The wind slammed into the glass, making it rattle. Loch glanced at the windows, seeing the trees swaying in the wind. It had only gotten stronger in the last couple days since he’d been back at the school. He returned his focus to the Council meeting.

“The new leatherworker can’t use the raptor pelts yet,” Jeff Johnson said from his seat on the right side of the table.

They’d taken one of the smaller first floor classrooms to use as a meeting room. Loch didn’t know where they’d found the large table and chairs, which were all mismatched, but at least everyone got one.

Loch was at one head of the table with Ed Turner at the other. Kristin, technically not a Councilor, was in a chair in the corner recording notes. Along the left were Susan Turner, Thomas Mooney and Darren Holmberg next to Loch. With Jeff on the other side was Kyle Smith and the recently added Lucy Graham and Alison Crawford.

“We’ve managed to get some leather from the deers that Kyle’s people bring in,” Jeff continued. “So Nate is able to Level. Not fast, but is progressing. He’s at Level Six now.” He paused, glancing around the table. “Nate Andrews. That’s his name.”

He fell silent, looking down at the papers he had in front of him. Jeff wasn’t comfortable as a Councilor. He felt that he didn’t belong as his Class didn’t make him a pure Crafter but more of a jack of all trades. Tinkerer was an Uncommon Class, compared to most crafter Classes that were just Common. It gave him the Ability to make a lot of things from a lot of materials. He couldn’t make full suits of armor or weapons and some of his stuff wasn’t as good as a pure Crafting Class would make it, but he could do a bit of everything.

That was why Ed had suggested that he remained. He was a good voice for all the Crafters, who had formed their own little guild to funnel their concerns to Jeff. As someone that did it all, Jeff wasn’t biased toward any particular craft.

“We should be bringing in more pelts,” Kyle Smith said. “All the Hunters now have some kind of Skinning Skill or Ability.”

“We’re still getting a good supply of Lynxia hides from the Dungeon,” Alison said.

The newest Councilor, her role was coordinating the Adventurers and other Dungeon Delvers, making sure there was a good rotation and everyone that wanted a slot was getting one. Her job was to make sure that no Dungeon, including the Resource Dungeon, were constantly being delved when they were available.

She had replaced Susan Turner on the Council. Loch had been happy with that. He’d never liked having both Susan and Ed on the Council. Susan had been more than happy to be replaced. She wanted to spend more time in the infirmary with the Clan’s other healers. They were getting more healers, but there were also more people coming back wounded.

“Nate should have his first full set of leather armor done soon,” Jeff said.

Everyone smiled or nodded, happy at the news. It would take a long time to get everyone in the Clan outfitted in armor, getting rid of the makeshift stuff they used now. Jeff was trying to get more people trained in Leatherworking, but it was hard if they hadn’t had some kind of related foundation to start with.

“We’ve had a couple of the laborers..,” Jeff winced at the word. No one liked using it but no one had been able to come up with a better one to describe the people that didn’t have Combat or Crafting Classes. They were the ones currently performing the manual labor required. “Luckily they hadn’t gotten any Class yet and we’re hoping they can learn Leatherworking.”

He glanced at Kristin who nodded as she continued to write in her notebook. It was a nod that meant she would talk with Jeff later to get their names. As no one else had stepped up yet, Kristin, along with all her other duties, was coordinating and scheduling the labor force.

Loch hoped she was making a note to find someone to delegate the scheduling duties too. Kristin was overworked as it was. She didn’t seem to mind as her Class Abilities helped out. Or she was just very good at multitasking and one of those weird people that enjoyed being overworked.

“Not as good news on the blacksmithing front,” Jeff continued, flipping some pages of his notes. “Joe Foster is still the only smith we have and he can’t really Level as he doesn’t have enough ingots or a way to smelt them. No forge either.”

“Can we even make a forge,” Darren Holmberg asked.

“One of the books that was recovered from the library details how to make one,” Jeff said. “We’re just having a hard time getting the parts or a suitable place to put it and the smelter.”

“If we had more time before Winter, I’d make that a priority but we don’t,” Ed said, tapping his fingers on the table. “Armor would be good but there’s just so much we need to do to prepare for the cold months. We can’t divert the resources right now.”

