“What do you want Burk?” Max asked with a yawn in his voice, “It’s been a rough day.”

[Head Priestess] Burk was a small woman that looked as disheveled as her personality. From multiple-sizes too big of robes to grey hair that looked as if it never had been combed a day in her life, she looked the exact opposite of most [Priests]. But, she had an open secret. She was not a Human as her appearance suggested, rather Burk was an Angelic – a race created of the Divine.

“Finally.” Burk scoffed, “The ash. Do you still have it?”

“You are going to have to be a bit more specific.”

“The Ash of the End. You returned from Peneil’s domain with some attached to your robes. He never allows that.”

Max thought back to the God of Death’s home. It was a desert of ash and soot, some of which was smeared on his clothes after his return. He purged his clothes of the stain and added the dirty water to his Pocket World.

“I still have it.” He said, “Why?”

Burk rapidly stood from the couch, her eyes turned Angelic black, and the air became thick. Aura ripped through the unused space of the room, blasting furniture to the side to clear a direct path. Wings sprouted from the old woman’s back before she disappeared in a flash of Divine power. She reappeared a heartbeat later, gripping Max’s neck like an unruly kitten.

“Give it to me!” She spit in a depraved, almost needing voice.

Before Max could struggle away, beams of light exploded through the room. Physical constructs pierced through the Angelic’s wings and torso before twitching back the way they came. The formation hooked Burk like a fish caught at the end of a line.

The sudden attack caused Burk to lose her grip just enough for Max to wiggle free and teleport to the far edge of the room. By now, Emi, Vel, and Bishop were among the hectic room. Water and lightning spanned from each of their respective mages, urging the [Head Priestess] not to move.

“Is it Nix the [Doppelganger]?” Vel asked, murder on her eyes.

Max remembered Nix quite well. Posing as the Guild Master of the Adventuring Guild, Nix was able to infiltrate Lesterwood’s leadership. From the high-ranked position, the member of Vast Empire had free reign to spread terror… Until Max foiled its plans, forcing it to flee.

“No.” Max, Bishop, and Icarus all said in unison.

Icarus wasn’t physically present in the room, but he didn’t need to be. The bird familiar was a part of the mansion, meaning his influence was always around. He had found that speaking to others while disembodied had a less than stellar reception.

“She has Angelic Wings.” Bishop pointed out.

Burk’s wings were pure white feathers interlaced perfectly along a wide birth. Just looking at the wings gave a sense of awe; the kind needed to inspire or give hope to the lost. Each individual layer glimmered with radiating power, like all of the Gods Max had met over the months. The wings were fit to be called Angelic.

“Give it to meeee!” Burk cursed as she struggled to remove herself from the light-hooks. She struggled and slowly pulled herself along with sheer willpower and the overcast of Divine aura. Vel and Bishop added their own restraints, forcing the old woman back.

“What is going on then?”

Max wondered himself. After Emi secured herself on his shoulder, the Lost Lord opened his Pocket World and stepped in. A few moments later they exited holding a small black coin perse. Watching Burk carefully, he licked a finger, stuck it into the bag, and then held it out for the woman to see. His finger was matte black, covered in ash and dust.

Burk screeched, like a plague ridden bat. She thrashed around while yelling obscenities. The woman was crazed, more than crazed. Obsessed. She pulled at her wounds, ripping skin to gain a single step. Her wings moved with a mind of their own, flapping and causing a miniature gale to form.

Bishop held up a hand, overlapping the sudden surge of air with electrical magic, “What is that?” He asked Max.

“She called it Ash of the End. It was in Peneil’s Domain.”

“Ash of the End…” The System loving Drake tasted the words as a far-off memory fluttered just beyond his grasp. “Oh! I remember now!” He said after a moment, “It’s like a drug to the Divine. Put it away.”

Max did as instructed and placed the small pouch in his inventory. Burk instantly looked sad, like someone had kicked a puppy before her. She didn’t seem angry; she didn’t seem hostile. She simply looked sad. A switch had been flipped, one that was otherworldly and eerie in nature. The room chilled and the lighting seemed to bulge with Divine power.

Ofes was present.

Magic and aura still swirled around the devout woman, however. Her wings stuck out and continued to flap, but their once unbridled excitement was replaced with normalized swipes. She sniffed the air, hoping to taste the forbidden nectar of her parental homage. Each passing movement drained energy from Burk until she reverted back into the lethargic mess everyone knew her as.

The lights returned to their authentic levels as Ofes’s presence slipped away.

Goddess of Light, Ofes, always confused Max. As far as he knew, the Divine had certain limits that pulled their sway away from the world. This would be the third time the Lost Lord had encountered Ofes in day-to-day life.

