"The road will curve along with the canyon. There will be parts where it can be straight and paths where it might have to curve. At the same time, it will need to connect with the bridges that need to be made to ensure a smooth journey."
I lead the way while talking about where I approximately want the road to be. At the same time, I see Frank mark out with large arrows places where there will be a bend and places where the road would curve towards the river. Owen marked with a cross where the bridges would start and again on the other side where it would end. Since I was leading them on the path I made sure to cross the river where I want the bridge to be, making sure that the bridges are placed in places where the river is small or where there is enough room for the road to be constructed on both sides.
Yor, the demi-human, was constantly asking questions about the road and bridges. Since Yor was part of Phil's group I asked him about how he was treated there as well as the activities Phil had done. Kingston had already told me some things but since he was bullied by Phil and Gabe and couldn't retaliate he was constantly in the dark with some plans.
Yor told me that Phil was a tyrant. He didn't only bully Kingston but a lot of the NPCs as well. Making them work and fight with little food was the norm so when Yor was able to leave that group and join HavenFall he felt blessed. At the same time, Phil hadn't done too much. They were constantly on the move after Phil met with another human and was constantly on the lookout for anything new and interesting. Yor didn't know who the other human was but from what I can tell it was another player and most likely from Bones.
Kingston was still employed by Bones since he wanted money but because he wasn't in any area where Bones was operating I told them there was a very easy way to continue making money from Bones while not revealing anything about HavenFall. Bones wanted information on the center of the continent and Kingston was the only survivor from Phil's group, so by revealing that Kingston is currently in a dangerous forest where there were a lot of monsters to Bones, Kingston gained money while playing the game in a more free manner.
I didn't realize it before but Kingston's attitude towards money changed after he left Phil's group. By making himself seem like a greedy person it allowed him to play a persona, not revealing who he was and who he really acted. Acting slightly stupid and greedy was an easy way for others to not pry into his matters but knowing that I wasn't part of Bones and just preferred to play the game as is he slowly opened up. Showing his true colors, just another kind guy that likes to play games while earning money.
It took the rest of the day for me to show the group the way to the cave and then get back. Yor had been a great help and since this was one of the first few times I got close to the demi-humans I also took the liberty of checking his stats. With dog-like ears and a waggy tail he had similar features of a labrador, including the yellow color of his hair or fur.
Name: Yor
Race: Demi-human ( Dog )
Health Points (HP): 30/30
Mana Points (MP): 8/8
Strength: 12
Vitality: 15
Intelligence: 15
Dexterity: 8
Agility: 12
Luck: 1
Skill: Energy Booster ( Active ) - 5 MP
Energy Booster ( Active ) - Gives the user a boost of energy, instantly increasing vitality, strength and agility by 10% for 10 minutes at the expense of 50% reduced stats after 30 minutes
Suprisingly, Yor's traits were similar to those of a labrador as well. He was active and constantly asking or talking about different things, creating a friendly and lively atmosphere. Furthermore, after learning about the road and it's construction he was able to think of various other applications as well, asking about creating roads to make walking around HavenFall easier as well as other potential applications for the wheel including large carts driven by people to transport other people around. His imagination exceeded my expectations and I could tell he will be essential for HavenFall's growth.
We got back to HavenFall as the sun sets, arriving just in time for dinner. Luke and his companions joined us for dinner as well and from the atmosphere, they were creating they had already started to fit in. During the time I was in HavenFall, I did notice that most of them separated from each other, finding different things to do and looking at the small groups everyone was sitting in I could more or less figure out the new guests' preferences.
I put up a small cup of water and tapped it with my wooden spoon. Unfortunately, it wasn't glass and I couldn't get everyone's attention right away so I coughed slightly to grab everyone's attention.
"Ahem. Everyone, I would like to say something."
The small chattering quieted and all eyes were on me.
"I want to take this opportunity to say, welcome home Luke and welcome to HavenFall, Sylvia, Solar, Stellar, Spike, Val, Rex, Lily, Daisy, Rose, Meg, Ken and Kaede. This place is your new home and I wish to give you a warm welcome. There is not much here right now, but slowly we are creating an environment where we will be safe and happy and with you guys joining us we can quicken this process, so I also want to say, thank you. I wish to learn about all of you more as we chat, have fun, and work together. Thank you!"
A round of applause is given to me as I finish my speech. I can see the beaming smiles from everyone and for the rest of the night, it was lively and full of cheer. The laughter coming from HavenFall could probably be heard from the other side of the canyon. There was singing, dancing and teasing from both old and new NPCs bringing them together in a happy manner.
Getting away from the festivities, I walk off to the side and down the path to the river. The laughter up above seemed to even drown out the sound of the waterfall and I can tell everyone is having a good time.
"Why are you here?"
Surprised by the sudden voice behind me, I turn around and notice it was one of the elves, Stellar. Her silver ash-grey hair seemingly glows in the moonlight. She places one hand on her waist and cocks her head to the side slightly as she questions me.
"Just getting a little bit of fresh air. Why are you here and not up there?"
"I'm getting some fresh air too."
