After another hour, Lucius had finally finished creating all the other tool heads, as well as the handles for each of them.
He was in the process of attaching the handles when he sensed someone approaching.
Though he could tell it was a Zeldrave with a small stature, it wasn't someone he had been around too often, so he wasn't familiar with this signature.
~Ah, Trel,~ he thought once she had gotten to the curtain.
"What do you want?" Lucius asked, not stopping his work to even acknowledge her presence.
"I brought the rocks that you sent the others to collect," she said, before dropping three worm sacs filled with the blue glowing rocks on the floor next to where he was working.
"And what's all this?" she asked in curiosity, before walking towards the machine Lucius had created. Even though she had no idea what it did, her eyes immediately went towards the pedal and then followed the ropes that led all around the structure.
~ She has good intuition,~ Lucius thought to himself, now looking at her as she pushed the pedals with her arms. With that, the stone wheel began spinning, catching her off guard and sending her lurching backward in surprise.
"It's a machine I'm using to make my work easier," Lucius replied, before losing interest and going back to his work.
It was a shame that someone as intelligent as she was limited due to the level of civilization she lived in. However, that was something quite common and had happened many times in history where great minds were restricted by the times they were born in.
Trel looked back to Lucius and picked up one of the tool heads he had made, before touching its tip.
"These are even better than the ones we got from the Immaculate Forest," she said as if impressed by Lucius's work.
Though the compliment was wasted on him. In fact, it felt like an insult that she was so surprised.
"Why did it take so long to bring the rocks?" he asked, trying to change the topic. The amount in the worm sacs didn't make sense for a whole day's work.
"Well, the sages wanted to make sure that none of the den's secrets would be revealed, so they had to inspect them first," she replied, now admiring the already completed tools Lucius had created.
She seemed particularly fond of the climbing axe Lucius had created to help him scale down the cliff face to the Nightmare Forest.
"The sages?" Lucius asked, taking a break from what he was doing. His fatigue was finally starting to get to him, so he decided he would continue after a short rest.
"The sages, you know... the den elders," Trel replied, before staring at Lucius. She seemed to only now notice that he was different from the last time they had met.
"Village elders? So like the advisor council?" Lucius asked, a bad taste in his mouth as he remembered the shenanigans he had to deal with due to Shavril.
"Advisor council? My brother doesn't need anyone to give him advice, we aren't like those Chames," Trel replied before coming closer to Lucius to better inspect his body.
Lucius stepped back in slight annoyance, though Trel continued to approach.
"Then what are they?" he asked, trying to ignore the fact that he was being treated like a guinea pig.
"They create the Sankor, the healing fluid. And other things," she said, now touching Lucius's horn. Though she had to go on the tip of her toes since Lucius was now a head taller than her.
"What other things?" Lucius asked, grabbing her hand as she was about to touch his tail.
"If I'm going to reveal my den's secrets, then I at least expect my own curiosities to be satisfied," she said, prompting Lucius to reluctantly let her hand go so that she could continue her examination.
"The sages are those among us who have gotten to the next tier. They are the past queens and kings of the den, and taught Avankor how to use his mystic mantle," she said, as she trailed her hand down the length of Lucius's tail.
Due to the progress he had made in evolution, it seemed whatever neural networks fed his brain sensory information had become more sophisticated, so he could feel her fingers trailing along him. It felt like a tickle.
"They evolved naturally?" Lucius asked in skepticism.
Though, perhaps it made more sense than he was allowing it to let on. Some of the golems had managed to make it to the next tier by themselves, so it shouldn't be a surprise that there was a whole group of evolved Zeldraves.
It was just difficult for him to believe since he hadn't seen anything like that with the Chames.
"What, you're wondering why the Chames don't have sages?" she asked, apparently done with her inspection.
"Well, it's because the current king has to defeat the past king in combat. Defeat means death for a Chames king," she explained, before sighing.
"It seems you're progressing towards the next tier. Though I suppose as Havon you're a guardian as well," she said, a wistful look in her eyes.
Lucius could guess that she probably held a bit of jealousy toward her brother. After all, her mention of past queens made it apparent that in some other life, she could've ended up as ruler of the den, and been the one to evolve.
"You wish it was you, don't you?" Lucius asked.
"That was long ago, it doesn't matter now. Besides, I'm standing here with Havon, if the stories about you are true, then there's a chance I may get another chance at becoming queen," she said, staring into Lucius's eyes.
~Is she hitting on me?~ Lucius thought to himself in confusion.
"Look, Trel. You're nice and all, but if you're looking for someone to mate with, then you're looking in the wrong place," Lucius said, before moving away from her towards a corner- which he had designated as his sleeping place.
"You've hurt my feelings, Havon," she replied in exaggerated grief.
"I look forward to working with you more," she said, after realizing that Lucius wasn't going to reply to her anymore.
"Later then," she added a moment after, before leaving.
*
