After breakfast was done Aida wanted to clear the air.

“I don’t want to argue, I know it makes sense to you, and to your sister, so all I am going to ask is that she waits until she is 18 before you start to mold her like clay.”

“Deal.”

“Wait, no, no deal. I get a choice in this.”

“No you don’t, mom said wait, and I don’t disagree. I was planning on waiting at least a year before I used it on anyone I care about.”

“Have you already done it to someone else?”

“Yes, and I am not sorry, I am not going to apologize. He got a new life, and if he uses it right, I will have made a new man out of him, one who betters the world instead of makes it worse. Assuming his body remains stable during the next few years of his new life, I can finally fix things that can’t be fixed.”

“Did he at least agree?”

“Agree is a strong word. He was on death row for a non-violent offense, so I gave him my offer, new body, new life. So long as he doesn’t go back to his past ways, he is allowed to live.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“This is not a game, he nearly ruined the lives of people who he should’ve been keeping safe. People like him do not deserve forgiveness, but if he can prove himself, I don’t mind letting him go.”

“Harlan, honey, no more work talk at the table. I appreciate you being honest, but, I think you should just lie to your mother. It would not be the first time, no need to make it the last time. You don’t even need to be overt, just stop talking.”

“Deal.”

“No, no deal, honey, you can’t just be alright with what he is doing.”

“If the man’s life was forfeit, then Harlan saved him, and if he commits the same crimes as before, well, he was on death row, he knows full well what he has done. But like Harlan said, he has a new life, wouldn’t this be the merciful thing to do? No blood spilled, a free second chance.”

“Sorry, sis, but I agree. I’ve met men that I believe showed genuine remorse, but once bounty posters are up, their lives are done. They can’t run forever, eventually someone tracks them down and takes their head as proof of bounty.”

“Nope, not again. I’m I really the only sane person here?”

Isha felt a little bad to pile on, but she didn’t exactly want to stay quiet.

“If Harlan could’ve changed my father’s face, he would still be alive. If there is something I’ve learned, it’s that I can trust his sense of justice. He would do just about anything for people he calls friends, but for normal people, he still does what he can.”

“Alright, I’m done. No more talk at the table, I don’t want to hear it.”

“I won’t say another word. Now, I need to make some calls, see if I can’t get a report on where all of those orphans ended up. I’ve got three on the way, so I need to make housing for them. Which means contacting the builders in Tole, making blueprints for what I want, then I’ve got to put in all of the soulsmithed amenities like showers and running water for everyone, self cleaning sewage system. Make sure nobody can dig into the walls and steal the gems that I put in.”

“Anything I can do? I’ve had a week with everyone else, I don’t want to waste what time I have to talk with you.”

“Right, that reminds me. Things have been a bit hectic so I forgot.”

Harlan fished around his pockets until he found the extra amulet he always kept on him, he never knew when he might run into someone he wanted to give one.

“These things ain’t cheap, are you sure?”

Every single person at the table pulled out their own amulets.

“Right, I should’ve known you already gave one to everyone else.”

“Do you want to ride to Tole with me? If so, we need to get everyone else’s tags before we go, no better time than now.”

Due to the number of them and the refractory period between contacts being shared it took a couple of minutes, but then they were ready to go.

The first person he called was Lian.

“Captain Lian of Dullen speaking, who is this?”

“Sir Harlan Fomoria. Do you have a moment?”

“What is the nature of your call?”

“Business, though I would like to congratulate you on the promotion.”

“Thank you, Sir Fomoria. Your discovery of the mayor’s actions led to a purge of the guard, anyone who couldn’t prove they were clean was let go or demoted. The captain was executed. What business are you calling for?”

“The orphanage in Yor shut down, I wanted to know if any of them made their way to your city.”

“I can ask the gate guards. Everyone who comes through the gates is recorded, name, description, reason for entry. Should I call back on this or should I forward copies of this information to somebody else?”

“Call me here, I’ll write down everything. If possible, have them found. I am going to be setting up a village for orphans, the king has given his approval so there is no worries about sending them. Just tell them about what I am trying to do, they will receive a home, food, teaching, and work that is appropriate for their age. I’ll send as many carriages as I need to bring them here.”

“Very well, would you be willing to take any overflow orphans? Sometimes the older ones are kicked out early to make room for younger orphans.”

“I would be fine with that.”

“I will call back with the information you have requested, is there anything else?”

“No. Goodbye, Lian.”

Redmond gave him a playful punch to the arm.

“You’ve grown up.”