The notion of a Goddess always watching didn’t sit well with Max, either. Since the conversation he and Emi had in Abyss city with Tiodepth, Ofes was looking more and more as someone not to put their faith in. Which only made Max more hesitant with situations involving her.

“Burk.” Vel said, “You should leave. Now.”

The old Angelic lifted her head from its lowered state. Embarrassment and guilt washed over her eyes like a wave over a sand dollar. Her white pure wings shimmered once before bursting into a plume of feathers and sparkles.

She met eyes with everyone in the room but lingered on Max and Vel for just a moment longer. Eventually, she nodded, and Icarus removed his spell work. She fell to her knees and slowly reached her feet in a pathetic awkward motion.

“Sorry.” Burk muttered, “The dust does stuff to us. Angelics get it the worst, then Rulers, then Gods. I never meant any harm.”

Vel scoffed loud and harsh, “That makes no sense. How can a drug cause you to act like that? Are you an addict?”

Again, Burk raised her head to meet Vel’s, “No. I’ve never had the stuff. It was gathered by Peniel long before my creation. It… It does stuff to us. It… shouldn’t be on Nava.”

Vel didn’t retort, instead she watched the [Head Priestess] walk through the mansion and out the door. The next few minutes were filled with reorganizing the destroyed room and assuring Belopi and Celenia that was a one-off event. The two Elves had stayed out of the fight but listened to every word spoke.

“Now that we know what the dust is, I know not to mention it to anyone.” Max said, pulling Celenia into a hug – and crushing Emi between the two in the process.

The couple stayed like that for a moment, both understanding the other’s intent to keep Emi pinned for as long as possible. The water monster eventually gave up on wiggling and struggling to break free and resulted to magical means.

“What I don’t get,” Celenia began as she wrung out her hair, “Is what is the dust?”

Max, pulling water from the carpet and pushing it through his Pocket World entrance, answered, “Ash of the End.”

“Which is?”

The question gave Max pause. He had literally been standing up to his ankles in the stuff. Dunes as far as the eye could see – and then some. Peneil was acting strange, that much was very apparent. From the bipolar tendencies to offering a mortal the position of Godship, the God of Death was anything but normal.

Was it the dust doing it to him? Max wondered to himself.

“Ash of the End is exactly that. Ash… of the End.” Bishop clearly stated. He waited for someone to speak, but instead saw the confused and irritated faces of his peers, “The End is the Heavens or Hells, depending on which God you align with during your life. It used to be that when one died their souls simply faded from this world, leaving their bodies to eventually turn to ash. But since Peneil became the overseer of souls, the dead arrive in his Domain first – the ash along with it.”

Max paled. The endless dunes he walked across, the rapid winds that swirled soot into his lungs. He wanted to puke. At least he didn’t each a piece of fried chicken smeared in ashes like a certain Kevin did on Earth.

“How is that a drug to the Divine?” Belopi asked.

Bishop shrugged, “I’m not sure. I only know that there are some old journals about a war the original Angelic fought for the stuff. Whatever its effects are, thousands have died in pursuit of the ash. I would suggest offering it back to Peneil, Max.”

Before Max could agree, Vel stepped in, “Or, hold it as a future bargaining chip.”

Everyone rolled their eyes.

Max woke up to twitching Elven ears and a missing little monster. Celenia was still asleep, so he carefully crawled out of bed and out to the hallway. It was late afternoon, but winter brought short days and long nights. It wouldn’t be for a few more months until the snow started to melt, but on particularly hot days, the ice would turn to slush around the more habited parts of the city.

Leaving Lesterwood was not something Max truly wanted to do. In fact, he really didn’t like the idea of traveling – let alone traveling while being hunted. Nava was different than Earth. There was dangers at every corner and people that would jump at the opportunity to do-in a Lost Lord.

Is that narcissistic? Max thought.

He shook his head; it was too early to think about big ideas like that. Fact of the matter was, Max was in danger constantly. Without Vel, Bishop, or Icarus around, he would be left to his own devises. His own power, his own strength. Granted safety was often a single teleport away, he still worried.

Emi, you around? Max asked through their shared bond.

Emi didn’t so much as respond with words, instead she sent mental images of her throwing up, Celenia, multiple beds, and more throw up. Then she followed up with the telltale string of images that conveyed she was hunting fish – herself sitting atop a mound of dead fish with a golden crown.

Yes, yes, Queen of Fish, I get it. We are going to have to work out sleeping arrangements, Max said a bit more embarrassed than he wanted to admit.

