Serenus - Sarcastic Newcomer Edition

Chapter 7: Betrayal in the Woods

Amy woke me up at the crack of dawn, and we headed straight to Kratos' place, where he greeted us with a breakfast that could only be described as 'minimalist'—bread and apricot jam. After this culinary adventure, Amy left for the healer's yard, and I made my way to the forge while Kratos went off to have what I imagined would be a very awkward chat with Feray.

On my way, I bumped into Idir, who seemed more than happy to provide running commentary on just about everything as we walked. I nodded and threw in a few "uh-huhs" for good measure, though my mind was miles away, tangled up in thoughts about Feray, Kratos, and that whole silver-haired-lady situation.

When we got to the forge, it was buzzing with activity—people fixing a cart, hammering away at random metal bits, and basically trying to catch up on everything that had been pushed aside for Feray's mysterious project. The place had that chaotic energy of a last-minute group project, and I could barely keep track of what was happening.

Amy soon arrived, looking official with her stack of instructions from Feray. She had apparently slipped away just as Kratos was heading to confront the healer, which didn't exactly fill me with confidence. We examined the designs together, eager to get a glimpse of the final product, only to find that they were about as clear as mud. The papers detailed how the pieces fit together, but the big picture? Total mystery.

As Amy played director and the workers started assembling the pieces, I took up my usual spot under a shady tree, half-watching the metal puzzle take shape while my brain spun with questions. Where was Kratos? Why was he taking so long? Was this all about to go horribly wrong? My worry meter was through the roof.

Desperate for a distraction, I asked Idir about his wings, trying to focus on something less anxiety-inducing. "Do you ever use them for longer flights?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Let's just say I don't need bridges to cross the river," he replied with a smug grin, then got all serious. "We don't use the wings too often—they're delicate and precious."

I nodded, like I totally understood the struggle of having wings. "What happens if they get damaged? Can the healer fix them?"

"Yeah, but she needs Moonlight to do it. Moonlight's rare—Amy must've told you about it."

Of course, she hadn't. So, I did what any clueless person would do—I asked Idir to fill me in.

Idir started explaining, but just as we were getting to the good part, one of the workers dropped a piece of metal with a bang loud enough to wake the dead. Idir rushed off to make sure the world hadn't ended, then returned, satisfied. "No harm done," he said, like a doctor after a successful surgery.

"So, about the Moonlight..." I prompted.

"Right, Moonlight. It's this super special light that's really hard to get because it's only captured during a full moon. We use it sparingly—only when it's absolutely necessary."

Curiosity piqued, I pressed for more. "How exactly is it used?"

Idir leaned in, like he was about to share a secret recipe. "Well, one time, a guy fell out of a tree during harvest and wrecked his wing pretty bad. Feray took him to the Whitetree chamber, dipped her hand into a vial of Moonlight, and pulled it out like a thread. She used some weird tools and just... fixed it. It was like magic. The wing looked as good as new, maybe better. That's why Moonlight is so precious—it's literally life-giving."

As I tried to wrap my head around the idea of magical wing surgery, Idir handed me an apricot, which I accepted gratefully. When he spotted more fruit up in the tree, he started to climb, but I stopped him, volunteering for the job instead. Why not add "tree-climbing" to my list of skills?