CHAPTER 24 – DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT!
- Amethyst
- 15 April, 2026
- Amethyst
- 15 April, 2026
After last night’s events, Jowlani is eager to learn more from Caelira about his origins. But in order to do so, first the new headquarters must be developed.
Before they set out to travel there, things are changing in our party.
“Good morning, Team Laura! It’s time we finally head off to the new headquarters. A new beacon of hope. I hope it’s enough to beat those bastards. I never would have imagined we would come this far. To ever make it out of the skirmish we had at the border. It’s a shame the professor can’t witness this progress anymore. But I’m sure she would have been proud of us. Though this got me thinking a little bit. I’m worried I’m not enough power to help you out. The development I’ve seen in Jowlani’s magical abilities has also scared me.
So for now, it’s best if I depart. By that I mean staying here in the capital. You two are our New Hope. The Sovereign trusts you to win this war. To make the right decisions at the cost of the least amount of blood spilled. No casualties to be in vain. When this is all said and done, come find me in Zomerhoven. I’ll be there waiting for you, alongside Adnap, Serena and the others.
You’re in the capable hands of Marques now. His skills are far beyond my capabilities. You can rely on him to take care of you when you need to. Trust me on this though, Team Laura never stops. I’ll just be on the sideline now, cheerleading you on. Group hug!”
Laura embraces Jowlani and Zayden intensely. As she lets go, tears start to well up in her eyes. It’s not like her to be that emotional. Especially not when negative.
Zayden speaks on behalf of the pair. “You’re a grand lady of magic, Laura. Don’t you forget that. We can only look at you with pride for making this decision. We know you will cheer us on. Say hello to Adnap and Serena for us. We will catch up as soon as possible. Thank you for all the lessons you taught us at school. And some of the dumb stuff we shouldn’t do.”
Jowlani wants to contribute to the kind words for Laura. “I will miss you like the big sister I never had. Thank you for always being by my side at school. Without you, things would have been much harder. Plus I never would have gotten past that exam. We will always be Team Laura. Maybe we should raise a statue for you at the headquarters. Or maybe not. Anyways, you’ll always be my friend. See you soon!”
After this morning encounter, it’s time to head to the new headquarters. Or at least something that should be still built. A carriage arrives. Normally the usual taxi ride between one and another place. But now it is time for the next part of destiny to arrive. Jowlani, Zayden and Marques step in. The beautiful bustling city is left behind. Although Caelhem is not the most beautiful city of Netralia.
For Jowlani and Zayden, that remains Faucon-Bas. Village with city vibes, that’s the one.
After an hour long carriage ride, they arrive.
Just as described, there’s an outer wall. That’s the first part that is completed. Guards halt the carriage. The carriage driver instructs the guards with all papers and who’s on board. The guard tells to drop the first draw bridge. It is opened. As it comes down a lovely square plain is witnessed. A plain of absolute nothingness. It’s just dirt and soil, nothing on it.
Marques looks astonished. “Is this what we came to do here? Just inspect a plain? I thought we were here to oversee the building of the headquarters.”
The carriage rides all the way to the centre point of the plain of nothingness. The driver sees the trio out. Then a small individual comes and greets them.
“So you are the new blood coming to build here. Well, get some materials, get some uniforms, and let’s get going. Headquarters isn’t built in just one night. You wanna beat these so-called neighbours? It’s time to get building for a war to win. What are you staring at? Just go!”
The party is quite surprised by this welcome. The carriage driver goes up to the individual and explains the situation. He tells them who the party is.
“Oh well, oops. I guess I was a little bit too enthusiastic. I’m just a humble squirrel, forgive me. The Sovereign has instructed me to oversee this alongside the new leaders of this country. At least during war time. I did not expect you to be so… young. Though your eyes. They tell me they’ve seen a lot. Do not worry. Hammy’s here to help. I’ve got a lot of volunteers waiting to help. For us, it’s just a matter of which plan goes first. I’ve got a couple at our main tent. Please join me and let’s make decisions fast.”
The trio join Hammy as they walk towards the tent.
“Thank you very much for the introduction. Have you been working for a long time for the Sovereign?” asks Zayden to Hammy.
“Well, it’s been a long time. Longer than I can remember. The sovereign once saved me from bad guys. They were after my secret plans for a new hideout. I hid it of course. That would give me much more potential to build for the world. For those that are poor and cannot build themselves. For those who seek shelter but have none. It’s just been my dream to help other people that need it the most. So if you can make an amazing headquarters with shelter, provisions, and fight off another set of troublemakers, you bet I’m in!”
“In front of us here, we have three possible options. Let me guide you through them. Option one. A square castle divided in four parts. One for housing. One for the army. One for storage. One for strategy. The positive side is that it’s quite easy to remember where to go. But strategically, it’s harmful with enemies knowing where to strike. To combat that it will limit the amount of tunnels under HQ.
Then we have option two. Still the same square. But no division. The only thing that’s going to be separate from it is a strategy room. The armoury will be divided by army division. So one for infantry, one for magic, and one for cavalry. Houses will be built everywhere, so people are spread out. That should lead to much more cohesion for all the people living there. More unity, the better.
Option three to close it off. No castle at all. You are going to design a new landscape. I’ve heard your companion here is a great strategist. And has a degree in architectural history. So I’m sure he’s aware what will work and what will not.
So are we going to start building? Or mr. Marques start designing immediately?”
Zayden and Jowlani are staring towards the plans on the table, then to each other, subsequently to Marques, then turn to Hammy.
“Our telepathic link allows us to communicate quite quickly. Our thoughts move faster than we speak. The plans look lovely. But they have key weaknesses. Especially when it comes to our army and the people living here. They will be much too divided. Cohesion within citizens is fine. But when unrest grows and they will not have faith in the army, uprisings can grow. In both option one and two, we also miss a critical space for high leadership to engage and communicate with the citizens. No faith in an army is one thing. But no faith in the leadership of this country?
That is disaster.
So we’ve decided what to do. Marques will come up with a design within the next 24 hours. If that design doesn’t suit what we think is right? We will choose between option one or two. If he design is better, we will use that. Marques, please tend to this. Come up with the design, and brief us on how we can achieve that the fastest. Plans including resources, tools, people and anything else we might need.”
Jowlani and Zayden witness Marques taking a piece of paper, writing down some guidelines of the first two options.
“I’ve gotta move with haste apparently. No time to waste today. Show me where I can start designing Hammy! I’ll see you two when I’m done. If you need me, I’ll be here. The sleeping quarters are in the exterior wall for now. The driver will bring you there and you’ll be heavily guarded. Can’t let something happen to you. Catch you tomorrow, and take care of each other.”
The partners are escorted to their quarters. “I think Marques will come up with a great design. He’s been the valedictorian of his whole year. Some of the buildings in Caelira have been his design. Not the ugly stone ones. But some of the things within the Shire? That’s his work. Helping out the good merchants.”
“I didn’t even know he studied, let alone architecture. That’s coming in real handy right now. Let’s eat something, hit the hay early and see what he’s come up with. I know he’s a great strategist. For everything we haven’t thought of, he will have. Every time we have a carriage ride, I’m always much more tired than expected. Let’s hope option three is worth its while. I love you and sleep well. Goodnight.”