Forcing back a yawn, I stood beside the statue of Trismegistus with my companion Zosimos perched on my shoulder.

I watched with barely concealed impatience as several cloaked figures and two horses traversed across the vast snow-draped plateau towards the temple entrance.

With worries that the wagons may not make it over the mountain, they were reluctantly left at the stables in Bovia, as such, my friends had no choice but to make the journey by foot since each horse was only capable of carrying two passengers at a time.

"It's about time," I grumbled as they drew closer, wishing I had stayed inside the temple instead of coming out to greet them. Despite the cold, I waited as the figures came to a halt just inside the entrance.

The first figure stepped forward and removed his hood, revealing the grumpy face of Kip.

"You'd better have heating in this joint!" Kip complained, stomping the snow off his boots as he entered the temple. "It's colder than a polar bear's ice hole out here!"

A polar bear's, what? No sooner had the words left his lips than a feminine voice boomed from somewhere in the midst of the crowd, speaking rapidly in Spanish.

A diminutive figure then pushed their way past those around her. Kip visibly shrank away, holding up both hands to protect himself.

"It was just a joke, Ma!" He murmured in an apologetic tone, retreating away from the woman who had started gesticulating at the snow-covered floors. "Yes, yes I'll clean it up," he conceded quickly.

May finally stopped scolding her son and turned to me as she removed her hood. “I apologize for him, my dear; my boy has no manners whatsoever! He thinks himself a wit, but he's only half right.” It took me a second to get it, but Mrs. Kirkland's dancing eyes told me it was deliberate.

“You don't need to apologize to me, Mrs. Kirkland," I told the female dwarf. "I'm used to Kip's jokes by now, besides, Pia's jokes are a lot worse." My gaze shifted to the faun, who was stomping her hooved feet and grinning devilishly at Kip as she deliberately added more snow onto the stone floors.

Kip's mother smiled up at me, her expression full of tenderness. "No need for that dear, just May or auntie May will do." Then in a flash she spun around to reprimand Pia for dirtying the floor. Her instant transition from kind to fierce was fascinating to watch.

As expected, Pia froze on the spot while I fought hard against expressing my amusement.

Hearing her scold the pair almost left me wishing I had learned Spanish, but I had chosen to spend my time on languages in which more historical texts were written.

“I've built a temporary stable over there for the horses; it's got a furnace inside to keep them warm. But for now, bring them inside the temple to unload the bags,” I told Victoria, who nodded and led her gray shire horse into the temple, followed by one of her brothers, who led my black stallion, Arion.

As we reached the end of the passageway, I found Meissa in the hall, along with three of her disciples, all of whom were staring wide eyed at the horses being led into the central hall of the temple.

“Meissa, these are the members of the Eternia guild I spoke to you about. They bring supplies from Bovia and will be assisting in the temple for now.” I informed the priestess, who nodded and plastered a smile on her face as I made introductions.

"Blessed be you all," Meissa said gently, inclining her head before turning to me. "My disciples and I were about to retire for the day; however, if you require it, we can remain to assist with the new arrivals."

After kindly declining the woman's invitation and extending my own for a meal when she awoke at dusk, I returned my focus to my guild companions as the priestess left with her disciples.

I guided the group through the hall until we reached the left clergy tower, where they could stay. "Noctus is in one of the rooms on the third floor," I informed them as we stepped into a spacious round dining hall. “As you enter this level, you will find yourself in a dining room with a kitchen at the rear. To your right lies an exit to the courtyard and cellar for food storage; if you ascend up those stairs, you will find a bathroom and two communal sleeping quarters. On top floors there are four private rooms with ensuite bathrooms."

"Dibs on a private room!" Pia called, but I held up my hand to cut her off.

“I'm sorry, Pia, but Darius will be here soon, so he will have one of the rooms. I've also been told that Yuki is also on her way after returning to Caruan. She departed this morning through the portal to Rivera, so she will be here in a few days," I told the faun, who pouted.

"You said four rooms," the faun pointed out, "and that still leaves one."

In response, I shook my head and pointed to the dark-haired dwarven woman who was ordering Victoria's brothers to begin unpacking. Seeing where I was pointing, Pia instantly stopped complaining and nodded her head.

With the horse unburdened and everyone unpacking supplies under May's supervision, I took hold of the rope attached to Arion's halter, leading him to the stables with Victoria following behind.

The building I had constructed for a stable was nothing more than a large room with a stone floor and furnace embedded in one wall. On the two opposing walls were windows that included angled stone louvers to give the horses ventilation without allowing cold air to enter through them.

"I was hoping one of your brothers would be able to forge some hinges," I told the tall red-skinned woman as I used transmutation to create an opening in the stone wall, "as I'm still struggling with transmuting metal."

