I Built This City Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Read chapter 46 of I Built This City by ThePudding on NovelPedia.

Merchant Ellen Ellen braced herself against the rock as she stared down the mountain. When she and the others had first moved there, Onroc Anroll had not even been visible from most places up the mountain. This had been one of the exceptions that had been angled correctly to see the ruined buildings, and it was still one of the best places to see the progress they’d made. To some, that progress might not look like much. To Ellen, it was the most impressive accomplishment she’d ever seen. The snow covered much of the cleared space, but it was still obvious that it had been cleared. Trails free of the snow wound from the smithy to the longhouse, and over to the small ruin they’d been using to store firewood. Another trail led to the edge of the forest, heading for the village… but she agreed with Pauley that they should clear the road and meet up with the main road instead of relying on the trail. Ellen pulled up the Settlement Interface and let it spread from the corner of her vision to fully encompass it. She’d discovered this new feature by accident, and now she really wondered how much she could use it. The overlaid version highlighted the various structures—even the mostly-hidden lime kiln further down, which showed up as a glowing shape amongst the trees in the distance. She could even see usable foundations, which registered as Unallocated Foundation with a percentage indicating its solidity. Most were in good condition, but a few had significant damage, usually from plant roots. Ellen didn’t like that it still called it a Longhouse , but the fact that she could easily pull up a list of items to change to shift it to an Inn was pretty interesting. It wouldn’t even be difficult… though that would leave the rest without a place to sleep. More likely she’d want to turn it into a Common Hall , but the Settlement Interface insisted that it needed more lighting and a more distinct kitchen. Those seemed like minor changes to her, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. She played around with assigning ghostly buildings to the various foundations, even if it indicated supplies were unable to create them. A bakery here, a butcher there, a house beside it. She never confirmed when the System asked her to, but she was tempted. Would the other Ellens receive a notification of what was wanted? Would the villagers receive it? She still couldn’t control the village, or even look at it very clearly. The Trust percentage had gone up slightly, but was still well below the halfway point, with no indication of when it would be ‘enough’ to view it… or even if that would ever be allowed. The iron mine was showing up now, but was still marked as ‘Unsafe’ despite Carpenter and Mason’s recent efforts. It was at least an upgrade from the earlier ‘Dangerous’ designation, and she was glad they were being very careful about shoring up the mine’s ancient supports. Those two were more cautious than ever after Builder’s death. A third accidental death would be a curse, not bad luck. “Someone is deep in thought,” a voice said from behind her. One of the Ellens. “You should be careful. An entire pack of wolves could sneak up on you like that.” “Hello, Hunter.” Ellen chuckled, huddling up in her cloak more tightly. “You’re the only one who would be wandering out here. Are there really wolves out? I haven’t seen one.” Hunter walked up beside her, rubbing her hands together. She looked flushed, and was still tugging her cloak into place. Ellen caught a glimpse of two rabbits dangling from her belt—a successful hunt. Though Ellen didn’t see any sign of a weapon or injuries on the rabbits, which was confusing until she remembered her father using snares. Hunter must have done the same. She should probably pay more attention to what Hunter is doing. “There are wolves nearby, but they seem skittish about humans,” Hunter answered. She rubbed her sides for warmth and grumbled. “I’ve seen a few of them at a distance, and plenty of tracks, but they don’t go anywhere