"Will you stop laughing?" Bethany asked, even though Ryan knew she was struggling not to laugh.

"No," he responded. "I'm not even that loud. And keep your voice down or they'll hear us."

Bethany snorted, then clamped her hand over her mouth. Ryan chuckled again, noting that Tyler's hands were still over his own mouth, his head hanging down, shaking slightly in disbelief and amusement.

The trio were going for a walk on the island where Ryan first discovered that elementals had their own way of talking, only to hide behind some bushes when they came across something unexpected. A month after Ryan had visited the Heisar, the earth mage from the Novar Family showed up, along with his six-year-old son and twenty-two-year-old daughter.

As far as the trio had known, the earth mage was helping with the excavation while his daughter watched his son on the island with the main estate. Close enough to have time with their father, but in a place where an eye could be kept on them. Two weeks had passed, and everything seemed to be normal, moving in an ordinary routine.

What the three of them had not expected was that Ryan and Tyler were not the only members of the Novar Family to be having sex with a Mieria.

"I didn't even know he was that type," Bethany whispered.

"This is just too funny," Ryan said. "Tyler, record it on your phone, I want to have some fun with it."

"You're going to show it to your father, aren't you?"

"No," Ryan chuckled. "Tyler's going to. There is no way this is a coincidence, Father definitely knew she was into his type."

"Yeah," Bethany chuckled. "I don't think I can look at Uncle the same again."

"I'm about to start recording," Tyler whispered, and Ryan could hear the strain in the servant's voice as he tried not to laugh.

"Sh," Ryan said. "Just record for a bit."

The three of them did their best to not laugh as Tyler recorded the event. They doubted they would be noticed unless they were too noisy, but they did their best to be as silent as possible anyway. Damien and the Novar woman were noisy enough to drown out their quiet laughter.

"That's enough," Ryan whispered, and he sensed Tyler putting his phone away. "Your uncle has a lot of stamina, Bethany."

"Makes me wonder who's going to wear out first," she whispered back.

"Let's get going," Ryan told her. "We should head to the island with the Heisar. With Abel out here, things are progressing nicely."

The trio of teens silently left, waiting until they were a safe distance away to explode into laughter, only calming down after boarding the boat and beginning the trip towards Heisar Island. Tyler manipulated the ocean around them to row, something he alternated turns with Bethany for. Ryan did it a couple of times, but after he intentionally started moving in an infinity pattern for the third time, the other two decided to not let him anymore.

Ryan then decided to take the occasional opportunity to make the waves resist their control from time to time, something which amused him when they realized why the boat wasn't moving anymore. The day before, they were so engrossed in their conversation they didn't realize it for twenty minutes.

"Are you responsible for that?" Bethany asked Ryan once they were a fair distance from the island.

"Only indirectly," he grinned. "I told my father about the reason Damien was okay with me being out here… and the purpose of your presence. And the reason for Damien's dislike of us for so long. He's the one who picked them to come out, and they probably had no idea about everything. I am going to have so much fun teasing him, too."

"I'm sure you will," she responded. "What about you, Tyler?"

"I'd much prefer to never see that again," Tyler said, his master sensing his servant's great discomfort. "The whole thing might be funny, but it was also sort of disgusting."

"And fascinating," Ryan nodded. "I wasn't aware a man in his forties could have so much stamina. It now makes me curious how soon I'd have a little brother or sister, were my father to marry again."

"It makes me curious how soon I'm going to have a new cousin," Bethany laughed. "I-what in the world?"

"What?" Ryan asked. "I'm not sensing anything within my range."

At least, not with his elemental senses. The minds for both Tyler and Bethany were full of confusion and shock, however, and that only made him curious as to the cause.

"What in the world are they doing?" Tyler asked.

"I have no clue," Bethany responded.

"Uh, guys?" Ryan asked. "I appreciate that you two are able to gaze far and wide, but I'm rather limited in that."

"There are…" Bethany trailed off.

"Yeah," Tyler said. "It's just weird."

"Guys," Ryan said, his voice stern. "Whatever it is, you two are avoiding it, based on how the boat's now moving in a different direction than it was."

"We're trying to avoid it," Tyler said. "It's following us."

"It's behind us?" Ryan asked. "You're looking ahead of us."

