Taking Stock

With the addition of the hero to your retinue you fear intrusion by others a bit less. You decide it’s time to see what else you can do to improve the area. First things first: improving the perimeter defenses further. You head to the edge of the clearing where the thorn barrier begins and pull up the menu.

Thorn Barrier

Upgrade to Tangle Vine Barrier?

Base Upgrade Time: 36 Hours

Grove Tender Bonus +10% Growth Speed

Total Upgrade Time: 32 Hours 24 Minutes

You wince slightly at seeing the increase in upgrade time and resolve to check for further upgrades immediately as each finishes for the future. You start the clock and up comes the now familiar dialogue for life essence. You’re about to apply the one you have when you pause. Maybe it would be better to hang onto it for now? It won’t be enough to complete the upgrade and Ciani may bring you more soon. Better to wait and see if there is anything else you can do with the stuff; that decided you decline the option and leave, heading for the center of the glade to see what other facilities or upgrades you may be able to begin.

Welcome Fade

Access Stockpile

Building Options

Lair Actions

You open the stockpile to take a quick inventory of your resources. Thanks to Sylvana there is plenty of food, and the goblins have already begun to make themselves useful gathering raw materials in the area. Chava seems to have been busy at work making use of the abundant herbs and other natural reagents in the glade. A tidy supply of various poisons, antidotes and healing salves were beginning to build up. You lack any ores, or metal though. You think that should be your next priority. You’ll need to have Grak and Tak do some scouting... You think how the two had trouble even moving through the area surrounding the glade without harming themselves on the barrier. On second thought... you should do it yourself.

You open the building options to see what else is available for you. So far you’ve got your lodge and the barracks for your minions. There are a couple of options that grab your attention: the workshop and the alchemy hut. It seems like the workshop would allow you to manufacture some of your more complex traps as well as other tools and weapons. The alchemy hut came kitted with tools for the creations of more effective potions and poisons for those who had the knowledge. Something you doubt that Chava had as of now. Both would take ore to build and you as of yet have none.

Time to scout then.

You know the area somewhat well by now, and with some advice from Sylvana find a couple of ore gathering spots. Your only problem is the simple tools you’ve been able to craft thus far make harvesting the stuff slow going. It takes you several hours to mine each of the locations you find, by the time you finish the day is nearing its end. You could return home, or stay in the field for a longer, more productive trip.