Chapter 20: The Little Things in Life

The days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months began to melt into a blissful wonder. Basil and Ash End got into a cadence for the months ahead, which helped the unneeded stress of the people regarding the monthly visit from the Ancient Dragon herself. At this point, they had just grown numb to it. Provide the ingredients, make the sweets, present them when Anaya comes, rinse, and repeat. But even though they got used to it, it still didn't help that the hero who was sent to help them still hadn't done the one job he was absolutely required for! So they got used to it.

The cool of spring turned into the heat of summer, and the bite of summer quickly cooled into autumn. Although Basil loved to watch the changing seasons, he still worried about the months ahead. Winter meant less food, less food meant fewer ingredients, and that meant he'd have to be extra careful when preparing for Anaya's sweet tooth. He made a deal with her and had to keep it! If he was off by one gram of weight in the five-hundred-pound agreement, there was no doubt she'd figure it out right away!

So he'd have to make things that used fewer ingredients or weights a lot until spring. Then, of course, he'd have to feed himself, but then he remembered that he didn't need to eat for long periods. When checking his Biological Storage, he found it has increased to Level 5 over the last two years since he's been in this world! Now, he could go months without food, water, and sleep, which he may have to do in this situation.

However, some of his housemates and squatters couldn't do that, so he'd have to think and put into motion some plans. Pickling, drying, burying, canning, basically anything to preserve food and water. He'd even considered putting up a small greenhouse for year-round planting to subvert food shortages, but he still needed to learn how to build one.

As he was thinking about all this while stirring bread dough behind his counter, the front door slammed open, and a small figure stood in the opening with a teary-eyed expression. Looking over, he saw it was one of the Small Torah's and greeted it.

"Oh, hi Peep. What brings you here, and why do you look so sad?", he inquired, noticing the small sheep's red eyes and tear tracks.

This one had been specially named Peep because he seemed to be the leader of his flock, and it was the last name of Little Bow Peep, which sounded cute to him. And he was the only one to wear a bell around his neck.

Peep ran behind the counter, jumped, and hugged the man's leg. Then, looking up at him sadly, he mumbled, "Veggies go bye-bye."

Basil put the bowl down and covered it before holding the tiny creature up to his face and asking, "Veggies go bye-bye? What do you mean?"

The Small Torah wiggled from his hands, landed on the floor, and led him outside. He was brought to one of his crop plots, where the small sheep creature pointed shamefully towards it. Looking inside the fenced-off area, he saw nothing.

Wait, nothing!?

"What the heck!? I just planted this patch of carrots!", Basil screamed in shock while looking over the freshly tiled dirt full of empty holes that carrots used to grow.

Upon hearing his screaming and internalizing it as being screamed at, Peep began to wail loudly! Basil realized what he had accidentally done and quickly kneeled to comfort the creature, assuring it, "Okay okay, don't cry, Peep. Just tell me what happened. Did you see anything?"

Peep was still choked up from tears but managed to perform something equivalent to charades in his description. After mulling over every detail of the dance, Basil summarized, "So the carrots got sucked underground?", to which Peep nodded. Basil thinks about this before rubbing the Small Torah's head and telling it, "This sounds like the beginning of an old cartoon. But don't worry, I'll take care of this and know how to do so."

 xXx

The following week came and went by quicker than expected since Peep worked hard with Basil to perform their plan. They replanted the carrot patch and used a mix of farming, fertilizer, and magic to make them grow four times as fast! Once they were nearly ripe like the last time, all they had to do was wait. And luckily for them, they didn't have to stay long.

When the afternoon sun was high in the sky, the carrots began to jiggle before getting sucked into the ground one after the other. Peep almost wanted to cry out, but Basil placed his hand over his mouth and observed for the next carrot as he readied a spell. Once he saw a carrot shake, he cast the spell Raise Earth and made the dirt under the carrot expand and implode in a tiny mountain shape! A small cry from under the earth and a sizeable bonking sound led the two to celebrate.

"Ha-ha! Thank you, Earth Magic!", Basil called out in victory while Peep jumped up and down in joy. Running towards the mound, Basil plunges his hand into the dirt and roots around until he finally grabs something. Smiling, he announces, "Now let's see what's inside mystery box number one."

Peep jumped for joy at this, and when he fished out the critter, he was shocked by what he saw, exclaiming, "What the heck! This is one weird-looking rabbit…mouse…thing."

In his hand was a creature the size of a small child, which appeared to be something of a cross between what Basil described. It had long, wide ears nearly as big as itself with tuffs at the end, legs like a much more giant rabbit with thick curly hair, covered in cinnamon brown fur with a white cream underside. Its triangle head came to a pink nose with many long wiggling whiskers, a long tail that Basil held tightly to, with a small tuft of fur at the end, and small blue eyes.

"I'm not a rabbit or a mouse!", yelled the creature.

"Gah! It talks!", Basil yells in shock, nearly dropping the creature.

This was when he noticed how the creature was dressed in clothing. And not only that but the clothing of what appeared to be a medieval minstrel. It even had a small pan flute around its neck.

"Yes, I talk! Now put me down, you brutish human!", the creature yelled in demand.

Basil just blankly blinked at the thing and asked, "Have you been the one stealing my vegetables?"

"Who wants to know?", the creature shot back. Only for Basil to take a neutral expression, bring him out of the carrot patch, and summon a magic oven with the door swung open. There, he proceeded to dangle and slowly lower the creature into it. "AH! Okay okay! I'll talk, I'll talk! I have been stealing your vegetables, okay!? Happy!", He screamed and admitted while flailing around.

"No. Why are you stealing them and…what exactly are you?", Basil asked in a deadly calm tone, inching him down a bit more.

"I'm a Halfling.", he hurriedly answered the last part.

"A Halfling?" Basil asks, pulling him away from the open grate and using his Appraisal skill.

Halfling- a small race of rodent-like creatures whose most distinctive features are large ears and feet. They live in highly populated family groups and have very carefree lives, not wanting for much and making them highly resistant to mental manipulation.

"Did you really have to appraise me to be sure?", asked the Halfling, giving him a disappointed look while crossing his arms, still dangling upside-down.

Basil showed surprise at the accuracy of the statement and asked back, "How did you know I did that? Are you sure you're a Halfling? You sure don't look like one."

The Halfling took a pompous disposition as he explained, "We Halflings have a sense for certain things. And of course, I'm a Halfling! What? Did you expect me to look like you but with one or two different features alongside being short?!", he yelled.

