I was staring at the prompt in front of me. This was completely unexpected. I had never heard of that reward. Of course, no one in Dawnguard would ever have gotten it in my past life. Even quests Aragoth was not participating in, he still got a cut of the reward.

The unexpected windfall put me in a bit of a bind. I was not sure where to put the XP. Should I boost some of my low levelled skills for a few quick Skill Points, or should I go with boosting Runesmithing or maybe even Cooking? Two levels in Cooking would bring me closer to Journeyman, but I would get there eventually on my own. Especially with me cooking for so many people.

I needed 12 skill points to reach level 40. I started doing some calculations to see if I could manage that with the one hundred thousand XP I had just gotten. It was possible if I only invested in my low-level skills, but I was not sure boosting Mining and Engineering at this point was the right call.

However, I decided to do something about Message which was seriously lacking behind where I wanted and needed it to be. I threw 45,000 XP into the skill, bringing it up to level 10, it was a step in the right direction, but still not where I wanted it. I considered throwing the rest of the XP into it but decided that the rest of the XP would be saved for one of my new skills.

Which was the next issue I had to decide on. First I needed to upgrade a skill to class skill. The obvious choice would be Gem Cutting or Alchemy. However, with access to a lot of blood hawk hearts, Greater Transmutation would need a boost. If things went as it had so far, I would get a lot of extra class XP when I hit level 40, providing that boost.

So I went ahead and made Greater Transmutation my fifth class skill, leaving me with two empty skill slots. These two unexpected skill slots gave me a lot of opportunities. Together with the essence crystals, I would be able to get the first step into High Human and give me access to the advantages I wanted.

I looked at my XP. I really wanted to throw it all into Engineering. With the upcoming events and almost guaranteed aggression on the village from Dawnguard’s lackey, we would need siege engines to protect it. However, it would be better to save the XP and invest in Forestry, so I could grow more trees at a time.

If I grabbed Carpentry as well, and Smithing at level 40, I would be able to get a lot of extra crafting points with the Firbolg racial advantage, which should make up for my low levels in the start. Larger weaponry to install on ships would be essential as well, large sea monsters did roam the sea after all.

Of course, right now we did not have enough iron to supply even one blacksmith, much less two. So Smithing would have to wait until level 45. That left me one skill slot. I would have liked to take Fishing, but that would count against my Pacifist class, so that was out. Animal Husbandry was an option, but it would require extra skill slots that I did not want to spend.

It left me stumped. I had not thought I would get to the point where I did not know what to use my skills slots for. Not so early in the game anyway. I considered Leadership, but I did not know when we would next gain members, and I was flitting from task to task. Not really conducive for a worker party.

I could think of a few spells I would not mind learning, but my reputation with Old Millie was not high enough yet for her to offer to teach me a few of her nature spells. The druidess had access to some nice spells that would complement my Farming, Horticulture, and Forestry skills.

That left—nothing.

I did not have any skill at Journeyman tier yet, so I could not take any speciality for my main skills. However, Butchery was right at the verge, and I did have some upgrade points. I took out one of the upgrade tokens I had restocked while back in Blackport. Crushing it, I mentally thought about Butchery.

The Gods are upgrading your skill Butchery to Journeyman tier. This will cost 3 Upgrade Points.

You currently have 6 Upgrade Points.

Do you wish to continue?

Yes/No

Sometimes, the prompts were getting on my nerves. If I did not want to do it, I would not have initiated the change in the first place. ‘Yes.’

Just like the last time I upgraded Butchery the only change was the quality of loot I produced with the skill. The normal quality was now Above Average, with a small chance of making Fine quality. That meant that I in the future would have to rely on meat provided by Mason’s squad since my Cooking skill was not up to using Fine quality just yet.

I took a look in the carcass pile but did not find any blood hawks. My only hope would be that one would come in during the day because I needed one to unlock the speciality I wanted, Trophy Hunter. It was a skill that would increase the chance of getting trophies as it rose in levels.

