Chapter 32: Playing God and Making Terrible Mistakes

“Tori, have you ever thought that you may be doing too much?” JP asked as he and Sonia arrived at Cafe Fortuna and found Tori lying across the chaise by the hearth with one of the accent pillows resting lightly on her face.

“No,” came the muffled response from the unmoving young woman in pants and a long sleeve shirt.

“You need to rest,” Sonia said as she pulled a chair from one of the vacant tables and sat down beside the chaise. She raised her arm to get the attention of the man behind the counter at the back of the cafe. “Mr. Tobias! Two coffees with milk.”

Tori groaned. “I can rest when I’m dead.”

“All right, that’s not the attitude we want to go with,” Henrik said from a chair and a small table near-by. He sipped on his drink and went through some papers. “Isn’t your project moving along?”

Tori reached up and grabbed the pillow on her face before dramatically pulling it off and glaring at the ceiling. “At a snail’s pace! It’s been almost a month and I’m still waiting for the results of that test island.”

Perhaps it was because she was from a world where results came much faster and there was technology that sped it up or perhaps it was because there were people who needed a place to live immediately, so she had no time to waste, but the results of the piles on the island and the stone foundations felt as if they were being dragged along.

And they weren’t.

There was a team of enthusiastic Université students, professors, architects, and excavators who were carefully monitoring the test island and she’d receive daily calls from Professor Grey and Professor Meyer about the status. The last she heard; the wooden piles had been manually driven into the soil of half of the test island. They tried three different types of backfill and had settled on coarsely ground, scrap limestone from a nearby quarry for both convenience and price.

The foundation stone came recommended by one of Professor Meyer’s professional associates; a dense stone called ifana stone. Tori had seen a sample and it was a dark gray stone with darker gray and navy marbling. A small portion of the wooden piles had already been covered by three layers of ifana stone.

It was ready to be built upon at what was considered a phenomenal speed.

The students and professors planned to start the first homestead that weekend and Tori wanted to go and observe, but she had a prior engagement: Ewan’s birthday.

They were having dinner at Ewan’s house the next evening and Tori was going to spend the day at Auntie Lucia’s, making his requested food. She supposed it was a good distraction from the constant chaos of her project, Lions Gate, and her crystal experiments.

“Horizon wasn’t built in a day,” Sonia said as she received her drink from the server. “At least while you’re waiting, you can work on other things. How are the store’s spring and summer designs?”

“Finalized; we’re selecting the materials next week and estimate to have the prototypes out by next month. We can invite some important patrons to see them.” Tori placed the pillow back over her head.

“What about your crystal experiments?” JP asked as he stirred his coffee.

Tori was quiet for a moment. “There is a bit of a pause. We need to find a new place to experiment that’ll be safe.”

“Safe?” Sonia frowned. She narrowed her eyes. “What happened?”

“A crystal...may have...exploded.” The clinking of metal spoons against coffee cups came to an abrupt stop.

“Crystals can explode?” JP asked, wide-eyed.

Tori grabbed the pillow and pulled it off her face once more, looking at JP with an aggrieved expression. “Yeah, I didn’t know that either!”

“What did you do?” Sonia asked, looking at Tori as if she’d done something crazy.

Tori let out a heavy breath and sat up. “I won’t get into the details, but I think there is a way to charge crystals faster, multiple at the same time, and especially if you don't have a strong innate ability, which is pretty much everyone. I carved some Old Sulfae symbols onto a slab of selenite. It's supposed to pull energy into the selenite. Then, I tried to place crystals on the selenite to transfer the energy into the crystals. It turns out that the crystals can be overcharged and too much energy can make them explode.”

Her friends looked at her as if she were playing god and making terrible mistakes as she did. Henrik let out a heavy breath and looked up.

“If Instructor Ignatius wasn’t there to grab her and pull her down, she’d be filled with crystal shards and in the hospital right now,” he said in a dull voice. “That’s why there is a ‘bit of a pause’ in her project.”

