The five of them, Joe, Kenda, Wen, Hah'roo, and Tezeno, six including Mojo, played games and rode the rides for hours. More Vexor-gates inside allow people to pass between the extra-dimensional training fields without having to try to squeeze through the tiny, trapezoidal vestibule commonly used by the guild.

The group encountered the devilish-looking sorcerer at a shooting gallery, where the cambion was nailing targets with ease while maintaining all those gateways. Joe was getting pretty good at multitasking spells and other actions, but he was a tad jealous of just how effortlessly Vexor maintained and juggled his dimensional magic. The mana cost for that many portals had to be heavy. The next time they partied up, Joe would have to check out just how big Vex's mana pool was.

'Oh, Geez. I have size-envy. 'Is your mana pool bigger than my mana pool?',' he mocked in his head. 'Strange new worlds, Hawking.'

<table class="chapter-table"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Only if you make it so, Joe.</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

Joe laughed to himself. The invisible mind behind Illuminaria had been getting really good at getting the better of Joe in their exchanges since their all-night hang session.

Tezeno and he let the girls and Mojo take the next round at the shooting gallery; the sentinel and he had no chance against the pup or the women. Perception was the attribute that had the largest impact on ranged attacks, but Dexterity was a close second. Joe's Perception was passable, but his agility attribute was abysmal. Even adding them together would come up with a sum that was less than Kenda, Wen, or Hah'roo had in Dex or Perception. Mojo's attributes weren't great either, but little guy didn't care if he lost; he just wanted to throw stuff with his friends. Someday, Joe would work on upping those stats, but given his high vigor, resistances, and healing abilities, it was far easier for him to tank hits than it was for him to evade them.

Wen was the winner, but Hah'roo and Kendell made her work for it. She picked a mini-Tintze doll as her prize, stating that she had one from every Founders Day for the last ten years, pointing out the differences in this year's model. Her delight fell on mostly deaf ears as none of them had that collectors bug, but they were all happy that she was happy.

After the rides and games, the group of now four and a shaggy pup left the carnival on the guild's training fields, heading to Playhouse Way for music and shows. Hah'roo opted to stay behind.

Whether it was her nature to drift from one thing to the next or the fact that she was almost a generation older than the rest of the crew, the galeling had been sliding in and out of the group all afternoon. Hah'roo was over fifteen years older than Kendell and Tezeno. Elves aged slowly and had childhoods that lasted decades, which put Wen socially in the same age group as the two guild lieutenants, even though technically she was the oldest one. Joe was biologically less than a year old, but he had died in his mid-twenties. His limited life experiences and a bit of chronic immaturity put him right in the middle of the two age groups.

Throughout the evening, the group watched short vignettes and listened to musical performances, drinking and eating their way through the Seaside theater district. Normally, there were not this many snack and drink stalls, but when Forters threw a celebration, they went all out. Many of the booths were not even manned by employees who drew the short straw. Magical summonings and automatons, called clockworks, handed out food and beverages from the majority of the booths. There were coin boxes that you were trusted to drop a payment and/or a tip into. Technically, you could drink and eat for free if you decided to ignore the social expectations, but very few folks would chance pissing off Mairree just to save a few bits. There was no way the god of friends and festivities was not paying attention to Founders Day.

Joe and Kenda walked hand in hand, though sometimes they swung a happy shug monkey between them. At other times, the little man rode on Wen's shoulder, as he had learned which sucker would shamelessly spoil him.

At one point, Kendell kissed Joe again. As he looked into those bright brown eyes, the rest of the world seemed to fade away. He felt like the luckiest guy on Earth, and then remembered again that he was not on Earth anymore. He squeezed her hands, knowing he was grinning like an idiot. Together, they rushed to catch up to the archer and archon that were casually strolling just quickly enough to give them some space but not so fast as to lose the lagging pair.

Joe awoke the next morning to an abundance of memories and sensations. Mojo was parked on his usual spot, curled up on Joe's hip, but there was an equal warmth along his back. He could feel Kenda's gentle breathing, rocking her body ever so slightly against his. Even though they both were fully clothed, the moment was filled with such a sweet sensuality that Joe didn't want it to end.

Unfortunately, his empathic connection to the dozing pup was still very much intact. Joe's wakefulness roused his shaggy companion, and the furry little mush acted on the wave of affection he picked up from Joe. Pouncing on the girl, the broodling began covering her with puppy kisses.

"Oh, Gidi, Mojo. Yeah. Yeah. I see you," she laughed, scooping up the happy critter and airplaning him so she could catch her breath. "Well, that's one way to wake up," the savant chuckled.

Stolen story; please report.

"He means well, but yeah, morning kisses can be a bit much. The worst is when he gets you up the nose."

"I was spared that at least," she proclaimed, dropping Mojo down to her chest for a single licking kiss before bench pressing him back up. The little man was ecstatic about this new game. He coiled his simian tail around her arm so she couldn't let go of him even if she wanted to. "So, what did you think of your first Founders Day?" the young woman asked while holding the shug pup at arm's length.

