"I wonder how long it's been." I yawned. Then rolled out of bed to shit, shower, and shave and emerged from my room with a fire burning in my eyes.
Like every morning for the last several months, I started my day with a morning coffee and a cigarette while I fed my fish and pruned some veggies and tobacco leaves from my garden. After hanging the leaves to dry and serving up some breakfast, I sat in my lounge to let the food digest and admire the views of both the slowed world outside and the strange, luminescent flowers growing before my face.
It was such an experience. Watching hours pass by while Amun dropped from my balcony at a snail's pace. Returning to my lounge to see people floating in mid-stride, only a few meters from where they stood before. Experiencing the months of daylight, and the unending darkness. It was unreal. But it gave me an avenue to master the new material bestowed upon me.
Faerie Flax. An otherwise ordinary plant, if not for the turquoise glow shining from its leaves. Given to humanity by the elves, it was a plant that was as in tune with mana as they were, using the energy for healing and sustenance rather than casting or practical means. That made harvesting it difficult, and each step of refining it proved to be a consecutively harder endeavor.
But with time, I mastered the tasks placed onto myself and I was now eager to descend to the Inner Yard and bear the fruit of my labors like the hundreds of other residents. So, I wolfed down the last of my breakfast while my clone cleared the room of any leftover parcels and left my little hive without delay.
To say that the new Hill Base was vast would've been an understatement; unless it was only the disparity in populous that made it seem so. Or, maybe it was my knowledge of what was to come later that gave me such an assumption.
But, I digress.
The entrance to my humble abode was a slim stone path that sat beside a moss lawn topped with a few chairs and a tea table. It was a lounge spot. A place for me and my compatriots to sit and talk and look down on the expansive compound below.
Like many other places in the compound, the houses and walkways were tiered like a giant staircase for the sake of navigation and had been connected to the Inner Yard via a web of catwalks, bridges, and staircases that stretched across the space like vines on in a jungle.
At the northern and southern ends of each walkway were spacious common areas and indoor parks placed just above the different districts skirting the perimeter of the Inner Yard. A space so vast, lush, and exotic that looked as if an ancient city had stood tall over eons while a mountain formed around it. Forcing the interior to rely on its own brilliance to illuminate its glory once it had been forever shut out from the light.
Saplings had risen into ancient trees with moss-filled branches reaching across the ceiling like inverted roots. Ferns had spread and grown to coat the walls like floor trim and brush the feet of carvings like live grass. Vines crept and crawled from the floor to the ceiling, grasping onto statues and bridges to support their immense weight.
Yet, in this dense, subterranean wilderness, civilization thrived.
Throughout the halls, children were running, exploring, being chased by their panting parents smiling unashamedly as they passed vendor after vendor selling everything from food to trinkets.
The majority of them were coming to or from the Research District, a labyrinth nearly thrice as big as the Yard. There, every man, woman, elder, and child had been placed into a similar time chamber to allow them to become as knowledgeable as possible in as little time imaginable.
The Finance District sat just to the left of that. An immaculately quiet place of banks, appraisers, currency exchanges, and the like. And in the center, behind the Inner Yard, was the new Town Hall and Political Center. A realm fit for a king. Inside was courtyards, guest keeps, royal courts, and anything else one would expect; only, cast in the outrageous proportions our Lord seemed to favor.
The Yard's waterfall lake- still unnamed, was placed adjacent to the Town Hall. Along with an expansive Nature Reserve and Wellness Center sitting just behind it. To its side was a wide path leading to the Industrial Park, and next to that was the Faith Grounds. Where the citizens were free to pray to any deity they desired.
Each district was fantastic on its own, yet, the Inner Yard had become the pride and joy of Hill Base the moment the residents moved inside. In a way, it was a replica of what'd been outside. Only, it was a lot more organized, cleaner, more vibrant, and obviously, more spacious.
A road of polished granite stones set wide enough for multiple carriages and even more people connected the main entrance to the town hall at the opposite end. Forming a trunk for several branches to reach off and connect to the various sub-districts within.
At the rear, before Town Hall, was the Inner Ring. A park. A place for picnics, evening strolls, or light jogs. A place that towered above the maze of taverns and pubs placed at the Yard's center, 'Downtown,' as our Lord called it.
As one would expect, the Industrial Yard sat to the left of the entrance, just beyond the general shops and before the Industrial Park. There, the streets were not only wider but also contained underground railways to facilitate the weapons and armor shops lining the road.
By far, it had proven to be the most developed region in the Yard. If not the entire complex.
Over half the population was some kind of craftsman, and now, each of them had access to facilities they never expected or thought to have in their lives. Drafting rooms, meeting offices, and apprentice workshops, to name a few.
