I was seriously considering just leaving the leprechauns to die to winter. At this point I don't feel much of an obligation to them, and if the matriarch's spokesman was going to be rude it tipped the balance against them. What made me pause was that the reply had been quick, which meant the matriarch likely hadn't read Gerry's letter. So they had no idea who I was. And while there would be other species that I could save in place of the leprechauns it was likely that they would have the same politics and bureaucracy to navigate. And in the end it was only a minor slight against me.

The remaining nine leprechauns that made up my escort were still in formation around me, though without their bows they just had small daggers as weapons. I began pulling stone from my pocket portal, building a solid table with one chair that was sized for me on one side, and a row of a twenty leprechaun-sized chairs on the other with stone steps leading up to them. My leprechaun guards or escorts muttered quietly to each other but none of them made any move to stop me, though one did call out loudly.

There was a series of bird calls from the trees around the clearing, looking around at each point a call had come from I could see the body heat of five archers with good lines of fire towards me. Which was fine, they weren't any threat to me. I would hear the arrows before they could hit me, and I was fast enough to catch them from the air.

Building a permanent table in front of the matriarch's building was definitely rude, but if they weren't going to be courteous then I didn't much care. It just about balanced out the rudeness of being commanded to wait. I created a stone platter on the table and started filling it with various condensed berries, candies the System called them.

I gestured for the leprechauns around me to take a seat at the table, taking the seat I had made for myself. The stone was a bit uncomfortable so I created a pillow that was fused into the chair, doing the same for the leprechaun chairs. None of the leprechauns had moved so I picked up two candies and threw one of them to the nearest leprechaun who caught it by reflex.

She looked at me uncertainly as I placed my berry in my mouth and bit down on it. I exaggerated my enjoyment a little and she slowly raised her berry to her mouth. After she bit down she made a muffled exclamation, her teeth having been stuck together.

The other leprechauns looked at her in alarm and it took half a minute before she had dissolved enough of the candy that she could speak clearly again. Whatever she said had the other leprechauns moving quickly to climb the stairs to the small chairs at the table, and she ended up in the middle of the pack.

I smiled, satisfied, and summoned several glass bottles of water, placing them in the middle of the table. Acting as a host on their land and being more courteous to my guards than their leaders were to me was just the tone of insult that felt appropriate to the situation.

I looked at each of the archers around the clearing and then gestured to the table in front of me, indicating that they were welcome to come join us. I doubted that they would, as they were tasked with the protection of their people, but the gesture was more the point.

With the leprechauns enjoying themselves I sent a thread portal, backed by a presence, through the portal into the basement of Gerry's shop. And came upon an immediate problem, the wood of the stairs was enchanted and I couldn't move my thread portal over it, my power being able to move things relied on being able to push from the stationary material as well as pull from the moving material. Except in my Pocket Dimension itself, where I could move things as a function of that power.

It only took a moment of thought to come up with the solution, though, and I started covering the stairs with a thin layer of stone. When I got to the top of the stairs and to the doorway to the front of the store I had my presence emit a series of sounds mimicking knocking on the door.

A few moments later Lizzie, Gerry's wife, opened the door with a resigned sigh. She then shrieked and slammed the door. I guess having a stone pillar twice your height knock on your door was a bit of a shock.

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"Hello Lizzie." I said. "I apologise for startling you, I was wondering if Gerry was here?"

Lizzie opened the door again after shouting for Gerry and started yelling at me in rapid-fire leprechaun, even going so far as to slap her hand against the stone of the presence.

Back at my body the leprechauns had fallen silent and I could hear someone slowly approaching from behind me. I turned and put my arm over the back of my chair to see who they were and saw a grey haired and stooped leprechaun making slow progress towards the table, a walking cane assisting his steps. He gave me a slow nod as he passed me, going around the table and climbing the steps to the chairs there. The leprechaun guards moved along the table in both directions, leaving the central five chairs clear, the elderly leprechaun taking the center one.