"Maaaaaaaaaaaybe?", Basil reluctantly admitted while looking off to the side.

"Humans are stupid.", the Halfling sighs.

Annoyed by his dismissive and rude attitude, Basil hoods him over the oven again with deadly calm, saying, "And you're about to become barbecued."

The Halfling screamed and flopped around some more while yelling, "AH! I already admitted to stealing from you! What more do you want!?"

"I want my veggies back, an apology to the Small Torah who worked so hard to grow them, and an explanation as to why you stole from me.", Basil demanded while pointing to himself and the pouting Peep.

"I'm not apologizing to the sheep!" the Halfling vehemently refused while crossing his arms. Basil then lowered him close enough to the flames for the Halfling to quickly grab his ears away while exclaiming, "Okay okay! I'm sorry I'm sorry!", Basil pulled him away when Peep smiled, and when he did, the Halfling sighs in relief while asking, "Okay, I apologized, but please let me have the veggies. I need them!"

Basil raises his eyebrow and retorts back, "For what? A big soup?"

"For my Burrow.", the Halfling admitted while looking away and simultaneously sad.

Without using his appraisal again, it suddenly activated, honing in on what the Halfling told him and explained:

Halflings live in a communal township known as Burrows, usually within hillsides.

Seeing and sensing no ill will or reason to flee, Basil gently placed the Halfling back on his feet, explaining in a feverish tone, "For weeks now, my Burrow has been under attack by a wild monster. It's destroyed all our crops, killed nearly all of our livestock, chased the wild game from our forest, and yet it still comes back! I had no choice but to steal. So my kinsfolk wouldn't starve."

Basil went down on one knee and told him, as he looked at the ground, trying not to cry, "Okay, I understand why you did what you did. But why not ask for help? I may be bigger than you, but I'm not mean."

The Halfling looked at him with disbelief as he snapped back, "You just held me over an oven you pulled outta your ass!"

Basil gave an annoyed look, and poking his chest, he argued back, "You stole from me and wouldn't give me a straight answer. Plus, just because I can grow vegetables quickly doesn't mean anyone can take them. There's a wide margin between giving something out of kindness and theft."

The Halfling made a repressed and shameful expression while apologetically replying, "I'm sorry. I was desperate. Plus, what could you do? You're just a baker, or so I thought."

Basil laughs at the last thing he said and says, "You know, I've been saying the exact same thing for a while now. But this doesn't seem like such a hard task. I'll help eliminate your monster if, as you say, it's just one. I've had a lot of recent experience killing stuff.", he slightly boasts, trying not to think of the part where he got covered in frog slime and nearly eaten alive.

But then the Halfling remembered something and explained, "There is just one problem. It'll take half a day to get to my Burrow."

Basil blinked in surprise a few times before stating in shock, "You've been traveling from my place to yours in the span of twelve hours both ways!?"

The Halfling rapidly shook his head, holding up his clawed paws, and explained in more detail, "No. My tunnels help me move quickly. It only takes a few hours, but you're too big to fit."

Basil snaps his fingers at this and tells him, "Not a problem. I've got a solution for that.", he then whistles loudly, and Broomy comes speeding out like a bolt of lightning to his hand! He grabs it, places it under his legs, and lifts it into the air before an amazed Halfling and Peep.

"Hop on.", he offered jokingly as the Halfling bounced right onto the broom from a ten-foot standing jump.

As he situates himself, the Halfling attempts to introduce himself, saying, "By the way, my name is-."

"Bilbo Baggins.", Basil cuts him off with a stupid smile and twin finger guns.

"What? No! That's a stupid name! It's Hopkins.", Hopkins tells him while giving an insulted look.

"Oh yeah, that's a way better name.", Basil grumbles under his breath.

"And you?", Hopkins asks him.

"Basil. And this is Broomy.", He introduced himself and his mount. Now hold on tight!", he told the Halfling while giving the magic word, zooming off into the sky as Peep waved them off.

 xXx

Flying over the sky was an entirely new experience for Hopkins! He must've been the first Halfling in all of history actually to fly! The wind, the sounds, the smells, the sights! It was all so overwhelmingly amazing! Through his acceleration through the clouds, he gave directions for Basil to follow, and they eventually came to his Burrow after only an hour of flight.

It was precisely as Basil had read about in the Lord of the Rings books he read in his youth. It is a kind and lush area of many hills dotting a countryside of grass, vast fields, babbling brooks, and quaint little homesteads. From the air, it looked like a perfect little place. Until he took a closer look and saw how the fields were devoid of crops despite being early fall; no animals were in the streets or meadows, and no people were anywhere in sight. It was like a ghost town.

Once on the ground, he got a spooky vibe from the place, like that of a ghost town. It was so surreal, like a place that had been frozen in time or the aftereffects of a disaster. No sound came from anything but the blowing wind, and honestly, Basil was starting to second guess if he could do this.

But he was pulled from his mind when Hopkins exclaimed excitedly, "We got here even faster than in my tunnels!"

Trying to joke about it and keep himself from getting too freaked out, he replied, "Glad you liked it, but damn. This place is a wreck! Still, it's better than the Lizard Men's old settlement."

"You have Lizard Men!?", Hopkins yelled in shock while staring at the man.

"Yeah, I guess you haven't seen them yet. They work for, er, with me.", Basil told him.

Hopkins, who looked stressed out and fearful of the news, asked him while nervously grabbing his ears, "How'd you manage that?", clearly dreading the answer.

"Apparently, they see me as some kind of god.", Basil answered casually with a shrug as Hopkins now looked at him with confusion. But before he could follow up with a new question, Basil quickly waved him off and said, "Look, it's a long story; just show me to this monster of yours."

Letting go of his ears and cupping his hands to his mouth, he called out, "Hey, everyone! You can come out now!"

Suddenly, the little doors built into the hillsides all began to open one by one slowly, and dozens of Halflings cautiously spilled out and surrounded the man and his Halfling companion. They held farming tools for protection, small livestock like chickens, rabbits, and two goats, while some even held tiny baskets full of meager-looking vegetables. In fact, they all just looked really miserable, with not one smiling face in the crowd.

The Halfling Burrow was composed of well over five dozen individuals, with the population ranging from babies to the elderly. They all wore unique clothing to one another, and certain generations could be sniffed out due to the specific apparel specific individuals wore. Ease set into Basil, seeing that it wasn't a ghost town, but his attitude quickly changed upon realizing just how cute they were! Not noticing this before, they were adorable, just like a colony of rabbits.

