by Eric Vall
“Uhh,” Alyona looked at the giant horses next to Afra, “I think so? I’ve never really been around animals.”
“I have a better idea,” I spoke up, and Afra turned to me. “I can create small trenches that lead off the aqueducts to water the fields. It would save you a lot of time and allow you to focus more on the expansion. I did a smaller version of this before, remember? It was before the architects arrived, when we were using the water tank for the tiny herb garden we had in the old ruined houses.”
Afra’s eyes went wide. “That’s right! With how much we’ve changed, moved, and remodeled the farms in the last few months, I completely forgot. That would be incredible, though, Lord Evan. Thank you!”
“Okay, it shouldn’t take me too long.” I nodded.
“You’re going to make them now?” she asked, and her mouth gaped open in surprise.
“Better sooner than later, right?” I smirked.
“I guess you have a point there,” Afra giggled and shook her head.
“How about you show me where the best place for the channels would be, and we can get started.”
“Just let me tie these two up real quick so they don’t run off,” she said and gestured to the horses next to her.
“Alright,” I replied with a nod.
The young fox led the horses over to a wooden bar and tied the leather straps to the post. Then she pulled on the straps aggressively to ensure they were tight before she returned to us.
“Okay, let’s start over here,” Afra said with a broad smile. She led us to the farthest field and marked a shallow hole in the soil with the toe of her foot. “We can start here and have it run through the middle of the farm.”
I nodded and focused on my magic. Then I pictured the loose soil breaking underneath my power and along the small path Afra had marked. It took a few minutes, but finally my magic responded, and the earth cracked beneath us. A shallow trench spread across the field, and I turned to Afra and Alyona with a grin.
“One down,” I said, and they both laughed.
“Come on, the next field is over here.” Afra motioned for us to follow her.
It took me a few hours to create all of the narrow trenches we needed for all of the crops and connect them to the aqueduct system, but eventually we finished. The last path connected all of the others to feed water into them and was also attached to the aqueducts. Thankfully, this part of the aqueduct system had a lever in which someone could start and stop the flow of water so we wouldn’t flood the fields and be in worse shape.
Afra turned this lever, and water poured from the side of the aqueduct and down into the small trenches. We all watched as the makeshift irrigation system worked perfectly to funnel water into the separate channels, and Afra turned the lever back to stop the water.
“This is going to make my life so much easier,” Afra breathed with her eyes wide in amazement. “Thank you, Lord Evan.”
“Your welcome.” I smiled at the young fox. “We’re going to have a town meeting in a few hours, so if you think of anything else that could be helpful to you or the farms, keep them in mind, and we can discuss things later.”
“Of course!” Afra gushed and quickly bowed her head. “Thank you again.”
I nodded and turned to Alyona. “I think I’m going to head off, do you want to come with me?”
She shook her head. “I still want to help Afra if I can. I also want to speak to the dryad sisters, I haven’t seen them in a few days.”
“Okay, I’ll see you at the meeting in about an hour, then,” I responded. “Do you want me to walk with you?”
“No, I’ll be alright.” Alyona blushed. “I can go with Afra and the sisters. I’ll meet you there.”
I pressed a kiss to Alyona’s cheek before I left the farms, and then I walked back to the heart of the city. I strolled at a leisurely pace, since I had no real plans for today and wanted to continue the inspection I’d begun early this morning. I studied the finished homes as I went and hummed in approval. There were dozens of completed houses, each with its own small plot of land, and it was nice to see the city coming together so well.
Between my tryst with Ravi this morning, finalizing the plans for my campaign, and improving the farms, today was turning out to be a great day.
I walked through the small area of houses quietly. They were scattered sporadically on either side of the road, and most of the houses were small and comfortable, which suited everyone just fine. Each one of these houses were already accounted for, though, since they either belonged to guild members or the citizens of Hatra, but they were still a bit sparse and simple on the inside. Each building was going to be furnished once we found more carpenters to work on the furniture, but these final touches were still a ways off.
As I finished up my walk through of the housing area, I noticed I was close to a bell tower and decided to take a quick detour. I climbed up the steep stairs and greeted Gavin, the eagle Demi-Human I’d met a few days ago when the echidnas attacked. His arms were bare today and were covered in white feathers that extended from his wrists to his shoulders. His feet were exposed as well, and I could see the sharp talons along his three toed, scaly feet.
“How is everything this morning, Gavin?” I asked him, and he turned his yellow eyes toward the sound of my voice.
“Lord Evan,” he replied and bowed deeply, “everything has been peaceful this morning. I’m due to shift positions within the next hour.”
“Good, let’s hope it stays that way,” I chuckled. “Hatra could use a break.”
“That’s very true,” Gavin laughed and turned back to his post. “I’ve never seen a city have so many attacks in such a short time. It’s a testament to the bravery of the people who live here. Instead of running away in fear, we fight back with ferocity and courage. You inspire us, and we are better for it.”
