07 — The Council

07 — The Council

It was the next day, and the sun neared the horizon. In the guildmaster’s office of the Healer’s Guild, a meeting was about to take place. A secret gathering for the betterment of Yenice. All were in attendance: the slum’s kingpin, Dolstar, with three subordinates. Bryan of the ursans, along with two attendants. Honeur, the prince of the vespians, and his retainers. And me, as well as my bodyguard, Lionel.

“Thank you all for coming,” I began. “I asked you all to be here because there’s been a small change of plans.”

“Something to do with the vespian over there, I assume?” Dolstar asked.

“Right. But this is ultimately a small change that should have no real effect on the rest of you. Why don’t we all introduce ourselves before I get to brass tacks?”

I smiled as the others glanced around at each other. Dolstar raised his hand first.

“I’m Dolstar. I run things in the slums. My boys attacked Sir Healer there and got enslaved, but he gave us half-beasts a second chance. That’s why I’m here and why I’m staking my life on this plan.”

When his expository monologue finally finished, an awkward silence blanketed the room for a while. The way he gripped the conversation spoke to how he led his people in the slums.

Honeur came next. “I am the prince of the vespians, Honeur. Sir Sage rescued my people from the brink of destruction, and when he told us his plan, we were moved to participate.”

Bryan ceased gazing at the prince to take his turn. “Bryan the ursan, at your service. My people are a minority, and we’ve suffered for it, but Mister Luciel offered his hand—or rather, his honey—and so we’ve decided to come under his employ!”

My “employ”? What was this, a business merger? I’d never heard of any buyout done with a bottle of honey, but there we were.

Honeur applauded Bryan’s introduction, seemingly elated to have found a compatriot in the world of honey-lovers. And thank goodness too. I had secretly been a little worried about what he would think about using his craft as a means to sway someone. Now I could breathe a sigh of relief.

“There are three topics I’d like to center this meeting around,” I began. “First, evacuation of the slums. Second, construction of the school and adventurer housing. And lastly, new industries.”

Bryan didn’t seem to be following all that well, but the rest quietly nodded.

“Let’s start with the evacuation schedule,” I continued. “Dolstar, have any of the representatives contacted you concerning the medical district’s construction?”

“Not a word,” he replied. “Bet they’re planning on letting it sit, then blaming us for being behind schedule.”

Fine, if that was how they were going to be, I’d just lay on the pressure by actually doing my own job. I also needed to make sure to have Dhoran inspect the work when it began, to make sure they weren’t skimping on build quality.

“I’ll see what the deal is at our next meeting. Back to the slums, I expect clearing everything out to take about half a day at most, but it’s apparently going to need quite a few magic stones, so that likely won’t happen for another month.”

“The residents already know the deal. I’ve told them we’ll all be moving. How do we play it if this medical district thing starts happening? Prioritize that?”

Dhoran had already told me we’d have no shortage of workers, and I had already sent letters outlining all this to Merratoni, so I was feeling confident.

“Not to worry. I think you’ll understand once I explain the second topic I wanted to talk about.” I took a dramatic pause and looked around the room. “We’re building the school and houses with interchangeable parts.”

“Inter-whatable parts?” Bryan questioned, puzzled. “And wait, a school? In Yenice?”

So much for my dramatic pause. It was utterly wasted, all because I’d neglected to consider the fact that no one knew what the concept of interchangeable parts was. I took some time to explain the basic concepts, how it allowed mass production by making use of the same fundamental pieces, put together in the same ways. Translated to houses, this meant that the exact same cookie-cutter style could be replicated at minimal cost, with minimal labor at a minimal skill level. None of this was actually necessary with Dhoran around, but he wouldn’t always be. I was trying to consider the future once we were gone.

“I understand this ‘interchangeable parts’ idea now, but the school...”

Bryan sure was out of the loop for the head of an entire race of people. Or was that supposed to be another one of my jobs? It better not be.

“The proposal passed at the last council meeting,” I clarified.

“Am I right in assuming you’re in charge of the project? If so, where are the funds coming from?”

“Me.”

“What?!” The ursan recoiled. “And they approved that?!”

The rest of the attendees shared his expression of shock. Had I really forgotten to fill Dolstar in? A few of my wires must’ve gotten crossed after explaining everything to the dragonewt brothers.

