"I fear that you are right," said Karl as he walked toward the secret realm. Even though this part of the forest was still relatively new, he was deeply connected to it and knew how it was supposed to feel and behave. Yet something was wrong, because the forest was far too quiet. None of the insects or birds that should have been filling the air with their sounds were making a noise.
There were a lot of insects in their forest, after all, because the family had deliberately made sure that they had enough space to breed and expand their populations. The Sonnenbergs considered insects to be one of the foundations of the forest ecosystem, and their abundance was one of the reasons the forest could support so many birds of prey. There were enough small birds, rabbits, and frogs to sustain healthy populations of predators without throwing the ecosystem out of balance. The entire food chain depended on those seemingly insignificant creatures.
The animals living inside the forest had also grown accustomed to the Sonnenbergs' presence. They were not accustomed to ordinary humans, because the area around their former archery club had always been largely abandoned by wildlife. The family, however, gave off a much more subdued presence and naturally blended into their surroundings. At times, the animals probably considered them nothing more than another strange species living inside their territory.
"Yes, it is not looking good, so I guess I was right," Arin said quietly. "What are the plans?" He and Karl had reached the bottom of the hill, where the portal seemed to be preparing itself to burst open. The sight was enough to confirm that something was about to happen, even if they still had no idea exactly when the creatures would emerge.
"First, we will expand the number of guards to one thousand instead of the one hundred we have guarding the portal now," said Karl as he nodded toward the leader of the guards stationed there. He mentally pushed the matter of additional training to the back of his mind, because this disturbance should have been noticed earlier. Then again, only someone who had grown up inside this forest should have been capable of feeling such a subtle change, and the family did not come here often enough for everyone to have developed that sensitivity.
Getting a feel for a forest was important for the Sonnenbergs, however, because they were rangers by profession. Their work had not always been limited to protecting their own forest, and throughout history, they had often been hired to stop illegal poaching on the lands of nobles. That particular service had become one of the things they were most famous for, and they had continued doing it even during the period when they were effectively under the thumb of the Great House that would forever remain unnamed in their family records.
It had often been the younger men and women of the family who went out on those assignments. At the same time, those journeys gave them opportunities to search for suitable partners, because the Sonnenbergs had never been particularly fond of arranged marriages. They did not believe forcing two people together was the best way to preserve or strengthen their bloodline. Now that mana had revealed the existence of affinities, they could finally understand why finding suitable partners had always been so difficult.
The people they were naturally interested in tended to possess a certain affinity toward nature. Before mana appeared, the family had simply considered it strange that the people who remained within the family were so difficult to find partners for. The descendants who married outside the family during the Middle Ages had also rarely been suited to the Sonnenberg lifestyle. Looking back, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the family had been unknowingly selecting for a particular talent for generations.
Those old trips had therefore served several purposes at once. They allowed the younger members to hone their skills, search for potential partners, and deal with poachers. The poachers were usually driven away with arrows, because the Sonnenbergs had little patience for people who destroyed a forest for sport or sustenance. Fair or not, nobles were also not allowed to enter lands the family considered part of its responsibility simply because they wanted a private hunting ground.
If a Sonnenberg decided to care for a forest, they would continue doing so until they considered it healthy again. They did not particularly care whether the owner agreed with their methods, which was one reason they were not often invited to manage forests that were not badly damaged. Once they took responsibility for one, however, objections stopped mattering. The forest came first, and everything else came afterward.
"And then I want to say a whole lot more," Karl said as he glanced back toward the portal, "but they have already begun, and the rest will have to wait until the fight breaks out." There was nothing else he could accomplish at the moment, so he turned away and prepared to leave. For now, he simply had to make sure that Arin's observation was correct and that the family was prepared for whatever came through.
As for defensive infrastructure around the portal, there was still no reason to construct anything elaborate. The forest itself was already their greatest defensive structure. A thousand trained people combined with a forest that naturally favored the Sonnenbergs was worth far more than a collection of walls and trenches.
"Hey, Bennie, how are you doing?" Karl asked as he walked into the communal dining room and spotted his friend eating. The older man immediately looked up from his meal. "I am doing good, Karl, but how are the preparations for the secret realm going? I heard that it is starting to burst."
There was unmistakable excitement in Bennie's eyes when he said it. The thought of all the extra silver coins that would soon flow into the family treasury was enough to make him happy. Their family was not poor by any means, but they could certainly use more money, especially with the enormous amount they were investing into their growing town.
Bennie had actually been thinking about investing in a dockyard for their harbor. Until now, the harbor had mainly been useful for generating revenue, but a proper dockyard could completely change that. He was confident that he could invite several shipbuilding companies to settle in the city, because the harbor was naturally busy and there was already more demand for ships than the existing production capacity could handle.
The shipbuilding companies had standardized the construction of their boats as much as possible while still building them almost entirely by hand. These ships were not cheap, and people would rather have them built properly once than have them assembled quickly and need to be replaced ten years later, if not sooner. A dockyard would therefore be a major investment, but one that could eventually become another powerful source of income for the family.
"Bennie, snap out of your delusions," Karl said when he noticed the foolish grin spreading across his friend's face. He had seen that expression far too many times recently. "Why does everyone in this family keep daydreaming whenever something important happens?"
Bennie blinked before finally returning to reality. "The secret realm is going according to the plans we drew up," he said, now speaking seriously. "I have already sent someone running to the city to arrange for more arrows to be produced as quickly as possible." He paused before adding, "We are not going to be the only people dealing with an outbreak, so the demand for arrows is going to skyrocket."
"And that means prices will rise," Karl said.
"And shortages will become serious," Bennie replied with a nod. The moment the proving grounds and secret realms began producing more creatures, every organization capable of fighting them would need weapons, ammunition, armor, and other supplies. The Sonnenberg city happened to be Europe's largest producer of arrows, which put them in an extremely favorable position.
"Great, I would have totally forgotten about that," Bennie said, slapping a hand against his forehead. He looked genuinely grateful that Karl had reminded him before the situation became chaotic. "Thank you for catching that."
Karl simply sighed. There were already enough problems waiting for them without allowing their own family to forget about the most obvious opportunity sitting directly in front of them. The secret realm was about to erupt, the forest had already noticed the disturbance.