The weeks after Noruma's relocation seemed to vanish in a blur of sawdust, newly laid brick, and the thrum of busy Presidroids ferrying wheelbarrows. All around Otherrealm, the clang of hammers, the chant of dwarven incantations, and the laughter of ex-Noruma villagers discovering new corners of their shoreline filled the air. The settlement was becoming a sprawling city.
Work on the new "fourth wall" had kicked off with a bang, or, more precisely, with the rhythmic pounding of dwarven earthmancer teams. They wore wide-brimmed helmets studded with gemlike runes, their squat forms bristling with tools. Every morning, they'd gather at the old perimeter, chanting guttural spells that made the ground ripple and mold itself into foundation blocks. Eryndra watched from a safe distance at first, a mixture of fascination and concern.
Roy held back his applause, but only for a moment "These new guys are precise! I couldn't fit a hair between those blocks...did aliens help?"
A bearded dwarf nearby was wearing a spool of silver wire around his waist. It acted as some sort of channel for their earth spells, letting them shape each block exactly how they want.
Eryndra gave a low whistle. "Wish we had that from the start, might've saved a lot of sweat."
The dwarves themselves worked with absolute focus. One of them, stocky and bright-eyed, noticed Roy watching and gave him a friendly wave. "Good day, Thunder God, Smasher of the Weak!" he called in a thick accent. Roy nearly lost his temper but Eryndra quickly lifted him like a child and carried him away.
Meanwhile, ex-Noruma residents found themselves introduced to New Noruma by Takara, their personal district inside Otherrealm. Tall walls of stone covered in plates of metal surrounded rows of modern suburban houses. Roy picked out the designs from an online magazine he saw on the AllPhone.
To Takara's surprise, they ran right past the houses and went straight to the water. Their new shoreline was carved by the dwarven earthmancers to be more like the one they had in Noruma. It was a patch of watery terrain flanking the southwestern corner.
At first, the villagers stared uncertainly at the watery trenches, suspicious of how "real" they were. Auntie Hana, arms on her hips, tested the water by dipping a toe. She gave a startled squeak when she found the water not only cool, but teeming with small fish. Children shrieked and raced forward with makeshift nets, giggling as they discovered they could fish almost the same as back home.
"I can't believe it!" exclaimed an older fisherman named Tanrey, fiddling with a brand new rod. "I thought we'd just have run-of-the-mill patch of the beach, not a mini-coastline inside a fortress."
Roy arrived, awarding him a sheepish grin. "We tried. It's not a full ocean, but you can fish, yes. I hope it's close enough to how Noruma used to be." He paused. "We'll expand if it's too small."
Tanrey's eyes brimmed with emotion. "You did more than enough, lad… er, Captain Gunn. Thank you."
Soon enough, the fourth wall, and the New Noruma wall, were complete. A graceful arc of earthen battlements that shielded the new sector. New Noruma families bustled around, moving the furniture of their houses into ways that felt more normal.
Takara and the Presidroids helped the fishing village's elderly personally, the new technology was hard to adapt to for everyone, but it was especially hard on the elders. They didn't care much for the luxury, but, they were extremely excited about indoor plumbing.
-
Roy gathered the crew in the mess hall early one morning. They were to plan the next monumental task. The fifth wall. He aimed to corral a vast forest to the east, but that forest wasn't empty.
"We've got an entire enormous tribe of elves out there, and various other tribes of thingys," Roy murmured one, flipping through rough notes about the region. "We can't just claim their land. That may be hard considering the elves we do have from the other forest are their rivals."
Eryndra, half-dozing by his side, lifted an eyelid. "Hence the big meeting with them and the new council, right?"
"Right," Roy said, tension creeping in. "And hopefully we don't have to build around it which I'm sure they would hate."
"We could just kill them..." Warrex said before a loud yawn and wide stretch. His hair fell to the side and revealed his ears. He quickly brushed his hair back over them.
"Warrex, what?" Roy said as he tried to hold back a laugh at the absurd suggestion.
Warrex grabbed an apple from the table and took a bit before gripping it tight. "Lutrian and I could easily wipe them out in a night, two at worst," he said before crushing the apple, splattering Takara who had finally made it to the meeting. Lutrian caught the remaining pieces before they hit Roy.
As a thank you, Takara kicked Warrex before wiping off her shirt and sitting down. "Even if you could, that's just dumb. Stop talking."
"Guys, finish eating, then we head down," Roy ordered.
To formalize the negotiations, Roy convened a meeting of Otherrealm's newly formed council in the fully finished capital City Hall. Emiko, Hina, and Alejandro came down from their mansion, dusting crumbs from their clothes. Maelara arrived in a swirl of purposeful strides, hair braided back and arms that were slightly shiny, toned, vascular, from constant training. Then came Grifftin Salaboar, a boarfolk with a calm, measured aura, stepping lightly despite his bulk. Two picks from the general populace, Rowen Halcroft, himself a former slave, followed close behind. Next in was Marena Colbrook, a traveler who settled in the , each wearing expressions of mild curiosity. The elven representative from the western forest did not come at the request of Roy.
Finally, the eastern elves arrived. Elyn Faevalen, slender and sharp-featured, plus Thalorin Brynasta, quietly taking in every detail. They wore layered cloaks of leaf-patterned cloth, and their eyes flicked around the iron walls with a mix of caution and distaste.
They all gathered around a large circular table in the topmost chamber of City Hall, a hulking metal and stone structure Roy had built in the heart of the city behind the triplets' mansion. This structure also housed the city's control center. All power, water and fuel and governance flowed through here.
