Thaddeus walked into the inn and saw the soldiers drinking beer and eating plates of food. Everyone looked to be having a good time as Kira the new bard was singing a folk song and playing her lute in the corner. Along with the song, she displayed an animated illusion of the song she was singing. It looked nice, but the inn was divided by players and NPCs.
"Welcome Lord Brown," Phoebe said cheerfully from behind the counter.
She smiled at him and offered him a seat at the bar. Strategically, he chose a seat in the middle between both groups. Behind they saw Molly's daughters delivering food and beers to the tables. Although most of the men were polite, a few players harassed and grouped the women.
"Last warning, keep your hands off my barmaids," Phoebe yelled in her New York accent, holding a butcher knife. Her threat was enough to keep the harassers in check. When she finished threatening them, she poured him a beer from the wood barrels behind the counter.
"Thank you," Thaddeus said tasting the beer. It tasted nutty and full of hops. It felt good to have a beer in-game again.
"Phillip come out here already!" she shouted.
Phillip walked out of the kitchen. He moved the curtain to the side, so Thaddeus could see into the kitchen.
"Nice to meet cha. Hey, this is a nice place you got here. The brewery in the basement was a nice touch. We appreciate you letting us continue to let us do what we love," Phillip said in a thick New York accent.
They describe how they owned a bar in Queens for a long time. But the advent of Heaven's Gate dried up their customer base. So, they sold their building to a developer and joined the game hoping they could own a bar there.
But all the NPC inns and taverns were already staffed. And the guilds want to hire chefs. They applied to work in a tavern the Mythical Guild just built for one of their settlements but was rejected. They're here only because Alfred made that announcement, and they were swooped out here.
Thaddeus didn't know how much of that story was true, but it sounded legit. He could tell they sincerely appreciate the opportunity.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about us snitching. We don't snitch. You and trust that we won't do anything to jeopardize this chance," Phillip promised.
"Well, I'm happy to have you here and I look forward to getting along. And if you have room for another beer recipe let me, give you this. I got it from my Blacksmith teacher," Thaddeus said, handing Phillip, Roy's amber lager recipe.
"Thanks, the dwarves gave us one too, which we're pretty sure is similar to Guinness beer," said.
"Don't worry we'll have a full bar and menu soon," Phillip said heading back into the kitchen.
Thaddeus turned his chair around to listen to Kira who just finished her song. Kira had chestnut brown eyes and hair. She wore a folksy green dress with a belt and stockings. The way she dressed kind of reminded him of Zelda. This time she moved her lute behind her back and took out an Ocarina.
Her melody this time was melancholy. The illusion showed two children falling in love. As they grew older the woman became a maid and the man a soldier. The illusions showed the heartbreak they felt as the man was called to war and was forced to march far away. The song cut to thousands of soldiers dying as they fought a blurred-out demon. The song ended with the woman finding out months later that the man she loved died. When Kira finished the entire room was somber and pensive.
"Play something festive!" yelled a player.
Then Kira brought out her lute again and sang a folk song about gods and men.
As he was listening to Earl von Calvin walked into the inn. Behind him was the Level 177 captain.
"Ah, Lord Brown I just finished touring your village. Your village is surrounded by wonderful resources. Would care to join me for a bite?" he asked walking to the private room in the dining area.
Thaddeus followed him into the private room. The captain set closest to the curtain separating the privacy room from the rest of the inn.
"Your mayor and Village Council are quite extraordinary, especially retired Cardinal Thera. I cannot believe someone of her caliber moved out here. Even the captain was impressed with your obstacle course. While your village is small, it is filled with so much potential," the earl complimented.
"I appreciate your and the captain's compliments," Thaddeus replied.
"Do you know the one thing, Lord Hephaestus and I have in common?" he asked.
"I admit you have me at a loss," Thaddeus said hesitantly.
"We are both crafters! I'm a tailor by profession. That means I notice the smallest details. I noticed you sat in the middle when I walked into the inn. Which means you have yet to choose a side. Let me tell you, the emperor is willing to support you as long as the mine remains in unchanged hands," he warned.
"And when you say 'support', what exactly do you mean?" Thaddeus inquired.
"To clarify, I mean soldiers. Enough to stop an invasion!" the Earl said grinning.
"And what of the players' attempt to overthrow the king and enthrone his brother?" Thaddeus asked
"Ha-ha, the emperor's older brother was an insolent fool. Most say the emperor's brother was dead until that Rebel came and started telling lies. Now more and more believe the rebels' lies, that the emperor's brother is alive. Regardless of the rebels' claims, the emperor will continue to stay in power, and soon the rebels will be snuffed out for good. Ha-ha. But to accomplish our goals we need your iron and gold to ensure victory. Tell me what concessions you want, and I'll appeal to his imperial majesty on your behalf," Earl von Calvin laughed.
"I'm not sure what concessions I need. I already have more than I expected. I'm lord of two settlements, I have a large farm, mine, and a river. What else do I need?" Thaddeus asked.
"I can think of three things: the land across the river, a noble title, and your father's family has agreed to let you rejoin. How does that sound, Baron von Brown?" the earl asked excitedly.
"Earl von Calvin, I have no desire to rejoin any family," Thaddeus said at once.
"It makes me no big deal," he said brushing it off as one of Molly's daughters entered to take our orders.
Thaddeus passed, but the plump Earl did not miss the chance to order food and sweets.
