“I will share what I can,” Elliot said, looking a little more comfortable as he realised they were cut off from the world around them by Verdan’s spell. “Do you remember what I told you of the origins of my people?”

“The children of Idris, the Idrisyr,” Verdan said, casting his mind back to when they’d had this conversation. “She was one of the last giants, and she made a pact with the gods.”

“Yes, exactly,” Elliot said with a nod. “However, she wasn’t alone in seeking aid to survive. Gormag, another giant, also formed a pact to survive, but not with the gods.”

“The Annwae?” Verdan guessed, thinking on the use of Malfease and their twisted appearance. “So these Gormagyr are the children of Gormag?”

“Just so, they are a foul mockery of our ancestors, and one that any Idrisyr would go out of their way to destroy.”

“I see,” Verdan said thoughtfully. “Is there anything I should know about weaknesses?”

“They have lost their resistance to external magics, as well as their tolerance for heat and flame,” Elliot said, gesturing up to his hair. “They went a different path to us, one that focuses on their desire to control and destroy.”

Verdan nodded to himself as Elliot spoke. This all made sense to him, and for all that there was no immediate worth to this knowledge, it did help to know more about their enemy.

“Thank you for sharing, Elliot. If you could talk with your siblings and see what else they know, I’d appreciate it.”

“You expect to see more Gormagyr then?”

“I fear so, but I will discuss all that once we’re back at the estate,” Verdan said, dropping the silence effect he’d created.

-**-

“Hey Boss, good to see you again!” Pawel called out as Verdan and the others reached the gates to the estate.

“It’s good to be back,” Verdan said, looking at the Crea estate fondly.

So very much had happened since he’d bought it off of Tobias for what he now fully realised was a token amount. In fact, he was fairly sure that it had been a ploy on Tobias’s part to get Natalia to interact more with the world.

A ploy that Verdan had been more than happy to see through.

Still, he’d missed having his own workshop, his own space, and he was already looking forward to getting to grips with the Automaton remains and taking his time with it.

He could see the wagon holding it had made it here in one piece, and Barb was currently leaning against it, keeping watch.

“Alright, I’m going to see if I can find Natalia. Pania, could you help with keeping watch on that wagon?” Verdan asked.

“Sure thing, Boss,” Pania said, smirking a little before heading over to Barb as she whistled a jaunty tune.

“I’m going to head back to my forge, stop by if you need anything,” Elliot said, quickly leaving as Verdan started toward the old servant quarters.

When Verdan had first moved in, the mansion had been empty and Natalia had been living in the converted servant’s quarters, ashamed of her scars and disfigurement.

With time and more than a bit of effort on his part, Verdan had managed to heal the majority of the scarring, but what was left was still quite bad.

In the process, he’d found a mirror of his own curiosity in Natalia, and he treasured the time they’d spent working together.

Hurrying the last few steps, Verdan knocked firmly, unable to keep the grin from his face as the door opened.

There had been a time when Natalia had only worn a veil and long gloves, doing her best to hide as much skin as possible.

Now, she was dressed in her loose workwear, seemingly uncaring of the burns and scars that covered her arms and face.

Verdan knew she wasn’t quite as uncaring as she’d like to be, but he was still immensely proud of her.

“Verdan, you’re back,” Natalia said, looking almost dumbstruck by his presence as she moved aside to let him in.

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“Just arrived this moment,” Verdan said gently, stepping across the threshold as she shut the door. “I missed you.”

“Me too,” Natalia said in an almost shy voice, her cheeks flushing and her eyes lingering on his lips.

Reaching out and hooking his arm around her waist, Verdan pulled her close, his mouth finding hers as he set about showing her just how much he’d missed her.

-**-

Later that evening, Verdan stepped out into the cool night air and listened carefully for any sounds of activity.

He’d spent most of the day since arriving with Natalia, and the only reason he was stepping away now was to deal with a little security issue.

Hearing nothing, Verdan made his way back over to where the wagon with the Automaton remains was sitting.

The little moonlight they had was enough for Verdan to see that a tired-looking Ruan was currently there, keeping watch to make sure no one tried to slip in.

“Ruan,” Verdan called out softly, not wanting to spook the other man.

Ruan had his axe out and any trace of tiredness vanished as he looked around, relaxing when he saw Verdan. “Sorry, Boss, you caught me by surprise.”

“No, no, I’m sorry for startling you. Thanks for staying up to keep watch as well,” Verdan said, as he walked over to join the grizzled guard.

