Green Canyon Magic - Ch.22 - Showing Off (Patreon)

"They're keeping some stuff under wraps for 'national security', but we know they've evacuated all of Retz," Flora explained as the five of us made our way through the woods back towards our new home. "Same with all the other towns and villages in the area. Niederfladnitz was a ghost town, it was almost creepy riding through there."

Our friends were both walking their bikes, while I carried their backpacks and Stef had the saddlebags from Charlotte's bike. That large heavy-looking box was still tied to the cargo rack at the back of Flora's ride, but she seemed to be managing it well enough.

After pausing to maneuver her bike over a fallen branch the tall brunette continued, "With the rail line cut by the Gaia zone they're forcing everyone off at Zellerndorf. Then there's a shuttle bus from there to Weitersfeld, where the train service picks up again."

"Not everyone," Charlotte interjected. "They're kicking all the civilians off at Zellerndorf, but there was a group of soldiers on the train and they didn't have to leave. They got to ride on to Retz."

Flora nodded, "Right. They've set up a military base there, but that's off-limits to the public. Only the Bundesheer and some government officials are allowed there now."

"Anyways," she said as she got back to her story, "Charlotte and I got on the bus with everyone else, but we bribed the driver to let us off at Oberfladnitz."

My enbyfriend's tail twitched and they tilted their head slightly in confusion, "Why did you have to bribe your way off the bus?"

Charlotte explained, "Only locals are allowed to go there, because it's so close to the Gaia zone. To get there officially you have to show documentation that you live there. We told the bus driver we needed to visit family, and 'tipped' him fifty Euros so he'd stop and let us off."

"They're treating it as if this whole area is hazardous," Flora added as she rolled her eyes. "I suppose they don't want the place crawling with curious tourists, but it doesn't seem all that dangerous to me."

I frowned, "I wonder if the real reason they're doing that is to keep us isolated."

Stef pointed out, "Perhaps, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing my little star. It's possible they don't want random people coming here looking to stir up trouble with Gaia's representative or ambassadors. And there may be some truth to the 'public safety' aspect as well? Even if the woods aren't any more dangerous than they were before, there's no longer any way for people to call for help if they run into trouble. And no way for help to reach them now either, apart from on horseback or bicycle."

"Those are both good points," I admitted.

Then the catkin looked to our friends and asked, "I trust you didn't run into any trouble on your way here? Apart from having to bribe your way off the bus, I mean?"

Flora shook her head, "No trouble. Nobody tried to stop us or question us or anything like that."

"That's good," I replied. Then I smiled, "And we're just about here! Do you want the scenic tour on the way in? Or maybe we should just head straight to the house first, so we aren't hauling all your stuff everywhere while we show you around?"

"Can we do that second thing? And maybe take a break, before we do more walking?" Charlotte asked.

Flora agreed, "The bike ride wasn't bad and this hike hasn't been too hard either, but add in the bus and the train and we've been going nonstop all day."

"Of course," I nodded.

Theo was up front leading the way, and he took us directly back to our new home. We followed a natural curve in the side of the canyon, and our friends' eyes widened when the front of our subterannean home came into view through the trees.

"It looks even better than the pictures!" Charlotte exclaimed. "This place is amazing!"

Stef grinned, "Wait till you see what it's like inside! We've even got a guest room set up now too, so you've got your own room for as long as you're staying."

Flora looked surprised, "You've already changed things since you sent us those pictures?"

"A little," I admitted with a smile. "Nothing too extravagant though. Just a second bedroom, plus some minor changes to the kitchen so we could extend the hallway across the back."

Both of them continued to stare in wonder as we came to a stop in front of our new home. Even I found it hard to believe at times, that this was the same cave Theo found that first night.

There was no trace at all of the original low damp rough entrance. Instead we had a wide smooth stone patio outside, with a flat smooth stone wall representing the front of the dwelling. There were four large window-openings, which unfortunately still lacked actual glass window panes. And in the very middle was the front door.

"The window on the far left is our bedroom," Stef explained, "And the next one is the living-room. Then on the other side of the doorway is the kitchen, and the window on the far right is the new guest room."

Our friends left their bikes outside on the patio for now, then followed the three of us inside for a tour of the place. At the end of the short entrance hall was our large comfy livingroom, and at the back of that was the main hallway that connected all the other rooms together.

"So that's our bedroom through there," I said as I pointed left down the main hall. Then I gestured to the right, "Next doorway's the kitchen, and that's your room at the end of the hall."

Stef added, "The doorway opposite the kitchen is the washroom."

Our guests had a look in the kitchen then they both checked out the guest room. Charlotte turned to us with another wide-eyed look, "This is incredible! And it's already furnished?!"

I smirked, "We have a lot of extra sleeping bags and blankets and things, courtesy of the Bundesheer. They hauled a load of stuff up here on their first visit, then ran off and left it behind when something spooked them."

"Now that's a story I'd like to hear," Flora smiled. Then she suggested, "Perhaps you can tell it to us over a glass of wine?"

Stef's tail twitched and their ears perked up as they asked, "You brought wine?"

"It's in those saddlebags you've been carrying," Charlotte replied. Then she added with a grin of her own, "Among other things."

Flora suggested, "That's actually a good point. We brought the stuff you asked for and a few other things too, so why don't we deal with that first? Then once we've unpacked all four of us can relax and get caught up."

"Five of us," my enbyfriend corrected our guest. "Don't forget Theo."

"Of course! I'm sorry Theo, I didn't mean to exclude you!" the tall brunette quickly apologized, before heading back outside to her bike.

She carefully unhooked the bungee cords that held the big cardboard box to the cargo rack, then brought the bulky parcel inside. As she set it down on our stone coffee table Flora stated, "We got the model you asked for, along with a twenty-five meter hose and a cord. I can't wait to see how you're going to hook it up though, considering there's no power here."

