“Until we get more of that metal left to fashion any tools capable of cutting it, I don’t know what we’re going to do with it,” Jenkin said, waving a hand at the piece of wood. “But I don’t have any use for it; you can just hang onto it, for now, Lyrian, or toss it into the firepit, I guess.”
“I’ll hang onto it,” I replied putting the length of crystalline wood into my inventory. “It seems pretty durable; maybe I can make it into something useful when the time comes.”
“We’ll see,” Jenkins replied with a shrug before motioning to the door. “In either case, I’m going to get back to it. I’m clearing out a place in the storage room where we’ll store the rest of the branch as we cut it down.”
“Works for us,” I said, everyone echoing in assent.
“Wrapping up then, Léandre told you he’s gone for the next day?” Drace asked me as Jenkins gave us all a wave and turned to leave the room.
“He did,” I replied. “I’m covering for him with some of the construction going on in the town tomorrow.”
“Good, then I have a few more things to add onto that since I’m going to be busy with the dig for the next little while,” Drace said inclining his head towards the door. “Walk and talk to the Foundry? If I can get those picks today, we can keep working a bit longer.”
“Sure,” I answered hesitantly, starting to feel the walls around me closing in as more and more work was piled on top of me.
“Gotta crack the whip to make sure Lyr keeps moving,” Constantine chimed in elbowing me in the side as we started to move. “There’s too much to do to keep those crafting hands idle.”
“God forbid you actually pick up a tradeskill to help out,” I said dryly as the four of us left the room. “Then you might actually be useful to have around.”
“Sure, but at what cost?” Constantine replied, his voice taking on a mock dramatic tone. “Then I’ll end up like you, and everyone will want a piece of me! I won’t have a chance to turn around without someone asking me for something!”
“Maybe I should make you help Drace dig out that tunnel,” I retorted, seeing a look of panic cross the half-giant’s face.
“Lyr, no,” Drace said quickly. “He’ll cause a collapse within an hour. He’s a hazard to be around!”
“I’m not a hazard!” Constantine exclaimed. “Things just don’t always work out for me.”
“Don’t work out?” Thorne scoffed. “You nearly set Marlin’s lab on fire this morning!”
“Wait, what?” I said with alarm, glancing between Thorne and Constantine. “What is it with you and fire, Constantine?”
“How was I supposed to know that powder was flammable?” Constantine grumbled waving a hand at the dwarf. “It was in a plain box!”
“I told you it was flammable and not to leave it in direct sunlight! But what did you do…”
“How much is happening around here that I don’t hear about?” I turned my head to look at Drace while the bickering between Constantine and Thorne began to escalate.
“Do you really want to know the answer to that, Lyr?” The half-giant gave me a pointed look as we rounded the corner towards the Foundry.
“You know, on second thought…probably not.”
“Good,” Drace replied with a morbid laugh. “You’ll sleep better that way.”
Chapter 23
Friday, March 15th, 2047 - 7:34 am
How does Léandre do this every single day? The thought pounded through my already exhausted mind as me and half a dozen people strained to lift the framework of the fourth and final longhouse, the rope digging deep into my hands. Forcing myself a step forward, I felt Abaddon’s elbow brush my side, the large Arakssi’s muscles bulging as he bore down on his own rope. I still feel wiped out from all of yesterday’s work and today has barely even started!
“A little bit more!” Jenkins’ voice called out from behind us as we all continued to claw our way forward, grunts and curses filling the air. “There! That’s enough. Stop! Second team, hold the frame steady while we fix it in place!”
“Finally!” Abaddon gasped as the rope in both our hands went slack, and we turned back to look at the fruits of our labor. “All done!”
“That felt like the heaviest one yet.” I breathed, the sound of hammers filling the air as Jenkins and his assistants rushed in to stabilize what would become the entire side of the longhouse.
“We saved the biggessst house for last,” the lizardman breathed. “I feel our trip hunting today will be the easier part of our day.”
