Naoki’s Estate: Sitting Room

As the sun begins to dip below the horizon, bathing Port Argenium in hues of ever-deepening orange, Lady Naoki returns home. Pulling open the door, she enters this, her latest residence, and deposits her satchel in the entryway. The workday is over, and much was accomplished today.

Making for the sitting room, she casts a bolt of flame from her finger into the fireplace and unceremoniously flops into one of the armchairs sitting before it. Closing her eyes for the first time today, she sighs. Soon, it will be time to begin the night work. After the chores, she considers what her next priority might be. Most of the essentials are squared away, so perhaps it’s time she started on some fortifications. A Citadel would be nice to have. If only she had the benefit of the magical construction employed back when they were constructing The Free City. This will have to be done by hand.

However, as Naoki is considering how she might go about such a construction, she notices that the fire isn’t crackling. Opening one eye, she sees that her flame didn’t catch. She mutters a curse, but doesn’t bother getting up.

“Oh, Skarlet.” Her entrance prompts Naoki to open her eyes and offer a small wave.

“It’s been…” Trailing off, Naoki considers. “A little while, yes. There’s a bit of fresher stock, but not a lot.”

“Problems?” Naoki shrugs halfheartedly. “Nothing especially threatening. There are still creatures in the woods, and we still can hardly use magic, but the settlement is coming along quite well. All the workers are doing their jobs, such that we’re not entirely dependent on hunting for food anymore. The situation of things isn’t quite comfortable, and there are all sorts of little problems that arise on a daily basis, but things are stable enough.”

“But the lack of talent,” Naoki mentions, raising one finger. “I remember when we landed, laying out that plan to have different guilds and things. I wanted to find more reliable folks to delegate some responsibility to. But instead, the few I did have are becoming less available. Alden fucked off to the… east, I think? Haven’t seen him for a while. And others, I just haven’t seen. Lost, maybe. Don’t know. So it’s really just me. I am the entire chain of command, for more or less all things that need managing.”

“It’s tiring,” she adds, raising her hands slightly to indicate her position slumped in the chair. “I would appreciate it if those Mists would drop me some competent lieutenants!” Raising her voice, it seems as though Naoki is attempting to give the Mists a little hint, some prompting. It’s unclear how much of it is a joke.

Naoki’s eyebrows bump at Skarlet’s offer. “Are you? Hm.”

Skarlet has a substantial set of skills, and there are a good many things that need doing. What would make the best intersection? Naoki hums in consideration.

“I find myself without most of the functionaries I would like to have,” Naoki eventually says. “The food side of things is mostly taken care of, admittedly, and I’ve found a promising candidate for The Guard, but I’m lacking specialized talent in essentially every other area. If you were inclined, you could start in on establishing Builder’s, Crafter’s, or Adventurer’s Guilds.”

“Though, I’m not sure how much you would enjoy any of that,” Naoki admits. She’s never known Skarlet to be one for managing large public organizations.

“You could also strike out across the lands and make contact with some of these other settlements,” Naoki offers. “The handful of Dawnriders we have left have, in their mapping efforts, spotted a few settlements.”

“Or, perhaps you’d prefer to oversee the construction of our defenses,” is another option. “We have enough building material to spare now that we can start on such efforts. It would be a load off my plate, if you’d like.” Naoki shrugs. “Or, even if there’s something else you would rather be doing I haven’t thought of that may be of help.”

“Perhaps,” Naoki replies. She’s skeptical of how much talent might be found out there in the wilderness, but it’s worth a shot. “I’ll write up a message that you can distribute.

“Well, I would begin with some fortifications here. Walls, lookout towers, and a few fortified positions. People will feel much safer behind a wall, and it’ll be useful in keeping out beasts. Beyond that, I think it may be prudent to set up a presence on the peninsula north of here. A fortress on the tip would be difficult to assail by land, and be in a good position to keep watch over the harbor.”

“That’s a little ways away though,” Naoki admits. “You could do the surveying now, but it will be at least a few weeks until I can gather materials enough to begin construction.”