The flames for processing the stones were provided by large dragons lying outside the factory, and having all the furnaces in one place like this made it far easier for the dragonborn to package and ship the processed dragonstone once they were done with processing!
Riyala had matured a lot in the time since she became the priestess of fire. Unlike the other priestesses who had spent most of their time in the Forest of Fire with the dragons and stayed away from the dragonborn so that they could rule themselves, Riyala felt it was her duty to take care of both the dragonborns and the dragons, and she was doing everything she could to make sure that her world progressed. Riyala’s time on Earth had shown her just how primitive a lot of Radagan was. Radagan lacked infrastructure and innovation, and Riyala was going to do her best to take Radagan to the next level during her lifetime.
Riyala collected a document from the dragonborn woman who was following behind her, and she frowned while reading through the shipment reports. Riyala spoke up curiously.
"They’re going through the Eastern Corridor? Why aren’t they using the Tirani pathway? It’ll save them a few days of travel."
The dragonborn woman answered quickly:
"The Elder World along the Tirani pathway sent out a warning to all the worlds in the sixth domain about a band of mercenaries that appeared in the Tirani pathway. We believe it’ll be dangerous to move such precious stones while there are mercenaries around, so we decided it was safer to use the Eastern Corridor."
Riyala was slightly irritated when she heard about the mercenaries. What in the world were they doing in the sixth domain? Mercenaries were a problem that every single domain in the Primordial Expanse had to deal with. Unlike bandits who were no different from petty criminals, mercenaries were usually made up of powerful warriors who went from one battlefield to another and sold their services to the highest bidder. Spending so much time on the battlefield meant that these mercenaries were some of the strongest mages in any domain, and it would take a significant amount of manpower to get rid of them!
And the fact that mercenaries were actually useful during times of war made it difficult for anyone to get rid of them completely. In times like these, it was best to just ignore them and wait until they passed.
"Tell General Vawan to prepare a small squad of soldiers with their dragons and send them with the next shipment of dragonstone. We can’t be too careful with the mercenaries, and I don’t want anything affecting the contract with Queen Hesabeth."
"Of course, Priestess. Right away."
The woman bowed to Riyala and quickly went to do as she was told, and Riyala continued moving while looking around the factory. Even though it was extremely hot in here, Riyala wasn’t affected at all due to her dragon heritage, and Riyala felt a small smile growing on her face as she saw how hard the dragonborns were working. If they kept going at this pace, then it would only take a few years before they could expand their business into even more domains!
"Well, this is impressive."
"Kya!"
A voice suddenly spoke from behind Riyala, and Riyala felt her heart leap up to her throat as she jumped with a surprised shriek! Riyala turned around with wide eyes, and she couldn’t believe who she saw standing there! Jason was wearing a regular white shirt and black trousers with a long artefact jacket over it all. His hands were in his coat pockets, and he was grinning at Riyala in that boyish way that never failed to make her heart race! What in the world was he doing here!?
"Hey, look! It’s the Kingslayer!"
"The Kingslayer is here?"
"He isn’t just the Kingslayer anymore! He’s the new Overlord!"
"How did he even get in here? I can’t feel any power from him at all!"
The workers in the factory all began to turn around in surprise when they saw Jason standing in their midst. Jason ignored the intense stares and whispers from all the people around as he grinned at Riyala’s shocked expression and spoke playfully.
"I don’t even get a hug?"
"JASON!"
Riyala immediately lost all composure as she snapped out of her trance and she jumped towards Jason! Jason stretched his hands out and caught her easily, and he spun her around with a laugh! Riyala wrapped her hands around Jason’s neck as she spoke in a stunned voice.
"What are you doing here!? You almost scared me to death!"
Riyala tried her best to sound angry at Jason, but it was impossible for her to hide the stupid smile on her face! Even with all the heat around her, Riyala’s entire body still felt hot just from being in Jason’s arms, and Riyala ran a hand over Jason’s cheek as he spoke with that boyish grin still on his face.
"Can’t a guy surprise his girlfriend anymore? I just wanted to see how you were doing."
Riyala’s cheeks reddened when she heard Jason say this, and she felt an intense surge of love rising from deep inside her heart as she stared at Jason’s face. Riyala leaned down and gave Jason a soft kiss, and Jason’s grin widened when they separated. Riyala stared into Jason’s eyes with a look of pure adoration, and she whispered to him.
"I love you so much, Jason."
"I love you too, babe. But I think we should continue this someplace more private. We’ve gathered quite the audience."
Riyala blinked in surprise when Jason said this, and she looked up in shock to see that every single person in the factory was staring! Both the factory workers as well as the guards who had been following behind Riyala were all looking at her with shocked looks on their faces, and no one could really blame them for being so shocked! For most of the dragonborn, the priestess of fire was seen as this serious, unbreakable symbol of their god that aided them in their time of need, and they had never seen Riyala show any form of intense emotion towards any of them! So seeing Riyala act in this way was a new experience for all of them, and they all realised just how special Jason was to Riyala! Jason was the only one who could bring out so much emotion from their stoic priestess!
Riyala’s blush calmed down slightly as she saw all the people staring at her, and she frowned at them and spoke in a hard tone.
"Please return to your stations. Our shipment will fall behind schedule if it isn’t finished soon."
The workers all seemed to realise that they had abandoned their work, and they quickly returned to what they had been doing once they saw the serious expression on Riyala’s face! But Jason just laughed slightly at the whole thing. Riyala was trying her best to look serious, but the fact that he was still carrying her in his arms just made the entire scene look comical to him! Jason finally put Riyala down, and he turned to see Riyala’s personal guards, Talum and Gruwen, standing behind him. The two guards bowed and greeted Jason respectfully, and Jason nodded in return before he looked back at Riyala.
"Are you busy right now?"
Riyala shook her head so quickly that Jason thought she would have whiplash!
"No, of course not! I’m not busy at all!"
Both Talum and Gruwen exchanged amused looks when they heard this from Riyala! For the past few months, Riyala had been working herself to the bone to try and make sure the dragonborn rebuilt their world to its former glory, and Riyala hadn’t taken a single day off in that time! Who would believe that she wasn’t busy!?