“Not a problem. It was pretty clear that whatever this is, it’s pretty important to you.”

“That it is, and dangerous for other people to get their hands on. Any sign of people trying to get in or take a look?”

Ruan frowned thoughtfully for a moment before answering. “Pawel said there were a few locals coming by earlier, and one of the Steel Custodians showed up briefly. We told them you were busy, though, and to come back tomorrow.”

“Probably for the best, I doubt I’d have been receptive to visitors this afternoon,” Verdan said in a dry tone, making Ruan chuckle.

“Just so, Boss. Now, I imagine you’re out here with a purpose. Anything you need from me?”

Verdan patted the wagon on the side and gave Ruan a mischievous smile. “I’m going to make this disappear overnight, so don’t worry about more overnight watches. If you could keep an eye out while I do it, that would be good.”

“Sure thing, Boss,” Ruan said, stepping away from the wagon and eyeing it warily as though expecting it to abruptly disappear.

“Tawel gward,” Verdan tapped his staff on the wagon, letting the Aether from the spell attach to it and form an Aether construct which he generously supplied with energy.

A blanket of stillness fell over the estate as the spell took effect, cutting off any sounds from the outside and stopping anyone from potentially hearing what Verdan was about to do.

He couldn’t do much about them seeing it, but between it being night and the wall around the estate, this was the best situation they’d get.

The interior of the estate was paved, so the first step was getting access to the earth beneath. “Garreg tyn.”

A large section of paving stones were slowly pulled up and out of the ground, dragging themselves over to rest by Verdan. “Drae sia.”

The exposed earth trembled and shifted as Verdan pulled large clumps of it free and piled on his other side. Unlike the paving, he didn’t care about any damage here so he was free to use a more invasive method.

“Drae sia,” Verdan cast the spell again, compacting the edge of the pit he was creating as he dug deeper.

“Do you need aid, Wizard?” A voice called out in low imperial from behind him, making Verdan start in surprise. Looking back, he saw that Dru and Aeva had emerged from their burrow and were watching him with curious expressions.

“Ah, apologies, I wasn’t expecting you both to be back already,” Verdan said, wincing a little as he realised how moving this much earth might have disturbed their home.

“We provided Hursk with directions before returning. There was no need to guide them,” Dru said with a very human shrug. “We were just walking back up when we felt the earth move. Do you need help?”

Verdan began to say no before mentally shrugging, there was no real need for him to do this alone. He trusted Dru and Aeva, after all.

“If you could help me create a path down and then form a space next to the cellar of the workshop, that would be good. My aim is to shift the automaton down there and then seal all this back up.”

The two Fwyn shared a look before nodding. “We can help with that. Should we ask the local Brecan to help as well?”

Verdan blinked, a little taken aback by that. “We have a local Brecan?”

Both Fwyn nodded as Dru spoke up. “One of the ones that came south with Hursk has been assigned by Gar’Dru to stay here. The rest have gone to meet with Gruthka.”

“Oh, I had no idea,” Verdan said, a little surprised that the Brecan were willing to act like that. This Gar’Dru seemed more than a little odd by his race’s standards. “But yes, that would be more than welcome.”

Aeva nodded and took a knee, resting her hand on the stone as she sent several pulses of Aether down into the ground. “There, they’ll be with us soon.”

-**-

The Brecan arrived a few minutes after Aeva sent the pulse, emerging from the ground to stand behind the Fwyn in a shower of loose dirt, a paving stone in her hand.

This particular Brecan was a mere seven feet tall, and only half as wide as Verdan, with deep green crystalline eyes and a slightly less jagged shape to her rocky frame.

Verdan could sense the vibrations and Aether moving through the ground as the three of them conversed, ending with the Brecan replacing the paving stone and dropping down into the hole Verdan had made.

What followed was a masterclass in how to manipulate earth and rock, with Aeva and the Brecan working together to create what Verdan had asked for.

Dru’s magic was aligned with the Rot aspect, so he sat on the lip of the pit and watched as the other got to work.

Verdan considered joining in, but the pair of them were making good headway already, so he simply sat down next to Dru and answered the occasional question from Aeva.

In no time at all, the framework of what he wanted was complete and the Brecan, who Aeva identified as Lan’Wei, was dragging the Automaton down the hole and placing it within the rock-lined underground room they’d created.

That done, they sealed everything up on the way out and in less than an hour, the whole job was done.

This kind of speed and efficiency was exactly why the Fwyn and Brecan had been so popular within the Imperium.