The path back to Sliva’s felt familiar, as the well organized and clearly marked streets were easy to navigate. The strange food shop was lined up to sell churros as customers were fighting for their place in line. I was hungering for a few more since most of mine were robbed from me, but I had places to be.

“Josh, do you fancy some more of those delightful snacks?” Sliva asked.

“I would, but that line is way too long,” I said.

“Hey!” Yara shouted from behind me. The people at the counter and the store owner turned to see the commotion. “Arch Priestess and her charge need something to eat.”

The line grew silent and without question the people shuffled back. The minor spats and horn locking demons became rather orderly and polite as Sliva waltzed up to the counter with Yara in town. After a few coins were exchanged Yara brought back an armful of paper packages filled with hot, ready to eat churros.

I felt embarrassed by having cheated the line but everyone else with me seemed to think this was perfectly normal. The folk still waiting in line even bowed as Sliva passed, mentioning how blessed they felt just seeing her. I chalked it up to social norms being so different from what I had beaten into me from a young age.

Lin snacked on one of the deep fried goodies and watched Yara walk beside her for a minute before speaking up. “Since Josh is bringing you home I need to know a few things. Favourite drink?”

“Southern Malkans Scotch, hope you guys got some,” Yara said without hesitation.

“Well someone is an expensive bitch to take home from the bar,” Lin said.

Yara cackled with delight. “Well glad to see you don’t live up to the usual standards, most cats run at the sight of me.”

“I think you might find me more formidable than you think,” Lin huffed.

She set her shoulders to look a bit bigger to the intimidating armoured woman. She tried to show off by throwing a churro into the air and catching it with her mouth in a show of dexterity, only to miss and get hit in the face with it.

“What’s your dexterity, eight?” Yara asked.

“Sixteen, what’s yours?” Lin shot back.

“Damn girl trying to get me to undress that quickly makes you look a little desperate,” Yara said.

A prompt appeared to let me accept viewing Lin’s and Yara’s stats. I did a quick glance at Lin’s seeing no change and swiped over to Yara’s. I nearly choked as I saw the impressive spread.

Yara, Half-Demon, Level 6 Judicator

Strength 16

Constitution 14

Dexterity 11

Intelligence 10

Willpower 16

Charisma 13

“Holy fuck, that is one hell of a blend,” Lin said, she seemed a bit leery of Yara.

“I’d say the same to you kitty, I thought that dress was just showing off your cute ass but I guess that baby is muscle,” Yara said, sounding impressed. “I know a few tough gals back at the barracks you could probably throw down without much issue.”

“Thanks,” Lin said shyly. She then got a bit more serious as Sliva’s home came back into view. “We can go after battle strategies later, but basically watch out for the others, I can handle myself.”

“End of the month whoever gets more kills buys the other a drink?” Yara asked, holding out a fist to her.

They exchanged a quick fist bump and a spark was shared between them, a spark of the start of a friendly rivalry. I heard Rolada’s voice rise as she got more excited talking to her mother.

“We better get her home soon before she explodes,” Lin said.

Sliva’s front door opened as a lovely young maid greeted the master of the home and stepped aside to let us in. We gathered in the parlour as Sliva went out back and the maid left the home to head elsewhere.

Rolada sat at the edge of her seat staring intently at Yara with critical focus. Yara removed her black helmet, letting her hair spill free.

“Is there something on my face?” Yara asked as she took another bite off her odd stick.

Rolada took out a thick well worn book, and started to flip through the pages. “Well… now that there’s another member of Ishaka in our party I was wondering how you felt about the faith and -”

“Spare me, I’ve lived, ate and fought by the book for years after years. I’ve been doubted and questioned by so many of our followers why I do not follow the book word by word. I’m tired of it,” she said exhausted.

“Let me show you why.” Yara exhaled the smoke as if she was a fire spewing dragon. In the smoke, lights shone and silhouettes appeared within.

At first, it sparkled.

A hand reached out and a door opened.

The lights flickered, and surrounded by red destruction three shapes appeared, two standing, one kneeling.

The smoke moved. Limbs and corpses of both human and monstrous creatures littered the ground, amidst them, a small group of survivors.

The shapes conformed and changed into a new scene. A desperate stand against a devouring mass. A losing battle in front of a menacing fortress. An army, thousands strong.

The door closed.

While Lin and I were still struggling to comprehend what we just saw. The Shapes moved on and another castle battle appeared.

“The siege of Scarlet Ridge, where King Kaldrin promised his lineage if a god could save his people, and only Ishaka responded. I can’t believe I’m talking to a living legend,” Rolada said in awe.

“Well don’t be, I was level one at the time and worked in the field kitchen. What happened was two of the skitter crawlers and one orc managed to slip by the defences, breaking into the supply train. I threw the morning sludge at them and caved in the orc’s skull with a lucky hit,” Yara said, bringing Rolada back and ending the illusion. “Point is, I was in the regular army until I got lucky, got a good trait and was chosen to get priestess training.”

“Oh, sorry I guess you don’t want to discuss theology then,” Rolada whispered.

The smoke settled and so did the sound. It was dead silent.

