By the time I reached the dining hall, I found Glorp and his siblings already sitting in front of plates of scrambled eggs and toast, and Rabyn sitting across from them discussing the finer points of pastry making. Glorp's oldest sister seemed to be the most interested in his words, and it looked like Rabyn might have found another apprentice already. I was impressed.

"You're up early," Glorp said as I pulled a chair out and grabbed a seat next to him.

"Yeah, I decided to take a walk around the place before leaving the world again. It feels like home here now, and it's hard to explain why that's weird," I replied.

"Because family makes a home, and now you have your family here. I imagine Glorp understands that better than most of our odd assemblage of people," Rabyn said. He was likely entirely correct in that assessment. I somehow had missed that connection Glorp and I shared.

"Alright, that's entirely fair. It's been a long time since I lived with my family, and I missed it a lot more than I realized at the time," I said, as Rabyn vanished to the kitchen.

"I get it. I never really expected to have something like this with my family again, either. Dave, please be careful in the archives, this place will fall apart without you," Glorp said, a half smile on his face. He looked worried.

"Don't worry, I know you and Rabyn won't be there to save my ass, but Elody and Connie will be, and you've seen how much of powerhouses they are," I replied, both trying to reassure him and pointing out the fact that we had plenty of muscle coming along.

"Still, just be careful. With Gorpila planning to learn to cook, we are going to have to have a giant party when you get back, and she's going to be disappointed if you aren't here to try it," he replied. His sister nodded next to him.

"I promise, plus we've got another meeting with the council coming up anyway, gotta make sure I'm back in time for that," I said just as Rabyn reappeared and dropped a plate of eggs in front of me.

"Eat up, pretty sure everyone is starting to wake up finally, so you're probably heading out pretty soon," he said as he took his own seat again.

Rabyn had been correct as soon, everyone started to filter in for breakfast. The moment John joined us, Rabyn grabbed him and Gorpila and pulled them both back off to the kitchen. It looked like her choice had been made, but considering the smile she had on her face, I didn't think she minded. Half an hour later, my own breakfast was interrupted by a chat window.

>Corey: Dave, the Traveler's Gate is operational.

>Dave: Great, how are you holding up?

>Corey: I still dislike the old gnawing feeling, but it is not a real problem anymore.

>Maud: Want me to bring anything back for you? That's your homeworld, right? :)

>Corey: It is, but I am fine without a souvenir.

>Dave: If anything goes wrong, remember Karlinovo is in this chat too, so use him to alert and get help.

>Corey: Understood.

>Karlinovo: Yes, I can do that. Did you know you have all kinds of bird species on this planet? It's fascinating.

>Dave: Wait, that's fascinating?

>Karlinovo: Yes, this level of unique animal life on a planet in the middle of an integration is rather rare.

>Dave: When I get back, let's talk about that more.

>Karlinovo: Oh, I'm making a list of what we need to discuss.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

>Gamma: I wish to discuss too!

I closed out the chat window on that message, curious about Karlinovo's discoveries so far on Earth, but those could wait until we returned. "The gate is ready, so whoever is coming, let's get going," I said after checking that they had mostly finished off their breakfasts.

"When you say any of us can come, are you including me here?" Grant asked. I hadn't been expecting that.

"I mean, if you want to, I don't really see a reason against it," I said. I, in fact, saw some benefits. It was possible he could form a core if he were off-world long enough. I wasn't sure what that would mean with my relations with the Council, but I was willing to take that chance to add another channeler to our ranks, especially another native to Earth.

"I'd like to come then. I have no idea if I'll be remotely useful to you, but I want to see what another world is like," he replied.

"Alright, works for me. I want everyone at the gate in an hour, be prepared for a few days' worth of being gone," I said. Several people started talking to each other excitedly, as I left to go grab a few extra things I wanted to bring along.

In the off chance anyone did develop any cores while we were off planet, I placed a few of our extra mana orbs into my storage. I also added some tools from the garage. I really needed to see how to put an actual tool rack inside my System storage itself. The idea of being a walking tool chest was appealing to me. I already had extra clothing in there, so once that was packed, I headed for the gate.

