The Two Week Curse

by Michael Chatfield

  “Priorities for building?” Rugrat fired off.

  “Barracks, hospital, growing houses, homes, academy, workshops, warehouse district, and market square,” Erik said after a moment’s thought, looking to Rugrat.

  “Makes sense to me. First, we need to have some defenses, then the military can kill beasts and we can start trying to grow crops, bringing resources in. Right now, we have places that people can sleep. They’re not comfortable, but they’re survivable. I would also say that we build temporary showers and bathrooms and a water treatment center. Roska would only need to use a separation and purification spell and our water would be clean. With formations, we could automate the process but that would take more power,” Rugrat added.

  “It always comes down to the amount of power we have. At least we’ve got tons of resources left over from the gnome buildings,” Erik said.

  “While your people work in shifts, the robots can also help to build the structures all the time. It will cost energy, so they’re best used for laborious and time-intensive but simple jobs, freeing up your people to focus on studies and increasing their strength.” Egbert, seeing he had their attention, continued. “They can also be powered by monster cores instead of straight Mana stones.”

  “Have them start taking supplies needed over to the barracks location and the growing areas. Egbert, I want you to talk to Elise and tell her about their abilities. Using a mix of our own people and the machines will save us time and effort.

  “You think there’s anything else that we might be forgetting?” Erik asked Rugrat.

  “Probably, but I don’t know what it would be. The sooner we go dungeon hunting, the better. I trust our people,” Rugrat said.

  “Yeah.” Erik wanted to experience the building, but he needed to find that dungeon core.

  “Looks like it’s time for another adventure.” He checked his quests. “I still need to get those damn Alchemy ingredients.”

  Chapter: Parties

  Elise woke up on the hard floor. It wasn’t that comfortable but she had slept on worse before. She cracked her back and headed for the open area around the dungeon core. She stopped walking as she saw four-legged robots moving materials with their manipulators. They looked like some kind of beetle as they worked without pause.

  Elise’s eyes adjusted as she looked at the blueprints that appeared all around the main area. She was left in stunned silence by it all.

  The houses were simple but they were much better than anything they had in Alva Village. There was an entire district made for teaching and learning, even a marketplace with stalls. Seeing it all, a sense of anticipation and excitement filled her. It was the first and most basic step, but it showed where they would go.

  She thought on what had been said at the meeting. “We’ve got a long way to go, but nothing is impossible,” she said to herself with a smile on her face.

  ***

  Erik and Rugrat were sitting with the sergeants of Alva’s fighting forces as well as Blaze and Glosil.

  Everyone’s attention was on Erik and Rugrat.

  “So far, your training, weapons, armor, and skills were passed to you out of necessity and lack of time. You have built a foundation and now it’s time to build upon it. We don’t have massive numbers and we don’t need them to fight effectively. We will fight in parties, when outside of the dungeon. You will be classed as Warrior, Ranger, Medic, Mage, and Support. This leaves each role sufficiently broad for future development and individual development. Not every fight requires a warrior with a shield and some people will probably excel at wielding a spear or two-handed sword, but they would still be stuck into ‘tank with shield.’ Your focus should be in finding what your talent is and pursuing it fully. Go to the academy, talk to Egbert, talk to your fellow fighters—gain knowledge here, test it out when you’re outside of the dungeon in the Beast Mountains. Although the main focus of the military is to fight, parties need to be adaptive, to deal with all kinds of situations.

  “Support will be a broad category. I envision this as anything from specialists gathering personnel who excel at getting difficult to procure metals and herbs to specialist beast tamers caring for mounts and long-range / stealth / secure communications ‘pets’ and smiths, repair troops, hunters. In the future, we will go to the other levels. We will encounter different beasts, different situations, need to repair formations or fight different creatures. We cannot be rigid in our thinking or our fighting.” Erik looked around the room, making sure that his words struck home. People were excited but they were also focused on his words.

  “Also, there will be combat fanatics among you. I wish to make a new kind of school, a fighting school that will focus on fighting techniques. It will be based in the barracks with people trading fighting techniques and information. Based upon people’s performances, they might also join the specialized groups, like the quick reaction force, gaining permission to head to the higher realms in order to train and broaden their horizons. These spec teams will carry out the highest priority missions, encountering the greatest dangers.”

  A wave of muttering and excited chatter went through the room. On one side, there was increasing their power; on the other, there was rewards for doing well, the enticement of the Second Realm and beyond.

  Erik smiled slightly, seeing the drive and excitement in their eyes.

