Mohe and some others showed up that afternoon to take the alchemical equipment. I might have felt a little depressed watching them disassemble and take out the athanor. I hadn’t had cause to use the furnace, but just having it made me feel like I was a real alchemist in my own right.

“There, there. It’ll be alright,” Lily consoled me while she patted my cheek.

“I know,” I replied. “And why are you patting my cheek? Shouldn’t you be patting me on the back?”

“I’m standing on your shoulder and can’t reach your back silly,” my pixie replied. I could feel her grin through our bond.

We watched them start disassembling the cupellation furnace next. That one I wouldn’t miss since I never did any metallurgy or even knew how. As far as I knew, mom had never been taught metallurgy either, so it made sense she never taught me.

“What happened to it being a few days before Ama was going to send someone for the equipment?” I asked Mohe.

He sighed and shrugged before answering. “I apologize for that. My wife lied to you and had arranged for us to pick the stuff up today.”

“That’s bulls…” Lily started and fell silent as I covered her mouth. The other men all looked shocked to hear her voice.

“They can talk,” one of the men said in disbelief.

“You’ve heard pixies laugh and giggle?” I asked with a shrug of my shoulders. He nodded in agreement. “Why wouldn’t they be able to talk if they can laugh?”

“Never even thought about that,” the man replied. He shrugged, grabbed a case of jars, and walked out of our basement. The others followed suit picking up the last of the glassware and the mortar and pestle. I did get depressed watching the mortar and pestle be taken away.

“Jase, are you ok?” Lily asked, her voice filled with concern.

“Sort of. Just feeling depressed watching everything that had been given being taken away.”

“That’s everything but the jars and bottles you’ve used,” Mohe said a few minutes later after checking his inventory list.

“What about the filled bottles and jars?” one of the men asked sticking his head back in the door. There was a greedy gleam in his eyes.

“Do you know what they are filled with?” Mohe asked.

“No,” the man replied shaking his head.

“Neither do I. So, we leave them.”

“Fine by me,” he replied walking back out.

“We need to get back and get this stuff setup. The caravan bringing the new alchemist will be here tomorrow,” Mohe informed me.

“Carla said it would be a couple of days,” I replied.

Mohe shrugged. “It’s arriving early.”

“Mohe,” Lily called out as the chieftain neared the door.

“Yes?”

“Will the village still honor our land agreement?” Lily asked. Mohe stopped and turned to face us. He rubbed his chin.

“That’s a good question.”

“The village had never claimed the land or cottage,” I pointed out.

“That’s true. As far as I’m concerned, we’ll honor your claim. As you said, we had never claimed the land or this house.”

“Will your wife and the others honor it too?” Lily asked.

“I’ll make sure we will. In fact, come and watch me tell these guys,” Mohe said turning and walking out. I followed with Lily sitting on my shoulder. True to his word, Mohe told the men that the village would keep honoring my land claim.

“That’s fine by us,” one of the other men said to nods from the rest. “It’s not like this is prime hunting grounds or good for farming.”

“The creek doesn’t have fish in it either,” another said.

“Even the timber isn’t that good,” a third added. “As far as I’m concerned, the land is worthless.”

“They just don’t understand the bounty of the forest,” I quietly told Lily through our bond. While this part of the forest didn’t have the abundance of game as others, there was plenty of game that passed through it. The pixies had pointed out the signs and tracks if I missed them. “The other alchemist will though.”

“Yep,” my familiar agreed. Mohe started back to the village without another word. The others started following. “I’ll make sure the others are watchful.”

“You’re not as bad as Ama has made out. Too bad things have turned out the way they have,” one of the guys said before following the rest.

“You know, it’s a good thing you haven’t met that many people and had to learn their names,” Lily said as we watched them disappear through the trees. I could feel her smile and humor over the bond we shared.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I still think I can win at least some of them over once we get my own equipment and they see the difference between my wares vs the whoever Ama found.”

“What if that person is better?” Willow asked flying up.

“I still got the cows. I suppose I could become a rancher,” I replied trying to think positive thoughts. I didn’t want to think about the possibility of someone being better than me. Lily kissed my cheek before joining her fellow pixie in the air.

“Good answer and way to keep your options open,” Yam said as she joined us.

“Did you two finish your project?” Lily asked the other pixies.

“We did. Where’s the lemon drops?”

“What are you three going on about?” I asked in confusion, which was becoming an all-too-common occurrence with so many pixies around.

“Just be thankful we don’t prank you,” Lily said as she and the other two grinned at me. “The others have installed the network receiver inside the chimney to keep it hidden.”

“That’s nice, but what if I want to light a fire for warmth?”

“Won’t need to,” Lily replied.

“Why not?”

“We’ll have central heat and air once we turn on the power system.”

“Central heat and air are how buildings used to be kept warm and cool,” Yam added. She then explained how the system worked to me.

“When did you find the time to do that?” I asked the trio.

“We’re pixies. We make the magic happen,” Willow replied as all three of them laughed and wiggled their fingers at me. “Now, about those sweets…”

“I’ll make more,” I promised.

“Yay!” the trio chorused.

*

I spent the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening making more honey drops for the pixies. My heart wasn’t in it though as I was feeling depressed from having the alchemical equipment taken from me. Deep down I knew it hadn’t really been mine, yet it still hurt. Lily did her best to comfort and encourage me. Knowing that Lily loved and supported me unconditionally helped but didn’t pull me out of the depression. I fell asleep on the coach as we watched some videos on the network.

*

“Lily, are you sure we should be doing this?” April asked.

“I’m sure.”

“I thought you wanted to save this stuff for after Jase was more firmly established in the village,” Willow said.

“I did. But things have changed, and Jase needs something to pull him out of the funk he’s in. You know how bad depression can get in humans. Search the network if any of you don’t.”

“I had forgotten it could get that bad,” Yam said as her eyes returned to their normal color after she assessed the network. “I see having what one considers their life’s work taken away can lead to bad places.”

“Perhaps we should do more to defend the land you’ve claimed,” May mused out loud.

“Why do you think that?” Willow asked.

“Because the other alchemist and probably Ama will know the value of the land we have claimed,” Lily answered.

May nodded in agreement. “Exactly. If it wasn’t for the cows and us, this area would be thick with the other wildlife instead of them just passing through, which would make it even more valuable to the village.”

“Maybe we should lure a cougar or bear into the area,” April said.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Willow replied.

“It still might attack Jase,” Yam said. “He would have to be careful and us more watchful over him.”

Lily snapped her fingers. “That gives me an idea.”

“Don’t keep us waiting. What is it?” Willow asked.

“I’ll have to use the network to contact the Morrisville pixies, but there is a mutated or bioengineered cougar named Sara, there that might be willing to move here.”

“Why would this Sara leave her territory to move to the mountains?” April asked.

“Because she is intelligent, open to trades, and can have a cow on occasion,” Lily answered.

“Good point. None of the local ones have shown much intelligence,” May replied. “You make contact with our cousins, and we’ll set this stuff up.”