“To be fair,” Tori said, with some confidence. “My theory is correct and I can program a crystal with Old Sulfae to connect and transfer energy into multiple crystals at a time. The problem is that those crystals need to be monitored before they’re overcharged. I have another theory on the type of energy that is collected-”

Sonia lifted a hand to stop her. “Tori, maybe you should wait until the instructor finds a safer place for you to do your experiments. I’m sure this can be continued later. You’re already doing so much.”

Tori’s shoulders slumped. “I guess you’re right. Most of my time is taken by the Lycée project. I haven't even gotten to go practice daggers with Ilyana and Nanny Rey."

At that very moment, Ilyana, and Ewan and Albert, who tagged along, were at one of Nanny Rey’s private dagger lessons. Ilyana had raved about her first class, which caught the interest of the other two. This all came about as a reaction to the stalker.

They didn’t know or even suspect that someone tried to break into Ilyana’s inn room until Tori told them. Sonia was furious, telling Ilyana that next time, she would just stay with them.

When Tori told Ilyana, Ilyana was stunned. She had no idea such a thing happened and was very upset. She called her father to tell him and Baron Agafonov was ready to pull Ilyana out of Lycée. Tori offered to teach Ilyana some basic self-defense, if only to buy time to get away, and to ease Baron Agafonov’s mind.

However, Tori felt she was lacking as a teacher in that aspect. After speaking to Auntie Lucia when she got Ilyana’s dagger, Auntie Lucia asked why she just didn’t call Nanny Rey, who had more than just a little experience with daggers.

In Victoria’s memory, Nanny Rey was a sweet old lady with snow white hair and gray eyes, who took care of her until she was twelve. Victoria was very close to Nanny Rey and Nanny Rey would’ve stayed longer, but had to deal with family concerns back in Nordur. What Victoria didn’t know was that Nanny Rey was one of the best dagger specialists in the empire and the ‘family concerns’ was actually training survival techniques to elite soldiers at the request of the four main Marquises. Auntie Lucia was the one who revealed this to Tori.

Since she didn’t have Nanny Rey in her comcry, she contacted her mother, who contacted Nanny Rey for her. Not two weeks later, Nanny Rey arrived in Horizon and smothered Tori in an embrace. Over dinner, Tori introduced her to Ilyana for private lessons. Ilyana was on her third lesson and she was enjoying it greatly.

Sonia shook her head with disbelief and looked at Tori. “I can’t believe your nanny trains elite soldiers.”

“Aren’t most nannies supposed to be these cute old ladies who treat you like their grandchild?” JP asked.

Tori furrowed her brow. “Nanny Rey is a cute old lady who treats me like her grandchild.”

“I’ve never heard Training Commander Reystrom being described as a cute old lady,” a male voice, almost filled with horror at the thought, said. Tori looked over the back of the chaise and her face lit up.

“Axton, you’re back!”

The man smiled warmly as he walked towards the chaise and reached out to pat Tori’s head. The three other students greeted him politely and he gave them a kind smile. “I heard you all were able to feast on imported food Tori made.” The other three seemed to look away, as if a bit guilty.

“It’s not anything fancy,” Tori told him. “I was just experimenting. When did you get back?”

“Two days ago,” Axton said, stretching his arms over his head. “Midterm exams are coming up and I have to put in some effort.” He looked towards the counter. “Mr. Tobias, is my order ready?”

“Almost, Sir Nassaun. His Highness’ roast is almost done. Just a few more minutes.”

“Thank you!” Axton gave the man an appreciative smile and looked at the younger students. “Do you mind if I join you?”

“Oh, have a seat.” Tori swung her legs over the chaise and scooted to the far side to make room for him. “Did Piers send you to pick up dinner?”

Axton tried not to look annoyed. “Sometimes, I feel that going to get food for him is the primary function of being his aide. I barely entered the flat the other day and he told me to go pick up dinner. Not even a greeting; just ‘Axton, go pick up dinner’.”

