Homestead Survival

<19 August 2024, GRAND MESA OF SUMMER , A+>
[Theo and Julia]
Theo and Julia woke the next day, ate, and quickly got to work. Theo went to work in the Cabin, taking an inventory of what was there, and Julia continued her work with Ordus and the dwarves.

At lunch, they ate in comfortable silence until one of the dwarves walked up. Ordus rose to speak with him; Theo and Julia recognized him as Kreldar Underbrace, whom the System had instructed them to work with. Ordus spoke for a moment and then came back to Theo and Julia.

"He says that he wants permission to work out a map of the tunnels in the Overlook and to see about getting a foundation dug for whatever will be inside the Ward runes," Ordus said.

"I see. The map would not be a problem, but the foundation might; we need to figure out a plan regarding that. We don't have any paper or anything to design it, so communicating what we want might be difficult." Theo said.

Ordus nodded and went back to Kreldar. He spoke for a moment, and the Dwarf grew excited, waving his hands and nodding. Ordus came back over. "He is requesting permission to design a home for the two of you. Apparently, his class is something similar to an architect."

Julia smiled, "We would love to see a design. And tell him that we have something to show him after the Ward runes are completed."

Ordus nodded and went to the Dwarf, and they both walked away. Julia turned to Theo. "Alright, let's knock the question of the day out."

"Okay, then I am going to haul some water from the Deepwell to the berry bushes I planted," Theo said and then looked at the ring. After a moment, he locked eyes with Julia. "What else do you want to ask?"

Julia shrugged. Theo looked hesitant. Then looked down at the ring. "Is my mother alive?"

Julia's eyes shot wide. She had not thought to ask anything like that.

>Private Message: Query - "Is my mother alive?"
>Private Message: Processing...
>Private Message: Failed Roll
>Private Message: As the Ancestors will not always answer, the System will not always answer.

"Well, it was worth a shot," Theo said somewhat sadly.

"Ask again tomorrow," Julia said without hesitation. "If you really want to know, that is."

Theo nodded and then gave Julia a quick peck on the cheek before wandering off. Julia watched him go for a moment, then went her own way to continue helping the dwarves.

By nightfall, another nine of the massive runes were completed. They went to bed tired from a long day at work. The Dwarves continued to labor, apparently agreeing to help with mapping the tunnels.

<20 August 2024, GRAND MESA OF SUMMER , A+>
[Theo and Julia]
The next day was more the same. As Theo and Julia ate breakfast, Julia offered a suggestion to Theo. "I have two ideas for you, Theo."

Theo looked at her sleepily, and she continued. "Why don't we see what Kreldar has come up with at lunch, as I think there are only three Ward runes left. And then why don't we also look at whatever map they have come up with and see if there is any part of the tunnel that we want more work done."

Theo nodded. "Okay, that sounds like a plan."

Julia smiled, and they ate for a moment more. "Anything you want to ask the ring, Julia?"

Julia looked up at Theo. "No. I want you to answer the question you have. I will come up with a question when you get your answer."

Theo nodded and asked once more. "Is my mother alive?"

>Private Message: Query - "Is my mother alive?"
>Private Message: Processing...
>Private Message: Successful Roll
>Private Message: User Theo Sorrenson, Son of Andrew Sorrenson and Carla Askelton. User Carla Askelton is currently alive.

"Askelton?" Theo said, confused.

"Is that her maiden name?" Julia asked.

"No. Her maiden name was Hillmore." Theo said. "She must have re-married. Good for her, I guess. I am going to go and see what's going on with the Cabin and start packing up the stuff. Move all the bricks over and such."

With that, Theo stood and walked quickly to the Cabin.

Julia sighed. "Do I want to ask about my mom? Or should I let a sleeping dog lie? What should I ask..."

She walked to the Ward rune array to help complete the last of the Ward runes.

At lunch, Theo came back and found that Julia was not at the spot they had been camping. He traveled to the Thronehold and found her waiting there; three of the dwarves were conversing, and the others were not to be found.

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"Hey, what's up?" Theo said as he stepped up.

"I wanted to wait for you. This is the last stone that needs to be placed, and I want you to help me place it." Julia said, "I think it's important. Not for the System or for anything other than us."

Theo smiled. "Okay."

They lifted the stone together and set it into the carefully prepared slot for it, completing the last Ward rune.

A thrumming sensation washed over the Ward array. And then they could feel mana from all around rushing in. So much mana that it started a windstorm blowing into the middle of the Thronehold. As more and more mana poured into the Ward runes, they began to glow. For several moments, the Ward runes sucked in every last drop of ambient mana that they could until a dull thump caused all of it to stop.

