Edwin stretched, cracking his neck as he prepared for his next montous task. Hed settled on a final location for his cabin and now needed to prepare the actual ground for his building. First up, digging out his foundations.
The soft topsoil was broken and hauled out, mounded next to Edwins kiln as it burned, making a set of smaller bowls that he could use for ingredients. He still had yet to figure out the origin of the black splotches on the generally reddish-brown earthenware, but that didnt matter. What did matter was that the soil was off to the side, but not so far as to be inaccessible in case he figured out a use for it later.
He kept having to dismiss the Digging skill, annoyingly, but he couldnt figure out how to blacklist a Skill from being offered. There had to be a way, right? Eh, he decided to just turn off notifications for the ti being, and check them all once he was done. He wasnt going to accept a Skill at the mont, though maybe soon, and this way he wouldnt be constantly annoyed by the popups.
He kept going through canteens of water, to the point where one bottle had barely cooled by the ti needed to down it all and Inion started to boil the next one. He didnt mind that much, though. It provided a good ti to catch his breath. Not that he ever actually needed to do so. He was almost tireless save for hunger and thirst, but the ntal break was still appreciated.
Not having to deal with muscle fatigue had its own benefits, though. Even as he- or more accurately, Inion- watched, the ground hed chosen to work on sank away, and the mound of discarded dirt grew larger and larger.
By the ti he stopped, he had dug nearly an entire foot down and cleared off all the loose dirt, leaving far rockier soil. It wasnt a perfect foundation, but it should work.
The first logs he rolled into place and set into place with copious amounts of sand and stone. Strangely, Packing seed to help him carry large amounts of loose objects which he wasnt expecting, but he guessed made sense? If piles of sand had less weight pulling them down, it did seem to fit that it wouldnt collapse as easily.
Once properly set into the ground, Edwin chopped notches into the dry wood, easily chipping into the tree trunk. On the side further from the stream, he made sure to include an additional notch into the wood, to account for his inner walls.
Then the day was over, and he joined Inion by the fire, gratefully accepting a final canteen of water.
You know, I have Skills to make my water more drinkable.
Edwin paused his frantic gulping to raise an eyebrow, And- he doubled over coughing as he swallowed a bit of water incorrectly. Inion looked at him with so concern, but he waved off her concern, Im fine, he croaked, Just failing at basic human tasks as always.
Much to his annoyance, though not to his surprise, Inion agreed eagerly with that sentint. He shot a glare at the naiad, who just laughed.
Anyway. As I was saying, why didnt you ntion that earlier?
Didnt ask, she shrugged, which just prompted another sigh- and another round of coughing- from Edwin.
With the foundation laid, the rest of the work was fairly routine, and day after day passed in basically the sa manner.
In the morning, he dug out his cured pottery and started up his kiln for the next batch. While he did still lose most of his would-be earthenware, he was proud of getting up to nearly a 40% success rate. The shards he kept off to the side for so unspecified future use.
Most of his day would then consist of carefully asuring and cutting his logs so they would fit together snugly. Two walls with three notches, two with two, and two with one. The hard part ca with the natural variation of thickness and the bumps and irregularities in the surface. Those inevitably interrupted the otherwise snug fit between the logs, and whenever he found one, Edwin needed to pull the log off where it was and whittle away the protrusion before returning the tree trunk.
His evenings were spent fashioning whatever pottery hed later fire in his kiln. About ten minutes downstream, hed found a giant bank of dried clay which proved perfect for his purposes, once hed retrieved enough of it.
By day 4, the walls were mostly assembled.
Day 5, he got the door cutout partially started, cutting just enough of a notch into one of the logs facing most of the adow, and started on the roof.
Day 6 involved assembling the roof, which proved trickier than he had anticipated. He didnt have enough small logs to form a full roof structure, he had to create sothing of a temporary skeleton with non-dry wood. Hed need to replace it eventually, but better the roof than part of the wall.
I dont suppose you have sothing you could do to help with the roof? Edwin asked as he and Inion were relaxing around the campfire that evening, I didnt adequately account for how much timber Id need for it, and Im just curious if you have an easy fix before I spend two days overthinking a solution.
Is that actual forethought that I sense there? the naiad ruffled Edwins hair, Im so proud of you!
Shaddup, his rebuttal, much like his efforts to swat Inions hand away, were halfhearted at most.
And I do! I have this really cool trick, you want to do it? I gotta get your say-so to give it a go!
Yes, please. Edwin had the sort of bone-deep weariness that only ca from endless days of hard work, nevermind that he felt just as physically capable as though he had only worked half a day. It was psychological, but he needed to get this in a usable state before he could take a break, just for his own sanity.
Hmmm. But I think that your Skills would benefit from doing it yourself now, wouldnt they? Inion cheerfully dashed his hopes, too late to prevent them from actually being ford.
Edwin let his head thud against the ground as he groaned, Well, Im just training two, maybe three of my Skills doing this. Once Im done Ill be training my other Skills. Arguably, he rolled his head to face the fey, Finishing this will be more helpful for my Skills than continuing to work on it.
Hmmm. Inion stroked her chin, Interesting argunt. I suppose I can almost see your point.
Edwin wasnt interested in gas, What do you want?
