The sun was scorching, its violent rays beating down on the ground with far more intensity that was necessary.
Terra could feel the sweat burn off her body, only to feel more seep out. Her throat was parched and she was probably sun burned somewhere.
But somehow, that was not what bothered her the most
"Terra, lift this, it’s good for your back muscles!"
"Terra, pull this, it will help your form!"
"Terra, nail this in! Your triceps are too weak!"
Terra this, Terra that!
"This is hell."
Terra’s hands were trembling, her feet wobbling underneath the weight of the large plank on her shoulders.
Only when she arrived at the ’construction site’ did she realise what Eliron had planned out for them.
Hard labour!
Walking right next to her, holding five times the weight she had, was Eliron.
He had long discarded his shirt, which seemed to be slowly becoming a habit.
Terra wasn’t sure if he was just so eager to show his perfectly chiseled muscles, or if the heat affected him like others.
Honestly, she envied him as she wished she could take off her shirt as well, rather than cook slowly under the heat.
"Keep it upright or you’ll blow out your back. Keep moving, we aren’t even half way done!"
"Y-yes s-sir!" Terra screamed in determination, taking stuttered steps forward, before dumping the planks at the building.
The moment the weight left her shoulders, she stumbled and would have fallen, if not for the pillar right next to her.
She stared up at the building, taking a short moment to admire it.
"It’s really big." She muttered, her voice trembling from exhaustion.
Since her birth, she had never left the village, but according to those older than her, there were structures even larger than this in the outside world.
But for her and a lot of other elves, this was the first time they would see such a sophisticated building—
"Terra!"
"Eek—!" She yelped.
Eliron frowned at her from a distance. "Come and mix up this Kotar, we’re a long way from finishing."
With dirt staining her face and sweat soaking her all over, Terra jogged towards him, resisting the urge to cry.
"Yes sir!"
Then right next to her...
Heave hoo—!
Heave hoo—!!
"Argh!!!"
Whoosh!
A shadow washed over Terra as Ash raised a stack of wood so great that it nearly caused him to wobble and fall.
With sweat pouring out of his body, Ash smiled widely. "This is an excellent workout my lord!"
Eliron laughed. "That is the spirit Ash! That is why I like you, move that wood right there and go pick up another pile!"
"Yes my lord!"
Terra just stared at them, dumbfounded.
She raised her hands to her face to rub her eyes. ’I’m going to die here...’
Then she felt someone tap her shoulder. Terra turned around to see Yennefer completely covered in wood chippings and saw dust.
Her hair was a wiry mess and her golden eyes seemed duller.
"Lady Yennefer?"
Yennefer smiled wryly. "Don’t try to be like them... or you’ll really die." She said, just before she collapsed out of exhaustion.
•••
Eliron stared at the house, a smile finding its way to his face.
The construction was going perfectly well, and now that he had Ash and Terra working for free—Uhum— taking the opportunity to exercise, it was moving even faster.
Yennefer was handling all the wood work alone since she was the best person for the job.
’Should I get someone to assist her?’
Eliron paused, taking a moment to think it through.
’Nah, she’s an angel, she can handle it.’
He picked up the wooden slate that had all his plans, then began studying it.
The house was going to have four rooms in total, excluding utility rooms like the toilets and kitchen.
A fireplace would be created by the side of the building, and a special Korean style flooring would be used to keep the room steamy in the winter.
The major problem they had with the houses was the toilet and shower.
For the first time in their history, Eliron was going to build a modern toilet in the village.
But there was one problem... they were low on metal.
When he created the crossbows, he had to salvage metal wherever they could get them from.
But at that time, the metal was actually needed. He could not burn down swords and village tools just because he wanted to shit a little better.
’What other options do I have?’
Eliron stroked his bare chin as he reasoned it.
Plastic was still a little too advanced for him to make, with what they had in the village.
Latex would definitely be somewhere in the forest, but latex was too soft and would corrode far too easily.
’What about clay?’ Eliron thought, then he smiled brightly.
’That is it!’
Historically, before the advent of plastic pipes, clay piles had been used for centuries. The material was easy to find and the pipes were actually solid, some able to last for 50+ years.
’Alright... now I have everything I need!’
After five days... the external structure of the house was nearly done.
Now, all Eliron had to do was pass instructions while he could focus on the more important parts.
It was already a standard house, but that was by appearance alone, a house wasn’t standard if it didn’t have the basic modern amenities.
Namely, a toilet, a proper bathroom and water supply.
That was why he was seated underneath a large tree creating strange mixtures with mud and dirt.
’To make a toilet bowl, the clay had to be as free from as many impurities as possible...’
’To make it strong enough hot not break during use, I need to add grog (broken ceramic) to make it stonger...’
With his hands stained with mud, Eliron was mixing up clay, his eyes completely focused on the task in front of him.
The potter’s wheel was spinning with each gentle stroke, while his hands moulded the toilet into shape.
He was nearly done when he heard a voice from beside him.
"Intersting work, young man."
Eliron turned to his side, his expression shifting slightly.
There was a woman leaning over his shoulder, watching his work with wide, curious, violet eyes.
She had black, flowing hair that went down past her waist, a smooth angular face and skin untouched by age.
The woman smirked faintly, a look of mischief on her face as she stood straight, adjusting her clothing.
Eliron smiled.
The woman in front of him was none other than the master of runes, one of the twelve elven chiefs.
And...
She had fallen right into his trap!
He bowed slightly in greeting. "It’s a pleasure to meet you Madame Zenith."