“Hah,” I couldn’t help but chuckle in agreement, my eye reflexively scanning all the settlers and Adventurers as I searched for a very specific Tul’Shar. “Hopefully, but you can never be sure with Léandre. By the time we come back, he might decide that we need to throw a fifth house up for good measure.”
Assuming he comes back, I added silently to myself as I didn’t see the man nearby, meaning that his avatar was likely still back at the Crafting Hall, working on the automated tasks that Léandre had assigned himself before logging off.
“Hrm, maybe,” Abaddon grunted as he rolled his shoulders. “But by then we should hopefully have more hands to go around.”
“Hopefully,” I said, Jenkins’s beckoning arm catching my eye as his team finished securing the framework. “Looks like I’m needed elsewhere. I’ll be back.”
“Sounds good,” Abaddon called, the large lizardman turning to walk towards a cluster of Adventurers and Townsfolk waiting for their next task. “I’m going to go sit for a moment. Call us over when you’re ready.”
Giving the Arakssi a grunt of acknowledgment, I jogged over to Jenkins, the man carefully inspecting the entirety of the framework, ensuring that it wouldn’t fall over once we moved onto the next stage of construction.
“Everything is looking good, Lyrian,” he told me the moment I came into range. “We can start moving in the rest of the smaller frames and start nailing it all together. I know you’re set to leave to the Tower today, but can I borrow you and the lizards for a bit longer? We’re going to need some muscle moving things around.”
“That’s not a problem, Jenkins,” I replied, glancing over the partially assembled longhouse myself. “We still have plenty of time before we’re set to leave and I’m hoping to catch Léandre before we do.”
“Alright, great,” Jenkins nodded, his eyes looking over the building and planning out his next steps. “Grab your team and start on the back half, I’ll work away up here with mine, we’ll meet somewhere in the middle.”
“Works for me,” I stated, before spinning on my heel and making my way back towards Abaddon and the others.
The next hour passed with a flurry of construction as we continued to work on building the longhouse, our enhanced strength and endurance allowing us to work faster and harder than any of us could have ever managed back in Reality.
Heavily muscled warriors carried massive planks that would have required a small crane to hoist, while deft rogues and scouts hammered nails with blinding speed and precision. Any injuries were swiftly mended by a pair of roaming priests, and more than one disaster was avoided by the timely intervention of a mage, catching a falling or shifting object with a Force Shield.
With the majority of the crew having already had several weeks of construction under their belt from other projects around the town, everyone knew what was expected of them, allowing the work to proceed steadily and without any serious complications.
We’re moving along faster than yesterday, I thought, silently measuring our progress and comparing it against our previous day’s effort, which to me already felt like a lifetime ago.
It had been an eye-opener for me to step into Léandre’s shoes for the first time yesterday, realizing just how much work he had taken upon himself to develop Aldford. It seemed that the man had an uncanny ability to be in multiple places at once, while simultaneously multi-tasking at each location and giving direction to those around him. I had found myself hard-pres
sed to keep up with all the work that he had left behind for me to manage as we completed the third longhouse and began to prepare the ground for the forth.
I hope he comes back, I repeated to myself for what had to be the hundredth time as I helped guide a heavy beam into place from high on the framework, held up high by the trembling arms of Helix, Abaddon, and Cadmus.
“That should do it!” I called down to the trio, after getting a thumbs-up from Myr and Huxley indicating that it was secure from their side. “You can let it go now.”
With a groan of relief, the three lizardmen gradually relaxed their grip on the thick length of wood that they had hoisted over their heads, each of them happy to see that it remained fixed firmly in place.
“Great! Now we just—” I started to say as I jumped back down to the ground, only to be interrupted by Constantine’s grumpy shout.
“Hey, Lyrian!” he called out as he entered the construction area and walked towards us, his expression already bearing a tired and annoyed slant to it. “Sorry to interrupt, but do you have a minute?”
