System Escape, page 28
“It is, I'm just wondering if it might be worth the effort though. It looked like Todd was getting a lot more than I thought he would out of his own. I'm thinking that maybe we ought to set up a Safe Zone that isn't part of the current network, right outside there. With the zeppelin it should be easy enough to stay in contact with them. Plus, we can use it to ship a lot of the recovered resources back here also.”
“It might be, you'd have to be careful about who you put in charge of it though,” Felicia said.
“There is that. Maybe dad knows someone who came with him that might be worth trusting with that responsibility. I'm just thinking that it's a solid source of all the basic resources and, from what we found, it might supply some advanced resources like biological as well.”
She nodded in agreement. They were both half-asleep by this point. Marc was debating trying to wake back up and read some more of his advanced math text while Felicia fell asleep. He was still debating when he slipped into the grasp of his dreams.
In the morning he wasn't sure if it was him or Felicia that had fallen asleep first. She was still asleep though so he slipped out of bed. Beggar, annoyed by the feet he was leaning against moving, snorted a touch in his sleep before rolling all the way onto his side and going back to sleep. Marc took a look out the window and realized that he'd gone to sleep far too early. It was probably still a couple hours away from dawn. Knowing that he had some time, now he did settle in to try to make it through another chapter of his book.
By the time he finished the chapter, the sky was lightening with the approaching dawn. Felicia had just started stirring a few minutes earlier, so he let her be and slipped out of the room.
Because while I love her like crazy, being around her first thing in the morning can be hazardous to your health. Not a morning person doesn't even begin to cover it even if she can get up early if she wants to do so, he thought. Given her own preference she'd sleep in later, not as late as Jeff, but definitely past dawn.
The cafeteria was in operation and there were a number of people already there. Marc claimed a cup of coffee, then a pile of eggs and more of the sausage they'd served him the day before. Evidently the butcher had started selling it to the kitchen once the kitchen had a budget. Bread, risen bread, was still a relative rarity. The cooks were working on a sourdough recipe but they weren't happy with it yet. For now there was still flatbread, but at least this morning it was made of wheat flour and not corn meal.
Marc had actually asked about that, but evidently yeast was incredibly expensive in the shop for some reason. The flour was pricey, but doable. The yeast would need additional funds added to the cafeteria budget and they were trying to get it self-sustaining. The sourdough bread would work, once they got it fine-tuned, and Marc had been informed that there were people looking for sources of wild yeast that could be grown to supply their needs.
He'd wondered why there were a couple of fields that were now planted with sugar beets and that had been part of the answer. Once they found an appropriate yeast they'd need to feed it enough to keep it growing, kind of like a cut and come again plant. Marc was hoping that they found something since if they could grow enough of the yeast, a portion of it and a book explaining how to grow it, would help lots of other Safe Zones out there.
For now he was happy enough with the flatbread though, it tasted good and he could wrap his eggs and sausage into something vaguely resembling a breakfast burrito.
Once he was done eating, he claimed another cup of coffee and drank it before heading down to the watchtower. As far as he knew, that was where his dad spent most of his time when on duty and a discrete question to the cafeteria staff had told him that his mom and dad had been in for breakfast and gone before Marc showed up.
He trotted up the watchtower, remembering back when just walking up those stairs would leave him out of breath, and found his father signaling the balloon with a mirror. Marc waited until his father was done.
“Looks all clear,” Sean said to the Legionary standing duty, then he turned to Marc.
“Marc, so eager to get out and start a new Safe Zone?” Sean asked.
“Yes and no, dad. I had a thought. Remember when I told you that Todd was using a recycling machine on the destroyed dungeons? It occurred to me last night that he was getting a boatload of resources, more than I'd expect. Then I remembered we have our own destroyed dungeon just a few hours that way,” Marc said, pointing east.
“And?” Sean asked.
“I was thinking that, with the zeppelin to keep us in contact, we might want to make a Safe Zone right next to it and harvest its resources. It's a short term thing, but we could eventually build out in that direction to connect it. The issue being that it wouldn't be part of the network right off and we'd want a holder for it, one we could trust. I admit to not knowing the residents of the Safe Zone as well as I should, but I thought that you might.”
Sean looked pensive for a moment, then a smile creased his face.
“It'll get me in the red with your mom, but I know someone I'd trust with that.”
“In the red with mom?” Marc asked.
Sean nodded.
“She doesn't like him. Says he's too much. The man is good looking, I'll grant him that, but he's also smart and fit. He's also as trustworthy as the day is long. His name's Thomas Albert Dengman, goes by Tad. I think you'd like him, from what you told me about getting your class. He ignored the first options he got, which were Legionary and Warrior, because he said he was more than just a grunt. Once we got here, he was one of the ones you taught some magic to. After he learned that, he got another class choice called Spiritual Warrior. According to him it gives him spell use, unarmed combat, and a limited selection of weapon skills.”
“Huh, I think I might remember the guy. Is he the one with the classical chiseled jaw, blond hair, and all that?”
Sean grinned.