"I see. I know that you were one of Luke's earlier companions. At the same time, I know that Kronos's golems happened to invade your tribe. I would like to know more about you, your tribe, Kronos, as well as anything about this world. I don't have a lot of knowledge of the outside world and taking care of everything here has made it even less likely that I will venture out until we are stronger. Is there anything you can enlighten me with?"
"Ian, I can call you that right? I heard some of the goblins calling you leader Ian but I wasn't sure."
"You can call me Ian or leader Ian. I am not too fussy."
"Before I tell you anything, Ian. I want to ask you something first. You are very different from the other humans. Not just you, the one called Kingston as well. The both of you are different. It's like you see this world as something else. Your knowledge is beyond our understanding but at the same time, your common sense is below ours. You know nothing around us but know so much that is unknown to us. What are you? Because if you are a threat then-"
With a speed as fast or even faster than a golden wolf, a goblin knife was placed against my neck. The cold stone edge presses against my adam apple but I don't move. I look into her amethyst eyes and strangely enough, I wasn't scared. I felt like she wasn't going to kill me and instead I just looked back at her until she slowly retracted the knife.
"You are somewhat correct. Kingston and I aren't normal humans but we are still humans and no matter what I want to protect what I have here. I think Kingston thinks the same seeing how he was having a good time with Howard, Gobi, and some of the others up there. I can't exactly explain to you why we are different but just know we are but at least we are good people."
"Hmm, I'll accept that excuse for now. As for filling your request, what do you want to know? I'll explain to the best of my abilities however, some information Solar might know more of."
"That is okay, I'll eventually find time to talk to not just Solar but everyone. I want to understand you all and I can only do that by talking to you. For starters, who are you? Tell me more about your background. I have heard some stuff from Luke but hearing it from you will make it easier."
"My name is Stellar. I am a dark elf that used to live in the ??i?nυl ?ê?o?, which roughly translate to Moon Forest. It is adjacent to li?lo? υb ?ê?o?, Sun Forest, where Solar lived. Our tribe worships the moon and is usually enemies with Solar's tribe. I use dark magic to perform some basic spells which include invisibility and in our tribe, I was one of the generals. I wasn't the strongest by any means but I could hold my own against one of Solar's tribe's generals. We lived in constant war with her tribe until Kronos's army attacked. Even though his army had to travel past the Center to get to our tribe, it happened anyway."
"You can use magic? Is it teachable? Can I learn it?"
"I am not sure. We can try another time."
"I see. I am beginning to understand that some of the 'Kings' armies move outside their territory a lot."
"Yes, they raid and attack anywhere and everywhere. There are a lot of tribes and races that are not under the command of a 'King' which makes attacking them easy. Our tribe had refused Cordelia's command and while Cordelia had not attacked us in recent times, we knew we were eventually going to be attacked by her army. It was only a matter of time."
"Okay, what about the rest of the world? What do you know about that?"
"I only know basic information about all the 'Kings'. Usually, you can identify a monster under the command of a 'King' by their mark. Kronos has a black hourglass with a diagonal line through it, The Horde has tattoos across their bodies, Cordelia has a small golden trident embedded in their foreheads and the Reaper is the back miasma that emits out of their bodies. They are all unique and cannot be copied."
"I see. That's a lot to take in, especially since they are all different. How come the golems don't have the mark?"
"Because why they are part of Kronos's army they are nothing more than minions and pawns. They aren't important enough I guess. However, no one else uses white golems but Kronos."
"So it is assumed? That they are part of Kronos's army?"
"I guess so."
"Interesting. Is there anything else you can tell me? Anything that you can tell m about the world itself?"
"Hmm, to be honest, I wasn't interested in a lot of things as I grew up in my tribe however there is a legend that was passed down in our tribe and I know Solar's tribe had a version of this story."
"Oh, what is it?"
"One day.
Both moon and sun will disappear.
The darkness will grow.
Monster's eyes will glow scarlet.
Seas will run red.
Time will slow.
Nothing can stop it.
The gods will forsake us.
That should be what it translates from my language to yours. However, through the many years I have been alive and the many years the elders of my tribe have been alive nothing of this sort has happened and I don't know if this will ever happen."
"Well, not much can be done about that if you don't know. Thank you Stellar for entertaining my questions and thoughts. Shall we go back to everyone?"
"Sure."
We walk back to everyone and while we do I look at the new message I got from the system.
[ A player has heard a piece of the prophecy. The main storyline has progressed. ]
[ There will be a patch after the game tonight. We will update you on our website for when the game goes back online as well as the patch notes ]
[ Enjoy gaming everyone! ]
A new message and with it the key is to do with the 'prophecy' that Stellar and Solar know. I also imagine that other races have something that joins together with this piece since the system is hinting that there are different pieces of the 'prophecy', like a jig-saw puzzle. I need to know more, but I think it is not something I can hold to myself, after all, different races exist in different areas.
With new information about the game unlocked and information hidden in the NPCs backstory, I get excited, eager for more information but understanding the atmosphere of the dinner I refrain from doing anything. Instead, I too join in the festivities having fun joking around with the new NPCs and getting to know them bit by bit.
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