“Uh, sure,” I replied as Constantine stepped in close to us and motioned for the Thunder Lizards to form a circle around us. “What’s up?”
“Stanton’s done his sulking and has called a meeting, right now, of course,” he said. “I have no idea what it’s about, just that he wants to discuss how we’re moving forward after our…disagreement the other day.”
“You think it’s a ruse?” Myr asked, her and all the other Thunder Lizards having been kept in the loop with Stanton’s antics.
“On some level, probably,” Constantine said. “But this time he’s invited Lazarus and his group to be part of it. I sent him a message asking him if he knew anything more about it, but apparently, he doesn’t.”
“Great,” I replied as I rubbed the sweat off my forehead. “Do we have anyone else in the meeting already?”
“Sierra and Halcyon are there right now,” he said. “Drace already left to go dig. Caius, Freya and the others are getting the wagon ready for our trip.”
“Alright,” I sighed, looking up at the rest of the group. “Can you guys manage here while I go sort this out? I’m really hoping that Léandre is going to show up soon…”
“We’ll manage,” Helix said confidently, giving me a toothy smile. “This isssn’t the first house we’ve helped build you know.”
“Thanks, guys,” I acknowledged as I stepped out of the group with Constantine and started to pick our way out of the construction site. Making sure to catch Jenkins’ attention as we left, I pointed to the Town Hall while mouthing Stanton’s name, only to have him nod in understanding while giving me a sympathetic look.
“I have to wonder just how oblivious Stanton is to how everyone perceives him,” I said to Constantine as we walked. “Even people who haven’t met him know that he’s an ass.”
“Word travels fast in a small place like this,” the rogue replied. “Plus, I’m sure everyone that had the pleasure of travelling with him probably got their fair dose.”
“I guess so,” I said half-heartedly while mentally trying to reach out to Amaranth and finding that he wasn’t in range of our mental link.
Must still be out hunting, I realized with a mental shrug, knowing that the cat had grown bored sitting around while I had spent the last two days crafting and building.
Moving with urgency, Constantine and I made our way back into the Town Hall and rushed up the stairs into the meeting room, the both of us silently wondering what Stanton wanted now. Pushing open the door, the room was already silent as we stepped through it, everyone turning to look at our arrival.
“Lyrian, thank you for coming on such short notice,” Stanton greeted with a calm aura of politeness that I would have never expected to hear from him, let alone after how we parted ways the other day. “I understand that you were busy this morning.”
“There’s always something to do,” I replied, completely caught off guard by his amicable disposition as I looked around the large table to see who else had been invited to the meeting.
Sitting to Stanton’s left was Veronia, with Lazarus, Sawyer and Ransom on the noble’s right. On the opposite side of the table, Sierra and Halcyon sat near Aldwin, leaving two empty seats for Constantine and me directly across from the noble.
“What was it exactly that you wanted to meet about?” I asked, moving to take a seat at the table, unable to help but notice that none of the Mages Guild members or Dyre were present at the meeting.
“I wanted to discuss what happened the other day at the ruins and how we can move forward from our last…conversation,” Stanton began, his bright eyes fixating solely on me as he spoke, immediately unsettling me with a piercing quality that I had never felt from the noble before. If I hadn’t known better, I would have almost imagined that there was someone other than the Stanton I knew sitting before me. “But I believe that before we can do that, a confession, of sorts, is in order. Events have progressed far enough for you all to be brought into the fold.”
“Huh?” I grunted with sudden confusion, glancing over at Constantine and Sierra on either side of me and seeing similar expressions on their faces. “What are you talking about, Stanton? Brought into what fold?”
“I will address that in a moment,” Stanton replied, holding up a single finger to keep any further questions at bay. “But until our conflict a few days ago we weren’t certain if you all could be trusted, and we needed to be sure where your loyalties truly were.”
