We landed six hours later, back in our parking lot. My headache had finally decided to fuck off after a healthy dose of aspirin. It was the first time a wound had plagued me for so long and I wondered if it was some magical effect Jacob's arrows had. My hud certainly didn't clue me in if it was but that wouldn't be the first time the hud let me down. Hell, for all I know it could have just been a concussion. But I didn't have accompanying nausea to go with it.

I would take more care in the future, already planning on creating a self-defense amulet that could be worn 'incognito'.

The truck was unmolested, which was good, otherwise, the entire parking lot would have been a crater. Yeah, I kind of went overboard with the explosives.

As soon as morning came, Martin left to talk with the Marshall and Ska went to go train his protégé. I think she may have had a bit of a crush on Ska but Ska seemed oblivious to it and I wasn't about to point it out or stick my nose in.

Fiona stuck around if only to keep a lookout for trouble.

If I was an insecure person, I may have interpreted this behavior as them wanting to be away from me. I may be an asshole but I wasn’t that self-absorbed.

After I removed the explosives and arming runes from the truck, I went to go meet up with the Marshall and Martin. I needed to hear if the Mayor had made a decision yet. Not that I had any high hopes of that, even considering the fact that we were gone for over a week. In any case, I intended to bring up the topic of mana cannons and see if he or the Mayor might be interested in purchasing my remaining inventory.

I found the two seated at an outdoor cafe a few buildings down from the headquarters. The building was closed, as the owners had either fled or were killed. But there was still plenty of coffee and one of the officers under the Marshall was able to get the devices back online.

"Care for a cup?" the Marshall asked as I approached.

I shook my head. I wasn't a fan of coffee. Neither the straight black kind nor the overly sweetened sugary shit that most people called coffee before the world came to a screeching halt. I enjoyed the smell of roasting beans but somehow most coffee shops seemed to fuck that up most of the time, and all I ever smelled was burnt coffee beans.

"Well, to each his own," the Marshall said, sipping on the steaming mug in his hand.

I don't know how he could drink that in the Texas heat. It had to be eighty degrees out already and it was only around ten in the morning.

"Martin tells me the trip was a success... mostly."

That reminded me, I needed to do the check and see if my title got a hit. Concentrating when not having a splitting headache was so much easier, and only a few seconds passed before I got nothing. It was good to know that the Stygian Order wasn't around here, at least the ones I was aware of.

"Yeah, nothing you need to worry about. I didn't detect the known members around here."

Not that I had extensive knowledge about known members of the Order.

The Marshall raised an eyebrow, which was expressive for him. "Be that as it may, we will still keep an eye out for any shady folks around."

I nodded, deciding to change the subject. "Any word about the funding?"

"Yes, the Mayor has agreed to fund two vehicles. You will need to talk to his clerk at city hall to procure the funds though."

I groaned internally at having to deal with a paper pusher even after the world ended.

"Fair enough, I will seek them out later today. Any other news?"

Martin and the Marshall shared a look. The Marshall downed the last of his coffee and stood up.

"Nothing new on my end and I have to get back to work. I'm sure I will see the two of you around," the man said, giving me a small nod before he hustled off.

"That was weird, any idea what that was about?"

"Yes," Martin said with a sigh. "The Marshall was giving me an opening to bring up this next topic."

Oh boy, the way Martin was talking it was like he needed to tell me my girlfriend cheated on me or a close family member died. It made me extremely uncomfortable.

"I have decided to accept the position of diplomat that the Mayor and the Marshall have offered me."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's great news."

"The thing is I can't be both a diplomat and fly around with you."

Oh... shit he was right.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Ever since my sister died... I- I just didn't have any drive. Leveling was great and all, when I had a goal but losing her ripped that away from me. I know it's stupid, I left her behind even before that. But it made me realize the killing, the revenge, none of it filled the hole left behind by my dead wife. Brokering this deal was the most rewarding experience I have felt since that night I found out she was gone. Everything between that and now has been me trying to find my place. Don't get me wrong, traveling with you and the others was a blast. I know it was your intention just to get me out of my funk and it worked... maybe a bit too well," he added with a sad smile.

I listened to Martin talk without interruption. While it stung that he was leaving the group, I couldn't hold him back. He found something in life that made him happy. I couldn't take that away or hate him for that. Besides, I still had my own demons to squash.

"But," Martin said, "if and when you go after the Black Dragon, don't forget your friends. I will always back you up, even if I am under-leveled."

I could only nod at the man, my tears both happy and sad had long since dried up. I could feel the emotions but it's like they were disconnected from my body.

"So where is a globetrotter like you off to next?" I asked.

"Supposedly there is a large group of survivors near Austin. But that will have to wait until you finish my new ride," Martin said with a smirk.

I chuckled, "fair enough. Want to go with me to pick up the money and last of the components?"

