Chapter 7.29 - The Calm before the Storm

Another year passed, and the Spring Rut preparations were in full swing. However for Serin and a few Representatives and Government officials, the event was better known as 'the quarterly plus up', where the state of Haven is evaluated and plans and, if needed, pivots are decided.

Each person said their peace, and then there was a discussion.

First was Edel, speaking on Military Affairs. "So far, formal military engagements have ceased outside of Haven. We have received requests for armistice with the three great enemies, although this is purely a delay tactic, which they think will work towards their advantage." Edel smiled, "Since they can only fight eachother and the wild, there is a higher rate of skill gain attrition than us, since we train in the Training dungeon and have a 0% attrition rate. Additionally we have two more people that wish to learn the [bring to life] spell from you Lord Serin, and can show that they can cast it without sacrificing their own lifeforce."

"Their intelligence is that high?"

Edel smiled, "No, they went the route of increasing their mastery of the life magic skill. As healers, they get the the same benefit you gain but only on life magic skills."

Serin nodded, "Alright. We will make an appointment for it. Ensure they are reassigned based on this skill. Those with this skill have no reason to be a frontline fighter."

"Don't you still fight on the frontline?"

"Royal exception." was Serin's response. The gathering laughed. Serin was as much a healer as he was anything else.

Edel smiled, "Other than that, the only other report we have is that we have had 36 people join the protectorate in winter, a peacetime non migration record."

"Alright. Alright. I assume there is nothing else to report. Are there any notes on population we need to make? How goes the 'census'?"

Master Restin of the Dhamphir, head of the Cradle agency smiled, "Its hard to keep an accurate count. But I can happily report that there are several hundred pregnancies from the Harvest Festival, and Master Cellic has divined there will be 21 couples married today at this Spring Rut."

"Any of note?"

"Well there is one couple that was hard for him to believe, but he refused to spoil the surprise."

"I really hate psychics sometimes. If he wasn't so damn successful I would probably be more upset. Regardless, I will just have to wait for the report."

Master Restin smiled and sat. indicating his report had concluded.

Serin motion to Lady Eris of Haven's Academy. "What are the numbers of plated last season? Let me make my own prediction...36." Serin then overtly looked at Lady Eris, then to Edel. The group laughed. "Yes Lord Serin, that is correct."

"Alright. I guess keep making children and keep them educated. Master Cellic is not here from the Office of Racial Studies, as he has better things to do pairing up young love. Who has his report?"

"He submitted it yesterday, all of your questions answered."

"How would he know what my questions are….Right Divination. I really hate that man."

Serin looked through the report, which there were a few copies strewn about. "Alright everything is pretty standard. Numbers for volunteers for parasites are up. We have stamped out the bits of racial supremacy that might have popped up, and it looks like Kara of the Forged as grown a bit kinder to us organics. By Mastic Cellic's report, she 'made friends with a Spirit of Passion today and this will guide her heart towards a more gentle path'. There are so many strings to pull on this statement I don't even want to know. I am just glad that the two of them."

"The four of them. Seems that two additional forged were activated this week."

"By the divines they breed like Demis."

The comment from the back was met with riotous laughter. It was definitely a complement that sounded like an insult.

"You all laugh but if we had a larger population base we wouldn't have to be so strict with our rules. I would be more inclined to let dumb adventuring teams meet their fate. Anyways,how fair are our diplomatic agreements?"

Jasmine stood up with stacks of reports prepared. "Lord Serin, I will assume you want extrapolations and highlights at this general meeting, and I will schedule time with you in the future for a more detailed brief in the future, if necessary. Haven's efforts to expand the Kingdom of Thul has led to their country being self sufficient. That being said, the normal rules apply to our allies as they do to us, and several franchises have been established on floating islands next to the cliffs. Our safety equipment we have provided as well has reduced to zero the deathcount from accidental falls." Serin remembered back to the design and giggled. It was like a body leash for a tamed animal but when someone fell it activated and slowed their descent and then tethered them to the floating island.

