When Gavin awoke he was in a comfortable cot in a mudbrick room. Sam was asleep in her armour beside him, still covered in grime. Light spilled into the room through a row of small windows bathing them in a warm yellow glow. The small space was heavily decorated with flowers and plants, creeping vines grew up through the mortar between bricks and a fountain drizzled cool clear water into a basin in the corner.

  There were a few notifications in the edge of his vision that he bought up to look at

  [You have died]

  [You have been targeted with: Revivify]

  [Revivify] will rebind your soul to your body and heal the user.]

  [You have been returned to life and your body healed of all wounds]

  [Title: Defender of the weak]

  [Sacrificing your life in the attempt to aid another has marked your soul. Your soul has adapted to keep you alive through severe wounds. Your [Endurance] attribute has increased. When you take near fatal damage a last burst of healing energy will automatically heal your wounds]

  "Uhh. I died died?"

  “You did.” Said a serene voice that reminded Gavin of songbirds in spring.

  Gavin looked up to see a tall willowy woman wearing a light summer dress, freckles sprinkled lightly across her skin, with wavy red hair that looked like burnished sunset.

  “How am I alive?”

  “Your friend there fetched one of my clergy to save your other companion, but on her return you were the only one who could be brought back to the living.”

  “Sven-?”

  “Is dead, his soul has been claimed by my brother.”

  “But I died too, how come I didn't have my soul claimed?”

  “As your soul binds more fully to your body it lingers longer in this world before passing on to the next, my priest arrived in time to rebind your soul and bring life back into your body.”

  “Thanks” Gavin grumbled, though it felt like ash in his mouth.

  “People who protect the lives of others, especially those who cannot protect themselves always have a place in my house.”

  “Just doing my job” his voice cracked.

  “Yes, you were, which is why my clergy are more than happy to do theirs. Take this, it will be of use to you in your times to come.”

  Florrin presented Gavin with a small red-orange orb with a small flick of her wrist, like a magician pulling a card from air.

  [Item]

  [Soul affinity: Life Transference]

  “Why?”

  “Why?”

  “Why do I get rewarded while everyone around me dies? I couldn't save Sven, but now I have a new magic power to come back to life if im killed again and I’m being showered with gifts from gods, When I get out of here they’ll even pay me for it. It’s not fair.”

  “The world is not fair, you know that” Florrin said wanly, her expression sallow, giving gavin a small impression of the injustice she felt as well.

  “What's the point of going out and killing all these monsters if everyone still going to die? Sven had kids, now they’ve got no one.”

  “They have family who can-”

  “They don’t have a dad anymore” he said, voice rising, anger spilling out as he continued “that's something they shouldn't have to deal with.”

  “This world is full of families with missing parents, they have learned to persevere.”

  “That is absolute bullshit.”

  “Then do something about it.”

  “I tried.”

  “Gavin, Why do we fall, sir?” the goddess of life asked, her voice imitating a british accent as her form faded leaving him and Samania alone in the room.

  “So we can learn to pick ourselves up” Gavin said, deflating with a sigh, his head hitting his pillow. “How is it you know batman?”

  “What’s batman?” Sam said groggily from her chair.

  “A legend from my world, he's a rich guy that goes around punching poor people instead of using his vast wealth to improve the city's abysmal mental health system.”

  “Right. I don't think I want to know more than that. Are you good to walk?”

  “I feel okay” Gavin said, sitting up to inspect his naked chest, a small puckered scar dimpling his breastbone.

  Swinging his legs out of bed he stood up, completely naked.

  “God dammit.” he said, pulling the blanket over himself.

  “Blasphemy in a temple, that’s not generally a wise idea” came a friendly voice from the doorway.

  “You saw too? What happened to my clothes?” he groaned.

  “They were ruined and had to be destroyed. Sam informed me you have a spare set in a dimensional space power?”

  “Yeah, give me a moment” he opened his inventory and equipped the fresh set of clothes.

  “You really should invest in some more armour, master Gavin.”

  “He’s right, that's the first thing we’re getting you when we get back to the city” Sam said.

  “Let’s go then, I've done enough moping for today, thanks for saving my life mate, also tell your god I take back what I said about her to Soliece, she seems like a good sort.”

