Aldrin paced back and forth in front of the carriage as Evie read over the runes. “The runes seem to be exactly as they say,” she finished reading over them and stood back.

  Aldrin grunted, “Still don’t trust it.”

  Pierre quietly chuckled, earning looks from the two for something rare of him. “I don’t blame you.” He pushed off the nearby pole and walked toward them. “Demons known to the people of Earth are supposed to be tricksters. In Grenora, I don’t know if it still stands the same?” He looked at Evie.

  She shrugged. “My father said they never lie. Other people are just used to people lying all the time that telling the truth now sounds like a lie too. Even coming from a Demon that’s bound to tell the truth.”

  Pierre frowned. “Huh. Makes sense,” he agreed, nodding his head along.

  “Soooooo… it's good then?” Aldrin hesitated as he stepped closer.

  Evie nodded, “Yes.” She stepped back further with her hands on her hips, reading through the runes one last time before turning back to face them. “Where is Jared, by the way?”

  Aldrin closed his eyes, feeling through the Servant Strand, “He’s close.”

  Evie nodded and smiled at him. “Want to go in and wait?” She asked, holding the carriage door open, revealing shifting images of a cozy living room, a kitchen with a wood fire stove, a bathroom, and decent-sized bedrooms.

  “Do dimensions usually shift like that?” Pierre asked in wonder as he stepped closer, holding his hand out. He was surprised when his hand went through like it was passing through water. He pulled his hand back and looked down at it, wiggling his fingers for wetness. “That was a weird feeling.”

  Evie chuckled at the childlike wonder Pierre displayed as he stuck his hand in and out. “It depends on the tier of enchantment.” She rubbed along the runes. “And since we can upgrade them, there is no telling what this carriage will turn into.”

  “It’ll become a living thing,” Aldrin thought aloud. “I-“

  “Guys!” Jared came running. “Guys! I’ve got it! Look!” He stopped in front of them as they huddled around him. He shared his System Message with them.

  The group clapped him on the back and congratulated him. “So are you going tier up now?” Pierre asked with a soft smile.

  “Yes! Well, wait, why haven’t you tiered up yet?” Jared asked.

  “I want to get more practice with my alchemy first. We will have time on the road for me to practice. I will do it when we get closer to Ebira,” Pierre admitted. The others nodded and looked back at Jared to see him finally tier up.

  Jared’s gaze became unfocused as he tiered up and read through his new class skills. “Oh, buddy,” he whistled. “Do you guys want to see?”

  “Wait!” Evie said, holding her hand up. “We should probably do that when we are traveling. It would be better if everyone knew what everyone could do.”

  Aldrin clapped his hands together. “Does everyone have what they need then?”

  Pierre raised his hand. “I’ll have to go to one shop that has ingredients. Hopefully, they still have some stuff leftover if the news of Lor-Vold hasn’t come this way yet.”

  “I’ll go with him. I need more stones.” Evie added as they turned to start walking into the spiral tower.

  “Be back here as quickly as possible,” Aldrin shouted at them as they walked away, then turned back to Jared. “Did you also get any information about your Beastmaster profession?” Aldrin asked.

  Jared nodded with a grin. “It’s on the way to Ebira. An Orc outpost called Tar-Kresh.”

  Aldrin tensed. “Which tribe of Orcs?”

  “Hizotul? I think?” Jared answered.

  Aldrin shook his head. “No, I mean, did you get the banner?”

  “Oh! No! The guy I turned my quest into said that the closest Beastmaster is there because sometimes the tribe comes to the edge of Folos to trade.” Jared said. “Why?”

  Aldrin pursed his lips together. “Remember when I told you that Orcs found us when my family first arrived?”

  Jared tried to read between the lines. “I am guessing you guys didn’t leave on the best of terms?”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Aldrin laughed. “No, we did. It’s just that…well… I guess it would be better to show you when we encounter them.” He answered, intentionally being vague as he smirked at the confused look on Jared.

  “Ok..?” Jared said.

  “Also!” Aldrin said, changing the subject. “Our warhorses,” he pointed at the two that lazily stood in their stalls. “Are named Hallix and Drellix.” he beamed.

  Jared took a moment for the realization to kick in. “They talk?!”

  Aldrin shook his head. “Not in the way you would think. It's more telepathy than anything. It came with Skill I got while we were in the dungeon. It lets me communicate with any creature that is considered a being of the night,” he said.

  “I wonder if I can talk to them once I get my Beastmaster profession?” Jared said aloud.

  Aldrin shrugged with a grin. “It's worth a shot, right?”

  They waited for Pierre and Evie to come back as they chatted about the potential synergy Jared would want to have. During that time, Hallix and Drellix were hitched to the carriage with ease now that Aldrin could speak with them. Although they made their dislike of the harness known, Aldrin assured them that he would see about getting something better that they would like.

  A moment later, Evie and Pierre walked back with happy grins on their faces, which Jared found odd since Pierre rarely smiles. “What's wrong?” Jared asked them specifically, Pierre.

