I was standing in the ravine where I had first met Grag, the goblin hunter. Back then, I had not known a thing about this world or its people, not even able to understand their language. Now I was looking to help a village prosper. The goblins deserved it. That was my main motivation. I wanted to help.

It would take a long time to improve their home. They were too far away from the dwarves to get direct help. It was only between me and them. Unless I could find a better place. But did I even want that? Did they want that? I had been focused too much on helping that I forgot to think about the how. They had not reacted favourably to my suggestions either, at least initially. I was not one of them. I looked at my notification from earlier.

~ding~ You have made friends with a new species, congratulations! Experience is awarded!

~ding~ You have reached level 32. Attribute Points allocated. 2 Attribute Points awarded.

They were my friends. It was right to help. Even if they said they were fine, I could see their lives improving by a lot. But what exactly was that improvement? Firstly, they needed safety. Their hunters had been able to avoid orks in the valley but at some point, they would be discovered. The easiest way to alleviate that would be to fix their food issues so they did not have to go there anymore and then seal the tunnel. While easiest, it was not easy. I could play delivery but that was only sustainable as long as I was around. I planned to see more of this world at some point. I wanted to lift the secrets of Stormbringer. I wanted to explore the human plains. I wanted to find elves. Okay, that last one was kind of different. I had no idea if they actually existed. It was likely a similar race would live somewhere in this world, though.

Back to the food problem. The goblins would need to hunt or farm since trade did not work with their isolation. I could scout the nearby valleys for other goblin settlements but this was pretty much the edge of Stormbringer’s path. Nobody would be able to survive here without being below ground. That also meant farming had to happen below ground or between the dragon’s passing. Mushrooms might be a solution.

Hunting was a problem as well. There just was not enough wildlife to sustain a tribe of fifty goblins unless they used the ork valley. If the monkeys were still there, hunting them would be a possibility. But I had exterminated them. Maybe… No, I would not go down that path. I would not have gotten my vis enrichment this high or my darkness this powerful without using that node. Also, what was done, was done. No use in crying over spilt milk. Blood. Whatever.

Livestock was an idea so stupid, I discarded it immediately. It would increase diversity, not total food. Unless they had something that fed on mana to develop and grow meat, it would be impossible.

Was there fish in that underground river? I looked down past the edge I was standing on. Or in the river below me right now? It was very low down. It might even be the same river for all I knew. A possibility but I thought it unlikely the goblins had not tried.

That left underground farming. So… mushrooms. Or maybe… Would it be possible to make something that let them grow crops underground? Herba or maybe even messis vis might help. I knew it could keep a vivid grove if you had enough of it. Nymph might be able to help me out with that. They would only need a place to grow things. The forest was their only source of building material unless they found an iron vein and got a forge and smithy going. It was probably not impossible to dig out a cave specifically for farming. The effort would be wasted if they moved, though.

I decided to keep moving and looking for a place nearby they could get to through the ravine. If there was nothing, it would be a decision between expanding their caves or trying to reach the Dwarven Hills.

There was a good whole lot of nothing. It took me about half a day at normal speed to reach the end of the ravine. It was a cavern with the river coming out of it in a set of waterfalls. It was not very deep and I spotted a node at the back wall had created a small pond. It was a little smaller than Vivi’s original home but created more water since it had only the one aspect. There was nothing else in there but a few crystals on the back wall. Only two of them were large enough to be worth harvesting and I put them into my storage.

I had seen no easy way to leave the ravine but that would only be necessary if there was something nearby. I flew back right above the rift in the ground and looked around. Nothing. Stone, gravel, snow and ice. That was it. In a month or so the snow and ice might be gone but there was no empty valley just out of range of Stormbringer’s path or anything convenient like that. Farming it was. And maybe mining as well.

I decided to go at this more reasonably this time around. I would not just prepare things and expect them to accept my plans. Instead, I could figure out what was possible and how much effort it might take. From there, the goblins would have a better starting place to figure out their plans. That required flying back to Borsdown and Serrington to speak to my friends and raid the library. Knowledge was power.

I had told Roguk I would be back soon after the snow melted. That was when a decision to move would have to be made so everyone could prepare in time. I had about three weeks to do research and figure out alternatives.

First, I visited my friends in Borsdown. Vivi and Safrah had no knowledge about improving civilization and could not help me with the details but talking to them helped me sort my mind a little. Captain Holden had a few things to tell me but it was far removed from what I needed. He was telling me about city planning and how to organize districts but with only about fifty goblins there was no need for that. We would be fine to just wing it. Heh.

