The world shifted as the two stepped into the tent, like moving through a second Veil. The cacophony coming from their companions was a striking difference to the drone of the wind outside. The tent was roomy, and like many structures, was much larger on the inside than it looked on the outside. The oven was placed in the center of the tent, with its large fire poking out from the grating at the top. The light and shadows of the fire and the people danced and fought upon the tent walls. The crucial components were present for a lively night: a receptive crowd, quality if not a little monotonous cooking, and the most important factor; alcohol. The crew had just received a fresh batch of wine and ale from the nearby Hub along with any extra building supplies the team couldn’t easily produce from the surrounding area.

The breath Kaena let out as she walked into the tent was much colder than the one she let fill her lungs. The people before her were animated in recounting a recent event that had happened while they were digging into one of the earlier mountains.

“So there I am, fiddling with my instruments next to the wall making sure that we aren’t about to flood the place,” said a fair skinned, balding man holding his spoon so close to his face that it was practically on the bridge of his nose, “and then Ava runs over, eyes big as dinner plates, yelling that she lit the charges and that we need to run back to the side chamber.” The man then waves the spoon away from his face, realization dawning across it like a bright sunny morning - followed by dark stormy clouds. “I said I couldn’t move while my instruments were working-”

“Screeched like a new born baby you mean,” said a woman, Ava, near one the casks of ale. Taking a gulp of her newly poured mug, she pointed a finger at him, “Denni actually thought about whether or not to leave them. I had to pull him, kicking and screaming, back to the side tunnel. We barely made it there before the blow back hit.” The others laughed at the bald man, whose face had taken on new shades of the fire’s light and was mumbling something about inscriptions and gold.

“That sounds like our Denni,” Bern said smiling while pouring himself a mug of ale. “He’s more attached to his devices than his own head!”

“Oh, Bern, you’re back with our little adventurer,” Ava said with a slight sneer. “How was the sunset today? Glad to be out of cave to see the sky?”

“Lovely as always, thanks for asking, Ava,” Kaena said with a tight mouth. “How’s the ale, it looks like you’re enjoying quite a lot of it.” She went over next to Bern and poured herself a drink.

“Cool it you two. Remember, we are out of that forsaken tunnel. Scouting reports say that we will be above ground for at least another three weeks working on top of the plateaus.”

Bern, in a few steps had reached the oven, and made two bowls of the stew that sat on the grill above the oven. Nodding to Kaena, he sat down at one of the tables and began to eat the cloudy stew. After a few bites, Bern looked to a stout looking woman at her own table working away on a small piece of metal that was already nearly covered in glyphs, “Wonderful as always, Britta. What was the meat tonight? Goat?”

The woman, not bothering to look up from her work just hmphed and said, “Pimu.”

“Ah, now I taste it!” Bern said, wiggling his eyebrows at Kaena and Ava. Both women had seen this scene plenty of times before, and giggled, waiting to see if Britta would take the bait.

“Is that, mint? Or is it basil? Perhaps tarragon?” With that, Britta pulled back a little from her work and looked up at him, a new clarity in her green eyes, “Bern, your powers of perception astound me. I have never heard such a completely wrong deduction before. You know full and well that we only have onions. You signed off on the food order!” With a final hrmph, she pushed back from the table, grabbed her things and stormed off out of the tent, muttering about the a white head having nothing inside it but turnips.

With that, Bern drank a bit of his ale, audibly setting his mug down, and relaxed into his chair. “I think,” he said, his eyebrows dancing on their own, “Denni, you’ll be getting one of your toys back tomorrow if I judge the amount of ire burning in that woman.”

“You know, Bern, complements work just as well as pushing someone’s buttons in terms of motivation,” Denni said, grabbing yet another bowl of the stew, steam coming off of it.

“Then what would we do for entertainment? But in all seriousness, she’s putting on a show there. She knows how much I appreciate her cooking,” Bern said between bites.

“Yeah, I guess she would’ve asked for a transfer sometime in the last three years she’s been with us,” Kaena said, her spoon pinged in the empty bowl.

Tipping back his mug, Bern nodded at Ava, “Could you please top me off? I seemed to have misplaced my ale.”

Ava smiled at bit at this, walking over and collecting the vessel. “That always seems to be the mystery with you Bern. Just like the mystery of Britta’s last batch of butter cookies.” Ava made a mocking thinking pose, “Come to think of it, I’d say we lose one batch out of five to your negligence. Are you getting a little senile?”

Bern laughed heartily at this. “Ah, the fire of youth. If only we could put your deductive skills to use building this road. I say we would be all the way to Arlam by now.” Bern tapped his head thoughtfully. Ava came over with the full mug, and placed it on table next to him.

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“Try not to lose this, ya old man,” Ava said, walking toward the tent flap. “Anyway, its bed time for me. I’ll see you all in the morning.”

Kaena tensed up a little bit at this exchange, she knew that they were just playing with each other, but she’d seen where play could quickly lead to actual violence. Kaena looked down at her empty bowl.

“My you’re more quiet than usual Kaena,” Denni said. “Don’t let Ava bother you, she just has an… abrasive… personality. I think that if you two weren’t in constant competition with the those ‘mystical’,” Denni made air quotes, “tamer abilities, I think you two would make great friends.”

