holy place

[she_sells_seashells]

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.

Comments

[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.

[alicornucopia]

And when it gets far enough:

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.

[alicornucopia]

"...My name is Tulip."

[seewhathappens]

"Why do you ask me to stop?"

[alicornucopia]

"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?"

[alicornucopia]

"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."

[alicornucopia]

"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."

[alicornucopia]

"...Are you planning to do a lot of that," asks Tulip.

[seewhathappens]

"Perhaps not in your lifetime, but yes."

[alicornucopia]

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?"

[alicornucopia]

"Your name is 'Kirovalin', right? And if someone comes unarmed and wants to talk someone will eventually come up to speak with them."

[seewhathappens]

"Yes, it is. Very well."

[alicornucopia]

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."

[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?"

[seewhathappens]

"It could easily be general principle. I plan to send a delegation later, either one of my manifestations or some local mortals or both, and see what else I can find out that way. And I will see about borrowing copies of their books."

[she_sells_seashells]

"I wonder how they get their information. They could have filtered or partial details from - spies or piggybacked transmissions or something."

[seewhathappens]

"Yes. I'm consulting a few people about that."

[she_sells_seashells]

"The Capitol have to have known in their own right, I wonder why no one told you. Thought you knew, thought it'd be awkward with anyone who found out they'd said, thought it needed careful handling and didn't have a careful proposal ready to go in time..."

[seewhathappens]

"The Capitol is enough of a continuing mess that I fully believe the information simply hadn't yet found its way into the hands of anyone who both wanted to tell me and knew I should be told."