James arrived at the cave before dawn. He had guessed that Milgarden was about two time zones west of Ash Rumbo. Sneaking into the caves and through the Portal into the Dungeon was easy. He wasn't sure if the caves were still being watched, but James took every precaution to ensure he wasn't seen.

Glezda joined him for an early morning meal and listened to the tale of his chaotic evening after James dropped off the Enchanted items he had picked up earlier in the day. Onyx was already asleep on his bed when he figured it was time to turn in.

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When James woke, he felt rested. Onyx was still asleep on the bed, stretched out without a care. James decided to get up and go for a bath. He realized he should have had one the previous night, but he wasn't up for doing anything more than cleaning his face and hands. The bath heat eased his tired muscles and gave him time to relax.

Fed, dressed, and ready to face the world once again, James went into the exchange room to collect the gear that Glezda had prepared for him. James was stuffing the items in this backpack when she appeared in the room.

"I got word from Rastafic and the Great Council," she said with no preamble.

"Oh?"

Glezda nodded, "I have been advised that the deity in question has been fined for a rule violation."

"Good for them," James said with a hint of sarcasm, "I am glad it worked out well for them."

"It did," Glezda confirmed. "And for us as well."

James turned from the table to face her, "Oh, how so?"

"As the aggrieved party. My Patron will receive a portion of the fine, which they have most generously said they would forward to me to use to grow my Core. As the person who revealed the crime, you have also been awarded a small portion of the fine," she explained.

James smiled, "Nice. I could use a bit of monetary boost right now."

Glezda frowned, "I was advised that the awarded portion of the fine may take a while. The offender has 90 days to pay the fine. And once that is done, it needs to be parsed, and then we shall see our portion given to us at that time."

James laughed, "Of course. So we probably won't see anything until after the Challenge."

Glezda shook her head, not hearing the scorn in James' voice, "I suspect that we should see something within 120 days."

James nodded, "Now, all I have to do is live that long." James picked up his backpack and put it in the other room. He had left all his weapons and armour in the room and was currently only wearing some travelling clothes, regular boots, a belt with an Iron Dagger and a small pouch of coins. He was dressed this way to visit with Connie and her sisters.

Glezda followed him into his room, "I am sorry, James. I didn't mean for this to be bad news."

James smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder, "It is great news. Not something that helps me right now when I need it most, but I am still thrilled that you won't have the other deity hassling you any longer, and you can grow to your full potential."

"Thank you," she whispered as she watched him step through the Portal with Onyx.

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When James stepped through the Portal, he quickly looked around to ensure he wasn't being watched. He changed his appearance as much as the limit would allow, adding weight and shortening his height. He then did a quick jump using the Astral Portal. He was only there long enough to step out about a kilometre on the other side of Milgarden. From there, he, Rocko and Onyx walked into the town. As he suspected, there were a few more guards around town than usual. He was stopped, asked for his business and then allowed to pass. It was apparent that Connie's mother had not stopped looking for him. Making his way to the tavern, he enjoyed a meal and watched the townsfolk come and go. Once he was fed, he made his way to the stables and looked for a young man named Roland.

Roland was not what he expected. The man was blond-haired, muscular with a chiselled jaw and sharp blue eyes. He stood over six feet and moved with confidence and grace. That he was shovelling horse shit for a living struck James as odd. This man looked like a soldier or warrior. When James Inspected him, he was shocked to see that he was only level 1, even though he appeared to be in his early twenties.

As soon as James stepped into the stables, the man turned and faced him, "Can I help you?" Although James was not trying to be sneaky, he did have an above-average Stealth Skill, and he was sure his footsteps were silent.

"Yes, I hope so," James said, moving into the stable carefully. He looked around to ensure they were alone, but other than a couple of horses, it was just the two of them.

"Connie assured me that you could get a message to her if I needed to," James stated in a low whisper. Roland's expression didn't change, nor did his eyes leave James'.

When no response was forthcoming, James continued, "Can you arrange for Connie to me for breakfast tomorrow morning at the tavern?"

This time, Roland did respond, but with only a nod of his head. James had to be satisfied with that and turned to leave.

"She told me about you," Roland said from behind him.

James paused and turned around. This time he didn't respond.

Roland rested the blade of the flat shovel on the barn floor and rested his hand on top of it, "She told me all about her adventures with you and the trip into the Dungeon. It is quite the tale."

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James wasn't sure where this was going. The man wasn't a threat, but he had a feeling it was going to be one of those confrontations where one man tells the other man that the women belong to the first man and that the second man better backs off if he knows what is good for them.

"She likes you and trusts you. I hope that trust is not misplaced." Roland said his demeanour was calm.

"I have no intention to cause harm to her or her sisters," James reassured the young man.

Roland nodded, "I am sure. But you realize that you do by being who you are."

