Tycoon May: Chapter 15 (Patreon)

Chapter 15

The sun’s rays woke Grant like two daggers stabbing into his eyes.  He didn’t know when he managed to fall asleep, but the awkward position didn’t make it a restful one.  It was a cool and damp morning, making him stiff and sore as he got to his feet.  He peeked over the edge of the staircase carefully, making sure there wasn’t something waiting to ambush him.

Once he saw it was safe, Grant made his way back along the wall toward the gate.  There was already a line of people waiting to make their way through the single entrance, with a steady stream of collection teams following their wagons out the other side.

People mostly ignored him as he got in line, especially given the rank of the badge he displayed on his belt.  Being the lowest level might not let him get through the gate faster, but it did provide some anonymity.

After waiting in line for over an hour, Grant finally made his way into the city.  The guards waved him through without a fuss, even though his torn clothing and battered armor marked him as someone struggling to make ends meet.  His badge level matched his appearance, which worked in his favor.

Upon entrance to the city, Grant was shocked to see how different it was compared to the last city he had been in.  Instead of rows of greenhouses, there were buildings absolutely covered in gardens.  Rooftops, window sills, terraces, everywhere a place was flat enough to hold a plant, or big enough to hold a vine, it was used.  Where there weren’t plants, moss, fungus, and lichen flourished in all kinds of colors.  Besides the cobblestoned streets and occasional window frame, not a spec of bare stone could be seen.  Even the interior walls that surrounded the city were covered in vines that bore some kind of bright purple fruit that reminded Grant of plums.

<It’s like an urban rainforest.  I think I like it.>  As he walked deeper into the city, Grant watched teams of people moving through the streets with water wagons that had several hoses attached, spraying everything with a fine mist that kept the plants watered and the city a damp mess.

Other wagons followed behind, harvesting whatever looked ripe or ready to eat.  Even small groups of children wearing the beige uniforms of the harvesters helped, scraping chunks of lichen off of hard to reach places.  Whether it was meant to be eaten or not, Grant had no idea.  Either way, it showed an incredible amount of organization and logistical planning.

“Why do you think this place is so different from the last city?”  Grant was mostly talking to himself, but a man walking next to him wearing the colors of House Thursday perked up at his question.  Grant realized he was a Wielder, carrying a mace that looked like a fist closed around a large eye-catching amber gemstone.  He got closer to Grant and smiled at him with the smile of a practiced merchant about to make a deal.

“Oh, that’s an easy one!”  The cheery merchant Wielder pointed to a nearby building that seemed to specialize in orange-colored plants.  “The single most important thing in any society is trade.  And how do you get the most out of a trade?”  He didn’t wait for Grant to answer, instead plucking a low-hanging fruit from a potted plant on the street corner.  “You need to have something nobody else has!  That’s why each city grows different things in different ways.  Their methods of farming are some of the most closely guarded secrets you’ll ever see!  Or, not see, I suppose.”  He waved his hand as if brushing aside his thoughts.  “The best producers are the ones who get the most contribution points, and they ascend to the higher tiers of citizenship.  Who would want to give away their best chance at a better life?”

“But, if everyone worked together, the whole District would benefit.  Combining the best growing practices and techniques would mean there wouldn’t even be a need for citizenship tiers.  Why wouldn’t you want that?”  Grant dodged the backhanded slap the Wielder aimed at his head.  “Hey!  What was that for?”

“Watch your traitorous words, peasant!  I won’t stand to listen to insurrection like that.”  The House Thursday Wielder looked around, shouting at the top of his lungs.  “Guards!  Guards!  I’m being confronted by someone spouting hate-speech against the government!”

Grant kicked him in the jimmies as hard as he could, lifting the man off the ground.  He collapsed to his knees, wheezing in pain.  “You aren’t a nice person.  Think about what you’re doing next time before you go accusing people of things when they are only asking a question.”  Then he gave the Wielder a heavy uppercut, knocking the man flat on his back, unconscious.  Looking around, Grant saw he was drawing a crowd.

<Huh.  I can’t believe that counted as a victory.  That has to be the easiest win you’ve ever had.  Maybe you should kick people in their special place more often.>  Sarge paused as Grant bent over to inspect the man and his Wielded Weapon.  <Better get out of here, unless you want to deal with the guards.>  Grant turned and ran, losing himself quickly through the narrow alleys made even more tight by the plant life covering the area.  He was able to read the system message about the man’s weapon as he ran.

Do you, Grant Monday, wish to absorb the power of May 18: Distraction? Accepting Distraction will override any previous Wielded Weapon power absorbed in the current monthly series. If not overridden by another weapon of the same month, this ability will return to its current Wielded Weapon at the end of the year, unless the quest ‘Heal The World’ has been successfully completed.

Accept / Decline

Distraction: All that glitters isn’t gold.  Your weapon causes enemies to become focused on your weapon instead of you, causing them to be more susceptible to feints, suggestions, and other forms of trickery.  Cannot be used without the wielded weapon in hand.  Ability scales with Mind Cultivation levels.

