—— ? ——

  Simon had to give it to her. Kaelalin was a great public speaker.

  Jorik had hurried them through the streets of Varnholt to the central district. During their walk, Simon had half expected Jorik to start questioning them about their experience but that hadn’t happened.

  Instead, Kaelalin had used the time to discuss the second wall that had appeared in hours. From what Jorik knew, it seemed the tunnel excavation had run out of useful applications for the constant stream of stone that was being ripped from the mountain. An architect had suggested that they store it near the town, and one thing had led to another.

  Apparently, when unrelated members of the project had seen the growing pile of stone outside the wall, they had all assumed that a second wall was being built. There had already been petitions sent to the council about how it should be used.

  Faced with those, the council had called a vote, and Kurda had been ecstatic. Did it have anything to do with the realization that the valley contained a nightmarish beast?

  I know I want another wall. Simon thought to himself as he leaned back in the large chair near the front of the council hall.

  Kaelalin was just finishing her retelling of their fight with the golden golem. The way she told it, Simon had never been fried to a crisp. He had risked his life and been beaten to a pulp, but they had prevailed.

  Works for me. Simon studied the room, spotting familiar faces. Kurda and Brian were noticeably absent. Emrick looked absolutely crushed after learning that the sub-realm did not contain anything related to his profession. That expression seemed to be contagious across many of the councilors.

  However, some looked like kids that were told Christmas was coming a day early. One of them had nearly leapt from his seat to examine the remains of the golden golem. He was a stocky and scared Yoreborn known as Maelis. He sat in his chair and seemed enraptured by Kaelalin’s descriptions of pools of molten metal.

  His expression hadn’t faltered when the Frost-kin had discussed her anima readings in the pool. In fact he seemed even more enamored with the chunk of metal he had taken to examine.

  Kaelalin went into details about their theories and discovery. She had yet to introduce the last member present in their adventures when she stopped talking and asked if there were any questions.

  “Do any of the council have questions to ask?” the slender Councillor Serel asked the room. Simon’s gaze landed on the woman, her glimmering golden hair casting a soft glow on her chair. The shifting gem patterns on their skin, shining hair, and gem-like eyes were captivating.

  Maybe a bit too captivating. Simon met Serel’s gaze who had cocked an eyebrow at him. He hurriedly looked elsewhere as his brain tuned back into conversation between councilor Maelis and Kaelalin.

  “But how are yer sure?” The councilor pressed in a voice that sounded like a chain smoker. “Maybe they are souls, or maybe they are just packed full of Anima. Have yer thought of that?”

  “Maelis, I am beyond convinced that the remains of sentient, thinking beings are trapped in that accursed metal. Therefore I insist the council not consider harvesting any metal from that realm that contains Anima.”

  “Says you! I think we should have another, more knowledgeable person investigate and give the council their opinion.” The Yoreboon said with a harrumph and crossed his arms.

  “Councilor Maelis, who would you believe to be more qualified on this matter?” Serel interjected.

  Maelis gave a sly grin. “Well, it’s metal aint it? I think we should have the Guild of the Forgers send an expedition to investigate the realm.”

  “Oh, so you can take multiple samples to inspect?” Kaelalin retorted, her voice as dry as the desert.

  “Well then, Kaelalin, who would you suggest?” Maelis said with a smirk. “And don’t say Brian. We can’t expect a fellow magical inventor to go against their compatriots, can we?”

  Kaelalin frowned and grew quiet. Her face twisted as she feigned intense thought. Maelis grinned after a few moments of silence, convinced he had cornered her.

  “There yer see? She doesn’t have a better option. Why don’t I–”

  “What makes you think that? I happen to know the foremost expert on the metal and the realm.” Kaelalin cut in.

  Maelis was caught off guard and looked confused. He stared her down and tried to puzzle out who she could possibly be referring to. Kaelalin’s eyes flicked to Simon and then down to her pocket.

  The councilor followed her gaze and Simon felt his intense gaze bore into him. He gave the Yoreboon a cheeky grin.

  “If you mean to tell me.” Maelis began, gesturing in disdain towards him “That this blood covered fool is your ‘expert’ then maybe the fumes in that place have addled your brain.”

  “Hey!” Simon exclaimed in mock offense. “I will have you know, technically I have been in that realm longer than almost anyone here.”

  He nodded sagely. “Compared to you, I am an expert on the place.”

  Maelis stared at him, then turned to Serel. “I move, we dismiss our two proud explorers and give them the time to recover their senses.” He shook his head gravely. “The shock of that realm has clearly affected their reasoning.”

