Chapter 21 - Two week meeting (17 Jan 25)

Two weeks in, Harold woke to voices.Not the uneasy kind. Just people are quietly busy.The kitchen crew had been lifesavers. There wasn't a moment he came into the hall without seeing them working, always doing something to keep twelve hundred people fed. Pots moving, knives working, someone constantly stirring something.He lay still for a moment, listening.No shouting. No alarms. Just distant movement. Boots on packed dirt. The muffled thump of something heavy being shifted outside. The village is breathing on its own.And it was a village now.Two additional halls had been completed, with two more under construction. There were still people sleeping outside, but most had at least a pad between them and the ground. Some of the more outdoorsy types slept out in the observation posts built along the woodline.Harold sat up slowly, stretching the stiffness from his shoulders.His room hadn't changed much in the last week. Still sparse. Still temporary. But there was a real bed now. The table no longer wobbled after he'd stolen a shim from the woodpile. The shutter actually closed.Luxuries, by current standards. Progress came in small comforts.He dressed without rushing, washed his face in cold water, and took a moment longer than necessary to steady himself. The shaking hadn't vanished, but it was manageable now. Teaching others had helped more than he'd expected.Downstairs, breakfast was already underway.He took a bowl from the line and thanked the cooks. The porridge was thicker than before, with bits of meat mixed in. Someone had figured out how to season using herbs from the nearby forest.He ate standing up, watching people pass.Fewer lost looks. Fewer people are standing idle, doing nothing. Work crews formed without being told. Adventurers checked the board and moved on instead of lingering. The brothers kept them organized, ensuring teams were always out while maintaining enough people in the settlement to respond if needed.They were better armed now. Most teams had at least one proper weapon. Though most of them had the crap goblin swords.Finished, Harold rinsed the bowl himself and carried it back into the hall. He crossed the main space and stepped into the smaller room off to the side, the one people had started calling the Lord's office.The name still felt strange.The room smelled faintly of fresh-cut wood and fire. Some enterprising person had figured out how to make candles using beeswax and something else Harold hadn't asked about. Either way, it worked. A solid desk sat against the far wall. The map hadn't improved much since paper still wasn't an option, but a terrain model occupied the wide table nearby, notable features marked with slate notes.It had already proven its worth more than once. Harold set his hands on the desk and took a slow breath.Two weeks survived.He ran through his mana exercises, centering himself and preparing for the upcoming meeting. They were doing better than he'd expected. Not as well as he'd hoped.Today, he would have to send people to do things they weren't ready for yet. There would be deaths. He didn't see another choice.Harold stood at the desk, eyes on the terrain model, and tried to decide where people would hurt the least.There were only so many hands. Every task is pulled from another. Every success created a new bottleneck: food, water, shelter, security, and metal. None of them could be ignored, and none of them could be solved all at once.He shifted a slate marker slightly closer to the mine.That was the pressure point.Metal changed everything. Tools. Weapons. Nails. Hinges. Without it, they'd stall. With it, they'd start accelerating in ways he might not be able to control entirely.The door opened.Beth and Josh came in together.Beth moved straight to the table, slate already out, posture composed. Josh followed half a step behind, looking around like he still couldn't quite believe this was his job now."Mornin'," Josh said cheerfully. "Place is really coming together. Still smells like smoke, though."Beth shot him a look. "It's a working settlement.""Exactly," Josh replied. "That's the good smell."Harold gave them each a hug and went back to the map.Mr. Caldwell entered next, quiet and precise, a couple of slate tablets tucked under one arm. He inclined his head toward Harold, then moved to the side of the room, already reviewing numbers no one else could see yet."Morning," he said."Morning, Caldwell," Harold replied.Hale and Margaret arrived together again.They stopped talking as they stepped inside, their expressions neutral and professional. Hale took up a position near the wall, arms folded, eyes already tracking exits and sightlines. Margaret moved closer to the table, gaze flicking briefly over the terrain model before settling on Harold."Lord," she said."Margaret. Hale."The last to arrive was someone Harold hadn't met many times, almost immediately dispatching her to the makeshift mine to get going as soon as she was summoned. She had come back specifically for this meeting at his request.She was shorter than most, compact and broad-shouldered, with the posture of someone used to shouting over noise. Stone dust still clung to her boots despite an apparent attempt to clean them.She paused at the doorway, clearly unsure where to stand."Come in, Lira," Harold said. "You're fine."She nodded once and stepped forward. "Name's Lira," she said. "Mine foreman."Josh perked up immediately. "Ah, the one who turned a goblin hole into something useful."Lira snorted. "Usefulness is generous. But it'll hold."Beth glanced over. "She's been running three shifts already. Pulled out workable stone and trace iron. Nothing clean yet.""Yet, it's there, though," Lira corrected.Harold inclined his head to her. "That's why you're here."Lira's expression