The bodies didn't take too long to burn. I didn't know anything about cremation and if I did, it would have been rules for the world that was but after a little over an hour the flames were dying and the bodies were gone, ash on the wind. Nanny Shank could claim goblins wrote their own off, all she wanted. It was cope. People need that sometimes. The crowd had grown as the pyre burned. At least a few thousand had come to watch, to say goodbye.

This was different from Tazia's death. Everyone had been hopeful for a new era of peace between all people. We just finished a battle with monsters. There wasn't any sense of betrayal now. That didn't lessen the loss though.

I felt the eyes on me. A lot of the crowd was watching me in particular. I whispered to Nanny Shank, "Should I say something?"

"No, let Toad speak," Nanny Shank then kicked the general.

Toad to his credit no sold the hit, and muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "I am prepared to speak, but it would be helpful to know what we plan to do in the next twenty-four hours."

"Grond is going to attack," I said quietly. "I think we should hunker down and get ready for the fight. Unless you have a better Idea."

"I do not," Toad admitted. He turned toward the crowd and spoke loudly. "Everyone! We have won this night! Now, take some time and rest! Tomorrow, here, we fight a Patron! And with the Titan Spawn we will win!"

I was down right competent at reading crowds anymore. Toad's little pep talk hit fairly well. It isn't just what is said, but what was heard. A bunch heard we weren't going to be traveling tomorrow. That meant that they didn't have to pack tight in the vehicles. That meant someone needed to set up camp. Some were already moving to do that. Others heard we were gonna fight tomorrow which meant jack shit was happening tonight. That meant free time. A few folks heard the scary part of Toad's words. We were going to fight Grond, and victory was dependent on me.

I had my doubts too.

Morale was middling. Strangely though this most recent clash had improved things. People had seen me stand up to a dragon. They sure as hell saw the dragon die. Living next to an elephant can be… concerning. They are big and dangerous. Furthermore, if you cross its path on a bad day you can wind up flattened. That said, watching it stomp some wild dogs chasing after your family can shift its place in your mind. It wasn't just an unpredictable animal. It was your unpredictable animal.

Turns out the same principle applied to Titan Spawn as well. It certainly helped that to a lot of the goblins, I was beginning to seem down right predictable.

"I'm going to bed," Nanny Shank said. She poked my leg, "Get some rest. You're our heavy in the next fight."

The goblins were setting up tents. As well. It would seem if you were over a certain age or under another you were expected to get your own place to sleep set up. I didn't hear much complaint. Elbow room seemed desirable.

I was disturbed from my observations by a not too gentle poke to my knee.

I looked down and found the yellow goblin I had seen down in the abandoned town before.

"Hey Boss, I'm Rob Shiv. I gotta favor to ask you for?" He smiled at me. He was thin even for a goblin. That said he balanced a massive pack on his back like it was nothing. His clothing didn't quite fit the weather. He wore worn, but well maintained leather armor. He was also covered in pouches and tactical rigging. The loose bundles of copper wiring he had yanked out of walls was now bound in a tight loop bundle.

"What do you need?" I asked him.

"Can I and my other loot goblins head back down there and poke around?" He asked. Pointing into the hole. The flames were beginning to die.

"Why do you need my permission now? You were down there after I said for everyone to wait," I kept my voice neutral. I wasn't exactly angry that he was down there, but having people not follow orders is how friendly fire happens.

Rob was unbothered by any hidden accusation in my words. "I didn't get those orders. By the time you found the town. The wayfinders had known about it for an hour and I had been down there for probably fifteen minutes." he pulled a flask out of one of his pockets and took a drink. As he offered me the flash he said, "No disrespect intended. Just bad communication and luck is all. "

I took the flask, whatever was in it was a lot stronger than the mushroom wine. This wasn't my preferred drink, but it wasn't bad either. I handed it back to Rob, "Go ahead. Just don't go alone and don't do anything silly like wander into the Dark."

"Sure thing Boss," He turned to leave but paused, "If we find anything how do you want us to hand it out? I don't suppose you want first look at everything."

"Hand things so they go where they are needed most, Except any of the metal that belongs to Pinky. It will be by the dragon." I told him.

"You got it, Boss," He said, before letting out a piercing whistle, "You heard the Warlord! Let's get to work!"

"Everything down there is burnt," One of the goblins complained as they fell into step with the others.

"Wood and clothes go up in ash, but metal doesn't burn. I doubt dragon bones burn either," Rob said. He produced a pick ax from his inventory. "Make like dwarves and get ready to dig a hole."

Was that fantasy racism? I looked over at Angelica.

"Why are you looking at me?" She asked.

I turned to Brunhilda. She shrugged, "I am just gonna let them have this one, buddy." She yawned. "Are you gonna set up your tent, or do I need to figure out a different place to bunk?"

"There is space," I confirmed. I willed the ice flat and pulled the tent and the frame out of my inventory. This time the weights were hooked to the frame so the wind didn't pick the whole thing up. I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I do learn.

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I frowned at the door and turned to Pinky, "I don't think you will fit inside. Do I need to build you a structure?"

Pinky Shook his head.

"Are you okay being outside all night?" I asked.

Pinky nodded

I still felt bad. They were missing their wing. I turned to Brunhilda, "Can you help me fix Pinky?"

The bird perked up at the question.

Brunhilda looked at Pinky. I don't know what skills she used but I saw her vision shift to the middle distance as she read a prompt. "Damn, that would be tricky. Pinky is a Mechana-beast. I am not entirely sure what that means. There are a lot of unique labels out there. The hard thing is Pinky is treated as both living and mechanical. So my healing won't work, and your Craft Skill won't work. We need to find someone who matches up with them. They'll be able to help.

