Chapter 129: Taking Shape
Illyas smiled upon hearing this.
Platinum Dragon God is great. It is very inclusive, has no strict religious organization, and does not advocate deity worship, emphasizing enlightened justice and protective responsibility.
It even doesn’t care about your faith. As long as your actions gain Its approval, you might receive aid.
This is the best result. Otherwise, few people would be willing to keep a Paladin around.
“Are you going back tonight?” She looked at the goods piled into a small mountain and said.
“Not going back. I have friends to entertain.” Anse waved his hand and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Illyas didn’t ask about his oath. Otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome. A Paladin with Oath of the Giant Noble who believes in Platinum Dragon God sounds so strange no matter how you look at it.
Illyas looked slightly disappointed: “Then be careful yourself. Recently, there are many outsiders in Dulag. There might even be Mind Flayers and Mind Flayers hiding in the dark.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not staying outside.” Anse nodded slightly.
“I’m off.” Illyas felt she had said too much today and flew away on the flying carpet, disappearing into the night.
Anse didn’t think much about it. He scanned around, and the people nearby had all dispersed. There were still guards on duty at the distant street corner, blocking curious passersby.
He immediately took out the Scepter of Sanctuary and quickly applied magic marks to the goods, teleporting them batch by batch to Hollewen.
Finally, he teleported Brat and the other two, along with Greyhawk.
After confirming nothing was missed, he mounted his horse and left. After shaking off all gazes, he turned into some unknown alley and teleported away.
‘I feel like someone is watching me.’ Anse touched his chin, knowing his presence had already attracted a lot of attention.
This was almost inevitable. A Sorcerer who can still cast spells normally is very eye-catching. If this Sorcerer is also a Paladin, to some groups, it’s practically synonymous with trouble.
It’s universally acknowledged that Paladins are the nemesis of evil. Mind Flayers are so powerful that many professionals are tormented to near death when encountering them, but Paladins can handle them with ease.
Lay on Hands can quickly clear intelligence damage caused by Mind Flayers. Protection from Evil and Good allows the recipient to resist most of the Mind Flayers’ mental control and possession attacks by Mind Flayers.
The strongest are Aura of Protection and Aura of Courage, which protect against various spells and their negative effects. The higher the Paladin’s Charisma attribute, the stronger the saving throw effect.
If Anse learns Aura of Protection, all types of saving throws start at +5, which is extremely overpowered.
It can allow an average-intelligence Warrior to withstand a Mind Flayer’s Mind Blast without being stunned on the spot and losing the ability to resist.
But Aura of Protection has a base radius of only three meters and must be up close to take effect, so Paladins are also jokingly called “aura pendants” and “cuddle knights.”
‘No one studies the weak. The stronger I get, the more attention I’ll attract.’ He wasn’t overly worried. Doing well in the present is more important.
In the plaza, Brat and the others met up with Salian and his group. They hugged and expressed emotions, somewhat excited.
They hadn’t known each other long, but having gone through life-and-death experiences and combat together, they trusted each other deeply and had genuine feelings.
“Huh, why did you buy so many live things?” Kalenno curiously looked at those cages and water bags.
Anse stepped forward and smiled, “You didn’t notice, right? There are no fish and shrimp or animals here. It’s too monotonous.”
“No wonder I always felt something was off.” Salian suddenly realized, “Then don’t idle around, everyone. Hurry and tidy up together. Chef, go prepare dinner.”
The Halfling chef from the original elf ship was named Welby. He always carried various cutlery with him. He held a knife in each hand and gestured alternately: “Where are the kitchen and dining room?”
“Probably… on the second floor.” Anse said vaguely.
“Probably?” Welby looked puzzled. Whose place is this exactly?
“Ahem~” Anse pointed at the long table procured by Brat and said, “Now we have a dining table.”
“Uh… then help me carry it up first.” Welby had a bad premonition.
Everyone hurried to get to work. Brat, as the chief steward, was in charge of allocating the placement of supplies.
