The new clothes they picked out for me felt remarkably soft, comfortable and most of all, fit well. It was odd looking in the mirror and seeing myself in anything other than work clothes or sweatpants. The black pants were lined with a strange fabric that they said would cool me down in the summer and warm me up in the winter. If such a thing really did exist I wondered if we could grow whatever it was made of in the dungeon.

I heard Rolada’s voice through the door, and I pressed my ear against it trying to eavesdrop. I focused hard and the voices became a little more clear.

Perception skill: Success!

+1 XP gained.

“Mom, what were you doing with Josh?” Rolada asked.

“His mana lines were horribly twisted, and I didn’t see you step in to help. It was a simple matter, a quick massage, some herbal oil and he's back in top shape again. I would have thought you would have thanked your mother for helping your boyfriend,” Sliva said.

“He’s not my boyfriend. We haven’t formally declared anything or danced under an oak,” Rolada said, and from the tone of her voice she sounded disappointed. “We are just…close friends. I didn’t know they were so bad or I would have stepped in.”

“Sweetheart, he lights up when he sees you. Your gorgeous friend here also seems to have her eye on you,” Sliva said, “and just to remind you, Ishaka’s ways are open for love. You don’t have to follow the rituals of Heinekia.”

Lin made a purring noise and let out a happy sigh. “Rolada is very sweet and I can’t thank her enough for being the one to cook. She also keeps an eye on our crazy wizard and stops him from burning the place down.”

Sliva made a comment I didn’t quite catch and the three women burst into laughter. At this point I had spent enough time getting dressed so I opened the door and made my way to the sitting parlour. On my way I saw the pillow golem take away some rags from the massage room, and I had to alter my course.

I slipped in behind the golem, walking as quietly as I could to reach him. As I got closer he turned towards me and I dashed to the other side, shot out my hand and snatched my old work shirt out the pile. I stuffed it into the new bag they had gotten me. The small side satchel had writing supplies and a few bundles of string for my spells, plus lots of little pockets to put more things in for the future. It also attached to my backpack nicely if I wanted to have my arms unobstructed.

“Sorry sir, keep up the good work,” I said.

The pillow golem shrugged and kept walking, right into an open door. I watched as it tossed all the rags into one basket and disassembled itself, throwing the pillows into another one. The pillows making up the legs stepped in after its arms and torso had been thrown in. At once the spell holding it together ended and all the remaining pillows fell into a neat pile.

“I think I might want to learn that one,” I said to myself.

Additional magical training is required to summon pillow golem.

Pillow Golem, construct, level 1 construct

Strength 12

Constitution 10

Dexterity 6

Intelligence 4

Willpower 3

Charisma 3

I tried to focus on how much I needed, but I couldn’t even get a prompt to appear. Sliva must really be in a league of her own. The stats weren’t exactly impressive, but having more helping hands would be nice. Plus the golem was much taller than my minions.

I opened the door to find the three of them wiping away tears and when they saw me Rolada’s face went as bright red as her hair. Lin barely kept it together, puffing out her cheeks and punching herself in the thigh as she strained to contain herself.

“Just finished our little chat,” Sliva said, raising her tea cup and finishing it. She looked me over and winked. “Looking quite fine now I should say, a presentable man I can bring to the Overseer.”

“Did I miss anything?” I asked.

“Just some girl talk is all. They did tell me about the recent raid and how you so heroically threw yourself at the enemy to save my little fox,” Sliva said, rising from her cushion to approach me. “How can I ever thank you?”

She slid her arm around my waist and drew me into a hug. My head rested neatly on top of hers and I felt drawn to return the gesture. As I did she traced her nails around the small of my back and a jolt ran up my spine awakening my senses. Another part of me was awakening too as she pressed her body into mine, transferring her heat into me.

“Of course I helped, she’s my friend,” I said. The rather intimate hug in front of my friends was getting to me and I tried to swing the conversation. “Actually I do have a request.”

“Oh?” Sliva asked, looking up to me and putting a hand on my heart. “Tell me what your heart's desire is.”

Willpower Check : Success!

That was rather odd. It might be some kind of way to get the truth out of me or something. As I looked at the beautiful motherly priestess her comment did strike a chord with me. Rolada had quite a lot of talents and some spells, but she really only got to use them when we had people to distract the foes. I couldn’t reliably get a barrier between her and them, which might mean she could get hurt.

