Chapter 4.2 - Changing Winds

So by the end of Summer and the Beginning of fall, the worst of the effects caused by the Spring of Chaos had ended. Prior to the festival that Serin held after the battle with Narissa the Golden Queen of the Glassback Mountains, Serin had seen that he was only roughly one hundred people away from meeting all of the requirements for attaining the rank of City State. However, during the Spring of Chaos, as his population quickly rose towards the goal, his Nation's happiness had sharply fallen rather quickly as well.

By the time he had passed the 500 person threshold, his kingdom happiness had dropped to less than 40% happiness. It seems that when 30% of your population is newborns, it causes stress. And stress decreases overall happiness. And newborns are unstable with their emotions, regardless of race. But with trade continuing, commerce growing, and the various needs of the town being quickly fulfilled, that number stopped dropping. Once the schools had been set up and the establishment of the Academy's childcare program, it had quickly risen. Now it had passed 60%, the threshold for city state, so Serin decided to hold a town Council meeting.

As the meeting was held in Jericho's bar, Serin could hear the wailing of children upstairs. Jericho and Jasmin had gotten a bit rowdy after the post battle celebrations. That accounted for one of the loud wails. As for the other, it belonged to Rachel and Allister.

Serin hadn't noticed at the time, but it seemed that spending every day preparing their bodies for the eventual magical overload that had happened to Serin, Rachel had come to appreciate Allister. Even after months of beating him senseless, he always made her smile. So over the course of the previous year, Rachel had fallen for Allister. She still did not know how to express her feelings. It was during their festival that Rachel had drank a bit too much and also enjoyed a bit of Peter's Dusted Honey. It was all that was needed for Rachel to confess her feelings to Allister. And also to conceive a child.

As the council members filed in, most had ordered Jericho's newer, stronger drink, honey mead. It seemed most of them were worn out from the added responsibilities of childcare, or the extra expenditure of credits and mana. Serin knew if he waited too long to speak, he would lose his audience, so he started with his introduction.

"It has been almost a year since we faced off against the hordes of a golden dragon, and not only came out alive, but also with a blossoming trade partnership. Additionally, we have grown our town by almost 40%. This growth is always a cause for celebration, however in the future we might want to stagger this out through the year."

This elicited some laughs. They had all gone through hardship. There was not a single person within their town that was not effected by the influx of children.

Serin continued, "But I can tell you i know it has gotten better. I have watched as our happiness of our town has slowly increased. Before I told you the four requirements for City State, and today I am happy to announce that thanks to all of the efforts of all our people, we are back above the 60% happiness threshold."

The council cheered.

Serin continued, "Today I plan on meeting with the divines and upgrading our status to a city-state. We still are not required to go through announcement rites, so we still face no threats of war from established nations. However, I do not know what this will bring. I know that there will be several perks available, and before I met with the Divines, I wanted buy-in from the council. What is it that our need?"

Bilol stood up and smiled, "we would like more access to hunt. Our people will only grow to our best selves if we are able to hunt many different creatures. If there is anything that brings in the chance for us to hunt exotic monsters, we are in. Maybe something that brings in traders that dabble in monster capture?" Serin noted what the changelings were hoping for.

Ephraim then answered, "We are happy with carving a life out here, so whatever it is, we would like the benefit to help us here. Although we use mana as a resource to pay the newest adults, it's kind of hard to come by for some. Maybe something that allows us to gather or farm more resources? Such as new ore mines?"

Sute and Uriel stood up at the same time, then blushed, and Uriel bowed to Sute. Sute took the lead "Our peoples are usually polar opposites when it comes to needs and desires. They either wish to perform the soft tasks such as mercantilism or childcare, or they wish to fight for a living. I would agree with both assessments of Representatives Bilol and Ephraim."

Sute then bowed to Uriel, who continued, "I wholeheartedly agree with Sute. Although change would be nice. Maybe something that brings in tourists and outsiders, such as a mage academy or fighter's warren? Our openness with knowledge is our greatest strength."

Serin had listened to all of the responses. "I have taken this all to heart. As for humans, our needs are as diverse as we are, but I can assure you, all of us who are plated are so because we have ambition. So with that, I will see you all in a few hours, but for you, it will only be a moment."

