Vignette - Oil octopi
This freshwater octopus has tentacles that range between five and seven feet in length around a head that is around an extra two feet long by a foot wide. It’s weight is pretty hard to estimate as it varies too much between specimens but a middle of the range number is 100 lbs. They are as harmless a species as has been yet observed. Sliding along the bottom of the river in search of eggs, algae and other small organisms. It protects itself by maintaining a constant cloud of inky black oil around itself. Other creatures are unable to see it, nor breathe in the cloud. The octopi seems to rely entirely on a sense of touch to find its dinner on the silty bottom of the river.
The oil they produce is quite useful both as a liquid for lamps and for cooking leading to their early domestication. Left in a tank and fed organic refuse from human plates this creature will continuously create more oil to fuel its protective cloud. Oil that can be siphoned off.
Chapter 32
The plan was set, a heavily armed, but peacefully intent, Nellie would make the trip up river to contact Temple town. It wasn’t a plan anyone was particularly happy with.
This applied very much to Timothy. He couldn't see any good that would come of it. Stil, he lost the pity vote and had to live with the results.
Live with. A good term, he also wanted to make sure their contact crew lived through the decision. While the preparations for the expedition were still being made he went back to finish up a pair of utility runes, envisioned during the contact of Paradise but not yet completed. They were not full enchantments, merely augmenting an existing enchantment. The first rune was an ear, the second a pair of open lips from a side view. Both had a value beneath them to indicate volume and when paired with a connect rune they turned the scrying pool from a spyglass into something a lot more home theater-ish.
They were close enough to completion that he let Arthur run the scrying pool on the relatively safe trip up river while he worked at it.
The demon murphy showed up to make sure they respected the ‘relatively’ portion of that statement.
“How many of them?” Da muttered, as he began to count the passel of hogs that were drinking from the river a double stones throw upriver of the Nellie.
“Ussual passels between fifty and seventy. Not that it matters much. The full answer is too many. Best take a break and let them finish. No reason to take chances for no gain.” Arthur responded with a sigh.
And so they did. Waiting for several hours as the passel drank, splashed a bit in the water to cool off, losing a few chunks of flesh to piranha's until one boar released his kinetic charge towards the bank, dragging a large wave of water and fish out with him. Then the hogs feasted on fish instead. A full circle of life in mere minutes. At last they wandered away from the river, clearcutting the twelve foot tall grasses as they grazed.
But even pleasantly unanticipated delays only held up the inevitable for so long. Eventually they could and did continue on their way.
The Nellie sailed upriver gently, and at a fraction of her usual speed to make first contact. No need to give away capabilities this early in a relationship. She carefully approached one of the fishing trawlers that had come about a mile downriver. The crew spotted her a good ways out and began gesticulating wildly before rapidly pulling in their fishing lines, putting out oars and rowing back up stream with a purpose.
The Nellie leisurely followed, giving them time. Hopefully giving the town time to NOT panic. Such a simple thing. It should go without saying. Alas, humanity doesn’t often react that reasonably.
Panic central.
The town cryer was screaming, if they had bells they would have been a ringing! Every resident appeared to be running wildly to the temple plaza. Scrambling they hurriedly fell into semi ordered ranks, in under five minutes the last couple residents scurried into place, receiving very dirty looks from their neighbors and the uniformed temple guards nearby. Timothy winced, imagining the near future of those poor unfortunate souls.
Life was not so stable that people would forgive small blunders. If all a blunder risked was dead patches in a lawn it’s easy to let it go. When it endangered the lives of everyone in the community not so much. Even in Runehold people who left secure doors open received quiet, unofficial beatings at the hands of their neighbors. Something Timothy was very careful to NOT be aware of in his official capacity.
The cryer called again and in unison the now assembled crowd kneeled and pressed their heads into the dirt. Belief and magic gathered in billows and eddies, small amounts from each citizen and much, much more from each guard. The difference between a Norm and a guardian put on display even for something like belief.
This untidy smattering of cotton ball faith meandered its way into the statue and spun into tight pointed threads of power, uniform in thickness and intent. Threads that tethered to the statue's namesake who now strode down the hill to the docks. Literally larger than life as he grabbed that tether and spun a spell to increase his size and strength with each step. First ten, then fifteen and finally twenty feet in height, matching the statue now not only in appearance but in size.
