It feels like I’ve left something behind when I cross the short stretch of lawn through the snow back to Carter’s house and knock on the front door. My mind is still at least half full with the smells and feeling of Tatiana’s living room and the feeling of her pressed against me in a more than friendly goodbye hug. The warmth of those feelings scatters as Millie opens the door and squeals at me in joy, bringing a big grin to my face.

“Uncle Bronwic! You’re here!”

She’s not growing as quickly as Logan, but wow every time I see her she seems older and wiser. So resourceful and strong and creative, and wearing jeans and a faded peach colored sweatshirt! It seems like such a throwback to the old days and I wonder if fashion has ever changed as quickly as it did after the Influx.

“You lost some teeth!” I exclaim before I immediately consider whether she might be self conscious about it. Instead, she gives me a huge smile. There must be 4 or 5 teeth missing, some on both the top and the bottom. I wonder why that even happens now, since we’re healed by Mana so quickly. Maybe the new ones will be in tomorrow? I don’t think I’ll ever be able to understand how it all works.

“Can I come in, kiddo?” I ask her. “Your house is going to be freezing if we stand here much longer.”

“Of course!” she says with such genuine excitement and welcome that it makes me feel like I’m really part of the family. She lets me in with a little hop and closes the door behind me.

There aren’t any secrets from my Perception so it’s no surprise as we climb the stairs and I see everyone at the dining table eating tacos, with a few post-Influx additions laid out for everyone to take what they want.

“Bronwic!” exclaims Dana as she finishes helping Benjamin get his plate of food sorted. I wasn’t sure what kind of reception I’d get and I find it means a lot that her tone is welcoming and friendly. “How are you?”

It’s always a tough question to answer; I feel like I owe her and want to say more than just ‘good’, but there’s so much that’s happened to me since I dropped Logan off that it seems daunting to even start. My thoughts must be apparent on my face and explain the pause because she speaks before I do while wiping some sauce from Benjamin’s hands.

“Complicated?”

“Yeah, probably a good word to land on,” I agree.

“Want some food?” she asks.

“Come eat with us, Uncle Bronwic!” Benjamin commands as Millie sits down beside him. His little face is serious and I can see he expects his orders to be followed.

“I’m not staying long,” I let him know with a grin and pop over to ruffle his hair and give him a quick cuddle, and then turn to Dana in apology. “Kind of need another Level pretty badly at the moment, but wanted to drop by and say hi. I’ve gotta say, seeing you guys really fills up my soul.”

There’s so much good feeling and love and warmth here, somehow generated by Dana. It’s compelling and something I’d die to protect.

“You’re welcome here any time, for as long as you want,” says Dana, which I do not take for granted at all especially considering that I bring danger with me wherever I go.

“Logan tell you much about his trip?” I ask.

“Yes actually! He’s gained so many Levels!” says Dana. It sounds like part amazement and part worry.

“He’s worked hard and been smart,” I say, backing Logan up. He deserves a lot of respect for the way he’s handled himself and kept his head screwed on straight. No doubt that has a lot to do with the way Dana raised him.

“Carter here?” I ask. I know he’s not, I’m more asking to gauge how things are and why he’s not around.

“He’s out,” says Logan with a bunch of food in his mouth as he pauses eating what looks like a mountain of tacos on his plate and then swallows and points back in the direction of the backyard. “Some trouble west of Calgary coming down from the mountains. I offered to come, but he reckoned they had it well in hand and it’s been what seems like forever since I’ve had Mom’s cooking!”

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I trigger Omnipresent and hone in on the area around Carter’s location and agree with what Logan’s said. A few Monsters between Level 70 and 85 but there’s a few squads of people that shouldn’t have any trouble handling it.

This is the first time since opening the notifications that I’ve triggered Omnipresent and I can feel the way my Affinity has integrated with my SMI and enhanced it. The number of things I can sense through the Skill has skyrocketed and I can now sense non-human people and Monsters even if they aren’t fighting against humans. The extra information available makes my head hurt for a couple of seconds before my SMI and Affinity help me to handle it. I see if I can locate Taiwo and find out it is possible but his location is very confusing, I can’t pin it down. Maybe he’s in the Shop? I know instinctively this means I can Portal to anyone from now on and that’s a huge jump in Omnipresent’s power. At the same time I know I can’t yet open a Portal that non-humans can use, but it does feel on the edge of possibility in the future if I work at it and get inventive.

