Today's Earth date: November 13, 1991

Silence is surreal now, like the cries and curses of demons should always be in my ears. We reached the bottom, and when the last demon fell, it was so quiet. Other than our breathing and the water in the Temple, nothing.

These things came here to end the world, and seconds ago their hatred echoed endlessly. I don't feel victorious. Just relieved. And tired. So god damn tired.

We're told this is the easiest of the four temples. I don't want to imagine a worse or longer fight than this one.

-The Journal of Laszlo the Paladin

The Governor, the Captain of the Cuan Guard, and a General for the kingdom's military set up basecamp in a stable near the main gate. People ran in and out in a steady clip, reporting developments, asking for orders, and delivering messages. Every able-bodied person in the city seemed to be involved in addressing the aftermath of the battle.

When the Governor saw Wayne and his party approaching, he detached himself from a discussion held around a map. He shook Wayne's hand.

"We're fortunate your party arrived when they did," he said. "Thank you for the assistance. You saved many lives."

"About that… I owe you an explanation."

Wayne recounted their quest to find and access the rumored structure in the Underway Forest, leaving out that his party's system access enabled them to pass through its barrier. He shared how they learned that the "cultists" from the stories were druids, that Rebecca was never kidnapped, and that the Chosen Heroes didn't actually kill Julian, so the druids had to seal him away.

Though Wayne was unsure of the how, he was reasonably certain that Rebecca's soul–or something equivalent to the idea of a soul–stayed with Julian, separated from her body completely. The Rebecca the Chosen Heroes "rescued" was just a physical form. Her consciousness was bound to Julian's and was sealed away with him.

Killing Julian released Rebecca's soul, which sought out her body. When her body and soul rejoined, she used druid magic, necromancy, and banshee abilities to get her revenge on Cuan. The presence of the monster dealers was an unfortunate coincidence.

The Governor cleared his throat. "That's… That is more complex than I would have thought. We had reports of people recognizing Lady Rebecca. We disregarded them at first, but the reports continued, so we sent a soldier to her estate to investigate. Your story confirms what he is likely to share when he returns."

"My actions triggered this chain of events," Wayne said. "My party was unaware and simply followed my orders. They are innocent in this."

"Killing a lich isn't a crime," the Governor said. "The way I see it, blame lies with my predecessors. Had their accounts been truthful, this would not have happened. Since they weren't, you fought a lich that wasn't supposed to exist and released a woman who had already been rescued."

"Sir?"

"This was a tragic day, and Cuan will never truly be the same after it heals. I'm grateful for your honesty. While I'm sure we will request your party's presence to answer many more questions, I don't see how blame could be attributed to you. So please, go rest. We have more pressing work before us presently."

Wayne looked over his shoulder at his party. They all nodded. "How can we help?" Wayne asked.

"Shit," Wayne said as the party ambled toward the guesthouse. "We forgot about Sammy."

Fergus patted him on the back. "You forgot about Sammy. I had a rider sent to retrieve him, and I'm sure the boy can figure out how to steer Outlawson."

"Thank you."

"Of course."

A rotund man with a purple cloak, pants, and tunic approached, coming from the direction of the Amethyst residence. He had rings on each finger and wore three golden necklaces. Every piece of jewelry was bedazzled with purple stones.

A staff of twenty butlers and maids followed him.

"Welcome home, heroes!" Lord Amethyst proclaimed. "Thank you for making me appear so wise that I saw fit to host the Saviors of Cuan ahead of a calamity."

Fergus stepped forward. Bowing his head, he began, "My Lord, we–"

"Stop that. Stop that. I'm not here to make you dance for my entertainment." Amethyst clapped, and the servants moved toward the party. "My people will clean your clothes, service your weapons and armor, massage your muscles, pour your baths, and cook your meals. Should there be something you desire I did not consider, all you must do is ask."

Fergus opened his mouth to speak, but Amethyst cut him off again. "I selected four bottles from my personal collection. You'll find them inside."

"Thank you, my Lord," Fergus said.

"That's enough from me. Please, rest and relax."

Fergus reclined on a couch and wore a fluffy white robe. He had a glass of wine in one hand while his other plucked grapes from a bunch sitting on a side table.

"Positively royal," Wayne said when he saw his friend.

"No sense being shy about accepting gifts."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better after having slept," Fergus answered. "My body has recovered but my mind is quite tired."

"Same. Yet all I can think about is all the stuff we need to get done."

"Like?"

