"Are you sure it's that little?" Wyatt asks from my left. "Pretty sure it's gotta be worth at least 15 syscre more than that."

I don't think he liked being told how much the golem will buy his potion bombs for, but I'm not going to judge. Haggling might not be a bad idea to earn more money and spend less, but the golems don't budge on their prices. I asked about haggling and they stated that while it is not forbidden for people to haggle with each other, the System Shop does not negotiate on prices.

Wyatt's always seemed like the kind of guy who'd need to learn that from experience, though, and he likes his potion bombs a lot.

"So Todd and I both get the Quest reward?" I ask the golem I'm speaking to. "It's not split, even if the fight itself is easy?"

Wyatt challenging the price from the golem he's talking to interrupted me attempting to confirm this with the golem I'm speaking with, Todd waiting to my right for the answer.

"That is correct," the golem confirms. "This is because royal-level monsters are often difficult monsters to fight in comparison to the normal version of them and their presence increases the spawn rates for others of their type. However, only those who properly contributed to the victory will receive the reward."

So no cheating the System on this. I wasn't planning on it, but it might still be good to know.

"Alright," I say. "I'd like to receive my reward for the Quest, then."

"One moment," the golem places a hand a little bit over the counter, then its hand turns blue for a second and a box forms below it. "You may accept your reward now."

"Thank you," I say as Todd tells the golem in front of him that he'd like his reward. "I had some questions and I can't remember them, so let's just do some sales. I've got some monster loot to sell."

With how often I forget at least one or two questions by the time I'm able to ask the golems then, I should probably start writing things down. Or I can just leave it to my memory and still forget. If they were really important, I'm sure I'd remember.

I sell the golem the meat, treated hides, antlers, and crystals that I brought with me, then purchase the potions for Grace and some food for her and Trent. Those are packed up before I start browsing things for me and my group.

"Carter! Hey!"

What. The. Fuck. Are. They. Doing. Here?

I step back and turn my head to the front of the System Shop to see the shouting person, noting that Todd and Wyatt are looking around for them, quickly spotting the group approaching us from the developing forest.

The person who shouted out is part of a group of four people, two of whom look to be in their late fifties and the other two of whom are around our age. All four of them have System-purchased packs on their backs, all of which have the remains of some smaller monster securely tied to them with twine.

One of the younger ones is a woman wearing a light blue hoodie, black pants, and brown boots. Her brown hair is fixed up into a ponytail, her green eyes bright and vibrant as she waves to us. A pair of breezestep deer antlers are fixed to her pack, tied down with a heavy amount of twine from what I can see.

She's not the one who shouted, it was the younger guy in the group. He stands 5'10" and hislack of a shirt shows off his lean but well-toned body, his abs nicely-defined. Despite the lack of a shirt, he does have clothes on – a pair of tan cargo shorts and a pair of brown leather boots. His straight, golden-blond hair is a little bit ruffled and his blue eyes are slightly aglow from his energy.

All four of the members of that group have flushed faces and are a little bit sweaty, their hair darkened and sticking down from it. Of them, only the younger guy has visible injuries; just a few scratches on his torso. He's also the only one not looking out of breath.

"You insane fuckers," I say as I walk over. "Did you guys run here?"

"Part of the way," Dakota says as he reaches the entrance to the System Shop, then pulls me in for a hug. "We made sure to take breaks, especially against some tougher monsters."

"Came across a breezestep deer a little bit ago," Tessa says as I give her a hug. "You can see its antlers on my pack. Was the toughest thing on the way here and I believe we can sell them? The antlers, I mean."

They must not have dealt with the deer before leaving here.

"Yeah," I answer. "The shop takes them. Please tell me you harvested the crystals, too?"

"Of course," Dakota snorts. "That thing cut me up, we're getting as much money out of it as possible. Tessa even create some ice to preserve some of its meat, though that's in my pack rather than hers since I'm stronger."

"Mages don't get much Strength," Tessa says. "I'd have carried it otherwise."

"We've got healing stuff at the house," I say. "Why the fuck did you guys run here? And you two didn't stop them?"

I direct that last bit to the older couple.

"Because we could," the old man tells me. "The sooner we got here, the sooner we could build ourselves some houses. There wasn't much point of delaying things if we could run. Dakota and Tessa took care of most of the monsters."