“Can you make that portal appear to save someone in a dire situation?” I asked.

I could barely see Sliva’s mouth through the veil, but I did see her frown. I guess that wasn’t the answer she was looking for. She finally broke the hug and sighed wistfully while looking out the window.

“I can, it’s expensive and my personal portal access can only really accommodate one person at a time for such an emergency measure,” Sliva said. She looked at me and touched the nail to my chest again. “But for you my love, I can.”

“Perfect, in an emergency I want Rolada to come to you,” I said.

“What?” Sliva, Lin and Rolada said.

“When we were in that last fight I almost failed to kill that gnome, and Guard one only has a spear. He might be able to take a bonk on the head, but casters are beyond his reach. Lin can dodge like no tomorrow, Burn has a knack for living and I don’t think anything can take down Bent Plate or Sten. Which leaves just the two of us,” I said looking at Rolada.

“But you're the keeper,” Rolada said, cocking her head to the side. She wore the same cute confused expression that I was beginning to like. “Why would you choose me?”

“You're my friend, and my magic teacher. I’m not going to make it far without you. So a little safety net for you would ease my worries,” I said.

Sliva clapped her hands twice and at the back of the sitting room was a mirror set in the wall that began to shine. The frame was rather ornate and made of gold, with silk curtains draped across it. Static filled the air and I smelled ozone, the sensation passed a moment after meaning the spell was finished.

Knowledge Arcane : Partial Success.

Mirrors are often used as a material component for greater magic. They can be used as a focal point for divination spells or portal magic, giving the spell caster a stable location to tie the spell to.

Seeing the orientation of the room, I realized the portal we had walked through had been the mirror. I now had yet another thing to put in the back of my head. It was clearly out of reach right now, but it was good to know. In fact I had a full body mirror at home attached to my closet. A cheap one, but I wondered if it could work.

Knowledge Arcane : Failure!

Damn.

“Rolada, I changed my mind. This one is without a doubt the best boy you have brought home. He has my full approval, it helps that he is cute too,” Sliva said, patting my cheek. She felt the bristles of my wild unkempt beard and stuck out her tongue. “He needs a shave however.”

The next spell came out in an instant. One second I had my rather terrible scruff I had been meaning to shave, the next I was clean and smooth. A part of me was saddened, I was kind of hoping to grow an awesome wizard beard to lean into my class’ tropes, but one look at Sliva’s glare told me I should stay clean shaven.

“Are you sure Josh?” Rolada asked.

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“Without a doubt, I don’t know what Lin and I would do without you,” I said, reaching over to scratch her behind the ears.

Rolada hummed in enjoyment and Sliva gave me a wink. A light force began pulling at my hand and I let it guide me, moving it to the optimal place. When I reached the base of her ears and rubbed just a certain way the fox girl's eyes rolled back in her head. She nearly toppled over, but was thankfully caught by an amused Lin.

“No time like the present, let’s go for a walk kids,” Sliva said, slipping into a pair of sandals.

Lin and Rolada already had their shoes on and went out the door, leaving me to hurriedly jump into mine and run to catch up. Sliva took the lead with Rolada at her side, letting Lin walk side by side with me. We watched the two colour matching foxes talk excitedly together and gave them their privacy.

“That was not only a sweet thing to do Josh, but an impressive one. Most of all it was genuine and we could tell.” Lin gave my hand an appreciative squeeze. “Now do you see that perfect butt of Sliva? I guess that means Rolada also has hot milf potential in her future,” Lin whispered to me.

It was hard not to notice. Rolada already had a perfect rump to me, but her more curvy mother also had her own lovely qualities. The sight of it was almost perfect, a walkway on a sandy, warm beach. The ocean breeze made the temperature absolutely perfect and I had the perfect sight of two beautiful women from behind, both who had some degree of interest in me. If it wasn’t for the demons sunbathing on the beach I would have thought this was heaven.

Wait, demons on the beach?

I had been so engrossed in trying to follow Sliva, chat with Lin and not solely focus on the gentle sway of Rolada’s hips I failed to realize we were approaching the island’s city. The big shopping district they had gone to bled into the edge of the beaches, with only a raised wood walkway to separate them.

