.^^ Raava Drundomidon ^^

— Rune —

As the man from before spoke, I sighed, and started to pull away from Natva, until she gripped my shoulder, and pushed me back down. "Lesson#5, Never pull away from an unfinished woman."

I grinned. "Got it... but that's literally your son."

"And he can be scarred all he wants. Enter at your own risk, son! If it can wait, I suggest you do so!" She called out, and pulled my hair gently, leading my mouth to her soft skin.

"Look, Mum, I'm not Ulva or Dashiva, I'm not a prude, but can we just agree on some ground rules- FUCK!" He yelped, turning around. "I thought you were in the bed!" He groaned, scrubbing his eyes furiously.

She giggled. "Assuming, Hmm? What have I told you about assumptions?"

"Yeah, I know, but can you... take a break, or something? This is kind of serious." He sighed, leaning against the doorframe, his back to us.

She hummed. "I don't know... sir Rune, are you tired?"

"Not very, I just had a Nice Rest." I answered honestly.

"Good! Back to work!" She giggled again, and leaned back against the waist-high railing.

"Madam? Y-your... breakfast has arrived." The well-dressed boy set the dishes down quickly, but professionally, and then darted out.

"Ah! And now we can take a break." She nodded, and straightened her clothes, pulling me up into a deep kiss.

"Alright, basic, ground rule, can we just never repeat this situation again?" The man shivered.

"Sure. When I said 'enter at your own risk', I wasn't joking." She shrugged, and sat in my lap, at the little table. "The orange juice is for you, Rune, drink up, you'll see why tonight." She smirked.

He gagged. "Okay, I take it back, I'm just as prudish as your other children, if it means I don't ever have to imagine my mother gargling some guy's-"

"If you're imagining that, it is by no fault of mine." She raised an eyebrow at him imperiously. "Now what was so important? Speak up, sit down, have some tea." She waved a hand between him and the unoccupied seat.

He nodded and sat down, and I got a good look at him, now. Black hair, unlike the rest of his family, with charcoal grey-black armor, which matched his eyes, as well as the hilt of the sword I could see at his waist. "Right... Ulva and Dashiva sent me to talk to you, Rune, about an expedition. They want to go back, and examine the temple and the area around it more closely. I am supposedly slated to be the... ahem 'cannon-fodder soldier' That you requested."

Natva glanced at me. "What do you want Cannon Fodder for?"

"The Weizenbeasts. When they hunt in packs, it's best to give them something to fight over, then pick them off, one by one." I shrugged, and watched carefully as he shifted, uncomfortable, at the thought of being said bait.

She nodded. "I see... and you felt this was important enough to interrupt my fun?" She asked her son casually.

"Yes. Fun is fun, this is business. An expedition isn't something to play around with, and we have about eight hours to plan this one, now that you've wasted sixteen of those hours." He said sternly.

She nodded. "I see... well, Rune, you are free to leave, if you can handle the consequences..." she smirked.

"Delay the mission another twenty-four hours, and gather the rest of my original list of supplies, as well as get back to me sometime in the morning with destinations that you believe are of interest to the expedition. I will lay a route, establish possible escape paths, danger spots, and evacuations zones, as well as permanent spots to meet up at, if we get separated." I nodded.

"We can't just push back the expedition, because you're too busy for us." He frowned.

"Eight hours is not enough to plan a mission, and seeing as I never even knew about this little expedition, that entirely invalidates your little timeline." I looked him in the eyes, all business.

He scratched his ear for a moment. "True... Alright, I'll tell Ulva and Dashiva how it is."

"Who's our Mage, then?" I asked.

"Hmm? Oh, Dashiva and Yeshi are coming with us. Guide, Mage, Soldier, and cannon-fodder." He grinned.

I nodded. "Alright, that's a good roster. Reconvene with all the details tomorrow at dawn, in the Hangar."

He nodded. "Alright, I will do so. Good luck with, uh... surviving my mother." He grinned, and darted out, surprisingly swift and silent in the plate armor.

Natva smiled. "Aww, how cute... now, the orange juice really is for you. Pineapple for me, plus my normal breakfast." She drank the juice quickly, and then ate a small piece of yellow-white substance, which I wasn't familiar with, next to a salad.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Hmm? Oh, it's bread, with butter." She paused. "Wait, have you ever eaten bread?"

"I don't even know what that is, so I'll say no." I shrugged.

"What did you eat, then, if it's not rude of me to ask?" She handed me a corner she cut off.

I popped it into my mouth, and hummed at the airy texture, like aerated mushrooms. "Meat, mostly. Weizenbeast meat roasts into a delicious stew... some smaller animals, birds, fruit, vegetables, mushrooms... I ate what was around. But this is good. Bread, you said? How is it made?"

She smiled. "Water and flour, I think, I'm not entirely sure. I can cook, but I can't bake."

"Mm... well, I've bought us another day... are you up for a second runaround?" I grinned.

She laughed. "Maybe Not the whole day... just the morning. Then you get to show me your home. I'm curious."

I nodded. "Deal. So... what should I start with?"

She grinned. "Oh, there's about four courses... a few side dishes... your choice."

