Civilization

120 Chapter 120

I open my eyes to see Gobi training but quickly got up to find Kingston, old man Hus, Howard and Noah. With 2 players as well as 3 of the more knowledgeable NPCs I formed a small council. Originally, the plan was to follow my word and the method in how I wanted to go about it to travel towards the mountain however, experiencing today changed my thought. I can't do everyone alone and I need help. I got everyone and sat around a wooden table near old man Hus's workshop. I could tell everyone was slightly confused about the situation since I didn't explain to them why I needed them to come together but once everyone was seated and comfortable I started to speak my mind.

"Everyone, this trip might be more dangerous than I originally thought. I asked everyone here to come together because I wanted a discussion. Melody, one of our teachers, had acquired a skill that allowed her to dream of future events. This dream has a chance of becoming real and a chance of not being real. I am here to talk to everyone about it because I am worried about everyone's safety." - Ian

"Shouldn't we bring Melody here to say what she knows about it?" - Noah

"Yes, I have her waiting not too far away but I wanted to tell everyone here about the situation first before jumping into the problem. Are there any concerns?" - Ian

"Is it just affecting what happens outside of HavenFall?" - Howard

"So far, from what I heard from Melody, yes. However, you will get the full story once she comes over." - Ian

"Lad, bring the missy here. Let her talk." - Hus

"Okay. Melody, can you come out?" - Ian

Hiding behind old man Hus's workshop was Melody. Her worried expression told a hundred tales, but she gulped down her anxiety and walked over, standing behind me and greeting everyone.

"Hello everyone." - Melody

"Is it alright if you tell them what happened in your dreams?" - Ian

"Of course. There are 3 sets of dreams, each from the past 3 nights, that have happened. The first night was Ian falling into a hole. The second night, I saw David and Kingston fighting a large beast with the ground covered in blood. Last night, I saw everyone piled up like a mountain, dead." - Melody

"Interesting…" - Kingston

"Is this the most detail you can be about the dreams?" - Noah

"Yes, since at the start I thought it was just a nightmare. I didn't really try to remember it but I do remember clearly Ian falling into something. As well as David and Kingston fighting a large beast, Ian called it a dinosaur but he said it might not be something like that. As for the most recent one, it was also the shortest. Flashes of a pile of corpses and I could see everyone on it, dead." - Melody

"Has it happened to you during the day?" - Noah

"No. Only when I sleep." - Melody

"Melody, are you feeling okay?" - Howard

"I am fine Howard. Thank you for asking. After the second incident, I have been sleeping in the company of Celine and Lime so I feel less afraid." - Melody

"That is good. Take care of your health as much as you can. Maybe find Lucina and ask her for any herbs that can soothe your sleep." - Howard

"Oh, okay. I will do that. Thank you, Howard." - Melody

"Melody, you can go for now. Thank you for speaking." - Ian

Melody nods her head and walks away towards Lucina's farm.

"What are everyone's thoughts?" - Ian

"I think out of the 3, 2 will happen." - Kingston

"It is highly likely that at least 1 will happen and 2 of the vision might happen." - Noah

"Why do you say that? I would prefer if none of them happened. To me it is signals death." - Howard

"Right, that is my thought as well." - Ian

"If I were to explain and I think Kingston has the same idea as me as well. Of the 3 there are 2 likely scenarios. Ian falling into a hole has a high chance of happening. Why? Because of carelessness. Sometimes, people will not see that there is a hole in front of them or if there is a pitfall trap. Other times, there might be a fight and you jump into the hole might save you or we all have to jump into the hole to progress in our journey."

"Okay, I understand that but to have a vision of the future on something mundane as that seems pretty dull." - Howard

"It doesn't matter. That was her first vision. It might have been something small, something to ease her into it." - Kingston

"But then-" Howard

"I'm not done yet, Howard. " -Noah

"Sorry, go on." - Howard

"Thank you. The second likely vision to happen is the fight between David, Kingston and the large beast, the dinosaur. The reason why I think this is likely to happen is that we don't even know what kind of monsters are lurking outside of the forest. There could be anything ranging from small rabbits to large monsters like the dinosaur. Unfortunately, I do not know what a dinosaur is but Ian might be able to enlighten us." - Noah

