"I have jobs for some of you." Steve said.
"What now?" Ptah asked.
"Don't worry, nothing for you." Steve said grimly. "You can go back to wasting our money on sculptures nobody buys if it's all the same to you."
"Then I guess I'll do just that." Ptah stretched his arms and got up before walking to the door. "I might grab a snack on the way down as well. Takes a long time even with the elevator after all."
"Probably should install an immersive portal here as well Steve." Zuri said as he sat down and lifted one leg over the other. "It will take time coming and going from this place without one."
"Especially if you're going to make this a base of operations for yourself." Alex said as she stood at the window and gazed at the view after pulling the blinds back up. "You already have a massive bedroom back at the Manor. Why are you moving into this place?"
"It's a place that even gods in this city vie for." Steve said. "Would be a shame to let it go to waste by keeping it empty. And since our generous patron over there is petrified of heights, I might as well occupy this free space."
"I'm not 'petrified' of them." Ptah grumbled. "I just don't like them."
"Then why haven't you come near the window once?" Ari said as she leant her back against the glass, completely uncaring about the drop behind her.
"...I just chose not to." Ptah said as he put a hand on the doorknob. "Catch you kids later. I look forward to tonight's dinner Makena."
"Just so long as you come out of your room to eat it." The dark skinned girl rolled her eyes. "The amount of times I have to call you to leave your sculpting to come and eat."
"What can I say, art is a very tedious subject. It's easy to lose your senses when you're that engrossed."
"No-one cares about your 'art'." Kai said as she kicked the door closed in Ptah's face. "Just get lost already."
On the other side, Ptah just stared at the door before grumbling.
"What ungrateful, rude children I have." He said before making his way through the apartment to the front door, whereby he left the top floor by use of the elevator.
...
Back in the room, Steve just stared at Kai.
"I have to say, that was a bit uncalled for." Steve said.
"Oh please, like you haven't done worse to him." Kai said. "Remember when you ripped his towel off and kicked him into the bath."
"That was because he wanted the water too cold for the rest of our likings." Steve said. "What you just did may have actually hurt his feelings a bit. Remember, we're still Otherworlders as that is becoming more apparent to further audiences beyond just the people in this room. Realistically, Ptah is the only person of power in this world in our corner and it would not do good to distance him from us. So from now on, let's just try and be nicer to him."
"You say that now?" Ari raised a brow. "Haven't you been fighting with him since the day you met?"
"I've come to understand my responsibilities more." Steve said. "We are opening ourselves before more people now and the situation will become more delicate as time goes on. We need to kill any dissent in its crib before the opinions of our allies can in any way be moved against us. Remember, no matter how much we get along with them and no matter our own personal relationships, in the end it will all come down to 'us' and 'them'. Especially once we open the door to our world." Steve then looked at Alex. "Let's not forget, we too have our own enemies moving behind the scenes."
Everyone became silent for a moment as they digested a meaning in his words only Minecrafters could comprehend.
"No...it can't be." Sunny breathed. "You're not talking about...him."
"Them." Steve corrected. "Tell them Alex."
"Alex?" Makena turned her head to the orange haired girl who was still at the window with her back turned to them. "What's he talking about?"
The vice-captain took a deep sigh before turning around to look at them.
"Remember all those weird sightings from when Steve wasn't with us?" Alex said. "You should remember most of all Zuri. You know, when you went to the world border...what you saw."
"...I try not to think of that Alex. I only just managed to forget it." Zuri said as he shivered a little bit. "I still remember the way it looked at me...and that horrible smile. I travelled non-stop across thousands upon thousands of blocks, day and night without rest, until I returned to our base."
"Yeah well, when I returned to pick all of you up, we saw something." Steve said.
"Hang on." Efe clicked her fingers. "Was that when Alex pulled you outside for a 'word'? Did you go looking for something?"
"I showed Steve something I'd found not long before." Alex said. "Something I didn't tell all of you."
"What did you find?" Noor asked tentatively.
"Footprints." Steve said. "Giant foot prints. Longer and deeper than we are tall."
"...Her." Sunny said while his eyes flickered to Alex, who was looking at him dead serious. "And you're telling us this now?"
"This was a decision that was made by us elders." Steve said as Alex came to stand by him. "At the time, my priority was getting you lot out and somewhere safe. Then sealing that realm off completely. I couldn't take chances with any of that lot around." Steve leaned forwards. "But they are unpredictable. The only thing we can do is put a name on them but that's it. We don't know how they move, nor do we know what their powers are."
"Judging by the stories you've told us, I daresay we can guess a few." Noor said. "But worst of all was the first one you told us Steve...about You-Know-Who."
Steve felt an icy hand clamp over his heart and his breathing intensified a little. He was beginning to become more certain now that this body he occupied was not simply just an avatar. This irrational fear he was feeling every time the subject of that accursed person came up was for sure no emotion or sentiment of his own. Why was he so afraid of the guy?
