Teleporting was something I'd experienced before with the Fast Travel system, but this was a lot more violent, confusing, and nausea-inducing than the one done by the bracelet. Which, given how that made me feel, resulted in him landing on the ground with a thud. I was lucky I didn't throw up, but it was just barely.

The group, or what remained of it, was inside a long ornate marble hallway. The walls were covered in portraits of heroic battles of civilized elves versus barbarian human hordes. There were also busts and statues of stately Roman-like Senators with pointed ears as well as fangs. Oh, and potted plants. Really, this didn't look like the kind of tree-based anarchist paradise that elves normally had and felt far more human than elf.

Jon, still in totally-not-an-owlbear form, was the first up. "Rachel, I could kiss you! I mean, I have no mouth, so you'll have to settle for your dad."

I really wasn't in the mood but didn't bother to correct him.

"You're welcome, Mr. Owlsine." Rachel looked proud of herself before frowning then leaning down to Francine and whispering (which I heard thanks to my new divine senses). "Just to be 100% sure, humans don't fuck their parents if they're not evil, right?"

"No, Rachel," Francine said.

"Even if they're gods and really, really hot," Rachel said, scrunching her brow as if pondering something difficult.

"No, Rachel," Francine said, a mixture of disgust and confusion on her face.

Rachel made finger guns. "Right, gotcha."

Okay, I needed a lobotomy.

Or two.

"Okay, now it's not funny," Jon said, pausing. "Okay, it's a little funny."

"Will you shut up!" Jorg said, climbing to his feet. "Good men are dead. Barghest, Ser Argyle, Ser Lindon, and--"

"They're dead because you charged the evil dragon god," Agata said, staring in undisguised loathing. "Barghest deserved better than to die as a footnote in your idiocy."

Jorg seemed taken aback by her verbal attack.

"Yeah," Jon said, climbing to his, well, paws. "Everyone was waiting for him to kill his brother in Barghestbowl."

"We slew the Black Storm," Francine said, referring to Barghest's brother AKA the Even More Evil Wolf Lord. She climbed to her feet and steadied herself against the hallway wall. "That was how I convinced Barghest to follow me."

"Ah, at least you did his loyalty quest," Jon said, nodding.

Joan started finally healing Francine and Jorg's wounds. Agata did nothing to treat either of them, staring at them in disgust.

"Where the hell are we?" Bloodstorm asked, looking annoyed at Agata then ashamed. I imagined he was going through confused emotions himself.

"The Royal Palace of La Tene," Ania said, looking around. "It's been restored, though. Even in Thistle's childhood, it was just a museum."

"I wondered why it looked like my dad's summer house," Bloodstorm said, looking at a bust of Maelor.

"We were so damn close," Ivan muttered under his breath, cursing. "With a proper plan, better coordination, and a bit of luck, we could have killed it."

I stared daggers at the prince.

"We have plenty of luck," Jon said. "All of it bad, except for god forker and General Failure here. Those two always come out on top."

I assumed Jon was referring to me and Francine. Still nauseous, I opened one of the side doors and was pleased to note that it was a lilac-smelling bathroom. That was when I managed to crawl my way to the privy and throw up. Even after I finished, I needed a few minutes to steady myself.

What had I done?

Survived, Perun said. Sometimes that's all you can ask of in a battle.

I didn't respond

"Aaron, are you okay?" Ania asked, walking over to me and putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Someone just died for me," I said, looking up. Not even a REFRESH spell would help me now. The problem wasn't with my body but my brain. "I'm trying to process that."

"Thistle," Ania said.

"Yeah," I said.

Ania frowned as if trying to figure out how sympathetic to my plight she should be. If I had terrible WIS, Ania had her own dump stat. Childhood trauma and terrorist organization indoctrination did not a high CHR score make. "Someone who robbed and tried to kill you."

"Yeah," I replied. "That doesn't help. I know you have your own mixed feelings--"

Ania looked down at me. "They haven't been mixed in a long time, Aaron. Least of all after she hurt you. When I was seventeen, I was desperately in love with Thistle. I thought she was a woman who was strong, beautiful, and could give me the revenge I needed. I wanted to kill so many people and I did. Thistle promised me the world."

