Chapter 6

Freyja gave me a hug and a passionate kiss, before saying, “You will be returned to Tyr’s quarters and Theresa’s items will be sent to her room in the new dorm. There will be a plaque on the door to signify her room. Tyr has assured me that they have installed the same protective door that was installed at your previous quarters, and you will have direct access to the armory from the dorm as well. Thank you for doing this my love, and I look forward to seeing you soon. Sorry we haven’t had as much time together as we had before the Challenge, but because of this, as well as working on the idea you gave me, I have been rather busy.”

“Well you make sure to take care of yourself,” I replied, gently rubbing her stomach. “You have precious cargo after all and she needs to be kept safe, as does her momma.”

Freyja blushed and I could see a slight flash of arousal in her eyes, but we both knew there was time for that later. I glanced over and saw a knowing smirk on Aphrodite’s face, before she came up and kissed me so hard, I saw stars.

“Well time to send you back,” the goddess of love stated as she placed her right hand on Theresa’s shoulder and her left hand on my cock through my pants.

With a gentle and teasing squeeze, a flash of bright light enveloped my senses. I shouldn’t have been surprised that the goddess of lust and love would get one last chance to tease before sending me back. Next would be letting everyone else know of the changes to our situation. As the light dimmed, we found ourselves within Tyr’s chambers, standing before his hearth. Tyr was sitting in his usual spot and began to stand when we gained our bearings. I looked over at Theresa and saw that she was glancing around a little spooked, feeling out of her element and was feeling rather anxious. She was holding her arms close to her chest and looking around with darted glances.

“It’s okay Theresa,” I said softly, hoping my voice would help calm her. “We are in my pact house and in my Pact leaders quarters.”

Her eyes focused on me, and I could see that her tension dissipated slightly, but at least it wasn’t growing.

“Welcome Theresa,” Tyr said softly, hoping not to startle her. “I am well aware of the situation, and I hope that you will find comfort here with us. I do need you to come here, so we can make this transition complete.”

She glanced over at me, and I gave her a nod, along with a smile to let her know that it was okay. She tentatively walked over to him, and I could see the fear building in her again.

He gave her a warm smile and said, “If you could stick out your bracered arm, we can get this over with and then you could meet Pathios’ friends. Could you do that for me?”

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded. She then stretched out her arm towards him. Tyr placed his hand over the top of the bracer and closed his eyes. He began to mutter some words under his breath and his hand started to glow.

Tyr opened his eyes and asked, “Do you wish to join our pact house and work to bring honor to our house?”

Theresa looked back at me, and I nodded, giving her another smile in hopes that it would help.

“I do,” She replied softly. “I hope that I can help your pact house and I will do my best to try.”

Tyr smiled and his eyes began to glow, “I am sure you will. I am also sure that Pathios will help you find your place, whether it is with us, or in another way.”

He closed his eyes and began chanting in what I expected to be an old Norse dialect. Glancing at Theresa I could see a shocked look on her face and wondered what had made her so surprised. The glow coming from his hand began growing to intensity until with a flash of light it was gone. When his hand moved, her bracer looked different. Originally her stone was a pink tourmaline and the script on it was Greek showing the tie to her previous goddess Aphrodite. Now it matched the writing and color of the stone in my bracer.

“There we are, my dear,” Tyr said, sitting back down in his chair. “You are all set, now Pathios will take you to meet your friends. Pathios when you’re done, you know how to contact me, and I will take you to your new lodging. It has already been set up and covered by Aphrodite.”

We were going to leave, then I remembered, “What about the expansions to the building. Won’t that cause our rooms to be out of commission until it is done?”

“There will be no disruption,” Tyr replied with a wave of his hand. “They use magic, so it won’t interfere with what is already built. To put it simply, they lift the existing top floors up and build the new edition between the top and bottom. Magic ties the stairs together so that there is no disruption to foot traffic while the new floors are completed.”

“Given the situation change, I may need to tell Ilthvana and Dilbar about what I am,” I asked, uneasy about his possible response. “It is only fair since Theresa’s current situation was caused by our status.”

Tyr was silent for a few moments, “You are right. The situation has indeed changed given your new circumstances, so you will have no choice but to involve them. If they go in blind they could get killed. You have my blessing, and I will deal with the council, but I am confident they will have no issues.”