“Aren’t you already quite busy, Sir Nassaun?” JP asked. “Not only do you have classes, but you were out for military training, and also the aide to His Highness.

“It’s not as bad as it seems,” Axton assured them. “Military training happens three times a year and only as part of my position as Piers’ knight. Ah, and I know we seem overly informal, but I’ve known Piers since we were four. He’s my godbrother. My godmother is the Empress.”

Tori and the others looked impressed. “I didn’t know that....”

Axton grinned. “I bet you didn’t know that you were close to being my god sister,” he said as he put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “My mother had to decide between Empress Monica and Marquess Antonia Guevera. Guess how she decided.” Tori shook her head, without a clue. “Coin toss.”

“Your godmother was decided by a coin toss?” Sonia asked. Her face looked as if she were starting to doubt the rumored culture and class of the nobility.

Tori furrowed her brows. Somehow, knowing her mother, she could see that if she had a circle of friends, such a thing would be possible. She looked at Axton with a knowing expression. “But you’d also be a godbrother of Kasey and Sebby.”

Axton took his arm off her shoulder and narrowed his eyes. He rubbed his chin. “There are downsides to everything.” She let out a small snort. He looked over at her questioningly. “Why were you talking about Commander Reystrom?”

“There was an incident during the winter break,” Tori said. “Basically, now I want Ilyana to learn to defend herself, so I got her a dagger. Auntie Lucia suggested I contact Nanny Rey. I called Mama and she called Nanny Rey. She’s here until summer and is giving introductory dagger lessons to Ilyana three times a week.”

“Ewan and Albert are joining her,” Henrik said. “It’s not far from here.”

“A block east,” Tori said. “How do you know Nanny Rey, Axton? Did you train with her?”

Axton was quiet for a moment and his eyes seemed to go blank. The four Lycée students waited and then began to look at each other, worried.

“Sir Nassaun?” JP asked. He lifted his hand and waved it in front of Axton’s face. Axton seemed to snap out of his daze and blinked. He looked towards them and smiled weakly.

“Once,” he said, with a slight tremble in his voice. “Two years ago.... Commander Reystrom is....” He swallowed hard. “Scary.”

Tori looked at him, curious. It seemed that her impression of Nanny Rey, who tucked Victoria in as a child, read her stories, and brushed her hair, greatly differed from Axton’s.

“Tori, we’re done!” Ilyana’s voice reached them and Tori looked back over the chaise. Ilyana happily walked in ahead of Albert and Ewan, all of them in training pants and shirts.

“How was it?” Tori asked.

Ilyana beamed. “Nanny Rey praised me. She said I’m a natural.”

“She said that to all of us,” Albert said, amused. “Your nanny is amazing, Tori. I know she’s just teaching us the basics, but she’s very good at instructing. I’ve never held a dagger before and she’s been very patient.”

“I invited Nanny Rey to my birthday dinner tomorrow,” Ewan said. “Like you asked. She’s very excited to try your food.”

“I’m glad. I haven’t had a chance to cook for her yet. I hope she’ll like it.”

Axton narrowed his eyes at the group of younger teenagers. “You’re having dinner tomorrow?”

Ewan gave Axton a respectful nod. “Sir Nassaun! Welcome back!”

“Thanks.” Axton looked at him, almost expectant. “So, it’s your birthday tomorrow?”

Ewan nodded. “Yes. We’re having dinner at my house. Tori promised all of us that she’d cook something for our birthdays. I’ve asked for jambalaya, which is this rice dish with sausage, shrimp, and chicken.” He paused and smiled. “Do you want to come, Sir Nassaun? It’s not a big house, but there is always room for one more.”

A wide smile filled Axton’s lips as his eyes crinkled up. “Well...if you insist.”

“You’re going to bring all of that?” Marco looked at Tori with pain written all over his little face. Tori raised a brow as she placed the heavy lid on to the pot that was large enough to fit two whole chickens.

