Frank felt the warm, bright caress of the morning sun upon his face as he exited the trading post. Squinting because of the brightness of the sun, he paused giving Branthor’s pack the opportunity to form a barrier around him before he moved toward the animated yet small gathering just beyond the boundary of the town.

Narius saw his Emperor approaching with his intimidating dogs, so he motioned the small party to pause their discussion until he arrived. Frank observed the gathered individuals including the energetic Tamara, his senior miner, the two guards sent from the expedition to the cliffs, his Majordomo, Narius, and Narius’s prime lieutenant. Before reaching the gathering Frank sent a message to his familiar. Go hunt with your pack my friend. This is a good time for your absence as I am perfectly safe here. You have spent too much time waiting for me to conduct my business.>

Branthor did not reply. His familiar shot forward into the forest with a surge of excitement and relief surrounded by the remaining faithful members of his pack. Frank chuckled to himself - that was quick. “Hello Narius, Ladies and gentlemen. It seems I am missing an interesting discussion. How did your trip go?” Frank asked with a jovial tone.

A stream of words seemed to explode from Tamara “We found a dungeon Your Imperial Majesty! It was incredible, exciting, rewarding, we all gained experience and earned coins.”

Frank smiled at her enthusiasm, but his face quickly shifts to show his shock as the Empire quest notification appears, then finally shifts to a frown. News of a dungeon would be a good tale, might spread beyond the town before he was ready to protect this asset. He needed to get a handle on this quickly. “Stop! If this is really a dungeon, we do not need to announce it to the hills. We need to secure it and ensure that we retain control of it. I am glad you are excited, but lower your voice and show some restraint.”

Frank cringed a little at Tamara’s crestfallen face, but he turned toward Narius and raised his eyebrow.

”My understanding from the soldiers report is that the dungeon contains two rooms and is easy to complete. The party completed it three times during their time at the cliffs before leaving earlier today. The soldiers mentioned the final message indicated the dungeon is a Very Easy Level 2 rated dungeon upon completion of their third time entering.” Narius explained.

“How do we know the rating of the dungeon?” Frank asked.

”Your Imperial Majesty, a message is displayed when you leave the dungeon that describes the advancement of the dungeon rating, similar to gaining experience I believe, and the period of time that the dungeon is inaccessible after completion which was 4 1/2 hours when we left.” Answered the senior soldier from the patrol.

”What type of experience and type of loot did you gain? What monsters did you face?” Frank asked.

“The monster were small groups of easy to defeat large rats, and the loot was 2 coppers each, pelts, and some rat meat for rations.” the other soldier replied.

”The dungeon is a wonderful opportunity for the Empire to train our troops and citizens and to enhance our economy, but any kingdom or organization that finds out about it will try to take this gift from the Empire. Please do not discuss this with anyone not within this group.” Frank commanded. Therod, please disperse the group while I continue to talk to Narius and his lieutenant> Frank sent to his Majordomo.

While Therod took over the discussion, Frank sent his commands to the Captain of his guards. Narius, please have Steven prepare a squad of trustworthy soldiers to garrison an outpost we will create at the dungeon. Once the longhouse is completed, a building party will accompany his squad. It is important to rotate the soldiers and the citizens through the dungeon as quickly as the cool down period allows while still building the small fort. I will discuss my plans with the builder.>

*****

Frank sits alone, his thoughts churning, within the normally peaceful meditation room. His anst coming from the growing mountain of tasks including todos relating to Town Management, to Empire Management, to Realm Management, to long-term strategy, and to his personal growth. Frank feels like he is loosing track of some of the tasks and struggling to focus upon current tasks. He needs a better organizational approach.

”I suggest using the quest log to help with focusing on tasks with a return, using your personal notepad for organizing priorities, and using the summary screens for each geographic area to obtain additional information.” Nimrod counsels.

Frank shrugs and pulls up the Quest Summary screen.

Town Quests Quest (Town, Rank E): Abundant Resource I, 5 TP, 2 XP, 2/3 resources Quest (Town, Rank E): Feed Me Seymore I, 5 TP, 2 XP, 1/2 Additional Weeks Quest (Town, Rank D): Secure the Town I, 10 TP, 4XP, 50/200 meters Quest (Town, Rank D): Old McDonald had a Farm I, 5 TP, 4 XP, 0% Quest (Town, Rank D): Train Your Troops I, 10 TP, 4 XP, 0% Empire Quests Hidden Quest (Empire, Rank B): Discover a Dungeon, 20 EP, 15 XP, Completed Quest (Empire, Rank C): Protect Your Dungeon, 15 EP, 8XP, 0% Quest (Empire, Rank C): Expand Your Empire I, 15 EP, 8 XP, 1/2 preqs 15/40 XP Quest (Empire, Town Rank D): Grow Your Capital I, 10 EP 25 TP, 4 XP, 1/3 preqs 2/20 XP Realm Quests Quest (Realm, Rank C): Climb the Mountain of Power I, 50 RP, 8XP, 0% Quest (Realm, Rank D): Secure your Gate, 10 RP, 4XP, 0% Divine Quests Quest (Divine, Rank ???): Find the Temple of Fionethesis, ???, ???, 0%

