"The Day before the End"

Kasden 27, 1200

GB and Finkoo

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The ground in the small corner of the Guild House that Finkoo had taken up was filled with ice, leaving a sheen of water around the floor which had been missed in Finkoo's clean up. He was nervous. He'd spent 14 hours reading everything about performing the spell but that didn't mean it wasn't complex. He counted his blessings that he'd agreed to help with shaping the Eirshale for Cyl. This was similar, but still shaping himself was odd. He was still in the process of gathering tools to help shape the ice, along with the ruby that needed to be powdered along with the casting, but in reality, he was waiting for GB. He didn't want to start the concentration before speaking with him and missing the chance too. So, he waited, pretending to look busy, keeping the ice from melting.

It wasn’t too long until GB padded in quietly, not wanting to disrupt Finkoo if he'd begun drawing in magic already. He sniffed around the ice, then lapped up a bit of cool water from the stone floor. "Hey, bud!" GB's own exclamation surprised himself, as he remembered at the last second, he was trying to not distract the other wizard.

Finkoo's hand closed around the file he was playing with. "When did you get so stealthy?" his voice shooting up a few octaves before returning to normal. After a moment of steadying himself Finkoo began again. "Hey GB. Sorry. I'm just a little on edge. I really don't have the time to get this wrong before tomorrow." He gestured with the file to the ice while talking, his voice dropping into a more sober tone, along with his smile fading too. “How is your prep going with everything?" he asked, shifting closer before sitting down next to his friend.

"Ummmm...." GB's voice cracked a bit. Planning was probably something he should be doing. After the Sub Rosarium gave him his goodies, he'd sort of gone off for a nap. "Well, I got this." A ghostly blue mage hand gestured to a rune-covered staff as tall as GB strapped to the top of his armor. It was at that moment that Finkoo noticed that the cog-covered Arcanomagical armor that GB usually wore had been replaced with a dark leather armor studded with small protection symbols.

Finkoo smiled as he examined the new adornments along his equipment. "It looks nice, though I prefer the cogs" He let a small laugh. Maybe the first genuine one in a while. "So… What's so special about this?" gesturing to the runes around the armor.

"I've been feeling kind of unlucky recently." He sighed. "I think this might help a bit more than the one I made." Stupid dice. "So. Whatcha’ need help with?" He looked over the ice blocks. "I can go get Cyl if you want help sculpting."

"It's... it's not the ice that I wanted to talk to you about buddy. I've been fairly good with my hands for a long time now." He was nervous. Facing a reality, he really didn’t want to consider, but not doing it would feel worse for sure. "I've just been thinking a lot about. Well, about tomorrow." the last word came out with a sigh.

"I'm glad you decided to go with them over to Lamina." GB's mouth dropped into a grin. "They should have one of the smart people with 'em." Finkoo’s eyes shifted to GB’s grin before responding. "But not the smartest eh? How was that new book? Maybe I'll give it a read in a century... if I get there." his eyes had started to become glassy and he wasn't going to hide it. He swallowed to push the lump in his throat down, taking a steading breath. "it's that what I needed you for. You do know how much you mean to me, right GB?"

GB's eyes darted away. "You'll last longer than that stupid book." His tail tucked. "Nothing bad's gonna happen. We're all going to be ok. We've got magic. They'll bring you back. Or whoever. They'll bring whoever back." The silence in the following moments deafened the room.

"GB" Finkoo’s voice soft as it finally cut through the silence. He reached to scritch around his neck. "I hope we all do, but I needed you to actually understand how much you've affected my life path these past months… Just how much that all meant to me. I mean look?" he gestured to the ice blocks and tools again. "I'm about to create another me for the fight of our lives. For everyone’s lives. Before I met you, I was stealing petty coin from people who I didn't know. You literally have changed my life. I don't know how I could ever thank you for that."

