<20 August 2024, GRAND MESA OF SUMMER, A+> [Theo and Julia] Theo and Julia were listening to the dwarf blabber excitedly. Ordus looked as if he were having difficulty keeping up.

"VOKN! KARNÛRNIM KAZRÛM-THALD'GORIM! ZEK'AH? ZHÛZEK! KAZRÛM KARNMORG ZORUN UMR! UMR VRAG'AH NOR KAZRÛM-THALD. DURGRIM GORIM NOR KARNÛRNIM! GORIM NOR KAZRÛM-THALD? WOGMORG ZARUN! DÛRK. ZEK'AH? VRAG'AH GORIM ZORUN THALD?" Kreldar waited expectantly.

Ordus took a breath. "He is very excited that you have a Homestead Core and indicates that this is a great boon to many people and anyone who comes here; he says that the lantern is fantastic, but he wants to know what else you have that you plan to implement for the homestead."

Theo and Julia looked at each other. Julia shrugged, and then they both started going through their pouches, pulling things out and laying them down. In the end, they had a total of 3 blueprints, the Map Codex fragment they possessed, and the Minor Environmental Token: Wetlands. Theo nodded. "We have some other things that we are unsure what they are, and we have already completed a Monster Processor. It is what we have now, but it's a good start, I think."

"ZHÛZEK! KAZRÛM-THALD'GORIM DURGRIM? GORIM UMR KARNÛRNIM DURGRIM!" Kreldar muttered under his breath.

Ordus smiled. "He says that this 'good start' is better than many clans ever get."

Kreldar nodded to himself and muttered quickly to several of the dwarves, who looked a little shocked but nodded in agreeance. Then he turned to Ordus, "RÛNAZDOMO, VALD'AH GORIM NOR ZEK'AH DAUNGORIM. TRAZK'AH NOR WOG, HÛRM, ZARUN DURZÛM. ZÛRVALD ZEK'AH GORIM NOR NAZK ZEK'AH TRAZK. ZÛRVALD UMR VRAG'AH NOR THÛRN MOLBRAK WOG. KHÛRZ… KHÛRZ ZÛRGORIM NAZK VALD, ZEK'AH TRAZK GORNAK."

Ordus looks surprised. "UZÛR ZÛRVALD? KHÛRZ DURZÛM. KHÛRZ ZEK'AH, KHÛRZ VRAG'AH. KHÛRZ VRAG'AH DURGRIM DAUNTÛRN VALD'AH DURZÛM."

The Dwarf nodded with resolve. Ordus turned to Theo and Julia. "Lord Sorrenson, Lady Brahmin, Kreldar is hoping that you will grant him a contract to see your dreams built. He recognizes that this will potentially take years. He is willing to work for one gold per Stoneflow as well as food and shelter. He also hopes that you will allow him to claim the works he completes for you, as it will bring great honor to himself and his clan. He also asks once again that you consider working with his clan to figure something out with the water."

Theo nodded. "Tell him that we will think on the offer and let him know tomorrow."

"Of course," Ordus said and turned to relay that to Kreldar. The Dwarf nodded and bowed to Theo and Julia before turning and leaving with the other dwarves. Ordus turned to Theo and Julia, "Very well then, I will leave you be."

Julia waited for Ordus to be out of sight, then turned to Theo. "Bath?"

Theo shrugged, "Sure, I could go for a bath."

<20 August 2024, MIRROR DEEP RETREAT, ????> [Theo and Julia] >Local Message: Universal Translation in effect "Greetings and welcome back to the Deep Mirror Retreat," Laurel said.

"Hello again, Laurel," Julia said with a smile.

"Lady Brahmin, Lord Sorrenson, how can I assist you today. Would you like to utilize the Couples package once more?"

"How about just the private bathing area," Theo said, handing her gold and getting fifty silver back.

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"Thank you for your patronage. Please follow the black line and also be aware that this package does not contain the extra pampering and services of the couples package. Enjoy your bath." Laurel said, and once again, the carpets shifted as the black line seemed to grow from the desk down a different, grey-carpeted hallway than the last time they were there.

