On their walk up a small flight of stairs, William learned that for someone who used to sing gospel music, she sure had some very colorful and sinful words for him after his antics. He found it equally fascinating how someone could be so red with embarrassment whilst speaking with a tongue he could of sworn was inherited from a sailor’s mouth. Fortunately for William and his ears, they found their rooms opposite one another and with a truly heartfelt gesture with two of Jane’s fingers, William saw her pull John into her room leaving the man with a befuddled expression and deep mirth plastered on William’s face. A slam of her door signaled the end of their warm family moment.
“It’s cute how she acts when she crushes on someone. She always blushes when it’s pointed out,” Stacey said, still holding his arm, but using her free hand to open their room door.
“I’ll have to remember that for future ammo,” William replied, schemes already forming.
As they entered their room, Stacey looked at the bed and frowned. William turned his attention to where Stacey’s gaze fell and saw a double bed with simple cotton sheets. Stacey walked over and prodded down on the mattress before she grimaced.
“What?” William said, concerned that they might have been ripped off, even if it was a free room.
“It’s quite firm, like it’s packed with something that should be soft, but is so packed that it’s rather solid instead.”
William walked over and inspected the bed itself. He felt a little bit of give before the texture hardened after the first half an inch or so. He caught Stacey eyeing him expectantly. He sighed and walked to the center of the room. With a thought, he summoned the super soft and totally awesome bed. The original bed consumed most of one side of the room with the two night stands on each side. A large dresser consumed half of the stage left side of the room, with a small table and chair filling out the remainder of space. The wall opposite of that had a doorway to a small en-suite and a short step down to it from the room proper. This made placing their own bed down difficult anywhere else. The walls were adorned with a few simple paintings of landscapes and bowls with fruit in them.
William watched as Stacey’s face turned form a frown to one of glee as she hopped into the bed, getting undressed before getting under the covers. He stopped for a moment to admire the view before he let his curiosity get the better of him and he checked out the en-suite. Inside was a wooden faucet that had the same piping below as what he had seen inside Serendipity. Similar pipes led to a wooden box with a toilet seat shaped hole in it. It was similar to a medieval toilet, but the piping indicated running water and a potential sewage system somewhere. William inwardly groaned as he realized that Greenwell would probably need something similar as people had typically been going to a nearby hill with some leaves taken from the trees they logged to do their business and wipe afterwards. It was yet another request, meaning another task most likely.
William didn’t need to use the toilet for the minute however, as he had noticed that such needs only occurred every day or so for him now. He assumed it was down to his physical attributes being higher, or maybe his vitality had more effect on his body function than just HP. He stowed those musings as it wasn’t really relevant to him at the moment. What was relevant however was the Phaseling that was perched on the headboard of his bed. He still had to agree to a bond or whatever Wylton said.
He walked over and saw a cautious Stacey looking at the bat-like creature with curiosity and concern. William sat on the bed and gestured his arm out to act as a perch. He doubted it would work, but when the creature briefly flapped its wings, the beast was propelled onto his arm. William was impressed that the landing was gentle. He had half expected a sudden weight to land on his arm, yet the creature became semi translucent in flight and felt incredibly light. It seemed that given the earlier display, Phaselings weighed less, the more immaterial they became. William wasn’t sure how to initiate the bond and tried to will a prompt to appear, like a Soul-bound item. He was disappointing as nothing happened.
The creature emitted some low squeaks and William felt drawn to its eyes. As he gazed into the large globes of jet the creature had, he saw an infinite abyss with infinite possibility. The black expanded, consuming his vision until a subtle and steely mist that was ever so familiar. In the distance, he saw the three green stars of his soul and the two bound items at present, and William had expected for another to form. What happened next subverted his expectations significantly as the mists swirled around him within that black, abyssal space, condensing and forming into a bat-like shape. Was the creature forming in his Soulspace?
A pressure descended on his very soul and he instinctively knew that he could either accept the bond then, or decline it forever; no second chances. He didn’t want to delay in case of a timer so he willed acceptance into the pressure, making it disappear and the shape to disperse back into mist. He thought the process had gone wrong for a moment and a deep, profound loss started to creep into his mind. This passed briefly as he heard the flutter of wings as the mist had transformed into thousands of bat-like shapes that flew around the spaces where the mist had been before. The Steely mist had transformed, and he knew the bond was completed.
William opened his eyes and was laying on the bed with a worried Stacey gazing down at him.
“William! Are you hurt? Shall I get Jane?”
