BS7 - Prologue (Patreon)

[Author Note: And, we're back! I wanted to have a sort of lead in chapters before I started posting them, and I think I've gotten a good enough lead. I'm making good progress, and I have decided to have some discipline and work on Soul Knight here and there, rather than wait until I have finished this book to continue. I've got most of a chapter of that done, too. But anyway, here's the big return, almost 9 months after the last chapter posted! It feels like forever!]

Hearthflames wrapped around the spearhead and shaft, searing and suffusing the metal with Jake’s unique mana and creating runes on the surface. Spreading out his flames, he used Manaweave Reinforcement to optimize the object’s integrity, and maximize the mana’s effectiveness.

Smiling, he marveled at the spear as he held it in front of him. If they had this spear back during their first Trial, their Mana Blades would have cut through the dark elves and their armor like a hot knife through warm butter. 

They didn’t have access to Epic quality items at that time, and yet now this was something Jake and Ophelia could mass produce.

Stowing the spear away, he worked on another. The flames of his hearth quickly coalesced into the runes once more, Jake easily able to complete the enchantment rapidly with his proficiency. The Hearth of the Refuge quickly refilled his Hearthflames, allowing him to use them almost indefinitely, just like normal mana.

He moved on to some more difficult materials. Qi-infused metals were now something Ophelia could make, and so Jake added some demonic runes of sharpness and cold to some swords. Making them for the Blizzardblade Clan, the many Tier 1 warriors would benefit from his creations.

“Aw, come on! That can’t be right, you must be cheating!” A child’s voice entered his ears, his focus being interrupted.

“Shove it, Blaze, we won fair and square! Just because you don’t like birds and flying units doesn’t mean using them is cheating!” It appeared Nora, Tanda’s raven beastkin daughter, was not happy with Blaze’s antics like usual.

“Birds are lame! Even Aunty Bree says so!”

“You take that back!” 

A shoving match began behind him, causing him to chuckle at their antics, and Aiko, chirped in annoyance from his lap. Petting his kitsune daughter’s head, he ignored the other kid’s bickering and continued with his work. 

While his kids got a little physical from time to time, getting hurt was a rare occurrence, and something quickly rectified. They’d learn more from him letting the scene play out.

Jake looked at the time in his Menu, realizing that it had been far too long, as it was nearly lunchtime. Once again, he had gotten carried away in his crafting. He turned to look over at his daughters, the four having decided to play their games while near their dad.

Blaze and a new echidna daughter faced off against Nora and Clara, making it like snakes versus birds.     

It’d already been over a year since the first of his children were born, and sixteen months since removing Tartarus from Highlands. His many daughter’s ages, let alone names, were becoming somewhat difficult to for Jake to track. He had to cut off his loving Echidna wives from having more, because of a problem: she did get better at making babies, just as she had vowed. 

There were now six eggs waiting to be hatched, and just as many more had already been born since the day they summoned Bree’s new body, making it fifteen echidnas in total. 

To have twelve more in just a little over eight months was absurd, and it appeared Jake had Zhang Fei to thank for her improvement: eating the special monster corpse he provided had somehow pushed her chimeral constitution forward, and then she was off to the races. On some level, he was thankful–it proved that her odd echidna body trait could actually be improved. On the other hand, it had already produced a few headaches.  

Bloodberri was more easily able to fit in their body and soul tempering thanks to their ability to rapidly make and lay eggs, and Jake was able to alternate his nights between groups. After the first few sessions, he had started needing a bit of a break to recover his body and soul, as he could not keep up with all of his girls. He was being tempered with every session, after all, while his girls got to recover in between. 

That meant that they had some fun without the leveling. Each of his wives and mates found some time to enjoy their vacation, and fortunately, this meant their bedroom times never felt like they were just for the power ups.

Thankfully, the idea that their family could form two baseball teams among all their children was finally enough. After these six hatched and the seeds from Avalara grew into treants, Jake would have well over twenty children out and about the Refuge. He was sure before the five years were up, Tanda and Ava might ask for more, but there were enough snake girls in his house now, in his opinion.

Some hair started getting pulled, so Jake cleared his throat before feathers joined the mix. “Alright girls, that’s enough screen time for today. Come join me for some enchanting like you said you wanted to do like Aiko here, or try to go do something a little more productive. Remember–”

“Work hard today, bleed less tomorrow.” Blaze and Sharona sighed after both mimicking his and her many mother’s words.

