Chapter 27 (Patreon)

Excited to get his hands on another crafting skill stone, Flint jumped headfirst into creating deterrents to slow down attackers. It took an afternoon and another day of work to finish the bridge. It felt like a stable enough structure, but Flint’s experience suggested that it heavily relied on the supports at halfway. Adam proved his worth once again as he tried to figure out an efficient method of collapsing a structure.

Instead of making the supports solid beams, Flint made changes to have a large loose block. Only the overhead bridge’s weight kept it in place. Then the pair created a weighted pendulum with a heavier stone attached to the heavy end. They didn’t need to worry about wear and tear. The joint needed to stay well-lubricated but only required to function once. After completion, they fastened the pendulum to the bridge’s top end. Once released, it would swing dong, knock the block out of place and destroy any other supports.

According to Flint’s estimates, if anything as heavy as a troll got on top, the structure would collapse. [Architecture] suggested so, at least. He didn’t have professional training to accompany the ability, but it gave him good and bad vibes regarding structures often, and he thought it safe to trust his instincts.

On the third day since the hill giant’s visit, Flint opened the gates again when no other threats appeared on the horizon. They were running low on fresh meat, so he let the dogs out. He trusted Maya to have the intelligence to retreat if a significant threat appeared. Bjorn had accepted his position as Maya’s gamma in the pack and followed her instructions. Flint believed the big loveable bear was a bit of a coward too. He wouldn’t go on the offensive unless Maya was in trouble.

Flint had a new idea for a deterrent and posted himself atop the walls to build too. He felt safer keeping an eye on the horizon. Twylip claimed other people of her generation were now warming up to the idea of working with Flint on securing the fort. It wasn’t just that she had a new skill stone, but she had something to do and a purpose, unlike most of them. Twylip believed too many people in Lea’s Slumber felt directionless. Sooner or later, more people would join in, and Flint hoped to find guards among them.

The new deterrent made use of the stones Flint couldn’t use for building. They either had too many other materials mixed in, making them unstable or were too heavy. He was considering using them for a foundation for a tower but found another purpose for them. However, they needed lumber for the project, and Flint had no way of procuring it. If he still had a cart and pack animal, he would’ve ridden along the gator tooth mountains to the tree-laden foothills, but that wasn’t an option.

Twylip came to the rescue. Lea’s Slumber didn’t have an alchemist. While an apothecary combined herbs, roots, flowers and other plant matter to make various medicinal substances, an alchemist extracted their essence. When blended and transmuted together, these essences created a variety of concoctions capable of magical effects. Flint had only seen bombs, acids, and other destructive creations in action. He knew they made oils and mixtures to treat wood, leather and other substances against the elements, too, but that was it. Twylip showed him otherwise.

A weed called frost bloom plagued the farmers of Lea’s Slumber. They’d randomly pop up around their fields and freeze their crops, killing large patches of them if unchecked. Twylip picked it as the subject of her first creation. She extracted the plant’s essence and worked it into a concoction that, when exposed to light, rapidly decreased the air’s temperature around it. Twylip created large batches of it and went around door to door, demonstrating her creation’s power. Instead of coin, she accepted goods or services in trade. In doing so, she procured large amounts of rope, lumber, iron, and a variety of other materials essential for the fort’s growth.

Flint had to build a new shelter to store most of it, but it gave him enough materials to get started. Flint used the lumber to create a wooden platform along the inside of the main wall. He made it strong and capable of supporting all the stray stone. The robust framework didn’t budge as he and Adam piled it high. Then Flint used [Bind] to fuse it all into one giant block. Using Adam’s growing mechanical knowledge, he rigged the platform to break if the gate ever collapsed. [Architecture] suggested the when the slab fell, it would break collapse into the wall.

Flint hoped it would crush anyone trying to break through and simultaneously function as an additional barricade. Ordinary infantry would require several hours of work to get through it. Winona claimed it would deter most mages and trolls for an hour at most. So, he made plans to talk to Twylip about ways of improving it. Flint pictured adding vials of the freezing reagent to the wall so when it broke and met the light, it would chill the trolls and slow them long enough for him to shoot them.

After finishing the project, Flint took a moment to sit atop the walls and enjoy a fresh fruit snack with Winona and Adam. They were busy discussing new traps ideas—it surprised him to hear the moon mage sharing trap ideas used by her order’s old temples—when the dogs returned. Maya ran up the slope, barking excitedly while Bjorn followed, dragging the biggest moose yet. At first, Flint thought they were excited about their catch when he spotted horsemen heading down the path through the Verdant Plains. Flint guessed they were the shapes he had spotted after the hill giant’s visit.

There were three of them, and they wore the Iron Army’s colours. Winona stiffened next to him as the sound of hooves, and metal clanging reached their ears. There were three of them. Two wore armour while the third appeared to be dressed in the army’s travelling cloak. Despite [Keen Eye], he failed to discern their identities from their current location. Flint didn’t know what they wanted and didn’t want to take any risks.

“Adam, can you let the dogs in and then get Winona out of here?” Flint asked. “It’s for the best if neither of you is near the walls when they get here.”

Adam nodded and rushed down the stairs. Winona appeared hesitant. Flint didn’t think she couldn’t get any paler, but the moon mage had somehow turned pallid. He understood her concern. If the Fae saw her ears and eyes, they’d recognise her as a soldier of the Wyld and want her put down or handed over. Standing in the way would mark Flint as an enemy, and things would turn ugly. He’d prefer to avoid the situation altogether, so it was for the best if she kept away from the wall.

