Chương 67: Something To Try

"Welp," Roy planted both hands on his hips and looked through the open gate ahead of him.

"We're finally back." Nimbus immediately abandoned him. The Cloudbelly Drake shot past with enough enthusiasm to send dust curling off the road, pale-blue wings beating twice before she decided running was apparently faster. She bounded toward the agricultural plots without so much as looking back. Shale was more considerate.

The enormous Burrowback Drake lumbered through the gate beside him, stopped long enough to stare at Roy, then turned toward one of the broad patches of shade near the settlement's outer buildings. Roy frowned.

"You too?" Shale continued walking.

"Traitors." Neither drake cared, but Roy smiled anyway. Another month - it felt strange thinking about it in such a clean division. A month of roadwork, measurements, excavation, and rerouting around terrain that had looked perfectly reasonable on the map. Now another section was complete, and the workers had earned their break. Several days without Roy asking anyone to measure distance, place stone, or listen to him explain why a road that looked straight was technically wrong. He suspected they were grateful.

Roy stepped farther inside the Dragonscale Ward. The great stone fortifications loomed overhead, though knowing exactly how much of the wall was fake made the illusion significantly less impressive. Still effective, though. Anyone approaching Drakehaven for the first time would see curtain walls, towers, battlements, and Scale Soldiers moving along the upper walkways. He continued along the road, then slowed.

"Oh." A month was apparently enough time for everyone else to become irritatingly productive. The Healing House had been finished, first and foremost. The exterior had been cleaned and sealed, proper drainage ran alongside the building, and the path leading toward it had been packed down and edged with stone. Even the small covered entryway Aurelia had wanted had been added. Beyond it, the thermal basin project had changed even more dramatically.

The enormous excavation was now lined through most of its visible interior, with stonework descending in broad reinforced layers. The remaining piles of material were considerably smaller than Roy remembered. Therma was asleep near one of them, which was predictable. The Flux Drake had curled herself into a patch of sunlight beside a stack of warmed stone, apparently satisfied that construction existed primarily to provide her with increasingly elaborate places to nap. Kaelu's workshop-home was taking shape too.

The main frame had been completed. Much of the outer wall was already enclosed, and Roy could see the beginning of what would eventually become the attached work area. He whistled quietly, though it wasn't completely unreasonable how fast they had worked. Aegis explained some of the construction speed. He had the unfortunate combination of enormous strength and enough pride that asking him whether he could move something usually guaranteed it would be moved. Orion wasn't exactly weak either.

Give those two lumber, stone, instructions, and enough means to handle the precise portions, and progress would accelerate substantially. As Roy approached the central portion of Drakehaven, he noticed something else. A smaller structure sat off to one side - simple and brand new. It sat exactly where he'd asked Kaelu to place it before leaving. Roy stopped.

"Well…" He stared for another few seconds, then smiled.

"Roy!" He barely had time to turn. Aurelia collided with him, causing Roy to stumble half a step before catching her.

"Hello to you too."

"You're back!"

"That was generally the goal." Aurelia pulled away just enough to look at him.

"You look terrible."

"I spent a month building a road."

"You looked terrible before that."

"Wonderful. I missed you too." She grinned and hugged him again; Roy returned it properly this time. It was good to be home - even as annoying, loud, and overcrowded as it was becoming. Aurelia released him and glanced toward the gate.

"Where are Shale and Nimbus?"

"Nimbus abandoned me approximately six seconds after entering." Aurelia laughed.

"She probably went looking for Kiana."

"I assumed either her or you."

"And Shale?"

"Found shade."

"That sounds right. I assume there wasn't much trouble here." Roy tilted his head.

"Why?"

"Orion never appeared from the sky to rescue you."

"That's how we're measuring emergencies now?"

"It seems reliable." Roy looked around again.

"You've gotten a ridiculous amount done."

"Aegis and Orion have been helping," Aurelia's expression became slightly more amused.

"And we got another helper." Roy followed her gaze. Several figures stood near the future site of the Exchange House. Kaelu, Orion, Aegis… and a woman Roy had never seen before. Green hair immediately distinguished her from everyone else nearby. It fell in a long braid down her back, dark enough to resemble pine needles in shade. She was lean, perhaps somewhere in her late twenties, wearing practical clothing that looked far more traveled than anything commonly found around Drakehaven.

