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Before leaving his workshop, he picks the shards out of his arm and face. Sighing, he gets up and walks out of his workshop. It’s set a ways from the main house since he doesn’t want to put anyone but himself in jeopardy with his experiments.

Off to the side, he sees where the workmen are busy with the construction of another house. That one will be the one he’ll live in and where his guests will stay. Hern’s old house will be Roland and his family’s, as long as they’re here. Several other buildings are sprouting up as well; a stable that will be large enough to hold over a dozen horses and another barn seeing as how Hern’s old one must have been built a century before and is in poor repair.

It had taken him the better part of a week to recover from the fight at the pass. During his recovery, he arranged to take possession of Hern’s old place. He mentioned to Corbin how he would like to have a place around Trendle in which to live. The next day, the mayor showed up personally to give him the deed to Hern’s place.

The mayor had refused payment, saying how it’s ample reward for what he did for them. At first he was highly flattered that the mayor had troubled himself to come all the way out here to give it to him personally. That is until he realized it had been just an excuse to get away from his wife and spend time with his old drinking buddies.

In the course of one conversation or another since acquiring it, he referred to Hern’s old place as ‘The Ranch’ and the name stuck.

Coming through the back door into the kitchen, he sees the others have already taken their seats at the table. Illan and the rest of Miller’s old band are there as well. For some reason, they’ve attached themselves to James, sort of become his bodyguards. His own private secret service as he’s begun to think of them. All that is but Hinney. Ever since his friend Keril died back at the pass, he’s been melancholy. One day, he mentioned having family in a little town in the northern part of Madoc and left the following day to spend some time with them.

“James!” Tersa cries out when she sees the blood welling on his face and arms. Getting up from the table, she takes a towel off the counter and dips it in a bucket of water. Coming over to him, she quickly dabs the blood off, as well as picking out several more pieces of crystal out of his cheek.

“Another mishap?” Jiron asks from where he sits at the table.

“Yeah,” he replies. Taking the towel from Tersa, he says, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she replies as she moves back to take her seat.

Moving around the table, he comes to his seat at the head. No one has yet begun to eat, Ezra won’t allow it. He’s the master of the house and no one better begin until either he’s there, or they know he’s not coming. Woe to the man who crosses her. Some around the table had learned the hard way the first couple of days they were together. After eating scraps outside after the meal was over for a day, they soon did as she said.

Since taking over the household, she’s changed from the sweet nice woman they had traveled with to a stricter disciplinarian. James doesn’t care. As long as she maintains order, he’ll back her. Besides, she’s not so strict with the ‘master of the house’.

Once he’s seated, they wait for him to help himself first. Another of Ezra’s rules, since he’s providing, he better be the first one to eat. Taking a bowl of tubers, potatoes really, he places two on his plate. As soon as the first one hits, everyone else begins grabbing the nearest source of food and filling their plates.

“I just can’t seem to make it work,” he announces to all.

“We know it can,” Miko says from James’ left. “That large shard we saw over the pool did, so I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out.” James had thought that once the Fire was no longer in his possession that he might revert back to his former self. But that wasn’t the case. It seems the changes wrought while the Fire had been in his possession are going to be permanent,