Kai had a meeting with Silver about the training regime, so Verdan left him to it and made his way back to the estate.

Now that he knew what the problem was, he updated Natalia on the situation and left her mulling over the problem of how to treat Kai’s bones.

With that done, Verdan headed over to Elliot’s forge and commissioned him to make three new Sigil testers, but all made from metal.

To his surprise, he found both Dirk and Magnus were there, working on the medallion enchanting.

The haphazard pile of medallions that Verdan had seen last time was long gone by this point, and instead a more organised system with several wooden boxes and a large tray was in use.

“Dirk,” Verdan said, making his apprentice look up in surprise, having been too absorbed in his work to notice Verdan’s arrival. “Can we talk privately for a moment?”

“Of course, Master,” Dirk said, getting up from where he’d been passing medallions to Magnus and following Verdan off to the corner. “What do you need?”

“Did you speak with the Chosen about the alliance that is forming?”

“I did,” Dirk said, his expression falling a little. “Ciaran and Maeve said they would join without question, but Osran didn’t commit his aid.”

“Of course he didn’t,” Verdan said with a bit more bite than he intended. Taking a deep breath, he settled himself before looking back at Dirk. “What did Osran say?”

“He reaffirmed his commitment to defending the city, but he said that going on the offensive took him further from his orders than he was comfortable. When I pushed him on it, he said that he would be open to discussing a way for him to join the effort.”

Verdan rubbed his face, reminding himself that Osran was under no obligation to help them. It was the right thing to do, in Verdan’s mind, but Osran had a responsibility to his Clan.

“Alright. How did Ciaran and Maeve react to this?”

“They seemed unhappy but were unable to gainsay him. In the end, it is his choice as the representative of his Clan.”

“I see,” Verdan said absently, tapping out a rhythm on the side of his leg as he mulled over the issue.

If he boiled it all down, they needed Osran. Fifty trained warriors and the Chosen himself would be invaluable once they brought the Cyth to action.

The only question was how much Osran was going to make them pay to get him on board.

“I hate to do this to you, Dirk,” Verdan said, meeting his apprentice’s gaze directly. “But I need you to talk with him and find out what he needs to put his support behind us. Promise nothing, but try to find out what he’s holding out for.”

“Are you sure that’s what he’s doing?” Dirk asked, furrowing his brow. “What if he’s actually concerned about acting on his own initiative?”

Verdan considered it for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I don’t believe that for a second. His attitude when getting the training for making a gathering spiral was telling. If I’m wrong, blame it on me somehow.”

“Alright, I’ll finish my shift here with Magnus and then head over to talk with him.”

“Good, thank you.” Verdan clapped Dirk on the shoulder and gave him a thankful look before nodding to where Magnus was still working. “How’s he doing, and how many medallions do we have?”

“We have a few hundred at the moment, and with both us, we’re making inroads on the stock Elliot has made. Magnus is making progress as well, he’s getting better at it every day,” Dirk said softly, a complicated expression crossing his features. “Watching him struggle to divide his attention has made me realise how much I take for granted with my own skill at this.”

“You’re a natural and Magnus isn’t,” Verdan said, matching Dirk’s tone to keep their conversation between them. “In the end, though, your limits are only determined by hard work. I’ve seen Wizards with your talent never reach my current strength, and I’ve seen people who struggled harder than Magnus become immensely powerful.”

“I understand,” Dirk said, his expression firming with resolve. “I won’t let you down, Master.”

Verdan watched as Dirk hurried back to take over from Magnus and let the tired-looking Kranjir have a break from running the enchantment machine.

The two of them were putting everything they had into this project, and Verdan realised that he was already starting to think of Magnus as another apprentice.

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The grit and determination he showed was just as impressive as Dirk’s natural talent, and in a lot of ways they would be good examples for each other.

Leaving them to their work, Verdan started back to the estate. It was almost time for dinner, and afterwards, he’d spend some time with Natalia and see what they could think of for Kai.

-**-

The next morning, Verdan made his way down to the eastern gate to find that the Fwyn and Brecan were already there, the former in a loose huddle and the latter standing in silence off to one side.

A familiar face was waiting with a small group of guards as well and Verdan felt a smile tug at his mouth as he started down towards them.

“Lieutenant Jenkins,” Verdan called out, lifting a hand in greeting.

Jenkins had been helping them all since the very beginning. He’d been there with Kai when they had the trouble with the elemental bear and had stepped up when Commander Silver was promoted.

The permanently upbeat Lieutenant was an amusing contrast to the serious and official Silver and popped up everywhere in the city, doing his part to keep things moving.

The lieutenant waved back and jogged over to shake Verdan’s hand. “Morning Verdan, the Commander has me out here making sure that everything goes smoothly. Anything you need me to watch out for?”

