When Iris heard this, a trace of joy appeared on her face.
The Platinum Dragon God was good. He was extremely tolerant, had no strict religious organization, did not advocate the worship of deities, and emphasized enlightened justice and the responsibility of guardianship.
He even did not care about your faith. As long as your actions earned His approval, it was possible to receive His assistance.
This was the best outcome. Otherwise, few people would be willing to keep a Paladin by their side.
"Then are you going back tonight?" she said, looking at the goods piled up like a small hill.
"I'm not going back. I have friends to entertain." Anser waved his hand, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Iris did not ask about his oath. Otherwise, it would have been rather troublesome. A Paladin of the Oath of the Noble Genies who believed in the Platinum Dragon God sounded strange no matter how one thought about it.
Iris looked somewhat disappointed. "Then be careful yourself. Recently there have been quite a few outsiders in Durlag."
"Don't worry. I'm not staying outside anyway." Anser nodded slightly.
"I'm leaving." Iris felt that she had spoken a bit too much today. Riding her flying carpet, she disappeared into the night.
Anser did not think much about it. He glanced around. The surrounding people had already dispersed, and guards were still standing watch at the distant street corner, blocking curious passersby.
He immediately took out the Rod of Security and quickly placed magical marks on the goods, teleporting them batch by batch to Holrewen.
Finally, he teleported Bratt and the other two, along with Grey Eagle, away.
After confirming that nothing had been left behind, he mounted his horse and left. Once he had shaken off all lines of sight, he turned into an unknown alley and teleported away.
It feels like someone is watching me. Anser rubbed his chin, knowing that his existence had already attracted the attention of many people.
This was almost inevitable. A Sorcerer who could still cast spells normally was indeed very conspicuous. If that Sorcerer was also a Paladin, then for certain groups he was practically synonymous with trouble.
Paladins being called the nemesis of evil was widely acknowledged. Mind Flayers were extremely formidable, and many adventurers were tortured to the brink of death when they encountered them, yet Paladins could deal with them relatively easily.
Lay on Hands could quickly remove the Intelligence damage caused by Intellect Devourers, and Protection from Evil and Good could make the target immune to most of a Mind Flayer's mental domination and to the possession attacks of Intellect Devourers.
The most powerful abilities were Aura of Protection and Aura of Courage, which could guard against all kinds of spells and their negative effects. The higher a Paladin's Charisma, the stronger the saving throw bonuses.
If Anser learned Aura of Protection, every type of saving throw would start at +5, which was extremely outrageous.
It could allow a warrior with average Intelligence to withstand a Mind Flayer's Mind Blast, rather than being immediately "stunned" and losing the ability to resist.
However, the base radius of Aura of Protection was only three meters. One had to stay very close for it to take effect. Because of this, Paladins were jokingly called "aura attachments" or "stick-close warriors."
'No one studies the weak. The stronger I am, the more attention I'll draw—guaranteed.' He was not overly worried; doing what needed to be done now was more important.
...
In the plaza, Bratt and the others met up with Salian and the rest. Both sides hugged and exchanged emotional remarks, their feelings running high.
They had not known each other for long, but they had gone through life-and-death situations and battles together. They trusted each other, and their bond was sincere.
"Huh—why did you buy so many live creatures?" Kaleno looked curiously at the cages and water bags.
Anser stepped forward and said with a smile, "You didn't notice? There are no fish, shrimp, or animals here. It's too monotonous."
"No wonder I always felt something was a little off." Salian suddenly understood. "Then nobody just stand around—hurry up and start tidying together. And the head chef, go prepare dinner."
The halfling head chef from the former elven ship was named Weirbi. He always carried all kinds of knives on him. With a knife in each hand, he alternated gestures as he asked, "Where are the kitchen and dining hall?"
"Probably… on the second floor," Anser replied vaguely.
"Probably?" Weirbi looked puzzled. Whose place was this, exactly?
"Mhm~" Anser pointed at the long table Bratt had bought. "Now we have a dining table."
"Uh… then help me carry it up first." Weirbi had a bad feeling.
Everyone quickly got to work. Bratt, as the general steward, was responsible for assigning where the supplies would be placed.