It was just like my trip, you could go from swimming in the ocean, to sunbathing, to getting drunk in a bar, all within a hundred steps. On the shores I saw all kinds of races chatting, drinking or playing a game similar to volleyball. It was a genuine paradise and everyone seemed really happy. I could pick out beast-kin with demons, and ancient grizzled dwarves in button up shirts soaking up the sun.

I could make the demons out better here since they weren’t covered in chainmail armour, and most of them seemed rather human. Most of them had different hues of skin, like red, pink, blue or green, while some had beast-kin features, such as cat ears nestled next to their horns. I could pick out quite a few couples of demons and other races.

“Step right up sir, yes you, the fine human with the prettiest cat girl mistress!” someone said, calling me out.

“Who are you calling a mistress?” Lin shouted back.

Even if I wasn’t going to see what they wanted, Lin sure did. I was dragged against my will to a tiny booth that looked like it was selling junk food. The man at the booth had blue skin, two little horns and an expertly waxed goatee. If anyone had asked what a demon salesman in a vest looked like, this was it.

“Sir, you seem like you're from out of town. I have a request, no tricks, just a gift. Reach into this tin box and you shall take out a lovely treat. This will in turn help me by adding it to my recipe box,” he said, holding the tin box out and bowing, showing me finely combed hair.

“Alright, I’ll bite.” I said, reaching into the small cut out at the top of the box.

It was a little bigger than a bread box, and at first it felt hollow. Then I felt paper wrapping inside and I pulled out a small neatly wrapped bundle. Inside were six deep fried sticks, at just the right temperature, and dusted with cinnamon and sugar. I couldn’t believe it, they were churros, just like my old dorm mate had made. I took one bite and I felt my body come back alive. It had been starving, going into withdrawal without any fattening and sugary treats like this for so long I almost went into shock.

“What are these delightful things?” Sliva asked.

The foxes had gathered around Lin and I, brought over by the scent. I offered them the churros and each of them took one and gave it a sniff. A second later they were gone, and in place were the faces of people tasting sweet heaven for the first time. The demon seller was all too happy to hand me a second pack of them and as we walked off people were already lining up in our place, with coins in hand. I guess we were pretty good at advertising.

“This place is Avonna right?” I asked.

“The seat of power of the great lady herself. As far as being tied to a single city goes, this one takes the cake,” Sliva said.

She began giving the guided tour, pointing out places of interest and shops that sold exotic spell wares for the next time we returned. There were street carts packed with potion sellers or gemcrafters, and everything you would ever need to cast magic. It was incredible to see, and the place had been built pretty wide to accommodate all the people in the street. Yet we were never crowded, at all times we had a comfortable amount of personal space, especially me, with Sliva on my arm.

Many men and women gave me a jealous glare, or tried not to notice me at all. A sense of pride welled up in my chest as I came to realize I had what might be one of the most powerful women on the island with me. She was easily becoming one of my favourite people.

“If you ever go to these lovely restaurants just give them my name and you can skip the line,” Sliva said, bringing me back to reality. “Do you need a break, hun? You seemed to have zoned out. If I over did the ritual I apologize.”

“Just enjoying the company, this place seems absolutely fantastic. From the beaches, to the exotic shops and the sights. The only thing I dread is how I’m going to get back,” I said.

“I might be able to set something up once you get your priestess. She would have a monthly ticket to return, and I might be able to get you one too. I wouldn’t mind having a little follow up date, maybe you can give me the massage next time,” Sliva said.

“I… well it would be a helpful talent to learn,” I said.

I felt my face becoming flush at the thought of touching her back, and felt heat rise up in me. I had to tell my body to behave, I needed to focus here. I saw Sliva was looking up at me and was quite amused at the effect she had on me. It was almost like she could read me like an open book.

“Mom.” Rolada whined. “Stop being weird.”

“Careful now,” Lin said, wagging her finger at Rolada. “You might get replaced as the cute fox girl on the team.”

Sliva took us down a shaded and paved path, leading to a luxurious looking villa right in the middle of the market. The high walls around the place kept out curious onlookers and the front gate was guarded by two armoured demons. Their hands were near swords at their hips at all times and when they saw us they bowed.

One of them spoke. “We must apologize Arch Priestess, the Overseer is quite busy-”

“Which is fine, we will be in and out,” Sliva said, cutting him off. “I have a new shrine owner, and I’m certain the Overseer today can understand the importance of that.”

