Essence Wave Book 2 Chapter Ten

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

Hey y'all, sorry about the late post on Friday, and not having an author's note. I left a comment on it, but I wasn't super happy with the description of the history, so minor changes are occurring. Basically, the Chaos Beasts only show up once, and I'll add one or two more battle scenes to the descriptions afterwards. The first war will be described as between the elves, the lamia, and a race of harpies. The summoning of the Chaos Beasts will have a lamia and a harpy involved, and a symbol carved (TBD) that means Chaos that will make Aiden and Vaya uncomfortable to look at. 

Not as much writing as I wanted this week, super stressful time back at work as we just got a big add-on contract, but several of the people who were supposed to be the main players left and/or are leaving in a week or two, so I'm suddenly in charge of my sites execution. Yay. :-( Still got a decent backlog, so y'all will still be getting two chapters this week. 

Also, I'm thinking about commissioning some art beyond the cover images. What are the types of things y'all'd like to see?

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

Like that, four hours passed. They developed a rune that would heat water to one-half boiling temperature, and the other team changed the input slightly to mix more cold water into the system until it became comfortable at one hundred degrees Fahrenheit even. The building was split into two large pools where a constant flow of warm water let people scrub off and get clean in gendered groups. They had tried to put in a private bath, but couldn’t get a good flow rate to make it work.

Finally, they got a notification that the Bathhouse was done. “All right!” David said, “Thank you. Let’s plan on meeting again tomorrow at an hour after sunrise.”

“Will do, sir. I mean David,” Austin said.

Michelle rushed in, “Thank you, David. Now, come on, let’s build it!” She pulled him out of the room back to the Mayor’s Manor, where Christine, Josiah, and Duke were looking over the map.

“Right here, son,” Duke said, pointing to a spot near where the cliffs met the river, halfway between that point and the future spot of the docks. David just gave him a look, and Duke blushed while glancing down. “I mean, we all think this is the best location, Lord Black. It is close enough to the bottom of the switchbacks down but isolated enough that people will feel like they have some privacy.”

Josiah and Christine nodded, so David said, “Well, if you all are agreed, sure. I trust you.” He pulled up the build menu, found the Bathhouse, and set it to be built. “Well, let’s go build it!”

“Christine, go to the Stonecutter’s Hut and get them to deliver every block they’ve got,” Josiah said. “Duke, we need fifteen units of worked wood from the Woodcutter’s Hut. I will go by the Forge to get the,” he looked at the menu, “Seven units of Iron, if we have it. David, do you know the Inscription that it is referencing?”

“Yeah, Austin and I designed it,” David said.

“Good. I believe that you if you carve it into a stone block, it’ll reduce our Mana and Energy amount. Ten million is entirely too much to build directly,” Josiah said.

“Yeah,” David winced at the cost. “Let’s drop that as much as we can. I’ll go with Christine and grab a block of Worked Stone. Help me level up a couple of Skills.”

“Let’s get to it,” Josiah said. Christine followed David out as he jogged to the Stonecutter’s Hut. Inside he found a stack of meter cubed blocks of Worked Stone to the left, while a pile of larger mishepen lumps of stone sat to the right. In the center were three people chipping away at a block with chisels and hammers.

“We need twenty blocks,” Christine said. “Who is on delivery right now?”

“Steve,” a young woman yelled back. “He’s out back bringing in the unworked stone.”

“I’ll go get him,” Christine said. “And grab someone else too. We need twenty blocks.”

“Thanks,” David smiled at the young woman. She smiled and nodded before running around the in-work block and vanished out the other doorway. David shook his head, then walked up to the closest block. He put his hands on either side, braced his back, and lifted. It was heavy and awkward to move by himself, but doable. He then smiled with chagrin and engaged his Strengthen Skill. Immediately, the heaviness vanished, but it was still awkward. “Keep up the good work!” He used Invigorating Shout to give the workers a buff before carefully navigating the door that was barely larger than the block.

He Hiked down the road to the switchbacks, already regretting trying to heft the thing alone. Heh, at least this is giving my Skills a workout, he thought while panting down the bluff. It took him five minutes to make it to the construction site, and there he found four people holding planks of Worked Wood to the hologram of the building. While he moved towards them, the planks were divided, part floating in the correct location while the other fell to the ground, cut off from the other piece by an application of Energy.

David moved through the hologram to the spot where the Inscription would go before dropping the block. His Energy flowed into the structure, and the block sank into the ground. When it was at the right height, he stopped. “Hey, if you picture what the Energy is for, it looks like it uses it slightly more efficiently,” he yelled to the others who were working.

“Thanks!” Came a man’s voice, who then grunted as they did something. David shook his head and focused on the stone block. He quickly created a small chisel with his Mana, marveling at the ease of using his Mana-Weapon Creation after its upgrade. He laughed, then started to carve, letting his Mana-Inscription Skill guide his movements as he put together the heating Inscription to give the Bathhouse warm water.

