The trip back to Alex ‘s village was a rather uneventful one, taking them until sunset to complete but without any more monster attacks. During the walk, Tom’s understanding of the English language had grown enough for him to be able to understand and construct basic sentences without spell assistence.
They had been following a concreate road for twenty minutes when Tom got his first look at the ‘village’ Alex lived in. The first thing he saw was a tall brick smokestack, which had been converted into a watchtower. Metal and wood walkways, stairs, ladders and platforms encased it almost completely. Next to it was a large brick building which had been used as a production facility for car-engine parts. There were three other brick buildings on the property. Two warehouses and the mess hall and administration bungalow. Around the property stood what once was a chain-link fence. Metal sheets and wooden planks had been nailed and welded to it. At some places, brick or simple stone walls reinforced the barrier. And on top of the entire thing, electrified razor wire had been installed.
Since walkways could not be installed on the fence, small watchtowers made from wood and plastic, with metal sheets for protection, had been erected along the compounds border. On these towers sat two people each, armed with a variety of rifles and equipped with binoculars and high-powered flashlights. The trees and underbrush had been cleared in a 300-meter radius around the settlement, leaving little cover for approaching invaders.
“So, what do you think?” Alex asked Tom, curiosity showing in his voice “I know it isn’t much, but we have it a lot better than most folk. Of course, the big cities are a lot more impressive and before this hole magic thing we used to have even more impressive once, but we have power, clean water and can go hunting or foraging in the woods for food and pelts we can trade with the convoys.” Tom looked at the ‘village’ his gaze lingering on the tallest of the watchtower, before replying, “I certainly did not expect this, although I have certainly seen worse emergency camps and post-catastrophe towns. This looks pretty good actually. Although, aren’t the defenses lacking a bit?” Alex turned back towards the village, “Not really. I mean the normal rifles can handle goblins or beasts for the most part. We also have a few anti-material rifles and an old military mortar when something shows up, we can’t normally handle. But let’s get inside before they lock up for the night.”
They approached the gate which looked like most of the rest of the wall but was flanked by two watchtowers. A short-shouted conversation between Alex and one of the guards later they were let inside, where Tom got his first look at the actual village. Caravans, shacks and container flats filled almost the entire space. Makeshift electrical poles distributed power to the different homes. In some places, people had built in multiple stories, using either containers or caravans as a base. But throughout all of it roads and walkways where still present, mostly arranged in grit patterns, except when buildings forced them to have slight bends in it.
Waiting for them behind the entrance to the ex-factory was an anxious looking middle-aged man, who sight in relief when he saw Alex but gasped when he noticed the torn and dirty clothes he wore. “Alex! What happened? Is that blood on your shirt? You shouldn’t have gone out alone.” Alex scratched the back of his head, sheepishly replying to the man, “Dad, it’s fine. I was just checking on the traps when I noticed goblins following me. I tried to run away from them, but they caught me. They had one of the hobs with them. I killed three but I couldn’t get them all. This guy here helped me. He’s a traveler.” Tom smiled at the man and extended his hand, “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Tom. The goblins where no problem for me, I have dealt with stronger foes in the past.” A now quite puzzled father took Tom’s hand, “Thank you for rescuing my son. My name is Jarret. If you need shelter for the night, I’m sure we can organize something. How did you defeat them though, Hobgoblins usually travel with no less then ten normal goblins and are quite tough and fast?” Tom shock Jarret’s hand before replying “I am a student of the arcane, although a researcher or teacher is a more apt description. I am quite well versed in certain fields of magic and have broad experience in combat applications of even the simplest of spells, my tutor insisted on it. But let us talk later, I am feeling famished and my translation spell is wearing off.” Jarret hastily replied and started walking towards his home, “Of course, I’m sure my wife has made enough to feed one more.”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Tom and Alex started following Jarret, Alex quietly whispered to Tom “I thought you didn’t have a translation Spell.” Tom’s whispered reply came almost immediately “I don’t, this spell just borrows language from surrounding people. It’s old and seldom used since it makes you sound a bit arrogant and like a prick.” Satisfied with the answer, Alex started pointing to special buildings like the bar or the general goods store and explaining what they were until they made it to his home.
The group was greeted there by Alex’s mother, Sarah, who also received an explanation as to who Tom was and what had happened on Alex’s little adventure. After the dinner and some rather good whisky, Jarret had saved, they had some pleasant small talk before it was for Alex to go to bed, followed some time later by Tom. Alex’s parents provided Tom with a couch to sleep on and some blankets to keep him warm.
Late in the night Tom got up from his bed, checked that everyone else was sleeping and cloaked himself in shadows before blink-steeping out of the house. He wandered through the now somewhat darker town towards the outer wall and blink-stepped through it as soon as he found it. On the other side he knelt down, still cloaked in shadows, and started to mumble a quiet incantation. On his open palm, a small dust devil formed. It was about twenty centimeters tall and had two golden eyes as well as two spindly arms. “Alright, listen up. You are going to gather some of your buddies, and you are going to protect this town. Feel free to siphon some mana from the area and some mana regen from people with a full mana pool. Don’t harm them! Alright?” The small dirt elemental bobbed its head, or equivalent at least, in understanding and Tom pushed a few hundred mana into it. The creature spun faster for a few seconds, making a low buzzing sound. Around it more elementals of similar size formed before spreading out around the town. The original elemental hopped of Tom palm and sank into the ground, quickly followed by the other elementals.
Satisfied that the town now had some, much needed, protection, Tom made his way back to Alex’s house and went to sleep after checking for any new development in his character sheet.
Congratulations User
You have unlocked new achievements:
Aspiring Mage 3
Cast 25 Spells
Aspiring Summoner 2
Summon 10 Creatures
Arcane Innovator 3
Perform or cast 10 rituals or spells which no one (under the supervision of the MPS™ has cast before.
Congratulations User
You have reached the following criteria for advancing your Mark of Power™ to Tier 6
- Have a Mana Capacity of 25 000<
- Have at least 10 System Achievements
To advance your Mark of Power™ you still need to complete the following criteria
- Clear 1 dungeon of grade D or higher singlehandedly while under the supervision of the system