[NR] Annoyed At The Town's Setup - Chapter 760

The four amble into their destination, Lily leading the way. Though Rosha scoops her up before they go too far. There being more traffic than not makes a bunny hopping around a less than genius move. And though loath she is to do so, pops Lily into her carrier.

Jason is pensive for a minute as he realizes they haven’t really been using it of late. Out in the Deep Wilds, he stuck around the clearing and so Lily was out and about. Even going to and from the settlement had her hopping along. Which was good for her.

A rabbit needs to hop around.

Jason sighs and turns his attention away from the fact that he might not have done the best for her early on and examines the town. Because this was a town proper. They’d passed through two other hot spots of civilization, but one of those had been another settlement and the other more of an overgrown rest stop.

Here? The caravans lined up to enter and leave. Which doesn’t sound like much, but it represents the fact that they were getting people in every day. Back in the settlement, you’d get the occasional pileup to enter and then leave. Something inevitable when caravans tended to group together for such a dangerous trek. But that simply meant the line was only in one direction.

Oh, and there wasn’t a wall. Well, there was a wall, but not really. More of a fence if anything. Wouldn’t stop a level ten monster. Though Jason concedes to himself that it might hold long enough for one of the guards to respond. But only for a moment and only a low third break. Maybe not even that if they’re particularly skewed towards strength.

Jason sighs.

To his left Rosha frowns and glances over, “What’s up?”

Jason shrugs and gestures at the fence, “Just thinking about the difference between here and our clearing. They put up a wall to keep pests out, not worrying about the strong wrecking it. We didn’t put up a fence because nothing we did would be able to keep out anything of note.”

Rosha shrugs back and with a thick fake accent responds, “Is life.”

Jason laughs, “I guess it also isn’t fair to compare the two. Different threats require different defenses. Just look at the wall around the settlement! Massive still-living logs? Unneeded basically anywhere else. Even more dangerous areas, but brought into the forefront simply because the threats are so colossal.”

Courtney sighs, “Or you can look at this paper mache wall for what it is. People not wanting to spend money doing things right.”

The other two look at her, their question clear.

Courtney shrugs, “This place is going to expand. They’re on a route towards what will soon be the frontier. In fact, going by how fresh all the buildings look? Well, except for that inn over there and a couple of the buildings nearby, which I’m going to guess are the original infrastructure for the area. They just expanded this place in the last decade.”

Rosha, “Okay, so why does this make what they’ve done wrong?”

Courtney gestures around, “The town will grow. It might even become a city if they’re lucky. All depends on whether the nearby section of claimed Deep Wilds ends up with some important resource. And that fence with an ego? That is a half measure.

“They needed to figure out the expected expansion plans ahead of time and then build walls with that in mind. This wouldn’t even necessarily mean having to redo everything if it does end up a city. In fact, I’d say the opposite. The fence instead represents those who financed this town wanting to wait until things settle and then just build a wall around whatever the resulting sprawl covers.”

Rosha tilts her head to the side, “That sounds like a decent enough plan? Like, it will work, though it exposes the town to a bit more danger than strictly necessary. Though I do think they should have a proper wall, I can see someone pinching pennies this way.”

Courtney shakes her head, “They’re wasting their chance here. This town started with basically no buildings. They could have, maybe not planned everything out, but at least the walls could have shaped the resulting town. Given structure to the inevitable chaotic sprawl.

“A proper stone wall? Cheap compared to being able to lay out some basic structure! I mean, look at this place!”

Courtney was getting a bit heated and Rosha wasn’t exactly sure why, but she put her arm over Courtney’s shoulder. “It isn’t our responsibility. What’s getting you so worked up?”

Courtney sighs, “It’s such a waste. Part of my training was the basics and I mean Basics. The bottom of the barrel, most simple rules about setting up settlements and towns. I know where to cut corners and where to spend. All because that one time you made your own little place until your dad ruined it.”

Rosha grimaces, “Eugh, right, that. So they seriously gave you a crash course in town management because of that? When daddy dearest went and broke it? It wasn’t even a settlement! Just a damn rock in space with a bunch of landing pads and some semi-permanent residents. Right up until he practically flooded it with money and spies.”

Courtney nods, “I didn’t take the blame for the failure, but he certainly did accept his part in it either. But that’s beside the point. In NeoRealm, walls are important. Given the location? You want a proper stone wall at least a story and a half tall. Which costs money, but not as much as you’d think.

“Firstly, because earth mages can draw up rocks from the earth and set a decent foundation. Secondly, there’s the fact that you’ll always have a bunch of people coming through and some of them will be laborers looking for a day job, i.e., cheap labor to stack stones. And lastly, the previously mentioned earth mages can cover a multitude of sins from the rough construction. Literally. A group of earth mages going over the finished wall can mold the stone together.

“Which costs money, but a lot less than highly trained masons to do things properly. A trained mason is worth their weight in gold, but a place like this doesn’t need the bonuses you get from skill worked stone.”