  Serel’s glistening green eyes glanced at the Yoreboon then snapped back to the pair. Her eyes searched first Simon then Kaelalin. They rested on her for several long seconds as she seemed to read Kaelalin’s thoughts.

  “Kaelalin,” she stated. “Would you enlighten the council on what you find so funny, as well as this ‘expert’ you have spoken of?”

  Kaelalin’s face broke into a toothy grin as she reached into her pocket. “Certainly. Council of Varnholt, allow me to introduce you to the foremost expert on the realm of the forger. Zerathis of the Serraki, and a member of the Forged.”

  She held the Zerathis’s orb aloft, its runic rings whirling around it.

  With her proclamation, silence fell.

  And it continued.

  And continued.

  Kaelalin turned purple with embarrassment as all eyes stared at her with pity.

  “Zerathis?” Kaelalin hissed.

  Silence.

  Kaelalin’s eyes went frantic, and she snapped to Simon. “What’s wrong with…”

  Her words froze as she looked at him. Blood trickled down his bottom lip from where his teeth were clamped down on it. The shit-eating grin on his face told her everything she needed to know.

  “SIMON!” she hissed.

  “You…haha.. Gotta.. Heeehah.. Shake him!” Simon guffawed as tears of joy dripped down his cheek.

  “God DAMNIT. Simon!” She roared, then violently shook the orb. “ZERATHIS!”

  “Greetings! It is me! The great sage Zerathis, known as Eight-Ball!” The lizard turned orb belted out, his construct sparkling with magic.

  Gasps echoed through the council hall as everyone's attention was transfixed by Zerathis. Maelis’s face drifted between frustration and amazement as he studied the creation of magic and metal.

  Kaelalin gave Simon the stink eye before taking a deep breath and regaining her composure.

  “Councilors, this is Zerathis. He is the last remnant of the beings that used to live in that realm. I believe you will want to hear his story.”

  —— ? ——

  Simon dug into his bowl of hopper stew with famished intensity. It had taken HOURS for the council’s many, many questions. Simon had groaned and even fallen asleep during parts of it.

  Now he sat at the bar top in the Ember Rest Inn, abating his hunger for hot food.

  He glanced to his right and saw the crowd that had formed around Brian, Kaelalin and Zerathis. Curious Varnholters listened to every word they spoke, while some tried to nonchalantly examine the complex runic markings on Zerathis.

  Brian had burst into the council building within an hour of Kaelalin’s reveal. The bespeckled and messy inventor was soaking wet and covered in mud. Apparently, some idiot had dug up following a vein of metal in the mountain. The enthusiastic mason had discovered that the vein led to a new resource. An icy cold underground lake, complete with an apparently inexhaustible source of water. Brian and Kurda had worked tirelessly to seal the cascading deluge.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Brian had entered the council hall and charged over to Kaelalin, nearly tackling her in a hug. After a firm rebuke from the embarrassed frost-kin he had pulled away and then been enraptured by the runic-marked orb. This had compounded tenfold when he learned who the construct was.

  When Simon had fallen asleep the third time, Serel had put forward a vote to reconvene the next afternoon.

  “We will need adequate time to consider these developments.” She had said. Simon had given her an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

  Simon finished his bowl and was pleasantly surprised when another appeared in front of him.

  “Thank you, Mira!” he said between bites. The stern, tall woman nodded to him. Her dark red hair was pulled back into tight braids. Simon grinned as he shoveled in another spoonful.

  She really does look ?more of a warrior than an innkeeper. He mused as he snuck a glance at her as he walked to the other side of the bar. He could see her bulging neck muscles as she leaned over and scooped up bowl and mug alike.

  Unlike the easygoing Cyrus, Mira’s approach to customers was an unsmiling efficiency. While it might have seemed rude to some, Simon couldn’t argue with the service. Every time his mug went low, or he finished a bowl, the woman was already standing before him to refill them.

  To his right, Brian dismissed himself from the crowd, holding a large mug of ale and moved to the seat next to him. He leaned in and whispered, mirth lacing his words.

  “You got him to call himself Eight-ball?”

  Simon grinned around his spoon.

  “Yeah, I told him to make an introduction that would fit the title; he should only respond once shaken.”

  Brian shook his head, a wide grin on his face.

  “That’s brilliant. I won’t say a word.” He looked over at Kaelalin fending off questions and curious fingers from the construct. “I’m just glad you both came back safe.”

  His gaze turned back to Simon. “I got a rundown of what happened in there.” He squinted. “Although… Are you okay? I know Kaelalin pretty well, and it makes me wonder if she may have gone a little.” Brian made air quotes with his hands. “Light on the details.”