Blaze added, “Let’s go see mommy Lia! Maybe she’ll train us with these!”

She grabbed a mace off one of the weapon racks, which Sharona, her younger snake sister with equally flaming patterns on her scales copied. The weight of the mace was difficult to hold in her smaller grip, but she still managed it. 

They were about to slither away, but Jake grabbed a hold of the maces and the two snake girls with his hearth flames with little more than a thought.

Jake groaned, as he swiveled in his chair to look at them. “Wait, at least take these instead.” He presented two training maces with a lot less… violent points on them. Using his telekinetic flames, he placed the flanged and spiked mace back on the rack.

Blaze pouted. “Aw, but those were cooler. A-And sorry, Daddy. We did watch for a bit, but…”

“It was pretty for a while. But Space Wars is cooler.” 

Blaze and Sharona left, leaving Clara and Nora, who both looked remorseful. Nora and Clara flapped their wings to fly over to Jake. They landed next to him, and hugged each of his legs. They were both over a year old now, but they already looked to be nearly 6 or 7 years old. Still, Jake was huge now at nearly three meters tall, so they only reached a bit past his knee caps with their heads as he sat. 

Clara said, “We’re sorry, Daddy. We did really want to watch you, but Blaze distracted us when those two got bored.”

Jake chuckled, and lifted them up with his flames and brought them into a proper hug. They squished him back lovingly, unable to wrap their arms all the way around him, as he engulfed them with his arms. “It’s alright, my dears. I have much more work to be done if you still want to watch. Then we’ll go have some lunch.”

The two nodded, and he placed them atop his shoulders as he continued for a time. He spent some time telling them what he was doing and why, and the two asked him dozens of questions as they oo’d and aww’d at him using his hearthflames for enchantments. 

Aiko listened and watched with rapt attention from his lap, her head barely reaching over the table. And Jake made sure to give the intelligent fox plenty of ear scratches and head pats, a reward for her diligence. Though, he had a sneaking suspicion that was the primary reason she was there. If she did learn something, that was still a victory in his eyes.

When the alarms went off–the girl’s stomachs growling–he realized it couldn’t wait any longer. Stowing away his crafted items, he teleported himself and the girls to the living room, and Aiko chirped and immediately took off to a seat on the table.

The kids had lost their privilege of using teleportation shortly after they learned of its existence. It was all due to one of them getting sick from an unending game of teleportation tag. 

Ava’s lesser avatar was feeding two newly born echidnas with spooned food and sippy cups, and plenty of food was laid out for the older children to eat. Much of the family had gathered for lunch just a bit ago, it seemed.

“There you are, love.”

“Oh! It’s Master, and little Aiko, Clara and Nora. Would you like some lunch?” 

Jake looked over at the Celestial Nekomata maid, Yona, who was currently preparing food and drink on a cart–likely to bring to the training area–for Ophelia and Tanda on the go. The catgirl had arrived about a month ago, where Fhesiah was more than happy to introduce her as his servant–in all the ways he desired. 

He made it clear that he very much desired a nanny, and nothing more for the time being. Taking care of nearly twenty kids with several on the way was way too much work, even for them and with two lesser avatar’s from Avalara–at least with all the other tasks they did.

Her arrival occurred when the rest of her race from Sector 81 had arrived, along with many of the other clans and sects that had met with Fhesiah during the Celestial Nexus Battleground. 

The Blizzardblade Clan and the Radiant Sun sect were among those that arrived at the Mystic Expanse, their preparations to join the sector finally completed. It seemed that since many of them were of the Second Tier, they had to both pay a cost in CP to enter, but also receive several restrictions about where they could travel or how they could influence the war. 

A cultivator world was sort of like being a half-framework world, and they would often participate in the war by mostly only joining special events at the peak of their Tier. Joined to the Framework they would have fewer restrictions, but they would have to work hard to earn what Tartarus gained for their entry.

Yona had both gray hair and fur, with black and white patterns of suns and moons, much like the rest of her race on what little fur she had. But unlike her giant cat people ancestors, she was mostly human and had two tails, with furry ears atop her head. Her short hair in a bob framing her small face, and with a shy smile often on it with her smaller body, Jake would definitely describe her as cute. 

In truth, Jake hadn’t had a lot of time to talk to her. She was often busy helping with the kids or the chores and errands around the manor, and Jake was equally busy with his own tasks, helping the guild or managing his budding kingdom. “We’ll take some of those sandwiches. How have you been settling in?” 