Roy might have focused on that. Instead, he watched a timber beam float past her head. It was followed by another, then six stone blocks, then an entire stack of cut lumber. The woman barely moved - one hand remained loosely raised while more than a dozen separate pieces of construction material drifted through the air around her. Each moved independently. One beam rotated, two blocks separated, and a bundle of boards shifted sideways to make room.

Everything descended into precise stacks beside the basin without a single collision. Roy stared, causing Aurelia to smile.

"I thought you'd like that."

"Who is that?"

"Lilly."

"That explains nothing."

"She woke up a few days ago." Roy looked at her.

"Woke up from what?" Aurelia lowered her voice.

"Uncle found her outside Drakehaven almost a month ago. Unconscious." Roy looked back toward Lilly as another stone block floated into place.

"She was unconscious for a month?"

"Almost."

"And now she's doing that?"

"She likes being helpful."

"I like her already." Aurelia rolled her eyes. Roy watched Lilly adjust several pieces of lumber simultaneously.

"Fourth Seal?" Aurelia's head turned sharply toward him.

"You can see that from here?"

"If I squint."

"Right." Something in her tone changed. He looked at her, while Aurelia glanced toward the Waystation before leaning slightly closer.

"She says she used to be Ninth." Roy stopped walking.

"What?"

"Quiet." Roy looked toward Lilly again. The telekinesis suddenly made more sense - and significantly less sense.

"Ninth?" Aurelia nodded.

"She remembers reaching it. Whatever happened before Uncle found her did something to her advancement. Now her Status says Fourth." Roy studied the floating materials again. It seemed like a bold claim, but something about what she was displaying now made it hard to completely dispute. A Fourth Seal's available power guided by someone who had spent years operating at a completely different level.

A normal mage might move a beam, and a skilled one might move several, but Lilly was coordinating an entire worksite while apparently having a conversation with Kaelu. Roy exhaled.

"She's worth twelve laborers." Aurelia laughed.

"At least."

"I wasn't joking."

"Lilly already figured that out." Roy looked at her.

"She said that?"

"She didn't use your exact wording, but she was very aware that if she planned to stay here while recovering, she could make herself difficult to complain about."

"Smart." Aurelia's voice dropped again.

"Only Orion, Uncle, me, and Lilly know about the Ninth Seal part." Roy nodded immediately.

"Sevrin."

"Exactly. We explained the situation. Lilly agreed not to mention it." Roy glanced toward the Waystation.

"How has that been going?" Aurelia's mouth curved.

"See for yourself." Roy followed her gesture. Talia and Sevrin sat near the communal outdoor area; a table between them had disappeared beneath books, loose parchment, and several maps. Talia was leaning over one page while Sevrin pointed at a specific section with the end of a quill. Even from a distance, Roy could tell she was arguing. Sevrin responded. Talia pointed somewhere else, causing Sevrin to pause before nodding. Roy raised an eyebrow.

"He looks invested."

"He is."

"That wasn't part of the assignment."

"Nope. She's enjoying it too." Roy watched Sevrin pull another document from the pile and hand it across to her. Sevrin had started teaching Talia because it benefited both sides, but apparently somewhere along the way, teaching her had become something he actually cared about doing well. Roy filed that away.

"Anything concerning?"

"Nothing Orion hasn't already worried about six times."

"Only six?"

"He's been busy."

"Fair." They continued toward the warehouse. Regina was exactly where Roy expected her to be behind the main desk. She was surrounded by paper, and looking entirely too comfortable in a position that consisted mostly of yelling at everyone for placing crates in the wrong location. She glanced up as Roy entered.

"Oh. You're alive!" Roy stopped.

"That's my greeting?" Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"You've been gone a month."

"Aurelia hugged me."

"Aurelia hugs everyone." Aurelia frowned.

"I do not." Regina looked at her, then chose to ignore the battle.

"How was the road?"

"Long, muddy, and probably expensive."

