Mark looked around at the site of his soon-to-be village. It had been a crazy week since they completed the Forgeworks, and everyone had finally gone back to their regular activities. Mark had spent the last week moving into his new house. He could hardly believe Garrick had insisted that he be the first formal resident of this place.
They still did not have a name for the village, and it was only about an hour until their designated time to create it. Mark had agreed to meet Garrick for the final inspection tour. Not that Mark had not already seen it all, but Garrick insisted a tour was required before they created the outpost, which, if everything went as planned, would upgrade to Village Level 1.
Mark and Garrick had reviewed the list multiple times, but Mark went over it again before the meeting. They had a completed road network. Dale’s new inn and restaurant was finished, his staff was trained, and rooms were ready to rent out. Mark’s cabin was complete along with five others that matched it. They also had two longhouses for more transient visitors who did not want to pay for nights in the inn.
They had wells completed for water and guard towers to support the defensive needs. And then they had storage. Garrick had insisted they build multiple large storage buildings and stock them with everything a village would need for at least a month. Around the village, they had farms and livestock areas outside what Mark guessed would be the village limits. Even the bridge across the river was complete.
The time finally came, and Garrick took him on the tour. Six cabins, two longhouses, Dale’s Inn, storage buildings, wells, and a walk around the outside perimeter road. They had built a livestock pen nearby just in case that helped with the requirements. They also had four workshops complete. They even had one of the new blacksmiths making items in one of them with some of the newest ore coming out of the Forgeworks.
Garrick was so proud of it that Mark was worried he would try to take him through everything a second time. Then he led Mark back to the inn, where they all stood in the street because there were far too many people to fit inside. All the regulars were there. Dale, Lena, Cora, Tom, and Elias with his wife and child. Clara and her brother were there. John and his team from the Forgeworks had come for support, along with what had to be at least a hundred others.
Garrick said, “So, Mark, have you decided on a name?”
Mark said, “I am still deciding. I have a minute or two left, right?”
People started yelling names from the crowd. New Southgate, River Crossing, South Rest, and Mark’s Landing were among them.
Mark said, “Absolutely not Mark’s Landing.”
Ava said, “I think Beaver Crossing would be a fantastic name.”
Mark said, “No, I don't think so.”
Ava said, “Why, what's wrong? It's a great name.”
Mark said, “We are not naming a village after a beaver.”
Chew, Ava’s new beaver companion, started pulling a branch through the square. Mark just looked at him in disbelief that he would be interrupting this.
Dale laughed. “I don't know; it seems like a good name.”
Garrick said, “I have heard worse. It's not a bad name.”
Then everyone else started putting in their thoughts. Some loved the name, others hated it, and even more started yelling out other names. Then they were all interrupted by a System message.
[Settlement Name Recognized]Beaver Crossing
Proceed with Outpost Creation?YES / NO◈ ◈ ◈
Mark stared at the screen, and the crowd went quiet. They must have gotten the same message. Mark was just about to start the argument again when one of the guards on the western tower hollered, “People approaching from the west! It's a large group.”
Everyone turned and looked in that direction, but whoever it was was outside the area they could see from the ground. Ava sent Swoop to investigate.
Then the guard yelled again, “Wait.”
There was a pause. “They’re children!”
Then a longer pause. “Lots of children.”
The people around Mark began to speculate about what it meant and why they were here now. Mark looked at his screen, then thought about the name he still did not like, then back in the direction of whatever was coming. They had put in weeks of work, and now something was going to interrupt it.
Finally, he looked back at the screen. “One disaster at a time,” he mumbled, and clicked YES.
[Settlement Established]Name: Beaver CrossingTier: Outpost Level 1Central Structure: Dale's Inn
BenefitsSettlement registrationMember listBasic settlement storageSettlement namingMinor rested bonusLimited territory awareness◈ ◈ ◈
Mark quickly went over the list, brought up the upgrade option to Level 2, and clicked the button. They had planned for this. Other than setting up trade agreements, he should hit Village Level 1 in just a few minutes. He was on a clock now. He wanted to get this done before his next challenge arrived.
