“What do you think we should do now? I can’t start building my restaurant until we unlock the blueprint. So… any ideas?”
Twix chimed in with his suggestions. “I think we should prioritise building a house for you to live in. The nights here in Spartan Fire can get quite cold, especially since we're close to the mountains and the chill seeps down from the snow caps.”
Kit was skeptical that a plain mud hut would be much better than his tent, but he decided to trust Twix's judgment for now. He could always find out for sure in the morning.
“Alright, I'll follow your plan Twix. Let's start with building a house.”
They all made their way back to the three mud huts. Kit looked at the location of the huts and furrowed his brow. How was he supposed to identify which patch of grass was his? There were no markers or signs.
He turned to CAL, hoping for some guidance. “CAL, how do I identify my piece of land?”
A soft glow appeared on the ground not far from the huts, forming into a large rectangle. Kit felt relieved when he saw that it was the same size as the extra large block he had seen in Flower Field town. He could build a mansion on this land if he ever became wealthy enough.
“Twix, what do I need to do to build my house? I've never constructed one before.”
“It's quite easy for an Earth Elementalist like Grandpa. He will shape the house for you, and I will finalise it with my Lightning Element. You just need to make the roof, and I can teach you how to do that.”
Kit was thrilled to hear those words. He had been imagining them struggling in the mud trying to build a hut.
“Thank you, I'll leave it to you and Grandpa then.”
“Wait, you just need to purchase the hut before we can begin.” Grandpa stood in front of Kit, hand outstretched.
“How much will it cost?”
“20 bronze crowns.”
Kit happily paid for his new house. “What a bargain! Owning a home in such a small town has its perks.”
Ding!
[Mud hut]
Player can build a place to call home.
Building requirements: Mud, straw.
Kit's spirits were lifted when he received the new notification. He had earned a permanent residence in Spartan Fire! Kit and Mars made sure to stay out of the way as they unlocked the building, giving plenty of space for construction.
Kit was excited to see how the two of them would build their mud hut. Grandpa pulled out a wooden staff, similar to the one Twix had used. He held it out in front of his body, and patterns began to emerge on its surface with a soft orange light.
The intensity of the light continued to grow until it became almost blinding. Just as Kit was about to turn away from the brightness, Grandpa slammed the base of the staff onto the ground.
In the center of Kit's plot of land, a ring of malleable mud began to rise. With excitement bubbling inside him, Kit couldn't contain his whoop as he watched magic unfold before his eyes. His grandpa snorted at his outburst from where he stood beside him. As the mud continued to take shape and form into a structure resembling the other mud huts on their land, Grandpa's staff stopped glowing and the mound ceased its ascent.
Twix already had his staff in hand, crackling with blue energy that ran up and down its length. He aimed it toward the new addition to their village, and a bolt of lightning struck the structure. A rich, earthy scent filled the air, signalling that the mud had been heated and solidified into a strong form, much like clay in a kiln.
Kit eagerly made his way over to his half-constructed new home.
"Not yet lad," Grandpa cautioned him sternly. "It still needs time to cool down. When you finish building the roof, it should be ready for you to explore inside." Kit nodded in understanding, grateful for his grandfather's wisdom.
"Come sit under this tree with me, Kit," Twix beckoned from a nearby large tree. "We can work together to build your roof quickly."
Kit happily plopped himself down next to Twix, eager to learn how to construct a roof. The wizard pulled out bundles of straw from his storage bag and some rope, demonstrating how to bundle them tightly and secure them at each end. He then used a large sickle to trim any excess straw sticking out.
Meanwhile, Grandpa had fashioned a cone-shaped wooden frame while they were bundling straw. Once all the bundles were neatly tied and trimmed, he began attaching them to the frame with precision. Kit and Mars came over to watch and learn as well.
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Finally, when the roof was complete, Twix used his staff to levitate the straw roof and gently position it onto the mud hut. With a few careful adjustments, it fit perfectly into place.
Ding!
[Mud hut complete]
Congratulations! Player now has a permanent residence in Spartan Fire.
Upgrades available when blueprints are promoted to next tier.
Kit was content with his new house, even though it was small. It was just the right size for one person. "I have some extra animal skins that you can use to cover your door and place on the floor," Twix offered as he entered Kit's new home.
Without a second thought, he began arranging the skins to his liking. Kit didn't mind what it looked like; he was just grateful for the added warmth it would provide tonight. He still needed to bring in some furniture, but for now, his camping equipment would suffice.
"Your turn now, Mars," Twix said with a wide smile on his face. Kit could tell that he was happy to have more people in town.
"I haven't bought any land yet. Grandpa, can I buy the lot next to Kit's?" Mars asked eagerly.
"Oh ho! I forgot that you would want your own piece of land too, my boy. Well, how about I give you that plot over there as a founding member's gift? How does that sound?" Grandpa grinned at Mars.
