“I think I want to kill something.” Penelope said idly from within the Shroud.
Ivan blinked and looked about as he worked. He was kneeling in a barn beside a wounded livestock animal. The creature was a common long domesticated species of bison. They produced a very rough, but very warm wool. Their milk was thick and used in all sorts of baking if not exactly the best tasting to drink. The creatures had adapted to their domesticated rolls over the years, but proved a reliable stock on their own; hardly needing care when put to pasture. They knew the farmers' call, and often children sang songs to call them in for food. It was a sound and sight everyone who walked enough countryside would come to know and love to see.
Right now Ivan was tending to one of the gentle creatures. She had been attacked by the Tiger in the posting. Luckily the herd's massive bulls had run the Tiger off, but not before the poor cow had taken wounds. The farmer had some basic skills, and had at least washed out the wounds, but they were deep and needed proper tending or they would get infected.
Ivan thanked Myrn silently as he worked. On the way here she and Ivan had dragged the group aside at various times for Ivan to gather herbs. Myrn always followed and used her magic whenever they did. A tiny outcrop of herbs was enough for Myrn to explode into a fully grown plant, turning a handful harvest into a bushel.
It was never very orderly, but Myrn would always give the herb enough to spread its seed and cast them in the nearest ideal place for growing. She would then give them a little head start, holding her hand above the plant, smiling, laughing, and talking to the plant as it grew in moments from a seedling to a plant months old. Watching her work was a sight on its own. Her eyes actually began to shine a little bit whenever she used magic. That wasn't all either. Her hair conjured plants about her head, and wove beautiful natural designs into it whenever she started using magic.
Ivan's hands stilled as he was caught in the memory of watching Myrn playing in the forest like she was some kind of full sized and lovely fairy from the stories.
Birds and insects came to her as she worked her magic on the plants. Bees swarmed about her head, greedily coming after the flowers sprouting from the vines that were slowly turning her hair into intricate braids, but never stinging her. Myrn laughed, and worked gently with the plants she was taking herbs from. She knew them almost better than Ivan, and she would speak with all the creatures who came close to tell them all about it when Ivan wasn't close. It was sight enough that Ivan had purposely moved aside and hidden himself just to see a little more of it.
The two of them made a little contest of naming and identifying the various kinds they came across as they came down the old country road to this farm. Talking with her reminded him of the best years he had spent growing up with Tanya, and their adoptive mother. His thoughts and memories of his new friend made warm sensations rise in his chest.
“Falling for her? Really? When I'm right here?” Penelope asked dryly.
“Shush.” Ivan chided.
Penelope grinned.
Ivan gave the room another look and slipped the Jade Mortar and Pestle from the Shroud. He worked, pulling this or that herb from the Shroud as well. He made up a sticky glue-like paste that he would rub into the wounds of the animal.
The creature was a gentle thing and very used to human touch. Her great big eyes looked at Ivan with a docile wariness. Ivan stroked her nose, and scratched under her great chin. The animal huffed and leaned into his touch affectionately.
Ivan had spent long hours doing his stable duties as a squire. He thought idly on how long it had taken him to gain levels compared to now, but as always his thoughts were interrupted by memories of the past. He thought of the various horses he had known, and rode through the years. He missed the gentle creatures and wondered just where they might be now.
He worked as he reminisced, washing the wounds with water he had let come to boil and then chill to regular temperature. For the lighter wounds he just pressed the herbal unguent in before gently pushing the creature's own cleaned wool over the wound. The deeper wounds needed stitching, or else besides from the infection risk they would take months to heal. Hopefully Ivan's tending would bring that down to a few weeks.
Upon the first poke of the needle the animal showed its unease. The creature was long used to the touch of shears however and didn't panic. Ivan soothed her, smiling, as the cow greedily welcomed his pets and scratches. She seemed especially pleased whenever he scratched her chin.
“Friendly aren't you?” Ivan asked idly, his voice gentle.
He was letting his confidence show to the animal, and through his own Insight he knew more or less this creature's mood. It was a great deal easier than simply watching for signs of the creature's mood as he had with horses.
“I'll be done in just a moment, don't you worry sweetheart.”
“Sweetheart? This...cow?!” Penelope scoffed before breaking into a laugh.
“She's a sweet creature. You're just jealous.” Ivan replied.
Penelope gaped at him for a few moments in the tiny shadowy realm inside him.
“So maybe I am.” She admitted.
“I don't know how well you would produce against her though. She's got a lot more fur and seems pretty heavy with milk.” Ivan said, unable to hide his grin as he spoke.
Penelope's eyes went wide, and her expression quickly grew dark.
Ivan chuckled, and gently plied his suture needle together with an application of the unguent as he did. Penelope strode up to the walls of the little garden hidden inside the Shroud and poked the stones walls that made up its outer limits.
“You just wait and see, mister. I look like this now partially because it's part of the Ritual of Desire's effects to make me better fit your tastes. I can see where it's coming from too-- I'm not blind. Maybe next you'll turn my hair vibrant red.” She teased.