Nimrod's advice to use the quest summary screen is a great idea! Many of the listed tasks correspond to items in his mental list, and the screen contains some shocking information! There is a hidden B ranked quest about discovering the dungeon that Frank had not seen earlier today. The rewards for completing the task are 20 empire points and 15 experience points for the empire. Wooowhooo, he dances a little jig in his mind! It is hard to restrain the urge to open the Empire Summary Screen and to concentrate on the quest list after seeing all of those empire points. The new quest to protect the dungeon with 15 XP further cements this task as his first priority. The new task would get him very close to having enough to expand the empire. The construction for the fort at the dungeon cannot start until the second longhouse is completed, so it was actually the first task that needs to be completed.

As for leveling his Capital, he must complete all of the current town quests to have enough town experience points, but he does not understand the prequisites for leveling. Frank sends to Nimrod

"Unfortunately, I am not able to tell you. Most prerequisites are a part of an extensive hidden list of related activites. As you build up your Capital, you will get a feel for the types of activities". Nimrod replied.

That sucks he thought. He opens his notifications searching through them until he finds the quest updates.

Quest Update - Grow Your Capital I: Congratulations! Building the Trading Post, a system purchased building, fulfils one of the prerequisites for completing this task.

Quest Update - Expanding Your Empire I: Congratulations! Building discovering a dungeon fulfils one of the prerequisites for expanding the Empire of Caradon.

Quest Update - Abundant Resources I: Your expedition found copper ore and coal. Acquire one more resource to complete the quest.

It frustrates Frank that he is not able to determine a pattern for the prerequisites from the two quest updates he views. At least the resource update is clear, he adds a note to his list to prioritize smelting the copper. Also, he needs Soro to focus on constructing the salt production facility to get that third resource to complete the quest. He should be able to trade for enough food stocks to complete the Feed Me Seymore I quest. That would complete two of the five town quests. He will talk to Narius later to see if there is anything else he can do to speed up the construction of the defensive trench.

Next, he opens the Town Management screen to see if there is addintional important information.

Town Management Name Caradon Town Points 0 Experience 2 Population 104 Morale -11 (Neutral) Events and Notifications Trading post completed, Killer dogs, Citizens Slain!, 1 building and 1 defense under construction Population Buildings Store Logs & Notifications

What happened to the morale of the town? It was positive 22 the last time I reviewed this screen. How can it have fallens some far. Frank navigates to the Morale Log screen. Yikes! It took a big hit from the slain citizens and the ugly scene when Branthor's pack was discovered. The negative effects continued today.

Morale Log Day Effects 2 + 10 Place, +1 Longhouse 3 + 10 Place, +1 Longhouse 4 + 10 Place, +1 Longhouse, -15 fear from citizens learning of the slain hunters, -40 anger and fear of killer dogs 5 + 10 Place, +1 Longhouse, +10 amazement trading post, -10 anger and fear of killer dogs

Frank sighs and adds make his protectors part of the community to his growing list. Next, he pulls up the Empire Managment screen.

Empire Management Name Empire of Caradon Empire Points 20 Experience 15 Events and Notifications Dungeon discovered! Diplomacy Enhancements Store Logs & Notifications

Since no diplomatic events are listed and no enhancments have been purchased, the Store is the only menu to review from this screen. Shockingly, an Awakening Crystal for 50 empire points is the only item within the list. He selects it to get more details.

Awakening Crystal This crystal can awaken latent psionic potential. There is a 1% base chance to awaken the potential within the candidate, but the odds can be effected by up to five Psions enhancing the effect of the crystal. Each Psion with a power above Beginning powers can add to the chance to awaken. The exact improvement in the odds are communicated to the lead enhancing Psion before the attempt is made. Creates a specialized building wtih the crystal at the center.

That is an awsome enhancement. He was definitely going to save his points for this beautiful jewel. He was confused by the limited list within the Store. Frank sent.

"Your empire consists of a one kilometer circle around your Capital city. This will be reduced to 100 meters unless you have regular patrols of the area. The circle exists because of the scouting quest and the regular excursions by your fisshing boat. You must control an area for it to be part of your empire. Once you build a fort at the dungeon, you will have two unconnected points within your empire. You need to extended your control and have multiple areas for more options to appear in the Store." Nimrod replied.

That is a bummer, but it did make sense. He decided to review his list within his system notepad.

Complete the longhouse. Build a fort at the dungeon. Build the salt production facility. Order food from the trading post. Smelt some copper. Complete the trench. Socialize his protectors, his dogs. Ensure regular patrols for controlled area. Extended scouting to try and claim more territory.

Yup, his list keeps growing!