Building harem town, p.28
Building Harem Town, page 28
“Wow, that’s incredible,” I responded as I slowed my perception of time again. “And now all that’s left is to actually tie it on.”
I glanced up at the sky, and I saw it had the slightly pale glow that preceded sunrise. I couldn’t believe the women had actually worked all through the night, and there was still more to do. I wasn’t sure if I should encourage them to rest, but I decided to let them take the lead on this one, and Nicola asked the question on my mind.
“Sisters, do you wish to keep working still?” the dark-haired woman questioned. “I was hoping to finish the entire project before dawn, but now I’m not sure it’s going to be possible. How are you feeling?”
“I am tired,” Penelope confessed, and she put her hand over her mouth to cover a yawn. “Bathing in the creek again might help, though, or a power nap, as our lord likes to say.”
“Can you do both?” I asked the women. “Why don’t you all just lie down on the grass for a little while, go to the creek when you wake up, and then finish? Eating some meat might help as well.”
“That sounds like a good plan, my master,” Aleia sighed. “We’re so close to finishing I’d hate to sleep all day, so this time you absolutely have to wake us up.”
“I will,” I promised. “I won’t let you rest for more than an hour or so.”
“Thank you, my lord,” Penelope said. Her pale-blue eyes drooped as she laid down on the grass, and the other two women sprawled out as well and closed their eyes.
I was a little sad they’d worked hard enough that they wanted to pass out on the bare ground, but they’d made the choice to work through the night, and I wanted to let them have at least a little bit of control over their lives.
As they napped, I decided it would make the most sense for the women to thatch the eaves first. Then they could continue to work upward with the bundles overlapping one another, which would allow rainwater to flow down the roof. Aleia could do the work that was higher up, but I didn’t want to tire her out too much by making her fly the whole time.
I realized I still had a new tool coming to me this morning, and I hadn’t even thought about what it was going to be since we already had such a solid plan to complete the roof using the tools we already had. I didn’t think the women needed anything new at right this moment, but there was no way I was going to waste this opportunity.
When I thought about what we’d already had to do and what we needed to accomplish in the future, a shovel seemed like the obvious choice. It would have helped us to dig the post holes, and it would help us both with future gardening and if we built a kiln, for example.
After about an hour passed, the sky was getting to be a lighter blue with just the faintest strip of orange above the trees. When I looked up, the stars were almost completely faded.
I glanced down at the altar, and I saw to my satisfaction that a long-handled digging shovel had appeared. It looked like it would be good for all different kinds of tasks, and I thought I’d made the right choice.
There was still a lot of work to be done on this roof, though, and while the priestesses all appeared incredibly peaceful despite their rugged sleeping situation, I knew it was time for them to get moving again.
“Penelope, Aleia, Nicola,” I called out in a soft voice. “It’s time to wake up now…”
The naiad rustled around on the grass slightly, but her eyes didn’t open. The fairy rolled over and buried her head in her hands for a moment, but then she coughed and pushed herself up.
“Good morning, my lord,” the strawberry-blonde said quietly as she rubbed at her sleepy, sea-green eyes. Then she looked around at the other two priestesses, who both appeared to still be sleeping very deeply.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“I’ve felt better,” Aleia laughed, “but I think my physical strength gives me a little more energy than my sisters. I can let them rest a while longer while I begin to do the work. I honestly don’t mind.”
I was impressed by her generous offer, and I thought the fairy might as well go ahead.
“If you’re sure,” I responded to Aleia. “That’s a very nice offer, and it might save you some energy if you used the ladder to start instead of flying.”
“Hmm…” the fairy mused. “Using my wings is more natural to me than working from a ladder, but I do want to be able to complete this work more quickly. Can you explain to me exactly what I’m going to be doing?”
“So, the lowest part of the roof slope where it overhangs the wall is called the eaves, and that’s what we need to put up first,” I explained. “Nicola might be able to install the thatch from a standing position, but I’m not sure you can reach.”
“Are you teasing me for being short?” the strawberry-blonde asked with a twinkle in her eyes. “Fairies are always petite, master.”
“I’m not teasing you,” I laughed. “Just trying to be realistic here.”
“In terms of being realistic…” Aleia said as she tapped a finger against her lips. “My lord, I think I’m going to be able to finish this without my sisters, or at least I’m going to try. I don’t even think I need to bathe in the stream because the nap really seemed to have helped me. I don’t wish to disturb Penelope and Nicola, so I’m going to try to put up all these reeds on my own.”
“Okay, but that’s going to be a big job.” I was impressed the fairy had even suggested it, but I was willing to let her try. “Thank you, Aleia. You’re amazing, you know that?”
“We shall see,” the beautiful strawberry-blonde giggled.
Aleia began to work on thatching the roof, and I watched as she flew up into the air and began to tie the bundles of reeds to the battens with quick and adept hands. Despite her lack of sleep, the fairy appeared as strong as ever, and I didn’t see her falter even once. It was only a little while before half the thatching for the roof was up, and then only a few more hours before she was almost entirely done.
When there was only one bundle left to tie on, I called out to the strawberry-blonde.
