“Took you bloody long enough. Where’ve you been?” Richard asked as we approached his table.

  “Well, y’know, trip preparations!” I said amiably. “Backpacks to sort, pack horses to rent. Tents, food, all sorts of stuff!”

  Richard snorted. “That’s all being handled by your lackeys. What have you—ah,” Richard said, eyes narrowed and lips curled up into a grin. “Ahh, I see it now. Well then! Pull up a chair! Night’s still young.”

  Aerion and I exchanged embarrassed glances as we took seats across from Richard. Was it that obvious? If anything, I was more presentable now than ever before.

  For the first time in a long time, I’d removed my armor and worn a tux-like fancy suit. Which, of course, meant I was more vulnerable than ever. It was actually something that actually posed a bit of a problem when Aerion and I decided to be uh, intimate.

  In armor, our Dominion stats were relatively matched. Things worked out, unfortunate furniture aside. With it off, though? I was suddenly in physical contact with superwoman, and it was going to get a whole lot worse as Aerion’s stats continued to march upward. More than once, Aerion had nearly broken a bone just by applying a bit too much pressure.

  It seemed the Grace stat worked in tandem with Dominion, giving one finer control over their powers, and Aerion hadn’t really prioritized that stat until now. Her 42 points was nothing to sneeze at, but I wondered if we ought to prioritize a different strategy for a split-second before realizing how dumb that was.

  No, I needed a different solution. I needed some way of retaining my stats, even without my armor. Not just for, er, us, but as a survival mechanism. I was incredibly vulnerable outside my armor right now.

  Jewelry immediately came to mind. Unlike clothing, which was bulky and could only be layered so much, I could wear as many rings, necklaces and armbands as I pleased. Sure, I’d look ridiculous, and I assumed there was some upper limit to how many I could wear, but now that I had both gold and free Essence, it was high time I started toying with the idea. Hell, maybe I’d even be able to implant some of that stuff under my skin like they did for GPS chips and the like.

  Something to think about later. For now, Aerion was my bodyguard tonight. It wasn’t all bad. It meant I could actually get drunk again. Something Aerion sadly struggled with these days, thanks to her Vigor stat.

  I waved over a barmaid and ordered a mead for Aerion and an ale for myself.

  “So,” Richard said, positively beaming at us. “Got over your inhibitions, did you?”

  I smiled wryly. “What gave it away?”

  “You’re both smiling like loons, that’s what,” Richard said, shaking his head. Despite that, his tone made it clear he was ecstatic. “About bloody time. Philip and I thought we’d have to lock you in a room together to get you over it.”

  Aerion stared down at the table, ears and cheeks flushed.

  “I appreciate what you guys tried to do, but—”

  “Excuse me?” Richard said, raising a brow. “Tried? I reckon you’d be just as oblivious now if it weren’t for us.”

  “True enough,” I said. “Thank you. I honestly don’t know if I’ve made peace with everything yet, but, well…” I glanced at Aerion. Our eyes met, and she returned my smile. “Things are pretty alright, for now.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Richard said warm, his eyes gazing off to some distant place. “Life is too short for regrets. That goes double for a world like Axius.”

  Aerion and I glanced at each other again. That had been her exact line as well. Maybe I was overthinking this whole Blessing thing. When I’d initially bestowed her, it’d been mostly transactional. I gave her something she desperately wanted—power—while gaining a good deal of safety for myself.

  But while that might have been how things began, they definitely weren’t that way now. I wanted Aerion to thrive because I cared about her. My Blessing helping her only brought me happiness. And if we did ever break up and go our own separate ways, I could honestly live with the Essence burden knowing someone of Aerion’s caliber was out there, doing good for the world.

  I reached under the table and found Aerion’s hand, lacing my fingers in her own. Aerion’s subtle smile grew just the tiniest bit wider.

  “So then,” Richard said. “Don’t mean to be a downer, but this may very well be the last time we go out drinking like this for a long while yet.”

  “True that,” I replied, picking up the mug that had just been delivered to our table. “So let’s make this a night to remember, shall we? I dunno about all of you, but I’m getting piss drunk.”

  “Not too drunk, though,” Aerion said. “You only ever open up about Earth when you’ve had a few drinks.”

  I laughed. “I really gotta do better, don’t I?”

  “We both do,” Aerion said, her ears drooping slightly.

  I squeezed her hand. “There’ll be plenty of time for all of that.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “Yeah, yeah, you two lovebirds,” Richard said, raising his mug. “Now c’mon, and let’s drink our hearts out!”

  Aerion raised her mug, as did I. “To friendship,” I said. “And kicking this Cataclysm’s ass.”

  “Hear hear!” Richard and Aerion chimed, smashing our mugs together.

  Turned out I was right in the end. It was a night to remember, and we drank well into the early morning before Richard and I passed out at the table. Despite the hangover the following morning, despite the panicked rush to get everyone and everything together, it was one of the happiest nights of my entire life.

  The next morning was about as bad as I’d feared. Unfortunately, donning my armor did nothing to cure my pre-existing hangover, so I had to deal with it like most mortals. Lots of water, food in my stomach, and complaining.

  Aerion, completely unaffected by alcohol, handled most of the preparations, including the shopping spree I’d been looking forward to. In no mood to go out in the early morning, I narrated my list of rings and bracelets to buy—though I asked her to buy ones that could also double as armor, and not just pure jewelry. For one, because I wasn’t yet comfortable wearing womens’ jewelry, and also because their Condition stat might be higher.

