Information, supplies, and bodies

Veric and I stood inside his home as he showed me the maps of the surrounding area while the rest of the village was still under the watchful gaze of my imps. The forest, simply called The Great Woods, extended to the east for twenty miles, double that going north, and only going seven miles south to where it tapered off at the coast. The forest was once much larger but subsequent generations had worn away at it as they expanded further and further, leaving only this section as deeper sections were home to dangerous animals and monsters. The outer edges though were considered to be mostly safe, which allowed settlements like this one to exist. The village, named Middle Fields, was one of three villages along the edge of the forest, with Upper Woods being ten miles north and Lower Coast being seven miles south. All three traded with the fortress city to the west, called Woodguard.

The larger map of the entire kingdom proved just as useful as I examined it. The kingdom itself was called Tellion, named after the hero who founded it a thousand years ago, with the capital city sharing the same name and sitting southwest from Woodguard, placed on the coast where it's navy offered considerable protection for merchant vessels and allowing the kingdom to be quite profitable. To the northwest of Woodguard was another fortress city that sat at the edge of the border between Tellion and its neighbor The Drestuk Empire. The city of Crowba acted as a border crossing for the two nations and as a deterrent to their neighbor to the north. The final city, more than 40 miles due west, was called Rangton, and due to its proximity to the mountains there it was the largest producer of weapons and armor.

I could feel a plan beginning to form, but felt it would be a more practical decision to wait and gather more information on each of these cities and the current state of the kingdom. While time wasn't exactly on my side I knew haste would get me killed.

Focusing on Veric I nodded before speaking "Very good. Now onto the matter of what I'll be needing from you." Veric tensed at this, likely suspecting something horrendous "I'll be needing enough grain and vegetables to feed eleven people for a month, as well as bedding, furniture, hatchets and saws, shovels, a large cook pot, and hammers and chisels."

"Eleven?" Veric frowned, clearly confused.

"Eleven, because I will also needing ten villagers to come with me. Five men, five women. The men must be physically fit, no children, and at least one of them must be a skilled woodsman. As for the women, unmarried, no children, and skilled at domestic tasks such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning."

Veric stared at me for a few moments before speaking again "Why do you care if they have children?"

I turned towards the window looking out on the village as I spoke "I might be a Devil, but I am not a heartless monster. I won't separate a child from their parents."

Veric was silent before saying he would make the arrangements, walking out the door to gather the villagers to prepare my demands. I watched as people scurried about, gathering food along with other necessities that a person would need, loading them onto three hand pulled carts, along with a group of people that were separated from the rest matching my demands. In under an hour they had gathered everything and I designated 20 imps to remain as guards to protect the people from anything that could harm them.

Making our way back to my dungeon took much longer than the walk to the village, but our progress was slowed by the carts carrying all of the supplies I had ordered gathered. What had taken thirty minutes now took us just over an hour. Stopping in the courtyard I looked over the ten villagers, taking a mental assessment of them and finding them suitable before speaking.

"Which of you is the woodsman?"

A man stepped forward, likely in his mid thirties, with dark brown hair, green eyes, and weathered tanned skin from clearly from a life working outdoors. His clothes were practical and while he was tense he carried himself in a way that showed he possessed certain skills.

"Your name?" I prompted.

"Allon, sir."

"Allon, you're going to take three imps and begin scouting the surrounding area. I want to know what vegetation is growing nearby, which of it is edible, medicinal, and poisonous. I also want to know what is living in the vicinity, both animal and monster. Return by nightfall with your fundings thus far."

He nodded at this as he started walking, three imps quickly joining him and keeping a vigilant watch of the surroundings. Once they had left I turned my attention back to the rest of the men.

"The rest of you men are going to begin clearing back the tress and building a palisade around the stone wall with a focus on the areas with gaps. You'll have 12 imps assisting you and are to report your progress at nightfall." Pausing I looked at the women and felt my darker impulses kicking in again as I stamped them back down "As for the women, you will begin taking supplies down to your new home. The remaining imps will assist you."

The remaining humans traded looks, the five women looking particularly unnerved by the turn of events, however none voiced any dissent to my orders. Soon the men had the hatchets and saws along with a small group of imps that moved alongside them, with orders to protect and assist. The women soon unloaded the rest, having imps carry a great deal of the weightier items as they made their way towards my dungeon.

I entered first, mentally reshaping it again to remove another three rooms and place them in the deepest part, off my throne room, with one room to be turned into a kitchen for us to eat in while the other was a barracks like room for my new servants. I noticed that as items were brought in they became a part of the dungeon itself, with me being able to feel the exact composition of each item and what raw materials I'd need to be brought to the dungeon to be able to create them. Grinning at this I made my way to my throne room, letting the imps guide the women through the dungeon. Once they were finished with this the real fun would begin.