"I don't know for sure where he is." Steve said. "But I do know he has returned...and is somewhere, plotting in the shadows. I can only hope however that he didn't leave Minecraft."
"That's wishful thinking at best." Alex said. "Let alone confronting him, you couldn't even catch up with him Steve. You only saw him when he allowed you to see him. And if you can cross worlds Steve, what's to say he can't?"
"There is no way of telling." Steve said. "But I'm telling you all now, to be on your guard. I'm going to generate a basic new realm for this trial expedition. We keep our eyes peeled and ears open when we go back in. We cannot underestimate these freaks, under any circumstance. You hear?"
"Yes Steve." Ari said before she cracked her knuckles. "Though I can't say I'm not excited at possibly confronting one of these freaks. After all the stories I've heard and how much they've been able to avoid you, I want to see what happens when I create tunnels in their bodies."
"Don't go looking for trouble." Alex said. "Especially you Ari. After the War Game, there's no more reason to be using explosives and guns. So put them away in the vault."
"Yeah, yeah." Ari waved her off. "I'll do it."
"I don't like how we're just so quickly moving on from the topic." Zuri piped up after having spent the last few minutes in deep thought. "What do we do if we run into any of these people Steve? We can ignore them as much as we want but they will definitely be paying apt attention to us if their tendencies are anything to judge by."
"If you are directly confronted, then you will have no choice but to fight." Steve said. "But try and send an SOS message through the chat to us. I can TP myself and the rest to you, or Ptah can just summon you with the Sceptre. I have not yet tested if we can respawn ourselves in this world and I'm not ready to try. It's best we increase the chances of our survival to the maximum if we can while we're here. But like I said, even though we're the most powerful folks around, keep your eyes peeled. And be on your guard."
"We'll speak no more on this." Alex said, casting a warning glance at the kids before she looked back at Steve. "What were those jobs you said you had for us?"
"These." Steve said as he pushed pieces of paper towards Noor. "You Noor are going to be running the potions side of our brand. I understand you also want to experiment with ingredients of this world as well. But you're going to need help with that once demand starts going up. This right here is a contract which I want you to offer to a certain pair of people who would be perfect for the job."
"Who?" Noor said as she read though the fine print. "For you to be offering things like this, they must be really good."
"The Miach Familia." Steve answered.
"Hmm." Zuri tapped his chin. "Isn't that the really small alchemical Familia who are notoriously impoverished and in debt?"
"Only because the fat bastard Dian Cecht kept poaching Miach's children." Steve said. "And Miach himself is too kind for his own good. His generosity is often the main reason behind his insurmountable debt. But we can use that to our advantage."
"How?" Makena asked.
"Because they were among those that requested to be a part of the League." Steve lifted up a letter he pulled from his inventory. "Though I heavily suspect it had more to do with his captain than he himself, it was one of the nicer and more humble requests. And I can tell you that they are definitely worth the trouble with their talent. I'm just hoping Miach will be compelled to follow his divine nature the same as other gods, and so he will be curious about the potions we create. But if we can swear them into secrecy about the things we do with our own potions, then not only can we increase production so much faster but we also have an opportunity to try and mix in ingredients of this world too for experimentation Both sides experts in their own fields, benefitting from new knowledge. I know Naaza will do anything to help Miach get out of poverty and into better living standards. She should be able to convince him to agree once you lay everything out."
"And how can you be sure of that?" Noor asked.
"It's mostly just rumour at this point..." Steve smirked as he recalled his last conversation with Hestia when he went to visit her. "...but there is strong reason to suspect that there is something going on between the two."
"Is that even allowed?" Sunny asked.
"Don't ask like you don't know what you yourself have been doing." Ari said as she gave the farmer a pointed look. "Or are all those visits to the Demeter Familia just not suspicious at all?"
"...I'm just saying." Sunny grumbled. "A deity and a mortal is quite an unusual pair-up."
"Love has no bounds." Noor sighed as her eyes gained a dreamy look, fantasising about the possible story going on behind the Miach Familia's closed doors. Alex noticed however that Noor looked at Steve too for a moment.
"It really doesn't." Steve said. "In a village not too far from Orario, there lives an old man who used to be an adventurer. He was the only one in his Familia, and not an impressive adventurer at that. But all the same, he and his goddess were in a relationship and a very deep one at that. So matchups between mortals and gods isn't really something new."
"I guess." Kai said she shook one foot. "I mean if there is a goddess who is able to whore herself out to any man or woman in the red light district, then I guess there are some who are capable of actually being in meaningful, full-blown relationships."
"Anyway, we're getting off topic. Off with you Noor." Steve waved her away. "Get it to them and give them the week's deliberation. We should be selling well already by then since we're opening the workshops tomorrow."
