[Rock]I led the men as we headed to Rhett’s land. No one was riding with me, but that was fine. I had a feeling I would get a passenger as I got closer to where the turn-off was. It was impossible for trolls to get lost. If we could touch the earth, we knew where we were and almost everything about the land around us. We even knew which way to go to get home. Rhett’s home had been made of trees, stones, and dirt. As soon as I brushed up against a wall, I knew exactly where I was. Of course, if I had paid much attention, I would have known. As I said before, there were stories of this land being haunted. Rhett was good at keeping intruders out of his home. This idea came to me as I slept last night. Carmen said I was probably wrong about the goddess intending Dolly for Rhett, but I was certain that dream came to me from the goddess. In fact, the growing excitement of my crew made me think even more that this was the intention of the goddess. Maybe she felt guilty about what had happened to the girl. It wasn’t her fault. We were given freewill in order to make our own choices. I didn’t know what happened to her mother, but the goblins made their decision. And Oberon made his decision. It didn’t matter. I was going to follow my urges in this case and write it off to the goddess working through me. Maybe a little part of it was because I was growing to regret my initial reaction when I realized the girl was part goblin. It wasn’t her fault and Carmen said she didn’t even know anything about her people. I wasn’t fair to her because of her goblin blood. I could feel Carmen’s disappointment in me, even if she never said it outright. I wasn’t perfect and I never claimed to be, but I was grateful that she accepted even the imperfect bits. We were flawed together. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a swarm of shadows from into Rhett’s familiar form in my passenger seat. He crossed his arms and his legs at the knee. I could see the turnoff ahead of me on the left. “What, exactly are you doing, Rock?” Rhett asked. “Helping you. Leave me and my crew to do what we’re going to do here. I’ll call you when we need you,” I replied. He scoffed. “You intend for me to ignore dozens of men in my territory? I am caring for a child and if those fae have the same prejudice you do against goblins, it would put her in danger.” “They won’t go anywhere near your house. They’ll stay in the area where we’re working.” “What is your plan?” “We’re giving you a better house for the girl. I could feel how much magic you have in the house where you’re keeping her right now. If something were to happen to you while she was in that house, she would be buried alive. Carmen would never forgive me if I had a way to save her from that and I didn’t,” I replied. “You’re giving me a house?” “A manufactured home. It’s used but in good condition. I also have a septic system and an older well pump. It’ll get you running water and a house you don’t have to work to keep standing,” I answered. He was quiet as I turned down the overgrown road onto his land. Rhett just looked out the window as we drove. His shock was clearly making him act differently than he normally did. “Why would you do this?” he asked quietly. “Carmen and I agreed to treat you like a friend of sorts. She’s worried about the girl. I have all the pieces available to me and I don’t really have a need for them. You might not be supernatural, but you’re still part of our community. Plus, the repays the debt our community owes you for helping with the cult,” I told him. Rhett nodded as we drove through the woods. He stayed quiet as I pulled up to the clearing where I was planning to put his home. I parked my truck and got out. Rhett followed me and came around the truck to stand beside me as the crew parked and unloaded. I started directing people and getting the work underway. I saw Cam and Gray walk past Rhett and pat him on the shoulder as he watched them silently. He walked around the area while everyone started getting started. None of us had to pretend to be human. All of the fae dropped their glamour so we could focus all of our power on our magic. It was nice to be out, doing our work, without having to hide. There was some speculation for a very long time that ogres were the same species as trolls, but not as closely associated with nature. Ogres had four different varieties and each of them had a little elemental magic they could use. They were red, black, yellow, and blue ogres. None of them could use earth magic in the way trolls could, but that didn’t make them any less special. Orcs were different. They didn’t have magic and looked almost like giant goblins. From time to time, in the fae realm, you would see a den of goblins that was led by an orc or an orc couple. Not all of them were green-skinned like goblins. Some were blue others were pale pink with a thin layer of white fur covering their bodies. It all depended on where they came from. They weren’t as smart as ogres were, but they were strong and worked hard as long as they respected the person they worked for. I set two ogres to finding a good place for the well. The orcs were already laying out the frame for the pad. We wouldn’t use concrete, instead, we were going to use magic to make something