^^ the Bulette Golem ^^

— Alice —

The southern edge of the forest actually had the exit from the river that the Elven City was settled in, Blue River. The river was so deep and wide that it allowed ships to enter it at the coast, -some 400 miles further south,- and sail all the way up the river, though most of the ships didn't make it past the first hundred miles of the forest, being dragged below or attacked by the dragons and other monsters that called the forest home.

This 'go no further' point, was eventually settled and made into a city, which they seemed to think was amusing to call 'Ships' Grave'. I approved of their morbid humor.

Learning that the entire forest was only about 300 miles across was interesting, but it also raised the question of why we were so capable of maintaining ourselves and our wealth, if we were just a small piece of the surrounding nations, and why we were considered a separate nation.

"Hmm? Ah, I suppose you've never lived anywhere else, so you wouldn't know... high-class, Rare Monsters populate our forest, and with them comes high-class, rare magical herbs and ores; not to mention our central location makes us a very good place to direct international trade... most countries have taxes and tariffs on on incoming trade from other countries, but we do not, and they don't have any tariffs on our trade, so we're a proper middleman, even with how dangerous our forest is." Ganda hummed, patting the horse who had been pulling our little cart along ever since we left the Elven City.

The horse flicked an ear at her, chewing on the white grass I'd grown along the tunnels happily. (It apparently tasted very good, being packed with magic; I'd accidentally chosen a magical herb version of grass that didn't need sunlight, and converted decaying matter into nutrients and then mana, curiously enough. The process reminded me quite clearly of my own abilities. It's name was 'Graveyard Grass', which was amusing.)

"So, you're saying dragons don't appear very often, outside the forest? And Bulette's and ents and such?" I frowned.

"Yes, though they have many other types of monsters, to fill the gap. And there are other Forests, of course, some even more dangerous than ours, but those don't have any people in them, obviously." She nodded.

"Obviously..." I agreed, and looked back at the Bulette that we had been dragging behind us, as a measure of the tunnel's dimensions. "It's weird, though... shouldn't that armor be worth way more than 12 gold? He didn't seem to be trying to cheat me..."

"Well, given how common they are there, it was likely a bargain, actually, but yes, selling it anywhere else would net you close to fifty gold, if you sold it right." She grinned.

"What about a ship? If I make it into a ship, how much would it be worth then?" I asked slowly, an idea forming.

She leaned back, looking at me curiously. "Well... it would easily be worth four times that, as a ship... armored ships sell for about 200-250 gold, and the coastal nations would buy them for the top end of that spectrum, about 250-275, if you sell it in a time where they need more ships. Currently, there are no official wars going on, so you could get 250 for it, as a full ship."

I nodded, and touched the empty shell, slowly sending the Spirit of the Bulette to control its own corpse, which was mildly morbid, I was sure. I felt it attempt to settle in, but it had no way of moving, with no muscles and no tendons or ligaments, so I pulled it back out. "Alright... how about..." I sent in one of my four dragon scales, and used some roots from nearby to build a tree, inside the corpse.

It wasn't a very big tree, but it's roots spread around, wrapping each bone and joint and connecting to the armor, hopefully allowing it the ability to move properly. The actual trunk of the tree was based in the skull, where the brain used to be, and spread its roots down into the hollow spine to create a pseudo nervous system, leaving the large Chest cavity empty.

Spotting an opportunity, I formed a sitting area that could easily and comfortably sit about twenty people, around tables and a line of interior heating crystals, which would both warm and light the cabin, with no stale air or smoke. In the back, an area for cargo sat, carefully held in place by netting.

I was too tired to continue, so I just sent the Bulette back in, and then cursed my stupidity; the Scale was already in there, and severely weakened by its separation from the main group of scales. As I predicted, the Bulette pounced on the opportunity, and ate the other spirit without hesitation. Immediately, the scales attempted to defend themselves, and I groaned in despair as they were eaten, one after the other, and only one of them survived, the one that was currently infused into my skin.

Ganda chuckled softly. "Well, I'd say that I hope that worked out the way you were planning, but from your face, something went wrong? What did you do?"

The Bulette, -now empowered with the same ability to control plants and looking suspiciously dragon-like,- hardened my skin to give me even greater defensive capabilities, and then simply stood up.  Ganda shrieked and reflexively shot a bolt of lightning at it, which glanced uselessly off its armor, but the second one faded in her hand when she saw how calm I was.

"The Bulette Spirit ate my dragon scales, is what happened... but I made a Wood Golem, so, win?" I chuckled a bit, and then laid down in the cart. "Once I wake up, I'll finish up the cargo hold and dining area and the private rooms." I waved a hand dismissively, and the golem laid back down, keeping watch as I went to sleep.

