Beastborne

by James T Callum

  “Is baby,” Elaise said. “Easy.”

  Looking at the massive creature, swaying its arm-length green feelers atop its head, Elora wasn’t so sure.

  If this was another test, it was one she was determined to pass with flying colors. With a look down at Komachi’s sleeping form, she dismissed the pobul to her familiar haven where she would be safe from all harms.

  Unslinging her bow from her shoulder, Elora went over everything she could remember about Morbolgers. As she pulled an arrow from her quiver, she was unsurprised to find that the barbarian had just up and vanished, leaving her alone on the branch.

  She didn’t doubt that the woman was somewhere nearby watching, ready to wade in should she need to pull Elora from danger. But that wasn’t going to happen. Nocking an arrow, Elora took aim and sighted her shot.

  99

  Hal woke to a beam of sunlight angled straight at his face. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept so deeply or so profoundly. Despite the manner in which it occurred - he instantly remembered Komachi’s sleeping spell - he couldn’t argue the effects.

  He felt more rested than he had in a long time.

  You gain the effect of Well Rested.

  +4% Experience Points gained.

  +4% Skill Experience Points gained.

  +4% HP | +4% SP | +4% MP.

  +4% HP Regeneration.

  +4% SP Regeneration.

  +4% MP Regeneration.

  Duration: 8hrs.

  For once the buff wasn’t going to vanish after he managed to eat breakfast.

  With a groan, Hal dragged himself out of bed and mentally prepared himself for the day ahead. Work was progressing swifter than he ever thought it would on their defenses.

  Even without Hal supplementing their wooden stores with bone, they would have the entire gap sealed up with strong Palisade walls well before the coming threat.

  Hal found himself the lone occupant of the wagon. Even Vorax had gone out on his daily peace mission of finding new monster allies for the Settlement. Stretching out the kinks in his muscles, Hal looked around the wagon and could almost envision what it would be like to finally have a home of his own.

  Even his own room would be such a massive improvement.

  Then he remembered that the wagons were a ticking time bomb of lowered morale. If even he could begin feeling the effects of being cramped in the wagons, he could only imagine how the rest of the Guild was feeling.

  As Hal got ready for the day, he settled the chain with its chip of red [Shardite] on his head and stepped out into the bright morning light. The air was crisp and frigid. His breath came out in white puffs.

  He froze a moment when he looked toward the center of the circled wagons. Somebody had been busy.

  Canvas was stretched out in long bands, providing shelter from the elements in long wide swaths of shadow. Low, wide braziers burned to provide a steady warmth to those without the magical accessories.

  And for those that did have them, each brazier sported a series of small metal poles no thicker around than Hal’s thumb. Each pole held multiple curved protrusions that people hung their [Shardite] charm on to recharge from the cheery fire.

  Tables had been set up overnight or early that morning and people sat around and along long wooden benches. No more small tables with people clustered around chairs.

  It looked like a ramshackle dining hall. There was talking and laughter, boisterous dwarven singing broke out more than once. A sense of purpose and drive filled the air.

  And at the far side, a small outdoor kitchen had been set up. People queued up in front of it to receive their breakfast from a central location instead of each group making their own meals.

  It usually took them hours to get through breakfast and organizing the supplies was troublesome to say the least. Hal spotted a crumpled, white chef’s hat sitting atop Horald’s head, their Master Chef recently put in charge of the Settlement’s meals.

  His customary white puff of hair stuck out all around the rim of it so it seemed like the hat was sitting atop a cloud rather than his head.

  Meandering over to the back of the line, Hal watched with great curiosity as small serving trays were stacked ahead of him. The dwarf in front of him took one and the line moved forward one.

  The whole process of getting a tray, getting his breakfast, and finding a seat took less than five minutes. When Horald looked up over the young man who was serving Hal, Milas he thought his name was, the chef pushed the younger man out of the way and personally gave Hal a helping of eggs and bacon.

  “You should not have waited in line!” he cried out. “You… you never need wait in line, sir.” Horald placed a trembling hand on his white smock. “That you would see fit to give me command of a kitchen once more… to put me to work in such a lofty position. Truly I am grateful to carry on my life’s passion. Thank you, a thousand times, thank you.”

  Hal awkwardly balanced the tray on one hand while Horald reached out and shook his hand eagerly. He had no idea the man’s disposition would change so much.

  Noth spotted him and waved him over to her side of the bench. She scooted over to give him ample room to sit and he placed his tray down. “Is this how people usually eat?” she asked him.

  “I would like to see an actual mess hall or something like that,” Hal said honestly. The few dwarves around him turned to regard his response and nodded eagerly as if urging him on. He did his best not to roll his eyes as he added, “And a tavern of course.”

  That was met with a raucous series of hoots and gleeful table pounding.

  Ducking her head, a curtain of dark curls obscuring her face and her plate, Noth said, “I like it quite a lot.”

  “It is much improved from what I thought it would be,” Hal admitted. “But I agree with you. I like it too.”

  Tucking a strand of hair behind one of her long tipped ears, Noth smiled.

