Not (Just) A Mage Lord Isekai-Chapter 47 - Good Cliff

Recalling information from books I'd already accessed turned out to be easier than the first time, only causing the thermometer to budge by a single degree. A small blessing, considering how much I needed to recall that I hadn't committed to memory yet.

A downside to the Memory Palace I hadn't considered was that I didn't have an index to the contents of a book before recalling it, just the title. Which meant recalling more books than I'd planned. Including one that seemed like it would help with magical ingredients, but instead was about perfumes.

Eventually, I did find what I was looking for, though not without driving the pain-thermometer up near its halfway point, leaving it glowing a subtle orange when I exited.

I emerged with a killer headache, a newfound grasp of preparing and refining magical components and an appreciation for how much research the Aranor family had invested into making allergy-free perfumes.

Nearby, Calbern was gazing out into the evening sky, one hand playing over the wooden handle of the stun rod. He turned towards me the moment I stirred, inclining his head.

I nodded to him.

Then I went to examine the contaminated scribing crate again, rubbing at my aching head. Now that I knew what I was looking at, it was even worse than I'd originally expected. Whatever the black powder they'd mixed in was, it had rendered the powder it'd been mixed with magically inert. Which meant only the uncontaminated portion we'd scraped off the top was useful for scribing, and not even all of it. Enough for twenty pages, from what should've been hundreds.

"What a waste," I said, running the nullified powder through my hand before sealing it away. It might not be useful for scribing anymore, but I was curious about the negation property of the black powder. Especially if it was cheap enough to be used as a filler.

Then I sat down, doing the nice easy task of observing. Had definitely overdone the headache.

As the villagers withdrew into their cliffside homes for the evening, I wondered where the Wood Rat had gotten off to. I’d expected her to come for her lessons at some point, but she’d been a no show. Probably for the best. There was a lot to do.

So thinking, I contemplated the area we'd be working on tomorrow. If it was as easy as filling up free cliff space, we'd be able to triple the village's output in no time. Somehow, I suspected it wouldn't be that simple.

A chill wind blew past, causing me to shudder. My dangling legs remained surprisingly warm, and as I leaned forward my face warmed up.

Seemed there was more than one reason they nestled in the chasm. If they were using it for warmth, we'd probably want to find the source. Inertia seemed like she’d know what to look for.

"Lot to take in, huh?" Tresla asked, slipping down beside me, her cloak blocking most of the chill wind. "Being responsible for all them, I mean."

"A bit," I admitted as I met the eyes of one of the men down below. His face was narrow, and he'd been wrestling a thick wooden shutter into place over the doorway. When his gaze met mine, he stumbled slightly, nearly dropping the heavy panel on his foot before retrieving it with a curse. Even from here, I could almost make it out. Something about frayed cords. Or maybe flayed lords. Shaking my head, I added, "Though mostly I'm just thinking bout the next thing."

Tresla nodded, pulling out her leatherwork, her needle flashing red for a second before practically vanishing in the dim starlight.

When she didn't say anything else, I shifted my attention to working on my Astral form. A nice meditative process that wouldn’t exacerbate my head. I slowly pushed it to expand while quietly enjoying her company.

Eventually, as my headache faded, we called it a night.

The morning brought with it a fresh round of chaos.

Tanis and Selvi had both brought people to help establish the new food mats. Even as I approached, it was obvious they weren't getting along.

Myris, the netmaster who’d helped us free Tanis was hanging from the net next to the walkway with her arms crossed through the ropes, glaring at a heavier set wrinkled man next to her. Who was still thin, but on the heavier side compared to the rest of the villagers. Myris was waving a hand in his face as her shrill voice cut through the morning winds, "-and you're just as frayed as your father. We should start with the east. It'll take longer for the crawlers to break through, but-"

"But nothing," the man's much deeper voice interjected, waving a patch of green vegetables in her face, which she swatted away. "If what the Magus Dominus's man says is true, we don't have time for slow growth. We'll be starving inside a month. It makes more sense to start in the upper west ridge. Lots of fissures, and more than enough heat."

"And first time the wind shifts, all the mats will fall to the depths."

