Drake moved through the line of tents and got within earshot of Tom. But instead of imdiately calling out to him, he just observed for the mont, interested in what the man was doing.
“I really wish I had so tools to work with.. Having to snap stuff doesn't exactly make things break and asure the way it’s supposed to.. Ahhh! How am I supposed to bend the tal? I don’t suppose there are magic tal benders now..?” Tom mumbled, fiddling with broken pieces of wood and tal.
Drake moved silently behind the man, looking over his shoulder as he tried to work.
Oh.. he's trying to make a hoop? That is a cool idea… Drake thought.
“Like a basketball hoop? The things where one team of buffoons tries to put more balls into a hoop than the other buffoons?” Natto said, snidely.
I don’t think the NBA would appreciate you describing their ga like that. Drake chuckled wryly.
“Hey, Tom! Whatcha doin’?!” Drake yelled next to his ear.
“AH! What the fu-! Oh… Hey there, Mr. Shot.. All done with your mur- thing…?” Tom said wearily, chuckling softly.
“Why yes. I was…” Drake said, pulling away his mask, as he let a slow longful smile paint his face.
Drake didn’t like killing people, no matter what people might think, or what his new reality might dictate with his ever-changing body but he knew full well what was required to live in it. And to make others safe he was willing to take on the grueso burden of being judge and jury for so.
And if soone wanted to say he was wrong for what he had done. Let them.
Shaking his head slightly, pulling himself from darker thoughts, he refocused on Tom, and what he was building.
“So what’s this all about?” Drake asked, pointing at the rather abysmal-looking basketball hoop.
“Oh um.. I was just thinking that there’s not much to do here, so I wanted to make, I don’t know… a hoop or sothing?” Tom replied, an embarrassed grin on his face.
“That’s… actually an amazing idea Tom. I’m actually really surprised and proud that you ca up with sothing like that. That is exactly what these people need!” Drake said growing more excited by the idea.
“I-it is..?”
“Yes! They need a way to vent! Why didn’t I think of that? They have no way to safely go out and fight to get stronger because of the sheer number of monsters out right now. And I couldn’t possibly fit all of them in one party. That would be like shooting myself in the foot despite my face. But then they’re left with no outlet for their frustration. Here, I want to help,” Drake said smiling.
Walking further past Tom, Drake snapped his fingers, a large earthen brown magic circle forming in front of him as a large expansive flat slab of dirt ford and shot out. Drake killed the magic circle, the slab crashing to the ground forming a flat terrain perfect for a sports field.
Then he walked onto the slab jumping up and down and testing its durability.
“Yep this will work for relatively normal people,” he grinned, turning around and snapping his fingers again, another brown magic circle forming as a spike manifested, and at the top of it a backboard and hoop.
Drake slamd it into the ground satisfied that it wouldn’t move, and went to the other end of the makeshift court doing the sa.
“And… Tadaaa!” Drake said, spreading his arms out, and turning to face Tom.
Tom looked back with his mouth open, his piece of wood and tal rod in hand, then looked at both pieces frowning and throwing them to the floor.
“The fuck was I wasting my ti for… Stupid Magic…” Tom mumbled.
“Don’t be like that Tom,” Drake said, thumbing to a small sign he had made out of earth.
[Tom’s Initiative - Community Court]
“It was your idea after all, I was just able to make it faster,” Drake said, giving him a thumbs up.
“Who thumbs up anyone anymore, what are you 60?” Natto snickered.
You are very cranky today for soone who ate so much. Shouldn’t you be taking, like an itus nap or sothing? Drake shot back.
“It was not that much!” Natto yelled.
It was a barrel of food. A Barrel! Like Donkey Kong Barrel but filled with stew. It was a lot. Drake laughed.
“Is it really ok that people think this was ?” Tom asked, hesitantly stepping onto the court.
“It was you man. Be proud. Now all we need is to figure out how to make a basketball… What do we need, leather and rubber? We have plenty of leather from the boars, but it isn't cured, and I have zero idea how to do that. I think I rember an ani where they said it needed urine..?” Drake huffed so air shaking his head, not wanting to think about having to do that.
After his flash of unpleasant images Drake rembered he had a plethora of leather from armor they could use also.
Pulling a bit from his inventory he plopped them onto the court.
“Now do we know anyone that can stitch it together? And what are we going to substitute rubber for?” Drake wondered aloud.
Tom spoke up surprisingly.
“You can use the boar’s bladder for it.. That’s what old balls used to use, then wrap the leather around them.”
Drake cocked an eyebrow.
“How do you know that?”
“I like sports, and I have the internet,” Tom said as if it was the most natural thing.
“I do like so good internet searches,” Drake agreed, then sighed, rembering there was no internet anymore.
Drake turned to the rest of the largely open space of the outpost, a sparkle in his eye.
“Ok Tom, what do you think of making so more fun things!”
“I-i uh…” Tom tried to reply, but before he could Drake had shot off, creating things left and right in one space then the next, filling the outpost up quickly.
Drake had made, a dirt soccer field accommodated with goals and even markings for the field. A football field, roughly asured out by him walking foot to foot, with two goalposts at a height he thought was good enough.
Even a baseball field ended up getting built, including cages for warming up batters and pitchers on the side, the back fence for the batter’s box covering it fully with hardened earth.
Drake even went to lengths to make a very unadvised pool, but then quickly sank the pool idea as it beca muddied and gross each ti, even with him lining it with hardened magma to try to stop leaking.
“So no skinny dipping but the rest is good right?” Drake said, looking over to his side at Tom.
“Uh.. I guess?” Tom replied.
