Chapter 44 - Planning ahead
The next morning, just as the first pale, golden rays of the sun began to pierce through the thick forest canopy, we woke up. Daenerys was still deeply asleep, her youthful face finally looking peaceful and unburdened in the morning light.
Moving with extreme caution, the rest of us got up slowly, taking immense care not to make a single rustling sound that might disturb her slumber. I caught the eyes of my companions, Val, Emma, and Leaf and motioned to them with a tilt of my head for them to follow me outside. I had important matters regarding our future to discuss.
We moved quietly out of the hall and toward the expansive front yard of the holding. The wide courtyard was choked with wild weeds, thorny briars and tangled brush that desperately needed clearing. But fortunately no large trees had managed to take root in the stone paved soil. Clearing away the overgrowth and bushes would be a straightforward, simple chore that would just take some time and physical effort.
Val was the first to break the morning silence. She turned to me with a sharp, questioning gaze. "So, Matt, what is the plan?" she asked, her voice a low, pragmatic murmur. "Are we actually staying here permanently? Is this isolated ruin to be our new home?"
"Yes," I replied firmly, sweeping my gaze across the weathered stone walls of the keep.
"We need a permanent base for our actions moving forward. We cannot simply wander aimlessly through the wilderness forever without a place to call our own. I chose this specific location quite deliberately.
It is perfectly isolated. It is equally distant from the major cities of the region and the surrounding territories are completely uninhabited in every direction for miles. It gives us an incredible tactical advantage and unparalleled security."
"More importantly, I want to completely isolate Viserys and Daenerys from the rest of the world for some years. Their true identities pose a massive political threat, and keeping them hidden is a big issue for us right now."
Emma nodded understandingly, her past making her far more aware of the lethal political currents surrounding the exiled Targaryen siblings.
"Yes, Master," she said softly, her tone deadly serious.
"There are many powerful people in the world who want them dead. In fact, over the years, numerous wealthy clients have contacted our organization in Braavos, desperately seeking to commission their assassinations. But every single one of those requests has been flatly denied by the temple leadership."
I raised an eyebrow, genuinely intrigued by this revelation of Essosi politics. "Oh? Do you know everything about those contract attempts?"
"No, I do not know every hidden detail," Emma admitted, shaking her head slightly.
"But I do know for a fact that the current Usurper King Robert Baratheon, and a few other powerful lords from Westeros wanted to heavily commission the Temple of the Faceless Men to eliminate the last of the dragons. But as you know the contracts were simply not taken due to the direction of the leader received."
"I understand," I mused, filing that crucial piece of information away for our future action.
"Regardless of past threats, before we can truly settle down and turn this place into a fortress, we will have to completely renovate this keep. Looking at the sheer scale of the damage, I think it will take a considerable amount of manual labour and time."
Leaf had been listening to our conversation in silence, as the secular politics was not her forte, suddenly tilted her head to the side. She looked up at me with a bizarre, mocking expression, staring as if I had just said something incredibly idiotic.
"Why exactly do you think it will take so much time?" she asked, her voice laced with amusement.
"Well, just look at it," I said, gesturing broadly toward the dilapidated structure behind us.
"The wooden support beams are completely rotten, several major pillars have already snapped and fallen and a massive section of the roof has entirely collapsed into the interior. To rebuild this manually would require a small army of carpenters, masons, massive physical labour and days of gathering materials."
Leaf let out a soft, melodic sigh, her ancient, amber eyes twinkling with dry humour.
"You seem to forget the very nature of our current arrangement, Matt. You yourself said that you gain our unique powers after we mate together, right?"
"Yes, that's correct," I answered, a bit confused as to where she was going with this.
"And by now, you have successfully absorbed the ancient nature magic from me," Leaf continued smoothly, stepping closer.
"So tell me, why don't you simply use those very powers to manipulate the earth and the wood to renovate the holding? You can reshape the stone foundation and roof and mend the fallen timber with nothing but a thought."
I blinked as I was genuinely stunned and caught entirely off guard by her pragmatic advice. I stared down at my hands, a sudden rush of warmth bubbling beneath my face.
"Is that... is that really possible? Can the magic of the Children be used with that level of architectural precision?"
"Of course it is possible," Leaf replied, her tone turning encouragingly sharp.
"In fact, forcing yourself to complete a massive task like this will help you truly understand the hidden depths of your borrowed powers. Our power, which you call magic, is like a muscle. You have to use it in practical and demanding ways if you ever want to become truly proficient with them."
Her words struck a powerful chord within me. Realizing the absolute brilliance of her advice, I nodded in enthusiastic agreement. Why break our backs with axes and hammers when the primordial forces of nature were literally at our fingertips? We immediately sat down together right there in the unhatched weeds of the courtyard, brainstorming structural designs and meticulously planning exactly how we would unleash our magic to rebuild the ancient keep from the ground up.
"First, we have to re-enforce the basic structure of the building, which means getting the pillars and beams back at their places and to make sure that they are not weak or rotten."
"Second, comes the walls. Wherever the walls are fallen or in disrepair, it would have to be remade and mended."
"Third is the roof. After the pillars and beams are erected again and walls are repaired, then we will make the roof."
"Last but not the least, is the outside of the keep. The outer walls, yards and all the places are to be cleared and made so that it is liveable."
Here Leaf interjected, "Leave the last one to me. I will discuss it among us ladies and decide it."
I nodded, "You also have to help me. I have these powers but I need you to guide me wherever I hit a snag. Also, you have to decorate the interiors too. Val, Emma, you two also give your input to Leaf."
Everybody nodded and we moved to interior to start the work.
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End of Chapter 44 - Planning ahead