Construction Mage - Chapter 41: Caelan

AN: Better late than never! (Yeah, I fell asleep early the previous night and was behind a chapter)

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Four strong horses sped out of a forest, pulling along a luxurious carriage that was a full size or two larger than what was commonly seen. Even with eight passengers, the interior wasn’t cramped at all. One particularly important-looking man was even lying entirely on his back with a small table next to him full of refreshments. He had dull blonde hair and was resting his head on the lap of a woman.

The three armored knights sitting across from him didn’t bat an eye to the scene, as they were busy keeping watch over their surroundings. Combined with the knight steering the carriage, they had all four directions covered between them.

The only people paying attention to the haughty man were a stern-looking man in blue robes, the woman lending her thighs out as a pillow, and two other women who were both dressed in the same white and gold tunics as their peer.

A knock from the coachman prompted the serious man in blue to poke his head out of the window for a moment before turning to the evidently important individual lying in the carriage. 

“My prince, Ravenhold is within view,” he reported.

“Hm? Already? Well, that’s a good thing. Full speed ahead!” the man declared as he righted himself and stretched his neck. “I’ve just about had it with trees, mountains, and monsters.”

“About what his majesty would like investigated. I believe we should start w—”

“We can worry about that later, Hal. Let things come naturally first. You’re my head scholar for goddess’s sake. There are surely more subtle approaches you can take first. That goes for the rest of you,” the prince continued, giving his head attendant and head knight of his retinue a pointed look. “Relax. A good-for-nothing prince shouldn’t have such tense subordinates.”

They solemnly nodded, which restored a carefree smile on the prince’s face.

Their carriage soon arrived at the outer walls of Ravenhold, taking a moment to marvel at the incomplete wall as they slowed down to meet the guards. The guards barely stopped them at all before they passed through the gates. They had only shown them an accommodating smile, nothing like the typical guards who were ever vigilant.

“It seems like they have been expecting us. Their faction’s information network is not to be underestimated,” the prince commented, causing his knights to carry themselves with more vigilance than before.

“That may be so, my prince, but it doesn’t merit any change in our actions. We couldn’t justify our departure even if we wanted to,” the head scholar in blue robes reminded.

“Yes, yes. What do you think my reputation is for?”

Stretching his back as he yawned, the prince began scanning their surroundings more carefully. The road between the fourth and third ring was mostly empty, with only grass fields in sight. The only thing visible before them was a half-built church. Other than that, there were only a few pedestrians and the towering third ring before them. Perhaps because there was so little to see, the prince narrowed his eyes upon spotting another carriage in the distance, veering off the road onto the grass.

“Which family does that crest belong to?” he asked.

The scholar once more leaned out to get a better look.

“I’m not familiar with the family, but it should belong to a dungeon noble. There aren’t any particularly high-ranking dungeon nobles in Ravenhold, so my prince will probably have no use for their name.”

“Hmm, well, where do you think they’re going? There’s nothing out here yet, right? Savvy merchants or nobles, neither should bother with developing the land before the wall is almost complete, right?”

“I do not have an answer, my prince.”

“Oh, interesting! We shall find out with our own eyes, then!”

The head scholar, Hal, wearily shook his head but said nothing, and the carriage began following after the other carriage. Every member of the prince’s retinue was familiar enough with him not to bother arguing once his mind had been set.

With nothing but flat fields around them, it only took a small turn for them to spot a small, shoddy house in the middle of nowhere. It had been hidden by the curvature of the third ring, but once they turned, it stood out like a sore thumb. This only got the prince even more curious.

“My prince, you surely do not plan to follow after them unannounced?” the only middle-aged woman among the attendants said with genuine concern. “It is unbecoming of your stature, and stepping foot into such a crude building would dirty your clothes. We do not have time to wash them before your meeting with the city’s lord.”

“Who said I would be meeting him right away? He can wait for all I care.”

Ignoring his head attendant’s words, the prince leapt off the carriage and landed without a sound.

“I command you all to stay outside. Only I will enter. I leave it to Head Scholar Hal to placate the servants over there by their carriage.”

Every member of his retinue internally sighed upon hearing about their master’s familiar antics, but they were powerless to do anything. After all, their prince was a master of stealth, being one of the most powerful Delvers with the rogue class in the country. He could lose them whenever he wanted.

***

Clay and his guests froze with their hands on their weapons, as the situation conflicted with the commands from the veteran Delver. An intruder had suddenly appeared, but their companion urgently shouted to cease any hostilities. Thankfully, clear heads won out, as every one of them was smart enough to listen to the words of someone more experienced. 

“Woah, apologies. I didn’t mean to startle all of you,” the intruder said with a wry smile. “I mean you no harm. Let me introduce myself. My name is Caelan.”

An awkward second passed as everyone looked to Sylphira for a response. Her clear silver eyes inspected the man carefully while she put on a smile. After a moment of hesitation, she finally responded by curtsying. 

“Sylphira Myralis, at your service, milord. May I ask which family your esteemed self hail from?”

“I’m a bit self-conscious about it, so I hope you’ll forgive me for not saying. Anyway, about this indoor privy of yours? Consider me intrigued. Can I have a closer look?” His gaze turned to Clay with a knowing smile.

From how polite Sylphira had been acting, everyone had caught on by now that this man was some sort of high-ranking noble at this point. Clay naturally would never deny such a powerful figure.

“Of course. This way.”

Gesturing for Caelan to head into the bathroom first, the young man unhesitantly strode in, without minding the golem whatsoever. His gaze wandered from the strange privy and the water source in the corner.

“Show me how this works again, if you would be so kind.”

“Sure. It’s quite simple. You do your business here and pour water into it once you’re done.”

Once more, Clay drew a bucket of water from his water reservoir and demonstrated how to flush the toilet. The man with dull blonde hair stared at the water level rapidly declining with interest before glancing over to the reservoir. His eyes narrowed as he watched it be refilled.

“What is this here? The water is refilling by itself? Are those magic crystals fixed at the top there?”

“Yes. The wells are quite far from this remote location, so I splurged, buying water crystals instead. I can also burn some firewood down here to heat the water up. I believe it would be worthwhile once the weather turns cold,” Clay explained with more enthusiasm the longer he talked. “I call it a water heater.”

No one responded to him for a moment, so he turned around, fearing he had misspoken somehow. Contrary to what he expected, he found Darian’s group and the two veteran Delvers with strange looks on their face instead of the unfamiliar noble.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Clay, how come you didn’t show us this water heater at all? This is more like something I’d like back in my place. It sounds like it’ll be much more comfortable and convenient than going to the river after working up a sweat! How come I never thought to use water crystals that way?!” Dorgan shouted. “Wait, I know! I have a good-for-nothing water mage in my party clouding our judgement! You won’t believe how stingy she is with using her spells!”

“Mana management is what keeps us safe, you bonehead!” the mage in question retorted. “I would never carelessly use it for your comforts while in the dungeon. It could be the difference between us dying of thirst or not.”

The two veterans kept their bickering short as they quickly remembered about Caelan. The man seemed to have been enjoying the show, but once it was over, he turned back to Clay.

“I happen to need to use the privy. May I try it out?”

“Um, sure. This here is a seat if you need, otherwise you can simply stand before it.”

After awkwardly explaining how to use the toilet to another man, Clay quickly retreated with the others. He took down the thick canvas at the front door and hung it over the bathroom instead before joining the others outside the house.

He found Sylphira with her eyes wide, staring at the new carriage that had appeared. Clay didn’t find anything that shocking about it except for how luxurious it was, showcasing the man’s superior status. It was a full level above Sylphira’s and had fully armored knights guarding it.

As Clay drew near, Sylphira quietly whispered her revelation to their group.

“I couldn’t get a good look at the symbol on Caelan’s shirt before, but seeing his carriage, I’m almost certain about it now. That man bears the crest of the royal family!”

Strange noises leaked out as the Delvers tried to keep their voice down and cry out at the same time.

“Hmm, are you sure he’s not a distant relative or agent of a member of royalty instead?” Dorgan skeptically asked. “I thought the royal family all had white hair?”

Before anyone could answer him, a short cry drew their attention. It came from within the house, which currently only had one occupant.

Almost instantly, two of the nearby knights rushed inside, followed by the other Delvers.

Clay was one of the last ones to enter, as he couldn’t keep up with the powerful veterans or knights. He pushed past Darian to find the knights helping their prince up. Caelan had somehow half-fallen into the toilet. Thankfully, he still had his pants on, but it didn’t take away from the embarrassing sight of having his bottom stuck in the toilet bowl.

Shocked by the scene, his gaze slowly wandered over the scene after confirming the nobleman’s safety. There, on each side of the toilet, was a crescent-shaped piece of hardened earth and some bits of debris around them. Seeing this, Clay instantly realized what had happened, and his face paled.

Of all times, did the toilet seat have to break now?

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