Chapter Text
The weather that morning was obviously bad.
It wasn't as if the tavern was worried. They usually didn't venture further than the courtyard: of course, with a horned creature lurking in the woods! But the Unknown hadn't seen such a storm in years, and even going into the courtyard was a bad idea.
But there can be so much knowledge with so little wisdom. The storm that had broken out was the perfect testing ground for some ingenious engineers.
"I doubt this will work. Are you sure the wire is in good condition?"
"You're always doubting things. Everything's fine, I checked. Get going."
Master and Apprentice, despite their names, were always equals. The titles were merely a convention: they weren't going to teach anyone here, and, frankly, the Apprentice was often far more collected. They usually balanced each other out, but with the biggest ideas come the biggest follies.
This time, they decided to test the lighting.
Tavern Keeper merely sighed, watching Master climb the makeshift ladder with the agility of a monkey. A copper wire was wrapped around one of the ceiling beams, with a fastener at one end. An iron rod, usually placed on the roof to prevent lightning from striking the chimney, was tied to the other. Apprentice tied the rope around his waist to the windowsill, pulled his hair back into a ponytail — just in case —and climbed out the window onto the stable roof.
It was still raining. Autumn had only just begun, and it wasn't particularly cold, but the rain and wind made up for it. Apprentice tried to ignore it; he ignored a lot of things. Whether it was a reaction time issue or just habit, he once didn't even flinch when hit in the ribs by a cartwheel. This didn't lead to anything good, but after that, holding a piece of iron in his hands seemed easy.
It seemed so.
Having screwed the newly melted lightbulb to the wire, the Master stared out the window. According to his calculations, lightning should strike in five seconds.
One. Two. Three... Bam!
It didn't even register five. The lightbulb lit up, of course, but the light hit right in the eyes, and, thrown back in surprise, Master fell down the stairs. Butcher, who had previously ignored the situation, caught him by the scruff of the neck a centimeter from the floor, but that didn't make things much better. At that very moment, a dull thud and the clanking of metal were heard outside, and the Apprentice crawled back inside looking as if he'd just been lightly fried: his golden hair was blackened at the ends, bristling and smoking slightly, and his clothes were scorched and smeared with ash. Collapsing to the floor, he extinguished his slightly burning collar on the parquet floor and sat up, his expression a philosophizing mouse. He remained silent for a few seconds before speaking again.
"I think it would be better to secure the lightning rod to the roof."
"Exactly!" Master started, still dangling, grabbed by the collar. "We need to climb up to the roof, tie this stick to the ridge, and..."
"Perhaps that's enough for today." Tavern Keeper leaned her elbows on the table, looking at her friend with undisguised disapproval. "And both of you are already injured. Tie it up when the rain stops, but for now, you should get checked for... anything."
"For baking to the point of being burnt." Midwife stood up, intercepting Master and helping Apprentice to his feet. "It was lightning, after all. Even if there are no serious injuries, you need to wash up after something like that."
Master hummed – he was being passed around like a misbehaving cat. But his eyes were still aching from the flash, so he didn't object.
"Not a day without mischief." Tavern Keeper shrugged, turning the handle.
The window slammed shut with a dull thud.