So, I'm in ff14 now and having fun. Thankfully it's not something that is getting in the way of writing at all, and I'm surprised by that. There's lots to do but it's not as demanding of your time as wow ever was. Right now, I'm writing for 90 mins and then hopping on to go on a fishing expedition that takes place every 2 hours, lasts about 20 minutes, then back off to write. Did a few dungeons with some friends last night, had some fun, and attended a nightclub on another server in a house the players bought. They hired a DJ, we all tuned into music and a huge crowd of us were partying in the home they'd decorated like a club. It's just weirdly funny and so busy. Wow, there are a lot of people playing. I'm on EU anyway, in the world "Lich". Just charging along as a dragon girl modelled vaguely like Ruby – hairstyle, anyway.

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 118

The first weeks of spring brought about a shift in the weather, as frosted grass melted and the first rains came, pitter-pattering over the ocean and the rooftops. The cold was less cold than it had been, and it was the first night where lighting a fire in the large hearths was a luxury and not a necessity. The food they'd brought from Vale had been enough to last the colder months for them, but when stragglers, refugees and even a few survivors trying to live in the ruins had come forward, they'd had to rely on buying more from nearby villages. Luckily, that hadn't been difficult, and in a fortuitous turn of events throwing around that much coin had spread news of new wealth and money to be earned, which had drawn yet more people.

Not all of those had good intentions in mind of course, but the first bandit group to come close had swiftly noticed a small force of mounted knights, Arcanists and wisely decided not to even try. Presumably that news had spread as well, for they hadn't been bothered since. Instead, young men, women and couples had come from some of the nearby villages, moving out of their family's homes to try their fortunes in the newly rebuilding city.

They lucked out in all honesty, being granted rooms in the Collegium that were far finer than any they could have found outside. Once they had enough people to push out and rebuild the crumbling city itself, they'd have claim on a single house of their choosing, which would have otherwise cost a small fortune. All for the cost of a little work helping them start out, manual labour, fishing, woodcutting or – in the cases where they came skilled, whatever that was. Blake had been thrilled to find they now had a carpenter and a stonemason in the camp, and Adam had been asking around for any blacksmith apprentices in nearby villages who wanted to set up with them. That'd be easier now that winter was over and spring crops could be planted.

"There you are." Weiss strode up with the bottoms of her white robes muddy. Ruby wasn't sure why she still wore that colour when she herself had turned back to blue, but maybe Weiss just wanted something to match her hair. "Trust you to sleep in and miss morning chores. I swear I need to sleep in your room again if only to make sure you don't sleep yourself to death!"

"It was warm and toasty…"

"That's wonderful. I'm glad you were so comfortable while I was helping plant in the fields." Weiss flicked some dirt at her rather pettily. "The work is done now. You're taking my chores tomorrow so I can sleep in."

"Okay. Okay. Sheesh." Whatever happened to her noble friend who would have died before the thought of dirt beneath her fingernails – when had she become such a slave driver? "Do we have any more visitors today?"

"Yes actually. Do you remember the family from before we arrived, the one with the little girl with magical talent? They arrived this morning. Blake is seeing them set up while Maria teaches their daughter. Polite little thing," she added, "though I'm not sure Maria agrees since the girl keeps calling her grandma."

Ruby laughed. "They were farmers, right?"

"Yes. They've agreed to take over organising the crops tomorrow morning. Though that won't save you doing my chores. They'll need hands to plant seeds."

"I said I'll do it and I will. Where's Yang?"

"Fishing with Jaune."

Ugh. Yang always claimed the good jobs first – which she supposed she could have as well if she'd woken up early. Still, Yang was practically becoming their go-to fisherwoman, and not out of any love for the job. All she did was sit around on the docks with a few poles. They were thinking of buying some nets or trying to hire a weaver to make some for them.

"I guess I'll go carry fish back." Ruby said. "Unless you need me for anything?"

"No. Go. See if you can't find some mushrooms on the way – we're going to be cooking a big pot stew tonight to welcome the newcomers. Jade and Hazel already brought down a boar and are out looking for pheasant."

Nodding, Ruby stepped into her warm, wool-lined boots and stomped around to get comfortable, then hopped down onto the wet grass. To the left of the main building they'd claimed as their own, the grounds had been dug up into brown furrows of disturbed earth. A few topless and sweating knights were relaxing at the end of that with a drink, their jobs ploughing without tools done.