With my future course decided on, it was time to put it in motion, after breakfast. I had to finish making breakfast for everyone. Since I thought they deserved a little extra reward, I made breakfast muffins. Bread from the sour-dough I had prepared for burgers later in the day, a slab of bear meat, an egg, and a crispy juicy piece of boar bacon. Turned out pretty good, if I had to say so myself.

Instead of the usual chamomile tea, I made some chamomile-vanilla tea. I hoped they would appreciate the effort I had put into making breakfast. I put it all in the heaters, where it would keep fresh and viable for two hours.

With that taken care of, I went to the edge of the forest, chopped down some trees so I could turn the branches, and if necessary, the wood itself into saplings. While mindlessly swinging my axe, I took a look at the remaining messages I had received.

Your guild, Blue Lotus, has reached level 2.

Perks Unlocked

Doubling of the guild inventory space.

A twelve hour grace period from someone declaring war on your guild until the war starts, if the enemy guild is of a lower level.

Your guild, Blue Lotus, has reached level 3.

Perks Unlocked

Doubling of the guild inventory space.

A twenty-four hour grace period from someone declaring war on your guild until the war starts, if the enemy guild is of an equal or lower level.

New players joining your guild before they enter the game earns a bonus of 10% XP for the first 24 hours.

Nothing earth-shattering, but that was what I had expected. Most importantly nothing had changed. Despite the things that had taken my by surprise lately had been fairly good things, they were still deviations, making the path forward unknown, uncalculated. Which made me fairly nervous.

The really good stuff would not happen until level 5. Where things started to get very hard to level up. To reach level 4 we would need 12,500 guild points per guild member. To reach level five, we would need 62,500 per member. We were not even halfway to level four yet, and soon we would have even more members join us.

After I gauged I had enough trees I started turning them into saplings. When I finally had twenty, I planted the first one, earning me a new message.

You’ve unlocked the skill Forestry, do you wish to learn this skill at this time?

Yes/No

I immediately accepted and threw the rest of my XP into the skill, immediately raising it from level 0 to 10. I smiled as I earned another prompt.

You have reached level 40, and have been awarded:

1 Skill Slot

1 Upgrade Point

You have reached level 40 without losing your class. Your dedication to your class has impressed the Gods, and grant you two rewards:

144,000 Class XP

Continue to follow the path you are already on.

It was a lot of XP, but I was still slightly disappointed. I had thought I would get a quarter of a million XP. However, I had only gotten 16,000 more XP than the last time. It was following an algorithm I could not see at the moment. Nevertheless, all that delicious XP went directly into Greater Transmutation.

Coincidentally, it was exactly the amount of XP I needed to boost the level of the skill from 11 to 20 and Apprentice tier. I gave a slight smile. First step complete, now it was time to find Philmore and learn some Carpentry.

As I was making my way towards the boatyard, I was stopped several times by members of the guild and thanked for breakfast. It was rather popular.

Phil stopped me. “Are we still getting burgers tonight?”

“Yes,” I said after doing some quick calculations. There was still enough sourdough left to make the buns needed.

“Good, will there be bacon?”

“Of course,” I replied, looking at him like he was a weirdo. “Without bacon, it’s not a real burger.”

“Exactly,” he said with a big smile. “What about lunch?”

“That one you’ll have to take with Mason, it’s his squad that is taking care of that one,” I replied, for the umpteenth time. Almost everyone had asked that.

He grumbled. “So no bacon?”

“I left the Meat Mixer in the mess hall, you can ask them nicely,” I replied and started walking towards the lift.

I had only taken ten steps when Ed stopped me. “Are you going into the dungeon now?”

I shook my head. “No, I want our allies to arrive first. They should have left a little while ago, so they’ll be here tomorrow afternoon.”

“Why wait?” he asked. “You can just revive at the fountain if something goes wrong.”

“Goddamnit,” I grumbled under my breath.

“What?”