“Not on my side. What about from a security perspective?”

“Nothing that we anticipate being an issue,” Jenkins said with a slight shrug. “The Commander assigned me out here as a precaution, and as a test of our potential new allies.”

“Oh?” Verdan raised a brow before noticing Tim, Blane and a pair of Airta were waiting down at the end of the curved path that led to the city.

The four men were joined by a heavyset hound that Tim had picked up on his travels, a trio of what looked like timber wolves and a frost wolf.

The small group was set apart from the rest of them, but Jenkins nodded when Verdan nodded questioningly in their direction.

“Interesting, I knew that Sylvie was going to speak to the council, but what situation are we looking at?” Verdan asked curiously.

"The council is provisionally giving the Airta permission to found a settlement in the woods between the city and Willowbrook. I don’t know the full details, but it sounds like they’ll be helping with securing the countryside around the city in return.”

Verdan nodded slowly. “I can see why they’d be in favour of something like that at the moment. Still, whatever the reason, I think it’s the right move.”

“I’m glad you approve,” Jenkins said with a chuckle. “Now, what’s the plan with these watchtowers?”

“Well, we’re just waiting on Samuel and some of the other workers, and then we’ll be off. We’re doing the first one together as a group, and then splitting into three from there.”

“Looks like we’re ready, then,” Jenkins said, nodding to where a small group of people were coming out of the gates.

“Good, the sooner we start, the better,” Verdan said, lifting a hand to catch the attention of Gruthka and Hursk before swapping to low imperial. “Good morning to both of you. We’re about to set out, if you’re ready?”

“We are,” Hursk said, his walking stick striking the ground for emphasis.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road, then.”

-**-

The first watchtower was a mere hour’s walk from the city gates, set atop a small hill that offered a good view of the area.

The building was about half done as it stood, with the main foundations set and two of the accompanying buildings already completed.

Samuel and the other workers walked them all through the next steps for completion while the guards and Airta patrolled the local area for any potential issues.

“All make sense?” Samuel asked as he finished his run through.

“I think so. Hursk?” Verdan turned to the Fwyn, who nodded.

“The Brecan will follow our lead, and we understand well enough. May we begin?”

Verdan nodded and stood aside, motioning for the other humans to do the same. It was time to let the experts do their job.

Samuel gave Verdan an uncertain look as the Fwyn advanced on the unfinished buildings, but any concerns he had faded as the ground began to shift and large pillars of rock extruded up out of the ground as the Brecan got to work.

For something like this, existing material had to be used rather than something conjured by Aether, and it was more efficient to pull up a large amount initially.

The Fwyn gestured towards the rock pillar and sections of it peeled away and were drawn down into the proper places as the Fwyn manipulated it piece by piece.

“Gods above, it’s beautiful,” Samuel breathed in awe as he watched the process.

“That it is.” Verdan agreed as more rock was brought up for the Fwyn to shape and position. Long strands became solid blocks that formed stairs, the leftovers shaping into supporting columns to hold it all up.

The amount of fine detail meant that it took time, even with the capability of the Brecan and Fwyn, but only a few hours later, it was complete.

Samuel and the other construction workers took a walk around the exterior, looking for any issues, before checking out the inside.

“This is all just about perfect in build quality,” Samuel said once he’d done a thorough check. “Some of it isn’t quite how I’d have done it, and we might need to change a few things around in the plans, but that’s nothing compared to the time saved.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Verdan said, glad to have his faith in the Fwyn be proven right. “Now, let’s split up and move on to the next three and see how much more we can get done.”

Samuel nodded and quickly split up his team as the Fwyn and Brecan broke into three, followed by the guards and Airta.

Verdan went to move on to the next site that he’d chosen for his group but paused as he saw Samuel lingering at the new watchtower.

“Everything okay?” Verdan motioned for everyone to wait as he checked in with the older man.

Samuel looked up with a wan smile that did nothing to hide the troubled look in his eyes. “I suppose I’m just a bit overwhelmed by this. I was expecting something impressive, but this is so much more than that. This kind of ability overshadows what me and mine can do.”

“Don’t look at it that way, the Fwyn are just using a different set of tools to the rest of us. They have their advantages and weaknesses just like everything else.”

Samuel nodded, but Verdan could tell that he hadn’t fully laid whatever fears the other man had to rest.

Truthfully, Verdan didn’t quite understand Samuel’s concern. Of course the Fwyn were better at this kind of thing, but they were terrible engineers and their idea of a good design was a nice burrow.

For all that the Fwyn could make and shape these places, they needed a guiding hand to do so correctly.

“Don’t mind me,” Samuel said, giving Verdan a more natural smile. “Just a shock is all. Let’s get moving for the next one.”