“Why are you waiting around here? Let’s head into the farm so we can pray for our journey. Timo and Kolerego will surely bless us and lend us speed and strength. Up, up. We can’t spend all day waiting around here,” Lord Momoh said from the window of his hover cart. His rotund frame just barely fit in his seat.

  His floating transport was slightly bigger than the silvery one Edobar had owned. That one hovered a few feet behind with the provisional lord inside. Both carts were hexagons with flat bottoms and tall walls. Each wall had a large centered window. Their roofs were pitched and every surface was covered in intricate ornamentations. It was like someone had enchanted a gazebo and sent it flying through the air.

  Momoh’s floating gazebo was a few feet wider and made of different materials. The outer walls were made of a shiny black material that Luke recognized as beetle chitin. Its floor was a dark mahogany-like wood and all of the decorations fit that aesthetic. There were six inward facing wooden chairs, all of them filled. Two elvish guards sat on either side of the lord, an ornately dressed woman, and two orc maid servants. One of his maids was ‘driving’ the hover cart using a hexagon panel that rotated freely.

  Luke raised an eyebrow. “You asked me to meet you here and we were waiting for you. If you are in a hurry, we can skip the prayers.”

  Momoh sliced his hands down. “Never. We are devout citizens of the Empire of the Rising Dawn. We will always take the necessary time to worship. That was Lord Edobar’s failing. He selfishly hoarded his lifeforce and never gave the gods their due. I believe that’s why I was inspired to fight him, so that the gods could remove him and replace him with my divinely favored nephew.”

  Luke looked over to the silver hover cart his nephew Imohi had now that Edobar was dead. The provisional lord lounged atop dozens of pillows and seemed uninterested in their conversation. Laying next to him was a scantily clad dwarf woman, feeding him little cubes of dripping meat. On the opposite side sat Seneschal Cormac and Seer Theobaldine. He didn’t have any guards with him, perhaps expecting his uncle to handle security.

  If this pompous little shit was divinely favored, then Luke was doubly glad he had nothing to do with the Kalibutan pantheon. Particularly when you took into account what he did with the Falodun widow and her children.

  Attached to the rear of the silver hexagon was a loose chain leading to a wooden hexagon. This crude hover cart was about half the size of the original and had twice as many people crammed inside. There were no ornamentations, no carvings, just a bare wood gazebo floating along with hastily applied runes. Luke could tell from here that the runes wouldn’t last more than a few days.

  Sitting in the center of the floor was the former wife of Lord Edobar. She sat there proudly, expressionless and calm. Tracks of tears showed how that hadn’t always been the case. Surrounding her were a half dozen children, the page with the speed class, and an orc maid. They were surrounded by ten trunks that held all of their remaining belongings. The Provisional Lord had claimed everything else for himself and let them keep mostly clothing and sentimental items. Luke suspected he wouldn’t be escorting them back to the capital if it didn’t increase his chances of being made a permanent lord.

  “Alright, if you are in a hurry, go ahead and lead the way,” Luke said and hopped into the hover truck.

  He activated the hover runes as the other two carts slid by. He gave Cormac a respectful nod as he slid by. The older orc returned the nod with one of his own.

  Their small convoy floated through the farming estate’s outer walls and over the dirt path. They passed more than a dozen different fields, each with a grain or fruit that Luke didn’t recognize. Since food was more expensive on Kalibutan, he hadn’t spent much time exploring their cuisine. He intended on changing that during the trip. There were several dishes that the internet said would taste good to the human palate. He had brought MREs along in case they were wrong.

  Lord Kadiri stood at the edge of his village, along with a dozen servants, each holding a plate of food. Behind them stood a row of large statues. The six statues represented the Kalibutan gods and were much bigger than the small shrines on the Falodune estate road. They were exposed to the elements, but each one was pristine. They clearly put in effort to keep the statues clean.

  Luke had done some research and he was pretty sure he could recognize them now. The first statue was an elf with a scimitar in each hand. His armor and furious expression made it easy to guess that was Kolerego, the god of righteous anger. He granted strength and fire powers to his most devout followers.

  The next one was a female elf in billowy clothes and looked like she was afraid of the first one. Timo, the goddess of fear. She granted wind and lightning powers. Luke had a bone to pick with her. She’s the one that got three people killed shortly after he started working on Kalibutan. She’s the one that granted Shepard his speed and lightning bolts when he tried to kill Luke. As far as Luke was concerned, she was an evil goddess.