“I don’t know about that,” Kaena said, “Ava and I have only had negative interactions even before she knew who I was. It’s like she came here already hating me.” Denni and Bern both frowned at this. With a nod, Denni got up and waved at them saying, “Well, it’s time for me to hit the hay. See you both in the morning.”

The two of them sat in the lengthening shadows of the dying fire. After a moment, like checking sure the coast was clear, Kaena asked, “Are we really getting a Shaper?”

Bern raised an eyebrow at this, “And what makes you think we are?”

Kaena lowered her head a bit, “I may have overheard you talking to Britta about it when I came back for lunch after we extended up onto the plateau. I didn’t think we were getting one for a while yet.”

Bern touched his lip, wondering whether or not to hold his thought in. “Well, the Guild is really happy with our progress. Since you’ve joined my crew 4 years ago, we’ve been near the top for the extension crews. Also, the timeline for the project got pushed up. Akam’s relationships with Duc Merdina, have been less than warm as of late.”

Kaena perked up at hearing the news, “What has happened? Another dispute between the Guild and the Merchant Consortium?”

“No, this time it goes quite a bit higher. Apparently the Duke of Duc Merdina isn’t pleased with the search for his niece in Akam. He says that people have been, obstructing, his search.” With that, Bern looked up at the young woman. A seriousness in his eyes she had rarely seen.

“She’d be, what, about your age?” Kaena shifted a little, trying to hold her discomfort in. Bern sat back in his chair, messing with his mug.

“You know Kaena, few people take a position in the guild that involves extension work. It can be lonely out here. Which is perfectly fine for me. But, I also know that a remote place like this can be a good refuge,” Bern said staring straight into her eyes, “especially if someone is trying to hide from something or someone.”

Kaena’s face had become stony at this, “I have no idea what you’re talking about Bern. You know my story. My family died in a caravan crossing between Duc Merdina and Arlam; my masque was the only one that didn’t break. I took a spot in the Arlam Tamer’s University after passing the scholarship entry exam.” She tried to push honesty into her eyes, as if it would reinforce this retelling of the story. One of the few things Kaena was good at, besides taming, was the ability to remember things exactly. She told her lies perfectly, but words are only a component of a lie. The other bits she wasn’t so good at.

Bern looked down into his empty mug, sighed, and placed it on the table. “Well, if you ever remember something and want to share, please don’t be afraid to tell me.” He stood, and pausing, “We’ve been through quite a bit, Kaena. I think that maybe you should try to trust your friends with some of that weight you carry around with you. Just as you saved Denni and Ava from that explosion, we can help you too.”

Kaena’s mouth contorted, “Wait, how’d you know-”

Bern raised a hand, “I know in time you’ll tell me the whole thing. Just remember I’ve been doing this for longer than you’ve been alive. I cut those fuses and I know how long they last. I also know that those fuses burn at a rate comparable to the amount of oxygen that is around them. Something that would be easy for a highly talented tamer could manipulate without anyone else knowing by focusing their will only on the small space around the lit fuse.” Bern smiled at this. “I was also damned lucky to being keeping the time and I happen to know a gifted tamer.” As Bern opened the flap to leave he scratched at his beard and said, “Yeah, with my favorite philosophical razor, I think I’ll clean up real nice tonight. Goodnight, Kaena. Don’t play with the fire for too long tonight.”

Kaena began to digest the words that Bern had said. It had been unspoken that something else had pushed her here, into this remote corner of a dangerous world. Bern had accepted that, just as his own mistakes had forced him into this corner. Taking a breath, Kaena coaxed the fire out of the top of the grill. It moved through the air like a serpent, twisting this way and that with her will. It was ultimately limited by the burning charcoal and logs at the bottom of the grill, but she could move the flame with almost complete freedom around the large tent. She was always proud of herself, for in the four years she’d been with Bern, she’d only managed to burn down the tent once. Even then, Bern had taken the blame for that. He always covered for her. She knew that his motives weren’t completely altruistic, as Bern had a repenter’s complex, but still she largely owed her prolonged anonymity to that strange bearded man.

As she worked the flame into fat coils and then thin lines, she took a small bucket of water and wove the two together into a tapestry of opposites. The start contrast between the two elements was apparent at the intersection points. It took quite a bit of control to make sure that the flame didn’t boil the water away and that the water didn’t extinguish the flame. But that was how Kaena’s life was for the past four years, to prove herself as a capable member of the team who could be trusted with complex tasks, while also not making such a show of it that she would be noticed.

Now she knew her luck had run out, as a Shaper was coming to the extension crew. And the guild only recruited the best Shapers from the prestigious shaper school in Duc Merdina, where she had been to many public events as a child. Still, she hoped that it would hold. To be honest, she really did like working with the people on the crew. Even Ava, when she wasn’t being a complete bitch. She knew that once she told Bern her whole story, the man was like to change his opinion of her - drastically.

Finally, with the weave so tight she could no longer look through it and having it completely encompass a majority of the tent space, a spot began to break down in the pattern. She focused on the spot, lightning flashed in the air around the boiling water as she fought for control. Like a fuse, the weave fell apart as it was boiled and extinguished from the single point. The only sound was the sudden hiss of steam being made and the patter of water on the floor. After a time, the entirety of the construct was gone, and Kaena was left to sit, staring at the embers.

After some time, she got up. She Smothered the faint sparks of life of the fire with her will and without looking left the main tent for her own. She laid down on her bed, and slept.