“Well, isn’t he pretty… Now I really hate him.” Arthur drolly called out in a bad western accent, if he was nervous beneath his gruff exterior it did not show.
“I would have gone with large, but as you please” Unfortunately both were probably true, whether by nature or nurtured magic the man's appearance could contend with the greek heroes of old. The same golden curly hair opposite blue eyes and a square cleft chin on top of a heavily muscled proportionate form. Timothy grit his teeth a bit.
Damn lucky bastard, pretty, powerful… and already very popular!
Reaching the shore the giant...posed was the term that came to Timothy’s mind, one foot forward of the other, muscles neither tense nor fully relaxed. Waiting in the midday sunlight, his very presence began to emit a field that incited awe. Enforced awe.
With a simple flex of his trained will Timothy threw it off. It was not so simple for the other occupants in the room. Jenney appeared to force herself to look away, flushed and angry at the same time. Arthur had a sharp influx of something from his brotherhood bond and he then casually looked away.
Huh, Timothy started slightly. Belief supporting willpower was no surprise to him. But the brotherhood could share willpower passively as well? That he did not know. It was impressive. He had assumed it was only during formalized spells that they could brace each other.
He shrugged the observation aside, the Nellie was approaching the docks. She coasted, only moving enough to fight the river flow a good twenty feet from them, her deck door opened and Joe stepped out. He stood in plain view for a few moments, allowing himself to be seen.
Then he spoke, “Hello the shore, may we approach?”
“If you are friendly, be welcome, if you are not… well.” The giant stooped slightly to pick up a watermelon sized river rock in a fist that dwarfed it. The fist clenched with a horrid metallic grating sound and he opened it to pour out dust and gravel, “I would not recommend it.”
“We come offering trade, not violence. The wilds provide enough threats without making it worse for our fellow man.”
“Then come ashore and be welcome. I am Bensen. Be aware, our laws are written on the base of the statue you see on the hilltop. If you are in my village they apply to you as well.”
Timothy quickly skewed the pool back to the statue and moved in on the base, “Shit, I thought they were just decoration… It's just written in cursive! Who uses cursive anymore?”
Jenney snorted, “I still use cursive, you are just a philistine who types everything. Be grateful he is speaking in english, I half expected greek.”
“If he had, I would have been happy to translate.” Gareth offered with a smile.
“I didn’t know you spoke Greek, Gareth.” Timothy looked over in surprise.
“I speak five different languages fluently. A smattering of others to a lower degree. A lot of the folk songs come from very different places. It’s something of a hobby to make sure I know exactly what I am singing about.”
“Impressive, but let's get back on topic. What does it say Jenney, Gareth?” Regi broke in with a smile, “I haven't tried reading cursive since grandmother's birthday cards.”
Gareth smiled as Jenney gestured for him to go ahead, “It’s a bit wordy, let me paraphrase it. One, obey anyone above you in the social order, looks like that's normal citizens, then any one in a uniform, then the fearless leader. Two, show up for all worship services on time. Three don’t cheat or steal. Four dont fight eachother or commit murder. Pretty simple but it does cover the most common bases.“
“Yes, It does seem to cover the most common themes. I did let Da know not to get off the ship. That first law is a bit of a problem for us.” Regi rumbled out.
“--are grateful for your invitation, but I hope you will forgive us for declining to come ashore. This is our first meeting after all, and it’s not wise to commit to obeying laws before we have had a chance to read them.” The Nellie was drifting slowly into the dock as they spoke till finally they threw lines around the docks log bracings and tied her off without leaving the deck.
“Very well,” He turned away from the ship and bellowed out “JARED!” Turning back he continued in an indoor voice, indoor for a twenty foot tall giant that is. It still boomed annoyingly loud. “Jared is my seneschal. He will be able to discuss...trade with you.” A small amount of distaste slipped through his vocal control but his smile never wavered. “I have other, more important things to deal with. Do have a good day.”
Without waiting for an answer he strode uphill, in reverse of what happened earlier, the giant began to shrink with each step, until he disappeared into his temple at a mere seven feet in height.
A nameless voice muttered “Likes to make an impression, doesn’t he?”
The prospect of a fight evaporating Jenney, Gareth, Arthur and several of Arthurs officers shuffled to the ladder, there was always more work to do, and they weren’t so hard up for entertainment that they wanted to listen to Da bargain. Besides, if their expertise was needed Regi could contact them instantly.
