Eve stared at the sands that blew endlessly, a stark contrast to the Forest behind her back. The living woods ended as if sliced asunder by the hands of an uncaring deity. There was a scant few feet before the sands took rulership of the lands ahead.

Unlike the single sun within the Endless Forest, here two orbs blazed above, clearly showing that there was more wrong than the absence of trees. Eve could feel spatial ripples in the space between the Forest and the desert. It felt as if a powerful creature had damaged the very fabric of the Plane, cutting a deep slice that was still healing centuries later. No wonder the ruins Eve was searching for were located here. Without a doubt, the sands covered an entire civilization that had been lost to time.

This is power. Eve thought, staring at the shifting sands. Power to wipe an entire chunk of reality from existence, so strong it echoes centuries later.

Shivering, Eve turned to look at her house. No, Witch’s Hut now. Her old home had been gradually replaced over time by the Hut through absorbing mana. The Primal Source of Energy provided a plethora of reality-changing effects that weren’t limited by reality's laws merely to organic creatures. While Eve wasn’t certain, there was definitely a mind behind the changes to her home. As proof, one needed to look no further than the thousands of tiny chicken feet attached to the Hut's bottom.

It only took five years for the dream. Eve thought with a grin. Kudzu grumbled so much when he had to move house, and now he’s utterly quiet since the entire Hut is perfectly smooth when moving now. There’s also the strange way it can shift between trees when the entire thing huge. I think it might be tapping into my own abilities.

Whatever it was, moving was now simply a matter of selling properties, scaring local crime lords, and banking the wealth before leaving. Eve remembered when Sara handed her the crystal card with a glowing number on it. It had taken only a few minutes to explain the Dragon’s Bankcard to Eve. Granted, the thought of bringing several tens of thousands of gold, gems, and riches had been a nice dream. The reality, though, had taken hold, and she would admit that gold was heavy. A bank-backed by a dragon that operated wherever the System held sway made a great deal of sense.

Who better to hold onto wealth than a giant lizard that breathed reality-warping flame?

Right, no one. At least everyone agreed on that point.

Those that didn’t usually make the fatal mistake of attempting to rob the Dragon’s Bank. Thankfully by removing their genetic material from whatever race they belonged to, everyone benefited. Eve was amused at a rather cute list of bragging done by the bank. Pamphlets describing some of the most famous attempted heists were available for free. Reading the pamphlets had been an enlightening experience for her.

Who thought that I so easily countered invisibility from a rogue? Eve thought with amusement. Or that spatial manipulation leaves traces that others can follow? The value of information is priceless, truly.

Nota, do you see anything suspicious? Eve asked the grimoire masquerading as a floppy-pointy hat on her head.

Nothing. Hot. Sand tasty? Nota replied with a mental image of devouring the dunes.

Test a small amount? Eve sent with the image of a shrug attached.

Nota flew off her head and approached a small bit of sand before both sides of the book opened to take a bite. There was a short crunching noise before Nota took another bite of the surroundings.

Spicy. Nota sent to Eve before flapping back to sit once more on the grimoire’s favorite perch. With a sigh, Eve moved back to the house, opening the door and entering inside. The cool air-conditioned house made the heat from the desert seem like a mirage. Flickering forward a few steps, Eve watched the sand that had managed to cling to her collapse in a human-shaped figure. Control over her movement with Aura and Domain had improved to the point where she could ensure things that shouldn’t travel with her didn’t. Dust, dirt, and other unsavory elements were excluded from her spatial jumps now with glee.

Granted, Eve still took showers because relaxing hot water massage therapy was priceless. In the same vein of thought, baths also helped to remove the stress of handling a slightly larger group of children in the dungeon these days. While both Rin and Ren were proceeding nicely, Tim was a work in progress. Teaching the boy not to attempt to pickpocket every goblin patrol took longer than she thought possible. Jenny, on the other hand, was an angel bound for the healing path.

Jenny is the only person I’ve ever seen cry when forced to kill goblin murder machines. Eve thought with a mental sigh. I hate that I am forced to teach her that even someone who values life needs to take it. A healer can’t save anyone if they are lying dead in a pool of their own blood—harsh truth, but still true.

