I looked over my one -hundred and six new aspirants. They looked back at me with uncomfortable intensity. Their presence adding to my already overfilled mind.

I knew I could ignore them up to a point, but at this crossroads I felt I owed a duty to acknowledge their emotions.

“Hey guys,” I said across our bond. “Welcome to the club. It’s an honor to have you with us and thank you for your faith in me. I promise we’re going to do everything we can to protect others from the same fate that has befallen your clans. We’re also going to make sure the Nystiobek can rise up as they should have for so many years. I doubt Destruction and Justice would have had half the success in Kalabri, if the strongest of the Nystiobek were still with us.”

There was a jumble of mental replies, too many to parse, but the general sense I got was a feeling of positivity and eagerness to crush enemies. Destruction’s forces in particular. As they quietened, only Galota’s mental voice remained.

“We are all proud to serve, Lord Clive.”

“Work together, not serve, Galota. Were a team, okay?”

An edge of humor came through the bond which prompted a thought.

“How’s the intelligence working out for you?”

“It has taken a little time to get used to, but there is no doubt you and Sania were right. With my past life now laid out in front of me with the clarity of intelligence, it’s hard to bear how foolish we’ve been. All the potential we’ve wasted. Yet, there comes a certain amount of understanding. That is who we were. There were reasons for our choices, deeply ingrained in our culture. But fate has carved out a different path for us, and now we have the ability to grow beyond what we were in so many ways. That is down to You and Lady Sania. We will recover our honor and our confidence, and we will make amends.

“Damn right you will. First up. We need to kick the fuck out of some more demons and save some trullan. You guys ready to move out?”

A flurry of aggressive affirmatives came from them causing me to smile as I turned to speak with Sania and Danivra.

“Do you need to go back to the rest of our army, Danivra? Will they be okay without you?”

“They’ve stopped moving for now. They’re hunting far and wide to rebuild our rations while they wait for our return. The haste needed to reach the Palathi Peaks has lessened with Olata’s arrival there. They are now far better protected, so we can afford a day's delay. Especially when you consider how much sooner we will be able to break the siege at the fort we’re heading for.

“That’s good to hear. So you can stay with us for this next battle. Should make short work of the force we saw heading toward the trullans. But first I think we can all agree I have another job to do,” I said with a wide, nervous smile.

“Far Reach,” they both replied at the same time.

“Damn right Far Reach. I won't be long. I’ll set a half hour time limit, okay?”

“Be careful, Clive,” Danivra replied. “You have no idea what you may appear in the center of.”

“I’ll go up the side of the mountain where the dwarves first came from. There’s cover up there. If the worst has happened, then I’ll come straight back,” I said feeling sick at the thought.

“Are you well enough to go?” Sania asked, putting her hand on my shoulder. She looked deep into my eyes with serious concern. “I want you to go, and check on our people… but you’ve been through a lot. You were foaming at the mouth and slipping into unconsciousness only moments ago.”

Leaning forward I kissed her and smiled as I pulled back. “Honestly, I feel great. My stats are high and the things that were overloading my brain are gone now. I even feel rested from my impromptu nap. As overwhelming as this new option is, I’d be mad not to go. I need to go. I need to see everyone is okay.”

She puffed out a sharp exhale. “I wish I could come with you. Will you wish my mother well for me?”

“Of course I will!”

“And Hek for me, please,” Danivra added. “He has been my bodyguard for a very long time and since we are now out of communication range he will be fretting terribly.”

“You need to promise me you will return immediately if it’s not safe,” Sania said. “You can always go back later, but don’t get caught down there.

“I won’t, I promise. I’m very perceptive now, you know.”

Sania shook her head but said no more. And I grabbed the two women in a brief hug. “Thanks for looking after me so well you two. Won’t be long.”

I brought the map up in my mind immediately after breaking the hug and focused on the area I knew Far Reach lay. I wasn’t certain of the exact location, but as I focused, I was drawn into the area. More details emerged in my mind soon. I had pinpointed our town and the mountain side I wanted to travel too. Once I had, a notification popped up across my vision.

Mentally I Selected Y. The temperature suddenly increased a few degrees, and I was alone on the mountainside above Far Reach.