Regi impassively waited for the last one to exit, closed the hatch, then “wheeeew,“ let out a breath in relief and collapsed back onto a cushion and then sprawled out on the floor.
“The hell is that all about Regi?”
“The awe effect from earlier? It’s just an echo of what you have to face in person. Half the Brotherhood was supporting Da and the crew to allow them to act natural. That man's very presence is a pain in the ass.”
“Not the only thing that he has going for him either. You should pay more attention to the statue. I think you could learn a great deal from it.”
“Are you implying that I am narcissistic? I have dreams of an empire, it’s true brother, but not the kind of ego required to put up statues of myself.”
“Even a blind squirrel can find two nuts. It’s not just about his ego.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Just because someone is a jackass does not mean that everything they do is wrong. Take the worst assholes of history and you can still learn something. That statue takes in belief and magic polluted by the many disparate ideas and flavors. It purifies and unites it into a single strand with a single intent.”
Seeing his brother's skeptical look he pushed ahead. “Forget the form the statue takes and focus on what it DOES!” Timothy stretched his arms to the ceiling, giving a last glance at the pool. Da was gesticulating at the colorful fabrics, dried spices and metal implements now displayed on the deck while a string of human pack mules carried an array of possible trade goods down the hill. Timothy spotted some new plant species, large pearls and some bags of unidentified dried plant matter.
Uninterested, he turned back to Regi, “You’re spending more and more of your time on stabilizing your bonds these days are you not? Maybe I should call it purifying them? If you want to form an empire, that amount of manual work is not going to cut it.”
Regi looked uncomfortable and annoyed, rolling upright he stomped over to the sideboard and grabbed a pair of mugs, pouring berryaid into one and herbal tea into the second. Stomping back he passed the tea to Timothy before speaking. “Your all knowing wizard act is getting old brother, how in hell did you know that?”
“Everybody looks but most don’t really see. Then again I am not most!” He smiled to depreciate the sheer arrogance in that statement. “It seems so simple… but so few manage it.” Timothy took a long pull of the herbal tea, not even grimacing at the bland taste. Healthy Timothy, it tastes healthy, not bland.
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“As long as both ends of the bond are present I can get a pretty good look. The steady influx of belief and magic from each of them flows into the bond and muddies it up. Lots of power, but it's not uniform in concept or intent. It’s an educated guess but; you have an idea of what loyalty is. You demand that all members of the brotherhood buy in and share that loyalty. But every person sees loyalty through a different lense. This discordance shows up as eddies and knots in the lines connecting you. Then you sit beside me and, a line at a time, it untangles and the flow smoothes. I couldn’t not notice it.”
“Haaaa, you think everyone spends time staring at the magic field? Or even if they do that they understand what they are seeing? I can’t even describe what I see in that chaotic mess, and simply looking too long gives me a headache. Whatever, forget that for now. You think I can copy this guy's idea to automate cleansing the bonds?”
“Not quite, copy implies you will do the same as him. That won’t work, you have completely different styles and ideals. No, what I said is that you can learn from him. Study how he does it then reinterpret it to fit your style.”
“I have been thinking about this for a while now and I might have a metaphor that works. Let's say that being a pathfinder is like being a musician. Each one of us has to make our own instrument, and we make it to fit our reach, lips, height whatever. You made a trumpet and it fits you perfectly. You can pass that instrument on to guardians if you want. It doesn’t really fit them, but they can still play it if you teach them a song. But you will have to teach them. Since the instrument doesn’t quite fit them they will never manage to write their own songs.”
“Then along comes another pathfinder, and instead of a trumpet he made himself a guitar. He rocks out on the guitar. He plays a song that rocks so hard that you get a bit jealous. You want to play that song too.”
“Now a guardian can just make a copycat guitar and learn the new tune by watching. But a pathfinder is stuck with the instrument they made. You can watch that guitarist play all you want. The fingering for a guitar is not going to help you on a trumpet. You have to listen to the notes and rewrite the song to take advantage of your own instrument's strengths.”
“I was never much of a fan of the trumpet. Can I be the sax player instead?”
“Go for it.”
“Interesting metaphor, I wonder what that makes a band.”
