Chương 23: What They Brought Home

The drakes had exhausted themselves. Roy could see all three through the dining room windows, collapsed together near the remains of the estate's old garden. Shale lay on his side with one foreleg stretched into the newly worked soil. Clover had curled against the Burrowback Drake's stomach, almost disappearing beneath the larger creature's ridged body. Nimbus rested across both of them, deciding the others would serve as a bed. Her tail hung over Shale's side, rising and falling whenever he breathed.

None of them had moved since Roy returned from town. Aurelia had described the afternoon as productive. Looking at them now, Roy suspected she had understated the intensity. Kindle occupied his usual place near the hearth. Aurelia's enchanted log burned at the center of the fireplace, its blackened surface traced by slow orange lines. Kindle rested close enough to absorb the warmth, his pale body curled upon a folded blanket. One eye followed the family as they settled around the long dining table.

Above the fireplace, the bright egg's quest remained visible. [Hatch Quest: Strength Despite Distance.] [Share an evening meal as a community for three consecutive days.] [Progress: 0/3.] Dinner was simple. Aurelia had prepared broth with grain, dried vegetables, and preserved meat. Thick slices of bread sat in the center of the table beside a small dish of rendered fat and herbs. After years of meals built around whatever remained in the cottage stores, the estate's supplies still felt excessive.

They could eat until full without calculating what would be left the following morning. That should have made Roy feel secure. Instead, the contract folded inside his coat seemed heavier than everything on the table. Orion sat across from him, shoulders filling more of the chair than the furniture had been designed to accommodate. A faint bruise darkened one side of his jaw. Garrick also had several new bruises. Talia looked tired but pleased with herself.

Aurelia appeared content in a way Roy could not immediately explain. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she had eaten half a slice of bread while serving the food before taking her seat. Everyone was home and everyone was safe, but no one seemed certain what to say. Orion ate several spoonfuls of broth before breaking the silence.

"Edric allowed us to train." Roy waited, but Orion began eating.

"That is the entire report?" Aurelia asked.

"For now." Garrick looked toward her.

"The guards were friendly."

"Did they hurt you?"

"Not intentionally." Aurelia's eyes narrowed. Garrick touched one of the bruises along his forearm.

"It was training."

"Orion?"

"They did not mistreat him." Aurelia accepted the answer reluctantly. Attention shifted toward Roy as he tore a piece of bread.

"The Greenbind demonstration went well." Talia nodded.

"It went very well." Roy waited for her to add something, but she did not. Aurelia looked between them.

"Did Dorian purchase any?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

"We will discuss that." Talia took another spoonful of broth.

"I walked around Bellhaven for a while."

"And?" Garrick asked.

"It contains roads, buildings, and people." Garrick smirked.

"That sounds promising." Aurelia shook her head and looked toward the windows.

"The household was quiet. The guards kept their distance, and the drakes adapted well once they had a routine." Roy looked outside.

"Adapted?"

"They practiced preparing farmland."

"Without seeds?"

"It was training." Orion's gaze moved toward the overturned garden beds.

"How many times?" Aurelia took a careful bite of bread.

"Enough." That answer should have led somewhere. Instead, silence returned. The meal continued beneath the quest, but it remained unchanged. Roy waited as if patience would change the outcome, but he understood why it didn't. They had spent the entire day apart, each carrying a different responsibility. Now they had reunited beneath unfamiliar rules in a borrowed estate while guards watched from the perimeter and Bellhaven debated whether their home belonged to them.

There was too much to discuss, which had made it easier to discuss nothing. Roy ate slowly and watched the quest display, but the Weave had not counted their arrival at the table. Perhaps sitting together while everyone guarded their own thoughts did not satisfy whatever intelligence had created the quest. Roy looked toward the hearth, where Kindle stared back at him. The Hearth Drake's expression held no wisdom. He appeared to be fighting sleep. Roy sighed. Orion noticed.

"What?"

"The quest has not changed." Everyone looked toward the fireplace. Garrick leaned back in his chair.

"We are eating."

"An impressive observation," Talia said.

"We are all here."

"Most of the drakes are unconscious outside." Aurelia glanced through the window.

"They worked hard."

"I am not blaming them." Roy set his spoon down.

"The quest says to share an evening meal as a community. It may require more than occupying chairs near the same food." Orion looked at him.

"What are you not saying?" Roy should not have been surprised. His brother was clumsy with subtlety unless it involved detecting something Roy wanted hidden. Roy reached inside his coat and withdrew the folded contract. Aurelia's attention settled on the paper.

"You signed something."

"Yes."

"How serious?"

"Potentially very." Roy placed the contract beside his bowl.

"Dorian agreed to purchase the Greenbind. I expected him to purchase samples and negotiate future orders. He offered something larger."

