The hunter is pleased to see him again as well! She points out a stand of trees at the bottom of the hill on which the fort stands, telling him that they would have cut them anyways, since they've recently been proven to be too close to the fort. The enemy reinforcements had hidden inside them. 

Well, hopefully it will be cathartic to see the trees being cut down.

Yes, it's quite nice, really. A few people pop up on the walls to watch the strange foreign mage who'd turned the battle in their favour wield unreasonable amounts of ice to chop down trees. 

They have a spot marked out for the temporary infirmary when he gets back with the logs he needs.  

Alright, given the size of this project he will do some experimenting, and he figures out how to make the resulting reshaped stone sturdy enough. This involves digging a mold on the ground and melting the stone over them until they have "bricks" that can be arranged in the desirable shape. Then up the walls go.

He also gets some audience for this, some of whom offer to help with the brick laying, and eventually laying the roof as well. Even if they're large they do have mana, and lifting a few things here and there isn't that expensive.

Great! With the power of teamwork the thing is done pretty fast.

Jaim comes to watch as they're laying down the last of the roof. He smiles slightly to see the lighter spirits the cooperative building project is producing. He doesn't offer to help, though. Ilek may literally murder him. 

And after a few finishing touches, it's done.

His helpers congratulate each other and him, and soldiers and servants begin moving in furniture. 

Jaim wanders over to him, "This will help a great deal, I expect," he says, once he has the runestone, "Both the morale from helping build something so important, and the new shelter for the injured." He smiles up at Zephyrinus, "You keep helping us. If you keep going like this we'll have to name you godsent or some such. You'll be inundated with admirers." 

Indeed, several people are already shooting interested looks in his direction as they pass. Mostly women, but a few men - likely from Sanctuary, given their openness, Jaim expects. 

Chuckle. "I am not sure what make of that." He says, making it unclear if it's about the nickname or about the admirers.

He hums, "I am joking, mostly," he clarifies, choosing to assume he means the title (as he has no idea how to answer the other possible statement), "Godsent are only named once a century, at most. A title gifted by the priesthood, to those who perform extraordinary actions for the good of others, when they have no duty to do so." He pauses, "It is a title most often given posthumously," he adds. 

"Ah, well, I am the sort of person that shall strive to achieve such tittle while alive."

He smiles, "I'm sure you'll have less trouble than most," he agrees. And not just because he is harder to kill. 

"I should eat," he says, "And retire to the tent - before I collapse, if you believe Ilek." He turns towards the kitchen tent, glancing back at Zephyrinus to see if he's coming. 

He is. "Well, you're still recovering."

"Yes, and I'm very fragile, apparently," he says, wry. 

When they get there, he puts together a plate and then turns to head to the tent, intending to eat there. The eyes on them are a little disconcerting. People don't ignore him, given his position, but for some reason the amount of casual attention on them bothers him. 

He has no idea why. None at all. 

Zephyrinus doesn't appear to be bothered all but all the staring, he is attentive, but looks used to it. He also grabs a plate and is intended to eat in the tent. "Could you tell me more about Sanctuary?"

He nods, "Certainly," he says. It's a good topic - he has many good memories of the place. As well as a smaller number of terrible ones, but they don't outweigh the good. 

"Is there anything specific you'd like to know?" He asks. 

Shrug. "Just generally things to know about the place. What to do there. If my services still will be valued over there. And so on."

He hums, and considers the question as they walk back. When they've entered the tent and sat down at the camp table to eat, he answers, "Starting from the top, Sanctuary is ruled by Lady Erin, wielder of the Gauntlet of the Healer - an Artefact which is tied to the city, allowing her to know the rough outline of everything that happens within it, should she desire. She is aided by a council of nobles, scholars, and merchants, who perform most of the daily tasks of administrating the city.

 "Lady Helen - the first Lady of the Sanctuary, after whom my Fort is named - was an extremely caring, visionary of a woman, and built her Sanctuary to be exactly the sort of place she had always dreamed of. She raised Lady Erin from early childhood to be her successor, and died when Erin was twelve, leaving the city to her then. 

"Sanctuary is very multi-cultural, due to their policy of accepting any refugee who makes it to the city. Some of the nobles are less than pleased with this, but it's a celebrated fact to most of the city. They're very proud of how welcoming they are. 

"The Academy and the hospitals are free and open to all, I believe I mentioned. I expect many of the scholars will be very interested to meet you. 

"Each citizen receives a daily stipend from the city treasury - adjusted to decrease as their overall wealth increases. This is enough to live off of, and even save a fair amount on top for larger purchases, and has allowed much of their innovation - as their scholars have no need to work, they may instead spend their days learning and discovering."

He pauses, "As for what to do... Visit the Academy, speak to experts on Space magic. Learn, observe, and teach, if you desire. I doubt they'll have much for you to do, other than that. The city is quite self-sufficient, aside from their reliance on us for food and other imports which they can't grow." 

"Sounds like the type of place I would like to build some day."

He smiles down at his food, "I loved it there, as a young man. Most of my fondest memories took place there. I met the majority of my closest friends at the Academy, and around the city. Most of my elites come from there." He loses his smile at the thought, hand going to a new pouch at his belt, where the beads of his fallen comrades rest. Lily and Filip weren't even Cialin - their cultures did not wear beads. They only began their strands after they swore to him. 

He sets the thought aside, keeping his focus in the present, "The only thing which makes Sanctuary less than ideal, for me, is its isolation. The only way in or out is through the portal. The city shields must be kept at full strength to keep the Empire from finding them, and this makes them impermeable to living beings." 

"I see. Still sounds like a remarkable place."

"If the war ends, they'll be able to lift them," he says. "Lady Erin once told me she intends to travel the world, someday, after. She wants to heal the damage these centuries have done to the world and its peoples. With her gone they wouldn't be able to run the war wards, anyways." 

"Does she need to be in the city at all times?"

He nods, "To keep the wards up that high, yes. Her Artefact needs to be present, and wielded, to direct power away from some systems and into the wards - the city is automated, otherwise."