Chapter 38

When Flint entered the fort and found close to a hundred eyes watching him, he was glad for his growing beard. Despite the many hours of working in the son, people claimed his skin was smooth like a child’s. It didn’t matter that he had a square, well-defined jaw. Most people who didn’t know Flint assumed he was much younger than his actual age and treated him. Now that he had a full-faced beard, his reflection showed a much older person.

The humans and the fae looked at Flint expectantly. He didn’t have a grand speech for them. All he had was the truth, and he let it flow freely. Both the fae and the humans listened quietly as he detailed the life quest—leaving out the bit about the Champion, of course. However, he told them about the fort’s value and history.

“I’m sure some of you know that there are stories of past champions’ artifacts littering the disk,” Flint said. “I’ve heard that they’re tools of incredible power, capable of changing the tide of battle and bending primordial forces to the wielders will. The fae sent scouts—”

“The Wyld.” The Winona interrupted him. “Every non-human present in this room is fae. The allied forces fighting the Iron Army are the Wyld. After our alliances shifted to your camp, we lost that name.”

“Very well.” Flint sighed. “The Wyld sent scouts to this fort looking for said artifacts, but they found nothing. Winona, a Daughter of the Sun and Moon, was their leader. I’m sure you’ve seen her  swear an oath to this land to serve the fae’s interests.” A whisper spread through the crowd. Flint noticed that they were mainly concentrated among the pucks and brownies. “You know what. I’m sick of these distinctions. I appreciate that we have an almost equal division of human and fae here, but we’re one community.”

“What do you propose then?” It was the highly vocal pregnant woman. She still looked at the pucks and brownies with disgust in her eyes.

“It will take time, but I want to work towards living with no distinctions. Most humans don’t like me. Bloody hell, the villagers down there don’t particularly like me either. I’m a Greenson, after all.” Some of the fae appeared confused. “Some of you call my kind Wyldbloods.”

“The villagers don’t care you’re a Wyldblood.” Twylip interrupted. “Lea was a Wyldblood, and half her party were fae. Some in the village might choose to forget, but we’re all like you, Flint. The residents of Leas Slumber do not like outsiders and meddlers. You and everyone here count as such.”

“They don’t hate the fae?” Seven the brownie asked, across the room at the humans.

“Most of them don’t,” Twylip answered. “They just hate you for not being their neighbour.”

A couple of chuckles sounded in the crowd. Seven looked around for the sources, scowling, but Alias pulled her back onto her bottom. “I propose we don’t distinguish ourselves as fae, human or Wyldblood. We’re one group now. Henceforth, I’d like to think of us all as Woodsons.” Angry whispers sounded from all around him, and Flint heard several hisses too. “I’m a Woodson, and neither side have ever accepted me. We’re all in the same boat now. If you return to the Iron Army or the Wyld, will they let you stay out of the war?” No one answered. “That means we’re all Woodsons now.”

As Flint’s eyes scanned the crowd, his sights eventually rested on the younger children. They were the one unsegregated group in the hall. Humans and fae sat side by side. None of them had parents to tell them not to associate with one another. “You’re Woodsons now,” Flint said, and they beamed up at him. “We’re one group. Anyone that joins us and swears an oath to this land is a Woodson too.”

The children echoed the word ‘Woodson’. Flint would’ve loved it if the teenagers and adults joined in, but they glared at him and the children.

“I’m putting together a council. To ensure that everyone is equally represented, Winona and Twylip will sit on it with me. To even things out, I’d like one more representative from the fae.” Flint looked at the segregated group of pucks and brownies. “Keen. I’d like you to have a word with your friends and get back to me.”

Keen appeared surprised. He glanced at Alias and then nodded. “I nominate Seven,” he replied. “She’ll speak for us on the council.”

Winona appeared as surprised as Flint felt. He expected Alias to be the one that joined the council. After all, he used to be a scholar. He nodded at the brownie and waved at her to join them. It took some urging from her friends, but the light-green tinted woman weaved through the crowd and stood next to Winona.

“We’d like a representative too,” the pregnant woman spoke up once more. “This Twylip woman is from the village. She’s not been through our hardships. She won’t understand our struggles.”

Twylip clenched her jaw. Before she could reply with a sharp retort, Flint stepped in. “Very well. Speak amongst yourselves, make nominations and then you can decide as a community who’s fit to represent you.”

Flint’s statement shut the woman up. He guessed that she expected resistance and wanted power for herself. His reasonable reaction likely threw a wrench in whatever she was planning.

