John sat looking at his status screen.

“All that carnage gave me quite the experience boost. Got me another level in combat, level 29 now, at a pretty big price though. Everything that’s happened; I seem to have forgotten why I came out here in the first place. I haven’t really been doing much fighting, even hunting. I need to start again.” John laid on one of the crude beds in the commonhall. Gert had made it into a makeshift infirmary for the adventurers so that she could keep an eye on all of them.

Drew approached John and sat at the end of the bed holding a serious look. “So what the hell happened, John?”

John looked at Drew and began. He proceeded to fill in Drew about what had happened through the night. He included everything, even the part about how they thought there may be more and that this was simply a culling. Drew cringed at the thought.

“I see.” Drew tapped his leg. “Then best if we get ready for them if they decide to come. I’ll inform the council members about what happened, and we can decide what measures to take.” Drew tried to look sincere. “We’re all glad you guys made it back, if barely in one piece.”

“Monty was touch and go for a little bit. If we hadn’t stopped the bleeding.” John gulped. “I don’t even want to think about what would have been.”

“Don’t. Because it didn’t happen. You have to be strong for the community and quit second-guessing yourself. It didn’t happen; you all made it back. So put on a strong face or the villagers will be worried.” Drew stood. “I’m going to gather them up and talk to them. I’ll see you later.” Drew turned and left.

He almost seemed annoyed with me or maybe disappointed. But he’s right. What’s happened to me out here? John sighed. I guess I can’t blame him. I’ve let my emotions control me. I’m not a bad fighter, and I’ve accomplished a lot. But it seems like since we’ve come out here, I’ve taken a step back. I thought I was prepared for this; I’m not. I thought it would just be beasts and animals out here; it hasn’t been. He closed his eyes. I’ve never killed a person; I guess I still haven’t thanks to Ivan. I’ve got to get it through my head that not everyone that we meet will be our friend. It’s going to cost me my life or my friends’ lives. It’s time I became more involved again.

John tried not to dwell too much on it at the moment. He was confident in his path now. He’d be more hands-on. He needed to rest, but he didn’t succeed, so he laid there, restless, thinking about what he’d do in the coming days.

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

While the adventurers continued to recuperate in the commonhall, Drew, Inara, Gramps, Gert, Bethany, and Willis met in one of the apartments to discuss what needed to be done.

The consensus was that defenses would be the priority for the time being. Everyone, even the normal villagers, would be put in rotations to help man the walls. Not necessarily to fight, but instead to have extra sets of eyes to the Forest and the south.

“People will grumble, but we’ll make the shifts shorter, three, maybe four hours. The guards will have longer rotations,” added Willis.

“I agree. I only ask that I not be included until we get the others healthy.” Gert was digging through a bag as she talked. “While I’m at it, I’m already running low on some of the herbs. We need to send some people into the woods for more of these.” She handed the list to Drew.

Drew nodded. “I’m fine with that. We’ll get some people hunting for them right away.” He looked to Bethany. “You talk to the villagers the most. Would you be willing to make up a rotation schedule? Besides Gert, I think Vin, Lenz, and the other Lumberjack should also be left off for the time being. We need the buildings done as quickly as possible. The same goes for Virgil and Saul. They work tirelessly on the wall.”

Bethany was scribbling as quickly as she could. “Yes, I can do that. I don’t foresee anyone complaining too much. I’ve had people ask if we needed help digging the ditch, so some have just been going there and helping Saul.”

“Perfect. Willis will come up with a rotation for the guards, and Bethany will come up with one for the other villagers. If anyone complains, send them to me.” He looked at the group. “Anything else?”

“Not at the moment no. I’ll just have to fish earlier in the day,” grumbled Gramps causing a few to chuckle.

“Aw c’mon. You know you’ll love sitting on that wall!” Inara added. She looked at Drew. “Anyone know when the next trade is with the Goblins? It’s been about two weeks.” There were several surprised looks.

“Two days,” answered Bethany quickly. “And yea, it sure seems like it’s flown by. In two days when the moon comes out, we’ll need fish and bread for trade.”

