After the rain-soaked sprint, they stepped into the backdoor of the garage to find Jenny waiting inside the garage. The look of impatience and irritation clear on her face.
“And where have you two been?” She asked in a tone that was just short of demanding.
“Training.” Derek replied as if it were just another day.
“In full armor?” Jenny’s eyebrow arched skeptically, particularly eyeing Leroy, who seemed slightly smaller in his oversized protective gear.
Derek met her gaze, a half-smile playing on his lips. “It’s important to train with what you fight in. How else are you going to learn your limits? Anyway, do you mind going to get Phil for me? I need his help.”
Jenny paused, considering his request, then nodded. “Alright,” she conceded, turning away but not before casting a final, searching look over her shoulder.
Derek didn’t know if she believed him, but the conversation was over and he hadn’t lied.
Leroy exhaled quietly as the door clicked shut behind her. “That was close,” he murmured, relief evident in his voice. “She never believes me when I lie.”
“That’s the thing. Don’t lie, because it’s hard to keep your lies straight. Answer vaguely with the confidence that you aren’t lying. Misleading is related to lying, but it’s not your fault they came to the wrong conclusion. Then you misdirect to focus their attention elsewhere and unless they are either persistent or skeptical, you can usually get away with it.”
Phil had walked in halfway through the conversation and nodded along with him, but spoke when Derek finished his explanation. “I only got half that conversation, but Leroy, don’t listen to Derek when it comes to the question of ethics. Because I know you were at the school instead of training.”
“How the fuck you know that?” Derek asked.
“You have your location shared with me from your iPhone and the settings carried over.” Phil answered. “Now do you really need me, or was that a lie to misdirect?”
Derek’s smile faltered momentarily, then a sheepish chuckle escaped him. “Busted by technology. But, Phil, your timing is perfect. Mind playing the role of my alibi?”
Phil crossed the threshold, his curiosity piqued. “Fine, but only if I get the full story. And maybe throw in a favor for good measure.”
----------------------------------------
By the time the sky started lightening, Derek was already outside working. Other projects distracted his mind while he mechanically unloaded the lumber from the hardware store’s flatbed truck. Despite taking his time with the task, both his coffee cup and the truck were empty before the tops of the trees were touched by the sun.
Marie was waiting for him as he walked back into the driveway after moving the truck. She had come out to see what he was working on. With a warm smile, she handed him a cup of coffee, her smiled warmed him as much as the coffee.
“Thanks, love.” The warmth of the cup seeped into his hands, reminding him of the warmth he felt from Marie. He led her over to the empty spot on the property. “I’m trying to figure out how to build a foundation with magic… Let’s see…”
She watched him work while leaning against him. Enjoying being close to him in the quiet morning. Derek wrapped an arm around her, holding her close while prepared the magic.
His Elemental Manipulation spell activated, causing the earth before them to come alive. The topsoil started rumbling and roiling as it loosened itself. There wasn’t much grass here, because of the treatment of the area by the former owner. The topsoil slowly started shifting and then, like a wave, it flowed across the ground like water, moving around them, filling in the low spot between where they were standing and the driveway.
“Well…” Marie said from beside him, sipping the last of her coffee. “You have fun playing in the dirt. I need to go get the girls up to make breakfast. I’ll have Phil get James out of bed to come help you and here.”
He worked on the area for a while, clearing out the concrete from the hole. When James finally showed up, he looked tired and grumpy.
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“What do you want?” James asked, looking down at Derek from ground level, like he had been forced to be here.
Derek lookup up at James. “I’m working on a basement. Want to help?”
“No.” James replied bluntly, “but Mom said I had to help you.”
With a swift motion, Derek jumped out of the hole, using a jutting piece of concrete as a step. Standing before James, he said, “I won’t force you to help. If you’d rather not, that’s fine. Tell your mom I said it was okay.”
James half-turned to leave, yet hesitated as Derek continued. “We’ll have seven more people staying with us tonight. Ever thought about where they’ll all sleep or hang out?”
“In the house, I guess.”
“And where will you practice your magic without distractions?” Derek probed, capturing James’s attention.
