The tired party stepped out of the portal in front of the eastern bridge now just returning from sending the Islet tribesmen a clear message to stay away from their side of the Island. Rick took control of the prisoner they escorted back from the village and tied him up inside the kiln house. After securing the Skuld Rick assembled all his people to give them a breakdown of let all that had happened during and after the fight. Still unsure on how to handle the prisoner Rick spoke with the surveyors first about it.

  "Since you men were nearly killed because of his actions I will let you decide what to do with him. Talk about amongst yourselves and let me know how you want to handle it." Rick dismissed them to make their decision along with the fighters who were in need of a break from the exhausting fight.

  Rick stood before the carpenters and instructed them to begin construction of a horse stable with the help of the sawyers just north of the workshop. He went before Handil then and had him continue with the diggers, stone masons, cutters, and laborers on the wall the wall around the Island. The fisherman was sent off to fish the river so they could keep stocking the fridge with fish for the cooks.

  Next he instructed the Shepard, Animal Trainer, and Poultry Farmer to continue along as usual with caring for the animals. Rick sent the craftsman and tailors off to continue raising their skills by making random usable items that they had previously started. The furniture workers were told to keep making beds, but also to make one other random piece of furniture after they finished each bed inside the workshop.

  When everyone had their new directions and went off to work Rick crossed the western bridge and climbed the small hill with the two graves. He stopped just short of the graves and brought out a couple swords that had been collected from the battlefield stained with their previous owner's blood still. He neatly arranged one on top of each grave and then spoke.

  "I wanted to let you two know that we found the people responsible for your deaths and made them pay a heavy price in blood for it. We also captured the man who ordered the attack and your fellow surveyors are deciding his fate at this moment. I just wanted you both to know that you're not forgotten and have been avenged." Rick saluted each grave turned on his heel and continued back toward the island.

  As he was crossing the bridge he took note of the flashing icon that had been flashing since before his return home. He stopped in the center of the bridge and opened his notices for review.

  Display Title Benevolent Leader!

  Show Status!

  There it is, I am now a level 13! I can finally assign a class! Since I want a class with some offensive magic I will split these 30 unused points between INT and WIS.

  My mana went up to 810 mp now and my wisdom is 44 making my spells more effective.

  Show Available Classes Menu!

  Hmm, I can eliminate Forgemaster, Knight, and Archer.

  Show Battle Elementalist Class!

  Spoiler: Show Battle Elementalist Class!

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Show Druidic Warrior Class!

  Spoiler: Show Druidic Warrior Class!

  It is a tough decision between the two, but I think I want to go with Druidic Mage for now. It has a couple decent offensive spells along with some earth and stone building/transmuting spells. If I can also learn to use that produce flame spell as a welding torch it would allow me to improve our technology.

  Equip Druidic Mage Class!

  "Haha, who has class this guy does!" Rick yelled out laughing while standing on the western bridge with the river flowing underneath him. He then meticulously went through his combat units status menus and distributed points to where he thought would help them the most. After Rick finished reviewing all of their progress he went off to find the surveyors and inquire on the fate of the captured Skuld.

  As passed the tower in search of the surveyors he noticed the Tigers in their usual spot just south of the tower sprawled out in the grass. He walked up to them and used his new spell [Speak with Animals].

  Rick walked into the group of Tigers and began petting and scratching them.

  "Hey, how are you guys doing?" He asked them as a serious of snarls and growls came out of his mouth.

  "Master we can understand you better now," Tiger1 responded

  "Ah Master we are good, our servant feeds us well and we have our freedom" Tiger2 answered.

  Servant? They must see the Animal Trainer as a subordinate since he brings them food and grooms them. That is too funny, well I guess he could be there servant isn't he the equivalent of a butler?

  "Master I smell that bastard from our last home who use to hit us with sticks and keep us locked up all the time," Tiger3 said.