Timothy paused, it was a natural progression but he really had no idea how composite magic from several pathfinders would work. “I have no idea, if you get a chance to try it, be sure to let me watch.”
“I’ll think about it. How about you? Did you learn anything from this blind squirrel?”
“Yes indeed. A very humbling lesson actually.”
“You and humble don’t belong in the same sentence little brother.”
“Nevertheless, it is humbling. You realize his defense is more effective than ours? No one fights, no one dies, but the beasts stay away. I looked at magic and made a shiny gun. Unoriginal and still lashed to the ideals and assumptions of the old world. He simply commanded the critters to stay away, and they did.”
“So will you not-copy him as well? Will Runehold soon have an upraised hand to keep out the wildlife?”
“Nope, not really a healthy option unfortunately.”
“...you just said his way is better.”
“No, I said it was more effective, not better. It keeps the normal critters away. But it removes the pressure from his guardians. Without the threat of regular attacks they have no impetus to grow. I would imagine ours are already stronger than his. Also what happens if a certain fire breathing giant lizard doesn't get his pork lunch on time?”
Regi grimaced and quickly moved on, “So if you are not going to copy it then what did you learn?”
“We need to kill, not avoid the pigs, during a beast wave, agreed?” Regi nodded and spun his hand in a circular beckoning gesture. “The Nellie has no such need. So I might not-copy the effect for the boats. More importantly though is perspective. Magic provides more options than simply killing our foes. A wizard should be more than just an inventor of a new kind of gun. I’ve been thinking much too small, that is what is humbling. Why shoot something when I could make them run in circles till they die of exhaustion? Make the hold look like an empty hill, create mists to trap our enemies and leave them lost forever? Subtlety can be more effective than just a bigger lightning bolt.”
Regi snorted, he rather liked large lightning bolts. “That’s getting a bit ahead of ourselves. How about we both focus on what we can do now? Instead of in the hypothetical future. You say I should figure out how the statue works. So how, oh wise and beneficent wizard, do I do that?”
“Ha, ha, ha. Do you want me to charge you for it? Forget it, here,“ The pool's view shifted to capture the entire statue, “quiescent magic is usually hard to decrypt. The chaos of the background magic field hides it. But if it goes active it stands out like neon lights. Just wait for a worship service and you should get a pretty decent look. When the next one starts just activate the pool and make sure you do more than watch. Make sure you see!”
Timothy could make some educated guesses on how the effect worked. But simply telling Regi those guesses wouldn't help. It would just be a trumpet players understanding of a guitar solo transmitted to a saxophone. Useless. Regi would have to figure it out in terms and to a resonance that made sense to him.
“I wonder, brother dear, why don't you just write us all some tutorials? You clearly understand how this magic stuff fits together. Why make me slog through it? Specialization is a good thing for a community. Not everyone has to be good at everything.”
“It’s not that I’m unwilling to explain, but rather that it might hurt you rather than help. You have your path and I have mine. What works for me, or for Jenney or Gareth, probably wont work for you. You already know this!”
“Haaa, yes I know. But it's not all that fun sitting here listening to you lecture. I feel like a child grasping at straws.”
“Are we having a pity party now? Do I need to hold your hand and assure you that you have worth? Maybe a participation trophy?” Timothy ducked the empty mug that Regi half heartedly threw at himFine, I’ll feed your ego. I specialized in utility and understanding. You went a different route. One that is far more powerful. The Brotherhood pulling together can move mountains while I have to dig them up a shovel full at a time.”
“A shovel full that John Deer would be proud of! Pull the other one.”
Ignoring him Timothy continued “Perhaps more importantly, you bring security. Even with different viewpoints you still guarantee loyalty in your Brotherhood. They are loyal to you, to this town and to each other. We don’t have to worry about civil wars or a knife in the back. That is beyond valuable!”
“It’s why I haven't attempted to make a tool to awaken more guardians, or pushed Jenney to make a pill or Gareth a song. Each of us could do it given enough time and effort. Your way is just more stable for our entire community. You have a powerful and useful path Regi. I may provide our people with utility and comfort but you provide the glue that will keep us united.”
“That and you do kick ass!”
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“I might as well call this meeting of the council to order.” Da stood to the north of the unactivated scrying pool, directly opposite the massively expanded map room. “I need to make a report on my trip up river. It was... disturbing in many ways, but not for the reasons I expected.”
