"That cleans up the last of the problems then. It took a while longer than I thought it would, but thanks to everyone's efforts the city's never been better." Deputy Mayor Sacha smiles happily as she finishes her report.

Sitting around a large, oval table are the city council members of Varona and an extremely relaxed ex-treasurer. Goode had wet more than one pair of pants upon his arrival in the mountain town of beauty and goodwill, but now looks more composed than half of the other people that have gathered for the meeting.

Over the first couple of weeks he was asked to look over certain documents and give reports on his findings which had been sent straight to Sacha. Happy with his summaries, the Deputy Mayor had told Carrie to ease up on the elderly man as they didn't want him dying before he could be of more benefit.

Happy with being treated much better than on his arrival, but still a little skeptical of the four-eyed woman's casual reference of death, Goode's life changed in the opposite way he thought it would.

It got better.

Not only did he get a generous wage for the contributions he offered by weekly report, easily enough to help his remaining family members back in Ishda and then some, but he was starting to feel a spring in his step. Almost as though he had lost twenty years somewhere down the line.

The daily pain in his knee, the one that had persisted from dawn to dusk for the last ten years, was long gone. Not even a dull ache remained. Not only his knees, but all the other old pains that Goode had grown accustomed to living with had also disappeared. His sight had cleared up somewhat, his hearing had improved and for the first time in years, he actually felt happy.

Who knew that being manhandled by a beautiful woman and being taken to a new land would have been so beneficial. So heavenly. Truly, the worst punishment now would be being kicked out of such a wonderful place. Would he even leave if told to or would he argue for his personal peace to continue?

"Are there any other topics that might need the council's attention, or does anyone know of anything that Abi might have missed that still needs our intervention?" At Sacha's words, Goode coughs into his hand and stands up.

"Again? Sit down Goode. We know what you're going to say," shouts the head of agriculture. A man with short dark brown hair and eyes. His clothing represents his department and makes him easily identifiable in the room of beautiful faces.

"Agri's right, Goode. The amount we get is fine. Are we really going to have to vote on this again?" The head of planning and development also expresses her annoyance at the ex-treasurer from across the table before winking at her colleague. Much to his fury.

"I'm just saying the dungeon core could make more money if she so chose to do so by lowering our wage. I for one find it hard to spend even half of the amount you have graciously decided to pay me and I'm here under extenuating circumstances," he explains his reason to them. As he has done at every last meeting since his participation was established.

For someone that was embezzling funds from his Lord, he keeps bringing up the same point that they're all being paid too much.

"Our master isn't interested in such trivialities as money. She does all of this for us. So that we can thrive and live a life worth living. She is making the world a better place not only for us, but for everyone on it. She is truly a God in the shape of a dungeon." The head of the religious sector voices his own opinion. That opinion is always one and the same. All for the core and nothing less.

"How many times have I told you, that is not my name, little miss development!" Red faced, the agriculture representative stands up and begins complaining at the planning and development representative. The other members watch on in amusement until Sacha raises her voice louder than anyone else, waking the sleeping Mayor next to her in the process.

"Argi! Pam! Every. Bloody. Time! You're as bad as Goode and his need to give up his money. You two need to kiss and make up or I'll ask the master to give you a personal session." Both agriculture and development turn a vibrant shade of red before going pale. Rubbing her eyes, Kana realizes she hasn't missed anything but the norm and settles back down on her arms.

"Goode!" The ex-treasurer, who had just sat down, and the drowsy Mayor both bolt up and respond instantly, gathering a good laugh from the rest of the council in process. "Yes, ma'am!"

Sacha gives her superior a look of disappointment, who then retakes her seat shamefully.

"You need to go spend some time with Simon. Maybe gain a better appreciation for gold. Not one that causes it to go missing however, not that I should have to tell you that." Goode turns white, making him the third person today to pale. Sacha is on a roll.

"Now. If there's nothing else this meeting is adjourned. Mayor Kana, let's go." Leaving the table before anyone else can speak another word, the exhausted Deputy Mayor vacates the room with a sorry looking senior in tow.

Varona's City Council

Dungeon Stories Volume 3

I never imagined that one day I would end up owning as much land as I currently do. Not that I have the paperwork to support such claims, but my ownership is on a much more fundamental level so I suppose I don't really need it. As long as people occupy the space above it, they will continue to contribute towards the awesomeness that is their local Dungeon Core Landlord Service, helping expand her business and income on the way.

Hell, it doesn't even need to be people staying on the land. Monsters that find themselves passing through any particular stretch of Abi-owned land also add their fair share to the stockpile of DP that rolls in like royalties.

