I sat there, rubbing my temple hard and trying to focus on the options, but anwhile the council mbers were ready to tear each other's throats out. Now it beca perfectly clear to
why Zorgh had called
here so desperately. The noise was such that I felt another minute of this, and I'd beco physically ill.
A dark fog began to slowly seep from my body. Dead silence instantly reigned in the hall. The light of the lamps flickered, and the weight of my aura crashed down onto the shoulders of those present.
"Just calm down already..." I tossed out, more to myself than to them.
I exhaled deeply, and the darkness vanished with a snap, leaving the council mbers drenched in cold sweat.
"Alright then. I've been thinking..." I smiled crookedly and pulled a twenty-sided clay die out of thin air.
Aren't the eternal questions of justice decided by the will of chance? I tossed the die onto the table. It rolled an eleven. What did that an? I had no idea myself, just waited for a brilliant idea to pop into my head.
"Listen here! The mountain currently belongs to . Factually, I handed it over to the king's possession, and our king is an envoy of the people. Bottom line: the land belongs to the people. It cannot be bought, only leased."
I rolled the die again. A two. Eleven tis two... let's make it twenty-three.
"Business land cannot be leased for longer than twenty-three years. And if it's just housing, where people aren't making money but raising kids?" I rolled two dice at once. Nineteen and three. "No more than fifty-seven years!"
I swept the council with a questioning gaze, as if asking them for advice. "What does this an? It ans only a part of the value is inherited; buy out the rest from the state. A thirty-five percent inheritance tax for businesses! And if it's just a house, then..." I pondered for a mont, "let it be ten percent."
The elders gasped and started whispering in fright. I, on the other hand, was just getting a taste for it.
"BUT! Every citizen of Slick is entitled to a free house. By default. And we will introduce a 'Utility System'. The more you do for the Mountain, the more bonuses you get. Are you a farr? Plus ten to utility. You have five kids? Another plus. Kids went to school? Consider your land and water taxes completely waived! A scientist made a discovery? Plus to utility!"
I spun around in my chair, waving my arms. "If utility is over forty—you live inside the Mountain itself for free. Committed a cri—minus. Sitting flat on your ass—live in a simple house, but no frills. More kids—more rooms. Education—free for everyone!"
The eyes of those present were bulging out of their heads, but I didn't stop. "So the rich don't get arrogant, we'll create State Companies. If so lineage of farrs takes over all the fields and jacks up the price of bread—the State Company steps out and sells bread at a fixed price. We'll give free rein to small businesses and create eternal competition for the fat cats."
I grabbed the dice again. A ten and a twenty. "Alright, twenty minus ten... Ah, whatever! Heavy labor—no more than eight hours a day with a one-hour break. Light labor—no more than eleven. You tweak the numbers yourselves. And the main thing: the rich can't just have their money sitting in chests. After a certain amount, it'll start to... well, let's say, burn up. Want to keep your capital—invest it in the developnt of the Mountain!"
Zorgh feverishly wrote down my every word, while the rest of the council mbers looked at
like a madman.
"And we'll also make a Central Bank," I added, rembering sothing from a past life. "If you want—deposit money at a low interest rate, if you want—take out a loan. A long-term loan—at four percent, a quick one for risky guys—at eight. Cool, right?"
I fell silent, surveying the hall. "Every citizen has the right to free housing, education, and food. You work, study, bring utility—get your three loaves of bread a day for free. And if you're useless and just wasting oxygen alone—fend for yourself. Zorgh, after passing these laws, you will dissolve this council and assemble a new one, out of those who are actually useful and literate."
A heavy silence hung in the hall. Soone at the table cursed
barely audibly, calling
a madman who doesn't understand what he's doing. I pointed a finger at him sharply.
"You're right, man!" I exclaid cheerfully. "Got criticism? Throw it at , I'm not afraid, nothing will happen to you for it. But..." my voice instantly turned to steel, "if you go out into the square with sticks or malicious intent against these rules... Death to you."
I jumped up happily and left the room, leaving them to digest my brave new world.
I stepped out of the hall, feeling an invisible hoop squeezing my temples. My legs gave way on their own, and I simply sat down in the empty corridor, burying my face in my hands. Heavy, ragged breathing echoed off the vaults.
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"What the hell am I doing..." I whispered into my palms. "What kind of ruler am I?"
Numbers, the faces of the old n, Zorgh's frightened gaze raced through my head. I understood: right now, the king is just window dressing. Without my shadow behind his back, he would have been eaten alive right there on the spot, without even waiting for lunch.
But that was the trap. If I give all the power to Zorgh while he's good and wise—the Mountain will flourish. But what then? What if the next elected one turns out to be a scumbag? Or just a fool with ambitions? Then absolute power will beco poison. But if I divide this power now, decentralize it... Zorgh won't be able to push through a single reform. He'll get buried in paperwork, argunts, and protests by those very sa rich folks.
"AAAAAAH!" I punched the wall with force.
The stone crunched, a fine web of cracks crawling across it. I pressed my forehead against the cold surface, not unclinching my fist. "Why so much responsibility? Why couldn't I just leave this mountain empty?"