After showering, getting dressed, and brushing his teeth, the Lost Lord made his way to the kitchen. The kitchen itself wasn’t populated but the room adjacent with the extra-long table was. A plethora of friends and acquaintances sat in the old wooden seats, each talking slightly too loud or silently shoving food down their throats.

“Uh,” Max said, “hello everyone.”

“Finally,” Vel scoffed. “Where’s your date?”

Max squinted, “A little place called noneyuh.”

“Noneyuh?”

“Noneyuh-business!” Max boomed with laughter as he watched Vel’s shrewd face crumble with irritation. Bishop saw as well and echoed in a laugh fit for a Drake.

After a moment, Max moved on, “What’s everyone doing here?”

Iris Blondbow was the one to respond first, “To see you off, of course!”

“Exactly,” Mage Guild Master, Domic added, “Can’t get rid of us that easy!”

Various cries of agreement sounded, each respective to their owner. Captain Shatterwind nodded formally. Melina shot a sinister smile. Clair, holding a teddy bear filled with the spirt of Unlotous, sparkled with joy as she took a big bite of pie – her mom never let her have pie for breakfast. Elliot tried to get Max’s attention to go over a few schematics. Belopi hummed in agreement, a tear in her eye. Adventuring Guild Master Yel rolled her eyes at most of the others. And finally, Goob took a swig of a flask.

A scaled hand landed on Max’s shoulder, “Before you get comfortable and start eating, could you grab Clammy and Reep? I’m sure they would want to be here.”

“Oh, yeah sure. As soon as Emi gets back. I don’t want to leave-“

A shallow pop followed by a rain and spray of water interrupted Max. Emi made an entrance befitting of the Queen of Fish. She appeared suddenly; an oversized fish crushed in her maw. It struggled and floundered, blood was flung around as the last of its life was drained away. The show ended with multiple groans but a preening little monster.

Vel and Max spent the next few moments removing excess water from people’s flapjacks and scrambled eggs while padding spots of blood.

Emi happily chomped down on her kill, but Max had other plans, “Come on, Emi, we have to go to Esmel to get Clammy and Reep.”

To her defense, the fish was incredibly fresh.

“You can bring the tail with you.”

With Emi’s spirits lifted, the mess cleaned, and a severed set of fins, the bonded duo left Lesterwood.

Back in the kitchen of the mansion, captain Shatterwind was pondering something, “Did he say Esmel?”

Bishop looked thoughtful while Vel gave a predatory grin.

Teleporting directly into the heart of the Elven city took a few moments. The distance was large enough to warrant a bit more precaution with the magic involved. However, each jump had given Max more and more confidence, thus reducing the time required with each iteration.

Teleporting from the Astral Dimension also raised his confidence, even if his jump location was significantly off.

Max and Emi arrived to screaming. At first the duo thought something terrible happened, maybe Isaac escaped his magical binds and was on a killing spree. Maybe, somehow, the [Trackers] arrived and were in the process of taking Alia back.

They pulled water from the air and readied attacks, or at least, until they got a grip on the situation. Clammy and Alia were yelling at each other, both crazed and exhausted looking. Reep, Isaac, and the wooden vessel of [Arbor] Xylem sat off in the corner playing cards. The situation was honestly surreal to Max - sisters fighting while the others quietly played games together was not something he expected.

“So, uh, what’s going on?”

Max’s sudden presence commanded the room. The two loudest went silent while the three sitting far away slowly got to their feet. Only Emi could be heard chomping down on her breakfast.

“Finally.” Xylem said, “Please, no more. If they have to stay in Esmel, they can’t stay in my trunk.”

Max opened and closed his mouth a few times, Reep took notice and explained more, “Clammy and Alia have been arguing since you left. All night, might I add.”

“And what about?”

Isaac answered, “The usual, Kings, dictatorships, murder, allies. You know, overthrowing a government talk.”

In that moment, the Lost Lord seemed to have a dire ich on the back of his head, “Okay, what’s the argument?”

“How we should get rid of Eden.” Clammy answered like the question was beyond obvious.

Alia scoffed, “Why do we have to get rid of him? Why can’t we educate and have him overturn his views? He’s our brother, Bel – I mean – Clammy. We can’t just kill him.”

“No one is killing Eden.” Max said.

“Exactly,” Isaac continued, “you can’t kill him right now. The public reception from the citizens would take a hit. Two Kings dead within a year? That would send Salae into a downwards spiral. Now, what you want to do is wait a few years. Let Eden’s policies kick in until he has a low public perception – then you kill him. The kingdom could go into a golden age, in fact. A hated dictator dead? Singing in the streets is a given.”