"I saw consider both deals," Thaddeus said getting up and excusing himself.
"You have two days to consider my offer. But I will give you a piece of advice. The emperor is considering attacking the dragon again. When he issues that quest your little town will be run over. That is unless there are high-ranking imperial guards to keep order. Just keep that in the back of your head, Baron von Brown," the Earl said with a sneer.
Leaving the inn, he checked on the new villagers. Everyone seemed to be settling in nicely. The last new villager he visited was Molly. When he found her, she and her youngest daughters were off looking for flax to make linen.
"Lord Brown, thank you for everything. This house is wonderful!" Molly said.
"You're welcome. I'll have the builders build you a shop as soon as they're done with their homes," Thaddeus said.
"No lord, that's not necessary," she said.
"Well, I think it's important for the village. I'll start building the loom tomorrow in my shop. You should be able to pick it up by the end of the week," Thaddeus estimated.
"I didn't believe the villagers when they said the lord was the village blacksmith, carpenter, and tanner, but it's true. Thank you for taking care of my family and me," she said respectfully.
As he walked to his yurt, he received 10 notifications.
System Message:
Congratulations, Ironwood has advanced to Village Level 5. +1 WILL, +100 EXP, + 1 common building.
It looks like the dwarves made themselves at home. Unfortunately, he didn't gain any EXP, Stats, or buildings when Ironwood leveled from Hamlet Level 1 to Village Level 1. But he did gain EXP, Stats, and buildings when Ironwood advanced to Village Level 2 through Village Level 5.
Which meant he gained 400 EXP and four common buildings in one day. Moreover, he could build Molly's weaver shop but decided to wait. What if Ironwood needed four buildings or he needed to pay for the upgrade? There were too many unknowns. What he needed now was to meet with the Dwarven Village Council and figure out their needs.
By the time Thaddeus got back to his yurt, it was late at night. To his surprise, there was an old man with long white hair and a beard with gray eyes. He wore an expensive white mage robe and had a long white staff that had a mysterious glowing orb at the end. He tried to analyze him but couldn't.
System Message: Your Analyze Skill is not the sufficient
"Hello Henry, I'm so sorry I caused you all this trouble. I learned too late the Board of Directors had a mole in my office. I never expected the Board to intercept my employee and recruit you on my behalf," the old man said.
"Wait—how do you know my real name? And who recruited me on your behalf?" Thaddeus said concerned looking around making sure he wasn't surrounded.
"Oh, silly me. I forgot to introduce myself, I am Dr. McElvaney. And I've been following your progress ever since the Athena flagged you as suspicious," he explained.
"You're the Dr. McElvaney, the creator of Heaven's Gate!" Thaddeus said thrilled. "How did you get there?" he asked curiously.
"It's always the simple questions. Sadly, no one ever asks me complicated questions anymore. I teleported here. I can teleport anywhere in the game world. Ha-ha, I am higher ranked them Cronus or Zeus," Dr. McElvaney chuckled.
"Oh, I see," Thaddeus said shaking his head in understanding. "Can I ask you a question?"
"You want to know why I wanted to hire you?" Dr. McElvaney guessed.
Thaddeus nodded his head in agreement.
"Do you know you, you are the only lord who didn't build their house first, and you were the first to found a settlement? You are also the only lord to construct a building by yourself, and you're also the first lord to want to live in a farmhouse instead of a castle. Isn't that curious? If that wasn't interesting enough, you are the only lord who studied as a carpenter, blacksmith, and tanner.
And that says nothing about your hidden class, multiple world-first bonuses, and the heirloom you created. I wanted to hire you because you think differently, you're creative, and I believe you can help make this game better. And you have the highest villager satisfaction rating among your peers," he replied.
"Thank you, sir, I feel much better. I don't know why but I felt like an imposter getting this job until now," Thaddeus described emotionally.
"Imposter syndrome, Thaddeus I know that feeling well," Dr. McElvaney said.
"Sir, I want you to know how much I admire you and this game. Please know I'll do my best and hope to not disappoint. Thank you for this opportunity, it's a dream come true!" Thaddeus said fanboying.
"I look forward to meeting you in person in July. Your team is made of fellow settlers like yourself, Your first task is to brainstorm ideas to improve settlements. I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas," he said standing up.
"Before you go, can I ask you some employment questions? Several companies are asking to sponsor my live stream. And a guild is threatening me with war if I don't join their guild. Are employees allowed to live stream and join guilds?" Thaddeus asked.
"Employees are free to live stream and join the guild. The only thing employees are prohibited from is winning cash prizes in tournaments or events. Most likely, the Board wants you, and your new team, to get me to approve a consortium of agricultural companies' entry into the game," he explained.
"Thank you for explaining the rules," Thaddeus said.
"If you need me again as Demeter, send me a message. My game name is Sage Anorak, but keep that a secret," he said before casting [Teleport].
After speaking to Dr. McElvaney, he felt much better. He also understood why his hiring felt surreal. The Board of Directors and Dr. McElvaney are clearly at odds over Heaven's Gate commercialism. The company wants to maximize profits for shareholders, continuously monetizing the game, and Dr. McElvaney wanted to keep the game pure, and free of outside influence.
Thaddeus didn't like the idea of being trapped between the Board' and the game's Creator. He knew it was a popular theme in movies, TV shows, books, and games. But now he was the one stuck between creatives and monetization.
And he had to figure out what he was going to do.