There was a vast clearing in the forest and there a camp hid. This was the camp of hope and aspirations. The humans who guarded it were anything but, however.
"Hey, things have been pretty quiet huh?" Bede asked Stuart who was perched on a wall.
Stuart was not atop any wall however, it was the wall of their base, Aspiration. His purpose of being atop such a tall structure looking out into the horizon was obvious. Or at least could be easily inferred.
He was waiting for someone or something.
There were not going to be any real signs of the youngsters they sent off for a while but Stuart still felt uneasy.
"We should install one of those space magic communicators or whatever…" Stuart said exasperated from the boring routine days in the dungeon.
"You know the dungeon's spatial interference wouldn't allow it" Bede said in response. Stuart didn't say much from there.
While Stuart was contemplating life, and Bede was being a pain just by standing around, Train was the only one doing any actual work. He was taking the lead in all the building operations for the base.
His earth magic proficiency ensured that he could spot flaws and just be a strong guiding pillar for the inexperienced. But building when there was no one to occupy the buildings felt a bit dull.
Truth be told, the plan was to attack the orcs but that seemed like wishful thinking with their current numbers. It hardly reached 50 and the abilities of these 50 were not stellar. In fact, the number of peak B-classes could be counted on one hand which was not a good sign for an elite company.
Peak B-classes were not much on their own but sudden enlightenment in battle could still happen and a new A-class mage or knight could turn the tables on any dangerous situation that allowed them to enlighten in the first place.
But betting on someone having a sudden flash of insight to attack their foes was not reliable. Stuart, Bede, and Tarin brainstormed for many hours at this point but the results were nothing of substance.
Bedes suggestions were great but simultaneously too risky. That was because they relied heavily on luring away the unstable factor that was the one orc and there was no way to proceed with the rest of the plan without their disappearance. If the luring failed they would have lost the responsible team for nothing.
"I hope they are alright…" Stuart sincerely hoped that they had not sent a large party of the people to their doom. Balin really was a great company commander, he knew to hide the pain.
"Sigh…" But Stuart could not shake off his melancholy.
"Well, there is something we can do" Bede said suddenly causing Stuart to perk up. But this hope that had been rekindled quickly put itself out as Stuart took on a serious expression but reigned in his hopefulness.
"What is it?" Stuart asked.
"We can relocate" Bede replied causing various question marks to form on Stuarts head.
"...Why would we do that?" But although Stuart was doubtful, he still asked for more detail.
"Well, the closer we are, the faster they'll get to us" Bede explained. If they were going to be waiting patiently they should put themselves in a safer position.
"Plus, having more than one location is beneficial for the future. But even outside that, having a dummy base isn't bad." Bede continued to express the possibilities and reasons for relocation. It was clear that he thought up plenty of the topic.
So much so that one would suspect he had thought of it before but was only too afraid to speak out.
"How would you make the dummy? I mean, what's the point?" Stuart asked in return. If they just abandoned the base, that wouldn't be a dummy. Actually, they'd be the dummies.
Without putting any traps in the abandoned settlement they would just be giving up what they put so much effort into building.
Bebe smiled.
Stuart knew why, he had been hooked.
But, he had to admit it was a possibility worth exploring. Even more so on the odd chance that their location had already been revealed, relocation could place them closer to the exit.
***
Back in Sanctuary, the idea of currency had to be introduced but it wasn't a simple matter. If there was nothing to spend money on, the orcs would miss the point of currency.
'I suppose a slow introduction is fine but…' Ed saw it best to go big or go home with this idea.
So he went around Sanctuary studying the habits and hobbies of the orcs and see whether they were marketable.
"Professional Grass Grooming" An orc said to Ed who had already gone out on the marketable talents hunt.
"So... Some sort of Arborist?" Ed asked probing.
"No, not really... More like a grass racer" The orc responded.
"Wait... what is it that you do again?" Ed asked, not sure if he actually understood.
