James didn't give the ladies longer than a few minutes before he started to leave. If Luna wanted to go with him, she would notice and hopefully stop him. Which is exactly what happened. A flustered group of women ran down the stairs as Mender reached the lobby with him.

"Leaving already?" Luna asked, her face slightly red from whatever they were talking about.

Grace waved him down, not stopping until she was by his side. "We need to finish our conversation still."

"Yes, we do," Zenaria added.

Rubbing the back of his head, James looked over the women. "How about tonight. We all have too much to do right now."

Sighing, Grace gave in. "You're right. I have a tavern to salvage. I need to get the carpenters over to help. They will want a place to drink before the housing."

Chuckling, James rested his hand between her ears. "Tonight over drinks. Even if we have to use the inn."

Pressing against him, she nodded. That is until Luna cleared her throat, making Amber laugh. Looking at his hand and then Luna, he sheepishly pulled away. "Sorry…"

Grabbing his hand, Luna huffed and led him out the door. "We have secrets to explore."

"First, we need to check on the sawmills," he stated. "Our friends need wood."

After a quick parting with his friends, he took Luna into the city. His wife happily held his hand, while holding up her left hand to look at the ring shining in the morning light.

Weaving around the gathering crowds, he earned a few more thankful greetings and handshakes as they progressed to the east gate. The cultivators were starting to come down from their mountain, or out of the houses that they stayed in. Some of them were even gathering at the sawmill, making him smile.

When they reached the sawmill, he found a group of thirty cultivators armed with axes. Many of them had other weapons attached to their backs, just in case they were attacked.

"Are we needed here?" Luna asked.

Shrugging, he walked over to the mill workers. Out of the dozen workers, the three elves smiled at him.

"Grand Master!" one of the men called out.

Chuckling, James stepped up to the workers and bowed.

Waving their hands ecstatically, they quickly tried to get him to stand back up.

"You shouldn't be bowing to us!"

"We will bow to you!"

Everyone quickly bowed to him, making James smile as he stood straight. Luna smiled by his side, not remarking on their title for him. Once everyone had bowed for several seconds, he knew he had to say something. "Please stand. We all have much work to do."

Straightening, the workers gathered closer, ignoring the cultivators that James was beginning to notice them glowering at him.

"Are the cultivators the only ones cutting wood?" he asked first.

Shaking his head, the supervisor drew attention to himself. A bear demi-human with a powerful physique. "We have several demi-humans that will be traveling with them. They are gathered outside the inner wall already."

Nodding, James turned toward the gate. "Very well. I'll see if I can't help a little. How many logs do you need to get started? What will you do with the branches?"

A cold wind blew through the clearing, chilling everyone and to James's surprise, unlocked another skill, easing the biting breeze.

New Skill: Cold Resistance: Level 1/10

Luna giggled next to him before whispering, "did you get it too?"

"It's going to be winter soon."

The supervisor cleared his throat. "We need well over a hundred logs to repair the city and that's only the damage that we've confirmed so far."

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"What about stone?" James asked.

Rubbing the back of his neck, the bear pointed across the street where the stone masons were. "You would have to ask them."

Not wanting to bother with that at the moment, James bid the workers farewell before heading toward the gate. The sole core cultivator tried to stop him, but with a sliver of pressure from his soul, he stopped her in her tracks.

"We are here to work together," he told her. "Something that would be obvious if you had come down from your safe little mountain when we needed you."

Face red from either rage or embarrassment, she opened her mouth to respond when Luna growled, her tail puffing up.

"My husband has spoken! You weren't there to save the people when you should have been. How many died because you hid?"

Shoulder's slumping, the woman gave up. "We all tried…"

"You failed," James stated. "Only a sparse few of your fellow cultivators helped me."

Doing her best to meet his gaze, she bowed, making the rest of the cultivators mumble over the sight. "I'm sorry, Grand Master. I know that I cannot apologize enough over our actions."

James took a moment before responding. Grabbing the woman's shoulder, he stood her up. "Prove that you are sorry by helping both humans and demi-humans. Don't argue or prioritize one over the other. The city needs to come together as a whole."