tightened just a fraction at that.The brothers came in quietly, talking to each other. They looked up when they entered and said "My lord" at the same time, and went to speak with Mr.Caldwell.The room settled as everyone took their places. No reports yet. No slates raised. Just the low murmur of people who'd been working long enough together to know this meeting would decide how hard the following week was going to be. Josh immediately started talking to Lira about something.Harold looked around the table.He rested his hands on the edge of the terrain model. "Alright," he said. "Let's talk about where we are."The murmurs stopped. And the real meeting began.Harold rested both hands on the edge of the table."Before we start arguing about what comes next," he said, "I want to make sure I understand exactly where we are right now. If I get something wrong, correct me."No one objected. Beth actually looked relieved."Buildings first," Harold continued. "We have the lord's hall with three rooms added on. Two additional halls were completed. Two more are under construction."Beth nodded. "Both frames are up. Roofing on the third hall tomorrow if the weather holds.""Good," Harold said. "Each of those is still primarily sleeping space.""For now," Beth confirmed."We've got a dedicated blacksmith building and one for the glassmaker," Harold went on. "Both functional, not comfortable."The blacksmith's place is barely civilized," Josh added cheerfully. "But it works.""The kitchen building," Harold said, glancing toward Beth again, "should be finished today.""Structure, yes," she replied. "The overhang and communal tables will take a couple more days.""The barracks and watchtower are done, but almost none of the soldiers have beds or anything," Harold said. "Palisade around the barracks should be complete in about a week."Hale nodded. "Assuming nothing changes with how we are using our soldiers for now.""Which brings me to the gaps," Harold said. "We're critically short on furniture."No one argued that."Beds, tables, storage, everything," Josh said. "We're improvising. A couple of guys are working on a small furniture production area. They just don't really have any time to make any. Hard to do that without lights.""We still can't produce cloth," Harold continued. "Repairs only. No new production, though we have found things we can use to make cloth."Margaret made a small mark on her slate. "Clothing degradation is becoming noticeable.""Food," Harold said. "All hunting, fishing, and foraging. Fields are planted, but we're months out from seeing returns.""Correct," Caldwell said. "We're stable, not secure, but the hunters are having to range further out. It is an issue I intended to bring up today.""Some people are figuring out commodities," Harold went on. "Candles. Soap. Small things, but useful.""And tradable," Caldwell added."Potion production hasn't started beyond what I can personally make," Harold said. "That's a bottleneck."Margaret nodded. "We're relying on you entirely right now."Harold grimaced. "Not ideal.""The mine," he continued, turning slightly toward Lira, "is producing good stone. Iron is present but not consistent yet."Lira crossed her arms. "Veins are thin and scattered. We're pulling trace iron, not real yield. Transport's also slowing us down, and we don't have real mining picks. One piece of good news, my lord, is that one of the miners is close to figuring out how to craft stone.""Right," Harold said. "Which means the blacksmith is producing what we need, not what we could. And almost all of our metal is coming from looted things from the various monsters the adventurers are finding.""With more metal, I could triple output," Josh said. "At least.""Adventurers are still under-armed," Harold said. "They're adapting, but we can't really fix that until metal production improves. We've had some deaths, but they have all respawned. There currently is no one waiting to respawn, and most of the deaths have come from people exploring towards the mountains."The brothers both nodded."And finally," Harold said, looking at Hale, "we have over a hundred soldiers. No current injuries."Hale inclined his head. "119 currently, they're drilling well. Discipline's solid. But they need more time and better equipment before I'd call them trained. None of them come knowing formation drills.""How long?" Harold asked."A couple more weeks," Hale replied. "Minimum. Longer if we want them to survive real fights, and they really need better equipment."Harold absorbed that, then looked around the table again."Now, raw resources we are using all the wood we produce as demand for it everywhere, if we could produce more, we could use more. But the limiting factor there is again the tools, which need metal."Harold nodded once and shifted the marker on the table."Clay," he said. "We've got a good deposit near the creek bend. Soft ground, easy access. It's one of the few materials we can scale without metal tools."Josh leaned forward immediately, clearly waiting for his turn. "Already started on that. A small building's going up just past the wash line. Six volunteers so far. Mostly people who've worked with pottery or brick back on Earth, or close enough to fake it."Beth added, "They're digging by hand for now, but it's workable. Bricks, basic pots, storage jars.""That helps," Harold said. "Especially storage."He moved the marker again."Charcoal," he continued. "We're making some, but not enough."Josh nodded. "We've been doing it the simple way. Pits and covered burns. It works, but it eats labor.""And wood," Harold added."Yeah," Josh said. "But if we don't do it, the blacksmith and glassmaker stall completely."Hale spoke up from the wall. "Soldiers can rotate onto charcoal duty if needed. It's boring, but it doesn't need finesse."Harold made a note. "Do