A flurry of activity overtook the group after they realized we would be setting up for most likely the last time and people had a pep in their step doing so.

Tents were set up along with the preliminary defense line that was common practice by now, but it would soon see a more permanent upgrade.

We wouldn't rush to build the final structures right away, but a more comfortable living condition first before we started on the heavy construction.

It wouldn't make sense to be living out of tents while spending months building fortifications for our future city. More permanent structures now that we would later tear down was better for the long run than skipping ahead while people suffered in tents.

It would let people move out of the tents and into something homier and better suited for the weather, which would be a not insignificant boost to morale.

I swore, not two days after giving the order to make camp, log cabins were thrown up in record time like all of the Builders were just waiting for the order. Trees were abundant and building out of stone was unnecessary if we were going to eventually move.

Even the combat-focused part of the group helped with hauling and chopping down trees for the builders to use like it was their job. It was lightning quick to go from ranges of tents packed closely together for warmth to organized blocks of one-story cabins lining the area near us.

Their pace was a sight to behold and showed how excited they were to finally be off the road.

Another structure we prioritized to have built was a few barns the horses could stay in. Leatherworkers and Crafters had already come up with winter jackets for them that they wore during our stops, but now we could put them into an enclosed structure away from the wind.

Sarah said they seemed happy with the barns and that was good enough for me. I checked on Remi occasionally but that wasn't high on my list of things to do.

While others leaped into action building, we had to examine the surrounding area in greater detail.

If this was to be the place we built, we needed to know its ins and outs and where different resources were. There was ample access to wood and logs from trees, but good-quality stone was something we still needed to find.

Veins of metal were another we hoped to locate as well.

Water was readily available, we only had to melt it down from ice, but food was our main concern.

We were still stocked full with meat from the wolves but we weren't sure it would last the entire winter without rationing it. We had stockpiled and planned ahead, but without precise knowledge of how the winter would go and when it would end, we were left estimating.

We would continue to hunt but those results weren't guaranteed. While it was likely, we couldn't rely on it to happen in any great quantities.

Abigail planned for no increase in food and would only adjust when more was found rather than expecting to find some.

For the scouting of resources, I had Jonathan and the other Earth affinity of our group looking for stone while the few with Metal did the same. Metal wasn't a common affinity but we did have a small number who had it.

Vincent ended up buying a lot at the end of the tutorial, and we got more from the dungeons we stopped at along the way, but we would eventually run out. Finding more now would ease that worry for later.

Stone was first, though, and was what I had more people working on.

Before any construction could break ground, we had to decide if placing the pylon now was a good idea and the discussion was rather conflicting.

"Gaining access will give us a better idea of what we can do with it. We know from Tracy that appointing a Merchant opens up some possibilities and those could help during construction." Surprisingly, it was Hal who spoke for placing the pylon. "Any other change of function would be better to know now rather than waiting."

"I doubt the wave it spawns will be difficult, knowing that Tracy overcame it, we should be able to do the same," Austin added offhandedly.

"We have no idea if we can move it once it's placed, doing it now seems premature and we should wait until we have more planned out!" Abigail believed placing it now was too soon.

Even though she would probably be the one to benefit greatest from doing so, she spoke against it.

"We've been at this for months, placing it now is fine and will give people hope. We can probably move it afterward to where we will build for real." Sam countered.

The words probably move it were something I didn't want to find out were false firsthand.

During the entire trip, the pylon had sat on one of the carts along for the ride. It created a buzz whenever we came across new people because they could feel it from afar.

I knew some came looking to take it but changed course once finding out how large our group was. Any who were opportunistic enough to do so decided against trying for ours.

Most with the ability to go against our group would have already received a pylon already and would have no need to do so.

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Without extensive exploration of the area, we were still unsure where exactly we were going to start permanent construction. In the few days we had been here, no one had been able to do anything besides a cursory look up and down both sides.

Austin and Hal were beginning to do more detailed scouting and I meant to do the same, but the fact we hadn't made placing down permanent roots impossible.

"We will wait." I said, "We've gone without for months, a week or two more won't hurt."

Rushing would help no one and I didn't feel like it was necessary. Waiting until we got a better picture of the area was better in my opinion. No one continued the bickering after that and it was taken as final.

"That moves on to our next topic, the dungeons. Should exploring them be a higher priority than what we're currently doing or should we wait until people gain free time?" Abigail read off the list we had created.

The list had things we had to decide on and placing the pylon was only the first of many.

Most of the initial planning was me coming up with the things that needed to happen first. Making better living conditions was the obvious first choice, but with that finished, we needed to decide what our priorities should be.

"We should at least see what the two dungeons drop so we can plan around it. Running them to find that out won't take long," Austin chimed first.