Jeff nodded. It was the same answer that he always got. None of the Crafters could really Advance as there was a shortage of materials, time and production spaces. For most of them, they were doing what amounted to busy work. It was related to their Craft Profession, so they did get some experience, but not much to really gain Levels. The hope was they’d progress quickly once they got the materials and proper equipment.

Loch knew they also needed more Miners. They didn’t have enough Miners to clear out the Resource Dungeon, so it took a longer time for the Dungeoncore to regenerate the mining nodes. There also weren’t enough extra guards to help protect the Miners from the Dungeon’s Duergar Monsters. It would have been easy enough to take a couple of the Laborers and turn them into Miners, but like the forge and smelter, Miners were a low priority. They needed people to help build the bunkhouses and other buildings needed to get through the upcoming Winter.

There just weren't enough people that wanted to fight.

They were making people do something, that was who comprised most of the laborer force, but the line was drawn at forcing people to fight. In defense of the Clanhold, they’d be forced, but to make them go out and fight monsters in the woods or run Dungeons? Loch, and the others, didn’t feel right making someone do that. The problem was that harvesting the Resources required going out and fighting the monsters. The restrictive nature of the Connection’s Class system didn’t help either.

It looked people into roles based on their Class. Someone with a Watchman Class could delve a Dungeon but their Abilities were not suited for it, making it more dangerous for them and the others in their party.

A Hunter or Forager could fight, but they were limited in their offensive Abilities and rarely had any major Defensive ones. There were some hybrid Classes like T.J. Wolf’s Strider Class, that was meant for multiple roles, but those were few and had their own cons.

There just weren't enough people that wanted to risk their lives on a daily basis.

Loch could understand. If his and the girls' lives in the Connection had started differently, he could easily see himself being one of those. He thought about Peter and Davis Millman. Davis wanted to go out and protect the Clan. Peter had started down that path but nearly dying to the Sunrise Phoenix had changed his outlook. He was now firmly in the stay at the Clan side of things, putting him at odds with his son.

There were still times that Loch wanted to make the girls stay back, not get into the fighting. He knew that would be impossible now. Both of them were too strong and they wanted to do their parts to help protect the Clan. Loch was proud of them for that, but he still worried.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

But then even before the Connection, he’d worried.

He was a parent, he’d always worry.

***

“Out of the twenty new people the last few days, five of them have opted to become Guards,” Darren said, his turn to speak. “That brings us back to the number we had before the gaunts.”

Silence fell at the mention of the gaunt’s attack on the Clan. That had set them back a lot. Not just in numbers, but in time and food. The gaunts had destroyed some of the crops that had been harvested, some of the growing crops, supplies and all the preparation that the Clan had to do had set them back in development time.

The loss of the people was the hardest. They’d lost more civilians, the non-combatants, then they had the combatant Clanmembers but it was the loss of the combatants that hurt the Clan’s future development more. Loch hated it, but it was true. They needed combatants. Not just for Resource gathering but to thin out the monsters in the wilds and to provide protection from future threats.

Like the Silver Bark.

And the Hillgrowl Giants were still out there with their Si-Te-Cah ally.

“Three of the newcomers want to be Adventurers,” Darren continued as he looked at Alison. “I believe Kristin has sent you their names and Classes?”

“She has,” Alison answered, looking at her notes. “The problem is that they’re a Bladesman and two Spearsmen.”

Loch knew who they were. Stephanie and the twins, Brent and Trent. He saw some confused looks around the table.

“We can’t party them together,” he said. “Not a good mix of Classes.”

“Correct,” Alison replied. “They already have Classes, so they can work with the Guards and Hunters until a spot opens up in an existing Party…,” she paused, eyes wide as she realized what she had said and what it would mean. The only reason a spot in an existing group would be available is if someone had died. “Uhm.. sorry.. I…uhm.. Yes…well.. I’m hopeful that others will want to, or we get some newcomers that want to. Those three should really be in separate groups with their Classes but…”

She trailed off with a sigh.

Loch knew the twins would want to stay together. A decent party could be formed around the two, but it worked against them that they had the same Class.

“As they are your Bannerman,” Alison started.

“No,” Loch interrupted. “They need to be assigned to an appropriate Leveled group. Same as Brian. Even Harper and Piper,” Loch said, seeing the surprised looks from most around the table. “I can’t run Dungeons with any of them,” he explained. “I’m too high Leveled. It messes up the Dungeon scaling.”

