The house was suddenly very silent, and all three Töskrs looked at each other sullenly. They knew the consequences of lying, of putting others in danger without reason. But Gründ was certain of what he had seen, and Haylir would trust him with her life. She just did, actually.

“Bared, I swear! I saw it. I found it. I’m not mistaken.” He had said so before, but he still felt the need to reassure the elder: he had really found a flying machine! All of a sudden his excitement returned, but before he could utter another word Bared held up his paw.

“I said: fine. I’ll join you, we’ll take Gotha and Baruf along. I don’t think he will like hearing this, seeing how you’ve been skipping hunts lately, but he’ll probably want to keep an eye on you. What will we need?” It took all of Gründ’s efforts to not jump in glee and keep a straight face. This was, after all, a very serious matter.

“Something to eat, maybe a carrier if we find more food there. The writings said it needed two orbs to work, maybe grab one extra. And us, to dig.” It was happening. It was real. They were going to plan an expedition and find the flying machine. “Dig?” Ah, yes, right, he had forgotten that part… “Yes, dig. The machine is more than half buried, I started on it but didn’t have time to finish taking it out of the ground. But I took enough earth off to make sure it was what I said it is, so don’t look at me like that! I’m not that stupid!”

The old Töskr couldn’t repress a smile. Despite all the troubles he caused, Gründ was adorable. And indeed, not that stupid: he had marked the way to the clearing. Bared left the house to make the necessary preparations for the trip, while Haylir changed her friend’s bandages and told him to sleep if he could. Being happy wouldn’t make him heal any faster, especially not if he was jumping in elation!

In the end, it took seven pulses for the colony to be ready for such a trip, and for Gründ to be able to come with them. They had food, water, a few orbs for powering the machine and make light in case they couldn’t come back before dark, and a stretcher. Haylir checked on her favorite patient one last time, gave Bared a stern “you’re too old for this” look, and at last let them go. She would take care of Gotha’s children while she was gone, that would keep her busy enough to not worry overmuch.

“All right Gründ, lead the way!” said Bared. They would be going slowly, in regards to the shaman’s age, which left them plenty of time to collect berries and other edible things along the way. Baruf wouldn’t let this expedition be anything but a hunting party, even if they didn’t technically hunt. The colony always needed food, and Gründ was, after all, a very good hunter and gatherer. Or would be, if he wasn’t so obsessed with playing Natl…