  Gavin felt surprisingly rested after all he'd been through even though he'd bled to death the day before. He was still emotionally drained, but physically felt the best he'd been in his life. As they walked he flexed and stretched his torso to make sure he still had his full range of movement.

  Both he and Sam were being uncharacteristically quiet, both lost in contemplation.

  “You okay Sam?” Gavin asked after half an hour of quiet company.

  “Hmm?”

  “I know you're not normally super chatty, but you've been like a rainy saturday.”

  “Just thinking.”

  “Aboooout?” Gavin said obnoxiously.

  “Yesterday.”

  “My whole dying thing?”

  “Yes.”

  “I got better.”

  “You got lucky.”

  “Yeah, I kinda did, glad you were there to save me.”

  “I wasn't though. I was useless. I watched you die. I couldn't do a fucking thing to save you.”

  “You're a bit raw that another companion died under your watch?”

  “Yes. I can't go through that again Gavin. I haven't really talked about it but I've been having nightmares. I see their faces. Covered in blood and torn to shreds.”

  “Sam I-”

  “When I got back with the priest you were collapsing on top of Sven's corpse. One of the arrows pushed right through your chest and out your back. Right where your heart was. Part of me broke inside. I'd lost another one. I decided right then and there that I was done with being a warden.”

  “Sam. You're not done. Don't give up on your dreams because I got hurt. I'm fine.”

  “You died though. Dead. Dead dead. It took an actual miracle to bring you back. The priest was sure you were beyond saving.”

  “And you were powerless to do anything about it, that's what's eating you up inside.” Gavin said, it was a statement not a question.

  “Yes.”

  “Then do something about it. Get stronger.” Gavin said bluntly.

  “Don't throw that back at me.” Sam spat her voice gaining a harsh edge.

  “I'll throw whatever I need to to get you out of your mental rut. You're going to be a great adventurer because I'm going to be a great adventurer, and I'm not having anyone on my team who isn't going to be great.”

  “It's not that simple.”

  “It is that simple. You haven't unlocked all of your powers yet? Get some ones that will allow you to protect your team.”

  “I can't, my parents have already picked out everything for me, they've spent no small amount of time planning my whole build out.”

  “Then go off script, find your own powers, I'll help you figure it out.”

  “I can't do that.”

  “Why not? How are they going to stop you? At some point you've got to be your own person, you're what, twenty two? You don't need your parents to be making all of your decisions for you like you're twelve.”

  Sam was silent for a long while. Head hung low, her short blonde hair drooping over her face as they walked.

  “I can't do it with my parents money. They won't allow me.” She said, squaring her shoulders.

  “That's all good, you're forgetting one thing.”

  “And what's that?”

  “You've got me.” Gavin Said, flourishing the glowing ball from his inventory in an identical gesture to the one Florrin had used earlier that morning.

  “What's that?”

  “Florrin and I had a little chat. She gave me this. It's something called a soul affinity of life transference, I'm assuming that means it's the same thing as a demon soul right?”

  “You and Florin. Had a little chat. Of course you'd find a way to have a talk with another god.”

  “Obviously, have you met me? They're all lining up like the three wise men.” Gavin said as he held the stone out for her to take.

  “You're full of yourself. I can't take this, Florrin gave it to you.”

  “She gave me knowing I was going to get into trouble, and knowing you you want the strength to save your team when the shit hits the fan. And life transference you’re the one who’s gonna have the most life in the party between your health regen, resistances and power to get out of the way of any attack.”

  “Yeah yeah.” Sam said, acknowledging the point.

  “Have a think about it. We can use it when we get back, if you decide to go that way, or we can sell it, but I bet selling a gift a god gave you is probably not a great choice though.”

  Sam nodded, setting her shoulders more confidently, reaffirming her defiance against the pressures of the world.

  “I'll do it. It's time to be my own woman.”

  “How disappointed will your parents be? Will we need to find other lodgings? I assume they won't like it a whole lot that I've corrupted their daughter.”

  “You corrupted? I can make my own decisions Gavin.”

  “That's the spirit.”

  As they walked, Gavin worked on creating items, then deconstructing them down into their raw components. The process wasn’t one hundred percent efficient at his low skill level, so eventually he ran crafting materials before resorting to finding tree branches and rocks to make things out of.