The Hut moved onto the sands with a barely perceptible shift. There wasn’t any sense of motion from the floor as Eve moved into her kitchen. From the window over the sink, she looked out to view their passage through the roving sands. Checking the strange gnomish gizmo that pointed True North irrespective of dimensional shenanigans, she nodded. The device matched her own Map, and Aura provided another insurance that the Hut moved in the right direction. While she originally hadn’t planned on purchasing anything to assist in finding the way, Eve had been convinced by Sara to do so. Tales of travelers being burned into desiccated corpses to feed the sands made Eve nervous. She decided to invest in a locational assistance interdimensional quantum alignment device that would point True North at all times in all places.

Although the gnome that sold me this certainly seemed high on caffeine, or worse. Eve thought, remembering how speaking with the short engineer had been a trial of translation. At a certain point, people speaking fast becomes a language all its own.

Regardless of the minor challenges leaving, Glenwood had been for the best. A village town was still a village at heart, and it would be several decades before the transition into a true township occurred. The lure of treasure and the pull of finally reaching a big city with a night unbreakable identity was thrilling. Bits and bobs of comfort were available in Glenwood, but true decadence could only be harvested from a city.

At least in Eve’s humble opinion.

Eve glanced at the shade cast by the massive flowering apparatus that had previously been the roof's solar panels. Mana had shifted and mutated that part of the house over time. The energy had a strong effect, altering the entire array until it resembled nothing so much as one of the blooming flowers that Kudzu tended. She had long suspected Kudzu had a hand in it yet lacked any proof to verify her theory.

Granted, the benefits from the revamped array couldn’t be denied by anyone. Both heat and sun were powerless from the Hut's aura that held sway under the shadow of the strange mechanical bloom. Instead, the energy that would have caused discomfort was eaten to provide care for the denizens inside the Hut. As a principal beneficiary of this, Eve was happy with the situation.

As the Hut picked up speed, Eve watched the sands outside begin to blur. A faintly visible series of thin black threads clumped together separated the horizon in their traveling direction. Focusing, she boosted her eyesight with mana dialing in on the tiny threads of darkness. Pushing her vision to the limit revealed a row of pillars, or steles reaching for heaven.

Interesting. Eve thought before she shifted her attention to dinner. Chopped fire pig with Szechuan spice, onions, and yellow root potatoes. I’ll need to make bread, and of course, dessert for the munchkins.

As her focus shifted from the outside, Eve only kept enough attention to turn random monsters into mulch. The circling thin paper stream that surrounded her Hut took barely any effort with Bibliotheca Mind to maintain. All the children exited the dungeon looking like corpses warmed over. Taking one look at all the various loot, Eve immediately ordered everyone to go wash up. The valuables were dumped into sorting bins by the dungeon entrance before a small horde of children ran to the baths. Eve had taken the time to ensure the baths were separated. While she didn’t think Tim was that sort since he was still young, it was best to cut such things off at the knees.

The children returned from bathing right as dinner was finishing, accompanied by Sara, who had been chatting Kudzu up. Ren, as had quickly become normal, was leading Jenny. Eve could see the tank healer combination already shaping up. In the same line of thought, Rin chatted with Tim, which, considering rogues were heavy into poison usage, among other things, brought no surprise.

At least the children are getting along. It probably helps that Tim and Jenny are half their counterpart's age and cute to boot. Eve thought, grinning. Dinner flew out hot from the stove, while pots cooking on the stovetop gave up their bounty. Plates, utensils, and food combined in a while of paper power as the meal appeared on the table, ready to be devoured.

No matter how many years passed, Eve would never lose the awe of cooking with magic. Bibliotheca Mind chose that moment to point out that witches were known for cooking.

With large Cauldrons, but still, it was something.

Eve decided to ignore her mind’s helpful attempt to distract her from the delicious food. Sitting down at the same time, everyone else took seats. She said a small prayer before starting to eat. Sara and the children followed in her footsteps, and for several minutes peace existed.

Eve smirked as she watched the leftover food carried off by a stealthy squad of mice and two young wolves. It had become something of a tradition to allow leftovers to be divvied up by those audacious enough to use their elements for plundering.

