William started his return to Greenwell and was pleased with the progress he had made. As he took each step, William felt an almost feline level of nimbleness to his movements, like a predator hunting prey. He was also confused. Why had he only started moving with more grace so suddenly? His Dexterity remained the same and he hadn’t practiced the new stride that he exhibited. It was a boon to be sure, but one he would need to enquire about at some point in the future. It almost felt like some extra agility was unlocked once he had learned the Form of the Sea. It felt new, but also familiar. It was as if it had been with William since he could walk, a part of his soul rekindling the knowledge and muscle memory.
William tried doing some side steps and dashes while walking. There was no pattern as it was a practice focused on sudden evasion. Every step, dash, leap, and weave he executed felt perfect. It felt like his legs were replaced with those of a ballet dancer. William instinctively knew that the fluidity of movement he felt in those actions could all be enhanced with proper timing and decisive strikes of his blade. William returned to his slow walking pace enjoying the re-emerged sunlight as it slowly worked to dry him off. The sun reflected off of his shield, casting a reflected beam of sunlight that shimmered across the dew-soaked grass. The light was refracted in a glorious kaleidoscope of color, and it then clicked for William that he had an even bigger advantage in his swordplay. The shield he bore allowed for two handed sword grips and fluidity of movement while kept smaller. He would thus have more protection than typical swordsmen using the Arcane Sword arts.
He started to see Greenwell come into view and used the time in that last stretch of his walk to envision his knew techniques with his sword added into the picture. His ability to visualize the scenario as adeptly as he could was a significant boon as he could glean that for Form of the Sea at least, the shield was perfectly viable. A smile filled his face at that, as the entrance to Greenwell was once more in front of him. The gate was left open through the day as people came and went to transport lumber.
William walked through the gate and examined the surroundings. In the several hours he was away, Noctis had managed to get a handful of people to take the Builder job from the work that those individuals were doing. He was even more surprised that Walter was working hard amongst them. William almost expected a flying pig to appear or something else unbelievable to indicate that he was in some hallucination. He then remembered where he was, and the concept of a flying pig was completely possible. He shook his head, removing the burdensome thoughts and made his way around Greenwell. He wanted to see how everyone else was getting on.
William passed the first hut, nearest to the gate and found several people including Jill and his Mother following Frenn’s instructions on tailoring as each had some of the Lynx furs that had been salvaged over the past few weeks. He smiled at the sight, and was relieved that his Mother was getting involved in something. Maybe speaking to a native of their new world would help her shift the burden of being religious. He probably hoped for too much however, and continued walking after giving the group a polite wave. His Mother gave him a reserved smile and wave back. “Still early days.” William thought, doing his utmost to avoid visibly grimacing. He hurried his pace slightly and looked for the next thing of interest.
He didn’t have to wait long as he saw a group of people sitting on chairs made with varying degrees of quality. In the middle was Devlin who sat on a flawless wooden chair. He was apparently explaining carpentry to some others including Steve, John, and Jeff. From what he could pick up through simple observation was that each apprentice was tasked with making their own chair before having to test it’s stability with their behinds. Images of not so nice things sticking where they shouldn’t go came to his mind and he outwardly cringed at the thought. William recovered quickly and carried on walking. He decided to check out the other end of the settlement as he guessed that Armine and Stacey would be there. A guess formed from him not spotting them so far.
His intuition served him well and as he neared one of the further away huts, William heard soft humming. This was followed by some footsteps that sounded like they were circling one another. William decided to be nosey and stick his head in. He had not expected the sight that he then bore witness to.
In front of him was a dancing pair in Stacey and Jane and they were swaying to a softly hummed melody conducted from Armine’s ever voluptuous lips. “They must have wanted the Performer job.” He surmised. The three had their backs to the door so he just sneaked inside and stood with his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. He was looking forward to their reaction when they eventually noticed him. That did not take long as Jane spun, eyes widening in sudden shock as her eyes recognized William’s wry smile. “Argh!” was all Jane got out before she stumbled and fell onto one of the nearby bedrolls. This prompted an impossible to conceal laugh from William as he saw Armine and Stacey look down at Jane then over at him.