"Oh my God! They are so cute!", Basil squealed in delight. He picked up a young-looking Halfling nearby, wearing a dress and bonnet, and cooed while holding her eye level, "Especially this one! What's your name, little one?"

The young Halfling, who had a neutral expression crossed with a slight smile on her face, suddenly bellowed out in a thick Scottish accent, "Oi! Put me down ya wee posh cunt! Or I'll wring your daft neck like a turkey for second breakfast; I will!"

As she continued to insult him with a smile on her face, Basil went pale while mentally stressing, "Oh no, they're Scottish."

Before promptly releasing his grip and allowing her to drop to the ground. Only for Hopkins to dash over, pick the girl up in his arms, and give Basil a light kick while scolding, "Hey! Don't drop my kid!"

Basil's eyes widened with shock as he exclaimed, "You have kids! Wait, you're an adult!?"

Hopkins puffed out his chest and stood with his daughter in one arm, proudly proclaiming, "I'm forty-three years old; of course, I'm an adult."

Basil just stared at him blankly, slowly blinking his eyes while only being able to reply with, "You, um, look good for your age."

Hopkins nods proudly before turning to the crowd and announcing, "Everyone listens up! This stranger has agreed to help us slay the monster that has been plaguing us for some time!"

Just then, a very old Halfling, probably the oldest one there, moved to the front with others moving aside for him as he addressed Hopkins and Basil, questioning, "Hopkins, how can you be so sure of that? He doesn't look like much."

"And you look like you got two and a half feet in the grave.", Basil grumbles under his breath while the old Halfling gives him a crooked side-eye.

"Elder, please! What choice do we have!? If he's willing, we should give him a chance!", Hopkins pleaded with the old Halfling, who Basil noticed was dressed like an old soothsayer.

The other Halflings all discuss amongst themselves in a soft murmur until a consensus is reached, and they all appear to agree with Hopkins. Seeing this, the elder sighed despondently and nodded, giving his consent to this action. Hopkins does a small fist pump and looks to Basil with a nod and hopeful smile.

Basil sees this and asks the crowd, "Now, where and what is this monster exactly?"

"You can find out for yourself.", one of the Halflings suddenly told him with a shaky tone.

If Basil hadn't seen their expression and tone of voice, he would've thought they were being rude, but noticing this, he asked back calmly, "Why's that?"

"Cause here it comes!", the Halfling screamed as all the others ran back to their hillside homes, running and screaming for their lives while trying to protect what resources they still had left.

Then a shadow flew overhead and kicked up a strong wind! Basil grabbed his shoulder cape to keep it from flying away and looked up to see something flying around quickly before landing on a hill. It opened its wings and released a high-pitched screech into the air, making the Halflings inside scream in fear!

Standing at the hillside home was something that appeared like a dragon but far different! It lacked front legs and stood more like a bird. Its feet were arranged like an owl with long talons, a long twisting tail with a scorpion-like stinger at the end, a row of small spikes running the length of its spine, two sets of horns, one smaller than the other, a long serpentine neck with a serpentine face! It had no scales but skin with natural folds and a fleshy pink color. He'd assume the creature was a snake with wings if it weren't for the legs.

Basil's jaw dropped at the sight of this thing, and he yelled while pointing at it, "What in the world is that thing!?"

"It's a Wyvern!", Hopkins exclaimed while hiding behind the man.

Basil jumped away from him and exclaimed back, "A Wyvern! Why didn't you tell me that when we were traveling here!?"

"I was having too much fun on Broomy! I'm sorry, Mr. Basil!", Hopkins sobbed in apology.

Basil looked at the creature and used his Appraisal skill to see its description and stats, which read;

Wyvern: a close relative to dragons but lacks higher intelligence and elemental breath weapons. They live solitary lives, apart from the mating season and child-rearing, and consume anything they can catch and kill with little effort.

Wyvern: 12/28 Strength, 25/46 Stamina, 51/89 Health, 2 Charisma, 10/33 Fortitude, 5 Knowledge, 0 Magic, and 22/56 Speed.

Seeing how some of the stats were one number out of another, he wondered what they meant until he saw the state the wyvern was in. It had cuts, bruises, arrowheads, and other such injuries all over its body! Even its leathery wings had some minor injuries. Putting all of this together, he realized that the wyvern was attacking out of desperation for its injuries. After all, what could a bunch of Halflings do against such a beast? But some injuries looked older than others, but he'd figure that out later.

Thinking critically, he realized that even though it was weak, it was still dangerous, and he had no idea how to deal with it. So he said to himself, "I'm gonna need backup!"

Then the symbols on his right-hand palm began to glow, and in a moment, a quick flash of light exploded around them as Gossamer appeared out of thin air, rearing up on his hind legs and whining loudly!

Hopkins looked on in astonishment and asked, "You have a unicorn and….G-G-G-Gossamer…", realizing which unicorn he summoned.

"How can I assist you, Basil?", Gossamer asked while falling to all fours.

"I am scared.", he told the horse-like creature.

"Why?"

"Because of that thing!", he said while pointing at the wyvern, attempting to break through the hill to get at the two goats inside.

Gossamer cocked his head and addressed casually, "A Wyvern? Yes, I can see why. With their venomous fangs, tails, talons, and wing spurs, anyone would be hard-pressed not to be afraid. Caution is certainly advised."

Basil's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "What the hell! Is every part of this thing poisonous!?"

"No.", Gossamer told him, making Basil relax until he followed up by saying, "It's venomous."

Basil looked like he swallowed his tongue and proceeded to have something akin to a panic attack until he quickly calmed down and said, after taking a deep breath, "Okay, you know what! Let's just figure out a way to kill or permanently scare this thing off before it hurts anyone!"

"I think Teto has that underway.", Gossamer offered.

If an exclamation point could be physically seen, like in Metal Gear, then one would've just appeared over Basil's head. He turned to see where Gossamer was looking and saw the tiny bird running between tree branches and the tops of houses!

"What the! Teto! Get away from that thing! It's dangerous!", he yelled, but the Kenku ignored him.

His mind races at wondering how the Kenku managed to get here in the first place. Then he realized the sneaky little bird hopped on for a ride while he wasn't looking! He mentally slapped himself for this, especially since he had been talking about the carrot thief with the bird all week in the same room! He had asked to join, but Basil refused. That Kenku was always so stubborn and pigheaded!

Suddenly, as the wyvern managed to break through the home, Teto jumped on its back and stabbed it repeatedly with his magic knife. The creature screamed in pain and fell to the ground, jumping around like a wild horse, attempting to get the bird off its back!