After stripping, they both slid into the hot water of the eight-foot-by-eight-foot black marble tub. The first time, they had been desperate to be clean, but now, they both let their eyes roam over the other as they lounged.

"So," Theo said, closing his eyes as he did not trust them to dip below the water line; he lay back, letting the hot water seep into his sore body, "what do you think of the offer? And is that house really what you want?"

Julia was silent for a moment, watching the rise and fall of Theo's muscular chest and shoulders, and then shook her head with a grin, following his example and relaxing into the water with her eyes closed. "I have a lot of conflicting thoughts."

"Okay, we have virtually unlimited time here, so why don't we talk it over," Theo said.

"Okay," Julia agreed, "I don't know what to think of the offer; I think that if he really wants to put effort into it, then I don't mind it, but I also don't want him to feel like he has to. As for the house, I really like it. It is beautiful, and it looks like it has potential for expansion if we need it. But I also don't want to lose the rustic feeling that the Overlook has."

"Okay, fair. So, why don't we try to figure out a good deal with Kreldar? We can even use the Ring to see if that's a good deal for him as well. I also don't want to be thought of as ripping him off." Theo said.

"That's a good idea. Let's do that." Julia said, starting to float as she leaned back into the water, drifting away from the wall.

"Now, what else about the house. I feel like you have thoughts." Theo said that letting Julia have as much time as she needed to compose her thoughts was a good idea.

"Well, we are one step away from forming a Family." Julia said, floating peacefully, "And we are one step away from being family. And you said earlier that the bond was basically a marriage vow. So I have to ask. Do you want children?"

Theo sat up, opened his eyes, and looked at the naked woman floating blissfully in front of him. This was a question he had not been prepared for. Julia opened her eyes and smiled, "Take your time answering. Like you said, we have all the time we need right now."

So Theo nodded and began to think. They were reaching a point that he and Julia had talked about many times, but he had never thought of what came after. He had never wondered what children would be like in this new world, but now he was. He glanced at the body of the woman in front of him. "At least our children will be pretty."

Theo chuckled. Julia cracked an eye open, "you have an answer for me?"

"I do," Theo said, closing his eyes and settling back into the water. "We don't know each other that well. We have essentially been trauma-bonded. And we certainly need to have many more talks like this. But I want kids. And I think you would probably make a great mother. So yeah. I want kids. I am not sure how many. How many do you want?"

Julia smiled, "I have always wanted a big family, and now that we are potentially going to live for a rather extraordinary amount of time, I think I probably want even more, but spread out more. I would probably want to start with three and go from there."

"Okay, well, that is... Huh." Theo said that some strange emotions he had never felt before were wearing inside him. Part of him was enticed; the idea of a naked woman floating a few feet away from him, talking about potentially making multiple children with him, lit a certain fire in him. Another part of him panicked, wondering if he would be a good father or a good husband and whether he would be able to care for her and their prospective children in this new world. Several other parts had varying mixes of emotions, and a final part of him suddenly awoke for the first time ever. Theo suddenly knew that he wanted what she was saying.

Theo was shocked into opening his eyes when lips pressed to his and wet hair draped down onto his face. He opened his eyes to see Julia had come up next to him. She pulled away. "You sounded like you had a lot going on in your head. Thought that would focus you a little bit."

"I did." Theo smiled as he lay back, Julia sitting next to him, snuggled into his arm. He quickly ran through what he had been thinking. "... and lastly, I realized that I wanted what you were saying. I want a family. Not in the convoluted sense of the System. But in the sense of kids and a dog. Well, if dogs are still available as we knew them."

Julia chuckled at that. "Well, I am glad to see that we have some similar goals in this regard. So, I think we should seriously consider completing whatever we need to with the System."

"I agree." Theo nodded. "And we should ask the ring if what was offered is a good deal."

"Agreed, now, get some of the soap over there," Julia said, sitting up, "you scrub my back, and I'll scrub yours."

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