The new group looked much more rag-tag than Mayor Marbles’ group Cursed End had received the morning. What they did share was a defeated gauntness and downtrodden look, like they couldn’t even dare to hope for a turn in their fortunes. Goliath walked up to them, followed by their settlement’s brand-new inhabitants.

  ‘Ho there, strangers, and welcome to … ah, welcome to our little settlement!’ Goliath greeted them. The refugees looked at each other like they were each hoping someone else would take the lead. Finally, an especially skeletal middle-aged woman stepped forward and squinted almost angrily at Goliath.

  ‘Hello there. We are all former villagers and townspeople displaced by the war. May we seek shelter overnight in your settlement?’ Her voice was clipped and business-like, providing only the bare details.

  ‘Of course, you are very, very welcome here,’ Tia supplied.

  Goliath gave her a glare that had no effect on her whatsoever. Once everything settled a bit, he was going to talk with her about welcoming every Finn, Ford, and Freddy to the settlement. But first, he needed to navigate this encounter, and so he said, ‘I am Goliath, the founder of this settlement, and you are?’

  A young man stepped forward, saying. ‘I am Micheal and,’ pointing to the older man, ‘this is Samuel. We used to be town guards. These three are Terrence, Tony, and Fred, who are loggers. Then we have Ranca,’ pointing to the skeletal woman who spoke first, ‘who has been organising our food supplies, her brother, Becta, a baker, and their aunt, Octa, a needleworker.’ They were an interesting collection of refugees. Also, they had skills that could be useful to Cursed End – especially the loggers.

  ‘How nice to meet you all,’ Isaac responded. ‘Our group just arrived here yesterday and was also taken in by the hospitality of Founder Goliath and his daughter, Mirabelle. Let me introduce ourselves,’ and he ran through the names of their group. ‘Now, if you don’t mind me asking, Becta, we do have some flour but lack the other ingredients for bread. What are the odds you could bake one for us?’

  Becta’s eyes lit up at this information and he answered, ‘I lost all my implements when our town came under attack. If you could provide the baking equipment for me, I can make us a wonderful pot bread.’

  ‘It’s settled then, bread for lunch.’ Ana said, smiling.

  As the newcomers milled together with the now inhabitants, the old guard, Samuel, walked up to Goliath and said, ‘If you don’t mind me asking, sir, you carry a military bearing. Did you serve?’

  ‘Indeed, I did until I recently retired at the war’s end. And then I stumbled across this old abandoned settlement, and here we are.’

  ‘I’m glad it worked out for you. I’ve been a guard all my life and don’t know much about anything different. I know your settlement is small, and you’re already a soldier, but could you perhaps do with another guard? At least I can help keep watch and alert you if any danger approaches.’

  Goliath’s heart went out to the man. Like just about every other town guard he knew, Samuel had probably been banking on a safe retirement after years of duty. The war would’ve destroyed that dream. He also noticed that there was now a hush amongst the people, the newcomers pretending to be occupied but listening closely all the same.

  ‘Goliath…’ Tia spoke, watching him intensely. Shaking his head at her, he considered Samuel’s request. A few more people in this settlement would certainly be helpful. Especially the guards and loggers, although he was sure the others would also pitch in and become part of their new economy. But he would not let anyone join who didn’t know the true state of their settlement’s affairs.

  ‘Of course, we would be glad to have you and any other member of your group who would like to stay on,’ he said, raising his voice to include the others. ‘But, before you decide, I need to inform you of two vital pieces of information that may influence your decision. Number one: The name of our settlement.’ And he displayed it for everyone to see.

  ‘Cursed End?’ Ranca asked, laughing in disbelief. ‘The name of your settlement is “Cursed End”? How did that happen?’

  ‘Don’t remember,’ Tia muttered from Goliath’s side.

  ‘We don’t know, unfortunately,’ he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. That’s just what it was when I found these ruins and claimed them. This brings me to the second thing. This morning, we met the mayor of a neighbouring town called Marbleville. He couldn’t tell us much about this settlement’s history either, but he did speak of eldritch lights appearing here from time to time.’

  The newcomers looked uncomfortably at each other.