I had already placed two of the fire cores, which were carved with the undying fire array, in the furnace, so the room was warm. However, the heat quickly escaped as a rush of cool air blew in through the opening.

She glanced around the makeshift stable, then proposed, “We can have them construct a wooden door if you prefer. There is plenty of timber nearby and it will be easier to operate than a stone one.” Then she noted thoughtfully, “The horses will require proper stalls eventually, but at least they are out of the cold now. It isn't smart to house a mare with a stallion for too long."

"This won't be a permanent situation," I murmured, while I silently scolded the god responsible for constructing this temple without proper accommodations. "Others coming here will require space for their mounts too."

"Has your patron claimed the entire plateau?" Victoria asked, glancing around with interest.

“Only the temple itself belongs to Trismegistus; the land around it I claimed for myself when I built the stable," I told her, glancing around at the empty land surrounding the temple. “I claimed twenty acres, which covered the plateau and extended about a hundred meters beyond it.”

The last thing I wanted was to repeat the same mistake that the guild had made in Sēkrit and allow anyone to claim the land around the temple. I planned to eventually add a wall around the entire plateau, with buildings for outer disciples to stay in, along with multifunctional workspaces and areas to cultivate plants. The best part was that I wouldn’t even need to build it myself.

Once the disciples started showing up, I could assign them the task of building the wall and buildings under the guise of training their ability to transmute earth. Even those learning alchemy and astral magic could help.

I was hesitant to ask Darius for help from the guild, but I hoped that once I told him of my plans, he would offer Eternia's aid without prompting. Waiting for the guild leader's arrival was stressful, to say the least; I was worried about how he would react to the events in Airus.

"Those sound like some interesting ideas," Victoria said, inclining her head toward the distant town of Bovia. "But before you go building a wall, I think you should focus on a road. With all the temples popping up, Bovia is about to become a very popular destination. Kip has already spent all our team's savings buying a store in the town. He's planning to set up a business there for Auntie May to run."

My eyes widened as I enquired, "He brought a store? Why?"

"We've been planning on buying a business for a while, Foxy. Why do you think we hunt so much? Auntie May used to help run one of the guild shops in Airus, which was leased from the city. But owning the store ourselves means keeping more of the profits. We'll still need to pay guild dues to bring it under the guild's banner, but that's cheaper than dues and rent." She explained as we made our way back to the temple. "Plus, if we decide we don't want to run it anymore, we'll be able to sell it for a lot once the town expands."

"I just thought you were battle-crazy maniacs," I murmured, getting an amused chuckle from her in response.

"That's true," Victoria said, shrugging. "But there comes a point when running from one fight to the next becomes tedious. Besides, I'm guessing we won't be prying you away from this place any time soon; it's not a bad spot for now—close enough to resources and on the brink of becoming quite populated."

"You don't have to stay, you know," I said softly, looking up at her as we stopped outside the entrance to the left tower. "Darius can put someone else on your team to replace me."

“Not happening, Foxy," she said firmly, shaking her head. “If you want to play in the temple, that's fine, but we’re a team, even if we aren’t always together.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I stayed silent as we entered the tower. Victoria made her way upstairs to enjoy a warm bath after the long trek through the snow, while I headed for the nearby hearth and the large basket which sat before it.

Kneeling next to the basket, I pried open the lid and was met with a pair of bright, golden eyes staring back at me. Tears began to pool at the corners of my own eyes, and I barely managed to keep my balance as the reptilian feline launched himself out of the basket.

"Leo," I breathed out the cub's name with a sigh of relief, holding him tightly and rubbing my cheeks against his as he nuzzled my face with low, rumbling purrs.

"How long have you been awake? No one said you had woken up yet!" I asked the cub, not expecting a reply from the creature, but got one from Rainy who approached from the kitchens.

"This morning. He woke and devoured three chickens in addition to all of Kip's bacon before returning back to sleep." Rainy said before joining us by the fire.

“Three chickens?” I murmured, poking at the cub's belly, which did appear to be rather distended. “I don’t think he’s ever eaten that much in one sitting before.”

“Three chickens—and my bacon!” Kip corrected, entering the room. “That little thief ate my breakfast.”

“You've got no need for bacon, mi gordito,” May called, poking her head out the kitchen door and waving a wooden spoon at the dwarf.

“Mi gordito?” I asked Rainy in a whisper as Kip began speaking to his mother in a flurry of Spanish.

“My chubby, or fatty, I think," she translated, reaching out a hand to scratch Leo's back affectionately. "It's good to see him up. I made him a jacket and booties, but I'm not sure if it'll do much good.”

I laughed, trying to imagine him wearing a jacket and booties. Somehow, I doubted Leo would willingly allow himself to be dressed in either item or keep them on if I did manage to get him to wear them.

