"What do you think?" Felix asked, coming to stop next to Gillador. The architect grunted as he scanned the thick vegetation that surrounded the Sanctuary.

"Too much damn work, that's what I think."

Felix frowned. "You don't think this is a good idea?"

"I didn't say that! Don't be going and putting words into my mouth, boy." Gillador turned his gaze to him. "But I don't have time to manage this–"

"I do."

Both Felix and Gillador looked over to see a dwarf approaching. They were dressed up in fancy, silken clothes.

"Hargoth," the architect hissed, his eyes narrowing. "Ya think ya can build a town? Here? Hah! There ain't much stone for you to work!"

"Oh? And you think that only elves build with wood?" The dwarf, Hargoth, came to a stop before them, mirroring Gillador's expression. "Have you not seen the Outpost? It is predominantly wood."

"Humph! That ain't the only problem." The elf pointed to the thick vegetation. "It'd take a crew of a hundred weeks to clear that out. And we don't have weeks, the clearing is already at capacity. We need to start building now."

The dwarf crossed his arms. "No… It'd take you weeks to clear that out. I could manage it in a few days' time."

"A few days?! Now that I'd like to see!"

Felix rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as the debate continued. He had no idea who this dwarf was, save for his name and the fact that Gillador knew him. However, as the argument turned into a staring contest, he saw his chance to find out.

"Um, if I'm allowed to interject for a moment… Who are you?" he asked the dwarf.

"A hack and a liar–" The architect started to rant but was quickly cut off.

"Don't listen to him! This elf is all washed up! Hasn't built anything in a decade, at least! But I, on the other hand, am a Mastercrafter." He broke eye-contact with Gillador before giving Felix a dramatic bow.

"The name is Hargoth, and I specialize in construction–"

"In dwarven construction," the elf quipped.

"In construction," the Mastercrafter hissed before continuing his greeting. "I am responsible for many innovations, including–"

"Nobody cares."

Both of them returned to staring daggers at each other…

Gods help me. It took all of Felix's strength to not react to this display. "Right… Well it is a pleasure to meet you, Hargoth. Anyway, you said you could clear this area in a few days? Can I ask how?"

The dwarf perked up, but never quite took his eyes off of Gillador. "Certainly. If we use the gnomes' golems, that would save us a lot of time. But that isn't all, we dwarves have a few contraptions of our own… If we combine the two, clearing all this vegetation won't take that long. We'll have this whole area cleared and leveled in three days."

"Contraptions?" Felix questioned, hung up on the word.

"Ah! You aren't familiar with dwarven innovations–"

The elf scoffed. "Innovations, he says… I'll believe it when I see it."

"You're just mad we don't sell them. There's a good reason for that, you know!"

"Wait!" Felix shouted, hoping to interject before another argument started. "What are your contraptions and why can't you sell them?"

The Mastercrafter finally broke eye-contact with the architect and focused solely on him. "We have many contraptions, most are hand-held drills meant for mining. They're powered by mana crystals."

Felix's eyes widened in surprise. "But… But mana crystals are rare."

"Exactly!" The dwarf gave a satisfied look over to the elf. "See, Felix gets it. That's why we can't sell them. We barely mine enough for our uses. Besides, creating these contraptions is expensive. The amount of expert enchanting makes them difficult to produce."

"If that is the case, why are you willing to use them here?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

He thought about it for a moment. The dwarves and gnomes are already building an outpost… But why– "You want access to the eggs."

Hargoth gave him a smile. "Exactly. Don't get us wrong, we know you are selective. However, we want in on this and many of us regret being so cautious."

"I see… But you should know, I never intended on stopping any dwarves from trying. There is a selection process, but that is based on the individual. And, ultimately, it's up to the eggs. If none chooses you, then sorry."

For once, the dwarf seemed to relax. "I am glad to hear that, and all the more reason we should use our precious resources on this endeavor. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can send candidates."

Felix nodded in agreement. "We still have a major threat to deal with…" He decided to not finish his sentence.

"Indeed… Well, what say you? Think I can handle this? We'll need to wait until we can get our contraptions, but I can start working on plans immediately."

"Gillador? What do you say? You know more about all this than me." Felix gave the elf a wary glance, worried he would start another argument.

"Humph, let him knock himself out– But I want to be consulted! I might have a few ideas…"

Works for me, he thought with a shrug. "Sure." He brought his attention back to Hargoth. "I don't mind you taking charge on this, but–"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I heard. Don't worry, despite our bickering, I…" The dwarf gagged. "Respect him."

"Great." I think? He held back from shaking his head. "Then I will let Oralyn know so we can come to a vote."

Felix quickly made his escape…

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yedril felt terrible. Despite being in such a fascinating place, he couldn't help but regret what happened to Zarrina. She was still whimpering and her misery echoed across their bond.

He wished he could be back down in the Sanctuary with her.

"You worried about your partner?" his sister asked, nudging him with an elbow.

"Yeah… What about you?" He looked up to Solanna.

"Pissed– At myself. I knew, knew that would happen. I remember how Kyrith and Zira were when we were transported to the manor."

He cracked a half-smile. "Not mad at Felix?"

"Because he forgot as well? He does share some blame but as Lorem put it, 'we are all responsible.' I think he's right, but the four of us share more of it."