I jumped up from the cold floor of the corridor, nearly knocking over a passing dwarf. Everything clicked in my head. I dashed to Zorgh's office so fast that only a faint trail of scarlet fog was left behind .
"Zorgh! Your main task is to raise new people!" I blurted out, bursting into the office. "People who love their freedom more than their comfort!"
The old man flinched, dropping his quill, but quickly pulled himself together. I didn't let him get a word in edgewise.
"We will write a Code of Laws. The main one. And every, you hear , every resident of Slick must know it by heart. So that if an idiot or a tyrant takes your place tomorrow, the people won't sit in the corners, but will know: they have a legal right to rebel. And if the king is good—the law will be his support. This should definitely be enough for a century!"
Zorgh was silent for a long ti, studying
with his wise, tired eyes. "My lord..." he began. "Even though you look like so erratic, foolish teenager right now... You truly care for your residents. That is a rarity for beings of your... level."
"Uh... thanks for the bluntness," I chuckled awkwardly and sat right on the edge of his desk.
We spent the rest of the day arguing. We drew boundaries: where the right of one ends and the freedom of another begins. I suggested a crazy idea: so people don't stagnate, they should change their housing every ten years. Zorgh looked at
like a madman and didn't approve the idea, but wrote it in the footnotes—"for the future."
By evening, we had a "soapy" but solid formulation of a social contract. Zorgh promised to polish it all up and clothe it in legal terminology. But one question kept gnawing at my insides worse than the cursed teeth.
Power. How do you give it to the people without turning the mountain into chaos?
If the people are literate and conscious—giving them power isn't scary. But if they don't understand how the world works... The foundation of any state is simple: we take a portion of your freedom in exchange for your safety. And now I needed to clearly understand: what exact part of freedom does Mount Slick take from its children?
The next day I decided to insure against myself and future kings. I pressed my palms to the wall and addressed the very depths of the stone. "Rember my words, Mountain. I am your creator. If ever more than half of your residents rise up in rebellion against the authorities—you must take their side. Understood?"
The earth responded with a dull, short jolt. A weak little earthquake, as if the mountain nodded in agreent. Uh-huh. Now it's alive. Well, almost.
I assigned ice golems to Zorgh. And, as it turned out, not for nothing—this week he was almost stabbed to death in his own bed at night. Apparently, my laws about "burning gold" stuck in the craw of the old elite.
The first prison appeared too. The place turned out creepy. If the punishnt was severe, criminals were sent to survive in the inner territory of the Mountain, into that very icy hell with eternal rain. I don't know who ca up with that, definitely not , but it sounds effective.
A week later, the Code of Laws was ready. I grabbed the papers and first thing ran to Mama and Papa-farr. Read to them all day, went hoarse by the end. "Well, what do you think?" I asked, looking at them hopefully. Papa-farr scratched the back of his head, looking off toward his field. "Well, school is good. As long as nobody stops
from growing and selling, that's all," he answered.
I looked at him gloomily. So much tornt just for "don't stop "? Fine. I went to Algur, who had now beco sothing like the Senior Master. Read it to him. "Well..." Algur thought. "The idea with state companies—that's like stability. But, honestly, I didn't understand much of this 'capitalism' of yours."
I sighed heavily and headed to Alastia. She was lounging in a bubbling hot spring. I took a running jump into the water, splashing her. "Alastia! Look, look!" I held out the papers to her like a kid bringing ho their first A from school.
She stood up, took the sheets, and began to read carefully. "It's alright," she delivered her verdict. "A lot of new words I haven't heard before." I exhaled and simply lay on the surface of the water, looking at the distant sky. "Alastia..." I called. "What?" "Can I ask you for a favor? In eleven or thirteen years, oblivion will cover
again. I'll forget everything. And I don't want to force myself to rember everything. I ask you... keep an eye on the Mountain. You're going to live forever anyway."
She walked over to
and slowly began combing through my red hair. "Are you asking
to stay in one place for such a long ti?" "No... Just drop by here from ti to ti. And if necessary—put things in order." "And what makes you think, Zenhald, that I'll be able to tell good from evil?" she asked quietly. "What if I am the evil?" I smiled, closing my eyes. "You're kind. I know."
She stayed silent and soon left, leaving
alone in the bubbling water. By evening, I returned to the Mountain. Taking a chisel, I began carving the words of the Code right into the rock at the entrance, so the stone would rember them forever.
I gave the papers to Zorgh and went to sleep. In a week, these laws will beco reality.
It was the strangest month of my life. A wave of bureaucracy washed over Mount Slick: now everything here was recorded, recounted, and archived. Activists rushed through the streets, hamring the new Code of Laws into everyone they t. With my own ears, I heard so guy on the street interrogating a kid with a flyer: "So, if the boss forces
to plow for more than eight hours, I can just complain and I won't get fired?" "Exactly!" the activist shouted proudly. "And if we find out you were fired—he can get thrown behind bars himself!" The guy nodded contentedly, and I wandered on. The Mountain no longer needed my intervention, so I just spent all day, every day, hanging out in the new cafes, tasting everything in sight.
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