After finishing it was close to correct, but there were minor mistakes that he’d made. He checked the build menu to see the effect.

Would you like to build a Bathhouse at this location?

Required Materials: 10/20 Worked Stone, 8/12 Worked Wood, 6/10 Worked Metal, 1/1 Inscription (requires correction)

Mana: 2,312,964

Energy: 2,934,213

“Well, that’s much better,” David said, then looked over to see Steve holding a block of stone over his head while running towards the construction site. “No way am I letting him beat me.” David laughed then Sprinted to the switchbacks, focusing on using as many Skills as he could. His Energy drained as he engaged Sprint, Strengthen, Running, and Vanguard’s Charge, his speed ridiculous as his footsteps carved divots in the stone of the path.

At the top of the switchbacks, he pushed Sprint for all it was worth and he appeared as a blur to the few people walking the paths in the center of the city. Just before the Stonecutter’s Hut, he tried to stop, only to lose his balance and roll across the ground. In a panic, he formed his sword and slammed it into the stone of the bluff, grinding to a stop only a meter before the cliff down to the river.

“Good catch,” Colin called, and David looked over to see him hefting a block of stone. “But you might want to work on your control.”

“Ha, ha,” David grumbled as he stumbled to his feet. “I still made it from the Bathhouse to here in under a minute.”

“Cool beans,” Colin laughed, “But you also almost fell into the river. I would have laughed quite loudly if you had.”

“And I would have thrown you into the water too,” David grinned at his best friend.

“Well, go get more stones. There’s still seven more blocks to go down,” Colin said.

“Yeah, yeah,” David said, getting to his feet. He laughed while looking at the four meter long divot in the ground where his Mana sword dug as it stopped his uncontrolled slide. “Yeah, I definitely need to work on that.” He hurried into the Hut and grabbed another block. As he moved aside, two other young people picked up one together, with the young woman on the rear calling out instructions.

“Come on, Allison,” the young man of the pair said, “Let’s beat Lord Black!”

“Only if we don’t risk him or us falling,” the young woman said. “Left, right, left!” They marched out, moving in unison.

“Sorry kids,” David said, engaging Strengthen and letting his new Minor Muscle Efficiency work on overtime, “you won’t beat me down.” He started to jog, engaging the Running Skill, and quickly moved through the streets. “Watch out! Big stone coming through!” He yelled as he ran.

Allison and her partner ran behind him, trying to catch up while she directed their steps to make sure they were in sinc. David laughed and increased his speed, rushing down the switchbacks but slowing before every turn so he didn’t end up crashing to the ground below. The duo kept on his heels, making sure he didn’t slow down beyond what was required for control, and when he dropped the block at the contraction site, they were only steps behind him.

“Four more!” David yelled, Sprinting up the slope. He only grabbed one more before they had enough. When he dropped off the last one, he knelt down and poured all but one hundred of his Mana and Energy into the structure, and it started to take shape before his eyes. He dropped into his core, meditating to restore his resources as quickly as possible while he examined his usage of Strengthen.

“I’ve definitely got to get into this rhythm,” he told himself. “Work on a Skill, then use Focus to further consolidate my gains.” After filling up, he dumped the regenerated resources into the building and dove back into his core. This cycle was repeated four times, before the building flashed with light and finished forming before his eyes. With a grin, he checked his gains. Wow, Minor Muscle Efficiency went up to Initiate three. Earth’s Unrelenting Motion, Lead from the Front, Running, and Sprint all went up one, while Strengthen went up three. I’ll take it for an hour or two’s worth of work. Time for lunch though, I’m starving.

David looked at the new Bathhouse, then shook his head. “All right, let’s get lunch then I’m going to enjoy this,” he said. He ran back up the switchbacks, followed by a dozen people as the sun reached its zenith overhead. The aurora borealis like lights of the Essence Wave were visible, giving the sky a greenish cast even without the presence of any clouds.

Venison stew was the lunch-de-jure, with a couple of the hunting teams coming back with a deer carcass that weighed five hundred kilos each. “The deer are spreading faster than we can kill them,” one of the hunters explained. “I’ve also heard wolves howling that scared the crap out of me. Thankfully, they aren’t bothering our teams, but I’m sure they could if they wanted to.”

“I saw a moose that was six meters tall,” another young woman said. “And it didn’t even acknowledge that I shot it beyond puffing its breath at me. I swear, it was more amused at my attempt to hunt it than anything else.”

“The world is being changed by Essence,” David said. “And we have to adapt with it. Has anyone found any cows still in their pastures?”

“Uh, yes sir,” a young man said. “Uh, I’m Billy Barton, sir. There is a pasture about three miles south of us that had a couple dozen cows left. I left it alone, trying to find any Daemons that were around.”