He just gave a faint smile and shook his head. The girl before him was perfection incarnate, so warm and caring. He would never deserve her. He wasn’t a good person, but merely someone who did what was necessary to survive. The acts of a noble hero true were not something he had performed. He had done dark things since coming to GAEA and gained benefits from those. He wasn’t and would never be the hero. Having someone as true-hearted as Stacey by his side was a blessing he didn’t think he would ever deserve, but would gladly accept. Her care for him was something deeper than he had ever experienced, even from his own family.
Stacey cuddled him and he held her tight in his arms, taking in her warmth and the soft caress of her skin on his. When had he took his shirt off?
As if reading his mind at seeing William’s expression, Stacey said, “I took your clothes off to check for any injuries.”
He felt himself and noticed his underwear was also gone.
“Did you think I was bleeding to death from my dick or something?” William replied, with a cheeky grin.
“I just wanted to admire the view.”
“Priorities are in order then I see?”
“They always are when I’m with you William.”
William smiled and wrapped his dominant arm around her waist and gave her a kiss.
He had felt the presence of his bond in the back of his mind since waking and knew even without looking, that his bond was on one of the night stands by the Inn’s bed. He knew beasts didn’t really care about the ‘mating’ habits of other creatures and how privacy can be required, but William didn’t want to perform with a beast’s eyes looking in on the act. It was the equivalent of a dog looking at you while doing the deed. Some people didn’t care, but most did.
As the two embraced with William’s new bond suddenly finding the carpentry of the night stand fascinating, the night continued on, peaceful and calm.
The next morning greeted William with chirping birds and god rays creeping in from the slats of the wooden window shutters. The warmth of the sun told on his skin told William that it was between early morning or near noon. He rose to get dressed, gently waking Stacey who had rolled over and somehow shifted into a Z shape lying position. The sight made him smile, it was adorable and comical both in one. As William got dressed, he felt for his bond and was relieved when he got the mental feedback that his bond was somewhere high above, most likely the branches above the Inn.
William sensed that his bond could convey sensations at will and he also theorized that he could do the same back. He tried to will his bond to send him the sensations of his surroundings. In a mere moment, William mentally felt the warmth of the sun and a gentle kiss of a breeze. William was now sure that his bond was where he expected. William found the method of communication interesting as it didn’t convey words, but instead it was more like feelings, will and intent. It was as if the pair had a secret language only they knew, and knew intimately. William finished getting his gear equipped and gave the now finally stirring Stacey a kiss on her forehead, before stepping away to give her space to get dressed.
After about twenty minutes, the pair were ready to be on their way and left the room. William made sure to take all their belongings before leaving as he couldn’t be sure that everyone in Everglade had pure intentions. He noticed that the door to John and Jane’s room was still locked by the little red marker near the handle. The doors all had locks that when turned, displayed a red marker, like old toilets did on Earth with the ‘engaged’ or ‘vacant’ messages. William found it amusing that what Earth used for their toilets, the Fantasy Inn instead used for their guest rooms. He wondered if it would be funny to tell the guy behind the bar about it, but decided against it, just in case he pissed the guy off.
As they were making their way to the main hall to leave, Stacey spoke up, “Is it a good idea to let them sleep in? They might struggle to find us.”
The pair had reached the hall and saw it barely filled, a handful of people remained and some of those were making ready to leave. The big guy from before was still behind the bar, yawning quite visibly, and William assumed the guy was taking night shifts each day.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“It’ll be fine, I’ll talk to the guy behind the bar to leave a message for them to meet us by the big ass tree,” William said, beginning to walk to the bar.
“I’d try and call it Serendipity William, who knows what would happen if you anger Wylton by insulting it or whatever.”
She made a very valid point there and William really didn’t want to be on the receiving end of a pissed off druid’s wrath, especially a pissed off druid in his grove. He just nodded with a smile as they reached the bar.
“What can I-” The big guy yawned briefly before continuing “-do you guys for?”
“Can you tell or leave a message for the person taking over your shift to let the two people from room two know to meet us by Th-...Serendipity at some point today please? They’ll know who the message was from.”
“Sure I’ll-” Another yawn “-get right on that” The big guy said, pulling out a quill and paper and starting to write a note, presumably for the shift change to read.
William was about to leave but figured it was worthwhile to get the man’s name in case they stayed another night, for whatever reason.
“By the way big guy, what’s your name? I’m William and this is Stacey.”
“Alvar.”
Alvar didn’t say anything else and carried on his business, clearly flagging at the end of his shift.
The pair left and as the sun peaked through the canopy, the warmth caressed their skin. Both of them let out a small, contented moan, and laughed to each other as they noticed the other’s behavior. William leaned down slightly and kissed Stacey, enjoying the heat of the sun almost as much as the heat of the moment.
