I hope you enjoy this little resolution.

Have a fantastic weekend :)

-Plum

34 – The Children of Gavax

Andy read the notifications as he ran, swiping them away when he neared the end of the descending ramp and the yawning entrance to the underground tunnel. To his relief, the smoke was thin down there and the air noticeably cooler; his mana had run very low, so he’d canceled his Fire Walk spell before he ran out.

He saw Lucy and Denise not far ahead, peering into the dim tunnel. Andy saw figures down there—dozens or hundreds—with softly glowing eyes staring their way.

“Nice job, Andy!” Lucy said as he jogged up behind them.

“Nice job to all of us,” he replied. He looked Lucy over. She seemed okay despite the terrible injuries she’d had just minutes earlier. “You’re all right?”

She nodded. “I’m good. I don’t know how Bea does it, but her water was amazing. By the time you were back in the fight, I was feeling almost fine.”

“Did you get a chance to read the note about the settlement—about the workers?” Denise asked.

Andy looked past her to the staring eyes. “Yeah.” He turned to Lucy. “Um, do you mind if I…” He pointed to the translation charm around her neck.

“Oh! Sure.”

As she started to remove it, Andy had second thoughts and said, “I mean, unless one of you wants to speak to them…”

“Not me,” Denise replied. “Diplomacy was never my strong suit.”

“No, Andy,” Lucy said, handing him the charm. “It should be you. We’ll cover you from behind.”

“Yeah,” Denise added. “Just in case.”

Andy put the charm around his neck and tucked it down under his shirt. Then, Scirocco in hand, he started forward, approaching the little bark-skinned people. None of the workers that he could see were wearing any clothes, let alone armor, and though a few carried picks or hammers, none of them held them threateningly.

Andy feared they might not be able to speak at all, but he was pretty sure Lucy had told him the soldiers had said something to her. He glanced at her, but didn’t bring it up; he’d find out soon enough. The tunnel was wide, and the further they got from the opening, the fresher and cooler the air felt. Andy hoped that meant the heat and smoke in the dome had found a way out. Maybe Gavax hadn’t sealed all the doors completely, or maybe there was a vent in the ceiling.

When he was just ten or so paces from the front ranks of workers, and he could see that none of them stood taller than his chest, he leaned on Scirocco, trying to look unthreatening as he called out, “Can any of you understand me?”

The workers looked at each other and then turned toward the back of their group. Andy followed their gaze, watching as a figure moved forward, larger than the others, but not much so. When it got closer, Andy saw another distinguishing feature; the worker wore a thick copper chain around its neck. When it stood at the front of the gathered workers, it looked at Andy and spoke:

“I am Digger. These are my brothers.” He gestured left and right. “Are you the new Father?”

Andy frowned, searching his mind for the best response. After a moment, he said, “I’m not what you should call a father, but you can call me a leader. Are you familiar with the term?”

Digger appeared to ponder Andy’s words, looking left and right, and then, after a long enough time that Andy began to wonder if he should rephrase his question, the worker said, “I am the leader of these brothers. You are the leader of Digger?”

“Yes!” Andy smiled, stepping forward. “I’m the leader of all of you now. Are there other leaders among your kind?”

“Yes, Leader. There are Cutter and Maker. Father used to talk to us three together.”

Denise leaned close to Lucy, whispering, “It sounds like the poor thing’s dying. What an awful language.”

Andy glanced at her, frowning, but saw that Lucy had her ears partially covered. He wondered if the Gavax worker sounded like Gavax himself—discordant, grating consonants. Andy put his hand on the charm, silently thanking Jilly for the gift she’d given him and his people. He refocused on Digger and said, “Do you know where the System Node is?”

Digger pointed behind Andy. “Near where Maker and his brothers work.”

Andy looked back past Lucy and Denise. His Flame Sight made it clear that the dome was still choked with smoke. “Digger, is there another way out? There’s too much smoke that way.”

“Yes, Leader. We have dug near the surface in many places. Shall we open the tunnel for you?”

Nodding, Andy gestured for Digger to lead the way. “Yes, and when we get outside, I’d like you to introduce me to Maker and Cutter.”

Digger stared at him again, perhaps processing the words. After a moment, he turned and started walking. “This way, Leader.” The other workers moved ahead of him, as though following some unspoken signal, and Andy turned to Denise and Lucy, waving them forward.

“Did you get any of that?”

“They’re going to show you a way out?” Lucy guessed.

“Yeah.”

“I gathered most of it from your side of the conversation,” Denise said. “Sounds like there are three foreman-type fellows? Are they—fellows, I mean?”

