Crossroads sent a small spark to wake Beauty up, and she quickly scurried over to hide on the couch with Dix, who smiled at her in fond amusement. The god then twitched another finger, creating seating for the other three ladies present. He had to cough to hide his laughter at them still not realizing what had happened. Crossroads really was amused by the audacity of the man. He had seen the trouble and power arranged against him, then ignored the first attack as though it was nothing. In return, he struck back at everyone present, not as enemies, but as dirt on his shoe, and finished by casually returning to his seat and demanding a drink. It was a masterful strike at the arrogance of the divine. On Mantra they were worshipped, and even the other gods respected each other, only showing otherwise during the conflicting moments of Bidding. To have a human dismiss them as nothing was a stunning blow. That alone would have been enough for Crossroads to enjoy himself, but he knew the man wasn’t done.

“So, now that I have my new race and stats, can I finally leave this pretentious shit hole and get back to doing something fun, or do you need something else from me?” Dix wasn’t really angry, or even all that upset with the situation, it was just that he was tired of being the weakest person around, and treated that way. Crossroads, despite Dix’s assumption that he was the most powerful god around, at least treated him decently. The man had his secrets and played some games, but he was more than happy to give Dix what he could in a straightforward way.

The god just chuckled to himself, watching the other ladies get seated out of the corner of his eye. They still looked a bit shell shocked, something he had anticipated even though he had warned them that this was what they should expect from the man. Knowing Dix would enjoy the spectacle, he flicked a couple fingers up, popping both the tablet for the races, as well as the device of compacted plaques out of his jacket. Cocking an eyebrow he asked, “Didn’t I tell you you couldn’t have this? And you definitely can’t have the statistical systems plaques. Why would you even want these?”

Dix looked confused. He wasn’t, but he looked that way. “When no one asked to have them back, I thought they were mine to keep. After all, that pixie told me I would have a great deal of information to take with me. Oh, and you said you’d bind one of those to me, but I didn’t want to interfere with your busy schedule.”

The three women who had come with Crossroads were slowly catching up, going from shock, to confusion, to anger. Lust looked ready to blow her red top, but Crossroads kept ignoring them for now. “Of course, lad, let me take care of that for you.” While the tablet started tearing in half before rebuilding both sections he kept speaking. There were also some small sparks flowing into one of the pieces from the plaque device. “The other one though we need to keep, it’s the actual plaques after all. I’ll include a copy with the races.” The women were back to shock and confusion. The statistical systems' plaques were secret to the point that most of the divines had never seen the extinct ones, and yet he was giving them to some mortal? Crossroads was enjoying this perhaps a little too much, and Dix wasn’t much better. At Dix’s nod of thanks, he clapped his hands together and stood from his chair with one hand extended for a hand shake. “Well that’s all I needed from you, enjoy your second life on Mantra. Beauty will show you to the transporter.”

Dix stood as well, and shook his hand with a smile. Crossroads flicked a finger again, and the glowing ball of light streaked from the air into Dix’s chest. It left a warm sensation at its passing, but didn’t hurt at all. Nodding once more, Dix turned to help Beauty off the couch. Just as her hand landed on his there was a loud voice from behind him.

“Arrrrgh! You shitty old bastard! What do you think you’re doing?! He’s our responsibility, not yours!” Lust had completely lost it. Most of the time, particularly in public, she was her normal promiscuous and provocative self. Outside of the sight of people other than her compatriots she was normally cold and calculating. But hidden under the facades she presented to others, she was still a woman of passion, and Crossroads and Dix had been pushing her buttons on purpose.

Dix might not have known she would blow up like this, but Crossroads definitely did. Dix mostly did it to try and keep her away from him. Normally she’d be exactly the poison he was looking for in a night, but he dearly wanted to keep his recently reconstituted genitals intact.

Crossroads, on the other hand, did it because he thought it was funny, which Lust knew perfectly well. The god might be normally aloof, and stoic, but he was still far more aware of the personalities and actions of the other gods than they realized. Lust had only figured it out during their recent discussion, and it had left her deeply unsettled. It was the primary reason she had reacted so poorly at the beginning of this debacle. She had also realized that he truly regarded the other gods and goddesses as children, unable to truly comprehend the reality of where they stood in the hierarchy. And that scared her.

