Worthy Core

DAY 863

"Ah, at last, the sun and sky. To think that I worried that I'd never see your like again."

"Well, perhaps if you had been slightly less antagonistic to everyone who came your way, we may have given you outdoor exercise breaks before now."

Pretty Thing glares at the man standing at his side, before suppressing a shiver. The mountain air is quite chilly at this time of year and while the man could dampen his sense of temperature, that's a dangerous road to walk down.

Not that he's ever been one for safe roads.

"Of all of your prisoners, was I really so terrible? Or perhaps this was a hint of bias on the part of my jailers, hrmm?"

Sincere sighs before stepping out of the way of the next group of Domain soldiers exiting the dungeon. With the peace treaty finally signed and agreed to by the relevant heads of state, the time had come to release all of the prisoners of war that Worthy Dungeon had been keeping hold of for the past month or more. It had been a...fraught period of time, in some ways. "No, no. Even the most unbiased of observers would agree that you're something of a dick, Pretty."

"Ahahaha, he's got you there!" Grenwald laughs as he comes up behind the pair, followed by a Tiffany who's just barely managing to hide a smirk. "Personally, my money is on the dungeon not killing you because they didn't want your soul tainting the staff!"

"Betrayed! By my own companions!" Pretty gasps and clutches at his chest before shortly giving up the act. "Alright, fine, I am at least somewhat capable of self-awareness. But I do wonder, Sincere - did you come up here to see me off simply because you wished to see me, or because you wanted to be sure that I would soon be gone from your presence?"

"As with all things concerning you, a little of column A, a little of column B, as Xenia would say." Sincere shakes his head before clarifying. "I am being honest when I say that I hope I don't see you again, Pretty. Whatever our past history may be, I don't see our future containing any sort of collaboration."

The incubus raises an eyebrow. "I sense a but..."

"You incubi are always sensing butts!" Grenwald smirks, but when no one laughs at his joke his shoulders slump. "Okay, okay, I can tell I'm butting in. Uh, no pun intended that time. See you at the bottom, Pretty?"

The man seems somewhat surprised by the question. "You wish to travel together? Our mercenary contract is quite well concluded at this point, it seems safe to say."

Tiffany pats his shoulder. "We're not looking to start a new company with you or anything, but...perhaps we could travel to the Domain together? At least to the next town."

Pretty and Sincere share a look, and Pretty shakes his head. "Thank you, but no. I don't believe I'll be heading that way."

"Ah. Well then..." Unsure how to respond, the arcane demon simply shrugs. "Best of luck to you in your future endeavors, then."

"Likewise." With that farewell Tiffany and Grenwald join the column marching down the mountain, and eventually Sincere speaks again.

"Starting a new traveling phase in your life, then?"

Pretty chuckles slightly. "Interested in hearing my plans, Sincere?"

"...No, actually." The man smiles to himself. "Now that I think about it, I'm really not. Best of luck, Pretty - and I mean that in the Worthy Dungeon sense."

With that said the Core Guardian turns around and heads back into the dungeon, and Pretty finds himself shivering again in the cold - not quite yet ready to join the column, but not particularly enjoying where he is, either. Eventually, the door behind him speaks up.

"He was saying he wishes you bad luck, I think."

"I got that, thank you."

Doorman's wooden face beams. "You're welcome! I hope you enjoy your trip!"

"...I suppose I'll have to see...."

DAY 870

"Fuck, it's cold down here. I'm missing the dungeon already."

"No you're not."

"No, I'm not. I mean, a little." Sable grins before moving to muss Lilly's hair with one hand. "Never been the biggest fan of snow, but at least it's still just a dusting. Climbing down the mountain in a couple of weeks would've really sucked."

Trying her best to keep up behind them, the dwarven Mother Hammerdown snorts loudly. "You could have come down sooner Greenie, you know. All you would have had to do is give up the free booze, the warm fires, the luxurious beds..."

"Hey, I could've done that - I've dealt with worse. But a place the size of our sanctuary needs a full staff to properly maintain, and after months of being abandoned?" The paladin shakes her head. "I can hammer a nail and that's about it."

"I bet." Hammerdown nods towards a trio of figures standing at the gate to the Church of Bounty grounds. "Speaking of nailing things, suppose we should find out what our Challenger friends have to say, aye?"

The three turn silent for a few minutes, until eventually they get within easy speaking range. Once they do, Priestess Lilly calls out to the adventurers. "Good morning! How do things look?"

Tolla calls back. "Completely fucked!"

An elvish hand baps the back of her head, and she clarifies. "Okay, it ain't that bad. But we've got a list of shit."

Hammerdown sighs at the other dwarf's pronouncement. "Is the damn place livable, Paladin?"

Renriel, her black-haired elvish companion, answers by reading off of a list of notes. "The food supply is dire. What didn't waste away was consumed by rats, and they're definitely still a concern. There was a leak in one corner of the living quarters roof, and two rooms will need serious cleaning and some replaced furniture. The main chapel has a few birds nesting in it, but that's a minor concern. I can report that the wine stocks appear to be in good condition still."

The blonde Nallond nods towards Lilly. "The medical stocks are...eh, fifty-fifty. How is the arm these days, Priestess?"

Lilly gestures with the arm in question. "Oh, physically it's been fine for quite a while, Nallond. The dungeon spared no expense in the healing potions, and as you know, some individuals received some rather...useful skills when the Dragonlord was destroyed. It's...the mental side that bothers me more than the physical. As far as I can tell, this regrown arm is exactly identical to the one I was born with."