Most likely so he could explore something fun while the rest of us worked. We were close enough to the next marker on the map that where we stopped was close enough to the two dungeons in the area. They were on the other side of the cliff but that wasn't too difficult to overcome and get around.

The planning around dungeons was rather tricky because it impacted a few different things. The most important of which was our treasury, or lack thereof.

I turned to Abigail since she would know best, "How long can we afford to not pay our workforce."

During the tutorial, we didn't really pay each other inside the family. If work needed doing, someone did it. During our trip here services were exchanged with the expectation of getting something in return.

Blacksmiths and Leatherworkers didn't demand payment from people the same as Cooks didn't for their food.

It mostly evened out for everyone to gain something from their work but that wouldn't last. Where people were once happy just to make things to get experience, they would want monetary compensation sooner or later.

I think the reason it hadn't happened already was because we, my family, brought in the most resources to begin with. It would hardly make sense for them to demand payment when we were giving them the resources they used to work.

While that was true during the trip, that wouldn't continue to be so.

Payment would eventually be an issue and Abigail knew public opinion and sentiment best from organizing all of it.

"That depends," She started, "If their work continues to be directly relevant to them, for a while yet. But if you have them doing something that won't affect them, then soon."

"That's not really an answer, how direct is directly relevant?" Austin asked.

"Well, what they're doing now, for example. They are working to directly improve their living conditions. Houses and structures that increase quality of life directly. The same would be true for general buildings as well like Smithies, or Tanneries. If it was for their use I should add." She said. "But if you ask them to build you a personal smithy for your use only, that's not very relevant now is it."

The explanation made sense but I needed more specifics if we were to plan for anything.

"What projects fall under that in your opinion?" I asked.

"Since houses are already built, general storehouses or shops would be fine along with basic perimeter defenses. Anything beyond that would cause an issue. As soon as shelter and safety are established, payment will be necessary." She answered.

"How long can we afford to pay them with what we have now?" I asked next.

That was the main timeline for when the dungeons would be opened. There was enough work to do that people were needed here, rather than spending time in the dungeon and I didn't want to open them until that changed.

The thing that would change that was if we ran out of money. The taxes from what the dungeon gave out would be our only income for a while until we got the pylon up and running and we figured out trade.

"With what we have, a few weeks. The value of a coin is still high and we can stretch that pretty far. Trades could be considered instead of payment in coins directly. A new sword or weapon would go a long way for some. Or a different service we can provide in exchange for their work. There are various ways to extend the money and also ways to recoup some of it as well. Most of the material is ours so we can charge them to use it along with a general tax now that we are planning to become permanent." Abigail explained.

I was wary of establishing a general tax so soon after setting down but it may become necessary in the long run. Ideally, I would wait until people settled in and became at least a little comfortable before starting that.

I could run the dungeons a few times for coins if it became necessary but there were other avenues to fall back on.

We had seen different things during our travels and Tracy was kind enough to explain some of how she started out. Taking advice from her about how to rule a city wasn't the best but it was good to get ideas from.

Ways to gain essence and levels were few and delving dungeons was one of the main ones. Fighting in the wilds was still an option, but dungeons were the easier of the two.

Dungeons could only be run so many times in a day and regulating those spots could be used as a form of payment. To the scouts and people we put on watch, we could pay them with a slot in the dungeon instead of coins themselves.

Others would also be available to pay that way, but payment in coin was going to be necessary for the crafting focused of the group. Coins or materials would be the only things they needed rather than dungeon slots.

While this wasn't the most riveting discussion, it was the most necessary.

I could just force people to work but there were a variety of reasons that was a bad idea. Setting aside the fact it was just plain wrong, it wouldn't lead to a very prosperous city.

Resentment would build and it would eventually come crashing down. Using force and people's fear of me wasn't a sustainable way to run a city aside from the fact it was something I was unwilling to do.

Framing it in a way people worked for free because I 'protected' them and provided them 'safety' was essentially the same thing with extra steps.

It was only their fear of leaving and braving the wilderness instead of their fear of me. Which felt like the same thing in my eyes.

Plus, it felt like something Tracy would do and that made it wrong in and of itself.

Having this discussion now would ward off any of the problems that would come up from not doing so. If we got ahead of things, we could run things smoother and without running into more problems.

The main thing was I wished for people to want to live here.

Our population now was more out of necessity, and that was fine, but for it to grow people would need to want to come here. I was trying to set that into motion now.

Our 'council' had a many-hour discussion ahead of it and that was only scratching the surface.

After dungeons, we had scouting plans to come up with. Personnel lists we needed to finalize, along with a few other things. A census was the first thing that needed to be done to see how many and of what professions we had.

If we were missing any, we would need to come up with how to fix that.

While our traveling days were over, the real work was only just beginning.