Smoke curled from the firepit, thin and reluctant. Dew clung to the edges of bark plates and leaf-bound tools. No one spoke at first. Not because of grief this time, but because something in the air felt poised, like the hush before a vote, or the weight of something unnamed just beyond the treeline.
Raif stood at the centre of clearing, hands behind his back. The orb was still pulsing, faint and steady, at the edge of his vision. He knew there was no point in waiting. The only thing left was his lack of resolve. He was meant to be their leader, but he felt more like a puppet. His hands form fists, and he let out a deep sigh.
"Gather round," he said quietly.
Eloin looked up from the wall he'd been reinforcing and wiped his hands clean on a strip of barkcloth. Goss hobbled over from the shade, the carved branch still supporting his weight. Naera came from the cairn without a word, eyes unreadable. Lira paused her patrol, watched from a distance, then approached with measured steps. Her limp lingered, but she did not falter.
They stood in a loose half-circle, the fire between them. Raif signal
Raif took a breath. "The core changed yesterday.."
That got their attention. Goss straightened, eyes narrowing. Eloin furrowed his brow. Lira crossed her arms. Naera's head tilted slightly, silent but alert.
"It reached Level One," Raif said. "We've unlocked more than we realised, territory expansion, mapping, summoning. It's not just giving us tools. It's... watching. Recording. Maybe even understanding."
"Understanding what?" Goss asked. Not hostile, just cautious.
Raif glanced at him. "Us. What we build. What we choose."
Eloin folded his arms. "The map… Does it show the jungle?"
Raif nodded. "Roughly. Elevation lines, water sources, landmarks. Places we haven't reached yet."
"That's something," Eloin muttered. "We could plan around that."
"We have blueprints we didn't use," Raif continued. "Ones we've brushed against but never finished. The core catalogued them, the pit, the drying rack even a fence."
Naera's gaze flicked up, but she didn't speak.
"And it gave us a new one," Raif said. "Because of Thomund. Because of the grave."
Lira shifted her weight, jaw tight. "It rewards us for burying the dead now?"
"No," Naera said, quietly but firmly. "It remembers them."
Raif let the silence settle.
"Shrine for the Dead." His voice was quieter now. "It generates KE. But it's more than that. It marks memory. Permanence."
He didn't say sacred, but the word clung to the edges of the firelight all the same.
"What about the territory expansion? What does it mean?" Lira asked.
Riaf shakes his head, "I'm entirely sure, but I mean it is most likely the range of the map. Anything outside of it is 'new territory'. Not ours, maybe someone else. Perhaps just unclaimed. I can assume that it will grow bit by bit, giving us more information. Information that we might not see within the surrounding areas."
Goss exhaled slowly. "And the summoning?"
"It's there," Raif said. "And we have enough KE to use it. Right now, if we wanted. But we don't know what it will summon. It didn't show anything specific. Just that the option exists, but based on what happened in the last summoning. It would be people. Like you and me. Confused and unsure. Untrusting and suspicious."
"And you want us to decide," Eloin said, half-stating, half-confirming.
Raif met his eyes. "I called you here because we need to choose what comes next. Together."
A beat of quiet passed. The fire popped.
Then Goss scratched his chin. "Well... we survived a bark wolf. Might as well survive a vote."
That broke the silence just enough to let the others breathe.
Eloin was the first to speak. "If the shrine helps the orb, then we build it. No question."
Naera nodded. "We do it right. Stone, ash, everything it asked for. Thomund deserves that much."
"I'll help," Goss said. "Ribs are still stiff, but I can lift."
Raif looked at Lira. She hesitated, eyes darting briefly toward the jungle.
"What if this summoning pulls something through we can't stop?" she asked. "We don't know what's on the other side. It could be dangerous people."
"We didn't know about the wolf either," Raif said. "But we faced it. We can do it again."
Lira didn't argue. She just gave a small nod and looked back at the fire.
"Regardless, we're not voting on a summon yet," Raif said. "Right now, we decide how to move forward. What matters most."
They began to talk, properly this time.
"I'm telling you," Goss said, "we need a way to keep food off the ground. Something lifted. Maybe from vines or split poles. Rats haven't shown up yet, but they will."
