“You saw the Dryad?”

  “Y—yes,” Thea said, as she slid the open panel closed. “She was, ah, s—sitting in the top of a tree, on L—Lover’s Hill.”

  “Lover’s Hill?” Kerr grinned as she finally drew back into the wagon. “Sounds like a good sign, eh?”

  The therion’s knowing grin was accompanied by an elbow to Tegwyn’s ribs. The Dryad ughed, his good-natured smile crinkling the corners of his eyes.

  “Perhaps a sign from Lyssandria?” he joked with Kerr. “Spotting a beautiful woman on such a hill certainly comes across as auspicious to me!”

  “Why do they call it Lover’s Hill?” Dys asked Thea, mostly because she was still stuffed under the fold out panel and Thea was the closest person to her head.

  “Oh, ah, it’s b—because the farmer who f—founded our vilge p—proposed to his wife there, under a full moon. Now, everyone does it, for a h—hundred years. Sort of, ah, a t—tradition.”

  “That’s so sweet,” Eir said as she closed her panel as well. “What a beautiful expression of love. I’m gd that your vilge is keeping such a lovely tradition alive.”

  “Better than my cn’s tradition,” Bridget grumbled as she adjusted her armor straps. “All we do is hunt a deer or a boar and give its heart to the one we want to marry.”

  “Well, there is a certain symbolism about that tradition, I suppose,” Eir said as she tried to hide her wince.

  “Brace yourselves!” Jay interrupted everyone’s conversations. “We’re about to touch down!”

  “Gods, please,” Sorcha moaned from her spot in Syd’s p. “Put me back on the ground.”

  “Almost there,” Syd chuckled as she patted the goblin’s back.

  From what Jadis could see of Cold Brook, it looked like they were more into livestock than farming grains and vegetables, which was convenient since it meant there was plenty of open pasturage around the vilge. Landing the airship was possibly the most daunting part of the whole experience, so having lots of room was important.

  “Slow further, if you can,” Severina advised, her one hand hovering over Ai’s hands and the controls. “Ease us down. With so much weight, even a seemingly slow descent will be jarring.”

  Ai had done a wonderful job of flying the airship thus far, but Jadis well understood Severina’s worry. She had flown on commercial airflights back on Earth, and Jadis remembered just how rough some of those ndings could feel even with modern technology and professional pilots at the helm. They were riding in a giant brick with steel suspension. It didn’t take an oracle to foresee how touchdown might go.

  “Maybe I should make some adjustments to the way the controls move to make it easier to judge how much we are slowing down,” Sabina rambled as she scrawled some hasty notes in a journal while leaning over Ai’s shoulder. “It looks like you’re having trouble with the starboard altitude adjustment. Is it sticking? I might be able to get some grease and—”

  “Sabby, not now,” Jay said as she put a gauntleted hand over the smith’s mouth. “Ai needs to focus right now so we don’t crash.”

  “We won’t crash,” Ai murmured, her gaze unwavering. “Take hold!”

  The mostly ft terrain of a meadow on the north side of the vilge rose up to meet the Behemoth as Ai brought them down from their first full flight. The whole wagon abruptly shuddered as its heavy wheels made contact with the ground. Everyone let out various involuntary grunts of surprise and discomfort as they were rattled about like apples in a basket, but no one was actually hurt. While the nding was bouncy, the sturdy, enchantment enhanced structure of the Behemoth held up well to the light impact.

  “We’re down,” Ai let out a breath of relief, her expression changing from concentration to a wide smile. “We made it!”

  “Excellent work,” Severina complimented the arcanist. “As I said before, you are a—”

  Severina’s words were cut off as Jay leaned forward and gave Ai an excited kiss, her head squeezing between the redhead and the Seraphim.

  “Amazing job, Blue!” Jay said before giving the redhead another kiss. “You’re fucking amazing!”

  Turning her head, Jay gave the startled padin a kiss on the cheek as well, causing Severina to sputter out a shocked protest.

  “You did great, too,” Jay told the blushing Seraphim. “Your advice was super helpful.”

  “Mmph, hm mm mmph!”

  “You too,” Jay grinned as she pulled Sabina in close for her own kiss, her hand still around the smith’s mouth. “You’re a genius, Sabby, no one can ever cim otherwise. Fucking amazing work.”