"The temple is heated, so I'm hoping he'll be okay while inside," I told her, shifting my hold on the Leosaur who seemed intent on burying himself in my fur cloak. "I'm hoping that once I work out the frost elixir, it will be effective on animals as well. If not, then I'll need to find another method of keeping him warm. In the meantime, when he wants to go outside, it'll be with Pyr or myself."

"Do you think Co-leader Noctus may be able to help?" The dryad asked, her eyes drifting to the stairs that led up to the second and third floors. "In Bovia, there was an enchanter selling bracers that could keep a person warm, but they were horribly expensive- with all the commotion, I'd assumed he would have come down already. Is he alright?

"He's doing alright," I answered. "Just catching up on sleep since he didn't get much when he was in prison."

Rainy nodded, the concern in her expression easing as she returned her attention to Leo, who had given up trying to make a nest out of my cloak and was dozing on my lap. “Hopefully, he knows the enchantment used on the bracers,” she said, and I nodded.

"If he's yet to learn it, that unfortunate enchanter is about to lose his bracers. Noctus won't let this golden opportunity for learning a new enchantment pass him by." I couldn't help but smile at the thought of him tracking down a hapless merchant in an attempt to take their bracers. I'd have to remember to tell him about the bracers when he eventually woke up.

I spent a good portion of the day taking the group around the temple, showing them the different towers, and providing them with information about the temple's resources. When we returned to the tower, I could see that they were all exhausted from our journey, so I bid them rest for the remainder of the day and took a moment to peek in on May in the kitchens.

I found her bustling around, looking through the cabinets and inspecting the items inside. She looked up as I entered and smiled. “Kadia, this is a lovely kitchen, but I'm afraid there isn't much here in the way of supplies. I will need to send my boy Kip down to Bovia to get more provisions."

"If you write me a list, I can have Bron send what you need from Caruan." I replied. "There's no need for Kip to travel all the way to Bovia. I still have a quest left for this week, which I can grant to Taurie."

May nodded in agreement. "That would be best then, Bron will have better quality ingredients and in higher quantities than what can be purchased in Bovia." We talked for a few more minutes about what she needed before I contacted Taurie, passing on the needed information.

The elf assured me that the supplies would be gathered by the next day, and she would contact me before completing the quest. Passing this on to May, I gave her a smile as I asked. "Do we have enough supplies for tonight?"

"Of course," she replied. "I brought enough supplies to last a week, but wasn't able to bring a variety of ingredients for the dishes I was planning. I've been able to make do though, so you and your guests are in good hands."

"How much do you normally receive from the guild for tending the kitchens? I understand you took on that role outside of running your store when the previous cook left Airus." I said.

May's face flushed as she opened her mouth to reply, but a voice from behind us spoke before she could.

"She took on the role of a Journeyman ranked cook, so will be given a generous stipend for her services." It was Noctus who spoke, having quietly entered the room without us noticing. "Unfortunately I was not present to arrange her compensation for this role previously, but it will be settled before the week is out.”

The vampire gave the dwarven woman a charming smile as he took her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “Thank you, May, I have been told you went above and beyond to make sure our people were fed during the time of hardship you all faced."

May's cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink at Noctus' words, and she gave him a beaming smile. "It is not needed, I would never let my family go hungry. If I can help in any way, I will."

"You have done more than enough, May. You are a true blessing to everyone here." Noctus said with a smile. He then tilted his head in my direction, "Kads, the guild will cover direct compensation for those helping in the temple."

"Meaning you'll take payment in other forms?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

With an amused smirk, he gave me a single nod. "Yes, precisely," he stated before exiting the kitchen. "It will be addressed further when Darius gets here."

With Noctus gone, I once more focused my attention on May. She was still standing there with a pleased expression on her face, obviously charmed by the perverse vampire, who’d admittedly been well behaved with the older woman.

"May, I invited Meissa to eat with me, but I didn't put much thought into what we would eat," I said, giving her a sheepish smile. "I'm wondering if you would be willing to take on the role of cooking for the temple until you return to Bovia and open your store with Kip."

May's face was beaming with happiness. "Of course I will!" She replied. "I will make sure the temple has enough provisions not just for tonight, but for the coming weeks as well."

"Thank you, May," I said, giving her a warm smile. "I'm sure everyone here is grateful for your hard work and delicious food."

May just waved me away, her face beaming with joy as she ushered me out of the kitchen. "I must get to work now," she said. "Tell my Kip when you're ready to eat and I'll send one of the boys up to you with your meal."

I thanked her before walking away, grateful that it was one less thing I needed to worry about. I would need to find a more permanent solution soon, but for now, I knew that May would have our bellies filled with delicious food each day.

After collecting Leo from his resting place in front of the hearth, I walked back to my tower to prepare for my meal with the priestess.