"We didn't actually explore Julian's tomb or study the dungeon itself, so we need to go back and do that. We haven't even talked about the system glitches we saw when Julian died, and I don't know where to start. I need to write Lord Blackwell about the deal we made on his behalf. I need to get back to the Water Temple to trade with Vanilli. Then we need to prep and pack for the next leg of the journey. There's a page in Imollach and more ruins to research too."

Fergus shook his head, disappointed. "I already wrote Lord Blackwell, and we aren't on any timetable for when we leave. As for the tomb and Vanilli, both of those were fine being ignored for hundreds of years. We can give ourselves a few days if we want to."

Wayne slowly sat in a plush chair, savoring the feeling of sinking into the cushions. "You're right."

"The only urgent matter I can think of is reminding you that I won our bet."

That got the Zero Hero to laugh. "Yes, you did."

"What did you think of riding wolves? I found that to be novel and thrilling."

"It was pretty incredible, yeah."

"And the speed!" Fergus said with marvel in his voice. "How can an animal move that quickly?"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Wayne didn't have an answer, but Fergus wasn't looking for an explanation anyway.

Fergus sipped his wine. "I'd like to submit an account of these events to the Royal Library before we move on. The dramatic version, odd details and unanswered questions omitted."

"Now who's talking about work?"

"More like a celebration of knowledge and the magnificent scholar who made it happen."

"You being that scholar."

"Precisely."

"I need a drink to deal with this bullshit," Wayne said, looking around. Before he could stand, a butler approached with a bottle and a glass, offering to pour one for him. Wayne accepted.

"For not being Chosen Heroes, we did pretty okay, I'd say," Fergus said, his tone shifting to more serious reflection. "We lucked into excellent party members too."

"Very lucky. For sure. Except with campmasters."

Fergus sighed.

"You never told me how you found Eanrig."

"He's the son of a woman I went to school with. They've had a hard go of it, and the boy needed work and to expand his horizons a bit."

Wayne leaned into Fergus' eyeline. "Is he… yours?"

"Gods, no!" Fergus said, coughing. "No romantic connection. She was a friend. Is a friend."

"Sure."

"I'm serious, Wayne. A man can do something nice for a woman without it being courtship in disguise."

Wayne said that was true. "Had to take the opportunity to harass you. You understand."

"I do." Fergus raised his glass.

Wayne raised his glass in response. With no more communication than a nod to one another, they drank.

"This has been a most unusual friendship," Fergus said after a time. "I'm enjoying this life."

"Me too."

"Ah!" Fergus exclaimed, saying he nearly forgot to share a piece of news. "You remember Lady Rebecca's maid? The entire staff had their brains melted by banshee screams, but she spared the maid. I thought that was interesting."

"I guess she could hear the maid after all."

They settled into silence after that.

Wayne tried to add up the dungeons he had run so far. When Julian first went down, he was ready to count that as his missing .5, but then Rebecca jacked the difficulty way up, so it for sure had to count as a whole dungeon. Still, having run 4.5 dungeons felt impressive.

"What brings one of the Saviors of Cuan to my humble gallery?" Perris said, leaning back in his desk chair.

"Your assistant finally remembered me."

Perris laughed. "I suspect you will be hard to forget. I am among the grateful for the aid you provided, but I'm afraid I have not yet procured the item you requested."

"Oh, that's fine. I actually came to ask you where I might find enchanted weapons and armor for sale. Yes, I know they are pricey."

"Do you seek specific items?"

Wayne shook his head. "Not sure what I should be looking for, to be honest. I don't know a lot about what's out there."

"I see." Perris twisted the end of one of his long ears in thought. Then he stood. "Follow me."

Wayne and Perris traveled down the street several buildings and stopped at an empty storefront. Tarps hung in the windows, blocking the view inside. As Perris retrieved his keys, Wayne noticed the door was substantial for an unused business space. The door looked new, and the hardware for the lock and nob were heavy iron.

"You may enter, but please, do not step beyond the foyer without my saying to do so."

That sounded ominous. Wayne did as he was told.

Perris locked the door behind them. With the door closed, the only source of light was what filtered through the small holes in the window tarps.

Wayne watched as the elf knelt and removed a floorboard, revealing a sequence of runes. Perris tapped them in a deliberate order, replaced the board, and brushed his hands on his pants.

"What was that?" Wayne asked.

"Security," Perris answered simply. "Come."

This space had not been used in some time. The dust was thick, and the loose bits of paper on the floor were well-yellowed from age. Perris went to a nondescript door in the back and opened it to reveal a vault door. A combination dial was in the middle, surrounded by three circles of runes, etched as if orbiting the dial. While Wayne deliberately turned his back, Perris spun the dial and opened the door.

