We begin getting stuff done immediately when we wake up. Bones and his dead crew, who kept watch over us at night, start remodifying our fortress. Apper, Fury, Fen, and some older lycan kids with earth affinity work with Bones and his crew to create housing and defensive structures. Gene and Nette are working with the rest of the children reviewing the newly created packs and making modifications to balance out each unit.
Noth, Cher, the Synth Sisters, and I are all taking inventory of the loot Gene and I gathered on our friendly neighborhood visits and what we recovered from the demons.
Food is our priority. Luckily, our home welcoming gifts include enough food storage for a few months. Between the goblin supplies and the bugbears, we have plenty of grains, dried and fresh fruits, a variety of meats — cooked, salted, and some still raw — and vegetables.
Once the designated community kitchen is set up, Glimmer sets up preservative runes that keep food fresh indefinitely. It's like the runes I encountered in the horde's stronghold. The kitchen is a large stone building with multiple entrances. The building is fitted with two areas. The kitchen will be where cooking and food preparation will occur, and the cafeteria will be where serving and eating will happen. The cafeteria is the largest of the two rooms, big enough to house everyone simultaneously.
Serving stations that line the cafeteria wall that separates the kitchen are where we place the prepared food. All the food that needs more preparation is stored in the preserving box in the kitchen. Preserving box, meaning a small side room. In theory, cooks can easily access each serving station and replace the food when necessary. In contrast, the open floor around the stations allows quick access for those trying to eat.
Not only does Glimmer set up the preservation runes for all the food and serving stations, but she also adds water runes to several spots in the cafeteria and kitchen, creating a small stream of fresh water. All she needs to do to get the water runes to work is place a water-collecting rune in a significant source of water, which she does by inscribing the mana-fueled runes on a large rock and instructing one of Bones' minions to place the stone in the stream.
Cher is skeptical of the dead minotaur's ability to follow through with the task. She appoints herself to supervise that the rocks are placed correctly.
We don't have the people to run a fully functioning kitchen, so for now, eating is on an individual and pack basis. A lot of trust and responsibilities are being placed on the pack leaders. Luckily the juveniles are willing to step up.
We finish our task just as Gene and Annette wrap up theirs. To test out our system, or lack thereof, the pack leaders are given instructions to get themselves and their members fed in an orderly fashion. Because we are fools and have hopes for a brighter future, we don't limit what the kids can eat. The only rule is to not waste food. If you pick something, it gets eaten. Even after most of us have eaten, we still have plenty of food to last for a while.
I was expecting more of the food to be diminished. The kids did not hold back, and many had several heaping plates of food that they'd eaten. I look towards the Synth Sisters when I let my thoughts be given voice.
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"I added a rune of replication," Glimmer answers proudly. "The rune itself is relatively insignificant when you try to use it on anything other than small objects. Even then, most of the time, people aren't looking for useless trinkets. The rune also does not work with energy-invested items limiting the rune further. It turns out that feeding the masses is where the rune begins to shine.
"Won't that affect the food quality?" Noth beats me to the question I'm about to ask. Since the kids have finished eating, we take the opportunity to get some food and choose a table near a door for some natural lighting. Taste-wise, I don't notice anything odd about the food. The bread tastes like bread. The eggs are good. And the sausage is as tasty as ever.
"The taste won't be changed. Nutrition will be lost, but that loss is almost made up for in quantity." A little bit of doubt flashes on Glimmer's face. "If you want me to remove the runes, Li, I will." Since I have yet to learn my lesson about eating and talking, my mouth is full of food, creating a long, painful pause in the conversation.
I try to hurry the bites and find that the pressure is causing my mouth to run dry, making the food harder to swallow. I try to grab my drink when I realize I never grabbed a drink, to begin with. My hands were too full to carry water back with my plate. If I had extra hands like Bones, this never would have been a problem.
Everyone is awkwardly staring as my chewing increases trying to solve the problem faster. Luckily, my wits aren't completely spent, and I remember I'm not entirely powerless. In my hands, I summon a bone cup and then fill it with water using the water manipulation skill I gained several fights ago. With my mind no longer focusing on chewing, I finish the bite in my mouth before I even take a drink. I take a sip anyway. I don't know why I try to pull off the 'looks cool' when eating image. It never works out. Maybe I need to eat less.
"No. Let's keep the rune. If we see any malnourishment, we will shut it off. Until then, keeping our food stock high will be good until we can become more self-proficient." All of Glimmer's worry fades away and is replaced with pride once again. "Have runes always been a big part of your life?"
Somehow Glimmer manages to clear her plate and mouth, allowing her to smoothly answer with no awkward delays. "Life in shadow is similar to life here, except it is much more cutthroat." Both the spiders' eyes widen with questioning glances.
"There is an unhealthy obsession with power in shadow. Everyone is making a power play. Even our young are heavily invested in becoming stronger. It's as if the air we breathe intoxicates us with the desire to consume. I started learning runes to protect my sister and me. Light lancing does not offer the same offensive power as other affinities, so I balanced the playing field with runes."
Markings across Glimmer's body light up. From head to toe, she is covered in runes. I notice an intense light shining beside her and see that Bloom is also glowing in rune scripts though her body is much less covered. "I have three strong light spells that I primarily use. For everything else, I rely on runes. Not every rune I learned has its uses, and some have disappointing results. But we have survived this long, and a large part of that is because of runes."
"What was your source of knowledge?" None notice Nette near us, nor that she can hear our conversation.
"Besides being a bunch of savages, we are also obsessed with knowledge. If only to use the knowledge to exploit the weakness of others. Many of the rulers set up knowledge centers to appease the masses."
"Savages and Scholars. That sounds like a good time. I think I would like to visit your realm sometime."
"Show me your mind tricks, spider, and we have a deal. I will be your personal escort."