“Yes, Ewan has a lot of siblings,” Tori said. She wrapped the handles with some kitchen towels and lifted the pot off the stove. She turned around, careful not to run into one of her cousins, as she brought the large pot into a wooden chest with a round carnelian slab embedded on the bottom to keep the pot warm. “It’s heavier than I thought.”

The twins’ eyes widened. “We can make it lighter!”

“I made you a separate portion,” Tori said, giving them a look. “There is still some left over.” She pointed to a significantly smaller pot on the counter. Since she was using Auntie Lucia’s kitchen to cook, she also made some food for her family. They had yet to try the jambalaya, but the twins were hooked.

The two boys excitedly watched as she prepared a larger batch and were heartbroken to discover that the larger batch was not, as they expected, for them to eat later, but for Ewan’s birthday.

“I haven’t seen Ewan for a while,” Mateo said, sounding thoughtful. “Maybe we should also go-”

“No. Don’t think we can’t see whatever strange plan you have in your head,” Auntie Lucia said as she loomed by the kitchen entrance and frowned. “Your cousin already made you a separate portion. Leave her alone.”

The two identical faces fell, disappointed, as Tori chuckled and closed the latches on the wooden box. Instructor Ignatius had the box specially made to keep food warm while transporting it. The Connors lived across town and by carriage, it would take over half an hour.

“What about the steak?” Marco asked, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Tori.

“The steak is for Ewan, too,” she said.

“There are three!” Mateo cried out, as if there was some injustice. “Ewan already gets a big pot!”

“The steak is for the winners of the game. Henrik and Albert were on Ewan’s team and their prize was to be the first to try my next dish. These steaks.”

“Cousin Tori.” Marco looked at her seriously. “I can understand giving Ewan a whole steak. It’s his birthday. But if they’re just trying your dish, do they really need a whole steak each?”

“My brother makes a good point. To try a dish doesn’t necessarily mean to have a whole one,” Mateo added.

Tori narrowed her eyes at them. Their logic was sound, but they neglected one thing. “They also have to be the first to try them. If I leave one here for you two, won’t you two be the first to try them instead?”

The twins looked at each other. “Also a valid point.”

Tori sighed and moved the three steaks on to a metal pan with a lid. She then placed it into a smaller heating box. “I’ll make some for you the next time I come to cook. Promise.”

“But you’re so busy....” Marco hugged her waist. “Mom says you don’t have time to come over as much.”

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Mateo’s eyes crinkled up. “You don’t love us anymore.”

“Don't try to emotionally blackmail your cousin,” Auntie Lucia said, rolling her eyes. She waved her hand and the butler came to pick up the boxes and put them in the carriage. The twins watched the boxes with their precious food slip out of their house. Auntie Lucia walked Tori out to the carriage and thanked her for lunch. “Enjoy your friend’s party. And make sure to take the carriage back to Lycée when it’s over. Leave the pots and the boxes inside; we’ll take care of them when the carriage comes back.”

“Thanks, Auntie!” Tori kissed her Auntie’s cheek and climbed onto the carriage. Her friends were meeting her at Ewan’s family’s house in the eleventh district. Tori had given the driver the address and she spent her time in the carriage looking over the estimated costs for the wooden piles, limestone backfill, and ifana stone foundations.

They’d need a lot of wooden piles and of particular trees. Guild master Skuldsen was looking into sources for her. The limestone backfill was pretty much waste material and had been ‘donated’ to Université for use on the test island. The ifana stone was looking to be the most expensive material, but surprisingly, not by much.

Because it was such a dark, drab looking stone, it wasn’t a popular building material. Their current source was a quarry belonging to the Fekete Duchy; the closest duchy to the delta. Transport costs weren’t expensive since they were reasonably close by. Still, Tori wanted to find multiple sources for building materials to keep the project moving.

She always had to consider any backlogs or delays in production timelines, as well as think of possible solutions should any such delay occur.

