Meeting the Team

Next morning, aunt Lira woke me up for breakfast. "Heh, you guys wake up quite early… Or did I overslept?", I asked. "We wake up a bit earlier than others. Our work requires our attention a lot. Besides, someone has to take care of Drak", she replied. After my morning meal, I headed straight towards the Grand Stage.

Though the plan was in my hands, there were a few preparations necessary before the project could truly start. 'I understand the concept of pottery. The problem is, we are not making pots. We will use it to make thick walls and supports. I need to focus on trying that out, before proceeding', I thought. The first process was simple enough, make some mod with the soil and water. There was no water around, but for someone who knew Formations, this sort of thing wasn't an issue.

Energy was really versatile when combined with Formations. After a quick water Formation, I had my mud ready. "Alright. Next step, make something out of mud, then treat it with fire", I said to myself. I wasn't after something small, since the whole course would be big. For that purpose, I created a thick wall albeit not that tall. Though the wall was made from mud, my Formation held it together in that shape. Of course, the Formation would deteriorate over time and collapse. Though there was plenty of time before that happened.

My wall of mud, and the fire Formation were ready. The process seemed rather simple, but I quickly realised there was an issue. One Formation heated up one part of the wall, obviously. The heat barely affected other parts, but more importantly, the wall developed cracks. The fire was simply too strong and concentrated in one area. 'I need more Formations…'.

A simple solution, but not simple at the same time. I was alone at that stage, and there were no fires going on anywhere. That meant, I couldn't collect the Fire Element from the environment. In other words, I had to feed a few fire Formations with my own energy, in addition making sure none of them lacked energy.

I tried that a few times, but the results were the same. I couldn't control the Formations very well, because I had to jump between them, and feed them energy all the time. That process was also very tiring. Still, refusing to give up, I ploughed on. On my final attempt, everything seemed to go well, but towards the end, the whole wall developed cracks anyway. "Hap! Bam!... Crumble...", the wall developed more cracks, until it crumbled. One kick was enough to destroy that wall, the brittleness was really becoming an issue.

'We'll need a large water container. Moreover, a few large campfires near our workplace would be great as well. With those things, we can simply set up collecting Formations, and worry about fire control instead. I'll have to wait for that group of Grey Lizards to arrive, there's no way I can achieve that by myself', I thought.

The help arrived about two hour later. Master Ama brought six Grey Lizards with her, and introduced us. "These are the plans, but before we start the project properly, there's something we must take care of first. We will be using water and fire treatment to prolong the longevity of this course. The problem is, we need water and fire to collect the Elements. Using our energy will tire us out, and take much longer to finish the course. Therefore, Master Ama, can you help us with that? We'll need a large water and fire source", I asked.

"Just call me Ama, child. Yes, we can sort something out, but it will take a few days. For now, just practice and do whatever you can. I'll send a few people to arrange those things with you later. In case there's anything else, be sure to come by my office or the Grand Stage. I'll be in either of those places most of the time, alright?", she replied. "Sure, I'll see you later then", I agreed and bid her farewell.

"Where should we start, Princess?", one of the younger Lizards asked. "Don't be stupid, just call me Anna. You know about pottery, right? That is basically what we are trying to achieve. We will make mud first, then an obstacle or some sort of feature, and lastly use fire to cook it. This should make it really hard, though we have to watch out for cracks and whatnot. Let's practice that, since there are more of us now", I replied.

Our little group tried many things, and we even ran out of energy two times. Though there was progress. We learned how to make walls, slide and whatnot using that treatment. Moreover, without them developing cracks and even surviving my kicks. That of course would become easier, once our water and fire source were in place.

"Great job you guys. I'd treat you to a dinner, if I had some money…", I said at the end of the day. "Please, we don't need such rewards. Besides, we are getting paid for this as well", Sam, one of the Grey Lizards said. "That doesn't change anything, you guys are a great help. I will treat you when Tara… My friend gives me some money. Anyway, tomorrow we can start this properly. Get some rest today. There's no need to start now, since we will get nowhere really", I replied before bidding them farewell.

They were rather stiff at first. That was mostly due to my status, but they quickly loosened up and talked with me normally. They were a bit older than me, but pretty much in a similar age group. Sam was the youngest from that group, at nineteen years old. He worked really hard, and tried to impress me a lot. Sam was talkative at times, but tried his best when necessary.

There was also Ilina, who was twenty years old. She was rather quiet and kept to herself most of the time. A bit shy perhaps, but worked with others really well. Jerim was the oldest in the group. He was twenty-three years old, and considered a sort of leader of the group. His Formation knowledge was good, but actually not the best.

