“Think you can make it, Josh?” Lin asked.

She stood a fair distance from me on the other rooftop. I looked down into the street where just a few days ago we battled for our lives. The white dust coating the ground was not from bone meal, but snow.

It turned out we were in a northern region, which was fine by me. I grew up in the north my whole life so I was used to the wild swing in temperature over the seasons. The quiet serenity of snowfall always had a special place in my heart and here in another world that feeling was much the same. As long as I wasn’t cold.

“I’m freezing my ass off here, and the flat roof tops are coated in ice,” I said.

“You're the insane one trying to push your athletics up this hard,” Lin shot back.

I took three steps back and took a runners pose, ready to take off. I looked rather ridiculous with the curly white wizard shoes, but these bad boys were the best. As the temperature dropped further they seemed to heat up more, they always had solid footing and best of all, I never had sore feet.

It had undoubtedly been the best shoes I ever purchased. Minus the fact it was from an insane greedy goblin who had spied on me. That had been a slight bummer.

“Think Rodney is going to pull a fast one on us?” I asked.

Before Lin could answer I sprinted forward and jumped. Using the power of the boots and my own strength, I sailed high over the cat girl. I overshot my goal and was on a direct path to a house. I tapped a hand on my purple cloak and the pop up appeared, draining one of the mana points contained within the cloak.

A gust of wind pushed me backwards and I landed on my feet beside Lin. I struck a triumphant pose as the desired outcome was achieved.

Athletics levelled up to rank III!

+2XP gained.

“Having fun I see. Give a boy a new toy and he can amuse himself for hours,” Lin said, shaking her head.

“Yes, thank you oh so much wonderful teacher Lin. Your incredible talents have helped me not only learn to fight, but learn what my cloak does as well. After you stole it and managed to throw yourself in the river of course,” I said, dodging a weak jab from Lin.

“That’s why I became a fighter and a thief, not a mage. You got another rank in unarmed and now you think you can make comments within striking range, huh?” Lin asked.

She closed the distance before I could leap and pulled me into a headlock. I tried to break out of it, but Lin’s greater strength and technique had me stumped. I sighed and signalled my defeat, only to receive a light kiss on my forehead. Lin pulled me into an embrace and together we watched the rising sun.

“I think we will be fine, considering what you pulled. Rolada told me you shook up that banker, and got Rodney’s respect. I don’t think anyone is going to fight us now,” Lin said.

I felt the heat sink into the magical cloth around me and I rubbed the fabric between my fingers. Practice and Lin’s incident earlier in the morning had shown me there was more to it then I had thought at first, and I was eager to learn what other surprises it had in store for me. When I looked at the equipment page I found it updated with more information.

Knowledge Arcane : Partial success!

Cloak of Arcane Mana

This cloak is enchanted to allow the wearer to cast the spell Gust, with either their own mana or the mana stored into arcane crystal.

Gust

Tier 0 spell (currently consumes 1 mana point)

This spell creates a strong gust of wind from the caster towards a targeted direction. The short range gust can extinguish flames, disperse clouds of gas or propel the user back. When a creature or object is struck by the wind they must use their strength to resist the effect.

“Josh, are you reading?” Lin asked. She ruffled up my hair and scoffed. “Did you even hear what I said?”

“No, sorry. Was enjoying the moment,” I said.

Lin hummed deeply in her chest, turning the sound into a soft purr. Together we gazed out far into the forest, both wondering the same thing.

“Where are they?” I asked. When I got no reply I tried to wiggle out, but yet again, I failed. “When will you teach me how to get out of grapples?”

“Patience young grasshopper,” Lin said, lightly petting my messy hair.

“Are you seriously quoting my own movie phrases back to me?” I asked in disbelief.

Lin giggled and let me go, dropping me onto the snowy roof. She pulled her own cloak around herself tighter as she sat down beside me. She had a wistful look, her eyes staying steady on watching the stream to the horizon.

“You make it sound so delightful. If we find a stable portal I want to go on the trip to earth. I want to try all the junk foods you talk about, especially pizza,” Lin said.

“I’ll add it to the list. At this rate if I take both you, and Rolada, I’ll need Wyrmbreath’s entire stock of gold to afford it,” I said.

“It’s been three days. Rodney said he would need that much time to negotiate a track repair and grease some palms to smooth out our little supply chain. I’ve been in the knock off industry before, trying to muscle in on guilds is always a delicate process,” Lin said.

“I guess asking for them to have crossbows to defend themselves made it a bit longer of a wait too,” I said.

“Not many men in your position would push for so much safety. It’s rather impressive, and trust me, it will pay off in the long run. Get a loyal crew under you and they won’t be swayed by anything,” Lin said.

