Inside the rgest tent at Stone Ax camp, Chief Stone Ax, adorned in pelts, sat awaiting the arrival of Dukun, the lead shaman, and Handverk, the leader of the crafters. They entered the tent, bowing before him in respect.

  "Well, how did the mission go?" The chief asked. “What are our opponents up to?”

  "We lost no men and were able to talk. They are willing to make peace but want the dungeon back. The head nymph said that if we pnt these trees then the city will be a part of the forest's domain. The warband that came with me has them now." Handverk nervously reported.

  "Hmm, what did you tell them?" The chief questioned.

  "I didn't answer them completely. I would like to do as they ask but couldn't make any decisions like that on my own." Handverk stated.

  "So the ruins are outside the forest domain currently? The spirits can't attack us here, or even at the dungeon?" The chief smirked at the two men.

  The shaman confirmed the chief’s musing. "Yes, the tribesmen who came back after being transformed, albeit all as women, stated as much. Normally nymphs can only go so far from their trees. While the dryad's power lets them go all through her domain, the forest is several miles out from the city." His words showed little concern for the group.

  "Will you pnt the trees and try to have favorable retionships with the forest cn? That boy . . . er are you sure Alex isn't a girl? I met Alex and she wore women's clothes, a skirt and a blouse. Anyway, Alex crafted this amazing carriage that was unlike anything I've ever seen before. Yes, the few axles and wheels for wagons we plundered from the stables at the dungeon are really good but I think there is more to gain by working together than taking what we can." Handverk pleaded, not sharing the shaman’s dismissive opinion.

  Chief Stone Ax snorted. "The way I see it is that we cimed this dungeon by right of conquest. They can take it back by the same means. Handverk was even allowed to gift some of the dungeon loot as a sign of our good will. But most importantly their weakness is clear. The trees they gave us, the fact that only people scouting the forest were captured, and now this ultimatum shows that they have little ability to retaliate against this location. All we really need to do to come out ahead is to just stall until our carts are full or the dungeon has used up all its power."

  "If we do this they will see it as an offense. It will ruin any chance of gaining goodwill or trade." Handverk said.

  "I'm not interested in trading with a bunch of tree huggers. I'm not going to risk losing everything we have worked for to a bunch of primitives. I'm going to keep the dungeon." Chief Stone Ax stated with finality.

  "But if we could forge good retionships the gains would be better. If the forest spirits can drive off the demons we might not even have to head back out into the wastes again." Handverk pleaded.

  "No, you should be smarter than that. Any attempt for a tribe to settle down in an area always ends the same. The settlement eventually becomes a target. Keeping on the move has been our best and only chance of safety. You two are dismissed. If anyone gets sent to ask about the trees just tell them that we are working on it and they need to be patient. Nymphs are trees, right? They should be good at being patient." The chief waved the pair away, sounding pleased with himself.

  Handverk and the shaman left the tent and walked out into the sunlight.

  "I hope you understand that we have to follow the orders of the chief." Dukun grumbled.

  "I know. It is fine." Handverk sounded depressed.

  "I am worried though. I don't think he understands the threat. These nymphs have powers simir to succubi if I understand right. If we ran into demons then he would understand that fleeing or pcating them would be the only viable options. I'd like to think that the chief knows what he is doing but I fear this path of deception and defiance is not going to end well for us." The shamed shared grimly. “We got more gains than the tribe has had in a long time. Some people came back to us and we got a little dungeon loot. With the dungeon being underwater, completely collecting all it has to offer will take a long time.”

  "I despise our leadership sometimes. Our most powerful warrior makes all the decisions, but he doesn't care that our tools and wagons break, or that the next generation of crafters is worse than the st. I was tasked with giving items to the forest cn, but I was only given leftovers that the warriors didn't want. I know how things work, but I haven't been able to advance. Repairing wagons and crafting bone or stone weapons isn't enough anymore." The head crafter compined.

  The two of them walked toward the camp's center, which was located next to a dam. Several people holding long, thin spears sat along the dam's edge, attempting to spear fish. The camp contained a number of worn wooden carts and tipis arranged in multiple circles.

  Dukun narrowed his eyes on his fellow tribesman. "You shouldn't talk about such things. We both know that the only way to challenge the chief's decision is to defeat him in combat.

  "You don't have to remind me. It is just that I can see how we are slowly regressing into wild beasts and I can't do anything to change it." Handverk frowned in frustration.

  "I don't know what else to say." Dukun said without much emotion. “We do the best we can with what we can get.”

  "I know. I know. I'll stop compining." Handverk ran a hand through his hair.

