Chapter 13: Daily Routine (Part 2)
As Theo and David’s group approached the village, they were met with something that, a month ago, would’ve been unthinkable.
Groups of men and women were jogging around the settlement in formation. Not running for their lives, not chasing prey. Just… jogging.
Some kept a steady pace, others struggled to keep up, but no one stopped. It had become part of the routine, daily exercise to build stamina, to stay fit, and more importantly, to make sure no one became the slowest person when something dangerous showed up. That had been Theo’s idea.
The changes didn’t stop there. Even though the settlement was still, at its core, a simple nomadic tipi village, its structure had begun to shift.
On the outer sides of the village, crude scaffoldings now stood about two meters high. They weren’t impressive, but they didn’t need to be. They were lookout towers. A place to spot danger early, instead of reacting when it was already too late. That one had been David’s idea.
Despite arriving back at the edge of the settlement, Theo and the others didn’t head in immediately. As usual, they veered off toward the river, walking a short distance downstream to the designated bathing spot.
The men stepped into the shallow water and began washing up, scrubbing away the sweat, dirt, and lingering grime from a full day of work, and demon hound handling. Near the bank sat the now-familiar wooden box filled with ash, used as a crude substitute for soap.
It wasn’t something the scavenger tribe had ever practiced before. Not even close. This was another one of Theo’s additions.
Back on Earth, it was common knowledge that poor sanitation had killed more people than war during most periods of history. There was no reason to assume this world didn’t have germs and bacteria just because it had magic.
And beyond that, Theo simply refused to live surrounded by people who smelled like they had been marinating in sweat for two weeks straight.
Because that was, more or less, the previous standard. Bathing had been occasional. Optional. Rare enough that it became noticeable when someone actually did it. So Theo removed the option. Now it was mandatory with no exceptions. And over time, forced it to became a habit.
By the time they finished and stepped out of the water, drying off under the open air, the difference was obvious. Cleaner. Lighter. Far more tolerable to stand next to. Only then did they head into the village.
Up close, the changes became even more apparent. The settlement no longer felt like a random scattering of tents. The tipis now were grouped. Organized into sections, almost like rough city blocks. Living areas were separated from work zones, keeping spaces for sleeping away from places used for butchering, tanning, woodworking, and other less pleasant tasks. It wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t refined. But it was deliberate and it worked.
The work areas—places meant for butchering, tanning, and other messy tasks—didn’t look nearly as dirty as they should have. In fact, the entire village looked clean. There were no scattered garbage piles. No random waste left lying around. Everything had a place now.
That was because the village had adopted a simple waste management system set up by Theo. All waste—including human waste—was directed away from the living area and dumped further downstream. It wasn’t complicated.
As they walked, the ground beneath their feet also showed clear changes.
The main paths were no longer just bare dirt. Instead, sections of the village now had simple pathways made with river rocks and pebbles. The work wasn’t fully finished yet, some parts were still in progress, with villagers pouring stones and arranging them into place, but the direction was clear.
And the materials weren’t a problem. With a river nearby and the surrounding stone ravine, there was no shortage of rocks to use.
The more Theo looked at it, the more obvious it became. This location was actually good. That was something David had pointed out early on, when he first surveyed the area.
The river naturally divided the land into two zones. On one side, open grassland. Plenty of wild buffalo, deer, and other animals, reliable sources of food if managed properly.
On the other side, forest. Dangerous, yes, but only if you went too deep. The outer edges, the parts closest to the village, were relatively safe. Light forest. Occasional weak monsters, nothing the scavengers couldn’t handle in groups. The real threats stayed deeper inside.
With a location like this, continuing a nomadic lifestyle didn’t make much sense. At least, that was David’s conclusion, and Theo agreed. Not because he fully understood what it took to build a successful settlement, but because he was completely done with walking around for months.
So they made a decision. Instead of moving on, they would build this place up and turn it into something permanent.
“Hello there, Vice-Chief. David.”
A group of men and women working on tanning animal skins nearby greeted them as they passed.
Theo raised a hand in acknowledgment and David gave a small nod as they kept walking.
“Seems like folks are settlin’ into this whole task organization setup just fine,” David said, glancing around at the organized activity.
“Well, that’s to be expected,” Theo replied. “Most people are finally doing things they’re actually good at. That should make them happier”
Before all of this, the scavengers were the kind of people who treated cooperation as an option. Everyone handled their own survival. If you wanted food, you hunted or foraged it yourself. If you needed clothes, you made them yourself. Needed a mug? Make it yourself. Needed literally anything? Congratulations, that’s also your problem.
It worked… in the sense that they were still alive. But that was about it.
The only time they acted like a group was when Chief Tara gave an order, like the slave-hunting mission that ended with Theo getting dragged here. Outside of that, everyone just minded their own business and hoped they didn’t die before sunset.
Then Theo showed up and ruined that entire lifestyle. Instead of letting everyone struggle equally, he introduced task organization. People stopped doing everything badly and started doing one thing properly.
The hunters hunted and supplied food for the whole village. The crafters handled leather, clothes, and tools, not just for themselves but for everyone, including extras for storage. Even the ones with no particular skills were put to work building roads or handling sanitation.
In other words, nobody got to be useless anymore.
Somehow, within a month, the village went from loosely surviving individuals into something that almost looked like a functioning system.
Now, normally, this kind of change would come with resistance. People don’t like giving up control, even if that control mostly results in them being inefficient and miserable. But Theo already expected that and didn’t try to force anything directly.
He just persuaded them in the right direction. And for that, he had Erika. Easily the most effective persuasion tool they had.
---
26 Days Ago
Erika walked through the village gracefully like she always did, beautiful and composed, the kind of person who didn’t need to try to get attention because she was already getting it anyway. In a small village like this, the competition wasn’t exactly fierce, so she stood out even more than she normally would.
The young men nearby were already watching her.
Knowing that the men already had their eyes on her, then she veered off her path a little bit and stepped on a patch of wet dirt.
“Kyaaaaa” She let out a cute yelp as her foot slipped because of the mud.
She went down. Not a dramatic fall, not even a painful one. But the timing was perfect.
“Miss Erika! Are you okay?!”
The same group of young men rushed over immediately, like they had been waiting for an excuse. They surrounded her and checking if she was hurt.
Erika stayed low for a moment, then looked up at them, her eyes already starting to tear up just enough to make it convincing.
“If only… our village had a nicer and cleaner path,” she said softly. “Something safer for everyone here to walk around…”
The effect was immediate. The men froze, then slowly looked down at the muddy ground, as if noticing it was muddy and slippery for the first time in their lives.
Right on cue—
“Actually, I think I have an idea for that,” Theo’s voice suddenly chimed in.
Theo somehow already behind them now, they all turned and stared at him.
The next day, the stone and pebble pathway project began.