Nora and Clara both took seats, and Yona started grabbing several sandwiches off the cart, placing them on a tray over her shoulder like a waitress. “Oh, living here is just so nice, Master! I’m so glad that Aunt Aria gave me this opportunity. Even though I’m a servant, I’m treated so very well. I am…not used to it yet, but the kids and your mates have all been lovely.”  

Jake arched his brow. “Faye was telling me you became one of Bastet’s priestesses. This should be well sought after, they really didn’t treat you well?”

Yona walked over and delivered sandwiches to each of the kids. “That…is new, for our people. And that made me so happy when I learned it was an option. But…before then, I was really talentless. It felt like I was a burden in the wilds to my Clan. To think that this Framework…anyway, here is your lunch, Master.” She then set the plate down in front of his spot, along with a glass of Ava’s honey apple milk, or nectar, with a smile.

He thanked her with a nod and a smile, sitting down in his chair. Yona tucked the tray under her arms as she watched him and the kids tuck into the meal, her two tails flicking behind her as he took bites of his sandwich.

Suddenly, Yona was startled. “Oh! I better get these sandwiches to the kids, they get so rowdy when they’re hungry!” She rushed away, pushing the cart down the hall. It seemed she hadn’t yet mastered the storage bracelets, though with her in early Foundation Establishment, he thought it wouldn’t be very long if she tried.

Jake realized that moment with her was basically like nearly every interaction he had with her so far.  

Ava’s avatar hugged him from the side before she sat down next to him with the two echidnas latched onto her with their tails, and asked, “Was the morning productive as usual?”

Nora beamed. “Daddy made lots of stuff! The Guilds will have plenty of sweet weapons and armor to choose from!” Her feathers fluttered in place as she enjoyed the fried chicken sandwich, sharing the same seat with Clara who was doing the same. 

“It was productive,” Jake replied to Ava, “I got a lot done. It’s just as Nora said. Our recruits will have some of the best items to earn for their hard work, though we’ll need to limit how many high-quality items they can grab for themselves. If they over prepare for their Trials, they’ll be worse off.”

Ava nodded. “Some struggle is definitely better for them, and the Framework agrees. What’s on the docket for today?”

Jake checked his Menu. “Looks like training with some Hearthtribe, mostly. I’ve got a meeting with Valtor later to go over our Sector-wide progress, making our final plans prior to the grace period ending, but I know that things are looking good.”

Ava smiled, and closed her eyes, as if sensing something somewhere else. “And the dungeon shall open soon, I feel it. Our people will soon seek to enter. Many rewards for those that succeed within, and even opportunity for heroes to be born.”

Within the dungeon, there were ways to reclaim worlds lost to Tartarus. Those initiated to the Framework whose ransom wasn’t paid would be rescued, and sometimes these numbers were quite significant. They would receive a new shot at life, even if they would now be somewhat lesser as a result of waiting in the void for some time. 

Jake was a bit envious. He was already starting to get a little stir-crazy, and their vacation was not quite over. “I almost want to explore there myself. If not for Hestia’s desires…” He took another drink of Ava’s nectar.

Fhesiah suddenly appeared, teleporting into his lap in her kitsune form–simultaneously moving him away from the table’s edge so that she could fit. She wrapped him up in her five velvety tails and arms, kissing him. “Mmm, Ava tastes so good second-hand too! Our vacation is not yet over, husband. Why, raising all these children, can you even call it that? She wants us to stay out of conflict for almost four more years, but at least there should be some time between then and the War Trial.”

Aiko chirped, and then leaped onto her mother’s shoulder, nuzzling against her neck, to which she chuckled and hugged her in response.

Jake chuckled, and returned his wife’s embrace, and hugging both Aiko and Fhesiah to him. Their hearths flickered as they enjoyed some warmth for a moment. Eventually, he said, “I’m already feeling pretty well-rested. But I guess I’ll have to live a little vicariously through our people for a bit longer.”

Fhesiah smirked as she shifted in his lap. “I think we’d have gotten bored, to be honest. Of course Dahlia is no slouch, but even she was getting bored in PvP against those scrubs. It is much better for our family to continue uplifting Hearthtribe, and its many subguilds.”

[And make more babies, I say. Just imagine how many we could have at the end of five years, so many lovelies!] Berri added in Jake’s mind, helpfully.