GB's eyes teared up. "Finkoo." His gaze travelled down to the ice. "YOU'RE MAKING ANOTHER YOU!" GB jumped forward to start looking at the ice better and doing mental math. His paw got wet and he stepped back, licking it and deflating slightly. "Sorry." He looked back up. "I didn't do anything, buddy. You did all of that yourself. You wanted all of this wizarding. I just showed you my book and how to read it."

A small smile came over his face watching his friend. "That really isn't it at all GB. I did want it. I've also never had someone believe that I could do something. Anything, really. I wasn't even good at sneaking when we first met. It’s how I got into all this, but you gave me a chance. You did that." He'd gotten up and moved closer. "I just need you to know that in case. In case I didn't come back."

"Awww... I'm... sorry no one ever believed in you before." GB's mage hand slipped into his component pouch. "But you know we all believe in you, right?" The blue hand came out, palming something small and bright green. "Do you need a hug?"

“I think I do. To both of those things." his voice still low as he pulled his friend into a hug. "Just. Please don't do anything silly like die okay? If I come back, I expect to see you first. I still want to hear about all your future plans." GB whispered an incantation into Finkoo's shoulder and the form he hugged shifted underneath his arms. Finkoo felt hairy arms reach around him, pulling him in tighter. "Ooo, ooo ooo ahh." Soft chimpanzee noises tried to sooth his friend.

A break in the tension made Finkoo laugh. "Oh buddy. That's a lot of magic just for a smile." He hugged tighter. "I'm just gonna miss you so much, and I really can't bear the thought of the worst happening." the tears streaking down him again. "I love you buddy. Don't ever forget that okay? No matter what happens."

GB's grip tightened, too, then released. His form shifted back to its normal proportions, his fur lightening. "I love you, too." His voice cracking. "Teaching you has been as close as I could have come to fulfilling my dream. It has meant the world to me." GB sat down, looking up at the slightly taller figure. "When we're done with this, would you help me build something?" A hand floated to a side pouch off his armor. "I've been working on some plans." Two hands unfurled a scroll with a poorly inked drawing of a forested campus of towers with one centralized temple. "I think I wanna conjure this... It'll take a while.” He continued with his thoughts “So my plan was to summon these towers every day, and this temple," pointing to each. "I think if we did it every day for a long time, they might finally get the idea and stuck around."
"Yeah I've read about that happening. I could help you make it bigger." his eyes darting over the rough plans, tapping small elements as he talked. "And I could use that spell I learned for Juveha to keep her hidden to make a permanent private sanctum in an office." His voice was fast and excited, before containing himself. "Depending on how involved you'd want me of course. I feel like I'm at the capstone of my learning, even if I'm not as high as I'd like to be..."

GB laughed. "I don't think we'll ever be done learning. But yes! I want help! Wanna be the first professor at the school to be hired? And first builder? Conjurer? Whatever." He paused, seeming to build up some courage. "The student body might turn out to be a tad unorthodox... Errr hairy." He swallowed. He'd not said this out loud before. "I want to make some little me's." Finkoo’s eyes shot up to meet GB’s, the small goofy smile in place there, though he didn’t get a chance to speak.

The look of surprised delight on Finkoo's face broke a dam inside GB. Words tumbled out. "I've wanted to do it for a long time but I couldn't bring anyone into a world that was so dangerous and it really wasn't until recently that I even could and I keep thinking I need a place to let them live before I start making them and I need people to help teach them properly and I want you to help and I want to get people that know what it's like to have faith to make them good and teach some to be clerics and I want Lark to help make sure they have fun and I want to do it with the strays that I see around Cinderhaven and i figure there may more soon cause of the war and I hope you want to help." He started panting.

