The hunters had all been freed safely, with minimal casualties and the villagers marveled at the discovery of iron. With steadfast steps, they walked out of the dark and damp cave.
Each of the villagers had their own burden to bear: Some were carrying the small to medium sized red chunks containing iron, some were helping the rescued hunters to walk and few even had the sticky goo wrapped in torn clothes with them. The sticky goo was only an afterthought from Arthur as he realized that it might become useful in the future.
One of the middle aged hunters was carrying the remains of their fallen comrade and refused anyone to help him.
With a collective breath of relief, the villagers and Arthur breathed the fresh, dry mountain air.
The previous gloomy mood mostly dissipated like the morning fog as they saw the sun shining on their dusty faces with occasional shades created by the towering cumulus clouds.
“Is everyone here? Nick, do a headcount.” Arthur said.
With the headcount proceeding quickly, they were all accounted for. While passing the fallen ratmen, few of the hunters decided to kick their lifeless corpses with hatred and spite.
“Fucking vermin, serves you right.” The middle aged hunter spat and vented his anger on the body of the ratman leader.
Turning his attention to the middle aged hunter, Arthur stealthily asked Sinde what his deal was.
“He was close to Farad… Aih, it is a shame. They were neighbors and liked to do stuff together, so I am not surprised at the reaction.” Sinde shook his head, and inquired what they should do with the ratmen corpses.
From what Sinde had seen, the ratmen bones and skin were tough, so to him, it would be a huge waste of resources to leave them to rot here.
Sinde looked at the villager carrying the goo in his hands. With the adhesive properties of the green goo and the ratmen leather, it was likely that the villagers could repair and make their shoes better suited for exploring and walking.
The hunters were still dressed in their clothes from the time of the summoning and were not properly suited for exploring rocky terrain or forests.
If they had tough and durable equipment, the hunting and exploring would be smoother. After explaining his points to Arthur, he nodded with some sympathy.
‘He Is right. What have I been thinking? I’m still wearing my comfortable shoes, but they have rags to wear in comparison. It must have been hard to travel rocky areas…’
Glancing at the villagers, Arthur saw that everyone was carrying pretty much what they could.
“We can leave some of the iron here and come back later for more. Take the ratmen back first to get good quality leather and strong bones.”
And so it was decided. The villagers paired up and started to carry the corpses back to their village at a slow pace. During the trip back to the village, Arthur and Glenn made the detour to retrieve Hamil’s remains.
“I’m sorry, Glenn. It’s possible that we lost them because of my requests…” On the hilltop where Hamil’s remains lay, Arthur apologized. With a cold mountain breeze blowing the duo's backs, silence and sorrow accompanied them.
“You don’t have to be sorry for anything. After all, we all knew that there might be risks but were not careful enough… Thank you for the sentiment.” With a shake of his head, Glenn said matter of factly.
“...Yeah, I guess.” After a brief silence, Arthur forced a smile.
With everything settled, the group silently made their way back to Stormhold.
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The first thing Arthur did after their return to Stormhold was to establish a cemetery for the fallen.
While this might not have been the best use of the manpower resources available, he felt that his villagers deserved the right to be buried and mourned by their friends and family.
With a swath of land designated as the place of burials, he quickly disappeared from the scene. ‘I hate visiting cemeteries, my mood is soured every single time I am in any cemetery’
That being taken care of, he told all the nearby villagers that the temple is open to choose a suitable job. With some brewing excitement, he and the villagers were looking forward to it.
Before the villagers chose their jobs, Arthur only told them that they should pick whatever they liked the most.
Those who liked to craft and create, should choose jobs like tailor, blacksmith or the like, while those who wished to protect and explore should try to aim for a job like explorer, adventurer or soldier.
While it might not be the most efficient way, Arthur believed in the freedom of choice.
He had been struggling between the choice of forcing jobs to villagers to cover all the essentials or free will; he eventually leaned over the freedom of choice.