Jake groaned. He really did not want to imagine that. “We talked about this…” He replied in his mind.

[I know. But… each one is so amazing, so beautiful! We should make as many as we can, each one is so different, it’s like opening a wonderful gift when they hatch. A-And, we’re just short of two full teams of echidnas.]

Jake narrowed his eyes. Was his wife addicted to baby gacha? He shook his head. “Fifteen echidnas are more than enough, for now. Already, Blaze has whined you spend more time in front of the incubator than you do with her, has she not?”  

Blood replied, [Of course, I told Berri this, but she can’t help it. And I can’t help but want to build our dynasty even larger too. Besides, you shouldn’t forget that for now, you only have one son.] 

Hestia and Echidna had hinted that Jake could have a son through Bloodberri–if the child carried his void bloodline. He did want another son, but wasn’t willing to pull that lever as many times as it took to receive one from her–he was zero for fifteen so far already. If it happened, it happened.

For now, one of Ava’s three growing treant children was a son, and they were the slowest among his children to grow. The echidnas were likely to reach adulthood probably by the time they reached around five years of age, and his hearthian beastkin and valkyrie children, Nora and Clara, would be not that much longer. 

It was all thanks to their crazy race, the Refuge’s immense vitality and the magic within them, along with all the magical food that they were putting into them. 

They were not entirely sure how his treant children from Ava’s lesser avatar’s would grow, as they would be different than the originals that grew on Highlands over a thousand years ago. Still, it appeared they would have many similarities. Based on their current growth, the treants would still mature faster than an Earth human. They would likely take ten years or more to reach adulthood physically, let alone mentally.

They would spend much of their time asleep early in their life, and while they would listen to the world’s song somewhat while they dreamed, Jake doubted it would be the same thing. One year after birth, his first treant daughter was only just starting to wake up and interact, the sapling-like tree having a face, arms, and hands.

Finishing his lunch and thanking the chef, Ava, with a kiss and saying goodbye to his kids, Jake headed to the coliseum. He shifted his Champion Vestments to match that of Hestia’s desired clothing, wearing a toga with a shoulder and chest or heart guard, with the gem attached in the center.

Following the theme of video game characters, Jake was now able to wear a special skin for his armor. Even if he had his armored faceplate down, he could still look as if he were not wearing them at all. It provided no real advantage, as he could still feel the equipment on him, and Tartarus enemies would see him as his equipment truly was. Really, it just made him feel a little less awkward speaking with people when he wore his full kit. 

Jake took the portal to the Life’s Haven, and then flew through over the buildings and streets, covering himself in his telekinetic hearth flames. Having spent time here and there on it, he now had several means of generating flight. 

The spellform was the simplest and most efficient, as it was like creating a dozen points around him and shoving himself evenly through the air. The flames of his hearth would only slowly be expended, allowing him to return much of what remained of the spellforms back to the flames in his core when he was done. To onlookers, he looked like a man cloaked in flames, flying through the air.

Arriving at the coliseum, the place was busy, with people all over. The stands had numerous people, primarily parents watching over their children and enjoying the food. Warriors dueled and trained throughout the massive arena, and the children from many races and spriggons practiced their baseball and martial arts.

The other main arena held the battle simulator, and it was usually just as busy, if not more so. People of all ages would join there to watch their warriors challenge themselves, whether facing mana constructs or duels between warriors for glory. 

That was where Bree and Ruby spent much of their time, it seemed. The two both loved to challenge themselves and others against the many constructs. 

The air was laced with mana and auril both, now that Highland’s energy levels had risen. They were still not quite at their maximum, but Ava’s proclamation about the dungeon entrances solidifying showed they had long since surpassed the second Tier by a large margin.

Bloodberri was here, the two girls driving their training of the many young of Highlands. The numerous teens built their bodies and trained as groups, from passing medicine balls around and helping each other stretch, to practice fights and playing pick-up games. A few Eternum flew around and helped along with the spriggons, the unliving servants aiding with the children’s training and practice. 

Watching the kids and teens with their tired smiles and bodies glistening with sweat and pride wearing their uniforms, Jake could see how Berri’s focus on sports was certainly building some comradery among them. And the number of adults seen actually playing had increased, clearly seeing the value in the sport, as well as finding enjoyment in it.