I laughed, and gently picked her up, setting her on the table, facing me. "Alright, then, I'll start with what I didn't finish, before..."

—

The rack of pressed and cleaned clothes in front of the Iron Door was amusing, but I walked past it, pressing a hand to the door.

"You unlocked the Iron Door?" She asked, curious.

"Yes. It seems to be an essence-based key." The door echoed again with that same, smashing sound, which I realized she couldn't hear. The door began opening, as I contemplated the meaning of that, and I lead her in. "Either way... here we are, and here.... Pouting about me leaving him here when I went to deal with the council... is none other than the mighty Construct from the Temple of Stories."

He looked up, and waved slowly. "Nice to meet you, I guess, elven Lady."

"Ahh, the elven woman who has taken over my master's home... a pleasure, I'm sure." The second, unfinished Construct piped up.

She blinked. "Did they just talk?"

"In the language of Machines, yes. They said hello. This way." I led her over to the Construct, and helped her up, as her legs were apparently still very weak, for whatever reason.

She hummed, once inside the workshop, and looked around the small room, where I'd rearranged all my works across the walls, though the vats of Metal were still capped. "So this is where you grew up, Hmm? The Forge that made you?" She laughed softly, tracing a finger over an anvil, and pulled away soot.

I chuckled. "Sort of. I finished this Construct when I was thirteen. Up until then, I lived in the Lonely Greenwood, across from the Temple. It's a small tree, still about ten times the size of one of yours, around here, but hollow, so the Redwood didn't bother to try to Eat it."

She looked up. "Didn't bother? You say it like they're sentient?"

"The Redwood is sentient. One massive grouping of parasitic, carnivorous trees. Like the Goblins, they came from a drowning island, and found a continent. They spread like wildfire, and within a few decades, the Redwood covered everything in Ulfavir. At least, that's how the Construct tells it. His predecessor was there to watch it, one of the first Gifted Dwarves." I nodded.

She hummed. "That does explain some stories I've heard, of the Redwood seeming to actually hunt people."

"Oh yeah, especially the baby trees. They're the fastest, and the nastiest. The bigger ones mostly eat each other and anything that stays still near them long enough, but the smaller ones can eat just about anything, because they're fast enough to catch it. Saw one fight a Matron, once. Was the nastiest fight I ever witnessed, and I didn't even have to participate!" I chuckled, and then settled my rifle and pistols on the workbench, followed by my leather armor, and the list of upgrades I had to make to the Construct, before we left.

"And the Construct... taught you about crafting? How to make weapons and armor?" She inspected my armor thoughtfully, like an interested customer might.

"Yes, though Gothed also taught me a lot, mostly about leatherworking. I let him live in my tree, once I had the Construct ready for me to move into." I placed the things I would need handy for the expedition onto the table, and turned back to her.

She smiled. "And Gothed was the... Gnome?"

"Yes."

"I see... does he still live there?"

"Oh, no. He caught the Steel-Hide from a goblin, and died." I shook my head, and then went back to reorganizing my tools.

"Oh... I'm sorry." She sighed.

"Sorry? I understand the concept of sympathy, but honestly, I'm fine. They were family to me, Sure, all three of the people who lived with me over the years, but people die in the Redwood. It's just the way of things." I shrugged.

She tugged one of my ears casually. "Just accept the sympathy, rascal! Speaking of, though... I never got an explanation for your ears?"

"Ah, that... I was infected with the Steel-Hide basically at birth. So my elven features, the long ears and thin bones, they never grew in. That's the current theory, at least. Seeing as the Steel-Hide was supposed to be a Dwarven Blessing, originally, during a time when they were recovering from a devastating lost war with the elves, it would actually make total sense if it blocked elven features on purpose." I explained as best as I could.

She nodded slowly. "But wasn't it a Goblin disease?"

"That's what the Hall of Stories says, yeah, but the Construct says that some of the Dwarves experimented on the Goblins, tried to make them into weapons. Little mindless killing machines, with skin like iron and bones like steel. They were entirely successful, until the second generation of Goblins popped out, as normal Goblins; except, of course, for the majority of their race having a newfound lack of higher Sentience, and their blood now holding a highly-infectious genetically modified plague. Those infected got either a mindless rage, death, or 'The Gift'." I chuckled at the duplicitous name.

"And they decided not to tell anyone they were the ones who did it?" She surmised.

"Bingo. The Construct says that his predecessor knew one of them personally, and that's why he remembers it. Anyway! It's a lot of bad stuff, basically, but it's been home, for as long as I can remember. Can't say I was sad to leave it, though." I set the last of my tools onto the racks, and nodded. "There. Finished."

"And your deal with the council? Do you plan on keeping it?" She asked, inspecting one of the knives hanging on the wall.

"Of course I do? Why wouldn't I? That's why I pushed for such favorable conditions, before accepting." I turned to look at her, confused.

She laughed softly. "You know, you might just be the most dashing, naïve little tinkerer I have ever met... deals are made to be broken, same as rules and laws."

I grinned savagely. "The difference is, anyone who breaks faith with me can't do so twice. I'm sure after the first few times someone screws me over and doesn't survive the experience, word will get around."

