In the end, the uncertainty of rushing into the unfamiliar ruins and perhaps having to fight those two made me stay put. I waited for them and watched intently as they reached the border of the crumbling pillars. As they stepped through, it was as if a shimmering forcefield appeared, and a second later, a fiery glyph appeared atop its surface. The barrier remained in place, as did the glyph that resembled a taloned fist holding a burning sword.

"It's been ages since we were the first!" Richal cried, and I watched the massive man move to the hollow tree entrance and peer inside.

"I wonder when Preyatar's fools show up… they won't be far behind! They will be sad that they can't lay an ambush outside for us-" Richal suddenly snapped his gaze to Listrin. "Should we turn the tables, lay an ambush for those sods?"

"Fool! Foolish retarded, dumb-brainless-" Listrin began shouting again, but I ignored her. So, if those Preyatar guys laid ambushes outside, did that mean inside was safe? Then it might be better to get inside before more showed up. I began sneaking closer, waiting for them to look the other way, and I made it to a tree in front of the forcefield.

Pondering for a moment how safe it was, I heard a loud roar from the other side of the forest. Looking around the tree, I saw a row of five giant warriors in metal armor running in single file towards the barrier.

"Hah, it's the Boulder Patrol!" Richal said before laughing. "Those dull-witted Stonites actually made it here after us, netting them the second place reward?"

Listrin was staring at him with a dumbfounded look.

Reward? This time I didn't wait but shot from behind the tree and across the last few meters that separated me from the barrier. Passing through, I felt a soft shiver, and a second symbol appeared beside the flaming one; a silver shield with a red ax on it.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Richal shouted while Listril whirled around, raising her hands in defense.

I didn't reply but looked at them, ready for anything. I expected nothing to happen, but I wasn't sure. Before the red-haired brute could ask again, the line of warriors trotted inside the barrier and a third symbol appeared, a mountain against the backdrop of a setting sun.

"And here I thought we would be the second for a change," came a surprisingly soft voice from the lead warrior. Two massive hands removed the grey helmet and revealed a bald-headed, chiseled faced man. Cords of muscles ran along his jaw and neck, while two piercing grey eyes stared into mine. A mock-smile hung across thin lips.

"You must be the new Prime! My name is Bastian. I hope these two maniacs didn't frighten you yet?"

I stared into the man's grey eyes, trying to find if the man was serious. The smile from his mouth didn't reach his eyes, and although they sparkled, they had a dead feeling to them. Not half as nice as he makes himself out to be, I thought. Forcing a grin, I shook my head, straightening myself and realizing the guy was at least a head or two taller than I was.

"Not yet, but here's hoping!" I said, getting the feeling that showing weakness wasn't going to get me anywhere.

For the briefest of seconds, a stunned look crossed the man's face, and then he barked a single, loud laugh. He stepped forward and placed a massive hand on my shoulder.

"Good one," he said, turning to Richal. "It seems this new deity's followers won't be easy for you and your hotheaded fools to bully around!"

His words were laced with anger and loathing and as obvious a taunt as I'd ever heard. Richal's eyes narrowed, and his hairs began bristling. He took a step forward when Listrin grabbed him, pulling him back. She whispered something in his ear, and an evil grin spread across Richal's face.

"You forget who was here first, dimwit!" he said, shrugging off Listrin's obvious attempts to silence him. I saw a look of disgust on her face, but she didn't leave. Instead, she stayed behind Richal.

"I forget nothing. I am of the-"

"Stone and we forget blablabla," Richal interrupted him, making mock speaking gestures with his hand.

"You dare to make light of the Stone?" Bastian shouted in his still surprisingly soothing voice, and he stepped forward, facing off against Richal.

I stepped back, wondering if my assessment of a violence free entrance area was wrong. A hand gripped my shoulder, and I spun around, raising my ax handle, ready to strike. One of the Stonites stood behind me, her helmet removed and hands empty and outstretched in front of her. Two hard green eyes looked at me from a gentle, young face.

