Checking in on the tribe.

Will felt recharged, motivated and ready to get the busywork done as quickly as possible to go back home. He had important business to get back to.

That very next Sunday, early in the morning, he stepped through the portal in the basement and entered the other word. The basement on the other side was still a near perfect replica of the original, only there was a tall, muscled man with pale pink skin standing by the staircase. He was wearing nothing but a black loincloth, had big, black, leathery wings on his back, a long tail that ended in something like an arrowhead, and small horns coming from his forehead.

“Mazan,” Will spoke as he stepped out of the portal. “Good morning.”

Mazan the incubus smiled and bowed. “Lord William! Good morning, my lord! We’ve been expecting you.”

Maybe three weeks still weren’t enough to call it a routine, but Will had agreed to visit the incubi and succubi at least once a week on Sunday mornings.

Will smiled. “You’re in a good mood. Have things been going well around here?”

“Yes, my lord. Azazel can tell you more.”

“I’m asking you, aren’t I? How’s the score between you and Inoran?”

Mazan grinned proudly. “I’ve won three of our five spars this week, my lord.”

Will chuckled. “Is that so? That’s good, but I get the feeling there’s something more.”

Mazan couldn’t contain the goofy grin anymore. “W-Well, you see, my lord… My wife and I are having a child!”

Will blinked. “Felie’s pregnant?”

“Yes! And it’s all thanks to you, my lord! It’s thanks to your help that we can finally sustain ourselves and start thinking of bringing new life here.”

Will sighed. “I’m just coming over to make sure you guys are doing okay. Don’t give me too much credit.” Mazan looked like he was going to protest, but Will didn’t feel like hearing more praise, so he quickly continued. “Still, I’m happy for you. Be sure to continue growing strong so you can protect your family, alright?”

“Yes, my lord!”

Will gave the big man a pat on the shoulder and walked past him and up the stairs.

‘You’re getting better at dealing with them.’

‘I don’t like being looked at as a wise, powerful leader, especially when I’m not. But they’re still people at the end of the day, and you and I are responsible for them. I’ll try to act the part, at least.’

Will walked into the lobby of the building. Again, structurally a perfect replica of the one he was living in, but this one had been altered in a few ways. The windows were barred with wooden planks, a barricade made of sofas and tables stood behind the front door, likely as a last line of defense. Slowly but surely, the tribe was turning an apartment complex into their fortress.

He stepped outside and the dry air hit him immediately. The view still hadn’t changed from the dry, brown, rocky wasteland. Other things, however, had changed.

The… fortress was now surrounded by a palisade of slender, slightly crooked logs that were no doubt the straightest they could find. Will waved hello to the two succubi who were guarding the main gate, and the two women waved back excitedly.

“Where’s Azazel?” he asked them.

“In the back, my lord!” one of the succubi answered. “They’re checking on the well.”

Will walked around the building and found Azazel, Xal and Inoran inspecting the newest, and perhaps most important addition yet to their base. He also found that a part of the stone well had fallen off, which was the reason the three men were inspecting it.

“What happened there?” Will asked.

“Ah, my lord!” The three men bowed. “Welcome back.”

Will waved for them to relax, then once again glanced at the well.

“A-About this, y-you see…” Azazel, the de facto leader of the tribe, usually a composed and eloquent man, seemed totally ashamed at the moment. “You b-brought us those bags of cement so we could b-build our new well, and yet… we… seemed to have failed to make something sturdy.”

“We’ve never worked with this material, after all,” Xal said, scratching the back of his head.

“We mixed it with sand and water, as per your instructions,” Inoran added, “but… we were afraid to use too much of the valuable cement and used too much sand and water.”

“Those aren’t excuses,” Azazel said, hanging his head. “We’re ashamed of our ineptitude, my lord…”

“What are you talking about? I’ve never mixed cement in my life. I couldn’t have done any better,” Will told them, laughing it off. “And cement isn’t that valuable. You may not have it around here, but it’s cheap enough to buy at any hardware store in my world. Do you have another bag left or do you need a resupply?”

His casual demeanor helped the three incubi relax. Will stretched his arms and rotated his shoulders before he went up to the rubble and began to clear it up.

“M-My lord, you don’t need to…!”

“It’s fine, Azazel,” Will said. “I need you to give me the report on how this week went, anyway. We might as well get something else done in the meantime.”

The three incubi shared a look and began to help Will, moving stones out of the way, bringing the other bag of cement as well as the container to make the mix.

“So?” Will asked. “How did training go this week?”

“Small advancements, but we’re seeing some improvements,” Azazel explained. “After what happened, our people are taking everything more seriously. It also helps that we have you and lady Ishtar as leaders.”

“We haven’t done much,” Will said.

“I would disagree, but regardless of what you have done, having a lord to work for has its advantages. The promise of a better future, the will to live up to expectations, the danger of sanction and punishment when not meeting goals… All those things contribute to every individual fulfilling their tasks. It becomes a matter of their own well-being as well as the well-being of the tribe.” Azazel smiled bashfully. “At least… that’s what our old chief used to tell me.”

It made sense to Will. He was the type to study the day before the exam, when the danger of failing was the closest. And working a job when you know you’re sure to be paid makes people have to do the bare minimum, at least. Maybe it was something like that.

“He always expected you to take over for him,” Inoran said, laughing. “Ariana might be stronger, but even she says she’s not cut out to be a leader. She never challenged the previous chief.”

“She wants her freedom,” Azazel said, then smiled. “And I can’t blame her. She’s out there, exploring and scouting. Then she’ll come back and spend the rest of the day locked in her room with her oni.” The incubus shook his head, chuckling. “Wish I could be like her.”

“...”

It was that comment that left Will thinking. So far, his dealing with Azazel had been kept to strictly business. The incubus gave Will the rundown of how things were going, what they needed and the plans they had to continue surviving, growing and prospering. It was that comment that made Will realize he didn’t really know Azazel.

Not as a person.