The carriage pulled up to a narrow street and began to slow. Tori peered out the window. The eleventh district was near the Imperial Stables and housed many knights, archers, guards, and their families. The carriage pulled up to a modest, narrow building. It was three stories of lumber and aging stone masonry. If she could describe it in one word: cottagecore.

The sun was just starting to set and already there were lights coming through the narrow windows with the worn brown shutters.

“My lady, we’ve arrived,” the footman said as he jumped down to open the door for her. As Tori stepped outside, the front door to the house was thrown open.

“You’re here!” Ilyana rushed out with Ewan behind her.

“Yes, is everyone here already?” Tori asked.

“We’re just waiting for the main course,” Axton said as he appeared at the doorway. “Do you need help?”

“Just the heating boxes,” Tori said as she stepped aside. “Is Piers here, too?”

“No, he’s not good with large groups of people,” Axton said as he took the two boxes from the footman with ease. “I’ll take these. Thank you.”

“Why are there two boxes?” Ewan asked. “Did you make extra?”

“Nope, didn’t you and your team win the games? The top box has the experimental dish,” Tori said as she walked down the stone path to get to the door.

“Finally, some good news,” Henrik’s tired voice said as soon as she entered the house. There were three children hanging off of Henrik, who looked exhausted.

“Everyone!” Ewan shouted as Tori stopped inside and awaited instructions on where to go next. “Tori’s here!”

Her eyes went wide as a parade of people crossed paths with her. Ewan introduced his parents, his older brothers, sisters, their respective spouses, several nephews, and a niece; then there was his aunt, uncle, Sonia and JP’s parents, Henrik’s parents, and Ewan's aging grandmother.

She knew Henrik’s parents, so they greeted her and continued to sit in the parlor, but aside from them, Nanny Rey who was talking to Albert, and Captain Patrick, who was showing Axton where to put the food, everyone had come to greet Tori at once.

Her first thought was that Ewan’s entire family looked similar to him. And for some reason, all the older males had their heads shaved. They looked like Ewan at different ages. Madam Connor and her two daughters were all also somehow involved with either the local patrols or the knights.

The only exceptions were Ewan and Captain Patrick, who were still students, and Ewan’s second oldest brother, who worked at the Imperial Stables as a groomer.

“My lady, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Ewan and his friends talk about you all the time,” Ewan’s grandmother said as she slowly stood up from the comfortable, large, cushioned chair in the corner.

Tori smiled warmly and approached her to help her stand. “Grandma, it’s good to finally meet my friends’ families. Your grandson is a very good friend and has a lot of promise as a swordsman.”

“Oh, that’s good!” The old woman clutched Tori’s hand.

“Grandma,” one of Ewan’s sisters said as she came up beside the old woman. “Let’s go to the table. Lady Tori brought a dish she cooked.”

The old woman looked pleased and Tori helped escort her to a big wooden table across the room. While Ewan took the head seat, as it was his special day, Grandma Connor took a seat next to him. There were several dishes laid out, including a stew, some roasted meat and vegetables, and small pieces of bread.

Tori found her big pot in the center and then lifted the lid. The heavy scent filled the room and it went quiet. Tori froze. She held the lid in one hand as she looked around, suddenly unsure if Ewan’s family would be willing to try the dish.

“What is that delicious smell?” Ewan’s eldest brother asked as he drifted closer.

“This is jambalaya,” Ewan said, puffing his chest out as he spoke. “It’s rice with chicken, sausage, and shrimp. It has a little spice.”

“I also made another dish for Ewan, Henrik, and Albert,” Tori said. “They won a game last time and the prize was to be the first to taste my next experiment.” She walked to the smaller wooden box and took out the pan. She put it on the corner of the table, next to Ewan, and lifted the lid.

“Is that steak?” Ewan gasped as he nearly shot up from his seat.

“Yes, it’s been seasoned, pan seared, and then placed in the oven for a few minutes,” Tori said. “Let me have your dishes.”

