After building the bloomery, Ben took a little break from the system stuff. He decided to focus on practicing what Hauxwell had taught him. After vastly improving his concentration, he became sensitive enough to detect it without meditating.

  When not messing with mana, Ben spent the rest of his time teaching Finn and helping the village folk move the stones out of the mine. The Omnitool allowed him to store the stones as tokens in the spatial storage and rematerialize them when outside. It had helped speed things up at the cost of getting a few funny stares from people, but it was worth it. After all, it was his fault the supply outside had diminished.

  The builders were happy about the ample stone supply and started dressing them. Once that was done, they gathered wheelbarrows full of lime from the nearby deposits and started creating the mortar they used to build the walls for the first few dwellings.

  Sitting by the campfire, Ben sat with a tankard of warm tea and glanced around at the progress. He was surprised by how fast they had gotten the walls done. He figured it wouldn't take long before they would be ready to take their first inhabitants.

  Sometime later, sounds coming from the trail caught Ben’s attention. He noticed the caravan had returned, with Har shouting orders to his staff to get the caravan and horses in order before taking their rest. Har then promptly made his way to the campfire with a wide grin.

  “How are you doing, Har?” Ben asked with a wave of the hand.

  Har nodded before glancing around at the buildings. “Not bad at all. I could, however, do with some rest. I no longer recognize this place. How are things going with you?”

  “Same story, different day,” Ben said before glancing at the empty carts. “How’d it go out on the road? I see the caravans returned empty, so good news, I’m hoping.”

  “Oh, aye. You could say we had an interesting journey. We made it to Wesport, where we’ve created new contacts with the forges. They don’t usually have access to good ore because they are by the sea and have requested regular deliveries.” Har explained before going to a little pouch on his tunic. He passed an entire thing over. “There were a few more gold coins, but we had to get a few supplies along the way. My cart’s got a couple of crates of smoked fish, and there's some feed for the horses in one of the others. We should make better use of the trips so we bring supplies we need back.”

  Ben nodded. “That’s completely fine with me. Always do what you think is right. I trust you.” He opened the pouch and found a small stack of checks and a few gold coins.

  [+23 Gold Pounds.]

  Har coughed to interrupt. “Oh, before I forget. On the way here, we came across another caravan bound for Robynhill. There were three artisan families, and from the looks of things, they had the tools and resources to get their work started again. They also had a small group of Hollow Moon soldiers with them, all with supplies. If I were you, I would speak with the builders and ask them to focus on finishing the first three buildings so that they can accommodate them once they arrive.”

  Ben nodded. “Appreciate that! I’ll let the builders know.”

  ***

  The next day, Ben sat by the campfire drinking warm tea when he heard horses clopping in the distance. He turned and noticed a dozen carts, along with armed soldiers dressed in the white and black of the Hollow Moon, approaching the mine.

  Sitting beside Ben, Har stood up and put his hand above his head before squinting. “Ah, that looks like them. They must have stopped by Robynhill yesterday and stayed the night. I’ll need to direct the carts. Otherwise, they’ll make a mess of it. Let’s head over for a chat.”

  They made their way there before Ben gave the soldiers a friendly wave. When the one in charge approached, the notification popped up.

  [Corporal Knox Maxwell Level 5.]

  “Welcome to the mine, Corporal Maxwell.” Ben gave the man a thumbs up.

  Maxwell saluted. “Greetings, Sergeant Bailey, Sir. We were ordered to escort the first artisan caravan here. We are here to uphold the law and ensure the safety of the village here. We are under your command and may only report to you.”

  Ben nodded. “That’s great. We’ll appreciate all the help we can get right now. Get settled in, and I’ll give you your first assignments.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Maxwell nodded. “Aye, Sir. If you don't mind, could we build our camp near the one you’ve already got there?” He asked, pointing at the tents.

  “That’ll be fine for now. So that you know, we’ll hopefully be expanding the village in that direction when the time comes. So, you might have to take it down later.” Ben explained before motioning towards Har, “This is Har Olson. He is my coach steward and will direct your people to where their carts and horses are. After that, we can chat properly if everyone can gather by the campfire.” He finished motioning that way.

  Maxwell saluted, “Yes, Sir.” He then moved out of the way so Har could step in and explain where to park the carts.

