Warlords Rising by Honor Raconteur Page A

Since you’re
building the things. Nolan, do you have an idea of what we can plant out here?”
    “More or less but some of it
depends on how much you’re going to build and where. Some plants require a lot
of space to grow in, others can’t survive in full sunlight, so I’ll need at
least partial shade for them.”
    All valid points. “Follow along,
then, and let’s figure out how to do this.”
    The Rikkana more or less came
along for the ride as the three mages went throughout the town and talked to
anyone willing to stop and speak for a minute. They asked many questions,
sometimes struggling to get their points across, as they tried to understand
just what the needs were for the town and where they could build without it
interfering in people’s businesses. Becca’s vocabulary grew by leaps and bounds
during this process as she picked up words here and there.
    Chanda and Bala turned out to be
in charge of food storage for the town. Nolan pulled them aside and asked many,
many questions about their storage abilities. The girls seemed a little
enthralled with his politeness and looks as they would sometimes clutch each
other and giggle.
    It did not go unnoticed that Nolan
seemed to appreciate the attention.
    Half the day was spent talking to
the citizens and planning what could go where. Trev’nor wasn’t even able to
break ground until late that afternoon but of course an Earth Mage didn’t need
the same amount of time as a regular construction crew to do the job. He had
the water reservoir built and three aqueduct lines in place before the light
failed him.
    Nolan got sucked back into healing
ailments but came back to the outer wall of the city and gave the area a long
look. “Trev,” Nolan intoned with an unhappy look narrowing his eyes, “you
didn’t change the soil for me.”
    “Ah, oops? Wait, was I supposed to
do that first?”
    “Yes,” Becca inserted with a roll
of her eyes. “It’s more time efficient that way, remember? That way Nolan can
be planting things while you build.”
    “Ah. Double oops?”
    Double oops, he said. The man
needed a keeper some days. “Too late now. I guess do it first thing in the
morning.”
    “Sure,” Trev’nor agreed easily.
“I’m almost done, Bec, I think we can finish everything up tomorrow. You want
to call in a storm tonight and fill up the reservoir?”
    “Not a bad thought. I’ll do that.”
Almost belatedly she realized that Sumi and another woman that she didn’t know
where standing nearby, clearly waiting to catch her attention. Waving the boys
on, she went over to the women. “Hello.”
    “Raya Becca, this is Asha,” the
Rikkana introduced.
    Asha looked like she was a
well-established matron that likely had at least five kids. She wasn’t
particularly portly but her face had a roundness to it that gave her a certain
charm. With a bow, she greeted, “Raya Becca. You will stay with my family.”
    Oh?
    Seeing her confusion, the Rikkana explained,
“It was her house that you stayed in the past three days.”
    Ahhh. They had chosen a house at
random to sleep in. So Becca’s room was in Asha’s? “And the boys?”
    “They have been moved to stay next
door.”
    In other words, it was Not
Appropriate for them to sleep under the same roof as she did. Becca decided not
to bring up that she had camped out with them for nearly two weeks before
coming here. It was best to not trip into that dangerous ground. “I will be
glad to stay with you, Mistress Asha.”
    They both looked relieved at this
response. “You are done for the day?” the Rikkana pressed.
    “I am not,” she denied, trying not
to show any amusement at her impatience. “I have a storm to call. But after
that, I can go back.”
    Asha and the Rikkana exchanged
looks and it was clear they were working out who would stay with her. Becca
didn’t even try to argue that she was fine by herself. Those words would fall
on deaf ears. “Ten, fifteen minutes. Tops.”
    Since it was a short