Trial by Conquest: Chapter/Scenes 21 (Patreon)

Max was happy to cross the river away from the cliff and towards the meadow. The biting cold water rushed past his skin, washing away all the accumulated muck and funk of the battle in the dungeon. By the time he and Wildflower waded ashore on the opposite bank, Max was well and truly fresh.

That feeling was tempered slightly by the reminder that he didn’t have any clean clothes to wear once he was out. At that moment, he actually evenied Wildflower, skipping around in what, as far as he was concerned, was basically just underwear made from leaves. She didn’t have a whole world judging her decency. To say nothing of Thorax, who wasn’t wearing anything at all — apart from the cargo.

And speaking of Thorax.

Max lost no time in marching up the bank, towards where the Amber Weave Spider was resting. It didn’t look like the giant arachnid had moved since they’d left.

“Ho there, Thorax!” Max called out.

“Master Builder,” intoned the massive spider in his characteristic gruff butler voice. “You are back. I was not expecting you to be gone for so long.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. The dungeon boss locked us into this dream memory place that lasted for ages. But we’re back now. And I got some great en-grams!”

“That is good news, Master Builder,” Thorax replied. “If you are to fulfill my queen’s weekly tribute, you will need to get a move on.”

Max froze while fiddling with one of the cords attached to the Keg of Wonders. “Weekly tribute?”

“You agreed with the queen, Master Builder.”

“I agreed to tribute. I never agreed to when!”

The mustache quivered again. “Did I not inform you that my queen expects her tribute weekly?”

“No!”

There was a pregnant pause before Thorax said, in a completely dead-pan voice, “Whoops.”

— Ding! —

You have been given a quest

Weekly tribute.

Your deal with the Spider Nymph was not as airtight as you might have made it. You have learned from Thorax that the Spider Nymph expects her tribute weekly. You would do well to heed his council. Time to next tribute: Four days.

Failure to complete by the allotted time: The Spider Nymph’s wrath.

Reward for completion: Continuation of your alliance with the Spider Nymph. Potential other rewards.

“Four days?!” Max shouted. “What the hell, man?! You have to tell me these things sooner! How the hell am I going to make women’s clothes from that,”—he pointed at the uncut amber weave silk on Thorax’s back—“in four days?! And if you hadn’t noticed. We are in a the middle of a war here. I don’t have a problem with hooking her up with some nice digs, but battle has to come first! I’m not starting a fashion line here!”

Thorax looked decidedly unimpressed. “My queen said that if you didn’t make use of her gifts well she would—“

Max slowly went green as Thorax proceeded to describe exactly what the Spider Nymph would do to him if he failed to uphold his half of the bargain they had made. Some of the things he described he was sure weren’t even anatomically possible.

“Okay, okay!” Max eventually interrupted. “I get it. The queen gets her dresses. No idea how, but we’ll figure it out. I’m still going to need most of the silk for trading, though. I assume you’re going to help out with getting more silk? It said when I inspected you before you can make it too.”

“No.”

Max blinked. “No? Just, no?”

“Yes. I have no interest in being farmed like an aphid to an ant.”

Max perused his lips. Thorax’s attitude was really starting to bug him, now. What had he ever done to warrant this treatment? He glanced sideways at WildFlower who just shrugged.

He turned back to Thorax. “So, if I can’t get more silk from you, how am I supposed to make more clothes for the Spider Nymph?”

“You will have to get more spiders or silk from my queen, directly. The journey is a day round trip, but that should not be a problem once you have a commander to send to the dungeon in your stead. Your alliance with the queen will grant them direct passage to her chambers.”

Well that was something. Although part of him (a very specific part of him) really wouldn’t mind taking a couple days off to see the queen again. It was also true that he had stuff to do and their position right now wasn’t great.

Seeing the goblin horde that had descended on the town in the dungeon memory had given him a new found respect for the threat posed by the goblins WildFlower had mentioned before. The magical eyes he’d been temporarily gifted in the memory had let him see way out across the battlefield, all the way to the goblin camp, and what he’d seen there, time and again, for hours on end, had been enough to make him lose his lunch, if he’d had any lunch to speak of at the time. Needless to say, goblins were not nice creatures. WildFlower had said they ate people they caught, but some of the things Max had seen in those camps made that sound tame.

This meadow by the river felt like a peaceful oasis in a world of violence and chaos, but it could just as easily become their gravesite if anything powerful found them. Until they had walls or more people to stand guard or fight, Max would have to prioritize his focus.

It wasn’t just his survival at stake here. He now had to worry about WildFlower too. As well as the family he had, somewhere out there. Maybe there were other Master Builders, too — ones who felt as out of their depth as he felt now — ones who’s immediate reaction to meeting him might not be to declare his automatic death.

There was also that other part of him. The part who’s first reaction on hearing about the Trial by Conquest had been to think that becoming King sounded cool. That part of him still smoldered away. Seeing men killed and armies destroyed had not smothered it. If anything, the fires licked higher.

Max turned to Wildflower and grinned. “You ready to become a commander?.”

WildFlower’s eyes steeled. She nodded.