I’ll be sad to see the Pack go. Eve thought. Only two of the younger wolves are choosing to stay with us. Shadow and Light have decided to take up permanent residence with me, Ren and Rin. Mudslide has decided to move the rest of the Pack deeper into the Endless Forest.

While she was sorry to see them go, the wolves had their own needs. Staying at Glenwood with her for several years had caused a great deal of unrest in the free-spirited furries. When she informed them of her plans to spend even more time in a city, it had apparently been the last straw. The Pack and Eve were separating, for the better, according to All-Right.

I am no longer a lost human in a brave new world. Eve thought. They no longer see me as a helpless youngling, which I suppose is for the best.

A long discussion involving resolving the debt between them had made Eve clean her inventory up. Currently, it only had food, spices, and coinage inside. To clear any debt, Eve had essentially given the Pack free reign to take whatever non-liquid funds or items they wanted. After the wolves had finished, the children got to pick anything they had wanted. Once that was complete, the rest of her inventory had been summarily disintegrated into a fine powder using paper and her Domain.

Eve felt it was best to make a clean break between layers.

The suddenly free spaces in her inventory had nothing to do with the possible discovery of treasure vaults or lost riches that might occur shortly.

Not at all.

After dinner was finished by the children and the dishes cleaned, Eve and Sara moved to the roof. Paper chairs allowed both women comfort as the Hut moved across the sands. Eve moved a small slice of cheesecake, part of her emergency sugar supply, along with two cups of Kudzu spiced warm tea. The Hut’s own aura kept out the desert air’s chill. Eve could see the bubble of mana yet chose not to examine it closer. Some things were best left to time to unravel.

“Are you still interested?” Eve asked, watching Nota chase several mice back and forth behind her chair in clear view of her Aura.

“My decision has not changed since I offered.” Sara said, her eyes serious as she continued, “Pardon me for being blunt, but you are extremely unguarded. While you have power now, at some point, without someone like me to clean up loose ends, handle business, and deal with minor irritations, a mistake will slip through. Most likely, it will be something small and innocuous at first. One mistake will lead to several, then sloppiness, and finally, general arrogance will take hold. At that point, close or far in the future, you will get yourself, and everyone you know killed Eve.”

I wish I could disagree on that point. Eve thought. It is true. I’m not very good at details day today. I’m more of a big picture girl. In general, this is a good thing. However, I can easily see the situation she suggests happening.

Eve didn’t respond right away, looking at the stele rising into the far distance like fingers of a buried god. Taking a permanent addition, someone that would never leave her side, had risks. While betrayal was a remote possibility with the System enforcing things, no promise was airtight unless there was zero leeway. Without any leeway, though, Sara would be nothing more than an organic flesh robot, which Eve didn’t desire in the least.

It is, in essence, a choice between my brother’s ideas and my own. Eve thought, taking a sip of her tea, allowing the flavor to percolate through her senses. Calm flowed from Bibliotheca's Mind and Body, giving her solid assurance to face the choice. Haven’t I already chosen long ago?

Eve casually reached out a hand to Sara, who gripped it with her own.

“Mine,” Eve said, pulling on the power that Bibliotheca granted. Reality folded in complex forms and shapes as her will pushed through the System. This was no longer merely a contract. It was a promise written in the paper of reality, inked with powdered space mixed with Eve’s blood. Glowing words written in the System’s alphabet flowed into space above both women’s clasped hands.

Sara, Young Mistress of the Snake Clan, loses her Class.

Sara, Young Mistress of the Snake Clan, loses her bloodline.

Sara, Young Mistress of the Snake Clan, renounces her heritage.

Sara has been bound into a Living Parchment by Eve Smith.

Sara Smith’s soul is now bound to Eve Smith.

Sara Smith gains the Class of Scripture Witch.

Blood as ink, Space as paper, Soul as payment.

Eve’s hand dropped lifelessly to the side of her chair. The process of creating her first trusted servant was exhausting. She dimly felt the presence of Sara as she rose from her chair and approached. Eve felt her body picked up like a lightweight sack of feathers. Warmth caressed her skin as Sara carried her below into the Hut.

I wonder how Earth is doing. Eve thought as darkness claimed her. She felt the warmth around her hold the darkness at bay as sleep took hold.