Dix kept his smile to himself. He had an inkling of what was going on here, but this confirmed it for him. Of course the new arrivals on Mantra would be used for something, they were a resource ripe for the picking. With an entirely different mindset from the residents of Mantra, there was a chance that some few of the transfers would actually be useful to have a vested interest in. Some would be useful for Roanoak, less in a production role than a design role, but still useful. Any soldiers, fighters, or combat enthusiasts could be useful for any number of other gods. Really it depended on what sort of thing a god was looking to have done. Even priests, preachers, or politicians could be useful as orators or manipulators if they could be converted to believe in something new. Considering his own success in the combat tests, Dix assumed he would be used in that sort of role. The real question, for him, was what he would get out of it all. He’d already had a few thoughts about what he would be asking for, his mind having deduced this possibility some time ago.

Sitting back down, he allowed the smug smile he wore earlier to return. “What exactly is it you expect me to do for you?”

The women were catching on now, so surprising them would be more difficult. For the moment, Lust was a little too worked up to keep herself from answering, despite their earlier agreements that Chance would do the talking. “Whatever we need done”, she snapped. Chance winced a little at that. She knew Dix wouldn’t respond well to the tone Lust was maintaining.

The smile on Dix’s face never wavered, he simply moved his agenda forward calmly. “And my reward?”

Still incensed, Lust answered, “We’ll send you back to Earth.” That was the stock reward that the gods offered transfers, but it wasn’t what they had agreed on before arriving here. If Dix went back to Earth, he couldn’t do whatever it was that Crossroads wanted him for. Despite her current emotional state, Lust still caught the mistake as soon as the words left her mouth, but she couldn’t take them back now. The idea was moot anyways, as Dix had started laughing as soon as she finished speaking, a reaction that left Lust even further upset and confused. Looking to her partners she could see the same emotions on their faces, but all they could do was wait for Dix to stop laughing.

Dix eventually stopped, but it was more due to being out of breath than suppressing the mirth. He had to take a minute to hold his aching chest and suck air into his lungs, smiling broadly the whole time. When he could speak, all he said was, “No, thanks.” He also didn’t bother to hide the shit eating smirk broadly stretched across his face.

Lost for words, Lust could only look at her compatriots for help. Chance was contemplative, trying to parse the probabilities for what it was that they could reward him with for his help. The third member of their group had a small smile on her face, and was leaning forward in her chair, hands clasped between her knees. She spoke before Lust could ask for help. “I hope you can forgive Lust, you and Crossroads put her a little off balance here. What would you like in return for your assistance?”

Dix cocked his head to the side, smile sliding away. He studied her for a bit before he got back to his questions. “Who are you? I had Lust pegged fairly well, but I can’t imagine there is a Goddess of Normality, or Hot Moms, so I am drawing a bit of a blank on who you are”

Her slight blush wasn’t quite as endearing as Beauty’s, but it wasn’t that far off either. Being a goddess had its perks. Her brilliant smile lit up the room when she replied. “Thank you for that. My name is Balance.”

“Wonderful to meet you, Balance. Call me Dix. As for your question, the fact that I get a second life would normally be enough to convince me to do just about anything for you three. However, it is my understanding that you didn’t have anything to do with it.” There was a moment of silence as the three women once more tried to think of what they could offer the man. They had briefly discussed it before arriving here, but Crossroads had been of the opinion that they should actually ask Dix instead of just throwing out offers. Dix tried to keep the predatory aspects of his personality from interfering in his smile and speech when he continued. “Don’t worry too much about it, I have a couple of ideas. Just a quick check on the guidelines. I am assuming that personal power, money, and immortality are all off the list, yes?”

There were a series of nods from the ladies, but Crossroads had a finger up. When Dix looked his way he said, “Money is completely pointless to the divinities, so we can’t do anything with it either, other than Wealth that is. Personal power in the form of skills, or items can be done, as those are usually imbued with the power of the divinity granting them. Immortality is something that can not be given.”

Dix immediately latched onto the lacking continuation of that sentence. It just felt like it should end with “only earned.” He had no idea if that was true, but in a storybook fashion it made sense. Whether it was true or not, he certainly wasn’t ready to earn it, yet.