A few more of them stood atop the walls keeping an eye out – it was more for those who needed assistance nowadays, either refugees or their own coming back with more than could reasonably be carried. Menagerie was, for now, a treasure trove of supplies left behind by its previous occupants. The Grimm had not destroyed all despite their best efforts. Homes were searched and they'd found building materials and clothes and even some long-lasting food. The coin had been picked away sadly by looters, but what was left would help the rebuilding effort. Meanwhile, the nearby forests and meadows teemed with wildlife for the lack of any hunting that had taken place.

It wouldn't always be that way of course. As they grew, the supplies would dwindle and the animals would shy back to the thicker forests, but hopefully by then they could supplement it with better fishing and farming.

The gates lay open, Rodrick lounging by them. He nodded once to her and she back, before Ruby stepped out into the ruined city. Immediately outside the gate, a wooden sign had been erected by one of the knights, with both written directions and little symbols for those who could not read. Yang was learning thanks to Blake's efforts, but it would be slow going. To the west, with a little arrow, a picture of a fish detailed the docks. Ruby took the path, now cleared of debris, and headed down to where the homes thinned and a small, wooden fishing hamlet had once been erected. Most of that had burned down, leaving now a vast stretch of uneven rock, sand and blackened wood.

The docks itself had survived. The shallows were dotted with sunken boats, most small row boats, but at least one larger vessel was buried in the sand with a shattered mask sticking upward. Ruby spotted a splash of water off the prow of it and sighed. Trust Yang to swim all the way out there, and Jaune not to discourage her. Not at all wanting to step into the probably freezing water, Ruby stomped to the end of the small wooden jetty and cupped her hands before her mouth.

"Yang! Jaune! I need fish!"

Two heads of golden hair turned her way and presumably exchanged a few words with one another. Yang – or whom she assumed was Yang – arched off the boat in a graceful dive and began swimming back. There was no such thing as a former slum-dweller who couldn't swim. Not and who survived the floods anyway. Not that they'd need it for that anymore.

Predictably, Yang made it back first and hauled herself out the water. Also predictably, she managed to embarrass Ruby in doing so, this time by having water streaming down her ample, and quite bare, bosom. "Yang!" Ruby squawked. "Where are your clothes?"

"Behind you."

Ruby blushed and picked up the dry tunic, tossing it at her sister. Yang pulled it on with a laugh and said, "Hey, Jaune was going topless. I thought it'd only be fair if I did the same."

"You need to stop teasing him."

"He needs to stop calling me `his lady` then," Yang said and squeezed out her sodden hair. "Unless he actually wants me to be, in which case he ought to make a move." Under her breath she added, "Caught him staring enough times."

"He's staring because you're naked."

"Nah. Before this. Well, and during."

"Just… don't hurt his feelings. He's my friend."

"He's mine too." Yang ruffled Ruby's hair, getting her all wet. "And besides, maybe I wouldn't mind if he wanted to do more than look. You're not interested in him that way, are you?"

"Nope." Ruby spied him catching up and quickly said, "Just don't fool around with him. He's been through a lot. We all have," she added before Yang could point that out. "Hey Jaune!"

"H-Hey…" A less capable swimmer, and yet still at peak physical fitness for his training regime in the guards, Jaune managed to haul himself out with a little less grace than Yang had. As she'd said, he was topless, with a cord of string keeping his pants in place. His eyes, she noticed, flicked quickly to Yang, no doubt because of how her dampening tunic was clinging to her in all the right places. Ruby cleared her throat and he turned guiltily back her way. "W-What was it you wanted?" he asked.

"Fish." Yang teased. "You know, the thing we were out there for? Or were you trying to hook something different?"

Poor Jaune looked like he might set fire despite the water. He reached down and gripped the two wicker baskets that he and Yang had carried back, each full to the brim with seafood. Menagerie's waters teemed with life, the difficulty being in knowing what was good to eat and what was not. Luckily, Adam and Blake had been happy to teach them and now they'd stopped bringing back inedible and poisonous fish.

"Big catch today." Yang said. "They're teeming around that wreck something fierce, treating it like its own coral reef. A lot of barnacles though, so mind your feet if you go out there."

"The waters here sure are bountiful." Jaune said. "We could catch even more with a net."

