He's working wood. Keep up.

Despite the cool air, Macius was warming up quickly. He'd taken off his shirt and his bulging muscles rippled as he measured, marked, cut, and prepared wood.

He'd piled the damaged stone to form a set of walls and a structure, and the wood he was preparing would be the steps of the stairways to the new altar. If not quite as elegant, it would at least be usable, and maybe even a bit more imposing. He'd figured out that with some wax and walnut oil, the wood would look far better, and based on the first steps he'd finished, he was right.

Once in a while, he gripped the stone shard he'd picked up from the altar, reminding himself that his temper had failed him. He knew he would have to work the stone shard later on, turning it into a statuette.

He kept at it late into the night. He'd lighted a torch, and was working more energetically as his plan neared completion.

As he finally laid the last wood plank and secured it to the altar, the Moon started shining through the immense openings in the stone cliffs. The light, reflected in the dark lake and oiled wood, seemed slightly magical.

Macius picked the stone shard up and vowed again, sotto voce.

"- This is only temporary. Of white marble and gilded leaf shall I remake this altar, when I am able."