Chapter 2.08

“I need support here, Mr Flint!” Ed yelled from deeper in the pipe leading uphill. He had his hands pressed to the ceiling, and Flint could see dust raining on him from the surrounding cracks. The young man’s voice shook and rose in pitch as he called. “I can’t hold this much longer.”

“You’re panicking, Ed,” Flint called. “Keep your focus and control your essence flow. I’ll be with you in a second.”

Flint cast [Animate Totem] on the seven glowing spheres at his feet. He’d shaped them out of stone at the moat’s base and balanced them on top of one another like a pillar. As expected, [Totem of Healing] had covered all three of them with luminescent green vines. Now, as he animated the structure and gave it instructions, they rolled forward, looking like a giant caterpillar. They stood up after moving past Ed, forming a V-shape and held the shaky roof up with him.

“Now shape the stone to close the cracks, and I’ll be with you in a moment.” Flint returned his attention to the other builders and assisted them with their new digging project.

After several hours of planning, Flint had made plans to change the moat’s inlet pipe. He didn’t want the aquatic weed’s root system to damage the stonework. So, they were to turn the long cylinder into a key shape.

The five builders worked in three teams. Ed led the pack using [Earth Moulding] to clear out blockages and cracks. Flint followed him, providing support with [Animate Golem] and [Change Density] to harden the cylinder’s top half. He let the ability go deep, strengthening the stone beyond the external layer as well. Finally, the remaining builders followed him, cutting a deep rectangle out of the cylinder’s lower half.

Before opening the sewer system, Flint planned on filling the rectangle with dirt so weeds would have something to hold on to. Meanwhile, the outlet into the moat remained a circle. He didn’t want too much soil leaking into the moat. They’d fill the trench with dirt too, but Flint planned on filling it with different aquatic flora, giving the fish a choice of food. Alais claimed greywater weed was all that the fish would need, but he wanted to provide them with a choice of food as they swam up and down into the pipe and the sewer.

Halfway through the second week of construction, they reached a long rectangular room made from a much darker stone. Head-sized holes dotted the ceiling, and the remnants of the old sewer covered the floor.  And the floor started five feet below the pipe. Going by the distance to the moat, Flint guessed they had reached the fort. It was likely the room that ran directly under the hallway, which connected the slope to Lea’s Slumber. It probably sat at the same level as the waterways, if not a bit lower.

After feeling the texture and knocking the surface with his knuckles, Flint guessed the old builders had used a denser stone for its construction. It was likely the grand basement full of tall pillars and doors, as well as the sword chamber sat somewhere above him.

“I reckon they used harder stone to build this bit,” Ed said, picking at a patch on the wall, revealing runes covered into the walls. “Why would anyone carve runes here?”

“I guess they didn’t want to risk invaders sneaking up the sewers and digging their way up,” Flint replied. “This place is perfect for most of the Greywater weed. It should clean most of the water before it enters the pipe. Then the remaining weeds should filter out whatever comes from the other homes. I want the water to be as clean as possible before it reaches the moat.”

“Do you really think they’ll be that powerful?”

“Alais says they form a natural filter, stopping most wastage and are extremely potent. Believe me, I don’t want the fish swimming through every body’s shit and piss.” Flint chuckled. “Apparently, greywater weed forms as thick bushes and sucks everything in. They don’t grow tall, so we won’t risk blockages. It will clean most of the water before it enters the pipe.”

“What’s going to stop the fish from swimming in here—”

“A grate, of course! We want to limit where the fish swim. There will be a grate at this room’s exit so they can’t enter this area. Then we’ll place another one at regular intervals in the exit pipe too. I’d rather the fist stay mostly in the moat and the pipes above it.”

Ed didn’t appear convinced. Flint didn’t push the matter since he wasn’t either. It was Alais’s idea, after all, and he trusted the old puck’s assurances. The fish wouldn’t end up with waste in their stomachs and blood. The fae keeps in the Wyld’s lands relied on the greywater weed to keep their wastewater clean. As creatures attuned to nature, they valued the importance of not dirtying the local habitat with their waste. Since Alais has taken over as the council’s advisor, Flint wanted to project a united front.

The builders completed their work on all the pipelines above the moat by the end of the second week. The lower half needed a lot less work. They no longer needed most of the holes connecting the homes to the main pipe. Flint ensured that the builders’ and guards’ quarters connected, though.

The pipe’s incline got steeper the deeper they went, and Flint could hear rushing water in the distance. He guessed the old sewage fed into an underground river in the distance. Perhaps one of its streams connected to the well by his quarters. It would take the builders a while to get there, but he looked forward to discovering whatever lay below them.

Halfway through the work’s third week, Maya’s whining kept Flint away from the worksite. He guessed she was too uncomfortable to walk or downhill. She wanted to lay in the sun and not go anywhere. Assuming that she wasn’t far from popping, he stayed with her, providing the company Maya needed. He let the sheepdog relax with her head on his lap.

After breakfast, Bjorn expressed his concern through the empathic link. Flint sensed hesitation. The snowdog didn’t know whether he wanted to hunt with the hounds or stay with his mate. Much to Flint’s surprise, he all of a sudden didn’t just sense what the dogs wanted to communicate to him but could understand their individual exchanges as well. Maya urged Bjorn to go. It felt as if she told him that he’d have to stay put with her once the pups came. He needed to make up for all the running around he’d miss now.

In the end, Bjorn went out, and Maya snuggled up next to Flint. He could sense her discomfort and annoyance at being immobile. She wanted her pups out to spend time with them and escape the pain. Flint couldn’t do anything to help besides keeping her distracted.

While sitting around with his favourite girl, he practised [Transmute] and [Animate Golem]. First, Flint created a [Totem of Healing] out of two fist-sized stone spheres. Then he placed them like a pillar, used [Transmute] to turn them into iron and then animated them. While the stones danced and rolled around Maya, keeping her amused, he timed the abilities.

[Transmute] only lasted half a minute using the standard essence requirements. Flint guessed he could push the duration longer by feeding the transformation more energy. While studying how his essence worked, Flint had figured out that most abilities fed on three distant streams. One activated the ability and controlled the output power. Another judged the duration. The final stream controlled both and maintained their flow. Since [Transmute]’s duration wasn’t particularly long, Flint had tasked himself with figuring out time lasted with the minimum essence cost. Then he gradually increased it in increments of the minimum’s quarter and compared it to duration. The cost added up quickly for decreasing returns suggesting the ability needed rank-ups for better returns.

Flint could only think of one use for the ability in battle. Adam’s gun only needed an iron or Aetherite pellet to do its job. Occasionally, they’d need to recharge the Aether Crystal after extended use, but it had no other requirements. If Flint ever ran out of pellets during battle, he could create one during [Shape], then use [Transmute] to temporarily transform it into metal before firing.

Due to the half-a-minute duration, Flint couldn’t prepare several in advance. However, it would serve brilliantly during emergencies or when their duration ended.

Meanwhile, [Animate Golem] lasted for an hour after every cast. The duration meant Flint could use them during future attacks and not have to worry about draining his essence. Flint wondered whether he could turn a wooden cart into a golem too. It would make life easier for a lot of people.

Around lunch, when Flint was on the verge of running out of essence, Maya went into labour, and puppies started popping out of her one by one.

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