It was time to try repairing the hidden part of the water goddess' shrine. But that meant bringing people in from the nearest village to lift and haul.

The five workmen wanted to be paid, of course. Ruyo had asked for them to come quickly, and for Baris to lead the way. But when the villagers showed up at her door it was an unexpected party. Two were from the last hunting team, one a recovered victim of the first spirit attack, and another just a young man looking for fun. The fifth looked bewildered but was obviously there to impress Moira, the wounded alchemist woman, who'd also come along in fair health.

"So much for secrecy," Nusina said.

Ruyo said, "It ends bravely, at least. And with alcohol." The men had brought a small keg. "Hey, everyone, party after we're done. All right? Now who will be first to descend into the depths and ride the Droplet of Terror? Are you man enough?" She pointed at the frightened one.

He agreed, and Moira looked duly impressed. As Nusina engulfed him in a bubble of water, its burbling noise even hid his scream on the way down the multi-story shaft.

Once they'd all gathered at the bottom, Ruyo introduced them to the Shrine of the Ancient Wellspring, where the mighty Ruyo and her wise, splashy assistant were uncovering the secrets of the Lost World. Such as the big, heavy crystal whose upper half lay on the soaked floor.

They struggled together to rig up several pulleys they'd brought, anchored partly by ice and therefore by prayer. Much grunting and profanity later, including one close call, the broken half hung above where it needed to be. Even Ruyo and Moira were helping out a little on the ropes.

"I hope that scraping along the way didn't break anything," Ruyo said.

Nusina said, "It didn't explode. That's usually good."

"Lower it. Gently! Okay, I need to let go now. Steady."

Ruyo gingerly approached the crystal where the upper half rested atop the lower. Guided by Nusina, she began a sort of raw mana transfer similar to the granting of magic. The two halves began to seal where she touched them.

"Can we let go yet?"

"I need to do the other side." Ruyo worked while the men strained. "Moira, cut it."

Moira cut the rope in one place, causing a heart-stopping moment when the whole structure wobbled. It steadied, though, and now she could yank out the rope that was holding the top up from underneath.

With that removed, Ruyo could finish the repair job. "How's it looking?" Ruyo asked. She felt exhausted, and she hadn't even done much of the pulling. The men stood by and stretched.

"Slowly increasing power..." Nusina seemed to do nothing. But the big crystal hummed softly and gave off a faint glow. "Yes! Overall shrine efficiency rose from around 21% to 44%."

"Which means?"

"Success! Great job, everyone."

To Ruyo's mind alone she added, "It's no professional job, but it's a big improvement. You'll notice more magical endurance."

They rode back up one at a time, and partied.

The villagers got to do battle with water elementals. First the dinky kind, then Ruyo's attempt to tone down the deadly Quills a bit, and finally the real thing when they insisted. One man got banged around enough to drop out, but he'd be all right. Ruyo was able to set all of them up with her brand of magic... in return for their prayers.

While soused, two of the men set about drawing on the bare cave walls where more of the old mosaic had been. "Should I be worried?" she asked.

Nusina said, "Far from it. I suggested drawing waves and fish and crystals. Not only will it squeeze another percent or two from the shrine, it means there's more shrine for an intruder to wreck."

They camped out in or around the cave that night. That made life awkward for Ruyo, since she'd been hoping to try out the new bed in peace, but Nusina promised to watch over her. As the revelry died down, Ruyo told her, "Thank you. You helped make some people happy today."

#

Ruyo woke up feeling strange. It was partly the sense of being more ready to fling spells around. Her bed of straw-stuffed cloth was a welcome change, but she didn't remember this extra pillow...

She turned over and discovered her chest had grown overnight. She was heavier, obviously bigger, and blushing deeply at the sight of her stretched shirt. "Nusina, what?"

Nusina had been resting as a puddle on the floor, but she rose up and arrived. "What?"

"This!"

"Oh! That's a good sign. As you improve, one effect is that your physical body will become more like whatever you'd see as ideal or desirable. So at some level you apparently thought you were a little small."

"I am not!" Ruyo said, folding her arms and then changing position a few times.

"And not at all defensive about it. If it really bothers you I'm sure the, ah, swelling will go down."

She went back to sleep.

#

And of course the men had to notice, commenting on her impressive "powers". Ruyo tried to be polite, and in fact she'd dipped to a more comfortable size while resting. Besides the adventure and the magic she gave them each some food, water and created trinkets to take home. Each of the guests offered another prayer before leaving.

"Whew." Ruyo sat down at a crude bench and table she and the men had assembled last night. "That went well overall. It's suddenly quiet again."

"What now?"

"We've got some support from the village, and more power here. That makes me more confident about dealing with being discovered. Let's train here for the day, build up some goods, and send word to Averell as soon as Baris or anybody drops by."

The plan was to have Averell's people come and visit in peace, and get free magic. Rather than storming in while she was absent and getting ideas about keeping the place.

So, that day, Ruyo and Nusina puttered around. Nusina made minor repairs to the wellspring's shaft until she reported 47% efficiency and gave a watery shrug, saying, "Might hit as high as 50% if you talk someone into rebuilding the mosaic. With material for the conduits, we could reach 75%, but don't hold me to that."

"What would we need to fully repair the place?"

"A world where highly educated experts have factories producing exotic materials routinely."

Ruyo looked at the small stockpile of lead, wood and nails she'd made, and felt humbled.