  “Oh, nothing but me getting ready to fly through the lower levels of my Alchemist. Look,” Pierre said as he shared his inventory. There were bundles of flowers, herbs, a Tier 3 alchemist kit, vials, and flasks.

  Aldrin couldn’t help the grin that split his face along with Jared. “If you wanted, you could be a mobile potion maker. I mean, we already have the setup,” Aldrin pointed to the carriage. “It would be easy to make money in a pinch if we need to.”

  Pierre chuckled, “I have thought about it, but I am happier that I can pursue something that would benefit the team. I’ve been feeling kind of useless. The dungeon helped drive home the point about my glaring weaknesses too.”

  Aldrin’s grin faltered, but it was Evie who gave Pierre a squeeze on the shoulder. “You weren’t useless. Without you, I'm pretty sure that scorpion golem would have killed us.” she smiled at him.

  “Not to mention when you weaved your way through the village to help with the trap,” Jared added.

  “And when you went after the ent’s power source,” Aldrin said, his grin returning.

  Pierre tried to keep his emotions under control as he looked down at his feet. “Thank you,” he said softly.

  “Besides!” Aldrin moved to stand next to him, slinging an arm over his shoulder. “We are all just getting started! Just think of all the destructi-”

  “Aldrin!” Evie hissed with a grin.

  Aldrin waved her off with a grin of his own. “Fine. Just think of all the loot,” he said, tapping Pierre on the shoulder before he addressed the rest of the group. “Well, guys, are we ready?”

  Together as a team, they headed for the carriage. Aldrin was the first to approach it, placing his hand on the door to bring up its information. “What’s the name we are going with?” he asked the group as he hovered over it.

  “It's gotta be something symbolic!” Jared said.

  “But not too on the nose either,” Pierre countered.

  Evie crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg as she thought about the name. Aldrin was in deep thought as well as he hovered over the blank space. It wasn’t until he remembered his brother, Ayden, being obsessed with the Greek pantheon before the transition to Grenora.

  “Hecate?” Aldrin said, which shushed the others.

  Jared let out a bellyaching laugh. “That’s fucking genius!” He said, slapping Aldrin on the back.

  “For those who aren’t well versed in why that name is significant; can you let us know?” Pierre said, which Evie nodded along to.

  Jared turned to them with a smile plastered on his face. “Back on Earth, we had pantheons of gods that civilizations at one point worshipped. Except we have no tangible evidence they existed, unlike here in Grenora. Basically, Hecate is from the Greek pantheon. She was or is?” Jared scrunched up his face before relaxing. “That question is for another time. Anyway, Hecate ruled over magic, crossroads, boundaries between spaces, and everything to do with the night.”

  “Isn’t it too on the nose then?” Pierre asked as he digested the information.

  Jared chuckled again and snapped his fingers. “Maybe to the people of Earth, but honestly, how many do we encounter to warrant worry?” he asked, which made Pierre think. “Let alone the people of Grenora have a slim chance of knowing about our versions of gods and goddesses,” he grinned even wider as he turned back to Aldrin. “You have my vote!”

  Pierre gave a thumbs up, and Evie shrugged. “I would like to know more about your pantheons,” she said to Jared.

  Jared looked at her with burning passion. “Do you know what you’re asking?” he drawled.

  Evie’s thoughts came to a screeching halt as she noticed Jared’s maniacal gleam in his eye. “I… am actually unsure.” She intoned, eyeing him like he was cursed.

  Jared chuckled and rubbed his hands together like a second-rate villain. “It would be my honor to educate you. We can start at the beginning!”

  “Beginning of what?” Evie asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

  Jared walked over, starting the breakdown of the Sumerian pantheon, which is considered the first recorded pantheon. Pierre rolled his eyes with a smirk and went to stand beside Aldrin as the two devolved into a philosophical and theological discussion.

  “What brought that name on?” Pierre asked once he saw Aldrin’s gaze return focus when he took his hand off the door, but Pierre noted the sadness that shaded his eyes, the same sadness he’s only seen twice.

  Aldrin let go of a deep sigh as the memory of his brother resurfaced, and with it came memories of his mother. “My brother did, actually,” he chuckled. He knew his brother would have argued for something grander or even something less attention-grabbing, but the name fit the carriage just fine.

  “Do you want to talk about him? You never do, and I see that whatever happened to him weighs you down a lot,” Pierre offered.

  Aldrin looked at Pierre and gave a tight-lipped smile. “One day, but not right now. We gotta get moving.”

  Pierre nodded in understanding then went to grab the other two, pulling them from their deep discussion. Aldrin whispered the location of Tar-Kresh to the carriage, which became alight with scorching orange runes, sealing the name of the destination within itself. He wondered how the carriage knew where and how to go, something he would loathe asking the imp, Waesmenor. Pushing that thought away, he waved his friends forward and, one by one, they stepped into the carriage. Aldrin took one last look at what would be, unbeknownst to him, his origin point for it all.

  Do you want character status screens for next saturday? Keep in mind I will put them in spoiler tags still.