"This will take a while. Why don't you come and join me, so we can have a word? Everyone is curious about you, and your deity, and-" she looked at the two shouting men and grinned, "those two will be arguing for a while longer."

My shock abated, I saw the other Stonites had begun unpacking bags they had hidden from view behind their massive wide shoulders. Two moved through the barrier, gathering wood, while the last one was clearing an open area.

Turning my attention back to the female warrior, I nodded.

"Est," I said curtly, deciding to be as frugal with my words as I could.

The woman grinned, and the light finally reached her eyes. As it did, her face softened, and I realized she seemed far younger than I had initially thought, perhaps not even twenty yet.

"Valaria, daughter of the Stone, and that fool," she said with a laugh while pointing at Bastian.

I suppressed a joke I felt bubbling up. I was pretty sure her smile would fade quickly at any suggested intercourse between her father and her deity. Instead, I let the grin spread across my face and nodded.

Valaria nodded and turned to where one of the Stonites was making a campfire from the wood. When the wood was placed to his apparent liking, he stepped back, and his massive gauntlet covered fist made a quick gesture. A small ball of fire hovered across his hand, and he tossed it on the wood, causing it to burst ablaze.

Valaria kneeled beside the fire, reminding me of a monk. Hands on her knees, she looked at me, waiting for me to join her.

Deciding against copying her move, I sat down, cross-legged, holding my ax-handle across my knees.

"An odd choice for a weapon," Valaria said.

I couldn't detect any malice or hilarity in her, and with a shrug, I patted the wood. "I had an unfortunate encounter that left my ax blade deformed."

Valaria frowned, looking at the ax-handle before looking at my four arms. "A very odd choice for one of your kind... By my knowledge, you never wield...axes?" she said, her mouth tightening at the mention of my preferred weapon type.

Again with this, I thought, seeing how she touched the hilt of the sword on her hip. I wanted to ask her what her problem with axes was but instead held it back. It could wait for more important things, so it was better to just brush it away.

"Rathica likes axes, so it's only right, isn't it?" I said, pointing at Rathica's symbol on the barrier.

Valaria's eyes widened while the two Stonites stopped what they were doing and looked at me. A sudden silence came from the still shouting men as Bastian turned away from Richal.

Now what?

"I am honored to hear the name of your deity, Rathica," Valaria said.

"What? Couldn't that pebble you worship determine her name?" Richal said, roaring with laughter. "Cinderage told us days ago!"

This time it wasn't just Bastian who glared at Richal. All of the Stonites turned to him until he was confronted with four massive warriors.

"What?" Richal said, grinning as he puffed out his chest. "Did I anger you? Shouldn't you stonites be cold and detached, like the cold stone we walk on?"

My eyes widened as Bastian roared, producing a sound that reminded me of a dinosaur from an old movie. When the sound faded, he stepped close enough to Richal that they almost touched. Although Richal was a mountain of a man, he still had to look up slightly at the giant.

"You had better make sure you run fast when you enter, fire-fucker!" Bastian said before turning away.

Richal just laughed, his eyes gleaming with a mad light.

As Bastian moved towards us with a face like thunder, he looked at me and winked.

My mouth almost fell open, but I covered it with a cough and turned my attention to Valaria. She smiled at me, pursing her lips and shaking her head quickly.

It was an act! I thought, wondering what was going on. I had already pegged Bastian as a quick to anger, somewhat stupid, faithful worshipper of the Stone, but it seemed I was wrong.

Bastian kneeled on the other side of the fire, his back to Richal and Listrin, who were moving away to the furthest side of the barrier.

"So, Rathica and axes you say?" his voice returning to soft and mellow.

I nodded, trying to gather my wits.

"They are out of earshot," one of the warriors muttered, and Bastian's grin widened.

"Enjoy my little act just now?"

Valaria snorted before I could say anything. "Father, you should have consulted with me first! This will make getting our hands on those seeds much harder."

"Don't worry, daughter. You know what the Stone said!" Bastian's eyes held some hidden message, and Valaria sighed.