  The statue of a fat guy with a blissful expression on his face was ?ojo, the god of joy. He might be worse than Timo, actually. He took joy from his followers, making the world a worse place. The only thing he returned was light based attacks.

  The emaciated guy was Mal?ojo, the god of sadness. He gave out ice and debuff powers. Luke was indifferent about that particular god. The smiling goddess next to her was another evil one. The goddess of love, Amo, gave out healing powers, but only after she took true love. Rounding out the pantheon was Doloro, an elf with nails in his face and arms. He took away pain, both physical and emotional, which sounded good, until you realize he only gave out poison powers.

  Lord Kadiri stepped forward to greet his visitors and loudly said, “Lord Momoh, Provisional Lord Imohi, and Luke of Machines. So wonderful to see the three of you. We are ready for your worship and have prepared snacks to help you recover.”

  The other two hover carts lowered to the ground and everyone started piling out. Luke decided to follow suit.

  “Wonderful to see you as well Lord Kadiri. Thank you for greeting us at the beginning of what we hope to be an auspicious journey,” Momoh replied happily.

  “May the gods hear and agree,” Kadiri said happily. The thin elf turned to Imohi and said, “How are you feeling? Nervous yet?”

  The young elf shook his head, “Of course not. My combat prowess alone would get me the position, let alone my political connections. My position as a lord of the Empire of the Rising Dawn has been foreordained. I will quickly rise through the ranks of the royalty, you will be glad to have known me when I was only a Provisional Lord.”

  Luke couldn’t help but snort at the guy’s pompous tone. He was trying so hard to fit in with the big boys.

  Imohi slowly turned and glared at him. “Something to say, human?”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Luke almost rolled his eyes. “No, of course not. I look forward to the day you are made the lord of the Bona Urbo estate,” he lied.

  Imohi clearly didn’t believe him but didn’t call him on it. Instead, he walked over to the statue of the angry god Kolerego and knelt down to pray. Momoh knelt near him and started whispering his own prayers. The rest of their staff knelt in front of the other gods and prayed as well. Once everyone else was praying, the Falodun widow and her children joined in on the worship.

  Luke stayed where he was. Kruro and Bosa looked at him and then stepped back when they saw he wasn’t joining in. The farming lord walked over to them and stood nearby, looking over the pantheon.

  “Luke of Machines, It occurs to me that you might not know much about our worship, since you served under the heathen. Would you like me to guide you through the process?” Kadiri asked.

  Luke slashed his hands down. “Lord Kadiri, it’s kind of you to offer, but I have already decided I will not worship your gods.”

  Kadiri frowned, “We all live due to their grace and glory, even humans. It’s important to give them a small offering to show our gratitude.”

  “Well, I certainly respect your religion, but they haven’t done anything good for me. Worshiping your gods got three of my coworkers killed, and almost got me killed in the duel.”

  Kadiri opened and closed his mouth a few times. “I’m sorry to hear your first experiences with our illustrious pantheon were sour. I so wish it had been better. I believe with time you will find that their worship makes your life better in hundreds of little ways. I have grown more prosperous since I have increased my worship over the last few decades. I think if you give it a chance you will see how good they are to us all.”

  “I do try and keep an open mind, but the more I learn about the pantheon, the less I want to worship them. Again, it’s not that I want to disparage your beliefs, it’s just that they are not for me.”

  The farming lord was quiet for a moment while everyone in front of him got up and shuffled over to a different statue to worship. Once they were kneeling again he said, “There are others on Kalibutan that refuse to worship our benefactors. They are universally reviled. Not because we are intolerant of other beliefs, but because our very lives rely on the God's constant fighting for us.”

  “Fighting? Who are they fighting?”

  “The Outsiders, of course,” Kadiri said and gestured to the sky.

  “I’ve read that name before, but I’m not sure I understand it. Is it a physical enemy or more of a metaphysical one?”

  “Oh the Outsiders are very real. I’ve seen an incursion with my own eyes before. Roughly six decades ago, I was on the Vinegar Plains and saw the sky tear open myself. Their void ship burst through the sky and into our world. I was blessed to see Mal?ojo and Kolerego themselves come and beat them back into the void.”

  “Wait, so the gods are literally fighting invaders?”

  “Yes, that’s why I said we owe our lives to them. The Outsiders want to consume our world and the only thing able to push them back is the divine six.”

  “Huh. I had no idea.”

  “Indeed. Worship may seem strange to your sensibilities, but it is best for our worlds and best for you individually.”

  “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll have to do some thinking about that.”