The two guards shifted and glanced at one another, their chainmail veils ringing from the sudden movement. They stepped aside nervously as Sliva walked right up to the gate, and it opened for her. We quickly fell in behind her as we entered a picturesque garden, complete with a patio and a personal pool.

Lin whistled. “This might be the nicest place I’ve ever entered without the intent to steal. Not that I would of course.”

Rolada gave her a playful punch on the shoulder. “Don’t make my mom break you out of jail, Lin.”

Lin gave Rolada her best innocent face and then continued to look around. I had started to get to know Lin enough to recognize when she was on the hunt. Her ears and tails jumped around as she looked at each item we walked by, tallying up the values in her head.

The front door was opened by a cute young woman in a maid dress. She first curtsied and then stood aside to allow us entry. The main hall of the villa was how I envisioned a fancy house to be. Great big carpet leading up to a massive staircase that split into either direction. Suits of armour on display and rich looking doors as far as the eye could see.

My new bedroom started to look a lot less impressive now. My relatively sparse dungeon felt more like a shack compared to this grandeur. I was going to have to work hard to spice the place up more if this was what my new priestess was going to expect. Then I would have to work on our township, but with enough dedication I could have a wonderful riverside village. It wouldn’t be a beachside town, but it would have its own charm.

Sliva had a quiet word with the maid and she took us down one of the many carpeted hallways. Each door in the hall she brought us too had the same thing on it. ‘Overseer’, after which was a symbol, whose meaning was lost on me. Sliva opened a door for us and when we shuffled inside a sitting room, four others looked up at our intrusion. One was a dwarf, two were elves and the last one was a human. The one thing they had in common was the very fine and expensive clothes they wore despite the warm climate here.

The dwarf was about to give us an angry word until he saw Sliva and at once the four men dropped onto their knees. They then bowed, lowering themselves until their foreheads touched the smooth marble floor. Sliva, without a care, took my arm and pointed to the ornate door at the far end of the room.

“The Overseer is just through there, go first by yourself. If she asks if you have companions attending you, say yes and then we may enter to help you. That is of course if you think you can handle a true demon yourself,” Sliva said.

“Is this the same Overseer I met?” I asked.

“She is this year’s Overseer, so if you met her recently it would be her,” Sliva said.

With memories of the last encounter rising to the surface I started to sweat. I leaned towards Sliva to whisper. “I would love to have your help, she is…a bit much. But what about these guys, are they in line already?”

Sliva looked at the kneeling men and whispered. “Not a problem, watch.”

“Rise men, for I have but a humble request. This man is chosen to speak to the Overseer by order of a quest. I know this is an inconvenience to you, so I shall give you something in return for your service,” Sliva said.

“To be in your holy presence is enough,” the dwarf said, clasping his hands together in prayer. “The light of the golden goddess is enough to fill this dwarf’s heart with joy.”

“Nonsense, this is a gift freely given,” Sliva said.

The four men sat on their knees and Sliva placed her hand onto the head of the first man. He closed his eyes as Sliva’s palm glowed with golden light. She whispered something to him and I felt a spark of magic leap from her into him. It was quite interesting to see, but a light push from behind broke my concentration.

Rolada glanced at the door, then to me. When I still didn’t understand she bobbed her head in the door’s direction and gave me another light shove. It finally kicked in and I walked past Sliva handing out blessings of some sort and entered the next room.

The room was just as rich as the rest of the villa, with large soft couches to lounge in, a huge window looking out at the garden and the smell of spices and wine. The Overseer had stretched herself out on a pile of cushions and dipped a strawberry into a chocolate fountain. She bit into the treat and savoured it, only noticing something was off when she sniffed the air.

She sat up with a start, dressed only in a thin, tight fitting, short black dress letting me view her form. She took one look at me and licked the chocolate from her plump lips with her long tongue. She was still the big imposing blue demoness from before, but this time I had allies close at hand.

“Well if it isn’t my little toy, all grown up and freshly minted in finishing my first quest,” she said, rising up to her full height and looking down at me.

“Hi Overseer, about that priestess,” I said, nervously raising a hand to wave.

A stack of papers appeared out of thin air and dropped into her hand. She closed the distance in a few steps and swept me up, marching me towards one of her loveseats in the room. I felt her tail snake around my waist, cutting off any chance of escape.

I was starting to have second thoughts about this whole operation.