Dreng grunted as he hefted another heavy stone onto the makeshift wall. It sent dust into the air as it settled on top of its brethren before finding a perch. Dreng knew building the wall was a necessity as soon as they were able to mine stone from the mountain. He and James were very clear on that, and surprisingly, they were clear on most other matters of building up the town. The only thing they didn’t reach a quick conclusion on was the division of labor. James wanted to help build the wall, but when he said as much, Dreng just laughed him off. The chieftain was intelligent enough to know that the human just felt bad asking the Martyrs to do all the heavy lifting. It was a feeling the human was going to have to learn to overcome if he was to become a leader. The Martyrs were stronger, taller, and had more endurance than the humans, so they would build the wall. The humans were still growing but had already proved their intelligence and resourcefulness in Dreng’s eyes, even though he had trouble admitting it. That was why Dreng convinced James to invest his time into his party. The chieftain could sense greatness inside them. If his race was going to survive, he would need the human's help.
Another grunt and heave later, Dreng had another stone added to the wall - which was slightly taller than the tallest human cub now. A good start, but still not high enough. Dreng jumped onto the wall to get a good view of how much work was ahead. The wall stretched around three sides of the village, and each end met at the mountain. If it weren’t for the archway, they were building they would be completely blocked in. Dreng and James were not sure how they would construct a gate to close the arch since they didn’t have a proper blacksmith but figured they would figure it out when the time came.
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Dreng drifted off into thought. He asked himself if he should have built a wall around his old village in the Great Savanna. He shook his head. It wouldn’t have done them any good. The only material they could have made it from was wood, which was very scarce. Even if they did build a wooden wall, it wouldn’t have been strong enough to keep the Oana forces away. Not without the special effects granted to construction completed under the direction of a builder.
The chieftain once again shook his head and forced himself back into the moment. Getting lost in thought was something he did with greater frequency as he aged, but questioning his decisions wasn’t. Dreng glanced at his stone pile and realized it was almost empty. Ten minutes later he finished walking the entire distance of the wall and realized all the rock piles were low.
Dreng looked about for the Martyr that was supposed to be getting stone from Patrick and dropping it into the piles. When he didn’t see the Martyr, he cupped his hands to his mouth and hollered out.
“Where are my stones?”
Two Martyrs immediately came running to him from different locations within the village. They sprinted as fast as they could to his location, one of them almost losing their footing on the odd, pebble-covered ground. Dreng knew he didn’t need to use one of his chieftain class abilities to summon his followers anymore but figured the movement speed they received from it was indeed necessary. The years weighed heavily in his bones these days. He needed to ensure his race was as safe as it could be before he passed, and time wasn’t on his side.