"All useful observations." Roy dropped his pack beside the wall.

"The crew is off for a few days. Then we start the next stretch." Regina nodded.

"Supplies held?"

"Mostly."

"Mostly is an irritating word."

"It survived me using it."

"Wonderful. I have something for you." Roy's shoulders sagged.

"I just got back."

"You'll like these."

"That sounds like something people say immediately before giving me work." Regina reached beneath the desk and produced two sheets of parchment.

"Inventory manifests." Roy stared at them.

"You are giving me an inventory manifest as a welcome-home gift."

"Yes."

"I take back every nice thought I've ever had about you."

"That won't take long." Aurelia snickered as Regina extended the documents.

"Review them." Roy took them reluctantly. The first appeared ordinary: Timber, grain, salt, metal fixtures… Several other items from Bellhaven. The second contained similar categories arranged differently. Roy frowned.

"Who sent these?"

"Dorian." Roy looked up. There was no stamp or signature. Nothing identifying the document as belonging to Dorian at all.

"How do you know that?" Regina smiled.

"Us old people can work out systems too, you know?" Roy stared before looking back down. He read the first manifest again, then the second. He went slower, and compared quantities and repeated items. The same categories appeared at slightly different intervals, and led to strange quirk in the document. His expression changed. Aurelia leaned closer.

"What?" Roy didn't answer. He read them again, this time following the whole pattern he was seeing.

"Oh, you irritating bastard." Aurelia blinked.

"Dorian?" Roy kept reading.

"Obviously."

"Did he swindle us again?"

"No." Roy's eyes narrowed as he looked toward Regina.

"You're in on this." Regina had already returned to her paperwork.

"Am I?"

"You decoded it."

"I read inventory manifests."

"You knew exactly what you were handing me."

"Did I?" Regina smiled without looking up. Roy sighed.

"Old people." Regina's smile widened.

"You'll get there."

"Hopefully not." He folded the manifests carefully, then turned toward Aurelia.

"Are you busy this afternoon?"

"That sounds dangerous."

"Can you take Zephyr into Bellhaven?" Aurelia frowned.

"Why me?"

"Talia is occupied," Roy continued, "and you're probably the next person I'd trust to ride Zephyr with someone else." Aurelia's expression shifted.

"Someone else?" Roy nodded.

"Selene is ready to come stay in Drakehaven." The humor disappeared from Aurelia's face. She knew enough to understand why that mattered.

"And Dorian?"

"Wants to talk," Roy tapped the folded manifests against his palm. Aurelia's gaze flicked toward the Waystation. Roy nodded, and she didn't ask anything else.

"I'll go."

"Good. Later this afternoon should be soon enough." Aurelia nodded while Roy tucked the manifests inside his jacket.

"Now I would like approximately ten minutes where no one asks me to solve anything."

"That seems optimistic."

"I know." After dismissing themselves, Aurelia and Roy both made their way next door to the cottage. Aurelia wanted to pack a few basics to bring with her since she was already making the trip, and Roy was hoping to be able to properly put down his belongings before another puzzle came his way.

"Oh. You're back." Roy looked toward the voice as he entered the cottage. Kindle sat on a small bed tucked against one side of the main room. Roy suspected it would remain temporary until someone finally admitted they needed to build the boy an actual room. Kindle had one leg folded beneath him and appeared to be examining a small metal fitting. His black hair had gotten slightly longer, or perhaps Aurelia had simply stopped trying to force it into behaving.

"That's my second greeting like that today," Roy said. Kindle looked up.

"Should I act surprised?"

"It would be polite."

"You told everyone when you were returning."

"Excellent point," Roy dropped his pack near the table.

"How's the human thing going?" Kindle thought about it.

"Humans act differently."

"How?"

"They talk to me more."

"That happens when you can answer."

"They talked to me before."

"Yes, but mostly like you were a clever dog." Kindle stared at him. Aurelia shook her head and moved toward the kitchen. Kindle set the metal fitting aside.

"The drakes don't act differently."

"No?"

"They still expect me to play with them." Roy smiled.

"Tragic."

"Therma hunts me." Roy paused.

"Hunts?"

"She follows me until I sit down."

