Chapter 294 – Re: Assuring

Day 35

Other than Kichi, Aya, and Kia, who hadn't returned from their hunting adventure yet, the entire village turned out for the departure of Jean and her team. They met at the base of the ramp into the mansion, everyone saying their goodbyes to the departing women. Even Angel and Jill were on the small balcony above them, watching the affairs from there. 

John had been surprised when they first walked out of the mansion that morning, the women wearing the oddest armour he had ever seen. Jean, the Berserker, the Brigand, and the Rogue were all wearing a silvery scale mail somewhat similar to the old disco ball armour he had when he first went to The Great Cleric. Except the scales were in the exact proportions of their bunny suits, and Jean and the Berserker were wearing helmets with long rabbit ears on top. The Monk, Archer, and the four tradeswomen wore heavy black leather corsets with similar designs, including leather caps with rabbit ears. Suffice to say, many breasts were in danger of spilling out of the 'Armour'.

After watching his jaw drop and start to stutter, all the women began to laugh, and suddenly the rest of their armour showed up in the hands of the women who weren't going. After a few minutes, they were dressed properly, Jean and the Berserker now wearing fairly heavy-looking plate chestpieces and pauldrons, greaves, and a scale skirt that looked fairly serviceable. He already knew that the mithril was deceptively light, so it wouldn't be that much of a burden to walk a fair distance while wearing such an outfit. 

The rest of the women also armoured up properly, the bunny armour now looking actually useful. Well, useful other than the ears, but he could forgive them the joke. After a few minutes of saying their goodbyes, whispering something to Aqua before kissing her on the forehead, Jean hefted a large kite shield and wicked-looking spear, and signalled them to move out. He followed them to the gate and waved until they disappeared.

He then turned and looked down at Aqua, who was now clinging to his side. "What did she tell you? Or is it a secret?" He asked.

"Nothing much, just that I'm to keep you distracted so you don't worry about them so much, and to remind you that this isn't their first trek through the wilderness."

"Heh, I'm not so worried about monsters now. It's the beings with more than two brain cells to rub together that have me concerned." He replied, hoping they wouldn't run into any problems in the towns.

"Wait! I'm coming!" A voice shouted behind them. He turned to see Riana, literally floating across the field, her dress and head flower fluttering in the breeze. She was carrying a heavy-looking sack in front of her. 

"You're going too?" He asked her, confused. She hadn't mentioned it during their usual shower routine this morning. 

"Yep! I just thought about it. I'm going to make a series of anchors between here and human territory. Then I can spirit-walk them back here nearly instantly when they are done doing whatever they are doing." 

"Are you sure that it is a good idea in your condition?"

"Haha, you're cute when you're worried for me." She said, cupping his cheek with her hand and giving him a kiss. "I'm a Dorian, remember? There isn't a beast in this forest that will bother us with me with them. Besides, I'll be back in your arms every night."

"I thought making anchors took a lot of your energy?"

"It does. That's why I'm bringing these with me." She said, shaking the bag she was carrying. It rattled like it was full of glass bottles. 

"And what are those?"

"A bunch of empty wine bottles. I filled them full of water from the mana well and corked the tops. With these, I should have no issues moving back and forth myself. If I start ferrying everyone, I'll need a lot more energy, but if it's just me, this will be more than enough." She said, then kissed him again before fluttering off where the women had disappeared into the trees. "Buh-Bye, my Sun. I will see you soon!"

John just blinked as the whirlwind of Riana's entrance and exit caught up to him.

She is going to make this anchor network out to human lands so she could transport them back here quickly when they finished?

"Couldn't she have just travelled out herself, placed the anchor, then spirit-walked them to it?" Mi said, piecing together what he was thinking. 

"She has been alone by her tree for a long time; she is probably excited to have company for the trip," Aqua said, filling in the rest of his thoughts. "There might also be limits to the distances between anchors and how much power she needs to use them. I'm not well versed in innate dryad magic." 

"Well... I guess we can ask her tonight." He replied. He oddly felt a lot better with Riana leaving the village to guard them on part of their journey; she was quite the powerful magic user, at least when it came to charms and controlling plants. 

