Chapter 351 - 299: New Rune Speech

"So, was the fireplace a success?" Agatha asked, leaning over her workbench and fiddling with a few pieces of White Holy Stone. She didn't look up at Shire, who was standing beside her.

"Yeah, more or less. It was their first time, so One-Eyed and the others are still a bit rusty. It's not exactly pretty—the bricks aren't aligned properly. If anyone from the Fran Kingdom saw this kind of work, they probably wouldn't even pay for it." Shire shrugged, then went back to fiddling with the Rune Mortar standing on the floor.

"It's good enough. This is the first fireplace to ever exist in the Nightmare Forest, after all. If it weren't for you, I doubt one would have appeared for another few hundred years." Agatha set down the White Holy Stone and looked up. "Ocorre has probably seen what his new home looks like by now."

"He was. He was thrilled, especially when he saw his wife relaxing on the deerskin rug in front of the fireplace. It was so warm. It was the first time I've ever seen that kind of look on a Centaur Warrior's face," Shire said, looking at Agatha and pointing to his own cheek. "He was overjoyed, but with so many people watching, he didn't want to show too much emotion. He's the number one warrior of his tribe, after all. So instead of looking happy, he just looked... strangely fierce."

"He's a good man, really. He was completely dedicated to managing the team on the way to the Frogman Tribe's caves."

Shire nodded in agreement. "Speaking of which, you figured out that Rune Speech this time, didn't you?"

"Yes, I figured it out," Agatha said with a sigh. "That pool was freezing, by the way. It's a good thing I brought some Magic Scrolls to help, or I might not have made it back out."

"And those Frogmen were quite something, letting me experience their 'big bubble diving' twice." She held up two fingers, a faint smile gracing her lips.

"So, what does this new Rune Speech do?" Shire stopped what he was doing and walked over to the workbench. On it were several of Agatha's diagrams of Rune patterns. It was obvious they were meticulously drawn; compared to them, his own previous attempts could only be called scrawls.

"This Rune Speech is about temperature, which I'm sure you already guessed." Agatha gently patted the papers. "After studying that stone slab engraved with the storeroom work regulations, I've basically figured out the logic of how this set of Rune Speech operates."

"It can keep the space within four Runes at a constant temperature. As long as the Runes aren't broken, the temperature will remain stable. And that thing over there..." She turned her head towards the "offering table" on the side. Lame Leg had scrubbed it clean, but some black scorch marks remained. "...That controller can set the temperature, from low to high. I've found, however, that it can't be set extremely low or extremely high. It's probably just enough for low-temperature food preservation or for providing warmth to drive away the cold."

"Is that right?" Shire's eyes were fixed on the diagrams on the workbench. "So you're saying it can only maintain a temperature, it can't actually generate heat?"

"It can't," Agatha shook her head. "It's no substitute for a real flame."

"I was hoping we could use it to build a blast furnace for smelting iron, but it seems that's out of the question now."

"But it can still be used to preserve food. Meat spoils easily in the summer," Agatha reminded him. "And now that it's winter, setting it to a comfortable temperature could really help with the cold."

"You're right." A corner of Shire's mouth lifted. "I was just wondering what to do about the elephant herd. Because of the cold, the big guys are getting reluctant to leave the Fortress. That's slowing down the Centaurs' village construction. On top of that, the young elephants have started wandering around inside the Fortress. Nine-finger told me one of them almost wandered into the Shape-shifting Monster breeding grounds the other day."

"You're planning to build a warm shelter for the elephants?"

"Yeah, an elephant pen of sorts. I already promised the Elephant Lord. I'm thinking of setting up a Rune Speech system in the area where the herd stays. Since we can set the temperature, we'll just turn on 'warm mode' for them after dusk." Shire threw up his hands, as if to say he was at his wits' end with the elephants. Besides, he would need their strength for many more tasks in the future. Building the City of Ten Thousand Races with only Goblins was going to be an immense challenge.

"I was just thinking, we could use this Rune Speech for the Centaurs, too. It's much safer than a fireplace, after all."

"No, Miss Sebastian," Shire said, wagging a finger. "You have to realize, we don't have enough White Holy Stone for that. If we built heated homes for all the Centaurs, we'd use up at least half of our entire supply."

He made a sweeping gesture at their inventory of White Holy Stone piled nearby. "We don't know where to find any more, so I dismissed that idea from the very beginning."

Shire shrugged. "Besides, fireplaces are more cost-effective."

"Alright, you have a point." Agatha glanced at their storeroom as well. The stacked piles of White Holy Stone really weren't enough for that.

After a few moments of silence, Shire let out a soft breath. "Your idea is a good one, though. We just can't do it right now. But maybe we can implement it gradually in the future. As for the White Holy Stone... I actually found out where we can get more."

"You did?"

"Mhm," Shire nodded, then asked with an air of mystery, "Did you know that White Holy Stone is also known as the Stone of Despair?"