"How much Greenbind?" Aurelia asked.

"All of it." The room became quiet for a different reason. Talia had already heard most of the negotiation, but even she watched Roy carefully now. Orion looked toward the window, where Clover slept beneath Nimbus.

"All that he produces?"

"All that we choose to produce consistently. There is no fixed amount yet." Garrick frowned.

"Then what does consistently mean?"

"That remains to be established. It depends on Clover's sustainable output, the amount of usable waste we can acquire, and how much he can process without exhaustion."

"Dorian agreed without a number?"

"He only pays for what he receives. His risk is limited unless production becomes unreliable enough that he loses customers." Aurelia's fingers tightened around her spoon.

"Customers he already expects to have."

"Yes." Orion looked down at the contract.

"What is the payment?" Roy did not answer immediately. There were sums large enough to improve a life, and then there were larger sums that changed what a person believed their life could contain. The amount Dorian had offered belonged to the second category.

"There is an upfront signing payment," Roy said.

"Then fixed payment for every quantity delivered."

"How large is the first payment?" Aurelia asked.

"Large enough to purchase this estate if Bellhaven establishes a legal way for us to do so." No one moved. Outside, Shale shifted in his sleep. Nimbus rolled partially onto her back without waking. Garrick's spoon remained halfway between his bowl and mouth. Talia had seen the number - her reaction had been quieter at the warehouse, but no less shocked. Orion stared at Roy." This estate?"

"Yes… with some coin remaining." Aurelia looked around the dining room as though she had never properly seen it. The table could seat more than twice their household. The kitchen contained enough storage for an entire harvest. The estate grounds were large enough for the drakes to move without trampling one another. The cottage had been home because it was theirs. This place could become something else. Roy had understood that the moment Dorian wrote the number.

Their parents' deaths had left behind more than grief. Debt, failed harvests, broken tools, bad winters, and the constant threat of losing what little they possessed had shaped every year afterward. Roy could not remember the last time money had felt like a tool rather than a danger. This contract ended that - immediately. Orion's gaze sharpened.

"You already agreed." Roy met his eyes.

"Yes."

"You did not think we should discuss it first?"

"I thought you would agree." This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"That is not the same thing."

"No." Roy did not defend the choice with false modesty. He had made it because he believed it was correct.

"If I delayed, Dorian might have reconsidered the upfront payment or changed the terms. Losing an agreement that solves every financial crisis we have ever faced because I wanted to ask whether we could demand more would have been irresponsible." Orion glanced toward Aurelia. Neither contradicted him, which was precisely why Roy had signed. His siblings did not dream about wealth. Orion wanted safety, and Aurelia wanted stability. The payment purchased both in quantities they had never believed possible.

"What exactly did you promise?" Orion asked.

"Exclusive sale of Greenbind."

"Only Greenbind?"

"Yes." Talia leaned forward slightly.

"That part took longer." Aurelia looked toward her.

"What did he ask for originally?"

"Exclusive rights to anything valuable the drakes produced," Roy said.

"I told him I lacked the experience or authority to promise materials that may not exist. We do not know what future drakes could produce, what their limits might be, or whether selling those materials would serve the household."

"And he accepted Greenbind only?"

"After some negotiation." Roy remembered Dorian's smile. The merchant had made concessions without appearing troubled by them. He allowed Roy to retreat behind inexperience. He agreed that unknown products could not reasonably be included in a binding arrangement. Then he returned to the Greenbind and secured exactly what he seemed to want. The contract was open-ended, and the price was fixed. The household was required to maintain consistent production, but Dorian paid only for completed deliveries.

If demand increased, he profited. If Greenbind proved more valuable than anyone currently understood, he profited far more. Roy had negotiated protections. He was no longer certain he had negotiated value. Orion seemed to read the concern in his face.

"What is wrong with the agreement?"

"I do not know that anything is, but it felt like Dorian made the offer too quickly." Garrick lowered his spoon.

"He saw the Greenbind work."

"He saw enough to understand its immediate usefulness. He did not test its limits. He did not need time to consult buyers. He offered a sum capable of purchasing an estate without hesitation."

"Maybe he is generous," Aurelia said. Talia's expression suggested she did not consider that the most likely answer. Roy continued.

"The fixed rate is more than enough for us. Even if Clover produces modestly, we will never return to poverty."

"Then why are you worried?" Orion asked.

"Because enough for us may be almost nothing compared to what Greenbind is worth."

"We never intended to become wealthy. If the agreement provides safety, land, food, and whatever the drakes require, then failing to squeeze every possible coin from it is not a tragedy."