"Hey, Tessa! Dakota!" Wyatt waves to them. "Been awhile!"

"Hey, man," Dakota shares a one-armed hug with him. "You been behaving?"

"Trying to convince the golems to buy my potion bombs for more than they want to," he says. "Other than that, sure have!"

"They don't negotiate," Tessa snorts.

"You never know 'till you persist enough!"

"Todd," I beckon for him to come over. "These are some friends of mine, the ones who were coming down here. Koda, Tessa, this is Todd."

"Nice to meet you," Todd says.

"Don't believe you were mentioned?" Dakota gives me a curious look.

"We ran into him this morning," I explain as I start casting [Lesser Heal] so I can mend my friend's wounds. "He was hunting a breezestep deer early and ended up seeing this System Shop and the path I made leading home. Followed it and found us. His dad's the guy who sold me my house. The one from before the Mana Flood, I mean."

"Oh," Dakota says. "Nice to meet you, Todd."

"Hello again, Todd," the older woman greets him. "You and your dad are doing alright, then? We were wondering, after you left the group."

"My dad's sold some of the houses they built," Todd explains when I look at him. "So we've met before. And yes, we're doing alright. Hadn't run into Carter and his group yet as we hadn't been coming this way."

"It's nice to meet you," the woman dips her head to me. "I'm Teresa, and this is my husband, Patrick. Cassandra said she'd let you know we were coming. We used to run a general contracting company before coming here and know how to build a house. Even after the Mana Flood, we can still do so. I was mainly a carpenter while Patrick knows masonry."

"Though we did do all parts of a former modern house," Patrick tells me. "I was taking a look at enchantments and want to figure out plumbing."

"Chance is doing the same thing," I tell him. "Current situation for certain activities is less-than-desirable. On the topic, we do have a proper shower house, though you need to use [Water Mastery] or find someone who can to move the water from the lower tank to the upper. It also has two rooms. We can talk more about arrangements and stuff once we're all back at the camp, though.

"Why doesn't everyone do any sales and stuff they want to do now," I say. "Then we can all head to the base together? Tessa, I'll get you a temporary house built for yourself. Patrick and Teresa… would you like me to do that or would you like to do it yourself? Chance has figured out enchantments to warm and light the place, as well as draw Mana out of the air to power things. They've only been tested for today but are functioning fine right now. That last one can also be used to make the interior lower in ambient Mana, so it'll be more comfortable inside."

When I stop talking there, Dakota gives me a look that says he's wondering why I didn't comment about a living space for him. The last we spoke regarding what we are via letters, I'd said I wasn't going to expect him to wait for me and he could hook up or date someone else if he wanted to, I didn't own him. Now that he's here, though, we should probably discuss whether or not we'll continue as friends-with-benefits or just be friends.

A discussion on that should wait until after the discussion about the others' living situations is handled.

"So we can have places to live without having Mana assaulting us inside?" Patrick asks.

"It's not perfect," I say. "But it's definitely reducing it a lot. Trent and Grace seem fine and Grace said she likes it, though their temp. house has a fairly strong draw on it because they're both on the weaker side. Chance can add them to your guys' place, too. For no cost for the starter houses, including the first proper ones after the temporary ones."

"We can use earth magics to build something simple," Patrick tells me. "Then if your brother will enchant it for us, that will be fine."

"Once the materials are ready," Teresa tells me. "We can build a full house in probably a day or two, depending on the size. A bigger one will need more time, of course."

"Of course," I say. "For the materials, that depends on if they're treated for strengthening, water-resistance, and wind-resistance or not. If not, we can get that done tomorrow. If so, that takes extra time and Mana, so will take two or three days. But we can do enough in that time that you could probably get two homes built with the materials. Unless the trees fight us on getting cut down as they continue to grow in strength. That might add more time to the prep work needed."

"Alright," she says. "We can discuss more at the camp."

"Yeah," I look at Dakota. "Koda, if you want your own place, we can do that. If you want to live with me… then you'd have to be a friends-with-benefits still. You can still have your own place even if we're hooking up, too. I just don't want someone living with me unless they're a brother or I'm sleeping with them."

"Oh, good," he looks relieved. "Does that mean we can fuck tonight?"