“Aleia, I can’t believe you actually did it,” I told the fairy, but then I quickly corrected myself. “I mean, of course, I can believe it, but that was really, really impressive.”
“Thank you, master, your words mean a lot to me,” Aleia responded with a huge smile on her face, and then she looked down at the other two priestesses, who were still passed out on the grass. “To be honest, I can’t believe I did it without them, either.”
“Well, are you ready to tie on the last bundle?” I asked the strawberry-blonde. “It’s crazy you’re actually going to be done after all the time the three of you have spent working on this roof.”
At least, I hoped this was going to be it. If the game didn’t level me up after all this, I had to admit I was going to be a little annoyed.
“Should I wake Nicola and Penelope?” the fairy questioned me, and she flapped her pale-violet wings to fly in place as she held the final bundle of reeds in her arms.
“No, let them rest,” I instructed her. “They’ll see it when they wake up, and it’s going to be a great surprise for them.”
“Okay, I’m going to get this over with, then,” Aleia said with a huge smile on her face. “I have to admit my arms are getting just a little bit tired.”
“I’ll bet,” I responded as I watched her fly into position to put up the last bundle. My phantom heart was thumping inside my chest as she manipulated the cordage and tied her knots, and, right before my eyes, it appeared that at least a rudimentary roof was now complete.
Nothing happened at first, though, and for one long, excruciating moment, a wave of disappointment washed over me. If this wasn’t enough to satisfy the game, I suddenly realized I was going to be devastated.
And then, finally, something flashed before my eyes.
Level Up!
Holy shit, we’d actually done it.
Chapter 17
I watched as new information flashed in front of my mental display.
Dream Visits Achieved!
Convent: Level 4
Next Town Quest: Defeat trio of trolls within your territory
Reward upon Quest Completion: Visit convent in physical form for 3 hours
Trolls in our territory? That was scary. I needed to look for this new threat, but I was distracted by the fact my dream visits were now going to become a reality.
I had so much to think about at one time. I wanted to take time to fantasize about the dream visits, but the trolls were probably a much bigger issue. I zoomed out on my God Vision because I wondered if the monsters had arrived yet.
Not that I had any idea what a troll looked like.
At first I didn’t see anything. My vision was still a bit patchy in the heavily-wooded areas Aleia hadn’t been able to fully see from above, and I squinted down at the ground for anything that had changed since the last time I looked around.
And then I caught a glimpse of smoke at the very corner of my map. The plume was so small I could barely see it through the thick trees, so I zoomed in closer. I could just see the edges of a campfire in a small clearing surrounded by pines. Whatever was there blended in almost entirely with the colors of the forest, but when I squinted harder, I began to see the forms of creatures.
Suddenly, one walked closer to the fire, and I saw a real troll for the first time in my life. The monster was at least ten feet tall and looked like he weighed an actual ton, and his thick muscles bulged out from under his bright green skin. His entire body was covered in patches of thick black hair, and a long, dirty black beard swung from his chin and covered most of his face.
Disturbingly, the only clothing he wore was a leather loincloth, and even more disturbingly, he held a giant, black metal war hammer in his meaty hands.
The troll sat down on a huge log and put his hammer down, and I realized there were two other trolls already sitting on the tree trunk. As his friend passed him something big, the first troll grunted with pleasure, and the loud noise echoed through the woods. I then watched in horror as the giant green beast took the body of a large boar, ripped it apart with its bare hands, and took a huge bite of bloody meat before he passed the carcass in the other direction toward a third, fatter troll.
I was completely grossed out by the sight of what the creatures were doing, but I was glad they’d stopped to eat, and I hoped the fire meant they’d stay in place for a while.
“What the fuck, Muldar, you drooled all over it,” the fat troll bellowed, and he punched the first troll in his grass-green arm.
“Ow, Enoth, you asshole,” the troll who was apparently Muldar complained loudly.
“Muldar, this pig is smarter than you,” the third troll guffawed, and he slapped Enoth roughly on the back as he laughed.
“Fuck you, Urcon, this pig is smarter than your mother,” Muldar responded, and all three trolls started to snicker and wheeze.
Apparently we had the Three Stooges here. The trolls didn’t seem very bright, to say the least, and I hoped that would work to our advantage.
“So, we’ll stay here today and tonight,” Enoth said, and I got the sense he was the leader of the three beasts. “I’m still working on our plan.”
“I fucking hate sleeping in the woods,” Urcon responded. “I miss our camp, and our women.”
Troll women? I could only imagine.
In any case, he’d said they were planning to spend the night where they were, which was at least a mile away, and that would give me some time to talk to the priestesses and prepare for the upcoming, inevitable battle.
“Just give me a little time,” Enoth said with a glimmer in his eyes. “I know there’s a gnome camp around here somewhere. I can smell it!”
Shit, that wasn’t good news.
I thought we definitely had an obligation to help the gnomes. The women’s new friends had done a lot for them, and if the priestesses needed to fight the trolls anyway, they might as well save the gnomes in the process.
Suddenly, I realized Aleia was speaking to me.