“You didn’t trust us?” I exclaimed incredulously, unable to restrain myself after hearing what the man had just said. “That’s rich coming from you!”
“What is the meaning of this, Stanton?” Aldwin growled from the head of the table. “What exactly have you two done?”
“What we were sent here to do,” Veronia stated in a hard voice as she turned to regard Aldwin with an unreadable expression. “Ensure that Aldford stays free from any the other Noble Houses influence.”
“The other Houses?” Aldwin repeated, his eyes glancing between the pair. “What do they have to do with this?”
“Please, Fredric. Did you think that House Denarius would be the only House that would have an interest in a settlement this far beyond Eberia’s borders?” Stanton asked. “Or the only House with access to the Mages Guild to detect the ruptured Ley Line?”
“Ever since I was exiled from Eberia, I haven’t thought about any of the Houses, Stanton. Yours especially,” Aldwin spat viciously.
“Clearly,” Stanton replied. “But you are foolish to think that they haven’t been thinking about you, especially in light of what’s happened in Eberia of late.”
“Me?” Aldwin’s eyes widened with surprise. “Why in the world would they give a damn about me?”
Veronia grimaced at the Bann, her voice sounding hard as she spoke. “You know exactly why they would give a damn about you, Fredric.”
“You need to start explaining what the hell you’re talking about,” I interjected angrily as an all-too-familiar expression of resignation crossed Aldwin’s face at Veronia’s statement. “Because I for one am starting to lose my patience.”
“That includes us too,” Lazarus added from his side of the table, his voice matching mine as he twisted in his seat to look at the noble beside him. “What more have you been hiding from us?”
“Nothing more than you needed to know to play your part,” Stanton replied, turning his head towards Lazarus and his companions. “And you have done well enough, all things considered.”
“What does that—” Lazarus began to ask before Stanton cut him off, frustration finally entering the noble’s voice.
“Enough,” he announced sharply, raising his hand in the air to forestall any more questions. “Allow me to explain what I must first; then you can all ask the questions that are no doubt burning in your minds. These interruptions are doing nothing but wasting our time.”
Closing my mouth at my own question, I pushed d
own on the confusion and anger that was coursing through my mind, trying to calm myself as Stanton began to speak.
“As you all know, when I first arrived I announced myself as a House Denarius representative, here to check on our investment and bring news from Eberia, a role that perfectly fits everyone’s expectations of Lord Adrian Stanton’s abilities,” the man began to explain. “But what few people know, is that the original bearer of that name has been dead for over twenty years now, killed in a meaningless skirmish during The War.”
The man that we had just known as Stanton regarded us for a moment, letting his revelation sink in as our mouths dropped open in shock.
“Instead of letting his name die, House Denarius chose to keep it alive and allowed me the opportunity to cultivate it into a personality suitable to pass unnoticed among high society, enabling me to conduct House business that would best not be made public, if you understand my meaning.”
“So, let me get this straight,” Constantine said slowly, shaking his head from side to side. “All this time you have just been pretending to act like a pompous dick? Like some sort of act?”
“That is an exceptionally crude way to describe that persona, yet not entirely inaccurate,” Stanton replied inclining his head towards the rogue in acknowledgment. “People choose to see what they wish to see, and very few decide it worth the energy to look past an abrasive man such as Adrian Stanton.”
The man paused, letting a small smile creep across his face. “Yourselves included.”
“After all these years, you’ve been a damned House-Spy?” Aldwin accused, his voice sounding completely disgusted as he glared at the masquerading noble. “I can’t believe I was so blind! I would have never let you within the same room as the Prince had I known! Though it truly doesn’t surprise me to learn that Emilia has use for your kind!”
“As you no doubt know, Fredric. We prefer to be referred to as ‘Agents’ in polite company,” Stanton corrected, shifting his gaze towards the Bann. “And I wouldn’t have been much of one if I allowed you to find out what I was in the few chance meetings we had.”
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