"You want all this in stone?" The builder was skeptically looking at the papers that held Defi's designs. "It will take some time to quarry."

Defi went to see the only builder of houses in the town, and the man wanted to see the site first. They were now in Defi's kitchen, the only room that had a large enough table to spread out the papers.

To the side, a bottle of springwine the builder brought stood, two yet unused cups nearby. A collection of preserved foods that Defi's housewarming had gifted him and a basket of newly bought bread was beside the bottle. It was all the food Defi could offer, which was better than greeting the builder with none.

"I need a material that will not break down in water, as the channels," Defi pointed to the canals running throughout the drawing, "will be constantly running water. The walls and floor must not succumb easily to acidic fluids."

"That could be done in wood," Karles, the builder, shrugged. "Faster and easier to process. I won't say it would be cheaper. The emblems for durability and resistance are common but difficult to put together, especially in a design like this. Houses that have to guard against rot and pests are more straightforward."

Karles tapped a finger on the design, which was a series of stone walls and metal wire in flowing shapes, with a garden outside the divided enclosures. A water channel ran through all of the divisions, through a grate. "This is a pen for summoned beasts, I imagine? I've only built pens for common animals. What kind of beast is it?"

"I'm planning on raising slimes."

Karles stared at him.

Defi only smiled, patting Mal who he held in an arm.

"A slime pen?" Karles shook his head then scrutinize the designs again, thoughtfully. "That's a new one. But I see why you wanted stone. It's easier to replace wooden walls though, in case of accidents. Can't it be built like stables? That would be faster."

"That is true, but if one has to create something that lasts, it must have fine aesthetics, yes?" Who would want to walk past an eyesore every day, much less build one on their property?

Karles almost smiled, but he didn't comment. "The warehouse needs some shoring up. As it is, it won't contain the water channels. And this structure beside it.."

"A few water pools," Defi moved to pour the wine. His throat was getting parched. If the man did not bring wine, he would only have water to offer. His pantry was not ready for guests. But since there were workers coming, he should stock up, shouldn't he? "I'd like for one of them to be constantly heated."

His designs had grown more elaborate the more he thought, so he'd stopped before he made something he would regret. He'd exchanged all his gold and silver with Marmocha but for several kept as a reminder. It was a small fortune in Ascharonian coins, but it would not do to be rash in spending it.

Karles accepted the cup with a nod of thanks. "To replace the wash house?"

"Yes, in some respects." Defi was thankful the man understood. He was still keeping the building. It was useful, but he did not want to be constantly replacing the water in the tanks and barrels to prevent staleness and water pests.

"If you're planning on diverting water from the river like this, it's going to cost. You'll need to talk to the mayor about it."

"I am informed that this property being a homestead means I can do anything to the riverfront as long as it does not negatively affect the river."

"This is a homestead? Ah, you're the one that bought the Garge homestead. I should have known." Karles nodded. "Since that is the case, the work will go faster than I thought. I have some suggestions about the water source. It would be prudent to move the warehouse closer to the river, and dig a curve that would run through here and here. You could then reconstruct the pier here means easier and safer access, and adding this would help drain the land when the river overflows."

Defi put Mal in the basket containing the rest of the slimes and started slicing bread as he listened to the man's ideas, only interjecting here and there. He put together preserved ingredients over the slices of bread. He had smoked fish, dried shrimp flakes, a large ceramic jar of red-colored jam.

He'd bought the steamed loaves today, which were softer and airier than the baked ones.

He was used to flatbread wrapped around viand or greens, so he could only serve the bread in this manner. He offered the bread topped with fish and jam, sprinkled with shrimp flakes, to Karles.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Karles look over the offered food in interest. It appeared that bread was not served like this in Ascharon. Defi quickly folded one side of the bread over the other, and bit into it.

The smoky saltiness of the fish immediately filled his nose, then the sweet and sour jam spread over his tastebuds, racing ahead of the salt and smoke. The shrimp flakes crunched lightly and almost melted as he chewed further; the added texture a pleasant combination with the firmness of the fish, the fluffy soft bread, and the jam that bound them together.

Karles imitated Defi's folding of the bread and toppings. An Ascharonian would always eat something new at least once. He bit into the folded bread. His brows rose, and he took a larger bite.

Defi smiled to himself and folded another slice.

He couldn't cook more than an average dish, and wasn't planning on employing a cook anytime soon. But if it was something this simple he could bet on the worth of his tongue, which had been raised on the highest quality and widest range of local and imported foods in Ontrea.

"We're still busy, at the moment," Karles said, polishing off another bread wrap. "but I can send people to start on the foundations at least. Tomorrow, if that is fine."

Defi nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate it. But if it pulls people from urgent constructions, my project can wait."

He didn't show his surprise at the delay. He had not taken into account the rebuilding efforts. The docks and the orphanage had been so quickly rebuilt that he'd taken for granted that the rest of the rebuilding was done in the same manner.

He hadn't been thinking.

Of course the docks were rebuilt so fast; most people in town used it for their livelihood. Of course the orphanage was speedily built; who would want to skimp on the residence of the hero Lergen, the place that rendered nearly a score of smugglers unconscious without casualty? Defi had an inkling that donations would be excessive to the orphans of the Lowpool for some time.

Karles shook his head. "The mayor negotiated some assistance from Ecthys for the most critical problems. Most of the projects right now are the ones that are simpler to handle. You're right that this project is less urgent, but it is still important to you as the client, correct? It will take a week before we finish enough of the other work to get to yours. We need to collect materials as well. It will take two to three weeks to build the warehouse to your specifications, if nothing changes."

The man was being honest, so Defi wasn't bothered. "That's fine. I'll pay half the price now, to help with workers and materials, then half when the construction starts in earnest."

"You're very reasonable." Karles had a stoic face, but Defi could see the curiosity.

"You have good reasons for not being able to start immediately. Should I yell at you, curse fate and beat my chest? For what? It would not lessen your workload or make you more inclined to put my project before that of others."

Karles snorted in agreement. There were probably those sorts of people among his clients too.

Defi had other plans that needed attention. Even starting next week, the slime warehouse now needed little of his input to complete and he could put more focus on other things.

"The price, I'll have a quote for you by tomorrow, as well as a completed design." Karles stood up. "I'll start on this, but you are aware that with raising slimes you won't recoup the cost of these renovations?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Karles scrutinized him for a moment, nodded. "I'll come tomorrow, same time. There'll be three or four people with me."

"I'll look forward to it."

When Karles left, Defi slumped into a chair beside the basket full of zaziphos and slimes. He took Turq from the basket and started squishing the slime gently between his palms.

The bouncy firm form of the slime was a faintly entrancing texture, so soft. Having something to do with his hands helped him think.

For tomorrow, he needed to stock food for the workers. More bread and smoked fish would not go amiss.

The warehouse taken care of, he now needed to think about adding land to the homestead. Preferably on the side furthest away from where Kern had planted his experiments. He felt some sympathy toward whoever owned the property bordering that side. It was mostly woodland trees, but they were also yellow and sickly despite it the now constant late afternoon rains.

He was slightly uneasy about it. If he planted the hybrid herbs and could not sustain them, the vitality of any land he bought would be lowered greatly and the sansu trees he'd painstakingly revived would once again start to wither.

Surely all the land Kern used hadn't wilted in a single growing season, though. He'd best start slow, plant one plot per seed, then determine whether the Current would sustain them. The herbs grew fast, according to Leraine's journals. A month and they'd be ready to harvest.

He decided to visit the town hall tomorrow.

It was about time to go to work.