Naturally, my domain was across from that. Not as in a district that I owned, but the Primary Commercial District. The second most developed region in the Yard. Where, not only the market was found, but where a pleasantly surprisingly plethora of artisinal shops were located. Including mine.
JoJo's Boutique sat in the middle of a fork placed fifty meters down the avenue from the main road. Making for a building that appeared like a large slice of pie blocking the road, complete with rooftop offices and workshops to make up the fruit and cream on top.
Inside was a rather unremarkable space. The entryway offered spaces for coat racks and handbags to be hung. And that was overlooked by a desk facing the door at an off-angle. From then on, it was a store full of empty racks and shelves dedicated for men's wear on the left, women's wear on the right, and kid's wear in the middle.
And dwarves.
Halflings too.
And gnomes as well.
While my clone stocked the wares, I arranged the parcels and, for my efforts, was awarded a few minutes of downtime that lasted until the doorbell rang.
"Gio! Glad to see you're alive!"
"Eric!" I jumped from my desk to round the corner at once to grasp the man's hand. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"
The man in question, Eric, stroked his mustache with his free hand while shaking mine with the other. He was around my height and build, only twice the age, and coated in milk-white skin that somehow sprouted red-brown hair.
He was a gentleman and a tailor, like me. Forever seen in a three-piece suit of varying tones and materials.
"Yes." He said in a voice like a melodic brass instrument. "The Lord's magic is quite peculiar, I must say. I'd go to the university and spend one week there. That would turn to two, and on to a month and oftentimes more. In a panic, I'd gather my things and rush home to my family, only to find that mere hours have gone by. Tell me." He released my grip and glanced at the parcels as he stepped back. "How long has it been for you?"
"Around six months." I shrugged, almost disbelieving it myself. "In that time." I turned to reach over my desk. "I've mastered your material and weaved it into the CNT fabric our Lord created. Watch!" I turned about, bearing a knife in both hands that was quickly brought down across my chest.
"Gio!" Eric jumped forward, then stepped backward after seeing no result from my attempt at self-harm.
"Tch." I tossed the blade behind my desk. Then pulled some magic from my core to repeat the same motion with my finger.
With unbridled glee, I watched the stitches split apart to reveal my bare chest and quickly reach across my flesh to sew itself back together.
"Honestly!" Eric buried his face in his hand. "You didn't have to risk cutting yourself to show me that!"
"Oh, I can't be cut." I shrugged it off. "Well." I shrugged again. "That's not exactly true. But it's true enough. Anyway." I waved the matter aside. "What do you think?"
He took a second to look me over and gaze upon the wealth of product I've labored over before grinning wide. "Quite frankly, I'm astounded. To master Faerie Flax and create this much inventory in six months is remarkable. You truly are a prodigy."
"I'm only a bit talented." I humbly shook my head. "And talent only gets one so far. Only with hard work, can one reach their true potential."
"The words of the Lord?" Eric raised a brow.
"The words of the Lord." I nodded, then gestured to my clone approaching with a parcel. "And, this is for you and your kids."
"Clothes?" Eric asked, taking the package.
"Not just any clothes." I grinned. "Clothes made from carbon nanotube fabric. An advanced, non-magical material created by our Lord. It's exceedingly difficult to cut or penetrate and has other… unique properties."
"I've read about it," Eric affirmed with a long sigh before lowing a shirt to reveal a warm smile. "And you've made sets for each of us," Eric commented with a warm smile. "How thoughtful."
"Not just for you." I gestured to the wall of parcels, grinning wider. "I made sets for everyone in Hill Base. Free of charge."
"You didn't!" Eric gasped.
"That I did!" I wagged my finger. Then sighed dejectedly a moment later. "I just need to deliver them. Or announce a flash sale"
"You know." Eric wagged his finger. "I allowed my boy to take on the job of a courier. He has his own business now. Elric's Runners."
"Could you arrange for him to deliver these parcels then?" I asked. "I'll pay him handsomely. Let's say, one gold per package delivered?"
"Handsome indeed." Eric scoffed incredulously. "Elric is eight, Gio."
"It'll be a great opportunity for him to learn financial responsibility," I assured him with a pat on the shoulder. "Besides." I waved my free hand. "Mayor Silas himself said that he considers us and the Lord Imperial Royals of Hill Base. If that's the case, he and the rest of the Council would be royalty. And if so, what does that make you all, the founders of this settlement?
"We would be nobles then." Eric surmised without much thought.
"Precisely."
"Very well." He sent his clone out with a wave. "I will fetch him."