“I don’t know how to run a business,” Ruwen said.
“Then you should keep it simple. Three entities want to maximize their profit: Fractal, New Eiru, and adventurers.”
“That sounds difficult.”
Blapy nodded. “And they each want different things. Fractal wants new items, and for adventures to spend their Mana and, hopefully, die inside the dungeon. The city wants tax revenue without additional infrastructure costs, and adventures desire loot and experience.”
Ruwen had learned in the Spirit Realm that Mana contained a perfect balance of all twelve essences, and when adventurers used their Mana, Fractal absorbed it. If the adventurer died, it resulted in an immense amount of power and resources for Fractal.
“How does the city get its share?” Ruwen asked.
“It benefits the most from all the shops that invariably emerge around a dungeon. You saw the small city around the Black Pyramid.”
When Ruwen thought of the destroyed city around the Black Pyramid, the words that came to mind were vast, gigantic, or enormous, not small. He nodded.
Blapy continued. “Your City Council will tax all those businesses. But you should tax the adventurers as well.”
“Why? They're just here for the dungeon.”
“Your locals won’t cause much trouble, but outsiders will drink and fight and cause problems. You’ll need extra Enforcers to patrol the streets and some sort of holding cell to keep them in until a Judge can decide their fate. All those things cost your city wages and infrastructure costs.”
Ruwen had hoped this would all be simpler.
Rami? Ruwen asked. Do you have any books that describe a system like your mom is talking about?
The tiny Bookwyrm behind Ruwen’s right ear vibrated. Over sixty thousand.
Ruwen rubbed his forehead. Is there any kind of basic system in there? I want to minimize the complexity.
There’s no consensus, but a common model is for the adventurer to buy a token from the city for the level they want to start on. The higher the level, the more expensive the token.
Thanks, Rami.
Ruwen looked down at Blapy. “Rami says we could make people buy tokens. Would Fractal be able to understand what they mean and associate them with a level?”
Blapy smiled. “Such a smart girl. You don’t deserve her.”
Ruwen reached up and gently touched his right ear. “I know.”
Rami hugged Ruwen, the feeling like a warm blanket wrapping his head and chest.
“Fractal can understand tokens,” Blapy said. “I’ll have Fluffy work with your city’s quartermaster once you get organized.”
“Fluffy’s here?”
“Yes, and he grumbles about it constantly. As if the pyramid will fall apart without him there.”
Ruwen smiled. He’d spent hours with the Black Pyramid’s quartermaster as Ruwen had cleaned an armor set that belonged to the Black Pyramid’s deceased Ink Lord. Ruwen now had the questline to become the new Ink Lord, but he was only an Ink Warden at the moment.
Blapy stopped, and Ruwen looked around. To the west, the mountains were close, blotting out the stars. The pine forest continued north, rising and falling with the foothills that pushed up against the mountains. The city of New Eiru lay to the south, the tall walls visible in the distance. A vast lake sat to the east, surrounded by more forested foothills.
“We’re a long way from the city,” Ruwen said.
“It seems that way now, but you’ll be surprised how fast it spreads. Plus, because of the mountains and lake, you can only easily expand north and south. The city will engulf this area in no time.”
That was hard for Ruwen to imagine, but he didn’t argue. “What do we do now?”
“This portal and Fractal both reside in Uru’s Blessing, so that simplifies things. But, you need to plan for the future. Eventually, Fractal will attract adventurers from all over the continent. Many will come through this portal. To make Fractal really desirable, I would recommend two things to you as the ultimate decision-maker for New Eiru. And to make Fractal happy, I would recommend two things to you as the Dungeon Master.”
Ruwen frowned, worried about Fractal’s well being.
Blapy continued. “Most major cities set aside small areas for the other deities to construct temples. This allows foreigners to synch to their deity while far from home. Obviously, this is even more important if you’re about to go somewhere dangerous, like a dungeon. It would increase Fractal’s value considerably if you allowed these foreign temples.”
“Wouldn’t that also make it easier for spies?”
“Yes, but also easier for diplomatic relations and trade. You won’t always be at war. There’s no consensus on this, and your City Council might fight you on it. Certainly, it will have to wait until after the current invasion.”
Ruwen winced, as Blapy reminded him of the other task Uru had given him: defending the southern border.
Blapy pointed her stuffed centipede at Ruwen. “The second item for you and your City Council to decide is how much area to give the portal. I recommend an area much larger than the portal needs.”
“How much space is required?” Ruwen asked.
Blapy shrugged. “A ten-foot circle.”
“Then why do you want so much more?”
“Now I come to the Dungeon Master part. First, the easy one. I recommend you allow a mechanism for adventurers to determine the quality of the loot they receive. Before they enter the portal, each adventurer would offer an item. If the item is of ‘common’ quality, then their loot quality is penalized, ‘uncommon’ has no effect, and starting at ‘fine’ the loot quality increases. This will quickly allow Fractal to gain high-quality items.”
Ruwen nodded. “That’s a good idea. We’ll do that for sure.”
“Now to the second item, space. When you found Hamma at the wedding reception, you glimpsed what life is like in the Black Pyramid.”
“I know,” Ruwen said. “And it started before that. I found a travel book written by a big hairy guy talking about the other worlds he’d visited. The library and chapel made me wonder, too. It made me realize the creatures in the Black Pyramid are living lives just like the rest of us.”
“Exactly. And just like
