Tess was reviewing the day's goals before she'd even finished rolling up her holey sleeping bag.

Goal one was to get more adults interested in tomorrow's training. Goal two was to conduct interviews with those who would commit to attending.

What am I even going to ask them?

Of course, the basics were necessary: class; abilities; skill level; and which role they could fill on a team. But as Tess considered the idea of teams, her thoughts grew more complex. Would people demand to be grouped with friends or family? Her own family would never accept being split up. It was going to be a challenge to sort everyone into balanced teams. And what even made a team balanced? Was her own group even a good example of what a team should be? Should she even be the one making these decisions?

If I don't, who will?

Tess made her way toward a huddle of people, where her parents were deep in conversation with Mike, Jill, Bridget, and a few others. Group Two's task for the day was escort duty to and from the Mines. Bo was negotiating a fair compensation for each member's participation; three Copper per person seemed to be the agreed-upon figure for security detail. Bo—shadowed by a sullen Chloe—was also working out wages with the [Miners] and [Quarriers].

The concept of an economy had been a persistent topic in her father's recent conversations. While Tess didn't have exact figures on their total Copper earnings, she hoped her father could afford all this.

A mental prompt flashed before her eyes.

[Kingdom of Raintree Treasury – Current Balance: 3259 Coppers]

Tess choked on her own breath; that amount far exceeded their loot from their entire Dungeon run. The Copper Mine had delivered after just a couple of trips.

Tess hopped into the conversation. "Don't forget about training day tomorrow."

Her father gave her a stern look. "I haven't forgotten. Just make sure you're ready and that it's worthwhile. We can't afford wasted time."

Tess swallowed and nodded.

She turned to Mike and Jill, who had observed the exchange in silence. "You two and the rest of your team will be there also? Please?"

Mike and Jill glanced at Bo, who gave them a curt nod.

"We'll be there," said Jill.

Bridget had already run off; no doubt with a giant to-do list from Bo. Tess excused herself from the conversation, and chased her down. She needed a way to log levels, abilities, teams, availability, and a hundred other things.

A few moments later, Bridget handed over a sheet of slate and a piece of chalk-like rock; items procured by Steve from the Quarry.

"I want to be in one of the groups," Bridget said, breaking Tess from her thoughts.

A grin spread across Tess's face. "You serious? That's great! I could use you as practice for my interview questions." She cleared her throat before starting. "What's your class?"

"[Bard]."

"Specialization?"

Tess was met with silence.

Bridget frowned. "I think we need to tweak that question. People seem reluctant to reveal too much about their classes. I don't know why, it just feels sort of personal. Like asking someone you just met for their ID or something. Asking about general class is fine, but perhaps you could ask if their specialization leans more toward crowd control, damage dealing, tanking, and so on?"

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Tess shrugged, though she didn't grasp why it was such an issue. "Sure, that seems easier for categorizing anyway. So, what about you?"

"My two spells focus on party buffs, but I haven't really explored much yet. I'm still missing an instrument."

Equipment! The thought hit Tess like a lightning bolt. So many things to track . . . she held up the slate questioningly. "Do you have more of these?"

"I can do better than that," Bridget smiled. "I'll arrange for someone to assist you with note-taking."

"Thank you!" Tess refocused. "What level are you?"

"Still 1."

Tess hummed, deep in thought. "As people level-up, their roles might evolve or change. We'll need to keep track of that so our groups maintain balance. Or is that something we just let the groups handle on their own?" She turned back to Bridget. "Do you need to be placed somewhere specific? Or do you need anyone else on your team, like Blake?"

Bridget hesitated, then shook her head. "No."

"All right then," Tess scribbled another note. "I think that's all I need from you for now. I'll continue meeting with people. Have your assistant catch up and find me when they're ready."

Tess nodded her thanks, and continued her mission. She jogged down the hill with her slate and chalk, her boots crunching on the frozen mud as she dashed to intercept Group Two before they left.

Group Two was a crew of seven individuals, although sometimes their number fluctuated depending on a few members who sometimes committed to their roles and sometimes skipped.

Can't make plans with that kind of attitude.

Irritated, Tess collected everyone's names so she could track down the flakier group members later. They would have to choose whether to commit—or not. She needed full teams of ten up and ready to go after tomorrow.

Tess finished getting all the information from Group Two, and everyone present said they would be there the following day. Sophia even seemed excited about it.

