System Change

‘What do you mean?’ Derek asked.

‘Didn’t she tell you? She’s decided that she has had enough of that city and plans on traveling to Savannah with you.’ Alanah explained.

Derek thought back to his last conversation with Stella. I guess she was acting a little strange. They were interrupted by Walter letting him know of Rayna’s dire situation before she could let Derek know what she was thinking.

‘Oh… I guess that’s fine. It’s only one extra person if she comes alone. Plus, she can take care of herself. I haven’t even figured out the travel arrangements yet, so we can talk about all that once I get back to Tori… Do I still call it Torith since there are no longer any Toriths in the city?’ Derek asked.

‘For now, yes. The King, or his council, will eventually find a replacement, and the name will change or, with Gerald’s position, it may continue to be called Torith forever.’ Alanah answered.

‘Oh? I thought the city names changed according to the City Lord here.’

‘For the most part, you are correct. However, there are a few instances where the city name stays the same no matter the change. Take Wilmette, for example. The Wilmette noble family died out decades ago, but the city is named after them in remembrance. The last leader of the Wilmette family died protecting the Kingdom before he could produce and heirs, and unfortunately, all his immediate family was lost earlier on. So, the King decided the city would forever be named Wilmette.’ Alanah said.

‘I see. I guess that makes sense.’ Derek said. ‘Let’s hope that’s not the case with Torith.’

‘We can hope, but I have a feeling it will stick. It’d be best if the Gracefalls could get their name back. The city could become Searidge once again. Walter’s son has impressed the King, and continues to contribute to Cydaria, so it’s only a matter of time if nothing bad happens to him.’ Alanah said.

‘Walter is definitely proud of him, that’s for sure.’ Derek replied.

‘Speaking of bad things, you should try to get to Savannah as fast as you can. Once everything becomes known, you may have some trouble, so it would be better to get there sooner than later.’ Alanah warned.

She continued. ‘The city has almost as much power as the Capital, and you and your people will be much safer there than any other place. House Savannah, Natalie in particular, is another one of those that are considered untouchable. Nothing happens in that city without her knowing about it. But, staying there will be expensive. It will most likely cost even more than you will make through your coffee.’

‘I have a few plans for that. It will take some initial capital, but I should be able to make it. If not, there are other ways for me to obtain a bit of wealth if needed. By the way, what kind of person is Natalie Savannah? Walter seems to count her as one of the few people he respects.’ Derek asked.

‘Natalie is interesting. House Savannah chooses their head based on performance and that’s it. It doesn’t matter if you’re the son of the current head, you have the same chances of becoming the next head even if you’re a distant cousin. As long as you carry the surname, you can become the next Lord of House Savannah. Of course, being the son or daughter of the Lord will have some advantages.’ Alanah explained.

‘You have to understand, while strength is important for House Savannah, it is not what holds the most importance. Business acumen is what they look for. House Savannah is the richest noble house in the country for a reason. They could single-handedly supply the Kingdom’s armies for years. Money equals power for them. If they aren’t personally strong, they can spend some of their money to hire bodyguards, or even elite teams to run them through dungeons.’ She continued.

‘I see. So, how did Natalie end up in her position? Was she the previous Lord’s daughter?’ Derek asked.

‘Far from it, actually. She was a relatively unknown grandniece of the previous Lord. When she was 13, she was given 1,000 gold coins as a test. Like I said, she was unknown. The Lord had never even met her. 1,000 gold coins are the minimum a Savannah gets when they unlock full functions of the Great System. Most of them blow the money, then go crawling back, asking for more. It’s not uncommon for one to lose everything multiple times before learning the trade.’ Alanah explained.

Derek listened with rapt attention, not wanting to miss anything that could help prepare him for his future in Savannah.

‘Well, Natalie took her 1,000 coins and began buying random odds and ends she found in the lower city. She even went as far as setting up a stand and buying trinkets from traders who couldn’t even afford entrance into the city. Still, nobody paid any attention to the little girl buying weird things. That was until it turned out every item she bought had either been misidentified or had hidden properties no one had found previously. Turns out, she had a knack for collecting strange items, and when she received her class, she received a powerful type of Identify skill.’ She continued.