Timon was already there with the Bus. He and Mel were outside of it, arguing about something. "Look, I don't care if ya think they already destroyed it, I'm telling ya the Adventurer Hall is prolly fine," Mel said loudly.

"Even if it is, and I still doubt that it is, anything useful is long gone. And for that matter, did you even have anything useful there? Last time I saw it, it was mostly junk that would fall apart in someone's first dungeon," Timon replied, with much less anger in his voice.

"I kept the good stuff in my private area, and there just ain't a good reason for them to go snooping that deep yet, the books will be their focus fer now," Mel said, glaring at Timon.

"Hey guys, how about we just see once we get there and not waste time and energy fighting about it," I said as I walked up to join them.

"We weren't fighting! Just a loud conversation!" Mel said, growing even louder. "And who the hell gave ya permission to listen in anyway?" Instead of responding, I just burst into laughter as I walked past them. I was well past the point where Mel's rants stopped me. I could hear their voices resume behind me as I went inside.

"So, anything we should know before we head out?" I asked as I approached the structure that Corey and Traveler were both socketed in.

"I have been away from Smithtown for some time since our last meeting, so I cannot give you any good advice as to what to expect in the city itself, but I believe everything should still be fine there," Traveler replied.

"Dad!" Alex called from behind me, cutting off any reply I had. I quickly turned and spotted her and the moose walking toward me.

"Let's leave the moose behind, please," I said, hoping this wasn't going to be an issue.

"I'm trying! He's very determined to follow me," Alex replied through gritted teeth, the annoyance also obvious in her tone. She usually tolerated the moose better than this.

"Come on, let's go get on the bus. Timon won't let him on board," I said, nodding back to the cores before heading back the way I came. Mel and Timon were no longer arguing. Instead, they were helping get some belongings inside. Alpha and Beta were floating near Maud and John, already inside, and I saw Grant approaching in the distance.

It didn't take much effort for Timon to keep the moose off the bus, but it was obvious the creature wasn't happy with the outcome. The only thing that seemed to relax it was when the brothers showed up and Cecile told him that he was on guard duty, somehow, that had been the trick to get the moose to finally leave the bus alone and take off for the back of the house.

"I didn't realize he had started taking the plants that seriously," I said, joining everyone else on the bus.

"It's been going on since a few deer tried to get in, apparently the moose thinks only he and us should get the crops," Elicec replied.

Elody, Connie, and Pryte arrived a few minutes later and were quickly settled in their seats. The moment they had finished, the bus lurched forward, toward a glowing portal that had appeared in front of us. "Alright, back to Smithtown we go, should be faster this time," Timon said as the bus gained speed.

"Wow, that looks strange. I didn't expect it to be so tunnel-like," Maud said as the highway came into view outside the windows.

"Yeah, I had expected a different view my last time here as well," I replied.

"They keep their hub city pretty enclosed. There are many dangers outside these highways. The fact that they even manage to maintain them at all is impressive all in itself," Elody added.

"Wait, they do actually have a city out there, then? I was wondering about that," I replied.

"From what I know of it, it is more of a facility designed to keep the highways working, and a shelter for displaced Reltleons. Living out here in this space long-term isn't healthy for most people, so they generally cycle out even the most basic of maintenance workers every few months," Elody explained. It reminded me of Antarctica and the idea of living in total darkness for months at a time. Most humans just didn't adapt well to it.

"Keep in mind, all of this was built through chaotic space, and done so using dungeon cores to warp the space even more in an attempt to ward off the things that live out here. No one really wants a city in a place like this, or at least no one I've met yet," Pryte added.

We are rarely welcome. Most factions consider us nothing but scavengers. Why, when there are so many empty planets throughout the Spiral, are we forced to be eternal refugees? I wish I knew this answer. I believe, though, I have finally found at least a solution to bring our scattered people some unity again. Perhaps a sense of connection will let us finally find a true home again. Now I will just need to convince a dungeon core of my ideas.

Diaries of Glerk, the first architect of the Traveler Gates and Highways

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