After what felt like an eternal moment, the two parted lips and clasped hands, continuing out and heading towards Serendipity regarding the business they had with the councilors. William had a sudden realization that he hadn’t given his bond a name. He willed his bond to fly down and land on his other outstretched arm. He did so dutifully and let out some soft squeaks. William could tell he was expecting a name as the bond had already conveyed William’s intent.
“From this day...your name is...Echo,” William said, receiving happy squeaks and positive affirmation down their bond.
William had lacked originality as the name was inspired by a bat’s Echo-Location abilities back on Earth. He felt some self-induced guilt at comparing Echo to a bat as even though the characteristics were there, Echo was active at night and during day time, something bat’s didn’t really do typically back on earth.
William noticed Echo’s gaze turn to a bunch of crawling bugs at the base of a nearby tree and William felt a request down the bond. Echo was asking if he could eat.
“Go for it buddy,” William said, looking at the bugs to see the devastation that would befall them.
Echo flapped his wings from William’s arm and let out a loud squeak that seemed to warp the air in front of him ever so slightly. The wave of sound washed over the bugs, stunning them and making them easy pickings for Echo’s tiny hands and mouth. In a brief moment the insects were gone. Consumed. A happy Echo flapped back up from the ground and landed on William’s shoulder, laying down on it and relaxing in the sunlight shining on the three of them. William sensed contentedness down the bond and knew in that moment that this bond would be one of the most important he would ever know in his life.
“He’s so cute!” Stacey said with quiet glee, visibly being reserved to not alarm Echo.
William had to agree. He had animal companions in several games he played back on earth and read a lot of fantasy manga where people bond with animals, spirits, or in a surprising amount of cases, slimes. He knew they were all make believe but in that moment, he felt that a missing part of him he hadn’t known was gone had been made whole once more.
On their walk to serendipity, William spotted a food stall selling meat skewers and decided to grab a couple for him and Stacey. He approached and noticed that Echo had become alert briefly as people started appearing in the streets, if they could be called that more and more as the day’s hustle and bustle began in earnest. The little guy had phased himself into transparency by the time William was at the counter of the stall. William understood how the guy felt, if it wasn’t for his stats in Charisma, William expected that he would fair as poorly and want to disappear too. Hell, he had done just that for years back on Earth. Echo was young though so he hoped that would change for the little guy as he grew up.
William smiled at an older woman who was in white overalls to get her attention. He assumed she was the chef, but also seemed to be the only worker in the stall itself.
“Hello lad, we’ve got some of the juiciest honey basted Rellzin Skewers in all of Everglade. Normally three coppers a piece, but as you are visiting, it’ll be two coppers each. Call it a gesture of welcome from me to you.”
“Thankyou, I’ll gladly take you up on that. It smells divine,” William said, meaning every word.
He appreciated and respected kind gestures and so pulled out six coppers and said, “Take two coppers extra as a gift of thanks anyway. I appreciate the gesture.”
“Oh, how can I refuse the goodwill of a strapping young lad like yourself, here you go, they can be hot and sticky,” The lady said, handing over two meat skewers, one each to William and Stacey.
They waved their goodbyes and ate on the walk. William and Stacey did a silly toast, to themselves and tapped the skewers together before indulging in the food. As William chewed the first chunk on the skewer, the first of four such chunks, his eyes widened in culinary pleasure. The honey was not overly sweet and didn’t dominate the juicy meat that leaked juices with every bite. The glaze at first seemed like honey only, but William picked up some faintly peppery undertones. The glaze had apparently been honey and seasoning in one.
William gazed over at Stacey and saw her face matched his own with equal delight. The two continued until William was on the last chunk. He was about to eat it but paused and looked to Echo on his shoulder. The little guy had appeared again as the area quietened down, being further away from the main stalls and thoroughfares of Everglade. William decided to treat his new bond. He wanted Echo to experience all the delights he did, for that was what those with a bond did for each other. He had no operator manual to bonds, but knew in an instant that the link warranted such sharing. Sharing of food, experience, battles, hardships, delights, and first meetings.
William held out the chunk of meat to Echo and smiled when he sniffed it twice before cautiously taking a nibble. Echo squeaked happy noises after the first bite and grasped the chunk with both his tiny arms and started munching away. William felt the happiness once again down the bond and felt like it would never get old.
As he thought the word old, Wylton appeared as they reached the clearing towards Serendipity. He gave them what William believed to be his signature sagely smile and waved them over.
“Good morning, I hope the Inn was to your satisfaction. Also, congratulations on your bond, William. I can see the ethereal link between your souls. It seems you formed a strong initial bond. It will only grow stronger over time,” Wylton said, with a widening smile.
