Master Of None

Giggling to himself like a fool Walker left the dining hall where even Maria had abandoned for the library herself. It seemed that he would need to be careful with the healing waves skill due to the calming and clearing of people's minds. This would make them want to focus on other tasks to get farther ahead than they would when more stressed out. Even more facts backing this up was the fact that Gil's mother had already rushed to the garden and begun to use skills to prune down of the growing plants to change the way they would grow. 

Walker wanted to head off immediately to the cathedral but he felt it would be too early. The high priest and Alice would definitely still be resting and if he used the calming waves skill until he was too low on mana then the two best healers he knew would not have their healing boosted. In the end it was about quality and efficiency to get the injured back in to full health sooner. 

With the little free time he had he decided to head towards the forge where he saw the wandering blacksmith enter in after the calming waves skill. He was not surprised to find that the wandering blacksmith was fully focused on repairing and changing his tools. There were new carvings being made and new magical patterns. 

He had even started to heat up the forge so he could remake a few that he had thought up better and stronger designs for. Since Walker had just entered he made room for him to sit. "I was thinking I would come here to see what is going on while everyone works some things out themselves. I also thought I should ask you if you would like to start working on the equipment tomorrow?" 

Walker didn't even need to look for a response but he still did to see that the wandering blacksmith was nodding and smiling while still working. There was something about watching a master work on something that just brought about a feeling of tranquility. It was like watching the first art or dance in motion. 

The wandering blacksmith did not mind the audience since he would be working with Walker for days on end. Instead he was happy to have someone who is as interested in the art he was practicing as he was. Not to mention Walker had already proven that he would go hunting for better materials and even spend all of his mana to help in the preparation for the best gear. That was all he needed to properly show what his heart was forged from to the wandering blacksmith. 

The time wandered away on them before the blacksmith started to lose his high focus. He had managed to make three different engraving tools and map out many designs in to parchment. They were things he would add to the forge to prevent more decay affect from the flames they would use along with pulling any of the natural impurities from the materials. These natural impurities could cause the final product to rest or crack unexpectedly and very few blacksmiths could fully pull them from the metals they used. 

"Leader, I have gotten a better grasp now. I think we can head out." Su had been standing at the door trying to get Walker's attention and finally succeeded now that the wandering blacksmith had finished his creations. When Walker turned about he saw that Midnight was also with Su. She looked like she was keeping her wings tight to her back now. 

"Had some good practice?" He gave Midnight a slight smile and was given a small whine in return. She was definitely feeling sore from flexing the muscles on her wings to get used to them, but it was a necessary practice if she wanted to fly properly one day. 

The wandering blacksmith didn't pay them any mind as the three left the forge, he had already moved on to his next task in changing the tools in the forge.

"I should be able to move about without tripping so much now. My mind was not focused enough when I was walking so i was  not properly paying attention to where I stepped and how. There are so many things I have never noticed before." Su was realizing that the things she had missed were innumerable. The sight that humans had was good  but it was not the best.

"Well I am glad you were able to figure that out, but do you think you will be able to help safely?" he was concerned that Su could accidentally do something that could harm someone. It was just a cautious thought due to her still adjusting. 

"I should be fine if I don't move around so fast. I will just stay in one place and help with the bandaging." Su was more concerned that she may be unable to help as much as she had been. 

Seeing that she was starting to worry, Walker tried to cheer her up, "The healers should have gotten a good hold of the situation so we don't need to burn ourselves out. It is a slow run to the finish now." Su nodded in agreement but she was stubborn when it came to her personal expectations. 

Midnight took the lead to the cathedral making sure to stay on the way, however as the three approached the  scene of the fire they were surprised by what they saw. The guards and the military students had hauled out all of the burned wood and ashes leaving an almost completely clear place for the new building. There was still a pile of ruble that needed to be taken away along with all the metal bits and pieces they had found. It looked like as much as possible would be salvaged to use and make the new carpenter quarters.

The guards and even some of the military academy students waved or nodded at them. Through a lot of the activities they had seen or been told about the party and what happened. On top of this they had also received the emergency quest that was passed down to them. All together the party was again the talk of gossip. 

"You know we should make a stop at the military academy after our next journey. If we can form some better bonds then maybe we can help Remey out to get the orphans accepted. I know the king would just have them accepted if we asked but it would be better if we could give them a path to be accepted themselves." Walker's idea had come out of nowhere. 

"That would be nice, I know she has mentioned she is worried about them not having a way to move up in the kingdom well. But the military takes very many different systems. They need to have a large variety of skills to perform their duties." Su gestured to the students clearing the rubble and also starting to build temporary structures to start rebuilding. 

Walker could only think about just how true this was, they had come to heal and even build. There were definitely those who could cook, make armor, and scout too. The army had such a wide range that he almost reconsidered being an adventurer. But if he moved to the academy then he would lose the freedom  to take the quests he wanted over others. 

Midnight had started to get way ahead of them causing Walker and Su to need to run to catch up. The two of them had gotten too caught up in their ideas and plans. Soon they came in to view of the cathedral. The door was wide open and there was a steady stream of people coming in and out. When the three entered there were already some of the healers that had worked themselves to exhaustion back on the job. 

Many of the families and carpenters were still there taking up temporary residence until they would be able to return to a carpenter's quarters. These people seemed to be the most in and out visiting with friends who were coming to check on them and make sure that they were safe and sound. The guards and students were the second busiest looking since they were constantly carrying in clean water and other supplies for the healers to use. They assisted in moving those that needed to be closer to the healing light crystal.

Having the extra muscle was really making the healers work more efficiently since they would often become much more tired performing these jobs. From the looks of the resting patients they had been moved in to a way that highlighted the healing of these most severely injured. There were people who had received the greatest burns or crushing injuries from the falling building. The healers that surrounded them were constantly checking and maintaining their condition until they could be healed enough to be stable. This had been going on in shifts and only calmed down after the great number of injured had decreased. Seeing that the job was still far from done Walker started to look around for any sign of Alice or the healing musicians. 

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