Tears Water Our Growth V

"Sleeping spell?" I probe.

"Old... War... Medic's... Trick... Zzzz..." Jouanne says before falling asleep in his chair.

Deciding to let the old man rest, I turn my focus back to Aventus, who is sleeping peacefully.

"Don't worry, son... I've got an idea to get you a leg... I'm sorry for not being strong enough to protect you... Fucking Silver Hand bastards!" I curse the scum who inflicted me with such a harsh status penalty.

I look over to the doorway to see Inigo standing vigil over the three of us.

I give him a slight nod before taking another spare chair, holding Aventus' uninjured hand, before going to sleep for an hour to access my level-up screen.

I take little time deciding what to take, I heavily invest in Smithing, going after the dwarven auto cannon, dwarven armor crafting, and a number of supplemental perks to affect crafting.

I don't yet have enough Smithing skill to get the remote control function for the autocannons, but I should have enough after I'm done crafting what I have in mind.

I wake up and feel a massive migraine coming on as information on crafting, various dwemer schematics, and a number of enchanting circles and their relation to upgrading arms and armor is seared into my brain.

I rub my throbbing eyes before opening them to see Inigo still standing watch but notice that Jouanne has left.

I look over to see Aventus still asleep, I ruffle his hair and kiss his forehead before standing up to head out of the room.

"Be sure to watch over him." I instruct Inigo.

"Of course, my friend." Inigo agrees before heading into the room to sit beside Aventus.

As I leave the main house, I'm greeted by a somber camp, as everyone is sitting down and quietly waiting for something.

When I come out, they all stand up at attention, saluting me before waiting for my orders.

"As you all must know by now, we've just been attacked by a dragon... My son, Aventus, was severely wounded whilst buying time for me and others to make it to the dragon. He sacrificed much to protect his family, this family we have here. But he's still alive, and I'm confident he will make a full recovery." I say, steadying myself to keep from cursing out in anger, clinching my fist tightly.

"I'm not going to lie... I'm pissed, no... Pissed doesn't even come close to what I'm feeling right now... Enraged, maybe comes closest? But rage without direction or purpose only leads to self-destruction, and I have too much to live for to throw my life away, especially since the dragon that did it is currently a pile of bones I plan to mount over the camp entrance... No, I'll turn my rage to ensuring our home is never threatened again!" I say, filling my voice with righteous fury, and I feel an aura of power begin to radiate from me as my companions reflect a similar energy.

"I shall forge weapons the like of which this land has never before seen! Our walls will tower over our foes! We shall slaughter any man, beast, mer, or horror that dares to rise against us! We will be a bane the likes of which our enemies have never seen!" I shout to the crowd, getting cheers in response.

"Fuck yeah!"

"Kill the dragons!"

"To Oblivion with them all!"

"But before any of that, we must build a strong foundation. To do that, I'm going to draft up some additional plans for the camp, and we're going to be training twice- No! Three times as hard as we have been! A young boy with no training was able to blind a fuckin' dragon all by himself! Are you going to be upstaged by a child?!" I shout at them.

"No!" They shout back.

"I can't here you!" I yell at them.

"No!" They reply again.

"Good, you'll get your orders soon! I need to speak with you, Lokir, Gringar, Falion, and Vladimar." I say, motioning the four of them to come over as the company disperses.

"What can I do to help, Boss?" Lokir asks sincerely.

"I need you to start constructing defensive walls and battlements to which we can mount siege weapons. This place needs to become a fortress. Do you think you can handle that?" I ask him.

"It'll be hard to make somethin' of that magnitude... But I'll consult with Walsh and get to it." Lokir says after some thought.

"Thanks, brother, Gringar, I want you to increase the intensity of training. If they aren't aching and cursing your name at the end of each day, it's not enough." I tell him.

"Playtime's over, hehehe..." Gringar says with a malicious smile as he cracks his knuckles, making Lokir shiver slightly.

"Remember, no killing or maiming them, and we'll be heading out in a few days to go and take Largashbur." I tell him.

"Tsk, as you command, Blüdtoth." Gringar says with a slightly annoyed look.

"Falion, Vladimar, change of plans. The magic education course will be just as important, and it's vital everyone can cast these three spells as soon as possible, children included." I tell them.

"It's easy enough to say, but it's hard enough to teach those talented in the mystic arts, even more so those with no aptitude whatsoever." Falion grumbles.

"I don't need them to be the next archmage, just to be able to increase their odds of survival. So the spells I have in mind are one long-range attack spell, one ward spell, and a healing spell." I instruct them.

"Well, I will try my best. That's all I can promise." Falion says, and Vladimar gives a grunt in agreement.

"That's all I ask, get Jouanne to help with the teaching of healing magics. I've got some work to do, dismissed." I tell them, prompting Falion to walk off and Vladimar to salute me before doing the same.