Truth be told, though, it was going to cost almost nothing. We were procuring our own materials, and no one would let me pay them an actual wage (although I was saving that money as “severance pay” for when I finally freed the slaves). But even setting that aside, there was so little to spend money on in this world that I’d saved up more than I knew what to do with. Not that I intended to blow it all at once. You never knew when someone talented might show up who needed hiring, like Lionel.

But they didn’t need to know all that.

“I’m acting with the council’s full understanding and consent. They probably think I’m some naive kid volunteering for charity work, but I consider this an investment.”

The room was quiet. I was aware of how ridiculous it sounded for a single young man to fund a venture this ambitious, but it was vital that I had full directive control in the slums for the plan to work. When all was said and done, it would pay off.

“Now, not that I’m opposed to it, but where are you going to find kids to attend a school?” Bryan asked.

So, honey wasn’t the only thing on his mind.

“True, that may be a difficult hurdle to overcome right now, but that’s where our meeting’s third topic comes into play. Follow me. I think you should see for yourselves.”

Everyone acquiesced, although somewhat dubiously. But their suspicion didn’t last long. Dolstar, Bryan, and their companions went wide-eyed when they saw the basement. I proceeded to guide them around and explain the operation. When I finished, the entire group, without missing a beat, cried in unison, “Are you God?!”

It reminded me of the first time I’d met Pola and made me smile. But I denied the claim, of course.

“I look forward to a prosperous relationship with you all,” I said.

Suddenly, fwoof. The ursans explosively transformed with mighty roars. After their voices died down, Bryan bowed to the ground, his attendants following suit.

“For you and for honey, Mister Luciel, we ursans swear our loyalty!” he declared.

Those who had never seen an ursan’s enlarged form seemed taken aback for a moment, but the sheer surrealism of the sight of massive bears groveling at someone’s feet proved too much to withstand. Laughter soon won out. I was no exception. I found the realization that ursans didn’t need honey to have these sorts of accidents extremely amusing. Speaking of new ideas, I passed a few along to Bryan for the role his people would play.

And with that, we disbanded, to reconvene regularly from that point on. I sent Dolstar with Kefin’s group and Bryan with Yulbo’s, just to be safe, then returned to my office with Lionel and Ketty.

“Thoughts?” I asked.

“I believe we can rely on their cooperation, but the remaining seven beast races, excluding the dragonewts, could be threats if we aren’t careful.”

The other race not currently represented on the council—the tanukins—seemed to have slipped Lionel’s memory, but whatever.

“You can let me worry about that,” Ketty said. “Say, mind if I borrow Kefin and his boys? Just when we’re not out in the forest, y’know.”

“By ‘his boys’ do you mean the entirety of his men? All three units?”

“Is that a no?”

We did have the knights in the Order to handle guarding the guild, and Ketty had pretty much taken total control of Kefin’s teams at this point, so I didn’t see any issue with that.

“No, I’ll allow it. As long as you keep me informed, don’t act without permission, and promise not to do anything reckless.”

“Can do!”

Our first secret meeting came to an uneventful conclusion. The same probably couldn’t be said about the gathering of representatives scheduled two days from now.

＊

Situated in the north central region of the city of Yenice was an estate—the site of the Yenitian council of representatives. Presiding over the day’s meeting was Forence, speaker for the fox-people. According to Ketty’s reports, he had a way with money, but not in a miserly way. It would be more apt to describe him as methodical. There was nothing particularly outstanding about the fox-people compared to other races, aside from a few loans that the dragonewts and tiger-folk owed them.

“Council is now in session,” he announced. “I’ll begin with a summary of the Commerce Guild’s commissioned sales, as well as for those of the local businesses.”

Forence elaborated on the net profit from the state’s marketplace and the guild’s expenditures. It was a far more elaborate and complete report than the one given last month. Nothing stood out to me, but considering only the fox-folk ever had a hand in the finances, it might have been a good idea to confirm the Commerce Guild’s accounts personally at some point.

“That is all. If there are any questions or concerns, please raise your hand. If not...then let’s proceed. Representative Orga, if you’ll please give your report on the crop yields.”

Orga: representative of the wolf-folk, friend of Gulgar and Galba, and father to a potential candidate for Yenice’s first graduating class. I hadn’t forgotten the lengths he’d gone to for Yenice’s Healer’s Guild, so I didn’t count him among our enemies. Ketty confirmed his trustworthy nature as well. The tiger-folk and rabbit-folk treated his people poorly, though.