“Well, that was fucking easy,” I muttered to myself. I’d expected some freaky Fantasia bullshit, but no, I was just here. But that wasn’t half the surprise. As I laid eyes on Far Reach my eyes damn near popped out of my head. The place had grown like a motherfucker in my absence, and it was heaving with people. There had been a secondary wall built identical to the wall we had built before I had left. Thick gray stone, thirty feet high at least, and it was a lot closer to my position than I had expected.

There was a mixed blend of Nystiobek, Wultr and armored soldiers of Devotion guards walking around on the battlements, but no one had seen my appearance yet, so despite my desire to get down there and find Joel… and Mal, I stood and watched for a long minute.

There were Dwarves working with humans and Wultr on the rows of stone-built houses stretching away from the workshops and other more epic buildings built around the castle. That, I supposed boded well for our relationship here, but it would be interesting to see Fakasta and Stilbraker and their reaction to me.

Of the more dramatic buildings that had been constructed, I saw the temple of Devotion. Distinguishable as it was as near as I could tell an exact copy of the ones we had seen in the smaller towns of Malatia. I must admit the sight of it caused mixed feelings in me, but I swallowed my pride. It looked as though my town was thriving and I would content myself with that. There was every chance Devotion’s followers had assisted with much of what had gone on, and I would try to bite my tongue.

“Sania? Danivra? You hear me?”

“I can,” Sania said excitedly.

Danivra replied a moment later. “Is everything well?”

“Sure looks that way from where I’m standing. The towns grown, everyone seems to be working in peace and harmony. I’ll let you know more later.”

Ending the conversation I lifted up off from the mountainside, I approached home. A joy I didn’t think I would get to enjoy for a good while longer.

Within moments of moving, I was spotted from the walls. Shouting erupted, and I was proud to see the guards reacting immediately. Forming up at the point of the wall I was approaching with discipline and combined purpose.

Beyond the wall, a ripple of alarm scattered through those going about their daily business, and all heads turned to face my aerial approach.

As I continued my descent amidst warnings and the brandishing of weapons, it hit me that I’d had my pit demon evolution in the time I’d been away.

When I’d left Far Reach, I was only eight feet tall, and I was wearing trousers and a hoodie. Most people wouldn’t have seen too much of my more demony bits as I now rocked up with the tattered remains of my Danivra made deerskin clothes.

“Hey guys,” I shouted, as I continued to move closer. “It’s me. Clive!”

“Lord Clive!” one of the Wultr cried out. As I zeroed in on the stocky Woltar who’d shouted, I saw it was Feen.

“Heya, mate! How’s tricks,” I replied, as news of my return flowed down from the wall in a wave of excited chatter..

As I touched down on the wall, in front of Feen, it was impossible not to grin as we gripped forearms.

“You don’t know what it means to me, to see this place still standing.”

“The same for me to see you, my Lord. How is it that you are here? Where are the others?”

“They’re all back way up north. I won’t lie Feen, we’ve lost a couple of people along the way. It’s been a tough few months. I developed a new power, that’s how I’m here, but I can't stay long. We have two sieges to break up. I just had to check on everyone while I could.”

“Amazing. Is Grigor still alive?”

“Damn right the grumpy git’s still alive.”

As I spoke, the still raised spears of the guards of Devotion still hadn’t been fully lowered. I raised an eyebrow in their direction and received looks of distrust and barely concealed distaste in return. They ranged in levels from late twenties to early forties and their silver and blue armor gleamed to a high sheen.

Feen followed my gaze and snapped at them. “Lower your weapons fools.”

“We don’t take our orders from you Feen. This man is half demon.”

After a brief round of sarcastic clapping, I gave them my best long-suffering smile. “Seriously, first off. You must know that the leader of this city has demon appendages. Hell, it’s the whole reason you’re here. Secondly, if you want to walk my walls, you do take orders from Feen. And, last but by no means least. If you don’t lower those fucking spears, I'm going to shove them up your arses and then javelin the bastards down the valley.”

To my utter amazement they still didn’t lower their spears and despite my best attempts at staying calm I was ready to start causing serious damage.