"I'm not sure it is a dinosaur as well but from her description of it I thought it might be a dinosaur. She describes it as having 2 legs, 2 smaller arms, a head as big as a house, scales as skin and along the back it had triangle points all the way from the top of its head down to its tail. This is a similar characteristic to a large reptile which I and Kingston know as a dinosaur." - Ian

"Big and scary monster?" - Howard

"Bigger than the golem we fought with everyone as well as being an apex predator which is designed to kill and eat." - Ian

"I think we should take her visions seriously. We should either postpone the plan to travel to a later date or we head out but be more prepared and go at a slower pace." - Noah

"It would be fun to fight something that was extinct, right Ian?" - Kingston

"I don't know if fun is the right word but I am curious about it." - Ian

"Lad, I would suggest waiting a bit for me to finish on my small project." - Hus

"What do you mean old man Hus?" - Ian

"I had a thought, lad. Why was defeating that golem so hard for us? It is because of our weapons." - Hus

"That's why we used the golem body parts as the weapons right now though right?" - Ian

"It is not enough, lad. Seeing you come back with barely any weapons after defeating golems in the cave told me that the golem body is not a strong enough weapon." - Hus

"What are you making then?" - Ian

"I am making something to do with the golem core, lad. I am getting help from the elf Stellar. Please wait a day or two. During that time, I will have Lime, Martelo and Rycka create more customized armor for everyone as well as tuning the weapons as much as we can." - Hus

"Okay, I believe in you old man Hus." - Ian

"In that case, I will be in the forest for a bit. I will be honing my battling against rogue goblins, orcs and jackalopes." - Kingston

"I suggest bringing David along. The two of you will be fighting a large beast and while we do not know if it will be just the two of you alone it is better to learn the battle habits of one another. David and I fought together for a bit and each fight became easier as we got to know each other's style of combat." - Howard

"Will do." - Kingston

"Will you be okay though Kingston?" - Ian

"Maybe. I'm not too sure." - Kingston

"Ask David first and make sure you be careful." - Ian

"I will notify Gobi to train the people and goblins that will be traveling with you harder. Make them remember formations as well as make them go out and fight as a team in order to learn more about each other as well." - Noah

"Good idea. In that case, both groups should go in different directions in the forest but never wander too far. Come back before sunset and take a wolf with you just in case." - Ian

"Okay." - Kingston, Noah

"I will see if there is any way to hasten the work toward the mine then." - Howard

"Try but  I doubt we can create copper weapons any time soon." - Ian

"Better than doing nothing. I am also worried about the defense as well while you are gone. Noah let's have a chat after this to prepare anything for when Ian and the others leave." - Howard

"Of course. I have been meaning to ask as well but with how busy it was making the road I left that thought until later." - Noah

? "Good, then everyone knows what to do. Inform me if there are any problems along the way." - Ian

With a nod from everyone, we pack away the table and chairs and went on our own separate ways. I saw old man Hus ask Lime to find Stellar while he gets some golem cores and places them into a pot before carrying them into his workshop. At the same time, I could see Kingston finding David and making him agree to go out fighting. With David carrying a golem stone ax, the both of them got armored up before leaving. Howard and Noah were discussing about the defense of HavenFall the moment they walked away from the table. I am hopeful in the direction that they will take.

I, however, didn't have much to do so I joined Gobi's training. While I am not too big of a fighter, I still need to know how to fight. I had gotten this far with some brainless swings and luck but eventually, I will need the skill to back myself up. I end up learning the basics of using a spear from Gobi as well as fighting some of the goblins in a spar before retiring when the sun had set. Gobi sent 2 groups of 5 out to find enemies to kill and all they came back uninjured. With only having to fight 5 times with small groups of goblins they were able to communicate in battle and learned much from the experience. They couldn't stop talking about it once they came home.

Kingston and David however had some small cuts and bruises on their bodies when they came home. Apparently, there was a bigger version of a jackalope that caused their injuries before it ultimately escaped. It was a tough battle with little to show but at least now they know where their skill level is at.

Dinner was another bowl of warm soup, vegetables and jackalope meat. Warming my stomach as well as the stomach of others. Small chatter under the night sky with the orange flame lighting us up. Another day in Settlement.