I'm a fair landlord though. I don't overcharge and only ask that people offer up a percentage of what they can afford. I think a 1% contribution of a person's accumulated XP is a ridiculously cheap price. Those who happen to be higher up on the level chart offer that more than your average Tina, which also helps my balance grow.

Adding to my portfolio, I end up going off-track once again with a second detour. One day I'll make a plan and follow through on it, I swear. This time I begin purchasing land in the direction of Tune. The city by the sea is the closest neighbor Orad has and instead of backtracking to add it to my collection later, it makes more sense to just snap it up now.

Easy peasy.

Being North-East from Orad puts Tune directly east of Varona and not too far away either. Ishda is easily three times the distance from my former home which means it will take a week or two to reach by purchasing land whereas I could be in the coastal city the day after tomorrow.

It's a no-brainer.

Acquire land, obtain Tune, increase profits. With the extra Dungeon Points I'll get from the people of the fishing community, I should be able to reach the capital a lot faster than if I were to head there straight away.

Abi the Clever.

Abi the Wise.

Abi the Potentially-Getting-Ahead-Of-Herself.

Relax. Breathe.

Remember, I can breathe now. Calming breaths are the best. Especially when panic creeps its ugly face through the window. That bastard hasn't been around in a while and isn't welcome here. But I'm just fretting over nothing.

More points mean more land. More land means more points. It's a cycle of growth that only ends when there's nothing left to purchase. This also incites a massive question for the future.

What the fuck am I going to spend all that future DP on!?

If I end up owning the planet, then my DP will be a truly-ridiculous figure. One so unfathomable that I have absolutely no idea what I would do with it. I mean, could I build myself a gigantic statue made of pure Jade?

No. That would be way too much.

Even for Abi the Egomaniac.

Nobody should have an over-sized statue of themselves on their own mountain. That would just be silly. Right?

Ahem.

Anyway, to Tune.

Just under an hour later and I'm almost broke. I can't believe close to 100,000DP can disappear as quickly as it does. Magnificent and grand one moment, gone the next and I'm back home before I know.

"Maybe when I have millions of DP, it won't all disappear in a day?"

The 10,000DP I decided to keep is a 'just in case someone decides to attack us today fund.'

Sitting at a table in Ali's, I try to calculate how long it will take me to bring the continent of Tira under my dungeon umbrella. I give up as soon as my meal arrives though as my brain begins to hurt and my belly growls fiercely.

That's some complex math.

I'm definitely never going to be Abi The Mathematician, that's for sure.

I guess I'll have to see if Me can work it out later. He's good with numbers. If not, I'll try Sacha and the council.

Why Sacha and the council? Because Mayor Kana is about as sharp as a butter knife. Seriously, I don't know what to do with that one. The council and city are still running fine though, mainly thanks to the Deputy Mayor, so I suppose it's fine for now.

Enjoying my meal slowly, I watch as people come and go. Some eat in while others take their food and leave. All are full of smiles and happiness because their lives would have been much worse if they had chosen to migrate anywhere other than Varona. The fact that we let them live here for free the first few months was something no other city could have offered them.

Well they could, but probably wouldn't have. People are greedy, which is a straight up fact! And it only ever seems to get worse the higher up you go. There's no profit to be made in helping the masses the way we did, and instead is a major drain on financial resources. Unless you happen to be a Dungeon Core that is. Also one whose main priority is the betterment of Tironia at that.

To be honest I'm starting to think other Dungeon Cores aren't all that. I mean really, how have none of them picked up on the fact that people mean points? Seriously. It's more ridiculous than Barry plowing away even though he has no need to anymore.

His efforts are still appreciated though and at least I see him taking frequent breaks now. Still, his work ethic is second to none. He's a straight up do'er, that Golem.

"Can I get you anything else, Master?" Ali appears and asks, noticing that I finished my dinner and dessert quite a while ago and have just been idling over my own thoughts.

"No thank you, Ali. I'm good and that was delicious as always. I was just imagining how different life would be for the people that moved here if they would have decided to go elsewhere." I'm always honest with my family. Secrets are the first step on the path of distrust and that's the last place I want to end up. I would hate to ruin the bond we have, the closeness I feel to them.

"Thank you, master. Your praise is always a compliment. Regarding your other matter, why don't you ask Noir? He was talking about the refugees from Gorn the other night so I assume he might know what became of them."

Honesty is always the best policy.

I give Ali a quick peck on the cheek and she flushes red. I leave her holding her cheek and head off to find the loudest Assassin I've ever met.