“Thank you, Billy,” David said. “Can you come with me and point that spot out on a map? I’d like to get a pasture built and the cows moved before a pack of Daemons kill them and we lose the herd.”

“Uh, sure, sir,” he said, and David smiled at him to reassure the teenager that he wasn’t in trouble. Billy followed him to the Mayor’s Manor, where David found Josiah, Alexander, and Liz talking quietly over the city map.

“Billy here said he found a herd of cows,” David said, “and he’s going to point out where. Can we build a pasture, or should we just collect them and then try to research one?”

“I do not believe we have a pasture or barn as a build option,” Josiah said. “Not that it would be that hard to build anyway. Here.” He gestured to the map and a representation of the surrounding area appeared, rather than just the area in the town borders. “Show us where, and we’ll send a group to bring them back here.”

“Uh, right about here, sir,” Billy said, pointing to a spot about halfway to the Chaffee County shooting range where Clancy had found a bunch of survivors, but a kilometer west of the road which Clancy had been following. “I was following a deer and it turned to avoid the barbed wire fence of the ranch there. The cows were mooing merrily around a large patch of fresh grass.”

“Putting together a pasture for them shouldn’t be too difficult,” Alexander said. “As long as they stay docile anyway. How big were they?”

“Uh, big, sir,” Billy said timidly. “Taller than I am. Lots of hamburgers there.”

Everyone laughed, and Billy relaxed a bit. “Alright, Billy, Alexander, can you put together a team and bring those cows back?” David asked.

“Sure,” Alexander said, and Billy nodded. They both excused themselves from the room to go accomplish their mission.

“Any other updates?” David asked Josiah and Liz.

“Well, the Bathhouse has already become a huge morale booster,” Liz said. “I haven’t even seen it and I’m happier. Maybe you’ll use it soon.” She gave Josiah a stink eye.

“Soon enough, sure,” Josiah shook his head. “We’ll have to institute limits to how long you can soak, at least for the first couple of days.”

“If our population keeps going up, we’ll need another one, or to expand this one,” David said. “But that’ll be a good thing.”

“I’m hoping we have showers in the Loghouses soon,” Michelle said, stepping inside the room. Her blonde hair was still wet. “Though getting a bath was divine. Eustace is my new favorite person. He organized a group to scrounge up some toiletries from some of the houses in Nathrop.”

“That is good,” David said.

“Yes, especially because the buildings there are starting to fall apart,” Josiah said. “I asked him to loot everything we might need, so expect to see large piles of various clothing and furniture in the Manor soon. It’s the biggest covered open space we have available.”

“Can we build a warehouse?” David asked, then checked the menu. “Nope, but what about…” he mumbled to himself. He looked at the map and set up a Loghouse, and then put another right next to it, literally touching walls. At first, the System gave an error, but when he tried again, a new menu popped up. “It’s a building designer!” He laughed. The merging of two Loghouses worked, but when he tried to delete the wall between the two halves, it failed.

“You can’t delete the whole thing,” Josiah said. “Make part of the wall into pillars holding up the roof, and then remove everything else.”

“More windows,” Liz said, “Right in the middle too. It’ll be really dark in there until we get some magical lights.”

“Those are only ten credits each,” Michelle said. “Though being able to build our own would be nice.”

They discussed a bit more, going back and forth on what to do with the building, before coming to a final design. “Ooh,” David said, looking at the price tag. “Looks like making our own designs are expensive. It’s nearly five times the cost of a Loghouse, rather than double.”

“We can afford it,” Josiah said. “And now we have a location to store everything we can pull from every nearby house. The Essence Wave seems to be deteriorating the materials they were built with.”

“Is that why everyone is sleeping here instead of in some of the homes only a kilometer away?” Liz asked.

“No,” Josiah said. “Most everyone is here because no Daemons will randomly appear in the city limits. Our looting and hunting teams have reported finding individual Grunts, Gremlins, and Imps in buildings they’d looked in the day prior. The city protects against that.”

“I wonder why that happens.” David said. “I thought they had to come through the portals.”

“I think it’s just microportals, tiny locations where the Essence is just right to open one but the conditions change too fast for more than a Daemon or two to get through,” Michelle said. “But now that we have that design tool, how about you go get Christine, Duke, and Dan in here and we’ll put together a couple more useful buildings.”

“Sure thing,” David said. “Then I’m going to go do some training in the Arena.”

“Have fun,” Liz said, following him out. “Back to the Herbalist’s Hut for me. Jessica found a plant that was giving off what I can only describe as Life Mana out in the woods. She showed it to me, and I managed to transplant it to the garden. Now Summer and I are going to try and get it to spread.”

“Neat,” David said with a grin. “Hopefully it’ll lead to health potions or healing creams.”

They split at the door, and David ran around to the various building sites to find the city planners before he jogged to the rear of the city, where he found the Arena.