Draith
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Chapter 138 - New Doors
🕑 Added 2025-06-21 14:00:10 +0000 UTCDespite the way Keria stormed off, I felt satisfied with how the meeting had gone. Honestly, I'd expected far worse.
With that out of the way, my next stop was to talk to Inertia about the airship. Tamrie was waiting just outside the tavern.
I hadn't told anyone else about the capabilities of the Golden Halls. All I'd told Tamrie was that it looked promising but that there was a lot more that needed to be taken care of before it was safe to tell her everything.
She'd taken it with not-so-surprising grace. As I ascended the hidden stairs, she informed me there'd been another incident with Tarnibus trying to get into Inertia's workshop.
"Another? She's still here?" I asked, as I paused, turning on the stairs. "How many times has this happened? Did she ever start tutoring Bevel?"
"Was she meant to? Tutor the little one, I mean? Reckon I should've been told about that," Tamrie said, flipping back in her notebook for a second before shaking her head. "And she's been making an attempt more’n once a week. Inertia doesn't want her underfoot, not after the last time she snuck off with half her drawings."
"Welp, guess I did ask you to look after this stuff for me," I said, shaking my head. "Any idea why she wants Inertia's drawings? Is she trying to copy the designs?"
"Not rightly certain. Lots to be seen, but not as though anyone’s keeping it battened down tight," Tamrie said, shrugging. "Could be she's got sticky hands is all. Knew a lady from the upper holds was like that. Felt the need to grab this and that, no matter the worth. Like a snapper fish, she was."
I grunted out in amusement as I continued up towards the workshop in question. Technically, most of the old storehouses around the rim of Tetherfall had been converted into workshops by that point. No one minded having more storage down near their homes but the same couldn't be said for being next to Inertia. At least with her up top, most of the noise kinda blended into the storm.
Sometimes a little nice and quiet was nice.
"Hey," I said, stopping just before we entered the workshop. "We're going to be spending the evening on the Peak tonight, right? I haven't gotten my days mixed up again?"
"Aye, it'll be just the two of us," Tamrie said, twirling her pencil in her hair, fluttering her eyes at me while smiling. "Why, were ya thinking of doing something special?"
"Not like you're thinking," I said, running a hand through my hair. "But… well, after talking with the ladies about Balthum, and what he did. Well, there's some stuff I wanted to tell you. About why this is so hard for me. And… I figured we'd probably need a while to get through it all. Preferably without us getting pulled away."
"Ah," Tamrie said, frowning as she pulled up her notebook again. She almost seemed to be using it as a shield, holding it up without so much as opening it. After a second, she let it drop, smiling again. "You know, means a lot to me, that you're giving all this a cast, what with how drowned our chances felt. Best fake relationship I ever had, it is."
"Thanks. Best fake relationship I ever had too," I said, catching her teasing tone. A thunderous clang from above made me chuckle. "Suppose that’s a sign it’s time to get back to work."
"Best you do, if you're gonna spend all night wearing me out," Tamrie said with a flat voice.
I only processed her words right as I opened the door into Inertia's workshop. Laughing to herself, she went up on her tiptoes to give me a peck on the cheek before turning back and descending the stairs.
Thankfully, despite her best efforts to embarrass me, the workshop was not a quite place, so her words had been swallowed in the clamor. Didn't stop me from flushing in embarrassment.
Doing my best to put that to the back of my mind, I joined Inertia in the day's work, helping her with the construction of the airship. I mostly spent my day getting the panels in the right shape, though we spent time with the Granitas engine as well.
There was another reason I wanted to make sure we were doing our date on the peak that night. Starting the next day, we'd be assembling the airship’s frame. And we'd be doing it on said peak. It'd be a couple weeks before we had it to ourselves again, and that was only if things went according to plan.
The team working under Inertia, which had expanded to twelve people at that point, were already doing mock builds of sections of the airship in the workshops.
However, the airship was too big to truly assemble in full inside, and the storm kept us from working outside. The final design was big enough that we were actually going to be assembling it around the top of Mount Aeternia, and then it would float up and over the peak once it was ready.
That was the plan, anyway.
When I was finished with the panels, I had a few extra hours to spare, and Tamrie mentioned that one of the Tethered had seen what I'd done with the tavern, and had asked for some minor modifications to their home.
Not seeing the harm, I went over and reshaped a couple nooks and gave them a divider wall that essentially added an extra two rooms. It barely took me fifteen minutes, and the young Tethered was effusive with her thanks. Which was when her father came home. He was overly polite to us but he wasn't quite able to restrain himself from chastising his daughter as we left.