even stronger. Others were finding the right place for the septic tank. Getting the placement of everything perfect would mean it would last even longer and the septic system wouldn’t contaminate the well water. Rhett looked like he didn’t know what to do with himself as my men got to work. Once we had everything planned and marked out, Gray called Echo to get her to take him where he needed to go. The stuff we needed would be in the same storage place where I was keeping my old trailer. Keeping it in one place made it easier for her to find.As the day passed, the trolls on the crew took turns removing earth between the surface and the underground water reservoir. One of the ogres had pinpointed the best place to access water. It would last for a very long time, according to him. The other men were busy digging out the hole for the septic system, the area where the home would sit, and trenches for the pipes to travel underground. I could start calling the stone after we got the area cleared. Gray and Echo were making trips with materials, bringing larger and larger items each time. Every time they arrived with whatever they were transporting, Echo was getting more excited. Rhett had disappeared once work started and reappeared wearing clothes that didn’t look like they were owned by a pirate with a leather fetish. They did look older but suited to working. He grabbed a shovel and started helping the orcs with digging out the area inside of the frame. He got a few pats on the back from the other members of the crew as he got close to them. From time to time, he would disappear, but he always came back and got to work. I wouldn’t tell anyone about him having a goblin child at home. They were fine with him disappearing as long as he came back. We worked hard until about noon. It was coming along nicely. I was fairly certain we would be able to get it all installed by tomorrow. As we weren’t hampered by having to pretend to be human, we were able to work at a pace that humans could never hope to attain. Rhett tried to keep up, but, in the end, he was still more human and had to take breaks. Echo and Gray appeared off to the side of the work area with tons of bags of food from different restaurants. I called out for everyone to take lunch and we lined up to get a bag of food from them. Rhett disappeared and reappeared with his arms full of bottled drinks. He handed them out to the men as well. Though I was sure Echo and Gray paid for the food, I was pretty sure Rhett hadn’t paid for those drinks. It didn’t matter much. He was doing what he could to help and thank the workers. My men scattered over the clearing, sitting with their food and drinks. People traded items from their bags. They talked and laughed. It was good to see them all in a cheerful mood even though they were working for free. Late in the afternoon, we hit water. It only took a little longer to get the well deep enough that we’d be able to insert the mechanism. The hole was also finished for the septic tank. Normally, we would be getting permits for this. In a month or so, I would report all of this stuff stolen if no one beat me to it. There were no cameras near the area of the storage lot and facility where my things were, but there were entry logs. All they would know was that someone went in and the next time I went in it was gone. Austin was sending me pictures via text. I would tell the police that I was having my fiancée and friends clean it so we could sell the trailer. The front gate had cameras and logged each vehicle in along with where they were heading. When security did their walk-through tomorrow night, it would be gone. I knew it wasn’t the most moral thing to do, but I didn’t want to have to deal with the repercussions of someone finding them and realizing they’re mine. Those aren’t fines I want to tackle. I’d make sure the insurance money went to good use. By four in the afternoon, Austin sent a final message saying they finished cleaning the trailer. They’d washed the inside and outside. They even got a carpet cleaner and cleaned the carpets. I hadn’t expected that level of cleaning. Carmen was proud of how hard they worked. She told me she was having Viola drop her off at home and she would start dinner while I finished working. Before the end of the day, we got the septic tank placed and the well pump installed. All we had to do tomorrow was get the pipes laid, call the stone to be the pad for the trailer, get the trailer in place, and hook everything up. As I headed home, I called my contact for electricity. A fire witch with an electrical specialty who I gave a discount in exchange for a favor in the future. He was a free witch, so the coven didn’t have to agree or disagree. He wasn’t keen on helping a warlock but said he would do it to wipe out his debt to me. It was all working out. He would have everything prepped to be hooked up after the guys were finished tomorrow. I was proud of the work we had completed. Whenever we worked in the fae lands, building went this fast. In times when we were observable to humans, we had to work like humans and only use our added abilities sparingly. I truly felt like this was the right thing to do. The goddess would bless us for it. I prayed she would continue to protect Carmen.