Chapter 25: Let us build a house

When Orion came back to the forest, he stared at the empty clearing by the waterfall, and found it wanting. It was still summer, so, it was the perfect time to get a house build. Alexei had given him the idea, when he had said that he was going to get a house for himself.

The vampire gathered the dwarves, and a couple of wizards, and cleared his throat, when they all stared at him.

"I would like a house," Orion said, and he saw a couple of dwarves shake their heads. "I can pay."

"You can, but we have better things to do than build you a house," one dwarf said. He looked old, and had soot on his boots.

"As your ruler, I demand you pay me this homage," Orion told them all, and a couple of dwarves began to mutter angrily at one another.

"What do we get out of it?" A wizard asked. "We have little need for money, as we barter for what we need. The villagers are not likely to let us in their village, anytime soon."

"Yet, they will. I am ironing the deal. Soon, you will be able to come into the village just like the humans come into the forest," Orion told them all. Then, he took out a golden apple from his bottomless bag. "Everyone who agrees to build me a house, will get one of these."

"An apple? Orion, our time is precious," the same wizard as before said.

"This is a golden apple, Arimir," Orion told the wizard. "I do hope you know what it is?"

"A golden apple? For true?"

"I want to build you a house, Orion."

"Can my child have mine instead? The girl is too little to help, but I..."

Orion was bombarded with questions then. He did his best to answer. He ended up offering apples for the entire families of the builders, of which there were many. The entire crowd, in fact.

The construction began the next morning. Orion prepaid with the apples, just in case there were any incidents during the building. The house would have a stone foundation, and be made of wood. Orion wanted it on top of the little waterfall, with a stairway leading down to the base of the river, where the stand was.

A week passed, and the workers, bolstered by fairy dust, got the foundations done. Orion gave a thought to the coming winter. The stand just couldn't remain when the snows began to fall. It would be too cold for Ossilo and Simone to sew. He didn't want them getting sick.

So, one bright morning, he gathered the workers again, and bowed to them.

"I would also like to have a stone shop made, for Ossilo and Simone," Orion said, and waited to be bombarded with the questions.

"Well, we would like free clothes," a dwarf spoke. Orion blinked at the man. Was that all?

"And, what else?" Orion asked. The dwarf just shook his head.

"You are a good employer. You made sure there was food for us at the end of each shift. Also, we appreciate that you let us rest during the hotter hours," the dwarf then pointed at a hole in his cotton blue shirt. "But all that work tore at our clothes. You demand a bit too much for clothes, if one thinks on it. So, we would like clothes."

"Are you all in agreement?" Orion asked, and the crowd began to nod. "Then, clothes it is. From any fabric, you want. Any color."

The crowd broke into a cheer, and one wizard, who had done the sketch for the house, broke out of the crowd, and began to measure the area around the river. A bit away from the stand. There was no need for Ossilo and Simone to stop working on their account.

Yet, the wizard knew that he needed to make sure the dust didn't get in the fabrics and the ready-made clothes. As Askimir worked, the others went back to building the house.

Orion watched them for a while, and then went back to Ossilo and Ethinir.

"A house and a shop," Orion told them with a wide grin. "What do you two think?"

"A home?" Ossilo asked. He remembered that the dungeon he had grown up in had been his home, until the other Naga had chased him off because he had attracted too much attention with his good looks.

"It is a wonderful idea. But what of my house?" Ethinir asked. He had built his home himself. Was he to abandon it?

"The tree house can be our vacation home," Orion offered. He knew that Ethinir must really love his house, to want to keep it. It had been homey too. With a lived-in feeling to it that Orion hoped that Ethinir will help give this new house as well.

"How about we spend some time there, while the new house is being built? I mean, all that noise from the construction site is slowly driving me insane," Ethinir suggested. The workers worked in shifts, mostly during the night. With fairies lighting their way. It was cool during the night, Ethinir understood that. It still bothered him to try and sleep with all that racket.

"Sure, whatever you want," Orion agreed, and then looked at Ossilo. "Is it ok with you to walk from the edge of the forest to here every day?"

"Nothing wrong with a little hike," Ossilo said with a soft smile. "I rather like Ethinir's house. It is typical for an elf."

"What does that mean?" Ethinir asked, defensive. He had not thought that there was such a thing like a typical house for an elf.

"I mean, it is in a tree. You elves love trees," Ossilo told him. "I didn't mean to insult you."

"I suppose that we are easy to figure out," Ethinir had to admit. He looked to Orion. "We can go there tonight? The place would need some dusting, but I am certain that we can finish with the clean-up tonight, and sleep without all this noise."

"Sure, love," Orion told him, and Ossilo went back to sewing. Simone was on vacation, so, Ossilo had to put in double the work.