The Empires Rise

The next set of boxes that I opened were the tokens. With these, I could see if there were any buildings that we could quickly make. It doesn't take long to open them, but when we do, there are 169 more tokens we can use, very few of them for instantly completing a building.

What we did get a lot of were the time reduction tokens and resource reduction tokens. With these, the resources we have on hand will get us further along than I could have hoped. There are also some new tokens in the mix that I hadn't received before. They were of different levels, so not that much different. I look at the latest list of tokens to gauge what to focus on first.

- Settlement Materials/Building Tokens

Tier 1:

Wood - 1174

Stone - 1222 (+10 daily Tiny Mining Outpost)

Metal - 1901 (+0 from Small Mine)

Food - 615

4 X Wood Instant Completion Token

2 X Iron Instant Completion Token

3 X Bronze Instant Completion Token

2 X Silver Instant Completion Token

22 X Wood Time Reduction Token

27 X Iron Time Reduction Token

23 X Bronze Time Reduction Token

20 X Silver Time Reduction Token

18 X Wood Resource Reduction Token

19 X Iron Resource Reduction Token

22 X Bronze Resource Reduction Token

25 X Silver Resource Reduction Token

3 X Iron Instant Level Up Token

1 X Bronze Instant Level Up Token

3 X Silver Instant Level Up Token

1 X Outpost Upgrade Token

8 X Token of the Fog -

With all the resources on hand, I look to see if there are ways to make the buildings more efficient. With that in mind, I ask Ritotorous a quick question. "What would happen if I was to get a blueprint of an item that I already have?"

"Well, that is easy. You would have two options. The first is to hold onto the blueprint to sell later to another settlement. The second is to break it down into blueprint parts for the categories: Habitation, Offensive, Defensive, and Support.

With those parts, you can select a blueprint you already know and spend them to increase the level of the blueprint."

"Why did I get a level 2 blueprint of the Fog Dispersion Tower, the Combat Support Tower, and the Observation Tower?"

"The reason is that those blueprints are rare buildings that don't come at lower levels. I wouldn't have expected you to have gotten them since they require materials you don't have. One thing to know is that the higher the building level, the more materials it can take to make, but also, they have better properties. You can always choose to downgrade the blueprint when making it so that you can use the materials you have."

"That makes sense. Thanks, Rito." I stopped the questions there, and aloud, I said. "Looks like there aren't many more things we can do that will give us an edge when it comes to buildings."

"Drake, what are those other tokens for?" Xelyphe asks while pointing at the Tokens of the Fog.

"I don't know, let me look," I respond.

- Token of the Fog: When used, it will provide a choice of what type of building token the user wants. It can also be merged with four other tokens of the same tier to go up one-tier. -

"Seems like we can get more building tokens this way. However, I am curious what level building tokens we would get now." I use one of the tokens and receive a notification.

- Token of the Fog Used. Pick one of the following options and receive them.

Instant Completion Token

Time Reduction Token

Resource Reduction Token -

Seeing only three options, I select the Instant Completion Token. Once that is done, a Wood Instant Completion Token is in my hand. I look at my family. "If I were to merge 5 of them, I would get an iron token instead of a wood token. Well, at least that is the thought."

"I would have to agree with you, son," My father states. "It would make sense that the next tier of the token is iron from the context of everything around us. I would recommend not doing so, though. We need buildings completed; none will be over level 1. This allows us to quickly get several huts up for those who need them."

Looking at my father, I couldn't agree more. So, I take all of the Tokens of the Fog and get seven more instant completion tokens. We can complete twelve buildings with these eight tokens without blocking the queue.

I look at my father, "Would you be willing to grab Shadow and Oria and bring them here? I have some things I need to discuss with them about their professions."

"Absolutely." My father replies and walks out the door to go and look for them.

"Mom, I would like you to look at what we have for food and get the chefs to prepare a meal for everyone. We have plenty of food for now that we can go for weeks without needing any more." She nods her head and heads out of the hut.

"Xelyphe, I don't know what I can have you do at this moment that could be helpful. Maybe you could see how the settlement looks and understand how we need to build things. I don't want to randomly place buildings around if we can get some order setup."

"I can do that. Do you want me to talk to the different groups and see what they require, and we can have a big meeting once things are ready?" They offer.

"That would be wonderful." I feel a weight lifting off of my shoulders. This will be doable. I just needed some extra hands to get things organized.

After Xelyphe left my hut, my father returned with Shadow and Oria. I ask them, "What does your profession do? And how can it help?"

