After a days trek and camping in the woods we finally reach the walls of our home and I'm surprised to see that the rough logs have turned into a well built palisade, small huts rest above the gates and every 10 meters along the border of the clearing and a sturdy walkway connects all the huts. I look closely at one of the small buildings near the gates and am surprised at the sight of murder holes barely showing on each side of the structure and also showing at various parts of the actual wall. Once we step inside the walls I can't help but gasp slightly at the improvements that have happened in such a small amount of time. In one corner of the clearing there rests seven rough stone pens and a tent like building with a large cats skull resting above the opening. In one pen there rests the doe we captured earlier and in another the bunny hops around and rams into a small stone ball that's been left for it to play with. As I glance at the pens I see Slab lead the two cubs to one of the empty pens and gasp in surprise as a glow surrounds both cubs before they flash and appear inside the pens and begin playing happily with each other. Before I can even ask Dawn clears her throat and starts to explain.
"It seems that Huntmaster Slab has opted to improve the domestication level of our settlements hunting area first. Currently it's at level 3 out of 10 which allows him to instantly domesticate a beast as long as it is nearby the pens and also transport them to an open pen for raising and training. He hasn't started recruiting others yet but I think you should talk to him and your other leaders and vassals first before that since we have a population problem. As for the walls it seems Fey truly is an extremly skilled artisan as so far he's upgraded everything as much as he can but he lacks planning knowledge of what we need next so we should que that up. As for the guards, Jeff has fully trained both Bubbles and Wake to be capable of combat as a guardsman but after seeing your kill they both realize that strength isn't all that matters and have thrown themselves in to improving both battle strategy and combat experience." Dawn says happily answering most my questions before I ask her to bring up the job que and I make the next decisions on what we should do.
{Mission added Build Basic Leather working and tannery stations-0%}
{Mission added Capture breeding partner for livestock-0%}
After adding the new missions I ask Dawn if she can just add them as I ask and am happy as she instantly agrees before I see the incoming forms of Wug and Tugta.
"Noor! Welcome back friend, that beast you took down was pretty heavy but I'm happy to see you unsquished!" Wug says as he pats me on the back and sends me flying onto the ground while Tugta laughs at my misfortune.
"Damn Wuggy I keep telling you that you have to mind your strength. US smaller folks aren't as sturdy as you, especially the little guy." Tugta says happily before she laughs again and slaps the back of Wug's thigh repeatedly.
"It's fine Tugta, Friend Noor knows I try not to hurt him. I can't help that I was gifted with such strength but remember why we rushed here. Noor, I have received something called a class and I have two choices. I wish to ask your opinion on which you think would be best for both myself and our group." Wug says and I open my eyes wide in surprise before Tugta nods her head and speaks.
"Yea I was surprised too honestly. I've never heard of an ogre being offered a class unless they're like a mage which is insanely rare. Most of them just turn into berserkers once they fight enough but Wug told me his options and its pretty damn rare. Even Harold's never heard of this so we figured you should be the one to help decide considering your the whole leader and such." She says and I nod my head before finally making a decision.
"Later tonight we're going to have a meeting and go over progress so far and I'd like for the adventurers to show up as well. Wug could you get the word out to all the vassals to show up at my place around midnight? We'll go over our choices then as well." I say as Wug and Tugta both nod before heading off.
As I wander around the clearing I see several log houses next to each other against the wall of the cliff as well as a chiseled out stone door that now sits in the entrance to the cave. Glancing towards the gates I can see Sheer's cottage has been updated with a mix of stone, wood, and large bones making up a small home with several bone traps and projects resting outside in a scattered manor. Finally as I glance towards my house I'm left speechless at the now two story building with several rooms on each side. I rush over to it and can't help but laugh happily as I see two columns with pictures of my group as we fight against the gnolls and undead chiseled into the stone, each of the columns holding an overhang up that has a picture that looks almost exactly like me but taller and more noble riding atop a majestic lizard, its head held high as wind blows a cape from my back. Before I can enter my home and start to explore the new rooms I can hear a hammering coming from the back of the house and as I walk around the building I finally find Fey slamming a stone brick into place with a large hammer as a wyrmling hands him various tools as he needs them.