‘What happened next? How powerful is the skill?’

‘Nobody knows but Natalie. The only information she’s ever given is that it’s like Identify.’ Alanah said. ‘What happened next? She turned 1,000 gold coins into 3,000 in a month, and by the time she was 15, she had made upwards of 100,000 gold coins. Also, she did much more than find items nobody else wanted. Once she gained enough capital, she opened small businesses and started making income passively. And, every single person she’s hired has been perfectly loyal. She may be better than me when judging someone’s character.’ Alanah laughed.

‘Is that so? Speaking of character, what about her?’ He asked.

‘Well, she’s neutral when it comes to politics. She could affect the outcome of any political struggle, but she chooses not to. When it comes to illegal business, it varies based on which person wins Lord of Savannah. Both her and her predecessor chose to outlaw any illegal trades. If you are caught slave trading or forcibly making contracts, she will judge you. There won’t be a trial, she won’t send a message to the King, you will just die, and that’s after an intense interrogation. I like this about her.’

‘Sounds like a good way to make some enemies.’ Derek said.

‘Mhm. Like another person I know.’ Alanah joked. ‘She has executed some pretty high up nobles. Almost as high up as the one’s you executed…’ She laughed. ‘Remember when I told you that if I went against the King that I would lose, but I’d be able to cripple the royal family?’

‘Yes?’

‘Well, it’s just about the same for her. Actually, she would most likely do even better than me. Hell, she may even win. Once she buys all the soldiers who aren’t under oath or contract, I wonder how many people the King would still have fighting for him?’

Derek immediately put Natalie Savannah on his ‘people to not cross’ list. It was a small list. It currently had two names.

‘Overall, she’s a decent person. She’s the highest rated member of the Crown. She’s fun to be around, and easy to respect. But, no matter who you are, when it comes to business, she’s able to turn her emotions off. She will never make a deal to her detriment.’ Alanah seemed to be speaking from experience.

‘There’s nothing wrong with that.’ Derek said. ‘Well, from everything you’ve told me, Savannah sounds like a decent place for me to settle for a while. How are the dungeons around there? And monsters?’ He had already learned a bit about all that, but it never hurt to learn more.

‘You’ll be able to find something to do. There are a few really good higher-level dungeons around. You’ll be able to find anything from level 75 to 200. Unfortunately, there are only three dungeons in the Kingdom that are above level 200, and none of them are around Savannah. Though, that doesn’t matter, because you will finally have access to a teleportation formation. There are a couple dungeons I wouldn’t mind running… with the right people.’ She said.

‘I’ll be sure to keep you in mind when it comes to them. You’ll have to tell me about them later. I keep forgetting that I’ll have access to a teleportation circle.’ Derek laughed. ‘I guess I’ll have to change my travel plans. I had originally planned to travel slow and letting everyone have a bit of an adventure, but maybe I should speed things up.’

‘That would be for the best. Just with this conversation, I’ve ignored the King trying to contact me six times… no, make that seven… seven times already. So, it’s safe to assume that word has started to spread about Malcolm.’

Derek didn’t know what to say. It was amusing that Alanah had been ignoring the King to have a conversation with him. ‘Well, I’m going to go, then. Have fun talking with your King.’ The conversation had already gone on much longer than he planned.

Derek heard a sigh come from the other end. ‘You know that there’s not going to be anything fun about it. Just keep yourself safe.’

‘Will do.’ With that, Derek pulled his mana back and released the connection. He let out a sigh and turned to Jacks. “Looks like it’d be better if we moved faster.” As he spoke, he accelerated to the speed he had previously traveled with Silvi.

Jacks lagged behind and couldn’t quite keep pace. “I know where we’re going, so I’ll meet you there if you need to hurry.” He shouted as the distance between the two kept increasing.

Derek put his hand up in a half wave. “You go to Torith. I’ll meet you there when I get everybody else.” With that, Derek rushed forward, and Jacks broke off in a different direction.