“I see trees!” came a shout, making everyone’s heads turn to look in the distance. John didn’t know who it was, and he didn’t care. Because they were right. Barely visible, but there they were, trees, which meant they were finally near the end of the lake. They had traveled for a good part of the day. Only a few hours of daylight remained.

“Finally my boy! Congratulations. We made it.” Ivan was walking with Monty next to John at the head of the caravan of wagons and riders.

“It’s good to see for sure. Now we can take a breath before the real work begins.” John whistled, and Betsy strode up next to him. “I’m going to ride ahead. I want to get a good look before everyone gets there. For our sake, I hope the map holds true.” John mounted Betsy and quickly took off ahead of the group.

“Damn kids. Did you see his face? I’ve never seen him so excited. Couldn’t even wait for the rest of us! Ha!” Ivan took a drink then looked to his friend. “You heard him. Now the real work begins. Gotta find Virgil and Saul, make earn what we’re payin’ ‘em for!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Drew was walking, lifting a crate over his head when he saw John ride off ahead of them. He can’t contain himself, Drew chuckled to himself. I can’t blame him though. He’s been working towards this for a while. If I’m nervous, I can only imagine how he feels. He put the crate back onto the wagon and quickly glanced at his screen. No improvements. Not yet. I feel stronger though, so hopefully soon. Pulling back on the bow doesn’t take quite as much effort anymore. And Monty has quit having to fix my posture and my arms, so there’s that. Drew was happy with himself. He took a big drink from a canteen and ate some jerky.

“Aye boy. You look lost again.” Ivan was smiling, walking past him. “Thought we said to quit doin’ that.” Drew rolled his eyes. ”Have you seen Virgil or Saul? Need to find ‘em to let them know we’re close.”

“They were studying in one of the wagons last I saw them. Don’t know which one though,” Drew replied.

“Thanks. Best you get ready too. I don’t know how long it’ll take them to make the bridge, but I’m guessin’ we’ll camp for the night when we get there.” Ivan said, continuing to walk farther down the line. “Lookin’ good by the way. Keep it up,” he said before cutting in front of a wagon to the other side.

“Huh. Guess I’m not the only one who’s noticed my improvements,” Drew said proudly. He pulled himself on the back of the wagon to rest. It wouldn’t be long before they arrived at the river.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Betsy galloped quickly through the grass. The scattered trees were tall and sturdy. John looked at the scenery as they sped towards where the lake ended and the river began. “So peaceful being alone. No one asking questions, no kids running around. This might be the last peace I get for a long time.” Not far from him, John could see the beginnings of the river. “Might even be smaller than the map shows it is.” They slowed as they approached. “Hm. Really, really rocky, but what hasn’t been.” John dismounted and waded out into the water to get a sense of its speed and strength. “This isn’t much of a river at all,” John said smiling. “It’s moving so slow that it’s not even frothy.” He reached down with cupped hands and then took a drink.” So fresh and clean that I can see to the bottom. Four, maybe five feet deep? 20 across? This shouldn’t be much work for the mages when they arrive.” John waded back out of the water and sat in the knee-high grass to wait for the rest of the caravan.

About 30 minutes later, he saw the first wagon being led by Ivan coming around the last bend in the lake, past a small grouping of trees. He stood and walked towards them.

“Hey strangers!” he shouted as they neared, waving his hand to greet them.

“If your smile gets any bigger, it’s gonna break your face!” Ivan shouted, riding towards John on his spotted horse. “Beautiful here. You couldn’t have picked a better place, ya know? How’s the river? Doable? Lots of trees in the area.” He paused after firing off his questions, pointing. “I can see even more to the north, near the edge of the mountains, where you’d like to set up.”

“I think a bridge will be easy for the mages. Come see,” John said motioning for Ivan to join him. The rest of the wagons were coming around the grouping of trees, headed their direction. The children were running ahead, laughing and hollering. As the two walked together towards the river, John spoke. “No matter what, we’ll stop here for the night. Everyone could use a small break, including me. And thanks, Ivan. For doing this with me. I’m not gonna lie. I’m scared and nervous. I don’t want to fail you guys or the people who joined us. But I think we’ll be ok, if everyone puts in the effort.” John had paused and turned to his friend.