“Uh…”
“Helping me here could give you just that, a place for your magic, away from the chaos. I’ll even share what I know about spellcasting, and maybe you can teach me a thing or two,” Derek proposed, his tone sincere yet playful.
Intrigued, James’s stance softened. Derek seized the moment to demonstrate a basic external spell. The magic flowed from his body, using the magic in the air to power his spell. The ground rumbled as the large chunks of concrete moved deeper into the topsoil and the extra soil flowed out of the basement. Derek had refined his technique during his training with the Sage. With that one spell, he caught James’s curiosity hook, line, and sinker.
James watched, wide-eyed. “How did you do that?”
Derek smiled, sensing the spark of curiosity he had ignited. “Magic is about understanding and connection, not just power. You have a strong affinity; I’ve seen it. Let’s harness that.” Then he carefully explained each step, emphasizing the flow of external mana and its interaction with the environment, a contrast to the more common internal mana usage.
Eager now, James nodded, his earlier reluctance replaced by a budding enthusiasm. “What do you need me to do?”
Derek outlined the task, guiding James to start on the tunnel connecting the basement to the house, emphasizing the practical application of magic in shaping their environment while avoiding damage to the house’s foundation. He didn’t want to shovel snow every time he wanted to go to the building. James started excavating while Derek returned to his basement work. He started expanding the backside of the basement out toward the end of the artificial hill, creating a huge basement.
He wanted it to be large enough that they would have plenty of room for combat training and the ceiling would have to be at least twelve feet tall if someone was going to have plenty of room to swing a long weapon both horizontally and vertically. It would be a good place for training. Then he wanted the backside of the basement to be open to the outside.
He ended up fixing the draining issue by carving a ditch from where the runoff from the snow could drain into the street to keep his neighbor from complaining about the water in his yard. When completed, the drain would go under a small patio that sat would be an egress area for the downstairs. The main floor would be an open garage with a wall separating the main space from a room where grinding and sanding could be done without the entire shop being covered in grinder dust. Then the roof would be a flat surface where a greenhouse sat.
Marie sent him a message telling him breakfast would be ready soon. He found a stopping place and checked on James, who was still working on the tunnel. James was almost done and started moving much slower as he neared the house, always watching for a water or septic line buried in the ground. Derek pulled him off the project, and they headed up to breakfast. James cleared the dirt from his clothes with a bit of magic, causing Derek to mimic him and do the same.
Marie sat at the head of the table, her presence anchoring the bustling room as Candace and Leroy flitted about, serving breakfast. The aroma of fresh coffee mingled with the scent of eggs and toast, creating a comforting yet chaotic scene. Derek, with James in tow, joined the growing family.
“We need a shit ton of concrete or someone with a more powerful earth spell.” Derek stated as everyone looked at him for an explanation of his project. “and we need the steel framework for the…” He paused, trailing off.
The power started flickering and dimming as everyone froze in place, then the lights faded one last time, leaving the room much darker.
“No big deal.” Marie said in a chipper voice, spooning some eggs onto her plate. “We’ve been preparing for this and we can handle it.”
The rest of the family followed her lead as they continued eating like normal.
“Anyway,” Derek continued. “we need steel beams for the new building. We also need windows and pipes. The building is going to be three stories, one of which will be a basement acting as a training facility. The ground floor is going to be a workshop/garage, and the top floor will be a flat roof with a greenhouse.”
“We need to figure out what we are going to do about power.” Carson stated. “We have a generator and that can get us by for a little while, but it will attract monsters.”
James looked over at Derek. “Do you have a spell that might work?”
“You mean can I create a spell that will power the house? Maybe, but it would take about a week for me to work something out.” Derek answered.
“And how do you know it would take a week?” Carson asked.
“Because I just spent like six months training under the Primordial Sage.” Derek replied. “Part of that was me learning how to use ritual magic. Blew myself up twice while doing it. Would not recommend.”
The room buzzed with speculative chatter until Marie, with a soft but firm tone, brought their focus back to the present. “Today, we prioritize. Jenny, please call your friends. Phil, Janet, prepare the vehicles. Leroy, your training yesterday will be put to the test; you’re on point. James, you’ll support Leroy. Janet, you have overwatch. Derek, you’re our wildcard. Carson and I will provide support. Jenny, you’re leading this operation.”