"They're bounciful too," Yang said. Ruby rolled her eyes while Jaune coughed up his lung. "Just kidding. Hey, Jaune~" she simpered. "Could you help Ruby carry the baskets back while I catch a few more fish?"

"S…Sure." He stooped to lift one onto his shoulder. "Shall we, Ruby?"

Geez. He really was letting Yang wrap him around her finger. She might have put a stop to it if she really thought Yang would take advantage of him, but the truth was she'd never properly flirted in Vale. A relationship had always seemed like a double-edged sword when your survival was dependent on how fast you could run from the rising water. Pregnancy was a risk that all too often cost you your life. Who wanted to bring a child into that nightmare anyway? To say nothing of the disease, strife and the pain of trying to feed another mouth.

Menagerie was a new start, a fresh beginning, and if Yang wanted to explore her options now then she shouldn't get in the way of that. "You know," Ruby said, "Yang likes men who are direct."

"I have no idea what you mean…"

"Uh-huh. Sure. Well, I guess I'm just saying that poetry and crap isn't going to win her over where a dance or a kiss might, and if anyone in hearing distance wants to make use of that then so be it."

It was amazing how Jaune could experience a full body, from his waist to his shoulders, blush. The rest of their catch was carried back in silence. At the gates, two young children – or young teenagers at least – were talking with Rodrick and another knight, a woman this time. Ruby thought her name was Elena or Eleonora. She was down on one knee tearing up some loaves of bread for an even smaller child to eat.

"My lord." Rodrick said on seeing Jaune, then added for her, "And my lady." The children turned to look at them, gaunt-faced and desperate. "These brave souls come from one of the mills further down the river. They've travelled two days on foot through rain and cold. They say their home was overrun by animals and their parents slain."

The youngest began to cry suddenly and the female knight wrapped her up in a hug, shooting her superior officer a rather annoyed glare. Rodrick stammered and winced, realising his error.

"M… My apologies." His voice became softer. "They had heard of our efforts and came here hoping for shelter and food."

"We can work!" the oldest among them, a girl of some twelve years, piped up. "I…I can mill flour and I can cook. Tam here can do off jobs and Sylvia can… she can…" The girl floundered at what a child of no more than eight summers could do.

"You shall do naught but rest and regain your strength." Jaune said immediately. He had that noble way of talking, that certainty that bordered a little on arrogance, but also made it sound like there was no doubt in his mind the children would be cared for. In this case, it worked as reassurance for them. "Welcome to Menagerie. You may stay as long as you wish, even live here should you desire. Eleonora, would you escort them to Maria for a check-up and have someone fetch a proper meal for them? They must be famished. I'm sure Weiss can arrange for them to share a room together."

"T-Thank you, my lord and lady," the girl cried and attempted a poor curtsey. "Thank you ever so!"

Eleonora lifted the smallest up into her arms and beckoned the other two to follow. They must have been so tired and hungry, desperate enough to trust in complete strangers. As someone who had herself grown up in poverty, Ruby knew how hard it was to trust anyone.

"Animals." Jaune said to Rodrick once they were gone. "Not Grimm?"

"I made sure, my lord. A pack of wolves, likely starving from winter. I imagine the parents startled them, or perhaps the wolves went for the youngest and her parents gave their lives to protect them. I've had the men asking around the villages as we trade and there's no hide nor mention of Grimm anywhere. The whole region is remarkably peaceful."

Peaceful didn't quite include a family being killed, but these things happened. You couldn't account for tragedy, only do your best to help after. Better wild animals than Grimm or White Arcanists.

"Speaking of, my lord." Rodrick said. "A messenger from Vale arrived while you were out this morning."

"From the Collegium?" Ruby asked.

"Nay, my lady. House Arc. Messages for most of us – yourself included. Our injured made it back safely, which is good news, and your mother plans another shipment of supplies next month. For the most part, she wants to know all is well and you are safe. If you and your sisters will pen their letters by tonight, I wanted to send two men out on the morn to deliver them."

"I'll see it done." Jaune said. "Where are our letters?"

"I had the Lady Saphron deliver them to your rooms. If they're not there, I'm sure she still has them."

"I'd best go read mine. Mother will have worried about us all winter." Jaune set the basket down by the gate. "I'll see you at dinner, Ruby?"

"Sure. See you later."

Jaune jogged off, leaving her with two baskets of wet fish. Thankfully, Rodrick set a hand on her shoulder. "Leave them here and I'll have someone deliver them to the kitchens."