"Why?"

"I am the perfect temperature." Roy laughed, causing Kindle to look more offended.

"It's not funny."

"It's extremely funny."

"She slept on me for three hours yesterday."

"You survived."

"My arm didn't." Roy laughed harder, and even Aurelia joined in from the other side of the room. Kindle waited for them to finish with all the patience of someone reconsidering every relationship he had formed. Eventually the cottage settled again. Roy began unpacking in quiet peace, placing tools and other miscellaneous items where they typically lived. As he did, his thoughts returned to the small building outside. He glanced toward Kindle.

"Aurelia give you anything to do today?" Kindle considered.

"Make sure nobody hurts themselves in a stupid way." Roy looked toward Aurelia, who shrugged.

"He's good at noticing."

"That is not an assignment," Roy said.

"It has prevented three injuries." Kindle nodded.

"One involved Orion." Roy immediately looked interested.

"Later." Roy sighed, then gestured toward the door.

"Come take a walk with me." Kindle narrowed his eyes.

"Why?"

"I want to show you something."

"That sounds suspicious."

"It probably is." Kindle looked toward Aurelia, who smiled far too innocently. His eyes narrowed further.

"You know."

"I might."

"That makes it worse." Roy headed outside. After a moment of clear hesitation and pre-emptive regret, Kindle followed. ─── 🐲🐲🐲 ─── Kaelu was close enough to the small building for Roy to call over. Roy stopped in front of the structure as Kaelu came up beside him. The exterior was simple but deliberate, with stone reinforcing the lower walls. The open front allowed air to move freely through the building, and a chimney rose from one side, though nothing currently fed into it.

Several sections had been built specifically to tolerate heat, weight, and impacts considerably harsher than an ordinary workshop should expect. Kindle stared.

"It's empty." Roy looked at Kaelu.

"Is it finished?" Kaelu slowly turned his head. Roy immediately knew he'd made a mistake.

"Does it look half-finished?"

"I was checking. I've been gone a month."

"And apparently forgot how buildings work."

"I understand the components of a building."

"Then why did you ask?" Roy sighed.

"It's finished."

"Very good."

"You're insufferable." Roy walked around the front with Kaelu following. As Roy did, Kaelu's expression became a little more serious.

"I'm thinking of starting houses." Roy looked over.

"Already?"

"Kiana's crops are producing." That caught Roy's attention.

"Enough?"

"Enough that we're not panicking about feeding another handful of people," Kaelu gestured toward the settlement.

"And the Waystation's filling up." Roy frowned.

"We'll be moving into the workshop once it's finished," Kaelu continued.

"Me and Kiana. But Regina needs somewhere eventually. Rowan too. If more people decide to stay instead of passing through, we're going to need actual homes." Roy nodded slowly.

"How much space are you thinking?"

"That's what I wanted to review with you." Roy blinked.

"You're asking permission?" Kaelu scoffed.

"No. I'm warning you."

"That sounds more familiar."

"I don't want to put six houses somewhere and have you come back screaming that I ruined your perfect city geometry."

"I would not scream… though I might explain loudly."

"There it is." Roy smiled.

"Fine. We'll review layouts while I'm here. Don't build anything permanent until we do." Kaelu started walking away.

"That sounded suspiciously like permission."

"I hate you."

"Get in line." Roy watched him leave, then turned back toward the building. Kindle remained at the entrance, staring into the empty interior.

"So… what is exciting about a large empty room?" Roy smiled.

"Nothing." Kindle looked at him.

"That would make this a disappointing walk."

"I have something for you." Kindle's expression changed slightly as Roy stepped inside.

"Or maybe I'm returning something."

"That sounds unnecessarily mysterious."

"Yes." Roy crouched and placed one hand against the floor. He reached for an ability he had used only a handful of times before. It had been a skill obtained when a small drake gave everything he had because Roy needed him to. Roy swallowed, then activated the skill. [Kindle's Forge] Golden-orange light spread beneath his palm, and the empty room changed. Lines of Weave raced across the floor like molten metal finding channels. A dark forge structure rose along the reinforced wall.

