No rest for the wicked

The party was understandably in shock after that revelation. Silvia was fuming and horrified at the same time. Natalia was seemingly taking it well with some dark humor, though I am not certain how much of that was just for show. Oliver was lost in thought, and Grutrod was comforting Silvia.

The silence hung in the air for a long time. It was eventually Oliver who broke it. "I believe I understand how this 'Gaze into Fate' works." He said neutrally. "That is the fate of another world, one without your lord Moged-Ruun, yes?" I nodded. "So then, that is not guaranteed to be the fate here." He put on a steeled expression. "Now that I have my arm back, I may truly be of value in a fight again. And with your warning, we can properly prepare to fight the monsters that will come." He turned to me and gave a slight bow. "I would not dare to ask your help again, but know that I shall be ready to come to your aid should you need it."

'Perfect. People like him are always an easy to get but still quite valuable pawn. If I play my cards right, I could most certainly get a queen-level game piece in him.' I gave a friendly chuckle. "I am afraid I may have to ask for a slight favor already." I imitated a nervous scratch of the back of my head. Oliver was already at attention, Natalia was listening closely, and the elf and dwarf pair were listening with slight suspicion. "Well... It's embarrassing to say but when I first was gifted with my gods power... Well, let's say I was far less brawny. And my clothes did not survive my growth." I glanced to the side to play into the embarrassment. "Problem is, I don't have anything to trade for a room for the night."

Silvia scoffed, "I was expecting you to ask for clothes with that story. If your clothes were destroyed, how come you're wearing that suit?" She gave me a skeptical glare.

"This suit was a gift from the young lady Normn, for assisting her against some assailants on the road." I replied courteously.

Natalia was quick to speak, "So you were in Millana's carriage!" Her excitement changed to a look of slight shock as she continued thinking. "Wait, if your clothes were destroyed, and she gave them to you after, does that mean..." Her whole face turned red.

As Silvia too turned red, Grutrod spoke up, "Alright, what the man's been through in such regards 'ain't our business." He turned to me. "We'll cover for yee tonight as repayment for the future visions, after that yee should try 'nd find y'ur own way 'o gettin' money."

I gave a friendly smile and chuckle, "Of course, I do not plan of leaching off of you." With that, the most major of conversations was delt with. There was some small talk after, but soon it was time to retire to our respective rooms. True to his word, Grutrod paid for my room. I thanked him before taking the room key and leaving them for the night.

I entered my room, though I felt no need to sleep. I guess Spirits don't sleep. I felt somewhat bad for partially wasting Grutrod's money, but it did give me the chance to investigate two last things I hadn't been able too. The first thing I did after locking the door behind me, was enter my domain.

#####

I awoke in a black void, akin to when I first met those demented sisters. This time, however, I could feel the air around me calling to me, begging to command it. I let forth some of my mana, and land began to form around me. The land twisted and bent, forming into whatever I craved.

I had an idea in mind. Something fitting of the god of growth. I didn't want it to just be some lush sanctuary, but a place of true growth. One where there was no pruning or organizing, simply an expanse driving by an unending influence of accelerated growth. The land was sturdy yet wet, almost like a stiff sponge. I could not bring creatures here, but I could concentrate the mana in the air to cause plants to grow. I made no preference for plants, anything that survived my world of supercharged expansion would have a place here.

When I was done, it looked quite like I pictured it. A dark, dingy place, that was still lively and, in a way, beautiful. Vines and shrubs covered every inch of ground, and grew into and onto towering trees, that stretched taller than any of their castles would. Nothing carnivorous had grown, but that was most likely just because nothing they could eat had either. While the place could have been hideous to others, to me it felt like a perfect home.

I spent some time admiring my work, walking through this jungle I had made. The plants shifted towards me as I walked along, moving closer to me as if to catch rays from the sun. I placed my hand upon one plant that got in front of me, and it glowed a deep green as it grew further. It seemed I was not the only existence that felt I belonged here. Despite the wonder of the place I had made, I had something I had to do back in my room.

#####

As I opened my eyes again, I was sitting in a meditative pose upon the bed in my room. I had one last ability I needed to try out. I opened the HUD in order to look over it.

Immaculate Conception (active) (light): Creates a creature of a species that the User has dominion over (Current list: Spirit, Abomination). The creature will have stats equal to (10*mana spent)% of the users base stats, and will have abilities depending on the creature made. Mana spent to make a creature with this ability will not recharge until the creature dies. The creature will have a bonus +300% intensity to abilities of the elements in this ability (Due to the User's divine power, this ability is also treated as having (life)), as well as a 33% resistance to said elements.

I considered what I needed from a minion. I needed to keep up my facade for now, and an Abomination definitely didn't sound good for that. I settled on making a Spirit, now the debate was on how much mana to spend. I could not support any that were too strong, as I needed my mana myself as well, so I settled on 2 mana, as that was just under 10% of my mana and still gave it 20% of my stats.

As I activated the ability, and an intricate mark appeared on the floor. It glowed the same sickly green as my eyes, and radiated my divine power. Soon, a figure floated up from it, before the mark disappeared. The figure wore priestly robes and had rapped hands, though it seemed to have no body beneath them. As it looked at me, I saw it wore a blank mask, and got an idea.