Chapter 2.07

“This is amazing,” Adam said with his eyes wide after he slotted [Rune Engraving] into his [Aura Node]. Flint had rushed to meet his favourite smith as soon as he claimed the Heartstone’s gift. “The first aura softens surfaces when I apply engraving tools to them. Then it improves my speed and steadiness while I deal with runes.”

“What about the second one?” Flint asked, smiling. He liked the large, bearded smith’s expression as he stepped away from the Heartstone. It was one of wonder and excitement.

“[Runic Empowerment]. The Heartstone says it’s good for testing rune scripts and charging them, but I believe there’s more to it. If I understand the wording correctly, at higher ranks, it will let me supercharge runes and push them for greater effects.”

“Careful with such abilities,” Alais said, joining the pair. Flint suspected the old puck kept his eye on anyone approaching the Heartstone. He planned on giving the puck task of the record keeper. Now that Agatha was his assistant, she’d most likely do all the writing. It would help track everyone’s progress and make decisions regarding skill stone distribution easier. “Any spell that pushes an object or entity beyond its limit comes at a cost.”

Flint stepped back, letting the pair discuss the new ability. Adam’s eyes lit up as he discussed runes and mixing them with [Tinkering]. Adam was at least half a decade younger than him and had a much keener mind. His talent and imagination were a great asset for the fort. Flint was sure of it. He’d made Flint’s life easier in the fort ever since they had met. In fact, his trust for Adam was so great he hadn’t considered making the smith swear an oath. Instead, it was Adam’s decision to do so.

Adam didn’t care about politics or power. It was clear from day one that the big smith’s first priority was work. Now that he had creative freedom, Adam was thriving. As a result, Flint had left him off the council and let him focus on doing what he loved. Since Adam loved teaching and training people, too, anyone that learned under him would eventually become assets as well.

After spending most of the afternoon investigating the sewer network using the [City Planning Table], Flint sent a puck child to fetch Ed. The seventeen-year-old showed up sweaty and dirty but with a wide grin on his face. [Keen Eye] highlighted the blisters on his palms. It was clear to Flint that Ed had spent his day off practising [Earth Moulding] and [Throwing].

“Did you need me for something, Mr Flint?”

“I’m going to start one of the more challenging objectives of my life quest,” Flint said, pointing at the sand display atop the [City Planning Table]. “It’s not going to be easy. I’ll need you and all the builders on me with this.”

“Sanitation?” Ed’s brows furrowed as he ran a finger along the central pipeline and the collapsed sections. Several vertical drops connected parts of the fort to it, and there were similar points along the slope too, but most of them were clogged or crumbling. “It’s in bad shape, Mr Flint. Weren’t you planning on fixing the water supply first?”

Flint grinned, tossing the [Traversal] stone to him. Ed’s eyes widened as he snatched it out of the air. “I finished it already,” he said. “Alais gave me a couple of decent ideas with it too. We might be looking at a new food source too.”

“I’m not sure I want to eat anything that came out of the sewers,” Ed replied, studying the shimmering lights within the skill stone. “Is this for me?”

Flint nodded. “That’s a third-tier skill stone, and the Heartstone promises intermediate knowledge to the user. I don’t know what that means for a stone called [Traversal], but I reckon if you slot it in your [Aura Node], it will give you the speed and mobility you like.” Ed nodded and eagerly looked between Flint and the Heartstone. The younger man didn’t give in to temptation and waited for Flint to finish. “I reckon some people might get squeamish, but we can make the most of it. We’ll have methods of filling the sewers with an aquatic weed that simultaneously cleans greywater and provides food for the fish. I think we can deepen the moat and connect it to the sewers to make an excellent food source.”

“If you say so, Mr Flint.” Ed fidgeted as he spoke, making Flint chuckle.

“Go on, Ed. Use the stone. We’ll discuss my plans after.”