"Make sure she knows she can get her own place, if she wants," I mumbled to Tamrie, who chuckled in response before jotting it down in her notebook.
There were a couple other minor matters I helped with, one of which was a visit to Tanis's schoolhouse to fix a leak. Still struck me as crazy that Tanis had become the village teacher.
I hadn't actually been in the place before, as it wasn't technically in the village. The entrance sat just around the corner, near the edge of the mats. The crevice that led inside was tight enough I questioned how the large man even made it through the rough opening. I was tempted to reshape it, but instead just asked Tamrie to check if Tanis even wanted me to. The man didn't think like I did. For all I knew, he might prefer the narrow entrance.
Inside, I was surprised to find a natural cavern that ascended in steps. It was a little chillier than most of the homes of Tetherfall, suggesting it wasn't being heated by the hot springs. Still, that chill helped offset the by the heat put off by the people crowding the room.
Half of Tetherfall must've been there, over a hundred incredibly fit adults stuffed around little wood tables, barely speaking as they worked on their letters.
Tanis was laughing as he patted a pair of men twice his age on the shoulder, on one of the upper tiers of the room. Deciding not to bother him, I made my way to the second tier, looking for the leak, Tamrie at my elbow. By the time I'd found and finished fixing his leak, Tanis was on the way to greet us.
"Thanks for fixing my leak, boss," Tanis said, voice booming as he joined us. "Constant dripping was getting to the little ones. They were about ready to shave me."
"Couldn't have them ruining those lovely locks," Tamrie said with a smile, pencil twirling in her own hair.
"Glad to help," I said, offering the large man my hand. "Don’t spose you want me to give you a new door? Awful tight fit.”
“That’d be great, boss,” Tanis replied. “Couple people been getting caught on the way in.”
Somehow, I got the impression he wasn’t including himself in that statement. Deciding not to worry about it, I asked, “How're things going here?"
"Good! Everyone's only able to spare a couple hours a day, what with all the projects you've got going on, but they're learning. Some of 'em are better than me already. You should see Myris's lettering. Tight as her ropes," Tanis said, practically gushing as he waved towards where the old netmaster was indeed practicing her writing.
"Excellent. No problems?"
"I mean, no worse than working with the guards. Everyone gets cranky now and then, especially with the storm. But the tunnels've been helping lots with that! Usually I'm stuck going out on my own, while everyone else stays tucked away," Tanis said, clapping my shoulder. "Real smart thinking boss."
"I don't love getting wet either," I said, held firmly in place by his thick hand.
"Not like you would," Tamrie said, elbowing me. "Quick flick o' your fingers and the water goes running, as with any Shaper worth their greens."
Tanis let out a booming laugh. "Boss, you got a good one."
"Speaking of which, didn't I see you with two young ladies?" I asked. I’d been curious, but hadn’t felt comfortable prodding. But if he was going to comment on us… well, turnabout and fair play and all that.
"Oh, yeah," Tanis said, suddenly blushing. "They're rather insistent on the whole family thing boss. Said it's my duty to the village. Not sure I'm ready."
"You might want to tell them that," Tamrie said. "From what I hear, they've stopped taking the tea."
"I know, I know," Tanis said, holding his hands up and looking around. Around at all the people who were very carefully not looking in our direction. "Not that I don't want to… it's just… seems like a lot to take on, is all. Not sure I'll be a good father."
I… honestly didn't have any advice for the man. That was a sentiment I understood. And I couldn't bring myself to lie to him or to give him empty platitudes. Luckily, Tamrie filled the silence on her own.
"Make sure you show 'em you love 'em. S'all it really takes," Tamrie said with a shrug. "You'll figure out the rest along the way. Probably lose some of those luscious locks though. Shame that."
Tanis reached up to pat his hair. Then he nodded. "If it'll make me a better father, a bit of my hair's a fair price. Think it'd be better if I shaved it all?"
I caught the gleam in Tamrie's eye, and I interrupted before she could tell the big man yes. "Don't think it works like that," I said, catching the slight twitch in Tamrie's lip. "But you've got lots of support. Plenty of others here will be there to help."
At this, nearly half the room started nodding along, proving just how many had been listening in.
Rather than be embarrassed, the big man took in all the nodding people and broke out into a big smile. "You're right, boss. We all look out for each other. It's how it's always been. Net connects us all."
"Ain't for nothing we're the Tethered," Myris said, putting down her page to look at Tanis. "You'll do good, boy," she said, nodding to Tanis. The big man's smile started to widen before she continued, "And if you don't, well, always room on the nets."
