The only thing it was missing was a notch on either end to hold it in place.
That would come later, though.
Continuing the process, it took me essentially another in-game day as I worked tirelessly through the night. Stopping only for short breaks to eat in real-life, I skipped out on sleep to try and rush the building phase.
I wanted to be done, and out of here.
But, I wasn't going to cut corners.
The second real day came since I had initially set out from Dragon's Breach and the log lodge had yet to take shape. The oak timber was finally ready to go as I finished the prep work. Now I was waiting on the NPCs and a few players to help lay the logs out.
Sadly, oak was frustratingly heavy.
I tried to move a few logs by myself and failed miserably.
With the rising sun breaking through the thick canopy of the trees, my warriors finally started to get up as a few of the [Liberated Souls] guild members logged on to give a helping hand. Not everyone could be on at this time of the day, so I appreciated the ones who decided to take the time.
I would need all of their help, if I was to finish this by the end of the day.
"Alright, I already placed markers there that you should be able to see," I said to the other players, as the in-laid schematic system had a toggle option to be visible to others, outside of the NPCs. "We'll be stacking logs on top of each other, starting here and then working our way around, one at a time."
Pointing out what log went where, I kept the drawknife handy along with my small one-handed axe in case adjustments needed to be made. Slowly, but surely, the process had begun.
A dozen men hoisting up a log and setting it down into position required some patience. We continued our work one log at a time. After two hours had passed, the first story was complete and the second floor was starting to take shape. The roof would be problematic without machinery, and there wasn't much we could do to work around that.
In the end, a scaffolding of sorts was constructed, more akin to a ramp or a stack of logs really, but one that allowed us a way to lift the logs above the second floor.
By the end of the day, we were nearly done.
Nearly wasn't completely, though.
And the third day real-day passed on by, as if it weren't a thing.
I was frustrated with the amount of time lost.
Then the fourth day concluded with the lodge roughly ninety-five percent complete. Our quest to finish cut short due to a fitment issue with the roof.
And on the fifth day, it was finally over.
"I think, we're done," I sighed while languishing off to the side.
"Oh I just got a prompt! It's asking if I should make it a Personal Home or-" started Ellieby before I cut her off.
"Answer no, it will stay as a Large Open Residence, then select Yes and designate your Campsite as a Village," I began to explain as I stared blankly at the building in front of me. "After that, give the village a name, then decide if you want it known throughout the world, as a place for players to spawn at."
"Uh… well, that takes all of the fun out of it," replied Ellieby, slightly upset.
Her entire guild had gathered for this event, and Ellieby was looking at the same menus as everyone else, except she had been given control over the decision making process from this point on. They were mostly leery of me at first, and some still didn't trust me fully, but most of them were excited and thankful.
"Sorry, you're right, I'm going to take a seat over here, let me know when you guys are done discussing everything," I stated somewhat plainly as I sat down on a patch of grass and closed my eyes.
I had hardly slept at all the past five days, intending to rush the project to save time.
That proved futile, as the other works were slow.
I missed having my fellow carpenters with me… they made my life easier.
Cheering erupted in the distance as I was jolted awake from the noise, having fallen asleep over on a patch of grass next to a tree. Slightly dazed and confused as my sleep deprivation had fully kicked in, I was soon the victim of a vicious hug attempt as Ellieby joyously jumped on top of me.
"Wh-what are you doing you crazy woman," I managed to squeak out as I fell helplessly to the woman's unstoppable onslaught of cheers and random squeezes.
"We've got a village now! Sigurd we did it! Come on get up!"
"Sleep, I want, need, sleep."
"NO! You're partying with us, NOW!" she yelled as she grabbed my arms and pulled me up. Dragging me with her as she followed her guild members, the majority of them having already moved inside the two-story lodge to celebrate.
The structure was nearly eighty feet across, in both width and length, with a few excess feet on the edges for future expansion. Roughly ten foot of head-room for each floor led to a roofline that sat around twenty-six to thirty feet high.
There were cut-outs all around for windows, whenever they decided to invest in glass. The inside though, was largely empty at the moment. The large open room in the center doubled as the entrance and the welcoming or gathering room. Smaller rooms adorned the sides that could be used for storage or personal rooms, whichever was desired.
The centerpiece though, was the staircase.
A grand staircase wide enough for four people to walk simultaneously, shoulder to shoulder, with an elegant side-railing that led all the way. Complete with a fully-functional second floor, it was partially open similar to a balcony, as it left half of the first floor with an extremely high ceiling that granted a certain ambiance to the entire room.
It was really a fine piece of craftsmanship.
Far finer than anything I had built in Dragon's Breach.
I suppose my experience and hard work, proved to increase my potential.
Ellieby continued to pull me around, as the entire guild ran about the place with a jubilance fitting one of those tv contestants that won a free designer home.
Maybe, I could have a TV show based on my work, too.
Hah, stupid.
After what seemed like an hour, the excitement had settled down as people started to come and go. Ellieby had left me alone to mingle with her friends, but eventually made her way back to me at the end.
"Sigurd, who are you?" she asked seemingly out of the blue.
"Eh, in short… a complicated guy, with a lot of diverse interests," I answered honestly, if not a bit vaguely. It was the truth after all, and I wasn't hiding anything.
"Come on, you ass, who are you really?"
"What do you mean?" I mumbled, while trying not to doze off.
"I mean, you're from the North, you've got a personal yacht, an army of loyal NPC soldiers and tradesmen, and though this is just speculation, you probably have an entire village or town back home. So yeah, who are you? Are you from a prestigious guild?"
Ah, the hard questions.
Well, they were bound to appear, at one point.
"I'm honestly, just a guy with a lot of free time right now," I started to explain, pausing only to think over what I wanted to explain. "No guild, solo affair, mostly a lot of hard work got me here. Would appreciate it if you guys kept quiet about it, though."
She looked at me with a startled expression, as if she couldn't believe what I was saying. Befuddled or bewildered; they were appropriate responses from her.
I figured, it was normal, at least.
"Join our guild then, if you're not in one," she asked seriously, grabbing my hand and staring me straight in the eyes.
It was, a little uncomfortable.
Shrugging my shoulders, I gave her a quick response, "ah, sorry, guilds aren't for me. Thank you for the offer, but I'll have to decline."
"And why not?" she questioned immediately, relentless in her pursuit as she batted her eyelashes and squeezed my hand. She was being, a bit too friendly now.
"If I told you, I had been in far too many guilds that I outgrew them, would you believe me?" I stated while matching her gaze and leaning in towards her.
If she wanted to pressure me with physicality, two could play that game.