there were many other factors at play such as the Rendum Chamber’s relatively young age, proximity to the border, and occupancy of fertile land. Draven could recognize that, in addition to the age of innovation they were living in which was sparked by the previous incursion, the modularity of the Lyrian Empire’s political structure is what allowed it to grow so enormous over the last two centuries, in a manner similar to their more liberal ally, the Isolet Republic.

Draven arrived at the abhorrently unornamented front entrance of their administration building. He decided that was yet another problem he’d be responsible for rectifying.