“Then let’s do this!”

The first thing Max did was bring up his U.I. He’d become well acquainted with the current options available to him over the last few days, but it was only now that he navigated his way through the menu screen with genuine purpose. Soon, he found himself staring at one option in the civilization window.

Do you wish to establish your civilization’s capital in the Ludonarrative Meadow?

[yes] or [no]?

Max readied himself. He had no idea what would happen next. Decisively, he hit the [yes] button. He certainly wasn’t expecting a round of trumpets, although, on reflection, maybe he should have.

- Trumpets -

Congratulations, Master Builder

Though you are by no means the fastest of your kind, you have nevertheless struggled through trials that would make lesser Master Builders balk. Your civilization will be a beacon of life throughout the world! Before you can place your commander’s residence stargram, however, you must first pick a civilization theme!

Max raised an eyebrow. A theme?

Themes provide special bonuses and unique traits for civilizations as a whole. While individual settlements can be constructed in many different styles, a civilization’s theme will permeate the skills, architecture, and culture of all peoples who rally to your banner!

Be Aware! Many strategies in the Trial by Conquest have trade offs. You are among the slowest of the Master Builders to establish your first settlement, but by exploring the land and establishing multiple alliances, you have expanded your choice of theme. Continue to strive for greatness to achieve greatness!

Max grinned widely. It looked like his insistence on delaying starting his settlement until he’d found the best spot was going to pay off! Though it also looked like he wasn’t going to be plonking down his Commander’s residence just yet. He quickly let WildFlower and Thorax know that this was probably going to take a while.

Wildflower decided to go pick berries, while Thorax just settled back down to rest. Then Max dove right into his choices.

There were three in total.

— Choice 1 —

Theme: [City Human]

Rank: Common

Means of availability: Master Builder Race

Civilization-Wide Bonuses and Penalties

Food production from tillage: +20%

Food Storage longevity: +10%

Production of magical raw materials: -10%

Residential Skill — Master Chef: Your occupied dwellings convay the bonus skill Master Chef on their occupants.. Followers with this skill become masterful at turning just about anything edible into delicious food and drink.

Culture — Adaptability: Your followers no longer suffer negativity when in terrain of differing or opposite alignment.

Below the prompt hovered a three dimensional floating image of what Max recongnosed as the commander’s residence building. He recognized it, because it was the exact same building he’d dashed into at the end of his quest in the Ludonarrative Echo Chamber. A quick glance at the other prompts and their images of the commander’s residence showed very different buildings and he realized that this must be the civilization theme that Johnathan Stone must have picked.

It was the same tudor-style building with its wide black beams and white plastered walls. The tag-line under the rotating image read, ‘Human themed buildings come with basements as standard, allowing expanded storage and living space, increasing both by up to 50% per building. Raw materials: Local stone, woods, and clays.

Not bad, Max thought. The thing that most caught his eye with this theme was the Master Chef skill. Eating rough nuts, berries, and rough jerky since he’d arrived certainly hadn’t been his idea of a fun time. Commanding a people, everyone of whom could whip up a meal to rival a five star restaurant? That sounded like a good time. It might also open up interesting trade options, especially with the bonus to food storage longevity.

Something in Max, though, told him he could do better.

He moved his focus to the second option.

— Choice 2 —

Theme: [Forest Flower Queendom]

Rank: Rare

Means of availability: Alliance with Forest Nymph

Civilization-Wide Bonuses and Penalties

Natural Population Growth: +30%

Forest Garden Production: +20%

Animals as Food Production: -20%

Residential Skill — Master Animal Trainer: Your occupied dwellings convay the skill bonus skill Animal Trainer. Followers with this skill become masterful at taming and domesticating many of the beasts of Isolation.

Culture — Free Love: All followers become bisexual, polyamory becomes the norm, jealousy is massively reduced, and libidos are increased.

“Holy hells!” Max said out loud.

“Something the matter?” Wildflower called from over in the trees.

“Nothing!” Max called back. He quickly brought his focus back to the prompt. Honestly, the idea that choosing a theme could change his followers sexuality and emotional range was a bit disturbing. Not that it wouldn’t be cool to live in a society of sexually expressive nymphomanics, especially when he was at the top, but... at the same time... something in him hesitated. Maybe it was because he had almost died several times over just the last few days, but, again, he just didn’t feel that making strategic choices based on how much skirt he might tap was a good idea.

That was a shame, because the commander’s residence building that went along with the Forest Flower Queendom theme was truly epic.

It looked like a giant button mushroom made of green, living wood. The walls were silky smooth, and the head had windows, balconies, and even other plants growing out of it. Max could imagine that a whole city built in this style would look like something straight out of a surrealist painting. The tag-line read:

Forest Nymph Architecture relies on the harvesting and crafting skill ‘tree singing’, granted by key Forest Nymph buildings. Raw materials: Living Wood.

Honestly, with how awesome these buildings looked, Max was almost tempted to just say, ‘screw it’, and go with the Forest Flower Queendom based on that alone.