  Simon scraped the bottom of the bowl, slurping up the last mouthful. He set it down with a satisfied sigh, then gave Brian a side-eye.

  “Light? You mean the part where I got cooked like a Thanksgiving turkey?”

  Brian winced. “Worse than how she told it?”

  Simon snorted. “Let’s just say, I’m really, really glad that dumping stats in vitality regrew what was left of me.”

  Brian grimaced and took a long drink. “Okay, so significantly worse than what she told the council.”

  Simon leaned back, patting his chest as if he were checking for lingering char marks. “Honestly, I’m still half-expecting smoke to come out when I burp.”

  Brian gave him a long look. “You know, Kurda still needs help in the tunnel.”

  Simon stared into his mug and then sighed. “Honestly, maybe taking a break to just move stone wouldn’t be that bad.” He looked up at Brian with a cheeky grin. “And apparently, the tunnel now comes with free showers.”

  Brian groaned. “Ugh. Don’t remind me. The path the tunnel is taking has been searched magically for a reason. Everyone there knows that they need to wait before going off course. “

  “Let me guess, that rule is barely followed.” Simon replied, causing Brian to sigh deeply.

  “You are correct. With all the magic, skills and resources we are putting into that tunnel, we should be so much further along. It’s insane how fast we can move material in this new world. Despite that, nearly every day someone goes on a side adventure.” Brian frowned. “We should be almost twice as far as we are now.”.

  Simon tilted his head. “Side adventure? What, like someone sees a shiny rock and suddenly forgets the whole point of digging a giant hole?”

  Brian pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes. Exactly that. Shiny rocks, gems filled with mana, new metals, you name it. Half the crew think they’re about to stumble on buried treasure or a secret ruin every other shift.”

  “Sounds like they need a babysitter more than anything else.” Simon raised his mug in mock salute. “Maybe Kurda should just hire Mira to keep everyone on task.”

  Brian actually snorted at that, nearly dropping his empty mug. “Saints, can you imagine? She’d have the whole tunnel dug by now, and half the crew crying in the corner.”

  A shadow fell across the bar.

  “Only half?” Mira’s voice cut in, cool and unimpressed. She set down a fresh mug for Simon with a practiced clunk, her braids swaying as she leaned over them. “Brian, do you really think so little of me?”

  Brian’s grip on his mug failed, but it vanished before it could hit the floor. Mira snatched it mid-fall, filled it from the tap, and set it back in his hand with the same smooth motion.

  Simon let out a low whistle. “See? Doesn’t even let gravity get away with breaking rules.”

  Mira arched her brow. “Rules are only useful if people follow them. And in my bar, they do.” She straightened, giving Simon the barest flicker of a wink before turning away.

  “I’ve no desire to babysit a bunch of greedy, childish artisans,” she added over her shoulder. “Pouring drinks for them is already more than enough.” She paused, glancing back with a deadpan look. “…Although… finishing the tunnel would mean I may have some normal customers for once, instead of artisans caked in mud, sawdust, and metal shavings. So, I may just consider it.”

  She gave them both a flat look, then let the corner of her mouth twitch upward before striding off to another table.

  Brian shook his head and muttered into his freshly filled mug, “Normal customers. In Varnholt. Yeah right.”

  “There are a lot of personalities here, that’s for sure.” Simon said, sipping from his mug.

  The ale wasn’t bad. It was darker than he would have liked and tasted… off. He couldn’t quite figure out why, but he assumed it had something to do with what it was made of. Simon had almost asked, but then decided that he didn’t really want to know. It was like hotdogs. You don’t question how they make hotdogs if you want to keep eating them.

  Simon had a few questions for Brian, but as he looked at him he spotted the approaching form of Kaelalin.

  “Speaking of personalities, here come two of them.”

  Brian glanced at him, then followed his nod toward the Frost-kin. She left a crowd of disappointment in her wake as she moved to them. Clearly, the gathered artisans had more questions but had been left behind.

  She sat next to Brian and set Zerathis on the bar. She then leaned in close to Brian and wrapped an arm around him.

  “So, you left me to fend off questions to come speak with your fellow Earth-born?”

  Brian looked at her, his glasses nearly sliding off his nose. “I… uh…that’s not–” he stuttered as he looked into her face that was inches from his.

  Kaelalin’s lips curved into a smirk, and she pushed his glasses back into place. “They are just so much more interesting talking with me, hmmm? You’d rather ask about Simon’s fight or the barrier Zerathis had around the tower?.”

  Brian blinked, his face heating as her words sank in. “N-no, I’d rather talk to you, of course, I–”

  Then Brian froze as what she had just said sunk in. His eyes widened, and he tore his gaze from Kaelalin, practically whipping toward the orb on the bar.

