Grendal glanced over his shoulder while his three Husks marched behind him. Positioned further back were the two identical blonde-haired twins—a quiet pair.
As he led them back to the base, they spoke little. He had asked them if they had food, but the one in the red t-shirt and blue jeans—Tia was her name—said no.
Great, now I potentially have two mouths to feed, Grendal thought as he stepped over a rotting log. He turned and held out a hand for Lucy, the one with the crumpled brown shirt—there would be a problem when they changed clothes.
Lucy looked at Grendal's outstretched hand, then at her sister, who was helping her walk. "Thank you, but we can step over a log."
"Okay," Hector shrugged as the three husks glided over the log.
The girl's response was reasonable. In a new situation, trustworthiness was uncertain.
Grendal turned and continued forward, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to ensure they kept up. He'd offered them rest at his base—if they wanted to stay after that, it was up to them. But he at least wanted them to see it.
It was stupid, but the idea of building something he controlled appealed to him.
The empire had failed its people in many ways. But he had the Clan Force system—he wouldn't make the same mistakes.
The group continued to walk in hushed silence until Grendal spoke up. "So, what part of the empire are you from?" He glanced back at the two.
Frowning, the two girls shared a look.
"Empire?" Lucy said. "Flaonia is a free country. We don't—wait your from the Braxus Empire?"
He stopped and turned, facing the two.
"Where is Flaonia, it doesn't sound familiar? Is it on the Dead continent?"
"Dead continent?" Lucy adjusted her grip as her sister helped her over another log. "Of course a Braxian would think anything outside their control was dead."
Grendal frowned. Was he wrong? In school, the teachers had always told them that anything past the empire's borders was decayed and rotting due to years of war—only feral tribes lived out there.
"I'm not sure what you mean." Grendal looked up as distant howls pricked his ears. "We should keep walking, but yes, I am from the Braxus Empire," he said, and continued forward.
"Tia, he's a Braxian," Lucy said in what she no doubt thought was a whisper. But Grendal didn't mind. "You know things they've done to the outlining towns."
"What else can we do?" Tia hissed, "he's got those robots with him. And besides, the old world is dead. The empire and Flaonia are gone."
Silence passed for a moment between the group as the continued walking.
"So, what are your future plans?" Grendal said, pushing through one final brush and walking into his clearing.
The two remaining Husks were still sitting around the growing tower. Grendal smiled and held the bush back for the two girls. "Welcome to my little home. It's not much, but it's mine."
"What is that?" Lucy said, walking under Grendal's arm with the help of her sister. "Is that your house?"
"No, not my house... more like a base." Grendal let go of the bush after the two had passed and made his way over to the bunker.
"You," he said, pointing at the Husk worker closest to him. "Go help finish growing the tower."
The worker paused briefly, the grass rustling by its feet, before it turned and walked towards the tower.
"It's the base that will help me build a home for myself in this new world." He said, turning to the two girls.
"How are you doing all this?" Tia asked, guiding Lucy down onto a patch of dirt. "Is it something you got from the system? Careful Lucy."
"Sort of. I'm not sure," Grendal said. He walked over to one of the leftover stumps a few feet from the bunker and sat down. "It's something I can do. I don't know if anyone else has it." He glanced at the CI orb bobbing to his side.
The three of them continued to talk for several minutes until a chime from the CI caught his attention.
"USER: ID 2244. The Spear Throwers Tower has completed construction." The orb said, moving in front of him. "Do you wish to start the construction of the next building?"
It then turned into a map—much smaller than the one inside the base. The list of three facilities was before Grendal once again. Options. But it was the mines he wanted. He had more buildings to build in the future, and running out of resources would put him in a difficult position.
"Wow," Tia said, walking over to the tower and stopping a few feet from its base. "Oh, there's another robot up there as well."
Grendal glanced up and spotted a husk standing atop the tower, holding a spear at its side. Unlike the workers, it wasn't white, but green.