"Thanks, everyone! Don't be late, and be ready to work hard!"

She waved at them as they trudged off into the woods toward the Quarry and Copper Mine. Group Two was being paid for providing security, but maybe that wasn't enough. Maybe 'sanctioned Raintree groups' could be paid a salary for patrol duty, scouting, and being the first line of defense. That sure would get more people on board with training.

Have to pay people to save their own lives.

Group Two had more gear than most due to their involvement in the hill skirmish, but even they were far from fully equipped. Tess needed to have a conversation about the blueprints her father still had but didn't deem a priority; specifically, the ones that provided musical instruments, weapons, and other combat items.

A lanky White teenager approached Tess, his long strides eating up the distance between them.

"Hi, um, I'm Eric. Bridget sent me. Oh, um . . . " Eric gave Tess a small bow.

Tess remembered the guy from high school, but she didn't know much about him. In their few shared classes he was usually silent and tucked away in a rear corner. His long black hair kept falling over his face, which seemed to make hiding easier.

"Hi, Eric. We're not doing the bowing stuff."

"All right. So, um, what are we doing?"

"We're getting training commitments, and information about everyone's abilities, so we can form everyone into teams for practice tomorrow. For example, looking at Group Two, they're stacked heavily on range. They have Jill, who is an enemy debuffer, but no one to give any party buffs. They could also use some melee damage, or an off-tank, and someone with a [Battle Map] . . . Anyway, that's what we're doing. Collect a bunch of info like this, then try to form balanced teams with that info. You in?"

"Let's do it." Eric carefully took the chalk-covered slate from Tess's hands—with all the information for Group Two—and replaced it with a clean one.

"Thanks, Eric. Let's get to it."

Tess trudged toward a large gathering of people with her fresh piece of slate. She asked her set interview questions, listened to their stories, and noted important details on fresh slates that Eric fetched as needed. She found some of the families who had pledged to participate in training, and was relieved to hear none of them were backing out.

Each conversation revealed interesting information about their abilities. There was a Level 2 White woman with long brown braids who could summon a giant pair of magical snapping hedge sheers. She had saved a bunch of people in one of the original monster waves. She was a single Mom, and her children were very young; she was determined to level-up and protect her kids. Tess made notes to arrange for some type of childcare during training, and possibly during future escorts or patrols.

So much to keep track of.

The pile of filled slates grew steadily. Eric darted back and forth, and ensured the process went smoothly for Tess.

A lot of families had young children who wanted to train as well. Though Tess hated to do it, she turned away the children for now. She leaned down to whisper to one of the kids—a tiny dark skinned girl—who looked like she was going to cry when she was told she couldn't join the training.

"I want you to understand," Tess whispered. "I'm forming a special training for the youngest and brightest, like you. But first, the adults need their own training because they are the slowest and weakest." Tess finished with a solid nod.

She felt like a fraud; she herself wasn't an adult, and Loo—barely twelve—would be training alongside her team. But they were at Level 4 already, while most people on the hill were still Level 1.

Tess winked at the girl. "I will remember your name, and will be back to formally invite you to a special training session. Tell your friends, too."

The girl smiled.

Tess nodded at her parents, and walked on to find the next group.

As Tess worked through the different families, she realized there were lots of older children and teenagers who had not been participating in her previous training sessions. She was going to need even more time than she had originally thought.

Tess and Eric retrieved the used slates and laid them out across the grass.

"We're looking at a count of over sixty volunteers for tomorrow," said Tess, scanning the tablets. "That's way more than I thought we would get. I think that's enough for today. Let's start assigning them into balanced teams." She sat on the icy ground, and pulled the first slate closer.

"Um, I would also like to be on a team." Eric handed Tess a tablet with his information on it. "I'm a Level 2 [Sorcerer], but my specialization is, um, [Battlefield Communications]."

Tess raised her eyebrows.

"How did you get to Level 2?"

"First night, I was out on a jog when it happened. I spent three days hiding in the woods with a group of guys. Fought a few of the Pygmies, and thankfully won." He picked at a blade of grass, and a curtain of dark hair fell over his eyes. "I still haven't found my family. I keep checking the survivors that trickle in. We lived down by the lake before all this, so I thought they'd turn up. I want to be on a team so I can head out that way to look for them."

It had been nearly two weeks. The likelihood that his loved ones were alive was low.

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