"Got it." Noor said as she left the room. "See ya."
The Minecrafters waved her away before pausing as they waited to hear the front door close. Once it did, they went back to conversation.
"And you Zuri." Steve said as held up a letter. "This one is for you."
Zuri approached him and took the letter before he began skimming through. His eyes widened a bit as he identified who it was from.
"Lord Hermes wrote this?" Zuri said. "He's offering information in return for deals on certain items and potions we make...I notice a lot of them have to do with stealth and lethal items as well."
"Hermes and his bunch are more than just information brokers." Steve said. "I want you to pay attention to the information he's offering though." Zuri returned to reading as he read on further.
" The Hikuptah." Zuri said. "It says here that they are a branded cult in the desert city of Warusa...and that's about it. I don't get it. What am I meant to do?"
"The official story is that they are a cult." Steve said. "However, they are in reality a group of expensive slaves that are regularly traded in that damn tyranny capital. They are expert craftsmen and tool and weapon makers, who have an inherent ability to make only the best of the best. All of this done over generations of refinement in their arts because of their religion, and due to being so skilled at what they did, they were enslaved by the city's previous rulers. It was not due to just that though. It was also because of who they worshipped." Steve smiled and waved his hand. "The clue's in the name."
Zuri paid attention to the name of this 'cult', more specifically the end of it.
"...ptah." Zuri said. "Our Ptah?"
"The correct way of saying their name is in actuality, Hwt-Ka-Ptah." Steve said. "It means the House of the Soul of Ptah. These people worshipped Ptah since ancient times, when civilisations in the desert first started to bloom. Ptah doesn't really have many friends in his Pantheon, so when those gods descended into the desert nations, they began to overpower the religions that worshipped Ptah, throwing all kinds of dirt on his name. Eventually it dwindled down to just small enough to be lawfully branded a cult by the rulers who ruled the city in the names of other gods of Ptah's Pantheon. Anybody caught being a part of that faith is automatically enslaved. But because Ptah is a god of craftsmen, these people dedicated themselves to learning and perfecting many crafts. Smiths, tanners, leather workers, sculptors, construction, anything you can name."
"And you want them to join our Familia." Alex said, the realization dawning on all of them.
"According to Hermes, there is a minimum of about a hundred of them." Steve said. "The worshippers themselves keep in contact with one another as much as they can to preserve the faith, but using his special powers and authority, Hermes managed to get their names not long after Ptah descended."
"Why would he do that?" Efe asked. "That would have been way before you met him Onii-chan."
"Probably thought it might come in use someday." Steve shrugged. "Ptah is not so popular down here but he is famous amongst the gods. I guess Hermes didn't want to miss out on an opportunity if there was even a chance of one producing itself at some point. Hermes is gambler of chances as much as he is of money. Now he's offered the names of all the slaves he could get and the names of their masters in return for a special contract on those items he wants for his Familia." Steve put down a piece of paper in front of him.
"How did he even find out about those though?" Alex asked. "That information was submitted only to the Guild for screening."
"They can't hide everything the way we can. Furthermore, Hermes is much smarter than Royman." Zuri rubbed his chin. "He must have been able to read between the lines and figured out the kinds of business we really want to deal in." The Sage then eyed the contract Steve had put in front of him. "But is it a risk worth taking Steve? How do we know these slaves would want to join our Familia?"
"It is said of them that they love Ptah more than they love their own fathers." Steve said. "We'll make do with what we can get."
"And how do you plan to get these slaves then?" Alex asked. "We can't just take them can we?"
"Actually we can." Steve smiled. "Thanks to the meddling of a certain goddess recently in the Kaios Desert, Warusa is in a bit of disarray and turmoil. Nobody will notice a few missing slaves...or dead slave masters. Whichever of those people want to serve in our Familia Zuri, do whatever it takes to free them."
"How would I convince them though?"
"Hopefully you won't need to." Steve said. "News of our works and achievement is spreading like wildfire across the entirety of the map. And with how many merchants come between here and the Kaios Desert, it wouldn't surprise me if there are already some of those slaves planning a revolt or something to break out of their chains and finally be with their god who has finally descended. It'll be all worth the trouble if we could get at least ten decent workers into our Familia. And anyway, we have infinite resources. Lending out a few items like that is worth the chance."
"...Where can I find Hermes then?" Zuri asked as he picked up the contract.
"Someplace where Ptah committed a certain crime not long before you lot came." Steve said. "Just ask the bald idiot. I'll take over the enchanting stands while you're gone. Say goodbye to whomever you want to say goodbye to tonight and leave for the desert at dawn." Steve slapped the table. "That's all for now. All of you go. I have an apartment to clear up, and a portal to install."
The rest of the Ptah Familia bowed their heads in acknowledgement and left the room, leaving Steve to his thoughts.
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