[h2][color=662d91]The Mustaqilun Tribe [Turn 1][/color][/h2]

The land that they had landed on and decided to settle Riverforge was perfect... maybe even a bit to perfect. The land was untouched, bountiful with food and lumber... and yet, no one else had chosen to settle here. As Rukdug gazed over his new home in the light of dusk, he couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy about the lack of a prior settlement in what would on the surface appear to be an ideal place to do so. 

This wouldn't make him consider relocating somewhere else; Just because another race hadn't decided to take advantage of such a bountiful location wasn't going to frighten him or his people away from what was now rightfully theirs, but he wasn't going to rule out the possibility that there was some danger lurking that they hadn't borne witness to yet. Scouting parties would almost certainly be sent to explore the surrounding area, but first they needed to cement their foothold on the land so that no man or beast would be able to drive them away like they might have done to weaker races. 

The first step to securing a new land was rather simple: Establish and fortify a stronghold that would serve as both defensive position and home for the marching force in question. The standard method employed by the Dark One's forces was normally to either claim an old ruined fortress or city that had been abandoned during the ebb and flow of the long war or to claim such a position from an enemy force and making it their own. These methods did have the benefit that it saved a lot of time and resources building such a position from scratch, while also providing some means of shelter and protection from counterattacks during the digging in phase... but that was clearly not an option here. 

Stone (ideally enforced with metal) would have been the material of choice for constructing defensive works for the stronghold of Riverforge, but while both would likely be found in the hills and mountains of the area his caution about the dangers this new land might pose warned that it would take far longer then he was comfortable with waiting for the stronghold to be built from the ground up via solid stone. Thankfully, there was a viable alternative within ready reach. Wooden defenses and homes might not have been as solid as stone, but the resource was rich at hand and a wooden wall was better then no wall at all. 

There was also the benefit that once they managed to get a lumber yard up and running to supply the foundation of Riverforge, that lumber could also be used in making some fresh, better constructed boats to replace the ram-shackled ones that had managed to survive the ocean crossing and were being used to fish... as well as the creation of wagons to aid in their mining efforts once they got it started. Hell, having some solid supports would make mining a hell of a lot easier in the long run as well.

His mind made up, Rukdug the Hunter turned away from where he had been gazing to go and track down some of his captains. Duties had to be assigned, orders had to be given... Even if it was made of pine, a stronghold required a lot of work to develop. Building a lumber yard and getting it operational would be the first step (with room to allow for expansions to allow the creation of pine tar and possibly turpentine if they could find copper nearby and the trees were right), with the first priority being the creation of a defense wall. After that the lumber could be used for whatever ends were required, but a solid defensive wall that would last long enough to be replaced by proper stonework was the first step. 


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C) Improve infrastructure and F) Improve resources/technology

First order of business? Develop a lumber yard to take advantage of the local pine trees as a proper resource. While using wood to construct the initial buildings of Riverforge so that the tribe has shelter and homes, the priority is a defensive wall and gates so that they are safe guarded from possible threats... at least until they can get stone mining and production up and running to create something more sturdy and permanent.  
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