God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Upon stepping through the {Spatial Gate}, Cain and Blaze arrived at Valestorm in less time it would take to blink.

Having been gone only about a few days, nothing much had changed.

There were a few workers lugging around huge bricks used for construction.

The streets were littered with people who had taken up shop in the hopes that they could sell their catches of the day or various wares...

This means of trade had become rather common now that the Beastmen and Lightslayers had moved in to Valestorm.

Most of the items, weapons and equipment the system gave periodically were usually not well suited for the individual who received it.

As such, a trading system was set up, where one could exchange the items they had no need for with mana shards, or purchase items and weapons they were in need of with mana shards.

Surprisingly, the system in charge of regulating this trade was a body of Pilgrims thst were semi-independent from the Council.

And from what Cain has heard, they were very secretive, with most of the top brass being recluses that loved being in the shadows.

'I wonder if they were involved in the battle...'

He shook his head. There was no need to wonder. He was going to see someone with the information he wanted after all.

He and Blaze continued walking down the main road that led from one end of Valestorm to the other.

Then they branched off the main road ontobtje one that led to the Temple of Sands.

After walking for a while, they arrived at the doors.

Cain felt a bit uneasy staring at the slightly familiar doors.

The image of Balangol, as well as the statues that indicated his presence was still there seemed lackluster at best.

Blaze seemed to notice the same thing. He couldn't help but ask,

"Is this how all Celestials act? To think he would abandon his people because of what happened. Rather petty if you ask me. " He said, a look of disgust on his face.

Recalling the apocalyptic battle he had had with Balangol, Cain could only shrug,

"The gods apparently have egos as large as their domains. Who can possibly understand their thoughts." He said. Experience new tales on empire

There was a brief moment of silence, and then, the doors flung open, surprising them both.

Standing there with a calm smile on her stunningly gorgeous face, Abigail gave them a curt bow,

"Didn't think I would be seeing you so soon, Cain."

Her gaze paused of Blaze for a moment.

Clearing his throat, Blaze extended a hand forward,

"Call me Blaze..."

Taking his hand, Abigail gave him a polite nod as well, then turned her attention back to Cain,

"So, I am assuming you came for Gilead..."

Cain nodded, then smiled,

"I'd like to ask for a favor."

Abigail raised a brow, but said nothing else.

She turned around and beckoned for them to follow.

Walking into the temple, Cain noticed it was a fair bit more lit than it had been since his previous visit.

Since the god of the black Sands had departed, the shifting sands that lined the walls were gone as well. The aura of supernatural mysticism that shrouded the place felt far weaker as well.

All in all, the temple felt empty.

Even though he had defeated Balangol and destroyed the vessel he had used to reappear in the physical plane, that didn't mean the god had died.

No, he had simply just gone back to where he had been.

He could still influence those who's divinity he had taken.

However, he chose not to.

Cain couldn't tell if it was the result of a bruised ego or something more.

In the end, they walked on in silence until they arrived in front of a door that led to a sparsely decorated office room.

Seeing Gilead dressed in more casual clothes seated behind a heap of papers and writing materials caused Cain to feel bad for him.

However, Gilead himself didn't seem to be affected by this. Instead, he methodically processed the paperwork reading, signing and even stamping them one by one.

Cain paused. When dealing with a vast number of people, there would undoubtedly be some form of paperwork involved.

In that case...

'Who handles all my paperwork...'

Cain felt a wave of embarrassment flood him. Fortunately for him, he wasn't granted the time to think about it too much.

Gilead pulled his nose out of the papers and glanced over.

He motioned for them to take a seat, which they did gladly.

Meanwhile, Abigail moved to stand behind Gilead, the small smile never leaving her face.

After exchanging a brief greeting, Gilead got right to the point,

"So why are you here?"

Cain smiled, "As straightforward as ever, I see..."

Gilead shrugged, "As you can see, I have a lot of work on my hands."

Cain nodded, "Then, I'll keep it brief."

He paused for a moment,

"Before I get to my main subject, I'd like to ask you a question..."

