Theo sat at his regular table with Alise, Tresk, and Alex at the Marsh Wolf Tavern. It was clear they would need more places for townsfolk to eat. Xam was working hard to keep everyone fed with luxury meals, but for the first time she had to turn people away. The backup system of dried and fresh food stored in [Dimensional Storage Crates] would bridge the gap for now. Until then, the alchemist enjoyed his position of power, sipping on his moss tea and eating through the leftovers from the feast.

Alise explained the schedule for the day, something Theo wasn’t looking forward to. He’d planned to grind more alchemy and herbalism levels, and sort out his golems. Instead, that same position of power forced him to check in with all the production groups of the town. He hadn’t even worked with Sledge for the town’s new upgrade. But the refugees, hungry to dig into the town’s coffers, wouldn’t wait for anything.

“At the current market rate, we’d be fine,” Alise said, tapping a quill on a ream of parchment. She hadn’t touched her food, or her tea. “But our trade contracts from the north have already been canceled. People are fleeing south, and we’ll be cut off soon.”

It wasn’t a great first day of the season. Word had already come to Theo that Laedria might not be what she claimed, but that didn’t diminish the hard work she put in. The woman was up all night with Sledge, working on sourcing their materials for the boats. A list of required materials had already come his way, and it boiled down to timber, ropes, cloth, and pitch. If he hadn’t planted the [Starbristle Flax], that would put them behind by a few days. All that concern for boats fell away to ensuring the Elves were settled into jobs.

“How long can we fund the town without trade?” Theo asked.

Alise shrugged, underlining some numbers on her parchment. “A few weeks. Maybe.”

“Alright,” Theo said, standing. He hadn’t finished his tea, or his meal. Alex chirped, begging to go into her satchel. The alchemist scooped her up, placing her inside. Tresk dropped some worms in the bag. “Let’s make the rounds.”

It didn’t matter which stop they made first. The sawmill was closer, so that made sense. When Theo and Alise approached Sledge’s operation, the Elves mingled with their new neighbors in orderly rows. The Marshling taskmaster was shouting orders, pointing her finger and making grand proclamations. She wouldn’t need help, but they’d check in on her anyway. It took a while for her to finish her speech.

“All good?” Theo asked.

“50 new workers,” Sledge said, laughing. “Yeah, I’m real good. Real good! I’m great!”

“You didn’t sleep, did you?” Theo asked.

“That woman,” Sledge said, narrowing her eyes at the alchemist. “Is a monster. She has an unlimited supply of energy. I suspect stamina potions.”

Theo nodded. Despite Sledge’s erratic behavior and sleep deprivation, she had organized her operation well. She never issued commands for work directly, favoring a military-like structure where orders filtered down. Each group had their commander, who planned for the day, and everyone reported to the operator of the sawmill. That freed the Marshling up to do her fabricator work and reduced her stress greatly. The addition of 50 additional workers didn’t affect her at all.

“How is the boat project?” Theo asked, snapping his fingers to get Sledge’s attention.

“That lady is organizing everything,” Sledge said. “You got her list of supplies, yeah?”

So, Sledge was useless until she got some sleep. Theo clapped a hand on her shoulder and moved on, happy enough with her organization to check on the next producers. Alise was worried about the Marshling’s ability to work without sleeping, but it was fine. Everything was fine.

“If the forester can keep up with their pace of cutting, it should be fine,” Theo said, reassuring himself. He made note of the piles of [Ogre Cypress Bark] next to the sawmill. Perg hadn’t come calling for a while, which would be worrying if he wasn’t so busy.

“I’ll just put a checkmark on the ‘wood’ list item,” Alise said. “Farm?”

“Sure,” Theo said.

The streets of Broken Tusk were busier than normal. The familiar faces of Humans, Half-Ogres, and Marshlings were now mixed with Elves. It was reassuring to see they weren’t so gaunt. A day of rest and a good meal did wonders for their health. The school was also packed, the play yard filled with screaming children. Despite the noise, it was a pleasant sight.

Banu’s farm was packed. Theo found him scrambling around the fields, barking orders to his farmhands. Unlike Sledge, his organization was chaotic. There was no command structure, and no wiggle room for the Half-Ogre. Orders came from him, and no one else, creating a mad scramble to plant and harvest whatever he said. Where the sawmill got 50 workers, the farm got 100.