  By the time they arrived back in Wildenesse, Sam was in good spirits and Gavin was well out of mana. Sam would have to have another uncomfortable conversation with her mother about yet another political mess they'd become embroiled in, but that could wait. They needed to stop by the Wardens guild to hand in their last contract and complete the paperwork, sell Gavin’s surplus items, purchase more crafting materials and a magical treatise on basic ritual magic, as well as a demon soul power leaving his account in a much less impressive state.

  By the time they were done, it was drawing close to dusk, they entered the estate grounds and headed straight for the small glade they regularly practiced their meditation in.

  “What power did you get that was more important than new armour?” Sam asked, mildly exasperated, but to drained to argue.

  “Telekinesis. It'll work in well with my crafting abilities, I can make items to throw with my mind, redirect them if I miss, that sort of thing.”

  “Those sorts of powers usually aren't favoured, they're much less effective at disarming or pushing enemies.”

  “Yeah, not super worried about that, I can get enough use out of it just throwing my own weapons, remember I'm going to be carrying around a lot of them.”

  He had been eyeing up one particular ability that was becoming increasingly more attractive as his Intellect attribute increased as his power grew. Aside from it having synergy with the fighting style he was crafting telekinesis was in his list of top super powers to have. Now that he got to pick and choose what he wanted, he figured shooting for the good ones was definitely a good idea. He had teleportation, telekinesis, and the resilience of colossus. All he needed was laser vision and Bruce Wayne money and he would be a one man superhero team up.

  While he waited for Sam to build up the courage to use her new power, gavin absorbed his, smiling broadly as he levitated a coin above his hand.

  [Force of will]

  [Description: Manipulate objects through space]

  (Level one): Exert force on an object within range of the user. Mana cost varies based on distance from the user up to a limit proportional to users level in this ability, total force exerted and material properties of the object. Force exerted is limited by the user's [Intellect] attribute. Manipulating additional objects has an exponential mana cost per item.]

  “You're going to be one of those really annoying opponents to fight aren't you?”

  “I sure am. What about you? Ready to throw your whole life plan out the window and fly by the seat of your pants?”

  “If I can infer what you meant from context then yes” Sam said as she pulled the crystal he'd given her earlier and knelt on the ground.

  He watched the glowing stone turn to mist and flow into her. Sam opened her eyes, grinning mischievously, her eyes sparkling in the setting sun.

  “Come on Gav, lets go get some dinner.” She said, striding off to the estate.

  “Hey, we can just por- ahh nevermind.” Gavin said as he opened a portal then stepped back through a stone arch, closing it behind him. He came out backwards, finding himself in the dining hall, all eyes on him. The portal sank back into the flagstone floor as if it had never been there to reveal lord Griffon with a fork of food half way to his open mouth.

  “So, uhh, got a portal power by the way, did you know about that one?” Gavin asked, taking a seat.

  “You did mention it yes, I’m told you’re building quite the collection of utility powers.” Griffon said, still not eating his meal.

  “Back in my world there's a term for that, an HM slave, it's a little insensitive unless you're 14 though.”

  “What's an HM?”

  “Stands for Hidden Machine.”

  “I think I don't want to find out more.”

  “You're probably right, or you'll end up learning way more about egg moves and IV's than you want to know as well.”

  “Then I think it's wise if we dropped that topic entirely.” He said, finally chewing on the fork full of food that'd been hovering beside his face for the past minute.

  “Right. Well, we've had a very busy few days, I got a couple fingers blown off, then I died, which was on a different contract to be clear, got bought back to life, Florin gave me a bit of a pep talk, oh, and Ben De Vore ambushed Sam and I, he killed a civilian, his archer mate killed me, and we killed them all back.” Gavin said, relaying their trials succinctly to the mayor of Wildenesse.

  Sam pushed through the door but sat down silently at the table beside Gavin, speechless at Gavin's rambling explanation of their trials.

  “Fought a poo monster too, that's how I blew my fingers off, and some marhounds, I got this cool new telekinesis power.”Gavin said, floating a fork over to inexpertly stab a chunk of meat off a platter.

  “Benjamin De Vore is dead?”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Yeah, that was his first name right?” Gavin asked, turning to Sam.