And with that, Serin completed the advancement and felt himself pulled away.

***

"Oh Ho! You have progressed quite a bit, haven't you Lord Serin? I wasn't expecting to see you quite so soon, at least not for an upgrade to your nation's status."

Serin looked. The being sitting in front of him was fully formed. Serin knew it to be a divine. Serin then realized that his appearance was almost exactly the male version of the attendants of the adventurer's guild. He was not surprised.

"It feels like it's been a lifetime since we last spoke. I never got your name."

The spirit smiled, "No one has ever asked it. But since we are being polite, they call me `Guide'."

Serin smiled, "Is that like how we refer to your compatriots as 'the attendant'?"

Guide smiled, "Clever you are Serin. I should have expected that 4 people stumbling into the woods would develop into a City State in almost record time."

Serin looked confused, "Who was faster?"

Guide smiled, "It was a dark elf nation, on a different plane. Established themselves as master craftsmen specializing in 'quality of life' magical products. Kind of like you and your honey." Guide winked.

Serin smiled, "I am glad to be of entertainment to the Divines. I am enjoying the ride as well."

Guide smiled, "That is the attitude I like to see. But enough chit-chat. I have a formal reading for you."

Guide cleared his throat. "Serin, Lord of the Hidden Jewel, Sovereign of….unnamed?" Serin winked, Guide smiled, "Your town has achieved the prerequisites to be given the rank of city state. With that you are given a chance to pick a perk."

Guide then showed a display as a few dozen appeared. Most were general give and take. Some gave small benefits to various parts of a society such as adding merchant guilds to increase certain industrial trades, or the power to have trade caravans that were impossible to attack. Most were either a small benefit for free like these, although some offered a greater benefit, such as one that allowed for a large increase in mana for all citizens, but a permanent loss of HP. And then some were unavailable and were just greyed out. Then there were two Bolded in Gold. Serin then asked Guide. "Why are some greyed out? And some bold and golden?"

Guide smiled," You see, based on the governance and laws you have set, and the decisions you have made, you have made certain choices impossible. The 'Slave nation' perk increases slave obedience but increases the food requirement of non-slaves. The 'Purifier' gets a boost to all combat skills, however anything that isn't the founding race must be killed on site. It is commonly picked because most people think it refers to just monsters. Except it includes domesticated animals, and in your nation's case, other races. These two were grayed out because of the first two laws you decreed.``

Serin nodded, it made sense. Guide continued. "Ones in gold are special that require a special pre-requisite."

Serin looked at the bolded gold one. "What is this one here, Doorway to the Endless Dungeon?"

Guide smiled, "Ah. You have been given the right to access that because your nation knows the spells, [Map], [Gate], [Mark], [Locate], and [Bring to Life]. Upon selecting that, a magical set of doors will appear in your nation in every region you control at a place you designate. These doors will create an entrance to Bartagon, a plane of existence that was built to be a constant struggle for all within. Simply speaking, it creates an entrance to a dungeon in a pocket dimension."

Serin asked, "What is there to gain in fighting in these dungeons?"

Guide smiled, "First, the dungeon is immediately tied to quests available for pickup from the Adventurer's guild. Second, defeated creatures have an automatic magical essence drop and also the chance to drop rare items. There are also hidden items to be found for those with the ability to use their intuition and perception. The possibilities of this dungeon are endless. And finally third, you can increase your level without having to leave the valley."

Serin then smiled, "How does it keep from people being all clogged in a single dungeon?"

Guide smiled, "Every level of the dungeon is roughly the size of the territory with a variety of biomes the dungeon spawns in. There are several starting locations, and every hour they change."

Serin looked through the rest of the perks. There was only one other gold perk, which was called "Medical Corps" which gave every person basic healing magic, and gave every dedicated healer a boost to their combat ability. Serin looked back at the Dungeon Perk.