"I agree." Roy did agree, that was what irritated him. The contract could be exploitative and still be the best decision available to them. Dorian had possessed knowledge, connections, storage, transport, buyers, and legal experience. Roy possessed a new material, a tired dragon, and a family whose ownership of its own home had become uncertain. Both parties benefited, but one of them had negotiated from a far stronger position.

"That does not mean we should ignore the imbalance," Roy said.

"The agreement is open-ended. If Greenbind becomes essential to half the trades in Bellhaven, we remain bound to the original rate." Aurelia looked toward Clover through the window.

"Can Dorian force us to exhaust him?"

"No. Production must remain consistent, but the rate is based on what Clover can reasonably sustain and what raw material is available. There is no fixed quota."

"Then Clover remains protected."

"Yes."

"And the payment is enough to secure this estate."

"If Bellhaven permits its sale." Orion folded his arms.

"Then I would have agreed. What precedent concerns you?" Roy looked toward the contract.

"That we will accept any agreement that appears miraculous because our previous circumstances were desperate. Bellhaven knows we possess valuable creatures and little experience dealing with wealth or law." The council meeting returned to all of them. Velara's controlled questions, Oren's records, Torvin's objections, and the uncertainty over the cottage. No one had threatened them, but no one needed to. Their inexperience created leverage on its own.

"We learn," Orion said.

"That is my intention."

"And until then?"

"We remain careful. We do not promise anything else without discussion. We learn the value of what we produce before signing another open-ended agreement." Aurelia nodded.

"And if Dorian earns much more than we do?" Roy looked at her.

"Then I attempt not to become unbearable about it."

"That may be the most difficult task." Talia nearly choked on her broth. Roy looked around the table. No one appeared angry. Aurelia disliked that he had signed without consulting them, and Orion disliked that Dorian might have used their situation. That said, neither believed Roy had betrayed the household. The contract meant full stores before winter. Aurelia never again had to disguise hunger because she believed Orion and Roy needed larger portions.

Orion could replace a broken weapon rather than rebuilding the handle three times. Roy could experiment without counting every nail. He did not regret signing, he merely regretted that gratitude and suspicion had become inseparable. Aurelia reached across the table and touched the contract.

"May I read it later?"

"Yes."

"Will I understand it?"

"Probably not."

"Then you will explain it, since you signed without us." Roy inclined his head.

"Fair." The contract remained between them, but the tension around it eased. Orion returned to his dinner. After several bites, Roy looked toward the bruise along his jaw.

"What did Edric teach you?"

"He mostly demonstrated how little I know."

"That must have taken considerable skill." Orion gave him a flat look while Garrick laughed into his bowl.

"He had three First Seals train against me without Weave. I could overpower them individually, but they coordinated better than I did."

"You teleported away," Garrick said." After the result became clear." Roy leaned back.

"You fled to Garrick."

"He was convenient." Garrick looked toward Roy.

"He appeared in the middle of the beginner rotation. One of the recruits screamed." Aurelia's shoulders shook with restrained laughter. Orion tore another piece of bread.

"Edric explained several weaknesses in my stance and movement afterward. My physical ability allows me to compensate, but compensation is not skill." Roy studied him.

"Did he agree to train you?"

"He said he might have something to teach me if I avoid becoming a monumental pain in his ass." Aurelia stared.

"Those were his words?"

"They were exactly his words," Garrick chimed in.

"Did you agree?" Talia asked.

"No." Roy nodded.

"A promising beginning." Orion pointed his bread at him.

"He also gave me a dagger." Garrick coughed. Roy looked between them.

"What happened to it?"

"Kindle's Fury appears capable of melting steel." Aurelia's smile vanished.

"In your hand? Where is the dagger?"

"With Edric." Garrick answered before Orion could.

"It resembles a bent spoon." Talia set down her cup.

"You melted the guard captain's dagger on your first day?" Roy considered the matter.

"I withdraw my concern about the Greenbind contract. Orion will bankrupt us through weapon replacement." That broke the remaining tension. Aurelia laughed openly. Talia covered her mouth, and even Garrick leaned over the table as his shoulders shook. Orion waited for them to finish with the patience of someone memorizing future grievances. When the noise settled, Aurelia looked toward Garrick.

"And your training?"

"Less dramatic. I joined the afternoon recruits. Most of them were decent. One showed me how to adjust my footing, and another explained the guard rotations." Garrick hesitated.

"If we stayed in Bellhaven, I could see myself working there." The words changed the mood again, though not unpleasantly. Roy looked at him.

"As a guard?"

"Eventually. Training would take time, but the pay would cover the basics for Talia and me." Talia raised one eyebrow.

"You have already assigned me part of your imaginary salary?"

"I said it would support us."

"I intend to support myself."

"I know. The point is that it could be an option if Bellhaven becomes home." Home. Roy looked toward the hearth - the quest remained at zero. Talia traced one finger around the edge of her bowl.