I thought about asking Riggard but he would most likely rope me into helping him with his upscaled vis interceptor. Other than that, I had nobody I could just drop in so I flew to Serrington. The city was the right place to look for anything food-related. It also had a much bigger library. It was just what I needed.

When I arrived, the contrast between the snow-covered roofs and the grove in the middle was very sharp. I decided to visit Nymph first. She would know if there was any point in farming underground using only magic to grow crops.

I landed in the Comraich, a few steps away from the grove. My head swivelled around, observing the plants. Even in the winter’s cold, they were healthy and flourishing. Some of the grass and leaves had little frozen drops of water on top but they were not disturbed. My magical senses spotted the energy flowing through the ground to keep everything green. Nobody was within the walls when I landed and the air settled down quickly. It was as if someone had taken a picture. The quiet was only disturbed by the bustle beyond the wall.

I walked up to the grove, stopping about two metres away. Then I hooted a greeting. My eyes searched the trees and ferns for movement but I could see nothing. Another hoot a minute later finally got a reaction. A few leaves rustled somewhere out of sight. Then, nothing. I decided she had heard me and simply waited for a few minutes. Soon, I was rewarded.

From between the undergrowth, the mantis showed her head. She held a leaf aside and shifted her head back and forth to get a better view of the area. It looked to me like she was a little sleepy.

When Nymph finally noticed me I hooted another soft greeting. Her mind felt for mine and I opened myself. I was interested in the [Telepathy] Skill so I tried to pay close attention but it went by too fast for me to glean anything.

“Fio. Good morning. What brings you here?”

“Good morning, Nymph. Can’t I just visit my friend?”

I smirked mentally and tilted my head.

“You can. But it’s early. These days are exhausting.”

“I can see that.”

I looked around the grove.

“It’s why I want to ask for your expertise.”

She rubbed one of her eyes with a scythe.

“You want to plant a garden?”

“A farm. Underground. I want to know if it’s possible and how difficult it might be.”

She tilted her head.

“Explain.”

I told the tale of the goblin village, abbreviating the story to the most important details. When I reached the end and told Nymph how I was planning to help them but not sure what the goblins would decide.

“So you’re trying to make them your people?”, she asked.

“No. That’s not it. They’re friends and I want to help them.”

“Then my methods… might still work? A Guardian would be necessary if they live that close to a node. It would be even more important if they move to the Hills.”

“Your methods?”

She nodded.

“I guided the dwarves of this city in their early days. This is one of the younger cities and they knew a few things already but without a Guardian, surviving the rough days of an early frontier town. There is a lot of food in a budding city. Many predators and even herbivores want to have a piece of the prey.”

“I… don’t think that’d be a problem. There’s basically nothing there. The only threat was the monkeys.”

Nymph rubbed her scythes together.

“That does not matter. There is a powerful node so life will be drawn to it. Have you not felt the desire to drain from it? It’s what gives us sapience. We can’t forgo a promise like that. It is one of the truths of this world.”

I thought about her words. Back when I got my flux overcharge and tried to figure out why I had been so careless. I found my instincts drew me to the brink of destruction. I could imagine many animals with less mental Attributes being unable to stop themselves from approaching a node. Though how come they did not kill themselves?

“I nearly died from flux overcharge back then.”

Nymph tilted her head.

“Then you are reckless. Don’t you have a sense of self-preservation? Most instinctively know how much they can take.”

I shrunk in on myself.

“Do not think I am making fun of you”, she said, “Recklessness is no sin as long as you make it to the other side.”

I scoffed.

“I nearly died. And then I went and almost did it again a few weeks later.”

“But you are here, talking to me.”

“Right.”

“You will need some defences to protect the village. If you don’t have that, building a farm is not advisable. Your friends will get overrun.”

“I still don’t quite believe that. There are only two open tunnels leading to their caves. One of them is a river and I don’t believe there’s any threat coming from there. The biggest problem is the orks that might stumble onto the only tunnel leading outside. I want to dig another way out and close that off.”

“That might work. But I do not believe it would be wise to forgo a proper Guardian. That is the best way to secure long-term safety.”

“Right, but how? I don’t want to be the Guardian. I want to travel.”

“Anyone can be Guardian, you know?”

My eyes locked onto the mantis. That made sense. How did I not think of that? Who would be a good choice?

“Hold on… You need access to the node, right?”

“To become Guardian? Yes.”

“That might be a problem…”

There was a huge vis crystal growing over the rift through which I was sure I could access the node. I only had to get it out of the way. That would also open another entrance. It would be difficult and risky but I was also looking forward to seeing the node that let me take my first step on enrichment.