“I forgot to change my spawn point,” I answered. “Anyway, the reason why I’m waiting is that I’ve got a feeling that something will change, and to be honest, I’m afraid of the unknown. I want to settle the last bits with the village before I upset the applecart again.”

“I guess I can see that,” he said. “Anyway, what’s for lunch?”

I groaned, before giving him what had become my standard reply for the day.

It was not until a couple of days later, on the day I expected our allies and the NPCs from Blackport that they finally brought a blood hawk back. In fact, they had gotten their hands on eight of them, making me almost giddy with anticipation.

They would not give me enough XP for a level up in Butchery, but it would also allow me to unlock Trophy Hunter.

I grabbed the hawks and made my way to the butcher shop that Phil had finished the day before. It was built to the specifications I had made for him, using some of the uncommon wood that we had found. He had grumbled a bit about using it, as I had forbidden him and Philmore to use it unless I told them. Uncommon materials were still a rarity to be hoarded.

The result was stunning, not that the building was anything exceptional to look at, but the stats it provided was excellent. It provided an 8 point bonus to Butchery, as well as a ten percent increase to stamina regeneration. Would only shave off a minute of your regeneration time, however, if you worked in here an entire day, it would stack up.

As soon as I finished butchering the first hawk, I got the pop-up I had waited for.

You’ve unlocked the speciality Trophy Hunter under the skill Butchery.

Butchery is at the Journeyman Tier and can have 1 speciality and provide 10% XP in total to the specialities.

Available specialities: 1

Available XP allocation: 10%

Do you wish to learn this skill at this time?

Yes/No

Of course, I wanted to learn it. I immediately sat the allocation to the maximum and started in on the rest of the blood hawks. Trophy Hunter would not provide any benefit until I levelled it up. Then it would increase the chance of getting a trophy with 0.05% points per level. So at level 20, it would give another 1% chance of getting a trophy. Not a lot, but it would keep growing and stack with luck amulets.

I was on the sixth blood hawk when I got a message from Robin. “Our guests are here, but there are a lot more NPCs than I expected. Oh, and Hannah is with them too.”

The message left me both elated and tense at the same time. I was happy that the NPCs were finally here, but I was filled with trepidation on confronting Hannah. I knew what Mia had done in my name, and I was unsure about how to handle it.

As I slaughtered the rest of the hawks, I thought about what to do. In the end, I decided honesty was not just the best, but also the only option for me.

I had just finished the last hawk, earning me a level in Trophy Hunter, when I heard the arrival of the caravan. The butchershop had a view of the gate, so I looked up with a welcoming smile. I immediately spotted the Butcher and Hannah, as well as Dawn, Sir Miller, and Captain Lutrine. What surprised me most, was the fact that Commander Brightsteel, the leader of the Imperial presence on the island, was there as well.

“Welcome everyone,” I said with a raised voice and made my way over to where they had stopped. Everyone had been looking around, but Hannah had been staring at me with narrowed eyes. As everyone turned their attention towards me, I felt myself getting a little nervous, but I powered ahead.

“Thank you all for coming, I have got a lot to say, but I’ll try to keep it short. I’ll start by welcoming you to Phoenix. Like the benevolent Phoenix that the village is named after, we who have felt the sting of defeat and despair will rise again from the ashes of our former lives. We rise up again to build a better life for ourselves and the generations to come,” I said, delivering a small speech I had prepared while butchering blood hawks.

I looked around, seeing some excitement on the face of the NPCs. “We in the Blue Lotus are glad that so many Natives have heeded our plea and decided to move here, to help grow Phoenix from a small hamlet to a thriving village and beyond. Talk with Phil about housing, Nise about where to put your fields. Those of you who need boats, go talk with Philmore. Any requests outside of that, you should go to Mia.”

My smile faltered a bit when I said the last part. I wanted to say they should come to me, but I was extremely busy and all over the place. I also needed to show her that I still trusted her, if at least somewhat.