The only thing that tipped the scales over to freedom in Arthur’s mind, was the belief that the villagers would be more productive and innovative should they be allowed to do something they themselves chose to do.
After Arthur finished explaining the significance that the jobs bring, he encouraged the crowd to enter the temple.
He watched the expectant villagers climb the stairway towards the temple without accompanying them. While he supported their choice, he still secretly hoped that there would be jobs relating to fighting and self defense.
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‘I should check if there are any changes in the village for now while I remember… It was village info, right?’
“Village info.”
[Population (99)]
[Population growth +5 / day]
[Income -]
[Specialties - Furs, Iron, Foyba goo]
[Fame - 3]
[ Area - 3 km² ]
With a new addition for the area, Arthur shook his head and felt disappointed as he didn’t see anything substantial from the basic info tab. 'Foyba goo? I guess that's the name of the green shit...Oh well it doesn't matter.'
Now all that was left for Arthur to do was wait and see how the job perks would change life in the village.
Slightly impatient, he wandered off and kicked around small stones on the ground until he saw a bright light coming from the temple.
The light attracted the attention of Mei with her pet groyote Banban following closely behind her to see what was the commotion.
Tailoring shop (Apprentice) - template unlocked
“Huh?”
Wondering if he was seeing things, he quickly opened the building menu and saw a new building added. Several questions ran through his head. With a surprised look on his face, he hoped that things would be as he imagined.
“Arthur! I just came and saw the sudden light coming from the temple. Could it be that we finally get to choose our jobs like you speculated?” Mei asked with a giddy expression.
Turning slowly towards her, Arthur showed a temperate smile and nodded. “Yeah. You were away with your groyote, god knows where. A lot of things happened, but you can ask about them from someone later.” Cleverly avoiding the heavy subjects with the cheerful young woman, Arthur answered.
He turned his eyes towards the temple when the light flashed again. A familiar notification flashed in front of his eyes and confirmed his conjectures about the building templates. With some curiosity, Arthur looked at Mei and saw Banban loyally standing behind her. A question popped in his head. What kind of job would she pick?
Mei looked with amazement and curiosity as the lights flashed every once in a while from inside the temple.
“If you want to go, just go. I won’t stop you.” Spreading his hands helplessly and with some awkwardness, Arthur said as she gave her full attention towards the temple.
Mei immediately started to run giggling towards the temple, leaving Banban waiting obediently.
Seeing this, Arthur knew that it was a fruitless endeavor to try to give her advice. After all, she usually did whatever she felt like doing. In a way Arthur envied the free spirited nature of Mei, but knew that he couldn’t be like her.
Looking at her back as she ran towards the temple, he took a glance at the obedient groyote laying on the green grass and shook his head. Maybe it was the honesty and childlike innocence that allowed her to connect with wild animals like having a reunion between old friends.
While pondering on trivial issues, his smile widened with every second as the notifications flashed before his eyes. Slightly overwhelmed at the sheer diversity of the different buildings available, Arthur couldn’t hide his joy and tightly balled his fists.
What should he prioritize to build first?
One of the notifications had catched Arthur’s eye in particular.
Military building options unlocked
Current available
- Apprentice warrior camp (Tier 1) Upgrade conditions not met
- Apprentice archer camp (Tier 1) Upgrade conditions not met - Junior scout camp (Tier 1) Upgrade conditions not met - Apprentice mage tower (Tier 1) Upgrade conditions not met
[Hint: Military & Job buildings provide the conditions to learn skills and experience based on the training done.]
Reading the last line of the notification, Arthur broke into a dance. Humming happily and dancing awkwardly for a moment attracted some of the villagers just now returning from cutting wood to watch the spectacle and wonder if the village chief was okay. Sensing the inquisitive and worried gazes of the few spectators, Arthur blushed and explained himself in a hurry.
Hearing that the village is about to thrive and become even more bustling, the spectators turned to look at the temple with fervor. Now, the chance to showcase their talent and determination was here.