She picked up a fistful of snow and packed it into a ball. I waited to see what her plan was as she crouched low and snuck up to the edge of the building. I followed her gaze and just outside one of the converted buildings was Burn heading to his new above ground alchemist lab.

Lin’s snowball sailed high up into the air and landed on the roof just over Burn’s head. Before the alchemist knew it the snow cascaded down burying his green head under a foot of white powder. The victory was short lived as he burst out of the pile and started sending snowballs back at us.

“Hey!” I shouted, throwing myself down onto the roof. “That was all Lin!”

“Why are you two slinking around our home!” Burn shouted back.

We hopped down onto ground level. Lin’s feet gracefully touched the ground and when she walked ahead she left only a small mark on the ground. You couldn’t even be sure it was her who had been there. I, on the other hand, managed to fall face first into a snowbank.

“Our glorious, noble leader, everyone,” Lin said, presenting my tangle of limbs.

“It was an attempt, okay?” I chuckled in high spirits. “Not all of us are cats.”

Burn held back his grin and helped me back up. After slapping the snow off me he opened up the door and led us into the lab. It was the first house we had fixed up, the one where I had met Lin on that fateful day. It was looking more lived in, and it now had a network of metal pipes covering the wall. Buckets and pots filled with Burn’s experiments were stored in the old bedroom and already we were seeing improvement to Burn’s work.

“Haven't burned down the neighbourhood yet, I’m impressed, Burn,” I said.

“Listen, that small accidental fire the other day was little more than cooking off some by-products. Like I keep saying, scrub the walls every half hour with charcoal and it won’t turn into more goop piles. Two more days, tops, and it will all be water under the bridge,” Burn said.

“Any good news?” I asked, looking at the recent experiments.

“Water breathing potions for the boat men and those weird weeds in the river might be useful for healing potions,” Burn said excitedly.

He handed us the thimble sized potion bottles and the front of the glass had been etched with acid to make a fish symbol. The cotton candy blue colour was appealing and I reached to uncork the potion to catch a whiff of what it might smell like.

Burn dropped a bucket and raced over to me. “I wouldn't do that Josh-”

“What the… hold this,” I said, gagging and shoving the bottle into his hands.

Lin joined me outside and we both heaved against the side of the house losing our breakfast. The horrendous stench of rot still assailed my nostrils, cutting deep into my memory and reminding me of the potion Lin had once given me.

“Burn, I don’t care what it takes. Make the potions smell good,” I said while hunched over.

“Don’t be sniffing the product then captain dumbass, I thought wizards were supposed to be smart. I lack ingredients so I had to use fish bits to get what else I needed to make a catalyst for the potion,” Burn said, he sighed and handed out rags to us. “Now come back inside, just try not to breathe too deeply.”

The rest of the short tour was just that, short. Burn went over what other supplies he would need and that his next step was making more soap. Both for us, and to sell at the market. Lin and I nodded in approval as he opened up a clay pot with a chemical mixture that smelled of vanilla. The scent was powerful and I enjoyed washing away the rotten fish smell and bringing a more inviting atmosphere to the place.

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Scout 1 requests the keeper’s presence at the docks!

“Our boat has arrived,” I said. I bowed to Burn and waved to the assembled pots. “Well done master alchemist. I’m glad to see your progress and wish you luck in your endeavours.”

“I know you're being funny, but I’m being serious when I say you might be the best boss Bent and I ever had. Don’t get killed, I like how this job is shaping up to be cushy and boring,” Burn said. He sounded relieved and like he was starting to take a great weight off his shoulders. “Now get the hell out of my workshop, those outfits violate basic lab safety.”

“Your eyebrows are finally growing in. Sten and I are betting how long it lasts. Don’t make me lose now,” Lin said, waving goodbye.

“Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out sweet cheeks. all those snacks Josh has brought you have gone to your hips,” Burn said with an amused look.

Lin’s face went red as she turned on the spot and hurriedly marched for the exit. When she hastily opened the door, it slipped from her rapid moving hand, slammed against the wall, bounced back and slapped her buttocks as she left.

“Told you!” Burn shouted.

“I know where you sleep!” Lin screamed back, holding her sore butt.

Burn opened a shutter and moved aside the thick wool curtain. He shouted loud enough to wake the entire forest. “Not in a royal bed like you do, you damn drama queen!”

“Royal bed?” I asked.

Burn didn’t meet my gaze and licked his lips. He nervously tapped his foot on the ground and whistled, trying to not notice me. When I still didn’t budge he began to get to work, starting the fireplace and getting materials out.

“Burn, please elaborate on that,” I said.

“Rolada…might have put in a few extra…quality of life purchases before you guys came back,” Burn said.