She placed the largest one on Ewan’s plate and then put it in front of him. Albert and Henrik got slightly smaller pieces. Under normal circumstances, they would’ve complained, but since it was Ewan’s birthday, they let him have it.

Under the watchful eyes of his friends and family, Ewan took a knife and cut through the meat. His hand was shaking and Tori furrowed her brows, wondering just how excited he was that he got meat for his birthday.

A whimper left the young swordsman as he closed his eyes. “It’s good...the flavors....”

Albert and Henrik exchanged looks before digging into their steaks. Their reactions mirrored Ewan’s and Tori wondered if perhaps steak simply wasn’t normally cooked like this here.

“Henrik, be generous. Give us a bite to taste,” JP said looming behind him.

Henrik snorted and shot him a glare. “This was the agreed upon prize for winning the games. It’s not my fault you couldn’t guess the Serka River.”

“It’s a whole steak! You can spare a little.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Uncle Erik, your son is being a-”

“Who’d like to try some?” Tori said loudly while keeping a smile on her face. She stepped in and moved over to the pot. Nanny Rey rushed over and began to scoop out an even amount for everyone. Ewan’s mother tried to do it for her, appearing somewhat awkward that she was letting a guest serve food.

Nanny Rey laughed and assured her it was fine. She was doing what she was supposed to for her lady. The pot was still over half full after she served everyone. Tori patiently waited until Ewan’s family and friends got a share, then got some in a small bowl for herself and took a seat at one end of the table, in a chair that had been reserved for her. Axton was next to her and was already getting a second serving from Nanny Rey.

“Do Piers and I get birthday dishes, too?” he asked as he was given a larger than normal pile of jambalaya on his plate.

“No, but if you are willing to help me with my Lycée project, I will consider it,” Tori said before eating a spoonful.

Axton raised a brow. “Your project on the delta?” Tori nodded. “What do you need?”

“Investment money,” Tori told him. “I don’t need it right now, but I may in the future. Piers says you have money.”

Axton narrowed his eyes as he ate. “He has money, too.”

“I’m already using Piers for other resources. I’m not asking for a lot. Maybe just help fund a new business or training for the refugees,” Tori said. She motioned her hand across the table. “Ilyana has already agreed to invest and Sebby and Kasey also said that they’d invest. Henrik has also agreed to do his Lycée project on the delta by opening up a restaurant there.” She had agreed to providing recipes for a restaurant as long as he opened it on the delta.

“I don’t mind helping fund a new business or training for the refugees,” Axton said. “But aren’t you still in the middle of building?”

“It’s never too early to start occupational training for the villagers,” Tori said. “We’ve set up a camp further inland that won’t be affected by rising waters come spring. It’s a bit drier there and it’s set up like a military camp for efficiency’s sake.”

“And everyone’s moved there?”

Tori paused and crinkled her eyes. “There are a few older people who may not like me and refused to move from their current location, which is just a few paces from the water.” She shook her head. “They’re being stubborn because I slashed their big tent when we met.”

Axton gave her a strange look. “Why did you slash their tent?”

“They wouldn’t listen to me and kept yelling over me, so I needed something to get their attention.”

“So, you slashed their tent?”

“I had the knights patch it up later that day,” Tori said, looking away. “But now a bunch of old people are refusing to work with me. Aside from them and possibly some of their family members that are caring for them, most of the villagers have moved to the fixed location inland. We’ve assigned teams of people to assist with cooking, cleaning, and assisting Professor Grey, Professor Meyer, and their students as they’re testing on the island.

“I also used the information I collected on their previous occupations to sort them into jobs that they may be familiar doing. Ilyana came with us last weekend to meet some of the artisans and craftsmen. She’s working on a plan to start a business selling goods that they make. We’re currently looking for people who have experience fishing to come and teach the villagers. For the time being, those who can read and write well are teaching the children. We have a tent that acts as a school, but eventually, I’d like to get more experienced teachers.”

Axton raised one brow. “And you’ve only been working on this for a month?”