"No, it's definitely ahead of us," Bethany said. "It's on the shore of Heisasr Island."

"More specifically," Tyler said. "It's a bunch of elementals. And they're following us along the shore as we try to get away from them."

A phone range, and based on the song playing, Ryan knew it was Bethany's. Tyler's phone didn't play songs, just tunes picked from the list that came with the phone. Bethany, on the other hand, set her phone to play various pop songs depending on who was calling.

"Hello?" She answered the phone, then snorted. "Are you sure? Okay. Thank you."

She hung up, and Ryan watched as she faced him.

"It appears they've been doing this all day," she told him. "But they don't actually do anything if someone lands. Before, I'd have thought they were just being, well, whatever they are. Now that I know they have minds and conscious thoughts, I really want to know what's up with this. Especially after hearing about their deal with water crystals."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The week before, Ryan finally decided to ask the elementals why they kept taking water crystals and putting them in random places or throwing them. In response, they informed him that they delighted in harassing people like that, because 'Dry Ones have the funniest reactions, the way they flail about and start attacking in an attempt to chase someone off'.

It was for their own amusement, and for no other reason. That only raised his impression of the elementals, and if the ones he spoke with were honest, all elementals were like that, which meant he'd have fun when he trained elsewhere as well.

"I'll ask," Ryan manifested twelve points of water around him, letting them ebb and flow in a random pattern as they orbited him.

A few times, he had been asked why he did that, and his response was always that it acted as a form of training, and also alerted him to if he drew too near something. If something came into contact with his magic, then he knew he would likely bump into it as well. So far, no one had become suspicious of it. At least, not while he was around.

He waited until they were on the shore, Bethany commenting that there were more than twenty water elementals there. Four were in his range, so he decided to ask them what was going on.

"Why are you tracking boats along the shore?" He asked through the water.

"It is amusing to watch them attempt to find a place to land," one of them responded. "Only to either give up and leave or decide to brave us. The way they move, it is clear they are in a fight-or-flight mode. How are you, Blind Ocean?"

"Quite well, thank you," he responded. "And amused. Enjoy your fun."

"Enjoy yours as well."

"So?" Bethany asked as they moved past the elementals. "It's hard to tell if you're actually talking or not, since you have the water moving at all times, anyway. Did you ask?"

"They're amusing themselves with peoples' responses," he answered.

"I'm starting to think they just like harassing people," she said.

"They kind of do," Ryan said. "I don't blame them, it's fun to see peoples' reactions to random stuff like that. Come! Let's make our way to the Heisar!"

Bethany snorted, then led Ryan and Tyler to the Heisar, Ryan feeling that powerful sense it emitted growing stronger, just like his previous visit to the occurrence.

"Lady Bethany, Lord Ryan," a man entered Ryan's perception as he spoke, calmness and respect in his mind. "Welcome back to the Heisar. Are you here for another tour?"

"I wished to see how Abel was doing," Ryan responded, sensing realization in the man's mind. "I have barely seen him, much less been able to speak with him. I wish to make sure he is settling into the job okay and has enough time to be with his children."

Amusement filled the minds of his friend and Bethany, and he knew they suspected he would make insinuations about what the trio came across to the Novar earth mage.

"That is understandable," the man responded. "I can lead you there."

"Thank you," Ryan said, then began following, keeping hold of Bethany's arm, Tyler following shortly behind them. "Where is he at right now?"

"On the start of the fourth level," the man responded. "We began excavating it out yesterday afternoon. It won't be far to reach him, just down the steps and around a bend. Having him here has been a great help. So far, we've located several nodes, holes, and a cavern we missed through his aid. His aid is a great help."

"I'm glad to hear it," Ryan said as they began descending the steps.

They reached the lowest steps after a couple of minutes, and then entered the Heisar, Ryan noticing mushrooms before they set foot inside.

"What resources are on this level?" He asked. "Magic crystals, presumably? And more of the moss?"

"Indeed," their guide responded. "There are also some mushrooms, which we're passing by now. Nothing too special. These ones are found in several Heisars throughout the world, and are considered a delicacy. You may have a dish with them a few times during your stay here, if you aren't averse to mushrooms."

"Only toxic ones," Ryan responded. "Though if they're a delicacy, then I'll try them. The mushrooms in that rice dish a few days ago were tasty, though I'm assuming those aren't these."