There’s only one way to find out, and it wasn’t going to be by standing here. I let Burn get to his work and left the house, trying to catch up to Lin. As I saw her stomping across the frozen ground a bit of a competitive edge took over me and I started to ramp up my pace.

I sprinted past Lin and used the mage shoes to shoot over the wall. As my feet kissed the frozen ground I continued the pace while heading towards the stream to our new dock. Scout 1 sat on the slab of wood with supporting rocks under it. Our dock was quite terrible in my opinion, but the boatmen had tied off on it and the river barge was ready to be unloaded.

I counted six men on board, each moving swiftly and keeping their wits about them. I was worried they might be jumpy or scared but a short observation told me the opposite. They moved with purpose and a barely contained excitement. One of the men reached out and shook Scout 1’s hand. A tarp was thrown off the back of the boat as they revealed the cargo inside.

I whistled as I saw the back of the boat. There were two massive crates, each one as tall as I was and labelled with a picture of a four post bed. Huge mounds of blankets and pillows were being brought onto shore and leading the way of the arriving plush palace was a happy looking man. He was shorter than me, barely up to my chin. He was wiry and sun bleached with a very down to earth presence coming off of him. A quick look under his hood showed me his fluffy ears and behind him, dragging in the snow was a tail.

“Mr.Hale I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity,” he said with endless excitement, his tail kicking up a storm of snow.

I looked nervously at the minion, then the other boat men. I cleared my throat and asked. “Have you been…informed of the situation?”

“Oh yes sir, Rodney told us if we never said a word to the other refugees we would get a bonus. I personally don’t mind that you're a keeper. I don’t see an evil bone in your body. Name’s Otto by the way,” the man said. He talked quickly in a rapid streamline of words.

He grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously, making my vision shake wildly. Once his initial enthusiasm died down he turned his attention from me, to Lin. Otto let out a defiant bark like a guard dog that shook me down to my core, and it sent Lin up into the air as it startled her.

“Do you have to do that sir?” Lin hissed.

“Just making sure you're awake. Now where would you like all this stuff?” Otto asked.

A long line of people came down to the dock and soon everyone, but Burn was present. I cracked my knuckles, told Drone 1 to manage the minions and I would get everyone else. I had unloaded trucks for the past year, this would be a breeze.

…

At the end of the hour I sat exhausted in my chair at the mess hall. The invoice of the shipment was on the table and everyone was enjoying a wonderful, home cooked meal. Rolada danced between the tables of the mess hall handing out more pancakes, strips of cooked meat or pouring cold, refreshing drinks. She was all sunshine and rainbows with her dance always being out of reach of me.

“Refill?” Rolada asked, finally approaching me.

“Hit me,” I said, holding up my cup.

I gave out a long sigh and waited until I had a drink. Once the cold juice had wet my throat, I clasped my hands, and looked Rolada in the eye.

“You really wanted us to build the shrine today, didn’t you?” I asked.

“We had the money and getting quests done is a great way for a power boost. I’m really sorry if I overstepped Josh,” Rolada said nervously.

“We have money, and everything you bought is stuff we needed or things to make it more comfortable here, which is great news. I’ve had the drones mining out the halls with the crew so whenever I felt like we were ready we could make that leap. I might have dragged my heels for a bit, so it was the kick in the butt I needed. So what I’m really saying is, thank you,” I said.

Rolada curtsied and bowed to everyone in the room as there was applause coming from the minions. The boatmen joined in and raised their glasses to toast Rolada. Once the festivities died down the boatmen finished their meal in a hurry. I could only guess Rodney was paying for speed and they hurried along to refill the boat with our shipment. They didn’t even need most of us, just Bent Plate and the drones to haul the entire load in a single go.

I sent off a request to have the drones assemble the new bedroom and shrine room downstairs for our upcoming priestess. Rolada had ordered not only a bed for her, but a nightstand, wardrobe and more. I felt a twinge of jealousy touch me, I also had those things arrive today for me, but I had the very distinct feeling it was going to be heavily used by two women.

“Lin, which piece do I need? These all look the same,” Rolada asked, her voice coming from my bedroom.

I pulled the dividing curtain aside to witness the crime scene first hand. Crates, painted planks of wood and tools were strewn across the floor like a bomb had went off. In the heart of the destruction was a fox girl with a hammer in one hand and a screwdriver in the other.

“What are these screws for?” Lin asked, raising a bag with a dozen different kinds. “I think we lost the instructions.”

I cracked my knuckles for the second time today, getting their attention. I looked at the prepackaged furniture, stirring up memories of my past. I had helped my mother assemble all kinds of discount junk she picked up in box stores, for years until I finally moved out. This was my time to shine.

