“I propose to build a wall around the hill and place an entry gate at the path, then build towers into the wall, a tower on top of the hill, and—”
“How many towers do you think you can build in just a few days?” I asked.
“And are they all just archery towers?” Cindra asked. “I’m the only archer.”
“I’d like to request a stage,” Mamba said, “so I can dance under the moonlight.”
“I can build towers, or something stupid like a barracks,” Vix said. “We don’t have people to fill a barracks, so you’re getting towers.”
“Maybe start with two towers, at the base of the hill where the path to Nola’s temple starts.” I said.
“Fine,” Vix said. “Two towers. But then I want to build a wall.”
“Towers are harder,” I said, “which is why they only opened up at your newest level. They’ll probably give you better XP, which means I can train your skills higher when you’re done. Skip the wall for now.”
“You’re the boss,” she said.
Duul’s army is making better time than I had expected, Nola said.
“When do you think you can have two towers completed?” I asked.
“I’ve worked it all out,” she said. “It should take me twelve hours per tower. It also takes 200 stone and 100 wood, but we have more than enough resources right now.”
“How much do we have?” Mamba asked.
“A total of 460 stone and 390 wood,” Vix said.
“We need to keep collecting,” I said. “That way, Vix can build more defensive buildings once the two towers are done, if there’s time.”
“My snake friends don’t mind,” Mamba said.
“The roaches do,” Cindra said, “but leave them to me.”
“Actually,” I said, “see if you can convince something more substantial to help. It may take time to learn what makes other critters tick, but finding something with increased strength and carrying capacity will be worth the investment.”
“I’ll walk the forest and see who I can find,” Cindra said.
“As long as Mamba’s okay in the quarry alone?” I asked.
“Oh yes,” she said. “Dancing in the dark is freeing. I just wish that brockerball would dance with me so I wouldn’t have to dance alone.”
I looked at Cindra for a moment, concerned. “Don’t worry,” she said. “The brockerball is terrified of snakes.”
“Good,” I said. “Then I guess we all have our orders.”
Not all, Nola said.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I said. I walked into the temple to find Nola, still folded up inside her crystal cocoon.
More of the gods have perished in the last few days, she said, but only minor ones like me. I’m worried most for my mother Sajia, the goddess of premonition. She’s no minor deity, but she lacks the physical strength to resist an attack if Duul approaches her city. My family has always been more cerebral in that respect.
In normal times, I would reach across the psychic network of the gods and contact her, but I have closed myself off from it for the time being to prevent Duul from locating me. If you hear anything about Landondowns, please let me know. It’s on the other side of the human lands, next to the elf land border.
Of course, I said. I’ll keep an ear out.
I returned to the forest to chop wood for the remainder of the day. Occasionally a forest monster would wander toward me, but I slayed them handily thanks to Razortooth. I didn’t mind the XP, but I did mind taking time away from gathering lumber.
I walked alongside the donkey cart that evening, carrying the day’s final load of wood.
“There you are!” Vix said. “It’s finished!”
I looked up at the tower. From the outside, it was all stone. The structure didn’t encroach on the path to the temple, but it did add a sense of gravity to the site. Mamba and Cindra were on the tower’s roof, staring down at us.
“Come on!” Vix said. We entered a door at the base and wound up a spiral wooden staircase. Wooden beams supported the hardwood floor above.
The view from the roof was phenomenal. Treetops stretched as far as I could see in every direction, except north, which was interrupted by the peaks of ravaged buildings in my former home. Meadowdale looked dark and defeated.
“Is that Valleyvale?” Vix asked. Sure enough, to the east, we saw the city’s temple, standing taller than the tree line.
“Yes,” I said. “Too bad I can’t ever go back there again.”
“It’s just as well,” Cindra said. “That Blade gangster would probably just ask for more training, and that’s a conversation you don’t want to have.”
“Do you think what the Mayor said was true?” I asked. “That Scar had gone to the Inn to kill me and take the gold Blade used to pay us for training?”
“The Mayor seems as trustworthy as Blade,” Cindra said. “I wouldn’t put any stock in his words.”
“We should get some sleep,” Mamba said. “My hips are tired from all that dancing.”
“Does that dance have a name?” I asked. “The one you use to control the snakes?”
“I just call it the mamba,” she said.
“You can’t call it that,” Vix said. “There’s already a dance called the mambo.”
“How does that one go?” Mamba asked.
“Sort of like this,” Vix said. She took Cindra’s hand, and put her other hand on Cindra’s shoulder. Then she stepped forward, leading Cindra back a step before reversing course. Their hips pivoted with each movement, and then they did a slight spin.
“That looks like fun!” Mamba said, reaching her hand toward me. I led her in the same moves I saw Vix employ with Cindra, and the four of us danced on the tower’s roof in the moonlight until we tired out.
At night, we had taken to sleeping in the recovery beds, and tonight was no different. It turned out, the beds weren’t just stone slabs meant to help people recuperate after laying on the stone spikes in the meditation room. These beds had special properties, and our HP and AP recovered quickly when we lied on them. Even without sleeping, we visited the beds a few times per day to rebuild our strength between tasks.
In the morning, I’d round up another pile of logs while Vix started – and completed – our second tower.
+18
They’re closer than ever now, Nola said. It was late afternoon, and I had loaded another cart with wood.
How close?, I asked.
They could be here before nightfall.
Vix may not be done with the second tower by then, I said.
I’m scared, Arden.
I know, I said. I was scared too, but it didn’t seem like the right time to say so. I’ll check in with Vix.
I rode as quickly as I could back to our base. The newest tower was in good shape, but still hours away from finishing.
“Vix?” I called out from just outside the tower. “When do you think this tower is done?” No response. “Vix?” I entered the tower and climbed to the third story, where I found her laying down wood for the floor.
“Thank the gods,” she said. “I’m having a hard time here, Arden. Take off your pants.”
“Vix, we can’t,” I said.
“I’ll do all the work,” she said. She started to untie her top.
“Duul’s forces are picking up their pace. We don’t have time to spare.”
“Oh,” she said. “How tight is our timeframe?”
“We need this tower ready now,” I said. “I’ll get Cindra and Mamba.”
I felt bad leaving Vix in that state. Apparently heat was a deep, unrelenting urge to mate that even the randiest man wouldn’t understand. I didn’t understand. But I knew that it tortured her not to get the release her body craved. Still, we had to make some sacrifices if we hoped to hold off Duul’s forces.