—

Progress continued at a smooth pace, around 25 miles a day, so we arrived near the end of the river, and near the City, as well. This was the smallest of the cities, but in my opinion, the most important. After all, if I could gain access to a Port that accessed the Ocean, then the entire world suddenly opened up to me.

As far as ports went, Ships' Grave wasn't that impressive, sporting only two docks big enough for three small frigates each, and they were currently empty, due to the fall weather making the already dangerous waters too perilous to risk for most sailors.

Most of the buildings were in some form of disrepair, due to the reportedly constant monster attacks and the commonly attempted pirate takeovers, but the people looked generally pleasant, waving and greeting Ganda in a friendly manner. She was apparently very well known here, so much so that the Golem that trotted begins our cart wasn't even questioned, beyond a few puzzled looks.

Still, after making us wait for about four hours in some form of power play, the Council of this city was still less agreeable, I found, and clearly shifty; their attitudes towards taxes and the way in which I would be aware of who was using my roads was elusive and cunning, and I wasn't having it.

After one too many innuendos and 'nudge nudge' 'wink wink' moments and 'suuuuure we'll charge the exact amount of taxes you prescribe! *Wink*', I was fuming mad, though it wasn't visible on my face at all.

My voice, however, spoke so many different layers of messages that they blended together and formed what I hoped they understood to be my 'Now listen here you little shits!!!' Voice.

"Let me be clear, Council of Ships' Grave... you will obey the terms of this contract, which you have agreed to and signed, marking a legally binding document, or you will not profit from this endeavor. As merchants, you understand the concept, I'm sure, that if everyone follows the rules, everyone gets paid, but if someone decides to get greedy, no one gets paid. If you fail to follow the clearly set points of this contract, not only will you lose the use of my road, you will also lose the various defense systems I am happy to share with a proper client, and, even more damning, you will lose patronage of Ganda, who will no longer Ward your river to allow ships to reach your port; your economy will shrivel and die, and you will all either starve, Die, or leave, abandoning this little colony and running off to return to the coast, poor men and women every one of you. I hope my meaning and intention is perfectly succinct and bared, but I will simplify it and deign to explain myself. I am not negotiating with you. I am not giving you free reign. I am giving you an opportunity. The smallest, most minute betrayal of this or any future contract with me or mine will be the end of your little city!!!" I stood to my full height, (around 4 feet tall, which was quite big for an 8-year-Old,) and maintained my perfect posture; my entire frame, face, and even the air around me, all standing absolutely still, like a statue made of steel: immovable, unbreakable, and unfazed by the petty goings-on of those beneath it.

They seemed taken aback, but I could tell that most of them still weren't taking me seriously, and instead found me adorable. They thought, it seemed, that I would not do anything to them when they laughed in my face. The massive Bulette Golem I had rip the imposing wooden door and much of the accompanying wall quickly changed their minds, as it stood over me and roared at them.

Once quiet had returned, I glared at the frazzled and shaking people. "Have I made myself clear?!?" I asked sternly, and had the Bulette snarl.

The leader of the council cleared his throat, and nodded slowly, forcing a semblance of calm. "Y-yes, you have made various points of your argument quite succinct and clear, and we the Council have no intentions of insulting your Ladyship any further, and perchance ask that you accept our most sincere apologies for any surely unintentional rudeness you may have suffered at our hands?"

I gazed at him coldly, and smirked inwardly at his reflexive shiver. "Remember Your Place in the Future, Council. I am, at my Lowest Point, surely your Equal. I am Lady Alice Taurus, and I bid you Good Day." I turned on my heel and began walking out as the Bulette got out of my way, and Ganda rushed up, limping and huffing for breath.

"Oh thank the gods are you alright? Did they try to kill you?!?" She wheezed, checking me for injuries.

"On the contrary, they simply disrespected me and refused to take me seriously. Their intention to abuse my roads was clear, and I made an impression that was sure to last for at least a few years." I smirked, and hopped up into the cart. "Well? We should go, now. It's best to leave while a threat is hot, or they'll remember that they have Mages, too."

She chuckled and climbed into the cart slowly. "You're not wrong... alright, let's get you back to your parents, hmm? You'll have some stories to tell, I'm sure! Have all the other kids jealous!!!"

"Gloating and bragging are the tools of inferior minds, used to inflate themselves in the eyes of those they wish to feel superior to. Such actions are beneath me in every sense of the word. I am unfortunately plagued by a difficult case of arrogance, but I hope it is not so potent as to the point of a superiority complex." I shook my head and leaned back to get some sleep.

"Well... at least you're aware that you're an arrogant little brat..." she chuckled incredulously, and flicked the reigns, sending the horse clomping along the loosely-cobbled roads of the small port city.

