Ne’Ja led the group through the town, toward the center of the circle along one of the main roads that ran in the cardinal directions. As they walked, Noah realized that a majority of the buildings were empty homes, all made in the same manner. When he asked Ne’Ja about them, she explained that they built them in anticipation of their growing population. It wasn’t until they had passed well into the town that they encountered the first occupied homes, evident by the flickering lights from within and the smoke trailing from the roofs. Several familiar faces made an appearance as they neared the center of town, and they found Un’Dal waiting for them in front of one of the houses in the innermost circle. The center ring of buildings looked a bit like a compass, made of four quadrants with three houses each. In the center was a large two-story circular structure with ample space on all sides for traffic. They approached Un’Dal who waved and smiled warmly as they drew near.

  “No’Ah! Welcome home!” he greeted, extending an arm.

  “Un’Dal, I’m glad to be back! So much has changed!” Noah said, returning his gesture.

  “Much indeed, we will have a lot to discuss once you settle in. For now, we have prepared a place for your guests,” he said, leading them into the house. The house was one large room with something like a kitchenette near the brick fireplace, a table, several benches, and brick shelves. The floor was also brick, covered in several tanned hides, giving it a homey touch. Noah was surprised to see the lack of beds however, and turned to ask when he saw Un’Dal grinning giddily as he he bent down to the floor. He grasped a small metal handle that looked like a door knocker and pulled, revealing a ladder that went down into another candle-lit room. Noah smirked and eagerly followed Un’Dal into the lower room.

  Noah examined the new space and was surprised to find that it was square in shape, and at least 50 percent larger than the one above. The room was a pleasant temperature, noticeably cooler, and had three partitioned areas with cots, nightstands, and chests. The fourth quadrant was a common area with several chairs and a coffee table as well as racks with fur blankets and pillows.

  “And finally, the cellar!” Un’Dal said with a flourish as he pulled open another trap door. They climbed down another ladder into a dark room, and Un’Dal lit a lamp on the wall. Noah shivered as he stepped onto the cold brick floor. The room was mostly bare save for the shelving along three of the walls and an odd brick-laden trench butting against the other.

  “What is this?” Noah asked, examining the construction.

  “Ah, that is a project we are working on still, though we have run into some logistical hang-ups. It will eventually carry running water through the cellar of each home, further cooling the food storage areas and providing access to fresh water.” Un’Dal explained. Noah grinned.

  “That’s amazing. What issues have you run into?” Noah replied.

  “For starters, there’s the matter of keeping the water clean. Bringing water into the home creates waste water to get rid of. Our first thought was to create two separate canals, one for clean and one for dirty but the amount of work and materials that would take is astounding. Our next thought was to create public bathing houses with their own system which has been working so far, but takes away from the utility of in-home plumbing.” Un’Dal explained. Noah nodded, considering the issue. He had enjoyed the long showers back in the human settlement but hadn’t asked about how they worked. He turned to others, raising an eyebrow. Kyle shrugged and Jergin shook his head.

  “Ah, I do know how it worked but I’m afraid you won’t like the solution.” Gerald spoke up. Noah grunted.

  “Let me guess, magic?” Gerald nodded.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “A rather clever bit of enchanting that one of the crafters came up with, before teaching the rest how to replicate the feat. It filtered out non-water components into a compact solid that was collected on occasion and used for other purposes,” the elf explained. Huh, another Matt original no doubt.

  “Well in that case it won’t be a problem for long. More people will be joining us in the coming months as they reach Copper. We can put off the finer bits of crafting until they arrive.” Noah supplied.

  “That’s good news. Shall we finish the tour, then?” Un’Dal asked. Noah nodded and the orc pointed out a stash of dried meats and a wide ceramic basin of water that had been prepared for them. He then led them back to the surface where Noah and Un’Dal left the weary trio to sleep and recover from the run. Noah followed Un’Dal to a nearby house in the northeast quadrant. Ne’Ja was waiting just outside the door carrying a basket.

  “This house is yours, Chief No’Ah. Would it be alright if we had out meeting here?” Un’Dal asked. He nodded.

  “Of course, let’s go in,” he replied. The three stepped into his new home and he found it looked quite similar to the other, perhaps with an extra hide or two spread out across the floor. There was also a larger table with individual chairs rather than benches where they got situated. The fire was already burning and it was obvious that someone had been taking care of the place for him. He looked at the two for a long moment.

  “Thank you both for all you’ve done. I have only seen a little and I am already amazed.” Noah said, doing his best to convey his sincerity as he made eye contact with both of them.

  “It’s only right. We can’t have the kingdom of Ro’Kar looking like a dump.” Ne’Ja replied, her eyes betraying a hint of sadness. Un’Dal nodded.

  “I agree, and we are just getting started. To be honest, I much prefer this kind of work over the relentless battles that have held our attention this past year. I know there is more blood in our future, but I hope there is more homemaking as well. In fact, I heard interesting news on that front.” Un’Dal finished. Noah’s eyebrows raised.

  “On which front?” he asked.

  “Homemaking! Shu’La and Tu’Bin just gave us the news that she is pregnant, the very first birth in the new world. I had started to fear that our ability to have children was taken away by the System, but perhaps it was only made more difficult.” Un’Dal mused. Noah’s mouth dropped open. In all of the chaos, he had completely forgotten the possibility, not that he had much reason to consider it. He knew there were couples in the tribe, but the thought of babies scared him.

  “This world is not safe for children…” Noah mumbled. Ne’Ja’s face turned stormy and she glared at Noah.

  “Then we will make it safe,” she stated, her voice steely. Noah raised his hands.

  “I didn’t mean anything by my comment. I just hadn’t considered what raising children would look like in the middle of all this,” he explained. Ne’Ja’s gaze remained hard and he didn’t quite understand what he did wrong. He looked to Un’Dal for some indication but found a scowl on his face as well.

  “There will always be danger in life; raiders come, beasts kill, and other clans start wars. But children are a gift to be celebrated, regardless of the times. To respond with concerns before joy is wrong!” Ne’Ja shouted, looking more angry than he had ever seen her. Before he could respond, Un’dal spoke up.

  “She is right, No’Ah. I am glad that Shu’La and Tu’Bin were not present to hear your words. They would have been devastated to hear their chief curse this momentous occasion. Perhaps it is different for humans, but for us, this is very important and I ask that you choose your words more carefully in the future.” Un’Dal explained. Noah found his calm and collected words even more cutting than Ne’Ja’s impassioned ones. He had never seen either of them this put off and did his best to remedy the situation.

  “Please forgive me, I did not stop to consider the differences in our peoples’ perspectives. I would appreciate learning more before I speak with the couple.” Noah replied. Ne’Ja let out a huff.

  “What could be so different about your peoples’ perspective?” she demanded. Noah winced but decided to share to the best of his ability.

  “My people have mixed feelings about bringing children into the world. Many of them claim that it would not be right to bring a child into a chaotic world, or that it is selfish to increase the demands on society with another person. Many are simply too afraid to raise children, saying that they are inexperienced or do not have the right circumstances. For these reasons, many people choose not to have children.” Noah explained. Un’Dal stared at him in wide-eyed horror and Ne’Ja jumped to her feet, her face turning dark red as she marched up to Noah. He turned his head just in time to catch the ire in her eyes.

  SMACK!