Mason stepped straight from the fey into the 'great tree' inside Nassau, hand in hand with Calypsa. He felt a kind of warmth flow over him, an energy that seemed to fill his muscles and refresh his mind, but also left a feeling he'd forgotten something important.

For a moment he assumed it was the effect of the great tree, but then he saw a dull light from his patron profile.

He had some kind of…universal enhancement that showed a decision tree like a logic puzzle. He clicked into it with his eyes and found a slightly glowing title as its source—his new 'Nexus Owner'.

It had little lines like spiderwebs going to other things, which were all grey save for one flowing to his 'House' icon. He opened it, and saw it was waiting for a choice to be made.

[Please select Nexus Patronage Style. 1) Rulership: Nexus Rulers focuses on managing the peaceful affairs of their charge, with bonuses related to industry, commerce, and leadership. 2) Guardianship: Nexus Guardians focus on defense, with bonuses related to personal might, and the strength of their defences.]

Mason expected whatever robotic god was listening knew he was picking 'guardianship' long before he actually did. The icon flared with a satisfying pulse, then receded down like all his other titles. His House icon glowed with a new 'House Title'. Apparently it didn't just apply to him.

[House title: Nexus Guardians. The House of Mason has sworn to defend the Western Nexus unto death. Increased effect of all statistics for all house members in or near the Nexus, with higher ranking members improving the bonus.]

That same warm energy shivered through Mason again. He felt like he'd just had a light warm up, his legs aching to sprint, his arms to lift.

But he was still standing in the near total darkness of the great tree. Calypsa was practically dancing around the clearing, like a new house-owner deciding where to put her furniture. She seemed oblivious to whatever was going on with Mason, but looked back at him with a grin.

"Oh, druid, I feel the tree's youth and power. It's so curious about me." She laughed and held out a hand as some kind of vine drooped to touch her. She ran her fingers over it and laughed as it pulled away. "We have much to teach each other, little brother," she whispered, a green light swirling from her fingers.

Mason could 'feel' the tree, too. It was hungry, afraid, curious, excited. Wait, happy again? No...skeptical. No, happy.

He shook his head and tried to block it out, hoping he wouldn't need Apex Predator. But if it got too...busy... The thing needed emotion control.

"Little brother?" he said. "It's a boy, then? Does he uh, have a name?"

Calypsa laughed and shook her head.

"No, druid. He will not be able to speak in words for years. He is little more than a child in most ways. That is also why I came."

Mason nodded. It matched his intuition, and certainly the feelings he'd been getting from the tree.

"Well. If you help it get less...erratic, I'll be grateful."

Calypsa bowed towards him, then smiled and actually twirled in place as she closed her eyes. Mason couldn't help but smile at her joy, watching the beautiful nymph as she spun and reached for the cautious vines of the tree. But he had things to do.

"I'll see you later? You’re alright here?"

The nymph nodded, and he looked for whatever the hell might count as an exit before the tree seemed to sense his desire and...dropped him, straight down through a sudden hole.

He fell, yet again, into the God damn dark. But at least this time he managed not to shout in panic.

* * *

"Alright, alright, just hear me out, like," Seamus said for maybe the fifth time, standing while all the other players sat around their round conference table.

Carl slapped a hand to his face. He glanced at the fading light through the small window in the 'Central Communication Beacon', still amazed by the Nexus City. They'd agreed to meet here and let the civilians do their meeting in the new chief hall. Carl had expected it to take an hour or two. They were going on five.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The civilians had already turned in their 'patron point wish list', with Sylvie and Haley whipping everyone into shape.

The players, however, all had different ideas and couldn't agree on more than half their choices. Carl had done his best to argue things logically, reasonably, taking everyone’s opinion into account. At this point he just wanted to go home.

Especially since he and Sylvie had made up from their difficulties of the last few weeks. These days they were banging like rabbits, with Sylvie in some pregnancy/system enhanced state of mindless lust, and Carl with ever-improving physical abilities. It was a hell of a lot better than listening to players whine.

He stared out the window, mind wandering to what he might do to Sylvie tonight, with ever increasing acts of filthy, possibly depraved, glorious, lusty...

"Carl?"

"Hmm?" He blinked and cleared his throat, meeting a few eyes around the table before ending on Seamus. "What were you saying? I missed that."

"Christ sakes, man. Here I was giving my all, an impassioned speech, like, and you weren't even bloody..."

"It's rather late," Phuong cut him off. "We've made no progress in the last hour. I suggest we all go to sleep and try again tomorrow morning. We've only one day left before the beacons light. So..."

"What if Mason isn't back by then?"

Garet asked the question on everyone's mind. Most eyes went to Carl, who let out a breath.

