“Carefully,” Tal murmured as he watched over the dozens of people who toiled beneath his watchful eyes.

The final layers of protective cladding were being prepared for the bridge and the excitement and anticipation were palpable. The breakthrough had come just a day after his meeting with Elebreth. The solution was such a simple one and he wondered if it was his uncertainties about Spire that had kept him from seeing it sooner. The solution, it turned out, was quite similar to how the builders of Peak built their roofs. Thick tree sap could be heated until it blackened. Then it would be spread over the roof and a final layer of thin stones or pottery shards placed on top of it. Once cooled, it became a highly durable and waterproof surface. The surface was also somewhat springy and was known to absorb significant amounts of stress without damaging the underlying structure.

So it was that Tal had begun experimenting with a similar coating to protect the bridge from any attempt at breaking it. Coating the entire bridge in the blackened sap was, of course, out of the question. The sheer volume of sap required to do such a thing was unimaginable. However, Tal found that if they used it as a sort of mortar between the pieces of glass that it worked just as well, giving the bridge the additional flexibility it needed to absorb the force of any blow he was ever able to produce.

The first half of the bridge was already completed and so it was too late to do much on Spire’s end of it. However, it was the Peak side of the bridge that was most likely to be assaulted and so most concerns about only protecting the one side of the bridge were quieted. Tal showed the method of joining the pieces of glass together with the blackened sap and from there the rest of the builders were able to take the procedure and put it into effect.

The new sections of the bridge were indeed a strange sight to behold. Where before they looked like massive crystals whose facets caught and refracted the light in so many directions, these new pieces had every shard outlined in stark black. The impressive shimmering was significantly reduced and Tal knew that Spire’s builders regretted the loss of that aspect of the bridge. Still, it was the best any of them could do with the time they had left.

Even with all of the builders of Spire working on the bridge, this new step of coating the edges of each piece of glass would have taken far too long. That was why Tal was overseeing these new workers. They weren’t builders, and even though they shared the same bond, there was still something about having a natural skill set and experience that made a significant difference. These workers understood the steps they needed to take but their untrained hands were unsteady. Still, they made progress and the additional help on the bridge would, hopefully, be sufficient to ensure that the bridge was completed before the next clear day.

“Tal,” Dega’s voice called over to him.

He turned, somewhat surprised to see Dega. The two of them usually only met after their daily labors were finished, and even then those meetings were infrequent. It was always Dega who sought Tal out. The last time they’d met was before Tal spoke with Elebreth.

“Have they asked you to come help?” Tal asked, though he doubted very much that that would be the case.

“Of course not,” Dega scoffed. “I am still neck deep in organizing and preparing the ration deliveries.”

“I’m busy here,” he told Dega, shifting his watchful eyes back onto the workers so he wouldn’t miss any potential mistakes they might make.

“Everyone’s busy,” Dega said, waving his hand in front of him as if swatting at flies.

Tal looked back towards Dega and sighed.

“Nothing’s ever changed for you, has it?” he asked.

“What? Everything’s changed!”

“No,” Tal countered, “I don’t think so. You still expect everyone to do as you say, to think you’re the most important person, and you get frustrated whenever people fail to do those things.”

Dega lashed out, slapping Tal across the face. All of the workers stopped what they were doing and stared in shock at Dega and Tal.

“How dare you speak to me like that!” he hissed, keeping his voice low so the workers wouldn’t hear him. “After everything I’ve done for you. I brought you here, I showed you their lies, I was even going to have you promoted once we had escaped back to Peak! But now…well,” Dega spread his hands out wide as if to show he had nothing left to give Tal.

Tal waved for the workers to resume their labors and then he took a step back from Dega.

“You never wanted to bring me here,” Tal said with what he hoped was a confident tone. “You said so. I was just in your way, so you dragged me along. I was the one who saved you, threw you over my shoulder and ran us the rest of the way before the bridge collapsed. As for Spire, I’ve learned what really happened and it’s nothing like what you’ve suggested. These are good people, but you can’t seem to comprehend that.”

Dega huffed and began clenching and unclenching his fists, though he didn’t make any movements towards Tal.