[Settlement Advancement]Beaver CrossingOutpost Level 2 Achieved
BenefitsExpanded settlement storageUnauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.Settlement contribution recognitionImproved rested bonusRoute marker recognitionSettlement task tracking◈ ◈ ◈
Mark then set up three trade agreements. One from Southgate to Beaver Crossing, another from Fisher's Point to Beaver Crossing, and the third from Cave Camp—or Forgeworks, as people had started calling it—to Beaver Crossing. Then he clicked the upgrade to Outpost Level 3. These were the easy ones.
[Settlement Advancement]Beaver CrossingOutpost Level 3 Achieved
BenefitsTrade recognitionRoute marker placementAllied settlement awarenessExpanded member capacitySettlement inventory sortingCommunal crafting support◈ ◈ ◈
Everything was proceeding exactly as they had planned. Then a System message appeared.
[Village Qualification Achieved]Settlement requirements exceeded
Proceed with Advancement?YES / NO◈ ◈ ◈
This was the moment. More than a month of planning, hard work, and preparation. Mark pressed YES.
[Village Established]Settlement: Beaver CrossingTier: Village Level 1
BenefitsOfficial trade route registrationSettlement quest generationExpanded storageMember role assignmentImproved rested bonusRegional map visibility◈ ◈ ◈
Just after he finished reading the screen, another message showed up.
[Leadership Roles Recognized]Mark — Founder StewardGarrick — Construction CoordinatorDale — Food Steward
Additional leadership positions may be recognized as settlement complexity increases◈ ◈ ◈
Garrick finally started to smile. Dale looked in Mark's direction with an expression that said he had not agreed to be a village leader. Then another message showed up.
[Settlement Reassessment In Progress]Additional qualifying infrastructure detected◈ ◈ ◈
Mark frowned at the message. What did that mean? They were supposed to be done. Then the message continued.
[Settlement Reassessment In Progress]RecognizedAgricultural ProductionLivestock OperationsStorage NetworkInternal Road NetworkRegional Crossing InfrastructureSupporting Population◈ ◈ ◈
Mark slowly began to understand what was happening. The System was counting more than the small area they thought of as the village. It was tracking the farms, roads, bridges, livestock, and outlying structures. Everything. Then the message changed.
[Settlement Advancement]Beaver CrossingVillage Level 2 Achieved
BenefitsTrade caravan supportExpanded communal storageSettlement specialization selectionImproved crafting supportSettlement supply trackingMinor travel bonuses on connected routes◈ ◈ ◈
That was when all the cheering started. Mark stood there stunned. Village Level 2. No one expected that.
“I told you we built enough,” Garrick said smugly.
Then another message appeared.
[Village Specialization Available]Recommended OptionsAgricultureLivestockRiver Trade
Selection may be delayed◈ ◈ ◈
Mark quickly selected the delay button. He was not ready for any more surprises right now. That was a decision for another day. The messages finally stopped, so he brought up the village overview.
[Settlement Overview]Settlement: Beaver CrossingTier: Village Level 2Population: CalculatingRecognized Structures: CalculatingTrade Routes: 3Leadership Roles: 3Specialization: Unselected
Settlement influence assessment in progressPopulation and structure totals will update as recognition completes◈ ◈ ◈
Mark watched the screen as numbers slowly started to show under population. Just a few at first, and then more started coming in. Someone in the crowd said they had gotten a System invite to add their farm to the town and accepted it, and then others started saying similar things.
Mark glanced at Garrick again. He had such a pleased look on his face. Then Mark looked around at the crowd.
Ava said, “Mark, they are here. I think you should say something.” She pointed toward a group of people. There were five women and two men, and what had to be thirty or forty children.
Mark looked at the group. They had obviously just shown up in this world. Some of the kids looked scared, others excited. One was pointing at Swoop flying around. Two of them were heading toward Bramble with the clear intent to pet him. One woman stood out from the rest. She grabbed the two trying to pet Bramble and ushered them back toward the main group. Mark could tell she was in charge and trying to keep everyone in order.
Mark looked toward his cabin and then around the new Level 2 village he stood in. He had just completed one of his Journeyman requirements by creating a village. Then he looked back toward the group of kids, and somehow he had the feeling the hardest part of the day was just about to begin.