“I want this too. Marie had been bugging me to quit adventurin’ for years. When you came up with this insane idea, how could I say no? Marie would have killed me! One last adventure she had said.” Ivan laughed. “We’ll be fine. You’ll see. Me, Monty, the wives and kids, even Drew. I can tell. We won’t let it fail.” Ivan walked ahead to the edge of the water to gage it. Crouching down and cupping some water, he said, “Looks slow, feels slow, and not too wide. Crystal clear, just like the lake. It’s no bigger than the streams back east by Innsbruck. And if it wasn’t so deep right here, we could cross without a bridge. Did you venture down any? To look for a shallower spot?”

“No, didn’t think of it. Just kinda sat here taking it all in. Sorry.” John was disappointed with himself.

“No worries. We’ll need a bridge no matter what. Here comes Virgil and Saul now. Hope they have good news for us once they see it.” Ivan waited for them to arrive. “So old man, little man. Whaddaya think?” He had grabbed a piece of grass and was chewing on it, acting interested in what they’d have to say.

“Well, lots of rocks. That could help us. Good flow, but slow. That’ll help too. Not too deep. Deepest part seems right in the middle though, where we would need to put one pier, for support.” Virgil walked next to the river, hands out, muttering something. He had walked maybe a hundred meters before he stopped and turned to shout at the trio of men standing back where he’d started. “Here, here’s the spot! The river’s a few feet narrower here, and it’s not quite as deep in the middle!”

John and the other two walked to meet him. He looked at the spot Virgil had chosen. “There may be even better spots farther on, but if you think you can build it here, let’s do it. We’re stopping for the day anyway.” He glanced back at the caravan, still in a line but stopped. “We’ll circle the wagons and make camp here for the night. When can you get started, and how long do you think it’ll take you two?”

Virgil tapped his finger on his chin, thinking. “We won’t finish tonight. The foundation and pier in the middle will take the longest to grow. We’re gonna make it sturdier than normal. We don’t know if the river floods often. We don’t want it washing away with the first big rain. If we can get that done or mostly done, we can begin on the two spans in the morning and finish in a few hours. We’ll make it about ten feet wide, wide enough for a wagon and a few people. That’s all you’ll need for now. We can always make it bigger later. Does that work for you?”

“Absolutely. You know what you’re doing. Let’s get settled in, and then you can begin when you’re ready.” John shook the old man’s hand and walked towards the wagons. He climbed to the top of the nearest one and shouted. “We made it! Thanks everyone! I knew we’d pull through with everyone working so hard!” He stopped and motioned over to Virgl and Saul. “We’re going to set up here for the night. We all deserve a break and some relaxation. Virgil thinks they’ll be done building the bridge by early afternoon tomorrow. When they’re finished, we’ll head out to our final destination near the base of the mountains.” He was now pointing to the north. “There, we’ll begin one last adventure, right Ivan?” He saw Marie smile. “So rest up, fish, eat, and drink! Ivan, tap the keg!” With that, the people cheered.

The wagons were circled and the animals tended to. Some of the children were swimming in the lake, others were playing a game, hiding in the trees. The adults fished or sat and drank ale and told stories. And Virgil and Saul worked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The spot Virgil had picked was ideal. Slowly, Virgil hardened the foundation and began to “grow” the pier in the river. When finished, it would be two feet by ten feet, and rise above the water about three feet. While Virgil worked, Saul was hardening the ground on the riverbank where the bridge would connect to land on their side. After about an hour, and satisfied with his work, he swam to the other side to do the same. When he was finished, he could see the pier taking shape just below the surface of the water. He looked at his mentor, whose eyes were closed focusing.

“Sir. You need to take a break. You’ve been at it for two hours.” Virgil’s eyes opened at the sound of Saul’s voice.

