Unsettling Peace

The humans didn’t return, and neither did the shades. It left a pit in Bard’s stomach, but they began to rebuild, keeping a bit more alert to any threats. Sen helped where she could, but after some time, she asked for more rest, saying she hadn’t fully recovered from the continuous fighting. Bard understood that. Between the night fights and the day skirmishes, he felt drained, but so many things had to be looked over. Redefining defenses, continuing building the wall. They had fortified mostly for shades, but their structure wasn’t the best for fighting human or Dryad foes.

Amir offered ideas on how they would defend against any dryads if needed, and Elvira had some surprisingly good insights on human warfare. Her father apparently told her about his fights with other villages and what sort of defenses they had and why it was effective or not.

The catfolk were eager and offered to help build and plan these things for a lower fee, so long as they could be given places to build their own homes and a small temple for worship. The leaders liked the idea, and Bard agreed that it made sense for them to ask for it in negotiations. But he wanted to see their proposal before he agreed to it. Some of their kind had ulterior motives and without Jamil to point it out, he felt a bit defenseless to this sort of warfare. They eagerly went to draft up their proposals.

The dryads organized to cultivate the mountains and harvest more herbs. Elder Abundance came out and promised to help them with it, so they wouldn’t overharvest and create problems down the line. When it was discovered that he was teaching, several more joined, hoping to gain a token from him.

Protection and Defender offered different insights into helping with the defenses, but Bard found it was easier to find solutions if he talked with them one on one and took the best answers from them and discussed it with Amir.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into a month. Spring was officially here, and with it, many began to plant crops and cultivate the land. Skirmishes with the southern tribes waxed and waned. Several people came to Sal Shefa asking for safety. Some offered insight into the southern tribes, but most were turned away. They could stay outside the walls and build a life for themselves, but were not allowed in unless they could prove their loyalty. One requirement was having at least five tokens, which many balked at. Bard explained that many in the village were working on gaining eight tokens from the eight Elders. Five was the bare minimum according to Elwood that would show that they were willing to abide by their laws and work with them instead of against. Several left, cursing them, but a few stayed. Bard made sure to have an Elder come out each week and teach them, but they were not to be let in.

Construction began to grow, and the walls began to climb the mountain side. They took advantage of a cliffside on the east, and made steady progress.

As spring grew, the world became more vibrant with the greens or the buds appearing. The flowers of the winter months faded, which Bard was sad to see, but Sen enjoyed growing some flowers in their yard, which made it an interesting spectacle when he returned throughout the day.

Kihana and Jamil returned a bit later, battered and saying the roads were too dangerous to make the journey again, making them cut off. Bard showed them to the section where the catfolk had begun building their temple, which put the new arrivals at ease. Jamil jabbed at Bard about becoming more accommodating to their religion, and Bard refused to jump into that, knowing where it would lead if he did.

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