At times when he is not needed in the village, the Chief practically disappears. Not even his trusted advisors know where he goes. His wife has an idea but she knows better than to tell anyone about it. She could not talk about it for a lot of reasons. In a dark room of a certain cellar 3 floors deep below the ground, the village chief is once again meeting with his not so popular clients. There is a reason why it was called an underground deal.

“Them wood planks ‘n bricks that y’told us to prepare’s ready,” a short and plump man said, playing with the large gem on his middle finger ring, “I should tell ya, y’have spent a’lot more’n them improvements over th’year than all of th’previous chiefs had, ‘least as far’as I can remember. And I’ave lived a’long life.”

“The village needs to attract more and more people,” the chief replied without breaking his serious facial expression, “you know us humans, we easily grow tired of things. We need something new almost every day.”

“Yeh, I see what y’mean,” the dwarven smuggler replied, he has lived long enough to see how humanity changed. He is still amazed at how fast paced humans are, and given their short lives, he could understand that humans just want to make the most of it and want to see everything that their short lives could offer. “Still, w’appreciate yer ever generous donation to our mine’s always.”

“An’I speak fer th’others ‘ere s’well,” the dwarf looked around and the other members nodded in agreement.

“The workers are ready as well,” this time, it was slender human clad in black cloak but one can see the shiny silk garment that he wears underneath. He is a prominent figure in the empire and also the largest slave trader in the underground. “Just tell me when to begin the construction as usual.”

“We will begin with the construction next week,” the chief replied. He looks around and could practically feel that he is leading these people by their necks. He knows that these people feel that way too, but there is no need to say it. After all, they are still individual entities gathering together, and if it was not for the wealth of the village, he would not even be among these people in the first place.

“Would you need a loan?” a banker replied. He holds the largest chain of banks in the empire and has branches in nations. But in the underground he is the largest loan shark for the organizations, and this time his biggest client is the chief of the mage’s village himself, “We have prepared enough cash for this.”

“I will hold off on that for now,” the chief replied, “Although I may need to do that to supply for the liquor and the food now that the festival is in just a month. With that in mind we will need to finish this construction before then.”

“Heh, not even a challenge for my men,” the slave trader replied with confidence, “We’d be done with it even sooner.”

“So it will attract more people in to the festivals, eh?” the banker asked, his eyes gleaming at the prospect of more money coming in. Although not directly, he knows that more income for the Mage’s Village means more income for him in the future.

The reason why the people in this circle trust the village chief this much is because they know that he knows how to play well. He knows the right people to call when he needs something and he knows when to treat someone as an ally or an enemy. He has always been thinking ahead and has the village’s future in his mind. This kind of rare forward thinking that is hardly seen in humans is what drew the nonhumans to him, and the amount of money that he can supply their greed is what drew humans to him as well.

“Ah! I sure’ll never miss that!” the dwarf declared, the Mage’s Village is one of the few villages that does not discriminate between humans and nonhumans. The festival becomes an event where humans get the chance to mingle with the dwarves, the beastfolk and some other races that they have only heard of in the human cities. “Th’booze that y’humans come up with are quite curious.”

“Well, we are creative in all sorts of things,” the slender slave trader replied with pride.

“Right, duine, even with your weapons and your lies,” the elf who stayed silent suddenly replied. The elf is the only woman in the circle but she has one of the most powerful ties among them, only second to the chief himself. “I have seen how you kill and lie to even your own people. The airm- the weapons that I have been dealing with have drastically changed through the years. More and more of them are used to kill tens and hundreds.”

“Woman, it is your kind who needs to evolve with time,” the slender slave trader replied, “you have hidden yourselves so long in the forests that you have been left behind by the rest of the world. Even the dwarves and the beastmen were able to catch up. . .”

The dwarf spat in the floor as the slave trader looked at him, the beastman trader just growled.

“There is no need for us to evolve if it leads us to a path of destruction,” the elf replied without changing her position, “If not for your constant destruction of the forest, we would not have any need to meet with you like this in the first place.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the village chief said in a cold voice, his expression visibly changed this time, “Let us not make out differences build a wall between each other. I understand that we all have different views, but we are here for business and if that business becomes interrupted because of these differences, then I believe we will have to cut our losses.”

