Chapter 465: For Now
Tala, Rane, and the arcane fox, Lisa, were walking through Irondale, discussing the pocket-town.
Lisa, in particular, was giving Tala a searching look, hoping for a satisfying answer to his question. Why was she doing any of this? What was she seeking, here?
Tala shrugged. It was an expected question, and actually one that lay near the heart of a lot that she’d been considering lately. Because of that, it wasn’t a new concept to her, and she had a ready answer, “Why? Well, one reason is simply that I can help, and so I should. On the more selfish side, I am also told that most Paragons need resources with which to Reforge themselves, and the more levels at which those resources are my own, the better.” She gestured around. “It is hard to have resources that are more mine than these.”
The fox shook his head. “On the contrary. As I understand human thinking, without all these people here, there would be no contest. The whole world is yours until someone else says differently. Isn’t that the human view of things?”
Tala chuckled and started walking again. “Some do see it that way, sure. I don’t particularly agree though. I think the best way to explain what I mean is through analogy. So, let me ask you a question. If I own a field, in which grows a lemon tree and across which flows a stream, can I make lemonade?”
“Unsweetened, but yes. Assuming the tree is fruiting, and the water is palatable.”
She smiled at all his caveats but continued regardless. “And that lemonade would be mine?”
“Yes.”
“In how many ways?”