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"What was that?" Blake asked as he poked through the rubble, looking for anything to be salvaged.
"A dragon," Lila said, moving forward towards the workshop section, pulling out her gloves and picking up mangled pieces of jewelry.
"Way to point out the obvious," Blake growled. "I mean, what was it doing here?"
"Flying. Burning stuff. You know, what dragons do," she said, picking up the dark ring and setting it on the growing pile.
"What was the guy talking about?" Blake asked.
"I don't know," Lila said with a shrug. She reached for another ring, and gave a little start when her tiny snake jumped out of the rubble and crawled up her arm, settling around her neck.
"What did you go back for, boy?" Lentil asked, trying to change the course of the conversation.
"Nothing," Blake said curtly.
"See? Your being nosy, so she was dismissive. I was nosy, so you're being dismissive," Lentil said. "Stop being nosy."
"Someone should go check on Paella," Lila said, standing up and rolling her shoulders in pain. That spell that Blake had cast was having some funky effects on her.
"You two can go," Lentil said. "I'll make sure that you're accounted for when Grenadine checks."
"Alright," Lila said as she gestured for Blake to follow her. The two headed out of Macaroon, which was in flaming ruins. They hurried down the steps and were quickly navigating across the dark landscape.
"What was that guy talking about?" Blake asked again.
"Like I just said, I don't know," Lila muttered as she hopped over a small lava deposit.
"But he clearly mentioned a 'her' and 'her stupid caretaker'. That's you and Lentil, right?" Blake asked.
"You think Lentil is stupid? That's a little rude, don't you think?" Lila muttered. Blake ran a hand through his hair with a slight amount of annoyance.
"Really? You're really going to act like this?" Blake asked.
"It's just a topic that I'm not exactly comfortable with," Lila said. Blake hesitated as Lila stepped over a glowing blue circle that completely blocked their path.
"What is that?" Blake asked, watching her easily cross over.
"A protective barrier. The fact that it's still here is a good sign. Come on." Blake hesitantly followed her as they entered the town of Paella.
"You weren't kidding when you said that they were pots," Blake muttered as one of the inhabitants hopped over to them.
"Ah! Lila! Wonderful to see you, my dear," the pot said, looking up at her.
"Hey, Frit!" Lila said with a wave. "We were just here to check on you guys."
"That's so sweet of you," Frit said. He turned to Blake. "And who is this young man? I haven't seen him in this parts before."
"He's visiting the dwarves. Their crafting fascinates him," Lila said with a smile.
"Lila!" a voice exclaimed. Another pot, almost identical to Frit, came bouncing up. "I heard there was a dragon at Condimen Tower!"
"Yeah, there was," Lila said. "It destroyed a lot."
"I think they should talk to the Elder Pot about this," Frit said. The other pot nodded.
"Take them to him," the pot said. Frit hopped on past him, and Lila took that as the lead to follow. She realized that Blake wasn't following her.
"You coming?" she asked, stopping and turning around. He was just staring at one of the pots, who was staring right back at him with the most judgmental face in the universe. Unexpectedly, he cracked a smile. "What?" she asked.
"Nothing. Just thinking about how Malery would react here," he said.
"She would make a lot of pots angry," Lila said, remembering how rudely she had treated Lentil. "Let's hope that she never comes here."
...
"Lentil, there you are!" Grenadine shouted happily as Lentil walked into Condimen Tower. "I thought that damn dragon carried you off."
"It takes more than that to get me," Lentil said.
"Where are Lila and the boy?" Grenadine asked, a tiny hint of fear in his voice.
"They headed off to Paella to check on the pot-folk," Lentil said.
"Good, good. We want to make sure they're safe. They don't have very many ways to defend themselves," Grenadine said. "I've been thinking about installing some lasers in their town, just to be safe. What'd you think, Lentil?"
"We'd need to talk to them about it first," Lentil said. "I, however, think that it's a great idea."
Grenadine smiled and patted his arm. "Alright, good man. Go check for structural damages in the roof of the tower. We can't risk a collapse right now."
"Of course, Grenadine," Lentil said, walking towards the steps.
...