  “Sergeants will be in charge of groups no more than five. There will be mandatory missions. These might be to investigate an area, or if Alva Dungeon is under attack, all of you will return to your original positions and fight. When there aren’t mandatory things for you to do, it is the duty of each party to increase your overall fighting strength. To this end, enrollment in the academy will be cut in half. You will get a bi-monthly wage, cheaper weapons, armor, and other items as they become available at the market. You may also get bonuses at the end of the year based on performances. If you die in the line of duty, then your family will receive a monetary benefit, equal to half of your yearly wage, paid out for ten years. You will become the scouts for Alva Dungeon in the other realms and in the surrounding area. You will also be their shield and sword, ready to defend and ensure the safety of the village,” Erik finished.

  Chris, one of the sergeants, had suggested the roles. It was based off the mercenary guilds and groups he had talked with before. With the party system, it meant that increasing their strength was their responsibility.

  They were strong but they simply didn’t have the numbers to create a true military. Instead, he went along the path of making a number of groups. He was looking to emulate Special Forces groups back on Earth. He would give them a mission and direction, letting them plan and execute their plan; through working together and relying on one another, they would become incredibly close. Erik knew that a well-coordinated section’s strength couldn’t be compared to a weak and uncoordinated platoon.

  In their downtime, their training would be left to them. The better they did, the greater the rewards. It would create competition between the different parties, but as they all came from the same root, when called back they would work together to defeat the enemy.

  “Over the next month, you will form these parties. Your orders will come directly from Captains Glosil and Blaze. Teams will be located in defensive and offensive roles, changing every six months,” Erik said.

  He could see the interest in the sergeants’ eyes. They had grown quickly, but now it was their chance to prove themselves, to go and truly experience the world.

  Adding in the fact that they would be working to make their home stronger and safer, it filled them with a sense of pride and anticipation.

  “Captain Blaze, your missions are to scout and then secure the surrounding area. After that, there are retrieval missions.” Erik pulled out prepared pieces of paper with information jotted on them. These were all of the locations for the different ingredients that Alchemist Tommins was looking for.

  This would allow Erik to
collect the ingredients he needed, test out the new party system and give him time to look over the day-to-day running of Alva Dungeon.

  “Understood,” Blaze said, accepting the missions and bowing slightly.

  “We will leave you to it,” Erik said.

  The entire group rose to their feet and saluted as they passed.

  The quick reaction force was waiting for them behind the sergeants, a lost look on their faces.

  “Why do you look so down? Do you think we would forget about you troublemakers?” Rugrat laughed.

  They all looked up, with interest.

  “Storbon! Roska!” Erik barked out.

  Sir!” The two people stepped forward looking off into the distance.

  “Storbon you will be leader of the first special team, Roska you will be in charge of the second special team. Storbon you and your people will have some time off before you head to Chonglu and the second realm. Once there, you will have four months to learn as much as possible before returning to the First Realm and Alva Dungeon. You will report to Glosil and Blaze for your next task,” Erik said.

  “Yes sir!” Storbon saluted.

  “Roska! You will be under the direct command of Glosil and Blaze.the aim of your team will be to increase your combat strength and prepare for the return of the first special team to begin your own operations in the second realm.”

  “Yes sir!” Roska said, both Roska and Storbon’s eyes were shining but their faces remained steady albeit twitching a bit.

  There were shocked looks. A few people looked a bit lost. Being away from home for a long period of time and relying only on a few people around them—it wouldn’t be simple.

  “Don’t worry, you can do this. I hope that in four months you’ll have been able to greatly advance your own strength. Anything that you make on these trips is yours to keep,” Rugrat said, reading their emotions easily.

  Erik watched on. He could see that Blaze and Glosil were discussing what the new changes meant to the sergeants and the look in the quick reaction force’s eyes.

  I don’t know where all of this will lead, but with a strong base and the ability to venture freely, even if they’re only military in name, I hope that when called they’ll be ready to assist. In the future, if we get more missions, we can offer these to the different groups, allowing them to increase their strength and gain more resources. Who knows, we might be something close to an adventurer’s guild by the end of this all. I wonder if there is an adventurer’s guild here? Erik thought.

  ***

  On the night of the second day, construction started. Once they learned what the blueprints were all about and having them explained by Egbert—who they were wary of but were getting used to—they got to work.

  Elise was running a tight ship, and Jasper was putting together a trade convoy that would travel with Erik and Rugrat up to the Wild Reaches Trading Outpost.

  She caught snippets of conversation as she worked on the growing houses block.

  “What do you think about this four month nonsense?” one man asked his friend as they worked.

  “What about this place losing power in four months and us having to leave?” the other asked.

  “Yeah, do you think that Erik and Rugrat will be able to keep this place running?”

  “Well, we thought that we were all doomed with the beast horde coming. What’s so hard about finding a dungeon core or whatever? They only had a week and a half and they saved us from the beast horde. Now they’ve got four months. I can’t even imagine what Alva Dungeon will look like by then.” The other laughed.

  The first man let out a short laugh. “Too right! I was scared over nothing. I heard that there are also groups heading up to the surface, but one has to take oaths to not reveal our location. Smart move, I think!”