He paced back and forth before the council, ensconced on a series of uncomfortable stone chairs, the most uncomfortable chairs Timothy could manage in fact. Unpleasantly rough textures and a completely vertical backrest tall enough to push the users head forward should they be so foolish as to try to lean back. No, comfort would just encourage them to drag it out.
“The trade was plentiful and the traders happy. Every person we talked to had only good to say about their life and leadership.” He grimaced, “If I had not witnessed that scene before the temple I’d think we had found a real winner of a town.”
“That seems odd in itself Da, how many of our own inhabitants wouldn’t complain at the drop of a hat. From missing their cell phones to no video games.”
“A point I’m well aware of Regi. As I said, disturbing. I could guess but there is no proof. Hell it could be just a result of being around Bensen on a regular basis. Standing in front of him was difficult, I felt the urge to fall to my knees. Kneel and be happy. It felt really good while it was happening, it's only later thinking back that you realize how creepy it is.”
“Creepy doesn’t seem to be a good enough reason to interfere in someone else's business. They are happy, can feed themselves and have time left over for some small luxuries. That seems to be the definition of wealthy in our current state, no? Suspicions of bad behavior aren’t enough to justify messing with them.” Gareth sprawled across his chair, almost appearing comfortable with his feet over one arm and his head resting on the other. He was sipping on one of the various alcoholic experiments that were cropping up. Timothy couldn’t tell which from a distance, nor frankly from up close. Other than the berryaid they all mostly tasted like paint thinner. “If you have a lot of starving people, or obvious abuse it's one thing to try to step in. Right now it would sound something like this: ‘excuse me sir, you are clearly happy for all the wrong reasons and we are here to fix that. Presto! Now you can be properly unhappy!”
The sardonic tone and retched posture was deceptive, Timothy decided. The man did have a way with words.
“So the rapist walks and we have to smile at him?” Jenney spatout.
“A bridge too far there, Jenney, we have only a look to go on. Hardly rock solid evidence. Might want to hold off on calling him a rapist.” Timothy objected, “We may have to deal with him for years to come, no point picking a fight without cause or worse a way to win.”
“He is using magic to get women to sleep with him! How is that not rape?” Her voice was rising, becoming slightly shrill.
“Are you also a rapist then Jenney? The makeup and scents you are wearing are hardly mundane.”
“The Hell, Timothy! It’s not the same at all and the fact that you can’t see that seriously worries me!”
“Your voice is rising dear, relax a bit. You made a pretty blanket statement and your brother pointed it out. And Timothy? Quit baiting your sister! Let me rephrase the issue for you both. If we put magic in terms of scents it could be from roses to chloroform. Where on the list do you put the pheromone based perfumes? Does making yourself look prettier with magic make it rape? Of course not. Does mind controlling your date count? Of course it does!”
Timothy nodded in thanks to Ma, before giving Jenney an apologetic half bow.
Arthur spoke up, “Interfering could cost lives, from what Timothy was saying earlier that man has some serious power. If you want our troops to take him, we will do so. But we shouldn’t ask for that sacrifice unless we have a definite cause. So far, this Bensen has not given us a smoking gun.”
Looking around, Timothy saw general agreement, sometimes reluctant agreement, but agreement nevertheless. Even Jenney was not so eager to deal with Bensen that she could stomach the thought of their own people dying.
When it was clear there would be no audible objections, despite the disgusted body language, Regi spoke up, “We have been allowing, encouraging really, groups of our people to travel to Paradise and vise versa. Just another way to bring our towns closer together. I suggest we don’t allow the same for Templeton.”
“Is that the name of the place?” Timothy was amused, At least it's not Bensonville.
Papa Joe shook his head, “Like us they did not need a name when they had no known neighbors. I imagine they will decide on one fairly quickly, but for now Templeton is as good a name as any.”
Regi spoke, “The name doesn’t really matter.” Timothy was not so sure about that, Oscar probably had a point, but he kept quiet. “What matters is that we need to bring in the leaders of Paradise to these meetings. If we are to be friends we can hardly hide all this from them. It would not work with gossip being what it is anyway.”
“I agree, we can’t hide it anyway, might as well make a gift of the information while we can.” Da nodded before continuing, “But it is a shift in our relations, so we need a formal vote, how do you say?”