  “Yes. Benjamin Devore and two others ambushed us outside a man's house who had escorted us to a contract location, they attacked us from stealth, killed the woodsman, and shot Gavin full of arrows. We overpowered them, though Gavin died after feeding the woodsman all of his potions instead of himself.”

  “Sven had a kid. I think they saw the whole thing” Gavin said, his mood turning somber.

  “They did. It was chaotic after you passed out” Sam said.

  “It seems interesting events follow you around like flies Gavin.” Griffon said, no tone of amusement in his voice.

  “I think that will remain a theme for a long time lord Starbourne.” Gavin said.

  “I see.” Griffin said, turning to meet his daughter's eyes “you’re unusually sullen.”

  “I- it's just been a tough few days.” She said evasively.

  “I bet it has. Come find me later, we can have a more private conversation, I too was once young and foolhardy.”

  Food had been laid out on platters, which seemed to be the local custom. He was getting a basic understanding of it after spending no small amount of time in the kitchen and markets over the past weeks.

  He heaped his plate high with orange potatoes that tasted oddly of cashews, roasted death pheasant, and the local equivalent of buttered string beans, there was also a cured lizard leg which was almost indistinguishable from lean pork and a variety of vegetables Gavin didn't have names for.

  “What's this one” Gavin asked Sam, skewering what looked like nightmare broccoli that looked closer to a withered death tree in a haunted graveyard than a tiny green oak.

  “That's sunroot, it has very minor disease resistance properties, it's quite tasty when prepared the right way.”

  Gavin took a bite, it was crunchy with a mild aniseed after-taste, a moment later shoveling the whole thing in his mouth.

  “Tastes like a root that grows in my world that we turn into a lolly.” he said, scooping more onto his plate.

  “We have an alcoholic drink distilled from this, it's quite… polarising.” Griffon said.

  “I bet it is. I'll have to look out for some.”

  Gavin devoured his fair share of dinner, ravenous after the exertion of the day before excusing himself to go and work on his projects for the night.

  Later, Sam knocked on his door, warily stepping inside. She looked as worn out as felt. Putting his tools down he turned to her.

  “What's up?” he asked.

  “Just wanted to see how you were doing.” Sam said, stepping into his room and closing the door.

  “About as well as you I guess.” Gavin said, shrugging.

  “So, not good. Part of being a team leader is making sure everyone on the team is okay, it can be pretty hard on you after a bad day.”

  “It certainly was that.” Gavin conceded.

  “You want to talk about it?” Sam asked, seeming unsure of herself.

  “You were there, you know how it was, you're probably feeling the same things.”

  “Probably, but I did actually say out loud what I was feeling. It helps.”

  “Fine.” He grumbled “fighting those monsters was fun, really fun, except for maybe the poo elemental. It's just everything else that sucked. Watching Sven die. He wouldn't have been there if I didn't ask him to show us where that troll was.”

  “That wasn't your fault.”

  “Wasn't it? Ben was only there because I pissed him off at the guild.”

  “You don't know that, he would have done something anyway, you probably just made him try something that was less likely to work.”

  “Sven had kids Sam. We, all of us, made their mum a widow because we blew through there like a hurricane. They're going to struggle their whole lives because we were there, it doesn't really matter to them if it was our fault or not.”

  “Do something about it then. Get stronger. Help them. Learning these lessons early gives you a reason to take the power you need and the wisdom to use it properly.”

  “Yeah, I get it, I’m not gonna stop wanting to be a superhero.” Gavin said, trying to inject a little levity. “It's not just that though. Seeing those dead kids at the farm, it- it brought up some old memories.”

  “From your world?”

  “Yeah. I don't want to get into that right now though. It's a whole thing.” Gavin said, putting those memories back in their box and shelving it.

  “Okay, when you feel comfortable I'm here to listen” Sam said, genuine care in her voice.

  “Cheers Sam” Gavin said, giving her a half smile.

  “By the way” Sam said as she paused at his door “that power I got, uses my own health to heal others, its a touch spell, but restores a bit more health than it uses, and the mana cost is almost nothing.”

  “Oh man, that's pretty neat, that works out really well.” Gavin said, genuinely happy for her.