As for the only option that was viable, he was intrigued. Having skills or items granted from the divine would be a literal god send. The debate was over what kinds of skills or items he could get. Dix theorized that the skills would be ones that each goddess either used, or was related directly to their aspect. As for items, well, what else would Roanoak do all day? He still wasn’t quite sure which option he wanted, or even what the real available choices were. Even more importantly, while he might need both skills and weapons right at that moment, would he still need them by the time he was done with whatever it was that they wanted him for? Perhaps that was actually the answer. His rambling thoughts only took a brief moment of time, which was good, or he would have missed the rest of Crossroads’ statement.

“There is also the fact that you will be given a small portion of power before you are set out for Mantra. Each of your patrons will bestow something on you, as is required.” It was easy to tell when Crossroads finished, as he tossed back what was left of his drink, formed up another, and closed his eyes.

Dix glanced at Balance, who nodded to the unasked question. With that being true, there was a reasonable chance they might take at least part of his counter offer. He took a sip of his own drink while he checked if he had any other ideas. When none showed up, he went ahead. “Personal power sounds like a reasonable choice then. The only issue is that I would like to choose the form at the end, rather than the beginning. Would that work for you ladies?”

Balance let a warm smile fill her features as she responded, “So, you ask for personal power to be given to you if you finish your quest, but not power of a specific form as of yet? Worried that you might bargain for a magic sword, only to find you have a great one at the end of your journey, and no longer need such a thing? That’s a smart plan, but what keeps us from cheating you of a well earned reward?”

Once more Dix’s smile turned feral and vicious. The women were visibly startled by the change in him, having only seen this from him during combat. Still holding his drink he pointed at Crossroads, who grunted back at him despite not opening his eyes. “Him for one. The other would be Roanoak, if someone can pass a message to him after I leave. And finally, I believe your own natures would as well. You’re the Goddess of Balance, which I assume would have you balancing most things. Specifically the reward for a difficult task. Chance will likely give me a few choices ranging from complete trash, to something absolutely phenomenal. Lust, and I’m guessing here, would give me a skill and insist that sleeping with her is the only way to get it.” The slightly startled looks from Chance and Balance, along with the hungry one from Lust let him know he was right on the money with that one. When they lingered, he was worried it might be of more immediate concern.

Balance shook off the concerns, again responding smoothly, “Yes, our aspects will keep us acting in understandable ways. Crossroads would also help to keep us from backstabbing you. Why Roanoak? That must be some message.”

Trying to look innocent, Dix said, “I guess. I figured out how to get guns to work, and thought he might like to know.”

The ensuing silence was eventually broken by Crossroads scoffing, and then laughing. His booming laughter was followed by that of Chance and then Balance. Dix just snuggled Beauty while he waited for everyone to calm down. They obviously thought it was bullshit, but he knew it would work. Not that he blamed them. The God of Crafters spent a couple centuries trying to get it to work, and still failed. For a mere human to figure it out in the couple….

Suddenly Dix had a bit of a crisis on his mind. He had been inside the entire time since he died, other than the short trip to the garden with Beauty, so he had not noticed the passing of daylight. This left him in the dilemma that he had no idea how long he had been here. With being dead giving him more or less infinite resources, he hadn’t needed to sleep, eat, or pee. Memories of his grueling training for certain skills came back to him, specifically his movement skill. Not only did he not have a clear idea of how long it lasted, but he had a distinct impression of days passing as he worked in a trance to learn one single skill of several. Pushing his rising confusion aside, he refocused on the conversation.

Now that everyone had stopped laughing, Dix gazed fiercely at Crossroads. To the answering smirk he simply asked, “How long?”

He knew Crossroads figured it out pretty quick, by the slight widening of his eyes. The god quickly covered all of it up by saying, “You should be able to figure out the specifics at the end of the quest without too much problem. I’ll be happy to help facilitate when you are all ready. I can also give Roanoak your message. If it helps as much as you think, it should greatly reduce the cost of having him make things for you, no matter who’s paying. Sound fair to you, Balance?” When everyone but Dix was looking at Balance, who was looking at Dix, Crossroads mouthed, “Six weeks” to Dix.

More than a little mentally shaken, Dix barely managed to pay any attention to the argument between the three goddesses that would soon be in charge of him. They appeared to be giving him the deal he wanted, aided no doubt by Crossroads, but he was too busy trying to sort out his memories of how long he had been here. He suspected that there were more than a few temporal shenanigans by Crossroads keeping him from realizing any of it until now.