Back at the encampment, he showed them to Abi, who checked them over for him. “I don’t think they’re likely to do anything about it this year, though,” she told him. “Mostly, they seem to be waiting for the mud to dry so they can treasure-hunt in those ruins.”

“Honestly I hope they don’t replace it,” he said fervently. “And I don’t care if all my plans have been drawn up for nothing. That is a terrible place to put an earthen dam—or rather, downstream from it was a terrible place to put a town. What were they thinking?”

“That the dam was going to last forever, obviously,” she replied, shaking her head. “Sometimes I don’t understand people.”

Herald Stev had come over, curious as to what they were looking at, and overheard that last. “No one understands how fragile a human is like a Healer,” he observed. “And no one understands how fragile an object is like an Artificer.”

“That’s probably true,” Beyrn agreed. “Speaking of fragile, how is the magician? He put in a remarkable effort.”

Stev—snickered. Abi tilted her head and looked at him sideways.

“If I didn’t know your father and thus you, I’d never say this in front of you, Abi,” Stev replied. “But magician Steen has been the recipient of so much gratitude from the ladies of this town that he’s having trouble walking.”

Beyrn looked blank. Abi burst into peals of laughter. “Oh!” she gasped. “Oh, that’s good. That’s good!”

Finally Beyrn got it, and turned red. Stev raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t pretend you haven’t been taking advantage of the same thing, Master,” he said pointedly. “You’re the one that discovered the breach in the first place. And I know you haven’t been spending all your time drafting dam repair plans.”

Beyrn turned even redder, and clamped his mouth shut. Abi decided that teasing him would be unkind.

But she was sorely tempted.

“Is there any word back from Haven about us?” she asked Herald Stev instead.

He shrugged. “‘You’re doing well, carry on,’ is all that’s gotten back to me. I’ve sent three reports so far since we’ve been here. I didn’t really expect to hear anything else.”

“Have you seen the ruins yet?” she asked him. He shook his head.

“Then let’s take a couple of the hinnies up the river and—can you Send what you’re seeing back to your Companion?” she asked.

“Yes, but what would be the point?” he replied.

“Maybe someone will recognize what style those buildings are in. Maybe some scholar will want to document them. It’s knowledge. Knowledge doesn’t always have to have an immediate use.” She felt a little exasperated with him. Had the man no curiosity at all?