The table was carved from local wood gifted by the western elves, polished to a mirror sheen. A few dwarven runes lined the edges, granting mild heat to keep it comfortable. Roy opened the meeting with a cordial nod.
The elves wasted no time. Elyn clasped her hands and said, "We require complete sovereignty over no less than eighty percent of the eastern forest. We want a guarantee that you will not expand your city into those ancient groves."
Thalorin picked up, voice equally firm, "Additionally, we propose a recognized secondary council form of governance, one for each faction, for all of Otherrealm, including the forest region. With representation from the elves...both sides, ugh."
Roy could sense the Triplets exchanging glances. Hina quietly scribbled something on a notepad, perhaps a complaint about ceding so much territory. But Roy nodded, calm. "I'm open to that," he said, "but on one condition: I hold I maintain my special veto if the rest of you can't agree unanimously. You can call it… a super veto."
Elyn and Thalorin traded guarded looks. Elyn's slender fingers tightened on the table edge. "A super veto? That sounds suspiciously like an ultimatum," she remarked.
Roy threw his hands up in an effort to diffuse the situation. "I won't meddle. It's just for safety. Remember, I'm the one who built these walls, and I'll protecting a lot of people, elves included. If you are worried about violence, none of my decisions would ever bring harm to someone."
Maelara folded her arms, nodding to the elves. "We've come this far trusting Roy's impulses. He's not a tyrant. If you fear that, maybe you haven't been around enough to see him in action."
Elyn's wary posture eased marginally. Meanwhile, Thalorin let out a slow exhale. "We at least need a magical contract guarantee that you will not log or exploit the forest without our blessing."
Roy tapped the table. "Done. We can even add an additional clause: no mining or farm expansions beyond a certain boundary. And if we do want to build roads, you have to sign off on them."
At that, the tension ebbed. Elyn and Thalorin exchanged half-smiles. The rest of the council, from the Triplets to Grifftin, Rowen, and Marena, relaxed, seeing an accord form.
After about an hour more of back-and-forth, the meeting ended on a surprisingly positive note. Elyn and Thalorin rose to leave, each offering a modest bow to Roy. "We'll bring these terms to our people," Thalorin said quietly. "Expect an envoy soon with the final sign-off. Thank you."
As they departed, Roy leaned back in his chair, letting out a breath. "That… went better than I expected."
Marena Colbrook chuckled, ruffling her short hair. "We might actually have more elves than humans ."
Roy nodded. "We want a city that works for everyone, not just humans. Let's just hope the other forest tribes reach out kindly."
The council dispersed, each member drifting off to their tasks. Roy lingered with Eryndra at the table, arms crossed. He stared at the drawn map pinned to a board: walls color-coded in arcs around farmland, forests, fish ponds, and newly assigned elf territory.
She touched his elbow lightly. "You okay? You had that weird faraway look again."
Roy forced a small laugh. "Just thinking. It's crazy that we can all sit at a round table, mostly not stabbing each other."
She smirked, eyes flicking to the seat where Warrex had slouched earlier. "Yeah, mostly. Warrex does keep eyeballing everyone like they owe him a fight."
"That's Warrex," Roy teased. "But hey, he hasn't started an actual brawl in days. Growth, right?"
They stepped out onto a balcony that jutted from the top of the armored City Hall, gazing far off over the fourth wall's gentle curve. Down below, the new farmland stretched in neat squares, dwarven craft smoothing the terrain. In the southwestern corner, the New Noruma coastline shimmered under the midday sun, where the villagers cast fishing lines or strolled along newly built piers.
Beyond that, in the east, the forest's dark green canopy loomed. Roy could see the faint flicker of sunlight bouncing off leaves, as if the trees themselves danced in celebration of the agreement. A swirl of pride swelled in Roy's chest.
She turned, scanning the horizon. "The fifth wall is going to be ridiculously huge and expensive, isn't it?"
Roy nodded. "That's the plan. The dwarves better be ready for more stonework, and we better get ready for some more raiding!"
Eryndra scoffed, crossing her arms. "They'll charge you an arm and seven legs, you know that, and we might lose an arm and fourteen legs in the battles."
He laughed. "I'll pay if it means we keep making this place unstoppable... That reminds me, I have to meet with the dwarven rocker seller dude!"
They shared a quiet look before Roy quickly parted ways with Eryndra for the day, heading to oversee the dwarven shipments. She lingered on the balcony, arms resting on the rail. The noise of laborers and Presidroids rose from below like a steady heartbeat, each hammer strike forging a future of promise.
With the political alliances set, Roy moved on to practical matters. He met with a building-material supplier from a dwarven city-state, negotiating for massive shipments of stone, metal, and magic-conducive wood. It was time to pay for the labor of all the workers.
"This'll cost half my fortune," Roy said as he signed a set of documents before handing them back and giving him a new sheet. "Oh, and I'll need a quote for the fifth wall. Here is the rough layout."
The dwarven supplier's head dropped solemnly. "You're asking for a mountain of material be harvested if not more."
"Is that a lot?" Roy asked.
"Is that a... are you mad?!" the dwarf yelled.
"So how much?" Roy said quietly. He watched as the dwarf eye'd the size and settled on a figure.
"Perhaps TEN times the cost of wall four, T'won't be cheap. But, it'll see your city built thrice as fast. No better craftsmanship around," the dwarf said as he wrote down some numbers on a paper before giving it to Roy.
Roy scribbled his name, ignoring the pang in his chest at losing so much gold. "All right. Let's do it. But hold off on anything but the foundation for now, I need to stock up on gold."
The dwarf responded with a nod before walking away. With the deal sealed, Roy watched dwarven couriers depart on wagons pulled by horses far too large for any dwarf to ride.