Shovels In Spades

In the Richie family's room, in their shared cabin, Ger approached and sat next to Ellie who had her head held down and was staring at the floor.

"Ellie, what's wrong? You've been sulking here all morning. Shouldn't you be happy now that Daz is awake again?" Ger asked as he put a hand on his upset daughter's back.

"Mmm," Ellie weakly replied with little-to-no enthusiasm in her voice.

Ger rubbed his temple and sighed. "This is about Madison, isn't it? Or is it about your skill that you haven't told Daz about yet?"

"... Both," Ellie replied in a weak voice.

Ger had little advice to give in regards to Madison. He had obviously seen the signs and knew that his daughter held feelings for Daz, but he was a divorced man, so he was under the assumption that any help he offered in that regard would be flawed. However, he could help with the other matter.

"I don't think Daz will think any less of you for hiding it," Ger claimed with a reassuring smile.

Ellie slowly raised her head and showed her red and puffy eyes to her stepfather. "Really?" There was desperation in the young woman's voice and it clearly tugged at Ger's heartstrings.

"Of course," Ger replied as he put a hand on Ellie's head. "Do you think Daz doesn't have a secret or five that he's keeping from everyone? Just tell him about your skill if you think he's concerned about it."

Ellie's face visibly brightened upon hearing this. "That... that makes sense... but... but what do I do about his girlfriend?!"

Ger started to sweat. 'How am I supposed to know?!'

"Er... maybe ask Sarah? She's got more experience with relationships than I do anyway. You know that I was always too busy with work to focus on your mother before she left us," Ger said as he scratched his bald head with embarrassment.

Ellie frowned and gripped her skirt with frustration. She closed her eyes and calmed herself down. "I'm going to go talk to Daz. Thanks, Dad, I'm glad you talked to me."

Ellie jumped up from the sofa she was sat on and kissed Ger on the cheek before she left the room. Ger sat in silence for a while. Memories from the other day flooded his mind and he couldn't help but focus on how brave Ellie had been compared to himself who had wanted to leave Daz and Crusher to die. He clenched his fists and laughed self-mockingly. "Ellie sure has grown up a lot in the past week, hasn't she? Hahaha..."

"So this is the magic tower?" Daz asked no one in particular as he looked at the tall and sturdy structure that had appeared and attached itself to the inner wall of Fort Skip.

It was roughly twenty meters tall and had no clear entrances. The tip was a spire that pointed straight to the sky and it was made from a pitch black metal of some sort. Daz marvelled at the sight before he decided to identify it one more time.