With that realization, Darius left the Village hall and got everyone’s attention. He let them know about the upgrades coming to the Settlement and had everyone gather in the Library so they wouldn’t be at risk of injury should anything weird happen. He was sure they would be safe there, since it was already made from stone and had slate roof tiles. Once they cleared the remaining furniture out of the area, the new housing units would be appearing in. He went back in to finish setting everything up.
First, he built the two new rows of huts for 1,332 Credits. He didn’t want to use the four thousand and change Essence in the bank unless he needed to, and they had a surplus of cash. While those were running out their Manifestation timer, he went back to the settlement store and looked over the list of blueprints there. he couldn’t afford any more from the War store, but this one took credits.
With only a sixty by eighty-foot area to work with remaining, Darius knew he had to choose carefully what he would get. Scrolling through the list, there were plenty of production-based buildings, but two caught his eye. Everything he’d had built so far was based on necessity and survival; he didn’t have anything to help boost the morale of his citizens. The Tavern and the Inn both filled that need. As level one buildings, they both provided a morale bonus. The question for Darius was which one he should pick. He looked over each blueprint, and saw that the Inn could accommodate up to fifteen people in the common room and had ten rooms for visitors, but the Tavern fit thirty people. But if he had a tavern, he would clearly need a brewery to supply it, otherwise it would cost Darius way too much to supply it directly from the System marketplace. “Besides, if I make people pay for their drinks, it could be the first source of revenue for our humble settlement, especially since I’m not charging anyone rent.”
Darius spent two thousand credits on the pair of blueprints and went straight to the building menu. He saw that he had just enough room to place the tavern and brewery side by side, in fact they would effectively be sharing a wall, but that was okay, it would mean less distance to move the finished drinks from the manufacturer to the distributor.
With those changes made, Darius had spent sixteen thousand credits in one shot, just over half of what they had in the bank. He cringed slightly at the expense, but comforted himself with the knowledge that everyone would likely be much happier once everything was up and running. Darius noted the timers for everything manifesting and realized he couldn’t keep everyone cooped up in the library for nearly two hours, so he went and gave everyone an update.
“Wait, you had the opportunity to build us a church, and you failed to, yet again?” Sylvie berated. “Instead, you chose to build a bar?”
Connor tried to gently pull her back by her elbow, but she shook him loose. “No! time and again, you show your heathen ways, ignoring God’s will. We cannot, no, we will not stand for it any longer.” At that, she turned around and addressed the rest of the citizens of Zuri. “Today, I stand before you not merely as a voice but as a beacon of hope, a flame ignited by the divine grace of our Lord. We are gathered here in Zuri, a place that, while once a beacon of light, has become a shadow of the true path we are meant to walk. Our hearts are heavy with the burden of witnessing our sacred values being trampled upon. But I say to you now, there is a brighter horizon, a chance to live in God's grace as we were meant to.”
Darius could tell she was leveraging every ounce of her Orator skill in her speech. It was so impassioned that even he felt moved, and he was the leader of Zuri.
“Look around us, my friends,” Sylvie continued. “We are surrounded by the clamor of taverns and breweries, places that serve only to dilute our faith and tempt us into the embrace of sin. How can we, as followers of the Path of Faith, allow ourselves to partake in such devilry? The very fabric of these establishments weaves a tapestry of falsehoods and distractions, designed to lead us away from the light of our Lord and into the darkness of indulgence and vice.”
“Um… we’re not surrounded by taverns, not yet. It’s still manifesting,” Ethan tried interjecting, but Sylvie just kept going, speaking over him.
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“We have endured enough! The time has come for us to cast aside the shackles of this corrupted place. We cannot, and we must not, settle for a life that accepts the worship of false gods and the company of heathens who blaspheme against our Lord. Their presence is a constant reminder of the spiritual decay that infects this land. We are called to be pure, to live in accordance with the divine teachings that guide us towards eternal grace.
