Out of mutual respect for each other, Alicia and I stayed in touch after we left the paladin barracks. Whenever she was doing something dangerous or needed an escort through a rough area, she called on me. Neither she nor her paladin companions were ever hurt when I was there. When I needed crucial information about the city or the lands beyond it, I could go ask her. She would research what she did not know and get back to me in a very timely manner. Quartermaster Bryan and Abbess Diana were also prolific quest givers. Bryan wanted me to train the men. I saw no problems with it. It was not like they could hurt me. Even sparing with someone of my level would give then results. Defeating demons was something we had in common. I was basically the paladin's unofficial combat instructor. Diana wanted me to get some items for her. These were items that would be hard for a human to get on their own. Demon horns and fangs mostly. It was not that she was doing anything heretical. She would send them over to the Adventurer's Guild to shame them. I agreed with that.
When the children were old enough to join parties, it was time to go. Hell was calling for us. Before I left, it was important to cover my bases. I took out my spell book and drew a teleportation circle on the floor. Luckily for me, the arcane shop still sold items to me. I needed components for certain spells. The owner would always smile at me when I walked in. He would also smile and wish me a good day when I left the shop. I put the circle down in the kitchen. If things ever went badly, we could escape back to this house. The greater fire elemental already promised to stay here and look after it. He could not go home, so this was the next best thing for him. He worked in the bathhouse as a glorified heater. The combination of the 2 greater elementals made the bathhouse famous. So famous that they were hired on a full time employees. I charmed the owners into giving them good pay. As a greater fire elemental, he could do a 12 hour shift with no problem. The bathhouse itself was open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. That was an 18 hour day. The greater fire elemental worked there from 5 to 5.
The greater water elemental worked from 11 to 11. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. the bathhouses had the perfect conditions. The absolute purity of the water was missing when the greater water elemental was not there. The heat of the baths was not tailored to every individual as they soaked in them if the greater fire elemental was gone. We benefitted each other. The job was just something to pass the time while hunting us down. Now it was something he could take pride in. Since he was an employee, he had to have a name for the contract. We went with Heath Flameheart. The greater water elemental was Ocean Waterman. He had no help from us. We offered, but he would not accept it. I felt bad for Heath because he would be alone. I bought some potions of fire resistance. Giving them to him, I said "Here. If a female likes you and the feeling is mutual, you can have her drink this. That way you can mate without her getting burned to death when you get too aroused." He took all 5 of them gratefully from me. In FOG you could marry after 3 dates. Not all dates needed to be sexual.