  They ate together, sometimes joining in the conversation around them and sometimes talking of what they planned for the day. Noth seemed eager to head back to the gap and work with Hal again.

  “I have never before done manual labor,” she admitted quietly. Saying something like that out loud was practically a sin in dwarven culture and Noth had learned enough from the sturdy folk to recognize the social stigma of crossing that line.

  “It is so… freeing,” she said with a hint of wonder to her golden eyes. She stabbed at the remains of her scrambled egg. “I worried that my contributions would be nearly worthless considering….”

  “Considering what?” Hal asked. He was trying to be polite, eating only between conversation but the food was delicious even if it was simple eggs, bacon, and some dried fruit with a cup of water.

  Her narrow shoulders hunched. “I know nothing of building. Only destruction. I feared that I… perhaps could not learn Construction. I was very pleased to learn that I could. I want to make something here, Hal. Something that is befitting of your dream.”

  That got Hal’s attention. He put down his fork and looked over at her. “What do you mean? If you have an idea for something you would like to see made, please tell me, Noth. I can’t decide every little building that gets put up.”

  She glanced at him a widening smile on her face that made her eyes sparkle. “I was thinking that once… far in the future when everything is safe, that we might make a Mage College or some place of learning the magical arts. I know much of the darker aspects of things and I would show people to use them instead of fearing them.

  “I would like to see this place become one of refuge as you said, for people who are persecuted. And the darker arts have long since been persecuted and misunderstood I have come to learn. It would… it would make me feel good to be able to contribute my own knowledge.”

  It touched him that Noth wanted to impart a part of her past life with those around her. That she wanted to share the magic that, quite frankly, Hal didn’t understand.

  Aside from his own magic, he didn’t have a ve
ry firm grasp on how most magic worked on Aldim.

  “That sounds like an incredible idea,” Hal agreed. “I would love to see this place become a seat of learning. We might even be able to make a renaissance for magic and understanding. But we have a long way to go before we can start with that.”

  “I know, but we have time,” Noth said, giving him a coy look.

  “So long as we survive the coming storm,” Hal agreed. He didn’t miss the tone of her voice. Now that the pair were functionally immortal, they had decades to plan for a city that would grow up around them and slowly fill in the valley.

  Hal looked around and noticed Noth was already doing the same. From these humble beginnings, they would lay the foundation for something truly great.

  He could hardly wait. It took a real effort to remind himself that they had a list of things to do a thousand miles long and not that much time to see them all completed.

  They were about to finish their breakfast when a prompt rolled up into Hal’s vision. Despite expecting it ever since he woke up, it still came as a surprise.

  Though it was a very welcome one.

  Construction on the Town Hall has completed.

  100

  “The Town Hall is ready,” Hal said with a grin.

  “The dwarves must have woken early to see it done so soon,” Noth replied, finishing up her breakfast. Her eyes flashed open and glazed slightly as if she too was reading a prompt. “Hal… finish your food.”

  The Beastborne looked over with a curious arch to his brow but with a shrug finished the last of his meal. It was hardly a difficult thing to do.

  He realized what had so distracted her, because a moment later he received the same notification.

  You eat [Hearty Breakfast Scramble].

  +10% HP | +10% SP | +10% MP.

  +10% HP Regeneration | +10% SP Regeneration | +10% MP Regeneration.

  Duration: 24hrs.

  Hal turned to look at Noth who was grinning back at him.

  “I take it from your stunned expression that this is not normal,” Noth said.

  He could only shake his head. Is this what they were missing out on all this time? Most food seemed to last only 8 hours. If Horald’s cooking could make a full day’s worth of a buff, the man just secured himself as the head chef for the entire Guild in perpetuity.

  Hopping up from his bench, Hal looked at Noth with a grin. “Want to go check out the Town Hall?”

  “You didn’t need to ask,” she replied, getting up and joining him.

  Their steps were buoyed by the day-long buff. On the way out, they both gave their compliments to the chef who bobbed and seemed incredibly flustered. Though neither of them could mistake the way his spine straightened in obvious pride.

  The Town Hall was easily visible from the caravan. Already several early-risers were milling about the recently finished construction site. Hal easily spotted Donks Hammertoes with his blonde beard and bright green eyes among the rest of the dwarves.

  He spotted Hal, flashed his white teeth, and waved him over.

  “You’ve done an amazing job,” Hal said sincerely.

  The Town Hall looked splendid. It was only a single story tall but it was exceedingly well made with stone fitted so tightly that Hal could well imagine that the hall would stand for generations to come without the slightest bit of maintenance.

  A tower of stone, a small clocktower actually by the looks of it, rose up over the entrance. He was about to ask if the clock worked when he watched one of the large beaten-bronze hands tick forward.

  The way they caught the morning sun and burst into a glory of shimmering light made them easily visible no matter where you were. The Town Hall had been made facing south, toward the gap and so the sun that rose over the eastern Cliffside would set the hands of that clock afire all day long.

  It was truly beautiful.