I turned to look at the three guild leaders, mostly Sir Miller. “To the Travellers, our allies and friends, I’d like to welcome you to our humble village. We’ll find you a spot to sleep for a week, while you check out the surrounding area, see if this is a spot you’d like to settle in if albeit temporarily. We’ll talk more later.

“Miss Hannah, I’ll make some time available for you as soon as I’ve settled some things with Blaine, Commander Brightsteel, and the representative from the Lord, the Temple, and the Adventurers’ Association.”

“That’s fine,” she replied in a friendly, albeit a bit frostily, tone.

I nodded and looked at the people I needed to talk with. “Gentlemen, and milady, if you would follow me.”

I started walking towards the guildhall. Inside we went to a meeting room just next to the dining hall. It felt a bit weird sitting at the end of the table, but this way I could see everyone. After the four men and one woman had taken a seat, I gave them all a smile. “Thank you for coming.”

The priestess said, “It’s the will of the Gods.”

I gave her a smile. “I’m very happy that you’re here. What can Blue Lotus do for the Gods here in Phoenix?”

She gave a small smile. “Phoenix is still of a too low tier to support a full Temple, however, we would like a small shrine for me to operate out of.”

“Of course, we would love to help you build—” I started to offer.

She held her hand up. “The Gods provide. All we need is a spot to place the shrine.”

I knew that, but it would have been weird not to offer to help. I took a map of the town that Phil had prepared out of my inventory and unrolled it on the table. “Do you have a location in mind?

“Near the cliff and lift would be optimal,” she replied pointing at a spot.

“It’s yours,” I replied, ignoring the pop-up that flashed into existence. A few others had already popped up.

“Thank you,” she said and rose. “I’ll go get it set up.”

“Could you please warn the guards before you start, they might get a little jumpy?”

“Of course,” she said with a serene nod and left, almost gliding out of the place.

“Who wants to go next?” I asked.

“It’s only proper the Lord goes next,” a man that looked a bit like Henstal the Seneschal said. Could be a cousin or something. “We brought four guards and a corporal. They’ll help protect the village in case of a monster attack, but any strife between you Outworlders will be ignored. We need a small barracks, with a bunk room for four, two offices, a strong room and a bedroom for me.”

“Do you have a blueprint?” I asked.

He nodded. “We expect you to supply the materials and to build it. We want a spot next to the Fountain of Souls.”

“Done,” I said with a slightly strained smile. “If you’ll talk with Phil, he’ll make it happen.”

“We expect to be at the top of the priority list,” he said with a superior tone and rose.

“Of course, I’ll send him a message right now,” I said as the man swished out of the room. I sent the message at once.

As soon as I had sent it, the representative from the AA spoke up. “I guess I’d like to go next, if that’s okay, Commander?”

“Of course,” Commander Brightsteel said with a smile.

“Thank you,” the mousy man said with a nod. “The Adventurers’ Association would like a spot to build a small building. I’ve got the blueprints here. It’ll be myself and two others that will handle everything for the AA here. As the village grows larger, we’d like to expand.”

“Of course. Where would you like to be placed?”

“Near the gates, but not too close,” the man said. “And we would like to help to build the structure. We have all the furniture already, and the magical enhancements.”

“Very well, as before, speak with Phil. He’s in charge of the builders for now,” I said with a smile. The man nodded and left quickly.

I turned to my two remaining guests. “Commander, I was surprised to see you here.”

“From the way you handled things, I would say that you’re not surprised often,” he observed.

‘More often than I like,’ I thought with a shrugged. “It helps to be prepared. I hardly think that this is a social visit, so what can I help you or the Empire with?”

“We’d like to establish some trade. From what we heard, you expect the fishermen who moved here to be able to fish in almost complete safety?”

“Not complete safety, I cannot promise that. However, inside the reef here—” I said and indicated it on the map. “—we have only found monsters up to level ten. We’re patrolling the area daily. Only once so far, has a higher level monster found its way in there.”