  “Mm, thank you!” Sabina said as she pulled away from Jay’s lips. “But what I was saying was that all those people over there are carrying bows and spears.”

  “Oh.”

  Looking out the left side of the wagon, Jay could see that just as Sabina had said, there were about thirty or so men and women approaching the wagon. Most of them looked middle-aged or older, though a few looked like younger teenagers. Most were human, but there were at least two or three gnomes in the mix, as well as a man who looked to be maybe half orc. They were all carrying spears, bows, or axes, but it was clear that the weapons were actually hunting and farming implements. One woman was carrying an actual pitchfork. None of the vilgers looked like fighters, except for a gray-haired man with sunbaked skin at the lead of the group who was wearing an actual steel breastpte.

  While the older man in the lead must have had some kind of martial training based on the way he carried his spear compared to everyone else, he looked just as frightened as the rest.

  “Shit, I think we scared the locals,” Jay said under her breath.

  “Okay, everyone, time to get out,” Syd said as she got to her feet. “Except for you, Alex. It’s best you stay inside the wagon until we have a chance to expin the situation. I don’t know if the emperor’s decree has made it out here yet and I don’t want someone to start shooting just because they see tentacles.”

  “Do you have your writ?” Eir asked the Demon.

  “Yes…” Alex replied as she pulled a small scroll case from the pocket of the bck dress she was wearing.

  “I have a copy as well,” Dys said from her spot under the ptform. “Just in case.”

  “We’d better get out there now before anyone does anything dumb,” Bridget frowned as she helped fold the ptform up so Dys could stand. “With the Demon invasion going on, I bet we spooked the piss out of them.”

  “Hey, Thea,” Jay called for the shy soldier. “These are your neighbors. Who’s the old guy with the breastpte?”

  Thea sidled past Syd and Jay to step up to the wagon’s front door and look out the cockpit window. Seeing the gathered mob of frightened vilgers, her eyes went wide for a moment before her lips firmed into a line.

  “That’s Gereon. He’s the mayor.”

  “Oh, really?” Jay took a second look at the old man. “Is he chill?”

  “If you, ah, mean c—calm, then yes. Normally.”

  “Alright, cool,” Jay nodded. “Then let’s go greet the locals.”

  While Jadis intended to get out of the wagon first, Severina beat her to the punch. With an easy grace that came natural to the Seraphim, she opened up the door to the pilot’s seat and hopped out. Spreading her one wing out, both her feathers and her shining armor caught the light of the sun in a spectacur show that dazzled the eyes. Even though the vilgers were still dozens of yards away, Jadis could hear them all excim in wonder.

  “Show off,” Jay whispered just loud enough for the padin to hear.

  “Just inspiring respect,” Severina replied without turning her head.

  From the way they had nded, the right side of the wagon was facing away from the vilge, so Jadis was able to pop the wall open without worrying about anyone shooting an arrow into the compartment. That positioning also made it easier for Alex to hide, though Syd still had her hide behind some of the supply crates just to be on the safe side. While Jadis knew that Alex was strong and could take care of herself, she still didn’t want to risk anything happening to their baby.

  Setting her helmets on top of her heads, Jadis tromped out around to the other side of the airship with everyone else following behind her.

  The vilgers had let out some surprised excmations when Severina had exited the wagon. The noise they made when they saw Jadis’ three selves was a far greater commotion.

  “Wer seid ihr alle?” Mayor Gereon called out in a shaky voice. “Who are you? Why are you here?”

  “My name is Jay Ahlstrom,” Jay called out as she assumed the lead and took a few steps towards the crowd. “I am the leader of the Fortune’s Favored mercenary company. Also, just to get it out of the way, I am a Nephilim. If you don’t know what that is, that’s okay, because Nephilim have been pretty much extinct for a couple of thousand years. That said, we’re back.”

  “This is the speech you prepared for this?” Kerr whispered to Syd incredulously.

  “Who said I prepared for this?” Syd whispered back.

  “Schei?e…”

  “We didn’t come here to hurt anyone,” Jay continued her improvised introduction. “We’re actually here to visit family. My companion here is from this vilge, and—”

  “Thea!”