“You need better structure, my friend,” Theo said. Banu gave him an empty stare.

“We can assign an administrator to help,” Alise said.

“Oh, not that again,” Banu grumbled. “Not with what happened last time.”

“Then I’ll send Sledge,” Theo said with a nod. Banu’s stare grew more vacant, a hint of panic in his eyes. “Sort out a structure, or I’m sending sledge. Got it?”

Banu swallowed, nodding. “I’ll sort it.”

Theo doubted the farmer would sort the problem out, but they could check in later today. The worst case scenario meant that someone like Gwyn would help manage the farm’s restructuring. In hindsight, the alchemist should have fixed the problem before it was a problem.

“You can’t fix everything without growing pains,” Theo said as they moved down to Stabby Groves. The Elven adventurers that lived here were missing, likely already working with Aarok on assignments.

“We’re going to rename these districts,” Alise said, scowling.

Theo still didn’t care what the districts were named. Until they actually did something, it was just flavor text. When the pair approached the quarry, they were met with an empty worksite.

“Working on the road, maybe?” Theo asked.

“Likely,” Alise said, making a note on her parchment. “Ziz talked about structuring his workforce like the Qavelli army. Regulars and irregulars.”

Theo voiced his agreement. Ziz always had a decent way to manage his people, taking a similar approach to Sledge. The difference in approach came down to numbers. The lumber operation utilized a massive force, all lumped together, while the stoneworkers segmented their people into specific jobs. How that translated to building roads would be interesting to see.

According to the reports from the administration staff, Ziz got 75 workers for his operation. Alise and Theo left the quarry, ascending the battlements of the wall and walking to the eastern gate. It was faster to take the road south, but this gave them a chance to bump into Elven adventurers. When those fighters spotted the mayor and his administrator, they stopped and performed a salute by placing their palm over their chest and bowing. That kind of respect and discipline was unheard of in Broken Tusk. Normally, the alchemist would get a smile and a nod.

The wall was better patrolled, now. Aarok did a great job stationing the refugees along the wall. Theo even saw some of them maintaining the artifice towers, shoving motes inside to keep them powered. Once the pair made their way to the north-south running section of the eastern wall, they spotted Ziz’s crew. They were shoveling out the old dirt road, placing gravel in the bed, and setting stones with their [Stoneworker’s Core] powers. At a distance, it was a sight to behold.

“Here’s the question,” Theo said, leaning against the crenelations of the wall. “Do we go down there and give them my extra [Tunneling Potions]?”

Alise drummed her fingers on the hard stone, humming for a moment. “Wouldn’t he have asked for them if he needed them?”

“Maybe,” Theo said. “Could be him trying to build teamwork. Look how coordinated they are. One team to dig, one team to place the gravel, one team to set the stones… Hey, someone on the team has an inventory power.”

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Theo watched as an Elf pulled some stone from nowhere, almost tripping and falling over. A Half-Ogre from Ziz’s original crew rushed over to steady the man. Then they laughed about it.

“Alright, it’s absolutely a bonding thing,” Theo said, dismissing the matter. “They’ll hit the bridge soon. Damn, they’re moving quickly.”

“Some people think the Elves aren’t a physically powerful race,” Alise said. “I’m wondering if it’s just a thing with House Wavecrest, or all the Elves, but they’re hard workers.”

That’s exactly what Broken Tusk needed. Hard workers who knew the value of putting in the sweat. The Elves working on the road below weren’t dainty things. They were in the dirt and the mud like the Half-Ogres, not shy to get filthy for the cause. They’d fit in.

Just south of the eastern gate was a sharp turn, jutting out over the river and enclosing the harbor. Ziz and his workers shouted proclamations of greatness from below when they spotted Theo and Alise on the wall. The pair only cleared out when the invitations to get dirty came, complete with mud balls hurled at speed. On the eastern wall of the harbor, Laedria spotted them and ascended the battlements.

“Big day, boss!” she said, slapping Theo on the shoulder. “I’m collecting materials. Got any pitch? Tar? Uh… Glue?”

“I can work on that today,” Theo said.