Grant declined the skill, not wanting word to spread that a Wielder had lost his weapon’s powers.  If word had spread from the Spring Districts, it would let Tycoon May know exactly where he was.  The skill might have been useful, it wasn’t worth losing the element of surprise.

While it was a good thing that he wasn’t caught by the guards, it certainly didn’t help him to get lost once again in an unfamiliar city.  He didn’t want to get jumped by a group of opportunists like he had in the last city he was in.

Eventually, Grant found a building with a lattice that looked strong enough to support his weight.  He started climbing, intending to get on the roof to get a better look at his surroundings.  The smell of the thick plant life was intense, and Grant was happy to get a deep breath of relatively fresh air when he reached the rooftop.  He noted a marked increase of uniformed guards from where he had left.

Sarge waited while Grant looked around, but the sword spirit got impatient after several minutes of just standing around.  <What exactly are you looking for?  If you’re just going to stop and smell the flowers, we should do some training instead.>

“I’m looking for a building with the colors of House Monday.  They’ll most likely give me the best chance at a good deal on contribution points for all the Metallica I have in my pouch.”  Grant motioned at all the greenery around him.  “But finding where they are looks impossible.”

<Oh, you should have just said something.>  Sarge used his training ability to highlight a small walled complex near the inner wall that marked the next section of the city next to a large open-air market.  <House Monday is focused on leadership.  They’ll want to be located next to important places.  Since House Thursday runs the District, they’ll see trade locations as vital regions of influence.  That makes the compound next to the biggest market your best chance at finding them.>

“Thanks Sarge.”  Grant looked around the city some more, noting other places that the various Houses might find to be important.  “I’ll remember to keep the political motivations of the Houses in mind next time I check the layout of a city.”  He peeked over the edge of the roof and saw the lattice on the opposite side was covered in flowers that were dense with heavy pollen.

<See?  I told you we could do some training.  This was a great way for you to see things more tactically.>  Grant nodded his silent agreement with Sarge as he climbed down the opposite side of the building.  He didn’t want to say anything out loud and get some of the vibrantly yellow pollen of the flowers he disturbed into his mouth.

As he was making his way lower, the lattice below him shifted.  Grant barely had time to scramble up the wall before the whole lower section broke free and smashed into the street below.

Shouts rang out, and Grant managed to pull himself back onto the roof just as the stomping of several sets of heavy boots came from the street.  He peeked back over to see a forest of spears poking above a cloud of pollen.  The heavy coughing from down below made Grant happy he had avoided talking.

While the impromptu smoke screen hid him from view for the moment, it wouldn’t last long.  The heavy cloud was already coating everything around it in a thick coating of yellow dust, and more guards moved to the disturbance to see what was going on.

“Great.  Now how do I get down?  It’s only a matter of time until they check up here.”  Grant looked at the rooftops around him, looking for another way to get out of the area.  Finally, he spotted a steeply slanted roof that he might be able to jump to, slide down, and leap onto the lower roof in the direction of the marketplace he needed to reach.

Stepping back to give himself a chance to build up momentum, Grant crouched down and set his feet into a sprinter’s stance.  He drew his sword so he could use Adjusted Air Friction to help, and took off with a grunt of effort.

Leaping from the edge of the roof, Grant adjusted his wind resistance down to almost nothing.  It still wasn’t enough.  The weight of all the metal in his pouch seemed to pull him down, and Grant was going to splat against the side of the building before falling to his death.

With more instinct than actual intent, Grant used his willpower to force Adjusted Air Friction to increase the resistance under his leading foot so much that for only an instant, a disk of air no wider than the ball of his foot hardened like a step in midair.  It caused a tingling spike of pain to shoot through his head as he put pressure on the disk, but Grant was able to spring off of it enough to give himself height to hit the slant of the roof.

Roof tiles tore free from their nails as he slid down, the thin moss providing enough lubrication for him to pick up speed as he went.  Grant was able to use his sword to help him steer through the slide, spinning around and positioning himself before the edge of the roof came up.  He timed his push-off properly this time, and landed on the building he was aiming for without having to push his mental limits hard enough to risk giving himself a brain hemorrhage.

<Well, that was exciting.>  Sarge sounded as breathless as Grant felt, but then his tone shifted to his more natural stern scolding.  <Think of this as a friendly reminder, but you shouldn’t try to overextend your skills without more proper training.  Willpower is like a muscle.  It has to be built up over time, or you risk tearing it.  You’re going to hurt yourself if you’re not careful.>

“Got it.”  Grant sheathed his sword before massaging his temples.  He didn’t mean to push himself like that.  “Now, let’s see if I can make my way down to the street.”  As he climbed to his feet, Grant heard the roof under him groan in protest.  “Uh-oh.”  He looked down in alarm, but was too slow to jump free as it collapsed beneath him.