We awoke, poured out of the caves, and into the sun like ants starting their day, ready to begin the construction of our base. We sent Holbrook and one of the Earth Dragons into town. They would spread the word of our cause and see if he could get at least a handful of people to join and help in the early phase. The more people we could get the better. Not only for help with base building, but we would need the numbers for when we met the Queen in battle. We spoke with everyone who had seen the Queens army and no one could give an exact number for her army's size, we didn't know what we were going to be up against.

    We started by leveling and clearing a large portion of the forest, reshaping the Earth to our will.

    We chose a spot within eyesight of Jack's Blacksmithing hut. We needed to be close enough to the armory that we could quickly retreat if necessary, yet far enough away that its location wasn't obvious.

    The Earth Dragons began leveling out the terrain in the spot we had decided, and were making quick work. They worked the Earth as if they had created it themselves, pushing away mountains and leveling the ground to a precision I wouldn't have thought possible. When finished with leveling we had an enormous flat area to create our base. They had even gone so far as to remove stones and boulders that had been in the way and backfilling the holes they left.

     When they had finished with the leveling they began building the outline of the city. Draioct and I joined in as our team began carving a moat around the perimeter. The hole we created was enormous. It needed to be large enough that dragons or wooden machines couldn't be used to cross it. The walls were the final piece of the puzzle on defense.

     We decided on a double wall defense approach. There would be an outer wall just in front of the large moat. It will be the higher of the two walls, concealing the moat behind it. That way they wouldn't know that there was a moat, then when they broke through the wall, they would be met with a hole and another wall.

     I think it should double as damaging to their motivation. Imagine finally breaking through a massive tall wall, only to be met with more seemingly impossible obstacles. The building took time but it was worth it, and as time progressed our skill in Earth moving grew, allowing us to assist more and more.

     The rest of the people began cutting and gathering logs for building. We wanted most of the buildings to be made of stone but the insides, and various other parts of the base would need lots of wood.

     The base would also need a canal system for water to come in and go out, which meant that we would need wood for bridges.

     Surprisingly one of the first people to show up was the town's architect Denarius. He helped us with the planning for the infrastructure. We needed wells, towers, and various other amenities a serious town would need. His arrival was perfectly timed and his knowledge was invaluable.

****

     As the days progressed more and more people began to show up, to the point I began to worry. There were so many newcomers that we pulled people from working and had them filling people in on the situation. There needed to be a whole group dedicated to ensuring people were "the good guys" and that they settled in. Although we needed large numbers of troops to fight the Queen, we still had a code of ethics. We didn't want to remove one evil leadership only to replace it with another corrupt one.

     As newcomers came something became apparent very early on. At this rate our new base would not be large enough. We adjusted the sizes in our plan twice before finally giving up and making it roughly ten times the size of our original plan. If we got enough people that we out grew that, I really couldn't complain.

     At the end of the first week we had more than two hundred people in Retribution, it was a small militia. We got the outside walls of the base completed, hiding the moat from prying eyes. Towers stood along the bases outline, the sounds of boulders moving trickling away as the last stone fell into place. Everyone took a moment to stop and stare and what we had just done. We had just completed something as a group. Something as a resistance to the Queen. We weren't just foolish men dreaming in a hole underground. We were actually DOING something to stand up to the Queen.

     A strong feeling of pride and hope welled up within me.

     I stood quietly and looked over our walls. They were made out of hard stone the Earth Dragons pulled up from deep within the Earth, the walls stretched far into the distance and stood tall and proud. Expertly crafted, and harder than a brick of iron. Our new army camped in the center in a makeshift town. Men, women, and Dragons sprawled out around fires chattering and getting to know one another.

     I walked through the camp and listened to stories people told. Where they were when the Queen rose to power, how their lives had been ruined, and who they lost fighting against her.

     As I walked close to a group their voices would drop to a whisper and they would all turn to stare as I walked by in my pure white Dragons Leather, standing out from the rest of the group. I could feel something that I had never truly felt before.

     Responsibility. Responsibility to win this war. To take care of these people. They had put their lives in my hands. I would protect it with my own life if I had to.

     I made my way to my tent and stepped inside, Draioct lay outside keeping silent guard over our new forces. I pulled myself into his mind and watched through his eyes as his excellent night vision scanned the surrounding area. Stopping momentarily on the movement of a deer within the forest, before returning to the slow patrol.

     Jack was waiting for me inside, sitting beside a cloth wrapped package. The warmth of the tent surrounded me and sent tendrils of pleasure throughout my body. The cold air outside had begun to numb my hands and face, but it was now being unraveled by the flame inside.

     I sat down inside the tent across from Jack as he looked at me with a warm smile before beginning to speak.

"You have once again surprised and honored me my son. I am growing more proud than I thought possible, your story will go down in history."

     We embraced in a hug as our eyes became misty.

"Tomorrow we continue to prepare and see how many more join our cause. I'll see you in the morning, get some rest. You will need it... Oh, and that package is for you, it's more befitting of a leader"

     With that he made his way out of the tent and into the night to patrol our new forces alongside Draioct.

     I picked up the package and unwrapped it, bringing Draioct into my mind to share the experience. Inside was a new set of Dragons Leather, only this set had the tangled knot emblem in purple, etched into my left breast, little ornate swirls of bright purple contrasting the pure white, giving me a look of distinction. It was the emblem from the front of the book Jack had given me what seemed so long ago now. We both smiled at its perfection as I placed it onto the ground next to my bed. I lay down and went to sleep, listening to the sounds of our new Army laughing and bonding, becoming brothers and sisters of Retribution.

****

     The days quickly turned to weeks as we worked on our base. It went from being a small base, to a town, to almost a kingdom itself. By the end of the month we had close to ten thousand people in our ranks and more coming every day, all working together to fight the Queen.

     People came from local areas at first until there was almost no one left in the town. The ruler himself stopped by to speak with me. Initially I was worried that he may be upset that I was stealing his people, but to the contrary he was pleased. He came with a gift of a thousand horses for our army, and well wishes.

     Everyone at Retribution came to fight, there were no children or elderly, just soldiers. We built Retribution out of the hardest stones we could find. The walls and buildings all strategically placed giving them the best defense possible. Each tower was strategically placed near one another. That way if the tower was getting overran the archers could fire across and assist.

     After a few meetings we ended up raising the Earth beneath the center where the castle was being built. This placed the castle high in the air, giving us the high ground against foot soldiers.

    The inner parts of the city were well planned and provisioned. There were blacksmiths, and barracks, and mess halls, with defensive towers scattered everywhere. All located around our castle at the center.

     Everything was large to accommodate our Dragons. There wasn't a place in Retribution that you're Dragon couldn't' be right by your side, aside from maybe some bathrooms and the kitchens.

     The men and women of Retribution spent their blood sweat and tears making the place as formidable as possible. The forges blazed white hot day and night, building weapons and Dragons Leather for our forces. Men and women sparred in the training yards under the ever watchful eyes of Mr. Holbrook. We trained thousands of archers in preparation for the Queens fire Dragons. 

As the days passed our scouts began reporting sightings of the Queens scouts more often in neighboring towns. Word had gotten back to her that we were in the area. I had no doubt that they were working on finding our exact location.

     We would remain hidden as long as possible. My hopes are that her arrogance will get the best of her, and that she will show up with less forces thinking that we would be easily beat. This time, we will be ready.