that if production dips."He slid the marker again."Bone and hide," Harold said. "We're pulling a lot of it from hunting. Too much to be wasting."Caldwell nodded. "Bone's being used where it can be. Needles, simple tools, handles.""The hide's the problem," Josh said. "We can scrape it, clean it, dry it. But turning it into actual leather is another thing."Margaret chimed in. "We don't have tannin sources organized yet. No proper pits. No lime."Harold nodded. "So right now, we can make rawhide. Stiff. Useful for lashings, shields, and some armor. But not proper leather.""Correct," Beth said. "It'll hold things together, but it won't be comfortable.""That's still something," Harold replied. "But leather's a priority."He paused, then looked up."How feasible is concrete?"The room went quiet for half a second.Josh scratched his chin. "Primitive concrete? Maybe. Lime's the big hurdle. We'd need to burn limestone or certain shells at high heat. Then mix it right. Without iron tools, it's slow.""But not impossible," Harold said."Not impossible," Josh agreed. "If we find the right stone and dedicate people to it."Beth added, "It'd change how we build. Foundations. Drainage. Permanent structures."Harold nodded slowly. "Good. I don't need it now. I need to know if it's a dead end.""It's not," Josh said. "Just expensive in labor.""Everything is, but we have plenty of labor right now. Honestly, the sun going down slows us more than anything." Harold replied.He looked around the table again, making sure everyone was tracking."Alright," he said. "Clay keeps moving. Charcoal gets priority support. Bone and hide get organized, even if it's crude for now. And we keep our eyes open for limestone."He rested his hands on the table."That's my understanding," he said. "If I missed something, now's the time."No one spoke. Which meant, at least for the moment, he was caught up.Harold exhaled slowly."Alright," he said. "Now let's talk about what we're willing to risk to change those answers."The thing that would change our circumstances the most immediately is access to metal. I know of a source of iron nearby, if we can secure it, and that's a big if, believe me.Harold rested his palms on the edge of the table and let the room settle.No one interrupted him."I happen to know of a source of iron nearby," Harold continued. "Close enough to matter."Josh straightened a little. Hale didn't move at all."But," Harold said, emphasizing the word, "that's a big if. Bigger than most of the things we've tackled so far."He reached out and shifted a marker on the terrain model, pushing it a few days' travel from the village."It's a dungeon," he said. "A simple one, but active. And it sits atop what we need. It might not be worth it with the distance, but it needs to be cleared."Margaret's slate paused mid-scratch."About a week out," Harold went on. "Far enough that we can't respond quickly if something goes wrong. Close enough that if we don't deal with it now, someone else eventually will. And we need the World's first dungeon clearance.""And it's iron," Beth said quietly."Yes, I think there are other things as well, but I can't remember clearly," Harold replied. "Enough to change how fast we can build and arm people."Hale finally spoke. "What kind of dungeon?"Harold didn't answer immediately."It's a goblin one, it's where the goblins from around here have been coming from," he said at last. "With preparation, I think we can do it."Josh frowned. "That's not a real answer.""It's the honest one," Harold said. "This isn't something we brute-force. It's something we secure, and it'll take the best adventurers we can field."That drew a look from the brothers.The taller of the two, Evan, straightened slightly. His brother, Mark, stayed leaning against the wall, arms crossed."If you're talking about adventurers," Evan said, "then we already have a team in mind."Harold nodded. "I figured you would.""They formed on their own," Mark said. "No assignment and no pressure from us. They were already friends when they came here. Sarah pulled them together after the first goblin contact."Josh couldn't help himself. "She doesn't wait around for meetings."Beth shot him a look. Josh grinned and leaned back, wisely shutting up."Five people," Evan continued. "Sarah leads, and quite well, actually. Two frontliners, one ranged, one utility. They move well together.""They don't rush," Mark added. "They mark ground, pull back, and come back prepared. They do push harder and further than most teams, though.Hale's eyes flicked toward the map. "Casualties.""A couple of times, but they have always respawned, and they have always killed what killed one of their number," Evan said. "They argue," Mark said. "But it's about approach, not ego. And once they commit, they commit."Harold considered that. "Equipment's light."Mark nodded. "Very. Bone and wood mostly. One decent blade they rotate depending on who needs it most.""That explains some of the reports I've had," Harold said.Harold looked back down at the terrain model, fingers resting near the marker that represented the dungeon.Josh chimed in without looking up. "Also, if anyone's going to tell you no to something stupid, it's Sarah."That earned a couple of faint smiles.Harold exhaled slowly. "Good. Ok, dispatch them today to this area, Hale, send two squads with them, and Mark one other team as a just-in-case. I want them to recon and secure the dungeon. Then slowly delve into it. Hale, no soldiers in the dungeon, that isn't their job. Just escort the adventurers to the area, then start fortifying the dungeon. There will be goblins escaping from it occasionally."He met the brothers' eyes."Start building the plan around them,"Mark added, "If anyone can get eyes on it and come back alive, it's that team."Silence settled briefly over the room.