"That damn bird is gonna get himself killed.", Basil stressed.

Suddenly, the wyvern changed tactics and began to run around, crashing into things in a vain attempt to lose Teto from his back! Thanks to all its struggling, Teto couldn't continue his assault and had to hold on with the knife in its back. The beast ran around, crashing or scraping its body across everything it could, but only ended up causing more destruction! Crates, barrels, low branches, anything at all! But Teto held tightly to the animal!

It even tried rolling around on the ground, but Teto simply adjusted his position to keep from getting crushed! This caused it to change tactics again, this time flying up in the air in another attempt to knock him off, but the bird still clung on while trying to strike its wings! Eventually, it crash landed on top of a different house and attempted rolling around again! All the wrestling caused the home to begin caving in, and the Halflings within to scream in fright!

Then both creatures tumbled off the rounded roof, where the wyvern started to spray its venom from its fangs and tail! Globs of venom slapped all over and caused any organic material to begin wittering from its potency! Grass withered, wooden barrels fell apart, trees started to fall over, it was a mess! Eventually, the wyvern took a chance and just ran headlong into one of the houses! It broke through the home, where chunks of it broke off and finally knocked Teto off, but it also half-buried the wyvern!

"Oh my God, he's gonna get everyone killed!", Basil cried in shock.

Gossamer made a tsk, tsk, tsk sound and said in a shameful tone, "If only you raised him better."

Basil narrowed his eyes at the giant pink animal and argued, "He's my friend, not my kid!"

When the Halfling home got caved in, the residents ran out as fast as their legs could carry them with a dizzy-looking Teto in tow. However, one of the trees hit by the monster's venom finally caused it to wither and become unable to hold itself up, where it broke at the base and fell over the Halflings and Teto, who were trying to escape! The Halflings cried in fear and hugged one another in their final moments! But Basil acted fast and ran into the tree while putting up a light shield!

The Halflings finally opened their eyes when their imminent and crushing demise didn't happen and saw their savior trying to protect them! Basil struggled against the tree's weight and barked to them, "Go! Get out of here!"

Once the Halflings and bird had fled, with Teto looking back momentarily, Basil used his nature magic to cause the tree to grab the destroyed house and pull itself in that direction. Once it had safely fallen over, Basil dropped the tree and heaved a sigh of relief, falling to his knees. However, he didn't get a chance to rest for long as the wyvern dug itself out of the rubble and was pissed off! The first thing it saw was the exhausted Basil and directed its ire at him!

When Basil heard the angry wyvern scream and charge at him, he instantly summoned a giant magic cutting board that was knocked down by the monster! He kept erecting cutting board after cutting board with each attempted attack from the beast! Eventually, the pseudo-dragon changed tactics and jumped over the cutting board and right into Basil! However, the young man used his light magic to create a flash that temporarily blinded the monster, causing it to jump off course! It crashed to the ground, where it began to whip around in a blind, wild fury! So Basil summoned a flail and knocked it on the side of the head!

With the creature finally disornated, Basil shouted, "Now, Gossamer!"

And the unicorn came in like a flash, grabbing the wyvern by its neck before doing something equivalent to a German Suplex on the creature! When the Unicorn finally let the seemingly dead monster go, it suddenly sprang to its feet and took off into the air, presumably back to its nest! Screeching in anger as it flew as fast as its wings could carry it.

Just then, the little Kenku, knife in hand, tried to run after the flying fiend. Seeing this, Basil grabbed the back of his rack of sackcloth clothing, but the bird persisted. No matter what the man tried to say, the bird would continue to pull against his hand in a vain attempt to follow after his quarry! And unsurprisingly, Basil began to lose his patience until he finally reached his boiling point.

He yanked the bird back harshly, where he fell to his butt, and before he could get up and continue his mindless endeavor, Basil yelled at full volume, "STOP!", and everything stopped.

The crying, yelling, and talking of the halflings, the movements of anyone and everyone, even the wind appeared to stop blowing. Teto was stunned, silent, and stiff! He had always heard Basil yelling before, but always at someone or something else, and if he was being yelled at, it was for something he told him or was generally reacting to something that would make anyone raise their voice. But this time was different; he was being yelled at directly with the full force of his anger placed squarely on him. And for what it was worth, he was terrified by this.

Basil was red in the face, breathing heavily as if to try to calm himself down or prevent himself from acting out further. His fists were clenched, and his back arched as saliva was swallowed back into his mouth, with eyes full of anger and eyebrows knit so tightly they looked ready to fly off his forehead. But eventually, Basil calmed down enough to speak, and when he did, it was in the form of a verbal scolding.

"You listen to me, and you listen well, boy! You are not going after and fighting that creature!", he began scolding as Teto nervously looked up at him with eyes of fear. But his stubborn attitude won out as he tried to open his mouth, but Basil firmly told him off, "Don't! Don't say anything! You have become too comfortable for your own good, and it has made you lazy! This is not a game; this is real life where your actions could have major consequences if you don't think about them first!", after saying this, Basil calmed down a little bit and told him in a deadly serious tone, "Just because I am a Chosen Touched does not mean you are invincible, untouchable, or without any blame for the things that happen because of you! You have become brash, arrogant, and short-sighted in your endeavors! Look at what you've caused so far!"

As he says this, he motions out to the destruction he caused while trying to take down the wyvern. Everything from the streets to the decorations, the plant life, and even the house the wyvern crashed through. Then, it dawned on the young bird's mind that he had messed up. Sadness and regret filled his heart and soul, twisting at his chest and restricting his breathing.

But seeing the bird only appear to stare out into nothing and still angered by him, Basil grabbed his shoulders and turned him around while asking in a rough tone, "Are you proud of yourself? Are you!?", The Kenku shook his head slowly and solemnly. Basil pulled back again and told him, "Just because you have power or are tied to power doesn't give you the right to abuse it. You must be better for the sake of yourself and others."

Basil took a deep breath to calm himself down and said in a calmer tone, "Now, I'm going to find that thing's nest and put it down before it has any time to recuperate. You stay right here and help these Halflings in any way you can.", when he turns around, he turns back and warns Teto, "And if you dare try and sneakily follow me, so help me I don't know what I'll do!"

Teto nods in agreement, and Basil turns to Broomy, where he tells him in a calmer yet still irritated tone, "You help too.", making the broom stand at attention while doing a salute with its bristles.

