Finally, as dusk started to settle into the coming night sky, the stories and our picnic wrapped up. So many stories, some I'd almost entirely forgotten, had flowed out of Grimbleflork's mouth into Ash’s open ears. Ash continued to ply the Goblin with questions, each answered in his own unique way.
It had easily been the best day we had had since the integration started. It also proved that Ash was healing. There was no sign of weakness in her anymore. Soon, I'd likely even be able to remove the constitution bonus I was granting her, if only to apply to those who also needed healing benefits.
“Alright, as fun as this has been, I’ve got to go check on the boys and see how they've done today,” Grimbleflork said, running his hand through Floof's coat. Taking that distraction, several of the coyote pups cleaned off the little bit of food left on the Goblin's plate.
Several of the pups tried following after the Goblin, only to be stopped by their mom. With an over-exaggerated yawn, Floof slowly stood up and helped her wrangle the rest. Between the two of them, they managed to get all six back between us.
“I think I’d better help Floof and the mom here get these guys back to the garage. They've probably had more than enough adventure for today. Everyone could still use some healing time anyway,” Ash said, scooping up two of the pups in her arms, one of them trying to take a small nip at her.
“Yeah, they're still way too young to be wandering around on their own. Not that I know what we're going to do with them,” I said, garnering another stare from the mom. Great, was she already catching up to Floof in intelligence? That was certainly a double-edged sword, considering I had no idea what his upper bounds were yet.
“It's alright, Mom. I promise we're taking care of you and them. No one's being kicked out. Floof would kill me,” I followed up, trying to calm her stare.
She nodded and returned to watching her young. Damn, that proved she was at least understanding my intentions, if not fully my words. Just how strong was the mana flow in this valley? Hopefully, we'd get that console together sooner rather than later.
While Ash departed with the canines, I took the scenic route back. There were a few things I wanted to check on before night fully fell. We still had the near-destroyed houses, and I was constantly worried about things moving into them.
Tonight, like the previous few nights, proved that my worries were in vain. Despite that, none of those feelings vanished. I wasn't sure they would once we had this neighborhood entirely secured. Just because I was leading this faction and it was now officially a stronghold didn't mean there weren't creatures out there capable of sneaking in under my watch.
There were many an assassin class that I was not ready to face. And that just covered the sneaky routes. There were plenty of incredibly powerful people out there that I had not caught back up to yet.
And there was everything I had learned from Grimbleflork. Who knew what factions had found themselves on this planet? And how exactly was this planet continuing to grow anyway? The land didn't seem to be stretching. That usually produced a bit of a shockwave when it happened.
My best guess was that the oceans were the likely focal point of the increase. That would make for the easiest places to grow new islands and continents, but it also probably meant very rough waters. Coastlines were almost certainly seeing non-stop tsunamis. Whatever was going on out there, I was glad we were protected by this valley, at least for now.
As I stepped into the driveway of the house we had given to the Loamhag, a loud creak drew my eyes to her door. It had swung inward. And two yellow eyes were sitting inside, staring out at me. It seemed someone was finally ready to speak to me.
I’d had other plans for the night, but some things did take precedence. One of those was having a conversation with an incredibly powerful creature that had randomly decided to take up residence within my stronghold. Any of my initial thoughts on why she was here had fallen apart the moment I truly grasped her strength. So what did she want from me?
“Hello Teacle,” I said as I passed through the door. It closed behind me all on its own. At the same time, a dim green light filled the building. “Picking the creepiest colors of light, are you?”
While I didn't expect an answer to my last question, I also didn't want her to think she had the upper hand here. Even if that may be true, it was best to present the illusion of equal footing in situations like this for as long as I could. Then again, I also didn't actually expect her to attack. She'd had plenty of opportunities for that already, so this was something else.
“These old eyes of mine like the green. Not all of us have lived in your human worlds for so long, Adam. Please come join me, though. I wish to have words,” the shrill voice called from somewhere up the stairs.
Stepping towards them, Teacle hopped onto one before I could, and then began to lead me towards its master. At least I thought it was its master. It was often hard to say with some of those symbiotic monster pairings out there, and these two were a bit beyond what I was used to interacting with.
Stepping into the same room where I'd first encountered her, I found her in the exact same position, rocking back and forth in that old chair that had appeared with her. That and her voice were the only things that had remained the same.
I nearly did a double-take spotting her new form. Gone was the ancient visage she had first used, instead, replaced by something closer to someone in their twenties going through a goth phase. The colored streak in her hair sold the new look, but certainly made it all the stranger.
“That's new. Trying to fit in? I'm not sure we have any goths in the neighborhood,” I said, doing my best to suppress the eye roll.
“Yes, this old body of mine has taken on a rather odd form, hasn't it? I didn't think my old bones had it in them for anything quite so different. But this valley here is spewing out all kinds of interesting energies, so why not use a little of them for some rejuvenation?” she replied, a smile slowly crossing her lips.
“Since I can't imagine you called me in here solely to show off this new form of yours, what do you want? For that matter, why are you here?”
“You were a lot more respectful when we first met. It hasn't been that long. Why have you dropped the pleasantries? I liked those.”
“I could fake them again if that's truly what you want, but how about we just cut through some of the bullshit for now? Obviously, you know something, and I am curious what that is.”
“Oh, an exchange of information then. And what do you offer, Adam?”
“Nothing. For one thing, I don't think I have much that you don't already know. For another, I'm not willing to make any deals with you, yet. You're far too big of an unknown for me to dare put my soul on the line for anything you offer.”
“Well, at least you're still smart. That's something, I suppose. What do you think, Teacle? Should we give him a gift just this one time? A free offer of information.” She lifted her hand, gesturing for the cat.
With a practiced slow gait, that is only ever seen in cats, it slowly made its way over to the chair and then leaped onto her lap, giving a light purr as it flopped over.
Her eyes raised back to mine, and she spoke again. “Just this once, then. A freebie that may benefit us all. Something different controls this valley. Two forces in direct opposition are pushing against each other. And sometimes when that happens, reality shudders. Great changes are coming, Adam, and I wish to witness them. But even more than that, I want to know where you got that last orb in your sword.”
“That would be telling now, wouldn't it? One day, old bones, mistress of the dirt, I will have that conversation with you, but today I thank you for your gift of free information and will continue my walk through the Neighborhood,” I replied, tossing on the honorifics just to ease my planned exit.
Her smile grew as I backed out of the room and down the stairs. The door was again open and waiting for me, and the moment I was outside, it slammed shut.
So my sword had attracted her as well, then. Or at least she was making the claim that it was. I wasn't quite sure which mana orb she was actually referring to in the sword, though. The positioning didn't allow for a last, and if she meant the last I added, that didn't fit either. It had come directly from me.
The two competing powers statement, though, that lined up, somewhat, with what Death had told me. Did that mean the old System was here somewhere? If there was a new System that had been born after I left, how had I been greeted with a welcome back message? That was a thought that had been in the back of my head since the conversation, but thanks to the battle, I hadn't had time to truly consider it.
Was the old System here in this valley directly aiding me? If that was true, what did it mean for our future? What kind of war was actually coming? I had no idea how to prepare for something of that scale.
This was a mystery that I didn't even begin to know how to unravel. What I needed was Laurenth's help, and I had no idea how to get that. At the moment, all I could do was grow as strong as I could, as fast as I could, and push everyone around me in the same way. A shitstorm was coming. That was all I was certain of.