She smirked. "Ahhh, and there he is! Good answer, Loverboy. Good answer." She stroked the bone handle of one of my pistols.

"Would you like to fire it?" I asked.

She blinked. "You're serious?"

"Sure, no harm in it. Come on." I picked up the pistol and a shielding cloak I'd made, and stepped outside, helping her down.

I set up the cloak, about fifteen feet away, spread and waiting for a shot, then placed the pistol on her hands. "Alright, spread your legs-"

She giggled. "Ooh, are you sure?"

"-none of that, I'm serious." I popped her butt sharply, enjoying the feeling and also her laughter, which was infectious. "Legs at shoulder-width, one slightly forward, there you go, back one as your anchor, dig in... Alright, aim down the groove, so the middle pin sticks between the other two, then squeeze the trigger." I braced her shoulders, and grinned when the pistol went off with a soft hum, much less noisy than a gunpowder based weapon.

The cloak fluttered a bit, having been slammed back by the icicle, and whatever was under it would still have been full of broken bones, or at the very least some really nasty bruises. "Perfect! See? Easy as it gets." I nodded.

She grinned. "I imagined it much louder."

"Oh I have some gunpowder weapons, if you want to try them? Not as elegant as a pistol that quietly shoots deadly icicles, but they definitely do damage." I grinned, and retrieved two gunpowder weapons, a long rifle and a shotgun, a more user-friendly version of the blunderbuss.

She grinned at the sight of the hip-fired cannon, and snagged it. "Oh, I've seen one of these, before... how do I fire it?"

"Alright, take the stance, a little different. You'll be using your hip bone to brace it, so that's what'll get the kick... it'll hurt, but your hips are pretty strong, so you can handle it." I grinned.

She smirked. "Absolutely... so I aim with what, my charming good looks?"

I laughed, and gently guided her hands into the right positions. "Well, no, that sounds like a bad idea. See, the point of the Blunderbuss is to make people go away, after all."

"Ooh! Charmer." She smiled.

"Mm. So, Aim in the general direction. It's not a very accurate weapon, but it packs a punch. Slide a shell in, here..." I pushed a single scattershot shell in, and closed the slide. "Alright. And these are for your ears." I handed her some earplugs, already wearing mine.

She placed them in, and grinned, bracing the little cannon and firing it with a loud laugh. The cloak shivered, and small fragments of shrapnel fell to the ground. The strips of rune'd metal behind the leather were showing in a few places, but it was still in working order.

"Wow... you weren't kidding about it having a Kick!" She laughed, and switched it for the longrifle.

I corrected her stance slowly, turning her fully sideways, with the rifle across her chest, and her feet braced properly. "This is the biggest one, even if it doesn't look like it." I made sure she heard me.

She nodded, and aimed through the glass scope at the top, taking a moment to get her bearings, before firing.

The bullet went through the cloak, to my annoyance/happiness, (difficult to choose between the two... I was happy one of them won, but I would have preferred if the bulletproof cloak beat the rifle...) and then began ricocheting around the metal room.

I tackled Natva, and growled when I felt the bullet slam into my shoulder, head on.

"Did you just!? Did that just?! Are you okay?!?" She asked, confused.

I stood up slowly, and cracked my shoulder back into place, where it had partially dislocated from the force of the bullet, then looked at my skin. "The bullet hit dead-on, at a slightly reduced velocity, due to the ricocheting... didn't pierce the muscle."

I brushed it off, and nodded, flicking the spent bullet out of my skin and to the ground, then helping her stand. "Translation... I'm fine."

She relaxed slowly, seeing the small trickle of blood from the circular wound. "Alright, let's get that cleaned up..." she pressed a hand to the wound, and I blinked in shock as the wound stopped bleeding entirely, turning into a ring of freshly grown flesh.

"Whoa... you have got to teach me that!" I grinned wildly.

She smiled. "It takes a while to learn the more detailed work... but sure. It's just manipulation of the body... think of it like sewing, but with magic, instead of thread, and skin and muscle, instead of fabric."

"Like sewing... Alright..." I cut open the back of my hand, gritting my teeth, and laid the other hand over it, as she flinched. "Like sewing... thread... fabric..." I tried to turn my magic into thread, and lace the wound together, envisioning it's success as best I could.

When I pulled my hand away, it wasn't bleeding, but it was still a long cut across my hand.

She blinked. "Oh! That's well done for a first try- oh dear."

The wound opened again, as I moved my hand, and I sighed, trying again, harder, using thicker 'thread', and a tighter weave of it. The wound was partially closed, again, but stayed so, for now. "Interesting trick... good to know. Now, I have a bit of work to do, unless you want my company for the rest of the day? Would a break be appreciated?"

She smiled. "Until tonight, then. That seems acceptable... when you're here, at night and the early mornings, you're mine. That's all the time I'll ask of you regularly. Just for cuddles, really. I'm getting used to having another person in my bed, and I remember how much I love it."

I nodded and kissed her cheek. "Then until tonight, Lady Natva, it's a date." She scooted out of the lab with a fresh smack on her shapely butt to get her moving, and I got to work on the Construct's anti-gravity engines with an extra pep in my step.