I’m not sure what the limits are.”
I took a few more steps. The strain on the bridge rose slightly, but it stabilized at a level the reinforcement spell could handle. Good. As long as the wind didn’t get worse this should work.
“Is that why you wanted to be in there?” I asked as I carefully moved my burden along the bridge. “I’d feel a lot better about this if you were someplace safe.”
“You aren’t going to drop me, Daniel,” she said confidently.
“That’s easy for you to say. I’m the one trying to balance a giant block of stone on a windy bridge,” I grumbled.
“You’ve never failed when it counts, my love. I know you can do this.”
Well, I couldn’t very well screw it up after a line like that.
The whole trip was only a few hundred feet, but it felt like miles. The wind at this height was like a wall of icy knives, shifting unpredictably as it eddied around the towers I’d built. The bridge I walked on was uncomfortably narrow, and flexed unsettlingly as I moved my heavy load down its length.
But eventually I reached the opening I’d left in the side of the new building, and the wind died as I maneuvered my burden inside. I crossed the garden and set it carefully into place, then spent a few minutes reconnecting the plumbing lines. At least I’d gotten the measurements right on that, so there weren’t any problems.
When I finished I found Avilla standing in the empty dining room next to where her kitchen now sat. I’d put in a pair of big glass doors there, which she’d thrown open so she could look around at the bare field surrounded by incomplete construction.
“It’s very big,” she said contemplatively. “I have to admit, I’m going to feel very safe here once you close that hole. I don’t think even a dragon could break into this place.”
“That’s the idea,” I confirmed. “I’m going to have some areas on the upper floors with balconies and windows that actually lead outside, in case you get claustrophobic. But I want the place where we live and sleep to be safe from anything that could happen.”
She smiled gently. “Thank you for taking such good care of us, Daniel. It’s going to feel good to put down some roots again. Can I use part of this field for an herb garden?”
I chuckled. “Avilla, everything you’re looking at now is our coven’s private residence. You can use the whole thing for whatever you want.”
“W-what?” She looked around again, her eyes going wide. “All of this?”
“Yup. Welcome home, Avilla.”
Her mouth worked soundlessly for a moment.
“My home is a palace? I’m going to be the strongest hearth witch ever!” She exclaimed.
I laughed. “That’s the idea, sweetie.”
“Thank you thank you thank you!”
She threw her arms around me, and kissed me soundly. She might not have stopped there, except that we were interrupted.
“Hey, Daniel! Where are our new bedrooms?” Cerise called.
I looked up to find her leading a party of pale-faced laborers carrying various items of furniture, with Tina and Elin trailing along curiously behind them.
“You know, I wasn’t planning to use the bridge for that,” I said mildly.
She waved off my concern. “If it can handle the weight of a kitchen then beds and wardrobes are nothing, right? If we’re moving we might as well get it all done at once, and this is a lot easier than messing with elevators.”
“I suppose you have a point,” I admitted. The bridge had guard rails, so I wasn’t really worried about someone falling off it. It was just a scary trip for anyone who wasn’t used to heights.
“This way, then,” I said, and led them up the broad marble staircase that led to the second floor of the residence. I’d copied the arrangement Avilla had come up with in the keep, only on a larger scale. There was a large room that was intended as a lounge area at the entrance to our private wing, and then a long hall with doors along one side. Four of those led to
I took a few more steps. The strain on the bridge rose slightly, but it stabilized at a level the reinforcement spell could handle. Good. As long as the wind didn’t get worse this should work.
“Is that why you wanted to be in there?” I asked as I carefully moved my burden along the bridge. “I’d feel a lot better about this if you were someplace safe.”
“You aren’t going to drop me, Daniel,” she said confidently.
“That’s easy for you to say. I’m the one trying to balance a giant block of stone on a windy bridge,” I grumbled.
“You’ve never failed when it counts, my love. I know you can do this.”
Well, I couldn’t very well screw it up after a line like that.
The whole trip was only a few hundred feet, but it felt like miles. The wind at this height was like a wall of icy knives, shifting unpredictably as it eddied around the towers I’d built. The bridge I walked on was uncomfortably narrow, and flexed unsettlingly as I moved my heavy load down its length.
But eventually I reached the opening I’d left in the side of the new building, and the wind died as I maneuvered my burden inside. I crossed the garden and set it carefully into place, then spent a few minutes reconnecting the plumbing lines. At least I’d gotten the measurements right on that, so there weren’t any problems.
When I finished I found Avilla standing in the empty dining room next to where her kitchen now sat. I’d put in a pair of big glass doors there, which she’d thrown open so she could look around at the bare field surrounded by incomplete construction.
“It’s very big,” she said contemplatively. “I have to admit, I’m going to feel very safe here once you close that hole. I don’t think even a dragon could break into this place.”
“That’s the idea,” I confirmed. “I’m going to have some areas on the upper floors with balconies and windows that actually lead outside, in case you get claustrophobic. But I want the place where we live and sleep to be safe from anything that could happen.”
She smiled gently. “Thank you for taking such good care of us, Daniel. It’s going to feel good to put down some roots again. Can I use part of this field for an herb garden?”
I chuckled. “Avilla, everything you’re looking at now is our coven’s private residence. You can use the whole thing for whatever you want.”
“W-what?” She looked around again, her eyes going wide. “All of this?”
“Yup. Welcome home, Avilla.”
Her mouth worked soundlessly for a moment.
“My home is a palace? I’m going to be the strongest hearth witch ever!” She exclaimed.
I laughed. “That’s the idea, sweetie.”
“Thank you thank you thank you!”
She threw her arms around me, and kissed me soundly. She might not have stopped there, except that we were interrupted.
“Hey, Daniel! Where are our new bedrooms?” Cerise called.
I looked up to find her leading a party of pale-faced laborers carrying various items of furniture, with Tina and Elin trailing along curiously behind them.
“You know, I wasn’t planning to use the bridge for that,” I said mildly.
She waved off my concern. “If it can handle the weight of a kitchen then beds and wardrobes are nothing, right? If we’re moving we might as well get it all done at once, and this is a lot easier than messing with elevators.”
“I suppose you have a point,” I admitted. The bridge had guard rails, so I wasn’t really worried about someone falling off it. It was just a scary trip for anyone who wasn’t used to heights.
“This way, then,” I said, and led them up the broad marble staircase that led to the second floor of the residence. I’d copied the arrangement Avilla had come up with in the keep, only on a larger scale. There was a large room that was intended as a lounge area at the entrance to our private wing, and then a long hall with doors along one side. Four of those led to
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