Reincarnate as Prince: Change Magical World with Industry

48 More People More Problems

First, he had to manage disputes between several of the tribes and races. They had no justice system in place yet, and thankfully the only cases they had were minor grievances between people.

The dwarf vs goblin rivalry started rising during the creation of the Blunthammer forge.

Frugarth and his men were very eager to start building weapons and armor for the settlement, this was the craft that they were best at. So they started building a forge after their homes were done and immediately started getting to work.

The designs for weapons and armor for the guards, hunters, and the Merrimen were all previously handled by Adduk with the approval of Janus and Sir Arthan. But the dwarves were not comfortable with these designs, they wanted to create something fancier. Something that could be called as an artifact and would stand the test of time. Adduk didn't care about this, but his assistants were keen on badmouthing dwarven design. Telling all of the men and women to use goblin-made implements as the standard for all of Wayward. When some Blunthammers heard of this, a few drunken brawls ensued, causing Janus to command them to submit designs to him first for his approval.

Dwarven and goblin technology had their strengths and weaknesses. For Janus it was just a matter of choosing the best design to fit the purpose and practicality. Craftsmanship came in second. In the end, he found a compromise that would please both parties. The goblins were better at gears and devices while the dwarves were better at forging weapons and armors. So Adduk's workshop was turned into an engineering center while Frugarth's smith focused on arms.

Those who were guilty of brawling were given overnight guard duty depending on the severity of the damage they had done. Both tribes Chiefs agreed to this decision

Another roll of paper checked and shoved into one of the barrels.

One of the I'reen came to him the other night to report that they were being bothered by some of the maidens and children from Lakeside. Yvaine couldn't help but laugh as a small and fluffy cat called Nyago came to them with her problems.

"Nyah, these women come to us when we work and they scare the fish away. I do not know why this is, but they keep stroking my fur and I cannot help but lie down on the grass and let them. It feels so good. What is this sorcery?"

Nyago had radiant white fur. One of the few fluffy I'reen whose coat grew thick as the winter was approaching. Janus had heard rumors of her from the townsfolk, she was one of the more popular members of the Cat people.

"Don't worry Nyago." Said Yvaine. "It is not sorcery, it is merely a sign of affection from us humans. But if its indeed bothering you from your work then I suppose we should decree that they leave you alone. Unless you want their company, I suppose."

Nyago curled her whiskers as she pondered this.

"Ahh I see, forgive me but these customs and behaviors are indeed new to me. So I am not being influenced by magic after all. I suppose it is not that bad then, but please tell the folk to not bother us during our time of work. That is all I ask your highness."

Nyago curtsied, which made Yvaine giggle with glee.

"That is settled then. We will inform them immediately if any such behaviors still occur. Please let us know, and we can give punishments to those who offend."

"That is not necessary." Nyago said. "Nyago can simply throw them into the river." The cat said before leaving.

Yvaine laughed so hard at that passing remark that her teacup fell to the floor.

"Don't you think that would be a problem?"

"Of course, but the river isn't that deep anyway."

Another roll of paper fell on the barrel. Their population was growing so big that announcements and decrees like these were getting more and more frequent. Soon they would need to assign a town crier or a herald.

As these minor disputes kept creeping up, it was getting harder and harder for Janus to personally attend to them. He would have to instate Yvaine as a lead mediator of disputes and to conduct counseling for every tribe and race leader, as it was her area of expertise. She had been looking for something to keep her busy, and now she can do what she was best at once and for all.

Along with the disputes came a few more issues with living in the mountains and close by to the Forest of Mist.

Thankfully, the diversity of their group shined when approached by these problems. There was also an advantage to living this way after all.

A few geysers cropped up in the south, where some of the Mairobians were supposed to be situated. It wasn't discovered until they cut down the trees and leveled the land. Several spots of holes in the ground emerged, spewing harmful gas and smoke. It was impossible to do anything with it, so they put signs on the area and relocated the men who had claimed it to another place.

They pondered long and hard on how to prevent this problem in the future, thankfully a few goblins led by Makkie came to propose a solution.

"Princey I have found a few other goblins with the earths-ense. A few of the snakecharmers also possess the skill! We can scour the land beforehand to check any of these cracks, it will take some time. But we won't need to waste it reclaiming harmful land any longer."

"Perfect Makkie! I will inform the surveyors of your designation, you will be assigned to each part of the village to help them. Thank you for your service."

"Makkie will do anything for the Princey, who ultimately leads the Mammoth slayers. Come on let's go find some smoking earth!"

"Huzzah!" they yelled as they walked away.

Flash storms also came more frequently. Heavy bouts of rain that would fall violently only end in a few hours. The same storms they experienced during their journey. It wasn't much of a problem to most of them, who had already built brick houses and had sturdy roofing, but the building and hunting operations were heavily affected.

Preeni was their only gifted shaman who could sense the weather, and several of her apprentices were not accurate enough to be reliable. With their ever-expanding territory, it was not feasible for the goblin to cover ever area. She can sense where the storms are going to hit, but it would be too late for them to inform the workers in that area.

Quairo came up with a solution, which he proposed to the council.

"We will need a reliable way to send information to each territory. Not only for the purpose of storm warnings but also from outside attacks. For this I can share something that my people developed along with Frugarth's band."

Quairo presented them with a stack of books and papers. In it was a collection of various signals along with their translations. There was a way to signal pre-determined words and phrases with plenty of ways to convey them. Techniques varied from smoke signals, flags, fires and etc.

"I suggest we build high towers where we can situate guards and watchers to signal each other. We already have some of them in Lakeside and the surrounding area, it's just a matter of extending them to the outside borders. I will provide men who are already expert in this method to provide training and such, and I can deploy some of them to start working immediately."

Another roll of parchment in the barrel, orders to build towers for outer areas as well as to recruit watchers who can learn to signal.

Quairo was right, the signals had served a lot of purposes. At the southern edge of the border, a large poisonous snake was discovered among the bushes. It thrashed and injured some workers, but Yashiek and her band came running immediately to their aid. They administered antivenom to those who were bitten and took the sick to the infirmary. The snake they caught was added to their collection of breeders.

On another night, a giant bird-like creature attacked from the mountaintop and ravaged one of Frugarth's mine entrances. The Merrimen were immediately called to help along with Sir Arthan and the guards, the Mammoth slayers pitched in to help as well. They slew the beast in a coordinated attack but it caused a lot of injuries and damage to property.

Janus studied the carcass of the creature. It looked like a rooster with leathery wings, it had a large beak and a scaly tail that rivaled its wingspan. It was as large as a two fully grown bison stack on top of each other and had talons that could rip a man in half. He collected the data for Contribution points but was slowly getting uneasy at the creatures that were cropping up in the area.

Thankfully the Merrimen who fought in front were complete armored. Still, it took all of their men to overcome the beast. If the attacks were getting more frequent, then he had to act before it was too late.

Another roll of parchment fell on the barrel. This one had a stack of letters held by rubber band, addressed to each tribal leader. The large parchment had the words "Wayward Defense Initiative" written on it.

The final light of Janus' lamp died, and he fell into a deep sleep.