The water in the moat glowed briefly a soft purple before it vanished.
"What did you do to the water?" Christian asked as he watched Seraphina cast her magic.
"I enchanted the water to cast slowness on anybody who tries to move in it too fast. This way, if attackers come and we raise our drawbridge that we are going to build, they would move through the water very slowly. This would give us enough time to capture them or activate more of our defenses," Seraphina said to him. "Castiel is more good at actual combat magic, but I can be useful with various enchantments."
Christian nodded as they walked together around the campsite casting defensive enchantments. Seeing the magic of an angel in action was pretty cool to Christian. Not just an angel either, an Archangel. A thought hit him. If he required both Archangels to protect him, the threats after him must be comparable. I can worry about that another day.
After they finished around the perimeter, they headed back inside the campsite, across the planks, and started getting to work on the drawbridge. While they did that, Castiel and Rhea were busy constructing watchtowers on each of the four corners of the campsite to look for any suspicious activity.
They made great progress. However, they needed a break. They all decided to take a lunch break. As Christian was plucking more of the crops, he noticed they were running low. Even if the crops he grew with the divine tool grew extremely fast, it still was not enough. More mouths to feed equals more crops that need to be planted.
They enjoyed their lunch around the campfire and did their best to stay away from the sun. Even though Christian did not get tired at all from labor, he could still feel the heat from the sun, which was uncomfortable to him.
After lunch, they got back to work.
Time went by fast as the drawbridge was fully constructed and the watchtowers were made. It looked more like a mini fortress now than a campsite. This would for sure be noticeable to people who passed by near it, he thought to himself as he surveyed the work done. They all knew, though, that their handiwork would keep them safer. It is when people's guards slip that the real danger comes to them.
Darya, Flaro, and the other pups happily paced back and forth over the drawbridge for fun. Christian climbed one of the watchtowers and looked around. He could see many trees around him three hundred sixty degrees. The sound of various animals and insects could be heard in the distance. The watchtowers were not built super high, but they were high enough.
Christian climbed down and met with the others around the campfire to discuss what had been done. "Seraphina and I finished completing the drawbridge. You guys did a good job with building the watchtowers."
Castiel nodded. "My sister finished her defensive enchantments?"
Seraphina rolled her eyes. "Yes, brother, I did."
Rhea and Christian chuckled at their exchange.
"I need all of your help to build more crops with me. Since there are four of us, not including all the wolves, we have more mouths to feed. Let the farming be all me, but I would like your help on building more walls and enchanting those ones, etc. You all down for that?" Christian asked.
They all agreed and got to work again.
They built another bridge, fortified with walls, across the moat where they built even more walls around it. They cleared out trees in the area and made a space where Christian could do his magic. He used his divine tool to till the area and then prepare it for growth. This space was big enough for four more rectangular crop areas.
There were the three original crop areas Christian had made in the beginning. He then added two more crops to make it a total of five crops in front of the log cabin. With the addition of these four crops on the side protected by walls and enchantments, it made it nine crops. He was happy with the extension they added to the campsite.
For extra measure, Christian installed a few storage barrels near the new crop areas so they could store more food and other items. When they finished, they all felt good about it. More crops meant more food to go around and more types of food to be eaten.
As they were heading back to the campfire for dinner, Christian turned to Castiel.
"Stupid question, but will animals try to eat my crops?"
"Yes," the Archangel replied back. "However, the walls and the enchantments should keep most of them out. Plus, Seraphina and I will switch back and forth on guard duty. You are in safe hands with us. We might bring a couple more angels down the road with us if we feel like the environment is escalating, but for now you are fine."
Christian simply nodded back and they continued on their way.
They all ate dinner together and made more small talk. They then all headed to their rooms to sleep as it was getting late out. As Christian was laying in his bed, he stared at the ceiling and thought to himself. We got a lot done today. It was a lot of work, but I think in the long run it was good we got all of this done now rather than later. Christian turned to his side and closed his eyes, falling asleep.
He awoke the next morning with Lola, one of the younger pups, licking his face good morning.
It still felt unusual for Christian not to wake up with constant back pain. He wasn't a grandpa, of course. It was the bench he used to sleep on. The recent acquirement of a mattress, sheets, and blankets really helped him get a higher quality of sleep.
"Let's go, sleepyhead," Rhea said from the doorway with a smile. "See you at the campfire!"
Christian yawned and got out of bed. He changed once Rhea had left and then picked up Lola in his arms. He then headed out to meet the others at the campfire. Today was rather beautiful. The sun was slowly rising into the new day. The wind was gentle as it swayed the leaves from the crops. The weather was cool, but not too cold. It felt like it was going to be a peaceful day.
What the group did not know was that it was not going to be peaceful.
Today would be their first taste of blood.