Chapter 59: Trust and Wires
The sky was dark and quiet, except for the soft sound of wires being twisted.
Caelen sat at a table with Garin, fitting copper into stone shells. Bits of crystal, bark, and metal lay scattered across the table. The prototype phone buzzed once, then went quiet again.
"Still nothing," Garin muttered.
Caelen leaned back. "It's close. Maybe the copper's too short."
They'd been at it since evening. Winding copper wire, shaping casing, lining it with insulator. Caelen wiped his forehead. "We'll get it working tomorrow."
They packed everything up and went to sleep.
Morning came with warmth and dust. Caelen headed to the schoolhouse, where goblin kids were already waiting. Rena waved. Miko sat with a stick in his mouth, pretending it was a pipe. Tilo stacked small rocks on his desk.
"Okay," Caelen said. "Today we're learning how to check if soil is good."
He showed them a plant with curled yellow leaves. "Bad soil. Too little nitrogen."
"Like from poop?" Miko asked.
"Yes, exactly."