Summoned! To an RPG World (LitRPG)

Chapter 20: The Most Precious Resource When Base Building

In his dream, Marcus was swimming in the cold sea but could not get to the shore because Jaskar was somewhere in the dark depths holding a leash that was fastened to his throat. It was such a relief, therefore, when Marcus woke up and remembered that he was free. After breakfast – nuts and berries yet again – he accepted the task of making a hut and once more experienced that strange sensation of being a traveller in his own body.

While walking back from the forest towards the base Arderlee, the strong Kangaran, met him coming in the opposite direction. His arms were bare, showing the sinuous tattoo design of his people.

'Wait a moment, Marcus, would you?'

'I would. What's up?' Marcus placed the plank he was carrying on the ground and leaned against it.

'This path to the stockpile by the forest, it's fine now because it is dry. But in the wet it will become a problem.'

Marcus could see at once that Arderlee was correct. Simply by having marched back and forth between forest and base, the Fins had flattened a path in the tall grass, one that had revealed the earth beneath their stems. When heavy rain came, the mud would really slow down the transfer of wood to the stockpile at the base. 'What do you suggest?'

'Ideally, you start mining and create a gravel path. But you don't know of any nearby quarries, right?'

'That's right.'

As the Kangaran rubbed at the ground with the toe of his left foot, Marcus felt there was something incongruous about the smart boots that Arderlee wore and his crude, brown leggings. If this image were a painting or sculpture, the message of it would almost be something surreal, something about power and slavery. Wasn't there an idiom, 'the boot is on the other foot now'? That would be the title of the piece.

Marcus was awoken from his consideration of how to paint the scene by a motion. Arderlee was shading his hand and looking eastwards, towards the sand dunes.

'It's not so far to the beach. I'd recommend building a wheelbarrow and assigning someone to bring stones back. Making a shale stone path will prove its worth over time.'

Marcus sighed. 'That's the most important planning consideration though, isn't it? Time. I can see it's a good idea to have a stone path. But we also need beds and food. And what about the raid that Salawa planned for next month? If we are going to join the Red Moon tribe then we need weapons.'

'Still, this specific investment in time would soon pay for itself.'

Marcus thought about this. Not only was there a short term versus long term way of looking at the question, there was also the consideration that a stone path might mitigate against the risk that bad weather could stall their progress. 'All right. Are you willing to work on the path?'

The Kangaran nodded solemnly.

It took a minute or two of flicking his eyes around the menus to find wheelbarrow among the large volume of items now available under Production.

Basic Wooden Wheelbarrow

With wooden axle.

Requirements: 3 units of timber; a saw; a hammer; 20 nails; a borer; a file; Construction skill 3.

This simple wheelbarrow allows an individual to transport light loads efficiently.

'What's your Construction skill?' Marcus asked without closing the menu.