Drew smiled. “Super glad to have you here Bethany.” She grinned back. “Alright folks. You know the plan until our adventurers get healthy. Defense, construction, and training like we have been. Thank you for coming. Get to it!” The group left one by one leaving Drew by himself. He quickly laid on the bed for a short nap.

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

After his nap, Drew decided he wanted to get some answers about some things John couldn’t give him, so he went back into the commonhall to talk to Vee.

She was laying down on her cot reading a book. He drug a chair over to her bed and sat down.

She looked up from her book to question Drew. “What ya need? You got a look like you’re about to explode.”

Drew replied, “Well, I just. I would like some answers, if you have them, about attributes and such. John’s been here for years and is extremely strong. I know he’s searched for a long time for a way home, but I don’t think he looked into things that I have questions about.”

Vee laid the book on her lap. She chuckled. “Yea, he’s gained quite a following, but does seem to be lacking in the wisdom of the world.”

“My biggest question is, what’s the actual point of our status? Do the attributes really even matter? Or are they just numbers to give us an idea of growth?

“That’s more than one, but I’ll still answer them.” She smiled and marked a page in her book and closed it. “I’ve read several books on the issue of status screens. All I can tell you is that they’ve always been here. No one knows why. Sure, lots have questioned it, but no one has come up with an answer, a true answer. Most of the scholars believe it’s just a way to quantify who we are and to show growth.”

Drew thought about what she said. “I guess I have to accept that if people have questioned it forever and still don’t have an answer; I don’t like it though. It does sound similar to some games I played back home. But if I have 10 strength and someone else has 20, are they really twice as strong as me? If they’re just numbers.”

“No. Probably more than double.” His eyebrow raised. “You told me when we first talked that as you got more fit, your attributes went up, right?” He nodded yes. “Are they still? Even though you’re doing work every day?” Drew nodded no. “No. Because there is a natural plateau for people. Sure, you could work your little butt off and eventually raise them, but it will take more and more work to do so. Not worth the time in my opinion. Except for people like us, people who have high attributes have worked hard to get them, and thus, are quite strong or agile or ‘smart.” Vee made air quotes.

Drew scrunched up his brow. “What do you mean by people like us? Obviously I know what you mean by us, but you say it like there’s more to it.”

Vee laughed. “Because Drew, if you had talked to Monty, or Ivan, or anyone here, you would know that they don’t get extra attributes.” She smiled broadly.

“Wha-What? You’re saying that we basically get a cheat here? Why?” Drew was dumbfounded.

She shrugged. “To level the field? I have no idea. Unfortunately, besides you two, I’ve never had a chance to talk to someone about it. And you two know nothing. When I asked about the plus sign next to my numbers, people just looked at me like I was talking crazy-like. So I quit bringing it up. I-” Drew interrupted her.

“Do you think this is real? Do you think this is a game?” He quickly spit out the questions.

She leaned forward, quiet for a moment, obviously thinking. “If this is a game, it’s like nothing I knew. Is it real?” She hit him on the arm causing him to wince. “You felt that right? It’s as real as we think it is at the moment.”

Drew deflated. “No one ever has any definitive answers here. It’s always, ‘well that’s how it’s always been.’ That doesn’t really help my sanity. I just want to know if it’s real, if I’ll ever get home.”

Vee scooted down the bed closer to Drew. “I’ve been here a long time Drew. I’m pretty sure more than once I thought I was insane. I was on a never-ending quest for answers, and the fewer I got, the worse I became. Eventually I came to terms with the fact that I’m stuck here. I might still be a little loopy, but I’ve tried to make the best of what I’ve been given.” She cocked her head and smiled.

Drew looked up and met her eyes. “Thanks Vee. It’s not your fault; I know that.” He smiled slightly. “I hope you don’t mind if I come to you with questions from time to time. I really think John is oblivious here, and you seem to know more.”

Vee chuckled. “Any time Drew.” She tapped her book. “I brought a few with me if you ever want to read them. Mostly about history. But it might give you an idea of where we live. You’ve barely seen anything at all here. One day I’ll show you more. John too.” She smiled and laid back on the bed. “Now skedaddle. I’m tired.”

