DAY 415
When Laeniel makes her way to the Church of Bounty's chapel in Grassbrook, she's surprised to find there's a lot more of it than she was expecting - or at least signs that it's going to be that way soon. The chapel isn't that close to the village center, being a little further on the path to the nearby dungeon, and so she hadn't seen it since her last visit a few weeks ago. That makes it rather unusual to see the bones of a building going up that the elf would estimate had been in the works for at least a few months already had she not seen the bare ground less than a month ago. A stone foundation's been laid indicating a structure at least three tis the size of the current chapel, and a fair bit sturdier as well. On top of that the support beams and walls are already going up for the new building, and as she watches on she realizes they're crawling with dwarves.
She's broken out of her distraction however when a voice calls out to her. "Hey, Laeniel! You're looking...healthy." Laeniel turns her head towards an empty clearing to her left, and blushes when she realizes that however 'healthy' she might look, the green-haired Paladin Sable Bluehair surely looks quite a bit better. The quarter-demon woman appears to be halfway through so sort of improvised exercise routine involving stones and wood from the nearby construction, and her loose-fitting garnts are half-soaked in sweat. The woman's abs are plain to see under her shortened top, and what is covered is still largely revealed by the sweat making the fabric stick to her red skin. Still, Laeniel does her best to respond in a professional tone of voice.
"Thank you, although I doubt I compare to you! Are you lifting those stones? I'd wager they must weight at least four tis what I do - even in my current condition!" The elf laughs as she supports her belly with one hand, clearly showing the influence of the triplets within.
The paladin nods as she walks over to the path where Laeniel stands. "Yeah, I offered to help out with the construction work just for the workout, but they started yelling at ! All 'you ain't been certified' this and 'paladins don't know how to use a hamr unless they're splittin' sothing in half' that! How hard can it be to stick one stone on top of another, right?"
Laeniel turns to glance again at the new building before giving her response. "Well...I'm no expert, but it certainly seems like they, ah, know what they're doing. What are they building exactly - so sort of cathedral?"
The question makes the paladin laugh. "Grassbrook won't have enough people in it for one of those in even five years! It is a bigger church, yeah, but there's gonna be additional stuff added on as well. Living quarters so we don't need to live in town, a training yard so I don't have to bum off the Challengers Association, and of course dical facilities and all that. That might actually be the most important part, actually - the only other place for healing around here right now is the Association, unless you wanna hike up the mountain and see if Deylia will help you out. We might have to expand outside our usual services for a while just because there's no one else offering them." Having said that, Sable tilts her head. "Haven't you been helping us manage our money, though? Figured you'd already know all that stuff by now."
"I've actually only been helping manage your existing finances, the expansion's been considered a separate project that Mother Hamrdown said she had covered. Oh, speaking of - hello, Mother!" The elf waves towards an older dwarf who approaches from the opposite side of the path, having apparently co from the construction site.
"Laeniel! Lass, you still feelin' fit for hiking out here? You get much larger and soon I'll be needing to have Greenie here cart you out in a wheelbarrow!"
The woman chuckles, knowing that Elance Hamrdown is exaggerating but not by much. "I don't mind getting a bit of a walk now and then - although I wouldn't mind getting off my feet, either."
"Well no kiddin'! Co on in, we'll talk inside. Greenie, splash so water on yourself if you're comin' in, we don't want you stinking up the chapel! So what reason brings you out here, Laeniel? Personal or professional?"
The two continue talking as they continue on towards the current building, which is less than a minute away. "Both, probably? I'd like to run your monthly numbers while I'm here, if you need my services, but I was hoping for a checkup while I was at it."
"Of course - checkup first, though! Don't want you doing any labors before we know you're fit, even if it's just with a quill! Suppose we'll start this off in the examination room then, you know the way." The two make their way into the building while Sable dashes off to wash up from a water barrel placed next to the construction site. Laeniel only gives her a glance before stepping inside, but blushes again when she sees Sable pull her shirt off before pouring a large ladle's worth of water over her head.
"She, ah - Sable's not very reserved, is she? There must've been a dozen workers who could've seen her from there!"
The dwarf snorts in amusent. "Well no shit, that's why she does it! She might only be a quarter succubus, so she can live entirely off normal food and all that, but the lass likes to soak in a little lust here and there when she can, especially after a workout. She tried doing a morning jog around the site once entirely bare to the world, but we had to make her stop cause her crimson buttocks were proving a safety hazard to the worker's attention!"
"I...suppose that makes sense. Priestess Fullblossom doesn't have any, ah, issues with it though?"
"Lily?" Elance shakes her head. "The two still don't even claim they're dating, even if Greenie does spend most of her nights in Lily's chambers. I think it's a thing they've got going, you know. Greenie likes to pretend that she's still constantly 'corrupting' the girl, even though I doubt there's an inch left of her that Greenie ain't - well, we probably don't need to discuss the details, eh? Suffice it to say, she was probably wearin' that getup hoping it'd be Lily walkin' this way, not you. But speaking of you - how are you feelin'?"