“Do I note a hint of jealousy there? Yes, that's him.”
“What level is he? If he's still low level then this probably isn't the position for him,” Marc said.
“He's level six. Which isn't too bad. Not as high as some of the adventurers you've got here, but my highest legionaries are now level seven, so...”
“Hmm, would he know anything about running a Safe Zone? You've got a grasp on it now yourself, would he?”
Sean chuckled.
“Yes, he would. He probably has a better grasp on it than I do since he was also a professor teaching economics and a generic Ancient History class.”
“Aha! Now I know how you know him,” Marc said. “Ancient History class?”
“Very generic, as in how people slowly switched from being nomadic to living in settlements,” Sean said, grinning. “Does that sound useful?”
“Very, I'd like to meet him before I go ahead and okay it though.”
“I wouldn't imagine it any other way. By the way? Do not tell your mom that I referred this guy to you, okay?”
“There's a story there, should I know it?”
“Remember when your mom sent her wedding ring off for resizing and they messed up and she was without it for a month?” Sean asked.
Marc nodded.
“Well, she accompanied me to a faculty party during that time frame. Tad, not seeing a wedding ring, proceeded to hit on her. Evidently he came on to her rather strongly. She's never forgiven him for that, although how he was supposed to know that she was married is beyond me. It was the first faculty party he'd attended so he had no idea.”
“Well good, now I have something to blackmail you with if I need your help with mom about anything,” Marc said. “I won't hold it against him though. Would you see if he'll talk with me tomorrow?”
Sean just shook his head.
“Sure, I'll set up a meeting for you for tomorrow morning if I get chance” Sean said, then he turned to the Legionary on duty who was trying desperately to not be involved in the conversation.
“I'm telling you, what's the world coming to when you try to help your own son out and he turns it into blackmail?” Sean said.
* * *
Chapter Twenty-One
Sean had detailed a squad of Legionaries to escort the two of them out to the Safe Zone area they were going to build next. There were several other people with them as well, who'd be assigned to the Safe Zone once it was constructed. They went on foot directly from Any Port since the area Sean had determined for the Safe Zone would form a triangle with Miller's Pond and Any Port.
The distance from each of those Safe Zones to the location of the new one was almost exactly four miles, the limit they could go. Sean had chosen to try to maximize Captured area since Marc had wanted to Capture as much land as possible before the end of the year.
“I was thinking,” Sean said as they walked. “Do destroyed Safe Zones offer as many resources as destroyed dungeons? Because while it's a way out, there's that one Jeff destroyed when the holder wouldn't stop attacking us.”
“I don't know. I imagine they'd supply at least some, but I haven't tried that yet and haven't seen anyone else try that either,” Marc replied.
“Well, before we get that Safe Zone near the destroyed dungeon going, why don't we try to get the resources from the destroyed Safe Zone. It's a couple of hours trip in the wagons to the location, but they can probably get a full day of work in on it plus the four hours travel time. Try for one day and see if it's worth it?” Sean said.
“We can do that. Recycling the destroyed dungeon is more of a medium term plan at this point and I don't know what the recyclers have been doing recently,” Marc replied.
“One of them goes to the mine twice a week to process the tailings. The rest of the time they, and the second recycling machine, are working on whatever they can find. We have massive stores of stone and wood from them at this point, less metal though, but they have gotten a lot of the alternative things like sand for glass, and biological materials. We pretty much process the remains of anything we butcher through the machines and they give us biological resources. Well, the parts we don't feed to the spiders. We're still light on gaseous, but we've got some and the large storage device for that from the shop will last us a long time at this rate, unless we discover how to get more of the gases.”
“It works for more than one type of gas?” Marc said.
Sean nodded.
“Once we purchased it, we found out that it's segmented inside to store up to ten different types of gaseous resources.”
“Good, I was afraid we'd have to buy more and even just one is kind of pricey.”
“Not that horrible, like your mom said the treasury is at a respectable level,” Sean said.
“It wouldn't stay that way if we had to buy multiple gaseous storage tanks,” Marc said.
Sean grinned ruefully.
“True, now let's see what this site looks like. We may want to reposition some from what I have on the map, but I left a quarter mile to the current edge of the existing Captured area so we can move it in any direction we need.”
* * *
In the end, the most valuable thing about the location was how it would increase the Captured area. Because of that, they went ahead and moved it west to a point where they were sure it was barely in the four mile range they needed it to be in.
Once they'd decided, Sean set to work. He pulled four white sticks out of his inventory and paced off where they'd be placed. As he set each one in its place, the Legionaries with them started pulling out materials and making piles between the stakes. Then the shovels came out and Marc had a thought.
“Hey, you normally use those to make ditches and berms, right?” he asked.
Sean nodded.
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“Well, if you want to save your men some time I can take care of that for you. You just need to let me know where the berms and ditches should go. I've got a spell that can probably take care of that.”
I'm pretty sure that if I dig into my Earthen Wall spell I can ensure that the dirt for the wall part, which I'll use for the berms, comes from the ditches. And since the changes stay until I dismiss them or it's destroyed somehow, it should work for this, Marc thought.
