Orc Lord

The wagons I construct will have to meet several standards: first, mobile enough to be pulled through the forest; second, light enough to not exhaust whoever has to pull them; third, sturdy enough to carry lots of things without breaking; and finally, they have to be made entirely from earth magic. That’s the only construction type skill I have available to me.

In order to keep the weight of the wagons themselves down, I'm going to make them open-top. I think I'll make them from a light, dry clay, and just repeatedly cast to toughen them up. Magic is so convenient.

If I were to guess at how many pelts are in the village, it’s at least three per household. I'll round up to ten just to be on the safe side. So, something like two thousand pelts? I'd rather have too many wagons than not enough. I can probably pile two hundred pelts in one wagon, so I should make ten wagons for pelts. Tablets are smaller, but they're heavier. I can roughly see how many will be coming along with a glance at the unfinished library. Add an extra wagon for Fiara’s hoard and one more for everybody else in the village; five wagons for tablets should be good. We can put some pelts in there to keep them from making noise or breaking.

Food storage… Two wagons will do. Crud! I forgot about firewood. Six wagons for firewood.

I want to transplant as much from the fields as possible. In order to save on space, I'll make a special two layer cart for the plants. Thirteen of those should be good.

Then, I need to make 23 open-top wagons and 13 shelved wagons. Except for healing my scars earlier, I haven't used any Magic Power today. I should be able to manage.

The body designs are simple, with a slot to slide in one axle. These things are going to be dragged through the forest. Somehow I don't think a four wheel style would do.

After making the bodies, I make rods for the axles. I turn all the bodies upside down and slip in the rods. Then I use to make the rod wider on either side of the hole so it can't slip out. Over and over. I'm tired.

I think if I made the wheels like carriage wheels, they would get tangled up in the foliage. Since I don't want that, I make them solid instead. Again, I made them out of light material that was hardened to a ridiculous degree. The part of the wheel that touches the ground isn't flat, but rounded. They're about three inches thick. Once all the wheels are made, I slide them onto the axles, then cap off the ends. The axles and wheels can all rotate freely. I don't know if this is right, but it should do for a simple wagon. Once thirty six wagons are lined up in the village center, I go inside and collapse onto my nest bed.

is freaking useless.

***

The next morning, I wake up early. I can see the Goblins in the town square, already examining the wagons unsurely. I saw someone translating for them last night, so I know they're aware of what’s going on.

“These ones with the shelves need to go to the fields,” I tell them. “Also, two of the open top wagons.”

“Yes, chief?” One of the Goblins hung his arms and tipped his body to the side.

“I'll come over and explain what they're for in a little while. For now, bring these over, and don't do the watering yet.”

“Sure, chief.” He bobbed his head and trotted off.

I feel like the Goblins have gotten cuter lately. It's too bad we’ll be moving just when they've gotten used to village life.

I found Durghan and Elianora before they could leave, and handed back the papers I had been given.

“These belonged to your mother, right? You should treasure them.”

The Magic caster accepted the bundle of papers, gripping them tightly and close to her chest. “What did they say?” she asked quietly.

“Just some hypotheses about how the ancient Indigos may have used Enchanting. Very little about practical applications.”

“I see,” the girl’s chin fell closer to her chest. Then, she raised her head back up, hopeful feelings in her wet eyes, and a quivering smile on her face. “Next time I come, I'll bring Olive, then you two can meet--”

“--Don't you think you should stop with the foolish trips into the forest? I can't always be there to save you. Just stay in the town where it's safe.”

Elianora flinched and lowered her head again. Durghan put a hand on her back, gently guiding her out of the village.

This village won't be here the next time you come, so don't come.

I turn away from that scene and make my way to the fields.

“Gather up the roots and some dirt, and take the whole plant out.” I said while demonstrating with one squash plan. “Set it on one of these shelves. It's fine to cram them together. Pick all the produce still on them and put it in these open carts with the rest of the food in the cold storage.”

The Goblins started on that massive task, and I went back to the village proper. By now, most everybody was awake, so I started to direct them.

“Bring seven carts to the South and another seven to the East. Leave the rest in the middle here. Fill them up with pelts, armor, and weapons. When you're finished with your own things, come here to help load the firewood. Also, all tablets will be stored together, so bring those either to Fiara’s house or the library, whichever is closer.”

“Leave your bedding straw, pots, baskets, and decorations behind. If you have extra clothes, pack them with the pelts.”