"Thank you, Rodrick."

"No problem. I see the young lord was spending time with your sister again…"

"You'll have to ask him," she said quickly. "He's denying anything."

"Of course he is. Hm. The Lady Arc was hopeful you and he might make a good match, but I doubt she would have issue with your sister – so long as he is happy." Rodrick coughed and muttered, "And so long as your sister learns the manners necessary not to embarrass the Arc name. Such as getting drunk and challenging my lieutenant to an arm wrestling competition, then throwing up on her feet when she lost."

Oh hell. Yang. Ruby covered her face and groaned into her hands. "Yang is…"

"I know her type – and I mean that well enough. Mayhaps the lord is tired of the simpering ladies of courts and prefers one with a little more personality. I do not fault him or her, but I've kept you long enough. See to your letter. I'll keep my eyes open for any more people that want to join us."

/-/

Ruby finished her letter just as the knock came at her door. Blake opened it a moment later, her travelling clothes replaced now with a light grey robe that gave her a wizened look. She wore a new Arcanum, many having been found in the ruins, and upon it four gemstones – her father's Arcanum. It was a miracle it had remained and not been looted. Perhaps the scavengers had feared some magical curse upon them.

"Have you read the letter?" she asked.

"I just finished. So, the Collegium is giving up on us for now."

"Not giving up." Blake cautioned. "They are considering us lost – having fled. The victory is still framed as theirs, and I imagine they are hoping our efforts amount to nothing. That we die alone in the wilderness and never show our faces again."

A convenient end to an inconvenient group of people – that would certainly suit the Collegium. From Lady Arc's message, the Collegium had suffered an ignoble defeat at the hands of the city's nobility and crown, their power pulled back and fresh laws in place to safeguard future abuse. How long those would last was anyone's guess, and the Collegium was trying to spin the new laws as something they had agreed with, even suggested, all to avoid the perceived sleight against them.

Who the new head of the White Arcana was had yet to be decided, or Lady Arc hadn't been able to find out. Ruby couldn't imagine who it might be with Glynda dead. Someone new or old that she'd never had the misfortune to meet.

"It still means they won't be sending people after us." Ruby said. "That's good."

"Yes. Time to rebuild and collect ourselves. I'm sure their opinion will change once news spreads and once we officially open the Collegium once more. But by then, they won't be able to attack us. It would be a declaration of war." One that Vale would win obviously, but one that the Collegium would need the support of Vale and its king to call in the first place. That wasn't going to happen anytime soon. "I expect it will be tense diplomacy and some underhanded methods to get you and Adam under control. I certainly won't be eating or drinking any gifts they bring me, nor accepting any foreign advisors."

Probably a good idea. Vale would do anything it could to try and control them, and then there was Atlas, who were even more focused around the White Arcana to hear the stories. Those were troubles for another day, however. For now, they could take their time to grow and build and defend themselves from more immediate concerns.

"I wanted to ask you a favour while I was here," Blake said. "The Azure Archives. It is connected here, as it is to Vale and to Atlas. I'd like you to head down there with Adam and make sure it's safe, then bring up some books you think might aid in teaching a new generation."

"Do you think there will be Grimm down there?"

"Given that they apparently chased Adam and my mother nearly all the way to Vale, no. I think they'll have been lured off. I'm more worried about Atlas or Vale trying to subtly invade or infiltrate us. I don't much like the idea of a backdoor into the heart of our city existing underfoot."

The Archives in Vale were under full control of the White now, so Blake's paranoia wasn't unwarranted. "I'll check it out. We can always put locked doors and barricades around it to keep people through. They'll be able to break through with magic, but it'll alert us."

"Hopefully we'll get a blacksmith to assist with that," she said. "I don't want to seal it off. Vale is a perfect example of what happens when those in charge let fear rule them. I won't be afraid of what we might find down there – new magic, forbidden or otherwise. I'd like to ask you to be in charge of that, Ruby. A title if you will."

"Librarian?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "I was thinking something a little more noble – Lady of the Archives, perhaps? The Azure Lady? Ruby, the Lady of Knowledge?"

"That makes me sound way too smart. Lady of the Archives will do." Perhaps in the future she could even be the head of the Azure Arcana here, for all that she wasn't actually an Arcanist. It wouldn't matter now that Blake had decided to accept Wildmages. "I'll go check what books I can find and only take Adam if there's any trouble. I don't think he'll want to go down there again after what happened."

