I began meditating on how I wanted the maze to expand outward. I spent maybe half an hour on branching pathways before boredom started to sink in. I decided that I would try some creativity exercises. I conjured an easel, and paper, and a set of pencils.

  Thinking up some magitech could be fun, and useful. A water purification plant full of Wizards taking sample, casting purify food and drink, and create and destroy water. A number of decanters of endless water filling the whole thing up. Even using decanters of endless water to make a water wheel that could power a city for free.

  In shoddy drawings I scribble the idea down. Perhaps a magical item that casts thunderbolt constantly hooking that up to a capacitor, and subsequently a power grid.

  For a long time everything will be extremely pricey, but if standardized education, which I will be implementing to the best of my ability, succeeds having 100s of wizards running around should be a boon, especially if they can make magic items.

  I was never much of a artist, but I’m the only one who will ever see this work. It looks like something straight out of a Madman's journal. I should definitely stick to technical drawings. I flip the page, and draw the rough shape of the current town. It's a bit like an oval, but the bottom, towards the mountain, is flattened out. The constabulary is in a fairly central location. No outlying farms to worry about, as much of the nutrition comes from dragon eyes. A few people keep cows, sheep, and pigs though. Chickens are frowned upon for some reason. I’ll have to ask. The roads are a criss crossy mess, one point even has a 10 way intersection.

  I’d like to make it more orderly, like New York. A well planned out city with an easy to navigate system. The problem is it’s a lot of work, and by the time word really starts to get out and builders start to come other nasty things will start to hear as well.

  I shake my head, now isn’t the time to worry about such things. The orcs are coming as are the kobolds. I believe I can trust the orcs. The kobolds are like a musket however, you just need to pull the trigger and pray to god it hits the wall you are aiming at. It’s a risk for the kobolds to learn about advanced arms, but all of their designs will be going through my crafters as well. I just need to get them to kick their sadism.

  I don't want to shoulder them with to much of trust though. That could lead to a power swell. But hmmm. If i could channel their sadistic tendencies. Maybe promote them to a secret police type of role. The Kestapo, or Kobold State Protection Force, a black ops type deal. Trained in torture, many forms of combat, and survival. That could work. I don’t exactly have a use for them currently. I’m not in a war, yet. I suppose the underdark is a safe place to send them. Maybe an initial expeditionary force, and them second. Actually I could probably send them as recruiters to various other kobold tribes couldn’t I.

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  Thinking on it could I not just recruit other monsters? While a game had alignments lawful and chaotic, evil and good. Real life wasn’t so beholden to those. I might stray away from monsters with a penchant for eating people. But building my own dungeon within the mountain, should be interesting. The kobolds to mine out the stone, and monsters live inside. Perhaps I shouldn’t call them monsters, or sub humans, even demi-humans. I need something with a more positive connotation. Sentients might be for the best, I’d have to ask around.

  Even the hardest of sentients could appreciate a comfort filled life. Hidden passageways that lead to living quarters, and 8 hour shifts for patrolling guards. Could even have a stronger individual as a boss. Obviously though I would place the strongest individuals directly at the entrance. Kill invaders before they have a chance to get stronger.

  And if I work to make an adventurers guild, I could have them train inside, and go recruit other monsters for a premium. I draw the rough outline, the first floor a 3 story maze, that loops back into itself. It could take forever to build, but we had kobolds on our side. Everything seemed to have a certain respect for dragons, why shouldn’t monstrous humanoids.

  Gorgons, Yuan-ti, The kobolds obviously, Drow to some extent, Duergar, Cyclops, Minotaur, Harpy, Lamia. All seemed like viable options. I paced back, and forth while it seemed maybe a little intense to demonize the earth governments, it was a worst case scenario option. A taste of real magic would have scientists and their backers salivating, so I had to get ahead of the curve.

  Maybe before the initial confrontation I’ll get patents for spell patterns, just to fuck with them. Use their own laws against them, I chuckle thinking about it. Honestly I almost expect some George Orwell type shit to form initially. I however will be there to step in and offer scrying protection, etcetera. Maybe a little mean of me, but I’m not going to turn down easy cash if I can make it. I should probably also try and figure out how to perform soil tests for oil. That should turn a nice profit as well. I could also put some research into sugar beets.

  Food has diffused between lots of places, probably because of a supercontinent with multiple habitats. The only problem is winter is coming around so plants won’t be growing, plus the giants. It’ll be another 4 or 5 months yet.

  I look around, I’m kinda out of stuff to do. With almost eight hours left on the clock, I think the best course of action is to just meditate for the remaining time. BB comes up behind me and I sit back into letting my mind become blank once again as I focus on the energy within me.