  “Zerathis, do you know how that barrier functioned? Were you involved in its creation?!”

  The orb pulsed, runes spinning faster. “Indeed! I wasn’t directly involved when it was first created, but as our numbers dwindled, the senior researchers taught all of us how it was created and how to maintain it. Why?”

  Brian leaned forward, his voice almost tripping over itself. “Because I’ve been trying to stabilize a wide-area avalanche barrier for weeks! It’s enormously complex, and I just don’t have any lead to follow on how to activate it. I have been plowing forward, testing my theories through trial and error. Do you think you could help with that?”

  The orb brightened, runes orbiting in a steady whirl. “An avalanche barrier…” Zerathis’s voice deepened thoughtfully. “I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I’m sure I could help.”

  Kaelalin’s smirk collapsed into flat disbelief. She had been leaning close enough to feel Brian’s breath, but had been moved as he energetically leaned forward. Now she sat with arms crossed. Her narrowed eyes could have frozen a reliquary in its tracks.

  Brian suddenly scooped up the orb. “This is perfect! Zerathis, I’ll show you what I’ve got so far!” His voice was bright with excitement, words spilling over themselves. He half-turned in his seat, looking between Kaelalin and Simon, eyes gleaming with possibility. “That’s okay, right? If I take him back to the lab now? You don’t mind?”

  Simon stared, glancing between the two of them in utter disbelief. No way. No way he’s this dense.

  Simon opened his mouth, closed it again, then looked at Kaelalin. She sat stiffly, arms crossed, her expression carved from ice.

  “Sure,” she muttered, the single word clipped and frigid.

  Brian’s face was lit up like a kid on Christmas morning, hugging the orb close as stood and started walking to the door.

  “I can’t believe this. Actual firsthand knowledge of barrier stabilization! Do you know a–” his words fading as he strode for the exit, Zerathis glowing brighter in his hands.

  The inn’s door swung shut behind him, cutting off the glow as the pair vanished into town.

  A heavy silence hung in the air.

  Simon took a long drag from his mug, and then slowly turned towards Kaelalin. The Frost-kin inventor stared at the door, her intense gaze seeming to will the wooden construction to explode.

  “For how smart he is, he's really fucking dumb.” Simon said in disbelief.

  Her glare snapped to him, icy and dangerous, but after a long moment she exhaled through her nose and shook her head. “I had hoped it was because I have been too subtle with my intent.”

  Simon nearly choked on his drink. “Subtle? Kaelalin, you were close enough to fog his glasses. If that’s not obvious enough, I don’t know what is.”

  Before Kaelalin could reply, another voice cut in from behind the bar.

  “The boy is right.” Mira said as she cleaned a mug with practiced ease. “We have all watched you two together. The only way that man will realize is if you drag him from his work and into one of my rooms.”

  She stared at Kaelalin, then reached under the bar and carefully pulled a slab from beneath. She kept the rest hidden below the bar top, and exposed only a few inches.

  Written at the top was “Ember Rest Wager Board.” The next line read, “Kaelalin & Brian.”

  Simon nearly fell off his stool laughing, while Kaelalin’s eyes widened and she flushed purple.

  “You’re betting on that?” she squeaked out.

  “Not me,” Mira said smoothly, polishing the same mug. “Cyrus runs the odds. Let’s just say the board’s been… active.”

  Simon wiped a tear from his eye, grinning ear to ear. “Please, please tell me it's not too late for me to buy in.”

  Mira arched her brow. “Depends. Are you betting on Brian figuring it out before or after he proposes to that orb?”

  Kaelalin groaned and buried her face in her hands.

  “It’s alright Kaelalin, I’m sure it will work out.” Simon said, giving her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder as he stood. “On that glorious note, I think I’m going to call it early tonight. I could use a long night of sleep.”

  He moved past her and made his way towards the stairs.

  “Simon!” Mira’s voice called after him.

  “Hmm?” He paused and looked back at the innkeeper.

  “Emrick came by when you two were off. He asked for you to come by his shop when you can.” Her fingers flashed, and a folded piece of paper rocketed through the air. Simon fumbled and barely caught the projectile. Simon unfolded it, revealing a roughly drawn map of Varnholt detailing directions to Emrick's shop.

  “Thanks!” Simon replied with a nod. He grinned at the sight of Kaelalin still deep in her hands.

  Simon turned and made his way up the stairs and to his room. He fell into his bed and looked out the window at the fading light of the day.

  I wonder what Emrick wants?

  —— ? ——

  — AUTHOR NOTICE —

  Thanks for reading!

  ~TheBusyBard

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