Rex broke the comfortable silence first.
"By the way," he said casually, adjusting the strap of his backpack, "Lilee—you never actually told me what you're building. You just said something big and then nearly got us killed by trolls."
Lilee froze mid-step.
"Oh. Right." She perked up instantly. "Follow me."
That alone should have been a warning.
They walked along the coastline until the forest thinned and the world opened into gray-blue water stretching endlessly toward the horizon. Waves rolled in slowly, steady and calm, crashing against jagged rocks below.
And there—standing over the water—was the house.
If it could be called that.
The structure sat on tall, spindly supports driven deep into the seabed, wooden beams crisscrossing at odd angles. Metal reinforcements hugged the corners like afterthoughts, and the whole thing leaned just enough to make Rex's instincts itch.
It looked less like a home and more like a very ambitious argument with physics.
Lilee spread her arms proudly.
"I'm trying to build a house that can survive almost any condition," she said. "Storms. Floods. Sieges. Monsters. Annoying people."
"That's a lot of categories," Rex muttered.
"That's why I built it over water," she continued. "Harder for people to reach."
Rex squinted. "So… a floating water fortress?"
Lilee snapped her fingers. "Exactly! But I can't decide if it should be stationary or movable."
Vessra tilted her head slightly, listening to the creak of the supports beneath the waves.
"So," Rex said thoughtfully, "either a reinforced house on supports, or a boat."
"Yes!"
Rex scratched his chin. "Okay, look at it like this. A movable structure can escape danger—but if it takes serious damage, repairs are a nightmare. A stationary structure can be expanded, reinforced, layered… but you're stuck with whatever comes for you."
Lilee's eyes lit up. "That actually helps."
Rex added calmly, "Also, one of those options bends less when reality applies pressure."
Lilee blinked. "You're an engineer too?"
"Nah," Rex replied. "Magic engineer."
Lilee snorted. "Of course you are."
She glanced at the massive war hammer strapped to his back. "Speaking of which—when did you get that?"
"Oh," Rex said lightly. "Asked my master to make it. Then I embedded a spell into it."
Vessra's head turned sharply. "How heavy is it?"
"Not much." Rex shrugged. "Here—try it."
Lilee hesitated, bracing herself, then took the hammer.
Her arms dipped slightly… then stopped.
She stared.
"That's… light."
"Yep."
"For a hammer that size," she continued, "this should be crushing my spine."
Rex grinned. "Spellwork."
"What spell?" she asked, handing it back.
"I can't really explain it," Rex admitted. "But I can show you."
Lilee immediately stepped back. "Please do. From over there."
Rex planted his feet, lifted the hammer, and said clearly:
"Aer."
Air spiraled around the weapon.
He slammed it into the ground.
The explosion of compressed air launched him skyward like a projectile.
Lilee's mouth dropped open.
On the way back down, the hammer changed.
The air collapsed inward. The weapon grew impossibly heavy, gravity seeming to bend around it.
Rex crashed down.
The ground lost the argument.
Stone shattered, debris launched into the air, and a shockwave rippled outward across the shore. When the dust finally settled, Rex stood in the crater, unharmed.
"Ta-da," he said cheerfully.
Vessra nodded slowly. "So it flattens anything it touches on the way down."
"Pretty much."
Lilee's eyes were practically glowing. "Could you embed spells into armor?"
"Should be possible," Rex replied.
That was when he noticed it.
"…Uh," Rex said slowly. "Is wood supposed to bend like that?"
He pointed.
One of the house's main supports was very clearly bowing.
Lilee turned.
"Oh."
A pause.
"Oh no."
She stared for exactly two seconds before shouting:
"WAIT—ALL MY BLUEPRINTS ARE IN THERE!"
And then she ran.
"Lilee—no!" Vessra shouted, already moving.
"Why do you so this," Vessra muttered, then vanished in a blur of motion.
Dark Star-Rot tendrils lashed out, wrapping around the structure, reinforcing the failing supports as they creaked and groaned under the strain.
Rex blinked. "Huh. Didn't expect a Star-Rot creature to actually be… helpful."
The house shifted violently.
Rex bolted inside, dumped his gear, grabbed his frost focus, and spun back toward the water.
"Glacies."
A bolt struck the sea.
Ice raced outward in a wide, shimmering path.
"RUN ON THE ICE!" Rex shouted.
Lilee burst out of the house clutching her books to her chest, nearly slipped, screamed, then sprinted across the frozen surface like her life depended on it—because it absolutely did.
She slid, barely kept her balance, and collapsed onto solid ground, hugging her blueprints like treasure.
Vessra released the structure, landing beside them as the house finally sagged—still standing, but very much offended.
Vessra crossed her arms.
"Lilee," she said flatly, "you are brilliant. Why do you still do stupid things?"
Lilee panted. "I thought this one would work better than the others."
Rex frowned, then tilted his head toward Vessra.
"…Wait. Can you see?"
Lilee looked between them. "Why is that surprising?"
Vessra replied evenly, "Yes. Decently."
Rex smiled. "Huh. Nice."
The three of them stood there, wind whipping off the ocean, a half-collapsed fortress behind them, ice melting into the sea, and an unspoken realization settling in:
Whatever this team was becoming—
It was going to be interesting.