I had honestly not realized it, but we hadn't been back in Sanctuary in over a week, when we'd swung by to pick up the upgraded gear before the Soul Eater Wave, and the woman Glass. A week after the foundations had been laid, a week after the Church had sent some of their own people to help out, and the Guild, seeing this, had probably made sure to add even more of their own just to have the larger presence. I should have expected that such things would have changed the very look of the place.
And yet, it was a shock as we appeared at the edge of the gorge in which my city sat, the place where I'd put my return point a month and some change ago. A month had been what they'd taken to build the Guild Hall back during that time. But that had been because a Guild Hall needed all sorts of things to operate. I hadn't been thinking about that, but building one of those was probably the most complex thing they would be creating at the time, rushing it as fast as they could without compromising it.
Better, that had been with the Guild's people working on their own, people that knew what they were doing, true, but were not builders in and of themselves. They were wanting this up and done, so they could operate in their capacity as Adventurers. Into that I'd tossed a thousand souls, many of which were once people who built and maintained villages, who knew all the parts involved in making a life.
Before me was the evidence of that. The Guild Hall was still the centerpiece. Three stories tall, it towered over the homes about it, and it shone with magical light in the shadow of the gorge's walls, showing even if you didn't know, that it was special. Yet, it was now one of more than a hundred buildings that were arrayed in a cross section of streets that covered the gorge floor, from the far wall to the lake that was now home to a few buildings of its own, including one I recognized as a fish farm.
More than the buildings, the gorge's walls were now lined with holes on both sides, showing dwellings that had been carved into the rock. Some looked fancier than others, showing they were likely cleaned up left overs of the previous city that had been here, but more were being added. Much more, I saw, as the paths up to them were still being built, even though less than half the places I saw had the mark of life in them.
This place was said to have housed more than five-thousand people before, a large town by the standards of a world like this, and it was looking like, soon enough, it would surpass that, as I could see the 'roads', unpaved but there, leading into the gorge were awash with people, some with carts that held goods, others with their lives being dragged behind them, trying to put down roots here.
We were on the road going north, and so most of the people seeing us were actually leaving the city, traveling to the other roads that led to the Kingdoms north of Melromarc. They'd sell their goods there, and come back. Many seeing us appear, turned to us, but none stopped as the four of us walked into the city, watching people move about, the movement of a living city present with the buzz of activity as more homes were being finished.
It took about ten minutes for someone to finally spot us as we moved into town, the murmur of a single voice growing in seconds, until what had been a moving crowd had all stopped, and almost like a wave hitting a shore, they bowed. It was obvious who it was too, and Balmus, with a chuckle that seemed just shy of making fun of me, pushed me forward, and whispered in my ear to tell them what we both knew they wanted to hear.
"People of Sanctuary, the Bow Hero has returned," I said, holding up my arm for reasons I wasn't quite sure of. As if they'd been waiting for that, a cheer went up, and I was…quite embarrassed, especially as bits of the crowd came up. Refugees from the brothers' village, wanting to thank me for everything. Adventurers from the Guild, wanting to know if I would be needing their services anytime soon. Even a few people in clothing like Balmus', talking with me and asking for my 'blessing' before bowing their heads to him and shuffling away, everyone going about to keep the line moving.
It was after a few minutes of all of this that the crowd parted, as a very tall lion man and a much smaller mink woman walked up. I was shocked, honestly, at the gear she wore now, with Trader Marie now having on an outfit that looked like a labcoat over a t-shirt and jeans. The stuff gave her some nice bonuses, but looked horribly out of place when most others were wearing more genre appropriate garb…most others, Ray was still wearing a glittering gold tabard that wouldn't have looked out of place at a ren faire and was not something anyone would have ever worn in reality.
"I'm sure we're all happy to see the Hero again, but we should get back to work. There'll be time for this once Sanctuary is completed, and we can all finally rest," she said, Strong behind her, wearing a cloak and normal clothing, nodding at the statement. Honestly, I wasn't sure which one inspired the people to break away more, her or him, but regardless, our small group was soon moving again, Marie leading us deeper into the city.
"It is good to see you, just so you know. We were all worried something might have happened to you, especially with what happened the night before last," she told me as we walked side by side down the main street of the city.
"Levels for everyone who Follows the Bow Hero," I said, and she nodded.
"It would have been, back when I was leading a village of about five-hundred, a boon from on high. Even at Level 1, people are stronger, with more stamina, and work faster, traits that will only go up as we go on," she explained, taking us down a side street, rather than through the center, our destination clear by now, the Guild Hall that say in the center of the city's main thoroughfare.
"But now? With us displaced like this, and some looking for fights? Worse since not everyone was from the village originally, and while they seem to be willing to follow my lead, their abilities are making them…want to be more active, I suppose is the right way to say it," she said, trying to be diplomatic about her phrasing. What she meant was they were being bullheaded idiots trying to literally antagonize anyone around them.
