Jack quickly became inseparable with Blackmane, always having him near and riding him everywhere he went.
Not only did this save a lot of time, but his mental wounds seemed to lessen, for a while whenever he was with his steed.
Jack had asked Ben about the breeding of the high-horses.
According to Ben, three fourths of the horses were females and about to give birth this day.
Ben had obviously noticed the two large wheat fields and was happy with this.
It could be the horses secondary food source, next to grassing in the fast-growing ranch area.
He had told Jack, that to increase the heard, especially if he wanted them bred for war, it would be best to leave them in the ranch for a few years.
By that time, there would be enough for larger breeding and a yearly 'ready for duty' batch could be established.
For now Ben had said that Jack could take about 100 of the steeds for war duty.
The rest would have to stay for breeding and could easily be put to work in different areas like the wheat fields or in front of horse-wagons.
Jack therefore sent a horse to Nisha and Janus to enjoy at the plateau, and one for Harken in the forest area.
He also ordered 100 common ranked troops to be instructed in riding by Ben.
This mix of common troops would become his personal mounted guard.
And now Jack, happily on top of Blackmane, strode into lake-town with a white high horse in tow.
Xena had just come back through the gates in the left, or north side of the town.
She had been to the boatyard on the opposite site of the lake, near the north garrisons walls.
She had inspected the first fishing and transport boat.
The fishing boat had room for 10 fishermen, fully equipped with woven nets of the same vine-fiber they used for the sturdy ropes.
She had witnessed the first batch of fish being pulled from the lake.
Apparently these calm and serene blue waters held many and big fish.
The bounty were plentiful, and this was just a single catch of the net. The fishing boat could hold a few more throws before having to return home.
The transport boats were 4 meters wide and 10 meters long. A maximum carry capacity of 50 people with a little storage.
These small boats had a single small mast and required a small sail besides the oars.
These sails had to be created outside the boatyard. Xena had quickly realised that boatbuilding was a whole and large industry, requiring her to allocate a lot of civilians in this field.
She was deep in her thoughts about boatbuilding, as she saw the dense mass of people gathered at the crossroads in the middle of town.
'What's going on her? Seems like people are happy and laughing..' Xena increased her pace.
When she reached the civilians, they parted for the young and already admired governernor.
"There you are my daughter!" Jack said as he saw Xena appear.
He was standing next to the center of attention.
Many civilians had seen his adventure with the horses in the ranch, and they were now flocking around them.
They wanted to look at them up close and pet them. Many even gathered some grass to feed them.
"This is Falling Star. She is a very fast and dependable high horse. When I rode as fast as I could on Blackmane in the ranch, she was the only one who almost overtook us!" Jack said this proudly.
Blackmane was certainly the stallion and king of the herd. And this white 'Falling Star' could easily be categorized as the queen horse if something like that existed.
The smiles and laughs of the people around her quickly infected her.
She ran with a big smile, feeling just like a young girl who had just gotten a gift from her father that she didn't even know she wanted.
She immediately fell in love with this large and majestic horse.
The sheer size, standing next to it. The strong hooves and long mane, made Xena want to inspect every part of the horse until she finally froze and starred into the horses eyes.
"She is yours now. I have already ordered the strongest saddle to be made for you. Take good care of her!" Jack gave her the temporary reins, a simple rope around its neck.
Xena suddenly ran to Jack and hugged him right in front of all the civilians.
Her head barely reached his chest, and she could feel the warmth from her dad. She closed her eyes and savoured this moment were she felt nothing bad in the world could ever touch her.
"I see there's still a large area along the lake that you haven't used yet.. Enjoy your horse for a while, I still have work to do." Jack gently separated from the hug.
"Thank you for this Jack... I can't describe this feeling, but i truly love you as a father!" Xena gave him a last big hug before she shifted her focus entirely on Falling Star.
'So giving your daughter a horse, truly is a winner move.' He smiled watching her happily with the civilians around the horse.
He then mounted Blackmane and went to the 500 meters of lake-beach, located between the town walls.
[Lord System: Harbour Blueprint]
[The harbour is essential to any coastal city. This blueprint provides areas in the water for ship docking and the corresponding buildings, like small primitive cranes for on- and offloading crates and other cargo goods. This is the small version. Cost: Wood x250.000. Stone x50.000. Iron x20.000. Gold Coins x75.000. Needs 100 meter wide and 10 meters long empty space on land, including 20 meters into the water. Can be upgraded]
'Small version? Good, so it can be upgraded if I the traffic increases over time..'
With the Lord System, Jack could clearly see the entire harbour-frame in his eyes.
He could slide it over the land, and put it down at the most suitable place along the lake-beach.
An entire harbour appeared after a few seconds.
The town now looked much more prosperous. The fishing boats could now unload the stocked boat directly into town.
And the small transport boats could likewise quickly ferry the builders to the boatyards, or new troops to the garrison castles, without having to walk around the lake.
Jack then went to another large and empty space in the right, or south, side of town.
[Lord System: Siege Workshop]
[The Siege Workshop is an industrialized war platform. Here you can create both stationary and mobile siege weapons. A hero with a corresponding ability needs to be assigned for further research and advancement. Cost: Wood x250.000. Stone x135.000. Iron x450.000. Gold Coins x1.000.000]
'So expensive! Maybe this is the price lords have to pay to advance their warfare?..'
But Jack quickly ignored the cost, he was very wealthy after all.
He made it right away and a 100 square meters, lengthy, area became full of small work-houses or outdoor areas full of experimental machinery.
[Siege Workshop, Stage 1]
[Currently available for construction]
[Small stationary scorpion: A fast-loading mounted scorpion that fires large wooden or iron bolts. Best suited to mount upon walls or towers]
'So that's all for now. I can't place them in the field, I guess I need a hero to research the larger ballistae for that.. But at least all my walls and towers can now provide an explosive defensive power.'
Jack was satisfied with this for now. At some point he would have to figure out how to cultivate more heroes. It seemed like they were needed for many things.
Governing, researching, leading troops in battle and probably many more things.
Before Jack left, he instructed Xena to start building these scorpions. He wanted them mounted on every tower and every 10 meters of every wall.
He would likewise order the dwarfs at black mountain to begin mass producing the iron bolts needed in these defensive machines.
'This will surely make a dent in the iron reserves to say the least. Good thing there will be 20.000 new civilians tomorrow.'
Jack knew he had to allocate a lot of the dwarfs to the iron mine in the mountain, but he was sure Nisha was already covering all that.
'They have really stepped up while I were..... Away...'
When Jack had returned to his mansion, he found that he could safely leave such matters to his friends and family so he could focus on other things.
[Mission completed: Create a Harbour]
[Gained: Shipyard Blueprint]
Jack didn't have a need for a shipyard yet, the boats would suffice on the river.
Instead he checked the new mission that instantly refreshed.
[New Mission: Capture 500 wild cows from the Dilato Fields. Reward: Bakery Blueprint]
'So I can manually create a diary farm for milk and meat while gaining the bakery for bread...'
Jacks lips turned into a wide grin.
'Lets collect some rope and catch some cows!'