These many kids might end up being the cornerstone of the first Tier guilds Jake had built in the future, as they came of age and finished their training and preparation. They would then head off to the many worlds of Sector 87, saving lives and occasionally claiming them in the name of Hearthtribe.

Jake had mostly stopped here just to visit. He gave his lovely echidna wives a kiss, and played some catch with the kids. As he often came here, the few he had spent time with in the past showed off their gains, their practice in the many skills and efforts in training their bodies, before he headed over to another arena.

Morwen was there, along with many of the Eternum and Emberborn, Elysian casters, and even some beastkin clergy. Some Warrior Brotherhood talismancers and battle maidens were there, everyone training their spells and magic. 

Target dummies lined the large area, and numerous constructs were available to test out spells and effects. Then, there were several small fenced off areas for magical duels, and the stone-tiled ground had many breaks and rents in them from various spell effects.

There were also a handful of elves and other casters, as not everyone in Life’s Haven was Hearthtribe. This was part of a weekly event that allowed the general public to join, both in an attempt to recruit more people, but also to collaborate and share some of their gains with allies and friends. 

The four coliseums were still Hearthtribe property, but they also had training rooms within the Alliance HQ with additional features and privacy.

The final coliseum was for the many tamers of Highlands beasts, the larger creatures taking up a lot of space for their training. Bree and Ruby also spent some time there, facing off against and helping out with the many trainers using their beastly intuition. Jasmina too spent time there, as her songs helped heal and soothe the many beasts.

Jake neared the arena areas in his flight, and set himself down, as he had found his targets. Sati, the living flame, floated a few feet off the ground in her meditative pose, facing off against Nadessa, the dryad Arch Druid within one of the many fenced off areas. 

As a result of her second successful Raid, Nadessa had entered the second Tier. And she grew, both in height, and in apparent age to look like that of an adult, like many of the Elysians did, to Jake’s surprise, and Fhesiah’s delight.

Nadessa raised her staff above her head, clouds and winds swirling around her. Lightning crackled within the dark clouds, like a localized thunderstorm. Having built winds and electricity around herself, she then sent the storm of lightning at Sati, like launching an angry dark cloud at her.

A small smile touched Sati’s lips as she spotted or felt Jake nearby, and she raised one of her clasped hands and pointed at the oncoming cloud. A small orb of flame was shot out, and it exploded at the center of the storm cloud. To Jake’s surprise, the cloud rippled, before dispersing completely like a popped balloon. 

Nadessa was breathing heavy from casting her powerful spell. “It’s no fair. You’re too tough!” 

Sati shook her head. Her words came out slowly, and quietly–yet through her Qi, it seemed her small voice carried. “Your storm…is getting better–stronger. But…” She paused, as if searching for the words. “A summer storm is powerful and wild. Unpredictable and cannot be contained. You try…to contain it. It is…not good.”

Nadessa snorted. “Well, yeah. I can’t exactly create a massive storm in the middle of battle–my allies will be struck with unpredictable lightning too! But I take your point. I will…think on this some more, and work on it.”   

Sati now faced Jake, while floating, and inclined her head in a bow. “Greetings, Lord Jake. Will you be joining us for some practice again?”

“Oh! It’s the chief. How goes it?” Nadessa spun around, and smiled as she leaned on her staff.

“Things are going well. I did want to practice with some of you for a bit.”

Nadessa smiled. “That’d be great! Let me just…recover a little first.” 

Nadessa caught her breath for a time and recovered her mana, then the two oriented themselves in the distance from him, and he stood on the edge of the area. Using the fixture that would keep them from expiring, they started their magical duel. 

Sati was the first to kick it off with a spell. Several dark flames lit up behind her, like candles lit in the air–reminiscent of Fhesiah’s kitsune flames. They shot at him like arrows, and he rapidly coalesced a series of runes in response, manifesting a large barrier of ice in front of him. 

The wall rose from the ground in an explosion of cold and frost, and only barely held up to the flaming missiles Sati had shot. The tiny bursts of flame formed cracks throughout the wall, and it looked like it wouldn’t hold up for long, as the flames were alive, and weren’t put out even though they had struck the solid wall.

Jake was happy with allowing it to crumble, as he formed the runes of wind this time. With a blast of wind, his barrier shattered and was sent outward from him, sending jagged chunks of snow and ice at the two girls like a blast from a shotgun.

But Nadessa had been preparing her spell, a weave of vines exploding in front of the pair, taking on the incoming frost. Sati created a sphere of flame above their heads, preparing a powerful attack behind their defenses.