"Yeah," I snort. "We can fuck tonight. Alright, everyone! Let's do our business here, then head back to the house! And if you haven't eaten yet, don't worry! Lucas was going to cook for everyone and I'm sure he won't mind making a little more to accommodate the extra mouths!"

That might change what he's planning on cooking, but I still buy burger buns just in case he still wants to do burgers. I make sure to buy enough buns for everyone, not just the original amount of people.

We all take care of our business here at the System Shop, then I lead everyone back to my house. Dakota and Tessa tell me about some of the stuff they saw or had to deal with while they were with the bigger group, and Patrick and Teresa add a few stories of their own experiences. By the time my house is in view, I'm more than glad I didn't go with Grandma.

Things are a lot worse than I was being told in the letters. It's not an awful situation for a normal person, but I really hate conflicts with other people and I'd probably get roped into plenty due to my abilities.

Todd splits away fromus when we arrive so that he can drop his stuff off at his place and offers to take the stuff for Grace and Trent, so I give them to him before he heads off.

"Nice house," Patrick says when we reach my place.

"Thanks," I say. "It's not a professional job, but it's doing what it was built for, for now. We can wait until everyone else has proper houses before getting it replaced with a proper job. Magic did help a bit, too. If you two want to take a closer look at it at some point, you can. I really don't know how well it's going to hold up long-term."

"We can do that," he tells me.

"Hey, Lucas," Dakota says as we enter the back yard.

"Dakota," Lucas blinks a few times as Chance looks over from where he's working on an amulet. "Didn't you only leave the group today?"

"We ran here."

"Do you have an issue with making enough food for everyone?" I ask. "Including Patrick and Teresa here?"

"If not," Patrick says. "We can make our own meal."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Todd said the same thing," I tell Lucas. "It's an extra four months to feed, after all."

"No, I don't mind," Lucas says. "Will just need to adjust the plan a little. And maybe get some extra hands to help."

"I can help," Dakota offers.

"Alright," Lucas says. "B-but take a shower first. Y-you're not helping w-while sweaty."

Or while shirtless, considering the stuttering came out immediately after he glanced at Dakota's abs. There might be too much of a distraction for Lucas if Dakota's toned torso is on display.

"Would you mind taking care of my shopping?" I ask Lucas. "I need a shower, too, and want to show these four the showers and how to work them."

"S-sure," Lucas nods. "Um…" his gaze looks at Dakota. "W-will you b-be sleeping with u-us?"

"With Carter, at least," Dakota tells him. "Though if you mean in his house, yeah. He's already said I could. Don't worry. I won't expect you to sleep with me."

"N-not that," Lucas's face turns scarlet. "J-just wanted to know."

Based on his reactions, Lucas is attracted to Dakota but probably nervous of him at the same time.

"You can leave your stuff here," I tell Dakota. "Just grab a change of clothes."

I grab a change of clothes for myself and once we're all ready, I lead Koda, Tessa, Patrick, and Vincent to the shower house and show it to them. We all take showers, with us guys in one side and the women in the other. Dakota and I wash ourselves, though I do check out his fine, smooth body and nice dick. It's fully-erect and I'm sure he's really wanting to do something… but won't because there's another person in here.

One neither of us are interested in.

After the shower, we dry and dress, then we all leave so I can show Tessa and the couple some potential spots to set up their homes. All of the spots are near to my house, but past the current storage areas. Chance joins us for this, probably to start working on enchanting the temporary structures immediately after they're built. He also gives Tessa the amulet he was working on when we arrived, explaining how to charge it.

"But I did figure out how to make it charge from ambient Mana as well," he tells her. "So it shouldn't need you to recharge it."

Just as I expected, he was able to figure it out without too much trouble.

"Thanks," Tessa says, then looks for a spot for her house a little more.

Tessa picks one close to the shower house, so I work with Patrick and Teresa to cut down trees and clear a spot for her, then I use my magic to conjure the temporary house. Patrick uses his own earth magics to create some added support for the ceiling after I finish.

Once that's done, Chance gets to work on enchanting the inside while Patrick and Teresa pick out their spot and get to work on preparing it, assuring me they won't need my help to clear.

"Go and enjoy your time with your friends," Teresa tells me.

"If we do find we could use some extra hands, well holler for you," Patrick says.

"Alright," I say. "Come on, Koda."

I lead Dakota back to my house and around to where Lucas is setting ingredients out on the counter.

