Chapter 42

Objective III Complete!
The Heartstone grants you two ability upgrade stones.
Use them however you feel fit.

You have awakened the Sleeping Fort! Saving the Saviour has progressed to the next stage.

[Objective I]
Repair the Woodson Fort’s water supply, enabling irrigation and close proximity to a fresh source for every resident.
Reward: Two third-tier skill stones with intermediate knowledge of their use.

[Objective II]
Repair the Woodson Fort’s sanitation network, ensuring none of the residents fall to disease or sickness.
Reward: Two third-tier skill stones with intermediate knowledge of their use.

[Objective III]
Invest in the Woodson Fort’s craftsmen to create three types of product worthy of trade with your neighbours.
Reward: One skill stone upgrade.

Completion Reward: The Heartstone’s insight into the next Champion’s identity.

The skill stones and upgrade were all well and good, but the completion reward, it was the completion reward that excited Flint the most. He had analysed the wording several times and he theorised that the Heartstone didn’t know the identity either. Scholars had poured over how the ancient pillars functioned for centuries—or so he’d heard but apparently, no one had cracked the stone’s magic yet. Some claimed its existence transcended time, and it could see the many possible futures. Others believed it was a clueless living entity as ignorant of the future as the intelligent races.

Either way, any clue would help Flint get to his goal sooner. As soon as he identified the Champion, the child or teenager could be trained with appropriate skill stones and handed the sword. He wanted them prepared for the awakening. Anyone that hadn’t sensed the pulse from Lea’s artifact, would know about the existence of the Champion, and then life would get more complicated.

When Flint looked over the youngsters running around and working, he questioned the Heartstone further. If the Champion appeared from the rescued slaves and not the village, it could have alarming implications.

One possibility suggested that the stone pillars were orchestrating the events pushing Flint and the traitorous Colonel Smith to Leah’s Slumber where the sword lay. Initially, he thought the Heartstone had given him the life quest when he did so that he didn’t sign on for another term and had other options. Now, he wondered whether it wanted to plant an idea in Colonel Smith’s head too. Then the Heartstone sent Verdant Lions to herd him and the slavers towards Lea’s Slumber.

The other possibility felt more likely to Flint. There were no fates or destinies, and the Champion of Equilibrium wasn’t born for the title. Instead, the disk housed multiple candidates for the future role. It was up to Flint to create an environment suitable for such a person to rise from among them. Perhaps it was a matter of fulfilling criteria, and the reward involved specifications of said requirements.

All the assigned tasks appeared achievable in a reasonable time frame. However, Flint couldn’t start on all of them straight away. Instead, he needed to focus on helping the Woodson lands’ new citizens settle in.

Before the fort filled with people, Flint and Adam could hammer out most of the smaller jobs in a matter of days. However, that was no longer an option. They needed to attend to the children and their many questions, help people with the countless problems that appeared out of nowhere, and train the new defenders for war.

The following days became a blur and passed without major incident. Flint kept the upgrade stones in his pocket while trying to make up his mind regarding how to use it. Unless push came to shove, Flint hoped to rank [Alteration] first and decide after getting the next ability,,

No amount of reprimand discouraged the children from climbing onto the [City Planning Table] and play with the sand. So, Flint started off by cordoning off a large section of the second floor for his workspace and future living quarters. Then tasked Ed and the new builders with repairing the staircase to the third floor, fixing the walls, and dividing the space into rooms and dormitories.

The ground floor felt more suitable for storage and workshops, so Flint declared nobody body would use it as their permanent living quarters. It would house Adam and Twylip’s individual workspaces. He planned for the two to sit on opposite ends of the ground floor and then placed the kitchens next to the apothecary. Besides cooking daily meals, he hoped the space would be used for processing raw ingredients, pickling, smoking, fermenting, and storage.

