Today was the day, Kairen had decided. He would have enough upgrade points to purchase a second tier ability in just a few hours. And it seemed like he was not the only one excited for today. The nomads had been relatively relaxed the last two days since the feast. While they took care of chores and other necessary work like cooking and taking care of their animals, for the most part they seemed content to laze about and enjoy a break from their regular routine. Playing in the pond was a favorite pastime of kids and adults alike. The cleaning magic present had made them cautious at first, but once they realized that it didn’t seem to affect living flesh at all they quickly changed their attitude. Knowing that they couldn’t spoil their water supply even if they wanted to gave them the confidence they needed to go wild, roughhousing in the shallows and throwing mud balls at each other. Kairen had felt a little awkward at the casual approach to nudity the tribe displayed but his awkwardness at the situation soon faded. It wasn’t like smallclothes would last long playing in the water, and the sheer lack of concern they had for their state of dress helped Kairen slowly accept it as just another difference between nomadic culture and the culture of his village.
Despite their enjoyment of the easy life, it looked like the unofficial vacation had come to an end. While some of the younger kids were still running about with abandon, everyone older than five was moving with purpose. Armed with shovels, a group of burly men began digging out a pit in the dirt to the north of the pool of water. Another group of men and women used improvised sickles to cut away at the plants growing around the pit. Everyone else followed behind them, picking up handfuls of the plant matter and carrying it next to the pit where they placed it in a large pile. Soon the pit was deemed large enough for their purposes and the real work began. Buckets of water were brought over from the pond, and tossed into the pit, along with handfuls of leaves and stems and roots. The largest three men present jumped into the pit and began to wade through the resulting mud.
“More dirt. A few more leaves.” The group kept up a constant stream of communication, working to bring the muddy mixture to a specific consistency. They didn’t seem to be having any success and soon a break was called as they talked about the issue.
After a bit of arguing a messenger was sent to retrieve Healer Elan. She apparently had a bit of experience with alchemy, and everyone was hoping she could help them transform the mud into something a little bit more solid.
Kairen had only ever heard of alchemy, never having had a chance to see it performed for himself. He was more than a little disappointed when Healer Elan showed up carrying a pot of what seemed like water. He had been hoping for a grand display of magic, or at least some magic words, but as far as he could tell the novice alchemist had already created the necessary reagent using his water and a few minimally magical ingredients she kept on hand.
“We’ll make sure to get those replaced as soon as possible.” Elder Gomer thanked the healer before signalling everyone to continue their work. The magical water was slowly added into the pit where it began to do its work.
Instead of transmuting lead to gold or any other legendary feat, Healer Elan had simply made a potion that would turn dirt into clay. Only a fraction of the mess present in the pit was actually affected, but it was enough to give some consistency to the sludge and it didn’t take long after that for it to start firming up as the men continued to stomp and work the mixture. Once it had reached a certain level of clumpiness they began to shovel the mud onto the edge of the pit, where it was quickly grabbed and formed into bricks by hand before being carried over to an area that had been designated as the drying zone. There wasn’t a furnace to fire the bricks, but the sun overhead was hot and bright and would get the job done.
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Kairen watched them work until they took a break for lunch, which lined up nicely with his own plans. In just a couple of minutes he would be able to get his first upgrade from the second row, and after thinking it over the last few days he had chosen the option that provided more plant life. Some options probably were more subtle if he was hoping to hide his changes, and some of the blessings might have a greater impact on the tribe, but Kairen felt like increasing the variety and amount of plant life present in his Oasis would go a long way towards helping the nomads out. He had overheard them talking about various resources they needed, and while Kairen couldn’t provide any metal, he could create new plants. The system didn’t say what exactly would be created, but he was sure the tribe would find some value in the new additions, whether as medicinal herbs or a food source or simply as fuel for their fires. No matter the use, Kairen hoped to convince the nomads to stay in the area longer than they would have otherwise. Satisfied with his reasoning, Kairen pressed the screen to confirm his choice and watched the changes propagate.
For the most part plants in his Oasis grew naturally. The exception to this was when Kairen purchased an upgrade, as the System provided a burst of growth to bring the new plant life to maturity. It had happened both times Kairen had upgraded the pool and it was happening again as various bushes and shrubs popped out of the ground and grew to maturity over the course of minutes instead of months. Less obvious were new types of grass and other small plants making an appearance. They blended in with the existing ground cover, their growth really only visible in the area that had been trimmed down to the ground. Unlike the animals, there wasn’t any fear at the sudden change. There was a nervous energy at first, but it quickly gave way to celebration as the nomads realized the change was a good thing. Once again Healer Elan was called for, this time for her knowledge of herbalism, and the joyous energy of the tribe rose with each new plant that she identified and listed the benefits of.
All told there were three varieties of shrubs present and ten new types of ground cover. Six of the groundcover types were simply variants of a single species. The leaves acted as a stimulant and the different varieties contained different dosages that corresponded with altered coloration. It didn’t take long for the tribe as a whole to realize the implication and while a couple of people began collecting it right away, a group of mothers gathered up all the children and made it quite clear what the consequences would be if they were caught eating any of the leaves. Kairen hadn’t heard Healer Elan list any side effects, so he was pretty sure the warning was just to avoid having to deal with hyperactive children instead of any actual concern for their health.
The increased supply of plant material to work with let the workers accelerate their pace and soon the desert north of the Oasis was littered with bricks. The earliest ones were mostly finished drying and were starting to be stacked up into piles in preparation for later construction. Said construction was already being prepared for. Unlike the tents which were set up out on the sands, the buildings were going to be built in the Oasis to take advantage of the better foundation present there. A shovel was used to dig out a narrow gap to lay the first row of bricks into, but any actual construction would wait for another day.
“Dinnertime!” A cook called out and everyone happily abandoned their work to go clean up and eat. The amount of mud that had built up on most people meant that the fastest way to clean up was simply to toss all the clothes into a pile that would be a headache for the clothes washers before jumping into the pool. The cool water was especially refreshing after working hard all day, and the cooks ended up having to call a second time to get everyone out and heading towards the meal.