“I’ve dealt with enough pricks that I’m numb to them and I’ve had enough practice listening to them to know how to act the noble people want me to be.”

“Language.”

“Ha ha ha. Very funny.”

“I’m serious. Swearing sometimes can be fine, but you shouldn’t do it casually, makes you look ignorant. Like a soldier.”

“You mean it makes you look ignorant?”

“Yeah, you start talking like a soldier, you'll drop words you don’t think you need.”

“So, had more near deaths that my armor saved you from?”

“As a matter of fact, yes, 9 of them, by most accounts, I should be dead. I get lucky and the armor does the rest.”

“Then you will love the new one I’m making for you. I was going to get it finished last night, then I got called away.”

“Really? Something like you got?”

“Exactly what I’ve got. Any preference on flourishes? I do the embossing after the enchanting.”

“Give me a ranger crest right over my heart.”

“Not a problem.”

“I hate to ask, but how much does it cost you to make one?”

Redmond just shutdown once he heard the number, it would be years of pay, he could’ve been making a rangers wage from the start of his career, minus the cost of living expenses, and still not afforded it.

If it wasn’t for his sense of justice, he would abandon it in a second to start working for Harlan.

He came out of his shock as the carriage rocked to a stop.

“Welcome to Tole, Sir Fomoria.”

He didn’t announce his arrival, nor did he say he was coming, so there was a small panic when they saw his carriage coming down the road.

“Can you direct me to where I could hire carpenters? I have a large project and it is more than I could do on my own.”

“Of course, I will get a guide to help you with your needs.”

The man was sweating, not really afraid, but clearly nervous to be around him. Harlan wondered how Balor acted when he visited.

Shortly after the man left a girl, maybe 18 years of age, brown hair just past her shoulders, brown eyes came out to guide him.

He was worried that people thought he had a type at this point.

“Good morning Sir Fomoria, I am April, I will take care of your needs for the day.”

“Thank you. Now, to the carpenters.”

The men awkwardly bowed to him and the foreman started talking about discounts and repaying favors.

“I am not looking for anything but buildings to be made, you are workers, so I will pay a fair wage.”

“Yes, Sir, um, Sir Fomoria. What did you have in mind?”

“A village. I expect I will need housing for 100, maybe more. Why not play it safe, I want two buildings, separated by sex, 100 in each. Then I’ll need storage sheds for the golems and tools and such. Along with a main building for things like meals and events.”

“You mean dormitories? If you don’t mind, I’d like to know who is supposed to be living in these buildings.”

“Orphans, oh, and design them so that they could be expanded if need be. Much of the internals will be done by me, I mostly need a strong shell. I’ve drawn up my own blueprints, but I would like you to look over them.”

It was two hours of back and forth, they hadn’t built anything like this before.

Most of the business these men did was homes for the new residents, and expansions to the old homes as the old residents got a new flow of money from the visitors.

They weren’t even locals, and had come with the second wave of people when it got out that the first wave needed quality woodworkers for everything from new plates and bowls to entire homes.

Eventually they figured they’d move on again as the town started switching to stone homes.

“Thank you for your time Sir Fomoria, with golems helping, I’d expect it done in a month, less even.”

“Thank you, I would never have time for anything else if I didn’t have people to help with this. I do wonder however, what are your thoughts on Tole as a whole?”

“It’s grown quite a lot, keeps getting faster. Food is better than most places we’ve been, people are friendly, you’ve got systems to catch people before they fall through the cracks. Most of my boys I pulled from the streets, gave them something better to do with their hands. No corruption that I’ve seen either, the golems follow the guards like hawks. Sometimes makes me wonder who is watching who.”

“I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here then. I’ll see you when construction starts. Some of the things I’m doing will require that I get things ready before you arrive.”

Next Harlan just wanted to wander the town, despite all of his trips back, he had never actually gotten around to visiting Tole past his time here before the academy.

The food vendors were still out, but in smaller numbers with better looking foods.

What Harlan especially enjoyed was that with a bit of soulsmithing, cold storage was not only smaller, but it was portable.

He could visit any restaurant and get ice cold drinks, some vendors even sold cold foods from their carts.

Small servings of savory gelatinous cubes mostly.

Such food was normally the thing of nobles who could afford to have such a thing sit in either a magically chilled or deeply dug cold room for the hours that it needed.

It was not complex, anyone could boil the bones of animals to make it, then just toss in some shredded or cubed meat, and it was an oddity that most wouldn’t get to try outside of the fall and winter months.

“This is fun, I wish I had brought Adina.”

