Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Checking off the list

Hineni looks over the map of the nation that he has spread out on the workbench in the forge.

 

Ever since the guild had gotten so busy, finding a quiet spot at one of the booths in the restaurant has quite literally become impossible, sadly. Thankfully, the forge is still a possible option of retreat.

 

His eyes scan the map.

 

There are five notable cities here in the nation. One in the west, by the mountains. One in the east, by the coast. One in the south, in the deep-forests and one here, in the northern regions, where they live now.

 

His gaze lands on the one in the center.

 

The central city is one of the few cities that isn’t powered economically by a dungeon, like all of the other four. But its central position between all of them allows it to thrive as the nation’s most critical trade hub. It’s also the closest to the war-front and is likely under constant skirmishes.

 

— That means people are likely leaving to move to the other, safer cities.

 

Which then means that property is currently cheap there, for those willing to fight against the exodus to move into the place. Even without the money they have on Avarice’s bank, they could buy a comfortable patch of land there. And if they do end up having access to their full savings and the dragon-god of wealth isn’t playing some odd game of control with them, then they could probably buy an extremely big patch of land.

 

But this comes at the risk of them being caught up in the war. Although, the assassins that had gone out of their way to travel all the way to the north had shown that this was already the case. So does it really matter?

 

Hineni shrugs to himself and looks at the map.

 

They can buy land cheaply there. Plus he’s sure he can even get the military to approve his move if he says he’ll be able to offer repairs for the front-lines. It just seems like the smartest move.

 

Obscura is unhappy with this house, now that it has been attacked not only by frogs, but by elves and Eilig is suffering here, because the house is simply too condensed for the powerful magic that is filling the walls. With a bigger house and more land and the possibility to build something entirely new, in order to engage in some perhaps unorthodox architectural practices, he can solve all of their problems at once.

 

Plus, maybe it is time that he moved out of his family’s house?

 

Hineni looks around himself at the walls of the forge-tower. There are many memories here. This home had belonged to his parents, after all.

 

— But they’re dead. Those memories remain and he can make new memories in a new house. The house is just a thing. The living, the people who are alive right now, they matter more than the memories of the dead.

 

Hineni rolls up the map and tucks it into his belt.

 

He’s going to have to convince the others, though. Obscura and Eilig are easy. But he really isn’t sure how he’s going to convince Rhine or Sockel or Seltsam. Hell, what if they don’t want to leave the city?

 

---

 

“Yeah. Sure. Whatever,” says Sockel, leaned back on her chair with her feet up on the new front counter. She’s filing her nails.

 

Hineni blinks and looks around the room for a moment, before turning back towards her. “What? Really?”

 

Sockel shrugs. “I don’t really care. I follow the money.”

 

“Huh…” says Hineni, tilting his head. “I thought you’d at least ask why?”

 

She blows off her fingers. “I know why,” says the elf, inspecting her work.

 

“And you don’t care about moving back towards the south?”

 

She shakes her head. “We’re not moving to the south though. We’re moving towards the south. Big difference.”

 

“I was expecting a harder sell than this, honestly,” says Hineni. He feels his curved dagger rubbing against his leg as he notices that the library door has quietly opened for only the tiniest crack. “I’d like you to come with us, Seltsam,” he says, speaking to the door. “If you want to.”

 

It closes.

 

Sockel turns her head looking at him and then at it.

 

The door quietly opens a second later, pushing open only a crack. “I- I’d like that,” says Seltsam. “T-thank you for thinking about me!”

 

Hineni waves her off. “You’re one of us. Sorry. There’s no way out now.” He nods his head to the kitchen. “I’ll ask Eilig. I’ll leave the rest of the staff up to you,” he says, nodding to Sockel.

 

“Really?” she asks, sighing.

 

“It’s called delegation,” says Hineni. “Keep up the good work.”

 

---

 

Hineni ducks to the side as the ice-crystal shoots past him, crashing into the wall of the cellar.

 

Lifting his eyes, he rubs the crystal-flakes out of his hair and looks at Eilig. “- So that’s a ‘no’?” he asks. The fairy stands on the front steps of her doll-house, her wings buzzing like an angry wasp’s.

 

“You sure are a funny guy for someone with a death-wish!” barks Eilig, lifting her hand again to cast another spell. “So what?! You’re just going to leave me here to rot by myself, huh?!” she yells, another crystal of ice growing in her hands. “You stupid, jerk! I should have never hoped for any better!”

 

“Eilig,” says Hineni, lifting his hands to explain. “I’m not moving without you. I’m here to ask you if you want to move. Calm down.” She narrows her eyes. “As if I would just leave you here. Give me some credit.”

 

She glares at him in silence for a time, but then lowers her hand. “Okay. I don’t hate you anymore. But you’re still an idiot,” says the fairy. “You know that I can’t leave the house.”

 

“Says who?” asks Hineni.

 

“Huh?” She floats towards him. “Says me, that’s who!” she barks. “I’m a fairy. I’m bound to the ambient-magics of where I’m born. Forever,” she says, crossing her arms. “So I guess you can take your wife and move away.” Eilig tilts her head, presumably looking away. “I’ll just die here by myself. It’s what I want anyways.”

 

Hineni rolls his eyes. “Don’t be a drama-queen, Eilig,” he says, lifting a hand to let her land on it. “I had Seltsam look into it. Because of the crazy leylines right now, the world is drenched in ambient-magic. It’s coming here all the way from the south.”

 

“Yeah? So?”

 

“So,” says Hineni. “That means there’s enough magic outside to sustain you until we get there and set up shop,” he explains. “We can make a place there for all of us. Where we can all fit together without anybody getting sick.”