Jane glared daggers at him. He walked over and extended a hand to help her up. She looked at it for a second before huffing and letting William pull her to her feet.
William then grinned and quipped, “That was...entertaining. A budding performer wows her first fan?”
Jane growled and slapped his arm in what William hoped was faux annoyance. Jane crossed her arms and sunk deep in thought.
William turned to face his girls and gave them a warm smile, “Sorry for intruding, I just got back and was rather curious. You were great by the way Stacey, and your voice was soothing Armine,” He said, conveying genuine amazement.
The two girls gave him warm smiles back as Stacey stretched briefly before looking at the sword sheathed on his side.
She smiled and said, “How’s your day been? I don’t see any signs of battle, so I’m glad. You don’t seem to have great luck on your own.”
He chuckled at that, “I have lots of luck. I gain new gear, levels, and skills. All for some of my blood and lots of monster and bandit blood. It’s a fantastic trade.”
“That’s fair, but it can’t be as great as it sounds surely, after taking those lives. I still see that mage we...finished off sometimes when I close my eyes.”
Silence filled the entire hut as Stacey looked down, bearing a somber posture. William needed to say something to improve the atmosphere.
William put his hands on her shoulders and lowered himself to her head height as he said, “You’re right. I occasionally remember those I killed. Typically at inconvenient times. This world isn't kind enough for us to be at peace and follow true pacifism. I see it as this: They died because we wanted to live more. Is it not a disservice to their souls if we refuse to accept their sacrifice and allow weakness that will jeopardize ourselves in future conflicts?”
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He believed in that conviction. Those who die by his hand would add to the weight of life he bore. To just die out of nowhere or in an anticlimactic manner would insult the souls of those he had ended.
Stacey nodded slightly at his words and regained some composure. The mood had improved somewhat, but more work was needed. Fortunately, Jane came in with an immediate atmosphere changer.
“Okay William, for scaring me and bringing a downer mood on us, you can do a dance for us. It’s only fair,” Jane remarked, some glee on her voice.
William blankly stared at her for a moment, “What?” He replied, at a sudden loss for words.
“You heard me dear brother. You upset a bunch of fair maidens in the middle of their revelry. You need to provide us with some…entertainment of course.”
“Two fair maidens and you, you mean?”
“Three, or do I need to mention the story of a certain, large pillow in your room.”
William paled at that and was thankful that he had turned to face Jane, hiding his expression from his girls. “She’s really bringing Kana-Chan into this?!” That was something he would not let slip out of her mouth. Luckily two could play that game.
“how about in return for that titbit, I say about the Jurassic Park...trouser shower. Or the hair lock collection.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“You really wanna try me?” William retorted with a wicked grin.
The look of defeat on Jane’s face was as plain as day. He was a benevolent and kind big brother, however, and decided to take her up on the dance suggestion and do some vanity driven showboating.
“I’ll be gracious and provide you with some entertainment,” He said, walking into the center of the hut.
He gestured for the others to stand back and they obliged, unhidden curiosity and anticipation evident on their faces.
Before he started, William wanted to experiment with something, “Armine, can you hum a simple melody that has a flowing tempo please?”
He saw Armine’s excitement hit a visible crescendo as she eagerly nodded as she cleared her throat.
“Just say when.” Armine said, the glee as clear as the summer skies.
He summoned his first sword from his spatial ring and the three onlookers gasped slightly, having not expected his dance to become a sword dance or for a sword to appear from thin air. He took some satisfaction at that.
He then nodded to Armine and she began. William closed his eyes and started his kata, increasing and decreasing the speed to match the tempo Armine’s humming went at. The three witnessed a blur of feline grace and deadly precision as the art was in perfect synchronicity with the melodic tempo. The highs of the tempo made William’s figure blur further and the swishes of his blade thrum and whoosh. The tempo then slowed and William’s form became that of a gentle tide, conveying the grace of the ocean. This cycle in tempo continued for about five minutes before Armine stopped.
William returned the sword into his ring and opened his eyes. He felt satisfaction in the reactions of his onlookers. Stacey was mesmerized and her eyes screamed of adoration and interest. Jane’s mouth was agape, clearly struck silly by William calling her on the dance thing. Armine was grinning wide, and her eyes were lustful. He expected that tonight would be...energetic.