Everyone stared at the man wide-eyed, he continued, “On the other hand, if Eden becomes popular, then assassination may not be on the table. Can’t really kill a King everyone loves. Your heads would be on pikes within the year. No one would harbor you; no one would assist you. That is, unless you had allies. Militaristic allies. Then, and only then, would you have a shot at living peacefully.”

The room was silent except for Emi breaking bones with her sharp teeth.

“Right, yeah… what he said.” Max said slowly. He shook his head, “Clammy, Reep, time to go back to Lesterwood. I’ll be back for the others in an hour or two. Is that fine, Xylem?”

The wooden man nodded, “Isaac has been no trouble if that is what you are getting at. In fact we discussed the past for a long while. His views on historic events are quite interesting – that being because he was in a dungeon cell for most of them.”

“Good… That’s good. Either of you two want pie? Belopi – Celenia’s mother – made some this morning apparently. I can try to grab a slice.”

Alia and Isaac’s eyes lit up, “Yes please.” They said in unison.

As a purple ripple through space opened, Max chuckled a bit. He hoped, with all his might, that the trip ahead of him would be safe – Or, at the very least, those he left behind would be safe.

Something as simple as asking if two jailbirds if they want pie made the Lost Lord think about the future. He didn’t want those around him not to be able to eat pie, or he didn’t want someone to eat their last slice. It was a scary thought, but times were changing, and he knew he better get ahead of these feelings. How was he supposed to protect four others if he was hesitant.

Emi could protect herself and her earlier display of spatial magic showed that she had to potential to run if things got hairy. Celenia was angling to become a strong individual, but her route of pacifism would rely on Max to make the hard decisions. Alia was as defenseless as they came, as well as having the ignorance of a first born princess. And lastly Isaac… He was immortal, he would be fine.

After Max disappeared with the others, Isaac squinted and said, “He can do that whenever he wants? Cast a spell and move across the world?”

“Indeed. Not many can say the same, but Max is a bit different.” Xylem explained.

The next couple of hours were full of talking, morning drinking, desserts, stories, jokes, and laughs. Max liked reconnecting with the few people he knew on Nava. Iris was one such person he wished he knew more about. The woman had literally helped him keep his sanity in the early days and was someone who he thought of as a friend – even if they didn’t see each other all that often.

As it turns out, Iris had rekindled her affection for adventuring. The fungus waves against the walls had forced her to dust off the old bow, resulting in the adrenaline of levels and saving lives. She just so happened to be near rank of one of Max’s other friends, Melina. The former whip user graciously accepted Iris into her team with open arms – something Goob drank at.

Goob was something of an enigma to Max and the others. The [Swordsman] was an alcoholic, that much was obvious. His drinking confused everyone, since he had once been kidnapped and forced into slavery – a direct effect of being black-out drunk and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

No one was surprised when Melina announced that the once couple between herself and Goob had broken up. No one was surprised when Goob said something inaudible before taking a drink. The man would still be a part of the team, but not actively together with the leadership – something everyone assured Max was quite common in adventuring life.

Yel was upset to see Iris go from the Adventuring Guild management. The [Bounty Hunter] Guild Master had come to like Iris, stating that she was one of the few that actually maned her post. In the end, Yel was one of the first to leave, citing that her due diligence was paid for and being around Bishop and Vel brought up too many bad memories.

She did offer Max a handshake, however, which he thought was nice exceptionally given their less than stellar history.

Domic was next to leave as he had a job that couldn’t be ignored for long. He thanked Max for all of his blood, sweat, and tears for fighting for the outlying villages. The Flame Devil explained that he would always be in the Lost Lord’s dept and to come to him about any magical needs.

Saying goodbye to Domic was rather hard for Max. The man was one of the first he had met on this world, and one of the few that went out of his way to make the world a better place. Not many would care for random villagers, but the Guild Master did.

Clair didn’t say much as she was unfairly mad at Max for leaving. Unlotous on the other hand talked Max’s ear off about the Astral. Questions upon questions about the other Dimension, what it looked like, level range, native monsters, type of air. Clair did relent when they were leaving, she hugged Max with the power of a bear.

Max couldn’t answer many of Unlotous’s questions, but together they were able to piece some clues together about how he entered the other world. The other worldly spirit came to the same conclusion Max did, entrance was through a teleportation spell’s fabric - which was a problem, because Max didn’t know how to create a white void tunnel. But, he was going to have plenty of time during his forced vacation to test things out.

That is, if teleporting directly into the Astral didn’t work.

Elliot held stacks of blueprints, all of which Max took a glance at. The simple answer was that they all looked great. All products that would help others while potentially turning a profit. The issue became a question of volume – how many products was Leviathan Works going to sell?