"Sounds like you're both committed to expanding," I said, causing them both to turn in my direction. While I knew Myris, I had no idea who the man was, though that didn't mean I hadn't met him. I’d met a lot of the villagers yesterday, though many were only for a few seconds.

"Ah, Magus Dominus Perth. Good morning," the man said, bowing in my direction. A second later, Myris followed suit, though she never let go of the ladder she was dangling from.

"Morning. So, what was it I was hearing about tough planting conditions?"

"Better to show you," Myris said, waving a hand behind her even as she started ascending the ladder.

"Stubborn as a thrice bound knot tied by a fresh rigger to shove up his own…" the man trailed off with a glance in my direction, before coughing to himself and grabbing a vine, swinging off to follow the netmaster. Who'd taken the initiative and was already heading east along the nets.

Not feeling as ambitious, I kept to the walkways instead of swinging or climbing along. Even so, I kept up well enough, despite having to ascend and descend a couple times. Of course, Calbern was already standing next to both of them by the time I got to the edge of the village, as ready and vigilant as ever.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Needed to figure out a spell to help with navigating the nets. Or just get to Pegasus-soul so I had enough regeneration the cost of Dimension Step could be regenerated in a few minutes instead of an hour.

Not letting myself get too distracted, I kneeled down next to where Calbern was standing. The mat stretched no more than a foot past the edge of the patchwork netting of the village, but that wasn't what I was looking for. I was looking to see these clefts or ledges they'd been talking about. It didn't take me long to find them. The mats may've mostly hung down the side, but at the top, they seemed to burrow at least a foot into the cliffside. It was hard to be certain, because the mass of roots had grown to create a wedge that left only a few tiny gaps that were only visible thanks to Eagle Eyes.

The edge of the crack almost seemed to be getting pried open by the roots, and there was tons of chipped rock and scrapped roots at the end, obvious signs they'd been cut away more than once.

"It's good cliff," Myris said from her position hanging over the end, her hand tapping on the solid rock. "Won't toss loose even if we're hit by a proper howler."

"Howling season is months away," the man objected. There was a slight wheeze to his breathing. Had the village not been underfed, leaving him starved for resources, I might've felt a sense of satisfaction at my own steady inhale. At the improvements I'd made after my efforts with Calbern.

Instead, I was reminded how privileged Perth had been. He’d never known a day of hunger in his life. Not real hunger. This man had.

We weren’t there yet, but in the future, I intended to ensure everyone under my rule had more than enough food. To ensure a child wouldn’t go hungry because their father needed another drink.

"Hmm," I said, running a hand over the rock to draw myself back into the present. "How smooth do these need to be?"

"Smooth, Magus Dominus?" the man asked, stepping over to look down at where I was poking the edge of the rock.

"The split sections of the cliff. Can they be jagged and broken? Or is there a reason they're so smooth?"

Myris and the man exchanged a look, at which Myris laughed before shaking her head. "It's better if they're jagged. Roots hold better. These're smooth cause that's how the Magus Dominus wanted 'em."

"Groovy," I said, pushing to my feet with a smile. "This might be easier than I expected. Calbern, why don't you fire off a line of petals? Ten shots running along the same level as these."

"At once, master Perth," Calbern said, drawing forth his blasting rod and sighting along it.

It was only as the petal burrowed into the stone that it occurred to me how loud it would be in the enclosed chasm. Calbern's third and fourth petal were off before the first's had finished echoing. By the time he got to the tenth, we had the attention of the entire village.

As the noise slowly faded away, I inspected the results of Calbern's shots. The petals hadn't gone as deep as I'd hoped, only blasting away a few inches of rock, but the line was straight.

"By the Magus Dominus," the man muttered, running a hand through his hair.

Not used to having my title used as a curse, I turned to look at him. He flinched away, muttering an apology which I waved off.

"Can you do it again?" Myris asked, already peering inside the first of the holes suspended over nothing by a single too-thin vine.

"Hundreds of times a day."

She shifted, a wicked smile on her face as she turned towards the man. "Told ya east was better, Ziren."

"Well, how'd I know the Magus Dominus'd be willing ta blast out the rock for us," Ziren replied, crossing his arms.