"Good, now tell me of axes!" Bastian said as he grinned at me.

We spoke for hours, mostly about inconsequential things, and the few times I tried to ask why he had angered Richal, I was ignored. A few hours before it would turn dark, another group arrived.

"Preya...I wondered where they were!. Usually they are the first," Valaria muttered as she stared at a group of a dozen beings. They all wore leather armor, and as they closed in, I could see sharp, hungry looks as they observed me. I saw Human-like beings, Grablons, two of the same massive and overly muscled beings as the Stonites, and something that looked like half a demon.

Above us, the symbol of an arrow with an eye on its tip appeared on the barrier as they entered. They didn't say a word, taking up a spot as far from the other two groups as they could before sitting down.

"And now we wait," Valaria said.

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

She grinned, her green eyes gleaming, and she began rummaging in a backpack.

"We were aiming for the first spot, as were the others, but all those who were close enough that they had even a slight chance are here now. The others don't come around these parts a lot, so I expect it will be a day or two before everyone arrives. As you are the only Prime of Rathica, I take it that no more of her followers will show up?"

I blinked as I realized they didn't know Rathica only had one follower.

Better keep it that way.

I shook my head and shrugged, refraining from saying anything more.

"Thought so. In that case, you can stay at our camp until the gate opens."

"Thanks."

I didn't know a lot about the other deities, and I wondered if they knew I wasn't from this world. If they did it would be fine asking, but otherwise I might give away too much. Deciding to just wait and see, I took my own bag and began eating some rations.

--

Valaria was right, and it took over a day before more groups showed up, but after that it seemed the floodgates were opened. More began trickling in. Then many more.

I didn't know what I had expected, but as more and more beings appeared, I started realizing the enormity of the event that was happening. The Stone camp had grown to over thirty people, mostly the large muscular giants and a few humans, or what passed for them.

I sat with my back against a massive wooden block. More lay around me, the remnants of a tree the Stonenites had cut to feed the massive fires now blazing around the edges of the barrier.

The different campsites had grown oddly, partially inside the barrier while the bulk grew outside until camps sprawled from the barrier like the points of a star. None of them got closer than a meter, leaving easily traveled paths in between.

A loud roaring came from the camp furthest from us, followed by singing.

More of those Percussion followers, I thought with a frown. Those guys made more noise than all the others combined. At least they made great music, though a bit heavy on the drums for my liking.

Valaria moved towards me. She had been out with a group to hunt for the Terror Bird again.

It had followed a group of Lischen followers, killing two before they reached the camp, and now the different groups were having a contest on who could slay it first. My personal bet was on those Preyatar guys, but I wasn't going to rule any of the others out just yet.

"Est, you should really come! You aren't going to stay cooped up here until the entrance opens, are you?"

"Perhaps tomorrow," I said, patting the massive wooden ax blade that lay across my knees. Carved from a part of the log, it couldn't match the previous Winding Weed blade, but it was better than nothing. Besides, a few Harden Woods on them should make it strong enough.

"I don't understand why you are making an ax-blade of wood," Valaria said, shaking her head. "Can't you just accept one of the swords and use that for a while?"

"It's not my way," I said, trying to act mysteriously. Inside I cringed, hoping Eliandra wouldn't hear what I said. Thinking of her, I got up and looked beyond the camps to see if more groups were coming.

"Still no sight of Flowheart’s followers?" I asked, knowing full well there was none.

"None. Those Preyatar followers are going around telling the others that it's because they sacked Dursic, smug bastards."

I sat back down, trying to suppress my anxiety. I had no idea how many followers Flowheart had, but I couldn't believe they were all wiped out. Staring at the ax blade, I heard Valaria sigh and move away. I appreciated what she was trying to do, but the risk of going outside didn't sit well with me. As inconspicuous as I could, I looked to the Cinderage camp and saw two of the redheads were still observing me. They had from the moment the second group came with more Primes.

This is going to be more difficult if they are going to hunt me, I thought, turning my attention back to the ax.