“Yeah, alchemist seems like the right class for the job,” Laedria said, twitching. Her team was asleep in the shaded sections of the harbor. “Got any stamina potions? Like… Any? I need some.”

“I suggest you rest,” Theo said. “I have your list of materials, and I’ll get them ready today.”

“Yeah. Rest. No, I’m good. Alright, bye,” Laedria said, jumping from the wall. She rushed over to her workers, kicking them away and shouting. Alise and Theo moved on before she returned to the wall.

“That wasn’t the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” Theo said once they were clear of the harbor. “But it’s up there.”

The shipwright went into his mental list of people to watch. She was too important to lose because she refused to sleep. Theo and Alise descended the battlements beyond the harbor, working their way through the sparse forest to find Nira’s smeltery with only a few new workers. There was nothing to do here, so they moved on after exchanging pleasantries. Gridgen was outside of Dead Dog Mine when they approached. He was smiling, which Theo took as a good sign.

“Can’t say I’ll turn away good workers,” Gridgen said, laughing. “The Elves don’t seem built for the mines, but they sure are working.”

“No issues?” Theo asked.

“Well, there aren’t enough nuggets to mine, so we’re working on expanding the tunnels,” Gridgen said. “Couldn’t be happier with the arrangement.”

Gridgen invited them in for a tour. The top level of the mine had been expanded significantly, snaking in all directions to get at the [Copper Nuggets]. The next layer wasn’t as well-dug, but provided a few new spots to get [Iron Nuggets]. When they reached the bottom layer of the mine, near where Alex’s egg had been found, there were even fewer new tunnels. That last layer held only [Drogramathi Iron Nuggets] for now, but Theo’s hope was to find silver. His intuition said it would appear either on the last layer, or the iron layer.

With everything being so busy, it wouldn’t be wise to dig deeper. Gridgen shared that concern. His team wasn’t structured like any of the others. Mining seemed to be solitary work, with only enough space for one person to swing a pick in the tunnels. It was more of a mental game than anything, balancing the stiflingly hot conditions of the mine while keeping one’s sanity from the lack of sunlight. But they seemed happy enough to take a more leisurely pace, often returning to the surface for breaks.

“Might need ventilation,” Theo said, standing in a long tunnel on the copper level. The sound of picks rang through the mine, creating a deafening noise that gave him a headache within moments. “And ear protection.”

“I don’t think the mine requires attention, though,” Alise said, clearing her throat. “Not with the current emergency.”

Alise’s biggest weakness was her limited foresight. Theo couldn’t fault her for it, though. Everyone had their strengths, and her greatest skill was to handle problems immediately. She was reactive, and that had merit. Times like these made it hard to plan for the future. Having someone who focused on the present made those problems vanish as they cropped up. Integrating the refugees was proof enough of that.

Theo wasn’t much better at planning for the future. He planned for all possibilities, not the most likely one. That was something he could work on, but his goal was to establish an amazing administration structure to bridge the gaps he had. Gwyn was more cautious with her planning, but she hadn’t had the chance to run with it. Sarna, Gridgen’s partner in the mine, came to interrupt the alchemist’s thoughts. She gave her opinion on the mine’s operation, but every word lined up with what the alchemist already heard.

Alise checked the mine off her list and the pair went to check on the artisans of the town. Throk’s blacksmithing workshop was buzzing with activity. Most of the potential smiths were gone, leaving only a few promising pupils. Thim had his own workstation now, and the blacksmith himself was nowhere to be seen. The Dwarf shouted his greetings, beckoning the pair over.

“Ya really made the boss mad,” Thim said. “Been in that new workshop you gave him for a few days.”

“He’ll get over it,” Theo said. “Since he’s gone, how are your new apprentices working out?”

There were a few Elves that had the knack for blacksmithing. Some even had cores, according to Thim. But cores didn’t make the blacksmith, it was more about personality and drive.

“Well enough. Not that we have many orders,” Thim said, setting down his hammer. “Everyone just wants the Bantari’s artificer work. Air condensers for everyone.”

“Air conditioners,” Theo corrected. “That works. Any opinions on the refugees?”

“Absolutely none,” Thim said, drinking from a wineskin. “They’re working. They’re getting paid. Who cares?”