I call upon you, my cherished brethren, to join me in a sacred pilgrimage—a journey away from the corruption of Zuri and towards a new land where our faith can flourish untainted. Let us establish a new settlement, one founded on the unwavering principles of our faith. Here, we shall build not taverns and breweries but homes of prayer and sanctuaries of worship. We shall create a community where each soul is devoted to the glory of our Lord and where the temptations of the devil are banished from our midst.”
“Now hold up, young lady,” Xavier interrupted. Stepping out of the crowd, the older man that Darius had just rescued a few days earlier stood at his full six-foot height. The bags Darius had seen under his eyes when they first met were gone, as was the exhaustion he exuded. He stood proud and resolute in his tattered priestly robes, complete with white collar. The weight of his attire seemed to magnify his presence in front of the 19-year-old in jeans and a stained blouse. “You go too far. Young Darius is a good man, rescuing my friends and I from truly evil men. I’m sure he and his people also rescued many of you here.” He said, while turning to the rest of the gathered people. “While good intentioned as she is, follow not this young lady in her foolishness. Even in this new age, when God speaks to each of us with a voice more clearly than any time since the scriptures, his will is still unfathomable. We all do our best to live by his word and will.”
Sylvie glared at the older man, but continued with her impassioned speech. “Together, we will craft a haven where God's grace reigns supreme, where every stone laid and every prayer uttered will be a testament to our devotion and purity. We will forge a new beginning where our lives reflect our deepest convictions, free from the snares of worldly distractions and the influence of those who seek to lead us astray.” She sent a sharp glance at the preacher.
“This is our moment of decision. Do we remain in Zuri, a place increasingly bereft of our values, or do we heed the call to create a new bastion of faith? I urge you to choose wisely, to embrace this divine opportunity to walk on the path of righteousness. Follow me, and together we shall build a settlement worthy of our Lord's grace, a place where our faith can thrive and where every action reflects the purity of our devotion.”
“Let us leave behind the darkness and step into the light. The Lord's grace awaits us, my friends. Join me in this sacred endeavor and let us forge a future blessed by the divine. Follow me, here and now. God’s word is a lamp for my feet, and the light guiding my path.” With the culmination of her speech, Sylvie turned around and walked out of the Library, brushing past Darius in the process.
Darius saw many uncertain eyes track between Darius and the door behind him. He took a deep, steadying breath and spoke. “Look, none of you are prisoners here. If Yall don’t like it here, with our walls, food, shelter and people to protect you from the vicious monsters out there, and oh yeah, all them undead roaming about taking people and turning them into zombies and skeletons, be my guest. Follow that teenager out into the desert. I hope yalls don’t end up roaming around out there for forty years.” Then Darius stepped to the side, clearing the way to the door for anyone who wanted to leave.
Connor seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he ended up being the first to walk out the door, following his girlfriend. Mary, with her two small children, followed a few seconds later. Then Farida stepped forward. She turned to her daughter, Aisha, and beckoned her to follow. Aisha hesitated, looking between her mother and Darius. She was one of the people he’d gifted the Power Armor to, and it had such an impact on her ability to fight that she’d been immensely grateful to him. Darius could see the war going on inside the twenty-year-old. She clearly didn’t want to leave, but couldn’t let her mother leave without her. Who knew if any of her other family was still alive?
Darius took pity on the poor girl and waved for her to join her mother. The loss of the Power Armor was a serious blow to the fighting ability of the Hamlet, but he couldn’t try to force her to choose between them and her own mother. If Darius’s mother had still been alive, he couldn’t want to be separated again.
Lastly, Katia Inova left. She’d lost her father in the fall of Albuquerque, and Darius knew that she’d bonded with Sylvie and Mary, especially since she’d used that cross of hers to drive off the wraiths that had attacked the hamlet. Darius let out a sigh. He knew it could have been worse, but losing eight people when their population was already so small hurt. He’d done his best to take care of everyone, but he couldn’t try to force them to stay if they didn’t want to. All he could do was accept it and move on.