“Right, the spice harvest is coming along...”

After his account of the month’s harvest and next month’s expected yield, Representative Liliard followed with his own, detailing planned field expansions and recent pillaging by monsters. From what Ketty had uncovered, he was an opportunistic man. He could change sides at the drop of a hat and often cozied up to whoever was strongest. A regular sycophant. Rabbit-folk like him were known for seeming docile at first, only to pull surprisingly nasty stunts when you least expected it. They were especially harsh towards wolf-, dog-, and bird-folk.

Speaking of dog-folk, Representative Sebeck took the floor and offered his report of newly reclaimed land for farming. He was supposedly subservient to anyone stronger than him, but he wasn’t weak himself. He’d earned his position by being the toughest of his people. Dog-folk seemed unremarkable at first glance, but they took loyalty seriously and would follow you to the end of the world. So they made good allies, except it worked in reverse too. Once they didn’t like you, it was hard to change their minds.

Representative Cathrel continued the meeting with a review of the wheat fields and the latest on the hunting of monsters. The cat-man loved his downtime and people often saw him slinking around other races’ territories. Capriciousness was apparently a common trait among their kind, to the point that most others didn’t trust their word. I had never gotten that impression from Ketty, but from what I’d heard, that was because she felt indebted to me and Lionel.

“Normally, we would expect the defense report from Representative Jhak, but from today on, it will be given by his fellow dragonewt, Seud.”

I liked to think I had a firm grasp of the dragonewts, thanks to the Adventurer’s Guild brothers.

“Of course. An ursan suddenly transformed four days ago, but there’s nothing else worth noting.”

Nothing worth noting, eh? Ketty’s report had made it clear to me that there were cases of guards causing trouble with other races. Noticing the look on my face, Representative Cathrel started to sweat.

“That incident was my fault,” I said. “I gave an ursan acquaintance of mine some honey I happened to have on me.”

Forence sharpened his gaze. “Honey, you say?”

“That’s right. I received some during my time in Shurule, and sometimes I use it for cooking. You remember Bryan, don’t you, Representative Forence? He asked me to import some for him, but you know how expensive that stuff can get, so I offered what I had on me. I can’t say I expected him to lose it like that, though.”

“That is what happens when you give them honey,” Representative Thouzer replied condescendingly.

“Care to give your report of the skies, Representative?” Forence asked.

“Nothing of note,” the bird-man answered.

Bird-folk were extremely proud and often looked down on (both literally and figuratively) the other races for their lack of flying ability. Consequently, they frequently slacked off on work they considered themselves above doing. Their heads were so inflated that they habitually let themselves be misled by rumors and misinformation. But the other races put up with them because they could keep watch from above.

“Then any representative—oh, my apologies, and you, of course, Luciel,” Forence corrected himself. “Please raise your hand if anyone has anything else they’d like to discuss or propose.”

No one did. As was par for the course, I imagined. They weren’t going to breeze through this meeting without mentioning a single thing from the last one, were they? There were projects and plans I needed to hear about. What had even been the point of this? To hear the latest news?

It looked like I was going to have to make use of my intel. I raised my hand. There was a subtle but nonetheless meaningful pause that didn’t escape my notice.

“Yes, Luciel?”

My objective was simple: get them to do their jobs as leaders of the people, even if it cost me their regard.

“I don’t have a proposal, per se, but there are some things I’d like to discuss. Specifically, things that have yet to be touched upon. It’s only a few questions; I promise.”

My professional smile only seemed to put them on guard even more. But that wasn’t about to stop me.

“So, first of all,” I continued, “who is leading the progress on the medical district? We need to know the scale of it, so we can determine how many people will need to be relocated, the resources that’s going to require, et cetera et cetera.”

The silence was deafening. Me? Follow up on the medical district? It was simply unfathomable. As far as they knew, I’d been spending all my time in the forest or the Adventurer’s Guild for the last half-month.

It was safe to assume that the fact that no one had spoken up meant absolutely no progress was being made. Unfortunately for them, I intended to follow through on my promises.

I continued to smile. “Did we not decide that someone would be chosen to lead the project at our last meeting? Maybe I’m misremembering. I don’t mind assigning people if we don’t have anyone yet.”

