Exton

Now that the crowd around the couple has thinned a bit, I make my way to their side. I press an envelope into Stoney's hand, speaking quietly.

"My congratulations, my friends, and my apologies for not having come forward sooner." I look from Bloodstone to Alise, an unseen rare smile behind my mask. "This is my gift to you. It is the deed to the cottage, gifted to you and your children and your children's children, in perpetuity. As we speak, the gnomes are re-setting the wards. There will be one set surrounding the cottage that will respond to your auras and yours alone. Other guests, such as Rowan, may be permitted to pass as well - think of it as a 'keycard', if you will. The wards for the Manse will be moved inward from the cottage, perhaps a hundred yards, though the intervening space will not be unguarded; it will serve as a buffer zone between the two properties, where entrance will be difficult... hmmmm, how to explain it...? It will be as though one is walking through something thick that impedes progress - tar, let us say. In this way, I hope to keep your little ones safe once they are old enough to cross the wards at the cottage.

In addition, if you will arrange a time, I will render the wards at the cottage penetrable to your family as well.

Again, my congratulations."

With that, I turn to go, leaving the couple alone - for the moment.