I woke up on the fourth morning since our return, still not having heard anything from Devotion, despite expecting to hear her soft, booming voice every second of every day. Though from what I could sense within my Protectorate Map, there really didn’t seem to be any trouble beyond Darkness consolidating land in the north and along the Kalabrian western coast. With a few thousand stationed on the border of the Forsaken land midway between the Crasters and the coast.

It was inevitable that a horde from Darkness would arrive intent on taking Malaita sooner rather than later and she would certainly need our help to defend against it but so far all had been silent, and I was reluctant to rattle the cage while we all recovered a little, especially since I could sense she wasn’t in any distress through the bond.

I certainly had no intention of deserting her or Malatia. Not after all they’d done getting us home and keeping Far Reach safe. There was no doubt I owed her, and I intended to protect Malatia like it was my own home. Crazy how that relationship between us had oscillated, but it was set in stone now and I had faith in it just as I had faith in Danivra or Olata.

I would reach out to her soon. I owed her that much at least. But first, before any interaction with anyone else. I was going to go down stairs into the derelict kitchen and tidy the place up a bit more. Try to get a feel for the place and maybe even attempt to set up some workspaces. Anything to give me an element of normality after so long fighting for my life.

In the wide-open space on the ground floor, the place was relatively undamaged apart from the front right corner of the building. The rubble had been cleaned away now, stacked neatly to be reused. In the opposite corner where the kitchen would be built stood the water inlet pipe, and beyond, the only shelf in the large room. It spanned the gap between the far wall and the narrow wall built to support the staircase. To my surprise, next to the metal bowl I had been using to cook with on my travels north, there were now a couple of pans, which I knew hadn’t been there before. There was a chance they’d been there when I’d come in after bonding with the Hearth tree and not noticed them, but that was unlikely. I noticed pretty much everything now. The seventeen spiders lurking in the roof beams. The mouse poking its head out of a small hole where the wooden floor met the bricks in the other back wall corner from where I now stood. I moved ponderously closer to inspect them. Black and silver in color, they were undoubtedly very well made. I picked one up:

Rarity: Rare

Damage: Bludgeon: 90

Defense: 100 against all standard forms of attack.

200 against Light based Neuma Attacks

40 against Dark based Neuma attacks.

Weight: 15 lbs

Durability: 100

Rare Attribute: Non Stick

Named attribute (Fast Cook): Reduces the cooking time of all ingredients by 30%

I grinned as I read the description and went through the subsequent pans. There were six Sauce pans each with the same stats and a cast iron griddle Skillet which was a little different.

Rarity: Unique

Damage: Bludgeon: 130 (+20 on direct hit if thrown.)

Defense: 100 against all standard forms of attack.

200 against Light based Neuma Attacks

40 against Dark based Neuma attacks.

Weight: 25 lbs

Durability: 100

Named attribute: Imparts smoky flavor of Hickory wood.

Unique Named attribute: Pan turns to smoke when thrown at target to bypass one obstacle.

I started laughing my ass off at that, when I sensed a presence nearby. A throat cleared at almost the same time.

“You like them then?” Mal said standing in the doorway as I spun around. I was ashamed to admit I hadn’t heard and barely sensed the sneaky bastard. He stood dressed in impressive new armor. Silver and blue and undoubtedly fitting of a Blessed of Devotion. I got the sense that it was the armor mixed with his incredibly high level that had helped him approach the doorway relatively undetected.

I calmed quickly and smiled easily. “I do mate. Who made them?”

“No one here. I had them brought up from Baering after our little drinkathon. With Elsbeth’s help of course. I haven’t got a fucking clue what I’m doing, but we figured you could do with them if you ever got back. I reckon Devotion might have put a word in as well, cos they’re some next level cookware,” he smirked. “I take it you read the stats?”

“I did! And shit, thanks mate. They’re totally epic. I was actually going to come and see you later on today. Or this week at least.”

His eyes twinkled with humor, clearly unconvinced by my words. “Well I’m here now and I won’t be later on, so you’ll have to make do with now.

“Bit early isn’t it?”

“Could say the same for you, up and about. But if you're anything like me after the boost of points, then you probably just really don’t need that much sleep any more. I do it more out of habit now and because Elsbeth still needs her six hours. I could probably get away with six hours a week and be fine.”

“Yeah,” I laughed knowingly. “I can understand that. I feel weird and I’m not sure how much of that is related to the point boost and how much to the race change.

“Well I can guarantee a lot of it is the points, but then you were already in the hundreds weren’t you?”

“I was,” I said, replacing the Smokey Griddle Skillet of Devotion back on the shelf, doubting I would ever actually need it in battle, but loving it all the same. It was probably one of the best weapons I’ve seen since we got here behind the Neuma infused ones.

