Both the Matriarch and Gwenvair looked up at Joe with some surprise.

“No? Maybe? I’m uncertain… but I’ve never heard of any with more than one?” Gwenvair replied quickly.

“And you’ve never killed a city killer before…so…” Joe trailed off and looked at the trail wafting from the Matriarch and the one coming out of one of the windows of the villa they were at. Joe remained silent at that, lost in thought as he stared at the two synesthesia smells and compared them.

The Matriarch watched while Joe pondered, patient but obviously a bit confused before Joe noticed that he was holding up the procession, “Oh… I’m sorry. Let’s continue.”

“Yes, eccentric.”

Joe stifled a sigh at his title and walked with them to the villa entrance. Gwenvair stepped forward and pressed her hand to a strange symbol on the wall beside the door before speaking.

“The Matriarch seeks an audience.”

The symbol lit with a subtle glow, flashed a few times, then faded. A few moments later, the door opened, a maid waiting for them.

“The master blacksmith is currently not in, Matriarch.”

Gwenvair spoke, “Then the Matriarch wishes to know where the esteemed blacksmith may be?”

“He is currently at the wall, enjoying the view of the city killer’s harvest.”

“The Matriarch is grateful.”

The maid began to close the door but Joe interjected, “I’m sorry. May we enter?”

The maid seemed shocked. She looked at Joe, then back at Gwenvair with surprise. She seemed completely uncertain.

“Please? I have an interest.”

The Matriarch looked at Joe, searching his face for a bit before turning back and nodding to Gwenvair. Gwenvair smiled and turned to the maid.

“May we enter?”

The maid seemed confused and concerned. She stood in the doorway for a few moments frozen. She ultimately couldn’t stay in the way, and quickly moved aside at Gwenvair’s second insistence.

“Please, come in.”

The group entered the villa central courtyard under the open hallway and Joe turned to see the synesthetic scent wafting from the right. He turned to the Matriarch.

“Matriarch? May I see the quad core from the giant?”

The Matriarch turned to Joe, looking at him carefully before nodding softly and handing the core over to Joe. He held it up and sniffed it. Huh… does smell… pretty good, too. Weird. He then turned to the scent wafting from the side room and tried to smell it as well, but found it a bit distant… somehow weak and difficult to truly catch. He turned and followed it to the room. He came upon the door, the scent showing itself to truly be synesthetic at that point as it went right through the door itself. He opened the door and walked inside to see what was making the smell.

“Uh… master? Eccentric? You cannot… you should not enter the…”

Gwenvair didn’t say anything, simply looking at the maid. The maid quickly quieted.

On the desk inside the room was a rather massive bone. Finger bone? Or toe bone? It gave off the exact same scent and smell as the core, although it had an added earthy scent to it somehow. Guess that’s the earth attunement? I guess? But then how is the smell still… the same? Does it mean it comes from the same… animal… uh… monster? There’s some pretty weird stuff going on here… but…

His thoughts were interrupted by a very cold imperious voice, “Is that the city killer’s bone?”

Joe came too and saw the Matriarch ice cold, staring at the maid. The maid stared back at her, struggling for a bit but not really saying anything before responding.

“I do not truly know. I am sorry.”

The Matriarch turned towards the maid, “Who brought it in?”

The maid shivered, staring up at her Matriarch for a bit before she replied, much more fearful, “The… the master… Matriarch.”

The Matriarch’s composure stiffened quite a bit, the room going much colder, “Bring it.”

Gwenvair nodded and stepped forward to get the finger bone but Joe interrupted, “Let me. It’s a bit big.”

Gwenvair looked up to Joe and smiled, “Thank you.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“My pleasure. Where do you want to take this?”

“Let us go to the city killer’s corpse, first.”

“Sounds good to me,” Joe offered with a smile, slinging the finger bone up on his shoulder.

Gwenvair turned and led everyone out, her Mother following right behind her. Joe shrugged and followed as well. Kilniara slipped past him in a scamper and slid in next to Gwenvair, both slipping their hands into each other’s. The two boys wrestled for a bit behind him, but were mostly subdued until they made it outside the villa. At that point, the boys took off and began a mix of wrestling and tag. Joe found the activity a bit distracting, his attention on the boys. It was a weird game of tag which involved having to pin one another before the tag stuck. If the escaper could break free of the chaser before he was pinned, he could continue his escape. It was a strange pin as well, involving control of an arm and a leg. Joe wasn’t quite certain, but it looked like it had to be a pin involving opposite limbs, both right or left limbs didn’t count. It required one left and one right limb captured to count as a pin. Joe found his interest piqued and followed the game a bit more closely and soon was cheering on one or the other.

Their fervor increased by quite a bit when Joe began cheering them on but the game ended pretty quickly when they made it to the wall. The came up tumbling around them before calming down and joining them on the climb up the wall. They made the top of the wall, and found the monster tide still continuing at full strength but the area around the giant was kept well clear, four or five of the city elites and a wall of guards surrounding the corpse. The Matriarch led them to the edge then stepped over the edge, her fall caught by a wave of water and Joe glanced over to see Allanar waiting for them.