An array worth of runes rose above Jake’s head as he created his own orb of flame, using Blood and Berri’s flame. His ball of flames resembled an eclipse as Sati’s sphere shot towards his. The light was sucked out of the area of the arena, and only shifting beams of flaming white light shot out from behind the shifting orb, targeting Nadessa’s vines and setting them aflame. 

As Sati’s orb of flame neared, it was slowed, giving Jake time to finish his next spell: a large spear of vajrafire flames, with magical runes lining its haft and spearhead. It pierced through Sati’s weakened sun, and she and Nadessa were once again rushed on the defensive, sending flames and a blast of lightning of their own in response.

Nearly all the spells Jake used just now were either empowered Tier 1 spells, or true Tier 2 spells. The three mages went back and forth, trying new spells to counter and attack one another. 

Having reached the second level of Hearth Runic Magic and Mana Control equivalent, Jake could now easily cast Tier 2 runic spells all on his own. When Jake had received his Mythic Hearth Staff, he had bemoaned the loss of the runic prisms–but Hestia had said something about wondering whether he would still need it or not.

As usual, Hestia’s words were prophetic, as Jake now saw very little value in his spell rods and similar for himself personally. Because now he did not truly have a rune limit. Where the mana was thick enough, he could draw enough mana from the surrounding area to manifest the runes into the spells he desired, nearly no matter how many he wanted to establish. 

Thanks to the denser mana and his control, the constructs would be more stable, making it all the easier to create, infuse, and link as many together as he wished. The difficulty in research and spell-casting came from not the cost in mana or the making of the runes, but finding a balance within the giant Sudoku-like puzzle of the linked runes. The more of the hexagons that he linked together, the more complicated the puzzle got, but also how powerful or varied the spell could actually be.

He had wondered why he couldn’t just buy a rune cheat sheet that would include all known spells, or things like this. Guilds desired to hoard the results of this magical research for their own benefit, and the Framework and Tartarus both supported this. Often, because his guild had researched the spells themselves, it would be better off than if they had learned the spell from someone or somewhere else. 

One could see it like a research tree within a 4X Strategy Game. Often, by unlocking a researched technology, it would not simply just provide the ability to cast a spell or build a special structure. Small, marginal benefits would be added as a result of the research as well, and the Framework was the same. 

The spells his people researched would have the magical outcome improved slightly, and this was part of why Nordic Runes just felt more powerful. The rules for casting and the difficulty in researching and establishing a working spell just made them better. It was weird to Jake, but it was just one more way that his life and the war was fought like a game.

Jake continued his practice, alternating through his many new functions and testing them against his other magical opponents. Whether it be spheres or balls, arrows, spears, walls, waves or cones, Jake now had tons of options for each element and how to attack or defend against enemies, plus his wives’ more varied special flames. 

Now that the mana was dense enough, even wind-based attacks could be effective, giving him even more options for different types of attacks. Combined with having a couple of spells that were focused on demonic runes, Jake was starting to become a master of runes in truth now.

Nadessa was panting once again, as they paused their practice. “That was…great practice, Chief. Both of us could hardly keep up with you. I’d need a whole team of druids to keep up if not for Sati here.” 

As Jake expected, Sati eventually, while blushing by how her cheeks took on a fiery-pink hue, asked him for some of his flames as she often did.

“My lord…may I? …You know. Please?”

The fiery woman was a bit addicted to his hearth flames. With a smile, he compressed his flames down, as if he were casting his Scorching Ray spell, making sure to add all the flames of his family together. Then, just before it reached the critical point, he brought it out of his chest and sent it over to her.

Releasing his intent, she wrapped it in her Qi and brought it to her mouth, where it was like she drank it. She covered her mouth with her hand, as if wanting to hide her lips as she did this. The flames within her entire body brightened, and she shivered for a moment.

Sati smiled. “Thank you, milord. It…somehow is even tastier now. More like Highlands, our home.”

Jake couldn’t help but wryly smile at that. He had done some tempering with Avalara last night, and it was like Sati knew this in a roundabout way. He was just about to say goodbye when Fhesiah’s voice reached his mind.  

[It looks like we have a request for a meeting–the leader of the guild, Love and Justice? She’s been working with our guild quite a bit in the last year, and it seems like she needs our help.]

He was about to head over to see Valtor anyway. He would go see what was going on.