Waiting as the sun crested the horizon I was glad for the early start, while it would only be a half day march they would need to set up the initial camp site still. On arriving the four guardsmen that would be coming with us were already waiting as well, they weren’t guards I had met before but most likely they came with the overseer from their origin city.
Usually two would be the day guard and two the night guard, each with their own specalised skills to suit those tasks, though it wasn’t hard to tell the difference. The day guard’s armour was clearly meant to be visible and recognisable, being fairly standard full leather but made from a bright blue leather with the nearest city lords insignia on the chest. While the night guard were functionally the same armour but made of a dark green leather mottled with bits of grey.
Slowly everyone arrived, including the two wagons containing all of the tools needed to start the village, the dozen hunters who would be the core villages population and force, along with a butcher and chef to handle the food. Additionally we had two brothers who I recognised from around the village who apparently had unlocked logging and building core cards, and were doing this job as a trade for the class cards the overseer had given them as early payment.
Once everyone was ready, and the drivers had checked the wagons were hitched to the horses properly, we started moving. For such a critical step on my path forward, proving I could travel the wilds and maybe one day find a purpose or goal to strive for that was uniquely my own, it felt slow and boring. Wagon’s don’t make for the fastest travel, particularly compared to a combat class running, however boring travel was for the best.
Along the way while taking in the forest I had visited a thousand or more times in childhood, at least the fringes, not that it visually changed much as we walked, I got to talking to the guards and sharing skills. I learned Jaska and James were our day guards, both law keeper specialisations of guard classes, and had a few skills related to lie detection and crime prevention. They had made this trip in the hopes the village would last as they were cousins whose grandfather was a day guard who helped found their own village, so they wanted to build a similar legacy for themselves together.
Our night guards were Usk and Sula, Usk was originally from a village that was right on the edges but fell to a monster wave two decades ago. Thanks to his childhood he was happiest in smaller villages but he hadn’t found one he wanted to stay in so this was his fifth time travelling as a night guard for a new settlement. However for Sula this was also her first trip into the wilds, as she was fairly newly unveiled as well, but her family while nobles had a family tradition that she couldn’t take a role in their house now she was an adult until she helped found three settlements that last past their first year. Sula assured me this type of inheritance rule was fairly common for smaller or combat focused noble lines, as it kept those unwilling to work for their people out of power.
All of the members of our trip, save a few of the hunters, seemed uncomfortable with my healing when I had a chance to demonstrate it. Usk was scouting ahead when he was bitten by a small Green Asp. Low enough level to not do any major harm their venom would last hours in his blood and make it almost impossible to walk. As the man was brought over to me immense pain was clearly visible even as Sula and Jaska carried him between their shoulders.
“Right, hold still, my ability will purge the venom and heal the bite but it's going to look very uncomfortable. I promise it won’t hurt any more then normal healing does, more discomfort then pain, it’s just a bit flashy” As I finished speaking I put my hand above the bite wound on the back of his hand pushing on my mana to trigger the skill.
“[Phoenix immolation]” When I spoke flames poured in a small stream from my palm into the bite marks, covering them and going inward. As I channelled the skill I could see smoke coming off Usk’s skin up his arm and a little from his shoulder where the venom was being purged. Once I could see the bite marks close off I stopped channelling, noting it had only cost 13 mana all up which was cheaper than I had expected.
“Don’t take no offence, I am sure Usk appreciates the healing, but when we were told you were an unusually aspected healer we didn’t expect you to pour fucking flames into the man” James seemed very uncomfortable. Looking around I realised excepting a few hunters, the only one I recognised was Yus who I was told would be the village smith once he was set up and no longer needed to help hunt, everyone else looked very uncomfortable at the process as well.
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“Pay no mind, I do appreciate the healing, and it ain’t the strangest I have had yet either. Had a fellow who healed via this mist, except it had a side effect of not exactly leaving the way it entered. Man was the only healer I have heard cursed more at the shitter than a bad cook” Laughing Usk seemed oddly unbothered for a man just bitten by a snake, but maybe by his level and experience this was just part of his job now.
Helping him up and making him promise to look before he touched things in the future, we continued making decent time finally seeing the future site for the village just after the sun crested noon. A large clearing with a cave at the far north side, a small river running slowly down the eastern portion, and forest on the other two sides. Easily a hundred meters across the clearing was more than large enough for their small party of founders for now.
“Right, not to burst anyone's bubble about getting straight into anything fun but first things first each person has their spot marked on their paperwork. Get your spot set up, remember it's your camp so it's only you you're screwing if you don’t do it well. Once you are finished come over to the central camp, we will set up the cooks' mess there and you can grab lunch after you are finished” setting the example the overseer moved forward already looking at a piece of paper in his hand.
Taking that advice I immediately started looking for my spot, it was right near the cave, quickly getting my tent setup and a small fire pit ready only took an hour so I was one of the first to get to the mess. Surprisingly they already had an open air kitchen set up with a few fold out benches set up reaching almost knee high with the cook and butcher both sitting at them working on getting things cut up and into what would hopefully be lunch in a pot over a large fire near their work space.
“Styx, it's always good to see a healer who is motivated to work, saves troublesome paperwork later” laughing as the large overseer wandered over and took a seat on a log that seemed to be for sitting on to eat.
Taking a seat next to him I realised just how uncomfortable a log was for a chair, hopefully one of the hunters was also a wood worker and this would be a short term problem “I remember seeing something about a bonus for being a founder as well, but some of the guard guides referred to it as a debuff, and Captain Raz told me to ask you. So how does that work?”
Before replying Mircha passed over a small roll of bread filled with some cold meat and a mustard spread “Well that saves bringing it up, now you have built your camp site I can give you a quest and if its completed you will gain a subclass of founder for this village. The sub-class only levels as the settlement does, and it means you have to devote some of your time plus resources in developing the village. On the upside it gives stat bonuses and even some skills unique to it. If you want I can offer the quest now? Most of the hunters will only have to start practising their main class as a trades person to complete it but healers and guards usually get something trickier or more long term” As he spoke I devoured my roll not realising just how hungry the walk had left me today.
“Honestly I don’t see why I wouldn’t take it, there isn’t a downside like not being able to leave or anything else right?” I really couldn’t see a problem, it might slow my levelling down focusing on the village but I would rather help it succeed then feel guilty later if I didn’t try my best and it failed.
“No, not at all, really its just that it eats at your time for levelling or practising skills, or even just drinking. Most people rather only take it when they intend to settle down as you can’t take the quest for another location until you lose your current subclass and a year plus a day pass. You can willfully give up the class or if the village gets abandoned it will be lost on its own. Here grab the quest, accept or decline as you will, but I have to go see why the guards of all people are still taking their time putting up tents' ' grumbling about lazy guards and proper chairs Mircha wandered off toward where I assumed some of the guards had their camps.
Quest offered: Contribute as the town's Apostle of the healing flame to building the village (unnamed).
Requirements: Convert the empty cave into a cave of the Phoenix flame.
Rewards: Cave will be upgraded to a carded building, quality depending on achievement.
Founders subclass and first founders skill.
Accept quest?
Y/N
Smiling, I realised that maybe this would be my purpose to strive for, building something lasting along with my class to make a truly unique settlement that I would be happy to live in forever as a founder. Focusing to accept the quest I looked to find Mircha realising I would need to make sure he was fine with me just claiming the cave like this.