"As for Queen Narissa, she has fully reestablished herself in the territory earmarked on our border for the dragon preserve. She is eagerly awaiting the next brood's growth to determine if they also suffer from sterility."

"Within the Collective our pact remains strong, although they are requesting a more permanent defensive perimeter. They understand how the wild works, but with the opportunity for a giant to walk right in they are noticeably upset. Their expertise in terramancy is not up to par with ours, but they are open to offering usage contracts for several of their military systems in perpetuity for this assistance."

Serin had envied the flight packs the moment he saw them used, but Kara had laid out strict rules to their use and Haven couldn't afford it. So, despite Shurik's ranting, Serin had declined. Kara may have been an expert in technomancy, but she was not as good at trade. Serin had simply waited and now she was offering what he originally wanted, plus more, because he feigned disinterest. Serin smiled.

"Have her send her final offer and we will confirm or deny whether we will take it up."

"As you wish. The Corvid Society has formally opened its doors to students from any of the allied countries and cities. I recommend beginning a study exchange program with them similar to the tamers of Thul."

"Agreed, but how many assassins do we need?"

Jasmine shook her head. "Their school teaches more than that, and right now were are truely lacking on many of the stealth based skillsets. We have less rogues in our city than healers."

"Probably because Serin keeps executing them all."

Again, laughter. "Its not my fault that the only rogues we have in our city are not on vacation but instead are here to steal. The lucky ones are the ones that died, to be fair."

Jasmine continued, "Lastly is the citystate of Ston. Due to the incidents regarding Chimaeras in their city, they have locked down security. While most people would be upset with the increased random sweeps, most of the citizenry agrees with it. Haven gave them their independence and continues to support it, and the presence of interlopers is a bit of a black mark on their pride."

"How goes the restaurant though?"

The group laughed "It goes well."

"Anyone figure it out?"

"Some suspect, but no concrete evidence."

"Perfect. Thank you Jasmine. Schedule a time with the daemon Kat and we will go more into detail on your reports. And take some time off when your next child is due. No need to overwork. Pass some of the stress to Jericho. He is at least half to blame for it."

"Hey now!"

Next Dana stood. "So far all is quiet. Other than a smattering of kill teams from the GWA attempting to waylay our mixed race ground transports, we have had no issues with the Chimaeras. They are probably still recovering from their most recent shelling. The Northern Kingdoms are also quiet. I would be worried, but I have been informed they are preparing and training for going into the Sarween's dungeon. As for the Sarween, they have radically changed their infrastructure and industry, as they now get their raw materials from their public raid dungeon. On paper, they are thankful for the recovery of the arch magus that were trapped in the dungeon. In private, they are still trying to mimic out tech. In their last endeavor though, they figured out that the rail cannon of The Monarch cannot be fired by any other than Thanatos and his clan. Well, at least they know that it turns humans into mush."

"Succinct as always. Please do not hesitate to interrupt me during any future meetings if something comes up. Time is never our ally in matters of subterfuge."

Now Ephraim stood. "Thanks to the design of Shurik's new cold transport…"

"Stop stealing my thunder!" Shurik yelled. Again the group laughed.

Ephraim smiled, "Thanks to a 'new and exciting technology I am sure Shurik is rearing to tell you about', We have been able to begin shipment of our farmed fish and shellfish. It sells well with Thul, Ston, as well as at the Merchant Nexus."

"Isn't the perma-ice considered a export controlled secret?"

"Yes, but it is an open secret. Ever since the leakage event we had with Rupert and his iced cream device, everyone wants it and is willing to pay top dollar."

Serin shook his head. "Alright. I will authorize release of perma-ice related hardware to our Allies. All device requests must be submitted in person to you, and will require bi-annual audits of the amount of material that is there."

A murmur of agreement was heard.

