"...the lake, then we should get to Divine Lands. I believe that's the fastest way to get there," Pokora explained, looking at a map sprawled across the table.

Hanna and Elena, her roommates for the next 24 hours, nodded while looking at the parchment.

Elena tapped a small box next to a thin line. "We should skip Rahini," she suggested. "That way we can get there a whole day earlier. We can take a shortcut through the forest, no?"

The Ork shook her head. "The trees grow too close there, it'll slow us down," she argued.

The three thought for a second.

"Autumn is right around the corner," Pokora pointed out. "Elena could control Vok'ren to help us carve a path."

The Entomancer hummed. "Too early for Vok'ren season," she explained with a sigh. "Her Excellency won't like it if I upset the natural course of nature."

Pokora nodded in understanding.

The options were limited.

The city they were in was split by a river that connected directly with a lake that sat half a day away from Divine Lands. Lapia was scared of large bodies of water so taking a boat upstream was out of the question.

The city also offered services to hire beasts of E'er so Chasers could fly to their destination. Natasha was scared of heights so that was out as well.

Pokora wasn't about to argue with two Eternal worshipers that the best course of action was to just say 'fuck Natasha' and force her to fly. She also didn't want to make Lapia uncomfortable since she wanted to be on the older Elf's good graces... for various reasons.

Troublesome women, the Archer thought with an amused smile.

A knock on the door caught their attention.

"It's Her Excellency," Hanna informed them, stood up, and walked to the door then opened it.

"Hey," Natasha greeted with that resting bitch face of hers. "We'll go out. Wanna come?"

"A night out doesn't sound bad," Elena considered and stood up.

Pokora nodded. "Same here," she sighed and followed.

Planning the way to visit the Gods wasn't exactly stressing, but there was something at the back of the Elf's mind.

To Pokh'Orra Pezh'Che, formerly Evelynn Heart, the Gods of another world were something that had felt especially distant up to that point. Having lived in a world of made up Gods wasn't exactly conductive to be religious even if Gods factually existed in this new world. She believed that if a God is not absolute, then it's not really a God. Not in the traditional sense of the word she was familiar with.

Now, however, having joined the party and seeing that they were indeed going to meet them was a little weird to her. As party leader, it was her task to plan the route. That was a bit... weirder in a way that was hard to describe.

Perhaps it had to do with language.

'God' was something unfathomable. Invisible. Untouchable. Imaginary. Fake, even.

Truth be told, she needed a drink.

A kiss from Yolin would be nice, too.

The party left the building and began the extremely short trip to a tavern across the street.

One of the suns had already hidden behind the horizon, and the other was soon to follow. The clear sky was painted a soft pink with a mix of orange.

Yolin walked ahead and approached the person greeting customers. After a short exchange, Yolin gestured for the group to follow her inside.

The inside of the establishment was cozy, mostly quiet, and well illuminated.

Pokora noticed a sign hanging from the ceiling that read 'Poetry Night', then glanced at Bromisnar.

The Satyr ducked his head a little to avoid hitting the thing.

"You up for that?" The Archer inquired, nodding at the sign.

"Of course he is," Bonte interjected, wrapping an arm around the man's waist. "My bro's the best at it."

The Performer let out an amused snort and accepted, "Sure, why not? The expectation is set already, after all."

Pokora giggled at that and entered the building proper.

It was absolutely packed with people.

A few Performers played music on top of a low stage, keeping the murmur of voices mixed with skills that prevented eavesdropping, as was customary to do in such establishments.

The Archer noticed most eyes were focused on the Golden member of the party, who didn't seem to particularly mind the attention.

A waiter guided the ten to the second floor, then to a door. He opened it and revealed a spacious room with a large, low table.

The wall opposite to the door reached up to waist level, where the tavern's first floor could be seen in its entirety like a balcony of sorts.

The table was surrounded by floor chairs connected to each other. They had cushions and looked admittedly comfortable.

Yolin walked in first, taking a seat near the 'window' that overlooked the first floor, then looked at Pokora in the eye and patted the spot next to her.

The Elf felt her face heat up.

Right in front of everyone? She wondered, doing her best not to look at her companions.

Pokora was a brave woman, though. She had reached level 900 in a matter of forty-nine years. She had faced every weather Galeia could conjure, and had hunted monsters beyond the ability of most mortals.

She walked to her girlfriend and sat on the offered spot, her heart beating like a hummingbird's wings.

As much as she was brave, however, she was shy when in front of people.

The emotion didn't last long, though.

Natasha walked in and sat on Pokora's other side, giving the Elf a cheeky smirk.

The Archer's face burned, then she looked away.

Now I really need a drink!

Once everyone took a seat, the waiter offered a varied selection of drinks and food.

"I'll have the cheese set with crackers and meat, please," Natasha told him. "Also olives, pickled vegetables, and three bottles of wheat and koli spirit."

The young man nodded. "Got it, dear customer."

