Homesteading in a fantasy world

POV Bruce

I looked at the World Council report. They were sending me two new starting companies. I was a bit disappointed; I was hoping we would be able to get some more established companies, but I guess this will have to do.

We will be back up to five companies then and should be able to comfortably continue operating, but those two last spots don't seem to want to stick. One of them disbanded not too long ago, and the three before that were each lost on a mission with no one returning. Before that, those two spots needed to be emptied by me.

Those were dark times. I looked up and saw the past of my hall. The five company heads and 12 guild heads were sitting with our most trusted, having the time of our lives. Then came the betrayal.

I had expected them to leave as this fort was becoming too small for them, but instead, they tried to take my fort away from me. It was a brutal battle, but my half-orc body helped me survive it. I could feel myself once again sinking into the rage and darkness, but then I heard boisterous laughter.

The scene in front of me changed immediately. There were a lot fewer people now in the hall, but my comrades were having fun and telling embarrassing stories about each other. I laughed as I heard the punchline.

Back then, my hall looked a lot different; it was so much emptier. Back then, all I could think about was advancing. Now, there were trophies of the monsters we had killed and beautifully crafted weapons made by my friend.

I enjoyed this a lot more, but I could also feel the acceptance. Some of my comrades had left as they continued to grow stronger. Opening up my achievement page, I once again saw those mocking numbers.

There was so much joy in me when I made it past the 8000 milestone, getting to rank 4 was a great achievement. Yet, slowly after that, my classes reached their max level, and I could not upgrade them no matter how much I pushed myself. Two of my three main stats refused to get close to rank 5, capping out at a bit over 14,000.

Many told me never to invest my free points anywhere but in my main 3 stats, but I didn’t listen to them. Purely going by the numbers, it wouldn’t have made a difference, but I always think that having more would have given me a chance to advance one of my classes.

Personally, I don’t think so, but I can’t be certain. I’m incredibly glad that I have put so many stat points into my toughness stat. It has allowed me to dominate and survive in the outer ring and even fight in the middle ring, although there I would just be another fighter, perhaps an elite fighter, but nothing more.

I also think a part of this is my fighting style. Looking down at my fists, I often regret going down this path. Fighting without weapons is a huge disadvantage when it comes to fighting monsters.

More civilized monsters, however, now that was a different story. It's funny to see their faces as I get into grappling range with them and then just squeeze. Not everyone goes down so easily, but I enjoy those fights more.

“Commander, it appears that one of the new company leaders is here already,” my mind stopped working for a moment. This brought back some bad memories. I remember it started like that so long ago.

“Let him in,” I said, and then watched as my command was passed on and then the doors to my hall were opened. The entire place immediately went silent at the strange sight we saw. Just in case, I quickly rechecked the paper from the corner of my eye, but it did state that both of the company leaders were human. So why was one of them so huge?

He approached, and I quickly glanced at his companion, a giant eagle. They can be fearsome fighters, and their flocks are probably responsible for more fort kills in the outer ring than any other species. This one was still young, yet already so big. The human, however, seemed even more impressive. Somehow, he was a bit taller than me. And for that reason alone, I instantly disliked him.

He was wearing medium armor that seemed ill-fitting, but I could see that he would be using speed as well. With that size, he would be a decent opponent if he was at rank 4.

There doesn’t seem to be any weapons, so he has some sort of storage ability, and a flexible one at that, to be able to store different kinds of weapons. I'm pretty sure he would use multiple kinds of weapons; he just looks the type.

He's also really young, yet experienced. Perhaps trained by a strict father, but it didn't feel right. Some traumatic experience that made him the way he is? Perhaps, but still doesn't feel completely right. No, those eyes have seen too much.

So, not just one thing made him, but many. The question remains, will he be like him? "Greetings, my name is Rich Dirt, the leader of United Freeholds Company. I was told that I was to report here?" he spoke with a decently deep voice, but there was no hesitation or fear.

"You made it here sooner than I expected. It is usually customary to come with your main party. I would like to see them as well." Once again, he wasn't afraid of my voice, even if I infused some of my more subtle abilities into it.

"Don't have a party, so to say, but Goose and I came here to start setting everything up." I stayed silent after his words as I needed to think. He took this time to look around at the trophies and weapons.

Curious, that was different. There were a few other rank fours here. He should know that we could kill him at any moment. But he also isn't stupid or overconfident. I guess that experience that I saw in his eyes came in handy.

"Well, that’s fine then. You will be given your own building as is customary. The rest of the information you will require you can get from the quartermaster. Wait, why is the name United Freeholds familiar to me?" I asked, not just the human but everyone around me.

The moment of silence was broken by one of my comrades. "Wait, isn’t that the nation up in the north? The one that had that big war with three other nations?" Now I remembered, and the human gave a nod. Now that was even more interesting. "Are you just from the nation, or do you have some more connections to that nation?" I asked.

"Yes, I have my family land there, and I hold some government positions, most notably the highest military position. But don't worry, thanks to Goose here, there shouldn't be any problems running things here," he replied.

There was confidence in his words, but every one of us seemed a bit unsure about that statement. Having a nation behind him, even if it was a young nation, would be advantageous as he would have a stable place to recruit from.

Some of my comrades continued to ask him questions, but I just listened. A picture was forming in my mind of a capable man who seemed to have some ambition, but it didn't seem to be overwhelming, which I appreciated. Managing truly ambitious people was tiresome.

When he left, I ordered my spy to gather as much information about him as possible. It might be too early to be certain, but perhaps this one would truly not be too much trouble. Although, I think that he might get strong enough to challenge me and perhaps he might want to take the fort for his own as. However, that would be a problem for the future that might never happen.