The Gembound: The Price of Keeping Chapter 127: Volume 5: Chapter 114 – The Bore Beasts

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Volume 5: Chapter 114 – The Bore Beasts Day 99 - Eldania Yara had returned to Eldania the previous evening, wings aching from the day-long flight back from Aramore. She'd landed after dark, reported briefly to Bruno and Rosa, then collapsed into sleep so deep even the Gem couldn't reach her. The announcement of the tribute reduction was already spreading through the empire. Eliza's messengers had ridden out at dawn yesterday, and by now every central square would have heard the news. The wings, too. No hiding those anymore. But this morning, she had beasts to make. Bruno met her in the palace courtyard at first light, grin already in place. "Perfect timing," he said. "The animals have been screaming at each other all night. I think they know something's coming." "How many survived the wait?" Yara asked. Bruno's grin widened. "All nine. Three badgers, two wolverines, two cave bears, and two things that might be related to badgers but angrier." Rosa emerged from behind a reinforced pen, ledger in hand, with visible scratch marks on her forearms. "Do not ask how we caught them. Just be glad Daryl is still alive." Daryl limped out from behind a water barrel, one eye swollen shut, both hands bandaged, his shirt torn in four places. "The smallest one," he said with feeling, "is named Sorrow." "His name will not be Sorrow," Rosa said firmly. "It will be whatever serves the purpose," Yara said, walking toward the makeshift pens where the creatures snarled and hissed at each other. The badgers were pure condensed fury in striped packages. One kept trying to dig through the reinforced stone floor. The wolverines radiated violence like heat off a forge. The cave bears were already massive—eight feet at the shoulder—and looked at her with intelligence that made her uneasy. And the two "things that might be badgers" were... something else. Shaggy, low-slung, with claws like gardening tools and temperaments like liquid rage. "What are those?" Harry asked. "Honey badgers," Renn supplied. "From the southern wastes. Someone's exotic pet collection." Bruno's grin widened. "They don't care that they're small. One of them chased Daryl up a tree." "There was no tree," Daryl said. "I climbed Bruno." Sam snorted, amused despite himself. Yara studied the animals. Nine captured, but she only needed six. "Bring the ore," she said. "And the armor fragments. Harry, I need you close for this." "How close?" he asked. "Close enough to catch me if the Gem gets ideas." His expression sobered. "Always." THE PREPARATION Gayle prepared the ritual space in the palace's lower hall—the same chamber where they'd enhanced the first soldiers. He drew six circles in powdered chalk mixed with ground limestone, each one large enough for a bear. Circles weren’t needed, but with Gayle, he brought a ceremony where none had existed before. The circles wouldn’t hurt, and it helped those assisting to know where to set up. Renn and three soldiers set down crates of stone samples. Iron-veined granite. Silver-flecked shale. Fragments of obsidian from the mountain's deepest caverns. Each piece hummed faintly with the memory of depth, pressure, and darkness. Boris himself stepped forward with solemn ceremony and held out six thick strands of his beard, each braided with a small stone bead. "For stone sense," he said. "And for honor. If they walk our mountain, let them walk true and know what they break." Yara accepted the hair with both hands. "Thank you, Boris. Your people will see these creatures as allies, not invaders." He bowed once, beard swaying. "Then the mountain will know them." He left without further ceremony. Graveclaw stepped forward next, moving with deliberate care. The massive Bear-Knight lowered his head and extended one paw. "For voice," he rumbled. "So they may speak as we do. So the mountain hears them coming." He pulled a tuft of dark fur from his own chest—not torn, but offered—and placed it in Yara's hand. "Thank you," Yara said quietly. Graveclaw's eyes gle