James nodded. The conversation was not going where he expected. Was this going to be a 'stay away from her' warning?

Roland picked up the shovel and turned back to shovelling without another word.

James was confused. Roland was not what he expected from a twenty-year-old. He first thought that Connie and Roland were dating, but now he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure of much.

Once he was out of town again, heading north, James turned to Rocko, "What was up with that boy. That was not what I was expecting."

Rocko shrugged, "He did seem to grasp the situation and, at the same time, not care."

James shook his head, "I disagree. I think he did care, but he wasn't going to try and impose himself on the situation. He didn't warn me away or threaten me."

Rocko laughed, "He was level 1 after all."

James looked at Rocko, "You saw that too, right?"

"Yup, someone who is level one doesn't go around threatening someone who is level 14. And a Champion on top of that."

James sighed, "I have met and trained many young men in my time. He was not like any of them."

Rocko followed James as they cut into the forest when they were well away from the town, "Then who was the most like?"

James stopped and thought about that. He was hard to express, and his thinking didn't make sense. "Like an old soldier looking out for a fellow soldier. Watching out for their buddy without taking their anonymity away, but still being supportive and watching out for them."

Rocko nodded, "Sounds unusual for someone so young."

James nodded, "Ya. I am heading back to the Dungeon to get my bags and then to Ash Rumbo. After that, we are going to have our talk."

Rocko wanted nothing to do with having that talk. "Okay, see you soon."

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James left Onyx in Astral Space at his Primary Anchor location. It was safe for her, and if anything appeared, he would be alerted by the alarm. He didn't think it made sense to travel through the city with the same dog when he would often change his appearance. Once he arrived at the warehouse, James and Sasha exchanged passphrases. After that, he sat down with the lizard-like man to get caught up on the little news that had happened since he left the house. The conversation was terse. Sasha offered no information regarding the guild, didn't know how Veronika was doing, and won't share anything about the whereabouts of Ferdinand or what he was doing. Good talk.

When the exchange was complete, James headed out of the city via a different route and was able to complete a couple of interactions to improve what he called his Urban Skills Training. Once out of the town, he stepped back into Astral Space, moved over to pick up Onyx and stepped into his room.

James stepped through the Astral Portal and looked around carefully. He wanted to alert Jones that he was here, but he was concerned with another ambush. He rang the bell and waited for a guard to show up. When he heard the parlour door open, he opened an Astral Portal and held it until the bedroom door opened. He breathed a sigh of relief when Jones opened the door, sword drawn. It seemed that tensions were high with everyone.

"You alone?" Jones asked.

"Just me and Onyx," James replied, letting the Astral Portal close.

Jones still entered the room and checked all the corners. He didn't go so far as to check under the bed, but almost.

"How is everyone?" James asked when he was done.

Jones sheathed his sword, "Skittish."

James nodded, "I bet. I am only here for a few hours. I thought I would check in and maybe have dinner with everyone."

Jones nodded as he exited the room, "I will let them know. Supper should be in an hour."

"Thanks," James said to a closed door.

James didn't have any armour on, as he spent most of the day walking around town. He noticed that Rocko wasn't there and chuckled. Probably afraid of the upcoming conversation. James was worried about it too. He liked Rocko, but he had to make sure that Rocko understood his boundaries. Setting up your friend to get into a fight to the death was not a great way to endear yourself to them.

James emptied the bag Sasha gave him to Analyze the items. There was nothing special about the thing, but three Alchemical items were in the bag.

Name: Choking Smoke Quality: Fair Rarity: Common Durability 3/3 Special: Alchemical - Creates a 1-meter radius cloud of choking smoke on impact. Duration: 1 min.

Name: Sleep Bag Quality: Fair Rarity: Common Durability 3/3 Special: Alchemical - Causes the target to enter a deep sleep when held over their mouth and nose for more than 10 seconds.[Holding one's breath can negate this effect] Duration: 1 hour.

Name: Firebomb Quality: Fair Rarity: Uncommon Durability 4/4 Special: Alchemical - Creates a 1-meter radius fiery explosion on impact. Damage Range: 1d10 +20, Damage Type: Fire.

James looked at the three cloth sacks. They looked useful. Hopefully, they would be something that Glezda could recreate.

The last thing he did before deciding to call Rocko checked his notifications. He realized that he hadn't done it since before his encounter with Ashrel.

Intelligence +1

Luck +1

Charm +1

Astral Navigation +1

Inspect +1

Melee - Glrick Sword +1

Resist - Pain +1

Resis - Poison +1

Stealth +1

With his Status Screen updated, James smiled. Progress on the Skills. His experience only increased a little bit with the killing of the assassin, but it was still respectable. He sat on the bed and figured it was a good time to talk with Rocko before supper.

"Okay, Rocko," he said aloud. "Let's get this over with."