“Let’s organize these pieces into pairs, everything should have a buddy. Hand me the screws, I got a good knack for figuring out which is which. Lastly I think you ordered different finishes, so have the boards grouped based on their smoothness.” I said, guiding them around the room.

“I got the base pieces!” Rolada said, picking them up and hauling them to the side.

“I think my expertly trained fingers can find which ones are smoother than others. Just like telling what kind of coins someone has in their pocket,” Lin said, setting to work quickly.

“Hand me the bed parts, we can get this together in no time,” I said, crawling amid the mess looking for the desired parts.

It brought a sense of nostalgia to me, working on my butt to put things together. I showed Rolada how to line up the pieces and let her screw them into the pre drilled holes. The short exercise was oddly relaxing and the extra hands made it easy to manage the big pieces. The Tired Lad logo on the wood boards was scratched off with Rodney’s store plastered over top of it. Lucky for me it was on the inside pieces meaning I wouldn’t have to look at it every time I wanted to go to bed.

With the big bed frame set, Lin and I hauled the huge mass of a mattress onto it. It felt much different than any spring mattress, but in a good way. The soft divine sensation I could feel when I pushed down on it promised a good night sleep I hadn’t experienced for a while. After putting on the rest of the red coloured bedding and the red pillows matching Rolada’s fur, we all stepped back to inspect our new living arrangements.

Drone 1 has completed set up. Please come to inspect the new room keeper!

Shrine to Ishaka can be constructed!

Shrine requires…

Bathing room (made)

Mess hall (made)

Keeper bedroom (made)

Empty bedroom of moderate value (made)

Training room (made)

Armoury (made)

Shrine room (made)

“When did we get an armoury?” I asked.

“Oh, I got us some shelves to set up in an empty room, I guessed what the minimum would be,” Rolada said.

“Good enough for me,” I said.

We ran down stairs and found a similar bedroom set up for our future priestess. The minions had set it up in record time and they didn’t have any left over screws. They did get my skills so I was glad to see box store furniture was one area I excelled at. Finally we reached the shrine room and we all had to stop in amazement.

Rolada had chosen more expensive purple silk, but I had to admit it went well with the golden tapestries on the wall. They depicted stars, magical books or wands as each one hung off the ceiling, lining the walls leading to the altar. The altar was a simple stone table with a polished gold bowl placed on top of it. Beside the bowl was a gold pitcher full of wine.

It was simple but had an atmosphere of mystery and the arcane already in the air. None of us could raise our voices in the presence of the holy room in case it would anger the goddess.

With a mixture of luck, divine assistance and some good old fashioned strong arming I had finally managed to get this quest done. When I tried to access the quest write up for it, it had been replaced with a request to pour the wine into the bowl.

“Here goes nothing,” I said, striding forward to do as the prompt asked. “If I get cursed or damned, drag me to Wyrmbreath.”

The moment a drop of wine touched the bowl I was sent flying back into my friend's arms. The force pushed against us, and we dug in our heels to stop from sliding back. A wave of blinding gold light formed a tall shimmering portal. The portal distorted the image and across it was a thin curtain blocking most of the view. I could see a shadow of a figure relaxing on a bed of pillows reading a book. They gracefully rose and approached us.

The figure brushed the curtain aside and stepped through the liquid gold to open the portal completely, forming a stable looking door between our two places. The figure stunned us in the room to reverent silence yet again.

She wore a silk outfit like a belly dancer, showing off her thighs, midriff and bust to us. A veil covered most of her face with the exception of her mirthful green eyes and red flowing hair. She was shorter than me, but very well endowed with her other proportions. I struggled to be decent as my eyes wandered along the length of her curvaceous form and her soft humming drew me closer to her. If I had to place her age she could only have been a bit older than me, mid thirties tops.

“Thank you for completing your quest. I shall lead you to today's Overseer so you may choose the priestess who will suit your desires,” she said, raising a gloved hand to invite me closer.

“It’s you!” Rolada screamed, rushing forward to tackle and hug the woman.

The mysterious stranger had at the top of her head, a pair of fox ears and at her backside a long bushy tail. The rich red colour was an exact match to Rolada’s, making them look like sisters.

“Oh sweetheart, I’m so glad you're okay. You're going to have to tell me all about the little adventures you and your friends have had,” the mystery woman said.

Rolada wiped a tear of joy away and snuggled deeper into their embrace. When she finally broke the hug she brought the woman closer to us as she bounced with barely contained joy.

“I want you to meet my mom,” Rolada said proudly. She threw her hands back and made sparkles appear.

“Your what?” Lin and I asked in unison.