"Good afternoon, Elder Kettle," Lila said smiling at the blue pot as she and Blake sat down on the rugs in front of him.
"Hello Lila! Kaolin was just telling me what has happened in Macaroon. I do hope everyone is alright!" the blue pot said. Kaolin, who had been sitting next to him, hopped away through the door.
"As far as we know, it's just minor injuries," Lila said.
"That is good news," Elder Kettle said. He turned to Blake. "And you must be Blake."
"Yes," Blake said with a small amount of reservation. Elder Kettle picked up on it immediately.
"You're uncomfortable with a talking pot, yes?" Elder Kettle asked.
"A little," Blake admitted.
"It could be much worse," Elder Kettle said. "You're dealing with you aversion quite well."
"It's not aversion. I'm just new to the whole 'talking pots' thing," Blake said.
"That's all fine," Elder Kettle said with a grin before turning back to Lila. "He is so scared of offending me."
"I know. Isn't it funny?" Lila smirked. "Anyway, back to the reason we're here..."
"Yes? Is it about the clay that you found for us?" Elder Kettle asked.
"Yeah. I know we said that we'd deliver it soon, but..." Lila trailed off, looking embarrassed.
"I understand. You need to rebuild before you can bring it here," Elder Kettle said. "That's fine. We can still wait."
"Thank you," Lila said. "We are usually quite punctual with our trades, but the transport carts were completely destroyed, so they will need to be rebuilt."
"Any time in the next month is fine," Elder Kettle said, hopping forward. If he had an arm, he would have patted Lila on the shoulder. "Don't be too hard on yourself. This is not something you can control."
"I know," Lila said with a smile. She glanced at Blake. "We should probably be heading back now," she said, getting to her feet.
"Alright! Goodbye," Elder Kettle said with a grin. "Have a nice day!"
Lila and Blake walked out of the pot village slowly, not in any rush. Right as they came to the protective barrier, a voice called out to them.
"Wait!" a pot squeaked, hopping up to them as fast as possible. Blake recognized the pot as the one that had been speaking to Elder Kettle earlier.
"What's up, Kaolin?" Lila asked.
"Elder Kettle would like me to deliver a gift for Grenadine!" Kaolin said. "May I travel with you to give it to him?"
"Of course," Blake said. "Do you want me to carry you?"
"Oh, would you? Hopping can be so difficult!" Kaolin complained, moving closer to him.
"I can imagine," Blake replied, bending down and picking up the pot. He turned to Lila. "Alright. Ready to go?"
"Yeah. Let's head back."
...
"Hello Grenadine!" Kaolin shouted, catching sight of the old dwarf in the middle of Macaroon. She hopped out of Blake's arms and up to the dwarf, who was barely larger than the pot.
"Kaolin! What are you doing here?" Grenadine asked.
"I have a gift from the Elder Kettle! It's a secret, though," Kaolin said.
"Of course! Right this way," Grenadine said, gesturing for the pot to enter Condimen Tower. He paused for a second to look back at Blake and Lila. "Lentil has a message for you, Blake. It was a transmission from your family, picked up by Farro on Gren and sent here." Blake immediately looked nervous.
"Really? What'd it say?" Blake asked.
"Well, your family sends their greetings, and are asking how you're doing," Grenadine said. "Oh, and your mother is coming to take you home."
"What?! I thought I had more time with that!" Blake unintentionally shouted in surprise.
"Apparently not. She seems pretty mad that you came here in the first place," Grenadine said. "And something about Malery coming as well."
"She's not allowed on the planet," Lentil protested. "Like, really really not allowed on the planet."
"We must respect their wish to retrieve Blake," Grenadine muttered. "That, or be charged with kidnapping and then getting Condimen Tower taken away from us as part of the investigation."
"Yeah, no. We really can't risk that. Sorry, Blake," Lentil said with a shrug. "You get how it is."
"What about Lila?" Blake asked.
"According to the transmission, your mom will be here in a day or so. Farro said he was heading back here immediately to do whatever it is that he plans on doing," Grenadine said. "He wanted to wait another month, but he says he can do it tomorrow as well. Something about planetary locations or something like that."
"I can't believe this," Lila said, turning to Blake. "Seriously though, what is wrong with your family?"