He remembered the Painted Cave Dungeons just outside the school building. His Level had ended up being a huge risk with the group he’d entered it with. They’d faced a much more powerful demon at the end.

If his people were going to Advance, they needed to do it with the right party, the right spread of Levels.

“Even Harper and Piper,” Alison asked. She saw Loch’s look, quicker looking down at the papers in front of her, pretending to make some notes. “We can shift some Healers around but should be able to get everyone full parties and add to the schedule.”

“There might be a couple potential crafters out of the other new arrivals but most…,” Darren trailed off.

The rest would be laborers. And they already had enough of those. They were short the numbers needed for the most vital requirements of the Clan but had too many people that didn’t want to be a combatant Class and lacked the pre-Connection skills and requisites to become Crafters. With the way the Clan was now, there was only one other option. And everyone needed to do something to contribute to the Clan as a whole in order to have food and lodging.

“Some are being pretty vocal about the choices,” Darren continued.

Which was nothing new. If told that your only choice was to either fight, craft or labor, many people wouldn’t be happy. In the future there would be more options but at the moment, they had to concentrate on getting through the winter.

The Skilled Workers, those with Crafting Classes, were working long hours. Even the ones that weren’t actually able to make anything yet, they were spending those hours practicing and trying to develop their Class to make it useful. But if a Lumberjack could only prepare two trees a day, which Loch was told was incredibly fast compared to Pre-Connection, there were a half dozen laborers ready for that tree so they could haul it to the wall or wait to move planks. And thanks to their Adapted bodies, it really only took two to four to move a tree. It didn’t take that long to place it where it needed on the wall either. All that meant there were people standing around with nothing to do.

They had the laborers working in shifts to make sure that everyone did some work throughout the day but those shifts weren’t eight hours long. They did less work and got the same benefits as the crafters and the guards, who also had long shifts, did.

It was not a good system but it was all they had.

The Connections strict Class restrictions also meant the people working as laborers got Abilities and Classes reflecting that work. It was taking people that might have talents somewhere else, that the Clan could use in the future, and forced them down a set path that in the long run wouldn’t be as beneficial. But not having them work, meant there were a lot of people that sat around and did nothing. It had been leading to depression. That problem hadn’t been fixed, but the work was helping.

People were feeling somewhat useful.

The council just had to make sure they kept that way.

“How are the quests doing?,” Loch asked.

“Very good,” Alison answered, as the quest board fell under her purview. “They are really helping people Level. We have a list of some new ones we’d like added and some tweaks to existing.”

She looked through her pile of papers, finding the one she wanted and slid it over to Loch. He picked it up, looking down the short list, smiling at the last one. It was something he’d wanted implemented a while ago and it was just starting to be rolled out. Kristin had even been able to expand on his original idea.

The wind slammed hard into the window, making everyone turn to look.

“It’s been getting worse,” Ed remarked. “We’ve had some tarps and things blown away.”

“I watched one fly out over the lake,” Thomas said, chuckling. “That giant turtle didn’t like it. Tore the tarp to pieces.”

That earned some laughs. Unfay, the giant dragon turtle, didn’t make many appearances and for the most part left the fishermen alone. There were stories of something grabbing the lines and dragging boats across the lake but it never seemed to be malicious.

More wind slammed against the window.

“Damn,” Darren muttered.

The door to the meeting room burst open, a panting guard in the doorway.

“Tornados,” he yelled.

***

Loch ran outside, immediately hit by strong gusts of wind. It slammed against the building almost constantly, the wooden walls shaking. People were scrambling to grab supplies before they were blown away. Guards were rushing toward three tornados that sped around the schoolyard.

New Hampshire was not known for tornados but there had been a couple of microbursts over the last ten years or so. After one, Loch had seen the destruction it had caused. The small tornado had moved in a straight line through the woods, destroying the trees and leaving a wide path as it went. He’d seen the damage larger tornados had caused in the midwest.

There was something off about the tornados he was watching. They moved erratically, back and forth, speeding in one direction and then moving backwards slower before darting in another. One crashed into the wall, making the logs shake. The posts holding the horizontal logs flexed, bending under the force of the tornado slamming into them.

They held, not breaking.

The tornado moved back a couple dozen feet, stopped and shot forward into the wall again.

Loch realized what they were.

And one of them was heading down the hill toward the fields.

“Elementals,” he yelled out, Onyx appearing in his hand.

He Activated Windstep.