"Sure why not. I also need to stop by and say my farewell to the others."

I nodded and we headed toward the town.

"Ska is going to be pissed that you won't be cooking for us anymore."

That got a chuckle out of the man, "you may be surprised. He is a quick study and has been helping with meals for a few weeks now."

"Well, surprises never cease. I wonder if this has anything to do with his new female friend."

Martin shrugged, "hard to say, it does seem he likes her quite a bit. But I don't want to think too hard about the specifics of that situation."

"Probably for the best," I replied.

We arrived at the clerk's office an hour or so later. The guards had been slow to let us in, waiting for verification from the Marshall's office. Once that was done we had to wander through the packed streets to get to the governmental sector. The people in the town were packed in like sardines. How anyone could live like this was beyond me. I knew that it was a temporary situation until a new wall could be erected farther out, but still.

Once at the office, we had to wait... again. It was no surprise seeing the number of people coming and going from what was a converted DMV building. They may not have electricity but bureaucracy still worked fine with pencil and paper apparently.

I was forced to fill out a blocky form, that looked like it came from an old wooden paper press, and for all I knew it had.

Firstname, Last name, class, reason for visit, blah, blah, blah. I gave them my name and reason for the visit if they didn't like it, tough shit.

I walked up to the teller and handed her my sheet. She looked it over with a frown.

"Mr. Fuller... you left some fields blank."

"Yup," I replied flippantly. "But you can see the important one is my reason for visiting."

She gave a tired sigh and stamped the sheet, sliding it off into a pile. "Very well, please take a seat and I will let the clerk know you are here."

I nodded as politely as I could and went to join Martin in the uncomfortable plastic chairs, scattered about the room.

Ten minutes later a skinny man of middling height came over to us. "Mr. Fuller, Mr. Lacroix, please, come with me."

"Wait, your last name is Lacroix?"

"What, you never saw it with Identify?" Martin asked quizically.

"I turned last names off for a while, then back on, then I fiddled with the setting to only show last names of people if I knew them or their last name."

"And you never bothered to try using Identify on me since?"

"Nope."

"Seems like an odd choice," Martin added.

"It is, but it actually comes in handy. I can identify people I have run into in the past without recognizing them. It's how I recognized that Black Dragon guy in that raid."

"Well, I guess whatever works."

We continued our conversation as we walked behind the clerk. I didn't bother using Identify on him, I just didn't care enough to know who he was.

We weren't in the office long, the clerk verified my identity, made me sign a contract of work, and handed me the funds I needed to complete the vehicles. A cool six thousand credits. Not that I needed it, my personal wealth was almost sixty thousand credits at the moment and I still had all the meat from my Hornwell deal in the fortress. I had some with me to sell at the Bazaar but there was a... lot... of... meat.

We walked to the Bazaar since I left Bella to roam around the Fortress. Fiona was keeping an eye on her but Bella was smart enough to stay out of trouble, or at least end it quickly. I did leave her saddle on though, so nobody would mistake her for a roaming monster.

In the Bazaar, I purchased a few things. Mana hearts and mithril as I needed those to complete the vehicles. But I had been thinking about my encounter with Jacob. I wasn't immortal and Second Chance only went so far.

So I purchased a few gold rings with tiny mana heart fragments inset into them. As they were they were only pretty baubles, capable of storing fifty mana. Then I purchased a pendant made from spun mithril and gold. It was pricy but should work for what I had in mind. I also added a fancy-looking bracer with gold and mithril inlay. That would be for Ska.

I ended up spending less than ten thousand credits by the time I was done. A normal person would probably think I was crazy as I considered that a small amount. I didn't even bother purchasing unenchanted weapons to top off my supply. I did sell a full ring of meat to a vendor for two thousand. It was less than I expected to get but I was tired of walking around the Bazaar and wanted to get to work.

It took Martin and me much less time to walk back to the Fortress, the guards didn't care who left the walled city, only who entered it.

While I got to work finishing up the first truck, Martin talked with Fiona about his plans and the fact that he was leaving. Fiona was devastated and she flew off to cry. I knew the two had become close, I guess I didn't realize how close. My heart ached for them as they couldn't be together.

I wasn't mad at either of them. Sure Fiona and I had a moment of passion but that was brought on by extenuating circumstances. And now that she had died, she had been freed of that commitment to me, well except the fact that she was my spectral companion. It was crazy to think that her fate was somehow tied to mine. I thought of her more as a confidant and friend than in any romantic way. Not that I even had sexual urges anymore.

I couldn't even lament the loss of my libido. It allowed me clarity of focus that others would be hard-pressed to beat. Sure, I cared for my friends and I would give my life for them if I had to. But I would also not hesitate to kill off an entire city if it meant getting revenge on those that wronged me or my friends. Few could say they would go that far. Even fewer had already done so.