  A woman’s voice rang out across the field, cutting Jay’s expnation short. Looking past the crowd, Jadis saw a woman with a brown ponytail running towards them from the half-opened gates of the vilge wall. There were quite a few more vilgers grouped up around the gates, mostly women and children, and this woman had been one of their number. Now, though, she was sprinting towards the Fortune’s Favored airship, her dress skirts fpping in the wind as she ran.

  “Mother!” Thea called out, dropping the helmet she had under her arm and the spear she had in her other hand.

  Breaking away from the rest of Jadis’ companions, Thea ran towards her mother, meeting her on the open ground between their group and the crowd of vilgers. The two women crashed together in an excited embrace, completely ignoring the rest of the world around them.

  “So, yeah,” Jay said as she strode over to the vilgers who were all murmuring and pointing at Thea and her mother. “We’re visiting family. Sorry if we scared you.”

  “I… I see,” Gereon said as he bravely took a step closer to Jay. “Well then… Well met, Jay Ahlstrom of the Nephilim. Welcome to Cold Brook.”

  While Jay handled talking with the vilge mayor and the rest of the armed crowd, many of whom were starting to break out of their stunned states and were starting to ask questions, Thea led her mother over to meet Jadis and the family.

  “Jadis, this is, ah, m—my mother, Vera,” Thea said as she walked up with her arm linked with her mother’s.

  “Hello,” Vera greeted Dys in a quiet, almost timid voice as she wiped a happy tear from her eyes. “I’ve heard so much about you in Thea’s letters. I’m so pleased to meet you.”

  “Nice to finally meet you, too,” Dys grinned as she flipped the visor up on her helmet. “It really is a pleasure.”

  Vera was a much younger woman than Jadis had expected. She looked like she was in her early forties at most, with only a few ugh lines around the corners of her eyes and mouth. She looked a lot like Thea but had green eyes instead of brown and fuller lips. Vera also had a few freckles spread cutely across her cheeks, which was a feature Thea cked. They were about the same height and had simir builds, but Vera had much longer hair that she wore in a low ponytail.

  Overall, Jadis had to admit that Vera was a very attractive woman. She might even go so far as to say that she was a MILF, though only in her private thoughts. Jadis had the strong suspicion that Thea would melt into the earth below their feet if any jokes were made about how hot her mother was. Though, seeing Vera in person, Jadis was shocked that the woman had never remarried. She truly was a beauty.

  “I’m so sorry we didn’t send notice,” Ai was saying as she shook Vera’s hand. “But with our new airship, we’re faster than most messengers we might send to you.”

  “It’s alright,” Vera smiled warmly at the tall redhead. “I’m just happy that you’ve brought my little soldier back to visit. This is a very good surprise.”

  Jadis knew that Thea had been sending her mother letters and had been getting responses, so she also knew that Vera had been fairly accepting of her daughter’s unusual retionship status. As Vera greeted each of Jadis’ lovers, she did so by addressing each woman by name and giving them a warm hug. She was a bit confused when Severina introduced herself, but she handled the surprise well. She even quietly asked where Alex was.

  “In the wagon,” Syd expined in a hushed tone. “Jay, that part of me over there with Gereon, is still expining the imperial decree. We’ll bring her out in a minute. Oh, but first, this is our good friend Tegwyn. Has Thea written to you about him? He’s a part of Fortune’s Favored and joined us on this trip because—”

  “Because I had hoped to catch a glimpse of a dy rumored to be as beautiful as a spring day,” Tegwyn smoothly cut into Syd’s introduction.

  Surprised by the Dryad’s words, Syd did a double take once she saw the look on the man’s face. Tegwyn’s eyes were locked onto Vera, his expression one of awed adoration. The silly smile he wore most days had transformed into one of focused charm. With a gentleman’s grace, he bowed low at the waist before reaching out to take Vera’s hand. Without taking his gaze away from Vera’s, he pced a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.

  “In that pursuit, I believe I have met with astounding success.”

  “Oh, my,” Vera replied shyly as her cheeks turned pink in a dainty blush.

  Thea’s mother made no move to pull her hand away from Tegwyn as he continued to hold it for a long moment, though her other hand started to comb through her long ponytail in what looked like an old habit.

  “Oh, my, indeed,” Dys and Syd whispered in unison.

  Thea, Jadis noted, was already knee-deep melting into the ground.