"Thank you, Grandpa. I am grateful to receive such a generous gift from you."
The group got to work on Mars' house, and by the time they were finished, Kit's stomach was growling. He realised it was already well past lunchtime.
As he set up his camping kitchen, he thought about what to do about his limited meal options for the restaurant. He had plenty of drinks to sell, but only one dish.
After cooking up an Apelop salad for each of them, Kit handed out the meals. Grandpa let out a satisfied hum as he took in the juicy meat.
"Kit, you truly have talent in the kitchen. This is the best meal I've ever had," Grandpa exclaimed.
He then gave all his attention to the delicious food in front of him, making appreciative noises throughout the entire meal. When he finished, not a single scrap was left on his plate. Kit couldn't help but smile at the old man's enthusiasm for food.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Grandpa. I'll need to come up with more meal options soon. This is the only successful dish I've been able to make from our limited ingredients. I'll eventually run out of them, so I'll have to explore the area for new ingredients."
Grandpa's face took on a serious expression as he spoke, "For food like this, I will fetch whatever ingredients you need. Just tell me what you want and I'll get it." Kit had a feeling that Grandpa was also a lover of good food like Mars.
"Thank you, Grandpa, that would be amazing! Do you happen to know about the properties of the plants and animals in this area?" Kit wanted to calculate the probability of each ingredient for his next culinary creation.
"I don't, but my wife is an expert on all the plants and most of the common animals around here. She can answer all your questions. She has even written a bunch of books for herself. I'm sure she'd be happy to lend you some."
Kit heard an excited gasp from Mars nearby. When he looked at him, he saw him bouncing with excitement. Kit raised an eyebrow in question and Mars blurted out, "My dad would love a book about native flowers!"
Kit thought he would enjoy those books as well. He made a mental note to ask Grandpa's wife about them when he got the chance. He was also curious about the other residents of Spartan Fire; so far, he had only met Twix and Grandpa.
"Where is everyone else in Spartan Fire? I believe there are 48 other residents besides Mars and Myself," asked Kit.
“The only occupants of the central area of Spartan Fire are myself, Twix, Clive, and Grandma. The rest of the residents reside on farms scattered at the outskirts of town. We tried to expand our borders a few years ago but were unsuccessful. The only way to do so is by growing the size of our town. With two new residents, this growth will come naturally when we upgrade the town's infrastructure.” Grandpa beamed with satisfaction.
Mars looked pensive as he spoke up, "Maybe I should also purchase a farm now before it's too late. If the town grows too quickly, I might miss out on an opportunity."
Grandpa nodded in agreement, "Yes, that's a great idea my boy. How big of a size would you like?"
"I'll go for the same size as Kit," Mars replied confidently.
"Haha! Our town has grown tremendously in such a short time. This is truly exciting," Grandpa exclaimed with pride.
Kit couldn't help but feel content in his new home. As he thought about his next steps, Grandpa interrupted him.
"Before I leave you all to expand the town, how about we build a town hall? Then I'll finally have time to go fishing. This old man is ready for retirement." Grandpa looked absolutely thrilled at being able to retire.
Kit blinked, unsure of what to say. He looked over at Twix, who grew up in this town and would know best.
"Well, I think it should be in the main part of town, right? Kit is planning to build his restaurant over there. So maybe we could put the town hall a bit further down from Kit's land." Twix pointed to a spot that was further away from the lake than Kit's property, but still close enough to have a view of the water.
Both Kit and Mars agreed with Twix's suggestion. Grandpa began building a mud structure for the town hall, which rose at a slower pace than Kit's house did. As they watched, Kit noticed that the town hall had a large rectangular shape with four circular rooms at each corner.
This was the biggest structure Kit had seen since coming to the Forsaken state. He assumed Red Splash village also had one, but he hadn't been able to see it during his brief visit. Once the building was complete, Twix used lightning to zap it into its final form before they worked on constructing the roof.
Standing in front of the finished town hall, Kit felt a sense of accomplishment. He couldn't wait to go inside and explore all the features and benefits that came with being a founding member.
But before he could make a move towards the door, Grandpa cleared his throat and drew everyone's attention. "I officially hand over control to you now. I've resigned from my post. Tomorrow, we can start your training." A mischievous grin spread across Grandpa's face, and Kit couldn't help but feel a twinge of dread for what was to come.
"Well, I'm off to fish for the rest of the day. Have fun playing in the town hall." With that, Grandpa quickly walked towards the lake, almost as if he was trying to avoid being roped into more work.
Kit chuckled at the sight before taking a deep breath and stepping inside the town hall. This was it - the beginning of building Spartan Fire into a legend.
Twix and Mars followed closely behind as they entered through the intricately carved doors. Kit paused at the entrance, savouring the moment before finally stepping inside.