“Come on now, it’ll be okay,” Ben said, more for the comfort of Mirrian and Kalley as they were led through one of his mini-gates to Stonewall, even if it drew the eyes of the other four with them as well.

  “You just have these?” Woszan asked in wonder, the high priestess of their god a part of the moving party for what comfort she could bring to the other two. She’d heard about those small gates at least, she knew she wasn’t going to have to be locked away in that small village and could come back to visit her home using them as a shortcut while also fulfilling her role as the high priestess of Telenen, but it still didn’t dampen the surprise of seeing them, letting Ben laugh.

  “You’re talking to their inventor, although don’t spread it around too much, you hear?”

  Not that it was particularly going to matter by that point. He’d made so many and allowed so many to know, the gods included, that their existence and his role as their maker was basically an open secret. Still, he didn’t want anyone to try and hound him about his work, making the fact clear that he didn’t want others to know could only help with that.

  Still, he got agreement from them and from there, watched a little as they walked through town, all of them curious enough when their existence as a race holding a passive magic meant that they typically wouldn’t see a place so diverse, until they arrived as Sachel’s home, letting themselves in and through to their new village beyond.

  “Hello there,” Fontesh greeted, with it not just being Mirrian and Kalley, but everyone’s first look at a dryad considering that they were a race who typically isolated themselves as well, even if for different reasons. “Just through here, let’s show you the village. This is my home, but if you ever need to come through, just let me know.”

  “Thank you,” Woszan smiled, trying to match the manners and politeness they’d received as the rest said it as well, Mirrain seeming the most nervous until Ben led them through, out to the small village beyond.

  When she saw it, she started breathing just a bit easier. No grand city or impressive buildings, what she’d found was exactly what she’d wanted. A humble village, exactly like what she’d been missing. The people she could see around, giving her and the rest curious looks, might have been different, but that didn’t matter. Compared to so much else, it wasn’t overwhelming.

  “So, these are them?” Hentath called out, just barely too late to meet them inside like she’d hoped.

  “They are. Everyone, this is Hentath, the village elder,” Ben told them, letting them all introduce themselves, with only Kalley keep as silent as she seemed to want to stay around strangers, that fact forcing the older dryad to put on a softer look despite herself as she walked over and crouched down, giving the sweetest smile Ben had ever seen on the woman.

  “Hello there, little flower, welcome to our village. There’s plenty of other kids around that are your age so after we get you settled, why don’t we introduce you to them all? They’re looking forward to having a new friend.”

  Looking to her mother, Mirrian smiling encouragingly, the young girl gave a hesitant nod, adding yet more cheer to the dryad’s eyes.

  “Wonderful. Then for now, why don’t we show you where we’ve gotten you all set up. It might be a bit smaller than what you’re all used to, but Ben looks like he did a good job making things comfortable.”

  “I was drastically unprepared for this,” Ben muttered to Fontesh at his side, the other dryad trying to hold in her laugh as she whispered back.

  “Grandmother isn’t the type to be mean to children. If she were, I don’t think she could have raised a dozen of them.”

  Good god, is that how many she had? I haven’t exactly looked into it, but there’s only a handful of older dryads here, just how much of it is her family line?

  He was willing to assume the answer was a bunch but decided not to press on it, instead walking with the rest of them, letting Hentath cover the conversation since she was the one that all of them would be working to build a relationship with while he looked around, trying to gauge reactions from the other dryads who were out and about.

  In general, they at least seemed like they were trying to be receptive. It seemed that both Hentath and Fontesh had spoken to all of them, and his, Thera’s, and Mora’s visits had helped ease their worries about outsiders some, even if a lifelong aversion wasn’t going to be so easily beaten. From what he could tell in both their looks, along with the minds close enough for him to read, they were going to try to be welcoming, which was really the most he could ask for.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Although it looks like one is a fair bit more excited than the rest.

  “So, out of curiosity, where is Delair supposed to be right now?”

  “Hmm? She’s with the other kids at the moment. From what you told us, we didn’t want them being too hyper around new faces so we thought we’d save the introduction for closer to the evening, after they’ve had a chance to catch their breath and take in the village. Grandmother planned a small welcome gathering, so we’re hoping it will make everyone comfortable and we can introduce them then.”

