Mark and Garrick discussed their shortage of experienced workers. Many people had not reached Level 8, while others had classes that did not support construction. Garrick wanted to recruit lower-level workers and guide them toward construction, labor, lumberjacking, or another practical class.
They had resources, plans, and manpower; useful skills and classes were the bottleneck. They discussed assigning tasks that encouraged those abilities as they prepared to rebuild three outposts and eventually establish a sizable village.
In the middle of their conversation, everyone around them froze at the same time Mark received a notification.
[Regional Alert]
Dangerous Alpha Beast activity detected.
Threat: Rootmaw Alpha
Level Estimate: 12–15
Repeated attacks detected near active travel routes.
Regional stability penalties may increase if unresolved.
Recommended Response: Organized Group Hunt
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark read the alert a couple of times, and from the looks on everyone else’s faces, they were doing the same. Mark immediately thought of the beast he had seen while trapping in the northeastern zone. It had been far above his level then. Now he had to deal with it.
Ava ran over to Mark and said, “Did you get that alert?”
“Yes, I did, and I am pretty sure I know where it’s at.” He opened his map, and indeed there was a regional alert notice over the area labeled “extreme risk.”
Ava replied, “I want to go find it.”
“Wait a sec. That thing is dangerous.”
“I have Swoop, my bonded bird. She can scout and make sure I never get close. You will need to know where it is if you are going to organize a fight, which, knowing you, you will.”
“Who or what is Swoop?”
“Oh, she’s my bird. I tried all kinds of names, and she kept rejecting them. I wanted Dropper, and she rejected it. I then offered Talon, Snatch, and Hook, and she refused them. That’s why I called her Bird for so long.”
“Of course you wanted Dropper; that would have been great.”
“That’s what I told her, but she would not go for it. I suggested Swoop as a joke, and she loved it.”
Mark and Ava finally came to a decision: she could go scout, but she must stay way back and let Swoop be her eyes, and Bramble could follow the Rootmaw’s scent, but she must stay safe.
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The camp’s reactions ranged from excitement over fighting something so powerful to fear that it would kill them in their sleep. Mark went around and assured people that they would be safe. They would start out by doubling the guards that were out patrolling the trails and get all the scouts to track it.
He also let them know that he would be going up to the cave and organizing a party to hunt the bear down. But no one was to rush; they would go in two days, and in the meantime anyone that still needed gear, weapons, or armor should buy some, or if crafters, they should pick up the speed on making gear.
Garrick came over and said, “Mark, I heard what you said. We will stop construction for now on the longhouse and work on building the new walls we talked about to replace your barricades that will keep the workers busy and out of your way until you can get some of those meatheads up at the cave to go kill that thing for you.”
Before Mark could head to the cave, Tom and Dale walked over and let them know that they would work to get more gear and food in prep for the group and would be up to the cave in a while to find and fix any needs in the gear or food area.
Lena and Cora also walked over to let them know they were going to do the same as Ava and start scouting, and that they would keep an eye on her, so he should not worry about her.
With that, Mark finally went to the cave. When he got there, he found a group of 15 that were going to go right then to fight. Mark reminded them that the system said they needed an Organized Group Hunt and that he was going to set up a system task for the area to gather and equip a group and then in two days take that group out to kill the bear.
Some protested, but the wiser of the group got the others on board, and they switched from running off to preparing instead. They then brainstormed in a large group. They talked about just going in with spears and clubs. That idea was shot down after Mark shared the information about trees being torn up and claw marks running down their trunks from more than eight feet high.
The conversation moved to traps. Someone proposed a giant cage until others asked how they would transport it or convince the Rootmaw Alpha to enter.
They settled on a large pit lined with sharpened stakes, with Garrick’s heavy traps as backups. If the fall injured it, the hunters could attack from a distance with spears, arrows, and thrown weapons.
They would need to get crafters to make equipment, laborers to dig the pit, and the trackers and scouts to track it and keep it distracted while they dug the pit. Mark then created, through the system, the regional hunt contract and shared it with all of them and asked them to share it with anyone missing.
[Regional Hunt Contract]
Target: Rootmaw Alpha
Threat Level: High
Participation Rewards:Contribution RewardShared Loot DistributionRegional Stability Bonus
Requirements: Registered Hunt Participation◈ ◈ ◈
People immediately started signing up, and Mark started to create the jobs needed to prep and scout and directed people to sign up for them. They had one crew building a trail to the edge of the extreme danger zone and guards protecting them. Runners and messengers were out sharing the word and letting people know what tasks needed doing and where to sign up.
Mark sat there and realized for the first time that everyone was looking to him for guidance. They followed his plan; no one tried to push their own plan. Was this because they trusted him, or was it maybe the influence of his class?
By the time he got back to his camp, there were already thirty-five people signed up. He was not even aware there were that many people in the area. Preparations were in full swing at his camp. Garrick came over and shared designs for large bear traps they could use, and more tasks were assigned for their production.
As everyone went to work, Mark returned to his crafting station to make more bows. The dozen he had made the day before were already gone, and demand still exceeded supply. He spent the next few hours back at his roots, crafting.