Then they got closer, and Flint’s heart rate picked up. He recognised the two armoured men in the lead: Captain Ironheart and the officer who handed him [Canine Friend]. A hundred questions ran through his mind at once. Flint racked his brain but could fathom their reason for coming to all the way to the Sleeping Fort. He wondered whether the Iron Army had changed their mind regarding the settlement due to his life quest. Then the idea of someone reporting the pulse from Lea’s sword filled him with dread.

Flint felt worse about interacting with the sword with every passing day. Mr Mayor and Percy were looking for it too, but he wasn’t sure whether the weapon would react to them in the same way. In fact, they probably won’t be looking for it if not for his arrival. He tried to justify to himself that Winona’s party would’ve investigated the fort anyway. If they sensed anything, the village would’ve faced hard times.

At the same time, he knew the likelihood of such a scenario was low. Percy wouldn’t have dug into the basement if not for him, and the sword would remain dormant. The scouting party would’ve caused a small disturbance and then left. The life quest and then his curiosity had created the scenario.

It was the Heartstone. It wants the Champion of Equilibrium protested. Perhaps it wants me to find and equip them too!

No matter how much he tried to reassure himself that, it wasn’t his fault. Flint couldn’t shake the guilt. He settled for bottling his emotions and waving at the approaching party. They waved back, closing in on the slope leading to up to the wall.

When Maya and Bjorn joined him on the wall, he tried to shoo them away. After all, the fewer questions the army asked, the better. He preferred omission to straight-up lying. However, both dogs were curious and probably sensed his concern. Maya decided to stay by his side no matter what happened, and Bjorn copied her like always.

“Flint Woodson!” The leading officer called, stopping in front of the gates. “It’s great to see you!” Flint smiled and nodded at the man as Captain Ironheart stared daggers at him. “The defences look much better than what the old contingency reported. I see you’ve been putting in a fair amount of work.”

“I do what the life quest tells me,” he said. “How can I help you, gentlemen? I thought the Iron Army were focusing their efforts around the defensive lines and the more central settlements.”

“Were we introduced, Flint?” The man asked. He climbed off his horse. groaning and cracked his back. “I’m Colonel William Smith. We’re glad to see you’re making progress. I knew a man of your calibre would have little trouble with such a quest.”

“Thank you, Colonel.” Flint put on his best smile. He could tell the man was sucking up to him before asking for a favour. “Nice to see you as well, Captain Ironheart. It must’ve been a long war for you to get here.”

“Not everyone at my rank agrees, but this quest of yours is important to humanity’s survival. We suspect the fae is targeting significant sites from the last war. Our scholars are scouring the records, but we don’t know why yet.”

The man paused as if waiting for Flint to question him, but he held his tongue. Things were never so cut and dry when the Iron Council was involved. There had to be a catch or something else at play, and he wanted the man to speak up. Colonel Smith eyed the dogs when Bjorn made his usual yapping sounds and retreated closer to his horse.

“We were hoping you’d let us set up camp within the fort,” Colonel Smith continued. “Given the current climate, it’s safer if the men stay within the walls. We’ve brought builders to help you on your quest.” He glanced to the third figure. The man lowered his hood, exposing his face. “I believe you know Edward Greyrock. He was keen to meet you.”

Seeing the teenager’s face waivered Flint’s resolve. He wanted to stay out of the war. However, the thought of turning Ed away made his chest ache.

“How are you doing, Ed?” Flint asked.

“I’m fine. Thank you, sir.” Ed’s voice sounded shaky as he spoke. He had bags under his eyes, and his collar bones stuck out from under his collar. Flint spotted new tattoos too. It wasn’t uncommon for soldiers to decorate their body with ink. However, such services were expensive, and it surprised him the boy could afford it as an apprentice. Flint guessed Ed received a promotion following his departure.

“So, what do you say, Flint? Our caravan will be here by nightfall, and we’ve got refugees from villages along the way. Can you open the gates and let us in?”

“I need some time to talk to the village elders. The life quest might have placed me here, but I can’t claim ownership of the fort. At the end of the day, it’s up to them whether you get to enter the fort or not—”

“But we’re the Iron Army!” Captain Ironheart exclaimed, jumping off his horse. “We exist to protect them, so they must—”

Colonel Smith placed a hand on Captain Ironheart’s shoulders, and he fell silent. “I understand that things might be difficult after our troops were forced to abandon them. Talk to them and get back to us, Flint.” He climbed onto his horse and smiled. “We believe in you, Flint. The Greenfinger thought you were an insolent liability, but Lord Ironheart and I know better. I know you’ll convince the villagers and do what is best for humankind.”

Captain Ironheart glared at Flint a while longer before following Colonel Smith downhill. Ed looked back at him a couple of times while heading down the slope but looked away soon after. Flint’s heart ached for the child. He imagined life was hell while under Captain Ironheart. They had probably shoved way too much responsibility on the while without allowing him to learn the ropes. Yet Flint wasn’t sure whether letting them in was the smartest of ideas. He needed allies to continue his life quest and man the fort against future attacks. However, he worried about the Iron Army pushing their agenda on him.