  Kadiri wiggled his hands and walked away. Luke stood there as he thought about this revelation. Apparently aliens from space were attacking the elves and only the gods had the power to defend them. The divine elves might be assholes, but they were actually the heroes? Maybe. Luke would have to ask around some more before he made up his mind on worship.

  The others finished their prayers and got up groggily. They looked like they had been up all night. That was another tally on the anti-god side, worship literally stole your lifeforce.

  Most of the worshipers ate the provided snacks and quietly talked while they gathered their strength for the upcoming journey. The widow and her children kept themselves apart. When the farming servants came by with snacks, she insulted them and sent them away.

  Cormac came over and patted Luke on his shoulder. Unlike the first time he did that, this time Luke stayed steady. His higher stats combined with his slim power armor put him on par with the older orc. Cormac was looking better these days. The core treatment had given him his class back and he looked healthier. The whorls on his skin were brighter and there was a spring in his step.

  “Luke of Machines, glad to have you with us on this journey. Is this your staff? Would you like to introduce me?”

  “Sure, this beautiful lady is Kruro. She’s a capable Runewright and she’s been a real asset to Monster Jaeger Inc.” Luke said as he gestured to the naga with a wry smile. Of course Kruro and Cormac knew each other. He turned to the long-haired elf behind him and said, “Jinx is sleeping in the truck. She’s a cat with the class Spectral Stalker. And finally, we have Dieya Bosa, a handmaiden I hired to guide me in Kalibutan culture for the trip. And to make me look good since she’s got a silver class.” He grinned.

  “Kruro of Runes, glad to see you doing well. Bosa of Domestic, happy to make your acquaintance.”

  Bosa bowed low and said, “Thank you for the chance to meet you Seneschal Cormac. Perhaps I will get the chance to serve you crackers later.”

  “Perhaps. Luke of Machines. I’d like to discuss caravan security. Are you and your domestic willing to assist in the defense against monsters?”

  “Of course. I’d be happy to kill anything that comes our way, but I’ll have to sleep twice as often as you guys do. I’m assuming you want to set up shifts? Who will be fighting?”

  “Lord Momoh is traveling with two monster cullers and they have agreed to assist us in killing anything that attacks us. I am the only one in Provisional Lord Imohi’s entourage that will handle monster killing, but I should be able to handle my shifts. I suggest you take the first shift since you are still fresh. I’ll take the midday shift and Lord Momoh’s cullers will take the evening shift. We can discuss the night watch after we have bedded down. The hover cart on duty will lead the caravan since that’s the best vantage spot.”

  “Excellent. Lord Momoh mentioned we’ll stop at a waystation for the night, what about lunchtime?”

  “We had planned on stopping for lunch, but I no longer believe we will have time. We will take a brief break to stretch our legs and pee when it’s time to switch lead hover carts. That first break will be about nine hours from now.”

  Luke almost swore. That would be grueling. People on Kalibutan were awake twice as long as humans, but he hadn't thought that it also translated to much more time in between breaks. He would have to sleep during the third shift, wake up in time for their dinner, and then sleep again on the third shift of the night watch.

  Cormac continued, “Also, I may need some assistance tomorrow. We’ll be in a thicker mana area and the attacks might increase past my capabilities. It just depends on how recently the road has been cleared of threats. But not on the way home. Provisional Lord Imohi has given me permission to rank up past level twenty-four. Once I pass that threshold, I should be more than enough to handle the return trip shifts.”

  “Really? That’s great news. Do you really expect to be stronger right away? Won’t you have just sacrificed your best skills?”

  “No, twenty-four is different. You give up something more valuable than skills for that threshold, and in exchange your class evolves to something stronger. Same thing happens at the threshold at level forty-eight.”

  “What do you sacrifice instead?”

  Cormac looked uncomfortable. “It’s not... we don’t talk about it.”

  Luke tilted his head to the side. “Why not? Also, remember I’m human. You don’t have to obey cultural norms with me.”

  Cormac winced and said, “Let’s not talk about this. It’s time to load up and leave.”

  Luke stood there shocked as the orc walked off. He turned to Kruro and said, “Do you know what that’s about?”

  “Yes. Please don’t ask me about it though.” She slithered back to the truck and slid inside.

  Luke stood there confused for a bit before he walked back to the truck.

  Bosa stood at the driver’s side door. “Master Luke of Machines, may I suggest that I drive? You will be focusing on keeping the caravan safe and I can ensure we stay on the path.”

  “Yeah, sure. Do you know what Cormac was talking about?”

  She lowered her voice. “Yes. Ask me about it tonight after the naga is asleep.”