Hmmm. What do I want? Its been pretty entertaining watching you scramble around shirtless day after day, stacking sticks for your little ho, Inion teased, to which Edwin just rolled his eyes.
But I am interested to see what your next project will be after this. Saaayyyy tellya what, Ill do it, but you and I are going to sit down and go over your Skills tomorrow, ya? Also she pretended to think for a mont, Youre going to watch, and never share.
Edwin groaned, Really? After all this ti, now you want to go over it? Wouldnt it have made more sense to figure that out before my week of work? Also, watch what?
Inion shook her head, Nah. Well maybe. But I didnt feel like doing it then. Now I do!
He stared blankly at the fey. It could be so easy to forget she wasnt human at tis, but when she started yanking him around for whatever reason, it was always a stark reminder. Still, whatever her reasoning, this was ant to be her best effort, so that ant that
Nope. He didnt feel up to tracking whatever convoluted logic Inion had used, if it even could be traced. Edwin shook his head, Watch what? no response, Okay, sure. Fine, whatever. Just roof, please?
Inion hopped up with way too much enthusiasm and made a wide circle around the imposing wooden walls of his cabin. Then, she began to sing.
Oh, my drear, from the first words, her voice rang through the clearing, seeming to echo her stream, which fell silent- no, it just trickled in ti with a cadence which didnt match up to her words, but did to her singing Polyglot was throwing a fit, but Edwin didnt mind. She had a fantastic voice, Sing with , take ho.
Wind whistled through the woods as the grass near Inion began to writhe, swaying to her voice.
I see there the woods, I see there the thickets,
I see there the fair and most fertile of adows;
I see there the deer on the ground in the valleys
Hiding in mantles of mist.
Oh, my drear, Inion danced through the clearing, spinning joyously in contrast with the gentler tone of her lody. Edwins mana sense didnt light up in the way he was used to. There was no single source of magic here, yet this was undeniably sothing deep and primal. It felt like the entire forest was waking up and becoming magical. Sing with , take ho.
Any other ti, Edwin would have dismissed it as rely his imagination, but here and now? No, his new house was beginning to grow together, his carefully cut and fit logs fusing into one large shape. What had he gotten himself into?
Lofty mountains and resplendent ledges,
There dwell my own folk, kind folk of honor.
Light is my step as I leap up to et them;
'Tis with pleasure I'll stay there a while.
Oh, my drear, a soft, blue-green glow began to suffuse the area, and tiny fireflies- no, not fireflies. These were fairie lights, though he couldnt determine why he was so certain about that. It felt like he was intruding on sothing old, sothing ancient. Part of him wanted to flee, yet another part felt tied in place, like he was being welcod in and brought ho, Sing with , take ho.
Vines began to grow from the ground, around the base of his ho, and seed to almost snake their way up his carefully constructed cabin. Once they reached where the roof should be, they began to weave themselves between his sparse constructions and solidify, forming a leafy top to his ho.
Hail to the blue-green grassy hills;
Hail to the grandest skybound mountains;
Hail to the forests, hail to all there,
Content I would live there forever.
Oh, my drear, Inion rose into the air as she spun, feet stepping on the thinnest strands of grass as the fairie lights swirled around her. A warm breeze flowed through the area, coming from everywhere yet nowhere at once, Sing with , take ho.
Bark grew back upon the logs, undoing weeks of careful work Edwin had put into chopping, cutting, drying, and assembling all of that timber. He couldnt really feel mad, though. Instead, he was entranced. The song flowed through him as well, imbuing his very soul with energy and refreshing his body. At the front of the cabin a part of the wall lted away to create an empty doorfra, and the shape of the walls shifted slightly to fit more naturally into its surroundings. The disturbed earth from all across the adow smoothed out, growing grasses and delicate flowers as the harmonious magic seeped into every inch of his surroundings, a gentle glow suffusing everything in sight.
Let be among the trees, tall and proud;
Let dwell amidst the streams, unending and pure;
Let find myself beneath the endless skies, shining and bright,
For there Ill find myself a ho.
The song continued, but Polyglot began to fail him as the words lost individual aning and instead simply beca a lody telling an ancient story, of lost splendor and the beauty of a ti long gone.
His cabin well, to call it a cabin was misleading. His handiwork was still present, that much was clear. But it looked to be a living thing, reminiscent of what he had seen in the halflings village, yet so much more.
Edwin didnt know how long he sat, entranced by the harmony and lost in the fantastical, but by before Inion had even finished her song, night had fallen. Silver moonlight flitted through the trees, nary a beam striking the ground outside his clearing. And yet the naiad continued to dance, to a tune older than ti itself.
She opened her eyes, her gaze fixed upon Edwin, and she smiled, utterly inhuman in its perfection and allure. Behind Inions eyes, Edwin saw the calm, serene beauty of a forest glen, the wild majesty of an unstoppable waterfall, and the incomprehensibly massive scale of a mountain. Yet also the gentle call of birdsong in the morning, the soft fur of a rabbit, and the delicate colors of a budding wildflower.
There was a spark, and suddenly Inion felt Edwins comprehension, his appreciation, and finished her song, the final notes drifting through the air long past her actual voice had faded into mory.
Oh, my drear.
Sing with ,
take ho.
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