Drake gave Tom’s back a slap, “Co on man, be more enthused! This is your idea! And it’s great! Now, I’ll leave finding soone who can make so balls for the fields alright? And if you need to make anything, co get and I’ll figure it out.”
Tom nodded, more out of falling into Drake’s pace rather than actually agreeing, but didn’t want to speak up. Afraid that responding might entice Drake to speak more at length at how this was his idea.
“Good! Then what shall we do next… I think dinner might be on the nu again soon.. But what to make?” Drake pondered.
“Dinner?!” Natto perked up.
Drake was about to respond sarcastically but a horn sounded from over the walls, just as the sun began setting.
“And here I thought we were going to get a really nice off day for once,” Drake said, a grin pulling the side of his lips.
Drake snapped his fingers and switched to his Water Endownt, wanting to refill his stock of mana.
Looking over again to Tom, Drake gave a smile, snapping his mask back into place. Crouching to bend at the knees Drake chanted.
“My soldiers, Rage. My soldiers, Scream. My soldiers, Fight. This is my Command!” a pulse of Aura emanated from Drake but not the sa as his Tyrannical Aura.
This one felt emboldening, strengthening as it pushed out like a wave through the air, catching Tom, and a white sheen cascaded over him, a look of surprise on his face that quickly united to a smile.
“Kogarasumaru!!!!!!!!!!!!” Drake howled.
“Kill 'em!!!!!!” Natto howled back, “ Wait no!! Not again!”
Not waiting, Drake shot from his position with speed to the walls. As expected the first one to arrive.
Looking out into the twilight of the day, Drake pushed out his aura unable to find any Goblins hiding around the wall beneath him. Even surveying the horizon he had not spotted a single Goblin exiting the forest.
No catapults, no monsters, nothing.
What are they doing blowing a horn but not fighting? Drake thought.
“Perhaps they are changing tactics once again? There are still a few Generals alive or we would have heard an announcent changing the quest,” Natto explained.
“I really wish you told that. I feel like that’s important information to know, Natto,” Drake said, shaking his head.
“You didn’t ask. And you would have found out eventually.”
Drake stayed vigilant as he continued to survey the surroundings pacing back and forth on the rampart.
Eventually, the rest of his party made it to the wall one by one and in pairs, the last being Jacqueline.
She slumped up the stairs her hair a ss and her eyes half open as she lazily gripped her cudgel.
“What are you cunts doing waking a lady up this bloody early…” Jacqueline spat.
“It’s almost nightfall Jacky..” Harley said wryly.
“Don’t change no-ting!” she growled back, her hands going through her hair trying to iron it out, “What I would do for a straightener and a comb! Fucking ahhh! Why can’t they just leave us alone!”
“It’s good that they’re here, we need to kill them all anyway,” Claire interjected.
“You’re a real bloodthirsty one aren't ya kid?” Hudson said from the corner.
“Problem..?” she asked.
“Ain’t got a single problem with it pup,” Hudson replied, shifting his gaze to the horizon.
“Hudson, is the big guy done yet? It’s been all day,” Drake asked.
Hudson hesitated a bit before answering.
“Not yet, it’s taking a lot longer than I coulda thought. Don’t even want to try and predict how long. Just hope the blasted thing is worth the trouble at this point.”
Drake nodded a little disappointed but it wasn’t the biggest priority if the Goblins were already here.
“Sir? Where are the Goblins? They normally would be running for the gates after a horn sounded,” Amir asked, shifting on his feet.
“I’m not sure either. You all have seen how the monster’s tactics change from ti to ti right?”
All of them shook their heads. Sherry just sat down in the earthen box with a bowl of food, taking another bite.
“What?” Drake asked incredulously.
“What do you an, what? It isn't a ting,” Jacqueline asked back.
“They most likely have not had to fight the large quantities you have. Possibly not fighting the stronger monsters either who would command them,” Natto said, stepping into the conversion.
Drake pursed his lips.
That is unfortunate. That ans this is the first ti they’ll experience this kind of thing then and right after a big fight. Drake thought.
“Alright, when facing larger groups commanded by higher monsters. I guess you can think of them as like Boss monsters from gas. They can quickly change tactics, and not just small things like adding more monsters, or the variety of their weapons. But entire formations and how they engage in combat. So be more alert than usual until we know what we're dealing with,” Drake explained.
Each mber nodded and spread into smaller groups across the wall.
Harley, Claire, and Sherry stayed in one of the guard towers. Drake, not wanting Harley to be too far from him in case of anything stood within relatively close distance. At least close enough for him to move instantly without hindrance.
Amir and Hudson standing next to a cluster of sentries at another spot.
And finally, Tom and Jacqueline were in the other guard tower.
Now they waited. Eyes peeled on the forest waiting for the Goblins, but they never ca.
The sun had fallen under the horizon for a while now. And visibility was down now that it was a few hours into the night.
“Mr. Shot where are they?” Harley asked concerned, her arms subconsciously outlining her bow in her arms.
“I’m no-” Drake was about to say when the fire of a sentry went off, and a scream sounded.
Drake looked in the direction of the bullets and spotted not a Goblin but a person.
And they weren’t alone, there was a long line of people edging out of the forest.
But they were on panels of wood.
They were being used as shields by the Goblins, and one of Hudson’s senteries had shot at them because of the Goblins behind them.
Drake turned to the gruff man. Hudson’s face paling in realization as he quickly shut down all of his senteries.
Drake’s head whipped back to the line of people inching out of the forest, his eyes trained on a Goblin that stood taller than the others, it was garbed in an odd patchwork of robes and leather, an eye-patch over its right, and a smile showing its yelled crooked teeth.
Drake ground his teeth feeling his molars creak under the pressure.
You fucking sick piece of shit! Drake scread internally. His face furrowed into a fierce scowl.
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