Drew drug the chair back to the table. “Thanks Vee.” She waved him on, and he left.

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

Everyone had crammed into the now functioning commonhall. There were about 60 total people seated and eating. The five injured adventurers and Mani were in the one corner laying on their cots.

When the meal was over, and people were just mulling around, John gathered enough energy to stand to speak to the villagers to explain about what had happened.

“Hello everyone!” shouted John over the crowd. The villagers turned to look at him. “I have two things to announce. First. I know you’ve heard the rumors by now, so I’ll try to explain what happened the best I can.” He took a deep breath. “There’s no easy way to say what happened, so I’ll just be out with it. We followed the path Mani and Yara had taken. We had set up camp for the night. During the very early morning, we were attacked by Ogres.” People gasped or put hands over their mouths.

John put up his hands to try to calm them. “We slaughtered them to the last and burned their corpses. Obviously, it wasn’t without our own injuries. Monty was hurt pretty bad.” Monty, laying down still, put up his hand and waved. “But he will recover and so will we.”

People in the crown murmured to themselves. A few questions rang out.

“What’s going to happen now?”

“Are there more of them?”

“Should we be worried?”

John sighed. “I don’t know, and I don’t know. That’s why, if Bethany hasn’t talked to you yet, she will be. Drew informed me that everyone will be look-outs on the walls for a few hours a day. We don’t expect you to stand there all day nor do we expect you to fight if it’s needed, so it’ll be a limited time. The guards will do most of the work. We just want more eyes to the west and south. That’s all.” A few people glared.

“I understand your reluctance, but it’s just something that will have to be done. At least until we are better and capable of heading back into the Forest to find out if there are more.” John decided to leave out the fact that they did believe there to be more, and that they were cannibals. “Nothing else is changing. We’re still going to live our lives, build our homes, and grow as a community. We just have to be more vigilant until we can get more answers.”

John walked over to a table and leaned onto it. “We nearly lost Monty out there last night.” He sighed and could see a few faces become less angry. “So everyone here is just going to have to buck up until we’re standing on our feet. That’s all.” People still moaned.

“You heard him. It’s not that bad, and nothing is really going to change,” voiced Gert. “They went into that damn woods to get answers and nearly died for us, for our safety, for my safety.” She poked herself in the chest. “If you can’t take a couple hours of your day, then you don’t need to be here.” She nodded her head as people grumbled but agreed.

“Thanks Gert.” John reached out and grabbed her hand.

“Any time. Now lay in that bed and don’t move ‘til tomorrow.” Gert turned and left, a smile flittering on her face. John chuckled at her.

“I have one more thing to say. I want to apologize to you, all of you. The last two days I’ve been reminded by my friends of who I am, or who I was.” He looked at Drew and Ivan. “For some reason, I’ve become indecisive since coming here. Well that ends now. I’m going to be more involved. I’m going to do better. I promise you that.” People nodded.

He walked over to Drew and Ivan who sat together. “I’m sorry you two. Truly. I don’t know what came over me since we came here, but I guess I needed a good talking-to down for it to sink in.”

Drew smiled a little. “I figured you could tell I was upset earlier. You haven’t been the same person, but I’m glad now you’ve realized it, and we can move forward. Just don’t do it again.” Drew’s smile widened.

“Aye. I thought I was going to knock some sense into ya, always worryin’ never doin’. That’s not why we followed ya out here.” Ivan stood, wobbling, and shook his hand. He groaned. “Damn leg better heal up faster. I’m gonna get fat sittin’ here drinkin’ and eatin’ all day.” He thought. “I guess it ain’t all bad,” he added, laughing. John laughed as well and sat with them, drinking ale.

The rest of the evening was quiet. Bert was playing his guitar and someone was singing. Others sat around and listened.

John made his way over to the cot. I really do have good friends. I needed them the last couple days to remind me who I am. I’m really glad we got this building done, too. It’s incredible already what a difference it’s made to morale. Just having somewhere to sit is wonderful. Gonna be even better in the morning when we’re not dodging the light rain to eat our eggs. John closed his eyes as the last of the villagers left the hall to go to their apartments.