“Just get me some water. I’ll be fine,” Virgil replied, wringing his hands and wiping his brow. “Maybe just a little break. Grab me a chair too would you? And a small bite of whatever they made for supper?” Virgil smiled at the young man.

“Whatever you need, mentor.” Saul hurried away.

I’d sit on the ground but I wouldn’t be able to get back up, he said to himself, amused. “I wonder if the boy realizes I won’t be returning with him. He has to be curious as to why I brought so many books. This is the last big job I’ll be doing. John’s agreed to let me stay here and just help with a few small things after the wall is done. I can’t wait to be done and just sit by the lake and fish or read.”

Saul returned quickly. “Here, sir. Sit and rest. Replenish your mana. Harden doesn’t take up much mana for me. Whereas your spell, Move Ground does. You’ve got to be exhausted.”

“I’m fine. I’m fine. Thank you for your concern though. With your help now that you’re finished, we should be able to finish the pier tonight. I think we’ll only need to go up two feet, not three. Tomorrow we’ll just have to create the expanses. Hard work for sure, but we will get it done.” Virgil finished his snack and water. “This will go faster now that I won’t have to harden the ground as I move it. I will leave that to you. Ready?”

“Yes sir, when you are.” Saul helped Virgil out of the chair and they began in earnest. Just after nightfall, they had completed the pier. It rose about two and a half feet above the water line in the middle of the river.

“I’m sorry I had to break so often for mana. My pool and regeneration rate aren’t very high yet.” Saul said, dejected.

Virgil placed his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “It’s fine. You did good. All of this hard work will pay off. You will probably get a few levels by time we are finished here. And see?” he said, pointing at the pier. “We finished and in good time. If I had been doing this alone, I wouldn’t have finished tonight. Let’s get a good night’s rest. We will do the same tomorrow. I will move the soil, and you will harden it. Usually, arches in bridges are difficult. But these will be small, barely eight feet across. It should be no problem to finish them quickly. You’ll see,” the old man finished, smiling.

Together they walked back to the wagon, finished for the night. The camp was quiet. Most of the people had already retired for the evening.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You guys got a lot done last night. Good job,” John said to the mages as they neared the cooking fire. He had gotten up early to look at their progress from the night before. “Looks sturdy and plenty wide. I hope the work goes as well today. Are you hungry? Make a plate. It’s cured meat and eggs. The bread is hard, but still tasty.”

“No thank you John,” Virgil replied. “We had a small meal already. We’re headed to the bridge. I think we will be done by early afternoon, maybe sooner. We will work together to finish the two spans. Once finished, we will just have to create the road surface and small barricades at the sides, so wagons don’t drive off of it.”

“If you need any help, someone to get you water, food, please holler.” He took a drink and continued. “Ivan, Drew, Monty and I are going to cross the river and scout for a suitable spot for the town, but anyone else be willing to help. We shouldn’t be gone too long. We have a good idea what we’re looking for.”

“Thank you sir. Good luck finding a spot. I’m sure we won’t be disappointed.” He turned to Saul. “We better be on our way. We have a lot to do.” Virgil turned and walked to the bridge. Saul grabbed a slice of bread and followed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Nothin’ worse than wet boots,” Ivan continued to grumble. “I should’ve taken ‘em off before going through the dang river.” He’d made the comment several times already, but no one paid him any attention.

“You’re just looking for sympathy. Our boots are wet too ya know,” Drew retorted. “You don’t hear us constantly complaining about it. Toughen up.” Drew smiled at Ivan, who scowled at him.

They’d traveled about an hour farther north. The scenery changed slightly. While there was still a sea of grass, there were now also boulders. There were also more hills. A hill was their goal, one where they’d begin building the settlement. It wasn’t as far to the edge of the mountains as the map had shown. The closer they got, the hillier it became, and the steeper the land incline, too.

“That hill. There.” John was pointing to the northwest. “That will be perfect. It’s not too far from the lake, and it’s close enough to the mountain that it will still provide protection for us. See how that part of the mountain extends some into the valley? We’ll build there, in the elbow.” John and Betsy took off towards it.