“Well, you declared her as yours, so try to watch out for that. Don’t leave her behind.”

“I’ve got to go to Luth anyway, I don’t really want anyone but Brig working on the parts that I need for the golems.”

“I’ve seen what Balor’s golems can do, wouldn’t that make more sense?”

“I know they could do it, but there is a certain professionalism from Brig.”

Redmond gave him an odd glance.

“You mean the screaming old man who talks funny? Right? Are we talking about the same blacksmith?”

“He has passion in his work, I’ve never had any issues with what he makes me. He could look at my blueprints and tell me where I’ve made mistakes. I could take what he shows me and turn around to make golems that can do what he does, but that feels wrong to me.”

“I guess that makes sense, it would make bad blood if you started doing that to him.”

“Not much else for me to do here-”

A child threw a clump of mud at another, missing him and hitting Harlan.

He reacted instantly, his armor covering his body, the skull on his helm staring down a boy maybe 6 years of age.

Suddenly everyone stopped, he felt the fear around him.

Harlan just wiped it away with a little magic and kept walking, his armor retreating beneath his clothes again.

“I’ll set up some golems to flatten the tract of land where I want the orphan village and divert the river again so they have a reservoir.”

Harlan heard someone call out to him from behind, the mother of the child held her head and her son’s head down, nearly touching the ground.

“I’m sorry for my son, please-”

“Stop.”

Nobody had started moving again yet.

Harlan lifted them up with telekinesis.

“Lift your heads, a little mud isn’t going to hurt me.”

The hustle of the town started again as if nothing had happened.

They made their way to the carriage and left, though before he did, Harlan did want to make something clear.

“I know how some nobles can be, so, April, if anyone attempts to harm that mother or child in the hopes of gaining favor with me. Tell them that I will kill them, without mercy, no matter who they are.”

For the first time in some time, he actually heighted the fear of somebody to make his point come across more clearly.

Redmond had barely said a word until they were well outside of the town.

“Why did you make that mudball hit you?”

“Oh, you caught that?”

“It is a strange thing to do.”

“Have you read much about old heroes? Bron the Brash, Ix the Scythe, Sil the Scarred.”

“I have no idea who those people are.”

“They each led a city on the council of 13. The people revered them as gods, they would have them hold newborns hoping that some divine power or greatness would rub off on them. I saw how the people in Tole looked at me. I do not want to be revered or feared, but to make a public statement out of nowhere would come off as very odd. So I engineered a situation where I could call myself a normal person. I do not want fanatics.”

Redmond let out a whistle.

“That is… well, crazy.”

“In 100 years I will still look 25 years old. Last night I was offered the hand of the youngest princess. I don’t mean to sound like I’m letting it get to my head, I’m trying to avoid that.”

“People are going to remember you forgiving that woman though, you made a show out of it.”

“They will remember saying that I wasn’t a god or a king.”

“Humility is something people want in heroes.”

“Sh- I might have miscalculated.”

“You grew up, but you’re still a kid.”

After a quick stop at home to give orders to some golems that were in storage Harlan left with Adina to Luth.

He didn’t have a house tailor, so he would just take her to the local one, drop her off, and then go over his designs with Brig.

By that point they would have a nice slightly late lunch.

All that needed to happen was for nothing to happen, for nobody to bother Adina for where she came from or how Tole was slowly killing Luth and she was part of the family behind it.

She needed to not be bothered by the guards on account of Harlan holding a grudge and making that fact clear.

They entered the tailor's shop without anything happening.

“Sir Fomoria, it has been some time.”

“It has been too long. Gunther, this is Adina, my betrothed.”

She blushed and giggled whenever he said it, it wasn’t a delusion on her end, it wasn’t a dream, and that just tickled her pink.

“She has immigrated from Reino to Ragne, and it was not a happy affair, so she has nothing from her home. I would like to visit the blacksmith, would you like to help her with some clothing? Not just dresses, whatever she needs.”

“I would be honored. However, I do have a question. I don’t hold it against you, but everyone is aware of how we have become more of a stop for people going to Tole than the other way around. At this rate, I am uncertain if I can afford to stay here much longer, 6 months at most.”

“You want to be my house tailor?”

The young man’s eyes sparkled.

He had inherited the shop from his mother, she had wanted a daughter, but the passing of his father and her refusal to remarry instead caused her to teach him her trade.

“I was hoping to ask if you would be willing to put in a good word so I could move to Tole, are you certain you would have me as your tailor.”

