Chapter 50: Under Construction

Now was the time for Ash to put his plan into action. Ash hadn’t devised the idea; it had been his little sister Seria. She had been looking lovingly at the waxen symbol scripts she kept like a comfort blanket when she had scratched some marks in the dirt. He had let her be until later when he saw a portion of ground raised before her. She had managed to construct her first symbol array!

He went over and hugged her but told her to keep it secret until they had tried it out tomorrow. Then, they would surprise all the others with their talents.

So Ash and Seria had toiled for the better part of the morning, setting up arrays around the plot’s perimeter. It was a shame they couldn’t wait for a bigger audience or Adam to see. But Ash knew that was just childish silliness; he would have to make do with his imaginings, which he did, grinning to himself.

At least they surprised Thawain and the other kids with their ingenuity.

The children and even Thawain gasped very satisfyingly as Seria and Ash completed their arrays.

Four stone walls around the plot’s perimeter rose slowly from the ground.

Ash and Seria smiled at each other as the kids ran inside the walls looking around in awe. They also looked down at the ground, now of a thin layer of hardened earth. This was Seria’s work.

“Now, bring in the wooden bamboo posts,” said Ash. He had asked Thawain to cut wood sections to use as roof supports and the kids to continue working on bamboo matting as they had done yesterday.

“You have done good, and you too, little Seria; your mother and father would be proud of you both,” said Thawain.

Frey, Ash, and Clay would see Shiau Yongshi.

At Shiau Yongshi shop, Frey and the others had stopped for a break. Yongshi rewarded them for their efforts by letting them eat a few scraps of bread and have a look in his back room. It was like the kids had been let loose in a sweet shop.

Their eyes sparkled as they looked at all the fine metalwork Yongshi had accumulated there. It was far from pristine, but the kids held each discovery as a sacred treasure. Frey had found a long sword she could hardly move; she traced its blade deep in thought. One day she could have an edge this awesome, she thought. The others all coveted their favorite weapons in their laps as they chewed on their bread and talked of the professions they planned to have.

Shiau Yongshi then came into the back of the shop and regaled them with a story he had heard; they were all enraptured and smitten now by Binyon.

Yongshi had always dreamt of being a royal blacksmith or maybe serving under a high faction, but he had always been wary of leaving the village, and now the years had turned like old pages in a book, and he was in his forties, to old to think of such foolery. But now he had some avid listeners and even maybe apprentices. So he believed it would not be so bad in Binyon for an old fool like him.

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Bai Bo-Xue had decided he didn’t care whether Adam’s group intentions were pure. He had received several more beast cores and a few animal pelts and venison. Plus, he was looking forward more and more to seeing his brother now that he had news of the void wars. He relished the thought of exacting payback on his brother. So he made a deal with the young but no less eloquent for it, Shuga, that he would allow Adam or Shuga to join the other village elders at their next meeting.

Adam apologized profusely, which, much kotowing, to old Che Gonghui. Gonghui took Adam’s lateness in his stride and waved off his silly kotowing. If truth be known, he was glad he had not had to search the night for Adam or that a bear had killed him.

They walked back to the village with Adam still pondering what to do. Libby and Echo had been unable as yet to give him any other solutions to his energy situation.

Adam tiredly waved goodbye to Gonghui, depositing several carcasses at his doorstep. Che Gonghui wondered where he had kept them as he had already counted those on Adam’s sled. But said nothing of it; the man was a strange one. But to Gonghui, that made him all the more likable. What is a man without his secrets? He rused.

Back in the village, the older children had returned to their plot, which was now not a plot but a sizeable walled structure with a bamboo roof covering one side. Toki rushed out to meet them, dragging them in to help get as much done as possible before Adam returned home. Cai and Seria were charged with being lookouts for his return.

It was a shame they could not finish things that day, but still, the walls would impress Adam, they hoped.

Linlang and her mother had prepared as much dumpling stew as possible for the poor waifs and were making their way to the newcomer’s plot. But, when Wang Sheng came to a halt, where had this large walled property come from? Had they taken a wrong turn? No, there was no such property.

Linlang gaped, then laughed as Cai and Seria ran up to them, making shooshing noises.

“It is a surprise for Adam. We must all be quiet. Come in, come in. Are those more dumplings?” the children said, not as quietly as they should have.

They were ushered into a large courtyard, not a large house with its roof slowly built.

“This looks amazing! But I must get more herbs and spices to make our stew, one fit for such a fine abode,” said Linlang. Then nodding to her mother, she dashed off.

Linlang had seen Shiau Yongshi construct houses before, and he had spoken to her about it. She wasn’t sure the structure looked safe. And how had they got the walls up so quickly? She worried the whole thing would come down around their ears.

Luckily, Shiau Yongshi lounged in the square with Bai Bo-Xue, enjoying a drink.

“Yongshi, please come. I am worried the newcomers will come to harm. They are trying to build a new house, but it does not look safe at all.” Linlang said with a pleading note in her voice.

Shiau Yongshi jumped up and ran with her back to the newcomers’ plot.

The kids’ hard work had considerably lifted Adam’s spirits. He had come down the slope and spotted their new construction with his sight abilities from afar. Meca had, however, confirmed that the roofing needed more supports, so Adam chopped many tall bamboo shoots as he went pulling them behind him. Gonghui said nothing; Adam’s exploits always seemed to make things more exciting, so let him be.

Adam also spotted Linlang and Shiau Yongshi, their energy signatures were quite distinctive, at least for someone with his senses. He could even make out what they were saying from here.

He asked Che Gonghui if he would help with a little distraction. Gonghui, the old fox, was more than happy to oblige. He took off at a surprising speed for someone of his years.