“Well don’t wait for us then. That’s fine,” Ivan grumbled, but now with a smile on his face. John turned and smiled. “Let’s go before he gets too far ahead. I want to see his face when we get there.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Now that we’re here, I have to agree.” The group was standing on top of the hill facing south. “We’ll have protection from the north, the lake in the east, that outcropping to the west, and farther to the south, the river. I don’t think we’ll find a better place anywhere else.”

“Agreed,” Monty added.

“Aye boy. Drew’s right.” Ivan was chewing on another piece of grass. “Defensible and still lots of area to grow. I saw a few deer on the way here, to the west. The fishing has been great along the way. The land is rocky, but that can be fixed. Not much more we can ask for. So, what’s your decision?” Ivan asked in anticipation.

After a few moments, John answered. “We’ll settle here. It’s perfect.” John was standing next to his friends, a smile on his face. “The bridge won’t be done yet if we head back now. I say we scout out the area, me and Drew, you and Monty. There’s that small patch of woods to the east by the lake. I’d like to check it out. I’d like you to head west towards the Verdant Forest. See if anything sticks out. Check for game. Those kinds of things. Then head back to the bridge site. We’ll tell everyone the news once we’re all there,” John said proudly.

“Sounds like a plan. See you in a few hours. Drew,” nodded Ivan. Each mounted their horse. Monty and Ivan headed west towards the forest. Drew and John headed east towards the small woods.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The woods was larger than it had appeared. They rode all the way to the lakeshore. From there, looking north, they could see that the woods was actually quite deep. It would provide the much needed lumber for their town. John had been worried they would have to log the Verdant Forest. While not really a problem, the forest was just too big of an unknown out here. There was no way to know what hid inside it. He didn’t trust sending one or two people yet to venture near it, except Monty and Ivan of course.

“I say we head back,” Drew said, interrupting John’s thoughts. “I’m sure people are anxious to hear the news. I know I am, and I already know the answer.” Drew laughed.

“Yea. And I’m excited to tell them.” They turned south, heading towards the river. “I’d also like to know what, if anything, Ivan and Monty found. I hope they found lots of animals, trees, grass, and rocks. That’s it.”

“I know you’re worried John, but you shouldn’t be. We’ll handle whatever we come across, good and bad,” he said reassuringly.

“I know. I know. It’s just how I am.”

They rode in silence, following near the lake southward. It wasn’t long before they saw the camp on the other side of the river and to John’s surprise, a nearly completed bridge. When they came to the river, they waded across and went into the camp.

Everyone flocked towards them. John wasted no time.

“Good news everyone.” He waited for them to quiet. ”We found the perfect spot a couple hours journey north of us. It’s defensible, yet has plenty of open ground to build and for farming. The woods to the east is large and will provide lumber for quite a while. It’s close to the mountain, and not too far away from the lake. It is, in every sense of the word, perfect.” John said, elated. And he could see the people were also happy. “Are Monty and Ivan back yet? They headed west to scout out the area near the Forest.” John looked around for his friends.

“Not yet, no. and Ivan’s too loud to have snuck by,” said one of the guardsmen.

John smiled. “That’s fine. Maybe they found something more interesting than grass and rocks. Oh and trees.” He pointed to the camp. “Start getting packed up. The bridge looked close to being finished. I’m going to head over there and check on their progress. As soon as they’re done, we’ll head north and camp for the last time.”

John and Drew left the others to begin deconstructing the camp and went to the bridge site.

In the hours they’d been gone, Virgil and Saul had made an immense amount of progress. The arches were complete. The bridge spanned the entire river. They were now filling in the area above the arches with sediment and rocks.

“That’s impressive Virgil. I’m very impressed,” John complimented.

“Thank you sir. In another hour, we will have filled the interior of the bridge, and we will begin the roadway and parapet.” John had a look of confusion at the word parapet. “Sorry, the barricade,” Virgil said smiling.

“Oh, gotcha. Wonderful.” John walked over to it, touching it. “I can’t believe how quickly you got this made. Years of experience I’m sure.”

