sundown

I could hear the clock on my watch ticking down, before it buzzed. Night had come swiftly, and now that the sun was beginning its descent, I asked myself several questions about the progress made. It was nearly eight hours, and the merchants were gone to Tara Mura. It would be at least two days before they would be able to return with the word of a supply line. Our treasurer Caro had been sent with them as a representative and diplomat. Tents had been set up in rows, with pit fires around the area. Rolling across the tree line, I would land beside the large pile of disorganized trees. Taking off my jacket, I would neatly fold it and sit it in the grass before beginning to stack the trees. The lumberjacks had done well to strip the branches of them , making it easier for me to do this. Children had gathered to watch me pick up these large trees, and sit them in a neat stack. It was a rather heavy job, but needed to be done. This would make it an easy job for the carpenters to do their job starting tomorrow. As soon as I finished up, I would unfold my jacket, and put it back across my shoulders. A light sigh would escape my lips while I stretched, looking across at the children. They were small, and innocent. I was rather happy that they could grow up in peace. These children were untainted, and would survive under my guidance.

I had a momentary thought about what the other spirit would have done. I knew, all too well, that he would have taken them all, and raised them as soldiers. Especially the females of all others. I had seen firsthand what types of women he kept in his company, and the messed up ways they were treated. I got a chill whenever that Do, his ninja girl, was around me. I couldn’t quite put my hands on it, but there was something off about her. I had been given the chance to save these people from their fate, and deliver them to a new land. I was rather satisfied seeing the humans smile and enjoy their first night of freedom. It would take a while for them to have actual homes, but as time went on, it would be a great possibility for each family here to have their own home. Moving through the children, they all followed me towards the center of the outpost area, running around and having fun in the setting sun. My other priority tonight would be to protect them from whatever types of wildlife may venture into the area looking for an easy meal. I wasn’t about to turn this place into an open shelf buffet for the local residents. The other point of problem was dealing with getting sleep tonight. I had a date at dawn, and I couldn’t handle doing two nights in a row without any sleep.

Several people came over to sit and chat with me as the sun came down. They were expressing their concerns, and happiness with having a new home. I knew it was hard for them to adjust right away, and didn’t expect them to. The joy that I found was that they understood the opportunity that they had. Their children would now have an easier way to get into the cities, to be educated, and to be a part of our society. This led me to an entire new section of problems, with the lack of religion I might experience some unrest eventually. This would be a possible problem, and I knew how to fix it. There was a particular seer that I had come across, and I knew that she would be of great use here. With that in the front of my mind, I would have to get on that as soon as I had time. Unfortunately, I would need someone to be able to run this place while I was absent, which would be a decent amount of time. It was bad enough I had left without giving too much information to my assistant in the future realm. With that said, it would be within my best interest to set up a council formation as soon as possible. Would I want a democracy, or a representative republic? I had studied world history, and focused on the types of government. I figured that if I knew them in and out, I could understand them easier.

256

The first part of understanding was dealing with learning. While sitting here at the table, I learned several things about these people. The first was that there were people here who knew resources. This was a great thing for me, and knowing this I could work on gathering them as merchants. They each had a skill or craft as well, making them more useful to the people here. If we could increase the amount of finances flowing into the village, and create a treasury department first thing, I might be able to focus on expanding the village quicker than possible. I had an idea, and I decided to make the two small houses be no longer houses. Explaining my stance on this, I would inform those at the table and in the immediate area that the first two would be a significant breakthrough, and thus hold a special purpose. We needed a financial center, and residential center. The residential center would also become the command outpost. Looking across at the water, the second shipment of slaves would arrive, right on time. This was a perfect gift from the other spirit, and with it the promise of a continued unity between our people. With a smile, I would look across the table to one of the stronger looking men. “Congratulations, you are now captain of the military”. He smiled curiously, and probably wondered why. Not wanting to press the issue, he accepted the position with a simple nod. Time to go get the slaves to work, and make them earn their lives back.

262

+7 merchants
+ daily work
1,018 words