When we reached the entrance of the tunnel, I stepped out, and thought of another idea I'd had. "I wonder... if I can make an express-tube?" I muttered, and began creating a long pill-like object, big enough for four people to comfortably sit inside and a cab on either side for the controller as well as several places for personal cargo, just like a high-class carriage. Once it was finished and a door was created, the outside was designed to be very slick, allowing it to slide along even rough terrain with no issues.

Lastly, I slowly placed it into the wall at the bottom of the slope, with a step to get out or in. A secondary tunnel, only big enough to fit it, was build around it, and filled with tensile vines that would squeeze it and therefore send it along the tunnel at amazing speeds, with very little effort on the part of the person controlling it. The vines reacted to raw mana, as one of their main food sources, and would contract as soon as they sensed it, meaning the 'driver' would simply let out a little bit of mana on the back end of the cab, opposite of the direction they were going, and then zip off in that direction as fast as the vines could move them, which was about 110 miles per hour; effectively, the trip would take half an hour to either of the other cities, instead of several days.

Of course, at that speed the interior would be under intense pressure, but with a gradual increase of speed as well as the impact-absorbing walls the effects would be barely noticeable.

Underneath the tunnel, I created a much bigger express, purely for cargo; it was not very thick, only about ten feet tall at the middle ridge, but it was thirty feet long, and the walls were cushioned for impact absorption just like the other one. With this, it would only take about six hours total to send a package from my city, Grand Pillar, all the way to Ship's Grave.

—

As we passed to the other side of the Blue River and entered the final tunnel again, after a week of placing wards and lighting and express tunnels, I began thinking about the length of time it would take to get through the fifty-mile tunnels with a one-horse cart and two passengers, while also building the express tunnels, and helping Ganda with the Wards; I'd figured out how they worked almost a week and a half ago, so I'd offered to help build the wards on the way back, to double our speed and efficiency, and as a result, we'd finished the second tunnel in record time.

Taking into account the amount of times we had to stop and do wards, it was difficult to determine an exact time-frame from that, but with the horse's speed, I could create a mathematical timeframe, which was almost as good. A horse and light cart, with passengers, could travel at about 15 miles an hour for three hours with light rests, meaning it could cover 40 miles in three hours. Therefore, a 50 mile trip would take only five or six hours, with the appropriate rests and tending to the horse. A heavy cart with two oxen could only reach about 7 miles an hour, meaning it would take a full 12 hour day to go from one end to the other.

Using that, I needed to figure out how valuable peoples's time was; if three meals was one silver coin, then that was equal to three hours or so of their time. Considering passing above ground would take around four days, because they couldn't drive or ride any horses in the woods, I was essentially saving them three days of travel. Three days of eight times three, so twenty-four silver pieces? The contract I wrote sets the original price at ten silver pieces, but I can change it at my discretion.

"Ganda, how much do you think I should charge for the Roads? Ten silver doesn't seem like enough, when I'm saving people up to three days of travel and protecting them from monsters and even feeding their horses and oxen..." I hummed, carving another symbol for the ward.

"True, but ten silver is a lot of money for most merchants. You don't want to bankrupt or scare them away, yeah? Besides, when word gets out about these roads, you'll get your customers. The people who live here are the most stubborn merchants who've ever lived, and the opportunity to earn even more money will be far too hard to resist." She shrugged, and finished her side, the crystals, just as I finished the ward.

"I suppose... and the tariff of twenty silver per ton of cargo and wares will build up very quick!" I grinned and began the math as we boarded the cart and moved forward another sixty feet, starting the next one.

"Considering they usually couldn't go to more than one city, their profits are potentially tripling, so even at 100 silver it would be a good deal, but with just 30 per tunnel per way, that's not too bad." She added, nodding in agreement.

"And the Express for cargo and people I'm building right now, that'll only take thirty minutes to traverse the full fifty miles, so... how much for that one, do you think?" I asked, and then froze, looking behind her at the wall of the tunnel, where a massive hole was torn through the side and roof of the tunnel.

"Express? If you could do this trip in half an hour, why didn't we-... please tell me nothing's behind me?" She sighed, gripping her staff tightly.

"No, it's a hole in the tunnel... and a very big one, bigger than the Bulette... it's only been one day, how did that already happen?" I frowned, and walked over carefully. "The ward is unbroken, so whatever it was didn't manage to go anywhere, but... being capable of ripping through these roots and surviving... you saw what they did to the Bulette..."

"Yes, I did, and that's a sign we need to leave." She frowned, and hopped onto the cart.

"What, and leave the beast to kill our first customers? Once it's an established path, we can leave the hunting to mercenaries, but right now we need to prove that it's safer than the surface, so you're welcome to stay out here, but I'm going to figure out what messed with my plants." I shook my head and stepped into the cavernous tear, running a hand over the plants.

I frowned, realizing they were burnt, and looked up at the Voice that sounded deep inside the cave. "So you're the one who burrowed through my territory... so good of you to come and make reparations..."