Andy shrugged. “I think so. He called all the workers his brothers.” He started after the little workers, and the tunnel shrank in scope after fifty feet or so. Soon, Andy had to stoop to avoid scraping his head on the perfectly rectangular, but low-ceilinged passage. Darkness wouldn’t have bothered him, but it wasn’t dark in the tunnel. Every twenty feet or so, there was a copper fixture in the wall holding an egg-shaped stone that glowed with a soft yellow light.

“They’re like dwarves from Lord of the Rings,” Lucy said. “You know—short and broad.”

“Heh,” Andy said, chuckling. “I guess so.”

At the first branch, the workers turned left, and Andy followed, but only for a short while. The workers had stopped and, up ahead, Andy could hear the sounds of their picks as they dug—to the surface, he hoped.

“Do you think it will take long?” Lucy asked.

Andy shook his head. “I don’t think so. Digger said they were close to the surface.”

While they waited, Denise leaned against the tunnel wall, and when she regarded Andy and Lucy, she had a serious expression—lips pressed together, brows narrowed in concentration. After a moment, she said, “We really kind of risked a lot by charging into that dome. If Gavax hadn’t been weak to fire, we would have been in trouble.”

Andy nodded. “Yeah. His spells were strong, and I couldn’t really hurt him until his clay dried out.”

“Isn’t it strange that the workers aren’t hostile to us at all?” Lucy asked.

“I don’t think so,” Andy said. He’d been thinking about it ever since he’d first spoken to Digger. “Gavax made his children with specific roles—like castes. The fighters were the…fighters. These guys have a single job: they dig for ore. I bet the other two worker castes are the same.”

“Have you thought about what the System said? What are we going to do with them?”

“First, I’m going to see what kinds of options are available at the System Node. I think we need to do something, though—I mean, more than just setting them loose. A thousand pacifist workers won’t last long in the desert.”

“Yeah, we can’t do that!” Lucy said, moving closer to entwine her fingers with his.

Andy smiled at her, but before he could say more, the workers ahead of them began to move to the sides, and then Digger appeared, walking down the center of the passage. “Leader, the way is open.”

“Okay, can you lead me to the System Node?”

Digger didn’t reply, but he turned and started to walk, so Andy and the others followed. The workers on the sides of the tunnel were silent, and though he didn’t explicitly try to count them, Andy thought they had to number in the hundreds. After a while, they came to some surprisingly even steps carved into the hard soil that led up to a rectangle of sunlight. Andy climbed up and into the open, where the air smelled of smoke.

He turned, scanning the surroundings, and found that they were still inside the Gavax settlement, though on the other side of the big earthen dome. Dark smoke billowed out of the dome in several locations—gaps in the earthworks that Gavax had hastily erected to trap Andy and the others. The world was silent, and when Andy turned toward the forges he’d seen from the air, he saw a crowd of workers watching him.

Like the diggers, the makers were short and broad, but they all wore belts with pouches and held tools. A larger-than-average one stood near the center of the crowd watching Digger as he, in turn, watched Andy. Between them, the System Node hovered in the air, smooth earth beneath it.

Andy started toward the node. “Thank you, Digger.”

“What else should I do, Leader?”

“I’d like you to find Cutter. I believe he’s outside the wall. Bring him to the Node, because I’ll want to speak to the three of you soon.”

Digger stared for a moment, then turned and started toward the far side of the dome. As he walked away, Andy glanced at Lucy and Denise, then approached the System Node. When he put his hand on it, yellow System text flashed before his eyes:

**Congratulations, Andy! You’ve captured a formerly hostile settlement! The remaining citizens are not hostile to you and won’t resist your claim, so you are free to add this settlement as a subject territory or dissolve it, in which case some of the Boon Points spent here will be credited to your primary settlement, Mesquite Mesa. What action would you like to take?**

Andy hesitated. Of course, he wanted more Boon Points, but if he dissolved the Gavax Collective, then he’d probably doom the remaining workers. He supposed he could try to bring them all to Mesquite Mesa, but the workers were so strange, and there were so many of them, that he wasn’t sure they’d be a good fit. On the other hand, if he claimed the settlement as a subject territory, he might be presented with options for utilizing the industrious nature of the workers.

“What if I can get them to make stuff for us?” He turned to Lucy and Denise. “Do you think there’s any way to make more of them—more of the soldiers?”

Denise frowned, but it was Lucy who said, “Do you think that would be right? Weren’t they basically like slaves to Gavax? I mean, even though he called them children, I don’t think he really cared about them.”

“Well…” Andy sighed, turning to look at the assembled “maker” workers. After another moment of thought, he turned back to the node. “Let’s explore this a little.” Before he touched it, he looked at the two women again and said, “Do you mind?”

Neither objected, so Andy touched the node and said, “Subject territory.”

***Congratulations, Andy! You’re claiming the Gavax Collective as a subject territory. Choose how you’d like to manage the territory:

A.    Maintain personal control.

B.    Appoint a governor from outside the settlement.

C.    Elevate a governor from the current citizens.

Simply state your choice when ready.***

“I can appoint a governor. I mean, it could be anyone, or I can pick one from the workers…”

“What about someone like James?” Denise asked. “Seems like these workers could really help his production.”

