"So this is your new home?" Tercius asked as his eyes took in the environment.
Seliana's new two-story house had a nice suburban look to it with a lot of glass-covered windows, potted plants, and whitewashed walls, complemented by a small, well-developed, garden on all sides. It was early third month now, and sunlight and spells had left the city of Chameos free of snow.
The house was around nine kilometers away from the city hall of Chameos, by Seliana's account, and sat on the periphery of the city proper, quite near the farmlands that surrounded the city to the east, north, and west.
There were houses every thirty meters, built in a similar style to Seliana's new home.
"Do you like it? I bought it from an old widow who went to live with her daughter after her husband passed away," Seliana said as she ushered them in and closed the front gate. "It's old, I know, but I like it. After the crowd of Tripatis, this expanse is soothing to me,"
"Well… there are a few spots in the foundation that have cracks… a few stones seem to be completely loose…" Tercius said as he used Stone Sight to observe the basement. It was the only part made of stone, while the rest were bricks and therefore outside of his current ability. "I can sort those out. As for the house…"
Tercius's critical eye went over the vertical surfaces, aided by his Mathematics to spot breaks in patterns.
"That part there," he said and pointed at the section of the wall in question. "Is a bit further out than the rest. It could be nothing, but probably best to check it out. You don't want it collapsing from a smaller quake, trust me. There should be a Builder's Guild in the city, from what I read. They could take it down and put it back the right way.
"I don't know much about the windows but that wood should probably be protected somehow, maybe coated in some kind of oil? Those cracked sections need to be replaced before they let go of the glass.
"These potted plants are in dire need of repotting. Look, the roots have gone through the drainage holes," Tercius said as he lifted the plant and the pot. A bushel of white and brown tangled roots hung there. "Spring is almost here, so now is the best time to do it."
"That empty area there can be your small house garden. I could make you a small stone fence for it if you want.
"That tree will need some heavy pruning, maybe even that whole branch cut off completely. It's way too close to the house. Now is probably the best time of a cycle, in this climate, for a major trim. I'm not familiar with the species though … hmm, I will have to see if the library has anything on it. Did the old owner say what kind of leaves it has, maybe even fruits? Their shape?"
"So… you don't like it," Seliana said, visibly disheartened.
"What?" Tercius asked confused.
"You are rude, Tercius," Penelope accused with angry eyes. "A simple no would have been better,"
Tercius went over his words and it suddenly dawned on him. He answered with criticisms when the question was simple, 'Do you like it?'.
"It … looks nice, Seliana," Tercius said slowly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult your home. I … just … it's a defect of mine. It is a nice home, but like any home it needs work."
"I'll forgive you this once," Seliana said magnanimously. "Why would I need a garden, Tercius? I make more than enough money to buy food,"
"My family always grew our own food. For a while, we even had animals for meat. We butchered them and everything," Tercius said with a shrug.
Seliana shook her head in apparent disbelief as she opened the front door of the house. Tercius eyes narrowed as the metal hinges gave a small squeak in protest. "You know, I still can't believe it. Your father, Nox, was just a barely visible baby bump on your grandmother's belly when she chased me away. How time flies by."
"What do you mean Nox? My father is Septimus." Tercius said.
"You don't even know that? Septimus is his second name, just like Lux's is Unius," Seliana answered. "Another weird tradition your paternal family has. Continuing with the motive your grandfather set, Lux Unius il'Drusus is his first child and Nox Septimus il'Drusus is his last one.
"When I heard your name I thought that your father named you after your third uncle, Rex Tresus il'Drusus. Rex… was not the most pleasant of fellows, at least he wasn't when I knew him. People preferred to go a long way around him, just to avoid being spotted by him,"
"Well, I don't know exactly, but I don't think it had anything to do with the family back home," Tercius said. "My name has to do with luck,"
Seliana took a moment to think about it. "Third time's the charm, eh?"
"Got it in one," Tercius said as he looked at the interior of the house. Some furniture was present, but it was mostly bare. Seliana sent Penelope to the kitchen to check on the lunch and she took Tercius upstairs.
"Well, regardless of your name, this is your room for as long as you like it," Seliana said as she opened a door.
It was a small room with one bed, a desk, and a chair. A small window let in the sun's warm light and kept the chilly wind away.