  The horsecarts were moved toward the clearing near the mine entrance and anchored. The three families, wearing better-than-average clothes, looked slightly annoyed with what they saw, as if the mine was beneath them. Luckily, they followed Maxwell’s words before making way for the campfire.

  Ben stepped atop a large log and coughed to catch everyone's attention. When it didn't stop the ruckus, Maxwell shouted for silence before Ben put on his friendly face and started. “Thank you for your attention. I’m Sergeant Benjamin Bailey, and welcome to The Bailey Mine. As you can see, we’ve been working hard to get your dwellings and workshops in order. We didn't exactly know when you would be arriving apart from Har here, having met you on the trail while he was on a delivery run. The builders have concentrated on completing the workshops first, but as you can tell, the roofs still need another day or two. You are more than welcome to move in while the builders carry on working, or you can spend your time at the camp with the fine folk working in the mines.”

  The new arrivals didn’t look happy about hearing the last part. Conversations of frustration broke out, and they looked as if they were about to march back to their carts and run back to where they had come from.

  “Silence!” Maxwell shouted, which resulted in a deafening silence. “These people have been working hard to build this village for you, for which you should be grateful. New buildings like this cost much money to erect. Look at their camp.” He motioned at the tents. “They have people of their own whom they should be accommodating first. Yet they have chosen you to take the first dwellings while they wait longer for the same privilege. Remember, you are under special orders from your guilds to be here and working. I don’t want to be hearing any excuses lest you want me to relay this information to my commanders. I doubt the Grand Marshall would be too pleased with that.”

  The artisan's expressions appeared to shift as if they had just been confronted with some hard facts.

  With silence still in the air, Ben took the opportunity to speak about the security situation. “Corporal Maxwell is now under my command, and I am giving him the task of upholding the law around here. He and his men will secure the perimeter around the village so that the people here can live safely. I ask that you speak with him before you leave the village bounds so you may be escorted. Har is my coach steward; you may ask him about anything related to deliveries. And finally,” Ben motioned to a figure in the background who was standing near the other village folk. “That young man there is Finn, my deputy foreman and second in command of the mine. He is the man to ask if you have any queries about any ore.”

  As Ben expected, Finn got a few funny stares from the people who probably were confused about why a young teen was in charge of the mine. When Maxwell walked around, giving those people the side eye, they huffed out sighs and made half-assed nods.

  “Alright, now that we have some understanding, you know a little about us. I want to allow you fine folks to speak about yourselves.” Ben stated before passing the speaking torch.

  Maxwell cleared his throat, “Sir if you'd like, I would be happy to make the introductions and explain what they specialize in.” He waited for Ben to nod before moving towards the first family. “Here we have the Hoover family, excellent farriers who turn iron into horseshoes. Our cavalry units and knights require their services to keep their horses running. They will create blanks here so the Hollow Moon battle farriers can quickly complete their work on the front line.”

  Maxwell then moved to the second family, “Here we have the Smythsons, crafters of various weapons. When our soldiers are in the heat of battle, sometimes weapons break, and an ample supply of replacements is needed.” He then moved to the last family. “Finally, we have the Platons; they specialize in crafting chainmail and various armor pieces. The Hollow Moon has some of the best-equipped infantry in the entire realm, and our armorers are renowned across the known world. Each of these families is certified by the guilds of the realm to run their workshops, and at the minimum, their heads have over ten years of experience. Another three families will arrive in two weeks.”

  Ben gave the Corporal a thumbs up. "Thank you, Corporal Maxwell." He then glanced around the new families and gave them a warm smile. "I want to thank you all for being here. I don't want you to feel out of place or like you don't belong here. We won't give you any problems if you follow the rules and get on with us. We believe in working together as a team. You have my assurance that everyone will be treated as an equal and that you’ll be treated like one of us.”

  The new arrivals looked shocked by what Ben had said and glanced at each other as if no one had ever spoken to them like that. A few of them smiled and let out a little cheer before their demeanor changed from being like they didn't want to be there to being more relaxed.

  Ben nodded reassuringly, not wanting to be seen as an evil dictator. He figured they must have been hungry from their journey, so he was about to offer them some food when everyone turned to look behind him.

  Ben twisted his neck and noticed Jerry approaching them with an entire deer over his shoulder. “What the heck?”

  Har came up beside Ben and gave him a nudge. “He must have gone out for a hunt last night when I told him about the new arrivals.”

  “Well, it seems venison is on the menu today.” Ben chuckled.