"Buddy hey heyyyyy" His voice soothing, his hand running along his fur. "Of course, I want to help. There isn't anything else I want to do with my life other than to teach. To pass on the knowledge that I had and you helped me achieve. Well... there is one other thing I guess." His cheeks flushing. "I just reacted so positively because that has been my goal for a long time. To start a family of my own. But I needed someone to do it, and a nice place... I think I may have found both in Cinderhaven. If Daisy would want kids that is." Finkoo smiled down at GB. "I guess this means we gotta find you a lady friend then huh? Are you gonna want to awaken here as well?"

GB stood and stepped backward, "Oh. No. No." He stopped himself. "I just wanna find some dogs that don't have homes and awaken them. Offer to teach 'em afterward." He shook his head. "I don't get all that stuff you all go on about. Seems icky. Messy." He paused, trying to read his friend. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. Or wanting that. I guess."

"I. I guess I assumed too much. I suppose it can be messy" his face already burning with embarrassment "But there also isn't anything wrong with finding someone you want to spend your life with, you know? But finding orphans and giving them a home is just a good goal GB." He went back to scritching his neck. "Why haven't you told anyone this before now?" Forcing his gaze to meet GB’s even if face was still red. GB opened his mouth, closed it, then continued. "I." He looked down. "I couldn't do it before now." Finkoo’s brow wrinkled, his nose following suit. "Why not? Am I missing something very obvious?"

"Oh. Well..." He looked back up. "The only way to awaken someone with Arcane magics is to wish them into it." GB's tail wagged in time to the lecturer's cadence he adopted. "I couldn't even really start the project until I worked out that one. And, really, who's heard of a university just made of wizard towers. I figured I'd figure out a way to conjure a temple or a big fortress or something and I was right." He gave a tiny lick to Finkoo's hand. "Oh. I just realized I should delete one of those bigger towers so we can live in the Mansion while we get it all set up." He took out a glass and cast prestidigitation into it to funnel the cleaning onto just one of the towers, before addressing Finkoo again. "Where should we put it? I was thinking a forest nearby."

Finkoo was still pouring over the notes, before finally speaking. "The forest would be nice, if we can figure out how to not damage the wildlife there." He thought for a moment, looking at his plans. "I don't think that's necessary to delete that tower though. If. If I'm here helping, I could just make the mansion, along with some of the extra towers." Finkoo took GB's palm into his for a moment meeting his eyes. "When I come back, you'll have to let me read your book so I can learn it. It seems like you're gonna need all the help you can find. I'd be a bad friend to not come back to help. Right?" his voice was still unsteady, but his words were not. He was still scared of not coming back, but he needed to believe it could happen.

"You are coming back." GB's reverberated off the stone, uncharacteristically firm. The strength of the command--he understood it for what it was--captured Finkoo's attention, giving an oh so brief respite from worry. "That's what he's for, right?" The dog let his gaze slide back to the ice. "I think I want one, too. So, we're both sure we'll come back."

"I think that's a great idea buddy..." The strength in his voice stiffening the Halfling's resolve. Finkoo's nose wrinkled slightly with a thought. "Are you going to be able to get enough Ice in time? I'm gonna need to start mine very soon if I'm also going to sleep before tomorrow." The pup looked a bit embarrassed with his tongue lolling out for a moment. "Oh. I'll just wish on a star tonight. It'll get done."

Finkoo smiled at him. "Of course, makes sense. I hope they keep you safe friend." his eyes drifted to the materials that still lay untouched and sighed heavily. "Unfortunately, I don't have that option. I wish I could talk with you all day, but then the concentration on this wouldn't be done." He turned back to GB. "I'm not asking you to leave, just that I be allowed to focus on getting this done. If you have other plans for the day though, don't feel like you need to stay." He gave one final hug to GB before turning back to the ice, flipping to the page in his Spellbook he’d surely need.

GB padded over to a slightly dark corner and curled up to watch him work for a while. He'd wait until Finkoo sunk deep into his concentration, as GB had seen his pupil do hundreds of times. He'd sneak out and go see Ivey. But for now, he was content with listening to the arcane words flow out of his friend.