"Thank you, Seliana. Your generosity is only eclipsed by a certain uncle of mine." Tercius said with a grin.
"Oh, my. That's quite the compliment, you little flatterer," The woman said with a dazzling smile. "You're welcome, Tercius."
"Now, can I have your permission to go to your basement? Those cracks I saw there worry me. I won't be able to take my mind off of them until I inspect them properly."
***
Tercius spent the day repairing and reinforcing the foundations, much to Seliana's protests.
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She insisted they go out for a walk or have a meal or drink in some restaurant or inn, mingle, and listen to some musicians Seliana claimed were best in the whole world. Tercius was having none of it.
After over two months of being in a shared space, he was finally alone, in a cave-like environment, doing something that he liked doing, in silence. Why spoil that?
Tercius knew that the woman was hesitant to let a kid poke around the foundations of her new old house, and if this was some other kid she would be completely right.
But Tercius was no ordinary kid and he knew what he was doing. Mostly.
Repair and reinforcement of foundations was a tricky business and usually even harder to do than straight-up build anew. The one who did the repairs first had to make sure that the house doesn't come tumbling down while the work was in progress, something Tercius learned how to do from Ciron.
This was the first repair he did with no supervision, so first wrote his whole plan for the repairs step by step and then went over it a few times. Only when he was satisfied with his steps did he proceed.
He brought in a wheelbarrow full of local stone acquired from the area of the garden and moved the stone to the basement.
The cracks were easily fixed with just a small volume of added stone. His hands dived into stone and slowly shifted stone around until the internal cracks were mended and stone blocks made even. Reinforcement was much the same, just adding more volume where new volume was required. Tercius first made sure that the small problems were solved before he tried tackling the big issue.
The loose stones proved to be a problem.
"This is a passageway," Tercius pointed at the dark hole. "Well, it used to be. As you can see, someone collapsed it. Now it's just a dead end."
Seliana and Penelope peered into the dark.
"Six meters in and then it's just dirt," Tercius said. "I can remake it into a secret space or seal it off completely, up to you. In any case, I will add more stone in this whole area,"
"Where did it lead?" Penelope asked.
"The whole area has a draining system both for water and waste disposal. I suspect that it used to lead there, once upon a time," Tercius said and waved his finger south to north.
He was able to see a part of the underground system some two dozen meters away from the house, just below the road. It was made of stone so Tercius spotted it from the right viewpoint.
"So what's it gonna be?" Tercius asked the owner of the house.
"Leave it like that. I will bring someone from that guild you mentioned."
With an offended raise of one dark brow, Tercius said, "Seliana, I have made foundations, walls, and entire houses of stone since I was five cycles old. I can handle simple patching up job,"
"Oh gods, why did I agree to let you do this in the first place? What was I thinking? I don't know…" Seliana dramatically lamented.
"I won't leave it half-finished like this," Tercius said. "No matter what you say."
"If my new house comes tumbling down, Tercius, your uncle will buy me another one!" Seliana said menacingly.
"It's a deal," Tercius grinned. "And feel free to bring anyone you think qualified to check on my work. It's your money to spend and if it buys you peace of mind then it's money well spent."
Tercius went stone hunting and brought over seven more wheelbarrows full of stone, then used the extra stone to make a small area that could be concealed easily with a large bookshelf or something similar. All the while he kept thinking about someday enchanting the stone. Is self-repair a thing? They must have something like that, right? Maybe some kind of reinforcement and cloaking? Oh and definitely something that prohibits the use of skills on it, just like the Pyramid has. I don't want other people to be able to alter my work.
Just before dinner, Seliana came back to check on him, and she was not alone. A gruff woman with sharp eyes examined the basement, tapping every stone with a short stick of some kind and dragging another stick along every joining space.
After twenty minutes of tapping on every surface and then eyeballing the whole area the woman pronounced, "No problems here. Everything is up to the proscribed standards. This foundation will hold for a long time to come. That wall upstairs, though, that will need some immediate attention---"
Seliana paid the woman and contracted her to do some repairs to the brick wall Tercius mentioned earlier in the day.
***
“I enjoyed the dinner, Penelope. It was excellent.” Tercius complimented the little chef.
Penelope smiled. “I’m glad you liked it. I made it all by myself, Mother wasn’t there to help me.”