Sean broke apart a few smaller sticks, not white ones, just some he picked up from the ground, and marked out the areas for the ditches and berms. Once he had them in place, he made sure to be away from the area.
Marc began to cast his spell, letting his mind drop into the template of it and start making some adjustments. The berms were easy, he could've done that from the basic spell, but leaving the ditches behind was a bit more work, only three alterations to the template, but he had to find them and calculate values for them on the fly.
It worked pretty well and two castings of the spell per long side of the future encampment, plus one casting per narrow side, left it all done. The Legionaries did have to dig the ditches a little deeper, but the shortcut saved them half a day or more of work, so no-one was complaining. Marc also managed to get a point in his Earthen Wall spell while he did it.
“We've got to get going,” Sean said, later in the day.
There was a basic encampment set up and the Legionaries that were staying would continue to work on it. Sean had, though, promised Michelle that he'd be back in the Safe Zone for the night.
“I don't know, dad. For about half the day I've felt like we've been being watched,” Marc replied.
Sean nodded.
“Me too, but I don't think they're hostile. I could be wrong, but if they were, I'm sure we would've been attacked by now.”
“I'm just worried that they'll wait until after we leave and then attack when there are fewer people here,” Marc said. “Although that's not grounded in anything, it doesn't really feel like they're hostile to me, either.”
Technically, they'd brought a Contubernium of Legionaries, and auxiliaries, with them. The eight Legionaries and two auxiliaries from the Contubernium, or squad as Marc found himself thinking of them, would be staying and continuing to build the encampment that would eventually become a Safe Zone.
There were several more Auxiliaries as well, and those would be accompanying Marc and Sean back to the Safe Zone, while the Contubernium stayed behind. Sean had already told Marc that he'd be doing a march with the rest of the Legionaries that weren't otherwise assigned, to take them out here and get the encampment finished to where he wanted it. From there, he just needed to leave men assigned in sufficient numbers to maintain the encampment and they'd be able to turn it into a Safe Zone in a few days. The rails leading to this site had been started just this morning and the four miles of track would probably take a week or so to be finished.
Now Marc just had to worry about the watchers that he thought were there. He walked over to one of the auxiliaries that would be staying behind. The man was a Mage, but he was only level four.
“I'm sorry, I don't remember your name,” Marc said.
“Ian,” the auxiliary replied.
“Well, Ian. I've got a feeling something or someone is watching us. Dad, I mean the Centurion, is planning on leaving anyhow, so I've got something for you. Only use them if necessary, okay? If not, I'd like them back.”
Marc pulled out a pair of the cast only scrolls that they'd found in the chest from the giant catfish. These two were both offensive, one an ice spell that sounded like it was single target, and the other an area of effect acid spell. Marc had taken both of them, hoping to be able to study the acid spell and get the appropriate symbols from it. He'd managed that already though, and while he'd prefer to save the scrolls to use himself, he'd also prefer that there not be any casualties from him trying to expand the Captured area with a new Safe Zone. So he handed the scrolls over.
“Make sure if you use that acid one that you target it well away from the encampment walls, otherwise there'll be extra work and I don't know if them getting damaged by that might slow down the overall process,” Marc said.
Ian nodded and the scrolls disappeared into his inventory.
“Yes, sir. You got it. Only emergency use, and acid only away from the walls if I need to cast it.”
“Good, your Centurion will be back tomorrow with a bunch of the Legionaries to finish the rest of the encampment, so you just have to hold out for a night and a few hours,” Marc said.
He found himself wishing that there was something else he could do. He was positive someone was watching them, even if he didn't know why he was sure of it, but he was also positive that whatever was watching wasn't hostile right now, although it didn't feel friendly either.
It feels like when you used to know that there was a camera on you, even if you couldn't see it, he thought.
He looked around the encampment. The larger frame for the full encampment had been laid out, but there was only a small section completely finished. That, they'd done for the force that was staying behind, so they'd have a protected area.
And because dad said that doing it that way would give us a head start on the counter for being able to make it a full Safe Zone, Marc thought. I don't know why he didn't bring everyone out today and start in on the rails tomorrow though.
When he'd asked his dad that, Sean had just shaken his head and said:
“Don't ask. I know it myself, but you wouldn't believe it if I tried to explain. I got a new skill and I'm working with what it's telling me, that's all I'll say.”
Marc hadn't agreed, but he also hadn't wanted to argue about the matter, so he'd let it drop. Now he was worried again.
“Are you sure the guys you're leaving behind are going to be okay?” Marc asked. “Because I'm fretting over it.”
“I'm sure, yes,” Sean said.
“Is that your skill again?”
Sean nodded.
“Can you at least tell me what it's telling you?”
“No, I can't,” Sean said. “You wouldn't believe me.”
“How about what the skill does? Can you tell me that?”
“Nope. I'll tell you the name though and if you recognize it, then you might understand,” Sean said. “The skill name is Cassandra's Gift.”
