AA3 60 - Fallout II

To Verdan’s surprise, it wasn’t that bad. There was some awkwardness and difficulty, but that was to be expected when Gar’Dru could only speak to Hursk.

The Chosen had been a little apprehensive at first, but Ciaran made an effort to be accommodating, and the others followed suit. In some ways, it made Verdan feel a little relieved that it was Osran who’d gone to bring Sebastian.

Of all the Chosen who’d come, Osran seemed the most closed-minded.

Talking through the requirements with Ciaran, Verdan was able to arrange for the Brecan and Fwyn to work together to form a raised area, with simply stone structures for them to use.

The premise wasn’t that far from what they’d been forced to make for the Darjee, but both representatives seemed eager for their people to have some way to repay the Kranjir.

Verdan offered to assist himself, but Hursk waved away the thought with a scowl, telling Verdan that he shouldn’t push himself so soon after a large battle.

Gwen’s stifled laughter as the old Fwyn, who was barely more than half Verdan’s height, told him off helped ease the last of the tension, especially as he did so in common, so everyone understood.

Many of the Brecan were beyond exhausted after their imprisonment, so the Fwyn would be picking up the bulk of the work, assisted by just a handful of the Brecan who were in better shape.

Once they agreed on that, they turned to decisions on what to do with the Darjee camp, but unsurprisingly, they resolved to wait for Sebastian’s input before any big decisions were made.

For now, a few squads of thearns would begin cataloguing everything so they would have at least the start of an inventory for when Ciaran’s father arrived.

The Chosen were the heroes of the Clans, but the Keepers were the true leaders.

“Very well,” Ciaran said as they came to the end of the meeting. “We have our work set out for us. Let’s get to it.”

Verdan nodded and got up from the tree stump he’d been sitting on with a slight wince as his back protested the abrupt change in position.

He’d spent far too long hunched over tending to wounds and healing people earlier, and the lingering aetherburn was enough to make him wary of healing himself to remove the issue.

With no immediate claims on his time and the lingering aetherburn making any spellcasting problematic, Verdan decided to simply go and watch the Fwyn and the Brecan work.

The Fwyn were as accomplished as any wizard at manipulating earth, and the longest part of the process was Hursk rounding up his people to get it done.

With the ease of long hours of practice, the Fwyn split into small work teams and took one tree at a time out of the designated area.

It was a strange process, with the dirt around the trees moving as a cohesive whole through its surroundings until it was out of the area.

“It keeps the trees alive and breaks up the ground, making the next steps easier for both us and the Brecan,” Hursk said in low imperial, the old Fwyn hobbling over and forming a mound of earth next to Verdan with a wave of his hand.

“Oh, I’m aware,” Verdan said distantly, thinking back to when he’d last seen such practices. It had been a long, long time ago. “It’s good to see all this again, to see some co-operation between species.”

“Statements like that set you apart from the other humans,” Hursk said with a raspy laugh as he perched onto the mound he’d made. “As far as I’m aware, Hobson’s Point is the only place where Fwyn work alongside your people. Even then, they are restricted.”

“I am doing what I can,” Verdan said with a slight shrug, restraining the urge to sigh heavily.

“And you’ve achieved no small amount of success,” Hursk said, gesturing to the working Fwyn in front of them. “My people would welcome working with humans once more. It is part of why we are helping. Personally, though, I wish for more than just working together.”

Verdan considered the old Fwyn for a moment before taking the bait. “And what is it that you wish for?”

“A new Enclave, a place of safety for all, regardless of species,” Hursk said, his wide mouth spreading into a grin that revealed dozens of small teeth. “Gar’Dru wishes the same for his people, and we both know that the Brecan would flock to such a promise. They despise the chaos and violence that is so easily found these days.”

“An Enclave,” Verdan echoed as he envisioned just what such a place would look like. Hobson’s Point was a good example, but it was built for humans, and what Hursk was suggesting would need to be designed from the ground up for other species. “A worthy endeavour. Where would you build it?”

“That is one of the many issues we face,” Hursk said, his grin fading as he turned back to his working brethren. “With time, we could build the framework of what we want anywhere, but we would have no way to keep hold of it. We can fight, but we’re not good at it.”