Perris led Wayne into a small warehouse packed with shelves and treasures. Everything here was sparkling clean.

"I trust you will be discreet," Perris said.

Wayne said he would.

"You are welcome to browse, but you might find it easier to share thoughts with me so that I may recommend specific items."

"I'd like to get gifts for my party," Wayne said. "So I need something for a tank, a cleric, and a wizard."

"Yes, of course." Perris guided Wayne to a rack of shields. "This one gives any enemy hitting the shield a debuff that slows their bodies. That one stores the energy of the attacks it blocks, which the user can then release as a blast of force. The one on the end is transparent for the wielder, enabling him to see through the shield during combat."

Wayne liked all of those. For Hector's needs, though, the energy shield seemed the most useful. Tanks in games usually had an ability to create space when they were too crowded. That shield could serve the same purpose.

"Fine selection," Perris said. "A cleric is more challenging to buy for, but come."

The elf presented a "Vampire's Proxy Pearl" hung on a thin gold chain. Equipping it allowed the wearer to designate a proxy. Whenever that person drew blood on an enemy, the released lifeforce was rerouted to the wearer, healing them. Next, he showed Wayne a Hood of Plainsight Hiding. It didn't make the wearer invisible, but it did make them appear less interesting and threatening to enemies in battle. Great for someone who was there to help instead of fight.

Perris had other items a cleric might use, like weapons or armor, but he believed these two items fit the uniqueness of the class the best.

"I'll take the Proxy Pearl."

"Excellent choice. Now for your wizard."

The elf had several staves organized neatly on an upright rack. Most were plain, uninteresting wood. One was brass, and a few had crystals mounted at their ends.

"If it were me, my top two choices would be Elyon's Staff or the Rod of Regret."

The first allowed the wizard to use a spell known to an ally once a day, the obvious advantage being access to spells the wizard didn't know. The second cursed any enemy who attempted to hurt the wizard with a melee attack, a stack of multiple debuffs at once. Perris didn't know them all, but he assured Wayne it was quite painful for the target.

"If Fergus is getting stabbed, too much has gone wrong already," Wayne said, "I like the sound of Elyon's Staff."

"Do you have a preferred bank?" Perris asked.

"Would it be a problem to pay you here?"

"No…"

Bank.

Wayne withdrew the gold for the purchase from his Quicken skill. Perris needed two pouches to carry it all. On the one hand, Wayne liked the feeling of spending ridiculous amounts of money. On the other, seeing his savings depleted so quickly gave him pause. He hoped Kryss paid the rest of their contract soon. He wanted to see numbers go up, not down. Gold pieces included.

"Thank you for the business, my friend," Perris said.

The party sat in the common room of the guest house. Wayne had grown so accustomed to seeing the party in their adventuring gear that they looked strange in normal clothes. He'd never seen Margo in a dress. He didn't know Hector liked velvet so much. And he wouldn't have guessed Armond had a pieced ear or the desire to hang a large golden ring from it.

Fergus, meanwhile, was Fergus.

"Before we head to dinner, I wanted to say a few words," Wayne said. "Hector: You raise the standard for what we know bravery and commitment to mean. Your willingness to stand before danger and hold your ground is inspiring and strengthens the resolve of everyone around you.

"Armond: You always put others before yourself in all aspects of your life. It's clear that you find genuine joy in helping people and lifting up your friends. If the world had more people like you in it, we'd all be better off in many ways.

"Margo: When we first met, you told me that you knew hiring you was a risk. All the reasons you gave for why that was worth it were true, but what really stood out to me was how much you believed in yourself, in your ability to face new challenges and grow as a person to meet them. You're a true bad ass, Margo.

"And, of course, Fergus: I wish that I had a friend like you in my old world. You have a unique ability to gently encourage me to become a better person while also getting me to loosen up and enjoy the little things in life. None of this would be possible without you, and frankly, I wouldn't want it to be."

Wayne passed out the gifts, each wrapped in fine white paper.

The only gift he hadn't needed to buy was Margo's. He gave her the Chosen Rogue's daggers. He explained what they were and wasn't sure if she could activate them because he never figured how to himself. If they ended up being regular weapons in her hands, he'd replace them with something along the lines of what the other party members received. If she could activate the ability, hers was likely the most powerful gift in the bunch.

Wayne looked over his party again. "I owe all of you so much more than this, and I'm looking forward to returning the good you have given me in full in our adventures yet to come."

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