The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds Book 1)

CHAPTER 26

They linked with the other two boats in Leaf’s Crossing, carrying the human settlers, supplies and livestock. Rosy met them at the docks. Richter thanked her and pressed a few more coins into her hand. There was no difficulty or trouble in either arriving at or leaving the town. Not surprising as their speed on the river had considerably shortened the trip time between Law and Leaf’s Crossing. While a scout on a fast horse might have made the same time, the count very likely didn’t know who had made off with his property yet. Even if he had, it would take a large force considerably longer to gather and oppose them. The bigger fear would be if an attack ship had pursued them, but Terrod said there were not many of them. The royal fleet was comprised more of transport ships to move soldiers quickly among the numerous waterways. Luckily, they continued on after Leaf’s Crossing unmolested.

Richter decided to invest four of his new characteristic points into Intelligence, and another two into Wisdom. He needed a greater capacity for mana usage. The 50% from level nine and ten he invested into Archery. It was his most advanced skill, and seemed like the best way to get a lot of bang for his buck.

A day after leaving Leaf’s Crossing, they entered the forest, and five days after that, they reached the mist. Richter had spoken with all the ships captains and warned them of the mist’s confusing properties. He had split his Companions, and Randolphus among the four ships, giving each immunity from the swirling grey vapors in the air around them. Though they had to move slowly, they were able to navigate the river with each helmsman listening to the four.

A monotone voice greeted him as the village came into view, “Welcome back my Lord.”

Chuckling lightly, Richter replied, “Hello Futen. I missed your pretty face.”

The orb just pulsed slowly without replying.

The Mist Workers had apparently been busy. The trench was now a good twenty feet deep and thirty feet wide. Trees had been cleared from the areas surrounding the village leaving a potential killing ground if ever they were attacked. Large stacks of white stone were piled, alongside large mounds of iron ore. Several pyramidal piles of logs had been made with dozens of trees each as well. The loose rocks and debris within the ruined walls had all been removed. The village had been turned into an RTS gamer’s wet dream.

That actually wasn’t quite right, he reflected. Richter had vast plans for his new home. What he was looking at was closer to the foundation for a grand strategy. The kind of wonderfully beautiful morass that could devour your personal life for days or weeks at a time. Either way it was a blank slate with plenty of resources! Richter shook his head. It had not been easy, and had involved travel, pain, blood and loss, but he was finally ready to start making his new world. To begin the Founding of his own Kingdom.

A small ceremony was held for Jeremy. His body was burned on a pyre. All of the nonhumans gathered to show respect to the man who had died for their freedom. That night several deer were roasted, and a small feast was held. Terrod told humorous stories about his old friend to the laughter of many. He later told Richter that Jeremy would have appreciated being remembered like this.

It took a couple days to unload everything from the ships. Once everything was removed, Richter, Sion, Terrod and Randolphus guided the ships back out of the mist. Richter arranged for one ship to come back to this point in about a month’s time. He needed a quick way to get back to Leaf’s Crossing to bring his trade goods. Hopefully he would have his own boat soon, but until then the cost of paying for transport was worth shortening the weeks’ long trip to only a few days. It was also considerably less dangerous on the waterways than hiking through the forest.

They made the ten-mile hike back to the village on foot. Richter had been somewhat concerned that Randy wouldn’t be able to keep up, but he kept pace with no difficulty. The weather was thankfully not too cold as spring was just starting. The higher altitude did make a colder temperature than in Law, and the nearby mountains didn’t help, but it was only slightly uncomfortable, not dangerous. The primary task everyone focused on was making shelters. The readily available resources made the task go quickly though. While it was being constructed, all two hundred and ninety souls stayed underground. It was not exactly comfortable with that many people, but it was safe and dry.

Randolphus, or Randy, as Richter insisted on calling him to his clear frustration, showed his value immediately. He organized having a latrine dug, hunting parties, creating guard rotations and assigning countless necessary tasks that Richter would not have thought of. The hunters were also given immunity from the mists, but only after each had been spoken to and vetted by Richter again personally. While it would be difficult for a traitor to lead someone back to the village, he didn’t want to take the risk unnecessarily. Granting everyone immunity now was premature. He did roll the mists back a full mile from the center of the village though to make it easier to move around. The farmers were also eager to cultivate the lush soil outside of the city wall. They began preparing the land for planting with guards along the periphery to protect against animal, or god forbid, monster attacks.

The dwarves were massively excited about having access to relatively untouched land and several disappeared on the first day into the hills north of the city exploring tunnels and caves. As far as Richter was concerned, the forge was the next priority construction after shelter. According to the dwarves, a tavern was a close third. Apparently a few dozen casks of ale had been packed on the ships as “essential” supplies.