Do they come in different colours? Not that it matters.
The tower was taller than the bunker—the exact height wasn't clear, but it was at least four of him.
"What are you doing?" Lucy asked from his side. She reclined against a stump Hector had asked a worker to bring over—it wasn't much, but it was something.
"I'm deciding what to build next. Well, not deciding what to build but where to place it." He said, strolling over to the tower. The CI screen floated along in front of him.
He could place both mines next to each other, but it would be easier for them to get attacked simultaneously—if he was ever in that position.
However, if I place them on the same side of the bunker, I'd need to bunch up my defence.
He frowned. The idea was terrible for the early game of strategy titles he had played in the past. But this wasn't a game—at the least, it had real consequences.
"No...CI place the flowrium mine here, and place the metal mine here." He said, pointing to either side of the bunker. The distribution was to futureproof it—when he got more resources, Grendel would place another tower.
"USER: ID 2244. Consumption of resources has been completed. Please find seeds inside the HQ." The CI said, finishing with a chime.
Grendal turned and pointed to a couple of Husks workers moving tree stumps out of the clearing. "You two, come with me," he said.
Grendel then turned to Tia. "I'm going inside for a bit. I'll be right back."
The two girls turned to each other, then to him, and nodded. "Okay," Tia said. "But I think we should talk when you get back."
"About what?" Grendal said, making his way to the bunker door. The CI screen morphed back into the ringed orb and floated at his side.
"I don't know what the future holds," Tia said, glancing at her sister. "But I think it's best we stay with you."
Grendal couldn't stop the smile coming to his lips. He swivelled, placing his hand on the bunker door and waiting for it to open. "We can talk about it more when I get back."
Once the door opened, Grendal strolled into the bunker with two Husk workers behind him. It was happening. He was building his own Faction. Now, he needed to find his friends—if that was possible.
He walked up onto the stage and found two podiums near the front of it. Each podium held a fist-sized white seed sitting atop a blue pillow, emanating a hazy white aura.
Once these are underway, it will be time to find food.
———————————————————
Tia sat down next to Lucy, resting her back against the stump. The dirt didn't bother her too much anymore. Her clothing was already a complete mess—what harm would one more stain be?
A calm silence passed between the two until Lucy cleared her throat and turned to her. "You want to stay with that Braxian?"
"What choices do we have?"
"Many, we could go and join up with 8464, or even that policeman," Lucy said. "If you don't like them, we could find others."
"No."
"Why?"
"Don't take this the wrong way," Tia said, brushing a loose strand of hair from her eye. "But that's a childish idea. As we are right now, we are weak. We all are, everyone in this realm. It's the first day, and who knows how many people have died?"
"I don't get your point," Lucy said, biting her lower lip. "If we are weak, surely that is a better reason to be with people we trust. Not a Braxian."
Tia sighed and massaged her forehead—why couldn't Lucy understand? "That's what I'm saying. He's strong. Hell. Look at that," she said, pointing to the tower. "It hasn't even been a day, and he has what amounts to a small base. If he can produce more of those workers, he'd have an army."
Tia huffed and let her gaze wander. In the distance, two of the Husks—as Grendal called them—dug some of the remaining stumps out of the ground and moved them to the edge of the clearing.
"This is our l chance to join something small," Tia said, reaching over and combing her fingers through Lucy's hair. "I don't know if this Braxian is a good man. But I'm willing to gamble, as the payoff could be worth it."
"Tia," Lucy said, looking down at her leg, and Tia followed.
"And you've sprained your ankle. So we can't go, anyway." Tia said, "Just give it time."
A chime broke the sisters from their conversation, causing Tia to look at her CI.
"User ID: 3434. Beginner Realm event has been initiated. Dungeons feast. TASK: find one of three Dungeons and defeat the boss to open the Realm gate and travel to a true Realm. WARNING: if Dungeon is not found within 48 hours, it will have a Dungeon break."
"Crap."