Laughter filled the room as people came over to Tanis, openly suggesting names, offering to look after the kids, and just generally forgetting about their lessons as they congratulated or jostled the man.
I took Tamrie's arm, and escorted her out of the room, feeling distinctly out of place.
"Well, that certainly took a turn, didn't it," Tamrie said, chuckling softly.
"It did. If it was anyone else, I might've felt bad for them, but Tanis…"
"Aye. He's good with people, that's a certainty," Tamrie said, nodding as we made our way out through the storm to the nearest hallway. I noted that even here, the nets were spreading, despite the roof not being even eight feet from the floor.
"Funny how much that it reminds me I don't want children though."
Tamrie laughed along. "Another certainty," she said, pulling me close against her. "The little one's more than enough, and she's not even ours."
"Yeah, an apprentice is plenty," I agreed, realizing we were making our way towards the Waygate. "Is it that late?"
"Not too much you're needed for. Is it too much to want a little more time for our talk?" Tamrie asked, her head thumping against my arm as we descended a set of steps.
"No. It's fine," I replied. "We… have a lot to talk about."
The sun was still well in the sky as Tamrie and I ascended the peak. Laying a blanket out, we sat close looking out over the storm covered lands below. Neither of us said anything for a while, simply enjoying the quiet and each other's company.
Still, there were things I needed to tell her.
So, I did. I told her about how I was two people. How I had memories from another world. About how I'd accidentally eaten Perth's soul, then took over his life. How Nexxa, Calbern and Tresla all knew. Told her about Perth's life.
And she told me about hers. About life in the lower holds, and how she'd actually had it better than most. And about her mother, who she loved dearly, even if she couldn't stand to be in the same room as the woman for more than ten minutes. About her father, who'd been killed by an upper holder for looking at him funny.
Which led to me… I told her about my old man, and the things he'd done to me.
Hadn't planned to tell her the last bit, but when she'd been describing the man from the upper hold, I'd compared them and then…
Well, it'd felt natural to tell her.
After all that, there was one more worry that’d been floating in the back of my mind since facing my memories of Lindsey. About how I'd felt around Lindsey. Or rather, how I hadn't ever felt around anyone else. But now… I now felt desire towards Tamrie. "I… what if it's not me? What if it’s Perth who's attracted to you?"
"That don't make a lick of sense," Tamrie said, though there was a bit of a crack in her voice. "Didn't you… you said that Perth went after women straight away. He wasn't one to hesitate."
"Wasn't much hesitation, no," I said, looking up at the now star filled sky. The sun had left us alone long ago.
"So… so you're saying that you… don't like me?"
"No. Not… I just… maybe I shouldn't have said anything. We were having such a good night," I said, letting out a long breath. "I like you a lot. More than anyone I've ever met, except Nexxa. And I certainly don't feel the same way towards her as I do you."
Tamrie didn't say anything, leaning against my side.
"I guess… I'm just…"
"I like you, Percival," Tamrie said, almost seeming to test my name, as if unsure. "But if you're not sure you feel the same way… maybe it's best that I just… that we admit this fake relationship was a right mess. Much as I’ve been getting carried away, don’t wanna hurt you."
"That's… god, that's not what I want," I said, thwapping myself in the head. "Why am I making this so damn complicated?"
Tamrie shrugged, and I caught the glistening moisture at the corner of her eye.
And I realized I was terrified. Not just of losing her. Of her leaving and never saying another word to me, cause instead of taking a chance, I… cause I was afraid to open the door after it’d been closed for so long.
Didn’t matter.
It was time to throw the door open. "Listen… there's one more thing I need to tell you about. There was this girl… a woman I was with before I came here… her name was Lindsey.”
Then I proceeded to tell her everything I’d replayed in that tower on the highroad, my hand held tightly in hers.
"So… I guess. What I really wanted… I wanted you to know everything, so you wouldn't…" I had turned away as I told her, unable to bear those tears in her eyes, but not able to stop pouring it out.
"I ain't running, Percival. Not less you think we don’t work," Tamrie said, pulling my face back to face hers. She was smiling, though it lacked her usual surety. She was stroking my cheek, wiping away tears I hadn’t realized had formed. "You’re not the only one the sea’s pulled under and thrown back to shore after all but drowning…"
She took my hand, and laid it on her stomach. “I… I think it best you know just why I got this ink.”
And she told me. The real reason why she never wanted to have children. A story she would never share with anyone else.
And neither would I.
When she was finished, I realized a whole new door had been opened. There was only one thing left for me to do.
I pulled her close and held her.