"Seliana, do you have a saw? I need a good one for that branch tomorrow. And if you could get some larger pots for the plants to be transferred to, that would be great. Unless you want them transplanted to your garden." Tercius said. "Oh, and some manure and wood ash would be great. I can show you two how it’s done,"
"I will see what I can find tomorrow," Seliana said with a somewhat guilty expression. "Sorry about earlier today. It's just… well…"
"Don't worry about it. I would doubt myself if I was not myself." Tercius said with a chuckle. "As I told you, any money spent on peace of mind is money well spent,"
"Did you do all of this at your home? The repairs, the gardening?" Penelope asked.
"Oh yes. The stonework was always done with my grandfather and my brother-in-craft. We built our own house, the three of us. I garden with my grandmother. Most of what we need, be it vegetables, fruits, or fungi, we grow ourselves. Even when we moved to live in a town, we aimed to be as self-sufficient as possible."
"And your father and mother? What do they do?" Seliana asked, curious.
"Father did some transportation for a while but is mostly home these last few years. I have two younger siblings and he takes care of them. From him, I learned how to use a sword and shield. Mother has a shop. I used to help her with her bookkeeping and any other work required there,"
"A busy life…" Seliana murmured. "Hear this Pen? Next time you complain about how hard the chores are, remember what he said now. You have it easy,"
“And how did you decide to come here, to become a mage?” Penelope asked, trying to evade her mother’s accusatory gaze.
Tercius stared at the wooden table for a few moments, memories of a giant bird flashing before his eyes. The helplessness he felt in that moment as the bird ate a man larger than him. The talk that followed with the Commander and then finally Perdinar. His wish to one day goes where no one else ever went. With a weak smile, he said, "Nothing much to tell. I just want to become someone with power of my own,"
Seliana suddenly burst out laughing. Both Tercius and Penelope gave her a strange look.
“I just can’t imagine any il’Drusus babysitting…” Seliana said in between laughs. “The old witch had nannies by the dozen for your uncles. Months could go by without Lux seeing any of his parents or siblings… I’m sorry Tercius… It’s just…”
Penelope went to bed soon after that and Seliana followed shortly after her. He stayed for a while and put out the fire in the fireplace when he was finally ready both physically and mentally.
The last time he did this, in Lissea, Lux told him that he had a seizure-like episode while Energy coursed through him. Lux also told him that he did not sense anything up until he touched Tercius’s arm, which was a relief to Tercius.
That meant that no one without a skill like his Energy Sight would notice anything out of the ordinary.
Over the years he had used Energy in the middle of towns while walking down the streets, and many others. All places of considerable exposure. What were the odds that someone would be in the vicinity of Seliana's house and snoop around specifically for Energy, just when Tercius was experimenting with it?
Abysmally low, he comforted himself in an effort to proceed.
In his room, he slowly moved the table and chair to give himself enough space, careful of making any sounds. Lux told him that he had fallen from his sitting position that time in the underground Arena, so he prepared accordingly. You can't fall if you are already at the bottom. Tercius glanced at the bed and shook his head. If he fell from it, there would be a sound.
Tercius glanced at the new healing potions Seliana gifted him after he asked to buy a few from her. They were within arm’s reach, safely placed just behind the leg of the table. He had just enough space to roll around a bit.
This was a very special experiment.
His skill Energy Manipulation (21) had broken over the barrier the last time he did something like what he was about to do. Previously he suspected that it had to do with the sheer quantity of Energy he manipulated, but after two months of thinking about it, he was not so sure that the quantity had anything to do with it.
He used his skill in another way that night.
He had manipulated Energy while it was inside a Core of a skill.
So tonight, when Seliana and Penelope went to sleep, he would try to do something along those lines. He would try to keep all Energy confined inside of the Core of the skill, not allowing it to seep outwards and take whatever path it usually took to get into his body.
Tercius now knew the basic principles with which mages manipulated mana, which he would try to apply to Energy. Maybe even gain a level in Energy Manipulation?
A thought flew by him while he was thinking about what he would do later that night. Solve a problem that plagues a whole civilization by night, and mix shit and ash into the earth to repot plants by day…
He couldn’t help himself but chuckle.
"Time to begin," he murmured as he laid down on the blanket he spread over the empty area of the floor, and placed his head on the pillow, and closed his eyes.