I felt like I just had seen lifetimes pass, myself an inconsequential nothingness.

“Stick?” Yara asked, and held a fresh, tiny white stick towards me. It seemed she devoured the last one already.

I looked at Yara and tilted my head towards Rolada. I wasn’t sure what the dynamic between me and my priestess was going to be, but I hoped I could get her to at least be kind to the sweet fox girl. Yara rolled her eyes and drew herself up, trying her best to act friendly.

“I’m sure we can try to chat about it sometime over dinner in the mess hall,” Yara said. “You seem like you actually know what your talking about, unlike the assholes I’ve dealt with.

“I would love that,” Rolada beamed.

“Just keep the mushy stuff down though. I don’t mind talking about magic to make my life easier or why getting drunk off your horse before church is approved by the book,” Yara said.

Sliva made a disappointed hum behind me scaring the pants off me. I didn’t hear her sneak up behind me, in fact I didn’t hear a single sound as she walked up behind Rolada. She leaned down and snatched up Rolada in a single dash, tightly hugging her daughter.

“Mom, you scared me,” Rolada laughed.

“My little fox needs to pay more attention then,” Sliva said. She placed her head on top of her daughters and sighed. “I know my little ball of fluff needs to explore outside the den, but can I convince you to stay a while longer?”

“I really want to explore mom, there’s all kinds of ruins around Josh’s place that would be perfect for my studies. Now that he has a shrine set up you can come visit us too, and he has a good trade deal going so we might even be able to upgrade it soon,” Rolada said.

Sliva gave her another squeeze and let her go, instead turning her full attention to me. The Arch Priestess knelt before me and placed her hands at my feet. The strange gesture was not lost on me as Sliva showed me a great deal of respect. The other three in the room were absolutely shocked however.

“I have no grounds to beg you for anything Joshua Hale, but if you are able to, can you upgrade the shrine so I may more easily visit my daughter?” Sliva asked.

I knelt on the ground too and lifted Sliva’s hand so she would sit up. “Just tell me what I need to do. You don’t have to push me hard to get a way for us to come visit the beach as winter is setting in.”

Sliva started to tear up and she hugged me fiercely. I returned the embrace and rubbed her shoulders, easing her worries. The fox woman leaned into the hug letting me prop her up as if she had just let off a great weight on her back.

New quest issued!

Upgrade Ishkara Shrine to a Temple of Ishaka

Reward - The love and adoration of Sliva

“I’m afraid I have limits on quest rewards since it is for the Overseers to hand out,” Sliva said, dabbing her eyes with her veil to wipe away tears.

“Sounds like the best reward yet,” I said.

“Josh quit flirting with the milf, we should go home before Burn or Sten explode the walls,” Lin said.

Yara bit into one of her odd sticks again and looked at Lin with a curious glance. I helped Sliva back to her feet and our host walked me to the mirror. She held my hand and used her other palm to point towards the glass. A great pull of magic dragged the air into her hand and condensed, forming a fist sized ball of golden thread.

The thread formed a loop the size of the mirror and touched its surface. The edges of the frame began to glow and hum with pure energy making my teeth rattle. As the draw of power emptied the room of air the portal appeared and on the other size was Guard 1 patiently waiting for us.

“What an adorable minion. Most keeper’s have hideous things, I’m glad yours are like this,” Sliva said.

“Wait, you know-”

Guard 1 rushed towards the portal and held out his arms to Sliva. He was blushing as he tried to keep his eyes off her revealing outfit, but his gaze slowly turned to confusion. He leaned to the side and saw Rolada behind her mother, and he waved to her.

“I think he believes I'm you dear,” Sliva said, she crouched down and petted the minion. “You must be the little hero who works hard to keep my little fox safe, thank you.”

“Merp!” Guard 1 beamed, he proudly displayed next to his name tag a little clay badge in the shape of a fox head. “Merp, der Ro, lads, ahs, saf.”

“Is…he talking?” Lin asked.

Sliva scooped up the guard minion and planted a kiss on his cheek. The minion giggled and nuzzled the Arch Priestess. Sliva rose and handed him over to Rolada, careful of his tail moving in a swift flurry.

“Yeah you keep her safe little champ. Wow with guys like this you barely even need me to hold the fort,” Yara said sarcastically.

The minion was either too happy to care or failed to pick up on her tone. He shot out all four arms and gave her thumbs up with a huge grin on his face. I felt a twinge of fury creep up into me.

“Guard one is one the bravest people we have, he's willing to stand in the way of a charging rider just to keep her safe,” I said hotly, feeling her comment dig under my skin.

“Whoa no need for the fire there, I was just kidding,” Yara said. She looked at the minion and scanned him over, probably trying to see his stats. “In front of a charging steed with stats like that?”

“You will find our little guys are either brave or very creative when facing the odds,” Lin said.

I let a surge of pride fill my chest as I looked at Guard 1. Despite their humble powers I was proud of how courageous my minions were against the odds. Yara might be powerful but once she saw them in action I’m sure she would respect them too.

Rolada gave her mom one last goodbye and we went through the portal, finally making it home again. Guard 1 was starting to snooze in Rolada’s arms and I thought it might be good for everyone to go to bed early too.