The young man turns toward where the Wyvern flew off and, with a firm tone, commands, "Let's go, Gossamer."

Gossamer walks to his side, swinging his head down for Basil to hop on, and tells him telepathically, "You did good. He needed to be humbled. He was getting...how do you humans put it? Too big for one's britches? If he didn't get himself killed, the Halflings would've been on the chopping block."

Basil silently nods, and just before the unicorn runs in a full gallop, a familiar voice calls out, "Wait, Mr Basil, wait!"

"Hopkins?", Basil questions as he sees the Halfling hopping towards him at full speed. Finally, he catches up to them and falls to his knees, breathing heavily, where Basil asks him, "What are you doing here? You should be back at the burrow, helping your people after that last attack."

"I wanted to help you, sir Basil.", Hopkins finally told him after gulping down air.

"That's awfully kind of you, but it's not needed. You'll get hurt. It's better if I do this alone.", Basil said, trying to dissuade the Halfling.

Hopkins then clasps his hands with his big ears pointed down and begs, "Please! What if you get hurt? I'm good with medicine and can sing a song that heals. And I need to thank you for saving my wife and kids."

Basil put on a thinking expression before saying, "So those Halflings were your family? And sorry about my friend almost getting them killed. He's always been a bit proud, but recently he's gotten too cocky."

Hopkins nods and replies, "I heard, sir. But you still save them. So, at least let me be in the background in case things go south. We Halflings can dig as fast as we can run."

He thinks about it for a while, and after seeing he wouldn't let up, he agrees, telling him, "Oh, okay. Hop on."

Seeing him motion to Gossamer's back, Hopkins becomes more reserved as he questions, "Hop on, sir? Do you mean right here? Right now? At this very moment? On top of-."

"Hopkins, just get on the unicorn.", Basil firmly tells him as the Halfling says not a word more and jumps onto the unicorn's back, sitting behind the man.

 xXx

After riding over the hills and fields of open green grass and barren crops, they finally come to a small forest just fifteen minutes on horseback. The trees were large oaks, thick as iron, but with enough space for anyone to walk around the ground with ease. Small patches of grass and shrubs covered any area not overshaded by the oaks, yet no noise came from within.

So the trio trotted into the forest and, with Basil's guide, came to one particular oak that had been hollowed out on one side. Within were branches and clumps of dry grass, making some kind of animals home. They stood at the entrance only a few hundred yards away, peeking from behind some conveniently placed boulders big enough for a full-grown unicorn to hide behind.

Basil told his friends in a hushed tone, "Here it is. The Wyvern's nest."

"How can you tell, sir Basil?", Hopkins questions.

"I've got this skill that allows me to put an invisible tracker on any target I see, and then I can sus where they are at any time.", Basil tells him while pointing to his eyes, which have changed shape and color to that of a yellow target.

"Magnificent!", Hopkins exclaimed a bit too loudly.

Basil quickly slapped a hand over his mouth and put a finger to his lips; he whispered, "Shh! You hear that?"

Hopkins does as he says and uses his oversized ears to listen around. There, he catches the sound of something snoring softly. They both look over and see the shape of something rolling in its sleep. When the figure moved a tail with a stinger outside the nest, Hopkins no longer doubted Basil's validity.

Suddenly, the man got up, summoned a magic butcher knife, and said, "I'll take care of this."

"By yourself?", Hopkins questions in both shock and fear.

Using his appraisal again, he sees the state of the monster and assures the Halfling, "It only has three HP left. I can take it."

So he walked out from the hiding spot, stood a few yards away from the entrance, and waited under the many great oaks in the shady atmosphere. It didn't take long for the wyvern to discover he was there. He knew that even a sleeping animal would sense if it was being approached. So the wyvern awoke, looked outside its home, saw Basil standing in the dim light, and narrowed its eyes at him. It rises from its nest, steps outside on shaky legs, and spreads its wings in a display of intimidation!

Under the canopy, with light trickling down from between the leaves like a kaleidoscope, the wyvern appeared even larger and more menacing than before! But Basil stood firm; even as it began to hide and shake its venom-filled tail, he never broke his eyes from the serpent.

When that doesn't work, the wyvern begins to circle him, and Basil circles back until they both stop. They stare one another down, but neither backs off! They both stand shy of fifty paces from one another, the wyvern flickering its forked tongue and Basil licking his lips. In comparison, Hopkins watches on with stress and anticipation for the climax.

Then, it starts! It begins slowly, with the wyvern getting lower to the ground, bobbing its head like a bird, and swaying its body back and forth on its legs. Basil also got into position, knife at the ready, eyes watching the monster's every move. Suddenly, its legs tensed, its wings folded, and the wyvern took off at his fangs, bared and ready to strike! But Basil didn't move; he stood still as a statue and let the creature get ever closer to him. He had his Hind Sight on full blast as he anticipated for just the right time!

Then it happened; he saw the moment the wyvern would attack and how it would attack. It would bring its head to the right and sweep it left to catch his side with its mouth, and if that didn't work, next were the talons! But how was he seeing this unfold while the monster was still charging? Then, with his thought acceleration, the figure saw just ever so slightly into the future! Had his Hind Sight changed without him knowing? Did it level up and become something more substantial?

The time for questions was later. Action was to be taken now! So, using his new Future Sight skill, he saw the moment it would attack and, with Thought Acceleration, landed a decisive attack! When it came in for a bite, he swung his legs to the left and moved towards the wyvern! This would've caused it to come crashing into him, but instead, it caused the bite attack to hit the air, allowing its neck to become completely vulnerable! So, without hesitation, he brought the knife out to his side and swung with all his might!

The moment he landed the attack, he ducked and rolled back, allowing thought acceleration and future sight to cease and the wyvern to rush by him! The wyvern lands on the ground, sliding across the soft dirt before finally falling dead! A deep cut goes from its neck and halfway through its face, putting it down in one shot.

Basil got up from the ground, dusted himself off, let go of a breath he had been holding, and turned to his two friends, affirming, "It's done."

There is no festivity, cheering, or congratulations amongst their group, only quiet relief. As Basil trucks back to his friends, he passes the Halfling, who hears a noise from the young man.

'Chirp chirp chirp.', strikes the Halflings' large ears.

"Did you say something, sir Basil?", Hopkins inquires.

Turning to him, Basil replies, "I didn't say anything."

And so the Halfling shakes it off until it happens once more.

'Chirp chirp chirp chirp!', the same noise strikes his ears.