"What is everyone else having?" The former Russian asked aloud, revealing the large order was for herself.

"Parrus juice," Hanna spoke up, looking at the waiter. "And I'll have the meal menu, please."

"Albasini wine, at least a century old," Bromisnar chimed in. "And a small cheese set."

"I'll start with a tankard of ale," Bonte requested. "With olives."

"Same," Thelea ordered. "But for my size."

The waiter smiled and nodded.

"Two bottles of whiskey," Yolin told him. "And a set of meat."

"One bottle of whiskey and a set of cheese with crackers for me," Pokora requested.

Alyssa hummed. "A bottle of your best wine and a selection of fruits."

"A single glass of Apar'kh wine, please," Elena spoke up. "And a small cheese set as well."

"I'll have one Fire and Brimstone," Lapia decided. "Then a Great Sky Vault after ten minutes. I'll have a set of mixed seafood dumplings with them."

The waiter nodded. "Fried or boiled?"

"Mh... Boiled," Lapia replied.

"Certainly," the young man nodded again. "I'll come back with your order in a few minutes. Please excuse me," he added and walked out of the room.

Pokora sighed and relaxed on the chair, stretching her legs. Her feet bumped into something and she looked under the table.

Thelea's legs reached all the way to her spot.

"I'm a bit big," the Goliath pointed out. "I hope it doesn't bother you too much."

The Archer shook her head. "All good, don't worry," she assured her.

Thelea nodded and started chatting with the two men next to her.

"So," Yolin started, turning to Pokora. "Pretty relaxing so far, right?"

Pokora snorted. "If you call Natasha splitting someone in half, and people intruding on us while showering, relaxing... then yeah."

The Oni smiled. "True, but I meant the trip here," she pointed out. "No monsters, no bandits, you know?"

"Can't argue with that," the Archer chuckled. "It's been oddly calm."

"Really?" Natasha interjected. "I thought it was normal."

Yolin nodded. "Well, other than the Giganto Cyclops we haven't seen monsters while traveling," she considered.

"Maybe that's a bonus of traveling with a Halve," Pokora suggested, looking at Natasha with an arched eyebrow. "I bet the news of your birth reached bandits and they moved away from this region."

The Halve nodded with a hum. "Alyssa and Lapia told me the wild was dangerous so I thought we'd come across crazy shit out there."

"I'm pretty sure monsters just avoid you," the Archer suggested. "I mean, my trip to Lumin Kingdom wasn't as calm."

"Really?" Yolin perked up at that. "Did you fight anything during your trip?"

Pokora nodded with a smile, then retold of the many monsters she came across on her way to meet the Halve.

A while later, and with alcohol in the system.

"I can't believe this," Natasha complained. "You're telling me there are massive wolves out there stalking Chasers?"

Pokora and Yolin nodded.

"That's why we've set up watch during the nights," Pokora explained, pouring alcohol in her glass.

"They're as big as Pochi," Yolin supplied, then drank from her glass.

"I feel like I've been robbed of excitement," the Halve sighed.

"Not to mention wild felines and foxes," Pokora chuckled. "There are all kinds of predators out there that attack travelers."

"The most interesting ones fly," Yolin chuckled. "Most pick you up, go up, then drop you."

"No," Natasha muttered and put a slice of cheese in her mouth. "Fuck those!"

Pokora laughed and drank more.

"You can't be serious," Borminsar gasped, looking at Alyssa. "Gionakis is one of the best characters Yinka Plavas has ever written!"

"Come on," the Luzo sighed and put her glass down. "He's supposed to be this... criminal mastermind, but a child ruins the entire empire he's built?"

The Satyr huffed in disbelief. "A powerful Wizard in the guise of a child," he pointed out. "Everyone knows Tenaflis was the kid!"

Alyssa shook her head. "That's not made clear at any point, Bormisnar. Sure, Tenaflis is capable of doing that, but there's no evidence of them being the same character. Plus, Gionakis should have seen through the disguise if he was such a mastermind!"

"That's what we call acting," Bromisnar argued.

"Which is shown to be something Tenaflis can't do to save her skin," she insisted. "The Pakunter saw through it in the second chapter. A Pakunter, Bromisnar!"

The man frowned. "Well, it was an especially clever and observant Pakunter," he grumbled, grasping at straws.

Everyone exploded in laughter at that.

Except Natasha. She had no idea what a Pakunter was.

"So, there I was," Bonte retold. "Covered in feces from head to toe in order to hide my scent from the Janaxi."

Everyone shook their heads in disgust.

"But then, one of my companions threw up," he chuckled. "And the Janaxi jumped at us."

The night was relaxing, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Bromisnar made sure Bonte didn't go too far with the alcohol, and Thelea helped.

Elena had a total of two glasses of wine, being mindful of her low tolerance.

Hanna, who didn't like alcohol in the first place, drank juice and had no problems in joining the conversations the party had.

A few hours had passed, and it was time to go back to the inn.

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