“All ok?” Dana asks quietly when my eyes refocus on the room and I realize I’ve been lost in my newly enhanced Skill for quite a while and there’s a good chance that’s given her a big reason to worry. I know she trusts Carter, but danger is always around the corner and can spike at any time so I actually feel it’s impressive she didn’t interrupt me when I took a while.

“Yeah, totally fine,” I agree and I can see her relax.

“Logan, I’m heading out for a while and I’m not sure when I’ll be back. You good to stay here for a few weeks if I’m a while? Dhromea and Torrdok are sorted to take you to the Academy if you want to go.”

“Yeah for sure. I’m keen to have another go at some of the Dungeons around here after all the training I’ve had,” he says, and I nod in acknowledgement.

“Dana, I know Carter would take this - we’ve talked about it, so don’t turn it down,” I say, and pull a black token from my Inventory and hold it out to her. It’s a bit like a poker chip and matches the ones I gave Robb and Carter that first time we went to Taiwo’s Shop together to get Carter back to Calgary.

“What’s this?” she asks.

“Is it candy?” asks Benjamin with interest.

“No, it’s not candy silly,” says Millie with her gap-toothed smile and a nudge with her elbow into his arm.

“It’s a token for you and Carter to use. It gives you access to Taiwo’s Shop and there’s enough Credits on there to get you whatever you need.”

“Bronwic…” she starts, but I give her a hard look which stops her in her tracks. It’s the only time I’ve ever stood my ground with her on anything and she instantly notices she change.

“Dana, this isn’t charity and I’m not telling you how to handle things with your family. I almost didn’t make it here today and there’s no way I’m letting another day go by without making sure I’ve done this.”

“What do you mean you almost didn’t make it?” Logan asks and I can see the concern appear on Dana’s face. It’s not something I’ve ever said to her before, even with all the craziness that’s happened.

“Yeah!” exclaims Millie.

I look at them all and I’m not sure what to feel. What to say. I’ve been in a lot of situations that I only escaped by the seat of my pants so this isn’t the first time, just my first time telling them. Doing this for my family is long overdue.

“Yeah!” says Benjamin suddenly after a few seconds of looking around at everyone, and even though they’re still waiting for my answer we all can’t help but laugh.

“I’ll fill you in some other time,” I say to Logan and gently grab Dana’s wrist then pull her hand up and place the token in it. I can tell she’s a bit torn as she takes it and gives me a searching gaze, then pulls me into a hug that I think is more meant to give me support than thanks.

“You sure you can’t stay?” she asks.

“Yeah Uncle Bronwic, stay!” says Millie as she bounces up and down on her seat.

“I’m sure,” I say. “See you soon kids!”

I circle the table and give everyone hugs, even Logan, then say a few more goodbyes before I leave through the front door. Of course I can just Portal somewhere from inside the house, but I need the mental separation of leaving. Of leaving them behind if needed, but more to set my intent for whatever’s next. I glance to my left at Tatiana’s house and almost take a step in that direction, then trigger Omnipresent and let my mind expand.

The fastest way to my Level is finding the most danger so I look for the biggest conflict happening on Earth, as long as it’s not another Dungeon dive. There are a lot to choose from and I feel a surge of guilt that I haven’t been actively taking out the most powerful Monsters and swarms. At the same time, humanity has been doing pretty well and I don’t see too many places where large groups of humans have been wiped out or migrated. After a few minutes of weighing up options, I decide on Tampere in Finland. A few hundred thousand humans live there and a massive conflict is taking place in the northeast part of the Settlements there.

I form a Portal to see what’s going on and see over a hundred humans trying to fight something that reminds me slightly of Hvitserkur as it thunders down a wide open road lined with rubble, smashing everyone and everything aside. Towering at least 20 feet tall, its skin resembles gnarled bark. Moss and lichen cling to its limbs and its eyes burn with an amber glow beneath a heavy brow ridge. Its gaping mouth is filled with jagged, yellow teeth that emerge from a tangled mane of moss and vines. The air around it seems to crackle with energy.

I manifest the Portal and jump through into the fray.