"What are we making?" Dakota asks.

"With thirteen of us here," Lucas says. "I'm thinking pasta since it's easier to do in a bigger batch. Carter has plenty of sauce already mixed up and noodles in the storage, and we have plenty of ground beef. So the main thing beyond just preparing those is making enough of the sides. The original plan was burgers, but I'm not sure I want to try and cook that many for a single meal. We'd probably have to eat in stages. As it is, I'm going to need to set up another cooking station…"

I leave the two of them to it and grab Todd from his house to come with me. There's something I want to do before dinner and we'll have time if Lucas is preparing enough pasta to feed thirteen people at the same time. The buns will probably be used for tomorrow's dinner, when fewer of us will be eating at my house.

"Why?" Todd asks. "I'd expect you to be having sex with Dakota while waiting for dinner. He looked pretty ready."

"He's helping make it," I tell him. "And I want to check on something. After being attacked by the lullaby owl king, it's probably better not to walk too far from here alone."

"Ah," he says. "Let me grab my bow. Wait. Didn't you just take a shower?"

"Unless I end up bloody, I'll be fine," I say. "It's just walking, not running or climbing or something."

Todd grabs his bow, arrows, and pack, then follows me. The trip takes about fifteen minutes and when we arrive, it's at a natural clearing. Well, it's only sort of a clearing. We had a thunderstorm last week and lightning struck a tree, which fell over. It was big and heavy enough that it broke another, skinnier tree – the developing forest has at least fourteen varieties of trees, which is part of why the canopy is so dense.

Some of the trees are fairly thick with wide canopies, and others are skinnier but taller. The branches of the trees are stretching past each other, adding additional layers. I'm not sure how normal that would be in a regular forest, but this is one with Mana feed it.

This spot also happens to be where I think two of Earth's bigger mana veins intersect, which is why I chose it for my experiment. Magic can take the place of nutrients, and a stronger amount in the soil will lead to better and faster growth.

In a spot between the two fallen trees is another tree growing. It's shorter than any of the other trees here, being the only one which wasn't here already or which didn't result from the forest's attempt at growing thicker. The ground around it being relatively clear of undergrowth is unnatural, though. That was something I did last time I was here, and it seems nothing grew back in yet.

Despite being shorter than the other trees here, it's still taller than Todd and I at eight feet in height. At eighteen inches across, its trunk is starting to be a little on the thicker end as well and the tree itself will probably be quite thick once it finishes growing.

The brown bark of the tree is more bold than the bark of the trees around it, and its leaves are… unusual. Rather than the green leaves of the other trees here, its leaves are translucent and tinted with gold, emitting a faint glow along their veins.

"I know some of the tree mutations are magic," Todd says. "But they've all been things like having earth or air magics or just being a more resilient wood. What the heck? Those leaves are glowing!"

"It's from the [Mystery Seed] I got for doing a Dungeon under a Divine Quest," I explain. "Remember how Chance mentioned holy slime goo and maginiite were missing? I mixed up a fertilizer using those and planted the seed in it. The seed was from a Divine Quest, and what it grows into is based on several factors. I'd also used peaches in the fertilizer, but that didn't seem to affect anything."

Though it's also possible the tree needs to grow more before it develops fruit. I'll have to wait and see on that.

"Wait, you used precious materials for a tree?" He asks. "And you said it's not a problem?"

"Yeah," I pull off my pack. "The leaves are infused with holy magic. That should work in place of the crystals for potions, and we do have enough goo left for more. Once Collin has another plain slime, we can try to feed it the leaves to turn it into a holy slime."

"Oh," Todd says.

He helps me harvest leaves and put them into a box. They resemble the leaves of a white oak in shape, which surprises me since there aren't very many of those here. I haven't even spotted a magic variant of the white oak.

However, that doesn't change that the leaves are magic, as proven by the System.

[Holy Oak Leaf] A leaf from a holy oak tree, holy magics flow through it, causing it to emit a faint glow while still alive.

They retain their magic even after picked from the tree, though the glow does start to fade immediately. I've tested a little bit with harvested leaves already and know that they'll still work for potions. The glow probably comes from something in the tree itself rather than the leaves.

Once we've harvested plenty of the leaves, Todd and I return to my house. Dakota's making a large bowl of salad while Lucas is putting pots on the counters.