Jumping over to Basil in an instant and bouncing to his eye level, he pouts like a child while accusing, "Okay, stop messing with me, sir! I know you said something! I don't like practical jokes!"

A bit annoyed at the accusation, Basil holds the creature, who is not even half his height, by the back of his shirt and tells him firmly, "And I keep telling you I haven't said a word."

Before they could divulge into a petty squabble, Gossamer tells him while motioning to the wyvern's nest, "I think this is what's messing with you both."

They both go over to investigate the sight and see something surprising inside the nest. Amongst the branches, twigs, dry grass, animal bones, and other unmentionable things was a tiny wyvern chick only days old. It lays flat on the nest, eyes pink and swollen, covered in soft downy feathers, and calling out with bird-like chirps.

Basil looked on in shock as he observed, "A baby? That thing was a mom?!"

"I'll take care of this!", Hopkins yelled while bringing up his foot to crush it.

But Basil throws his arms over the baby and yells, "Hopkins, no! It's just a baby! He can't even defend himself yet!"

As the man got to his knees and scooped the baby into his hands, Hopkins asked him, "Well, what's wrong with it? Is it stupid?"

Basil shot him a look and replied, "No Hopkins, he's just a baby, and I just freaking killed his only provider."

Hopkins turns away with an unbothered shrug and says, "Oh well. Such as nature."

Basil rolls his eyes at the creature and shoots back while converting his shoulder cape into a sling to carry the baby, "Well, you think that way, I'll be the one to care for this little guy.", he then looks around the forest and says out loud, "Though it made sense why the mom came to your burrow. She was probably looking for food."

"That's nonsense.", Hopkins shoots back while turning around. He then motions to the entirety of the forest and tells the young man, "This is the Forest of Dulchan. And it is full of critters for it to eat. Why come all the way to me to burrow just for food?"

Basil observes aloud while petting the baby to keep it quiet, tapping his chin, "Now that you mention it. This forest is unsettlingly silent. No birds, or deer, or insects, or anything."

"Something is wrong.", Gossamer suddenly told them; his tone and body mannerisms were deadly serious, making the two men concerned.

So the three different beings walked deeper into the forest, becoming ever more unsettled by the lack of any noise apart from the wind, the sound of their own footsteps, and the repercussions of their own heartbeats. Gossamer took the lead ahead of the two men, a severe and stern expression on his face with eyes narrowed so tightly it looked like he was squinting. Head on a swivel and bob as he trudged deeper into the thick woods with no clear direction. Basil and Hopkins follow behind but never say a word out of fear and respect for the animal.

Then, after nearly an hour of wandering behind the unicorn, it came to a patch of fallen dead trees that blocked off a clearing. Gossamer became far more stealthy and started to get slow and low. A motion carried by the two men behind it. Then Gossamer peeked his head behind one of the dead trees still standing at the edge of the clearing,

After looking at whatever he was, he snorted angrily and telepathically said, "I knew it!"

"What!? What did you find?!", Basil suddenly burst out from anticipating it all and having to be unnecessarily quiet.

Luckily, Hopkins shut his mouth before he could get any louder, and the two of them snuck beside the unicorn to peer at what he was looking at. That was when the unicorn answered, "Poachers."

Standing in the only clearing in the forest, several yards away, what looked like a camp. However, upon closer inspection, the camp had traps of different kinds and sizes, cages of all types, hanging meats and pelts, and piles of organs being thrown into a large fire as several men sat around them, drinking, eating, and laughing. Weapons stood on racks behind them or beside the logs they sat on. All the men were dressed in leather armor or clothing made to blend into the environment.

Gossamer eyes glowed with murderous intent as he snorted out hot air! He stood up a bit taller and spoke into their minds, "I'm gonna kill them."

But just before the unicorn could go in full gallop, Basil held him back with what little nerve he had and offered the beast, "Wait! Let me try and talk to them. And if that fails, then you can tear them to shreds."

Gossamer returned, lying on the forest floor, and said with a satisfied gleam, "I like that deal."

"I don't like either of your ideas.", Hopkins commented with a shudder.

Once the man walked out of his hiding spot, the Halfling quickly joined him out of a sense of confusion and weariness. Once the two men had walked within a few feet of the men at their campfire, Basil proudly and fearlessly stood before them while demanding, "Okay boys, time to wrap up your nonsense for this lifetime.", all the men looked up with confusion at the man and Halfling hidden behind his legs, where he continued to demand, "Now release any animals you still have alive or else."

Suddenly, all the men began to burst out laughing at his declaration, leaving the man absolutely baffled by the reaction. What he had said really was that entertaining? Seeing the men continue their laughter made Basil angry and embarrassed.

So he exclaimed, "What's so funny?"

"You! That's what! We've already killed everything in this forest!", one of the poachers told him in a laugh, showing that he was the leader or at least more outspoken.

"No wonder it is so eerily quiet.", Hopkins muttered under his breath while twitching his nose and sensing no bird in the trees.

As the collective men began to calm down from their laughing fit, the leader, a man with a huge scar going through his face and head, told them with a devious smile while pulling out a dagger, "Well, everything…except for two."

This was soon followed by the other men, who began to pick up their weapons with malicious intent behind their smiling faces. This made the poor Halfling cower even further behind the young man, except Basil, who had a calm disposition but a disappointed and pitiful expression.

"Everything? Oh gosh. Now you've really gone and done it now.", Basil told them vaguely, making the men second guess their decision.

"What are you blabbering about?", asked the leader.

Basil put on a thoughtful and pitiful expression as he told them, "I mean, I would've just let you guys go with a few broken bones and bruises, but now I can't assure your collective lives."

The men all chuckled at this, and the leader asked again, "Are you saying you're gonna kill us for cleaning out these woods?"

As the rest of the poachers began to regain their nerves and try to surround them, Basil made a fake shocked expression before telling them, "Me? Oh no no no no no! I'm just a baker after all. My friend, on the other hand…absolutely can."

Motioning with his eyes, all the poachers also looked in the direction. They saw Gossamer's enormous and intimidating figure as he strode into the clearing, an extraordinarily unsettling and unpleasant aura surrounding him. However, the poachers didn't look on with eyes of fear but of greed and excitement! The prospect of a real unicorn was too great, and greed quickly washed away any hesitation!

"Take a gander boys! The baker brought us a real-life unicorn!", the leader announced with excitement as the others followed his lead, ogling at the enormous horse-like creature. Before they spread on the animal, the leader asked Basil, "And you really think your pretty pink pony is gonna-."