“They weren’t cheap to get here,” Mal said, indicating the pan with his eyes. Our Goddess seems to really like you. I’m starting to see why, but I still don’t really get it.”

I shrugged. “Don’t suppose there’s too much to get, really. We just need to keep moving forward as best we can and weather the storm. Together.”

The corners of his mouth creeped up a touch into a taught smile. “That’s the other part of the reason why I’m here. We’re heading out. All of the Malatian troops. Along with Kairos and the Thisthall. This place is completely safe, but Darkness’s troops are starting to form up on the border of the Forsaken Lands. We’re not expecting an immediate attack, but we’ll be needed out there sooner rather than later and it’s a long march to get to the main army camp.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “March?”

“About eight days. Karius, Harle and me can fly there in a few days, so that’s what we’ll do,” he said, speaking of the other two Blessed of Devotion.

I shook my head. “Devotion?” I thought loudly across our bond.

“Clive! I thought you’d forgotten all about me, now that you are nice and safe in your Sphere of Influence,” she chided.

“Knock that off for a start. We both know you don’t want me pestering you all the time. Now what’s this about Mal going with Karius and the Thisthall marching over to the west?”

“I’m afraid there is a strong force of Darkness troops massing there and Mal, due to your interference, is now among the top three strongest soldiers in Malatia’s army. This is the price you must pay for having me gift Mal the power. We need him.”

“Huh? What’s that got to do with anything?”

“He will have to fight on my frontline now. Far more often than not.”

“Well yeah, of course. I get that. But that’s not what I mean. Why would they march when they can just portal from here.”

Devotion was silent for a while at that.

“Because neither I nor my followers can make portals, Clive. And while I would hope you support our defense of Malatia, I would not deign to impose on you in the simple matter of troop movements. Especially considering gods really aren’t supposed to be interfering directly.

“Don’t be fucking stupid, Devotion. Of course I’ll portal them over. I’ll see if any of my followers want to go with them as well. Then when you want to send people back here, they can give me a shout through our link. Even if it’s your full fucking army. If they need a reprieve, get their arses back here. Even if it’s just for an apple juice and a nap. I’ll tell Mal and the followers I send as well. When your people need a portal, I will make a portal.”

“Then thank you for offering this service freely, Clive. I appreciate your assistance. Let Mal know and I will speak with you later.”

“Wait up. How bad is it?”

“Over the next few days, we will have a strong number to act as a meaningful deterrent. The early arrival of fifteen thousand Malatians, including my three chosen and the Thisthall, should be more than enough to hold our borders against most forces unless Darkness makes a real concerted effort.”

“I’ll keep an eye out as much as I can. If their numbers swell and they move, I’ll bring our army. It’s not big, but I think we’ve proven we can pack a punch.”

“I wouldn’t have expected any less, but it is good to hear confirmation all the same. When we speak later, we should discuss our long-term strategy, but for now, goodbye, Clive.”

“Catch you later,” I replied, but she was already gone.

“Finished talking to my Goddess?” Mal asked, and I realized he’d been alert through our conversation. If not able to hear it.

“Yep. And I’ll open you all a portal up to wherever you need it, mate. No need for marching.”

Mal’s eyes widened, looking genuinely shocked by the offer. “Thank you,” he finally uttered. I must have been doing a far worse job as a friend and ally than I thought I’d been doing. At least in communicating that I was there for them.

“It’ll help us out a lot, Clive. Will you…” he started, wrinkling his nose in discomfort as he spoke. I had a vague idea he would ask for me to be pleasant to Elsbeth and look out for her if anything happened to him.

I held out a hand to stop him from asking and smiled. “You don’t need to ask, mate. Of course, I’ll look after Boris if anything happens to you.”

“Wanker,” he laughed. “Just, please, for me, treat the people at the temple like they’re your own,” he finally articulated without asking the direct question.

“We're all good, Mal. Devotion’s people are my people.”

He looked relieved, offering a wry smile. “You’re still a wanker, though. And you better look after Boris as well. I don’t want him coming with me, for what might be coming. It’s a shame because I do want him to level.”

“Don’t sweat it, mate,” I replied as we clasped hands. A silent moment of uncomfortable acknowledgement of our friendship and forgiveness of what had passed between us. With nothing more to say, we parted ways, with him waving over his head as he ducked under the drooping door beam.

Having had that brief moment with him, I was surprised to feel a lightening of my burdens. My friends from Earth were more important to me than I could articulate, even if we didn’t have much time for each other again.

I now stood there feeling at a bit of a loss. Without materials, there wasn’t really anything to do. The wall needed building, but I needed mortar for that, and I didn’t have a clue where to get it from or how to go about making it.

What I did have was the copied ability from Sania to grow rocks from thin air. It wasn’t as If I didn’t need practice either.