"Helps that you never had much of a tan to begin with." Sable smirks before turning more serious. "You're still remembering losing it?"

"Not as such. Just...twitches every now and then, it's as if every time my arm grows sore, or falls asleep, or something like that, a part of my mind worries that I've lost it all over again."

Mother Hammerdown moves to pat the elf's shoulder, but settles for patting her hip. "That'll ease in time. The good news is, there's nothing better to keep your mind off such things more than work, and it sounds like we've got plenty of that ahead of us."

Lilly smiles while Sable groans. "What, you really want me to get on fixing the roof?"

"Well at the least you can clear the damned place out while we wait for workers from town, can't ye?" Elance tsks before turning towards the Dungeon Fuckers. "Thanks again for stopping by and inspecting the place for us. You lot planning to stick around? I know you don't usually stay in one place as long as you have."

The trio share a look before Tolla answers. "The power we got from the Dragonlord...it boosted all of us a long way closer to being Paragons, I know it. But we're not quite there yet, so...uh. Also..."

Nallond furrows his brow at his companion's unusual shyness. "Was there something more? Did you want to visit your family? It has been a while."

"More like start a family..." As the others around her react with widened eyes, Tolla explains. "I've decided, fuck it, I want in on this! Why should you two get all the fun with having kids? Besides, after these past few months I've had enough fighting to tide me over for a couple of years, honestly. Not to mention that the dungeons of the continent are still all kinds of fucked up, with the Association shutting down the ones that were working with the Dragonlord, and figuring out if they're safe for Challenging at again. Which means the good ones are just gonna be even more crowded than usual. If there was ever a good time to take, you know, a little break from the dungeon thing...now would be the time."

Smirking, Sable asks the question which is clearly on the minds of both of her elvish companions. "So...who's going to be the father here, exactly?"

Tolla responds with a smirk of her own. "Well, you know what they say. First cum, first served. You wanna toss your hat in my ring, Paladin Bluehair?"

For once the demonic paladin is left speechless, and Mother Hammerdown begins making her way down to the chapel while shaking her head. "Kahlia's blessings and all that - but fix up the damn bedrooms before you get to the fun stuff!"

Lilly gives Sable a brief kiss on the cheek before following after her superior. "Best of luck, Sable - I'll be cheering for you!"

"...It's times like this I ask myself, what would Grandpa Bill do?" Sable clears her throat. "So...fixing up the sleeping quarters, huh?"

Renriel nods. "Seems like a holy task we ought to get started on. In the name of Kahlia, and all that."

"Praise Kahlia..."

"What's got you smiling, Big Lady?"

Kahlia blinks as she's reminded where she is - which is to say, a heavenly hotsprings with Taina, Goddess of Love on her left and Palain, God of the Harvest on her right. Opposite of her sit her two favorite champions, and given that everyone involved is quite nude, it's unusual for her to become so distracted with outside concerns. Taina in comparison has barely pulled her eyes away from Kahlia's floating tits since they got situated.

"Oh, just that my Paragon-candidates are moving one step closer. In fact, I think they may be about to make their final qualifying step. If I were a martial-minded woman I likely would have promoted them at the end of that business a few months ago, but this...yes, I think this is perhaps the final act of devotion I may require of them."

Bill of the Blue Hair and Beatrice the Dragon Slayer share a look, and Beatrice hazards a question. "Dare I ask what form of devotion this act comes in?"

Taina giggles. "More like who it comes in...but hey, that's business! We're here to relax, Kally! And you've been holding off on introducing us to the new girl!"

Palain nods, his tanned chest doing quite a bit to distract the new girl in question. "Indeed, I've been hearing a lot about you. I must admit, it's extremely rare for my beloved to take such an interest in a childless individual. I've been curious what caused her to bend her rules."

"Well if I can't bend my rules, who can?" Kahlia harrumphs. "True, Beatrice here didn't qualify to be a Paragon of Fertility, but saving a space in my paradise for the dearest friend of my favorite dungeon? Well, what kind of divinity would I be if I didn't reward my followers from time to time, hrmm? I trust you've been enjoying your stay in my afterlife, Beatrice?"

"It's been...overwhelming, honestly." The warrior takes a look at her arm, pulling it from the water of the springs. It's still covered with the scars of dragonfire...but here, it's by her choice. And here they seem like more than just scars, but...art, like poetry, like a language telling others about her very soul. Of course, that's not the main reason the woman's been overwhelmed these past few months.

Bill shatters the subtlety as he's prone to doing. "Took the new girl a bit to ease in, but lately I'd say she's been visiting more of the orgies than I have! Every time I've stopped by lately, I see her there, bouncing - "

"Bill!" The warrior slaps the man on the shoulder, and even with his larger size the champion still finds himself wincing at the sting. "It's...been a paradise indeed, my lady."

"Glad to hear it." Kahlia glances between the two honored dead. "And you've discussed the terms of your employment?"

Bill nods. "Yup. Homegirl here'll be taking over as Worthy Dungeon's divine champion effective...well, immediately, I suppose. It was fun, but I'll admit, Beatrice clearly does a better job of that business than I do."

The dragon slayer nods along. "Although perhaps we can still arrange a visit every few years for you and your living wives, as you did before? If Her Divinity agrees."

"Hrmm, after long and thoughtful consideration, I'll allow it." Kahlia smiles, and it feels like a literal balm to the souls of her champions. "Can't be letting things get too boring down there, after all. If anything, my hope is that the tale of Worthy Dungeon has just begun..."

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