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My alternates tend to take over the world. Advice available. Rates negotiable.
Shell Bell puts up her sign and nibbles her most recent charity meal. Not potatoes! It is not potatoes. Or fish or clams. It is rice and curry and a fruity yogurt drink. That nice person told Bar she could use his tab for four meals, and this is meal number two.
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she_sells_seashells
she_sells_seashells
"Okay. Another thing I might be especially personally useful for is getting stuff translated, it just occurred to me that if you don't want to read everything aloud the next time I go to Milliways I could borrow copies and write down what I see them as saying there. Whereas most people probably have never been to Milliways."
seewhathappens
"That reminds me: I theorize that I might be able to open doors from Milliways to anywhere in either part of my domain. But I don't know whether it might cost divine power, or how much, so I don't want to experiment until things are more settled in case the cost is unexpectedly high."
she_sells_seashells
"...It shouldn't cost you anything to open it back to where you first came in, but getting somewhere else might, I don't know."
seewhathappens
"And neither do I. I will try it when things are quieter and I have more power to spare."
she_sells_seashells
"Yeah."
Time goes by. Ranae produces a list of items she would find useful in getting the school open at full capacity. The Career academy shuts down. Shell Bell makes sure everyone knows that the krakens are not yet a solved problem and they still shouldn't sail out too far, but boats undertake their normal fishing expeditions. Since they're not sending all the surplus to the Capitol whether they like it or not, they have to work out new ways to get it where it ought to go - there are only so many refrigerated train cars; they have to smoke and dry a lot of the fish - and as such there are somewhat fewer fishing expeditions than normal. But things are slowly returning to the better fractions of normal.
Time goes by. Ranae produces a list of items she would find useful in getting the school open at full capacity. The Career academy shuts down. Shell Bell makes sure everyone knows that the krakens are not yet a solved problem and they still shouldn't sail out too far, but boats undertake their normal fishing expeditions. Since they're not sending all the surplus to the Capitol whether they like it or not, they have to work out new ways to get it where it ought to go - there are only so many refrigerated train cars; they have to smoke and dry a lot of the fish - and as such there are somewhat fewer fishing expeditions than normal. But things are slowly returning to the better fractions of normal.
seewhathappens
The Capitol quiets down. More and more people receive priesthood appointments. Kirovalin starts making note of who he's going to want to transfer to administration when administration becomes a concern.
The edge of his domain advances into the wilderness at a steady pace.
The edge of his domain advances into the wilderness at a steady pace.
And when it gets far enough:
A person approaches the advancing treeline.
"Excuse me," she says nervously. "Please stop."
A person approaches the advancing treeline.
"Excuse me," she says nervously. "Please stop."
seewhathappens
The advancing treeline slows.
"Who are you?" asks a sourceless omnilingual voice.
"...My name is Tulip."
"Be...cause... there is already a functional government beyond about over there and we would like to continue doing what we're doing by ourselves."
seewhathappens
The treeline stops advancing. A few assorted berry bushes begin to grow at its edge.
"A reasonable request, if what you say is true. What territory do you claim?"
"A reasonable request, if what you say is true. What territory do you claim?"
"Uh, District Thirteen. We're mostly underground."
seewhathappens
"Then you may keep District Thirteen. Make known to your people that both visitors and immigrants will be welcomed in my empire."
"I'll make sure to mention it," says Tulip. "Another thing - we would also appreciate not being surrounded."
seewhathappens
"Reasonable," says Kirovalin. "You may claim the rest of this wilderness if you wish. There is no shortage of land to be raised from the oceans when my empire expands."
"...Are you planning to do a lot of that," asks Tulip.
Tulip nods. "Is there anything else I should mention when I go back?"
seewhathappens
"Anyone who wishes to speak with me may come to the edge of my domain and say my name. If I wish to speak with you, and send a representative for that purpose, will they be welcomed?"
"Your name is 'Kirovalin', right? And if someone comes unarmed and wants to talk someone will eventually come up to speak with them."
Tulip fidgets to see if he's going to say anything else, then turns around and goes back whence she came.
seewhathappens
Kirovalin mentions this incident to a few of his priests and advisors.
Including Shell Bell.
"In the wilderness, I encountered someone who claimed to represent a functional District Thirteen government and wished for me to stop expanding my domain in that direction. I have allowed this person and whatever interests she represents to keep their district and its surroundings for now; I am opposed to needless conquest. But given District Thirteen's original purpose, this news is... concerning."
Including Shell Bell.
"In the wilderness, I encountered someone who claimed to represent a functional District Thirteen government and wished for me to stop expanding my domain in that direction. I have allowed this person and whatever interests she represents to keep their district and its surroundings for now; I am opposed to needless conquest. But given District Thirteen's original purpose, this news is... concerning."
she_sells_seashells
"...That. Is concerning, yes, as well as surprising. I must have managed to miss anything they publish there while borrowing books. You could check the claim that way now you know where to source materials. And you could probably steer away a plane with a nuke with enough weather so at least they wouldn't bomb somewhere populated, but obviously the best result is not to be nuked at all. I wonder why they don't want you there. General principle or something specific?"