“Every decision we make here will be based on merit,” Flint said. “The Woodson fort’s guard consists of both fae and humans. I’ll observe their performance over the next few weeks and choose their leader based on their ability to do the job well. The same will go for everyone. I’ve poured over the list of skills everyone has and the available skill stones. For the rest of the day, I’m going to meet everyone individually, and we’ll discuss your role in our community. I’ve picked a few people for certain roles, but things are still flexible for everyone else. Agatha will send you in alphabetical order so we can talk at length.”

Flint’s throat was parched when he finished. The conversation felt like it had drained him too. He didn’t look forward to the conversations he had planned. While he was looking for a space to set up, Percy ducked into the fort. The older man’s eyes widened when he saw the fae milling around, and he ran downhill, back into the village. Flint ignored him, scratched Maya’s ear and found a secluded spot.

When Adam appeared in his door, leading the first person in. Flint took the smith aside and pressed the new skill stone into his hand. Adam’s eyes widened as he stared at it. The colour gave away its status as a second-tier stone. He nodded at Flint and left the fort, heading towards Lea’s Slumber. Only Agatha and Ed remained to assist Flint, and it was good enough for him.

People with skill stones vital to the settlement came first. Only one person with an agriculture-related skill stone had survived the slavers and journey to the settlement. Most fae was working in their field, and Flint worried they’d put up a fight. The older woman accepted her position silently and rejected the offer of new skill stones.

“I have one, and at my age, there is no point in picking up a new one,” she said. “Focus on rearing the younger folk. They’ll be around much longer than me.”

Much to Flint’s disappointment, she was a rare exception. Most of the people in her age group made demands, and even though Flint didn’t cave, he played along. He made a list of people that would get common skill stones after everyone else got whatever they needed. Flint didn’t feel right treating people differently for their age, but the attitude of ‘I’m older and know better’ infuriated him.

In a few instances, he needed to compromise. The man with [Clothier] and [Sewing] would be essential for training new folk. Flint had no choice but to give him a [Cutting] skill stone, even though his [Control] and [Mind Node] were occupied. The multi-purpose skills tone benefited the most from the two nodes. The man’s demeanour changed, and he agreed to train apprentices as well as only take a small fraction of profits from his creations’ sales.

Flint worked his way through the list, dealing with adults and older folk with essential skills first. Then he dealt with teenagers that met the same criteria. Then came people with skill stones related to non-essential skills. Most of them were young men, women, and a couple of young mothers. They were still in their teens and not long lost it. Flint guessed they either hadn’t yet found the opportunity to find compatible stones to nurture their careers or didn’t have the will to work.

After several long conversations, the latter didn’t prove as true as he feared. The vocal pregnant woman, Pira, Flint was growing to dislike turned out to be a terrified girl barely out of her teens. She was terrified for her and her child’s future in the Woodson grounds. However, the fact that she recognised it as the Woodson territory and expressed her intention of wanting to fit in but knowing how gave Flint hope. She’d never dealt with the fae, and they terrified her.

“I may have a position for you that might suit your current skill stone and help you get to know some of the fae,” Flint said. Pira’s back stiffened as she patiently waited for him to continue. “You have [Cooking] at a reasonably high level. I’d like to give you the [First Aid] skill stone and put you in the group that’ll be caring for the children—human and fae. We have a trio willing to take care of their education and people willing to trade them trade skills. However, not a lot of people are willing to watch over the little ones and let them just be children.”

“I don’t know anything about [First Aid] or medicine, though, Mr Flint.”

“Twylip can teach you.” Flint smiled. “It will help you balance life here with having a new child. All you have to do is help cook healthy meals for the children, take care of their health, and ensure they have decent childhoods from here on. Can you do that?” Pari nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. “Ed will sort you out with your skill stone. Twylip will show you the ropes. You’ll need to talk to Alias, Seven, and Lefa on how to handle the children best.”

The younger teens were, the easier to deal with. Most of them had not long entered puberty. They either had no skill stones, or much like Ed, their skills weren’t nurtured enough to matter. Flint talked to them about their future aspirations, looked over the settlement’s requirements, and assigned jobs accordingly.

In the end, he had a fair number of skill stones over but thought it best to [Shape] a closed room and store them away. It felt wrong lying, but he didn’t want to give in to the entitled few. After setting aside the minimum he could get away with giving them, he set aside the bulk for the children. Once they came of age, the little ones would need skill stones to get started. Flint thought it best to give them a good start in life.