  ***

  His training resumed the next day, with a run across the city and back followed by getting severely beaten in the combat hall. He'd managed a couple good hits that time, which was more than he'd accomplished in their previous bouts aside from his one lucky win. Sam was adept at anticipating his moves and adapting to them quickly, even with his tricky powers. As they broke for the mid day meal Gavin was drenched in sweat, tired, but more or less uninjured. His body of iron ability had ranked up slightly and blows from training swords had significantly less effect than before.

  That afternoon he wandered into town to find a temple of Soliece. He’d been mulling over some ideas in his head about technology to introduce to this world, and wanted some input from someone with more expertise.

  “Huh. Should have guessed” Gavin mused when he was directed to the temple. It was a large stone library, stacked with books and illuminated inside by glow globes that hovered in mid air.

  He made his way in, gazing about for someone who might be able to help him with his project. The temple was populated with several priests wearing blue robes, all bent over books either reading or writing, many had ink stained fingers, and the room was eerily quiet, punctuated with the rasp of turning paper. Gavin’s footsteps echoed loudly on the tiled floor, out of place in the holy site.

  A man, much younger than the wizened scholars in their books though wearing the same robes approached Gavin from out of a row of shelves.

  “May I help you?” a he hissed softly.

  “Ahh, yeah, hopefully. Soliece said I should stop by and have a yarn about what technology I can introduce from my homeworld to this one.”

  “The goddess told you to come here?” the man asked, his mildly irritated tone shifting to excitement.

  “Yeah, we met a couple weeks ago now, seemed like a good sort. Anyway, I've got a few things to figure out and I was wondering if I could get a hand.”

  “I’d be more than happy to assist, how about we find a private booth and you can explain in more detail?”

  “No worries mate. Lead the way. I'm Gavin by the way” he said, holding his hand out.

  “Sean.” the man replied, shaking his hand enthusiastically.

  He lead the way to an alcove that appeared dimly lit when they approached, but when he passed some threshold it sprang to life and the faint noise behind them vanished abruptly.

  “That's cool.” Gavin said.

  “Silence enchantment” he said, pointing to the ritual circle on the ground around them “we won't be disturbed in here.”

  “Awesome. Well, anyway, I’m from off world, Sam said I’m something called a new arrival. Where I've come from there isn't any magic so we have to make do with machines that simulate some of the effects you lot have here.”

  “And you know how they work?”

  “Ahh, some things yes, most things no. Learning how to make a lot of the more useful stuff takes years and years of work, and Soliece kinda bribed me to keep that all quiet.”

  “She bribed you?”

  “Yeah, well, you might think of it as a mutually beneficial agreement.”

  “But you have some things you think you can share?”

  “I think I do, I need the okay from the big cheese before I go showing them off though.” Gavin said, pulling out a small stack of papers and setting them down on the table between them.

  Half an hour later they left the temple and headed for the guild of commerce, then towards the shops surrounding the guilds. They walked in to Agatha's Artifice, a well known creator of magical and mechanical contraptions.

  “We're here to see Agatha” Sean explained to a young salesman behind the counter of the store.

  “Is she ahh, expecting you?” The young man asked, his voice cracking slightly.

  “Nah, but it'd be worth her while. I've got an invention or two I want to sell her.”

  “One second” the young man squeaked, disappearing through a door behind the counter.

  Some time later after an awkward wait a matronly woman stomped out into her shop trailed by her timid shop assistant

  “This better be good. She said before her eyes fell on Gavin and his companion. “Ahh, Sean, good to see you, and who’s this?”

  “Hopefully the guy that's gonna make us all a bit of spare change, I'm Gavin, nice to meet you” Gavin said.

  “He has a couple of inventions he'd like to sell to you” Sean said, slapping down two rolled scrolls onto the counter top.

  “Well, let's have a look at them then.”

  “This is a plan for a machine that runs on heat.” Gavin explained.

  He'd made a stirling engine as a project in his metalwork class in highschool and knew how they worked. Now he was able to manufacture parts, he could make one with reasonable precision. Retrieving the prototype from his inventory he placed it on the table next to the plan

  “You can light a fire under here, it will make the motor turn. No magic involved.” He said, setting a candle under the machine. They watched as the piston and crank shaft started chugging along, steadily spinning the flywheel.”

  “Interesting. And the other?”