Gilead's brows furrowed. Then he simply nodded his head, prompting Cain to continue,

"I believe there is an organization behind the commerce of Valestorm that has been independent of the council even when Kaelin and Duke Blackwater were around."

The smile on Abigail's face disappeared, and Gilead's furrowed brows turned into a tight frown.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Sensing the change, Blaze gave Cain a glance.

Ignoring the changes in their expressions, Cain continued,

"According to my sources, they run the markets while you guys run the men. And they give you certain quotas every month. Is that correct?"

Gilead rested his elbows on the desk in front of him and leaned forward. With a slow nod, he confirmed,

"Indeed, that is the case."

Cain raised a brow, "But I also understand that they had their own fighters. Did they participate in the battle?"

Gilead paused for a moment, then sighed.

He sat up and folded his arms, leaning his back against the chair.

"No, no they didn't. However, they endorsed it."

Cain raised a brow, "Endorsed ot how?"

"Where do you think all our equipment, ammunition, weapons and the likes come from?"

Cain frowned, "I thought everything came from Wulf..."

Gilead shook his head,

"Wulf was a good craftsman, perhaps the best in the entire Valestorm. But he was not the only one. Sure, he sold his creations, but do you really think a single man can take care of the needs of so many thousand?"

Seeing Cain fall silent, Gilead sighed then grimaced,

"The details are a bit convoluted, and explaining it would take a bit of time."

He turned to glance at Abigail.

She sighed, then nodded.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Gilead dropped the pen in his hand, then sat up straight.

"Even before Valestorm was a thing, there were several people who acquired special skills and spells that weren't suited for combat, but were rather useful nonetheless. Though they could not fight the beasts, they could create the weapons that could."

He paused for a moment then looked down at a piece of paper on his hand,

"Balangol could provide us with weapons and armor, but doing so cost a decent amount of mana shards to acquire. So, instead of doing that, it was far cheaper and easier to create the weapons and armor here. Even the construction tools and materials for construction could be acquired here..."

"But the temple didn't have what it took. So instead..."

Cain completed the sentence,

"You all outsourced the talent to help you make your instruments of battle."

Then he frowned, "But wouldn't it have been easier to just absorb them Iinto the temple? You know, make them a part of you..."

Gilead raised two fingers,

"There were two problems with that..."

He put down the first one,

"Everyone under Balangol's banner at the time could not go against him. Not even these talented individuals. However, the god of the sands and death is not known for his love of crafting. We needed his permission to absorb anyone into the temple."

"The second one is more straightforward..."

Gilead tapped his fingers on the table as he spoke,

"They didn't want to join us."

Cain chuckled, "Ignoring the first reason, even if they refused, I believe force was always an option Kaelin would be willing to employ."

Gilead smiled wryly,

"Well, force would have worked. If the people in question were sane."

"Sane?" Blaze couldn't help but say.

Gilead nodded, "To put it bluntly, those guys are insane. They didn't care, and wouldn't join the temple even when threatened with death. At first, Duke was willing to call their bluff, but that backfired rather quickly."

He sighed, then continued,

"In the end, an agreement was reached; they would establish their own agency and could do whatever they wanted with it. In return, they had to produce a certain quota of weapons, armor and ammunition for us. They also had to give us a portion of their mana shards, although this might change very soon."

Cain nodded. He understood rather well.

After all, all the advantages the council had was quickly disappearing.

Balangol was no longer backing them, and these people, whoever they were, had the mind to start growing their own military force, not even bothering to keep it under wraps.

That meant they were confident...

Confident that the current council couldn't do a damn thing to them...

Gilead nodded, "Seems like you understand our plight."

Abigail wore a bitter smile,

"It might not seem like it, but we have a lot of work on our hands."

Cain was silent for a moment.

Sensing something, Blaze, who had been engrossed in his own thoughts suddenly turned to the side.

He shivered, 'Shit...'

Sporting a smile that was nothing short of terrifying, especially with his demonic features, Cain stared Gilead right in his eyes and said;

"If what you say is true, then I have an offer you can't refuse. But before that, I need names..."