Tori nodded. “It sounds like a lot, but they’re still living in tents. I really want to start building on the islands, but I know that’s going to take some time. I'm still waiting for the plants Uncle Maurizo recommended to keep away bugs to come from the greenhouses in Nordur.” Once more, she had the connections and was more than willing to use them.

“Tori, you did more in a month than what Soleil has done for them in two,” Axton said.

Tori let out a little scoff. “It’s not as if the village elders think that’s an accomplishment.” She sighed. “I know I was in a rush, but maybe I should’ve been more patient with them.”

“No,” an old voice said a few seats away. Both Tori and Axton turned towards Grandma Connor. “If people don’t want to listen, they won’t listen. You just keep working to build that city, Lady Tori. When you’re done, they’ll come begging to live in it.”

Tori’s eyes crinkled up. “Thank you, Grandma Connor.”

“Oh no, thank you, my dear,” she said. She smacked her lips, pleased. “This is the best thing I’ve tasted in fifty years!”

“Well, then I’ll be sure to make you another pot on your birthday.”

“Lady Tori,” a small voice said. She looked to her side and saw one of Ewan’s nieces looking at her pocket. “It’s glowing!”

Tori reached into her pocket as she ate the last bite of her jambalaya. She took out her comcry and flipped it open.

“It’s Professor Grey,” Tori said as she stood up. “I need to take this. It’s my daily report on the delta.”

“Lady Tori, if you need a quiet place, go upstairs; first door on the right,” one of Ewan’s sisters said. “That’s my room. It’s clean.”

“Thank you,” Tori gave her a nod and a smile before turning and heading towards the narrow stairs against the wall. She was halfway up when she heard Axton’s disbelief-laced voice.

“Why is the pot already empty?”

Tori cracked a small smile as she reached the upper floor and opened the first door on the right. Ewan’s sister’s room was neat; a narrow room smaller than half of their dorm room. A simple bed was in the corner and across from the door, a worn old wardrobe.

Tori stood awkwardly in the center of the room, so as not to disrupt anything, and called Professor Grey back. He answered almost immediately.

“Good evening, Lady Tori.”

“Good evening, Professor. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it this weekend.”

“Not at all. Everyone understands that you are still a student and have other responsibilities,” the professor told her. Tori grimaced a bit. She doubted he’d consider cooking for her friends as a ‘responsibility’. “We started building the first homestead with bricks today, Lady Tori. With numerous hands, we’ve gotten quite far. It’s a single-story structure, very simple, but it’s stable. We’ll need to order roofing materials soon.”

A wide smile filled Tori’s face. “That’s great! Is it really being built that quickly?”

“The village has several experienced masons and laborers, which has greatly helped, but keep in mind the homestead is very modest. It is the most basic house plan Architect Ebbadottir presented a few weeks ago.”

“That’s fine. A modest house is still an actual house,” Tori said. “How long will it take to complete it?”

“By midweek, we should have the beams for the roof up, then the boards. We can start tiling after that. We just need to find a supplier.” Professor Grey seemed to hesitate. “Speaking of suppliers...we put in an order for bricks the other week....”

“Yes,” Tori nodded as her brows furrowed. “They were supposed to be delivered yesterday. Were they not?”

“They were, my lady,” he said. “However, we were told that they will no longer be able to supply us with bricks.”

“What?” Tori frowned. “We ordered from the largest brick maker in the region. I checked and they had a surplus that would ensure we could keep working without having to wait for more bricks if we decided to go in that direction.”

“Since we didn’t finalize a large order; we only made the order for enough bricks for the test island, the additional bricks were not secured for us,” Professor Grey said. “Their surplus has been bought up.”

“Bought up by whom?” Tori asked.

“Apparently, a Horizon company is helping rebuild a church and orphanage.” As Professor Grey spoke, Tori felt her stomach twist. “I can’t remember the name, but it had ‘cow’ in it.”

Tori stared at the comcry. Her grip around it tightened as her eyes narrowed. “That motherfucker supply-blocked me.”

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