  “A telescope. It uses lenses to focus light, let's you see long distances clearly, it was a real prick to make”

  “I assume you have patents on these?”

  “As of half an hour ago, yeah.”

  “Good. Then we can deal. What do you want for them?”

  “Well. First off, Sean wants a cut of all profits in perpetuity for his church.”

  “One percent only” Sean said quickly.

  “Second, I'd like something a little bit more esoteric, and some money.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “I want a crash course on enchanting theory, they how and why it works not just a list of enchantments I can get out of a book.”

  ***

  In the middle of the dining room of the Starbourne residence, a portal arch opened. Gavin burst through in a rush, grinning maniacally. Samania, Griffon and Anabelle Starbourne were sitting at the table half way through the evening meal

  “You know, it's awfully rude to do that Gavin” Samania admonished him as her parents looked on with raised eyebrows.

  “Yeah, a bit. Anyway, I've just done a thing” Gavin said.

  “Which is?”

  “Got an enchanting power. Now I'm ready to start making some real gear.”

  [Otherworldly Enchanter]

  [Description: Enchant items with complex enchantments]

  (Level 1):Enchant an item using a known enchanting template for a variable mana cost determined by the complexity and strength of the enchantment. Enchanted items have a greater effect proportional to your [Spirit] attribute]

  “That's up there as one of the most scarce powers around” Griffon said, “how did you get it?”

  “Gavin no, you idiot” Samania groaned.

  “Come on Sam, opportunity comes only once in a lifetime, I'm not going to miss my one chance here”

  “That's an exceptionally rare crystal Gavin, legendary if im not mistaken, I too am curious how you got your hands on it.” Lady Alana said.

  “Oh, traded some technology from my world to Agatha at Agatha's artifice for it.”

  “You could have had almost any other crystal in the world instead of an enchanting power.”

  Griffon laughed at his daughters outburst “Gavin, you are an odd person. You could pick up any enchanting power from a crystal far less valuable.”

  “Can't put a price on happiness lord Starbourne” Gavin said happily.

  “That is somewhat true” Griffon said.

  Gavin wolfed down dinner, finishing at the same time as his hosts. It was probably delicious but he tasted none of it. He was eager to get started with his newest ability.

  “Hey Sam, I'm gonna bail on training tomorrow to work on making items.”

  “You are not.”

  “How about just a run?”

  “A long run.” Sam conceded, recognising Gavin was careening straight into one of his obsessive moods again.

  “Fine.”

  Gavin departed, finding James on the way back to his quarters “Hey mate, can you do us a favour?”

  “Certainly Gavin.”

  “I need a bunch of supplies, reckon you'd be able to pop down to the adventurers guild and buy some stuff on Sam's behalf for me?”

  “Very well.”

  “I can open a portal and leave it open for you” he said, an arch appearing in an alcove inside the main hall.

  “That would be appreciated.”

  “Cheers mate. I'll write you out a list and give you the money. Get yourself something with the change too.” Gavin said, handing over a stack of coins he assumed would be more than enough.

  Gavin spent the evening practicing with his new ability, it was quite mana intensive but that was something he could handle, his mana pool had grown considerably as his soul power integrated itself more fully. Sam had said it would grow in power over time naturally ut to a point. Using it regularly and straining his abilities would strengthen them further and faster.

  He crashed out in the early hours of the morning happy with his preliminary results. He'd been enchanting and disassembling basic items with his limited repertoire of known enchantments all evening, making solid progress as he practiced creating the architecture then filling it with mana to complete the item before breaking it down for parts again. The process wasn't one hundred percent efficient, but his goal wasn’t to go infinite yet, it was to get the hang of creating the enchantments as efficiently as he could. He felt a strong sense of pride as he was able to progress past common enchantments to uncommon ones as his skill book knowledge and tutelage at the hands of an expert paid off in only hours.

  At the end of the next day, absolutely exhausted, Gavin met Sam in the dining hall over dinner.

  “I've got a few prototypes to test, reckon we could pick up a contract or two tomorrow?”

  “Sure. These prototypes aren't going to blow your hand off again?”

  “Ahh, hopefully not. They're standard enchantments not experimental ones, smarter people than me actually invented them.”

  “Oh that's fine then.”

  “Rude.”