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

John was woken up the next morning by the smell of bacon cooking in the now functioning kitchen. Samuel had been able to make a large cooking oven as well as a fireplace where a large cauldron was used for soups and stews.

John groaned as he sat up. Most of his wounds had scabbed over, but he was still incredibly sore. Ivan and Vee were already up waiting to get food. Monty still laid in his bed. Annie was by his side.

John made his way to the foodline, nodding and smiling to other villagers in line. He stretched his aching muscles as the line slowly moved forward, eventually getting a plate of eggs and bacon with bread and butter.

“My god this is good,” he mumbled to himself after he sat down. “I don’t know how she makes such mundane things taste so good, but she does it.”

John looked up from his plate to see Samuel sitting across from him staring at him. “She does seem to be quite the cook,” he added as he too ate his food.

“Samuel. Good morning.” John took another bite. “Thanks for getting this kitchen done so quickly. We really needed it. Sitting outside every day and night was getting old.”

“Not a problem. I also finished the forge in the blacksmith. I will begin on the homes today. Then, if there’s time, or you extend my contract once the caravan gets here, I’ll begin making some cobble roads between the gates and buildings.” Samuel never took his eyes off John, giving him an uneasy feeling.

“Th-thank you for that.” John looked up at Samuel as he ate his food. “Is there something else?”

“No. Why do you ask?” questioned Samuel.

“Because you’re staring at me while I eat, making me feel uncomfortable,” retorted John, causing Samuel to jerk back.

“Well excuse me. I’ll be on my way then. I didn’t mean to intrude on your meal.” He quickly left the table, looking over his shoulder as he left the hall.

“Weird creepy little man,” mumbled John as he finished his food.

He stretched, cleaned up his plates, and made his way outside. John had decided the day before to no longer be idle and instead better himself. And while his body ached and was covered with healing wounds, he wasn’t nearly as injured as Monty.

He went to the training area and did some warmups. He then practiced stances Willis had taught him. His muscles groaned under the strain, but he endured. If he was going to get better, he would need to practice every day. In time, John’s plan was to go out hunting again to gain strength. He needed to become better and stronger for the community. He had failed them thus far.

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

Drew sat at a ‘desk’ near the exit to the commonhall. It was, at the moment, where he doled out the daily tasks for citizens. He had watched the awkward exchange between Samuel and John, and the subsequent exit of Samuel. Wonder what that was about. I wonder if Sammy realizes that we have several of the villagers keeping close tabs on him throughout the day. If he’s smart, probably so. But he seems kind of weasily. He’s getting things done though, so I guess I can’t complain too much. More that one person has said he's been asking odd questions though. We may need to have a talk soon.

Currently, no one was at the desk, so he pulled up his status.

“Status.”

Drew Cooper

Level: 3, 6%

Class: Swordsman level 1, 12%

Job: Town Administrator level 3, 4%

Attributes

Vitality

10

Health

100

Strength

10 +

Health Regen

10/hour

Endurance

10

Stamina

100

Agility

8 +

Stamina Regen

8/minute

Intelligence

13

Mana

130

Wisdom

12 +

Mana Regen

12/minute

Trait

Timid

10% decreased

accuracy while in a

fight.

Can be changed or

removed

River's End: Citizen

Position: Assistant Mayor

Job Perks

Combat Perks

Skills

Expand

Spells

Ohhh I get to add a point! I leveled up to three! Drew decided to add the point to wisdom, bringing the total to 13. “I doubt with this job that I’ll need more agility or strength, and Bethany told me most of the skills I need will be based on my wisdom.” He tapped the desk with his pencil and smiled. “Finally some progress!” he said out loud, causing a few people to look his way. “Sorry,” he added. “Just excited. I finally leveled!” A few polite applause and congrats were said. A proud smile was plastered on his face.

I’m never going to get anymore combat experience unless I change up my thinking. Maybe it’s time to search out Virgil to learn some nature magic. I’ve kinda gotten sidetracked helping John get this place going here. Drew thought some more. I was always a healer in the games I played, but who knows if I’ll ever get to meet one. Time to stick to my original plan and learn some magic! It'll go along with my highest attributes, too.