William found that interesting, and was pleased that the bond wasn’t frail. He feared the mental anguish of losing the bond to an almost irrational capacity. William caught the gaze of Wylton shift to Echo that was just finishing the skewer chunk.
Wylton continued, “I see you discovered Maggin’s Stall. Her skewers are amazing, and definitely worth the price.”
Stacey grinned and quickly replied, “Yeah, she even let us have them for two coppers each instead of three, though William was sweet and gave her the two extra as a thank you for the gesture.”
Wylton looked at Stacey, then back to William and started chuckling. William was confused at that, and as he eyed Stacey, he could see that she felt the same way. They waited for Wylton to explain what was funny.
A few moments later the Druid replied, “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but the skewers always sell at two coppers a piece, she wouldn’t let them go for anything less. I see the old salesman hasn’t lost her touch. She’s as wily as she is experienced at the hustle that stall owners often need to gain an edge.”
William let out a tired sigh at the news of them being sales pitched and even more so at his stupid idea of generosity. He only lost six coppers though, and given his finances at present, it wasn’t even a drop in the pond for him. Stacey was stupefied at the news, but turned to look back in the direction they had came from and William had a feeling that Stacey didn't like being tricked like that. She had a serious expression that he hadn’t seen before and William had to grab her arm gently to stop her from stomping off and most likely getting into at the minimum a verbal battle. It always sucked to confront salespeople as they always knew what to say. In this new world, William expected that the old woman would also have a fuck ton of charisma if what he learned of Jobs was true.
“It’s okay Stacey, I’ve got plenty of money. We know for next time,” William said in a gentle tone, quiet enough so any of the few passer-bys in the area didn’t catch his words.
It took her a few moments to calm herself until William felt the tension in her arm he held slacken and she exhaled a long held breath.
William leaned in and hugged Stacey, whispering, “Let’s talk about it later when we’re alone yeah? I’m here for you.”
Stacey buried her head in his chest for a moment and after a contented sigh, nodded. In the cuddle, the motion was more of a slight shift than a full nod, but William got the gist.
William let go of Stacey and took her hand in his as he turned back to face Wylton.
“You’re earlier than expected. I had thought the plan was to meet at Serendipity?”
Wylton looked behind himself to the massive tree and took a long glance at it before he returned his gaze to William and said, “That was the plan, but we had receipt of your acceptance as Provisional AU members. We just need to wait for Jane and John. I had hoped they would be with you.”
William chuckled after some elation at the good news. He was going to become an actual adventurer. The prospect excited him greatly.
William smiled and in an amused tone replied, “Going at it like rabbits...probably.”
Stacey slapped his arm lightly, shaking her head in amusement, and Wylton looked confused.
The Druid seemed to indulge his curiosity and asked, “What is a...‘Rabbit’?”
William’s disappointment was immeasurable and his day was slightly diminished as his humor had fallen flat with Wylton.
In a dejected tone he replied, “A creature from our world. Hairy, floppy ears, hops about, eats carrots. That’s a food from our world.”
Wylton looked like he wanted to know more given the widened eyes and glint of curiosity shining in them. He looked up and saw the sun near its zenith. He decided to make it worth his while.
“How badly do you want to know, Wylton?”
The druid shuffled slightly closer and in a wistful voice replied, “To learn all of nature’s gifts is my purpose. I have to know.”
“I’ll tell you all about the creatures and vegetables of Earth, if you register a task to both of us to tell you. I’ll take payment in the bond I made with Echo, as per what was mentioned to yesterday.”
“Can you pick a different task for the bond deal?”
“I want it for this task and will still do the other things you need as I have other things I’d like to arrange between our settlements.”
Wylton paused for a few moments, that turned to a couple of minutes as he stood motionless in his thoughts. William And Stacey both got jump-scared as he suddenly twitched back into motion and nodded fervently, his eyes like that of a pupil ready to learn from a wizened master. “That’s rather Ironic.” William thought. He would have time to kill before the two lovebirds showed up so he decided to make the best use of his time.
He was about to speak as Stacey suddenly said, “I want a bond too as my reward for the task. Nothing so great as Echo there, but something cute and fluffy.”
Wylton only seemed to half pay attention to the request and flicked his hands, sending two prompts into William and Stacey’s minds.
{Ascension_Protocol}
{Taskmaster Quest}
Task 1 – Explain details of various flora and fauna from [Origin Planet] to Taskmaster’s satisfaction.
Reward – Clearance of Debt with Taskmaster.
Debt – 1 bonded creature.
{End}
It was a brand new prompt and William felt excited on seeing it. It seemed like a straightforward enough task, how hard could it be?