I thanked him and we left to find the others. I activated my map and looked to see where they might be in the pact house. I was not surprised to find them not here at the pact house. They must have already finished their training and headed to the dungeon tower to do the shopping that they had mentioned. I guess Dilbar and Ilthvana went with them, but I wouldn’t know until I met up with them. I sent a raven to locate Amenthia and let her know that we were going to walk the whole way to the statues. I could have taken the transit tubes, but I wanted her to get a sense of her surroundings. Theresa kept close as we made our way through the town towards the tower. I could tell she hadn’t gone out of the Aphrodite pact house much, but she wasn’t as surprised as I expected. As I thought about it and looked around, I realized that this kind of city would be akin to some of the older cities in various countries in Europe. What had to be off putting for her had to be the various people around us. Not just the humans, but the other fantasy species that she had only heard about in stories or the mythologies of her country.

It took nearly forty-five minutes to get to the statue, as I walked slower to ensure we didn’t accidentally get separated. I looked forward to teaching her about the transit tubes, since they were so much faster. Still at least one trip wouldn’t be too bad for her, and the pleasant greetings I was getting from the denizens of the town would reinforce that she was in a relatively safe area. She still kept close and followed behind me as we weaved through the town. Soon we found ourselves in front of the statues and I couldn’t help but stare at the one in the middle. Grishta was resplendent in all her glory, and I felt the pain of losing her all over again. Though we had only spent a short time together, I was starting to consider her a friend. More importantly, I felt that her death was my fault, and I couldn’t help but bear the responsibility of that loss.

“You need to get out of your head love,” Amenthia called out as the group approached. “She died defending her friends and we all miss her.”

All five of them were there, but I could see their surprise and slight apprehension at the fact I wasn’t alone.

I gestured to my companion and said, “Ladies and Dilbar, may I introduce Theresa.” She is going to be with us for the foreseeable future, as part of the special request that I was given today. When we return to the pact house, I will explain everything as there will be a few changes. Before I can explain anything, we will also need to make sure Cassandra will be there, so our first destination needs to be to the quartermaster’s.”

I could see the uncertainty in their eyes, but they nodded and began to make their way away from the tower. They began walking towards the town, but I stomped off towards the tower.

“Yeah, I already made the walk from the pact house,” I barked with a vehement shake of my head. “We are taking the fucking tubes back!”

This caused a laugh from everyone else, minus the nervous Theresa of course. She followed me closely, though she stopped dead when we arrived in front of the transit tubes.

“Have you taken one of these yet?” I asked, to which she responded with a shake of her head.

“I figured as much, “I sighed and after thinking for a moment I asked, “Have you read or seen Harry Potter?” She nodded with a slight smile. “Think of it kind of like floo powder. You have to think of where you want to go, you don’t even have to say it. In this case all you have to think of is going home. Once you step in it will transport you to the atrium of the pact house.”

I noticed confused looks from Dilbar and Ilthvana, while the others looked rather surprised at what I had said.

“But home is...” I stopped her before she finished that statement, since we were around open ears that weren’t allowed to know.

“First, home is the pact house.” I said quietly, but sharply, startling her. “Second, never forget we don’t talk openly of ‘home’, or it could get you killed and cause major problems for everyone. I will explain things to you when we get back and are somewhere safe. Amenthia and Entivala were trained to be companions to us and they can help as well. Now let’s go.”

So that someone familiar was there for when she arrived, I stepped into the tube and a moment later I was back in the Atrium. A moment later Theresa appeared and carefully stepped out of the tube towards me. She had shock, amazement and even some amusement on her face. It was a pleasant change of pace from her usual shy and nervous demeanor. Once everyone was back, we walked over to the Quartermaster’s to check in with Cassandra. When we entered all three were hard at work behind the counter and there were no pact members that we could see. I glanced over at Theresa, and she was looking around at the various armor and weapons as we approached the back of the room. Brot’k was the first to look up as always. He got up from his workstation and came over with his usual welcoming smile.

“Pathios, my boy, it is so good to see you?” He said with a laugh in his voice. “Who is this lovely lady in your midst?”