"I did not learn enough about the town to know whether I would stay."

"You found roads," Garrick said.

"And buildings."

"A strong foundation." She kicked him beneath the table before continuing.

"I did find the healer." Aurelia looked up immediately.

"The one people mentioned?"

"The most well-known one in Bellhaven. Her name is Mira."

"Did you speak with her about Kindle?" Talia nodded.

"I arranged an appointment tomorrow morning." Aurelia stood so quickly her chair scraped against the floor. Talia barely had time to turn before Aurelia crossed the space between them and wrapped both arms around her. Talia went rigid, her hands remained suspended at her sides. Aurelia did not seem to notice.

"Thank you." The words came muffled against Talia's shoulder.

"I only asked. I was already in town."

"That does not make it nothing." Talia's expression shifted as some of the uncertainty left it. Slowly, she lowered her arms and returned the embrace.

"You are welcome." Aurelia held on for another moment before stepping back. Her eyes shone with hope she was trying not to display too openly. They may have heard the system's judgment regarding Kindle, but that did not mean they were prepared to accept it.

"We need someone to remain here," Orion said.

"I will," Roy replied. Aurelia looked toward him.

"You planned to return to Dorian."

"Not until later. I need to inspect what materials Clover can produce sustainably and prepare the first delivery schedule. I can stay through the morning, but I need the house by mid-afternoon,""I can return after the appointment," Aurelia said. Talia settled back into her chair.

"I can also come back once I finish exploring."

"You do not have to sacrifice your day," Aurelia said.

"It is not a sacrifice." Garrick looked toward her.

"You found roads yesterday. What remains?"

"Whether Bellhaven contains a second road." Roy watched the plan form. Aurelia would take Kindle to the healer while Roy remained with the drakes and eggs. Talia would explore, then return if Aurelia needed more time. Orion and Garrick would likely return to the guardhouse if Edric permitted it. The arrangement emerged without anyone directing the table.

"Bellhaven has treated us well so far," Aurelia said. Orion's expression remained guarded.

"Some people have."

"The guards did not threaten the drakes," she continued.

"They were nervous when Nimbus approached the tower, but they only told her to move back."

"She approached the guards?" Orion asked.

"She was curious." Orion looked through the windows, where Nimbus slept upside down across Shale.

"She needs firmer boundaries."

"She received them." Aurelia's tone ended the matter. Roy looked toward his brother.

"Edric offered training. Dorian offered a contract. Talia found a healer. The estate's staff delivered wood for Shale." Orion glanced at him.

"What are you suggesting?"

"That perhaps Bellhaven is not currently attempting to ruin us."

"I did not say it was."

"You often communicate through the atmosphere." Garrick nodded.

"He does." Orion looked toward him.

"You are becoming comfortable very quickly." Aurelia sighed.

"Our standards remain concerning." Conversation wandered after that. Not toward anything important. Garrick described a recruit who had corrected his stance by kicking his feet apart every time he narrowed them. Talia claimed the recruit had discovered the only reliable method of teaching him. Aurelia explained that Nimbus had attempted to splash Shale during the farming exercises. Roy questioned whether repeated resetting had improved their efficiency enough to justify the labor.

Aurelia replied that she was teaching living creatures, not optimizing a mill. Orion asked whether Clover could process spoiled grain from Bellhaven's warehouses. Roy began explaining why the input material would need testing. Halfway through the explanation, Aurelia told him to eat before the broth cooled. Kindle rose from the hearth and crossed the room slowly. Aurelia watched him but did not rush to help. He reached the table, placed his forelegs against Roy's chair, and stared at the remaining bread.

Since becoming a Remnant, his diet had expanded into more typical food beyond just firewood. Roy tore off a small piece. Kindle accepted it, then moved toward Orion.

"You already received one," Roy said. Kindle ignored him. Orion provided another.

"Undermining household discipline," Roy muttered.

"You signed an open-ended contract without consultation." Aurelia laughed again, the sound filled the dining room without effort. No one was reporting their day anymore. They were interrupting, arguing, teasing, and building tomorrow from the pieces each of them had brought home. Roy glanced toward the hearth, and the quest display flickered. A clear tone sounded through the room. [Hatch Quest Progress: Strength Despite Distance.] [Evening Meals Shared: 1/3.] For a moment, no one spoke.

Talia looked around the table at the siblings, and surmised what had happened.

"So the Weave was waiting for Roy to admit he may have signed a terrible contract."

"Potentially undervalued - not terrible." Garrick lifted his cup.

"To our future exploitation." Aurelia struck his arm. Orion raised his own cup anyway.

"To never being poor again." Roy looked at the contract beside his bowl, then at the people around the table. He lifted his cup last.

"That will suffice."