Still, he didn't want to send a pregnant woman on a long journey, so he hoped she paced herself. 

He turned back to the thirty-five or so people behind them. "Well, let's get to work. The crops need watering, and those trees won't clear themselves. If anyone needs me, I'll be making bricks." 

He glanced where the women had disappeared into the forest one last time before making his way over to the mine. They had their adventure to go on, and he had a village to help expand. A small part of him wanted to drop everything and join them, but if he was being honest with himself, he was much happier to stay here at home for once and let others have the adventures.

Besides, after a hard day's work, I can have a nice shower, a comfy bed, and a cold beer. I'll take that over wrestling bears any day of the week. 

Day 35/36

John's eyes snapped open, his heart beating rapidly as he woke up in a cold sweat from yet another horrible nightmare. This time, it was a horde of skeleton zerglings tearing through everyone he loved before ripping his still beating heart out of his chest and devouring it in front of him. 

God damn it, I need to learn how to control these dreams. Is that a skill I can learn? I don't even need good dreams, just not to wake up violently every couple of nights.

He had no idea, and frankly, it was a pipedream at the moment. 

With a sigh, he rolled out of the bed, careful not to disturb Mi, Ee, and Riana, and made his way to the bathroom. He made it partway across the room when he realized Aqua was not in bed.

I wonder where she got off to this time of night?

He had no idea, so now with an empty bladder and wide awake, he decided he would investigate. He roamed around the mansion for a bit, and after finding no sign of her, approached the guard at the gate to ask if they had seen her.

"She went out a while ago, Milord. Said she needed to take a walk and get some fresh air." Lina replied, leaning on her axe. She looked tired, but even with the gate closed and their reduced numbers, the women insisted on maintaining their own watch over the mansion.

"Okay then. I'm going to take a walk as well. If she comes back before me, just tell her I'll be back to bed in a bit." He said, then gave the short woman a quick peck on the lips before moving off into the night. 

He considered scrying her out, but unless she decided to hide amongst the bushes, there were only a few places he thought she could be. It was beautiful outside, and he needed to walk off some stress from the nightmare anyway. There were no clouds, and the red moon had waned into a thin crescent, so there was very little to wash out the stars dotting the sky. 

He walked along the rows of berries, picking a few and eating them, seeds, leaves, and all. It was weird how delicious everything was, even the stems. It was one of the things he did like about coming to this world; everything he ate seemed like a fancy meal. 

He walked the outskirts of the village, following the wall, picking away at some of the ivy leaves and flowers while letting his mind drift. He hadn't been meditating as much as he wanted to; his days were filled with small things that always took precedence, and he found he was missing that part of his life. There was a simple aspect to his time when he was training and growing stronger, even while working as a school counsellor. Now, things were even simpler, but with everything happening and the responsibility of keeping his people safe, he worried a lot more. 

Continuing his journey, he passed by the 'Guest House' of the mansion, where the majority of the goblins were living. He had almost kicked them out when he had returned after killing Grak, much of the common areas having been covered in mud and a lot of other 'questionable' substances. With one look at their potential new accommodations, Sei and Sato had taken control of the younger hobgoblins and goblins, and assured him that the place would be taken care of properly. He had yet to go in for another inspection, but believed the pair of them would do a lot to not live in a cave again.

Hopefully it hasn't slid back into a cesspit, given how much time she's spent trying to break through that ward. I should check on her progress tomorrow; she isn't the only one who is curious about what could be behind that door.

The garage was next in his circuit, followed by the now-expanded rabbit pen. He found that whenever he approached it, the animals became skittish unless he actively suppressed his passive Intimidating Presence skill. The goblins had captured over two dozen of the animals so far, filling a large portion of the garage. One of the first projects with the next pile of Dig bricks was making an actual enclosure just for them, using part of the nearby hillside as the structure's back wall. Once they were moved, he would use the menu in the lobby to move the garage closer to the guest house, giving the rabbits a much larger grazing area. 