"D-did your trip go well?" Lucas asks as he checks the oven, then pulls out two trays of garlic bread.

"Yeah," I pull off my pack and pull out a box. "There's something in here to distract you, but for after dinner. You can let Chance know it's why I'm not worried about the missing holy goo and maginiite."

"Okay," Lucas gives the box a curious look, especially after I put it by the alchemy station and tell Wyatt not to look in it.

"I'm going to go let Tessa and the builders know dinner's almost done," I tell Todd. "Mind fetching Grace and Trent?"

"Sure," he answers.

Dinner is delicious as always, and we almost don't have enough to feed everyone. Lucas hasn't ever needed to cook for that many people before so it's understandable he misjudged. Once dinner concludes, we all chat for a little while around a fire, talking about the various things that's gone on, catching people up on events.

Eventually, everyone starts heading for their respective homes. Wyatt and Collin start cleaning the dishes from dinner, Chance begins work on another amulet, and Lucas goes to investigate the box while I bring Dakota into the house, my friend grabbing his pack as we walk past it.

"Cozy," he says as he looks around after we enter.

The fire's burned out, leaving only coals and ash in the fireplace. While it might not be a bad idea to add some more wood and start a new fire, the house still has enough warmth in it that it's not an urgent need.

"You can set your pack anywhere," I sayas I start undressing. "That bed is my brothers', and that one's the one that Lucas, Wyatt, and I are sharing."

"Cool," Dakota says. "Hey, do we have something to act as lube, or is it just oral? I didn't think about that until just now."

"Alchemy works wonders and see that jar with the purple liquid?" I point to it. "It's lube. That's literally the name of it in its information window."

Dakota sets down his pack and walks over to the lube to examine it as I finish getting undressed, then he starts undressing. I admire the muscles of his body as he does, how toned and defined his build is and how smooth his body is. As his dick is freed from his pants, I examine it as well.

Uncut, 8.1" in length, and 2.1" in thickness, it's quite the decent size. It pokes straight out and lacks any real curvature, and Dakota gives it a small shake with his right hand when he notices me eyeing it.

Once he's fully naked, I get down on my knees in front of him and take his dick into my right hand to lift it up a little. I lick the underside from the base of it all the way up to the tip, and Dakota puts a hand on my head as he moans softly.

I pull back his foreskin and start licking around the head of his dick, enjoying the sound of Dakota's moans as I do. Then I lick down the underside of his dick before back to the tip, then back down and take his left ball into my mouth.

"Fuck!" He moans. "Carter, it's been awhile. Gonna cum fast. Just a warning."

I moan slightly into his nut and he lets out another swear at the feeling of the vibration. It takes a lot of effort not to laugh with one of his testicles in my mouth. After sucking on it for a bit, I switch to his right one and give it the same treatment.

Dakota rubs my head a little as I do this, his hand shifting to my back as I start licking his balls while rolling them with my fingers. After a minute of this, I lick his dick from the base all way to the tip. Once I reach it, I take the head of his dick into my mouth and flick my tongue around it for a few moments, then move all the way forward until my face is buried in his crotch.

"Oooh!" Dakota moans, his hand returning to my head. "Fuck, Carter!"

I add some suction as I take his balls into my right hand and start rolling them between my fingers. Dakota grips my head as I start moving my head back and forth just a little, only moving about an inch and a half a bob. When I sense him getting ready to cum, I pull my head back and unskin the head of his dick, then attack it with my tongue while keeping it in my mouth.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Dakota starts moaning as he blasts shot after shot of cum into my mouth.

It's easy to tell that he probably hasn't even jacked off in a few days, with twelve shots of cum blasting into my mouth, compared to his normal eight to ten. There's more in the shots as well, which isn't a problem for me.

I don't stop even after Dakota finishes his climax, giving him an extra minute of treatment after I make sure every last drop of his cum has left his dick. When I finally stop, I stand and wrap my arms around his neck. Dakota takes the cue to pick me up and lie me down on my bed.

He grabs the jar of lube and scoops some out with a few fingers, making sure to thoroughly coat his erection. Once it's ready, I lift up my legs and he starts to slide his dick into my ass.

"Mnnnh," he moans softly. "Oooh, fuck. Damn, this is good."

