A Weyr to Explore
Last Chapter:
"Well fuck." Draco stated in agitation. "Only you Potter. Only you."
The others couldn't help but let out a few weak laughs at that.
What a day… Teddy announced with a shake of his head.
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Draco sighed as he took in the passed out Harry and hissing fire drake. How were they supposed to deal with a previously believed extincted creature. Only Harry could possibly manage to somehow get one to act like an over-protective mother. Teddy on the other hand was giggling uncontrollably.
"Really Teddy," Draco said while giving the child an exasperated look. "What could possibly be so funny about this situation?"
Teddy managed to get his giggling under control long enough to mentally respond. Only Harry could find an extinct creature, win it over then get it to protect him.
Everyone else chuckled at the truth of Teddy's statement. Only Harry. Draco looked back down at the unconscious man and shook his head. Draco didn't dare approach the still hissing bronze fire drake. Not with its very sharp looking claws and teeth. He'd leave Harry to deal with it once Harry awoke. For now they all had slightly more pressing issues to deal with. Like the need to fully explore their new, possibly temporary, home.
"Okay," George announced. "Now that we've all had a good laugh at Harry's expense… What are we going to do?"
"I think," Viktor responded, "Our first priority should be figuring out all we need and what we're going to do now."
"To true." Blaise grumbled as he shifted Teddy in his arms. "Lets all sit down and make a list of everything we need to organize and what we know so far."
Everyone nodded in agreement and wandered a little away from the fire drakes and Harry. Once they were a few feet away the bronze fire drake stopped hissing and settled down to sleep. They all sat down near the stone steps leading to the balconies. Blaise set Teddy down besides him. Blaise then drew three large interconnected circles in the sand. At everyone's confused looks, Blaise smirked and pointed to the first circle.
"This circle is what we'll need to do to make this place our home." Blaise explained. "The second circle is what we need to survive if we choose to travel and settle somewhere else, and lastly the final circle is what we might need to find a way back to earth."
"Why have them interconnecting then?" George asked.
Before Blaise could respond, Draco replied, "Because all our options all have things in common. Regardless of the choice we'll need food, clothes, and such."
Blaise nodded in agreement and wrote find food, make clothes, make shoes, secure water in the center of the three interconnected circles. Next he jotted down stay in the first circle, travel in the second circle, and finally earth in the last circle. In the connecting area between travel and earth, he wrote transportation. Then in the connecting area between stay and travel, he wrote herd animals with a question mark.
Viktor tilted his head in confusion and asked, "Why herd animals?"
Blaise responded, "Regardless if we stay or travel, we really will need a sustainable food base and possible transportation. The best option we have right now is those bison like animals we let in when the gray clouds formed. They could be used for meat, used as pack mules, to plough land for farm, even possibly for milking too."
George hummed in thought. "It'd be nice if we stay to have milk and cheese." George stated, "But before we get a head of ourselves we need to find out if they are even edible. They could be poisonous for all we know. Also if we travel we'd have to figure out how to protect them and ourselves from those thread things. Plus we need to find out how often that occurs."
"Good point." Blaise said as he wrote map "tread fall" and test heard in the center most connection. "Is there anything else we know for a fact we'll need to either plan or have?"
"I think we should make a forge of some kind." Viktor replied.
Why a forge? Teddy questioned.
"The tread didn't go through rocks." Viktor responded. "And while stone armour would be too heavy and arduous to travel with… Metal armour would not. We should consider making a metal caravan."
Oh! Teddy exclaimed. Like metal covered wagons and knights' armour. Though we'd have to design the armour with interconnecting sections and a more mobile inner armour, like chainmail, so no thread can get through. We might want to look into making glass visors though. Since we won't want metal visors like the knights. Thread could get through the grates.
"Great suggestion Viktor, Teddy." Blaise said as he jotted down create forge and glass in the center most connection. He then wrote create armour, caravan, and harnesses in the connection between travel and earth.
Draco then reached forward and wrote create farmland, explore mountain/caves, create paddock in the first circle. George grinned and wrote water canteens, bedding, and cooking supplies in the travel circle. Viktor chuckled and wrote star map in the earth circle.
