The Empires Rise

As I head out of the tower, I stumble upon the first person on my list to visit, Ramona. Not having officially met this being before, I more formally introduced myself to them.

"I have seen and heard of you from the others of the settlement," they say gruffly and gutturally. While there is a lot to be desired from your leadership, there isn't much I can complain about since you are considering a wide range of people's opinions."

"Thank you. I am doing my best in a situation that is unknown to all of us. I was curious if you had any opinions about the training yards." I then proceeded to inform them of the quest and what some of the benefits would be based on what Laxreal had told me.

"While it sounds like a worthwhile investment, it is not one I can see myself making. I would much rather be a protector than a teacher."

"Well, I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me about this. I have a list of people; I would be curious if you have any thoughts on who would be receptive to becoming an instructor." I tell them the list.

"From what I know, dwarves are more known for crafting." They start, "Don't get me wrong, they are formidable opponents when they have shield walls and can be behind defenses. However, once out in the open, they don't have the best coordination with others; they are stuck in their ways and don't improvise well. This doesn't mean all dwarven instructors are like this, but from my experience, they are all very similar. I know humans have their cunning and craftiness, but from what I have heard of your planet, you don't have all the tools to teach people what they need to in a world of magic."

I nod along with this information. Their assessment isn't far from what I know of the wars on my home planet.

"I would recommend the Goliath. While Rognar is bull-headed, he is quite smart regarding his training. From what I have gleaned from a distance, he has already learned several skills and is learning as much as he can. I have even caught glimpses of him teaching that Tengu, Uxa."

"I appreciate the information and will talk with Rognar shortly. Have you seen where he is recently?"

"The last time I saw of him, he was over by the new training yard."

I thank them and then start walking to the training yard. It didn't take long, considering I built all three training buildings near each other. With Rognar's size, I can quickly see him. I call out as I am walking up to him. "Hey, Rognar, I have a question for you."

"What?" He asks, being short with me.

"How would you like to be the instructor of the Infantry Training Yard?" Like Ramona, I explain what the building does and what he can gain from it.

"Fine," Is the only answer I get from him. Shrugging my shoulders, I select him from the menu and invite him to be the instructor for this training yard.

With one more instructor found, all that remains is to find the archery instructor. However, I decided to talk with my father to see why he would have been selected as a potential instructor, but that can wait until later.

Next, I head to the archery range first to see if anyone is waiting.

After only a minute of walking, I rounded the corner of the building and found people waiting outside the range. Getting closer, I saw that all the people who could be the instructors were waiting there.

"How's it going, everyone?" I greet.

"It is going fine, and yourself?" Eleanor greets back.

"Well, still getting used to being around a bloodsucker for longer." Strauvana declares sarcastically.

"Good," Autumn offers.

"Oh, you know, I'm just trying to stay away from that crazy Naga," Muiress says while looking around as if she might be behind me.

"I am well, and thank you, Drake, for helping Zul'Zara," Sylvasti says.

"Well, I am glad that you are all here. I am in quite a pickle since I don't know much about you, and I am on a quest to get an instructor for the different training grounds. So, I am curious who would be interested in becoming the instructor for the archery yard."

"Honestly, I don't want to have to train anyone," Strauvana is the first to step away from the position. "I know there must be some benefits to becoming an instructor, but I don't want them. I like killing things too much to want to train someone else on how to do it."

"Sounds good," I give her a thumbs up. "What about you four?"

"I don't think people would be receptive to me training them. With me being a Shifter and all." Autumn also backs down.

"I don't think that is fair of you to say that just because of your race, so many negative things are being put on you." I look at her. "Just look at your brother. While he has sworn an oath to me, he is now the scout commander. And I think he has done an admirable job."

"That is only because he has sworn an oath. I haven't, so people won't trust me as inherently as they do him. So, I don't want to position. Let the others deal with teaching people. I want to work on my skills and go out and hunt."

Seeing her adamant about not wanting the position, I backed off.

"I don't want the position either; I just want to work on some of my skills lightly and then focus primarily on my enchanting. It will also help prevent me from dealing with Vranjaya as much." Muiress states.

Seeing the hopeful eyes that I don't insist that he at least tries the position, I also let it drop. "It looks like it is between the two of you," I say as I look directly at Eleanor and Sylvasti.

"Sylvasti, are you open to being the instructor?" I ask directly.

"I would like to be the instructor, but I don't know if my skills would be useful now." She replies with a quiet but firm tone.

