God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cain placed a piece of meat in his mouth.

His brows wrinkled together.

'It tastes good, but not as good as hers.'

Regardless, he continued to shovel the food down his throat.

The dwarves on the other hand, really did seem famished as they all stuffed themselves with food and alcohol whilst occasionally flirting with the maids.

"So... I am a bit curious. Cain has explained a bit of your circumstances to me, but I would like to know more." Alvi turned towards Beorstone and spoke respectfully.

Swallowing a mouthful of food, Beorstone turned his gaze to Cain. Seeing him not say anything, he shrugged.

Gungir wiped his mouth and hands then spoke up,

"We are from the Underground City of Lent, in the world of Calistora that roamed the void in the heart of the Aether. We are of the race of {Black-Hearth Dwarves}; beings with darkness and fire burning in our veins."

Alvi nodded, his expression serious,

"I see. So your home world is within the Aether Realm, but from what I can see, you don't look like creatures of the Aether."

Gungir nodded,

"Aye. We are not Aetherborn, but our ancestors fought with the Suns of Aether in the Great War eons ago."

A look of confusion appeared on Alvi's face,

Seeing this, Cain chuckled then turned to Gungir,

"Now that we've got that of the way, I'd like to say to you all once again; Welcome to Valestorm."

He wiped his hands and then leaned forward,

"This place will be your new home henceforth. I hope you find it comfortable."

Baldur shrugged, "I don't like it 'ere. The spirits are too weak."

Beorstone shrugged, "If I get to feast like this everyday, I don't mind."

The others seemed to agree with him.

Cain chuckled, "Good. Then, you'll be working with Alvi jver here from now on. He will provide you with anything you need. In return, I have a request to ask of you."

Beorstone raised his gaze,

"I already know what yer seekin', Cain..."

Cain pursed his lips.

Beorstone guffawed,

"We the Dwarves of Lent are not freeloaders! We'll earn our keep."

Cain heaved a sigh of relief.

'These greedy little gremlins aren't so bad after all.'

"That is good news, then."

He turned to Alvi,

"By working with them, your output should drastically increase."

Alvi wore a strange expression as he nodded,

"Yes, yes. We can discuss in more details later. For now let us eat!"

***

Feeling stuffed, Cain quickly left Alvi's residence after handing the {Black-Hearth Dwarves} over to him.

He let out a sigh.

Night had come over Valestorm once again.

The cool wind of the twilight kissed his skin, opening him up to all kinds of sensations and smells.

He had decided to take a small walk.

Mostly because it would help digest the large meal he had just had, but also because there was someone he had to see and discuss with.

The shadows behind him rustled.

Cain came to a halt right in front of a stone fountain that sat right in the center of a plaza where four roads met.

With a huff, he sat right down on the stones of the fountain. His gaze was caught briefly by the water's surface.

It reflected the dark sky, meaning the water was supposed to be a pitch, black puddle. However, that was not quite true.

It did reflect the darkness of the night sky, but it a twisted, but beautiful way.

The edges of the pool seemed to radiate a faint radiance that highlighted the darkness even more. To make it even more interesting, the patch of sky that has remained parted till this day was leaking moonlight that spread out to create some sort of halo effect that was reflected in the dark pool as well.

It was dark, yes.

But it was also a thing of beauty.

The shadows seemed to peel back and out walked someone else. The person was dressed in hooded garbs, but it did almost nothing to hide their hulking frame.

The individual sat right next to Cain.

The hood was thrown back to reveal a straight faced Hunter.

Cain pursed his lips,

"You insisted on meeting like this... Doesn't this make us both look suspicious?"

Hunter raised a brow,

"To who?"

Cain wanted to say something, but froze.

He sighed and shook his head,

"You... have a point."

Hunter shrugged, "I heard your found a bunch of dwarves. How did that happen?"

Cain's brows furrowed,

"How did you find that out so quickly?"

"News travels fast. Plus, there are a lot of eyes on you."

Cain's expression didn't change.

"I see..."

A flash of radiance appeared around Hunter's hand and he passed it to Cain.

Without looking at it, Cain placed the stack of papers into his inventory.

"The rest of the Blood Moon Sect plan on launching an attack soon. Preparations are being made as we speak."

Cain nodded, "I expected as much. It was a good call to keep an eye on them."

Hunter nodded, "Although I doubt they can do much damage, they have recouped a few of their possess over the past few months. Since the entirety of their territory was left mostly untouched, they've had a lot more time than we've had to strengthen their forces."

Cain rubbed his chin. He could already feel a few strands of stubble growing out.

"I doubt we can convince them to join forces with us, so things have to get bloody this time." Cain muttered.

The surface of the water within the dark fountain behind him rippled as he turned to face Hunter and said, every single word cold and callous, seemingly not containing even a hint of emotion.

"We will strike first and without mercy."

Then he turned away and muttered,

"I honestly would have preferred if things didn't have to come to this, but I believe we can do a way with them now that the champion of their goddess it dead. Doing so will allow us to seamlessly absorb the rest of the city."

Hunter nodded, "That is just how it has to be."

This was a territorial dispute.

One that would determine the future of the City of Zoan, and the entirety of the continent of Aderra on the long run.