Chapter Fifty Three
Kukurnal’s natural bright smile stayed on his face until Joe disappeared up the stairs and his smile faded, replaced by a look consideration before quickly shifting to one of respect when he looked to the Matriarch. He maintained a polite positive posture as he looked at her and she finally looked away from the staircase.
She looked at him, her graceful mask returned by the time she was facing him but it broke only a few moments later as her façade shattered and was replaced with fearful shock, “How can you so easily speak with him!?”
Kukurnal replied with a small smile, “I had the benefit of knowing him before I knew. Our… interactions were already relaxed and open. Never once did I fear him in any way.”
She shivered and calmed down but still shook her head, “I do not believe I could ever become friendly… be his friend.”
“I believe with time you will find him… comfortable to chat with.”
She stared at him for a time before bowing her head slightly, “I’m uncertain I will ever feel comfortable with him.”
Kukurnal stayed silence for a moment before replying cautiously, “You will not return?”
Her reply was also preluded by a long silence, “I learned much and I do not believe I was in any danger.”
“You were not. He truly is as he shows himself to be.”
“And you know this from only several days of knowing him.”
“Too many disconcerting inconsistencies.”
“He lies?”
“No. He has never lied in my presence to the best of my knowledge.”
“You used Truth Telling?”
“He was… interesting. I used Truth Telling many times and I have never seen him lie. He has… refused to speak on certain matters, but when he does speak, he never lies.”
The Matriarch rose slightly at this, “And tonight?”
“Truth.”
This brought the Matriarch to a pause before she continued, “Then what of the inconsistencies you mentioned. Why are you not concerned?”
“You misunderstand, Matriarch. The inconsistencies increase my trust of him. He does not act in arrogance and his actions of justice are true and not simply a play at justice. He took on the cloth armorer children, protecting them from the corrupt usurer but did not simply save them from the usurer once but paid their debt, freed them from him, returned the honor to their family, and then offered them protection as apprentices and truly trains them and offers them growth.”
“He grows them?”
Kukurnal nodded with a bow but did not reply. This caused the Matriarch to finally fall silent and Kukurnal allowed her the moment in thought. She took some time before she finally returned to the present and waved her protection on.
“Thank you, Kukurnal. It was truly an incredibly interesting evening. I believe I shall join you once again, although my schedule and responsibilities prevent me from enjoying every evening as you do. I will, however, surely return.”
“I will await your return with interest.”
The Matriarch did not respond having already left.
* * *
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Joe woke the next morning well rested once again, finding the long nights and early bed times incredibly satisfying. He lay in bed for some time before taking some time to consider his nightmares he had about killing, the faces in his dream now a mix of the bandits on the road and those that had attacked him in the dungeon, and his reaction to it before rising to continue his practice away from the others to allow them their rest. He washed quickly and prepared for the morning quietly before heading to the yard of the inn to practice, although he did stop by the outhouse for morning relief, wincing as the stench of sewage rolled out from the doorway, causing him to wince.
He literally held his breath as he relieved himself before escaping quickly and moving to the far side of the small yard, grateful for the fact that the walls enclosing the courtyard were small enough that a breeze quickly took away the stench of the outhouse up and over the far wall from him. Huh… did they plan it that way? Knew which way the breeze tended to blow? Kind of really important, I guess. Issues of wind and scent slipped his mind as he settled into his forms and lost himself in the perfection of the moment, letting it wind through him, mind, body and soul.
He soon finished his set and returned to the room to still find the other three asleep. He’d given up lying in bed to get his exercise done earlier. Even with the time he’d spent in meditation to deal with his feelings regarding the bandits, he still had got out of bed earlier than normal as he’d usually lay in bed until the sun was at least well up. But now, since he just left the room and practiced alone in the yard, he had no reason to remain in bed out of consideration for the others. They would get sleep well enough if he just left the room.
With the return to the room, he was unable to really do anything and found himself lying on the bed once again with boredom drumming up anxiousness. He spent some time going over his status, actually going over his various pages three or four times each before finally sighing and giving up. He then sat up and settled in to once again trying to meditate, choosing to spend more time on his heart issues regarding the bandit killing and found that he was much more easily accepting of his actions and the ultimate deadly result.
It was the rustling of the bedding and movement that brought him out of his inner thoughts and he became aware of his physical existence, then his surroundings before he opened his eyes and smiled, watching the three seeming to wait in both expectation and excitement. Joe stood without saying anything, simply gesturing everyone to form up in ready position before they began their forms.
They spent about an hour on their forms, Joe spending a bit more time today than normal as he already had his current job at level twenty and didn’t have to worry about spending as much time in the day since he only had to level ten levels instead of thirty. Although, with how growth costs so much more… hmmm. Joe took the time, letting the three continue their forms alone, to run the numbers before sighing deeply when he realized that the first twenty levels, with his current learning, would only take about fifteen minutes now whereas the next ten levels to thirty would take pretty much two thirds the day, or about seven hours. This curve is just… nuts!
Joe dropped the thought and turned back to his teaching but taught more rapidly to cut back on the teaching time as he realized that he didn't have as much time as he’d thought he had. He finished off their next iteration of their forms before sending everyone to clean themselves at the morning wash basin full of tepid water. Joe left them behind and headed down to the common area, ordering breakfast for everyone while waiting for them. All three came down soon after and they ate together, a warm closeness of fellowship wrapping the group in camaraderie with Garnedell and Zilnek enjoying a brotherly and friendly rivalry while Kilniara began to spend more of her time conversing with Joe, the two moving into their own world that the other two seemed perfectly willing to allow them to share.
Breakfast ended and the three excitedly and quickly dove into the dungeon once again for the day with Joe being dragged along behind them although even he felt a sense of excitement. Once again taking their normal place in the corner on the first floor opposite the safe area. They executed their day simultaneously to what they had done yesterday with he and Garnedell alternating fighting with and protecting each of the siblings.
The morning went well enough, the siblings having two chances each with Joe. He called an end after the second round and had everyone sit down to enjoy their lunch. While they were enjoying their lunch, Joe suddenly saw the goblin king, never really having noticed when or where it came from. It seemed to have just suddenly been there.
Joe sat up quickly at that, “Hey! It’s here.”
The other three looked over quickly, Zilnek taking a bit longer than the other two although Kilniara was the one to respond, “What’s here?”
“The goblin king.”
The three apprentices became quite interested at that and Garnedell asked, “Are you going to fight it again?”
“Yeah, I think I will. Is that OK?”
The other three nodded and Joe stood, heading to the goblin king as he called out behind him, “Careful and stay in the corner. I’ll be back quick.”
Joe jumped up and headed across the floor, dodging past most of the goblins except for two, which he quickly dispatched before coming upon the king. The king, as before, ignored everyone around him until Joe stepped within some arbitrary range that seemed to trigger the king’s aggression. As Joe rushed in, excited to take on the goblin king once again, he made a critical mistake. The goblin turned on him so rapidly, even with its back turned, that Joe almost felt like it was some kind of robot with its rapid precise turn and perfect immediate reaction.