Dakota continues to moan as he slides all the way into me, then he bends down so his face is close to mine and starts thrusting. I wrap my arms around him and start feeling his back as I stare into those beautiful blue eyes of his. He must not be in the mood for giving a blowjob tonight, though I don't mind that much. My dick rubbing against his stomach with each thrust he makes is good enough on its own, and I know he'll make sure I get off if him thrusting in my ass doesn't do it for me.

Which it might, considering how thick he is and how good it feels. His dick slides nicely in my ass but not too loosely, and it rubs against my prostate with each thrust. I slide my left hand to his side and then his chest, tweaking his right nipple a moment before rubbing his abs. Dakota's skin is soft but firm over his dense muscles and it always feels nice.

I move my hand back up to his chest, rubbing it a bit before squeezing his right nipple a little. I can't keep that up too long while he's thrusting and once I go back to rubbing his body, Dakota begins thrusting even faster, intensifying the feeling inside of me.

His stomach rubbing my dick, his dick filling my ass and stimulating it from within, every rub of my sweet spot with his dick, those beautiful blue eyes… I reach my climax and feel my ass clamp down on his dick as I start blasting shot after shot of cum between us. With his body in the way, the cum shoots entirely onto him and me.

Dakota stops thrusting until my climax finishes, then starts thrusting even more fervently than before. That soon brings him to his next climax, and he doesn't stop thrusting even as he cums in me. Each blast of his cum is accompanied by a loud moan from him and once he finally finishes, he lies on top of me with his dick still in my ass. Not the most comfortable position, but it's still nice.

Especially as he wraps his arms around me, his head pressed against mine. Having done most of the work, Dakota's more out of breath than I am and takes a minute to recover. I spend that time rubbing his back and feeling his muscles.

"The day you let me kiss you during sex," Dakota says as he gets off of me and pulls out of my ass. "Is the day that-fuck. Do we have something to clean up with?"

"Water magic works nicely," I tell him. "Make a little bit of it, then evaporate the water and burn the rest. And yes, I'm sure that if the day ever comes where I'm comfortable dating someone, you can fuck me."

Dakota snorts, but doesn't finish what he was originally saying as he conjures some water with [Water Mastery] to clean us up. Once he finishes thatand destroys the gunk, he lies beside me.

"I missed being with you," he tells me as I turn onto my side, and he snuggles against me from behind. "Not just the sex. The cuddling… and just hanging out."

He's going to bring up something he normally doesn't because he knows I'm not interested in dating. Not hanging out or hooking up with me for almost a month has affected him a bit.

"After the Mana Flood happened," he says. "After I left with your grandma and the others… I realized something, Carter. You mean too much for me. Every day that we were apart, I was worried about how you were doing. Even with the letters."

This is not something I'm going to confess in response to. I might enjoy his presence, both during sex and while just hanging out and doing other stuff, but I'm not really interested in romance at the moment. In the future, maybe, but not right now.

"Koda-"

"Hold on," he says. "We've known each other for what, four years now? And been friends for most of that. Even before we became friends, I was crushing on you, and I know that you were crushing on me for probably that long. And I know that you like me back."

This is really not something I want to discuss right now.

"Koda-"

"Hush," he rubs my stomach. "I'm not done yet. I know you aren't really wanting a relationship, because of what happened before we met. I just wanted to make sure you know, Carter… I'm okay with waiting for you to be ready, okay? And if you want poly then… we can talk about how it'll work then. Just… let me know when you're ready, okay? Because while I'm okay with being friends or friends-with-benefits… I do want more."

I hope this is the last time he brings this up until I'm ready for a relationship. At least it's not him asking me for a commitment now or something.

"Okay," I say.

Dakota slides an arm under me so he can hold me more tightly.

"And I want you more than anyone else," he says. "So as long as you'll have me around, I'm going to stay by your side. Okay?"

Overall, I don't really know what to say to this declaration of his. I already knew he was waiting for me to be ready for a relationship again so I'm not sure anything is changing here. It may have just been something he needed to actually say, or there could be some other reason behind either.

"Alright," I decide on as my response.

There's silence for a few moments.

"Carter?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have anything you want to say?"

"Yeah."

"What?"

"Think you can let go of me so we can get the blanket over us?" I ask. "No one's replaced the fire in awhile and it's kind of cool in here."