"I have no idea," Blake said, frowning. He also had no idea why he was being taken home so soon. It wasn't like school was starting up again or anything.
"At least you aren't crazy like them," Grenadine muttered with a shake of his head as he stepped into Condimen Tower after Kaolin, leaving the others in silence.
"Well, this is great," Lentil said. "Blake's mom is coming to take him away, probably forever. Farro is now being forced to come back and preform his weird forest magic voodoo stuff to try and help Lila, but a month earlier than he wanted to. He is also racing against the clock to make sure Blake is still here to help Lila. And, once Blake's mom gets here, there is no chance we can convince her to let him stay, not with the village in smoldering ruins."
"God, Lentil. Pessimistic much?" Lila said, plopping down on the ground next to him so she was eye level. Her movement kicked up dust, turning her white bandages and black clothes grey. "Fantastic," she muttered.
"I'm just saying. We're so close now," Lentil said.
"But once I'm all healed, there will be nothing keeping me here," Lila said with a teasing tone. "It's not like I'm here by choice."
"See? That's what I'll miss!" Lentil said. He sighed dramatically, holding his hand up. "I'm so torn now! Stay here, dying, or become healthy and leave?"
"I'll probably stay," Lila said.
"Really?" Blake asked. He would have thought that she would have wanted to leave, especially with the evil dragon dude.
"Yeah. I'm not too sure that a dark mage would be welcomed, well, anywhere," Lila said.
"That is a depressing way to see it," Blake said.
"But it's true, at least I think it is," Lila said. "Light mages have all the status and the money. I'm assuming that doesn't leave dark mages with much."
"That's true," Blake said, getting up. "Come on," he said, offering her a hand. She took it very carefully.
"What?" she asked as she was pulled to her feet.
"We still might be able to convince my mother to let me stay," Blake said as he walked towards one of the piles of wooden beams that used to be an inn.
"How?" Lentil asked. "We can't reuse anything here. It's all destroyed. We need to import new lumber and stone."
"No, you don't," Blake said as he began to touch the blackened wood. Every time he brushed a piece, a pulse of white light could be seen, like the ripples of disturbed water. At once, the wood began to change back to it's dark brown color. The ash molded away and the cracks fused together. Soon, they were presented with a jumbled pile of perfect wood and stone.
"Wow," Lila said. "Impressive."
"And, now for the final touch," Blake said, taking a few steps back. He took a deep breath and a large white glyph appeared under his feet. White crystals of light swirled quickly around him before flying over to the pile. There was a sudden, blinding flash of light. Once it had faded away, they were left with a perfectly rebuilt inn.
"By my grandfather's blue beard, that was amazing," Lentil said, looking at the house.
"I looked directly into the light and now I can't see," Lila said. Her voice sounded thick, like she was in pain.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry," Blake apologized. "Are you okay?"
"Feels like I just got hit with a truck and I can't see, but other than that I'm all good," Lila said. Blake got closer to her face and looked at her eyes. Her pupils were tiny dots in a sea of violet.
"Bless my beard!" a dwarf suddenly shouted. "My inn!"
"Isn't it amazing, grandpa?" Lentil yelled back in excitement. "It's good as new!"
"Well, there's still light magic lingering in it, so Lila probably shouldn't touch it for a few hours," Blake warned.
"Gotcha," Lila said, giving a thumbs up. She wasn't even facing him, though, so it looked like she was crazy.
"Uh, I'm over here," Blake said, turning her gently.
"Right. I knew that," Lila said, giving the sign again. "How long should this blindness last?" she asked.
"Five minutes, maybe ten," Blake said. "If it's more than an hour, it's probably permanent," he added.
"Ah. Fantastic," Lila said holding her hands out in front of her. "I'm just going to stand her for the next ten minutes so I don't trip over anything."
"Good plan," Lentil said. "I'll stay with you."
"I'm gonna see if I can help anyone else out," Blake said, spying a dwarf waving him over.
"You probably can," Lila said.
"I'll be right back," he promised, walking towards the collapsed building.
"And I will be right here," Lila said, waving almost at him.
Chapter done!
Yay!
Thanks,
~CatKkit.