The guards were all shocked by the response, and one of the thieves suddenly turned and lunged at Tonya with the blade slashing through the air in a spiral, “You are a fool to have revealed yourself like this!”

A single arrow was released up above, and it dashed the gap in between Tonya and the thief before nailing right him in the shoulder and spinning him around before he crumbled and fell. Tonya heard the sound of rapid footsteps coming from the building behind her when a stern voice from above drowned everything out.

“Tonya! My god, you have returned safely!”

Tonya turned around and looked up as a man wearing heavy clothing with golden circular patterns and an unmissable black beard with a single white stripe in the middle leaned over the window and pressed his stomach pressing against the railing of the window as the guards with bows and arrows moved back and away.

“Uncle Zhad.” Tonya said, effortlessly conjuring up a polite smile, “It’s been a long time!”

“Yes…it has been indeed.” Zhad Glaza said, massaging his beard as his thin eyes looked toward the group of thieves. Then, he sighed and waved off the guards, “All but the one who attacked Tonya may go, as further fighting will simply sour the mood of a celebratory occasion.”

The group of thieves that were treating their wounded companion looked up simultaneously before one of them looked down at the injured one whose agony had transformed into pure fear.

“No…don’t leave me…” He said, gripping onto the sleeves of the one closest when she yanked her hands from him.

“That’s just the business.” She said coldly, picking up the buckets of water and following the rest of the group as the guards moved aside and let them go.

Then, as the guards surruonded the man brought himself his fate, the doors to the mansion swung open, and young servants that Tonya did not recognize welcomed her in.

“Don't worry, I was going to jump in before she gets hurt,” Ver smiled, emerging from a Whirlpool Purple as Augen still looked wound up and ready to fight with his stack of playing cards pinched between fingers, “But you seemed more than ready to wipe them out, Augen~”

"That was on me." Tonya admitted when Ver shook her head and waved it off.

“Oh...who are your…friends?” Uncle Zhad’s heavy footsteps accompanied his question as he stomped downstairs to the ground floor.

“They helped me survive all this time.” Tonya said, turning around as the doors shut and the interior lights became brightened the corridor, “You know…since what had happened in the capital to my parents…”

“I was suspecting something was up when I haven’t heard anything from the capital. I...am sorry.” Uncle Zhad said slowly as he scanned each one of the five individually, his eyes lingering on Ver for an especially long before looking back at Tonya, “I am just glad that you are safe, and I am truly sorry about your parents…”

“I didn’t know where else to go…” Tonya said, stepping forward, “I am hoping we could stay here.”

“Of course! The Dune’s Diamond always is a home for a Glaza, no matter how far you have gone, or how long you have been away.” Uncle Zhad reached both hands to the side as large sleeves dangled from his wrist, “And that invitation certainly extends out to the friends of our lovely Tonya!”

“That’s it?” Wu murmured to Lera, who shrugged back as Uncle Zhad turned around and ushered the servants to hurry and prepare a meal.

“Please! Get yourselves cleaned up and join me in the dining room!”

Wu, Lera, Augen, and Ver were provided a guest room with four individual beds, and Tonya was welcomed back to the main room that her parents used to have. Everything was kept neat and clean, and they each washed away the dirt over a bucket of water when Ver simply went through a set of Whirlpool Purple and gave herself a quick rinse before coming out with a towel propped up by her curves.

“Um…” Wu asked, raising a hand to draw Ver’s attention as she spun around with her hair dripping wet, “Did you take a shower in the portals?”

“Yeah! You get a nice rinse with Whirlpool Red!” Ver said with a smile, “What, you are tempted?”

“I just feel bad using the water like that when…you know.” Wu gestured out of the window before Ver nodded her head and pointed her palm at Wu as a vertical whirlpool purple opened up.

“So what? Is that a yes or no?” Ver asked when Lera stood up behind Wu with a towel also and demanded the same service, and so they went into a Whirlpool Purple together.

While standing within a space surrounded by the Kraken’s soft flesh, red whirlpools opened up all around them before jets of water shoot out, slamming their bodies into one another.

Wu and Lera shower time together had always been a sexy good time, but this was not one of those times. At times, the angle of the Whirlpool Red was rather suspect, and Wu had to shield his family jewels just in case.

Augen, on the other hand, just wiped his hands and face with splashes of water from the bucket before he headed out to find Tonya.

After they all got changed and Ver have had enough of giving Wu funny looks, they made their way downstairs to the dining room where Augen and Tonya had already taken a seat. Bean stews, roasted cactus seeds with butter, and some slices of meat were already placed on the table, though nobody was touching any of the food.

“Ah, esteemed guests.” Uncle Zhad once again brought his hands to the side and smiled, “Thank you for joining us.”