That much was obvious as we walked on through the crowd, and a few villagers were about to throw hands with an adventurer who, as far as I could tell, hadn't done anything but bump into them, while reading a sheet in his hands that had to be a job notice. He even apologized to them, and they still looked ready to fight, until Marie coughed, loudly, and they all kind of dispersed, going back to whatever they were supposed to be doing.
"Stuff like that is common," I said, not so much a question as an observation.
"Same happens with new adventurers, honestly. Levels make you feel invincible. You WANT to see how far it can be pushed. Most learn pretty quick you're not, but then, we have jobs specifically to deal with that sort of attitude," explained Ray.
"And you know they offered those right away. Along with all sorts of agreements to become Adventurers, taking people off and making them move around. Restrictions on where you can live, who you can associate with, all the fun stuff," she countered, and Ray, for her part, winced a bit, but shrugged.
"Leveling is…not something the average person will ever understand. To them we're closer to the Heroes, but without the Waves to throw ourselves against. It makes them nervous," she admitted, explaining why such things were needed.
"Agreed. Even the Church must have such rules, lest our Priests become a ruling class…more so than the nobles, obviously," he said with a chuckle at the end, and no one in our group disagreed with that. Nobility obliges should have been the watchword for such people, but as I'd seen personally, there were some far more interested in their little power bases than was acceptable.
"These people didn't sign up for any of that. For them, they went to sleep one night, or were working in the middle of it, and suddenly they all began to glow, and it took a while to even understand what had happened," she said, looking at me, not quite in an accusing manner, but enough to tell me that she DID hold me responsible for it.
"I…well I can only say, I didn't have a long time to consider the implications on the individuals I would affect with my decision. I had hoped it would help myself and my party, but also those who followed me. I'm beginning to think I should have taken longer to think about it," I said, and Marie, looking back towards me, shrugged her shoulders and held up her hands.
"Don't worry about it. Honestly, it IS a big help. The people here can hold their own, if it comes down to it. The big problem is the timing of it, and the lack of warning," she admitted, which made sense.
"I can't say we won't see other things like this happen, given it is a gift from one of the Vassal Weapons, and we have seven more like it, but I will try and give you some warning if possible," I told her, and she nodded in thanks.
"That's all I ask," she said, and we continued on. The street finally leads us to right outside the Guild Hall. For a moment, it seems Marie and Strong are about to leave, but I motion the pair to follow us in, finding the place…well it wasn't quite as busy as the capital hall had been after the Chimera Wave, but it was certainly busier than any other time, with a line of adventurers waiting for their job slips.
It was shocking how organized they were. Not quiet by any means, voices were raised and shouting, but there was no pushing, no trying to cut in the orderly line that walked up to the counter. There was the ripple of silence as we…as I came into the room, with eyes turning towards me, and then the whole of the room parting so myself and my entourage could get through, the woman, a bear beastman, getting up from her seat to look over the heads of those in her line, spotting me, and then immediately ditching her desk to run to the stairs and up them.
By the time I was at the front of the building, Ben was already leaping down the stairs, his ears practically pressed against his head as he landed, and then stared, first in awe, then in annoyance at both the Pope…former Pope, and more surprisingly…or maybe less so, Marie. Glancing at the pair, Balmus was wearing that grin he liked to do to try and put people at ease, though it was more strained than usual, as the edges seemed to vibrate. Marie, meanwhile, was looking just as annoyed with Ben as he was with her.
We didn't say anything, Ben moving back up the stairs, and our group of six following him, making our way to the top floor of the Hall, and then into a room marked with a symbol that I was beginning to recognize as meaning 'administrator' for this location, as it had been on the door for Ray and Ben's old offices. Instead, the place was…not quite as well appointed as either of those. And yet, he had that same expanded safe the others did, and the desk looked very nice, antiqued perhaps to appear older.
Inside, Souka was already waiting, waving a little to me, as we took seats at a long table, while Ben made his way around it to a desk that was set at the 'end' of the room. Beside said desk stood the safe, like in the other Guild Halls, and he quickly went into, pulling out the bar, several pieces of paper, and pens, before coming back to the table and sitting down, tapping the pen to get the ink flowing, and turning to me.
"Before we begin, I need your report on what happened, because right now, all I've got are rumors, and I have to know details before I can start offering bounties or anything…and also I need to know what you did to give us all bonuses and Leveling to the locals," he said simply, making me nod, so I began to spill my 'trip' to him, figuring it was best that Marie, Souka Balmus, and one of the brothers got to know those details too. So I laid out everything that had happened in brief, with Ray and Lucia providing commentary as I went on.