The meeting finally started after Chris had regained his senses and was helped to his chair by Berg.

Cat had a big smile as she had a pretty good idea of what went through Chris' head but Mia just shrugged it off as some of his eccentricities.

Chris opened the meeting with the news everyone was waiting for. "The Mostly Independently Activated Water Delivery System should be operating tomorrow afternoon."

*Clap clap*

Everyone clapped they were all very excited, they just ignored the weird name for now.

"Let's keep it a secret until our testing is done." Cautioned Chris. "Rinat will install the pump tomorrow morning. The mortar and waterproofing will be done curing by then and we can start our first tests. Plenty can go wrong, the pump might be faulty, the waterproofing might be spotty and so on. So let's not give false hope to our people."

Everyone agreed. The last thing they would want would be a drop in moral.

"If there is nothing majorly wrong with the system, it will open to the public in the afternoon once the pump has had time to fill the water tower. We'll organize an unveiling and have everyone participate."

"The first few days will serve as a benchmark, to see how much water the current pump can really output, and how much water will be needed by our people." Added Chris. "Rinat is also already under orders to craft more screw pumps."

"Then let's keep our water carriers active for an extra day or two but without distributing that water." Said Mia. "This will help us test the limits of the system and water demand. And we'd still have a backup in case anything goes wrong."

Berg stood up and started the next item in today's briefing. "Aiden sent us a message this morning. May I read it?"

Chris nodded after which Berg unfolded the scroll and started to read.

"My king, I am happy to inform that work has begun on the eastern defense wall. The foundations have been measured and marked. Half the workers are currently digging with fervor while the other half are mixing the mortar and starting work on the wall itself.

We now have a proper warehouse, courtesy of Miss Rinat's carpenters, to protect our tools and the mortar powder during foul weather. The carpenters are now preparing scaffolding for the wall's construction.

However, I am respectfully requesting help on two points for the sake of efficiency.

Security is still a little low even with our current patrols. There have been a few scares with wolves roaming into the camp at night. They are most likely coming from the nearby woods to scavenge for food. So far they have fled as soon as they were spotted, but they have been getting bolder as they are getting used to us. I fear an incident is not far away."

Berg paused there and looked at Titus, who nodded and said.

"I will do something about this after getting rid of the next Kunall patrol. We'll need to stop there on our way back to spend the night anyways."

"Good." Said Berg as he resumed reading the scroll.

"It has also come to my attention that our current water supply is not enough for our daily mortar needs. Work will most likely have to stop before night once our water supply gets too low until we receive the next delivery the next day.

Your servant,

Aiden."

Chris sighed. "How are they getting water to the build site?"

"By water carriers just like us. We sent a few caravans for that purpose when they left camp. It's one of the reasons the water rationing got stricter the past few days." Explained Mia as she fanned herself energetically. Chris didn't miss how each swing pushed her hair back, freeing her nape.

"We have two solutions." Continued Mia.

"We can send our own water carriers once our system has been proven stable and we have enough redundancy in parts to ensure we can fix immediately anything that goes wrong. Or we can build the same new system for the build site."

Chris heard a very silent *splish plash*. [Hm?] But he ignored it as he could not pinpoint the source.

"Both would work, however I'd recommend building a water tower." Added Mia. "We plan to permanently station troops there and having caravans going back and forth from the river to the camp indefinitely would be a waste. Why not build a water tower with a pump and use those caravans to transport other resources, like tools and ore from the mines?"

Everyone seemed to agree so Chris made his decision.

"Alright let's do that. Berg have Gabin send the plans to Aiden. He should have everything for the water tower. And let's have our carpenters prepare the necessary wooden pipes and faucets once they are done with ours."

"Yes, Sire!" Berg quickly left the tent to order guards to deliver Chris instructions. The meeting resumed when he was back in his seat.

It was time for the next item, so Titus stood up.

"The next Kunall patrol is expected at our ambush spot tomorrow around noon. My men are ready, and we'll leave in a few hours. We have packed your new caltrop traps my Lord. Thank you."

*splish splash*

[Again?] Thought Chris. [Where is this coming from?]

Cat took the opportunity to tease him. "Do it seriously this time, not like you did with the Shovel +5, alright?"

*splish splash*

[Is it raining outside?] Wondered Chris.

"The Shovel +5?" This topic clearly interested Mia as she instantly perked up and looked at Chris with shining eyes. The name was a dead give away, it was something he designed. Could it be as useful as a wheelbarrow or a screw pump?

[No,It can't be. There wasn't even one cloud outside before the meeting.] Chris was still lost in his thoughts, but Mia's expecting gaze brought him back to reality.

"The shovel +5 is a shovel with a normal size shaft but tiny head, when it's in the ground you can't tell the difference with a normal one, but since it can only lift tiny amount of dirt, it's much less tiring to use. This was actually Chr.." But Cat couldn't finish her sentence as Chris finally realised what was going on.

"AAAAHH!" He shouted to drown Cat's voice, but it was too late, Mia had heard enough to understand.

"GYAAA!" He received a little kick from under the table.

*splish splash*

"I can't believe you and your ideas! Always looking to cheat!" She grumbled.

But this time he heard the noise very clearly. He looked at his own feet. [The fabric is wet?]

"Ah!" He exclaimed as he immediately lowered himself to look under the table.

"You are cheating too!"

Both Cat and Mia had their feet soaking in a wooden basin filled with cold water.

Cat didn't seem bothered, but Mia was clearly flustered as if she was just caught in the cookie jar. "W-what? I didn't go over my own rationing for this."

But she didn't have time to add anymore as Chris jumped in with both feet in her basin. "You could have shared!"

The meeting was concluded after another sad battle ensured and Chris was kicked out of the tent by Mia.

***** *****

East of Brine and north of the Kunall Scout camp.

"This is it." Said Camus to his entourage.

An elf bowed to him as she said. "Leave the camp preparations to me."

Camus noded and reminder her. "Don't forget, we are spying on them, we can't have them spot us. Make sure the camp is well hidden."

"Now we wait." Said Camus as he looked at his left breast pocket. The little Lilac flew from there and happily landed on his shoulder.

"Want to bet if we find what our Queen is looking for before the others on the human side?" She asked as she gently taped his face with her little hands.

Camus lightly patted her head and answered. "Huhu. You sure love your games."