"Grass racing" The orc said.
"Grass racing" Ed also repeated with a deadpan expression. Was it possible to bet on grass racing? He thought not.
"Yeah! Very fun! You just watch the grass grow in separate patches, if your patch grows the tallest by the next week you win!" The orc explained enthusiastically.
'There is no radiation or something to mess with their brains here, right?' Ed continued to wander however not being stopped by the small hiccup.
"So you make dirt statues?" "Yes" Some orcs' hobbies were marketable like the one capable of making dirt statues but the demand was probably pretty low. Nevertheless, Ed was taking what he could get.
This orc was just one of many though, Ed kept at it for over an hour.
"Carvings!" An orc said proudly.
'The carving orc sounds promising' The orc liked to carve things on wood but Ed was disappointed once he found his art skills lay in… the abstract…
"It is.... It is unique" Ed said looking at a bunch of lines carved randomly onto a piece of wood. The orc felt even prouder now and not withstanding it, Ed quickly left the area.
'The arts are underdeveloped' So Ed had to focus on a different type of art. Cooking.
This was an art that would be even more underdeveloped due to the lack of ingredient variety as well as spices. But it was also one of the things the orcs would be most willing to get.
"Gorgo" Ed said as he knocked on a door. Gorgo was Dakgu's friend as well as a member of the boar farm. He was thus well acquainted with the cooking process for the boar meat.
Not just that, but Ed had consulted Dakgu and Sharog beforehand, and apparently, Gorgo was passionate about making and then eating good food.
'The poor orc must be getting held back by the lack of ingredients here' There wasn't much good food to make with just grass and boar meat. Ed would have to introduce Gorgo to the world of mushrooms.
"Ed- Ed!?!" Gorgo yelled from within his home having heard an unforgettable voice. It was Ed, the Ed! Last time he had acted quite casually because of Dakgu's unfortunate accident but looking back... He hadn't paid enough attention to his hero.
Before, Gorgo could only imagine himself eating good food. With the famine practically every settlement went through trying to discover taste was a sin. That was a great waste of food.
Now however Gorgo had more freedom to experiment with the taste. Although the situation was dire, it was sustainable. Orcs came and died rapidly so there were days when he had to restrain himself and days he didn't but… Ed was a hero who allowed him freedom of cuisine all the same!
"Wh- What brings you here?" Gorgo asked after finally realizing he had been staring in surprise for more than just a moment.
"I need you to open up a restaurant" Ed told Gorgo who was not at all understanding Ed's suggestion.
"You will get to make food for all the orcs but only… If they give you enough of these" Ed said before bringing out a couple of orc iron coins he made. He was no printer so the coins came out different in certain areas but they were otherwise near identical.
"I- I think I get it" Gorgo said still expressing mild confusion. But Ed found that the concept itself was pretty easy and Gorgo would nail it, so he didn't explain.
"This restaurant takes place in a building so let's go out and you can select any you like" Ed told Gorgo who fervently nodded. He didn't know what was going on exactly but he knew he would get to cook a lot.
With Gorgo on board, Ed felt that actively seeking out talent was a waste now. It was best to start planning a large scale festival-type event. The orcs would get to buy nifty trinkets, and eat good food.
Gorgo was not the only worker of the boar farm, so many other orcs knew some boar meat cuisines. They were different enough for the orcs to appreciate them.
'Sharog, brace yourself, it's going to be a long couple of days' Preparing something like that was not easy. Although places like Gorgo's restaurant had their own building, having everything in buildings would get rid of the roadside stall feel.
Sharog who heard a voice inside her head cursing her by speaking of more and prolonged work couldn't help but exit the town hall. She didn't know Ed's criteria for picking out marketable targets so she was instead taking care of the other matters.
Sharog was beelining towards Goe's Tavern. If she was going to be forced to do hard work she was not going to do it sober! That was a rookie's mistake!