The same part of him that had pushed him on from the Human theme quietly nudged him on again, though. After all, Wildflower may be his ally, for sure. But he had another ally, didn’t he? An ally that was known and feared by everyone who knew of her. An ally that was thousands of years old, had swept across the world, and reeked devastation on untold thousands, if not millions.

Max expected great things from this third and final option, and Max was not disappointed.

— Choice 3 —

Theme: [Spider Swarm]

Rank: Legendary

Means of availability: Alliance with Spider Nymph

Civilization-Wide Bonuses and Penalties

Textile Production: +35%

Effectiveness of Traps: +30%

Potency of Created Poisons: +20%

Livestock Production: +10%

Ceramic Production: -20%

Food Production from Tillage: -10%

Residential Skills

Master Silk Weaver: Your occupied dwellings convay the bonus skill ‘Silk Weaver’. Followers with this skill become masterful at harvesting and crafting all manner of garments and products from the silk of Giant Spiders.

Adept Trap Makers: Your occupied dwellings convay the bonus skill ‘Trap Makers’. Followers with this skill become adept at the craft of laying traps, both for wild game, and the sapient kind.

Adept Identify Poison Ingredients: Your occupied dwellings convay the bonus skill ‘Identify Poison Ingredients’. Followers with this skill become adept at identifying plants, minerals, and animal parts that can be used in poison making.

Culture — Swarm Migration: Your followers feel a seasonal urge to move and travel. Itchy feet doesn’t even begin to describe this compulsion. No ocean is too wide and no mountain is too tall! The Spider Swarm will conquer all!

“Oh, hell yeah!” Max let out a small whoop and fist pumped the air. Now that was what he needed!

The commander’s residence to go with the Spider Swarm theme looked like a cross between a Japanese temple and an arabian tent. Silk canvas was stretched tight across a bamboo frame, with latice walls and a tented roof.

the tag-line caused Max’s eyes to widen.

Spider Swarm architecture makes use of the adaptive properties of woven spider silk and the structural strength of iron grass. Breathable, insulative, and water resistant, such buildings can be taken apart by the primary resident and relocated without penalty.

“Found something good?” Wildflower asked. She’d trotted up on hearing his shout with a handful of wild fruits.

Max quickly relayed what the Spider Swarm Theme involved.

“Okay?” Wildflower said, clearly not getting why Max was so excited. “So, the buildings are made from silk. So what?”

“So, the maximum size of our civilization and settlements is determined by how many people we can house. That’s a major limiting factor on how fast we can grow. I don’t have a sawmill deity en-gram to process wood. Or a kiln deity-engram to make bricks. But with the Spider Swarm theme, I don’t need them! Every house can make silk! And every house is made of silk! Don’t you see? It’s a self reinforcing feedback loop. The more silk we make, the more houses we can make. The more houses we can make, the more silk we can make!”

“I didn’t understand half of what you just said,” Wildflower said with a wry smile. “But I think I understand your point.”

Max nodded. “The only slight issue is how long it will take to get enough spiders from the Spider Nymph. I’d hate to have dozens of weavers and no thread.”

Wildflower looked thoughtful. “Could you repeat the prompts for me again?”

Max did so.

Wildflower grinned. “That’s what I thought,” she said.

“What?”

“It didn’t say you have to use Amber Weave Spider Silk. It just said Giant Spider Silk. You could use any Giant Spider Silk. There are colonies of Giant Spiders far to the north, along the mountain ridges. You could sneak in there and snatch some baby spiders from them.”

Max’s jaw dropped. He closed it again. “How the hell would I do that?”

“No idea. But it’s an option.”

Max bit back his immediate retort and thought about it for a second. He realized that WildFlower was right. The how wasn’t actually important right now. What was important was that there was an option available. If he tried to plan out every little detail way ahead in time, he’d never actually make a decision. Also, even if it turned out to be impossible, it wouldn’t actually matter so much. He was pretty sure he could still grow at a reasonable rate, even just with the spiders and silk he’d eventually get from the Spider Nymph. The human theme wasn’t an option without the needed deity-engrams. He’d be reduced to dungeoning for weeks on end until he randomly got the buildings he needed to build more buildings. The Forest Queendom Theme was the same story.

Then there were all the other bonuses of the Spider Swarm theme. There were just so many of them. He supposed that’s what he got for bagging a legendary option. How many other Master Builders would be so lucky? It might be just the edge he needed to win the Trial. Plus, who didn’t want 35% more textile production? If his village was going to start making awesome clothes, then he did not want all of them being shipped off to the Spider Nymph. He needed some for himself, too! He might not have machines, but with all the buildings that could make silk and textile products, his civilization would be the center of Isolation’s first little industrial revolution!

Finally, there was that cultural bonus — Swarm migration.

Max vaguely recalled that moral and motivation contributed just as much to military success as weapons or logistics. Alexander the Great’s campaign of conquest had only been stopped when his soliders had finally had enough and refused to go any further.

Having a culture where great journeys were the norm though? That would smooth things over massively.

In the end, there was only one choice.

Max took a deep breath and selected [Spider Swarm].

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