The final bit of space between the kitchens and the central hallway that connected Lea’s Slumber to the slope would serve as their dining space. Flint hoped one of the new builders would unlock [Shape] soon. He planned on tasking them with making tables and benches out of the stone.

An ample empty space remained between Adam’s workspace and the central hall. Flint intended to turn it into a workspace for the carpenter and fletcher. However, until they got a steady source of lumber, there was no point in wasting time and energy on it.

The second floor would function as a dormitory for the children and teenagers, with boys and girls living on opposite sides of the floor. Flint prepared offices and living quarters for all the fae teachers, childminders, and Winona around the Heartstone and his future quarters. The rest of the floor turned into classrooms, training, and games areas. He strategically placed washrooms too, but they wouldn’t be functional until he solved the running water and sanitation problems.

Finally, the third floor became living quarters for everyone else. Erecting walls took almost no effort, and he prepared more rooms than necessary. None of them was furnished, however, and not everyone appeared willing to move into them.

After planning out the layout and making minor fixes, Flint started on the ground floor. Adam’s workshop took priority. First, he built stairs down to the caverns containing the nodes. Adam and the young men willing to place [Mining] in their [Power Node] started on extracting ore, while Flint set up the workshop. He and Adam had worked out a layout for all the necessary structures, and it didn’t take much time at all.

Installing the old forge equipment took the longest, and throwing them away proved to be a delicate matter. Adam had sentimental attachments to many of the pieces involved. Once complete, the tinkering smith swore a blood oath too. Flint had forgotten about it, and due to insecurities regarding his voice, Adam hadn’t pushed the matter. Now that the cat was out of the bag, it was no longer a big deal.

Before starting on Twylip’s workspace, Flint sorted out the kitchens first. Thanks to [Herbalism], a couple of workers with [Farming] and dryad magic, the plants were growing at an almost alarming rate. The settlement already had enough fruit and vegetables to feed everyone in the fort, and soon they’d need to start preserving the seasonal vegetables before the weather changed. It proved a brilliant training exercise for the new builders and Ed.

The two [Earth Moulding] users made kitchenware out of stone. The rest assembled wood-burning ovens, countertops and fire pits using blocks Flint shaped. A couple of the fae joined in, too, using their water magic to wash and polish the stone into smooth surfaces.

Almost a week passed, and Flint was nearly done with Twylip’s workshop when he got dire enough news to interrupt his work. They were building a cart-sized stone table for Twylip to experiment with alchemical materials when Jerome appeared red-faced and struggling to catch his breath. After the event with Mr Mayor, he and half-a-dozen citizens of Lea’s Slumber had moved to the fort.

While Miss Lya hadn’t divulged Percy and Mr Mayor’s actions, Jerome had. Apparently, people weren’t just disgusted with him, but tales of Adam’s new skill stones had stirred slumbering ambitions. Flint had given them jobs after having them swear the standard oath. However, they didn’t grant them skill stones straight away like the recently freed slaves. Flint believed they’d have to earn them. Young Jerome had joined the watch and was doing a surprisingly good job of fitting in.

“Horsemen, Mr Flint!” Jerome exclaimed, breathing heavily. “Iron.” He broke into a coughing fit and had to use the neighbouring wall for support.

Flint foresaw where he was going with the message and pulled on his coat straight away. He still hadn’t sorted out a new crossbow, but the hand cannon hung from a holster at his belt. Adam and Twylip had worked together to put together pouches full of powder and pellets. They sat in his coat’s inside pocket. “Breathe, Jerome. What’s happened?”

“Your dogs returned from their hunt barking their heads off.” Jerome continued after taking a moment to regain his composure. Flint already had his boots on and was heading towards the building’s exit. Jerome had to jog after him to keep up. “One of the pucks ran down to get a closer look. He didn’t get a count, but the horsemen carry the Iron Army’s flag.”

“Let’s just hope it’s not one of Colonel Smith’s men,” Ed commented, chasing after him.

“You and me both, Ed.”