“Thank you, Gavin. That means a lot.” I clapped him on the shoulder as a sign of my appreciation. “I do have a favor, though. I want to talk with everyone, so can I use the bell here to signal a town meeting?”
Gavin’s keen eyes turned away from the window to look at me for a brief moment before he nodded quickly. Then he stepped back and grabbed the rope from the bell that hung above us.
“Cover your ears,” he warned before he tugged on the rope, and a loud ringing sound filled the surrounding area.
My magic reacted before I could raise my hands, and it muted out the clanging so it was a muffled gong. The bell tolled three times, which was the agreed amount of tolls we assigned to mean ‘town meeting,’ and we usually gave the citizens a half hour to clean themselves up or put away their projects.
When Gavin was finished, I thanked him and left the tower so I could make my way down to the secret archives, where the town meetings were held. I broke into a brisk jog as I made my way over to the archives quickly, so I could ensure it was still set up with enough seats for everyone.
It only took me a few minutes to reach the archives, and when I did, my parents were already at the entrance waiting for me. We entered together, and thankfully, the archives were exactly the same from when I was here for the last meeting. Long benches filled the room so the citizens could sit and ask questions, while there were a handful of seats at the front where I sat with my parents, Alyona, and Moskal.
Laika and Nike were the next to enter, followed by Alyona, Afra, and the dryad sisters. Then we waited for another twenty minutes as the room began to fill with the citizens. I noticed Leon among the crowd as he scanned the room, and then he met Afra’s gaze and quickly stole the seat next to her. Some of the guild members came in as well, and I could see Daya and Tion against the back wall as they kept an eye on everyone.
Once everyone was inside, I stood from my seat and cleared my throat.
“Hey, everyone. Thanks for coming. I have some news and a few questions for you all, and then we can get to the questions you have for me, alright?”
There were a few murmurs, but no objections, so I
continued.
“Okay then. First things first, we now have a deadline for the reconstruction to be done: the end of the year.”
Mutters of surprise spread throughout the crowd.
“So, we need to stick to our schedule as best as we can,” I went on. “Secondly, Princess Alyona and I will be leaving shortly after the reconstruction is complete. We have a special assignment from King Rodion we need to complete, and we will most likely be gone for a few months while we finish up the king’s request.”
There were more whispers of surprise, and I saw a few frowns in the crowd.
“I know this seems sudden, and it might be stressful now that we have a time to finish,” I placated, “but that’s why I wanted to have this meeting. My question for all of you is where you would like to focus on next. We still have a lot to do in these next few months, and I want you to decide where we should start. Does anyone have a suggestion?”
There was a breath of silence before someone cleared their throat.
“The farms,” a voice said, and I wasn’t surprised in the slightest when I saw it was Afra who spoke up. She seemed a little hesitant, though, when the eyes of the city turned to her, and her ears twitched nervously atop her head.
“Go on,” I encouraged the young fox with a nod.
“W-With the magic of the dryad sisters, the crops have been doing incredibly well,” Afra continued timidly. “Plants that would normally take months to mature will now only take a few short weeks. Now that Lord Evan has given us a proper irrigation system for the fields, it will take no time at all until we will be able to harvest the new crops, and I’ll need more hands to help with that.”
I nodded. “Okay, so the farms, that’s a nice start. Does anyone else have any ideas?”
As soon as the words left my mouth, a seal seemed to break, and the room was suddenly full of voices as everyone started to talk at once. Then the volume quickly escalated as each opinion was voiced louder than the last so we could hear it.
“We need more hands if we are to finish the city in four months.” A burly man stood as he spoke. “The palace alone will take up at least half that time, but the rest of the city can be done with the proper workers.”
“We need more places for children to play, away from the construction going on,” a plump woman with a small infant in her arms added. “My boys have started to get restless since they only have small areas to play in, and it’s driving me crazy.”
“We need to grow our own medical herbs for when you’re gone,” a small woman with mousy brown hair spoke up.
She looked familiar, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen her.
I opened my mouth to respond, but the woman barreled onward.
“We haven’t really needed any medicine since you arrived, Lord Evan, but if you’re going to leave, we’ll need to ensure the infirmary is well stocked with bandages, herbs, and medicine,” she continued. “Right now, the shelves in the infirmary are so bare, we couldn’t heal a splinter.”
I suddenly realized I’d seen this woman around Moskal, and I thought she worked in the infirmary before I came here.
“We also need to look into tearing down the walls,” Leon’s voice abruptly boomed over the others.
The room fell quiet as everyone turned to the golden haired man in surprise.
“The people are scared, and they need reassurance,” Leon went on firmly, and he raised his chin in determination. “We need to confirm there are no other surprises that lie in wait within our own walls. This is something we should do while you’re here, just in case there are others, since we’ll need your help taking care of them. The Itsumade attack still has us on edge, and everyone in the city is terrified that some kind of demon is going to burst from the library at any time. If we can ensure everyone’s safety, I’m sure the city would be able to work more efficiently. We might even be able to work faster to ensure we finish on time.”