I didn't respond, this wasn't my story. "As I recall, you got a lot of your revenge."

"Some of it, yeah," Ania said. "I still have names on my list like the Mad Queen and Jorg. Both people I hate but I've tried to pull back from. Not because I don't think they deserve to die, they do, but because this is bigger than all of us. Thistle never knew anything bigger than the cause and the person you knew wasn't the one I knew. That person died a long time ago and only with some distance did I understand that she used me. Used my feelings for me. Used and discarded many other girls like me. She was a cult leader."

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"Right," I said.

Ania looked up. "I don't know if you were mind controlling her or you really did rewire her brain with your blood. Maybe the Nighbringer's curse really did fundamentally alter who she was. That wasn't the case with the other members of our group, though. Thistle sent one of her children out to die to kill the Grand Priest of Dazhbog. She took advantage of me too and I didn't know it until I had enough space to realize it. She was going to do the same to you, did do the same to you, and you need space to process it as well."

"And now she's dead and I may have been mind controlling her into doing it," I said. "I don't know how to deal with that. Where's the line between being a person willing to die for a cause and a fanatic who doesn't value their own life? Where is the line between a person who sends another person to die and accepting responsibility for those under you? I'm sorry, I'm not used to this."

It was weird but I also felt guilty about the fact that, well, things were a lot simpler with Thistle dead. I'd offered her a chance at redemption, but it had caused immense tensions i the group and probably made our meeting with Francine's group the utter disaster it had turned out to be. It may have meant any dealings with Rhoeas would be a complete clusterfuck. Certainly, my group hated her and felt I was an idiot for letting her among us. Now that was resolved, and it was a relief. Which is not how a leader should feel when one of their group was dead.

"No one should be used to losing their companions. Not even ones that should never have been their companions. The bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood formed by combat are not easily broken. It can get under your skin in ways you'd never expect," Ania said, sighing. "I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to survive this war. I was expecting to die fighting Veles. This is...the first time I've started to think about what I would do if I survived. Before, I was just throwing myself in the jaws of death because I wanted to die heroically. You showed me there was another way."

I looked at her. "So, you're telling me she committed suicide by dragon? Because she knew there was no other way to redemption?"

Ania grimaced, having clearly not intended to lead me down that road. "One good act doesn't get rid of a lifetime of evil. I don't care what your Darth Vader did and for who. It did save our lives, though. Maybe it will be comforting for her surviving children or consorts but they're as broken and damaged as I am."

Wow, I'd gotten Ania to try to make Star Wars references. I'd really pushed her to her limit.

I frowned and stood up. "Sorry, I'll get myself together."

I was surprised to note the sink had soap, running water, and mouthwash. It seemed Epic Dungeoneering had far more influence than I'd give it credit for. I wondered if I could get that installed in Dragon Keep.

That'll be another ten thousand gold, Perun said. It is better to spend it on things other than clock towers and magical academies for a mostly illiterate populace.

I rolled my eyes. I'll put elementary school on the gentrification list.

Ugh, Perun said. Education just convinces the peasants they are people.

That was sarcasm, right?

Yes, Aaron. I'm like one of eight gods that doesn't think humans are inferior beings. Just squishier. Mokosh and Svarog are two of the others. The others are Vishnu, Coyote, Odin, Thor, and that Carpenter Kid. Don't ask about my daughters or Mythras/Dazhbog. Belobog is a squid monster now so I'm not sure how to rank him. Buddhist immortals don't count because they don't believe in individuality.

I feel like you're being unfair to the Morrigan, Anansi, Marduk, and the Japanese pantheon but I'm not in the mood for a religious discussion, I muttered, walking out into the hall where everyone had mostly recovered. Well, no one had killed anyone else and that was a sign of progress.

I am Marduk, Perun said. Well, somedays. I was also Enil. It's complicated. Let's just say my people went from Africa to India to Western Europe and then to Poland before landing in Ledziania. We'd need charts, string, Post-it notes, and pins to explain it all.

No thank you, I replied. "Guys, I'm alright. You didn't have to worry about me."

"We weren't," Jorg said.

