CH987

Breaking into Sachel’s house since she wasn’t home to let him in herself, Ben made use of the gate hidden within, walking through to find Mora and Fontesh happily snacking while Delair sat to the side, clearly dejected.

“Hey there, sorry for barging in. Is something going on?”

“Oh, my daughter just thought it would be a good idea to use Mora to try to build a giant version of that game you made her. The one where you stack small pieces of wood and pull them out to see who makes it fall?”

“It would have been fun for everyone!” Delair called out in her defense, leaving her mother to shake her head.

“It would have crushed anyone standing too close to it when it fell. You can’t make something like that bigger than our house, how were you even planning on playing with it?”

“Get Mora to ask some spirits to move the pieces for us while we direct them.”

“That would kind of defeat the point if you’re having someone else manage that bit,” Ben pointed out. “But let’s put a small pin in figuring out how to do that for now. If we can figure out a safe way to make it work, that could be a fun little event in Stonewall. For now, kind of have a favour to ask.”

“So, not just here early to pick up Mora then?” Fontesh asked him.

“If things go smoothly enough, then yeah, absolutely. Actually, on that note, would you say Hentath has warmed up to Mora at all? He’s here for at least a bit a few times a week, she must be seeing him occasionally.”

“Oh, I’d say so. He’s a sweet child, it would be hard not to. The rest of the village is pretty comfortable with him by this point as well.”

Mora smiled hearing it, enjoying both the praise and the acknowledgement that he was well liked. “I like all of the dryads too.”

“Fantastic to hear, kiddo. That means you can help me, Fontesh, and Delair beg her for a favour.”

“Ooh, what favour?” Delair asked in curiosity, her mother having a guess.

“If you’re making a new attempt to get some fresh wood, you’re not going to have much luck.”

“Nope, don’t worry. It should be less objectionable in exchange for just being more complicated. I want to talk her into accepting a few new residents here.”

“No,” Hentath told him the moment she opened the door, already putting Ben in his place as he raised his hands.

“Hentath, come on, I just got here.”

“And the look on your face is like someone trying to sell me something; I don’t trust it.”

“You say that, but you can’t fool me. I know you’ve warmed up to ol’ Ben. Come on, hear me out, please. I promise, this is actually important to me and is essentially harmless.”

“I think you should listen to what he has to say, grandmother,” Fontesh told her, having gotten a brief explanation as they went over, even if she could tell there was some context he was trying to be careful about because of the kids.

Looking at her granddaughter, as well as her great-granddaughter and Mora as well, she sighed and stepped out, leading them to the back. “Fine then, come on.”

Taking them to some seats in her yard, Ben took his own, looking at the older dryad and putting his many thoughts in order before speaking up.