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"Ah Master Noortain! Glad to see your back and safe. That Bearsk you hunted was a fantastic specimen and if you'd like I can turn its head into a trophy to put in the house! I also hope you don't mind but I've been hard at work getting everything updated as fast as possible and your home is the last bit. So far I've expanded on what you originally built and made it stronger as well as adding specific rooms to it after asking your friends their opinions." Fey says happily as he notices me and takes a break from his work.
"This is all amazing Fey how the hell did you manage to do all of this in just a few days?!" I can't help but ask as Fey smiles in delight before he starts explaining his process of using both pure strength as well as magic to mold most of what he needs into various shapes. I nod along in amazement at the thought of this creature being able to cut the blocks of stones or have wood bend at will just with a thought and wonder if he'd ever be willing to use that ability towards defense. After he explains I can't help but ask him what kind of rooms I now have and he smiles excitedly before explaining.
"Well I started with a greeting hall so you can have travelers or visitors meet with you there and not wander through your home and learn things they shouldn't. Next I made a treasure room with the best locks and defenses I have access to so far, that way we have a place to put our valuables until we get a currency set up. I also made a few guest rooms as well as some basic plumbing so we don't have to worry about latrines anymore but without an actual mage running water will be tricky. We also need a blacksmith so we can get nails and such made as well as tools since mine are about shot. Anyways finally the last two rooms are the ones I'm most proud of. First we have the war room which I've done my best to furnish but I'm better at buildings than furniture so its rough, for better stuff you'll need a carpenter that's trained in that field. Finally the trophy room is last and takes up most of the second floor. I actually found three trophies in your pile of loot and was surprised to find that by putting them in the trophy room it gave the settlement certain buffs so you should keep a lookout for those. Anyways your bedroom is also on the second floor and although its a bit smaller than the original I did manage to get you a decent bed frame after we traveled back to the gnoll camp and stripped it." Fey explains and I can't help but get excited at the thought of both a real bed and trophies.
After a few more minutes of talking I remind him of the new missions in que and agree to have the Bearsk's head mounted before I rush into my newly upgraded house. As I walk through the front door I'm greeted with a fairly long hall that ends with a door on each side as well as a large chair and door behind it. As I open each door I find the guestrooms are on the bottom floor and that the stairs behind the chair lead to the newly made war room and a staircase in the corner. After admiring the bare room I head upstairs to a huge room that has many pedestals set up before seeing the three trophies that Fey mentioned and using inspect on each before a look of astonishment appears on my face.
{Branch of the Undead Treant -Trophy Effect: Grants 5% resistance to nature and dark magic to all civilians living in settlement}
{Skull of Don Juan Demousso- Trophy Effect: Grants the settlement the ability to create undead. 3% chance of undead being sentient and intelligent. Must have Necromancer citizen to raise and control undead.}
{Pelt of Cackle Master Vargo- Trophy Effect: Increases hunting and trapping skills by 15% of all hunter and tamer classes.}
So the trophies are all from creatures that could be considered bosses or just insanely dangerous so we can't just use anything here but those effect area pretty impressive. I mean we could have our own undead except we need a necromancer in order to use that effect. And the one from Vargo's fur will definitely help Slab with getting us some livestock plus the treant's buff helps everyone! I wonder what the Bearsk's head will give us and what else we might find. As I get lost in my day dreaming Dawn floats around and looks back at me in confusion before finally clearing her throat and jolting me out of my daydream.
"Master you've been exploring your house for a few hours now and that meeting you wanted is going to start soon. Don't you think it's time to get ready I mean this IS kind of a big moment for Wug you know." She says sarcastically as I sigh in acceptance and head downstairs to go over everything that needs done.