CH1014

“I know your history and I know you prefer to be separated from the rest of the world because of it but I promise, living here will be safer,” Ben said, trying his best to convince the woman and included the sirens in it as he went on. “It will be safer for all of you. My partner, Thera, is at least someone the sirens should already be aware of given how close they are to the succubi, but she’s the daughter of not only her nation’s queen but also the great earth spirit. That’s not going to mean much to Mirrian, I know, but what that basically means is that she’s deeply loved by both the spirits and even the elementals of the world. Even if you can’t see them, this town is always filled with them as a result, and means that living here is actually probably safer than living in any city. Even if it’s not as small as you were looking for, Mirrian, living here might still be a bit more comfortable for you than where you were, and Hentath, no matter what happened in the past, I promise this is a pretty good place. Sachel is comfortable here and Delair hasn’t had any problems training under me here and-”

“We’ll do it,” Hentath nodded in agreement, not needing to think. “I’ll talk to the others, but we’ll move here.”

A decisive answer that caught Ben off guard. He’d fully expected to need Sachel to work on convincing the woman with him, but it seemed to have been unnecessary, with even the oracle seeming surprised by how quick she’d been in answering.

“Grandmother?”

“I have to do what’s right for the village, and it’s obvious that means keeping them safe,” the older dryad sighed. “The world’s not the same as it was a few years ago; we were just too slow in accepting it. I’ll talk to all of them and make it clear that that’s what’s going to happen.”

“Thank you,” Ben told her, relieved at just how straightforward that had been. “In that case, what about the rest of you? You don’t need to decide now and you don’t have to treat either option as a permanent choice. If you stay here and don’t like it, then you could move back to the siren capital, or you could go back there for now and think about it for a while. Whatever you decide, I will do my best to make sure you’re comfortable.”

The guards said nothing, having their roles, but Woszan focused on Mirrian for a moment before being the one to answer. “I think we’ll try staying here for now then, thank you.”

“Woszan?” Mirrian asked, watching the high priestess shake her head.

“Like he said, it doesn’t have to be forever and he should be right about how safe it is. We can try it for now and see how living here works for you and Kalley, and if it’s still a no-go, we can try somewhere else. Keeping you safe and comfortable is my priority, but a town like this, living here can also be a small taste of what this world has to offer.”

More than anything, Mirrian just seemed relieved to have someone there willing to make up their mind for her, letting her just nod, even as the exhaustion of the day tried to dig in its claws.

“Alright, good,” Ben told them. “In that case, why don’t all of you join the others for now? I have a couple more people to talk to, but then I’ll make sure I get all of you situated.”

More nods of agreement, the rest of them walked out of the house, leaving Ben and Sachel alone as he hung his head back and sighed before accepting how much there still was to do.

“Alright, come on. There’s a couple more people I need to talk to and I could use the help finding them.”

“Alright, who?” Sachel asked.

“Ceselee and Toltho. They should both be around by now, right?”

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“Yeah, both just outside.”

“Perfect.”