The elf climbs up onto a raised seat with a groan. "Oh, can't complain. I an, I could, but I did literally ask for this, so...you know."
"Haha, ain't that just the way it goes, eh? So remind , you're...seven months along?"
Laeniel nods. "Just about. So perhaps...halfway through?"
Elance blinks, looks at Laeniel's mid-section, and looks back up at Laeniel's face. "Lass."
"...Yes?"
"Now I ain't started yet, but there's no bloomin' way you're only halfway through! Look at the size of ya! My son Garruf's out there leading the work crew, and he could probably fit in there! And he's a full-grown man!"
The elf rolls her eyes. "A full-grown dwarf - and even then you exaggerate! Seriously, I don't know if you've treated many elves, but our pregnancies tend to last a year and a half or more. Even cutting down so ti considering my children's, ah, ethnicity, I think saying I'm about halfway through is probably conservative."
"I've handled my share of elves, lass, and...fine, let get started and we'll see what we'll see, eh?" Elance shakes her head and begins to analyze Laeniel, both through mundane and magical ans. She asures the elf's heartrate, pokes and prods at her growing belly, and finally begins casting a few spells whose effects remain arcane to the elf. As she does however, the dwarf steps back with widened eyes. "Kahlia's divine cockring!"
"I...excuse ?"
Elance takes several deep breaths before answering. "Don't...don't mind . Just...got a more specific answer than I was hopin' for, there. Ah, let explain...normally when we call on Kahlia's favor for a checkup, we get, well...vague feelings at most. The divine aren't ones for tossin' out more'n scraps of their power to every random prayer they hear, you see? But this ti? Well, I'd say Kahlia's taken a personal interest in your progress."
Laeniel's eyes grow even wider than the Mother's. "Oh my! Ah...praise you, Divine Kahlia? But...wait, it's a good thing, yes? It's good news?"
The dwarf smirks. "Well, I suppose that depends. That nursery you and Parker been puttin' together, that been set up? And wasn't there sothing about funding for a live-in aid? You got soone lined up yet?"
The woman doesn't appreciate being answered with questions, but goes through them as quickly as possible. "Essentially yes, and ah...not really? I've identified a few local won and girls who might be interested in the work but it's far too early for arranging a work contract."
Elance crosses her arms. "Well...you reckon twenty-six days, three hours, and fourteen minutes is enough ti to get a contract signed up? Give or take a minute or two, or any stressful activities on your part."
The elf shoots back to her feet, or at least by 'heavily pregnant woman' standards of 'shoots'. "No! That's - you're joking! An eight month pregnancy!? It's triplets!"
"Half-rabbit triplets, in case you sohow forgot! Hells, if you were a rabbitkin yourself, I'd lay odds this would've been done three months ago already! Genuine word of a god here, and one who ought to know - you got yourself a little under a month before your family size more than doubles."
"Oh my! Thank you! I - I have to go make preparations! I'll need to let Alizz know and - I'll be back later, yes? To arrange the - "
The Mother interrupts her. "Don't bother comin' back here - from here on, I'll be visiting you, or at least Lily to check up on ya. But be careful headin' back to town now, okay?"
"Okay! I'll talk to you soon! Ah, Sable, excuse , I - I'll talk to you later!"
The moist paladin watches on in confusion as the elf rushes back out of the chapel before turning back towards Elance with a raised eyebrow. "So...our finances were that bad, huh?"
"Pfft! Dammit, guess I'll be doing our own accounting this month. But no, turns out the lass's due date's a little sooner than we expected - and that Kahlia's interest is even stronger than we first thought."
"Really?" The paladin taps her chin in thought before continuing. "Remind , how many dungeon kids are there already?"
"Actually born? Only maybe three or four that I know of. On the way? Bout a dozen now, I'd guess. Not like everyone's ntioned it to us, of course, or even knows for sure that it was a night in the dungeon what did the deed. Why do you ask?"
"Well, we've made it the official policy that the Church of Bounty will be stepping in to help support any children conceived in the dungeon, right? But...if Kahlia's got a direct eye on those triplets, that support might be a little more...direct than usual, don't you think?"
Elance shrugs. "I ain't gonna lay down any coin on what the divine may or may not do. But...if I was a bettin' woman, I'd bet those children will be blessed in so way, most likely. Don't go getting Laney's hopes up about it, though!"
Sable grins and shakes her head. "I won't. Was just thinking...when word gets out that Kahlia's possibly giving actual divine blessing to children born of the dungeon?" Her grin grows wider. "Well...I hope Xenia's got space to add a whole lot more rooms in that inn."
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