  “It might be annoying, but if no one knows we’re here then no one can threaten us. I want to start learning formation arrays. There are a lot of them in the dungeon, but no one knows how to repair them. If I can learn that, then I’ll be able to take some of the weight from the department head’s shoulders,” the second younger man said.

  “Formations, huh? I think I want to try my hand at cooking. I never realized the flavor one could put into a meal. And the buffs! I heard from Lucile’s brother in-law that he was reading some of the Apprentice cooking books and they stated that one could recover their wounds just by eating higher level meals! Some could increase their strength!”

  “You just want to eat all day!” his partner accused him. “And ‘higher’ level, do you mean journeyman level meals?”

  Elise smiled and continued on with her work, finding Rugrat working on the growing area.

  “Rugrat, I didn’t know you were here.” She was flustered that the dungeon master was helping to build up the simple structure.

  “Thought I’d help out a bit. How is it going?” Rugrat asked.

  Elise wanted to complain about him being out here and helping but she also knew he would just wave it off with that goofy grin of his. “Much faster than I thought. With everyone’s high levels, people are stronger, faster, and better coordinated. While the robots continuously bring us supplies, the barracks is nearly complete and the hospital’s foundation has been laid. And the first ring of roads has been started. It should take three weeks before we’re able to complete the first stage of building, with the hospital, homes, barracks, water treatment plant and growing area; another two weeks to complete the second stage, with the workhouses and academy, marketplace, and warehouse district.”

  Rugrat’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Damn. I still have a hard time trying to wrap my head around the fact that even a level three in the Ten Realms would be like a comic book hero back home.” Rugrat shook his head.

  Are they really from the Ten Realms? Every so often, they slip up and say something out of the ordinary. And they have different ways of doing things compared to people I have met in the Ten Realms.

  “Well, I’ll help finish this section off, then I said that I would go and do some smithing with Taran. He’s going to beat me in climbing the skill ranks at this rate!” Rugrat joked.

  Elise gave a half smile. She knew that Taran spent all of his time in the new smithy.

  To him, the smithy was like a newborn: nothing was allowed to touch it without his say-so. He had got the fires in the furnace going and he worked until he fell asleep in the smithy, or was dragged away.

  He looked disheveled, but Elise couldn’t deny the increase in strength his techniques and creations had gained.

  It wasn’t this that plagued her thoughts, though. Finally she built up the strength to ask a question she had avoided.

  “Rugrat, are you and Erik really from the Ten Realms? I’ve heard that every few thousand years, people from other places will be teleported into the Ten Realms, to change things up. Though I thought that this was a lie, but the way you train, your equipment, those rifles you used against the beast horde—they’re unlike anything I’ve seen before.” Once she started talking, she couldn’t stop.

  Rugrat’s smile dimmed as he looked over Elise. She felt as though he were assessing and judging her.

  “That’s right, Erik and I aren’t from the Ten Realms. We’re from a place called Earth that doesn’t have a lot of the things one might find here in the Ten Realms.”

  “Are there others?” Elise asked.

  “Yes, there are others, but the fact is that we haven’t run into any of them. There were some ten thousand people who disappeared, or must have been teleported here. There are a few billion people in the First Realm. Trying to find them will be incredibly hard and there is no knowing if they will help us or try to hinder us,” Rugrat said.

  “Do you want to find them?” Elise asked.

  “It’s not our job to try to find everyone who came from our planet. Even if we did, there’s no knowing what might happen. We might meet them in the future.” Rugrat shrugged.

  Eli
se had suspected for a long time but it was only now that it had been confirmed, she felt embarrassed. “Unless you or Erik allow me to, I will not share this information with anyone till the day I die, I swear on the Ten Realms.” The power of the Ten Realms descended as she made her oath.

  Rugrat had a bitter smile as a screen appeared in front of him. “Seems like I have been seeing these oaths more often than not.” He laughed and accepted it. He continued in a softer voice, “Thank you.”

  Elise only smiled. “Well, once we have the market up and running, I’ll be able to put in the market interface. With that, we can start buying and selling to other dungeon masters and city masters.”

  “I’m interested to see what they’re like,” Rugrat said truthfully.

  Elise didn’t know how to answer him as she thought of the Alva Dungeon’s scale. Looking around, she could just barely see the edges of the first floor and it was only half the size of the other four floors, with the last floor being at least twenty times the size.

  Chapter: Return to the Beast Mountains

  Erik and Rugrat left the dungeon core. On the ground, one could see markers that lined out the different buildings that they had input.

  The Vzztpssht, beetle-looking machines, started to move around, carrying resources with their front forks and placing the building materials at the side of these marked-out areas.

  One of the patrols was watching them warily, their weapons in hand.

  “Sergeant Choi,” Erik said.

  “Mister Erik, Rugrat, what are the markings and those metal machines?” Sergeant Choi asked, his expression tense.