"Weren't listening when we were told he'd be using his magic to help, were you?" Myris asked even as she turned back to inspect the opening once more, pulling several rocks free and letting them tumble down the chasm. "This'll work. Might need a little extra help, but nothing the tenders can't handle in a couple days."

"How much can you handle?" I asked, waving towards the far end of the chasm.

"Hmm. With good rootings, many mats," Myris said. "More than fit here."

Ziren huffed, pointing to where the chasm bent, running north. "It'll get harder to tend after we go round the corner. Too cold."

Myris nodded, scratching her chin while only holding herself up by having the vine wrapped around her arm and a leg. "Might be worth putting up mats on upper north after."

After sputtering for a second, Ziren stepped closer to the edge, glaring down at her. "That's what I've been saying all morning!"

Halting her inspection of the cracked wall, Myris slowly turned her head to look at Ziren, blinking slowly. "No. You said we should start with the upper north ridge. Should do it second."

Before Ziren could strangle her, I stepped forward. "What sort of pattern is best?"

Turning away, Myris started showing us the grid she wanted, and Ziren confirmed, though he noted that Myris was packing them closer than was strictly necessary. But he admitted there was a much lower chance of the mats being torn loose if they had more roots.

It took most of the day to blast all the lines Myris wanted, though half of that time was lost getting into better positions.

"Is there any chance we can put some of that rope to use setting up more access?" I asked Tanis after we'd relocated my attachment position for the tenth time.

"Uh, you want to use the sacred supplies, boss?" Tanis asked, scratching the back of his head.

"The… yes, I want to use the sacred supplies," I said, managing not to snort in amusement. "In fact, let's get everyone using them. Set up a proper set of ropes for working the mats."

"You sure about that, boss? That'll use up a lot of the sacred rope," Tanis said, unable to meet my eyes.

"Guess replacing it will give people something to do."

When Tanis's face blanched, I couldn't help the snort. Then I went back to work. By the time we were done, most of the village was on the wall, pulling out loose rock or setting up rigging.

Deciding a bit of celebration was in order, I decided to use the extra meat Calbern had saved from the drakes for a feast.

It was a little anemic by Perth's standards. Or even by most. We hardly had enough meat to properly let everyone eat full haunches of meat. Still, it played well with the villagers. The rate the food disappeared made me glad for our efforts, though it also highlighted the problem with the mats. They were good for growing a few vegetables, but they didn't provide meat.

For that we needed herd animals, which Inertia was kinda bringing. That was a long term solution though. Even if we butchered all thirteen, it wouldn’t be enough for over a hundred people. We’d need to do hunting, and hopefully, find something else that was a bit more manageable by the average villager.

"Should've gotten some nibblers from the Frost Riven," I said to Tresla, who'd only joined me after I'd returned to the storehouses above the village.

"Shouldn't be too hard for you to run over and trade for a few," Tresla said, holding a steaming bowl of the stew that'd been made from the scraps. "Sure they’d have work for a Magus. Lot easier than herding drakes."

"Ha. Not a bad idea." My gaze shifted to the chasm, where most of the villagers were celebrating. Selvi and Tanis were the only ones up top with us, and they stayed close to the edge and the warmth drifting out of it. "Maybe I can get some volunteers to herd them for me."

"Sheep leading sheep," Tresla said, shaking her head.

"Don't you start that too."

"Didn't mean it like that," Tresla said, waving her bowl in my direction, sending a bit slipping out. "They're just so used to being under a Magus Dominus, they don't do a lot of thinking for themselves."

"They seem fine," I said, thinking of everyone I'd interacted with since I'd arrived.

"Only cause you're dealing with their leaders. The smart ones. Most are worse than a quivering cub at the tit," Tresla practically spit the last word, her hood quivering as a glimmer of red spilt forth. Then it was gone.

"That bad, huh?"

"Worse, honestly. Even a cub'll have a little curiosity."

That wasn't in line with what I'd seen. Still, instead of arguing the point, I grunted, returning my attention to my own bowl of stew.

For my second day in charge, I felt things had gone well.

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Which, of course, was when the piercing cry of a wyvern shattered the peaceful evening.