Julia and Theo were greeted by a blue box.

"We are one step away," Theo said, squeezing Julia's shoulder.

"We are. It seems like we could complete it right now." Julia said.

"If you want to," Theo said, looking at her.

Julia thought for a moment, "Not yet. Now then, why don't we go see Kreldar."

Theo nodded. "Alright, let's."

They approached the three dwarves, who looked a little disheveled at the wind that had been there for a moment. Ordus and the remaining dwarves came rushing over. Ordus spoke quickly. "We felt a massive influx of power. Are you both all right?"

"We are fine, Ordus. Just placed the last stone and the Ward Array sucking in a massive amount of mana." Theo said reassuringly.

"Oh, good." Ordus straightened himself out, "Well then, My lord, my lady. What next."

"Please tell Kreldar that we have something to show him, and we would like to see his map and what he has come up with as far as designs so far."

Ordus smiled and relayed the words to the older Dwarf. Kreldar smiled and nodded. First, he produced a slab of stone that featured a nice representation of the Overlook, and it was carved with a simple yet clear map. The tunnels were not as impressive as they had thought they would be, with several openings out into the open air.

Kreldar spoke for a moment, and Ordus relayed the message. "He says that it may be worthwhile to hold off on doing anything for the moment, as massive amounts of mana may change landscapes, so the upcoming Primordial Flight may change the tunnels. He is unsure but would suggest that a new map be created after the event."

Theo nodded. "That is good to know; thank you, Kreldar."

The Dwarf nodded and then continued. Ordus translating once more. "He says that with your permission, he will show you what he has come up with for the house."

Julia smiles and nods eagerly. "Please, Kreldar, we would love to see what you came up with."

With a rushing of mana, a wireframe of a structure was presented in Cherenkov blue. What they saw was a grand castle that butted up to the inner edge of the Ward runes. It towered over the Overlook.

"Wow," Julia said, taking a step back to take in the entire design.

"Cool," Theo said, looking up at the castle. "We could do a castle."

"We could..." Julia said hesitantly.

Ordus spoke up, then, "He has four designs to show you."

Theo nodded. "Okay, please show us the next one."

Another bloom of mana, and suddenly, they were looking at a sprawling, nearly ranch-style home made of stone and wood. Julia smiled. "I don't dislike this."

Theo walked around for a moment. "It is not bad."

Julia nodded. "Okay, what is next?"

Kreldar activated whatever skill he was using once more, and a third wireframe appeared. This one was unusual, as it was a smaller castle, but it was perched on four towers, lifting the whole thing nearly fifty feet off the ground.

"I am not a fan of this one at all," Julia said.

Theo nodded. "Sorry, Kreldar, not this one."

The Dwarf chuckled and used the skill once more, showing them the last of the plans. This one was more of a manor house. It was still mostly stone, but it looked far more like what they expected. Kreldar saw that both Theo and Julia were interested and started talking.

Ordus translated. "He says that this manor has several things going for it, firstly that you can stack floors as you please. Each floor would be roughly twenty thousand square feet, but that includes both wings, both towers and the main house. In the design, as he has it here. With five floors for each tower, two floors for the wings, three floors for the main house, an additional two floors of a pseudo-tower on top of the main house, and a full basement, the total square footage comes to just over one hundred and thirty thousand square feet."

"Jesus," Julia muttered under her breath. She looked at Theo to gauge his thoughts. But all she could see were gears turning.

"You said full basement; what did you mean by that?" Theo asked.

Ordus translated again. "I took some liberties and assumed one floor of the basement that would be the entirety of the Thronehold dug to within ten feet of the inner line of the Ward runes. This could be expanded if you wished, or multiple subfloors could be added."

Theo nodded and turned to Julia. "I like this. It is a huge house, but from what we have seen, we might be living here for many hundreds of years. So why don't we see if we can get the basement done and then build the house itself later?"

Julia thought for a moment and then nodded. "Okay, I like it. Ordus, tell him we like it, but we have something to show him before we agree to anything."

Kreldar nodded, and Theo stepped forward, pulling the Homestead Core from his pouch, and Julia pulled the Lantern of Guiding Light out.

"Ordus," Theo said, "Please tell him that these need to be housed before anything else."

Ordus spoke, and as Theo and Julia watched, Kreldar's eyes grew wider and wider with each word before a large grin spread across his face.