The noise hasn't gone away.
It's not as sharp now. Organization has made things louder, somehow. But more useful, too.
I think that's worse.
Splitjaw's still in charge of the yelling, which is great. Not because he's good at it. But because he enjoys it. I've seen him declare a tail-line dispute as "a structural issue" and assign kobolds to hold rope ends for ten minutes like it was life-or-death.
It worked.
I hate that it worked.
So I let him do his thing and duck out toward the edge of camp again. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere not covered in sleep-piles and suspicious stew.
System's been buzzing in the back of my skull like a half-finished idea.
And there it is.
[Primitive Construction Interface: Active]
[Settlement Phase: 1 – Stabilization]
[Structure Nodes Available: 3]
[Trait Confirmed: Instinctive Planner]
Okay. Okayokayokay.
The ground is glowing. My brain is glowing. Possibly on fire. Possibly with potential.
I wave a hand. A line appears. I wave it again—poof! Box.
Am I a wizard?
I think I'm a wizard.
Oh gods, I'm the infrastructure wizard.
And suddenly I see it.
The layout. The paths. The flow of kobold movement like ants in too many directions. Some areas are too tight. Others too empty. There's a weird cluster near the food pit that looks like it's forming its own ecosystem. One kobold has built a personal den using two piles of trash and a broken spear. It's… efficient?
I look at the map overlay and start dragging invisible lines with my finger.
Wall here. Storage mound there. Open ring for eating. Narrow corridor to herd noise away from the sleeping clusters.
One mark connects to another.
System pings.
[Plan Marked – No Materials Assigned]
[Auto-Snap Enabled – Curve Correction: Poorly Aligned]
I try to fix it. The curve gets worse.
I wipe it clean with my sleeve and snort.
"Fine. Ugly curve is still a curve."
Then I pause.
Because I realize: I'm doing this seriously.
I'm actually planning where kobolds will eat and sleep and dump broken bones.
And I'm… okay with it?
No. Not okay.
Just… less not-okay than usual.
I keep drawing.
The invisible lines stretch farther than I thought they would. The system doesn't stop me. Doesn't even blink.
[Structure Planning Range: Expanded – Instinctive Planner Rank 2]
[Node Capacity: 3 Active – Unlimited Drafts]
[Suggested Tag: Shelter | Storage | Access]
Alright. That's terrifying.
I start with something simple.
A shelter. Not a hut. Not a proper building. Just a roof and walls that don't immediately fall over. Dry space. Somewhere to sleep that isn't next to someone chewing on moss all night.
I lay out a rectangle near the wall. Drag the corners into place. Adjust the length, shift the angle. The system lets me snap to the stone floor like it's magnetic.
A kobold wanders by while I'm doing it. He watches. Tilts his head.
Then just… sits down and starts clearing rocks in the direction I'm pointing.
Another one sees him, then starts stacking broken planks nearby.
Neither of them says a word.
System pings.
[Assigned Node: Shelter Primitive – 23% Materials Ready]
[Helper Units: 2 – Untrained]
Twenty-three percent?!
Where did the other seventy-seven percent go?!
Is there a kobold tax?!
Am I being taxed in rocks?!
I haven't spoken.
I haven't explained.
Just vibes and accidentally weaponized project management.
I should not be allowed to have this much influence.
I am not qualified.
But somehow this is working.
Where is the kobold union? I want to report me.
---
I pull up the planner again and assign another node: supply mound. We've had too many kobolds arguing over "which pile is the good pile." If we're going to have piles, they'll at least be intentional.
Then I flag a low zone for runoff and trash.
And I label it: not for sleeping.
System pauses.
Then actually pings a note back.
[Tag Recognized: Refuse Zone – Sanitation Thread Seeded]
[Settlement Bonus: +2% Health Stability Over Time]
Okay. So apparently garbage gets me health points now. Dungeon logic is its own form of horror.
I step back and watch three more kobolds join the first two. They don't ask for approval. They just look at the lines I've drawn and nod.
Rockstacker's among them—my accidental foreman. He starts aligning edge stones using one of the old fang shards as a level.
It's uneven.
He adjusts.
Then nods once and keeps going.
The system updates.
[Microstructure Initiated – Shelter Alpha 01]
[Construction Speed: Improving – Coordination Detected]
[Builder Tag Forming – Kobold Unit "Stonealign" (Provisional Name)]
Wait. What?
I squint.
Stonealign? That's what the system calls him?
I haven't named anyone.
But maybe… it does now?
The quartermaster—the one that sorted food—is already at the supply node I flagged. She's barking orders now. Well, not barking. Clicking and pointing and dragging cloth markers into a layout that looks… correct.
System adds another.
[Kobold Unit: "Bitterstack" – Role Affinity: Logistics]
I sit.
Collapse? Sit? Let's say sit.
System doesn't say anything, which means it either approves or has given up.
Honestly, same.
I haven't done anything direct today.
But the plan is becoming real.
The wall is clearing. The food is stacking. There's even someone digging what might become a latrine, though they're doing it with a flat rock and the angriest expression I've ever seen.
System pings again.
[Settlement Tier: Primitive – Phase One Construction Detected]
[Milestone Approaching: First Structure Completion]
[Suggested Next Goal: Resource Stability – Water Source]
Of course.
I finally get a roof and now we need plumbing.
A kobold runs up from the far tunnel, panting.
"We think there's a flow! Water! Maybe clean! Maybe!"
Splitjaw follows, grinning.
"They want permission to go scout it."
I look at the lines. The roof. The not-a-nest zone. The quartermaster yelling about too many bones in the food pile.
And I sigh.
"Fine. Go check. Take someone who won't die immediately."
Splitjaw salutes with a grin that says "definitely going to die immediately".
And yet I let him go anyway.
Why?
Because delegation is a leadership skill.
Also I am allergic to walking today.