“Unless there’s anything you actually need from me, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. I’m very busy here.”

With that, Tal returned his attention to the workers. He crossed his arms to conceal the shaking in his hands and he kept Dega just in view out of the corner of his eye. The slap had been a surprise, at first, but then he remembered how common such things were in Peak and he realized he should have seen it coming. How must Dega feel? Chaffing at his lack of authority while he worked for Spire? Hoping to be welcomed back to Peak as a hero triumphantly returning with much needed food?

Dega stood there, fuming for a short while before turning and stalking back out the way he’d come. The moment he was gone, the nearest pair of workers looked up at Tal.

“Is he safe to be left alone?” they asked.

“I think so,” Tal said, although he wasn’t sure. Would Dega try to do something to sabotage their efforts, just to spite them? “Maybe just have people keep an eye on him,” Tal concluded.

For the next few days Tal worried he might see Dega again but Dega seemed content to keep to himself for the time being and slowly, the bridge reached further into the clouds. Every day the work went just a little bit faster as everyone fell into the rhythm of their labor. Soon, they were back to producing each new segment of the bridge just as quickly as they had done before.

It was quite the surprise when the lead builders came to visit Tal since they were almost always at the bridge coordinating and working on the construction.

“The final segment will be completed and installed tomorrow,” they told him.

“What?” Tal gasped. He’d lost track of how many segments they had built and how many were remaining but he thought there were still a few more to go.

“The addition of the sap made each segment a bit longer,” they explained. “We failed to recognize this at first but Peak has come into view and, after some recalculations, have found that we will indeed be able to complete the bridge tomorrow.”

Tal leaned back in his seat. He had been so absorbed in the work that he hadn’t spent much time thinking about the completion, about returning to Peak. He had no intentions of returning to live there, but he still wanted to ensure that they didn’t starve.

“Would you like to be among those who contact the rulers of Peak?” the builders asked.

Tal nodded. “Yes, I should be with them.” Then he added with some trepidation, “Will Dega be going as well?”

“We aren’t sure,” they said and something in the way they said it made the hairs on the back of Tal’s neck stand on end.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“We’re not sure where Dega is,” they replied. “No one’s seen him for a few days.”

“How’re the rations?”

“All of that is ready,” they said.

Tal let out a sigh, relieved that at least Dega had seen that project through to the end.

“Do we need to worry about him?” they asked.

“Your people have spent more time with him than I’ve ever done,” Tal said. “I never got along very well with Dega,” he added, “but as far as I could tell he was disappointed with his life here and wanted to get back to Peak.”

The builders grimaced but let the subject drop. Tal wondered what their experience with Dega had been like. If they’d been hoping to gain some further insights from Tal then he’d surely let them down.

“I guess being careful wouldn’t hurt,” Tal concluded.

“We’ll have some people keep watch at the bridge,” the builders said.

There wasn’t much else to say and they left soon after. Tal stayed in his seat that evening long after the workers left. He half expected Dega to show up and he wasn’t sure if he would rather have Dega appear that evening or if he’d prefer for him to remain unseen. Of course, the longer Dega’s absence dragged on, the worse Tal would worry. It didn’t seem to make sense to him for Dega to have just left Spire, especially with how close they were to completing the bridge.

Finally, Tal left the workshop and made his way back home. Whatever Dega was planning to do, he’d probably do it no later than tomorrow when Tal and the others made their way across the bridge. It was no secret that they had decided not to wait for a clear day to cross the bridge. Their hope was that they could cross in secret and contact the rulers of Peak without everyone else knowing that they were there. Even Dega had supported this idea for secrecy, suggesting that the rulers would let their pride destroy them all. The rations would then be delivered and the hope was that they could then convince the rulers of Peak to stop the obsession with building their false structures so they could resume living in a more sustainable fashion.

Even with all of that, Tal worried for Peak. If the other rulers were anything like Dega, it wouldn’t be too surprising if they tried to get the rations while still keeping the people focused on their pointless building projects. There were too many things to worry about and he couldn’t keep them all straight. By the time he was in his bed, closing his eyes, his mind felt numb and he fell asleep to a steady buzzing in his thoughts as countless, half-formed fears fought for his attention.