“Lower them now,” Feen screamed at them. Then those who had gathered to come and see my return, began shouting threats at Devotion's soldiers. This prompted the appearance of even more of their soldiers. Attempting to push their way through the crowd to assist those on the wall.

But this was no crowd of weaklings, they were hardened survivors and warriors themselves. Far tougher than the shiny outraged soldiers of Devotion and things were about to go downhill very quickly. Shouted threats of running Devotion out of town and the burning of their Temple rang out.

Raising my arms in the air I shouted down. “Stay calm everyone. Thank you for your support, but let me deal with this.

The crowd began to simmer down, when I heard a familiar voice.

“Clive! How are you here and what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Mal said.

Dressed in far gaudier armor than when I last saw him, he held himself with a surprising amount of self importance and I was surprised to see the crowd reluctantly parting for him. I assumed they gave him special allowances because of his friendship with me.

Mal: Paladin of Devotion. Level 24 human. (Human II)

Sadly, the soldiers seemed emboldened by his arrival and moved closer with the spears. I spun on them, calling my cleaver to my hand and infusing it instantly with golden Neuma, smashing three spear points to one side then raised a black ball of Neuma in my demon hand making it far bigger than necessary.

“Off my wall now,” I growled loud enough for everyone to hear me. “You have until I count to three to be running to the nearest steps, or I unleash this, and the killing begins.”

I began my count and thankfully they started backing off, looking to Mal for answers. I turned back to my old friend now, still holding the fire ball.

“Hey, Mal. See you’re making yourself at home?”

“Why are you threatening my guards?”

“Dick. Your guards are threatening me, and they’ve got one second to start moving again before I launch this at them.”

“You wouldn’t,” he replied. But the look in his eyes and the words from his mouth suggested he knew I would. And I would.

“Get off the wall while we sort this out,” he snapped at the soldiers. They did so reluctantly.

“Good call,” I shouted down. “Your soldiers are no longer allowed on our walls until I say otherwise.”

His face went bright red. “You can't just show up and start issuing orders Clive. You always thought you were something special back home, but you’re not. Even if you’ve lucked into getting powerful. You’re bang average and you always will be. You’ve been gone for months, and things have changed.”

I looked to Feen in disbelief, thrusting my thumb at Mal as I spoke. “What’s this idiot talking about?”

Feen shook his head with a small smile. “Nothing really. They’re constantly trying to get more power within the town. Joel keeps them at bay for the most part. But he acquiesced on the wall guard. Honestly, they haven’t actually been that much trouble. Well, until now.”

I nodded. “Still, they’ve overstepped the mark here,” I replied, before turning back to Mal.

Before I could say a word, Joel came storming across the square with, to my utter surprise, Grimstrom by his side. I checked out his identifier and was impressed.

Joel. Head Builder and Co Founder of Far Reach. Level 28 Human (Human II)

“Clive!” Joel shouted happily. “I just heard what happened. Sorry about that, mate. They’re bloody difficult to manage at times.”

I noticed he didn’t even acknowledge Mal.

“They don’t get back on the walls,” I replied, and Joel nodded.

“Fair. Damn, it’s good to see you. Grimstrom’s literally just got here. Said you might be showing up, and then we heard the commotion.

Mal started shouting in frustration. “We can have the meet and greet later. You can’t order Devotion’s people around like this.”

I held my hand up to stop him. “You don’t get to say anything. This is not your town and after not seeing me for so long I would have expected a different reception from you. You’re a fucking disappointment, Mal. I thought you had my back, and you’ve run off after a bit of skirt, and took a steaming dump on your mates and don’t you forget it, because we won’t. On me. I am the leader here and my being away changes nothing.”

“You just don’t get it, do you? Jackass,” Mal hissed. “You might have grown in height, but you haven’t in brains.

There was some very unhappy grumbling from those who surrounded us at Mal’s words, and tensions were rising. As I looked across the sea of gathered faces, I saw many I didn’t know, but I also saw the Wultr from the plains, and the human guards from the castle we found. Then there was Grimstrom who looked like he was desperate to talk to me.

With a shake of my head, I shouted down to everyone. “It’s great to see you all here. I hoped my return would be a little less full of anger and resentment, but Devotion’s people have made it that way. I will speak with you all soon, but first I need to put the Devotion problem to bed once and for all.