I directed the villagers, who started scurrying busily, hauling wagons and possessions.

Hours passed. We had moved on to loading firewood and tablets, and the field transplanting was about three quarters finished. Durghan returned to the village at that point. He was going to help with loading, but I stopped him.

“Actually, I need something else from you.”

“Anything, Chief Vyra,”

“Run to Rigdam’s Village and tell him what’s going on here. Since the strongest chief is the Orc Lord, and is leaving the area, he should take over if anything happens here. Let him know that I'm probably his daughter, while you're at it.”

“What was that?!” Durghan’s eyebrows made an effort to fly off his face.

“If you're not back here in five hours, you'll just have to catch up with us.”

He made an ugly face and started sprinting to the North. I smiled slightly at his back, then left to help with loading the tablets. Fiara approached when she saw me.

“Chief, did you return that Human’s documents?”

“I did.” I already have a copy of it all saved in .

“I haven't written it down yet, but I have it all memorized.”

“Same here,” I nodded.

“I wasn't sure how to write it. I feel like, we should maybe keep things like that a little more confidential.”

“I agree. No matter how we write it, the others would be able to translate it. Let’s develop our sealing magic, and build a suitable location, before we worry about that.”

She bowed and withdrew, “Yes, chief.”

Ah, come to think of it, there’s a better thing for me to do besides moving tablets.

I can get to work on demolishing the houses that have been cleared out. I make my way to the back of the South district, where the refugee Orcs from Faok’s Village were staying. It's obvious at a glance which houses have been emptied.

doesn't seem like a good fit for this task, I think to myself, rubbing my hand against one curved stone wall. Is there a spell to turn stone into sand? Erosion?

[[Conditions met. acquired.]]

[[ allows the user to magically disassemble a hard earth structure into sand-sized pieces. It is listed as a first level earth spell.]]

Huh. That feels like the only thing is missing, if I were the one designing the spell set.

But the spirits called out again right after, and my habit of keeping all my skills re-listed finally paid off.

[[Conditions met. Set completion has caused first level spells , , and to unify into second level spell .]]

[[ allows the user to remove the presence of soil any way they please. It is listed as a second level earth spell.]]

Oh? Fantastic. But, now I'm curious. There’s , so there should be , right? Can I learn a second level spell directly?

Spirits, can I learn ?

[[Request is valid. acquired.]]

For real?!

[[ allows the user to conjure various types of soil. It is listed as a first level earth spell.]]

… It was a first level spell. How did I not obtain it until now?

[[Conditions met. Set completion has caused first level spell and second level spells and to unify into third level spell .]]

[[ allows the user to manipulate the earth as they please. From changing the composition of the soil, to assigning it form, even creating and destroying it at will. It is listed as a third level earth spell.]]

My throat catches.

A third level spell. Not even Fiara has a third level spell!

I immediately record everything I just experienced into , so I can write it down later.

Now then, let's see what this new spell can do.

I go and check all the houses in the area, and I find a section where several are empty back to back. I focus on creating the Spell Pattern for , which is terribly large and complicated. Now I understand why it takes Fiara so long to use her AoE spells.

When the Spell Pattern is built, I fill it with Magic Power. I can detect a new element in the casting process. It's always been Structure > Power > Instantiate. With second level spells, Instantiating the spell took a bit more focus and a clearer image, because the spell had a wider range of capabilities. Now, I feel a hole built into the middle of the Spell Pattern, with an atmosphere similar to the power of Law I experience when I use .

If first level spells have one answer, and second level spells are multiple choice, third level spells are fill in the blank. Whatever I will the earth to do right now, I'm pretty sure it will do it, provided I have enough Magic power.

So why should I settle for something small? I grin excitedly and pass in the order to “destroy all the empty houses.”

It wasn't just the houses in the South district. All the houses in the village, that I knew had been cleared out, immediately disintegrated, turning into dust in the wind.

“Ha,” I staggered from the sudden magic drain. “Haha. Hahaha!”

Oh, I can't help but laugh. Because if it's to this extent, it's perfectly fine if I want to go wild. I could destroy a castle's walls in mere moments, if it wasn't enchanted, and that kind of confidence is inspiring.

With this, I am now a third level Magic caster. Fiara once told me that an Orc Lord of the past had a subordinate who was a fourth level Magic caster. Just what kind of power did that person wield? I clench my fists and grin when I think about it. That power… someday I'll have it too.