“Are you really watching me from over the fence, Vaxavius?”
Vaxavius crossed his arms, tutting. “No one answered the front door and I need to speak to you urgently.”
With a sigh, Rethais threw his shovel to one side and approached the fence at the end of the garden, where Vaxavius was lurking. He had been in the middle of digging trenches and generally gardening, and was thus covered in dirt. It wasn’t really the season for planting crops, what with it being the middle of winter, but Rethais needed something to keep himself occupied, and the least he could do was start weeding.
“I specifically asked my family not to answer the door to anyone who may come looking for me…” Rethais grumbled, dusting himself down. “Yet here you are, spying on me. You do know I quit, yes?”
Vaxavius simply nodded. “Yes, I know you quit. I know that Kenon has tried luring you back in a multitude of ways but does not actually understand what Rethavok actually want.”
“And you think you will succeed where he failed?” Rethais grunted, going back to work. The winter weeds were always easier to pull up, but there were a lot of them. The family garden had fallen into disrepair, and now Rethais was the only one with free time to fix it.
“Believe me, I did not want to have to come out here and make my own attempts at luring you back. If the lives of others were not in danger, I would have happily left you to your retirement. But no, I am not allowed to do that, because we have been taken over by a petulant warlord who threatens to kill all of us.”
Vaxavius’s words caught Rethais’s attention. Sighing, Rethais stood up and headed towards the fence gate, where Vaxavius was standing, then let him in.
“Alright, what is he doing now?”
“He wants to be a supreme ruler of everyone, not just us. Seems to be under the impression that others can be controlled the way we essentially are. None of us can get it into his thick skull that only us Rethavok have the Secret that connects us all together, that can… well, be so easily manipulated. I do have research in the pipeline proving that his ideas will not work at all, but I just need someone he will listen to, just until the beginning of next year.”
“You want me to come back.”
“You are literally the only being on this planet that he will listen to. And most likely the safest, since you have…” Vaxavius grunted. “You have deities on your side. Ones that will protect you and dissuade Kenon from hanging you out of a window.”
“Is he really that bad?”
“I would have left you in peace had I found literally any other solution.”
Rethais took a deep breath. “Alright… fine… I will come back. But I want… I want you to bribe me to do so. Far better pay, time off whenever I need it, new homes for my kids, as they are growing tired of sharing, I want an army of assistants to do paperwork for me… Basically, if I want something, I want it delivered to me, pronto. I escaped that nightmare, I am not going back there for free or even above-standard pay.”
“Anything you want, it is yours!” Vaxavius smiled wearily. “Just make sure you are back in your office tomorrow at 0900 sharp.”