Noah began to settle into a rhythm after that. After their meeting, it had been decided that they needed to prepare for the coming conflict. That meant expanding territory, securing materials, crafting weapons, and training for battle. They had considered preparing defenses but determined that they didn’t have crafters skilled enough to make anything that could stand against a horde of Copper enemies. For now, their town would be easy to rebuild anyway and only served as a home base for the tribe. Noah found it frustrating that his biggest limiting factor was population and knew that while he could continue to train his body and mind, none of it would matter if he didn’t reach Bronze. That being said, he was aware that every bit would help with the coming hordes and devoted himself to training what little bit he could control. His days began to flow together as his routine cemented, each hour filled with one form of training or another. He spent large portions of his time meditating and sparring, hoping for a flash of inspiration, and improving his weapon skills. Every day ended with a long soak in the bath house and a shared meal with his companions.
A couple times a week he left town with the scouts and ranged tens of miles beyond their borders, hoping to find some sign of neighboring people. As terrible as it seemed, they needed to find others to fight or subjugate if they wanted to be ready. The path to Bronze would be paved in blood, and so far they had found little more than isolated groups. This revealed a disturbing bottleneck that Noah had yet to consider. There was a hard cap on their progression. For combatants, they could only advance as long as there were enemies to fight and XP to harvest, making each enemy a limited resource. While he had already reached the level needed to ascend, the same wasn’t true for the rest of his people. He had never considered the possibility that some would never even reach Copper due to a lack of XP, meaning they would be stuck in the lower realm indefinitely. Perhaps crafters would have a better go of it, but from what he heard they received diminishing returns on repeat constructions and eventually had to move on to new materials as well as designs. He only hoped that a sufficient number of his people could reach Copper and join them in their efforts. They would need crafters especially if they wanted to stand against the coming threats.
Before he knew it, a month had passed as he continued in his pattern. He had made noticeable headway toward his next Gate and had become comfortable with his new weapon as he practiced in sparring and form. The herd had finally been joined by their female counterparts, adding another 300 followers to his count. That, as well as some other unknown additions from below brought his follower count to 4,400. He had been surprised when the number jumped by nearly 800 in a single day and hoped it had been Ta’Ku’s doing.
The town had also grown, now sporting several new warehouses and workshops for the incoming crafters. They stockpiled raw materials in anticipation of their arrival, including significant stores of copper ore, that their one blacksmith worked into bars, as well as charcoal, clay, timber, and bone. Additionally, they had found another mineral deposit but were unfamiliar with metal, but collected some for anyone in the know to identify. Gerald and Kyle had busied themselves crafting bows and arrows, testing different combinations of fletching, shaft, and arrowhead materials for the deadliest result. Others sowed the fields with the seed they had traded for with Jeline’s people, though they lacked the abilities to grow it at miraculous speeds. While they hadn’t run out of food, it was getting harder to keep up with the needed supply. If every beast they had killed could be used for meat, there would be no problem. However, their limited ability to preserve food meant that a majority of their fights resulted in wasted food. Once this had been noted, every bit of meat they ate became smoked and was eaten in rotation from oldest to most recent. The cold cellars helped, but without a supply of salt, they lacked the knowledge to preserve the meat further.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Noah enjoyed the new pace of life, and found himself growing close with Ne’Ja. Discovering their differences had opened a door of conversation for them, and they often spent evenings sharing bits of their history over meals or starlit walks. He also spent time with Kyle, Jergin, and Gerald, though they had begun to find their own place in the tribe, each settling into their own routines. Noah met with Un’Dal and Ne’Ja weekly to discuss updates and plans but found their meetings growing repetitive as scouting parties continued to come up empty. Their pattern was interrupted when Recter arrived accompanied by one hundred fresh Coppers. Noah couldn’t contain his grin as he greeted his friend upon their arrival. Their trek had been long but relatively uneventful. Everyone was split into groups of three and were assigned housing, with promises of food and more information the coming day. After settling in as Noah’s new neighbor, Recter joined him for a meal.
“Any news?” Noah asked. Recter nodded and finished chewing.
“This group is primarily crafters, half elves, and half humans, and includes several farmers and healers. XP is becoming scarce though, and they are starting to ration beast kills based on the person’s utility and desire to join in the upper realm.” Recter started. Noah was pleasantly surprised at the group’s makeup.
“That’s perfect, we have been in dire need of crafters and have fields ready for the farmers to grow. Healers are of course invaluable as well, and I am sure that Un’Dal will be overjoyed at their addition. Any updates from Julie or Ta’Ku?” he replied.
“Yes, Ta’Ku was successful in bringing the orc village to the fold and will lead a group to join us in the next month or two. Before I left there was word of an additional settlement being spotted on the far end of the forest, but they had yet to make contact. Julie plans to join Ta’Ku along with a couple of the elven elders with hopes of facilitating expansion and development up here.” Recter answered.
“That’s good news. We will need to start taking more drastic actions soon if we want any hope of reaching Bronze though. So far our search has been fruitless. Are you ready to shake things up?” Noah asked. Recter grinned and nodded.
“I have grown restless escorting the less bloodthirsty ones. I think it's time we pick a fight.”
The next day, the crafters were updated on the current status and needs of the town and were set to work. One of the elven smiths was able to identify the mystery ore as dorith, and was overjoyed at its sight. It was, apparently, comparable to Earth’s steel when processed in the right way. The news was a welcome relief to the other smiths who were desperate for quality material. In the following days, the sounds of several new forges filled the air, and the first dorith weapons were tested by the warriors.
As days passed, the town visibly transformed as a veritable storm of new ideas and creations flooded the streets. The hottest topic was running water, and the greatest minds were devoted to solving the issue with the utmost haste. For Noah’s part, he had come to enjoy the old-fashioned feel of the bath houses but his protests were quickly swept to the side as others made their preferences known. The farms had sprouted with vibrant green shoots, and the farmers assured that the crop would be ready in weeks rather than months.
Noah and Recter spent their time on increasingly far-ranged scouting trips, having covered hundreds of miles already without sign of other inhabitants. His follower count grew again a week later, jumping to 4,9000 all at once. It gave him some much-needed hope that at least his allies below were having success in their search. As more weeks passed without event, Noah grew uneasy and so found himself somewhat relieved when a frantic scout came screaming into camp.
“Attack!”
Announcement:
