Ch: 120.3

For a moment, we weren’t trapped underground.

For a minuscule second, I wasn’t worried about fighting for my life.

It would be so easy to let the world fall away and pretend I was somewhere else— But I couldn’t.

I desperately wanted to forget all my troubles and thoroughly throw myself into my work, but that would be irresponsible. Still, I wouldn’t be me if I wasn't smiling while I worked.

The world could be crashing down around me, and I would still be smiling as long as I did what I loved. And what I loved was creating something new— something that matters, and this counted as that a thousand times over.

It was easy to lose track of time in the dark. At this point, I didn’t even know how long we'd been in the Endless Forest. So much had happened that it felt like years since I was back home in the village. I wanted to go home and see my family again; that's why I was putting everything I had into my work—My heart—My soul.

For the moment, we were safe. Technically, there was still a minuscule chance that we could be attacked down here, but we could only be so lucky.

If the winged serpent came down here looking for us, it would only benefit us. The twisting hallways were the perfect place to fight a flying foe. The space was big enough for us to move around unincumbered, but the same wouldn't hold true for the lesser dragon above.

Too bad the serpent would never fall for it.

If it were a mindless beast up there, it would've followed us when we escaped and tried to finish the job. The simple fact that it didn’t, plus how it cornered us when we first entered its territory, was more than enough proof that it was at least semi-intelligent, and that’s putting it mildly. If only we could—

“Damn,” I pause for a second to shake my head and clear my thoughts. Getting hung up on things I couldn’t control and spiraling won’t help anyone. I can't afford to lose focus, not here, not now.

“Get your shit together, Aaliyah,” I remind myself.

Refocusing on my work, I scanned the last few bricks I slotted into place, ensuring there were as few gaps as possible in the overall structure. I was in the process of creating something truly incredible, and I couldn't allow my mind to wander.

Arguably speaking, the shield I would craft might be the most important item I've ever made. It was more important than the arrows I crafted for Lady Pitz, more important than any weapon I’ve ever made, grander than any armor I've forged.

If I fail, it won’t be some random person I don’t know dying somewhere; it will be Tabitha and I.

No pressure.

On second thought, yes, pressure— All the pressure in the world, so long as I succeed.

Forging a proper shield for Tabitha was a big deal, so I took my time fashioning a proper forge or the best one I could with the materials available.

Sadly, to say I lacked the proper materials was the understatement of the century. I had countless grey bricks to work with and little else, but even when it came to the bricks, I was working on assumptions I couldn't adequately test.

I knew the bricks absorb small amounts of kinetic energy, the thing that made walking on them so annoying, but that was it. They're strong, capable of surviving a single strike from Tabitha. They sounded like the perfect material to turn into a shield on paper, yet they were anything but, even if I wanted to.

After interacting with the bricks for as long as we have, I've understood how they work. And while fascinating, the bricks weren't the salvation Tabitha and I desperately needed. For you see, the bricks only worked when they were grouped together.

Say I put my foot down on a single grey brick. Said brick absorbs a portion of the force behind my step, but unless it’s by itself, it isn’t the only brick that absorbs the energy. All bricks connected to the one I step on absorb a portion of that energy, and so on. In the end, the energy is evenly distributed throughout the entire structure.

Each brick slowly releases the energy it absorbs, but they have their limits. If the force is strong enough or concentrated enough, it can damage the bricks. Each crack and microfracture reduces the energy transfer between bricks, making them weaker with every high-powered strike.

If I wanted to make a shield out of the grey stone, it would essentially need to be a thick cube made from dozens of bricks, and even then, I don’t think there would be enough stone to reliably tank multiple strikes of Tabitha's strength, let alone the winged serpent waiting for us above.

Sure, Tabitha and I have the same strength stat, but neither of us could wield such a cumbersome shield attached to our arm. It would be even worse for Tabitha. A heavy shield would severely diminish her movement speed, the cornerstone of her fighting style.

The roots we dug up weren’t strong enough to work as a shield on their own, and the bricks, due to their size and weight, wouldn't work. In the end, I only had one option left.

I needed to melt the remnants of the skeleton's armor and work them into a proper shield, though that was easier said than done. I've long figured out how the grey bricks interact with kinetic energy, but now I was using them for something other than absorbing force.

I was working on the assumption that the grey bricks would act as a reliable insulator for my forge. Heat is just the movement of energy, after all, so if the bricks absorb energy, it stands to reason they absorb heat, too.

And that was the rub. I'll need almost all my mana to work the forge, so I couldn't spare any to test my theory. Sure, I summoned a small flame and held it against a brick, but that was hardly enough to see what would happen over a long period of time.

I don’t know how hot I’d need to get the fire to melt the armor scraps. For all I knew, they could require something ridiculous like a million degrees or something equally absurd. It'll have to be incredibly hot based on the fragments' strength; I knew that much. That they were still salvageable after who knows how long was a testament to that.

The forge I was carefully constructing needed to reach a temperature high enough to melt the metal and maintain that temperature for an extended period.

To remove all the impurities from the rusted metal, I will need to liquefy it, which is another can of worms I’ll eventually need to deal with. But first things first, I needed to finish the forge itself.

I lost track of how long Tabitha had been asleep, but it’s been over eight hours. In all the time she's been napping, I've almost finished the forge and was about to put the final touches on it.

Standing back, I look over my work with a sense of mild accomplishment. I’ve never had to build a forge from scratch before. Usually, that would excite me to do something new, but this time, it just made me nervous. I spent hours thinking about how to successfully fashion a forge with the materials available, which shows in the final product.

First, I had to be very selective about where I built it. I had built my forge on the patch of ground we exposed when we buried the skeletons. I felt terrible working on top of their grave, but it was a necessary evil.

I almost built my forge elsewhere, but because I didn’t rush into things and stopped to plan things out, I realized I couldn't just build it in any old place. If the grey bricks acted as I hoped they would, they would absorb the heat from the forge and contain it. But that also meant that if I built my forge anywhere else on top of the other bricks, the heat would be transferred to the entire structure, essentially doing the opposite of what I wanted.

That’s why I had to build my forge on top of the grave; it was the only place I could access the ground. For all intents and purposes, my forge was its own structure and wasn't connected to any of the other bricks in the hallway, meaning it shouldn’t lose the heat it absorbs.

I might have finished faster, but I had to stop occasionally and scan our surroundings. It was my duty to watch over Tabitha while she slept. She was counting on me; I couldn't let her down. That's why I noticed when she started to stir.

I sensed Tabitha slowly get up from my makeshift bed behind me. However, I mostly ignored her, choosing instead to continue working.

That said, I can’t help but call out a cheerful greeting as she walks towards me without looking in her direction, proving I could be observant when I wanted to. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

“What does my appearance have anything to do with my sleeping habits?” Tabitha was genuinely confused by my greeting but not surprised I sensed her approach.

“It’s nothing,” I giggle, making no attempt to hide that I found her reaction funny. But then it occurred to me that the tale of sleeping beauty wasn't some ground-breaking revelation I needed to keep secret, so with a smile, I turned and explained why I was laughing to Tabitha.

“Sleeping Beauty is the story of a princess cursed to sleep forever until true love’s kiss. I laughed because picturing you as a helpless princess was comical,” I sinker, hoping Tabitha didn’t take too much offense to the comparison.

“Why?” Tabitha calmly asks for clarification, slightly cocking her head to the side in confusion. “Why would you think comparing me to a princess is an insult?”

"Uh, because princesses are usually seen as frail and weak, and you're the opposite,” I hesitantly reply. Still, she didn't see it like I did based on how Tabitha’s expression subtly shifted during my explanation.

“But that’s wrong,” Tabitha deadpanned. “While royalty might not be physically impressive— except Scholl, of course— they more than make up for it with their skills. I don’t know where you got your information on princesses from, but it’s wrong.”

"It's just a story," I try to placate her, but apparently, her nap did more than just recharge her physically.

“It’s still wrong,” Tabitha didn’t let up. “You shouldn’t look down on royalty.”

“I’m not, jeez,” I roll my eyes in exasperation before turning around and continuing to work on my nearly completed forge.

Thankfully, Tabitha doesn't say anything further— on that subject. “You’ve been busy,” she casually remarks with little inflection while examining the budding forge I've spent the last five odd hours constructing.

“Don’t worry, I made sure to keep an eye on our surroundings,” I grumble as I set another grey brick into place, thinking she might have thought I got sucked into my work as I so often did.

“Of that, I have no doubt,” Tabitha briefly taped my shoulder as if to say 'good job.'

“Really?” I stupidly find myself asking, hoping I wasn’t just hearing what I wanted to.

“Really,’ Tabitha reassures me with a faint smile. “You’ve more than proven yourself. I could only sleep as long as I did because I knew you'd watch over me.”

“Wow, that means a lot, Tabitha,” I giddily grin in response to her praise.

“Don’t let it go to your head,” She reminded me a second later, spoiling the moment.

“Yeah, yeah,” I grumble as I place down another stone. It was like putting together a 3D puzzle. I only had dirt available to me instead of mortar, so it was imperative that the stones fit together as tightly as possible.

Tabitha watched me as I worked, only asking me questions when I paused. “How much more do you have?”

"I think—I'm just about done," I tell her, eyeballing my work. My finished product was only a few feet high by a few feet across. I didn’t want it big, as that would just require more heat. It was imperative it was just big enough for me to fit the metal scraps and the roots I would use for kindling, and I think I succeeded.

“Does that mean you’ll start making my shield?” Tabitha looked at me like a child in medieval armor—or at least what was left of it.

“Almost,” I told her as I picked up the largest grey brick I had set aside while building my forge. "If I start now, even if I manage to bring the forge up to temperature, the metal will melt into clumps. If I had a proper setup, that might not be a problem, but here, it would be disastrous."

“I see,” Tabitha nodded along with a straight face. “And that stone will solve this?”

“Hopefully.” It went unsaid that if this failed, we were likely screwed.

Using my knife, I carefully started to carve out small chunks of the stone. My goal was to make a makeshift crucible out of it. I was going to place it at the center of the forge and build my fire around it. Since it was made from force-absorbing rock, I hoped it would absorb the heat and help liquefy the metal.

Slowly but surely, I carved the rock in question. Its force-absorbing nature made things tricky, but because it wasn't connected to anything, I was able to overcome the stone's mystical properties.

Eventually, I had my crucible.

“Now?” Tabitha asked from my side where she had been hovering.

“Almost,” I told her as I set the crucible inside the forge. “We have one last piece of prep work to do. And this time, I’ll need your help.”

“What do you need?” It was almost imperceivable, but Tabitha’s rigid posture straightened further in excitement.

Walking over to the pile of roots we removed from digging out the grave, I grabbed the largest piece and held it up. "I have no idea how these will burn. They’re mostly dead from the death and poison mana from the undead and winged serpent, but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll work. This pile is a start, but we should walk around and try to collect as much as possible before I begin."

Roots had broken through at multiple points in the structure, so we wouldn't need to dig for them, but that wasn’t the biggest issue.

“That’ll use up a lot of energy," Tabitha noted. And that was the downside of my plan. Even dead, the roots were incredibly tough to cut through. Only Tabitha, with her sword, could do it, and gathering the amount of kindling I needed would be exhausting.

“I know,” I frowned.

"Is there any other way to make me a shield?" Tabitha calmly asked.

“Not anything that won’t break after the first hit.”

Tabitha and I exchanged looks; it was clear what we had to do. Without a shield, Tabitha wouldn't last five seconds against the winged serpent, and it went without saying that I wouldn't leave her behind. She needed a shield, end of story.

“Then let’s get going," Tabitha said as she stretched her recently recovered arms, her new scars shimmering in the glow of my light spell.

“Let’s,” I agreed. “Oh, one more thing,” I suddenly remembered. Moving over to our bags, I grabbed our waterskins. Between the two, we had a few mouthfuls of water left. “I sensed faint traces of water mana while you slept. It’s probably stagnant and full of all sorts of things, but I’ll take anything at this point.”

“Smart,” Tabitha nodded in approval. “I can boil what we collect while you make my shield.”

“Sounds like a plan. We might even be able to brew some tree tea,” I suggested playfully.

“Tree—Tea?”

Tabitha looked confused, so I explained what my father taught me. I told her some tree roots were edible, but we might use more energy digesting them than we get from eating them. My solution was boiling the roots in water, creating a slightly nutritious tea—you know, so long as it doesn't poison us.

“Interesting,” was all Tabitha said after I finished explaining my idea.

"I figure it's worth a shot, though I'm surprised you didn't know any of this," I teasingly smirked at Tabitha, who barely reacted.

“You forget we don’t have many trees in Scholl, and the ones we do have, we certainly don’t eat their roots,” Tabitha deadpanned.

“Come on, just say it’s a good idea,” I nudged her side as we started walking down the ruined stone corridor.

“It was an acceptable idea,” Tabitha noted, keeping her eyes forward.

“Boo,” I jokingly jeered. "As my teacher and superior, isn't it your job to keep my morale up?”

“You do that well enough yourself,” Tabitha didn’t rise to my taunting, but in the flickering light given off by my spell, I swear it looked like Tabitha was faintly smiling..... Must be my eyes.

It was fun bantering with Tabitha, and it did raise my spirits. The threat of death was literally looming overhead, but Tabitha's stone-like demeanor somehow made me feel better. No matter what we faced, she handled it with a cool head. She was my emotional rock, and I couldn’t thank her enough for being so.

Did that mean I would stop trying to chip away at her stony exterior—No, it did not. We were going to survive this together. And the first thing I would do once we were safe was hug Tabitha with all my might. I didn't care how she might react; I was doing it.

I would make it happen, and no wimpy lesser dragon was going to stop me.

**********

Hello world, no, I'm not dead. Many things have happened to me over the last few years, but I don't want to air all my dirty laundry. All I'll say is I finally took my mother’s advice and found professional help. I was skeptical of therapy from the beginning, but it’s really helped me.

She helped me work through some things, and I’ll admit, I’m still terrified of how people will react once I start posting again. I get significant anxiety just thinking about it, which kept me from writing, which only fed the cycle.

This is me breaking that cycle. I know people will be mad at me for going silent for so long, and they have every right to be. I was content to lock myself away, feeling bad about myself, but I no longer want to be that person.

The one thing that never changed was the ideas that would pop into my head. I don't know how frequently I'll post, but I’m writing again, and my therapist says that’s a start. So, this is me posting.

While I have your attention, I want to say this: If you’re dealing with anxiety or depression, talk to your health provider. I was amazed by the multiple options available, and all I needed to do was ask. If not, talk to a trusted family member or friend. It helps; trust me, I speak from experience.

A few other things to note: I'm not posting publicly until Feb 3. Before the new month, I’ll be adjusting all posts to meet the Patreon tiers; until then, every paid member will get asses to everything I post. I’ll also be posting something else.

My therapist told me to write anything to get started, and because I'm a big nerd, I chose to start writing a Harry Potter fanfic. I'm unsure if I'll ever post it on Royal Road, but because I crave validation and feedback, I'd like you all to read it and give me your options as betta readers. Keep an eye out for that; I should have it up soon.

Thank you for everything you've done for me and for being my driving force in getting back into what I love.