“We are...in the process of allocating a budget,” Forence said in an oddly subdued tone.

“Oh, so you’re the one in charge of that?”

“With the dragonewts, that is.”

“Interesting. Seud, could you please tell me how things are going? With the Draconis as your witness, if you don’t mind.”

The dragonewt hesitated, stunned. “This is the first I’ve heard of our involvement.”

Whatever clever excuse he might have normally come up with, he couldn’t bring himself to lie to one chosen by the dragons.

“Representative Forence, care to explain what the meaning of this is?”

“Luciel, I’m sure he’s simply not remembering correctly,” Orga conveniently interjected in the fox-man’s defense. I could make him look good while having someone in place to hold Forence accountable.

“Fair enough. These things happen. But could you have a rough idea ready by next meeting? An estimated build time for a hall big enough for both the Healer’s and Doctor’s Guilds, and a budget for labor and resources would be nice.”

Now he had to do something. No more sitting on his backside.

“I’ll get it done.”

“Orga, can you help him if he’s short on people?”

“I can certainly try,” the wolf-man replied.

“Thanks. Now, the next thing I wanted to talk about: I looked into Yenice’s citizens a little and counted a little under eight thousand, excluding adventurers. About two thousand of those are children.”

“Is something strange about that?”

I would’ve thought that would be enough to set off any red flags for anyone who was familiar with the treasury. Someone was taking a piece of the pie for themself. Maybe even a representative.

“Pardon me if I’m mistaken in any of these, but based on those numbers, the funds being used for state laborers in the fields should be less than what I saw in the ledger. At least over twenty percent less, to be exact. I just wanted to verify that it was correct.”

When I’d heard the numbers from Ketty and her team, something didn’t quite seem to fit with what I had read in the ledger. She and Kefin’s men had looked into the matter with the help of Dolstar and his lot. The one saving grace was that it turned out there was no wage discrimination (equal contribution was a different matter, though).

“That’s impossible!” Forence exclaimed. “I need to see it for myself.”

The representative flung his duty as the meeting’s conductor to the wind and dashed to retrieve the ledger. I considered the possibility of fake accounts and such, but his baffled reaction had seemed genuine, so I decided to let him handle it and moved on to another pressing issue.

“I hope I haven’t offended him. I didn’t mean to, at least. Representative Thouzer, I had something to ask you in the meantime.”

“Yes?”

“I heard rumors that a few brave adventurers—bird-folk like yourself—actually crossed the western mountains and saw the uncharted territory with their own eyes. Do you know anything about that?”

“I have gotten wind of the same rumors, but I’ve not heard who they refer to.”

“Right, adventurers can be slippery like that. If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind looking into it before our next meeting?”

“For what purpose?”

“Well, I think they’re deserving of a hero’s welcome. I want them to travel west again and bring back traces, or even remains, of rare monsters. It would make Yenice that much more attractive to other adventurers.”

“All right, then. But as you say, they’re not a bunch who are easily pinned down. My search may come up empty.”

“We should consider giving up on this adventurer business if that’s the case. The Adventurer’s Guild told me that the forest really isn’t home to anything worth hunting. If we try to advertise it as such, we’ll be painted as frauds.”

On the off chance we did find those intrepid adventurers, I could safely leave attracting more to the bird-folk while I handled the housing project. Then again, the representatives looked awfully uncomfortable, so maybe they really had been trying to pull one over me. Well, sorry, but I was a well-adjusted member of society who confirmed facts for myself.

My smile didn’t wane as I turned to the tiger-folk representative, Shahza’s replacement. He sort of rubbed me wrong, but I couldn’t tell if that was because of my history with his predecessor or because of the nasty look in his eyes that he wasn’t hiding as well as he likely thought.

“Representative Seud reported that an ursan, Bryan, suddenly transformed a few days ago. Well, just before that, I saw several tiger-folk in front of his home, intimidating him. Representative, I ask that you keep your people in line.”

Thouzer exploded before anyone else. “What?! Is this what you call ‘good behavior’?! You’re already on thin ice after what Shahza pulled, and now you’re threatening Bryan?!”

I had forgotten that those two were good friends.