Liby had the most extensive knowledge of Formations, and she was twenty-two. Also a talkative type, but a bit more reserved with her ideas. Hilan on the other hand liked to fool around a bit. He and Felix were brothers, and not completely opposite either. Though they worked hard when told to do so. They were twenty and twenty-one years old respectively.

'Nice bunch though, I like working with them so far. Anyway, I should look for Tara. I wonder whether she sold our items already or not'. Dawn's house was the best place to start. Tara wouldn't miss a chance for a free accommodation. Though when I finally made it to Dawn's house, she wasn't around. Moreover, Tara didn't stay with them either. "Anna, why don't you come inside for a while? We see each other so rarely", "Sure, I don't see why not, ma'am", I replied. "Actually, just call me aunt Finna. I don't mind", she said while inviting me inside.

Me and aunt Finna caught up on some recent events. She complained that her daughter and husband were usually gone from home, and there was no one to keep her company. "I can talk with Dawn ab..", she interrupted, "Please, I'd burn from shame. I'll be fine, women have to pour out their complaints sometimes, right? Thank you for listening, Anna". I chatted with her a bit more, but then it was time for me to leave and find Tara.

The next obvious place to search was Ama's office. "Hey, Anna. Do you need anything?", she asked upon my entry to her office. "I'm actually looking for Tara. Do you know where she might be?". "Well, she's staying in this area, but I haven't seen her today. Usually that brat would pester me… Hmm, she did mention something about items you two are making? Yes… She mentioned some items for sale. My guess is, you'll find her at the central market. Otherwise, I have no clue", she replied. "I'll check it out. Thanks", a short farewell later, I headed towards the central market.

The central market was busting as always. There were loads of people selling things from their stands, or shops. My hopes of finding Tara in such a crowded place, were rather slim. Then I noticed a large gathering near one of the stalls. 'I might as well check it out', I thought while heading towards the crowd.

Before arriving though, I noticed who the owner of that stall was. 'Huh? Tara?... She gathered such a huge crowd?'. This came as a shock, because I had no clue this many people would be interested in our stuff. 'Maybe it's the Ognar's skin and bones? Maybe I'm just overthinking. Anyway, she's working hard, it's better to leave her alone then', I figured.

With nothing better in mind, I headed back to my uncle's place. "How was your day, Anna?", aunt Lira asked. "I met some new people, and we will start the work tomorrow. I have to figure out the workload for everyone, and the best plan to advance with this", I replied. "Heh, you work really hard. Anyway, are you hungry?", she asked instead. "Sure, I can eat something", I joined her in the kitchen.

"Anna, Anna! How's the course going? When will you finish?", Drak came over to question our progress. "You need patience, alright? We only started a bit today, it will take at least another month or so. You said that you can wait, remember?", I replied. He looked at his mother, "Don't look at me. She promised and you pester her. That's not nice". Drak came over and hugged me. "You are growing up to be a rascal. When it's finished, I'll tell you as soon as possible, alright? You'll have a chance to play with it, don't worry", I added.

"Sit down, I'll make some food for you too", aunt said. Drak wasn't bratty by any means, he was simply excited. Any kid would be when they experienced the slides Suly made. Patience was always something that came with time, and Drak was still a child. After the late dinner, I returned to my room in order to plan the work for the next few days.

'Hmmm...There are four sections that make the whole course. We should focus on one section at a time. With all of us present, the sections will be completed sooner, but also less mistakes will happen. This sort of linear approach is the best in this case. We have to connect each section consecutively. That could only make things difficult if we all worked on different sections'. Since that would be the plan, we had to start from the very beginning.

'First step, make all the necessary obstacles, slides and whatnot. Once we have that, we can start placing Formations. Then we can adjust the Formations and test them out, before moving onto the next section. In that case, tomorrow we'll focus on the construction aspect of the first part. After that, we will make the second part', I thought. Ama couldn't predict the strength or reach of our Formations. She only drew the obstacles and possible Formations we could place. The calibration was up to us.

"Alright, we have our basic plan, now I can relax a bit… I didn't have a chance to actually read the book uncle Ulon got for me... I wonder what sort of story Iriam came up with this time?", I asked myself. The book was called Mountain Journey, and it described the adventures of a Lizard called Finel. He was a cook, but his business wasn't doing very well. He decided to close the business, and travel through the mountains in order to find inspiration.

I only managed to read about the few villages he visited, before realising that it was already late. 'I can continue this some other time. Though not action packed, it's actually interesting. I wonder whether all those ingredients and dishes actually exist. I mean, Iriam does travel a lot. Anyway, time to get some sleep, work awaits me tomorrow', I thought then went to sleep.