Serin continued. "This is not selling. Its a lease. They will pay 10% of the increase of profits garnered to continue use, and should their audit ever fail, all devices are to be returned immediately to Haven and an investigation be issued. If they can't protect an iced cream maker, I don't want to start handing out magneta scatterguns."

Next to stand was the Dhamphir, Master Tyber, of the Society of Explorers.

"Good Afternoon Lord Serin and assembled colleagues of Haven. If you look at the handouts presented, our group has earmarked three territories for our next expansions and posted wildscout outposts. Additionally we are finalizing exploratory efforts into 12 additional regions, however our base population is nowhere near enough to control such vast territories, and just claiming the three we have outposted will take repopulation efforts outside expected parameters for at least 20 years."

"Well not with that attitude we won't!"

Serin was beginning to regret allowing his quarterly meetings be open bar. But it had become sort of a tradition

The origin of the meetings harkoned back to to when Haven's largest gathering area was Jericho's Tavern. Although the location and participants had changed, the demand for alcohol had not. When the location changed, Jericho had arrived with a server and served drinks, free of cost.

Serin looked at Master Tyber. "Thank you Master Tyber. Speaking of which, according to our population reports, you are not growing as fast as the other races. Is this something we can help with?"

Master Tyber bowed, "Lord Serin, we are slow to age, long lived, and therefore slow to reproduce. Plus our bodies will only become fertile with an abundance of nutrients. A failsafe to overpopulation."

Serin nodded, "If you need government supplied livestock for dietary increases, I can have the dungeon payout adjusted. Additionally we can ramp up production of our domesticated livestock and increase their effective areas."

"That would be most helpful, Lord Serin."

"Master Tyber, it is your job as a representative to ensure the needs of your people are being met. This world is much more dangerous than your last one, and an increased population is the only way to ensure that there are no issues with generational extinction."

"I understand. We will do our best to make adjustments."

"Just ship the dhamphir quarter some dusted wine, that'll sort it out!"

The 'dhamphir quarter' was the section of the biome region where most of the dhamphir lived. It was a large glass enclosure designed to allow dhamphir to walk around without covering, as it blocked the dangerous light from the sun.

Serin looked at Shurik, "Last but not least, Master Shurik. What marvels have been designed or discovered since our last meeting?"

Shurik stood and bowed, "Well since the grand surprise of our cold transport auto carts and transport ships was announced by Ephraim of the Trade office, and Jasmine announced our tether safety harness, I only have one notable advancement to show off.

With that, Shurik pulled out a case. Then he held out a glass vial. "I am going to make the room dark for 30 seconds. Try however you might to see."

With that Shurik smashed the glass, and darkness spread out from the point of shattering.

"Can anyone see through this?"

"We can."

"Uruk, your people don't actually see."

"Point taken."

There were no others speaking. Within about 30 seconds, light returned.

"This is liquid darkness. It was discovered on one of the twenty floors of the dungeon whose biome is a large cave network. Don't ask how we figured out how to containerize it, It was one of the interns from the Collective. That being said, it stops all vision, magical and non magical. Only the Transmuted could see because they use vibrations."

"This is quite the discovery! Are there any practical applications other than whatever Edel and Dana are scheming up?"

"We use it to ensure that the mushrooms we got from the same area survive. They die in anything but lightless environments."

"What use are these mushrooms and should they be export controlled?"

"Probably not. Its a serious pain to grow and house them and their only perceived benefit is being extremely tasty."

Serin smiled, "Well I am glad that we have had a relatively quiet winter. I look forward to meeting you at the turning of the season for our next quarterly report. Enjoy your spring rut, and hopefully none of you end up with any in-laws you weren't expecting."

With that the meeting concluded. It was a quiet day in Haven, but Serin felt as if something was wrong. The feeling increased as he reached his residence, but upon inspection, he could not figure it out. He wondered if his [precognition] skill was too sensitive, so he turned down his attention to it. He was unaware of the enemy seeping in.