The next few months passed by uneventfully. To Lanek’s shock, it seemed like the gaunts were content to let things settle down for a while. That, or they had found new targets to take their wrath out on. Either way, Lanek made the most out of this time and pushed himself to the breaking point every day to get the walls up before he left on his next journey.
To be fair, Lira was likely the reason for the relative calm in the area as she had spent much of her time since coming to the gatehouse venturing out to hunt and level up alongside Liv, Ivan, and Ograch. It seemed that her boon from Invidros was not like Lanek’s Mark, but was instead a pair of boons that worked very well with her abilities. Her first boon was the ability to regenerate mana and the second was a pendant that could store excess mana for use in the future.
While he hadn’t discussed his future plans in detail with his companions aside from Lira, he was glad that they were all leveling up. Despite their increase in strength, he knew that they would not be happy with what needed to happen once spring arrived, but they would have to deal with it. However, he had been putting that conversation off by using the defenses as an excuse.
At this point, the wall surrounding the grove and the monastery was complete, as were the gates. The walls were towering edifices with massive trees in place of towers and thick, gnarled vines where regular stone walls would be. Sturdy branches and roots also filled the interior of the walls, making the entire structure far more stable and durable than it had any right to be. Additionally, the hatches and ramps connecting the houses to the wall were complete. The only thing standing between the budding grove and the walls were the houses and a road that encircled the entire grove so that individuals entering the area could go around it and avoid disturbing the grove.
As for the grove itself, multiple saplings had started growing through the area and a spring had shown up out of nowhere one night. Seeing how much water was flowing into the area, Lanek had enlisted all of his companions, furry or otherwise, to join him and Letha in digging a moat around the Dranrid tree that was fed by the spring. He had also discovered Letha digging on her own some days, likely following instructions from Eldros, creating a network of small streams that ran throughout the space set aside for the grove.
The cats had also settled in quite nicely, with the tressym taking up residence in the great tree. All of the cats that wanted to had since vacated the dungeon and now split their time between the grove and the monastery. These cat had taken up residence in the buildings lining the walls of the defenses, both at the dranrid grove and the monastery. Despite the cold, these creatures had proven quite serious when it came to honoring their agreements and were often seen crouched down on the walls, peering through small gaps in the battlements for any threats. Lanek supposed that was only to be expected considering how massively Eldros had blessed them, especially those that had been crippled and near death.
Today would be the final day of working on the defenses. The walls for the corridor linking the monastery to the grove had just finished, leaving Lanek with less than half of his mana. The rest of the work was not on his shoulders, that would fall to the Talon’s builders to construct the ramps required to access the top of the wall.
With a satisfied smile, Lanek departed for the monastery and his meeting with his companions and the council. The time had come to make his plans known and prepare for his journey to the north.
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Lanek looked around the meeting chamber, taking in the curious looks of his friends and companions. “Alright, it looks like everybody is here. So, as you all know, the wall is complete and our people can finally walk around outside without having to worry about getting murdered and eaten by a random monster.”
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“Finally! People will finally get off my back about it.” Talwarg said, sagging into his seat in relief.
“Good to hear.” Lanek said, amusement evident in his voice. “Now, on to the next steps. This isn’t going to be easy to hear, but it should come as no surprise to any of you that we are in a bad place. We’ve stagnated since we can no longer expand our territory with our current numbers. Sure, we can hold our own if attacked, but we don’t have a prayer of taking on the feral orcs, the ghouls, and everything else out there if we go on the offensive. Even if we could, we wouldn’t be able to hold the territory with our numbers.”
“True, and if we can’t expand, then it is only a matter of time before the gaunt invasion or the dungeon beasts overwhelm us. They can replenish their numbers quickly, we cannot.” Khurzag said.
“Not only that, and we can’t stay in the city and ignore the rest of the world either. Lanek and Lira need to expand their patrons’ influence and Lanek has to deal with Void incursions at some point or we’ll have another invasion on our hands.” Nerek added.
“Exactly. Now, originally I had planned to travel in a group with the members of my order, but that is not feasible anymore.” Ograch and the others sat up straighter at his words. “I promised Liv that we would set out to get her people this spring and I mean to honor that. My quest to eliminate the Void incursions is pointing in that direction as well, so I’ll deal with that on the way. However, I have spoken to Lira and she needs to go northwest to help Invidros create another domain as he is down to his last one and will likely not last much longer without her help. Ograch, I would like you to go with her. She could use the backup and you can help her recruit some people on the way.”
“Aye, I can do that, especially since you gave me all of that new gear for myself and Reaver. Do you really think there are still people out that way?” Ograch asked. The hobgoblin was wearing his new gear, dark gray chain mail covering his torso with chain gauntlets, both adorned with the silver symbol of the tree that was the heraldry of the Order of the Wild. On his back was a longbow of black wood and a quiver of wickedly barbed war arrows that were retrieved automatically after striking their target. Sheathed on either hip were hand axes similar to those Lanek had gifted him before, but these were enchanted to provide extra armor piercing and inflict poison damage on his enemies.
“I didn’t give it to you, you bought it with your stones. And there is a chance that you’ll find people since Nerek confirmed that your people once had villages in those mountains and the maps I’ve looked over showed a decent spread of human villages in the valleys with some dwarf trading posts sprinkled throughout the mountains. Hell, if you go far enough to the northwest, there is a large forest that the map marked down as a possible elf bastion. Bear in mind, Invidros is the priority, but I do want you to explore any leads before heading back. We need more people.”
“Got it. It will be done.” Ograch said while Lira smiled at him. Lanek had discussed this all with her before, so she was not at all surprised by Lanek’s words.
“Now, Ivan. I want you to stay here and work with Nerek and Shel. Not only are your powers more valuable on defense, but I’ve also seen what you can do with equipment. I would like you to help improve the quality of our equipment since we will probably never be able to compete with our foes on an even footing when it comes to numbers. Also, you found Glasha, so you have an eye for talent. Please keep scouting for talent in our people and bringing them to the attention of Talwarg, Nerek, and Shel so they can create a training plan that most benefits that individual. Finally, keep fiddling with the defenses like you have been. I’ve noticed the enchantments you’ve placed and they are going to be a nasty surprise for enemies.”
Ivan chuckled and nodded his assent. “I can do that. I was looking forward to seeing more of this world, but I have to admit that I would have missed my workshop even more. Besides, since I’m a member of the Order, I’ll get experience regardless, right?” He asked, while also wearing his new equipment. The lothenae had opted for a lighter version of Lanek’s own karuta yoroi, foregoing the leg and shoulder plates for ease of movement. Additionally, rather than black chain with gunmetal places on black cloth, Ivan’s armor was white cloth with silver chain and metal plates. However, his bracers were still black metal with the symbol of the Order inlaid in silver.
“Yep, I’ve spoken to Eldros about it and there is no reason to believe that we won’t all share experience regardless of how far apart we are. Sorry, guys, I want to add you but I’ve reached the limit to the Order’s members for now.” Lanek said apologetically to Talwarg, Khurzag, Nerek, and Shel. “Finally, Liv and I will be heading out the day after tomorrow and going beyond Laethon to the coast. We’ll turn north from there.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure that we’ll be getting plenty of experience while you are gone.” Talwarg said. “But I expect to be invited as soon as you have room.”
“Done. For all of you. Unless the Hordefather has other plans for you four, that is.”