"You're probably right. Take some of the knights if you need help then. I'd offer myself but Weiss thinks I should prepare drafts of letters of state to send out when Atlas and Vale finally do realise we're not going to disappear. I also need to write a letter to the King of Vale thanking him for his support and hospitality in Vale – Lady Arc's idea," she explained. "She thinks he might agree to a treaty just to rub it in the Collegium's eyes."

"They did kill his parents," Ruby pointed out. "Then they tried to manipulate him into supporting Glynda for Grand Arcanist. I'd be surprised if he didn't hate them at least little."

"Well, it can't hurt to have-"

"Blake!" a voice shouted. "Blake! Damn it, where are you?" Weiss ran by, noticed the open door and then came running back, panting harshly. "Blake, we need you now! Front gate!"

Ruby was on her feet even as Blake turned. "Why? What's wrong? Are we under attack?"

"No! No… but… hah. Look out the window."

Blake moved over and Ruby followed, wincing at the cold blast of air as the shutters were drawn apart. Sunlight streamed in, the room being on the second floor meant that they could only just see over the top of the wall, and not exactly what was on the other side of it. Even so, Ruby gaped at what appeared to be a long column of wagons and caravans, several carrying back and numbering well above fifty.

There were people congregating in the shadow of the gate, talking to several of the knights and Rodrick, along with Yang and Jaune by the looks of things. Adam was nearby, watching but not intervening. They didn't look like an army. If anything, it looked like a migration.

"What is…" Blake shook her head and turned to Weiss. "What?"

"It's a whole village." Weiss said excitedly. "One we did the most trading with. Apparently, they all discussed over the winter and decided that if we could hold out, the entire village would migrate and plant their fields here."

"That's… so many…?"

"The ground is fertile here, the sea plentiful. Most people who lives in the villages only did so because they couldn't afford to live in the city. Now that we're offering free homes on top of everything else…? They've decided to take us up on the offer in a big way."

Ruby couldn't blame them. The villages they'd visited were quaint but simple – wooden huts, sheltered enough but probably neither as warm in the winter or as comfortable as the stone homes here. What was more, Menagerie's bountiful ocean produce would give them fresh food and new goods to trade, to say nothing of them taking the best plots of farmland outside before anyone else could. If the slums could have migrated to another city, they would have. These people had obviously decided to get a head start, before Menagerie became larger again and began to attract people who would take the best locations.

"This is insane…" Blake said.

"People go where the money is." Weiss pointed out. "We've been throwing lien around, so they know we're rich, then you consider how profitable the city likely was before its fall. It's liable to be just as rich again in a few years, whereas their village won't ever be more than it was. It's the sensible decision on their part."

"Sensible would have been warning us before they came!"

"Maybe they thought we'd retract the offer if they did." Weiss sighed. "I guess I should go start finding room for all the people. You need to talk to them, Blake. Welcome them. You're our Grand Arcanist and the closest thing we have to a head of state. Make them welcome. Assure them they've made the right decision and offer out homes."

"I… yes." Blake swallowed and moved away, smoothing her hair down. "I'd best go do that. This is good – it's wonderful. I just didn't expect it. Not so quickly."

Ruby wasn't sure any of them had. Looking out the window, it seemed they'd brought every belonging from the village they could, including herds of animals, family pets and even some furniture. Everything they might need to make a new life in a new place. One that would be better, safer and more welcoming than their last. Ruby leaned her arms on the windowsill and smiled, watching Blake hurry out to meet them.

Menagerie would be a city once more. That much was practically a guarantee by now. They'd show the Collegium of Vale. They'd show them all, prove to them what the future was.

And maybe, just maybe, that would spark change elsewhere as well.

Missed my fishing boat at the end there by 20 minutes. Oh well.

I played a game called Gloria Invictis: Siege Survival over the Christmas period that somewhat inspired my ideas of Menagerie. In that game you scavenge a ruined city for supplies to survive a siege, and while it's not quite like this it has the same idea of a ruined city and looking for bits and pieces you can build stuff out of. Looking for fish at the docks, vegetables at the farms or medicine in the commercial districts, etc. Not an astounding game by any means but fun and okay.

Next Chapter: 6th Feb

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