The first building was finished in little over a week. It resembled a meeting hall more than a house. It was two hundred feet long and seventy feet wide. Each log had been denuded by stripping the bark. The bark hadn’t gone to waste though as it was rendered down to make a rudimentary tar. The builders had strewn gravel along the ground from the quarry stones to protect from the damp. Overtop the gravel, they had placed logs sawn in half longitudinally to make a crude floor a few inches above the ground. The walls had been erected in only a few days, but the roof took twice as long. It would have taken even longer, but the high strength and nearly endless stamina of the Mist Workers had saved considerable time. Two rudimentary fireplaces had been built at either ends. The large room that resulted was dry and more importantly warm at night. Everyone’s mood improved drastically once everyone had more space to spread out in. Richter knew that for a fact.

You have constructed your first building! Shelter is one of the basic necessities of survival. Your people require more than just the bare essentials, however. Though they have not complained, tensions were getting tight, and morale would have suffered if they had suffered cramped conditions for much longer. Morale increased by 50. Further information regarding morale can be found on village interface.

I have got to spend some time looking at that interface, Richter thought. He resolved to do it soon.

Once the shelter was finished, the frantic pace slowed down a bit. Initially everyone had worked almost feverishly from sunup to sundown to make the village livable. Sion had even take charge of the kids to see which had an affinity for herb lore, and surprisingly most did. The smell of drying herbs and ingredients became commonplace in the caverns that had all been sharing as a living space. A welcome surprise was that the lake in the hills above the village held many rare herbs, according to Sion.

Richter had initially been concerned that there might be a problem with the humans and nonhumans working together, but his worries came to nothing. Everyone seemed happy to apply themselves to honest work, unhindered by unjust laws. His new people walked around with smiles on their faces.

There were many things to be done. Quests to be completed. Enemies to be stopped. People to be rescued. Items to be identified, and weapons to forged. He also had an appointment to keep in Leaf’s Crossing in about five weeks as arranged with Hafiz. That meant they needed to collect the Potions of Clarity. Richter couldn’t wait for more adventure! He would be lying though, if he said he wasn’t a bit tired. It was, he decided, time for a short vacation before everything got crazy again. When he discussed it with Sion, his friend whole heartedly agreed.

The next morning, they left for the Hearth Tree. Both of their armors had taken a beating in the past several weeks, and the smiths in the village said they could not fully repair them as they were completed with sprite magic. Sion assured him that Hisako would be able to restore their armaments to full strength, though she might give them an earful about being more careful as well. It seemed like a fair trade to Richter. Both of them were missing the tough diminutive woman. Richter left Terrod in charge with Randolphus as his capable aid. Richter stressed that he wanted construction started on a ship as soon as possible.

They decided to take a relaxed pace, speaking little, nearly retracing their initial journey that seemed so long ago. Encountering nothing more dangerous than a deer, they simply enjoyed the peace of the Forest. It was a balm to both of them. It felt like coming home. After several days, they were greeted with the sight of the Hearth Tree surrounded by the sea of golden grass. As always, Hisako seemed to know they were approaching, and was waiting at the boundary of the golden grasses.

“Be welcome at the Hearth Tree, Richter of the Mist Village,” she said with a warm smile. “And welcome home my son, I see you have grown in strength, hopefully in wisdom as well,” the last said with a wry arch of her eyebrow.

“Thank you mother. Yes, I have learned much, and found a good friend and ally,” Sion replied with a smile.

Richter walked forward and took her hand, “Hearth Mother, thank you. Sion is more than a friend to me, he is like a brother. There is no way I could have accomplished what I have accomplished without him. I formally extend the friendship and welcome of the Mist Village to you and your people. I sincerely hope that you will ask me for any help that you might need.”

A serious look came over her face, “I was hoping you would say that. There have been small camps of goblins and bugbears seen in the forest between here and the Fire Tip Mountains to the east. They are slaughtering all of the local wildlife and despoiling the Forest. We need to clear them out and learn why they are making inroads into the Forest. I will not stand by and watch the Forest of Nadria become like the Whisper Woods, overrun with evil creatures. The Forest will be protected, no matter how many battles it takes. Will you help?”

You have been offered a Quest: Protect the Forest I. Bugbears and goblins have invaded the forest, and are disrupting nature’s balance. The Hearth Mother is asking your help. You must destroy an enemy camp. Optional: Find out why the invaders are coming into the Forest. Reward: Unknown. or No?

Richter looked at Sion, “Ready to take out some more bad guys?”

Sion looked back with that blood thirsty grin of his, “Oh yes, brother! That’s what we do!”