Arkay was confused more than anything else.
He, Retvik and Litvir had met the Overlord in person, despite the Overlord hating Arkay in a rather one-sided way, and now suddenly they were discussing what the Overlord had said alongside the superior members of the Thantir. The Tattered Navigators were of course present, but they had Elkay, Psiksi and Saahro present as well, for extra advice.
“I still just say you should take it!” Saahro exclaimed. “This is the opportunity of a life time! You can go out there and explore and save lives and do whatever you want, while occasionally being told by Deathven to go somewhere in particular!”
“Yes, we get that. But we feel like we would be abandoning you,” Retvik sighed. “Our expertise is sorely needed on the regular.”
“We can do any job that you can do!” Vikalos was also on team “explore and kick ass”. He seemed very excited about it. “You three have been given an opportunity to do even more amazing things! In the mean time, we’ll continue to look after this. We’ve done so for a long time, Itaviir, Galyn and I all know what to do, we will keep everything going smoothly.”
“Plus, you have Nyssi and her team, as well as myself, if we need anything Synaisthyn-y,” Elkay added. “We are not a small team any more. We will cope no problem, even with increased traffic. And when it comes to telepathy, we have both Kuta and Nyssi to help out.”
“We could also, I dunno, hire more people?” Psiksi asked. “I mean, you guys haven’t been hiring or anything. I’m sure people would love to join the team.”
Elkay nodded in agreement. “We did not even hire anyone for added protection after Litvir was attacked by the Mindeater. But we would only need a couple of hires to fill the gaps you three would leave. A couple of extra guards to cover when Itaviir and Galyn are not patrolling.”
“I suppose we could… But I can’t think of anyone right now…”Arkay muttered.
Litvir though shrugged. “We could ask Vick and Letharus if they want to do a little shift work for some extra money. And maybe we could ask the Phantai or the Pentathax if they have anyone itching for a new job. I suppose that those Matanaiai that Akah likes, some of them might want to do a guard shift or two.”
“Would be a lot of paper work…” Retvik grunted.
“We help you with the paper work anyway!” Vikalos exclaimed. “And, in all honesty, I could probably convince a few Justar folks to join us. Really, all we need is a couple of guards and a receptionist or greeter, and I am certain we’ll find someone.”
“We also don’t need an overpowered amalgam deity here because we have Elkay!” Psiksi giggled.
Elkay rolled his eyes, then nodded. “We will be perfectly fine. We can cope. And Vikalos, Itaviir and Galyn retaking control of the Thantir is perfectly natural, because they founded this sect. They know exactly what to do and we will transfer duties smoothly.”
Arkay glanced around in confusion. “So you all really are fine with us buggering off and doing random adventure shit? Because, like, I don’t want to leave you all unprotected. It’s literally my job to look after this place, since I’m the Guardian of the Thantir.”
“Of course we are!” Saahro explained. “Hidden Trios, they ALL do stuff like this. The whole point of the Hidden Trio is that you go off on adventures and do awesome stuff. Sure, you’re doing it in the name of Deathven, but you’re doing it for every friendly Decay Lord and Decayling alive. Actual, genuine heroes saving the innocent and protecting the space between universes, making even more actual change for the better. You’ll also be, like, one step below Overlord himself.”
“I do not really want to be Deathven’s lackey in person…” Litvir muttered. “He did send a giant snake to try and kill me and he fucked Arkay up majorly.”
Retvik though just shrugged. “When he spoke to us yesterday, he did seem genuinely sorry.”
“Oh, he was. I even got a good look into his thoughts. Deathven wants us mobile and ready as soon as possible. Because he recognises our sheer power and wants to stay on our good side. Also, he did… somewhat bribe us.”
Arkay tutted. “He offered me a ship just after I technically bought a damn ship.”
Saahro and Vikalos both gasped.
“He offered you a ship?” Vikalos asked.
“Yeah. Whatever we wanted. Bribed us with some other stuff too…” Arkay trailed off briefly. “Well, I was saying the other day that I wanted to go on holiday with my two babes, and I suppose I did just get all of that thrown at my lap. Just feels… a little weird.”
“Actually,” Retvik countered, our holiday would involve our old mentors taking over while we’d be away anyway. This is not too different. And getting Deathven to give us a very cool ship like the Travellers have would be interesting.”
Arkay sighed. “I just feel like we’re abandoning you guys.”
Galyn shrugged. “We survived for a long time before a lot of you joined the Thantir. And at the same time, you can always pop back and visit on the regular. You’ll have a ship fast enough to do so. I’m certain that other Hidden Trios also have places they go back to, since you get a little bored spending all your time on one ship.”
Litvir and Retvik both shrugged.
“They all bring up good points.”
“They do, yes!” Litvir smiled. “Well, I am more willing to do this now. We might even have fun.”
“Oh, I forgot about the fun part…” Arkay frowned, then shook his head. “Alright, I guess if you’re all fine with this, I’m fine with this too. But I want to have another private chat with Retvik and Litvir here before we say yes or do anything or whatever.”
“Sure thing, little one!” Vikalos smiled. “Itaviir, Galyn and I need to have a little chat as well, to work out of we need to hire anyone. Since I have a few ideas.”
“Do you need us for anything else?” Psiksi asked. “Because I kinda got stuff to do.”
“We are all done here,” Retvik smiled. “Thank you for your advice, you may all leave.”
Everyone did as they were told, but Litvir and Arkay remained in place.
“Hey, you two?” Arkay lowered his voice. “Before we accept this, can you join me on the pier, in the sad spot, in a couple of hours?”
“Of course, Arkay! Any reason why?”
Arkay frowned a little. “I… I have something I want to talk to you about, I just need a little time to sort my thoughts out.”
Retvik patted Arkay on the head. “No worries, my dear. We shall see you later.”
“Thanks…” Arkay muttered as he teleported away, clearly with a lot on his mind.