Malcolm Specter looked at the sky and nodded to himself. Despite losing a good third of his followers, the camp was thriving. He could deal with the loss. Losing Simmons and that young woman being able to use Numa had been a blow, but three more users of Numa had trickled into the camp.
That beast in the sky… Levemoth. It must be thirty miles away. Now is our time.
The great monster was raining destruction down on some other settlement. It seems that the Dorves had been busy. That was something Malcolm would use to his advantage.
“You have had your rest!” He called out with a titanic voice, bolstered by his class. “Now is our time. Work the machines. I want reports from the foremen at the finish of every task. If you have questions, address the foremen, who will address me.”
The bustle started. His people went to the saws, the ovens, the harpoon guns, the looms. The waterpump from the river was turned on, to flow into the pool they had dug.
When the action started, Malcolm Specter found himself with little to do. A good leader plans and prepares. He had trained his foremen and every person in the camp knew what to do, when he called the shot. Levemoth was busy elsewhere and would not bother them when they used the Dorven technology.
And if it did…
He still had a formidable fighting force. An overwhelming majority of his agents had stayed by his side. They were true fighters and didn’t mind the occasional fight that the use of technology caused. They leveled up fast, and the men were reasonably well equipped. They did admittedly need more crafters, especially for weapons.
As long as the fighters keep leveling and we limit the operation of the technology, we should end up with a net positive.
Unfortunately it was somewhat unpredictable. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason, much less a clear pattern to plan around, when it came to the attacks of Levemoth. The Black Rain could trickle or pour. Every time it poured the camp suffered damage and people died.
It is unfortunate. But this is a dire situation, and that comes with dire costs.
Malcolm went over to inspect the group working with the clay oven. It shone with bright blue flames every time a crank was pulled. In was put a lump of clay, roughly the shape of a brick. Out came a fire-hardened clay brick, ready for use. Everything was operational and efficient here. Malcolm gave them a nod and continued.
And what is the alternative? To fall back into savagery? Surely those fools Logan managed to trick will soon realize the error of their ways. I will take them back of course, but I will remember who is loyal and who is fickle.
A handful of children and a few adults were at the water pump. A simple task here. Fill all the containers they had with water and then fill the pool. It wasn’t that the river was far, but why not use the workforce for something more efficient than carrying water. The children were inefficient workers, who spent half their time splashing around and playing. It didn’t matter. They were excited and glad to have something to do, and that was good. They would eventually get the work done with the adults helping them.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Since we are almost at the point where this camp is sufficient in its needs, we are able to start trades. The problem as always is logistics. How to move produce and services between settlements. We have scouted the location of two, and recruited eleven people from there. But those are far away to trade for a basket of fish for a shirt.
Malcolm would have to consult the Dorves. The camp had a pile of Numa crystals ready to be traded. Some of course needed to be used to power up the technology, but the rest could maybe be exchanged for some mobility devices. Or perhaps someone could pick up a class specialized in taming beasts of burden. That would open up the risk of theft if sufficient trust wasn’t built, but as far as Malcolm knew, he had the strongest martial force around.
Malcolm stopped at the little factory which basically transformed animal hides into tanned leather. Tanning was a long process, requiring chemicals, and an atmosphere dry enough to actually produce good leather. This oven they had received from the Dorves was essentially magic.
First a piece of hide was placed upon a platform and then a crank was pulled. The hair on the hides was singed away, and then another platform fell from the roof of the contraption like a hydraulic press, squeezing the hide between two sheets of metal. A blue light shone from the line between the metals and what was happening was anybody’s guess.
But what came out was a piece of beautiful dark brown leather, already dry and cured. A young boy of Logan’s age took the leather and started walking towards the crafters. An older woman nudged the boy with an elbow. The boy looked back and saw Malcolm Specter, flinched and his run turned into a sprint.
Malcolm gave the woman an appreciative nod and carried on.
Malcolm Specter looked up at the sky again. Levemoth looked like it was done. No more Black Rain fell from the dark thundercloud surrounding its scaly body. Soon it would turn and then enter a portal it apparently had the ability to create.
Yes, it is about to turn… Wait. What is this?!
The great whale-snake hybrid was about to enter the blue portal that it had conjured behind him, but almost as an afterthought it seemed to turn to look over its shoulder.
In the direction of Malcolm’s camp.
“HALT ALL PRODUCTION!” Malcolm roared. “STOP! SHUT DOWN THE MACHINES NOW!”
Everyone scrambled around their workplaces. There were no emergency switches or plugs to pull. The machines would stay on until the Numa was exhausted. Malcolm wondered if the Dorves had designed that feature on purpose.
It didn’t matter. It was too late. Within a minute a giant shadow floated over their head. Malcolm Specter almost gave into fear, but his mental prowess pushed the feeling under a headlock. Still his palms sweated and his throat was dry.
Never before had the beast come upon them like this.
What is this, we did nothing out of ordinary.
“Pick up arms and hide in the shelters,” Malcolm bellowed. “Fighters, get ready.”
The first command was unnecessary. Screaming and running took over the camp. For all of their fortune, it looked like the fighters kept their heads cool. They were mostly consisted and lead by his agents, so it was a given.
Instead of a Black Rain falling down on them, a giant black drop pooled and hovered under the dark cloud looming over them. The black droplet grew in power, gathering material from the cloud. This one was large, easily the size of a three-story building.
The cloud surrounding the Levemoth rumbled and the giant Black Drop fell upon their camp.