The following morning, all the builders assembled at the first moat. The sewers main pipeline ran directly under it. So, they started by digging directly under the bridge. First, they took the bridge apart and doubled the moat’s width. Then Flint used the instinct that came with [Architecture] to rebuild it using arch supports.

Thanks to Ed and the female builder with [Earth Moulding], building the initial framework was a breeze. Then it was a matter of tightening the shape and improving its structural integrity. Meanwhile, the remaining builders used their newly earned [Shape] spell to deepen the trench.

Completing the bridge took a couple of days, and then everybody started the digging together, speeding up the process. At fifteen feet depth, they found the pipe coming downhill from the fort. It was high enough for Flint to walk down it with Ed sitting on his shoulders—they tested it to get a rough idea of the size. The width matched the height, and Flint could see further blockages uphill.

The other builders uncovered the outlet pipe heading towards the gate after digging another five feet. Flint guessed he had damaged the outlet while digging the moat alone and building the pillars for the old bridge. He silently reprimanded himself for not testing the foundations too. If the structure collapsed while carrying a packed cart up or downhill, the fort’s residents could’ve gotten hurt.

After the bridge’s completion, Flint excused himself from building duties after lunch. He let the others continue with the digging and clear blockages along the main pipeline. Flint used the time to visit the front gate or the fort.

Following Winona’s advice, more hunting parties had formed. Initially, she wanted to split up the first team and reassign them to lead the new ones. However, Flint advised against it. They weren’t an army. After a short conversation with Jamie and Keen, he understood that the party had formed closed bonds. The group trusted and understood one another. Instead, Flint insisted Winona put together new groups and rotate who led them. Eventually, they wouldn’t need the first hunting party’s guidance and function well as individuals.

As construction continued, Flint visited the fort every other day. He checked on Adam’s progress and Twylip’s workshop. There were few hitches with getting the clothier’s workshop off the ground, but tinker-made equipment got them off to a good start. Training and base-material production took priority. Once everything was up and running, they’d first focus on clothing everyone in the base. Once that was settled, the tailors could look into production for trade.

Flint hoped they wouldn’t have to delay it for too long. He wanted to complete the life quest’s current three objectives as soon as possible. Just because things were calm and no one new attackers had appeared at their doorstep didn’t mean they were in the clear. Flint needed information regarding the next champion’s identity too. Equipping them with training, stones, and knowledge would help him finish the life quest sooner, reducing the weight on his shoulders.

Winona busied herself with everyone’s essence training. She and Flint saw each other in passing and talked on a semi-regular basis regarding the residents’ progress. Unfortunately, neither of them found the time or opportunity to resume what they had started. Whenever the pair tried to get some alone time in the evenings, someone or the other interrupted the pair. After a couple of days, Flint stopped trying to make something happen. He was much too tired to try after building all morning and then juggling everything else.

On the bright side, Flint found time for the dogs. The hounds still appeared apprehensive of him, but they still let him pet them from time to time. It was better than nothing. He practised using essence to fuel his empathic abilities and slowly worked on showing them memories of him and other dogs together. Meanwhile, he got to the root of their uncertainties. The dogs occasionally shared flashes of getting scratches from one of the Viking women. Images of her kicking them around or twisting their eat often followed.

Flint made a point of showing plenty of affection to the rest of the pack too. As the days passed, Maya got clingier. A lifetime of living around dogs had taught Flint that canine pregnancy normally lasted around nine weeks. It became apparent to Flint that the totems were speeding things along. Maya’s belly looked like it would pop any day, and she appeared ready to let her future pups suckle too.

As the build carried on into its second week, she stopped following Bjorn and the hounds into the field. Instead, she followed Flint to the mote and slept on the banks. Then she slowly waddled up and downhill after him. He showered her with affection in between using [Change Density] to harden the moat’s sides. Flint practised the other new [Alteration] abilities too but to a lesser extent. He wanted to be ready for whatever came next.

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