PART 19

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The journey onboard the ships had been uneventful, and with the help of the mages that came against Will's urging, they even managed to shave several days off their trip with a bit of wind magic. Will had begrudgingly admitted it was better to have them along. When they finally heard the young man in the crow's nest calling out the sighting of land, an audible relief of tension washed over everyone.

"Alright, Ilicia, you are now essentially the Queen. Will is to protect you and do what you wish, but from here on out, you are the one who makes decisions, so work hard." Illicia said quietly to herself. And Will smiled at her when she looked up, slightly embarrassed.

"That is all true, but remember, the one thing you are not in charge of is landing the ships, so let us stay out of the way of the sailors," Will said, and Ilicia nodded. Across all the ships, anyone who was not a sailor made their way to their designated quarter below decks as the sailor began to swarm about the sails, heeding calls to furl and unfurl sails, as well as the thousand other things required to get into range for the final jaunt to shore in a row boat.

Several hours later, the Captain of their ship came and knocked on their cabin door. "Princess Ilicia, we are anchored and await your orders."

"Thank you, captain," Ilicia said, and she and Will made their way onto the ship's deck. "Let's get everyone ashore and begin seeing about finding a good spot for a town and then eventually getting a pier set up."

"Aye, Ma'am," The Captain said and then turned away, bellowing orders that resulted in a series of rowboats being lowered over the side of the ship with leaders down to each. "ten to a boat, not counting the two sailors. Boatswain, you're in charge of securing things on landfall. Make sure the sailors return to get more supplies and people."

"Aye, Sir." The boatswain, a gruff man who looked as if he ate rocks for breakfast, and smashed them with his arms for fun, said before jumping over the side of the ship to land in one of the empty rowboats."

"Now jump to it!" The Captain shouted, and sailors echoed back and scrambled down to the rowboats, the cargo holds, and various other tasks needing to be done.

Ilicia and Will, along with the three Drethi, the Ogdeshi, Agrana, two sailors, and three men who were young and single skilled workers hoping to make their fortune on this trip, climbed into a boat, and Will smiled at the sailors. "Mind if I row?"

Both of the sailors looked up at the towering form of Will and shook their heads, both lads squeezing into Wills's now empty seat next to the princess, who smiled kindly at the clearly terrified young men. Then Will took an ore haft in each hand and began to row with long deep strokes that quickly brought the boat to a speed that Will was sure the two young men could never hope to achieve.

The trip from the ships to the shore took five minutes with Will rowing. When they looked behind them, it seemed like it would be half an hour or more until the other rowboats made it to shore. Will stood and jumped over when the water was only a couple of feet deep, taking a rope from the lead end of the small boat, putting it over his shoulder, and casually dragging it and its passengers' several feet past the high tide line.

"You can head back now," Will said to the two sailors, who looked completely flabbergasted, "or you can wander around here for me and see if there are any potential dangers until the others arrive."

The two young men brightened at this. "Of course, Sir!"

Both young men took off together and began scouting out the beech. Will, on the other hand, turned and looked up at the trees further inland. "They are massive."

"Larger than anything I have ever seen, even in the Collective," Ilicia said as she took in the trees that, from a distance, looked to be nearly fifteen feet thick and hundreds of feet tall. "Imagine the ships we could build with those."

"Imagine indeed," Will said, "I'm more interested in what kind of pier we could build and how quickly if we felled a couple of those."

Ilicia nodded and began walking with Will, inspecting the shoreline while they waited for everyone else. The next few hours before sunset were busy, with the sailors rotating who rowed, who took breaks on the shore, and who loaded from the ships to the rowboats. By the time night fell, nearly everything that could be moved without a pier had been moved, and all the personnel, except for a skeleton crew that would be rotated once a day, were off the ships, and a temporary camp had been assembled.

Bonfires had been built, and celebratory food had been brought out. Ilicia stood tall on a stump holding a stein of ale up. "The first and worst step in our adventure is over!"

Cheers roared out from the group. Ilicia continued when they had quieted down. "It may have been the worst, but it was not the hardest. Now begins the hardest; we must scratch a home from this strange new land and find ways to either survive, dominate, or coexist with any locals. So celebrate tonight; we have seen to the safety of everyone here with the help of The Princess's Man and our allies from the Gob'Ran Collective, so drink and be merry!"