He continued handing out assignments as the morning went on. He also handed out the daily wall assignments to the dismay of some of the villagers. They accepted them, but Drew could tell more than a few were miffed. They’ll get over it, he thought to himself.

Drew stretched and headed out the door after the last remaining villagers stopped by. The sun shone brightly as it seemed to do every day after the morning showers had passed. “It’s like clockwork here. I wonder what summer will bring. Probably scorching heat and death rays,” he mumbled to himself.

His first stop was going to be to fish with Gramps, as they needed as many as they could get for tomorrow’s trade. Then he’d find Virgil and see about learning some spells.

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

With the influx of new guards, the defenses surrounding the village were increasing rapidly. Abatis and spears now encompassed the entire western portion and nearly the entire southern part of the wall. A fourth tower was being built above the eastern exit as well. The existing towers were now complete in that the platforms were surrounded by walls and a roof for protection. Saul no longer had to create the ditch on his own either, as several villagers and guards also helped, increasing the speed of which it was made.

Virgil took a break from the wall to create several new foundations for new apartments. They would either be completed as before with his help or with wood if the other projects were finished first.

With the gates completed, Dragi began to build a barn to store all the farming equipment as well as any feed and tools needed for the animals. About half of the apartments now had interior walls thanks to Vin, and several also now had fireplaces.

Drew was informed by Vee that the growing season was incredibly long, and that crops grew much quicker here thanks to Farmers and their skills. She added that it could just be the world they were now in, too. Marek and the other farmers had now cleared a large swath of land to the east and were planting a multitude of vegetables, grains, and also flax. Nearer to the village, a smaller plot contained various herbs and specialty plants like tomatoes that didn’t need large areas to grow. While the land was incredibly rocky, it was also extremely fertile, so they would be able to have multiple crop yields every year.

The number of pelts they had stored was also increasing, so the couple Seamstresses and Leatherworker they had began to create vests and pants out of the leather that could be used for protection. They would be too hot to dailwear, but they would be much welcomed for anyone going out into any type of dangerous situation.

Everyone else hunted, trained, or did the various other jobs needed for the village to succeed. The past week, although fraught with danger, had been extremely fruitful for the village as a whole.

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

Drew had talked to Virgil earlier in the day and was met with disappointment. It wasn’t that Drew couldn’t learn magic, but because he had no previous knowledge, it would be difficult but not impossible. Before Virgil would even try to teach him, he insisted Drew read the book A Basic Understanding: Mana and Manipulation. Drew had walked away with slumped shoulders, but then realized it's just the first step. Who knew how long he’d be here.

Drew finished adding the new arrivals into the resident list of the village. There were now 40 villagers and 12 pending, along with all the children. The guards had already agreed to stay. Although it had only been six days, John and he decided to go ahead and invite the new villagers tonight. Drew had also learned that on the coming caravan, there may be family members of some of the guards arriving, so they wanted to show acceptance in case they did come. And everyone seemed to get along well. The only person not invited was Samuel because he was only there on contract.

He was also able to add Veronica as the Guard Captain and Willis as a Combat Specialist. I wonder what the perks are, if there are any. Come to think of it, I didn’t get any that I saw, but it did facilitate me getting this job. I’m sure of that. Maybe it’ll help those two get a job and therefore more experience to level up. Maybe that’s the whole point of the positions after all.

Drew pondered that while he helped Karmen make loaves of bread for tomorrow’s trade. They had 80 fish and were close to the goal of 40 loaves of bread. In trading, that would be 18 bags of iron. The plan was to take two wagons and more people to help haul all of them. John also insisted on going; he wanted to tell Vrichik about what happened in the cave system to the west.

As the night drug on, Karmen began to make dinner as Drew and her husband Bert finished up the last loaves of bread.

“There’s something calming about kneading this dough, ya know?” said Drew as he pounded a piece of dough down then kneaded again.

Bert chortled. “Yea. And gets aggression out the same time.” He picked up the bread and slapped it down causing flour to fly all over. They both laughed.

“Knock it off you two or I’ll use this spoon in places you won’t like.” Karmen gave them a stare as she stirred the stew boiling in the kettle.