That grabbed Cassandra’s and Fra’tilia’s attention and both walked over to join Brot’k at the counter. I looked to Amenthia and glanced back at the door. She nodded and went to lock the door, to ensure that no one accidentally stumbled in when we were talking, before returning to the group. That caused the trio to go from happy to weary in a matter of moments.

“Sorry for the theatrics, but we need to make sure we don’t have any surprises, as we are about to discuss sensitive information,” I explained, hoping to ease any tension. “Some of the people in this room are already aware of what I am about to divulge, but it is now imperative that everyone currently in this room know what I am about to reveal.”

I could see some unease in their faces, but they all nodded, and I took a deep breath to settle my nerves.

“As all but Theresa know, I arrived a little different than other pact members. You have been told the official story, but the truth is I am not of this world...”

I then begin to recount my life, my death, and my arrival here on Eden. Dilbar and Ilthvana were shocked by the revelations I gave and then I explained that Theresa was also from my world. She then recounted her life and death, along with the attempt on her life and the request from Aphrodite for my help.

“Okay, that kinda makes sense, but how the hell is this supposed to work?” Amenthia asked. “There is barely enough room for the four of us in the room that we have now. How are we supposed to keep an eye on her, unless she is in the room with us?”

“Yeah, that is part of the reason we needed to have that discussion here,” I replied as I nervously scratched my head. “While we have been gone, our things have been moved to our new quarters on the upper levels. Tyr was aware of the lack of space we already had and given the prestige that we gained from the Challenge, so we were going to move up to a much bigger room.”

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock when they heard that and there were screams of excitement. They all realized what that meant, both for the room we would have and the status it brings.

“Congratulations!” Dilbar exclaimed with a tough pat on the back. “You guys are really moving ahead! Make sure you let us know where it is so we can visit you from time to time.”

I nervously laughed and replied, “When I meant our things, I meant you, Ilthvana and Cassandra as well.”

The happy discussions stopped, and everyone looked at me in shock. I guess getting that much space was not entirely normal for people that had such a low level compared to those in the upper tiers of the Pact House.

Giving them all a moment to process what I said, I continued, “Due to our need to watch over and guide Theresa, as well as you three being part of our adventuring group, we have been given a dormitory area of the upper floors. There are seven bedrooms and a main living area. Also, your weapons and belongings have been sent to the armory that we use. Now I know you have questions but let’s save it for after we get to our dorm. One thing that has been made clear is that we are one group now. That also means that our collective income is now in one fund.”

Everyone, including Brot’k and Fra’tilia, silently nodded. They still had expressions of shock and awe on their faces. I closed my eyes and sent a prayer to Tyr to let him know that we were ready and where we were. When I opened my eyes, a cleared throat turned our attention behind us, and we turned to find Tyr standing there.

“I am guessing that Pathios has explained things somewhat,” Tyr stated in his usual deadpan tone. “Let’s go see your new living arrangements.”

He slowly raised his hand and then snapped his fingers. A flash of light enveloped us and soon we were in another room entirely.

“Welcome to your new quarters,” Tyr announced with a wave of his hand. “The dorm is eighty feet by sixty feet. It has seven bedrooms, six of which are ten feet by ten feet, while the master bedroom is twenty feet by ten feet. Every bedroom has a plaque on the door that will signify whose room it is. There is one room already claimed with Theresa’s name appearing on the door. To choose your room, place your hand on the plaque and push your will into it. You have a large living area that is fifty feet by fifty feet containing a dining area, a full kitchen, and a sitting area. The sitting area has two half-moon sofas that can seat twelve people combined, that surround a circular hearth that will always burn. You don’t have to worry about smoke as it is a magical flame that produces heat and light without the smoke and dangerous carcinogens. Between the two separate rows of bedrooms, we have the entrance to an exceptionally large communal bathroom.

“The bathroom is thirty feet by thirty feet in diameter. It has two shower stalls across from the door. Both are ten feet by seven, which was pretty big for a shower stall. There are three toilet stalls to allow for privacy, and a large communal bath. It is ten feet wide and fifteen feet long and designed to be like a large Japanese style onsen tub that can fit multiple people to relax. A ten-foot counter spans the space between the door into the bathroom and the tub, with an intricate mirror mounted on the wall. The space between the toilet stalls and the tub has all the various cubbies for storing your clothes and the necessary onsen supplies.”