  And so, thanks mostly to Aerion, our little group was trotting out to the city gate by midmorning.

  We weren’t the only ones, either. It seemed news of our departure reached the townsfolk, and before long, we had a whole damned entourage following us.

  “You think any caravan’s ever received this many celebrity guards?” I asked, nodding to a random man who cheered us on.

  “Reckon not,” Richard said, while Philip and Rogar did their best to ignore the crowd. We’d all linked up at the inn, where Rogar had presented me with a disappointingly small billet of Frostsilver and an even smaller billet of Voidsteel and Aurorium mixed together. It seemed Rogar didn’t have the equipment to separate those two exotic materials in his forge, so this was the best he could do.

  The Voidsteel-Aurorium billet was the width of two fingers and barely the length of my hand. Still, they said these metals could be used to great effect when alloyed with regular steel, so I looked forward to forging them. Maybe even in the one Rogar would build on our plot.

  While the billets sat in my inventory, the bulk of our supplies were transported on horseback.

  We’d bought four for this journey. Three for riding, one for carrying our stuff. It seemed Rogar and I were the only ones in our party who didn’t know how to ride. Even Richard, of all people, had received riding lessons back on Earth, and more after he’d arrived here.

  Richard planned to use it to head to Passion’s territory after. He’d let his old horse go before entering the Cataclysm Dungeon, so he appreciated our help in procuring one, though he paid for it with his own coin.

  Rogar would ride with Philip when the time came, heading first to the capital to register themselves as our regents before riding to our plot to develop it. They’d take the packhorse with them as well. Most of it was tools Rogar couldn’t live without. He’d shuttered his forge for now, but hadn’t sold it in case this venture didn’t pan out. If it did, he planned on hauling a lot more from there.

  Which left one horse for Aerion and me. Aerion’s small frame and lack of weight came in handy here, allowing us to ride together without tiring out our poor steed. Or, should I say noble steed. Aerion had insisted on a white horse, despite having to pay almost double for it.

  Sure, we could afford it, but my stingy self had some serious buyer’s remorse until I saw how Aerion petted and cooed at the thing. That alone made the price worth it. Not to mention this beauty was built for speed. If we had to hustle anywhere, we definitely could.

  Waiting for us at the city gate were none other than Baron Sinclair and a retinue of about forty City Guard. As well as a dozen or so horse drawn wagons. Most of which carried what looked to be troops. If my estimate was right, we were bringing almost fifty soldiers with us. Incidentally, the elf who’d given us this task, Elwend, was nowhere to be seen.

  “Quite the operation you’ve got here,” I said, dismounting awkwardly from the horse. Aerion had taught me earlier and I’d practiced it a few times, but even with my Grace stat, the action was weird and unfamiliar. At least I never fell. “Just protecting a caravan is all.”

  “Perhaps, though this is quite apart from an ordinary caravan,” Sinclair said. “Come, allow me to introduce you to the expedition’s leader. Grug!”

  I winced, wondering for a moment why he was calling me by that name. Then I realized the horrifying truth.

  “Yes, milord!” a tall, skinny figure said, scurrying up to us. When he got closer, I saw he wasn’t just tall, but actually gigantic, standing almost ten feet tall. Despite his height, though, I couldn’t see him as anything other than an oversized skinny man. His muscles might’ve been larger than a humans, but they weren’t proportionate at all for his size. Eskil’s biceps were easily twice the diameter of this guy’s, and Eskil himself wasn’t especially ripped. At least, not yet. I figured that would change as his stats improved.

  “Grug, meet ah, Greg. And Aerion and their party.”

  I ignored the giggles and chuckles behind me

  The tall man swept his gaze across us all, and I half expected him to stick his nose up in disgust. The ornery caravan leader was as common a trope as the bodyguard quests that came with them.

  “A pleasure!” Grug said, rushing up to me and Aerion and grabbing our arms to shake. “I’ve heard all about you! Jes’ incredible to have a veritable hero along! Especially someone sharin’ the same name as me! We all sure appreciate the extra protection!”

  “It’s not… no, nevermind,” I muttered, realizing the futility of this situation. “Pleasure's mine.”

  The man had an odd accent that reminded me of a country bumpkin. A European bumpkin, considering his accent.

  Despite his intimidating height, he seemed like a warm guy, bowing repeatedly as he greeted everyone in turn.

  “Elwend won’t be accompanying us?” I asked, looking for the elf who’d initially given us the contract.

  “Afraid not,” Sinclair said. “He seemed to be in quite the rush returning to Dominium. You needn’t worry, however. With this much power at your disposal, the brigands won’t stand a chance.”

  “Well, I look forward to traveling with you all,” I said, addressing everyone. “It’s about a two-week journey, am I right?”

  “Indeed,” Grug said. “Plenty of time to get to know each other, eh?”

  “I’d have to agree,” I replied. If Elwend was sending this many men, these elves couldn’t be pushovers. Either that, or Dominium preferred overkill. Knowing their patron deity, I wouldn’t put it past them. These elves wouldn’t stand a chance.

  I took one last look at Basecrest as we trotted out. I didn’t know when I’d be back, and if I was honest, I didn’t want to be back anytime soon. All I’d seen of Axius was Basecrest and the Cataclysm Dungeon. I itched to travel. To broaden my horizons. There was a whole, vast world out there, just waiting to be explored.