Mark met with Garrick, Ava, and Mara as scheduled at the benches outside Dale’s kitchen. The plan was to survey the southern region and pick the area where they planned to build their village. They were also going to scout the whole zone and circumnavigate the lake.
They picked up supplies from Dale for at least a three-day trip. Tom delivered the tents they had asked him to create last night. They were among his newest projects. With the excess of bodies and not enough space to put them, they were becoming popular and could be seen in many locations as buildings were being built.
Ava sent Swoop ahead to scout the trail from above, and the four of them, along with Bramble, headed down the south trail toward the southern region. Because of the well-created trail, the traveling was quick. This was Mark’s first trip this far south, so Mara was leading the way as she and her husband were living down there.
When they got to the end of the trail and the wheat fields came into view, Mark stopped. It was so much bigger than he had expected. All the way to the horizon, all he could see was wheat, and on the far end, he could see the edge of the lake.
Mara first went over to where she and her husband had set up their tent, along with the animal cages and her small garden. She showed the work they had done on the fields and the tiny chunk they had so far cut.
Garrick said, “This is a wonderful area, and I can see why you picked it, Mara. It’s on the edge of both zones, not quite into the fields, but just on the edge of the area. My first suggestion, Mark, would be to build an outpost here. Nothing huge for now, but a nice staging area for the zone. In the future, it will be great border security and a trade and travel checkpoint going north and south.”
Mark replied, “I agree. This is a great spot for the first camp. But everyone should understand that it will remain an outpost, a checkpoint on the road rather than a village.”
The group continued heading south, surveying the fields, and they could see the occasional trees and the wavy land that was neither hills nor valleys, just not flat land. As they traveled, they saw lots of wild animals, nothing aggressive. There were a few deer that Ava said she spotted, and Swoop came back and dropped off some badger-looking thing for Ava.
As they traveled, they found and crossed a stream that started somewhere in the marshes to the northeast, in the zone above. Mark brought up his map and saw that it was slowly filling in details as they traveled. They then continued south, crossing another small stream as they were heading for the lake.
The land here was beautiful, amazingly clean, and empty of people. The area north had gotten so crowded with the influx of people coming to experience the cave and finding the beauty of the forest and deciding to stay. Mark loved the forest but knew it would not support his dream, and that was to have a village. Not a small one, either, like Lakeside, but bigger.
He knew that would come with people and noise, but it would be worth it. This world needed to be subdued, and the people needed places they could make as their homes. They finally got closer to the lake and found that there were two major rivers that converged almost in the center of the zone, on the north edge of the lake.
Mark looked around at the beautiful confluence of the rivers and the north edge of the lake. “What about here for the village?”
Garrick studied the water and land before shaking his head. “Too close to the lake. The ground is soft, and flooding would always be a risk. But that spot would be excellent for a watermill, either cutting wood or grinding wheat. Maybe both.”
Mark looked at the location and could see the flat ground right next to the bank. The river was strong there and would move a paddlewheel well. Mara then spoke. “I agree with Garrick, spring and fall flooding would not be good for a village. It would be good to have it near the water, maybe one of these rivers, but not so close to the lake as to flood or deal with the softer ground.”
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Ava said, “Swoop says she loves it. There are plenty of fish in the river and stream, and small animals too.” Bramble walked over to the edge of the water, sniffed, and then took in a long drink. The group headed west and walked around the west edge of the lake for a while until they reached the western edge of the lake.
Here, they found a broken-down structure that might have once been a shack or an old fishing site. But it had not been used for a very long time. Ava piped in, “Swoop says there are lots of fish in this area that she could hunt here for days.” Garrick looked around, and Mark could tell he was measuring the area in his head, similar to what he remembered when mapping out the villages up north.
Garrick then spoke, “I agree with Swoop, this would be a sweet spot for a fishing outpost. Again, I would never make it a village but a good outpost where a dozen people could live, fish, and make a life of it, trading fish for other things they need. Maybe even a future dock and people could make some boats and go out and enjoy the lake here.”
Mark pulled up his map again and could see the rough layout of the lake heading south and the area around it, and he agreed this would be a good spot for a future outpost. They looked around, and the fields of wheat stretched all the way down to here from the northern border. So much wheat, they could keep cutting it forever.
“Okay,” Mark said. “Future outpost specializing in fishing.” When he checked his map again, a marker for the future fishing outpost had appeared. Even the system agreed.
They headed north from the future fishing outpost, slightly east of a straight line. When they reached the river, Garrick identified a section with solid ground on both banks as the best location for a future bridge.
The group continued in the same direction. Looking at the map, Mark told Garrick that a point of interest directly north of them was labeled Clay Deposit. Garrick looked around, first north and then southwest back toward where the fishing outpost would be.
Garrick then said, “A road going almost directly north from here on the west side of the clay pit and then gently curving east until it meets the northern outpost we picked. That is where I would put it anyway.” Mark opened his map, and a dotted line went up and then slightly east, ending at the north outpost location. He had to smile that the system was taking notes.
Garrick then looked south again, back north, and then southeast and then northeast. Then he came to a decision. “Okay, follow me,” and headed directly east. They went that way, crossing another river where he again pointed out what he felt would be a good bridge crossing, and then went a bit farther.
Finally, he stopped. Did his look-around thing about a dozen times, looking in every direction. Then, slamming his walking stick into the ground, he declared, “Here. This will be the center of your village.” Mark, Mara, and Ava just looked around. Looked north, east, south, and west, seeming to replicate Garrick.
Mark finally threw up his hands and asked, “Why here?” Garrick started by explaining that it was on higher ground protected from flooding. It had a great view south to the lake and was near waterways, but not close enough to cause flooding issues. He explained that there was significant room, that it would start small and then expand. Maybe a city one day or a very large village.
Garrick walked them around the area and explained his vision. The village would begin small and expand from a central ring road. Roads would connect it north to the checkpoint outpost, west toward the clay deposit and fishing outpost, southward before gently curving east toward the future river mill site, and east into the unexplored land.
Mark realized that Garrick treated this new location like it was a real thing, not just a possibility anymore. He then brought up his map and was not surprised to see Garrick’s vision mapped out for him. Mark then realized he had a system message flashing and brought it up.
[Zone Control Increased]
Grainfields Region
Control Rating: 23%
◈ ◈ ◈
He then looked at Garrick. “Okay, let’s spend the rest of the day mapping out where you think things should go here, and we can discuss what you think would be the proper build order. We can camp the night here and test out the ground, and tomorrow go first northeast and then south, then circle the full lake before going back north and back home.”
Garrick replied, “You made a mistake there, Mark. This is home. Tomorrow we can survey the rest of the zone and then go back to Forest’s Rest and make our real plans to move here.”
Mark thought about that. Our real plans to move here. He sounded like this was going to be his home, too.