Regi, “I proposed it.”
Jenney nodded, “Pointless secrecy is pointless.”
Gareth, “Agreed, can’t hide it anyway.”
Ma “Agreed.”
Arthur “Agreed.”
Timothy, “Go for it. But how much are you going to share? I don’t want strangers in this room unless they have a magically enforced loyalty.”
“Haaaa, you just had to make a simple issue complicated? Fine, I can tell them about our exploratory trip up river without saying why we went.” Da scratch the back of his head in exasperation, “Is it really that necessary though? The shows you put on the screen outside along with the first images of paradise,“ Jenney had the grace to blush and look away at that, “make this an unkeepable secret.”
“They know I can do many things, but they don’t know the limitations or costs. I would like to keep it that way. A wizard must be mysterious after all.” Timothy raised his nose into the air with a crooked grin, easily getting the chuckles he had aimed for.
It was only half a joke. Knowledge was power. Take Templeton for instance. He knew so much more about Bensen than Bensen knew about him. If it came to a fight then Bensen, despite his superior power, was in for a world of hurt. That same case applied to every other town they found. The less he revealed the more likely it was that the short end of the knowledge stick would be in someone else's hand.
He had been very free with information and it had helped them to survive the first beast waves, so it wasn’t necessarily a mistake, but he needed to be more careful in the future.
“Fine, I guess I have another trip to make then.” Da stopped pacing and turned towards the ladder. “Anything else? The BBQ competition for tonight should start soon and I really don’t want to miss it.”
Muttered no, and hell no’s ringed the room as everyone began to excitedly stand up, everyone but Ma.
“Ahem, aren’t you forgetting something dear? The trade goods?”
Mutters of discontent made the rounds, but they did wander back to their chairs.
“Ah, right you are. I will keep it short. -”
“You can do that?”
“Hush, your interruptions, Timothy, it will only make it take longer. Templeton has several long term trade products that will be very sought after. The non-strategic luxury goods include some freshwater pearls for jewelry and decorations, they are quite large and beautiful, as well as several nice new spice plants. The real winner, if it works as advertised, is what they call blessed incense. It smells great, is very mildly euphoric and they say it stops the spread of sickness and disease.“
That snapped backs upright in a hurry, “How can we confirm that?” Arthur was the first to speak.
Timothy looked over at Jenney, waiting for her nod before speaking for both of them “Unless there's more to it then you have said, it likely doesn’t work. That would have to be a magic effect and magic requires an active mind somewhere in the process.”
“Yes, apparently you need to have a magic user of some kind light it and pray for health.” Joe grimaced, waiting for the backlash. He did not have to wait long.
“Pray to who?” Jenney’s voice was icy cold.
“Haaa, not sure. They obviously pray to Benson. I am hoping the two of you can either make it work without that or reverse engineer it.” He waved down Jenney’s incipient explosion, “I have good reasons daughter. I haven't said much because there was nothing to be done, but we are in a tropical climate and plagues were very common in the old world. From cholera to malaria and many more that I don’t remember. The most common cause of death was sickness. Filtered water and frequent bathing should help us, but if this incense can work, we NEED it.” His head dropped as worry lines became more distinct on his face. Like a punch in the belly, Timothy saw his Da as old for perhaps the first time.
He was not alone in that realization, losing her frigid expression Jenney stood, walking over she hugged him, his seated head resting against her shoulder, “I have worried too, Da. Sorry, I should have trusted you more.”
He hugged her back with a smile, and the wrinkles did not disappear, but they did fade into the background again. “No harm dear, I don’t want his influence in our home either. I considered trying to copy the central fires from Paradise. But Oscar assures me we would need to hold regular mass services to feed a spirit of health that would live in the fire. It’s not something that fits with who and what we are but as allies I feel pretty reluctant to ask you to reverse engineer it. Seems like a betrayal of trust. I have no such compunctions with Templeton.”
“I’ll take a look at it Da,” Timothy volunteered, “No guarantees but between Jenney and me, we can probably make something of it.”
Ma stood up as well and changed the topic, “Enough of the maudlin, there is a BBQ outside waiting for us!”
The cheers were half hearted at first, but they did not stay that way. Life went on and, Timothy reflected, remembering rule 32 from an old movie, you always have to enjoy the little things.