There was a commotion on the far side of town. Theo poked his head out of the blacksmith and watched as people stopped in the street, casting concerned looks north. But the bells didn’t ring, and Aarok didn’t send a town-wide message, so he ignored it. He downed a [Potion of Lesser Foresight], just in case.

“Alright. Thanks for the help, Thim.”

Theo knocked on the door of Throk’s artificer building, but got no response. After knocking the third time, the Marshling shouted back in anger. It was best not to disturb an angry Marshling when they were working, especially not one as angry as Throk.

“We should check with the admin staff,” Alise said, pointing toward the town hall. “Make sure everything is lined up for the day.”

The town hall was filled with citizens and the junior administration team. Gwyn was directing the chaos, but it seemed to be routine things. Some Elves weren’t assigned jobs, and they were upset about that. It was only a group of 3, but they insisted on being placed on teams they didn’t deserve. Especially not the one claiming to be an enchanter. One inspection revealed him to be a level 3 laborer. Further investigation showed his only core to be a [Laborer’s Core]. There wasn’t time in the day to worry about setting everyone up with their dream jobs.

[Aarok]: Theo, report to the guild. Not an emergency.

“Is it ever an emergency?” Theo asked.

“We’re good for now, if you want to go,” Alise said.

“I mean, the message said I gotta go. So… Enjoy this rabble,” Theo said, gesturing to the angry Elf.

Theo made his way to the Adventurer’s Guild. A small crowd had formed outside, all talking amongst themselves. There was time enough in the day to gawk at whatever the guild was doing, but not enough time to work? The alchemist took a deep breath. People could take breaks if they wanted, they only owed him 3 days of labor a week. That was the standing agreement, anyway.

Inside the guild hall was no less chaotic than the outside. Adventurers talked amongst themselves, a tone of anger spiking their every word. Theo found his way to Aarok’s office, eyes lingering on the crowd surrounding something on the ground. When he entered the cramped office, he found it not as stuffy as before. Only when he spotted Throk’s air conditioner in the corner did it make sense to him.

“Bit of trouble,” Aarok said, sitting behind his table and scribbling something in a leather-bound book. He gestured for Theo to take a seat and sighed. “Well, we figured out what happens when someone breaks your contract.”

Theo searched his memory. The crowd in the guild's atrium were all surrounding something. A cloth strewn over something, but what was it?

“Ah,” Theo said, inspecting his memory closer. “How many?”

“Three Elves,” Aarok said. “Registered with the Adventurer’s Guild and assigned to patrol the marsh. We just hauled them in, still taking witness accounts.”

“That’s Luras’ job, right?” Theo asked, letting the memory of the red-stained sheets fade from his mind. “What exactly happened?”

“Early report says they tried to take out another adventurer,” Aarok said, leaning back in his chair. “Well, they picked the spot well. Out of range from our towers, and out of sight from the other adventurers. An Elf on the wall saw the air split open, then some beast jumped out and… Well, I’m sure you saw it. They were torn to shreds.”

Theo leaned back, falling into his thoughts. His early impression of the contracts skill was that the punishment would fit the crime. The entire situation seemed grim, but it was a clean way to deal with new citizens. If they would sign a contract, then break it immediately, they deserved what they got.

“It’s a great example for the new citizens,” Theo said, shrugging. “They read the contract, right?”

“They did,” Aarok said, leaning in. “Not sure you’re the same Theo. Figured you’d have a negative reaction.”

Theo took a long moment to respond. “There’s one simple law in this town. Don’t harm Broken Tusk, or her people. That’s it. If someone can’t follow that, we can’t help them.”

“So, the punishment is death?” Aarok asked, raising a brow.

“I assume they did more than just plot the murder? There had to be an attack, right?” Theo asked.

“There was,” Aarok said. “The person they targeted was attacked, but that’s all the information I have. She’s still alive.”

“Then, yes. The punishment is death,” Theo said.

Aarok was pleasantly surprised by that. He fell into conversation about other things, mostly about their new citizens. 3 bad actors out of the 300 wasn’t cause for concern. Everyone else was acting in good faith, and all the adventurers he’d recruited, aside from the 3, were more than pulling their weight. They worked with a professionalism never seen in Broken Tusk before, bringing with them a breath of fresh air. It was not unlike the cool breeze that filtered through the air conditioner in the room.