The room suddenly became silent. The others could swear that they could feel it becoming colder. Another reason why they can hardly defy the chief is because they know about the blood that us running through him. It is not a secret how the village founder has left the village in the care of her great-grandchild, and since then the chiefs of the village came from the line of the founder – incidentally the strongest mage in the empire. His word was like law and even the elf calmed down.

“Now, if we have no other business I believe it is time that we return to our mundane lives,” the chief said as he rose. The others followed and left in different directions. “Please do not take that comment to heart, he whispered towards the elf as they were heading towards the same direction.

“If not for you, buachaill daonna, and your sinsear – your ancestor, I would not even show myself in the midst of these classless amadan . . . Sorry.”

“No, it is I who needs to apologize for exposing one from a higher race such as yourself to these boorish people,” the chief replied and bowed to the elf.

“Do not bow down to me,” the elf replied, “I may be older but we are equal in this pursuit. And the spirit tells me that you need to go home. Great news is waiting for you.”

The chief watched the back of the elf as she left towards the hidden vales. What the elf said at the end left an impression on him. He knows that the elves are the only race left that could hear the spirits of the forest. Even the beastmen have long lost that ability. Half of the Mage’s power came from that ability but even among humans she was quite rare. If the spirits said it so, then there is truth in it.

“I am glad that you are home!” the village chief’s wife met him as soon as he arrived. He is now sure about it. His wife would never meet him like this, all smiles.

“What is the matter?” the chief asked, trying to sound and look like he is not anticipating it.

“Well, I checked earlier,” his wife replied while they walked towards the house together, “I have been checking for 2 moons now. I think I am with child.”

“Really?!” the chief could hardly hide his response then. It was great news indeed.

“Yes. I have not bled for 2 moons, and I went to the witch earlier to have myself checked and she confirmed that I am with child,” the chief’s wife paused to look at his expression, “Isn’t it great?”

When the village chief first learned that he is about to become a father, he was excited. For one, his wife has always been looking forward to have a child. He was not really as happy to have one but he is at least looking forward to it. The most important part for him is the fact that he finally has an heir: someone that he can leave his legacy behind on.

“This is more than great!” the chief replied, looking straight into her wife’s eyes, “This is a cause for celebration!”

“I knew you’d be glad!” his wife said and embraced him tightly.

“We need to tell the villagers about this, but we will do it during the festival,” the chief said as he escorted his wife towards the couch.

“We need to prepare for that then,” his wife replied, still evidently ecstatic about it.

“Have you told anyone already?” the chief asked, it would be better if there were a few people who knew about this before the great announcement. It will surely draw in more people that way.

“No. I wanted you to be the first to know,” his wife replied, “well, the witch knows but of course she knows not to talk about it with others.”

“I trust the witch,” the chief replied and made his decision, “keep it that way for now. It will be even more exciting if people are left to look forward to it.”

“I see what you mean,” the wife replied. She knows half of the reason why. She has been married to the chief for so long that she can practically tell his intentions without him having to say it. And she is fine with it; as long as he has the welfare of the village in mind, it does not matter if it is second in his priority.

The preparations for that year’s festival were even livelier. After the chief announced that there will be a surprise announcement on the day of the event, the villagers worked harder for the upcoming event. The presence of the workers for the new project also added to the festive air in the village. Speculations started to arise, of course there were some who guessed right that the village chief is about to become a father, but knowing the chief, the announcement could be about anything.

Even the citizens of the other towns and even of the other nations had their own guesses about what it is about. Knowing that there is a new landmark that is about to be revealed along with a surprise announcement, the build up towards that year’s festival has welled up that even the banker could not believe the prospective income.

The festival could not have arrived sooner. The visitors to the village have practically doubled and the festive mood was high even on the first day of the week of celebrations. The chief was due to deliver his announcement on the final day as they revealed the new landmark. Soon the final day of the festival came and the landmark was revealed. So did the surprise announcement. Every villager cheered with joy, those who made a bet and guessed correctly cheered even louder. All in all, every person who heard the announcement was not disappointed.