  “Ye like that, do ye?” Donks asked, his voice as proud as any father’s. “Had one o’ me friends whip that up. Might’n be ye know him. Name o’ Crag McDervish.”

  Hal nodded. He knew the Goldsmith all right. He suspected that Crag was also Elora’s dwarven crafter for the [Shardite] accessories that nearly everybody was now wearing.

  “Have you gone inside?” Hal asked.

  The dwarf shook his shaggy head. “I’m not fer robbin’ ye of that pleasure, lad! Only went inside to see to the construction. Yerself the first one who gets the honors.”

  “Thank you,” Hal said sincerely.

  This was just the first building of many, but it was an important one. A Town Hall gave 10% more EP generation and 5% more Morale. Now that the Settlement type was an encampment, the Town Hall’s Morale boost would not only increase everybody’s CP for days yet, but would go a long way toward staving off a severe negative Morale crash.

  Hal stepped up to the threshold and looked at Noth. In deference to him, she stayed one step back. “Get up here,” Hal said with a shake of his head at her foolishness. “You have earned this.” Over his shoulder, he pitched his voice for Donks. “You too Donks. We’re going in together.”

  The dwarf’s eyes went wide as saucers. They opened the sturdy wooden doors together. You would never have known that dwarves weren’t skilled carpenters from the way the wooden doors opened with the slightest effort and swung inward without a sound.

  The doors were beautiful and polished to a glowing sheen. This was far and away better than anything Hal could have hoped for.

  Once he was inside the cool interior, a prompt appeared.

  [Town Hall]

  A Town Hall’s function is a direct reflection of its owner’s needs. Town Halls can be made to be places of relaxation and rest for those weary from long days working. Or they can be made into offices for the procurement of permits, the distribution and administration of workforces. And anything in between. The setting you choose dictates the additional bonuses provided.

  Each major advancement of the settlement can either have another wing of the Town Hall constructed to take up a specific purpose or increase the strength of the Town Hall’s current designation.

  Current Effects

  EP Generation: +13% (+3% From superior building materials).

  Morale: +6.5% (+1.5% From superior building materials).

  Administration Building

  Provides a space for administrative workers and the associated documents needed in order to properly supervise a settlement’s growth and organization.

  +7% Workforce efficiency.

  -5% Morale.

  Recreation Building

  Provides a space for recreation workers and the required storage of spirits, food, and games for residents to enjoy and relax.

  -5% Workforce efficiency.

  +7% Morale.

  Office of Defense

  Similar to the Administrative Building, the Office of Defense allows for proper record keeping of all individuals who would play a part in defense of the settlement. It organizes their recruitment, status, and training.

  +7% Combat Skill gain.

  -5% Morale.

  Cartographer’s Office

  Creating an office dedicated specifically to the mapping and discovery of nearby areas, the Cartographer’s Office keeps detailed records of maps and locations of the surrounding land.

  +10% Influence range.

  +5% Hidden location discovery.

  The Cartographer’s Office was the only one without any negatives but the positives were less than the others as well.

  “The Administrative Office designation for the Town Hall has a Morale penalty,” Hal mused aloud.

  “Ain’t nobody like paperwork, son,” Donks chortled. “Just look at ‘er. She’s a thing o’ beauty, she is. Burstin’ with potential. What’re ye gonna make her into?” The blonde dwarf turned to Hal, and his bright curious eyes were only mirrored by Noth’s.

  This would be an important decision that would no doubt have long-reaching consequences. He wasn’t entirely sure what workforce efficienc
y was, but he could guess enough.

  With an Administration Building, the settlement would be well-organized. But people, as Donks so clearly put it, dislike paperwork. It would completely remove the Morale gain of a Town Hall in the first place.

  Well, not completely. Upon further inspection, it seemed building the Town Hall with better construction materials gave it a larger boost.

  Rather than the assumed 10% EP Generation and 5% Morale, it was roughly 30% better than the base stats at 13% and 6.5% respectively.

  Despite having hoped that using better materials would give a different or greater boost, he hadn’t expected it. It came as a pleasant surprise all the same.

  So no matter what he chose, there would be at least a 1.5% Morale boost. Not much, but better than nothing. Maybe once a designation was selected, that too would receive the 30% boost the Town Hall’s stats had gained.

  Out of all the Settlement stats so far, Morale seemed the most effective. It managed everything from the general disposition of the citizens to EP generation and had a heavy hand in the amount of CP people could make.

  Obviously, a happy population was a productive one.

  As such, Hal couldn’t rightly turn away from a Recreation Building. His people were working hard to claim this land as their own. 7% more CP would go a long way with so many projects still to be completed.

  The other buildings seemed nice. He particularly liked the Cartographer’s Office, if only because the mapping portion seemed interesting to him. But he had his own Exploration skill for that.

  Right when he finalized his decision, a glare of light erupted from the center of the empty room. In a flash that left each of the three observers blinking spots from their eyes, the interior of the Town Hall was changed.

  Where there was once empty dressed stone walls and bare wooden beams overhead, there were now kegs, tables, hanging lanterns, and a dozen other items that simply appeared.