The hallway was filled with the sound of a small stampede as the rest of the minions surged inside to meet our newest member. Scout 1 looked at Guard 1 cozying up in Rolada’s arms with a twinge of jealousy as the Drones gathered in front of Yara. Drone 1 walked up to her, raising a finger before halting. He started to direct the others to move into a formation.

“What are they doing?” Yara asked.

Two drones went shoulder to shoulder and crouched while two more jumped up onto their heads. Drone 1 climbed up the stack and stood atop the tower of his allies giving himself an inch of height over the warrior demon.

“Merp,” he said with authority.

Yara took one relaxed bite of her stick, inhaled deeply and then mockingly exhaled a thick red cloud onto Scout 1. As Scout 1 uttered a tiny cough and started to stagger she seemed pleased with herself, but Scout 1 stood his ground which caught Yara off guard.

“I like him,” Yara said.

The cloud moved towards the tower of Drones, causing it to collapse and Scout 1 tumbled across the floor after being struck by his fellow minions. He stood back up and raised a fist towards Yara, as if he were to challenge her. He eagerly left the room and the drones followed him. Appearing in the queue was a vow of vengeance from Scout 1 to prove himself to Yara.

“You have quite the crew here,” Yara said. She tapped the end of her halberd to where Drone 1 had just stood. “I guess he was important.”

“He's the manager here when I’m away, and just wait, you haven’t even met the others,” I said.

“You made a minion a manager?” Yara asked. “I know a lot of priestesses working for keepers and I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that.”

“Don’t discount my minions, in fact he was the one who designed your room,” I said.

“Wait, I got my own room?” Yara asked skeptically with a hint of excitement.

I decided it would be best to give her a quick tour now. She seemed most interested in the training room as we watched Bent Plate and Burn assemble a crude lifting bar and weights to attach to them. The second thing that caught her interest was the sound of Rolada singing in the shower as we crossed the bathing rooms.

“Running hot water in a dungeon, I thought only high level keepers allowed such luxury. Usually just for themselves,” Yara said.

“It was either this or bathing in the ice cold river, and after one experience with that I made this a high priority,” I said. I frowned and double checked the completed shrine quest requirements. “I was also told this stuff was needed for a priestess.”

“Probably, those devas add another requirement for their services every few decades. I’ve been in the army for a while so when I got recruited all the nice perks of the job where denied to me,” Yara said.

“Well congrats you got them here, and this is your room,” I said, knocking on the ill fitting door to her room. The hinges on the door snapped and it fell into the hallway revealing the dividing curtain was installed as a backup. “They are still getting the hang of doors.”

Yara was about to respond with some quip on the tip of her tongue, but it died in her throat. She pushed past me to stare in awe of her huge personal bedroom. Her massive bed was all set up with the plush purple bedcover inviting someone to sleep in it. The dresser had a small mirror set in the top of it, and beside it was a curtain with a thick rabbit pelt under it for changing.

There was a rug taking up most of the floor space and off to the side was a fireplace venting to the surface, a set of chairs for relaxing and a table between them. Finally off to the other side of the room was a desk with carved out shelves in the walls to make her an office. It was a full package suite and I felt a bit jealous of the rather nice space. I might need to upgrade my own quarters soon.

“This is all…just for me?” Yara asked, a quiver in her voice.

“This is the priestess quarters, and you're the priestess,” I said.

The minions had even set up a little open anteroom for Yara to put her weapons and armour with a simple looking wooden stand and storage chest. Yara was quick to toss her gauntlet’s onto the chest and rush up to the bed. She pinched the sheets between her fingers and rubbed her face against it, taking a moment to feel the sensation of the silk on her skin. A joyful giggle escaping her lips.

She suddenly froze and slowly turned around with an expression as if she had been caught in the middle of something embarrassing.

“You didn’t see or hear anything just now,” she said, trying to appear menacing.

“Not a sound,” I said, raising my hands up.

She approached me, each set muted by the soft rug, but still sending the vibrations into my feet to remind me of her imposing strength. But when she got to me, she hesitated, “Ah, what the hell.” Yara then pulled me into a hug and I lightly slapped the back of her plate armour to tell her the gesture was returned. The half-demon then looked around the room with curiosity burning in her eyes.

“I’ll let you take a look around. When you get hungry you can head upstairs to the mess hall, which should be easy to find since this place isn’t too big yet,” I said.

“Thanks, now I suggest you get to sleep early, I want to take stock of your fighting capabilities tomorrow,” Yara said as she started to turn me around, and shoved me out of her room.

I remembered the first sight of her cleaving that monster apart with a single blow. The memory made me go pale. “Sure thing.”

Shortly after Yara replaced and closed the door I heard her dive onto the bed and sigh happily, followed by a row of joyful giggles. Maybe a bit of peace and quiet would get her to relax. I went back upstairs finding Sten asleep in the mess hall with a tankard in his hand and no sign of Lin. I assumed she was bathing too and with the precious few minutes to myself I went to the crystal room.

I was about to level up, so it was time to level the crystal too.