Well technically most of the thing in each area can be used in all. Teddy announced, Though I think we really should put priority into exploring this cave system we're in first. Who knows there might be a lot of what we need already here.
"That's actually a really good idea." Draco said, "We might as well do that for know because we can't make any real decision on what to do as a group until Harry wakes anyways." Draco then stood up and picked up Teddy. He quickly settled the child on to his hip. "Well what are you all waiting for! Up!" Draco exclaimed.
The others chuckled and quickly rose to their feet, carefully avoiding damage to their notes in the sand. Viktor carefully used his foot to drag a shallow trench around the diagram. They all shared a grin then looked about the basin. Something they had only done in passing before. Just beyond the stairs, hidden in shadows, there was a large opening. Upon closer inspection of the opening, there appeared to be light in the distance.
"I'll explore this section if you all will head back to the fork in the entrance hall." Viktor said. "I don't like the idea of being separated but we really need to see all this place has to offer. I'll communicate telepathically if I run into any trouble."
The others nodded and headed away. Viktor smiled at them in parting and quickly sauntered into the opening. He quickly cast a wordless Lumos and headed deeper into the hall beyond the opening. Walking for a minute or two brought another fork into his path. Viktor looked down both path ways but couldn't see anything down the darkened paths so decided to continued straight towards the light. Eventually the path lead out into another large basin where Viktor canceled his Lumos with a quick Nox. Unlike before this basin had grass lands and a large waterfall that feed a good sized crystal clear lake. Examining the area Viktor discovered the lake emptied into a stream that disappeared beneath the mountain that surrounded the basin. Next to the waterfall was also another entrance/exit to the basin.
Viktor was pleased to see the heard beast had all seemed to take up residence in this basin. It would make it much to corral the beast. A simple gate on both entrances would service just fine. He also noted that there was a large overhang near the stream that would be very easy to convert into a paddock for them. Both to protect against the "thread" and unpleasant weather. Victor grinned once more and headed straight for the other entrance.
Meanwhile…
Draco and the others walked together back into the main hall that had lead to the sandy basin. They walked in silence all the way back to the fork just before the entrance door. Both paths were quite dark and impossible to see beyond a few feet out.
"So which path?" Draco asked.
"Why don't we split up?" George asked.
"That's probably for the best." Blaise responded. "The more we can explore now, the more we might find to help us."
Why don't George and Blaise explore to the left, while Draco and I go right? Teddy suggested. With the shape of the mountain from outside the right path must not be as long unless it curves back towards the basin.
"Okay." Draco said, "Well, I guess we'll see you boys later!" Draco and Teddy laughed as they disappeared down the right path.
Blaise and George shook their heads in exasperation. Both men shared a quick grin before headed to the left. They only walked a short distance before they were forced to use Lumos to light their path. After a few minutes of walking the path sharply curved to their right. Blaise frowned briefly as they continued to follow the path. Soon the came across several doors. Most they had to forcibly open and were bare of anything. They appeared good size for bedrooms or similar function though.
After finding nearly thirty such rooms, they came across another fork in their path. Unlike before one there was only two possible routes. One route led up a set of stairs while the other seemed to curve back towards the left. They could see some light visible up the stairs as well. With a quick look, both men had agreed unspoken to head up the stairs. They ascended the steps three at a time. At the top of the stairs they canceled their Lumos. There they discovered the path expanded out into a hallway that led both directions. Filling the hallway was slightly agape doors with light streaming through them. Blaise wandered down the left path, while George meandered down the right.
Both paths did dead end just beyond an open door. Both sides of the hallway held a total of 10 rooms, all fully furnished if in disrepair and covered in grime. Each room also held an open rail-less balcony that over hung the basin. Some where so embedded into the basin's sides they hadn't previously noticed them. After a brief exploration, George and Blaise meet in the largest of the rooms which was near centered to the stairs.
"So… Should we head back and explore the other path or call the other's here?" George asked.
But before Blaise could respond, they heard Teddy exclaim, Everyone! You all have to come see this!