The ground in Veirdale was cruel.
Every swing of the shovel struck not soft soil, but hardened ash layered over dry clay. The fire from the bandit raid hadn't just burned buildings—it had baked the very earth.
Kail grunted, sweat dripping from his chin as he worked. He was digging near the old goat pen ruins, looking for usable stone or remnants of his father's failed experiments. Anything that could help reinforce his shelter before the coming rains.
"You work like you're punishing the ground," Rin said from a distance.
He didn't look up. "Maybe I am."
She squatted near the edge of the dig site, tossing a rock from hand to hand. "That's not how you find things. The old places have bones under bones. You need to feel where it cracks."
"You mean like intuition?"
"No. I mean listen for the hollow spots."
Kail paused, then thumped the shovel flat against the dirt. A dull thunk. He shifted a few feet—thud—and again—clink.
There.
"Thanks," he muttered, genuinely surprised.
She smirked faintly. "I grew up crawling ruins before I learned to speak full sentences."
Kail dug faster now, until his shovel struck something solid. Stone, but not natural. Carved. A slab.
He brushed the dust away, revealing a sigil etched into the center—two linked circles with jagged lines crossing between them. It glowed faintly.
Structure Detected: Sub-Basement Entryway (Locked) Age Estimate: 32 Years Construction: Varnen Family Storage Cellar Status: Collapsed Entrance – Requires Reinforcement Unlock Requirements: Basic Engineering or 5 Additional KP
Of course. His father had once mentioned a hidden root cellar where he stored prototypes. Kail had chalked it up to old-man rambling. But this… this could be vital.
"This was his," Kail said softly. "Dad's last project."
"You gonna dig it out?"
"Eventually. I need knowledge for that. Or system points. Right now, I have neither."
He stood, brushing dust from his shirt. "But I've got a well. A roof. And someone who doesn't want me dead."
Rin tossed the rock high and caught it behind her back. "You sure about that last part?"
Kail grinned. "Not entirely, no."
New Objective Available: Reinforce Well (2-Day Task) Reward: +3 KP, Water Purification Blueprint
Bonus Objective: Establish First Farmland Plot (Optional) Reward: +7 KP, Unlock: Early Crop Knowledge (Earth-based Compatibility Tier I)
That evening, the wind howled harder than usual, as if testing the strength of Kail's shelter. He stayed close to the fire, sharpening the axe while Rin roasted the lizard meat from the previous night.
"I heard whispers today," Rin said suddenly.
Kail paused. "What kind of whispers?"
"From the woods. The wind carried them. Not words. Just watching."
He frowned. "Bandits?"
She shook her head. "No. They make noise. These weren't flesh."
Kail stared into the fire. Another problem for another time.
But in the morning… they'd dig deeper.