Back in the dining hall on the Farm, there was one more celebration to get through, and that was the public rank promotion of Estara to her well-earned role of High Priestess. Unsurprisingly, the gathered had one last rowdy reaction to this, and even lifted her chair up high and paraded her around in a rather drunken dance of sheer hoopla.

Estara bore it all with a big smile, well-used to her brothers (in particular) in Caneboro and their general way with her. She’d brought the vast majority into the fold and taught them about Samantha herself. It was an interesting mix of respect and teasing.

I suppose she may never see the use of her staff’s defensive capabilities. These men would die for her by the score in the fiercest of protectiveness. They’d turn into human honey badgers and not give a single fuck!

Azure was smiling just as big as anyone as she watched. Sammy sent to her mentally, “She’s quite the perfect figurehead, isn’t she? I wonder though, if we should retire the Phoenix title with your stepping down…”

Luminous eyes met hers and Azure shook her head. “Surely not. She rises far higher than I ever will, and I am more the moon than the sun, hmm?”

Sammy chuckled. “I suppose it suits her, after all. Especially as a hopeful baby bird.”

“Quite right. Think about it like this… she’s an idol to everyone, instinctively like your daughter even before, which is an order of magnitude more relatable. In her is everyone’s rebirth — the young fire that inspires, the gleaming star. And everyone really is reborn, here, no? All can relate to the phoenix and yet it is higher, too. I believe this symbolic matching to be destiny.”

“No surprise. I find more of Fate unraveling before me every day…”

A long, mental sigh. “And a long one it has been. Try to relax for the rest, hmm? The party was a good start, but you are still cramming in tasks.”

“No rest for the wicked, ya know?”

“You aren’t half as wicked as you think you are. Compared to the majority, you’re as pure as a mountain spring.”

“They sometimes have sulfur content, you know. Eh. I’m not seeing it, Blueberry, sorry.”

Azure was not deterred. “You’re a good girl. A perfect good girl.”

“Stooooop!”

 

✦•············•✦•···········•✦

 

Sammy mostly heeded Azure’s suggestion that she take it easy for a bit and relax in the company present on the Farm. There wasn’t anything exactly pressing until reset, after all. Time wore on, and her realm grew and worked in its various branches minute by minute.

She did need to consider the three gifted holy items on the Pantheon list. She did not intend to half-ass or give purely token items to Redberry and her people, especially as she knew she’d get significant things in return. It wasn’t long before she knew what she would offer.

The [Quintessential Chalice of Mana Collection] was one such item. Most of its benefit was obscenely long-term, while still having some general use. It seemed an excellent symbol of mutual growth, the promise of its water slowly pooling with time. An emergency mana pool item was not rare, and most were more convenient to carry.

Furthermore, the chalice was of religious significance as she’d drank from it and received an important vision of a prior life — one which led to her as an ascendant deity. That vision was also where she’d learned Allspell Zero, essentially the ‘start’ of her inevitable (hopefully) mastery of the arcane. All-in-all, the item held powerful relevance.

The next she thought of was a bit more humble and offered up by Azure — the staff that Sammy had briefly taken when she had pretended to be ‘Deidarra the Archdruid.’ It was tied to both her and Azure, emblematic of their coupling, as well as indirectly to the nature goddess. More than anything, though, it was a focus and tool utilized during a woman’s stand and declaration of independence from a deceiver and tyrant. Redberry would love it.

The third item was the [Tin Chicken Memorial Statuette], which was a System reward for her people’s stand against the Geirkos gang of assassins and the rock golems. It had also (apparently) been utilized instrumentally by Canmore in his fight with the Shade entity, though she had not gotten the exact story from him. It had carried him out after the fight, too, while he was severely wounded.

The item was a significant sacrifice, as it was not weak nor was its granted power common. All of which made it a great gift, and perhaps a rare ability granted to nature-centric peoples who would typically summon things that were in some fashion alive rather than made of metal.

In addition to the practical aspects, the item represented a pinnacle moment of change for her, her organization, and even Geirkos itself. Without that victory, all would be darker, and most likely Redberry would be dead. In the scheme of the ongoing resistance to tyranny, that altercation was a clarion call.

Three gifts, all with different, relevant meanings. Some of them will be altered and obfuscated due to who I’m supposed to be… at first. But the truth will be unleashed one day.

When she checked with Red’s realm, Vinewicker indicated their gifts were being prepared, and she was assured the exchange would occur before initiation was complete, though it wasn’t going to be immediate. As such, Sammy just told Jeeves to ensure they were ready for the eventuality when it was time.

It wasn’t long after deciding and arranging things that she got a notice…

Aw yeah! Upgrades, baby! I love my caster-level bonuses and the speed of learning lower-level spells boosting as well.

[Detect Magic] had been changed to [Detect Magic +1] with an added paragraph at the end:

Well, okay then, it’s a conditional resistance boost most principally, but with other benefits.