“Yes ma’am.” Drew made a show of kneading the dough for her with a serious face. Then smiled when she turned her back causing Bert to chortle again. “Hey Karmen. Serious question here. Are you going to need help if more villagers arrive soon? I mean we’re already feeding what, 60 people, at every meal.”

She turned to him, continuing to stir. “Hmm. As long as Bert continues to help me, no. But if we get a tavern going, then yes, because he’ll run it. That is, unless we want stew or soup every night, which I’m sure we don’t. So best find someone in the new group if they come.” She took a bite of the stew and made a face. She grabbed several tins and added liberal amounts of each into the stew. “Should be good now for the supper crew coming in soon.” She smacked her hands together and went into the hall.

Drew turned to Bert. “She’s a hard woman to read. I think sometimes she wants my help, and other times I’m worried I’ll be hit with that spoon.”

Bert smiled. “Don’t let ‘er fool ya. She’s a big softy. She likes you believe it or not, because you just jump in and help. Most people have to be told.” He placed the last loaf in a bread pan and put it into the oven. “Finished. And just in time.” He dusted himself off of flour and followed Karmen into the hall.

“Coulda fooled me,” Drew said to himself. He grabbed a rag and began to clean up the table and waited for the last loaves to finish. A short while later, the smell of fresh bread filled the kitchen. He set them on the counter to cool to be added to the large bags of bread for tomorrow.

He cleaned himself up and went into the hall to eat with the rest of the villagers.

When most were finished, he did his announcement to invite the newcomers.

“Good evening everyone!” he shouted above all the noise. People quieted and turned to listen to him. “If you would take a moment to look at your statuses, you will notice that I have invited you to join our little community. John and I decided to invite you before the week is up because you’ve all done such a great job helping here. Unfortunately, if you’re still a child, you’re not given the option yet, so like last time, to celebrate you, the children, there will be cake!” The children hooted and hollered.

“Take this time now to please accept our invitation. I’ve already spoken to all the guards and they have already joined us. Several have families that should be coming with the caravan in the next couple weeks, and they will be accepted as well. If you are still unsure, that is fine, too. But know that when the future caravan comes, you’ll be asked to go back with them. We want people here who want a community and are willing to work for it. So please, join us on our adventure. And thank you, for all of your hard work you’ve done and for choosing to be here.” He stopped his speech. Drew clapped and was joined by John and the rest of the villagers.

After a few minutes, Drew checked the Town status.

“City Status.”

Name: River’s End

Status: Village

Residents: 52 Pending: 0

Treasury: 0

Administration:

Options

Add Resident: Options

Buildings: Expand

Options

Residents: Expand

Judiciary: Expand

Options

Taxes/Revenue: None Options

Stores: None

Trade: Expand

Defenses: Expand

Not Available

“Wow. Everyone accepted. Even Mani and Yara,” exclaimed Drew to John. The pair looked over at the adventurers who nodded at them. Mani managed to crack a smile.

John’s smile widened as they walked over to the others. “Thank you, you two. For joining us. Don’t feel like you are stuck here though. But you will always, always, be welcome back.” He hugged Yara and then Mani.

“Thank you John. Drew. It didn’t take much convincing after how we were treated when we came back injured. It was actually Mani’s idea. We’re proud to be your citizens now. We’ll do whatever we can to help. Once, you know, we’re better.” Yara grinned.

“Absolutely! I think that goes for a few others around here too,” John chuckled. “Now it’s definitely a celebration!”

Drew shook their hands and then turned back to the other villagers. “Thank you everyone! You’ve all decided to join us on our little adventure.” He turned to Ivan. “Tap the keg! Get the music going! Let’s drink and celebrate!” John and Drew walked around the commonhall shaking hands and hugging the new additions to the family. The group danced and drank until the wee hours.

During the festivities, Virgil had walked up to Drew to give him the book, a very large book. Drew’s eyes went wide as Virgil plopped it on the table. It was easily 800 to 1000 pages. The mage smiled politely, patted the book, and then left Drew to his musings.

“This is going to be like going back to college.” Drew grimaced and put his head on the book.