The meeting with the villagers ended with them all running off to collect wood to build the village of their dreams. Although they were missing the tools to create what they needed, Fishy knew they would be able to create huts and temporary buildings that would last long enough.
"So... welcome everyone."
Inside his bedroom in the elder's house. The executives for the unnamed village gathered for the first time, with the elder resting on Fishy's hay filled bed.
"Although we will have a better place for this meeting eventually I hope you'll understand that this was the best place for now."
"Of course, My lord." Tin replied to Fishy's disgust.
"Please don't call me lord… Fishy is fine…"
"As you wish." Tin replied as if she knew that she was always going to refer to him as lord.
"So!" Fishy said organizing everyone with his best serious leader impression. "Our first step is clean water."
"If I may interject." Tin said raising her hand. "Have we got a name for our village? We were always known as destroyer village but we don't really fit that name anymore."
Tin's suggestion dragged the others along as they all started throwing out random names of what to call the village, forgetting about Fishy's suggestion to help grow the village and ignoring his presence.
"Does it matter?" He asked.
"Of course!" Clara said. "We need a name so other nations know of us. That way we can easily start trade deals and negotiations with others."
"Isn't it obvious what the name should be?" The elder said sitting up. "Fintan village."
Everyone looked at him as the answer was clear from the start. They all agreed with the idea, flustering the actual leader of the village.
"Is it ok to name it after a hero? Won't we get attention?"
"Nah," Clara said. "There are a few other places named after legends and heroes. Nothing new."
"R-right…"
Although not what Fishy expected from the first meeting, the first decision was settled just like that. The village that never had a clear name, was now named after the leader himself, Fintan village.
"Alright," Fishy said already exhausted during the first meeting. "I want to continue talking about the future if that's alright?"
"Of course." The executives agreed.
"I wish to bring more people to live here. We will need someone to train villagers to fight in case monsters attack, plus I need someone who has some understanding of magic to help us with that. As for other things-"
"If I may." Tin interrupted again. "Do you have any plans to use my, Tim, Tom and Tam?"
"I do... I wasn't sure how I would tell you as I was sure you would be against it but since you ask I plan to teach them to fight and hopefully use them for information gathering. Is that ok with you?"
Tin listened to Fishy's suggestion as any mother would. Having her kids learn to fight and put their life on the line was a serious decision that anyone must think a lot about.
"Of course!" She said as if she didn't need to think about it too much. "I always used them to tell me the gossip in the village so they already have some experience."
"R-right…"
Clara and the Elder laughed wondering how much the triplets knew about whatever little private lives they had in a village full of holes.
"If I may now speak." The elder said. "For the mage and the swordsman… it's best to go to the city of Va and see if someone over there will help. We'll give you the money to get in and live for a few days, you'll be able to find someone to teach the younger generation."
Fishy didn't understand many things, the main one being how this village hand any money. But his worries were quickly put behind him as he could see his dream forming around him. Having no idea who would want to move to the poorest village in the world, Fishy started to prepare for a journey with Clara to the City of Va. The closest city to Fintan village, one where its civilians were happy and surviving, a complete opposite to the current state of Fintan village.
# # #
Having zero time to rest since the feast from the previous night, Fishy was forced to walk for almost 20 hours with Clara to the City of Va. The two of them followed a clear and cut open path in the forest that many used to take before the Destroyer moved underneath. They planned to walk for ten hours and sleep for the night before continuing the other ten.
"Can I ask something?" Fishy said. "About this place."
"What is it?"
"The hero, Fintan. Why are they a hero?"
"Well," Clara said trying to remember the tales her grandfather taught her, "Apparently she killed the undead king. A mass-murdering power-hungry devil that wanted to swallow up the land. The undead's power was unmatched by most races. There is more than one hero, anyone can be a hero. Heroes are super strong and usually have insane magic. It just so happens that Fintan was the strongest."
"I see…" Fishy said trying to decipher the story for any information that could be useful to him.
"Don't go telling people your name is Fintan." Clara suddenly said. "Most people worship Fintan as much as a god. The city of Va is no different. A lot of human cities follow the same religion that worships Fintan for killing the undead so don't go talking about them. You'll be executed for anything bad. And thank god you are human."
"Don't worry…" Fishy said not truly understanding how extreme the religion truly was. "Nothing I hate more than religious royalty."
"Ha!" Clara burst out laughing. "Well, you'll love it here then. Was it that bad where you came from? The kingdom of united or something."
"Nah, it was fine. There will always be people that love royalty and those that hate it. Same with religion. I was just one of those that didn't like it. I don't believe in god and I don't see a point in a king or queen. Although I assume things work differently here then they do where I'm from. But I love everyone equally, in my eyes all races are the same."
"Fair enough… I'm not religious either. Our village was considered to be cursed by the devil so they left us alone cause we were a cursed land. A load of shit if you ask me."
"I'm glad I picked you as my secretary," Fishy said smiling to himself.
"I'm still mad you did that without asking," Clara responded.
# # #
"Let's rest here," Clara said as she started to gather leaves to create a cover and find a rock for a pillow.
"Wonderful…"
"Well, Mr leader. I personally wished we had horses or something cause we'd be nearly there by now and not sleeping on the cold damp forest floor."
Fishy didn't try and complain as he had only started living in these conditions. Clara was born like this and as such, she was the most experienced out of the two of them.
"I'll wake you up early in the morning." She said, "Tomorrow will be just as tiring."
That night, with all the sounds of the terrifying monsters Fishy was yet to encounter. Some of which sounded like witches brewing in the night and the squeals of vampire bats looking for their victims.
Needless to say, Fishy didn't get much sleep that night.