“I’ve never disliked a suit you’ve made, you’ve taken my coin without giving me more than an odd look, you’ve made clothes for my golems without complaint. If you’ve fallen on hard times, I see no reason not to help you. And, though I’ve only just thought of it, I will be taking in a lot of orphans, and I’ll need clothes for them and a lot of golems. So this is actually a perfect opportunity. Do you need time or help with moving your things? I could put you in a guest room for a time, but I’d like my higher up workers to have cabins inside my walls.”

“I’d like a week to pack up the store, say some goodbyes, and then I could move.”

“I’ll send people one week from today then. Adina, have fun, don’t worry about costs.”

Harlan didn’t really mind, but the man did seem to have a… certain manner about him.

He just ignored it, he didn’t know his life story, and might not ever hear it. He wanted to distance himself from new hires to some extent, give them a period where he could look at them objectively instead of as a person.

Harlan made his way to Brig who scoffed and spit on the ground.

“Armor’s done.”

“I am sure it is impeccable as always. I have a very large order I would like you to fulfill, the materials would come from me. But I would like your opinion on the designs, make sure there are no glaring flaws that need to be corrected.”

“How large an order?”

“100 golems to start with. Maybe as much as 600 in the next few years.”

“Gimmie that paper.”

Brig was a man who lived to work instead of working to live.

It took an hour, but there were a series of corrections that he made, shortening or lengthening or thickening parts to make sure they had the right range of movement without sacrificing strength. Much of it wouldn’t really matter, these golems could enter a semisolid state, but every little thing that they didn’t need to fix on their own to move like they should was just the smallest bit of efficiency.

“3 a day, buncha small parts. Bitch to work with.”

“I have one other project, more of a long term goal. But I was given an example of what a long range mass transport should look like.”

Harlan used a bit of illusion, and a bit of earth magic to recreate the small toy on its track, pulled by a string.

“Minecart?”

“Something like that. I guess if I laid tracks between cities then it would be fairly simple to put in a light hover and some movement spells to get it moving. But that seems too easy.”

“Trains.”

“What are those?”

“Don’t know, but I heard of em. Big boxes of metal on tracks, pack people on em, fancy people had nicer ones. Who told ya about this?”

“Have you ever met a lich?”

He shivered and steam rose from his skin in anger.

“Fuckin’ monsters, shit bastards.”

“I know the feeling, first one I met tried to kill me as part of a test, second one… I don’t want to talk about that. But the third one asked me if there was something I wanted to know, and he gave me a toy when I asked about transport for the common people.”

“Not talkin’ bout’ em. I’ll write down what ya want. Not git, I’m angry, not workin’ til I’m not anymore.”

“I’m sorry to bring up bad memories.”

“This is why I don’t want to deal with champions and gods, nobody normal is ever picked. Only fools and those who wished they were dead. Leave me, now.”

Harlan had never heard him drop his accent before; he didn’t even understand how such a way of speech was even possible from what he knew, which was very little in all honesty, about Godgiven and the magic of language.

He returned to find that Adina hadn’t been involved in a fight, nobody firebombed his carriage, and he could hear Gunther humming, meaning he was working hard.

Adina, as it turned out, liked a casual look; she was tired of the tight fancy dresses of her country.

She wanted to dress like Aida, comfortable plain clothes that give her freedom of movement, some pants to wear under her dresses during the colder months, and some coats were what she wanted made.

“How is this working out?”

“fantastically. She is just like a doll, everything I make looks good on her. Though she could stand to fill out a little more.”

He was chewing on the end of his pencil and suddenly realized what he had said.

“Stop, I know what you mean. Don’t worry about it, unless Adina is insulted, I’m not.”

“I’m still growing, that is just a fact. But I don’t want to hear that again, it is just… I don’t want other people looking at me like that. I’m not someone to be shipped off.”

“I’m very sorry, Lady Adina. Or should I call you Lady Fomoria?”

“We aren’t married, we aren’t even sure about how long it will be until we want to do that. Lady Adina is fine.”

Only one dress had actually been made, the rest were just designed.

She changed in the carriage under heavy guard and no less than 3 veils.

When she stepped out she wore a black dress that covered her shoulders and reached halfway to her elbows.

It was a loose fit to hide her figure and to let her move with ease.

“Ready to go?”

Harlan put his arm out and she interlocked with him.

“You're anxious.”

“This dress might be a little too free. I feel like I’m wearing a nightgown.”

“Really? Amber and Autumn dressed like that at your age.”

“They are also a little more… developed.”

“Are you insulted by what he said?”