  “Oh wow, that’s really more thoughtful than I’d honestly been expecting. Thank you.”

  “Ha, well, if they’re going to be living with us then we should be doing our best to make it work, shouldn’t we? A chance to mingle would be nice.”

  “Yeah, but I should probably let you know, it looks like one of the kids snuck out.”

  “... Alright, where is she?”

  “Watching from a tree, on the left.”

  Her mother turned, giving a look that told Delair she’d been caught, and Ben brought her over, carrying her with his magic until she was at their sides, Fontesh trying to start.

  “Delair-”

  “I was curious,” she said in her defense. “How couldn’t I be? We’ve never had anyone move here before.”

  “You would have met them tonight.”

  “And I still would have if I wasn’t caught.”

  “It’s fine, this is actually perfect,” Ben laughed. “I wanted to ask Delair a favour anyway.”

  “Ooh, what?”

  “Can you take the week off from training with me? I’d like to ask you to spend that time introducing Kalley to the other kids, getting them to play together and build friendships. She seems like she’s pretty shy, so it might be a lot of work, but I know I can count on you for this.”

  “You’re asking me to miss an entire week of practice?”

  “Considering how skilled you are, think of it as just taking a break. You can still work on things in your own time, but it doesn’t hurt to pause and digest everything you’ve learned so far.”

  “An entire week,” she said again dramatically, sounding like it was the end of the world.

  “Are you really that against it?”

  “I’m not,” she told him, dropping the act to sound far more serious. “You know what I want.”

  “Are you seriously trying to negotiate this with me right now?”

  “Yeah.”

  Ben grinned. “Good kid. Got it. Fontesh, there’s something we need to discuss.”

  “Do I need to be worried?” She asked, having heard that entire exchange as it happened by her side.

  “Technically, no. It’s perfectly safe, it’s just going to sound dangerous. Okay, so, long story short, there’s a surgery that can turn people into demigods. Delair wants to go through it.”

  “...”

  Left speechless, Fontesh didn’t know how to react to hearing such an absurd thing, even as her daughter jumped to join in.

  “It’s perfectly safe! Ben did it and it was fine, wasn’t it, Ben?”

  “I was the first person to do it actually, and yeah, it’s great. Makes your attributes grow easier and gives some benefits to the types of skills you can get. I have bonuses to attribute enhancements from it, as well as inclinations, which is a pretty rare and handy skill class, but there’s other options too. We can discuss what the perfect demigod attribute for Delair would be.”

  Considering that the process involved making a clone and then forcing a god’s soul into it before harvesting, technically, it might have been accomplishable if they got a free god to descend on the clone as well, though finding a willing participant might have been more of a challenge. Using the divine crystals would have to do.

  But that’s still five options, I’m sure we could find her something good.

  “Ooh, I want the same one as you,” Delair jumped in. “It sounds great.”

  “It is pretty good, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t better choices for you. If your mom says yes then we can look them over later, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Great. Then, Fontesh?”

  “... You promise this is safe?”

  “It’s being done hundreds of times a day right now. I’ll ask Thera to do it herself, and she’s a master life mage. Your daughter couldn’t be in better hands.”

  “... Alright, fine.”

  Still hesitant, she couldn’t deny that it sounded like an opportunity of the sort that might not come up again. She didn’t know what it meant for someone to become a demigod, but she did know of the powers they held. If such a thing was being offered, who was she to say no?

  “You won’t regret this,” Ben tried to reassure her. “And if you want, the option is open to you too.”

  “What?”

  “Why should that be surprising? You’re a friend, why shouldn’t I give you this opportunity too? Realistically, I’m not against all of the dryad’s getting it, it’s just a matter of how much Thera would be willing to do since this basically all comes down to her and I don’t want to ask too much of her without a proper discussion first. Anyway, if you’re not sure, then you can think about it. We’ll have to set up anyway so you can let me know when Delair comes back to work.”

  “... Alright, I’ll think about it.”

  Suddenly with a head full of worries that extended far beyond the fact that they had new neighbours, Fontesh was left worrying about that offer while Ben watched the rest of the get settled, saying his goodbyes and returned home for whatever bit of peace he could get.