"Why do you say that?" While asking her questions, I saw Eleanor looking at me, hurt. I ignore her for the time being.

"Well, most of my skills involve finding herbs and identifying poisonous plants in a wooded environment. Since there aren't any woods in this area, it is hard to say that it would help soon."

"I would have to disagree with that assessment. This is a whole new world; even knowing which plants are poisonous or useful in different crafts could make a huge difference. Also, I would presume that you have skills with the bow."

"I have skills with my bow, but I mainly was a gatherer. I can hunt small game with decent accuracy but nothing that would astound people."

A loud scoff sounds from behind Sylvasti, "If you be calling your accuracy only decent, then I be a tall goblin." Zul'Zara pipes up, startling her and causing her to become embarrassed.

"Zul, you promised me you wouldn't sneak up on me like that!" She admonishes Zul'Zara.

"What would you call your accuracy if you were to shoot a target from twenty meters?" I ask, now curious about where this is going.

With even more embarrassment, she replies, "I can usually hit about six shots out of ten."

"And where be you when you are making those six shots out of ten?" Zul'Zara asks.

Quiet like a mouse, I hear her mumble something. "What was that?" I ask.

Slightly louder, I hear, "....woods."

"You be calling your home woods like it be a stroll in the park." Zul'Zara turns to me, "She be hitting six shots out of ten inside a dense jungle."

That is quite a shock to Eleanor and me since she has also been listening. Following that line of thought, I clarify. "What would your accuracy be if you were shooting at a target from twenty meters in an open field?"

Again, quietly, I can barely hear her say, "Nine shots out of ten."

"Well," I turn to Eleanor, "How would you do?"

"Honestly, I am not one to use the bow much. I am more of a close combat fighter, but since warrior wasn't my best option, I had to pick the hunter class."

"That's fair. How would you do with teaching people?"

"I wouldn't be as good as Miss Near-Perfect over there, but I could help people with knives and short blades."

"That is good to know. I will consider that in the future. Today, though, I think the best option would be to get the better marksman since we might be able to increase our survival since we have the walls."

Seeing us ignoring her in her embarrassment, Sylvasti shouts, "Why don't you ask the person who would potentially teach people instead of ignoring her?"

"Because," I say with some mirth, "It is hard to talk to someone who isn't speaking louder than a mouse. And how would you feel about teaching people to help their survival?"

Zul'Zara gives her a nudge from behind, and I see her say something but don't know what. "I would like to be the instructor for this training yard." She turns and opens the doors with her semi-confident declaration, only to find they won't move. Waiting a second to see what she will do, I watch.

After a minute, she turns around and looks at me with flushed cheeks. "How do I open the doors?"

With a chuckle, I went to the menu, selected her, and sent the invitation to be the instructor. Noticing that she received the invitation, I watch as she tries the doors again. This time, they open right as she pulls them.

Upon the doors opening, I was notified that the special quest had been completed. I collect the rewards sent to the Lord's Chest for me to check later. One problem I noticed about the rewards is that only three bags of experience and three skills are available. Sensing a headache coming on, I massage my temples.

"Are you alright, Drake?" Eleanor comes to my side and asks.

"I will be, but I must first figure out what to do with these new quest rewards. They aren't like other rewards, where we can get materials, blueprints, population, or tokens for different things. I have to figure out how to use these best before tomorrow."

"I don't think it is that big of a deal." She consoles me, "I think you just give one of the bags to each new instructor. Since we need them here to help people learn as much as possible, it will limit the time they can go out and hunt for their experience."

"That is true. And continuing with that line of thought. Maybe the new skills they learn can also be taught to those in the training halls, making it count for more than just the singular skill book." With excitement leaking from my voice.

"There you go, Drake. One problem that wasn't a problem solved."

Thanking Eleanor, I returned to the manor to gather the items and hand them out. The round trip took me twenty minutes, but everyone was happy to receive the bags and skillbooks. Once that was done, I looked at the sky and saw it getting dark. Deciding to call it a night before getting dragged into another project, I returned to the manor one last time.

On my way back, I see a certain merman running with a naga hot on his heels for the last time today.

Chuckling as I get back to the manor, I stumble upon my father. Pulling him off to the side, I ask him the question on my mind all evening. "Dad, today I had a question about getting different instructors for the different buildings. One of the options for the Infantry Training Yard was you. Is there something that you haven't told us?"