Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Home Again

Orken looked much as it always did; a floating town nestled in the center of a lake of null-water. Light Orbs, imported from nearby cities at great expense, filled the great cavern with a warm glow. The light that they gave off reflected from the null-water, causing it to burst with iridescent shimmers and fantastical hues. It was beautiful - haunting, breathtaking. Safe.

It was home.

Valera breathed in deeply, absently reaching out to give her tired little companion another scratch. He still seemed rather drowsy, even after a few days had passed. The thought was concerning, but he was already showing signs of recovering - whether from the strain caused by guiding them or assimilating a new Core, she wasn’t sure. He hissed slightly, flicking a tongue out and shifting on her shoulder before settling back down again.

She smiled at the sight, turning back towards Orken a moment later. The edges of the null-water lake were festooned with a series of docks, berths for the various row boats and ferries that were necessary to reach Orken itself. Out on the edges of the null-water as they were, the docks had been carved out of the stone itself. Rather than waste precious and expensive resources, the original founders had carved away at the edges of the shoreline, chiseling out docks from what had once been simple stone. If anything, that only helped; the further away the shoreline was from Orken itself, the better. Pushing it away ever-so-slightly in the creation of the docks was a brilliant combination of preserving resources and creating additional distance.

Valera didn’t envy the back-breaking labor that had likely been involved, though.

At regular intervals down the stone docks, boats - made of darkwood, every one of them - were moored. Twined rope made from Webweaver silk held them fast, preventing them from slipping away onto the lake. The light cast by the Light Orbs at the lake’s center, combined with the fluorescent glow that came with the mana-infused plants and fungi in the area, was more than enough to light their way.

They quickly managed to snag a free boat, Erik and Doran each taking an oar in hand. The boats - for the most part - were free for the taking. After all, there was only one way to come and go from Orken safely - short of growing wings and flying - so they were both well-maintained and widely available.

As they skimmed atop the null-water, cutting a near-silent path across its surface, Valera made sure to keep a guarding hand over the newest addition to the party. If he fell into the null-water while she wasn’t paying attention...the thought of what might happen was rather horrifying.

Fortunately, he never so much as twitched, sleeping through the entire ride. She breathed a sigh of relief as they bumped against the docks that rested at Orken’s outskirts, carefully making her way off of the boat and onto safer ground while Kala and Erik worked to tie the boat down again. If necessary, someone would haul the boat back out to the edge of the lake later; if not, it would remain to serve as transport for someone who wished to leave the town themselves. As the only way to both enter and leave Orken, the boats were well-looked after.

With a careful stretch so as not to dislodge her passenger, Valera glanced around. All in all, it was a quiet return; far different from what she might have imagined as a child. There were no crowds to cheer for their return, nor was there anyone at all.

She wasn’t the only one disappointed by that.

“No welcome party, huh?” Doran snorted at the thought.

“We’re a little too new to warrant one, not to mention the lack of any notice that we were on our way back. It’s not like anyone would just wait and watch for our arrival,” Erik responded, serious as always.

“True, but it would have been nice. We did technically defeat two Dungeons, even if we don’t have much to show for it,” Kala said.

Valera couldn’t help but interject proudly. “Don’t have much to show for it? Anyone can bring back a Core. We brought back something better.” She gave her little passenger a careful scratch, and couldn’t help but preen when she didn’t receive a warning hiss in response.

“I don’t think just anyone can bring back a Core, Valera…”

She waved a hand at that, pushing his words aside and working her way from the docks. They were quiet, with only a few guards on shift to note their presence. Valera made sure to give them a friendly wave as she passed, receiving one in turn.

They, at least, appreciated each other.

She glanced towards the settlement’s center, taking a look at the large Chronorb in its tower. Though it wasn’t something that was strictly necessary, most citizens preferred to tie their waking hours to what it displayed; its glow varied throughout the day, changing in intensity and hue to represent the hour. Supposedly, the light cast by Chronorbs was tightly linked to time - every Chronorb created cast the same brightness and color at the same time, though the sizes of the actual Chronorbs could vary from pocket-sized to large enough for an entire settlement to view. Either way, it allowed for more structured timing, particularly in regards to working hours and trade with nearby settlements. They were almost mandatory, in some ways.

Worse, they were extremely expensive. She rubbed a hand against her temple, distressed by the thought. It was uncomfortable to imagine the tongue-lashing coming their way for losing access to a Time Core - something that could have allowed Orken to create and export Chronorbs of their own.

The Council would not be happy about that.

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A moment later, she shrugged to herself. What was done was done - and, if you asked her, they got something better out of the deal.

“Great. Looks like we’re in for a long night if we want to reset our schedules; need to report to the Council later, anyway. No time for sleep,” Kala moaned, regretting what she had realized would be an exhausting night.

Valera let out her own groan in response. “Can we at least celebrate not dying, just a little? I mean, if we’re going to stay awake anyway…”

Doran turned and gave her a disapproving glance. “I know where you’re going with this, and no. You’re already on thin ice with the Council after last time.”

Valera gave him a quick pout, shifting her stare to Kala a moment later. As expected, she folded.

With her on board, it wasn’t long before she got what she wanted.

---

“Cheers!”

She clinked her mug against Kala’s in celebration, ignoring the dour look that Doran gave them. Valera stuck out her tongue in a mocking gesture, meeting it with the taste of delicious alcohol a moment later.

He was just mad that they forced him to stay sober. Someone had to do most of the talking in the morning, and that didn’t quite go over as well when hungover.

She tried once.

Once.

The thought of that disaster spread a chill throughout her body for a short moment before it was met with the wonderful warmth that had begun to spread through her body.

Soon enough, his glare broke, giving way to the beginnings of a smile.

She fought back a laugh. Softie.

The tavern was about as full as she had expected, boasting little more than the few regulars that it typically attracted. One or two faces were unfamiliar, either travelers or traders enjoying themselves, but they were few and far between. Orken, she had to admit, was a bit too far towards the outskirts of the World Dungeon to see much in the way of new faces. For now, at least.

Kala and Erik had already jumped into the celebrations as well, the two of them regaling nearby patrons with stories of their adventure. Erik was already deep into his cups; unlike him, but she knew that the initial warning given by their newest little companion had unsettled him more than he would have liked to admit.

There was a slight stirring on her shoulder, almost as if the direction of her thoughts had managed to pull their cute little prophet from his snake-dreams. He hissed languidly at her, seeming slightly more awake than he had been lately, but still rather sleepy.

On a whim, she raised her mug and angled it towards him in order to let him have a little taste. They were celebrating their survival, right? It was only fitting that he’d be part of that. A little beer wouldn’t be a problem.

She was sure that it would be fine.

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