Chapter 365: What the Work Earns

Chapter 365: What the Work Earns

By Sunday morning, Sefa had counted 230 plants and taken authorized samples from twelve bushes across the stand. Nib finished his last soil hole with black grit all over his nose.

"Healthy," Sefa said, sealing a tin. "Ten days to harvest, perhaps two weeks. We’ll have about a week after that before the seeds start dropping."

Holt returned from the terrace edge with her field glasses and reported seeing the Shalefang emerge from a hollow beneath the slide. It was moving along the flooded valley floor.

"Still down there," she said. "We’ll check the bench as a group. Tuck and I cover the inspection. Nobody goes ahead of me."

Jin was glad she said it before Pim began gathering his measuring gear.

They worked south along the ledge, confirming the measurements taken the previous day. At the fallen pine’s former resting place, Pim measured 1.95 meters of usable passage. Glitch waited while they tested the disturbed outer edge. No part of the underlying rock had broken away with the tree.

Farther down, Holt stopped them above the gully and watched the valley before allowing the inspection to continue. Tuck stayed between the team and the approach the bear had used. They cleared loose gravel, checked the tight turn again, and returned to the Shelf together.

Jin’s suggested route had survived a proper examination. He wanted to feel proud of that, and did, though he kept remembering the bear coming around the bend.

Pim spread the finished map on a flat rock.

"Passable for collection loads within Clover’s working limits," he said. "The steep turn sets the load limit. They can’t stack her to the top just because the crates fit."

Holt nodded and dictated the escort conditions. A Rank-3 lead, daylight travel, no use of the flooded valley floor, and a fresh check of the bear’s position before each trip. Evidence of it moving onto the bench would suspend collection until the approach was reassessed.

Jin marked the narrow turn and the cleared trunk site on his copy. The route looked quite simple when reduced to a line. He would never have guessed how much work that line could conceal.

They returned by the Saddle, a high ridge path from the Shelf’s northern end. It was unsuitable for a heavily laden collection beast, but Clover could manage with their light equipment and sample tins. Holt had checked the current route report before choosing it, and kept the team close through the steep sections.

At the Sector Four gate that afternoon, the sergeant counted them back in against the original list.

[Thornwatch Garrison — Team Holt returned]

[All registered members accounted for]

Jin loosened his pack straps and followed Clover through the arch. He was already thinking about a bath.

Monday’s debrief was shorter than he’d feared.

Pim supplied the map and measurements. Sefa submitted her samples and harvest estimate. Holt explained the predator encounter, the revised conditions, and what each member had contributed.

The officer asked about the narrow turn, and Pim brought up a photograph with the measuring pole in place. Jin supplied the corresponding route marker from his own notes. He was relieved they had recorded it properly; being asked to remember the width now, across a desk, would have made him doubt a number he’d been certain of outside.

"Astor identified the gully and helped test it," Holt told the officer. "His bird was useful, and he checked her signals against what we could see on the ground. During withdrawal, he followed instructions, cleared the obstruction with his drake, and accounted for everyone."

She glanced at Jin.

"I’d take him out again."

He looked down at the edge of the desk before she could see how pleased that made him. He had wanted her to think he’d done well. He hadn’t realized quite how much.

Outside, Holt gave him the team’s registration contact.

"Send a message if you’re looking for work here again," she said. "Can’t promise a place every time."

"I will," Jin said. "Thank you. For yesterday—and the day before."

"You’re welcome." She tucked her hands into her jacket pockets. "Now I’m getting breakfast before somebody finds another form."

The payments and records arrived separately over the day. The regional office settled his contracted share first.

[Regional Resource Survey — Sector 4: complete]

[Fee share paid to Astor, Jin: 4,800 Credits]

The Association updated his field record and marked his first supervised frontier outing complete. That entry was separate from both the payment and Meridian’s assessment, which arrived that evening after the academy checked the verified submission.

[Meridian Academy — Fieldwork Assessment]

[Regional Resource Survey, Thornwatch Sector 4 — verified]

[Cumulative contribution: updated]

[Academy Points awarded: 1,600]

[Available Academy Points: 1,860]

Jin sat up on the hostel bed so quickly that Flicker woke on the headboard.

"We can get it," he told her.

She blinked at him, unimpressed by a development package she couldn’t eat yet.

He opened the listing he’d found Thursday and submitted both beasts’ current care records. The order reserved their six-week courses, with Wednesday delivery to Meridian’s stables following the formulation check. ⅇ

[Paired Development Package — Glitch / Flicker]

[Cost deducted: 1,500 Academy Points]

[Remaining Academy Points: 360]

[Cumulative contribution record: unchanged]

Glitch’s selected course supported armor and joints under his evolved weight. Flicker’s supported her developing muscles and fire-and-wind affinities. When Jin opened the proposed ingredients for hers, processed Kindlewind Sage appeared near the top.

He laughed and turned the screen toward her out of habit. Flicker pecked at his thumb.

On Tuesday, Jin returned to Breck’s stall before heading to the airfield.

"How much today?" he asked.

"Six-forty for the small plain stones," Breck said. "Decided to try them?"

"Three."

His lodging was paid, the return transport booked, and his emergency reserve remained untouched. He had also bought Elsa a polished ridge-elk antler tip from another stall. That still left room to make this purchase from his survey payment.

Breck counted three cloudy stones onto the cloth.

[Astral Stones ×3 — 1,920 Credits]

"A little at a time," the trader reminded him as he packed them. "Give yourself time to refine what you draw."

"I remember," Jin said, accepting the pouch.

At the airfield, Glitch sighed so heavily on seeing the cargo ramp that a handler laughed. The crew found him a port-side pen again. Flicker watched from her carrier while Jin waited on a bench nearby.

He took out one stone. Beneath its cloudy surface, the faint brightness seemed to shift as he turned it.

His Core responded to its nearness. Jin recognized his own eagerness to try drawing from it and left the energy alone. He wanted somewhere quiet, with time to notice what happened, rather than a hurried experiment before boarding.

Brand’s lesson came back to him: control the supply, keep it steady, release cleanly. He wondered how much of that patience would help here.

The speakers announced boarding for Meridian. Jin put the stone away with the other two and picked up Flicker’s carrier.

He was looking forward to showing his family Elsa’s gift. After that, he wanted to collect the beasts’ new courses, attend his Thursday appointment, and find out what these stones could do.

This time, four hours in the air felt far too long.