“Why do I feel like you’re telling me this for a reason.”

“Because you’re no fool,” Hursk said, his grin briefly returning. “I speak for all of those who were captured when I say this is what we desire, and I believe the same is true of Gruthka and the others. The next Rising threatens to kill all of us if we fail to prepare. That is as much true for you as it is for us.”

“You want me to join this, to help you build it,” Verdan said, his eyes widening as he realised what Hursk was pushing for.

“I do,” the Fwyn said, his dark eyes unreadable as he looked up at Verdan. “Who would join such a venture led by Fwyn, and how many more would join if led by you?”

“You overestimate my impact, I think,” Verdan said in a dry tone.

“You underestimate how much attention you have received with your efforts so far,” Hursk said, holding up a hand before Verdan could speak. “Not with the humans, not with this battle with the Sects. I mean with other species. You are aided by Airta, Fwyn, Idrisyr, and now Brecan. Such efforts will not go unnoticed.”

“I appreciate what you’re saying, but I’m not interested,” Verdan said firmly as he got to his feet. “I applaud your effort to create this new Enclave, and I will happily support you, but I can’t lead it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Hursk said, slumping down on his mound slightly. “I will not push you on it again, but please, think about what we’ve discussed today.”

Verdan nodded before leaving the old Fwyn and heading off to find Kai. It was time to check on how the Sorcerer was healing, and Verdan needed to do something to help him process all of that.

It wasn’t that he disliked the idea; in truth, he thought it was exactly what they all needed. He’d been honest when he said that he’d support in any way he could short of leading it.

Verdan was happy with Hobson’s Point, happy with how it was growing, and they were all working together. He felt obligated to see things through after everything that had happened.

Helping Hursk make a new Enclave wouldn’t work; Verdan would end up spending most of his time travelling back and forth between the two.

If there was some way to let him do both, Verdan would be more interested, and he resolved to make his thoughts clear to the Fwyn once he’d had time to think it all over a bit more.

For now, though, he wanted to check in on Kai.

-**-

The Sorcerer was helping catalogue all of the supplies when Verdan found him. He’d made Kai put his injured arm into a makeshift sling to stop him from using it, but the stubborn Sorcerer was still working with his other hand.

“I told you to take it easy, damn it,” Verdan called out as he saw Kai help someone carry a long wooden box off to one side. “This is not taking it easy!”

Kai carefully lowered the box into place and nodded to the Kranjir he’d been helping before stepping away to speak to Verdan. “I’m being careful, but I can no more stand by idle than you can.”

Verdan’s eyes narrowed, but Kai’s point was well taken. “Fine, just take a seat over here so I can examine you.”

Kai did as Verdan asked, sitting down on a piece of rubble from where the side of a warehouse had been damaged. “I heard that the Fwyn are going to be helping set up a camp. Is that your doing?”

“Partially,” Verdan said absently, his focus mainly on Kai as he stretched his Aether senses out and examined the wound. “How does your arm feel? Have you tried moving it?”

“It aches almost constantly and hurts to move. When I did try moving it, it felt odd and moved jerkily unless I focused on what I was doing.”

“Hmm,” Verdan rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he felt the lingering presence of Malfease in the wound. He’d tried to clean it out as best he could, and he’d cut off the worst parts, but he must have missed some, and it had interfered.

Verdan had no way of seeing how well the healing was going beneath the surface, but it sounded good. The biggest issues right now would be the flesh dying or the nerves not reconnecting properly.

The lack of fine control was within Verdan’s expectations, but he had a feeling that the lingering abyssal energy would slow down Kai’s recovery.

Verdan’s healing spells had destroyed the majority of the foul energy, but a portion was left in subtle knots, much like he’d seen with Natalia.

Tomorrow, once Verdan’s Aetherburn had receded somewhat, he’d burn them out individually. The effects would linger for a time, but he was confident that Kai would make a full recovery.

All in all, it was not a bad result, given Verdan’s inexperience with the method. The biggest difficulty now would be making Kai take it easy.