"Thank you," the King murmured quietly as Thalassa made her offer. He accepted the hand on his arm and the willingness to take over with a grateful inclination of his head. If there was pity in her voice it wasn't without reason; the King had overextended himself and underestimated the amount of concentration the task required. It was better to hand it to someone who had the necessary focus.
Besides, having seen her breaking rocks he knew that she was both a hard worker and a diligent one.
His trust in her was rewarded immediately as she took over and smoothed out the roughly uneven and thicker portions of the cement slurry that his slower stirring had allowed to form. Under the Ancient's steady, patient hands the cement smoothed out and became much easier to work with. Before he left, Hadama threw in several handfuls of mica and quartz chips to be evenly distributed into the mix by the captain's expert stirring.
Maea might have been making a mess of herself, but no one could say that about her work reassembling the fountain. Between the new rocks they had retrieved and the careful application of cement to smooth out the cracks it was looking better than ever. Slowly but steadily she built upwards, recreating the cascading basins from largest to smallest. The two top basins were much smaller than the one at the base and her work was able to go faster (though she might have needed to borrow a ladder for the top part). The addition of quartz and mica lent a glittering appearance to the cement so that the cracks glimmered in the light like seams of diamond or rivers of night sky coursing through the original stonework.
While the Ancients saw to finishing the fountain, Hadama sent some townsfolk to retrieve a couple of large barrels. Then he slid into the water of the nearby canal and ducked beneath the waters. The head that emerged was not that of a man or even a manta, however. A hippocampus shook its webbed mane and lifted its scaled chestnut nose to the sky with a snort. Focusing his attention on the barrels that were even now arriving, Hadama used the mastered water manipulation of his shift to create pure water above the barrels, filling them both to the brim.
By then the fountain stood proudly in the Torchline sun, rebuilt and shining darkly in the afternoon light. The crew sent to harvest the sugarcane had started to return, bringing bushels of long, green grasses with them. Hadama, once again in a human form, looked over those gathered with eyes that twinkled with pride. "We are almost done for today," he assured them. "Once we crush the juice out of the sugar cane we can rest while it ferments."
Great job so far, team! We're making amazing time and we just have a few rounds left!
This round we need to crush some sugarcane... however you want! Let's make some sugar juice!
Besides, having seen her breaking rocks he knew that she was both a hard worker and a diligent one.
His trust in her was rewarded immediately as she took over and smoothed out the roughly uneven and thicker portions of the cement slurry that his slower stirring had allowed to form. Under the Ancient's steady, patient hands the cement smoothed out and became much easier to work with. Before he left, Hadama threw in several handfuls of mica and quartz chips to be evenly distributed into the mix by the captain's expert stirring.
Maea might have been making a mess of herself, but no one could say that about her work reassembling the fountain. Between the new rocks they had retrieved and the careful application of cement to smooth out the cracks it was looking better than ever. Slowly but steadily she built upwards, recreating the cascading basins from largest to smallest. The two top basins were much smaller than the one at the base and her work was able to go faster (though she might have needed to borrow a ladder for the top part). The addition of quartz and mica lent a glittering appearance to the cement so that the cracks glimmered in the light like seams of diamond or rivers of night sky coursing through the original stonework.
While the Ancients saw to finishing the fountain, Hadama sent some townsfolk to retrieve a couple of large barrels. Then he slid into the water of the nearby canal and ducked beneath the waters. The head that emerged was not that of a man or even a manta, however. A hippocampus shook its webbed mane and lifted its scaled chestnut nose to the sky with a snort. Focusing his attention on the barrels that were even now arriving, Hadama used the mastered water manipulation of his shift to create pure water above the barrels, filling them both to the brim.
By then the fountain stood proudly in the Torchline sun, rebuilt and shining darkly in the afternoon light. The crew sent to harvest the sugarcane had started to return, bringing bushels of long, green grasses with them. Hadama, once again in a human form, looked over those gathered with eyes that twinkled with pride. "We are almost done for today," he assured them. "Once we crush the juice out of the sugar cane we can rest while it ferments."
Great job so far, team! We're making amazing time and we just have a few rounds left!
This round we need to crush some sugarcane... however you want! Let's make some sugar juice!
