He spent the rest of the morning gathering his supplies. The twins arrived at dawn, as they always did, their arms full of tools and sketches. He told them about the quarry, about the need to drain it, about the deeper excavation required. He did not tell them about the mana vein, or the blood sacrifice, or the cost he was about to pay.
"We'll need to go deep," he said, spreading his sketches across the table. "Forty-seven meters. Through granite. The flooding is the main obstacle. If we can pump it out, we can excavate the bedrock."
Aperi studied the sketches, his brow furrowed. "Forty-seven meters is deep. That's deeper than any quarry in Northhaven has gone. The water pressure alone…"
"I know."
"And the time. Six days is optimistic. More likely ten, maybe twelve."
"I know that too."
Aperi looked up, his eyes sharp. "What are you not telling us?"
Kaelen held his gaze. "Nothing that matters to the work. What matters is that we excavate the bedrock. Can you do that?"