"Then Phuong and I will spend points on the agreed on choices. And we'll...ignore any incoming calls. For another day, or something."

"Feck's sake." Seamus shook his head. "We could be finding friends. And family. All of feckin humanity is waiting and we're just going to..."

"He's right," said the mostly quiet Becky, wincing as if saying the words hurt her. "I mean, sort of. We can't ignore it. People'll be waitin' for...I dunno, leadership. And if we don't do it maybe someone else will."

Carl glanced at Phuong and tried not to droop in despair. Truth was, he just didn't want to do it.

God damnit, Mason, he thought, where the hell are you and why can't you just hurry up and...

Something slammed into the platform outside the beacon. A gust of air threw back the half-open doors, and a man-like shape rose up as if just as surprised as everyone else.

Mason turned and looked at the players with the ever-increasing glow of his green eyes, and a little grin.

"Hi."

Becky was up and running. Carl let out a long, very relieved sigh.

"Thank the lord," he said, feeling a strange warm glow that seemed to drain at least an hour of his exhaustion. He stood and shoved his pad of...bark-paper…towards Phuong. "You give him the list. I'm saying hi then going the hell home."

Phuong frowned, and Carl wondered if the old dog didn't have his own sexual marathon waiting. But for the moment he didn't care.

"Temple!" he said and stuck out a finger, reminding the son of a bitch he still owed him for saving his ass in the Nexus.

The old soldier slumped and nodded, and Carl whistled as he walked for the platform.

* * *

Mason gave Becky a kiss and a brief grope, aware of all the stares from his waiting players. She also pulled back and punched him pretty hard just above his Sleeve. He had the good sense to pretend it hurt.

"Ow."

"That's for making us worry what the hell happened to you! Again! And where’s Blake, isn’t that why you went?" She was trying to scowl but mostly looked adorable. Mason put up his hands and spoke partially to her, partially over her shoulder, deciding to ignore the Blake question.

"Sorry. Couldn't be helped. My teleporting was a little...buggy. But it's fixed now, I promise. Why are we gathered?"

Carl gave Mason a handshake before excusing himself. Then the other players (mostly Phuong) explained the wish-list from the civilians, and the half-agreed list from the players.

"I've a list from the elves, as well," Phuong said. "But they didn't give us much. I expect they didn't feel comfortable asking."

"Let me guess," Mason said. "An Oracle Stone is at the top of the list."

Phuong nodded. "Good guess. And some kind of temple to their moon goddess."

Mason was even less thrilled with that. Though as he pulled up his settlement options he saw the temple was pretty cheap. The Oracle building not so much.

The civilian wish-list was long. Very long. He hadn't realized just how complex the civilian system was, because this looked like something closer to a real economy.

They wanted buildings and tools that seemed to fit refining and manufacturing processes from simple to complex. Ore refineries. Oil presses. There was different buildings for tanning, smoking, drying, compressing, grinding, and just about everything else you could imagine. Oh. And they wanted a bathhouse. And a sauna.

Mason rolled his eyes. He saw a lot of Sylvie in this, but not a lot of Haley. Which meant she agreed, thought they had the points, or wasn't sure and wanted Mason to be the bad guy. His instinct, of course, was to focus on life or death first. To worry about his players and soldiers more than the civilians.

He knew they weren't exactly 'separate'. That he needed what the civilians could produce, and that Nassau had been neglecting them in general for too long. Rosa's potions were a good example.

How much more powerful might they be with the right attention? No doubt there were other civilians with equally useful trades. If they had the right tools and experience.

They were a hell of a lot safer now, Mason knew, as the settlement moved its way into the trees. And they had the Nexus.

As he considered that he thought he understood Haley's thinking. Nassau and the tree city above might very well become the hub for humanity. Which meant hundreds, maybe thousands of civilians coming.

If the next phase gave them a breather, maybe they could boost their civilians hugely, and give all their players new weapons and armor and who knew what else, giving even the lower level people the chance to level up without getting killed.

Sometimes it was annoying being surrounded by smart, competent people, he decided. But it sure as hell beat the alternative.

With a final sigh he lifted the lists and waved at his players.

"Go on," he said. "We'll finish the list tomorrow. Then I'll get constructing, and hopefully we'll know our heads from our asses before we get on the beacon and..." he shook his head, and Phuong grinned before interrupting.

"Before we introduce the world to Baron Mason of House Mason?"

"Yeah.” Mason said. “Before that."

"Don't worry, Boss," Seamus said, summoning his staff with a twirl and nearly dropping it. "The lost, lonely ladies out there. And the tiny little tyrants, like. They're all going to love us."

Mason let out a very long, helpless sigh.