Yedril nodded along until he heard someone approaching. Glancing up, he saw a familiar face…

"Solanna! Yedril! I finally get some time to see you!" Chief Oslen shouted, giving them a wide grin.

Shit… If he was being honest, Yedril had been avoiding his former Chief. He no longer saw himself as part of their tribe. Not to mention–

"Chief Oslen… It's great to see you again," Solanna answered stiffly.

"I can't believe it… You two managed to hatch a dragon! I can't say how surprised and impressed I am." The Chief looked to Yedril. "And I can't believe you made it all the way to Bernel by yourselves."

He went on, "When I heard from your parents what you did, I feared the worst. But when I made it to the village and learned about everything… I couldn't help but feel relieved. Then that's when all the Chiefs learned what you did. Master Aluin told us, and I… I…"

Without warning, he threw open his arms only to pull them into a bear hug.

Both siblings cried out in between gasping breaths.

"C-Chief…Oslen…"

"Please! You're…"

"Can't breathe!"

They were released and both nearly collapsed, only by clinging onto themselves were they able to remain standing.

"Sorry! But I am just so glad you two are alive and well, especially you, Yedril!" Chief Oslen's expression flipped and immediately became serious. "But tell me, have you been cured?"

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Yedril answered. "Not…exactly. But, I haven't had an episode since I hatched Zarrina. Actually… Since then, I've been able to do some magic."

"Really?! That's great news! Your parents will be absolutely thrilled to hear that! They've been worried sick!"

At the mention of their parents the siblings suddenly went rigid.

"How… How are they doing?" Solanna asked nervously.

Chief Oslen frowned. "I won't lie. They were a wreck when I went to deliver your letter. But that completely changed the moment they read it. They are just happy you two are alive and doing well."

Yedril breathed a sigh of relief. Meanwhile his sister spoke, doing her best to be diplomatic. "We had our reasons."

"I know, and they know. But it still tore them apart. I hope you will remember that when they get here–"

"They're coming here?!" Yedril blurted out.

The Chief nodded. "I tried to stop them, but they…" He shuddered. "Let's just say, the Hells aren't enough to stop your mother. They are coming."

Seeing his reaction, Yedril was amazed at how scared Chief Oslen was of their mother. He's not scared of anything… The Chief was known for being friendly, yet anyone who screwed with his tribe was met by his wrath.

Solanna swallowed. "We are so screwed…"

Yedril couldn't help but agree.

The Chief waved their fears away. "Come now, I doubt they will kill you. I think, by now, they realize they can't keep you home anymore. With that said… I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to stay here."

The siblings shared a look. That wasn't exactly the worst thing to hear, but it did leave them wondering…

"What about their home?" Solanna asked first, beating Yedril.

"Your home? They will probably abandon it, I suppose. It was only built because of Yedril. Now that he's no longer there, it's no longer needed. But, here? This place? They will want to be close by."

Hearing those words gave Yedril mixed feelings. On one hand, he always wanted to get away from there. But on the other hand, it was where he grew up. He had memories there…

Maybe if they no longer want it, I can take it. It won't be too long before Zarrina will be strong enough for us to fly together. Even if he didn't use it all that much, having a place far away and private sounded good.

"Anyway, anything new since your letter?" Chief Oslen gave them a wry smile. "Meet anyone…special?"

Yedril shook his head, but curiously Solanna looked torn. The Chief noticed too.

"That look tells me you have. Who is it?" Oslen pushed, lowering himself as if to gossip.

"It's uh… It's complicated," she admitted.

"Hold on! You told me– OWE!"

Solanna smacked him on the side of the head. "It isn't any of your business! Besides, it happened after you asked me."

It happened after? he thought while rubbing the spot she slapped. Suddenly it clicked. "Wait! Don't tell me you had a moonlight– GODS DAMN IT!"

"NO! No… That's not what I meant." She took a deep breath, rubbing her hand as if she hurt it. She brought her focus to Chief Oslen, who was laughing too hard at the friendly sibling interaction.

"A hunter named Julous asked if I was seeing anyone. He wanted to court me."

Settling down, the Chief frowned. "Sounds a little blunt, personally. But what did you say?"

"I didn't have time to answer, something came up and everyone got distracted. It's been a few days since then, but… But neither of us have had a moment to talk. Everything has picked back up since the attack."

Oslen nodded sagely. "I get it, it can be awkward. Let me ask you this, do you like him?"

"I do," she admitted.

"Then you should make time to speak with him. Even if it goes nowhere, it's better than standing here wondering."

Yedril stood there silently. He knew this wasn't a time to make a jab at his sister, never mind that he had already been slapped twice… Still, this was a new development and he was curious where this would go.

"I know…" Solanna looked as he felt, chastised.

"Then do it. Once we're done here, go and seek him out. Tell him your answer, tell him how you feel. I'd hate to see you miserable because you missed your chance."

She nodded and Yedril found the courage to pat her on the shoulder. "And if he breaks your heart– WILL YOU STOP THAT! I WAS TRYING TO COMFORT YOU!"

He felt a knot forming on the back of his head.

"As if I need my younger brother to protect me…" She huffed before letting a smile show. "But thank you."

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