Another cheer roared out, and Illicia clambered off the stump and took a swig from her stein. "Now, Will, I think I will drink and celebrate not being on a blasted boat anymore."

Will smiled and nodded, letting Ilicia have this celebration as much as she let the others have it.

Two months had passed since the arrival of the expeditionary group, and a lot had changed. Firstly there was a reasonably decent palisade constructed around the landing site. After the attacks by wild beasts on their fifth night, it had seemingly only gone downhill. But despite it all, they had progressed. Ilicia had asked Will to forgo some of his protection duties, leaving her safety to the Drethi, and lending his incredible strength to the building efforts, first in building an incredibly rough pier and then everything to follow.

Will had done so, and with the help of the skilled craftsmen they had brought, quickly gotten a rudimentary set of homes to build; multiple families were sharing each home, but each day lessened this, as the entire group would work together on a single building, and like clockwork, a new home would be completed within twenty-four hours. None of it would have been possible without Will and Agrana both putting their orcish sides to the test and performing feats of strength that would have humbled the strongest of men.

Today was the seventy-third day of the expedition, and it was time to build the home for Ilicia, Will, Agrana, the Drethi, and the twelve household members they had brought. When they finished two days later, the manor that had been built far exceeded anything Ilicia had expected, further demonstrating the abilities of the people she had helped select.

That night another celebratory feast was had in what would eventually become the town square. Ilcia once again stood above the rest, this time on a dais built for such things. "In less than three months, we have built a home!"

A thunderous roar of approval came from the crowd. Ilicia gave them a moment, then raised her hand for silence. "We have made it a point to ask everyone to avoid the deep woods for now, and we have been cutting only the smallest of trees near the shore. While you have worked, I have had our hunters and the Three Drethi who accompanied us to do some exploring, and as best as they can tell, the forest is uninhabited, so starting tomorrow, we will begin expeditions deeper into the woods to look for mineral deposits, as well as a proper stone quarry so we can work on proper walls and roads for everyone!"

The crowd looked apprehensive because of a promise she had made them before leaving. Ilicia nodded. "I promised you all that if you stuck around until this point, and everyone had a home built, I would offer you all a chance to return and that you would not be punished for departing."

Ilicia looked out over the crowd of four hundred and fifty-three. She remembered each of the twenty-two dead. "I offer it to you now. If you would leave, please gather your goods and go to the pier. The ships return to Colt in the morning. The sailor will board tonight and leave before the first light, so you must go with them. If you leave, know that you do so with my thanks and with my blessing."

Ilciai held her breath, half expecting everyone to turn and leave. Three families did, and they were no surprise. Each had lost the man of the house or a child, and Ilicia only wished them well. Ilicia let them leave and then turned to the sailors who were present. "To you men, who may or may not return, I thank you and wish you a safe passage. Captain, if you would see me before you depart. If there are no others who wish to leave, then revel one and all; tonight, we are complete, a new town in a new land!"

Cheers burst forth, and music began coming from a trio of people who had brought instruments. The Captain approached Ilicia. "Princess, you asked to see me?"

"Yes, captain, I wanted to thank you, and ask you to deliver this to my father personally." Ilciai handed the man a letter. "If you are to return, I would greatly appreciate a response, but I would understand if you are not returning."

"Very well, your majesty." the Captain said, bowing and then turning to leave.

"One more thing Captain," Will said, producing his own letter. "This can be given to any messenger, as I expect you will not be going to the Gob'Ran Collective anytime soon. I have friends there who should hear some of what has happened."

"Of course, sir." The Captain made as if to leave, then looked at Will and Ilicia. "I have never had much interaction with the royals. But if the two of you are any example, I am sorry I did not meet any sooner."

With that, the Captain turned and left, leaving Will and Ilicia dining on the dais. Ilicia turned to Will, knowing his patience was nearly inexhaustible when it came to her, but it was time. "Alright, Will, tomorrow, we can begin planning the expedition to the village my father told you about."

"Thank you, Ilicia," Will said with a smile that excited and terrified Ilicia as she wondered what kind of monster she was about to unleash on the poor village of Arvardum.