The furniture was placed first in the first-floor main hall and the second-floor dining hall. Tableware, stoves, bread, salt, and seasonings were put in the dining hall. Wheat, rice, cheese, dried fruits, alcohol, tools, seeds, charcoal, and the like were stored in the underground storeroom. Daily necessities were taken to the fourth-floor living area. There were not enough in quantity—probably not enough to go around.
Dozens of water bags containing fish, shrimp, turtles, and frogs were carried to the riverside and released into the water.
There were also over a hundred small animals—mainly birds, rabbits, dormice, and weasels, as well as earthworms, bees, and a few snakes—and all of them were released in scattered locations.
It could only be said that Bratt's comprehension was exceptionally good. Anser had only explained it roughly, yet he grasped the underlying logic and managed to accomplish a lot with little money.
The island was not lacking in plants and insects, but the variety was too single, and more still needed to be introduced to enrich the ecosystem.
The number of small animals was still far too low, and the proportions were not right either. A basic land ecosystem should develop from a "herbivore chain" to a "scavenger cycle." In the early stage, they could not introduce too many carnivores or mid-to-high-level predators.
During this, Bratt returned the Treasure Coin Pouch to Anser. Inside, only a few dozen gold coins remained.
After Anser looked over the list, the value of these supplies exceeded two thousand gold coins. There was no need to ask—Bratt had also put in his own and Finn's savings.
No debt, but no money left either. Those few dozen gold coins were the lord's last shred of dignity.
However, in the short term, he did not need to worry about food. Grain at one hundred pounds per sack totaled more than two hundred sacks, mainly wheat and rice, along with potatoes, vegetables, and the like.
It was no wonder those refugees had been jealous. The purchasing power of two thousand gold coins was extremely astonishing. Bratt had run to many different shops before he managed to gather everything.
If prices had not surged so sharply, he could have bought even more.
When Salian and the others saw so many supplies, the smiles on their faces never faded. There was food and drink here, and it was safe; the exhaustion and worry of the past days were swept away.
Head chef Weirbi, together with several kitchen assistants, quickly prepared enough food for more than fifty people: halfling stew, bread, and onion soup.
Fortunately, Bratt had bought two large iron pots. Otherwise, cooking would have been rather troublesome.
The second-floor dining hall was very large. Besides the main dining hall, there were several smaller halls, and the kitchen and storeroom were fully equipped.
Unfortunately, there was not much furniture. Only the kitchen was relatively well furnished; in the vast dining hall there was just a long table and more than a dozen chairs.
Everyone else could only sit on the floor. There were not enough tableware either—one person used a bowl, another used a plate. Fortunately, no one cared about such things, and everyone looked relaxed.
At the long table, Anser sat at the head seat. Bratt and Salian sat on either side, eating while discussing the recent events.
"Your place is truly unusual," Salian said again with emotion.
"Luck." Anser did not say much. Thinking about it now, the Great Reader had been somewhat too generous.
"That's only because it's you. If it were someone else, they wouldn't even have passed the treant trial." Salian shook his head slightly. Luck was also part of strength—people of Faerûn believed in that.
"For now, it can only serve as a temporary residence. Developing it won't be easy." Anser sighed. It cost too much money.
"If you build it up properly, it has great potential." Salian did not understand Anser's financial predicament and simply continued giving suggestions.
"What are your plans?" Anser changed the topic.
"We can't keep running anymore. As long as you don't drive us away, we'll stay here to recuperate for a while. At the same time, we can help you open up the land—just give us food to eat." Salian smiled broadly, half serious and half joking.
"I couldn't ask for more." Anser raised his wine cup and clinked it with his, then drank it all in one gulp. "I've handed Holrewen over to Bratt, but he's alone and many things can't be carried out. If you're willing to stay, that would be ideal. Even long-term residence is no problem."
"However, in the short term I can't pay salaries. Once everything gets on track, we can set wages according to each position."
"Mhm." Salian nodded in agreement. "If you want development, the organizational system must be sound. A makeshift crew won't go far."
"For now, we should achieve self-sufficiency first—reclaim land for farming, raise fish, and herd livestock."
The island was very suitable for farming. The temperature was appropriate, and the sunlight was abundant.
Aside from that, the only profitable method Anser could think of was trade—taking advantage of the spatial characteristics to stockpile goods, then traveling as a merchant, buying low and selling high.
But now everywhere was dangerous. Wandering around recklessly would likely lead to trouble.
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