Chương 21: Town Hall

You have one life. Find your purpose in this world, and commit to it. Live for yourself; you are your one and only lifelong advocate. Choose the path of greatest fulfillment, and you will have no ragrets. —The Artificer's Guide to Shitty Tattoos I just stared at the notification. A million thoughts ran through my mind, and none of them were coherent enough to make sense. Forcing myself to look away from the messages, I focused on regulating my breathing.

My heart was pounding in my ears, a pulsing whoosh that obscured even the noise of the crackling fire beside me. It steadily slowed, and once under control, I became aware of the intense burning sensation emanating from my hand. The skin on the back of my hand was red, even through the fuzzy static and dancing lights from staring at the fire for too long. Without the smoke in my face, I could smell the singed hair from working too closely to the fire without adequate gear.

"Unnnngh… That hurts." I groaned and used the small bowl of water meant for quenching to dribble onto my hand. I wasn't even sure if you had to quench nails. Apparently not? Lucky for me then, because the cool, refreshing water soothed the ache momentarily. It resumed shortly after I ran out, though less harshly. A soft snore from Darby about made me laugh, though I did feel a bit bad for putting him through the whole ordeal.

There was no way I would have been able to do it without him, and I was thankful to have him as a friend. I let him sleep and quietly reviewed my notifications, eager to see the much-awaited milestone. > Select a class upgrade path to view choices. > Combat Classes > Support Classes > Upgrade Production Class: Warning, selecting this is a permanent choice. I selected the combat class dropdown and reviewed my options. > Soldier: The combat class choice of countless warriors.

Whether at war, for mercenary work, or for adventuring, the impact of an experienced soldier is always felt. Provides +2 Strength, +2 Vitality, and +1 Dexterity for each level in Soldier. > Brute: The combat class choice of a savage fighter. Often used by guilds as heavy hitters, the brute packs an astounding amount of strength, often utilizing heavy weapons like hammers or maces. Provides +3 Strength and +2 Vitality for each level in Brute. > Axeman: The combat class choice for wielders of axes.

Often chosen by lumberjacks, this class dives into the art of the hafted blade. Provides +2 Strength, +1 Vitality, and +2 Dexterity for each level in Axeman. I was surprised to see they seemed to be tailored to me, influenced by the way I had fought and the tools I'd used. A general-purpose soldier class matched the tone of my craftsman class. Albeit recently, my smithing had apparently equated to a brutish class, and fighting with my hatchet had led to the axeman choice.

At first glance, Brute seemed like the obvious choice to complement my new blacksmithing profession and balance out stat gains each level, but I was not convinced yet. I opened the support options. > Merchant: A Support class that buys and sells goods. Practitioners of this class will find that there is coin to be made, even in the smallest of margins. Provides +1 Vitality, +2 Intellect, and +2 Wisdom for each level in Merchant. > Scribe: A Support class that creates or preserves the written word.

Those that take on this class deal in knowledge, valuing it above all else. Provides +3 Intellect and +2 Wisdom for each level in Scribe. > Attunist: A Support class that provides arcane services. Practitioners of this class often find an abundance of work in identifying the nature of concepts, providing guidance on their best use. Provides +2 Intellect and +3 Wisdom for each level in Attunist. Merchant and Attunist were both very interesting choices.

Between the two, Attunist won out with its viability out here in the wilderness. I didn't think that being a Merchant with only my neighbors as clients would provide the greatest path. Not to mention only gaining access to a single vitality each level. It felt like I was being forced to a combat selection, but that suited me just fine. It had really been my goal all along. I nearly pulled the trigger, but hesitated, decided to sit on it. I'd take a lesson from Darby.

There wasn't any rush to choose just yet, and he was spot on in his assessment. I wanted to fix things. I wanted to help others. I just wanted everyone to be safe. Is being a brute the best way to do that? I don't want to take a class just because it fits the stats well. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. A faint shout from below interrupted my thoughts—the call for dinner. Darby woke with a loud snort, as if an alarm clock had gone off.

"HUWUZZAT?" He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"You think dinner's ready? I'm hungry." I laughed again.

"Yeah, I think so, buddy."

"If I could have everyone's attention, please!" Ernie's voice came over the hustle and bustle of the dinner rush, and the commotion quickly died down as everyone stopped what they were doing to see what the fuss was about.

"Before we break out for the evening, we are going to host our first Mossbrook HOA meeting! Well… It's more of a town hall now, I suppose, isn't it?" He stopped and smiled.