It wasn't literal stone being summoned; something between schematic and reality unfolded into place. A furnace formed first; black metal traced with glowing ember seams. Then a broad anvil, worktables, tool racks, and everything else that belonged in a forge of this size. Everything appeared in layers, each piece forming according to the space Roy had given the ability to occupy. The chimney connected, and heat awakened as a low orange glow filled the forge.

It wasn't enough to make the room uncomfortable, but it made the entire conjured setup feel more alive. As Roy increased the Weave investment, more details began to emerge. Better tools, stronger surfaces, and a proper workbench. The entire structure felt like a hearth taught how to build weapons, or perhaps a forge remembering it had once been a hearth. The light finally settled, and Roy removed his hand. He stood and brushed dust from his knees before looking at Kindle, who had not moved. Roy smiled.

"Look familiar?" Kindle slowly stepped inside.

"Almost." He approached the forge. His fingers hovered near the warm metal but did not touch. He then looked toward the anvil, the tools, and the glowing seams. Something in his expression was difficult to read. It wasn't exactly memory, but it was similar to recognition. Kindle walked around the central workbench.

"I've never used these."

"I know."

"Then why does it feel familiar?" Roy leaned against one of the supports.

"I got this ability because of you." Kindle looked over. Roy didn't elaborate immediately, but he didn't need to. Kindle's eyes moved back toward the forge.

"Oh." Roy let the silence sit, then he shrugged.

"You've spent the last few weeks wandering around helping wherever someone points."

"I don't see the problem with helping."

"There isn't one," Roy crossed his arms.

"But eventually you need more than being whoever happens to have free hands." Kindle's expression tightened. Roy continued before he could misunderstand.

"You said you don't know what you're supposed to do now." Kindle was quiet.

"So don't figure out what you're supposed to do," Roy gestured toward the forge.

"Figure out what you like doing." Kindle looked around.

"And you think smithing?"

"I think it's a guess."

"A very expensive guess."

"The building was mostly Kaelu."

"And the forge?"

"Mine." Kindle raised an eyebrow.

"That sounded proud."

"It was." He walked toward one of the tool racks as Roy watched him.

"This doesn't have to become anything." Kindle glanced back.

"You built an entire smithy and are telling me it doesn't have to become anything."

"The Forge stays here as long as I don't create another one somewhere else." Kindle blinked.

"Permanently?"

"Functionally," Roy nodded toward the room.

"It's not a complete professional smithy… at least not yet. But it's enough to learn. Enough to experiment." Kindle examined a hammer.

"And if I don't like it?"

"Then you don't like it."

"That simple?"

"Yes." Kindle studied Roy, then his eyes narrowed.

"This was Aurelia's idea." Roy's face fell.

"What?"

"You're being too empathetic."

"I can be empathetic."

"You can," Kindle paused.

"But you usually explain it with numbers." Roy stared, which seemed to only provide confirmation.

"Aurelia," Kindle stated with a nod to himself. Roy sighed.

"She suggested that if you wanted purpose, making you wander around until purpose attacked you was probably inefficient."

"That sounds more like you."

"I regret giving you this building."

"No, you don't."

"I'm getting closer." Kindle finally picked up the hammer. He tested its weight briefly, then set it down again.

"I don't know if I'll like it."

"You aren't supposed to know yet." Kindle considered that as Roy pushed away from the wall.

"Try it. Don't try it. Spend three weeks making terrible knives and decide you'd rather grow vegetables."

"Kiana would object."

"Kiana objects to how I would farm too."

"Because you do it wrong." Roy pointed toward him.

"You've been human for one month."

"I have eyes." Roy sighed.

"I'm going to find something else productive to do before I remember why I enjoy being away." Kindle remained beside the workbench as Roy reached the doorway.

"Roy." He stopped. Kindle was not looking at the forge with excitement or glee, but his expression was thoughtful. There was enough curiosity for Roy to believe this entire thing had been worth the investment.

"Thank you." Roy smiled.

"Don't burn the building down." Kindle looked at the glowing forge, then back at him.

"That would be embarrassing."

"Extremely." Roy stepped outside. Behind him, he heard the faint sound of metal being lifted from a workbench.