  ‘The good news, though, is that the town of Marbleville appears to be safe, and the mayor has indicated that any of our people are welcome to join them if they so please. I would assume that the offer would extend to you as well.’

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  At this, the newcomers huddled together, and every so often, one would look uncomfortably at Goliath and the others.

  ‘You know,’ Isaac said, ‘maybe we should make a sign with the settlement’s name on it. So other travellers know what it is from the start.’

  <>

  Unsurprisingly, the little group of travellers opted to move on to Marbleville after having the fresh bread that Becta and Ana had made for lunch. It was good. After living on stale rations for so long, Goliath had forgotten how wonderful freshly made, warm, soft bread could be. Mirabelle loved it, too. The only one who wasn’t happy was Tia. She had stood on the edge of town, grimly watching the little group of refugees moving on, and then disappeared to somewhere.

  The bread had been a welcome reprieve, but now there was work to be done and Goliath mentally listed tasks as he thought about the settlement’s next steps. Shelter and food had to come first, and it would be best to get the new inhabitants involved in the settlement’s functioning from the start. So he pulled up a list of inhabitants and their occupations. Thankfully, that was one of the few things he didn’t need Tia’s permission for, and since he carried a town title, he was now privy to more information than when he had been just a guest.

  Inhabitants and occupations

  Satisfied with what he saw and his provisional plans, he reached into the system and sent out a meeting alert to everyone. Then, he returned to the settlement square, where Tia had already reactivated and was waiting.

  ‘Golith!’ He was just in time to catch Mirabelle as she raced and jumped into his arms, babbling about bread. Ana laughed as she walked up to them.

  ‘I assume you had a good time?’

  ‘Oh, yes, we did.’ Ana said. ‘Next time, Mirabelle will make the bread, and I will be her helper.’

  ‘Is that so?’ he asked Mirabelle, who nodded her head enthusiastically.

  ‘Gonna make Golith bread,’ she said with a wide smile.

  ‘I cannot wait. Say, do you want to help me issue some quests?’

  ‘Quests?’

  ‘Quests are things people can do for the town,’ Tia said with an emphasis Goliath was sure was just for him. ‘The quest giver can attach specific rewards, or the town system will automatically assign an appropriate reward based on available resources.’

  Mirabelle looked questioningly at Goliath.

  ‘We ask for something, someone does it, and gets a prize!’ he translated. ‘Shall we do it?’

  ‘Prizes!’ she called. ‘Mirabelle get puppy?’

  A puppy? He had never heard of such a thing, but before he could think about it, he noticed that all the new inhabitants were now present. Dismissing it for later, he said, ‘Here we go, everyone. Since we’ve all decided to stay, shall we go ahead and get this little settlement habitable again?’

  The new inhabitants cheered enthusiastically, and Goliath began issuing quests.

  <>

  NEW: Quest for Alan: Settlement layout

  Create a settlement layout that will serve the settlement and allow for growth to village status.

  Reward: Rudimentary housing

  <>

  NEW: Quest for Isaac and Ana: Smallholding

  Work as a team to identify suitable locations for at least three smallholdings within the settlement borders.

  Reward: Rudimentary housing

  <>

  NEW: Open quest: Provisions

  Find provisions and make a meal for the settlement inhabitants.

  This quest repeats thrice daily until a stable food supply is ensured.

  Reward: Rudimentary housing.

  <>

  NEW: Open quest: Construct rudimentary housing

  Find materials and construct rudimentary housing for the settlement inhabitants.

  Reward: Three daily meals until a stable food supply is ensured.

  <>

  Isaac started laughing. ‘A bit of a circular reward system here, isn’t it?’

  Goliath laughed at that as well and said, ‘Can you blame me? It’ll get better as we progress. I promise.’

  ‘Oh wait, there’s another one,’ Gwyn said, squinting into the air as she read.

  <>

  NEW: Open quest: A puppy for Mirabelle

  Find a puppy for Mirabelle.

  Reward: System determined

  <>

  ‘Puppy!’ Mirabelle cheered, clapping her hands.

  ‘What is a puppy?’ Ana asked with a frown. Goliath was spared from having to answer by Tia, whose eyes suddenly shone and dimmed.

  ‘The refugees are returning to our settlement,’ she said.

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