Chapter 101: The smithing starts now!
Irwin put his sleeve over his nose to stop breathing in the massive amounts of dust. All around him, others were coughing and sneezing as they moved through the large, multistory building.
Stepping up the narrow, round staircase, he reached a small hallway with three doors. Pushing one open revealed a windowless room with a bed, a large table, a chest, and some closets. Irwin frowned, stepping back and looking into the other rooms. He found what he was looking for when he pushed open the third room. Two wide windows gave a view of the level beyond, and because he was at the highest level, he could even see part of the trees and even the edge of the lake.
"My room," he muttered as he stepped inside and closed the door.
The shutters of the room were open, and although there was some dust inside, it was way less than what he'd seen in the rest of the building. He threw his bag into the corner beside the door, then walked to the windows and gazed outside. The level-ceiling was barely two feet higher, and moss and shadow vines grew across it, creating a nesting place for birds, most of whom were sleeping quietly. As he watched them, he also saw large numbers of insects, some the size of his hand, crawling about, eating the moss. A few birds moved about, sometimes diving up to eat one of the smaller insects.
The soft chittering and singing made him grin as he gazed out across the lower houses before him. As deep as they were in the grove, a thin layer of dust was visible on some of the roofs, and he wondered if that came from the Firespark storms or something else.
As he gazed out at the sliver of the massive lake that he could see, he took a deep breath and felt a tension that had been there for many months now dissipate. At the same time, a heavy weight seemed to lift from his shoulders.
No more rushing. Finally, some time to live and plan, he thought.
The image of his mother and brother flitted through his mind, and he imagined them standing still in time, hopefully in a safe place.
"I'll only go out when I'm strong enough to, at a minimum, get them and the others out," he said, feeling his mind ease up even more, knowing that he had time. "If there's no other way, I'll bring them to Fiverio and pay for them to be citizens if I can."
"Such low ambitions," Ambraz' voice snorted from his pocket as the Anvil began struggling out.
It flitted out, then around his head, before landing on his shoulder. Irwin ignored him and turned around to inspect the room. It was larger than any he'd had before, with enough space for more furniture. Still, even without it, he liked what he saw.
"A bit sparse, but the view isn't too bad," Ambraz said before snorting as he flew around.