 

She’s quiet, crossing her legs and sitting there. “And if I say no?” she asks. “This is my home. I’ve only ever lived here. She lived here,” says Eilig, referring to his mother. “Are you going to choose your wife over me?” she asks.

 

“If you say no,” says Hineni. “I’m going to put you in a jar and carry you myself all the way,” he says. “I’m not choosing between either of you if I can take both of you.”

 

“Oh, now it’s like this. A moment ago, you said you were asking me if I wanted to choose to move.”

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“Correct,” says Hineni. “You have the choice to agree with me that we need to move for the sake of your health or to get kidnapped.”

 

She rises to her feet. “Boy. I could kill you here and now and nobody would find your body in the ice for the next week and a half.”

 

Hineni shakes his head. “We’re family, Eilig. Do you expect me to just sit here and let you wither away?”

 

“You could always just throw your wife out and close the stupid guild.”

 

“I could,” concedes Hineni, nodding. “Or, I could have my cake and eat it too because the last person in my family isn’t being a stubborn jackass.”

 

“Says you! You stubborn jackass!”

 

“Damn right I am,” says Hineni. “I’m not leaving without you,” he explains, placing her back onto the steps of her doll-house.

 

She sighs. Standing there with her hands on her hips and staring at him for a time. “…When the hell did you grow a pair of balls?” she asks. “You used to be such a whiny brat as a kid.”

 

Hineni shrugs. “Hell if I know, Eilig,” replies Hineni. “It’s not like I remember where I was as a kid.”

 

Eilig turns away.

 

He knows that she knows. But she isn’t going to tell him for her own reasons.

 

“- Fine,” says Eilig, after a moment. “With any luck, I’ll die on the way and finally be free. So what do I care?”

 

Hineni grabs the ladder, getting ready to climb back up. “That's the spirit. Thanks.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Get out of my cellar,” snaps the fairy, walking into her doll-house and closing the door.

 

Hineni climbs up the ladder, pretending that he doesn’t hear the fairy giggling and stomping her feet in secret in her house.

 

He supposes that the prospect of being able to leave a house you’ve been trapped in your entire life is pretty exciting.

 

Two people left.

 

---

 

“Rhine,” says Hineni, walking into the forge. Rhine is hunched over the workbench, having started his work on his tribute for Obscura. The golden necklace of a tree. “I need a chat with you.” He sits down on the other chair.

 

Rhine has been painstakingly working on this thing for months on end now. Any jeweler worth his salt would have hit him over the head for wasting man hours on a single necklace. But Rhine is obsessed with the little thing. He’s been spending hours and hours, making every intricate detail by hand perfect. Any time he has made a grave mistake of some sort, he just melted the whole thing down to start all over again.

 

This one is looking good though.

 

“Sockel already told me,” says Rhine, not lifting his head from his work.

 

“Oh.” Hineni rubs the back of his own head, thinking for a moment. “I was hoping to catch you first, honestly. To sell the idea.”

 

Rhine looks up from his work, wiping a strand of blue hair out of his face before returning himself back down to it.

 

“I can’t leave until I finish this,” he says. “It’s really important.”

 

Hineni looks at the necklace that Rhine is hoping to bargain some sort of wish for. He doesn’t know what exactly the boy wants in exchange for his tribute. But it also isn’t his business. It’s probably something personal.

 

“I understand,” says Hineni. “The thing is, I need to get Eilig out of here, before she gets sicker,” he explains. “But I can’t do it without you, Rhine. That is if you even want to.”

 

Rhine continues to work on the necklace for a while as the two of them sit there in silence.

 

“I mean, I guess that it sounds exciting?” says Rhine, breaking the quiet. “I’ve never moved away from the city before. Sockel says she could teach me to fight wild monsters too.” He rubs his lip with the back of his thumb. “But I…” He gestures to his pile of work, laid out over the table. “I just really need to finish this before I can go anywhere.”

 

Hineni nods, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I understand. In that case, you’re off the forge for the rest of the week,” says Hineni. “Focus on your project.”

 

“Huh? But what about the military?” asks Rhine. “They’ll cause a fuss if we don’t deliver everything on schedule.”

 

“To hell with them,” says Hineni. “They couldn’t keep a bunch of assassins away from our door, so the way I see it, they owe us a break.”

 

Rhine laughs, returning to his work. “I don’t know if they’ll see it like that.”

 

Hineni gets up, sliding his chair in to leave. “If they don’t, then I’ll make them.” He waves over his shoulder as he goes to find Obscura.

 

---

 

The giant owl sits on their bed, staring at him.

 

“I want to move,” says Hineni.

 

“Obscura has heard with her ears that are as plentiful as her eyes." Hineni blinks. "She approves of wise Hi~ ne~ ni’s desire to find a space with no frogs.”

 

“I can’t promise that,” he says. “But this place isn’t working anymore for what we need. We’ve grown too big for this nest.”

 

Obscura hoots. “It is true. The halls are full and Obscura can hardly sleep for the pitter-patter of ten thousand feet.”

 

“Right?” asks Hineni, looking back towards the door to their bedroom. Just on the other side, easily a dozen people are making their way through to their rooms right now. “I appreciate that you’re on board,” says Hineni, walking up to her. She transforms into her half-human form. “And I appreciate that you put up with living in this place for so long.”

 

“It was very charming,” hoots Obscura. “When it was a quiet hole for them to hide in,” she clicks with her mouth. Hineni nods.

 

“I have an idea about our next place,” says Hineni. “I need some input on what’s feasible here, magically speaking.”

 

She hoots, looking at him curiously.

 

“— I think you’ll like it.”

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