A Risky Deal

With over a week passing since that day it was time to head back to Telan and collect their pay. Heading back down the road with Felian leading the way Xilo thought back to what happened while they travelled. After that hectic morning he had thought a lot about things. Seli had answered all the questions he had given her pretty honestly, the problem he had with that though is she couldn't answer everything. He tried asking her if she was born like this or was obtained the power later on but he only got a similar answer to his. "Heard a voice in her head then fell asleep and woke up like that." In her case though she remembered it a lot more then him.

He had also asked her how long she had her powers and it was about the same length of time as his just a year after instead. Along with how many side effects she felt like she experienced and how much power it gave her, these were all the things he asked related to the power at least. "I learned a lot but at the same time it feels..like not enough." He wanted to ask about her friend that she kept talking about but whenever he brought her up she got sad all of a sudden. So he left it alone and didn't press for anything else from her. After that it was just a typical day for them after everything settled down.

Seli did become a little more intense in their training then before but he had taken it with ease. Like that their little two weeks of staying in Darenfelt ended. They met back up with Felian and now were half way back to Landelt. With the girls talking to each other, Xilo was left alone for once surprisingly. Usually one of the three was glued to him but ever since Seli's reveal they had been pestering Seli more than him. It was a nice break though and it was quite cute to watch them from the side. Especially Relia who still tried to keep the mood while digging for information. Watching her twintails dance back and forth as she was feeling some frustration, Xilo smiled as Felian broke his peace.

"You're staring quite hard, you know that?"

"I am not staring, I'm just watching over them while thinking about things."

"I was just checking, got anything you want to talk about then? I probably can't help you in the slightest but I do like to think I'm a good listener if nothing else and you look like you got a lot on your mind. It ain't healthy to bottle that all up."

"I appreciate the offer but I'll pass, It's nothing serious. Though I did want to ask you something."

Ignoring that knowing look in Felian's eyes, Xilo did his best to break his eyes away from the girls as he talked about something. He had initially chosen this job to meet a merchant but after what had happened he was side tracked. So now with only a little time left before they parted ways Xilo figured he might as well take a shot in the dark. If not he might lose a big chance for the future and if he wanted his plan to succeed he wanted someone to start with. She wasn't much of a big merchant yet but she was very good at what she did. The two times he had come by to talk with her was when he had seen her really working since he was forced to wait around for her to be done with customers before they could talk.

"Ask something of me eh? Is it a raise or a little extra coin?"

"Nah, nothing like that. It's more so I wanted to try and strike up a deal with you."

"Oh? I do like a deal, let's hear what you got to offer. Though if it's not good enough then I'll have to decline."

With a slightly wicked smirk and confidence that came out of nowhere Xilo talked with Felian about his plans for the next hour. This whole thing was a gamble he was taking and just hoping to succeed so he expected her to decline completely when he was done speaking. However that moment never came, she lost all that playful talkative nature she had as she seriously listened to what he had to say without once interrupting or doubting him. It wasn't that she trusted him though, she just respected herself and him enough to at least hear him out. Finally done speaking, he exhaled as he tried to gather air.

"Haa."

He had felt incredibly tense the whole time he was speaking but he had hopefully gotten his idea across correctly. Silently waiting for her response Xilo heard the casual chatter of the girls enter his ears once more. Looking Xilo up and down Felian played around with the idea in her head as she thought about the pros and cons of it. "That's one big gamble to take." She stuck on the line of saying no initially but the more she thought about it, the more she realized how little it would affect her if it failed. There were almost no downsides besides a little time lost and if it worked out then she could make a very good profit.

"Alright Xilo, Let me ask you this, what is it you hope to gain from all of this?"

"Personal satisfaction and a place that people can be happy to return to."

Looking at those girls he smiled as he said that. He had found out what he wanted to do and he planned to make it happen no matter the cost. Even if he had to rip apart this whole country and rewrite its rules he would do it. It would take years to create and even do but he had the determination to see it through. "A place I can call home is why I set out in the first place." He had gotten caught up in quite a few things that he still needed to solve but that was even more of a reason to do this.

"Haa...I can't tell if you're an idiot or a great liar. Either way, I'll agree under one condition. If you can get something for me I'll give your plan a shot. Sounds fair?"

"Sure, I can do that."

Agreeing without thinking much about it he listened to the details as they made their way back to Landelt. With another day passing Xilo stretched his body as he saw Landelt coming into vision. After two weeks of being away it felt a little strange but he had a lot to do now. First he had to meet up and talk with Telan then he needed to finish Felian's request. Once that was done then finally he could start laying some of the foundation for his dream. "I've already started, now to figure out where to go." Thinking about the problems and burdens on top of his shoulders he sighed as they eventually entered the city.