  "Yes I smelled him to when the master came back across the bridge, I would love to sink my claws into him" Tiger4 joined in with a vicious look.

  "Haha yes, that is a good idea master lets us pay that bastard back for the way he treated us" Tiger3 responded with a loud roar.

  "So that guy wasn't just an ass to his own people, but he abused you all as well?" Rick asked the riled up Tigers.

  "Yes, he is not good like you master who made us soft things to sleep on in the stone den with him and has our servant serve of delicious meats." Tiger4 replied as he nuzzled against Rick.

  Soft things in the stone den? Ah, He must mean the mattresses I had made for them that are in the tower in my bedroom. They must see the tower as a large stone den"

  "You are all strong and amazing Tigers, you deserve to be treated well." Rick explained to the group as he scratched behind one of their ears.

  "That man you want to hunt killed some of my humans and I told them they could have him, but I will go tell them now that you all want to hunt him." Rick explained as he spent a few more minutes talking with them and giving them all equal attention before heading off to find the surveyors.

  Rick found the surveyors gathered around a table wearing somber expressions in the barracks. Rick sat down and explained the situation with the Tigers who wanted to lay into him Skuld for always abusing them. The surveyors all looked a little relieved and explained that they were really unsure of how to handle the task of dealing with Skuld. Rick noticed their relief and told them that he would take care of it. Rick instructed them to go back out and continue marking out the main streets and told them he would send out some guards to protect them shortly.

  Rick spoke into the Party chat and directed the combat troops to take shifts guarding the surveyors working out to the east.

  It looks like in the future I will need to be the judge like the kings of the past were. It may be a little too much for these workers to have to decide the fate of someone else. I need to remember they all think on a feudal scale. The workers are programmed to have their Lord decide most things for them. They also have never taken a life before and are still innocent in that way. This would make it difficult to say someone else should die, it would leave you feeling like his or her blood was on your hands.

  Rick left the barracks and walked over to the eastern footbridge and called out to the Tigers with his [Speak with Animals] still active. The pack of Tigers all came trotting across the footbridge to stop in front of him. Rick told the Tigers to follow him and he led them over to the kiln house. He opened the door and entered to bring out the prisoner. He cut his gag and binds free with a knife and spoke to the tribesman.

  "Your village is that way I will give you a head start and see how long you can outrun us." Rick explained as he gestured to the pack of Tigers who have circled around while wearing a callous grin.

  "My new friends here remember quite well how badly you abused them since they were cubs and now are more than happy to return the favor. Rick irritably disclosed the Tigers feelings toward him.

  Skuld responded in a dry rasp voice. "They are all just stupid animals that are below us. We are the rulers of thi.." He never got to finish because Rick reached back and smacked him solidly in the side of the head.

  "Do you really think you should be standing here talking about your defeated tribe's past glories when you have a group of huge pissed off Tigers are ready to rip your skin off your bones any moment?" He asked with a scowl leaning inches from Skuld's face.

  That was all Skuld needed to hear, he bolted off to the east with his legs pumping hard. Rick cast his new [Shapeshift] spell turning into one of the Tigers he had killed earlier on the hill and explained what was going on to the shocked Tigers.

  "Master is amazing he can talk like a Tiger and even turn into one now" One of them commented.

  "I want to join in on the hunt too, but don't worry I will let you guys have all the fun I just want to make sure he doesn't get away." Rick told his Tigers.

  They all began laughing and assured him that he wasn't going anywhere. When Skuld had made it out about a quarter mile into the distance Rick spoke up. "Alright, you son of a bitch, it's time to see what it feels like to run for your life with death nipping at your heels. LET'S GO BOYS GET HIM!" Rick yelled out and set off at a sprint with the pack of excited Tigers.

  Skuld gave it a great effort to escape, but in the end, there is no way to outrun a Tiger on an open prairie. When they had finished with him his remains covered a good area from being torn apart. It wasn't a good way to go, but for someone like him, it was fitting that he suffered like he made so many others throughout his life.