Furniture was prioritized for placement in the first-floor hall and second-floor dining room. Cutlery, stove, bread, salt, seasoning were put in the dining room. Grain, rice, cheese, dried fruit, wine, tools, seeds, charcoal, and the like were stored in the underground storage room. Daily necessities were taken to the fourth-floor living area. The quantity wasn’t enough; there probably wouldn’t be enough to go around.
Dozens of water bags containing fish and shrimp, turtles, and frogs were taken to the riverbank and released into the water.
There were also over a hundred small animals, mainly birds, rabbits, field mice, and weasels, plus earthworms, bees, and a few snakes, all dispersed and released.
It could only be said that Brat’s comprehension was quite excellent. Anse had only explained roughly, and he understood the underlying logic, achieving big results with small money.
The island doesn’t lack plants and insects, but the varieties are single. They need continued introduction to enrich the ecosystem.
The number of small animals is still far short, and the proportions are off. The basic land ecosystem should go from “herbivore chain” to “detritivore cycle.” In the early stage, too many carnivorous animals and mid-to-high-level predators cannot be introduced.
During this, Brat returned the bag of holding to Anse. Only a few dozen gold coins remained inside.
Anse had seen the list. The value of these supplies exceeded two thousand gold coins. No need to ask; Brat had put in his and Finn’s own savings.
No debt, but no money left either. The few dozen gold coins were the last bit of dignity for the lord.
However, he wouldn’t have to worry about food for a short time. There were over two hundred bags of grain at one hundred pounds per bag, mainly wheat and rice, plus potatoes, vegetables, and the like.
No wonder those refugees were envious. The purchasing power of two thousand gold coins was extremely exaggerated. Brat had run to many stores to gather it all.
If not for the skyrocketing prices, he could have bought even more.
Salian and the others saw so many supplies, and the smiles on their faces never stopped. With food and drink here, and safety, the fatigue and worries of the past days were swept away.
Chef Welby, with several helpers, soon prepared enough food for over fifty people: Halfling goulash, bread, onion soup.
Luckily Brat bought two large iron pots; otherwise, cooking would have been quite troublesome.
The second-floor dining room was very large, with a large dining room and multiple small halls. Kitchen and storage room were fully equipped.
Unfortunately, there was little furniture. Only the kitchen items were relatively complete. The vast dining room had only one long table and a dozen chairs.
The others could only sit on the floor. Cutlery wasn’t enough either—you use a bowl, I use a plate. Fortunately, no one minded these things; everyone looked relaxed.
At the long table, Anse sat at the head. Brat and Salian sat on either side, eating and discussing recent events.
“This place of yours is really something else.” Salian sighed once again.
“Luck.” Anse didn’t say much. Looking back now, the Reader was a bit too generous.
“Only you could do it. If it were someone else, they wouldn’t even pass the Treant stage.” Salian shook his head slightly. Luck is part of strength, and Faerun people believe that.
“For now, it can only serve as a temporary residence. Developing it won’t be easy.” Anse sighed. Too expensive.
“Build it up well; the potential is huge.” Salian didn’t know Anse’s predicament and just kept suggesting.
“What are your plans?” Anse changed the topic.
“We can’t run anymore. As long as you don’t chase us away, we’ll rest here for a while, help you with land reclamation in passing, and eating a meal is enough.” Salian was full of smiles, half serious, half joking.
“I couldn’t ask for more.” Anse raised his wine glass and clinked it with his, then drank it all down. “I’ve handed Hollewen over to Brat, but he’s short-handed and can’t get many things done. It’s best if you stay. Long-term is no problem either.”
However, I can’t pay salaries in the short term. Once everything is on track, we’ll set salaries based on positions then.
“Mm.” Salian nodded in agreement. “To develop, the organizational system must be sound. A makeshift team won’t go far.”
“First aim for self-sufficiency: reclaim land, farm, raise fish, and herd.”
The island is very suitable for farming, with suitable temperature and ample sunlight.
Besides that, the profitable method Anse could think of was trade: use spatial characteristics to stockpile goods, travel as merchants, buy low and sell high.
But everywhere is dangerous now. Running around recklessly is likely to cause trouble.