“… wake up my sisters?” I caught the end of the fairy’s sentence. “I can’t believe they’ve been asleep for this long, and while I’m certainly not their boss, I was wondering if I should wake them up. It has to be mid-morning by now.”
“Um…” I muttered as I tried to think of the best way to break the news about the trolls to the women. “Yeah, we should wake up Nicola and Penelope, because I need to talk to all three of you. Besides, they need to see the roof is done.”
“Is everything okay, master?” Aleia asked, and apparently something in my voice made her eyes widen in alarm.
“Well, it is kind of serious…” I trailed off.
“What’s serious?” I heard a sleepy voice ask, and I realized Penelope had woken up. The naiad brushed her tangled golden hair back from her face and vigorously rubbed at her eyes, and then she looked up at Aleia with a questioning expression.
Well, so much for immediately visiting Penelope. I definitely wanted to spend time with the naiad first, so I supposed I was going to have to wait until she was asleep again.
Although, judging from her tired expression and the amount of work she’d been doing, that might not actually be long at all.
“Jack needs to talk to us,” Aleia explained to the blue woman. “But after that, I thought we’d be more comfortable sleeping inside the shelter from now on, so I wanted to bring our bedding over. I was thinking another bath in the creek and a hot meal--”
“Wait.” Penelope stared at the fairy with wide eyes, and then she looked up at the roof. “Does this mean we’re… done? Aleia, did you finish the roof all on your own?”
“I did,” the strawberry-blonde replied in a shy voice. “You two were sleeping, and I just knew I could do it… so I did.”
“Oh, my goodness, thank you, sister!” the naiad cried out as she stood up and threw her arms around Aleia, who squeezed the cerulean woman back tightly. “I can’t believe you did this for us. I have to wake up Nicola and tell her!”
“Wake me up for what?” Nicola grumbled. Penelope’s excitement had apparently roused the brunette as well, and the dark-haired woman rolled over onto her back and shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand. “I hope this is good news…”
“Nicola, it’s the best news,” the naiad giggled and clapped her hands. “The roof is completely done, thanks to Aleia’s hard work.”
“What?” Nicola asked and bolted upright. “Are you serious? We don’t have to work anymore today? And you did this, Aleia? Wowww…”
“It was no big deal.” The fairy shrugged and waved the compliment off. “But I suppose it’s time to celebrate, and I, personally, would like to do so with more sleep. It’s been a long night, I have to admit.”
“Don’t forget I need to talk to you,” I told them. I hated to ruin the priestesses’ good times, but there was no way I could keep my new information from them.
“Is it something bad?” Penelope asked with a worried expression. “My lord, you don’t sound happy.”
“It’s not bad,” I replied. “Well, it’s not great news, but you’re so badass this really won’t be a big deal to you at all. I’m just not sure how you’re going to take this, though, because… you’re going to have to fight some trolls.”
“Trolls?” Penelope gasped. “Do you know how huge those types of beasts are? How do you know, my lord?”
“I can see and hear them,” I said. “And yes, they’re huge, but they sound really stupid. I would say we have at least a day to prepare, but it’s something we need to plan for.”
“Ugh,” Nicola sighed as she stood up and put her hands onto her hips. “There are three of us and three of them, and they’re four times our size. What’s our strategy going to be?”
“My plan is you should intercept them long before they even reach the gnomes,” I explained. “The trolls know there’s a gnome camp nearby, and we can’t let them get close to that in case they find the convent.”
“We can’t let the gnomes be killed.” Penelope shook her head firmly. “Those poor creatures. They’ve already had their camp destroyed by trolls once! How are they going to react to this news?”
“They’re not going to be happy,” Nicola said with downturned lips. “But they did have all those swords. Maybe it doesn’t have to be just three against one…”
“Yes, you need to ask if the gnomes want to fight alongside you,” I told the women. “The good news is the trolls are still a mile away from the gnome camp, and they’re planning to stay in that spot until tomorrow. That’s what’s giving us more time.”
“Wowww,” Penelope sighed. “This is really terrible. I’m so glad you warned us, my lord. What should we do at this moment to prepare?”
“We could go to the stream, and eat a hearty meal, and then maybe go back to bed, if we really have all the time Jack says we do,” Aleia suggested. “I feel like I’ll be able to think better once I’m rested.
“That sounds like a decent plan,” I told the women. “I’ll look around the area and think of ways to trap the trolls, and you can get some good sleep.”
“Yes, my lord, I like the sound of that,” the strawberry-blonde replied, and her mouth opened wide in a yawn, which she attempted to cover with one delicate hand.
“I think you deserve anything you want, all of you, and as soon as this battle is over, you can rest for as long as you want,” I told the priestesses. “You’ve helped me even more than you know.”
“Thank you, master,” Aleia sighed. “Sisters, do you wish to do as I suggested? We can go bathe for healing and relaxation, cook something over the fire, and then bring our blankets into our new living quarters for more rest.”
“Yes, Aleia,” Penelope said as she flashed a big smile at the fairy. “I’m still so grateful to you for the roof, and I’d always love a bath.”
“Then come, let’s go to the stream first,” the fairy suggested. “I need to feel the water on my sore body.”