The tiger-man flinched at Thouzer’s shouting. “Th-This is the first I’ve heard of any of this!” he stuttered. “Please, give me some time to look into it!”

I couldn’t tell if his panic came from genuine ignorance or concern about how much Bryan had said. One thing was clear, though. The animosity that had been solely focused on me moments before now permeated the entire room. My suspicion that being a representative didn’t necessarily mean they held the most sway among their people was looking more and more credible. Either that, or every council member had extreme tunnel vision regarding their own race.

“By the way, state laborers get their wages from the treasury, correct? How is that money distributed, physically?” I asked.

“It...” Orga grimaced. “It depends on the representative at the time.”

That didn’t sound good. I elected to change the subject.

“I want to go over the school and adventurer housing now. We can expect the entire slum district to be evacuated in about three months.” The council oohed in amazement. “The remaining land will be used for the school and new homes, which we can expect to take another three months. Everything should be complete within half a year.”

“That’s incredible,” Liliard said. “I’m impressed you managed to be rid of the halflings so easily.”

I thought I had said evacuation. I wasn’t “rid of” the twinbloods. Far from it.

“I’m not getting rid of them. Just moving them somewhere a little better,” I explained.

“Incredible!”

“And so quickly!”

Sebeck and Cathrel beamed. Even Thouzer and Shahza’s replacement took a moment to stop snarling at each other to be amazed. Orga and Jhak, however, looked concerned. Almost sad, even. That display of emotion made them good candidates for partners. My blessing made me confident the dragonewt would be able to keep a secret, but Orga was a principled and by-the-books kind of man. There was no telling how he’d react if he heard my entire plan. It couldn’t hurt to close the distance between us a little, though.

I had arrived at the climax. It was all or nothing from here. I had been given leave to handle the slums as I saw fit for the time being, but I needed to ensure complete autonomy going forward.

“Now, all told, vacating the slums, finishing the schoolhouse, and setting up the fifty adventurer houses—including resource and labor costs calculated at market value—comes to a total of approximately thirty platinum pieces.”

“You can’t be asking us to withdraw those kinds of funds from the national vault, can you? It would send us into a financial crisis!”

“That’s impossible and you know it, Luciel.”

“You said there would be no material costs at the last meeting!”

“No, I only said I would visit the forest to scout for materials,” I corrected. “You all said there was no budget for attracting the adventurers you wanted, but you can’t honestly expect someone to do all that for you for free.”

“I’m almost certain you said there would be no costs other than labor,” Liliard insisted. Unfortunately, he was “almost certain” because he was wrong.

“I said no such thing,” I laughed. “You’re the one who made those claims, Representative. The only thing I received the official go-ahead for was handling matters in the slums. Honestly, have you all forgotten why I took this position in the first place? I’m certainly not being paid for it.”

I found it hard to believe that they really thought I was running a charity here. Anyway, things were proceeding, and now I just had to find the right compromise.

But then Forence burst back into the room, pale in the face.

“I need to interrupt, Luciel,” he sputtered.

“Was there a discrepancy in the labor fees?”

“You were exactly right. I checked the accounts and checked them again, but the calculations don’t match up.”

“Meaning?”

“There’s foul play afoot. I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ll be able to provide any funds any time soon with things as they are.”

“Progress is already well underway, and I’ve spent at least five platinum as is. Surely you can reimburse me that much.”

“I-I’m afraid that might be difficult.”

“So you’re saying I need to personally fund infrastructure for your country?”

“It’s just, the treasury itself needs investigating and, well...”

I looked around the room. Every representative avoided my eyes. Wow. Negotiations were already going well, and now this? It was like a golden opportunity had just fallen right into my lap. Monsieur Luck had been killing it lately.

“I see how it is. You made me Yenice’s representative to make a fool of me. Is that it?”

“N-No, of course not!”

It wasn’t fair of me to single out Forence when the ones to blame were those embezzling national funds, and I was never good at playing bad cop, so I figured I ought to end things quickly. I didn’t want to start any unnecessary grudges.

“Then let’s make a deal. First, I want you to let me buy the territory encompassing the entirety of the slums.”

No one seemed to have any objections. Really, they looked more confused than anything.

“Next, we proceed with construction of the housing and school, but they’re to be under my and the Healer’s Guild’s joint ownership.”

“Will attendance be affected?” Orga asked, likely worried about Sheila’s education.