"No," Bethany responded. "Those were imported from the mainland. We have a small mushroom farm at our other estate, and the mushrooms we had a few nights ago came from there."

"They were good, nonetheless," Ryan told her as they rounded a bend. "Anything else found here so far?"

He could hear the sounds of people at work, discussing clearing sections and noting down things. Someone with a cart full of dirt passed them by as well, hauling off some of their excavation. He could also hear what sounded like a waterfall crashing into something.

"A cavern, it seems," the guide responded as he led them to it. "They must have found it after I went up, which explains the lack of carts of stone going by. They'll look for the best spot or spots to open a new tunnel before excavating more from here."

"Tyler?" Ryan asked.

"The cavern is approximately forty feet in width, and fifty in length," his servant answered. "Ovular. There are steps leading down to it, and it appears to be around fifty feet in height. Quite a large cavern, with a small pond in the center. It's fed by a small river that leads from the wall to our right, which is formed by a waterfall coming out halfway up the wall. They're currently carving steps up on the wall at our two o'clock, and we're about to reach the stairs leading down."

"The water flows into the pond, but not back out?" Ryan asked in surprise.

"A Heisar is a place of magic," their guide explained. "The water is likely converted into water crystals or transported back to the start. It may have another river underneath us the water drains out of instead."

"I see," Ryan said. "Let's descend, the room feels rather large."

"It is," Bethany chuckled as they began to walk down the steps. "At least, for how wide our Heisar is. It takes up nearly twenty percent of its area for the level, and spans around three levels' worth of space, when factoring in the thickness of the space between floors."

From what Ryan knew, they tried to keep at least five to eight feet of thickness between each level of a Heisar, when possible. That was optimal for preventing it from collapsing while allowing for the most space and levels to be carved out. They only needed to worry about reinforcement at thinner than that, with the magic of the Heisar preventing collapse without it past it.

"Quite large," Ryan nodded. "How rare are these things in a Heisar?"

"Depends on the size of a Heisar," their guide answered. "Usually, caverns this size aren't found in Heisars under fifty yards in width."

"What that means," a man said from below, not far from them. "Is that it's possible this Heisar will grow another fifteen to twenty yards in width over the next decade. I'm going to speak with Damien about starting to carve out a new set of stairs to accommodate for this. We can connect it into the Heisar, it will just require a little extra walking for anyone wishing to harvest from it. But if the Heisar does expand, as I suspect, then new stairs would be needed, anyway."

"So around twenty-five yards from the edge, then?" Ryan asked.

"Correct," the man responded. "Hello, Lord Ryan."

"Hello, Abel," Ryan responded, stepping off the steps. "I came to check on you, to see how you are faring."

"I am doing well, thank you," Abel responded.

"They are not pushing you too hard, are they?" Ryan asked.

"No, sir," Abel responded. "The workload is around the same as when I helped excavate the new sections of our own Heisar. I'm also helping the earth mages here hone their spells to detect resources. Thank you for your concern, sir."

"It is only natural to be concerned," Ryan smiled a little. "You are a member of my Family, after all. Remember to take breaks as needed and stay hydrated. There's plenty of water around, I hear."

"There is, indeed," Abel chuckled. "Sensing this cavern while working on the floor above had surprised me, due to the size of the Heisar."

"Speaking of that," Ryan said. "How do you have an estimate of how large it would expand, and the timeframe?"

"The size of the cavern," Abel answered. "And the Heisar being too small for it to normally have one this large. For every one hundred to one hundred and thirty square feet of space, it expands around one yard if the expansion happens. For a cavern forty to sixty feet in height, the expansion would most likely occur in the next decade. This is based on the public records of Heisars and their discoveries."

"Ah," Ryan said. "Well, I suppose you should return to work, Abel. You enjoy your day."

"You as well, sir," Abel responded.

"We can head back on our own," Ryan informed their guide as Abel walked off. "If you need to return to work. It's just up the steps and around the bend, then up more steps. Even Bethany couldn't get lost with that."

"Hey!" Bethany laughed.

"Have a good day, sir, ma'am," their guide said.

"Come on," Ryan began walking back up the stairs. "I want to do something that we just saw a little bit ago."