But long before he could finish that sentence, Gossamer pounced upon them like a wild beast, which was dreadful to watch! So Basil turned around, squatted down, and covered himself and Hopkins with his cape to avert their gaze from the gruesome sight. The first thing they saw was Gossamer ramming his horn straight through the leader, followed by the pain-filled scream of terror by the other men. The crunching of bone, the tearing of flesh, the splatter of blood, the squishing of organs, and other unnameable sounds that one should never describe.

Then, it stopped. It stopped as quickly as it came. Fearing and knowing what sight was about to lay before them, Basil slowly dropped his cape and turned around until they both saw the end of the slaughter. But instead of a campsite completely covered in viscera and strewn with corpses, many moss mounds with strange flowers grow on top of them now. Not one drop of blood stained a single blade of grass or colored the dirt.

As Gossamer stood over the moss piles, he sternly and angrily proclaimed, "You wicked things with wicked minds that craft wicked things to perform wicked deeds! You deserve such a fate at my hooves. My mother always told a tale of the orcs being the ones unable to create anything beautiful. And yet you, with your wicked thoughts, use your gift to cause wicked actions and strife upon the innocent and weak. You deserve no quarter, sympathy, or pity. Not for such wicked things."

Not knowing what to say or do in this situation, Basil blabbered out, "Poetic. Now, let's go. There is nothing else we can do here."

Gossamer looked around the now abandoned camp, the hanging pelts, the drying meats, and the fire still burning away the discarded organs, and suddenly, his expression changed to sadness as he gave a weak snort. Turning around and joining the other two, he said with a disheartened tone, "Yes, nothing indeed."

And so they left.

 xXx

When the three finally arrived back in the Halfling Burrow, each looking downtrodden and regressing with regret, the entire town quickly gathered around and began to assault them with questions and praise. It eventually got so loud that the questions turned into shouting in a short amount of time. With the entire population pushing in on them quickly, Hopkins took action and settled the crowd down to a low rumble.

Once quieter than before, the Halfling yelled to his people, "Everyone, please calm down! The evil has been vanquished; we are free!"

This, unsurprisingly, caused everyone to explode into a roar of cheering, shouts, whistles, and so many other joyist sounds! As the Halflings celebrated, hugged one another, cried with relief, and many other things, the Burrows Elder hobbled up to Basil and bowed his head low.

"Thank you for all your help, sir Basil. I misjudged you. So please accept my most sincere apology.", the elder said to the young man.

Basil waved him off and replied, "I'm just glad you're all mostly safe. At least now you can go back to your previous lives.", upon hearing this, the adulations of the Halflings quickly died down to pure uncomfortable silence. Seeing this happen around him, Basil asked, "What's wrong?"

"That Wyvern…it's done so much. Too much.", the elder told him before sighing sadly and explaining, "Our livestock are all but gone, our winter supplies are destroyed, and its venom has immutably destroyed our fields. We have no time to find new land and rebuild. We are doomed to suffer."

Basil looked to Gossamer for help, knowing he could cure ailments, but the unicorn sadly shook his head before telling him, "I can't help them. Removing Wyvern's venom from the earth is a tall order, even for a unicorn as powerful as I. They may not be dragons, but their impact is just as brutal."

Basil looked back at the Halflings' sad, desperate, and concerned expressions. Some were starting to cry, some looked like they were accepting their fate, mothers held children tight, and young couples nuzzled their noses for what seemed to be the last of a few times. So, standing there in all the melancholy, Basil took a stand and made a decision!

"No. No, it's not as hopeless as you think.", he proclaimed to them, all eyes falling upon him again. I own a large plot of land and already have several other races living there with me. I have land that has yet to be turned into proper crop fields and sheep that I hope my friend is willing to share with you. You can come here and restart your settlement.", He offered to them, causing a stirring of surprise and whispers.

"You would do that for us?", Hopkins asked, looking at him in both disbelief and hope.

But Basil quickly held up a finger and added, "On the condition that you help me grow any and all crops I require. I do run a bakery, after all."

The elder approached again, raised his ears, and told him with a toothless smile, "That's nothing at all; consider it a deal."

Then the Burrow once again broke into cheers of admiration and excitement! As the Halflings celebrated, Basil thought about his next step. Leaning back on Gossamer, he said aloud to himself, "Now I just have to figure out a way to get you all back to my place."

Taking action himself and impressed by Basil's kind heart, he uses his magic to assemble a large horse-drawn cart near him. Something that doesn't go unnoticed by Basil, who watches in confusion.

Gossamer told him, "If the Halflings put all their valuables on a cart, I can bring it back while you figure a way to transport them."

"You'd be fine with that?", Basil asked after blinking in surprise a few times, knowing a unicorn wouldn't normally do this. He nodded in confirmation, making the man even more shocked.

Just before he set off to figure out a way to transport the Halflings, he turned to the Kenku, who was looking at the floor in shame, and pointed at him sternly, "And as for you!", making Teto bob his head up straight and look at him. "You help the Halflings pack their belongings and travel with Gossamer.", he told the bird as he nodded in agreement and ran off to start.

Thinking aloud once more, Basil pondered, "Now, maybe half of you can take the tunnel that Hopkins made while I race back and forth on Broomy, taking small groups."

"What's Broomy?", one of Hopkins's children, who heard him talking aloud, asked him with curiosity.

Then, Hopkins jumped into his conversation and stated, "I rode in on him; it was the greatest experience of my life!"

The Halfling then began to divulge his experience of flying for the first time, describing in great detail the exhilaration and feeling of being airborne. His storytelling was so sincere and gloriously descriptive that he quickly got the attention of the whole burrow listening to his tale. Excitement quickly filled the eyes and ears of the other halflings; sparkling eyes made their rounds in the small rodent people, as Basil was promptly filled with a looming sensation in his stomach.

That same sensation was proven correct as all the halflings began to approach the young man and ask or beg him to ride into his bakery upon Broomy. It quickly got to the point where every halfling in the Burrow was begging the young man to be taken on a flight! Excitement and joy filled their tiny faces and wiggling pink noses with quickly twitching whiskers.

They all began to push against him, and he eventually had to calm them down by yelling, "Woah woah woah! I get you are all excited and want to ride Broomy, but I can't bring you all on at once!"

 xXx

After a long and arduous flight of over three hours, Broomy finally made landfall right in front of the bakery...with the entire population of the Halflings.