Naera nodded slowly. "Could hang strips of bark from the roof beams. Layer them, give airflow. Keep the meat dry when it rains."
"We'd need more rope," Eloin added. "Vines might snap under weight if they're too fresh."
"I can check for stronger ones in the gully," Lira said. "The ones near the dry riverbed on the map might be thick but it might also work. Braided right, they'll hold. I just have to find them first since we haven't been there yet."
Raif glanced around the fire. "What else?"
"Water," Eloin said. "We're still using pooled rain and leaf-catch. But the map you mentioned, if it shows elevation, we could trace the streambed. Dig out a channel. Redirect the flow. Get real fresh water."
"That's a lot of digging," Goss muttered. "We'd need tools that don't snap every third scoop."
"I could sharpen a few stones for that," Naera said. "Not perfect, but better than hands."
"And the fence?" Raif prompted.
Eloin nodded immediately. "We start simple. Stakes, rope- no, vines. if we've got it. Even bark slabs. It's not to stop something big, just slow it down. Give warning. It can be used in conjunction with the wall I'm making right now."
"And maybe keep our own youngings from wandering too far," Goss added, then coughed. "Assuming we get more people."
A small silence followed that, not from discomfort, but thought.
Naera looked up. "We should mark the grave, too. The shrine will help, but I want something visible. A ring of stones, maybe, or carvings leading to it."
Raif tilted his head. "Way finding markers?"
"Exactly," she said. "Make it part of the camp's shape. Not something we forget. It will help keep everything together."
"We could extend that," Lira said, surprising them. "If we ever send people out, scouting, hunting, they'll need a way back. Simple signs. Stacked stones, or bent saplings. Considering the jungle 'moves' we might need a larger mark for others to find."
Eloin rubbed his chin. "Like a breadcrumb trail. Permanent enough to follow, temporary enough to hide. It will be hard to balance that since this place isn't the most forgiving."
Raif nodded slowly. "That could tie into the map. Let us claim space without walls. Our territory is fifty metres. Large but also small. If we will it up with enough marking, we could easily trace back our steps."
"And if we ever find others?" Goss asked. "Do we call them in? Or stay quiet?"
"We don't even know if anyone else is out there," Eloin said. "But if we do…"
"We decide together," Raif said. "Like now."
More suggestions came. Naera mentioned a quiet space for rest — not just for sleep, but for grieving. Goss asked about firewood storage. Lira noted their lack of proper waste disposal. Eloin suggested drying roots for cordage. No idea was dismissed. They layered one over another like bark and resin; awkward, imperfect, but fitting.
Their voices rose and fell with new rhythm. Not frantic. Focused.
Raif didn't need to steer it. He just listened. Watched.
And then, the orb pulsed.
[Loyalty Milestone Reached: Eloin]
[+10 KE]
[Loyalty Milestone Reached: Goss]
[+10 KE]
[Loyalty Milestone Reached: Lira]
[+10 KE]
[Total KE: 130 / 200]
The group didn't flinch. They all saw the shimmer in the air, the quiet flick of light. But no one stopped speaking.
Because something had shifted. Trust, maybe. Or belief.
They weren't building to survive anymore. They were building for each other.
Raif stood, letting the voices fade around him. The last of the suggestions had settled like embers, glowing quietly, not yet acted upon but warm with intent.
He looked at them — truly looked. These weren't just names or roles anymore. They had shifted. Each had spoken today not just to solve a problem, but to contribute something of themselves. Eloin's precision. Goss's wit. Naera's sense of memory. Lira's edge of doubt, softening at last into trust.
He stepped toward the orb.
"Do it," Goss murmured. "Might as well see what this door opens."
"We're ready," Naera said. Just that.
Lira nods in acknowledgment.
Raif placed his hand on the orb.
It pulsed immediately. Not just with light, but with pressure — a sensation that prickled under his skin, like the moment before a storm breaks. It responded as if it already knew what he would choose. As if it had always known.
Above the surface, text formed:
[Summoning Available – Cost: 100 KE]
No preview. No details. Just the offer.
The orb glowed steady now. Expectant.
Raif turned back to the group. No one spoke, but no one turned away.
They had agreed without saying it: they would step into the unknown, together.
And whatever came next, they would face it as one.