“You should meet the other worker bosses, Andy,” Lucy said.

Andy nodded, looking toward the gate as he contemplated their words. Of course, he could see someone from Mesquite Mesa doing a good job leading the workers, but was that the right thing to do? The System’s message from earlier ran through his mind: The System will evaluate your treatment of the Gavax remnants and may generate a special reward if it approves.

Somehow, he didn’t think that keeping the Gavax “remnants” in the same caste system, working for a new boss, was the best he could do. Silently, he thanked Lucy for her empathetic insight, and slowly began to form a plan—starting with the Gavax children maintaining some independence.

When he saw Digger approaching with another worker, this one taller, but not nearly so broad at the shoulders, he walked over to the worker that he figured was Maker. Like Digger, the worker had a chain around his neck, though his was made of black iron.

When Digger approached with Cutter, Andy saw that Cutter’s necklace was made of woven red flowers. When all three were present, he said, “Hello, Digger, Cutter, and Maker. I am your new leader, and you may call me Leader or Andy.”

None of them replied, but they looked at each other for several seconds. They all had eyes made of stone. Cutter’s were smooth and pale. Digger’s were rough and dark, and Andy wondered if they were coal. Maker’s eyes were polished turquoise. “Listen. I want to make one of you the governor of this settlement. That means you’ll be in charge—a leader. The System says I can elevate one of you, which makes me wonder if you’ll get some kind of boost—maybe a new class. Do any of you particularly want to be the governor?”

They all stared at him, none venturing an answer. After a moment, Andy tried something else. “Do any of you understand what Gavax—Father—was doing in the dome?” He pointed. “That building?”

“He made children,” Maker said. “Diggers, cutters, makers, and fighters.”

The other two remained silent.

“Digger,” Andy said, “which of your brothers here is the smartest? You, Maker, or Cutter?”

“Maker,” he said without hesitation.

Andy nodded, looking at Cutter. “And do you agree?”

“Yes. Maker must know how to make. I only cut.”

“And I dig,” Digger added.

“What can you make, Maker?”

“My brother makers and I make lights, tools, weapons, and armor.”

A thought occurred to Andy, and he asked, “What do you all eat? How do you survive?”

Again, it was Maker who responded. “We take nourishment from the sun and the soil.”

His mind made up, Andy said, “Wait here.” Then, he walked back to the node and put his hand on it. “I will appoint a governor from the citizens here.”

**State the name of the individual you are appointing. Be sure to fix them firmly in your mind.**

Andy turned to stare at Maker and said, “Maker.”

**Congratulations! You’ve appointed Maker as the Governor of the Gavax Collective. As a result, Maker will receive extra Improvement Points and new Class selection options. Additionally, your settlement, Mesquite Mesa, will receive one Boon Point for every three Boon Points earned by the Gavax Collective.**

He’d just finished reviewing the notification when Maker stepped closer to him. “Leader, thank you! The System has spoken to me more than ever before, and I’ve learned much. I will govern this settlement well.”

Andy smiled, nodding to the broad-shouldered, tree-like person. “I’m glad to hear that, Maker. Shall we spend some time talking about what you should work on first?”

“English would be a good choice,” Denise quipped.

Andy shook his head, but an idea struck him. “Maker, I wonder if you could learn to make something like this.” He fished the translation charm out from under his shirt, displaying it for Maker.

“This is beyond me now, but perhaps I can learn. I have a new class, new skills, and the ability to learn and teach more. Please, Leader Andy, may we discuss the future of our settlement?”

Andy smiled, nodding. “Yes, Governor Maker, let’s discuss the future of your settlement.”

**Congratulations on your resolution of the quest: Demise of the Gavax. The System will reward you and your party with rare System-generated items when you next rest in a safe location.**

**Congratulations! You’ve incorporated the Gavax Collective as a subject territory. So far, you’ve earned 1 Boon Point from your subject territory.**

***Tucson Desert Basin Regional War and Faction Event Status Update:

Goal: Unite or conquer the various factions in the Tucson Desert Basin.

Mesquite Mesa Faction Progress:Mount Lemmon Elven Refuge – FriendlyDondalli Settlement – AlliedGavax Collective – Allied SubjectMondole Clan – HostileVexid Hive – NeutralHuorn Nomads – FriendlyNight Kingdom – HostileLentiss Empire – HostileTitan Silo Society – Neutral

Congratulations! Your faction has incorporated the Gavax Collective as a subject territory, earning a Boon Point for Mesquite Mesa. Further prizes will be awarded for each settlement your faction conquers or adds to its alliance. Special awards await the faction that unites the region!***