During Basil's small speech to the Halflings back at their Burrow, they all gave him a collective set of puppy-dog eyes to persuade him. Usually, this would work without fail, but not today. The last thing he wanted was airdropped Halflings along the way home. But the Halflings acted more like children as they all wanted to ride Broomy and wanted to go first. All began pushing and arguing, so to avoid conflict, he gave up and devised a way to carry the whole population.

The first thing he did was unlock more mental powers in his skill tree and was able to carry stuff up to 500 pounds with his mind. Next, he gave Broomy an enchantment that would allow the object to reinforce himself like iron. And finally, he figures out a way to hold the population on himself and the broom by using plant life to hold them together like a ball of twine. And off they went into the air but far slower than Broomy could manage. It was more of a riverboat ride than a fast-paced, flying joyride.

Once they finally got back, Basil's mind and body were at their limit for holding a mass of rodents together! And when they did land, he just let them go like sand from a sive. Flopping to the ground, he breathed heavily, and with a face so red and full of veins, he looked like a tomato ready to pop!

As he lay beside Broomy, he gasped, "I can't believe I did it."

As the Halflings tumbled around on the ground and collected themselves while talking amongst one another about the ride, Hopkins bounced up to him and said in a disappointed tone, "That wasn't as amazing as last time, sir Basil."

All of Basil's exhaustion vanished, and he shot up to his knees while grabbing the Halfling's ears, holding him in the air while exclaiming angrily, "Well, excuse me! I guess it can't be helped when your whole fucking village is being supported by my iron back and Broomy! And poor Broomy!", Basil sobbed as he hurried his way to the animated object that wasn't so animated at the moment. With shaky lips and teary eyes, he balled while hugging the object and proclaiming, "His handle nearly broke, again! I'm so sorry about this! It'll never happen again!"

Broomy then lightly brushed him on the cheek with his bristles as a show of forgiveness, and the man cried loudly and grossly over the object as Hopkins watched on with a bit of awkward self-shame.

"Glad to see you made it safe." Gossamer's voice suddenly said to the man.

"Yeah, thanks, Gossamer.", Basil haulted his grossly loud sobbing to reply before turning back to cry over Broomy. Then his brain buffered for a moment, and he yelled aloud in realization, "THANKS, GOSSAMER!?"

He whipped his head to the huge creature with a look of shock and bafflement who stared back at him with confusion. Briefly looking past him, he saw the cart full of the Halfling's possessions and Teto sitting atop it.

"What?", the unicorn asked.

"What?! What!? What are you doing here!? How did you get here before me?! I was flying, for peat's sake! Slowly, but still flying!", Basil practically yelled.

"I simply tree-stride.", he replied casually.

"You did what now?", Basil retorted as his brain tried to keep up.

"I walked through one tree in the Halflings Burrow and came out another here at the Bakery.", he explained in more detail.

Basil's eye violently twitched at hearing this, and he asked, rising in temper, "You could teleport between plant life…this whole time!"

"Yes?", Gossamer answers, not understanding what he was getting so worked up about.

Basil began to get red in the face again and even looked ready to bite the unicorn's head off! But noticing the Halflings patiently waiting behind him, he quickly calmed down and turned to finish his business with them.

"I'll deal with you later. For now.", he told the unicorn while standing up and still holding Broomy. He told the Halflings, "Okay, Halflings, this is my land; go and find a place for your new settlement. Anywhere is fair game unless I say otherwise."

Even though they were standing in front of his house, the halflings were still extremely impressed and awed as they gazed around with intrigue. Then the elder came forward and asked Basil, "Do you have a small forest set beside hills and a stream?"

Basil rakes his memory of the land for a spot like that and suddenly has a lightbulb moment. Snapping his fingers, he said, "I have two of those three things, and the third I can provide."

He then motions for the Halflings to follow, and the elder calls for the rest of the Burrow out of their sightseeing to follow. With Basil at the lead, he takes them past the Small Torah village, the sheep pasture, and the Lizard Men still working hard on a barn. He eventually comes to an area where the clear-cutting and deforestation had stopped. Between the woods and them was a stream that ran ten feet wide and three feet deep.

Showing it off, the Halflings oohed and awed at the spot, testing the soil, nibbling on a few green stalks of grass, and doing…whatever else Halflings did to appraise the potential property. Then the elder spoke up from the other's excitement and inquired, "There's the forest on the stream, but how are you going to provide us with hills to hollow out?"

Tapping the top of his nose and winking, Basil replies, "Just watch."

He reaches into the pit of his being, calling forth the full might of his Earth magic! He grips the dirt and feels the magic flow from the earth. He gives his command to shape it and throwing his arms up while screaming, he performs his magic! The dirt under the grass and roots began to shoot up into the air until several dozen hills of varying sizes on both sides of the river popped up like pimples on a fresh teenager!

The Halflings all stood before the sight in gasp! Mouths open with some mothers holding children accidentally dropping them! Once he had finished forming the hills, Basil wiped his forehead, motioned to them with his hand, and offered, "Pick one, anyone. It's free real estate."

The Halflings remained silent for a long moment until they all unanimously burst out, cheering! After they finished celebrating, the Halflings surrounded the young man, hugging him, kissing him, shaking his hand, and thanking him for his kindness.

Last to thank him was Hopkins, who jumped into his arms, hugged him around his neck, and proclaimed with teary eyes, "Thank you, sir Basil. You are a true saint!"

"Come on, deary! I want to get the biggest one before it's taken?", a female Halfling, who Basil assumed was Hopkins' wife, called him while trying to wrangle her six children.

After seeing the Halflings hop about to find the best home, he turns around to see Gossamer shaking off his equipment after pulling the cart full of the Halfling's belongings. On top was Teto, and Basil walked up to him while asking with a raised brow, "And I hope you learned your lesson.", Teto looked down with closed eyes and nodded his head before Basil told him, "Good. Now, go clean up the bakery and put out the open sign on the street. There are still several hours left in the day, and I want to do some business."

Without another word, the Kenku jumped from the pile of things and ran back to the bakery to do as he was told. Basil looked back at the sight of the happy Halflings and couldn't help but smile to himself.

Gossamer came to his side and spoke in his mind, "You did good, Basil. You did well."

Basil gave a relieved sigh and replied, "Thanks. And as for your punishment for not telling me you could teleport beforehand."

Gossamer's eyes went wide as he looked off on the left side of his head to see Basil peculiarly holding Broomy while the animated broom made its bristles extra spiky and hurty. Without a moment to spare, the unicorn ran off while the young man got on his long tail and yelled obscenities while swinging the broom around like a weapon!