He smiled and gave a small bow before he went to leave the hut. He stopped in the door way and said, “I’ll let you ladies get back to what you were doing. I need to practice more sword-forms.”
Armine nodded with a clearly hormone driven lust promising myriad activities ahead. Jane regained her composure and walked to the center of the room and resumed her dance. Stacey beamed a warm smile at him and replied, “Have fun. I can’t wait to see what you learn for your next...dance.” and she shot him a final wink before joining Jane.
William glanced back at the hut with a warm smile before he decided to finally head to the shed and check out the second form that awaited him. He walked for another thirty seconds or so and was about to enter his abode when he heard his father, Bill speak up from nearby.
“Hey son, come join your old man for a moment will you?” Bill said, with some excitement in his voice.
William inwardly sighed. He just wanted to read his book. It couldn’t be helped though and he turned around, spotting his father near the fields with budding crops and noticed Wallace stood with his father.
He approached them and looked between the two older men, “What’s up?”
Wallace pointed to the fields before replying, “The two of us were discussing improving our potential yields of crops. The last harvest we did gave us enough seeds to replant these small fields five times over. This new yield is growing as quickly too and we anticipate getting the same amount in the end. This effect is obviously magical in nature, but we are surrounded by empty hills. The potential for cultivating large fields is great here. The climate is glorious for it and with the root vegetables we have, we can grow crops in winter time too. Provided the winters in this world are similar to those on Earth.
“Suffice to say, we want to turn multiple hills into fielded areas and farmland. With the mercantile capabilities that Armine says she has, we could potentially trade crops for livestock in the future and expand our agricultural capabilities in the future. We just wanted to involve you in it, given the agreement we both came to before I became leader.”
It was a fascinating plan, and one William was happy to get behind, particularly as it seemed like he didn’t need to be deeply involved.
“Sounds like a great idea, Wallace, Dad. It’s an exciting prospect for the future. Once this land is bandit free, I think our real growth as a settlement will begin in earnest.”
His father grew slightly concerned at the mention of bandits. “Provided we are all here to see that day.” Bill said, with some fear in his voice.
“We will. I won’t allow for any other outcome,” William replied, his conviction powering his tone and emanating an aura of confidence not unlike his natural aura that he would fully access in a couple of levels.
His father’s reaction had steadied somewhat and he looked back at the fields and said, “I’ll get back to the crops for a bit.”
Wallace and William both nodded as they watched Bill walk over to the further field and start to check the crops.
“He isn’t the only one worrying Lad. Several of the others are scared senseless and those people don’t want to fight. They would prefer to focus solely on the new jobs they’ve picked up. We currently have twenty four combatants including our party,” Wallace said, matter of factly.
William thought on that before replying, “Let me guess; The Duncans and those other three that opposed your leadership?”
“Close. Yes to the Duncans, and yes to two of those people, but the third extra person is your mother. I think we both know she doesn’t have it in her to harm another person. It’s for the best. The other five...I can’t begin to understand. As long as those five pull their weight in their jobs, we can manage with the improved defenses.”
That was an interesting update for sure. William had to ask the question, “What about the combat teams we established? I would suggest forming a four person team out of the remainders of the quitters’ parties. We can then keep two offensive and two defensive five person teams and have an additional four person team as a flexible unit operating between the other teams for things like information and supplies?”
Wallace’s eyes widened in surprise, “William, that’s a very insightful plan. Impressive. I thought of something similar with forming another four person team, but hadn’t considered them functioning as a supportive function. Brilliant.”
William smiled and was incredibly thankful to the RTS games he had played in the past.
“Wallace, is there anything else you need from me? I want to get something done before the evening meal.”
“Nah, nothing else Lad. Good work.”
William gave another friendly smile and walked to his shed once more. “Please, no more interruptions.” He mused. Elation filled him up as he entered the shed and could sit down and get stuck in.
“Form two, Electric Boogaloo,” He simply said with a silly smirk as he opened the book once more being washed over in the purest white light.