  Rick took the Tigers back and fed them all large slabs of meat for a job well done and walked into the tower. He found Angelica and told her he was going to mine for a little while and asked her to use the [Party Chat] to contact him if anything came up. He had never disbanded the party when they got back so that they could all still talk with one another if need be.

  Opening a portal to the tunnel Rick mined the gold from, he stepped through and used his Nightsight to see in the dark. Rick took out his pick and began mining the gold vein for a couple minutes until he came to the end of it.

  Well, that is it for the free gold I will need to find other ways to start making money soon to keep my settlement running.

  Rick put his pick away and continued to explore deeper into the mountain now curious of what else he may find. As he trekked down deeper he switched between the different scan skills he developed, in hopes of locating more metals or gems. Rick continued along like this for just over an hour when he began to notice an orange light in the distance. After a few minutes of jogging toward the light, he came to an enormous cavern filled with pools of bubbling lava.

  Staying away from the lava he skirted his way around the outside of the cavern exploring even further for new resources. Rick soon noticed on the far wall ahead of him that something was reflecting the light from the lava occasionally sending out flashes. When he reached it he thought he found a tiny pocket of more clear crystal. With a single swing, he mined out a pocket of diamonds about the size of a two-fists.

  If I practice my gem cutting I could use some of my gold and this small lump of diamonds to make jewelry to sell in town. I'm sure there isn't a huge market for expensive jewelry, but It will give me some money at least. Rick then continued to circle the cavern until he came back full circle at the mouth of the tunnel.

  That seems to be the end of the tunnels resources besides the clear crystals back near where I found the gold. I still don't have any use for them besides the lights I made and have a large amount of them in my inventory still. Rick used his portal again to open a door along the river near the northern mountains back on the island. He had passed by here when he first arrived when he used the raft he made to float south in search of a place to build his city.

  While walking east away from the river he hugged the foot of the steep mountain while once again using his scan skills. He didn't have to walk far to get a faint read on a few different metals in the mountain to his left. Taking out his pick he started to carve out a mineshaft. As his tunnel grew he collected a good amount of silver and also had found a small amount of Orichalcum that may make another six ingots. Still using his scans while mining he soon changed directions to find a large vein of Mithril. He mined quite a large amount before opening a portal back to the tower. Descending the wooden staircase down into the cellar, Rick made a large wooden storage tub that he placed under the staircase and filled with Mithril ore. He told the Armorer to go ahead and use it for any good ideas he wanted to try out.

  Rick then turned to fill up a good amount of one of his smelting pots with the Mithril ore and used his five foot long stone casts that he used for steel to make up a number of Mithril Ingots. He stacked the new Mithril Ingots in the corner with the random ingot pile.

  That wooden tub I made earlier has me thinking that these guys don't have any way to bathe beside the river like they have been using and that water is still cold even at this time of year. I will need to have a bathhouse made and use runes to control the temperature. It will also need a way to drain and refill it so that it can be properly cleaned every day with all the people who will use it. Just one more thing that needs to be added to the huge list of things needed to be done. I might need to get more units to speed things up around here.

  Rick climbed the tower stairs to his bedroom and unequipped his gear and laid down and logged off. He then completed his Video from the attack on his men, the construction, and the defense of the small outpost. He also included the capture of Skuld and the Tiger hunt up to where the first Tiger who had reached him pulled him down. The video faded to him at the graves laying out the swords and the words he spoke. The video then faded out and ended. He posted the video under his VIP account on the forums with a small description of how the events first unfolded.

  Rick then caught up on some school work he had put off all week and made a few calls. Tonya decided to come over and visit him and spend the night so he was occupied with other things that kept him away from the game for a few hours. When they finished fooling around they stayed in bed and slept for awhile. Rick had set his alarm and drifted off thinking about the recent events in the game and school soon starting while he held Tonya and drifted off to sleep.