"Hello, thank you for waiting." He said. "I am Ailfrid."

"Lord C.C." I said.

Ailfrid nodded. "If we're using titles then I am Faidh Ailfrid, of the people." Ailfrid said. "As redundant as that is."

I cocked my head to the side. "Redundant?" I asked.

"Faidh means wise man or seer." Ailfrid said. "While Ailfrid means wise. What is the meaning behind your name, if you don't mind the inquiry?"

"Well, I was pressured into picking a name." I said. "And being a Champion whose focus at the time was saving someone named Chantelle, I chose C.C.. Chantelle's Champion."

"Not terrible, as far as names go." Ailfrid said. "It took me many years to grow into mine. You said it was your focus at the time, has your focus changed then?"

"Some." I said. "My priority is still Chantelle, but my goal has shifted to saving several species from the end of the world."

"The world ending is news to me." Ailfrid said. "Very troubling news."

The leprechaun guards were staying silent, most of them looking towards the platter with candies on it that was out of their reach. I created two more platters and filled them, as well as several more bottles of water, placing them at the ends of the table. The leprechauns there smiled, each saying the same thing in their language.

"They're thanking you for the meal." Ailfrid said. "It is quite surprising, they are our elite scouts. I wouldn't have expected them to be so carefree with an outsider."

I smiled. "The candies are quite good." I said. "Though there is a trick to them, you need to nibble them gently to avoid having your teeth sealed together for a time."

I picked up a red berry, and Ailfrid did the same, placing it into his mouth.

"Quite remarkable." Ailfrid said. "It's very strong though?"

"The water dilutes the flavour and sweetness somewhat." I said.

Gerry had arrived at the presence in his store, and instead of talking to him through it I took out my larger pocket portal and formed it into a half-doorway, placing it on the table and connecting it to the portal in front of Gerry.

"Gerry." Ailfrid said, nodding to him and picking up another berry. "Your magic is very impressive lord C.C.. I cannot sense it at all, and to create a viewing portal over such a distance to the God's City would be something I would need a day-long ritual for."

Lizzie ducked her head around the edge of the portal and said something in the leprechaun language, Ailfrid replying in kind.

"Gerry, if you wanted to come through I will give you free passage back." I said.

Ailfrid looked at me in confusion and then nearly fell out of his chair when Gerry nodded and stepped out onto the table. I quickly formed a chair for him on my side of the table and he came to sit by my side.

"That's..." Ailfrid said, trailing off. "By all of my study of magic, that is not possible."

"You're probably right." I said. "I'm not using magic to create the effect. It is one of my powers as a Champion."

"That is a relief." Ailfrid said. "I count myself a master wizard, I would have had to reconsider if I was so wrong."

"What are we doing?" Gerry asked.

"Waiting on the matriarch while I am hosting you all at my expense in her domain." I said. "The person who spoke on her behalf was quite rude, commanding me to wait upon her pleasure. Initially I thought to just leave, but this was my measured response to the insult."

"That must be why I was so urgently summoned." Ailfrid said. "Though I had already guessed as much when I arrived to find a big person taking his ease in front of the council mound. I am glad you didn't leave."

"Oh?" I said. "Why were you summoned?"

"Among other things I am a truthseer." Ailfrid said. "Aside from some ambiguously worded statements you have been telling the truth as you see it."

Well, magic wasn't very reliable when it came to me, so I just had to test it.

"Don't freak out if this shows as true." I said. "I am a Leprechaun."

"No, you are not." Ailfrid said, looking at me strangely.

Huh. "Magic sometimes doesn't work on me." I said. "It's curious that the truth detection does."

The door to the council mound opened and the leprechauns all turned to look over the backs of their chairs as the rude chamberlain leprechaun exited.

"The Matriarch, leader of the People under the Hill." He said. "Bow down before her-"

"Hey, none of that." Ailfrid said, interrupting him with a scowl.