“Leon is right,” I told the crowd. “The other concerns, while valid, can wait a few more weeks, but if there are more monsters hiding within the city, we need to flush them out now. We can create two teams and send them both out tomorrow. I’ll go with Nike and a small group of guild members and start on the tunnels inside the library. Laika and Alyona can take a larger group of guild members and start securing the outer limits of the city.”
I turned my head to look at Nike, Laika, and Alyona, and they each nodded in confirmation from their seats behind me.
“As for the other concerns, we will get to those once we finish with security,” I added as I addressed the crowd again. “I think the infirmary should be first on the list, since the health of the people of Hatra is paramount. Moskal and I can discuss which herbs would be most useful and needed while I’m away. Afra, do you think you have space to grow an herb garden?”
I turned to the blue haired fox, and she nodded eagerly.
“Herbs don’t take up too much room, so I can easily figure out a place for them, especially once we begin the expansion process,” she chirped with a broad smile.
I gave her a sharp nod and looked over the crowd once more.
“I have one other announcement that will hopefully help solve the concerns about our population size,” I went on with an encouraging grin. “We are going to convince people to move to Hatra. We will be sending groups of our own citizens, volunteers, of course, to nearby cities to persuade the people there to relocate. We will offer them housing and work, as long as they are able. We’ll also be creating new trade routes throughout the desert with the help of the phoenix tribes. If anyone would like to volunteer for either of these adventures, let me know as soon as you can. Make sure you tell your friends and family who didn’t attend this meeting. We want to send the groups out as soon as we can, so we can have more workers to help speed up the process and finish on time.”
There was a murmur of approval throughout the crowd.
“I volunteer,” the burly man from before spoke up as he stood again. “I’ve never been outside the city, so it might be nice to see other parts of the world.”
Other people began to stand and volunteer as well, and once we had about fifteen of them, I cleared my throat.
“Thank you,” I told the volunteers. “We can send you out in a few days time.” I pulled out a parchment and pencil from my storage space. “Can you all write down your names so we can figure out groups?”
Everyone nodded in understanding as I passed the items to the man who stood closest.
The meeting continued on smoothly after this. There were other small concerns, like leaky roofs and roads that were blocked by materials, but there were also more private matters, like two neighbors who were angry at each other for petty reasons.
Ruslan took over the meeting after I finished my updates and news, and he offered quick solutions to help ease tensions. There were times where I nearly forgot Ruslan was one of the Lords of Hatra, but then I saw him in action. He truly cared about the people in our city, and it was impressive to see him handle all the issues with ease.
The meeting lasted for another hour as we discussed the final points of the meeting and the building plans for the Lunar Palace.
“Alright then, I do believe that’s everything we wanted to talk about today.” Ruslan clapped his hands and looked out over the crowd. “Are there any last minute questions or concerns?”
Silence answered his question.
“Then our meeting is over,” my father added with a nod. “You can all return to your homes.”
The people began to disperse and leave the archives, and I stood from my seat to stretch my legs as I waited for all the citizens to file out.
“What time shall we meet to begin to excavate the tunnels?” Nike asked from my side.
He had stood from his seat as well and stretched his arms over his head. His long black hair was loose from a ponytail today, and it draped over his shoulders.
“I can send a message to you and Laika in the morning,” I replied with
a smile. “We’ll start as soon as everyone is ready.”
His silver eyes glinted in excitement, and I rolled my eyes in exaggerated annoyance.
“We shouldn’t be excited to find monsters down there, you are aware of that, yes?” I teased.
“Of course,” Nike laughed. “I shall hope for nothing but a boring day full of dark tunnels.”
“Let’s hope so,” I chuckled with him. “I don’t think the people here would react positively to another attack.”
“At least we will be together, I’d like to see something sneak past us down there,” Nike said with confidence as he clapped my shoulder in his hand.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” I jerked my head toward the exit. “We can talk more about our adventure tomorrow.”
Nike and I left with Alyona and Laika, and we all talked about our plans for tomorrow. My parents had walked with the citizens as they dispersed back into the city, so it was just our small group.
“You will both be careful tomorrow, won’t you?” Alyona asked worriedly from my side, and she glanced between Nike and me.
“Of course we will be, you don’t need to worry about us,” I reassured her with a smile, and she stepped closer to me. “You are the one who needs to be careful, Alyona. The Itsumade was found in the area you and Laika will secure tomorrow. I didn’t sense any more monsters once I killed the Itsumade, but that doesn’t mean someone didn’t take advantage of the walls and sneak in. You both need to stay on guard.”
“I’ll protect the princess, Lord Evan, don’t worry,” Laika answered dutifully.
The sun was beginning to set around us as we walked back to our homes. Nike was the first to leave the group as we passed his cabin, and he waved his goodbye and slipped inside. Laika was next when we were close enough to see the airship, and with a deep bow to each of us, she joined a group of guild members who were on their way to the ship.
Alyona and I walked back to our temporary palace hand in hand.
“Are you excited to see the Lunar Palace restored?” I asked her as we passed the ruins of the domed structure.