  ---

  The next morning at the farm, during breakfast, Alex and Fufi shared their pns to spend the day decorating the grotto. Merumeru offered to assist them, while Martha and Kaide agreed to join after completing their farm chores.

  "I should have asked Luna to pose for a picture when we st saw her. I'm a little worried I'm not going to do any artwork of her justice." Alex used some charcoal and a ft wooden surface to do a rough sketch of Luna. It didn’t do her justice.

  "I'd say she'd understand you did your best but if it is not cute I don't think she'll be pleased." Fufi didn’t sound impressed with the drawing. But didn’t want to come across as mean.

  "I've got some experience making dolls. How different can making statues be? I'm really pleased with how Lily, Rose and Edelweiss turned out." Alex tried to psych herself up.

  Alex started the day's work with dancing and the two dolls from the previous day. They made the stone floor ft and the ceiling and walls straight. Next he danced around while they created a staircase by putting divots into the rock wall on either side of the cliffs.

  Alex's phone rang out: [New skill acquired! Dancing level 1]

  "Congratutions on the new skill!" Fufi cheered.

  Alex was enthusiastic about this skill, unlike cooking and cleaning. Dancing didn't have the same negative connotations as some of the other skills, and dancing with the magical dolls was enjoyable. Merumeru jumped up and down in excitement, joining in the celebration.

  "I guess this one was a long way in coming." Alex smiled.

  "A magical girl's cute dance is a thing to behold." Fufi praised.

  The stat screen on Alex's phone dispyed:

  Name: Alex Parker

  Css: Magical Girl

  Sex: Male

  Race: Human

  Strength: 10

  Constitution: 10

  Dexterity: 16

  Intelligence: 7

  Cuteness: 6

  Skills:

  Cleaning: 2

  Cooking: 1

  Dancing: 1

  Tailoring: 2

  Toymaking: 1

  Feats: Empower Doll

  Spells: Animate Doll

  Lesser Grow Pnts

  Deciding to try something new, Alex found a fmingo sized boulder next to the stream. Picturing the image of Luna in his mind he danced circles around the rock. The two dolls followed and did their own little dance as well while spraying and drilling at the rock. Water, and rockdust formed a cloud in the area. Alex spun around in twirls while dusting with the feather duster. The dolls stayed clean. No one lost cuteness by becoming dirty. When the dust cleared, a pair of stone fmingos with a gem on their foreheads stood facing each other. The sculpture looked rough. It would need a lot more detailing. But for something done without any experience in sculpting it was better than Alex expected.

  "What do you think? I was picturing Fufi and Fumi while I danced." Alex sought their resident Fmingo's feedback.

  "It looks rough but it is a good start. Maybe Merumeru can help make it a bit better. She worked on the town fountain and is good at statues." Fufi looked at the slime girl.

  "Meru!" The slime girl pumped a fist in excitement.

  "Next, let's see if we can find a Luna sized rock." Alex walked along the stream's bank with a doll in each arm. Leaving the finer detail to the more-skilled-at-sculpting Merumeru sounded like a fine idea.

  Alex was surprised to notice a person-sized stone that was streaked with bck and white."Was this one here before?" Alex looked behind at Fufi.

  "Hmm, maybe? White buffalo turquoise is a really good find, Alex." Fufi pecked at the rge white rock. “Let's use it!”

  "Hmm, I don't remember seeing any of this rare turquoise when we were moving rocks with Bob. Seems a little convenient that we'd stumble across the perfect material right in front of us." Alex said, with a voice dripping with sarcasm.

  "I see what you mean, divine providence almost?" Fufi gave her wings a quick fp.

  Alex smiled knowingly and began to dance around the rock once more. The two dolls joined him, and the familiar cloud of water and rock dust swirled as the stone was ground down to a vaguely human-like shape. However, this created a new challenge: a human-shaped block of stone is significantly heavier than a human.

  Alex sighed, "There is no way I can get this to move. It is too heavy."

  "I guess we'll have to get help." Fufi nodded her head in agreement.

  "Well, maybe now is a good time to break for lunch." Alex opened the panel on the carriage and pulled out the grill. With a little bit of effort and some time a nice batch of charcoal was ready to grill some vegetables.

  "That carriage you made turned out really well. You've been getting a lot of use out of it." Fufi perched on top of the vehicle.

  Alex puffed up his chest. "It is like having a little clockwork motorhome."

  As if drawn by the smell of food, Bob, Martha and Kaide showed up. Bob looked down at them from the top of the ravine.

  "You all have been busy. There is even a set of stone steps that weren't here yesterday." The old farmer gestured around the area, noting the progress on the grotto shrine.

  melchi