“So, er, what do I owe you for all this?” Vick asked as he watched Ret dusting the floors. Everything else was already done, and they’d managed to save money on glass, as Retvik had collected all the shards of glass and melted them down again, before shaping them and putting the panes back in place.
“What do you mean?” Retvik asked back.
“You came from your fancy flagship to help some guy rebuild his pub. I owe you for materials at least.”
Retvik shrugged. “You do not owe us anything.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Vick blinked in confusion. “But you did all of this for me!”
“You and Letharus. But you do not owe us.”
“Why not?” Vick gestured around. “You completely fixed the place! The only thing I need is literally just new cushions for the chairs and a replacement for some of my barrels and glasses.”
Retvik shrugged some more. “None of this was expensive for me, even on my awful Deathven-based income. It is the least I can do to help you and Letharus get back on his feet.”
“Are you SURE you don’t want anything in return?” Vick kept on asking. “I ought to pay in some way.”
“You do not need to.”
“I do! I’m indebted to you and want to pay off that debt.”
Even more shrugs. “Vick, you do not owe anyone anything when it comes to fixing up your place. You live in the Ventra Expanse with few safe spots and even fewer rules, but there is an underlying agreement that beings help each other and leave each other alone, and those Voidborns ignored that agreement. The least us Thantir can do is also follow that same Ventran unwritten law.
“But also, Letharus is an ally of ours, and we would never leave an ally of ours in trouble. So of course we came here to help.”
“I get that, and I do appreciate it. But I want to do something in return for you. Somewhat… ugh…” Vick rubbed his head. “I… should have been able to deal with those Voidborns. I occasionally have Voidborn visitors, but those three were utter bastards. Letharus saved my life and you’ve saved my livelihood. I feel like I should do SOMETHING for you.”
“Like what?”
“I… I don’t know… You run an entire sect, I run a pub. I feel…”
“You are going to say you feel it is not enough. And I get that feeling as well. It is never enough.”
“Yeah, basically. You think little Ret over there feels the same way?”
Retvik glanced up to where Ret was. He had finished sweeping and was now talking to Kaytee.
“Weirdly, no. I think Ret is quite happy where he is right now. According to Kaytee, you and I had similar lives. Both of us were Generals, both of us married someone called Gath and we both fought off an angry deity in a rather direct manner. But we rode on the strength of our family name. We are Rethianoi. Powerful, almost unstoppable beings, even when we were mortal. Ret had… none of that.”
Vick suddenly sighed. “That name, ‘Gath’, is the only other thing I remember. He was my dearly beloved partner and I don’t even remember what he looked like.”
“I get that feeling too.”
“Did Ret have a Gath?” Vick asked. “We both did.”
“No. His little sibling Relkir has a partner called Gath.”
Vick nodded, but paused for a second. “You said ‘has’. Present tense. Is Ret’s universe still alive?”
“Somehow, yes.”
“Have you been there?”
“No. It is a very delicate universe, that was attacked by a stupidly powerful Corruption. According to Ret, the Unending Ancient One promised to spare their universe, in exchange for the Life Goddess Sini and any demi-gods going into exile, and…” Retvik hesitated. “Well… it was bad. I do not like thinking about it.”
“Too much pain in your memories?”
“Yes.”
“Probably for the best that I don’t remember…” Vick sighed. “Also, I’m still insisting that I pay you in some way.”
“You really do not-”
“I want to pay you in some way. Maybe I could work for you? I don’t know if you Thantir are recruiting maybe?”
“We are not hiring, no…”
“Ah.”
Retvik thought for a moment, then glanced over to Ret again. Ret was talking to Letharus currently and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
“There is something you can do, actually.”
“Oh?”
“Us Thantir are slowly getting into Corruption Purging, on top of our duties as a Purification Sect. And there are two ways you can help. Firstly, you get people coming in, talking about things. If you hear anything that needs purging, you can give us a call. The second thing is, us Thantir do not really hold any territories outside of the Athata Rift. If I am to send teams into the Ventra Expanse for Corruption Purging, would we be able to use your place as a small pit stop? Just as somewhere we can pause between long trips.”
Vick immediately smiled. “I can do both those things, no problem. I already do that for these three cult-less Voidborns that pop by occasionally.”
“Is one of them Theocydes?”
Vick grunted. “He used to join them, yeah. But I told him to fuck off when I found out about what he did to Letharus.”
“Very understandable. But yes, I do think your offer is great.”
Both Retvik and Vick smiled at each other. But the conversation was interrupted by Kaytee.
“Are we done here?” Kaytee asked. “Because you two plums have been standing there, talking, for fucking ages.”
Ret and Letharus also came over.
“I am getting messages from Kuta, asking me when we will be heading back to Savepoint. We have been here for a while. And that weird telepathic headache thing is apparently gone.”
Retvik glanced at his wristband. “Oh dear. We really have been here for a while… Vick, Letharus, do either of you need anything?”
“I think we’re good, actually. Letharus and I are going to get some rest before I re-open tomorrow anyway.”
“Alright!” Retvik beamed. “Job done, Ret, Kaytee, let us head home too.”
“About time…” Kaytee moaned. “About fucking time…”