Shadow replies, "The Foreman profession allows us to manage one additional building for the construction queue individually. This can increase as we level up. We can also lower the time and resource requirements if we actively work on the buildings."

"Okay, so I can have five buildings being built simultaneously, and two of those five will have lower resource and time requirements. How does your profession gain experience?"

"We gain experience by completing buildings or being a part of higher-level buildings. We need to be aware that as we get higher-level structures that are more complex, we will need more people to have the same effect on the buildings as a single one for a lower-level building. This also changes as we get higher in levels. Oria has no experience as he wasn't there to be a part of the construction.

"I want to test something with the following buildings. We have a lot of tokens that can increase the speed and decrease the resource cost. I am curious if these tokens can stack with your profession." I offer.

"It never hurts to try," Shadow says, shrugging his shoulders.

"Let's wait for my sibling to get back as they will have an overall idea of where we should start putting buildings. I wasn't a city planner, so I don't have the foggiest idea of what would be the best fit for our work."

"Don't you see an overview of the area when you are in the building menus?" Shadow asks.

"I do, but I also don't want to leave those who have more experience in this manner out of it. There are only 24 of us. While we are smaller, we can accommodate more. Once we are too large, getting things right will be a hassle if they aren't at the start."

"Alright, but I hope it isn't too long as we need to get things moving," Shadow says irritably.

Xelphye returns not long after. "Drake, you might as well just come outside. Everyone heard what you wanted to do, and they are here to help."

Not expecting it, I step outside. With everyone here, it makes it easier for me. "Since everyone has gathered, I don't need to call everyone for a meeting. I want to get everyone a place to stay as soon as possible. Right now, there are enough spaces for ten people who aren't undead, eight for those who are, and two for earth elementals. This number is if everyone is willing to double up on their huts. While I know this isn't ideal, it will let us get more things done that could be useful for all of us."

Rognar and Narus look at each other. "We are willing to stay in one hut if that is the case. I would like it to be known that I want my own space as soon as you can." Rognar offers for the two of them.

Vranjaya says with a note of anticipation, "I would be willing to live with him. If it will help."

Muiress quickly shoots up. "I would prefer my own space if it isn't an issue. We don't have much time, but preparing my accommodations shouldn't take too long."

There are snickers in the group as they think of him having to stay with Vranjaya. Who, for the second time since we have met, is so assertive about something.

I smiled at Muiress, "I don't think we will have the time to complete your and her accommodations before the night's end. So you might have to share for at least one day." It might take more than a day, depending on how much we can get done. What are some of the things that we should focus on first?" I ask everyone and then permit them to see the building screen for our available buildings.

Gibnic raises his hand and jumps. "I think a good idea would be to get more of the arrow towers and maybe a couple of the flame towers. We don't know how well we can hold out, considering the mages only have so much mana."

I look specifically at the arrow tower blueprint. I can see that it is mostly enclosed. But I see a ladder on the side leading to a flat top. I call out. "Can someone see if there is a way to climb the arrow tower and tell me if anything special happens when you are up there?"

Muiress volunteers and quickly runs off, hoping Vranjaya won't follow him. While he is gone, I ask again. "Any other suggestions?"

Nelaedeth steps forward, "I would like to see better walls than that flimsy fence around the entire settlement. It would also help prevent some nasties from getting in and force them to specific choke points with the entrances we leave in the wall."

"Are there any ideas for things other than defenses right off hand?" I ask.

People in the crowd shift from one foot to the other. I look to my father, Shadow, Draemish, and Vranjaya, with no other recommendations being forthcoming. "What are some things that your groups would like?"

"Other than getting more housing, I would guess getting more profession buildings to get more people working. Many people got rewards for being a part of the army, and some even got their profession tools." Shadow says.

The other groups agree, other than Draemish's. Most of her people already have housing, so they only need one more to get everyone in a building. I take a look at the profession buildings I already have built. There are still half the buildings. We need to get a small medical hut, a constructor hut, a tailoring hut, a leatherworking hut, a masonry hut, and a carpentry hut.

We continue discussing the issue for another ten minutes before Muiress returns. "There is a ladder going to the top, and when I was up there, I received a bonus for my accuracy and increased damage. It specified ranged attacks, so maybe the mages can also be onto and get those bonuses?"

"That's a good thought. It would be good to make sure that the mages aren't going to get themselves killed just because they weren't in the right spot." Draemish gives a nod of approval to Muiress.

As we conclude the talks, we agree to get the profession buildings, a couple of accommodations for those who don't have any, and a couple of the defensive buildings in preparation for the attack.