"This is perfect! Thanks so much for bringing it!" I grinned as we opened the box. Inside was a submersible water pump, a long coiled-up hose, and a heavy-duty extension cord.

Flora smiled back, "You're welcome Stella. You still haven't explained how you're going to use it though. And is twenty-five meters even enough? I know we haven't had the full tour yet, but I'm positive the lake's further away than that."

My tails were swishing around behind me and my ears stood up tall as I replied, "You're not wrong. It's probably closer to fifty meters from our front door down to the edge of the lake? But the water level's only about ten meters below us."

"You're going to dig a well? Through solid rock?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not quite," I smirked. My tails were almost wagging as I elaborated, "The shaft's already in place, it goes straight down about a dozen meters below us. And from there another shaft goes out to the lake. So there's already fresh water available directly below us. And the vertical shaft continues upwards another five or six meters, to a reservoir in the rock above us. All we were missing was a way to get the water up that shaft, which is why we needed the pump."

Flora's eyebrows crept up as she responded, "Amazing. How are you going to power it though?"

"You'll see," I grinned. "Later though. Let's go see what Stef and Charlotte are up to?"

My enbyfriend and our other guest were in the kitchen, unpacking those saddlebags. Apparently they were loaded with food as well as drinks, and Stef was busy finding homes for everything. There were some perishables which went down into our cold cellar, but most of it was fine to leave on the counter or the shelves. Theo was in there too, supervising from where he sat on the kitchen table.

"They brought steaks!" Stef announced with a happy grin, while their tail and ears all stood up. "We were just talking about having BBQ for dinner!"

Our little wildcat commented, "Stef says we need a grill to do a proper BBQ though, the frying pan isn't good enough."

"Do grills have to be made of metal?" I asked. "Or would stone work?"

Flora shrugged, "I think the main reason people don't make grills out of stone is how difficult it would be to cut or carve stone that precisely? And even if you could do it, I feel like it'd be too fragile. One drop and it might crack or break. So it's easier and cheaper to just use metal."

I couldn't help smiling, "Carving stone isn't a problem here. How's an outdoor BBQ sound? We can set it up by the front porch."

"Are you going to do it right now, my little star?" Stef asked.

"Sure," I nodded. "I'll include some seating too. Actually how about a fire pit, with a grill over part of it?"

Flora seemed equal parts confused and curious as she asked, "How exactly are you planning to do all that?"

That was one secret both Stef and I agreed not to share online, even in the private friends chat. That was supposed to be secure but we had no way of knowing how safe it was. And we weren't sure if the fact that Gaia's ambassadors and representatives had access to magic was widely known yet, or if that was something people were still keeping under wraps.

On the other hand we trusted our friends, so we had no problem sharing that secret in person. I wanted to make it a 'big reveal' though, so I tried to play it cool for now. Even though my tails were all wagging and my ears stood up tall as I shrugged, "Same way I made this house."

"You made the house?!" Charlotte gasped. "How did you make the house?"

"We thought Gaia did all this for you!" Flora added.

Stef grinned, "Come outside with us and see for yourselves."

I led the way as all five of us headed back out to stand just in front of our home. Then while our guests both watched and waited, I focused my 'stone sense' on the immediate area. I had enough practice by that point it was actually fairly easy, but I still took it seriously and put some thought into the process before I began.

Where to put it was the first question, but it only took a moment to pick the best spot. There was more space in front of the kitchen and guest room, plus the natural contour of the cliff meant there'd be better shelter from the wind on that side. Next I figured out what shape to make it, and how big it should be.

I opted for a half-circle, about three or four meters across over-all. Rather than build it upwards though, I decided to recess it into the ground a little. A somewhat semi-circular section of solid rock began to sink downwards until it was a little over half a meter below the rest of the patio. Then two curved stone benches rose back up, until they were a dozen or so centimeters below the edge of the pit area.

Next a circular platform about a meter across rose up in the middle, until it was about thirty centimeters above the floor of the pit. Finally the top of that platform sank inwards to form a wide bowl shape, where the actual fire would go.

By that point both Flora and Charlotte were staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed at my casual demonstration of magic. Neither said anything though, it seemed like they were too shocked to react just yet. So I went ahead and added the finishing touches.

All the corners and edges were rounded off so there wasn't anything sharp to accidentally hurt ourselves on, and I added some drainage so neither the fire pit or the seating area would fill with water when it rained. And last but not least, I had some fine tendrils of stone extrude out over the central part, then they weaved themselves into a grill that covered about half of the fire bowl. That still left us plenty of access to put wood in or sweep ashes out later on.

"There we go," I announced with a wide grin, while my ears stood up tall and proud and my tails all wagged back and forth. "One combination fire pit and BBQ grill, as promised."

Stef slipped an arm around my shoulders and gave me a kiss before responding, "It's perfect my little star. It looks very cosy and comfortable."

It took another few seconds for either of our guests to find their voices. Flora slowly shook her head as she stared at Stef and I and mumbled, "You have magic? You two can actually do magic?"

"All three of us can," Stef replied proudly. "Stella has earth magic, I have air magic, and Theo has fire magic."

"That's amazing," Charlotte half-whispered as she looked back and forth between us and the new fire-pit.

Then after another second or two she added, "I think I could go for a glass of wine, after that demonstration."

"I'll get one of the bottles," Stef offered as they headed for the front door. "Oh, but we don't have any wine glasses."

Charlotte smiled, "Don't worry, I came prepared. I brought some plastic camp-friendly wine glasses."

"Then why don't you two get the drinks ready?" I suggested. "Flora and Theo and I will get a fire going, then we can all get comfy out here."

** This chapter is brought to you courtesy of Lucy who commissioned it! **