"Yeah, you can do us all a favor and not spend any more time on Osama Bin Keebler, the Blood Rapist Arwen, Santa's Little Terrorist, The--" Jon said, having once more assumed a raven's position and sitting on a bust of Maelor of all people.

"I get it," I said.

"That's your problem, Aaron," Jon said. "You just care too much. Stop with the Linkin Park sad boy business and focus on something else."

I stared at Jon. "You know I'm really not inclined to make you a dragon now."

"Oh, I drank that potion an hour ago," Jon said. "It was just sitting in your backpack and owlsine paws are surprisingly versatile."

“Huh,” I said.

“Hasn’t kicked in yet,” Jon said. “Anyway, I’m not sorry Thistle is dead. She tried to kill you but I’m sorry you’re sorry.”

"Nothing was lost," Jorg said, growling. “The world is better off without her.”

"Everyone should have someone to mourn them when they die, Jorg," I said, looking at him sadly. "That includes you."

Jorg rolled his eyes. "Please dispense with the ridiculous overly emotional bullshit, Champion. No one cares if you're a saint here. So, we don't need you performing. I get enough of that from Francine.”

"I'm not a saint nor is this a performance," I said. "No one gets a reward for trying to be the good guy here. That doesn't mean I can't try to show some basic human sympathy."

I heard a pinging noise despite my bracelet no longer mattering.

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED - Good, Bad, I'm the Guy with the Sword

(A) 50 - Achieve maximum level in any of the three Alignments

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED - Roleplaying Master

(A) 25 - Achieve maximum level in any of the Alignment Paths

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED - The Neutral Goodliest

(A) 25 - Achieve maximum rank in The Path of Understanding for a Grey Alignment

+ You have unlocked Alignment-based magic [Grey]

+ You receive a +2 to all Diplomacy checks [Path of Understanding]

+ You may now use Grey-based alignment weapons

+ You are now immune to Alignment-affecting magic and artifacts

"Goddammit," I muttered, lowering my head. I had no idea what an Alignment Path was and thought this was all in exceptionally poor taste.

Congratulations, Aragorn, Perun said. You are one of only three champions to get any of the alignment-based achievements. Francine got Lawful Good a few years ago and Valentin got Chaotic Evil before he turned to Veles. Jon was in inches of becoming a Chaotic Neutral paragon, but he'd occasionally throw off the points by doing something noble or heroic.

I say this as a die-hard Dungeons and Dragons fan, I replied, humiliated by this entire ordeal and appalled at being rewarded for how I acted to my conscience. But alignment is fucking stupid and a gross simplification of how people work.

Good and evil are about as real as the Easter Bunny and I know Ushter, Aaron, Perun said. But just because they're made up doesn't mean they're not important. It's just everyone draws their lines differently. Might as well draw them in nine slices in three categories. I can't help if you make a better Jedi than a Dark Undermaster.

I looked at Ivan. "Yeah, guys, I think we need to discuss strategy."

Seriously, Horus is a protector of humanity like Mythras but they're both enormous cocks, Perun said.

"I would love to discuss strategy," I said. "So, just so we're clear, both the queens are here and are probably descending on us with a bunch of guards?"

"It's alright," Francine said. "Everyone is on the same page now."

"I sincerely doubt that," I said, grabbing Ivan and dragging him into the bathroom.

I had 50-50 odds on Ania shooting the Mad Queen on the face the moment she showed up. That wasn't something to worry about right now because there was one of the Old Gods in the sewer below and a much closer threat to deal with.

"I hope this isn't a sex thing," Ivan said. "I'm sorry but I'm strictly a meat eater."

"Is meat eating meant to be straight for both sexes?" I asked. "I think the vegetarian platter for all women loving and all meat for men. If you like both, you're an omnivore."

Ivan paused. "Okay, now that I think about it actually makes sense. Okay, I'd like to clarify I only like wom--"

"ENTANGLE," I said, causing a bunch of spiritual vines to wrap around Ivan. "WEB."

Ivan was suspended against the back of the wall and then doubled over in the bindings.

"This is very rude," Ivan said, pausing.

"Sure, it is, Prince Cezary," I said.

Ivan grimaced. "About that..."