“Children will still be allowed to attend free of charge. Forence, does the state itself deal with purchasing the Doctor’s Guild medicine or does the Commerce Guild?”

“The Commerce Guild handles dealings there,” the fox-man replied.

“In that case, I want the Healer’s Guild to be able to make sales without any taxes or fees as well. Those are my three conditions.”

“Purchasing rights for the slum district, ownership of the school and new housing, and permission to make sales duty-free...” he echoed. “We can allow the first on a personal basis, but not to the Republic of Saint Shurule itself. I have a counter-offer for the second. We can accept the third.”

I had figured as much. “Your counteroffer?”

“Yenice maintains the right to purchase the properties back if we ever desire.”

“Fair enough. But the price will be calculated according to their estimated value at the time, including if the Healer’s Guild is ever forced out of the city.”

Forence looked at the other representatives, who nodded in agreement.

“Perfect,” I said. “Now, to make sure that no one can make any claims about who said what, I’m going to have everyone here sign a contract, stating that you agree to everything we’ve said.”

I took out some parchment and began listing the terms and conditions. Every council member signed their name, and when they finished, I imbued the contract with magic and a prayer to Crya the Divine. If any of the signers’ people broke its provisions, they would lose their right to hold office. This made some of the representatives hesitate, but ultimately I received everyone’s signature.

I made three copies: one for myself, one for the council, and another for safekeeping that I would leave with the Adventurer’s Guild. They wouldn’t complain, considering it involved plans to bring more adventurers to the city.

“That settles it. Don’t forget to let your people know, and I won’t either. Now let’s get that medical district made so adventurers can have some peace of mind. I’m sure the Adventurer’s Guild will help if we ask.”

“The dragonewts, tiger-folk, and bird-folk will see to carving out land for the district,” Forence directed. “I’ll work out the details of relocating residents. The bird-folk should stay in contact with the Adventurer’s Guild about the recent monster pillagings. The rest of you, keep the fields running.”

He didn’t have an ounce of authority to be making such demands, but Forence was seeing red now that it was clear someone had been stealing money. No one had the courage to call him out.

And so the council meeting came to a not-so-uneventful conclusion.

On the way back to the Healer’s Guild with Lionel and Ketty, I thought back on the events of the meeting. I’d actually just bought up the entire slums. I mean, I had been the one to propose it, but it was still hard to believe. All I had really needed was free rein, the leeway to act on our own in order to hide the construction going on underground. Maybe I’d overdone it a little.

Ever since the water spirit incident, I was being more cautious than ever, and now I’d gone and bound entire races of people to a legal contract. A physical one this time. I’d been relying far too much on the verbal, magical variety. Forence and the ledger discrepancy had taught me the importance of having things in proper writing.

Lionel noticed me lost in thought and smiled. “I’d say you’ve assured us some peace of mind for the time being.”

“I hope so,” I replied. “Still, we should put up the barrier around the guild when we go back to the forest.”

“That may be wise. People and their actions are unpredictable. You never know when violence might break out.”

“You know, Chief, you really laid on the pressure back there,” Ketty said. “I was a little afraid of how things were gonna turn out.”

“Er, sorry about that.” I’d been away from the business table for a few years now, and my negotiating skills could use some work.

“You oughta learn how to barter a bit more subtly, or you won’t get so lucky in the future.”

“Now, Ketty, he’s only twenty. You can’t blame the boy for his lack of experience.”

Lionel’s comfort was in vain. I might have been five years out of practice, but I’d spent the better part of my life making business deals, so it hurt to be treated like an amateur. In my defense, the political sphere was hardly my specialty. But I still felt frustrated by how ineffective I was.

“I’ll work on it,” I promised. “It’s a good thing you got that info on Forence, though, Ketty. Things might not have worked out as well if he hadn’t stayed impartial at the meeting.”

“Aww, all I did was give the scoop. You’re the one who put it to use,” she insisted.

Yesterday, word had reached me that Forence’s wife was blind. Or had been, to be exact. I had immediately gone over and healed her, securing the representative’s neutrality in the council. It was no exaggeration to say that everything had turned out okay in the end thanks to Ketty and Kefin’s investigative efforts.

I had to learn to utilize information more elegantly, though. I wondered if anyone would be up for a few roleplay sessions to help get me back in shape...