“Yes John. It’s almost second nature to me now. And with Saul hardening what I built, it went even faster than usual,” Virgil replied proudly.

“Very good. The rest are packing up camp, so they should be ready by the time it’s finished. Ivan and Monty should be back soon. Do you need anything while we’re here?”

“I could use a massage,” Saul joked. “Kidding, kinda. I wouldn’t mind some food. We have plenty of water obviously,” pointing to the stream.

“Not a problem. I’ll send someone over.” John turned to Drew. “Do you mind? I see Ivan and Monty coming down the river.” He pointed over Drew’s shoulder. “I’d like to hear what they found, if anything.”

“Sure. I’m hungry anyway. I’ll be right back guys.” Drew went to the camp.

“I’ll be back soon.” Virgil waved John on and continued his work.

John waited for his friends a short distance from the bridge. He didn’t want anyone over hearing what was said, in case it was bad news. “Well?” he asked Ivan nervously.

“Nothing. Nothing bad that is. Lots of animals. A few small ponds. That’s it. Monty thought he saw something in the forest, but we decided not to check it right now. We’ll just keep an eye open.” Ivan went to the river to fill his canteen.

Monty shrugged.

“No news is good news I guess. Look,” John said pointing. “It’s almost finished. We’ll be leaving in a couple hours. Maybe less. Today has turned out to be great all around.”

Ivan turned to see. “Wow. I didn’t expect them to be this far along. We’ll be at the hill long before nightfall.”

“Yep. If all holds true, we’ll be able to start building tomorrow. I can’t wait!” he said with excitement.

Laughing, Ivan said. “Do you still want to build an outpost? We won’t be that far away.” John nodded no, deep in thought. “Alright. Monty, let’s go to camp and help pack up. Leave John here to his musings.” They walked with their horses back to the caravan.

John stayed and watched the mages work. It was fascinating how dirt and rocks would rise out of the ground and move to fill the empty spaces. They were concentrating so hard. It must be really strenuous. I couldn’t even imagine. He watched as Virgil began flattening large stones for the roadway. Saul would guide them into place and harden the area. In no time at all, the roadway was finished. They did the same for the parapet. Not really needed probably. The bridge isn’t very long. But it helps. As time passed, John dozed off only to be awoken a short while later by yelling.

“What’s going on?” he said, jumping to his feet.

“Nothing John, nothing. We just finished and were excited. That’s all. Sorry to have woken you,” Virgil apologized.

John ran over to see the finished bridge. “Amazing Virgil. You guys outdid yourselves. We’ll have a big feast in your honor when we get there. Amazing. Thank you so much. I’m wondering now if I underpaid for your services.” John was smiling, knowing full-well why it had been so cheap.

Virgil caught his meaning and also smiled. “Our pleasure, really. That’s why we became nature mages. We love doing these types of things. But now, we need to rest. It’s very tiring work. I may sleep until tomorrow!” The duo shook hands, and Virgil and Saul went to rest in their wagon.

“Let’s get this show on the road!” he shouted. John was beside himself. He quickly ran to the waiting wagons. “It’s finished. Let’s head out! We’re going to have a huge feast when we get there in honor of Virgil and Saul. Hopefully Ivan hasn’t drank all the ale!” Ivan eyed him. “I kid, I kid. Let’s go. We’ll be there in no time!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a sight to behold. The caravan and near 40 people had reached the hill. People hugged, and children ran around crazy.

“As I told you, it’s perfect.” John’s arms were outstretched. He motioned around him. “I don’t have a big speech prepared. I’m not a big fan of public speaking. But I do have this.” He reached in his pocket for the city token. “With this, a new adventure, one last adventure begins,” he said, winking at Ivan. He broke the token. A screen appeared in his vision.

Congratulations John Mitchell on establishing a village.

Please select a name

He mentally thought of the name he wanted. Another screen appeared, replacing the first.

River’s End has been chosen. To see village status, say ‘city status’ and a menu will appear. Good fortune to you adventurer.

Uh, that's odd. Maybe this is a game? John panicked, confused.