“Sometimes it feels like I’m going to wake up and find myself in Reino, married to a man I would grow to hate. I wanted you, but now I don’t know.”

“Not quite so confident that you deserve me?”

“A little bit. I’m sure Yara is prettier than me.”

“She is cheating, the Golden all develop perfect bodies. But that doesn’t matter, to me, even if you had warts, I’d love you.”

He wasn’t entirely sure where he went wrong, but she was angry at him.

“I guess you could always get me a ‘perfect’ body like theirs with your magic, couldn’t you? Maybe you could try your luck with Liat.”

Having lived through puberty once was enough for her, to see it again was just painful for Dawn.

“Harlan, she is self conscious, you made it worse.”

“How do I make it better?”

“Say you are sorry.”

“For what?”

“Nothing specific, but try to pretend you know what you did wrong.”

Adina noticed that something odd was happening, but couldn’t tell that he was speaking with someone else.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Good. I mean, I don’t want to snap at you. I’m just tired and I’ve been getting cramps.”

“Do you want to go back home?”

“No, I want to eat something. Maybe cake after lunch? Suddenly that sounds good.”

A spell was being beamed directly into Harlan’s head by Dawn.

“Please, for the love of all that is good, hit her with that spell. It was taught to me by a close friend. It can’t stop what will happen, but it will by time and make her feel better. Once you finish lunch, get her back home and send her to your mother or sisters, not Ava, she probably hasn’t had this happen yet.”

“What is happening? Is she going to be alright?”

“Just part of growing up. I’m almost angry that you are getting by so easily. Maybe Ava was right, being born better is bullshit.”

Harlan suddenly understood what was happening.

He had read about it in biology books, though in classes it was taught to boys and girls separately.

She perked up as the spell took effect, though to avoid embarrassing her, he didn’t say he used a spell on her.

Technically he was breaking a core tenet of being a healer, she had not consented to being healed and she was in a state of mind where she was fully capable of making that choice.

The lunch was nice, chicken breast stuffed with onions, a single serving of shredded carrots with a cream sauce that had just a bit of horseradish in it and topped with buttery breadcrumbs.

Dawn had warned him against saying a single word about what she was eating, positive or negative.

But he was already someone who ate large servings, sometimes several large servings if he had a busy day.

It didn’t bother him for a second as she put away 2 pans of the carrots, 2 chicken breasts, and then a slice of chocolate cake with a rich frosting.

Once she was satisfied she looked at her plates with regret and Harlan paid the bill, having eaten twice as much as her in the same timespan, though he didn’t get cake, he wasn’t big on sweets.

On the way back home she was on the verge of tears and Dawn was practically screaming at him to be as delicate as he could.

She wished she had a mother when she went through this, instead she had an absent grandfather and a woman she considered more of an acquaintance than a friend.

Dawn wanted Adina to deal with growing up better than she had.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know why I’m so sad.”

“Ah. Hmm…. You need to talk with my mother, or my sisters, not Ava though.”

She looked up at him and then she realized.

“Can’t you just… make me feel normal?”

“I am against using my empathy like that, but if you want it, I will.”

“Why shouldn’t you do it?”

“Because once I am away from you the feeling of relief is going to fade. I’ve thought a lot about lowering my own emotions, and I hate doing it, to me it feels like running away. I need to solve my problems, not just push them away. But there isn’t any harm in just doing it sometimes.”

“Just, until we get back.”

Her fear and sadness and anxiety faded for the rest of the trip and she let herself be excited for the things he got for her, she had never gotten the chance to pick out her clothes, before Harlan showed her, she didn’t even know what colors looked like.

She could talk freely about how much she liked the food and her house and everything.

With her emotions locked away, everything just came out as positive.

It was nice for her, but it made Harlan want to vomit.

Was this how his mother was when the Fomorians captured her? Unable to show the negatives?

He didn’t even realize how his breathing was speeding up, his eyes darkened.

But Adina didn’t say a word, she couldn’t, she had no little fear of him and it couldn’t spike so suddenly that it broke his empathy.

“Harlan. It’s alright. You aren’t them.”

“Is this how it was? For her?”

She consoled him as best she could, but he was right in a sense, the context was worlds apart, but he was making her unable to feel the things that came with growing up.

By the time they got home Harlan just wanted to take a nap, instead he turned off his powers, handed Adina off to people who could help her, and went to work.

Redmond would spend the next hour inside the bunker with Harlan frantically seeking to get his mind on anything but his last train of thought.

Instead of talking with his nephew, he decided to let him work through it on his own, sometimes people just needed to sort themselves out with work.