Page 2849

"Ah... most likely, yes," said Abbas. "I cannot say for certain that it would be impossible, but with any Forge, its environment is key. Even if we could move it safely--and I am not sure that we could--doing so could disrupt its power in ways that are difficult to understand."

'I guess it's a good thing we decided to hold off on that, then,' said Garovel.

Hector wasn't entirely prepared to concede, though. "But... if it's already broken, then wouldn't now be the best time to move it?"

Abbas' brow crinkled together with apparent disapproval. "Perhaps. And perhaps it would acclimate to the new environment of Warrenhold quite well. Or perhaps it would be rendered completely useless. I do not think it is worth the gamble."

Hector gave a slight sigh. "Yeah, alright, I understand...""

He hadn't really thought it would work, but it sure would've been nice. He wouldn't have had to worry about keeping it safe quite so much, at least. Even if it had meant uprooting the whole damn tree and taking it back to Atreya, it would've been worth the hassle, he felt.

But yeah, the tree probably wouldn't survive. Plants couldn't grow in Warrenhold, after all. Maybe it could work if they transplanted it aboveground, but even that was debatable, since there wasn't much natural vegetation there. Plus, it would kinda defeat the purpose of using a castle to protect it if it wasn't actually in the castle. They would have to build a special sanctuary for it or something--and they could just do that here in Lorent, instead.

Hmm.

A sanctuary, huh?

...Like a second castle? A brand new one? Just to protect the Forge?

Oh, baby.

That would be so fucking expensive, though.

But oh, baby...

He tried not to delve too deep into that fantasy. It was tempting. God, it was temping. But he wanted to be pragmatic. For the most part.