"It was great, but I ate way too much," Joe bemoaned, still feeling a bit full.

"Me too. I was hoping you weren't going to insist on a big breakfast."

"No. I planned to jog before I even consider eating anything. Wanna join me?"

"Definitely. Since the sweep you guys did on Sunsday found nothing alarming, as far as I know, the plan is to let everyone rest today. Tomorrow I expect Myllo'll test us and then tackle the valley on Mersday. I am off from both the shop and the guild today."

Joe did a quick day translation. Founders Day was on Monday or Moonday. Today was Dewsday or Tuesday as he still thought of it. Myllo's tests would be on Wednesday or Windsday, which meant the following day would be Thursday/Mersday, when they would address the threat of the Vale of Lament.

Joe checked his quest log again.

<table class="chapter-table"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p><strong>[PLUG THE LEAK] (Rare)</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">You have discovered that the source of the necromantic malignancy is the breach in the wards around the valley of Glen Cumha, also known as Margen's Mourn. Will you stop the corruption from spreading across the Hornlands?</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">+50 Reputation with the Fort Coral</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Quest completion reward: 900 exp.</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

Both he and Kenda had this quest, which is why Myllo planned to form a new team around the pair. As Joe had learned with [Moonlit Massacres] and Sougath, having a quest from Hawking was a potent asset. It provided the quester with a far greater chance of succeeding on a designated task.

He had heard about the formation of a new team, but the testing was news. "What sort of testing?" he asked, rolling fully over to face her.

Kendell settled Mojo between them and turned as well, putting them almost face to face. "Team building and skirmishes, most likely. I expect it will be you, me, Wen, Tez, Isais, and Lexaroth. You've worked with three of us, but not Lex and Isias and they have never worked with you. I expect Hah'roo will be rolled into the Hellions as she is closer to their level and age. Six-person teams are the guild standard, and Hellions have been down a member since they lost Driftwood a few months ago. They need more utility."

"Why put the warlock with us? He does not seem like much of a team player. As a new team, that seems like a bad idea to put a problem in before we even have a chance to find our groove." Joe did not look forward to teaming up with the guy. Lexaroth had been nothing but a prick at every interaction Joe had with the surly young man.

"There really isn't anyone else, other than Yuk, and they have a real hard time working with others. We all like Yuk, but they are so shy and withdrawn, I can't imagine them being on the team with us. My guess is they will take Isais's place on Myllo's team. Isais might be ready for fieldwork now. I heard she did well during Cauldrakon. She is great at a distance, but when things get too up close and personal, she falls apart. Keep in mind she's just a kid in elf-years. Myllo had her on his team, giving her a chance to mature a bit further."

"Who else is on Myllo's team?"

"Vexor, Kerrig, Taylyn, and Puq."

"Not Edror?" Joe asked, wondering why the old hunter was not a member.

"Edror is the last member of Team White Wing. The others died fighting an eldritch horror known as the Jade King. He never really got over their loss. We let him do his own thing. He's earned it."

"And Nard?"

"Oh, the big guy almost never does field work. He really doesn't like hurting things. If something attacks the town, that's one thing, but going out to hunt monsters is something else. The Cauldrakon Event was a clear case of monsters coming after Fort Coral. Margen's Morne, not so much."

"Well, we'll just have to figure out how to work with Lexaroth. As it is, I have to go and get to know another teammate today. My jog was going to be along the cliff to find someplace beyond the city wards to spend some time with Finnerloogk … I cannot get his name right. I'm sticking with Finn."

"Is there a reason you are going to head out of town to do this?" Kenda queried.

"During the storm, he and the other akhluts were able to ride the high surf over the seawards. I didn't think they'd be able to do that now. Though I wonder if they could jump high enough to get over them if they tried," he pondered.

"Ok, first, let's not teach the voracious sea-monsters tricks for entering town. Secondly, Finn is now your companion. As soon as you two bonded, he essentially became a citizen of the Fort. The rest of his pack won't be able to cross the seawards, but he should have no problem with them. We can just head down to the beach if you want."

"That sounds like fun. Think anyone will freak out?"

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. They'll call the guild to deal with a monster if they do, and we're the guild. We'll deal with it." Kenda propped herself up onto her elbow. "Ok. I have a suit in my storage ring, but not my good one. If we are going to be hanging with an akhlut, I want something sturdier than strings."

"Strings?" Joe couldn't help but blurt, which earned him a saucy look from the adventurer lying next to him. The wildness perked up, and Joe couldn't help but mentally adjust Kenda's wardrobe to match the idea she had just teased. He felt his cheeks warm into a blush.

Able to read his thoughts, Kenda kissed him on the nose before rolling out of bed. "You are very cute. Let's see how the day goes, and maybe there'll be an outfit change in your future." She summoned a short leather tie from her storage item and reached up to comb her fingers through her hair.

As she twisted the auburn mass into a ponytail, she added, "Come on. Get up and stop staring. We're about to go meet my family. You might want to stop picturing me in a bikini."

Divine names translated God Name: Translated Word (definition)

Gidi, Giddy (Deity of gaiety, silliness, and vertigo)

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