“Oh, hey Allanar? You’re our ride down?”

Allanar smiled, “Yes. Want to join?”

Joe nodded, “Sure.”

Joe turned around and waved at the other four, “Stay safe! We’ll be back soon and I’ll start my shift.”

“Bye, Joe!” Kilniara called.

“Kill them all, Master,” Zilnek shouted out with enthusiasm.

Gwenvair bowed, “Be safe.”

Garnedell simply smiled and offered a wave. Joe grinned in response, responding with his own simple wave before they fell down the side of the wall. Joe and Allanar fell faster, catching up to the Matriarch who fumed at his side. Joe remained silent for a bit before he tried to interrupt her bad mood.

“I could talk, if you wish?”

The Matriarch snapped her face towards him, hard cold eyes staring for a bit before her face softened and she sighed, “I’m uncertain what to do. Some form of personal enhancement is to be expected. This… it goes a bit too far. These are… not ours.”

“They are not?”

The Matriarch smiled and looked up at Joe, smiling softly. She pulled out the force quad core and deliberately placed it in his hand, wrapping his fingers around it with her own hand, “It is yours. Your kill through and through.”

Joe raised an eye at that, then shrugged, “I have no need of it. May I donate it to your clan?”

Her eyes widened and her breath quickened even as Allanar gasped to their side. She looked at him for a bit before she shook her head, “I am uncertain that… that would be wise?”

“I’ll just leave it here to rot on the field.”

The Matriarch actually seemed to grunt in pain, “You wouldn’t!”

Joe laughed, “What would I do with it?”

“You are certain?”

“Quite. I owe you quite a bit of tax.”

The Matriarch chuckled at that, an explosive guffaw that caught her by surprise, “Do you?”

Joe shrugged, “I can speak to you of it later, but my people… corruption of any kind for any person is… not acceptable. Amongst my people, your blacksmith would have become a criminal. It may be acceptable here, and if so, I have nothing to say. But …”

She searched him a bit before she nodded, “Our people truly are… different.”

He smiled, “It’s fine. Ask me tonight about taxes owed. I will repay you. And Allanar? Make sure she asks me! I truly do wish to pay… I’ll just forget.”

Allanar gasped a bit, staring back and forth between him and his Matriarch as his mouth fluttered opened closed. Joe saw this and laughed, slapping him on the back.

“Relax. I am only joking. Sometimes you are too tense.”

Allanar looked at him and smiled but shook his head, “You both deserve my utmost respect.”

Joe smiled, “I am grateful for it, but you do not need to fear me either.”

The Matriarch sighed beside him and she shook her head as Joe turned towards her, “You have the strength to not be concerned with fear.”

Joe’s smiled softened but he nodded softly, “I can understand the draw of fear, but it only cripples a society. People can respect without fear.”

The Matriarch paused at that, thoughtful, before she nodded carefully, “I could see how that is possible. But… such a society would be… untenable.”

Joe spread his arms wide, “My society has done it… and still does so, although it has recently fallen into… some troubles.”

“You still believe it is tenable?”

Joe shrugged, “Yes? No society is ever completely stable. You can only do your best, train your children, and hope that they will learn from your wisdom and be wise enough to pass that wisdom to their children.”

She nodded at that but didn’t reply. They fell to silence at that, and continued in silence when they arrived at the ground and walked towards the giant’s carcass. Half way there, the Matriarch veered off to the side when she recognized the blacksmith. As they drew close, she turned to Joe and spoke softly.

“I would like to take you up on your offer of… speaking to the master blacksmith.”

Joe nodded, silent for a moment, then spoke, “What would have more impact on him. Remote indifference or burning rage?”

She looked at him then smiled conspiratorially, “I think indifference would be most infuriating to him.”

“And hopefully something he will learn… OK. Let’s do this.”

They continued the rest of the way to the blacksmith but were interrupted by one of the group of adventurers that was supposed to help him fight the giant yesterday. Oooh… the lady who marked my arrows? That reminds me?

Joe flipped open his marks page and found it blessedly empty, except for the one from Lunlarnalane. He then quickly glanced down at his arrows and searched them with his mana senses, finding them all empty as well, their mana tracers gone. He then turned back to the lady and nodded to her as she came, all the arrows he’d fired yesterday but two in her hands.

She bowed as she handed the arrows towards him, “Eccentric. I was able to retrieve your arrows. There are still two at the tree line. It would be… very difficult to retrieve them.”

Joe nodded, ‘It’s perfectly fine. I am grateful. I’ll just have to find a way to replace them.”

The Matriarch looked up at him then bowed her head, “Our master blacksmith can do so.”

Joe stared at her, considering carefully, but she nodded subtly and Joe decided to trust her, “Excellent. My thanks. Let me…”

Joe trailed off and held up the arrows before him, eyeing them carefully. He first checked for marks carefully, but found none. Remembering how his mana tornados and points in a weapon seemed to invade and harm other creatures’ mana structures, he decided to send a waft of mana and mana points through all his arrows and the shield as well. He then rolled each arrow carefully, making sure that they were still straight. He found one that was bent badly and grimaced. He tossed it to the ground.