"Nothing to be worried about; it's more of an informational event and an opportunity to bring up any concerns. We'll gather once everyone is done eating." Our evening meal always went by quickly, but more so today, as we were eager to learn more of the plans for the village. In short order, we had cleaned up and gathered around the wagon where Ernie had set up.

"Welcome, everyone! We have several items on the agenda, so if we could hold the questions to the end, I would appreciate it." He nervously adjusted his shirt before continuing.

"I know I have taken the reins in leading things with the assistance of others, like Danny and Gene," he waved a hand at the two.

"But I did so under what I felt was a necessity in a difficult time. I still believe in democracy, in what it is supposed to be. So we will hold an election for a mayor." This brought a rumble of approval from the crowd. I had been fine with Ernie leading things, but it spoke volumes to his leadership that he was prepared to potentially lose it when the majority of us would have accepted the current situation. I felt like it was only natural that someone with the Coordinator class be, well, coordinating things.

"Along with that, I have been working with several of you to create a method of fair governance. We will also have weekly town halls, consisting of the mayor and five elected officials who will vote on any town issues. The mayor will not have a vote. To ensure fairness, at any town hall, any resident may call for a vote of no confidence for any elected official, decided by a simple majority vote by you." Again, a process that, at face value, I thought was fair.

It was refreshing to see power in the hands of the people.

"We will draft a publicly available bill to outline this, but let's move past governance and get to what you're here for!" He smiled widely and held a hand out towards a young woman.

"This is Cleo Sharpe. She has recently gotten her degree in teaching and has the Scribe class. In addition to teaching our young ones, she has voluntarily started a project of collecting class information and is going to host classes to teach anyone interested how class systems work. So, if you have any questions, or would like to contribute what you have learned to help develop her course, please don't hesitate to reach out to her!" He looked down at a piece of paper.

"The next item: We are taking a note from Fairfield, and Danny Thompson is building a town board! Anyone will be able to post jobs, requests, or events- anything really. We hope you make good use of this!" This brought a smattering of applause. Ernie waited for it to die down before continuing.

"As the interim mayor, I did take the liberty of compiling a list of jobs needing to be filled. So far, we have operated as free agents. It is of my opinion that we might form something a little more structured for efficiency's sake. If anyone disagrees, we can certainly look at doing something else. This will be posted on the town board, and anyone can sign up for open slots. Right now we need volunteer laborers to work under Danny in construction, as well as an assistant cook for Tabitha. We also need…"

Ernie continued to detail the open positions, then transitioned into more niche, already filled jobs. Nancy Thompson was our healer, Aaron the stablemaster and future game-keeper, Tim the farmer, myself as the local craftsman, and so on. Once questions were opened, several hands shot up.

There were concerns with the encroaching cold of winter, what houses would be built first, what was being done to arm us against potential threats, and most poignantly, what was being done to establish contact with other survivors of Earth, or family members. This brought a stillness to the group that I hadn't seen since reaching the valley.

"That's a good question, and one I've thought about more than you know." Ernie sighed deeply.

"The truth is, until things change, we're at the mercy of the duke or one of the trade guilds. They have access to long-range communication through abilities, and it's possible that we might trade resources for information in the future. Until one of us unlocks such an ability, it's the only thing I can think of right now." This news brought a fresh wave of excitement. Despite there not being progress made, it was something to work towards, a possibility that hadn't existed in the minds of many of us.

Ernie answered a couple more questions, and on the final call, I spoke up.

"I need more materials to work with. I'm going to be so busy working the forge and everything else. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to gather materials, so if you find, I don't know, turtle shells or something, please bring them by!" I could see Emmie's face scrunch up in a glare from the corner of my eye, and somehow, I managed to keep a straight face.

"Ah! Perfect example for our board use! Although I'm glad you brought it up here so everyone is aware. Though, I'm not sure if any turtles are to be found here… Anyway, if there is nothing else…" He looked around the group, and not seeing anyone with their hand raised, signaled the end of the meeting.

"Town hall adjourned!" The usual animated discussion began, but I excused myself and returned to my small camp above the town. I needed to do some thinking. There were too many variables. How could I defend others if I was too weak to defend myself? How could I raise my level in a combat class if I was too busy at the forge or crafting? It seemed like everyone had determined their paths forward, and I was stuck at a crossroads. I had a difficult choice to make.