Meanwhile, Priesthood Head FE bonuses appeared rather self-explanatory. A community head priest added an additional +1 Daily FE, while her ‘Regional High Clerics’ added +2. These were automatically assigned, including Orswyth for Geirkos, Estara for Caneboro, Pashett for Mot Mekess, and Vitarion for Traesh.

She needed a community head, two other clerics, 12 separate Followers (3 of them Devouts) in a central location, and 24 additional Followers in an overall location to gain new ‘regions.’ For the most part, she’d leave such strategy to her organization rather than dictating it herself. But the net bonus right then was +7 Daily FE for the community heads and +8 for the regionals.

The other thing, Community Bonuses, was completely different, and… wow. It set off immediate frenzies of discussion within the realm. The ‘inspirational bonus’ started off as a ‘member’ EL bonus that persisted anywhere, to a specialized purpose such as a craft or the like. It would advance into other benefits within the specific community confines as well.

The latter stuff, improving production of this or that and specializing the use of land was well-known — very, very frequently to increase crop yields — and connected rulers with their ruled-over territory depending on how the government was structured.

A persistent bonus to individuals was not known, and if it had existed in Redberry’s heyday, it had been lost and forgotten since in the general fog the world had been plunged into.

Already, there were competing opinions about what place should specialize in what category… Tashome wanted alchemy boosts in Geirkos while Orswyth preferred trade or manufacturing… Much of Traesh wanted alchemy while detractors wanted a martial boost… and so on.

Well fuck me, this was a can of worms. If we diversify, we’re going to have some insist on becoming members of somewhere they don’t currently exist… Naturally, there was a requirement of being there significantly to become a member of a community, though a temporary visit was feasible.

Damn, I could’ve used this not dropping in the middle of the Pantheon unity stuff trying to materialize!

On that note, Sammy squashed all the arguing to insist Community Bonuses wait. She sent a memo: “Look, people, this is not the time for this. The bonuses and benefits aren’t going anywhere. Show me diligence on the current project of our mutual Pantheon first — prioritize it — and we’ll hash the rest out later. You can consider it a reward. So be good and play nice!”

Though the public argument ceased, she got the general sense there was grumbling privately. Well, they’d just have to deal! Maybe it was very exciting for them, but it was better to decide with an impartial and cool head. Likely her leaders among the Servitors would be the most impartial of all.

With that out of the way, Sammy ultimately decided to ‘relax’ while doing something quite constructive: the pursuit of gambling. Namely, to snag the skill that Lucky had told her the requirements for.

And you know what? I’m going to do it against Lucky. What’s a win if it wasn’t from a challenge?!

An epic showdown of Something Like Poker began, including such legends as Lucky Lucille, Acegirl Azure, Dastardly Dax, and Brokeass Bob.

“Wait,” Bob said with a frown as they were gathered around a table, “why do I have the shitty name? And why are they all alliterated?”

“Shh,” Smokeshow Sammy whispered with squinted eyes, pretending to leer at her ‘great’ hand, but not leer too much. “You’re ruining the mood, Brokeass Bob. Which kind of retroactively answers your first question, by the way.”

Ironically, the Goddess of Fate did not do well, losing as much as she won, though this was primarily due to weird differences in her memory of the rules. That was her excuse anyway, as she made numerous mistakes and misplays and learned as she went. She wasn’t sure if she even knew poker or was getting it confused with that matching game called ‘Rum Rum’ or whatever.

Lucky did shake her head and comment at one point, “With as terrible and clueless as ya are, Madam, it’s a damned fine miracle ya keep breaking even…”

Sammy leaned forward and gave Lucky a thousand-yard stare. “You ain’t gonna get into my head, shark. I’m closing in on you and you know it. Prepare to eat those words!”

She did not in fact eat those words, and Sammy only got further away rather than closer.

The game finally ended when everyone else gave up, as Lucky reaped the rewards in a big, fat pile of coins she bragged she would be counting all night long.

Sammy sulked.

While wandering around the premises for a while, she noticed a group playing some dice, and it was blessedly Lucky-free, even out of sight of her. They were happy for her to join, and she went for it after being told the simple rules and the pinnacle of rolling 7 on two dice.

She won! Then won again… and again. 7, 7, 7… 7. Five times, the rest growing spooked and uncomfortable… six times… fear blossoming in the eyes of her Followers as she laughed with maniacal glee… and then, finally, seven times.

Sammy gave a triumphant cry and thrust her hands up high. “Yes! Yes, System, slot it in! Haha! Did you hear that, guys, huh?! Rogue’s Luck, baby! Guys? Uh… guys?”

The men were all gone, having fled the scene of their financial destruction at the instant the opportunity was provided, the coins, cup, and dice left where they were.

“Oh.”