“As I asked, what’s happened with the fields?” Tonya asked when Uncle Zhad stared her down disapprovingly and pointed to the group.

“Have you forgotten your manners, Tonya? Why don’t you introduce your friends to me first before we talk business?” Zhad said when Tonya sighed and obliged. She had been trained in being a royalty ever since she was born after all.

“This is Augen, and he helped me when I was being hunted down by the insurgents.” Tonya said, placing a hand on Augen’s slim shoulders, “If not for him, I wouldn’t be alive today.”

“That’s Ver, a badass mercenary who’s also very pretty.” Tonya continued, and uncle Zhad tilted his head to the side.

“I can tell.”

“That’s Lera and Wu.”

That’s it?!

Wu was admittedly disappointed, but he suppose it’s good to keep a low profile. Plus, maybe Lera’s happy with them being a combo package? He looked over, and Lera had been eyeing the stew and not paying any attention to the ongoing conversation at all.

“Just…Lera and Wu?” Uncle Zhad asked with a raised eyebrow when Tonya turned and smiled at them, "All very welcome here."

“Why don’t you introduce yourself too?” Tonya pressed, and uncle Zhad relented before placing a hand over his chest.

“I am Zhad Glaza, the mayor of the Dune’s Diamond, and…if what happened in the capital were true, then I am also the oldest surviving member of the Glaza family.” He said, “When Tonya’s parents succeeded the throne in the Dune’s Eye, I remained here to watch over the city, and…it was all going well until recently, disaster struck.”

Zhad looked towards Tonya with a pained look on his face, and he wrapped his thick fingers around the wooden cup before taking a zip, “Drought, far worse than anything we have seen. The soil wouldn't grow a thing, obviously. That coupled with the exhaustion of the water reserves meant we have had to ration things out carefully.”

“This didn’t feel like rationing.” Tonya said, pointing to the garden outside, and Zhad gave a light shrug in response.

“We have stopped watering the non-essential plants, and offered much water to the people every single day while maintaining stability in this region.” Zhad said, “But that won’t last forever. When you said you just wanted a place to stay, Tonya, I am glad. Because as much as I would have wanted to help you in whatever journey you wish to take away from here, I must deal with the problems here first. My people need me.”

“We will help.” Wu said, breaking the silence as Zhad turned his eyes and examined the black haired boy with extraordinarily thick eyebrows for the first time, “We aren’t just going to stick around and do nothing. Let us help.”

“We have put our best people at figuring out the reason behind this drought, but…they have come up with neither a cause, nor a solution…” Zhad said, looking over to Ver, “Worse yet, there were rumors of a budding rebellion forming in the next town, Dune’s Hive, and we simply cannot afford to fight in the current situation. You saw what they have been doing at night, and it won’t be long before they openly attack the city and the other smaller towns!”

“Uncle, we could be doing more for these people.” Tonya said, placing a hand on his, “We can ration out even further, buy time for Wu and Lera to figure something out.”

“My Wave abilities can help with providing water, but it’s more like a temporary measure.” Ver put her hand up.

“And…Augen and I can go over to the Dune’s Hive to help deal with the so-called rebellion.” Tonya said, “…there had already been one revolt against my family…I can’t let it happen again if I know I can do something about it.”

“It’s too dangerous!” Zhad said, shaking his head, “I can’t let you go there, and I am sure your parents wouldn’t either.”

“I can take care of myself.” Tonya said firmly, “Right, Augen?”

“Yes!” Augen said eagerly, “I will watch her back. Not with my non-existant eyes, of course.”

The joke triggered a chuckle from Zhad, and he tilted his head to the side with amusement, "You know, you don't sound very convincing when you talk like that. If you want to demonstrate that particular quality, you have to sell it."

"It's not like you have any other options." Tonya crossed her arms, "I am not asking, just informing."

Uncle Zhad's eyebrows raised, and he finally nodded, “Very well. Rest well tonight, and tomorrow, I shall provide you all with what you need. Preemptively, I thank you for all you are about to do for this city, and for our people. Now, let's eat."

The food was instantly devoured, and the plates were cleaned by the voracious five in less than half an hour.

That night, Ver enjoyed a glorious back massage from Wu while Lera acted as the inspector. She enjoyed it so much that the Kraken’s armor sporadically formed and dispelled around her arms while Wu worked down her tightened back musculature.

“I did watch tons of videos on physiotherapy procedures…” Wu said, pressing down into a tension point as Ver moaned, “How’s the pressure? I am going in now…”

“Ah~Right there! Right there! Deeper!”

“Wow, it really is tight here.”

“Um~hm~”

All in the meantime, Augen just enjoyed this audio NTR as he fell asleep.