Little thing after little thing to do, but will make our lives much more comfortable in the long run. 

He stuck his head into the garage, thinking Aqua might be hanging out with the rabbits again, but was surprised to find Ruby was in the barn, sleeping on a pile of deck chair cushions. She appeared to be having a bad dream, murmuring something while thrashing slightly in her sleep. 

He snuck into the room and, channelling his Healing Hands magic, rubbed her shoulders until she settled down, whispering calmly that she was okay. A few minutes later, she was sleeping soundly, so he tiptoed back outside and gently closed the door.

She and the other four women he had rescued from Grak were also a surprise. They had not been raped or even been captive very long, but all five of them seemed happy to join their little village, refusing to return to human lands with Jean's party. It made him wonder just how bad it was for humans in this world that they were willing to stay here with monsters. He couldn't imagine people from Meritoni ever wanting to live with monsters, though the goblins in that world were very different than the goblins here.

Continuing his walk, he fed more spells into his eye, slowly depleting part of his mana. He had been casually filling it with middle heals, cures, and sanctuary circles, but he wanted to keep the bulk of it free for whenever he learned purification or an equivalently powerful spell. He laughed, wondering just how Lothar would react once he returned to Warcraft. He could probably wield that massive hammer without difficulty now, not that he would use it over his sword. The magic of that weapon was incredible, still able to feed his rage while it was outside of the multiverse he was in.

He walked past the forge, the kiln, the new workshop for the Alchemists and Transmuter, and another for the Tailor and Outfitter. All that was left to build was the place where the Provisioner wanted to create magic-enhanced foods, and the workshop for the Tinker. After that, they would start building homes, an underground cellar, and a warehouse to store what they had crafted. He planned to turn the old goblin den into the warehouse, expanding it significantly so they could store things out of the weather.

The Tailor was planning on leading a caravan out of here in the fall with whatever they created, to sell in the nearby kingdom to trade for goods they would want over the winter. The mithril alone would fetch a significant amount of money, though if the Tinkerer managed to figure out how to recreate refrigeration, that would be a license to print money. At least until someone copied it. There weren’t anything like copyright laws in this world.

He finally ended up at Riana's tree, the last place on his journey around the village, but the first place on his list he thought Aqua might be at. He could hear a faint noise coming from inside that he thought sounded like a woman singing. He ducked his head and walked into the first part of the cave, then slowly waded through the pool, listening to Aqua's song. 

He had no idea what language she was speaking, but her voice immediately calmed his nerves and soothed his weary soul. He paused for a moment before stepping into the rear chamber, enjoying the melody of her voice. It didn't feel like a happy, upbeat song, but more like a soulful, powerful ballad of sorts. 

He crossed the precipice, entering the mana well, then stopped to watch the magical sight in front of him.

Staff in hand, Aqua was standing on top of the water in the centre of the pool, a sphere of magical energy surrounding her. Dozens of thin streams of water circled her as she spun, following the spinning staff and making intricate patterns as she danced. Her voice echoed through the chamber, bringing her song to another level he didn't comprehend at first, but it was slowly dawning on him as he watched.

It was a song of life, of love, of longing. Of memories of the past, of the possibilities of the future, and how everything will be okay. It drew him in, like a moth to a flame, and suddenly he found himself moving forward, his steps rising until he too was walking on the water's surface. 

He added his voice to hers as he stepped into her sphere, his deep baritone mixing with her soprano, not overpowering her but supporting this song he found himself singing without knowing the words. She opened her eyes and locked onto his, and after a moment's hesitation, she spun her staff above her and released it. It continued to rise to the cavern's ceiling, showering them in motes of blue light as the ribbons of water continued their dance. 

She offered him her hand, and he took it, pulling him into a dance he had never seen before but somehow knew the steps by heart. The two of them sang and danced long into the night, following the pace set by this ancient rite. 

Neither tired nor slowed, lost in the other's eyes, holding each others arms, blessed by the powers of the holy light. 

Even Little John lay low, knowing this was not his time, but theirs, the Goddess who was, and the God yet to be.