I added contact Seth on my list of mental tasks. Gisselle should probably know about Pinky.

I was suddenly very tired. Part of me understood it was a purely mental thing. My body simply didn't get tired. It also couldn't bleed to death, starve or suffocate. Maybe I wasn't that different from Pinky.

That was a tomorrow problem. Who was I kidding? I could kick that can down the road indefinitely.

I ducked into the tent. I pulled the couch and end tables out of my inventory. Then the candles and handed them to Angelica. She started lighting them and set them around so we had some illumination. A couple of craft checks later And I tossed a bed out of my inventory for Brunhilda. I did the same for Angelica and I. Two beds hit the floor.

Angelica looked at the two beds for a moment then slid them together.

"Oh," I said without thinking.

Angelica froze and looked uncertain, "Is that a problem?"

"No, I just didn't want to assume," I explained. "That said, I need to check my bed owner's insurance."

"Bed owners insurance?" Angelica asked, confused.

"My concern is if my blankets are stolen I won't be covered," I explained.

Angelica grinned, "That is a valid fear." she leaned in closer and whispered conspiratorially, "There are people out there who would do such a thing, and not even feel bad."

"Not to interrupt but may we enter?" Brand called from outside the tent.

"Yeah sure," I told him. Come to think of it, I should send an invite to Sunit also. Otherwise the guy might think he wasn't included.

Brand and Aiko entered the tent. Brand scanned the room quickly and frowned at the lack of beds. He Turned to Aiko, "I must insist you take the couch. I will sleep on the floor."

I saw a quick conversation between Celeste and Angelica take place. Angelica spoke slowly but surely, "Brand, I have been taking a lot of Doug's time recently. I don't mind if you would like to be close to him."

"What?" I asked.

"No one cares," Angelica added, quickly stating Celeste's stance on things.

Brand laughed. Somehow he could even do that in a polite way. "I thought you knew. Doug is my beard."

Angelica looked confused. "He is kinda… big and manly to play beard for a notoriously prolific bisexual fuck boi."

Brand was still smiling in amusement, "I am asexual, actually."

"Huh," Angelica nearly said something else, but paused and considered, "huh."

"Seriously, you didn't know?" I asked. "You laughed when Grimset said Brand and I were lovers."

"Because the shocked look on your face was funny," Angelica explained. "You looked caught. Titan Spawn tend to be… free in their affections."

"I can attest with regard to myself, Doug was simply being an ally" Brand confirmed.

"Now, I don't want to be rude, but I would like to pelt you with a bunch of questions," Brunhilda said.

Brand nodded, " That tends to happen. Go ahead."

"Really?" Bruhilda started. She asked with utter disbelief.

"Yes, I am aromantic and asexual." Brand confirmed.

Aiko stared at him like he had just announced he had four heads and could fly.

"So nothing at all then?" Brunhilda asked.

"I am sorry but no," Brand apologized.

Brunhilda considered, "Not for anyone?"

Brand shook his head, "No."

"And that requires a beard?" Brunhilda asked. "Also what's a beard?" The dwarf rubbered her chin, "In this context"

"In my case, yes. In many others, also sadly yes.," Brand said. He took the chair I pulled out of my inventory. "A beard is a slang term for someone posing as a partner to make another appear passing. Most commonly used to describe a woman making a gay man seem heterosexual."

"Really?" Brunhilda asked. She seemed like these ideas were news to her. Then again she did say she was from the Shattered Mountain. Maybe that place had small town rural midwest energy. They would have internet any day now.

Brand sat down, "Historically the queer community cycles through greater and lesser acceptance with time. We are in a time of middling to declining acceptance."

Brunhilda considered for a long moment. Eventually she nodded. She hopped off her bed and slapped my leg, "Make him his own bed, buddy."

"Okay," I grunted through the pain of the charlie horse she just caused with her hammer-like hands.

Angelica hopped into the conversation, "So is your rep as a serial bedpost notcher is just smoke and mirrors?"

Brand considered his answer, "Not entirely but some exaggeration does exist. In the past I tried to correct people's misunderstanding but that actually fed the stories more."

"Are you sure you just haven't found the right person?" Angelica asked.

A small crack in his patience showed. "Now you sound like an anime fan?"

"Could you elaborate?" Angelica asked.

"Whenever you tell an anime fan, you don't like anime, they just assume you haven't watched enough yet. To stretch the metaphor, I assure you I have watch nearly everything, from action to tragedy, and even the weirdest of hentai, and at the end of the day, I would rather just watch cricket on telly." Brand explained.

Aiko was still staring at Brand. She couldn't seem to square what Brand had told her with her worldview.

I was tired of people talking about this, "Generally it is polite to listen to people when they tell you who they are." Now to change the subject, "We still got anime?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't we?" Angelica asked. She had that look she got when she knew I was going to misunderstand something foundational about the world.

"I just figured with the state of thing international distribution was hard. I also worried that something happened to Japan. A big lizard maybe."

"What does Japan have to do with anime?' Brand asked. He clearly chose to ignore my lizard comment.

"Japan makes anime," I said. That is like a big part of their exports. Well actually other than the cartoon I really wasn't sure what Japan all exported. It was probably a lot. Unless a big lizard wretched the place… there were dragons.

Everyone looked at me. I really do hate it when they do that.

Angelica broke the silence, "Doug they make that in Just Kingdom of Righteous Progression. You would know it as Korea."

That's gonna piss someone off. I pulled three more beds out of my inventory. "I am going to sleep. Someone tell Sunit he can crash here. If he wants."

Angelica flopped onto the bed next to me, "Wanna know how One Piece ends?"

"Not tonight," I muttered, opening the prompt. I would have stayed up if she knew the end to Berserk.

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