Max made sure to explain to those remaining in Lesterwood to help Elliot with whatever he needed. Instructions about housing, tax exemption, the soon-to-be arriving packages of inventory rings, and potential future employees. Their shop’s first and foremost goal was to become operational, then being able to help those who needed it, then profit.

Towards the end of the party, mayor Silverjewl showed up. The opulent Elf looked ragged - bags upon bags under his eyes, wide irises, twitchy movement. As he explained it, he had not slept since the news from Salae came in. Paperwork, meetings, and damage control were among the surface. The mayor was truly looking for a way for Max to be able to stay in Lesterwood.

He couldn’t find it, however, and expressed his deepest sorrows.

Oddly enough, Captain Shatterwing was last to leave. She expressed a deep regret with Max and the others, something he didn’t agree with. The Nymph didn’t hold the highest opinion of the Lost Lord through their many interactions. Something about being able to teleport at will caused her to grow to dislike him at a fundamental level. “A skill like that is only used for theft, you see…” she explained. But after Max left to the Coalition and assisted defending the walls, she realized he was a good person.

She also thanked Clammy for bringing in an army, but she warned not to do that again.

That left the mansion’s normal residents. Hugs went around for both Max and Celenia – as well as Emi but she squirmed so much everyone gave up in the end.

“Come home when you can!” Belopi said through heavy tears. The Elven mother was sad to see her daughter leave after only just meeting her for her adult life. But, it was inevitable, she knew. Celenia was too independent at this point, Belopi could only hope that she would remember her. Which was a given in everyone else’s eyes.

Icarus gave a long speech about what it means to be friends. By the end of it, everyone was throwing scraps of food at the illusionary construct.

“Stay safe.” Bishop said to the trio.

Reep didn’t say much, instead she felt weird unknown emotions bubbling like an overfilled cauldron. She felt sad? Guilt? Anger? She didn’t know but knew that she should be feeling such things in moments like this. Max had freed her from her slavery chains, seeing him go had to mean something… right?

“We’ll call when we have a plan for Eden. Alia gave me a list of names to bring to our side.” Clammy explained while in a deep hug with her first non-royal friend. Her and Max had been through so much together. In a way, they were each other’s first true friend on this world. Seeing each other go was immensely sad for the pair.

Lastly, Vel. Through most of the party, the old woman hadn’t really interacted with anyone. She stayed distant, sipping on a flask. But, as her and Max hugged, she let everything pour.

“Max, I have loved teaching you for every minute I’ve known you. You are one of the best mages I know as well as one of the best people I know. Come back if you need anything – I would gladly fight against an army to keep you in Lesterwood. I know my husband would have as well.”

Vel didn’t wait for a response, instead she spun on her heels and walked away. As she rounded into another room, Max called out, “Thanks Vel, for everything.”

No one could see it, but the old crow was fighting tears. She had already lost one apprentice, and while it wasn’t quite the same, but losing another hurt just as much.

With everyone satisfied, Max, Emi, and Celenia said their final goodbyes before the Elf stepped into the Pocket World. Max took one last look around the mansion, waved goodbye, and teleported to Esmel.

Those they left would cry and mope for the next few days.

“Well, Xylem, thanks for this.” Max said pointing to Isaac and Alia, “Thanks for everything actually.”

The tree man held out his arm, gripping the Lost Lords, “Thank you, Max. You will always have a home here.”

Max produced a shaker stone, “Take this. If you need anything use it to contact me. I’ll come running.”

“I will, thank you.”

Alia and Isaac said their goodbyes to their temporary host and stepped through the shimmer of space. On the other side, Celenia waited with two plates of pie.

Max and Emi teleported a few times in relatively quick succession. The first was high into the air where the pair could be alone. Max cried for longer than he would care to admit. Leaving everyone was one of the worst experiences he had been through on Nava. He had to make sure to never go through this again.

The second teleport was to a specific tree out in a seemingly random section of a forest. From there Max walked for a few thousand paces before entering a shallow cave. He spent the next several minutes tracing space lines and attacking faults. When the space lock was disabled he teleported the device to a specific spot in Esmel.

Max had already cleared this with Xylem. Esmel was currently the only safe place for the item, as the cave was easily trackable since Max spent much time tinkering in the low light. A space lock of such caliber could potentially spell harm to the Lost Lord if it fell back into enemy hands.

The third teleport was as far as straight up in the air. The fourth through fourteenth teleports were horizon to horizon. They passed farms, villages, mountains, plains, cities, even a river or two.

They had a city in mind, but it was quite far out of the way.