Nodding, her red face faded back to normal. "I will work with my fellow cultivators to make it happen."

"That's all I ask." Turning from the woman, James left. The gate was open already and once he was on the other side, he found a small group of twenty demi-humans with axes. Walking the front, he judged them to be ready, but he wasn't going to lead them.

"Are we cutting down the trees?" Luna asked.

James gave her a brief nod. "We are. Some of the Forsaken will need to move and I want to pick the trees carefully or at least move the animals back far enough that they won't be a problem."

Moving swiftly through the farmland, they were soon outside the east gate. The cultivators on guard regarded them for only a moment before he was too far away for them to call out.

Reaching the edge of the forest, he spread out his soul and felt a multitude of Forsaken within the immediate vicinity. With a few pulses of his soul, he was expecting them to flee. Instead, they rushed forward to meet him.

Several song birds were the first to land in the branches near him before bears, wolves, and several large cats and even deer arrived.

"You all need to move. The city is coming to cut down the trees and they are going to need well over one hundred. I can probably cut down the first row of trees on the edges, but they aren't large enough."

The song birds were the first to start chittering at him, flapping their wings in distress. Holding up his hand, he calmed them, but it was Luna that spoke up. "Show us the trees with your nests and we will ensure they don't get cut down. If we can cut enough down before they arrive, they will only need to pull them out and trim them."

This seem to placate the birds, but the others quickly fell to distress as well. That's when James checked the area and noticed several dens with their young.

"I can't promise the safety of your young," he announced. "You all need to move back, and keep your distance from those that are coming."

A throat cleared behind them, startling the Forsaken and James alike. Even Luna whirled on the newcomer before letting out a small laugh.

"Don't sneak up on us!" the Fenrir chided.

Turning, James found Linda and Jamie walking up to him. "We might be able to help," Linda announced. "I heard you mention that the outer trees weren't large enough, but I can help grow them."

"You can?" he asked.

"I can. I learned nature skills for when we settled in the wasteland. Jamie can help me cut down the trees once they are large enough. We'll monitor the efforts."

"There will be over thirty cultivators," he pointed out. "Can you two handle that many?"

Jamie nodded right away. "We'll be fine. Plus—" She gestured to the Forsaken. "—it's not like we don't have help."

Checking the souls of the Forsaken, James had to remind himself that they would all be a challenge for most cultivators and with their number, there shouldn't be a problem. And just to prove his point, five of his vultures landed in the area, making Luna whistle.

"I don't think the cultivators will act up," she stated with a laugh.

James let out a heavy breath. "If anything starts to happen, you contact me."

Jamie stepped up to his side and kissed his cheek. "We'll be fine, dear brother. Let Linda and I work."

Luna pulled on his hand. "We have a few things to check in the city, remember. We can do that while the ladies work."

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, James gave in. "Very well. But if anything happens…"

Jamie waved him off. "If anything happens, I'll release Linda on them."

Laughing wickedly, Linda rubbed her hands together. "It would be my pleasure!"

James backed up a step. "I'm going to leave…"

Cutting off her laughter, Linda stopped him. "Can we bury my betrothed at our future home? I want to honor my elven blood and give his life back to the earth."

Closing his eyes, he had to fight against his emotions. "Yeah," he said with a thick tone. "We won't be here much longer."

Reaching out, Linda took his hand. "Thank you, James. They were honored to be by your side. Don't ever doubt your decision to have them secure the compound. All they ever wanted was for you to rely on them. That's all any of us want."

Wiping his eyes, he nodded. Luna started to rub his back in small soothing circles as she leaned against his shoulder. Eventually Jamie took his other shoulder.

"We'll share a drink to them tonight," Linda announced. "But when we figure out who caused all of this, I want you to let me kill them."

Nodding one last time, James agreed before turning his attention back to the city. "Remember, reach out to me if you need me."

Jamie pulled away. "We will. Now get out of our hair."

Tugging on his hand, Luna led him away. He knew he needed to rely on the ladies to handle the jobs that they could, he just wished they were stronger. Even level six would put them on the level of the elders and he wouldn't have to worry about them any longer. They needed more time in the wasteland.

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