“I see,” he said thoughtfully. “How about the farmers?”

“They’ll be allowed to plant crops and raise animals inside the perimeter.”

“Good, what contract have you negotiated with them?” he asked.

I indicated for Blaine to answer that. “Commander, I’m the mayor of Phoenix.”

“Mayor?” the Commander asked surprised.

“Yes, the fact is that we Travellers will not be here forever, we felt it prudent to let a Native be the mayor,” I explained. “The village is still under Blue Lotus’ control, and we’ve got the stewardship. Blaine as the mayor represents the Natives of Phoenix.”

“Ah, I see,” the Commander said. “Go on.”

“Everything we produce to sell goes to Blue Lotus, who’ll buy it at the standard price. In exchange, we’ll not pay a village tax, get free healing, free housing, free tools and space to ply our trade, and even our food will be free,” Blaine explained.

The Commander looked at me. “That’s mighty generous of you.”

“We were brought here to help by the Gods. Most Travellers think that means we have to fight back the monsters of the Rupture for you,” I said. “Sure you need that, but there are a lot of other ways to help. This is one of them. I’m not here to exploit you.”

“I see,” the Commander said. “So if we would like to purchase as much food as you could produce at the standard price.”

“We would take a loss, because of taxes,” I said with a strained smile.

“Indeed, so how much would you charge?”

“Standard plus thirty,” I replied immediately. The Commander’s mouth twitched with a smile.

“That barely covers taxes,” Blaine observed with a small frown. He was right, taxes to Blackport came to 6%, taxes to the Kingdom of Astia came to 8%, and taxes to the Empire came to 12%, leaving us with just four percent profit.

“True, but packaging and transportation are not included,” I replied. The Commander looked less happy about that. “As I said, I’m not here to exploit anyone, but I won’t be exploited either. I’ve got a responsibility to both the Natives and Travellers of Phoenix alike.”

“What will you charge for transportation?” he asked.

“Packaging will be the same as before. Standard plus thirty. Transport. Well, that one is a little tougher. How about we go on a case by case basis, but with a promise that we won’t try to gouge you?”

“I think those prices are more than fair, can I leave a man here to handle logistics?” he asked.

“Indeed, do you wish to build a small warehouse as well?”

He shook his head. “No, just a small house for her and her family would be fine. We’ll only pay upon receipt of goods in Blackport.”

“That’s more than fair,” I replied. The next pop-up I could not minimize, nor did I wish to.

On behalf of Blue Lotus, you have negotiated a binding deal with a representative of the Empire of the Endless Sky. Breaking the deal will make you an enemy of the Empire, no matter your reputation level.

You have agreed to sell your excess food production to the Empire in exchange for Standard + 30%, excluding packaging and transport.

The packaging is charged at Standard + 30%.

The price of transportation is negotiated for each shipment, but you have promised not to gouge them.

In return, Blue Lotus receives 100 reputation points per ton of food delivered.

Deal can be renegotiated in 90 days.

For striking a deal with Utemous Brightsteel you gain the following reputation:

+110 reputation points with Utemous Brightsteel

+55 reputation points with the Empire of the Endless Sky

+272 reputation points with Mayor Blaine

+272 reputation points the Citizens of Phoenix

“No, thank you,” Commander Brightsteel said and stood up. “I’ll see myself out. I’ll go find Phil and get my Lieutenant settled.”

“Thank you,” I replied as he left. I quickly sent off a message more for Phil. I turned to Blaine. “Well, Mayor. How about I show you the butcher shop and house we prepared for you?”

“I’m not sure I’ll get used to being called that,” he said and stood up. “I think you should have gone for more profit, but at the same time I agree with what you said.”

I shrugged. “We’ll earn money in a lot of different ways. I don’t need to exploit the needs of others to become rich.”

“I can respect that,” he said somberly. “Now show me my new shop.”

I grinned. “This way, Mayor.”