Serin looked at the guide. "What is the downside with the dungeon?" Guide smiled, "If you wish to exit the dungeon or continue to the next floor, you must defeat enough enemies on that floor to summon the floor boss and defeat it. Alternatively, you can find a hidden exit or use the Gate spell. Additionally, monsters there have a tendency to respawn after a few hours, and tend to be stronger than their counterparts in the wilds. Other dungeon types will become available as you control new regions as well."

Serin then looked, "So if someone entered the dungeon unprepared or by accident…"

Guide, still grinning, "then they would most likely have made the worst, and last, mistake of their lives."

Serin grinned, "Can the creatures ever come out?"

Guide smiled, "The dungeon is self-contained. As long as you control the region, only creatures that have been tamed or enthralled may exit the dungeon."

Serin asked a follow on question, "How many dungeons are there going to be?"

Guide answered. "There will be one dungeon entrance that will appear in each territory you own." Serin then smiled. He saw that he could solve one or two of the issues of his people with one of the other perks, but this one sort of solved them all. Changelings get access to a large variety of creatures. Demis get access to new materials for trade. It exists solely in the confines of the valley. And most importantly, Serin would be able to fight against monsters with a team again. His hiatus from personal growth would end today.

Serin asked a final question, "What is the downside of this perk?"

Guide smiled. "If you ever lose a territory containing a dungeon to another nation, a 'dungeon break' will occur and it will continue to spawn monsters until the territory becomes neutral or you retake it." Serin smiled.

"Guide, I have decided."

In an instant, Serin felt himself back in Jericho's tavern. The quiet of his meeting with the divines was replaced with the cries of now two children upstairs. Around him were the faces of his counselors and various members of town. Serin looked at the crowd that was waiting for him to speak. "Someone fetch Jasmine, we now have something that will require guarding more dangerous than our borders." Jericho raised an eyebrow. "You didn't pick anything weird again did you?"

Serin could only smile.

***

After dispatching Lord Koni to build another gatehouse, this one with double wooden doors, Serin then relayed what had happened with the town leaders.

"After speaking with the divines, I have chosen a perk that generates an infinite dungeon inside our borders. This will give us access to everything we want. Fights with numerous exotic creatures, rare resources and materials, and experience."

There were cheers from everyone in the room. Serin settled them down. "The only downside is a great defense for us as well. Should an enemy take a territory, they will have to constantly battle a horde of creatures spewing from the gates." This elicited another cheer. Jericho was smiling. The counsel had agreed that Serin had made a good choice.

Serin continued. "However I want to make a few rules with the use of the Dungeon. Since this dungeon belongs to all of us, it's use is inherently free. However, we must all care for it. Due to the extreme danger of this resource, a guard must be stationed here 24 hours a day to ensure no rambunctious younglings attempt to go into the dungeon alone. This will cost money. Therefore a percentage of all materials taken from the dungeon will go towards this initiative."

Serin then looked, and spied Liza, the Demihuman healer. "Additionally, to ensure the safety of all teams that go into the dungeon, every team must be a minimum of 5 people and include one person in the Rogue or Ranger Class and one person in the Healer Class." This started to elicit some grumbling. Serin raised his hands to calm everyone. "I know we only have 3 healers, so for now if someone can show that they know and can cast Regenerate this requirement can be waived. What I don't want is for a team to go in there without any healing capabilities and get massacred."

Serin continued, "I know that this represents a great opportunity, but it also represents a very real danger. The creatures inside the dungeons are much more dangerous than the same creatures that can be found in the wilds."

Serin then looked, "I will be attempting to take on a floor boss of the first level. I will be taking on the roll of healer. Are there four volunteers to go with me?"

Serin saw as every single changeling raised their hand. He shook his head. "Since no matter who I choose, I will be accused of favoritism, I will be taking Olma, Jericho, Rachel, and Allister. Are there any objections?" a few laughs were heard, but no objections. The changelings had waited their entire lives for this. They could wait a few more days.

Although there was a bit of mocking grumbles, overall the attitude was good. Serin then smiled, "Alright Jasmin, please establish a guard rotation with the Rowdy Bunch. No one is to enter until we have ascertained the danger posed by the first level of the dungeon."

Serin then looked at his teammates for tomorrow. "Ensure you have proper childcare tomorrow. Pack what you think you may need. We leave after breakfast."

***