The Dragon's Wrath: Ashes of the Fallen

Chapter 67: Overseer

(Thursday, September 30th Game Day / Thursday, April 1st Real Day)

Watching over the crowds of NPCs as they ran about like worker ants did little to appease my persistent bad mood, as the numbness that had taken over my mind had slowly drifted away… only to be replaced with a steady buildup of anger and regret.

My emotions were complicated, as anyone's should be.

Katherine had yet to leave my side in the past three days, continuing to mourn for Selene in her own way. She reminded me of an abandoned puppy clinging to a newfound owner. I didn't mind it though.

I wasn't that much of an ass.

Even computer programming disguised as a female with the name of Katherine, had emotions in this strange game. Whether they were real emotions or not, whether she could actually feel anything, wasn't for me to decide or question… she was sad, upset, depressed, and I was the one that she turned to.

Walking around the grounds with Katherine in tow, all of the schematics had been laid down, traced out, and explained to the NPCs now at work.

The lodge had been rebuilt first and foremost, as it was the quickest of the projects being carried out. It looked much the same, as it did the first time around. The only difference now, was a dirt wall had been packed along the sides, exposing only a tiny amount of wood at the edge of the roof.

The palisade from before was largely repairable as well, though I had it torn down and rebuilt entirely from the ground up. A twelve foot wall replaced it, with a rampart eight feet tall sitting directly behind. Gates, crude ones for now, were nearly complete as a deep trench was being dug around the perimeter.

A moat, at least six feet deep and equally wide with channels cutting through the soon-to-be town to provide ease of access to fresh water at all times was going to be a key part. If time permits, a small draw bridge would be constructed, but for now, logs would serve as a temporary bridge to be rolled over in case of an attack.

Four towers inside the village were also taking shape, large enough to house a small contingent of warriors at all times. The towers would be their barracks, at least on the first floor, while the second floor would provide visibility and a position to safely attack from. Arrowslits would be a must, along with various slanted windows that would allow them a wide firing arc with near impunity.

A fifth tower would sit at the top of the mountain wall, at the breach that ended precipitously at the mouth of the river. That would be the primary tower, as well as the lighthouse when the time came.

Critical infrastructure buildings would be taken care of afterwards, the blacksmith and shipyard the two most important on my list. The livestock would graze where the forest once was, for there was no forest around my village anymore.

The chance of someone concealing their presence amongst the trees bothered me.

Plus, I needed the lumber.

The trees would grow back, but a three-hundred yard radius would be kept clear.

I didn't need to take any more chances, going forward.

A watch tower would be setup along the river, on the other side near the farm.

That was a necessity, as the farm sat by its lonesome on the other side of the bank, unable to be defended in the case of an attack. Luckily, the attackers didn't bother with swimming across the river, in order to burn it down.

Eventually, walls would be erected there too.

Once the basic fortifications were done I would turn my attention to the communal buildings. These were going to be almost entirely underground, two stories underground with a third above. The lodge that had been rebuilt would be the last of its kind. Dugouts were still a preference, but I wanted more flexibility and larger structures.

With two floors underground the only issue would be fresh air.

We could figure that out later.

Everything so far had been going according to plan and even with the bits of rage clouding my judgment, I could still appreciate the speed at which everyone was working. The morale and production boost was a serious thing.

They were working nearly twice as fast.

A week, one real week or three in-game weeks was all we needed.

And from the looks of it, [FWB] had returned home.

That home of theirs though, hah.

Well, it would be safe for the time being.

An interesting thing about honor in the Viking era, was the concept of revenge.

The honorable thing when wronged by someone, was to seek revenge. To regain your lost honor, to achieve vengeance, was the right thing to do. There was a saying, to the effect, "a slave takes revenge at once, a fool, never takes revenge."

I was neither a slave, nor a fool.

At least, in my mind that is.

Maybe I was both, philosophically speaking that was entirely possible.

A slave to the system, a fool of a man believing in his own freedoms… but that was neither here nor there. Vengeance was on my mind and it was to be carried out in due time. The idea, was to let your enemy believe they were safe; that you had forgotten, that you had been too scared to retaliate or some other nonsense.

And then when they least expected it, you came in, sweeping in and destroying them with them none the wiser until far too late.

That, was the honorable thing to do.

That, was what I was going to do.

The only thing left, was to improve myself.

"Katherine," I said softly, but sternly. "Prepare, we're leaving."

She nodded, in silence.