Ivan shook his head, but smiled at her efforts.
“Myrn's enchanting without demonic allure going for her. Imagine if she had it.” Ivan countered, thinking the comment idle and safe. He was wrong and knew it as Penelope's face brightened.
“You've been thinking about it then? Taking her as a concubine? I mean I do like what she has going on, and I bet with just a drink or two I'd have her coming after me as readily as anything you could manage.” Penelope said, sounding thoughtful and excited.
Ivan sighed and decided to just focus on his work. He finished tying off a stitching and gave the patient creature a good deal of affection to reward her. The cow nuzzled his hands and rolled her head a little, likely so he might give his attention to her other cheek. He indulged her as he needed to be on her other side to tend those wounds now anyway.
Penelope seemed to settle a little as she watched, or sensed him working and taking some small delight in the gentle giants' greedy hunger for scratches and pets. Ivan worked and settled her last deep wound. The creature's wool had proven a great defense against the attempt on its life. Ivan made sure to comb and brush her a little while, the tools for doing so available all over the sheering stall he was in.
The creature adored his attention, and bayed at him when he left the stall. He gave her one last round of chin scratches through the hole in the large door made just for her kind. Just her head poked out and she almost seemed to grin at him as Ivan knelt and worked the thick wool around her head.
“You should be using magic, you know. I keep telling you that.” Penelope reminded him.
Ivan nodded and conjured his Scribe Scroll. It's log noted some experience gained for Hedge Doctor, both just now, and on the way here. Ivan was about to dismiss it at that glance when he noticed the experience gain was split. He read again urging his log down the repetitive and exacting list of information until he found the rest of the entries littered about his earlier herb gathering efforts.
Amateur Assassin was sapping experience from some of the herbs he had taken. Luckily Scribe's log automatically identified any plants he could so he knew exactly which plants triggered the effect. He retrieved some of the herbs in question from the Shroud and inspected them properly. Before Myrn had simply identified them and some of their uses. Ivan had been caught up in the conversation at the time so hadn't thought to inspect them himself, instead trusting Myrn's knowledge. This time however invested the full amount of mana in the inspection, and felt the ability draw upon the Scribe's greater ability gained at its max level of 5, called Infinite Library, to get as much information as was known about the plant.
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Inspect Object: Plant, Inspection Successful
Roughneck Dogbane, Flower
A small flower that grows in mass numbers upon semi-parasitic vines. It's petals can be crushed together with the vines to make a potent analgesic gel when mixed with water. It's seed pods however should be avoided as the elements that make up the painkiller are concentrated to a toxic level. The contents of a single ground up seed pod is enough to poison a grown adult of most known intelligent species. Many scribes suggest avoiding the seed pods entirely, and shaking them loose from the vines when able as they readily come free.
Known Recipes: Pain-Melt Cream(Salve), Numbing Gel(Unguent), Painkiller Sweet Tea (Liquid Remedy), Pain Vanish Tonic (Liquid Remedy), Painless Death(Liquid Toxin), Good Sleep Tea(Liquid Remedy), and many more including Roughneck Dogbane as a minor ingredient.
Ivan noted the few seedpods he had on the unprocessed plant vine. It seemed to coordinate with the logs indications of lesser experience gains of collecting the material. Ivan turned the little green pod over in his fingers. It was amazing that such a little thing could end a life just by being chewed and swallowed. When he had broken into and poisoned the water supply of the Forces of Light he had used a massive amount of ground up herbs to get the job done. They had found out the problem quickly, but his efforts had provided enough of a distraction beside.
If he had, say, half a pound of these little seed pods, and time to grind them back then…
He scrolled through some of the other log entries. He found a few similar instances where Amateur Assassin gained experience, and began a process of detailed inspection. Myrn and Davian were talking with the farmer still; Ivan could just make out their voices beyond the din of animal noises. He had a little time.
“I like your thinking.” Penelope whispered to him. “But be careful. Everything you learn can have an impact on what your Jobs become. Medicine Man isn't the only job your Hedge Doctor could advance to Ivan.”
Ivan listened and thought about that while he worked some little while. There was an open workbench in the barn he decided to set himself up on. If anyone asked he would tell them he was simply restoring what salves and solutions he had on had. If not for the Shroud he would have needed all sorts of small envelopes, and glass vials, but the Shroud's dimensional storage made all that obsolete. Often all he had to do was return the Jade Mortar to it, and then take it out again. The Shroud's storage and summoning function worked so well that it essentially magically cleaned the mortar each time he brought it out.
“What do you mean?” Ivan asked, speaking softly enough that there was no way anyone would hear him over the animal noises even with perception powers.
“It might be for the better for the sake of our contract, but I know it's not what you want. You've hired me as your guide, and I speak in that fashion now. The Bard wasn't wrong in his suggestion before using Steal as a source of basic shadow magic to awaken a spark. It might, and from what I am feeling coming from you—you may well ignite a Shadow Spark and very soon. If that does happen I'm not sure if your Hedge Doctor will become the Healer Job at all. Perhaps if you continue in this way and gather some magical equipment such as your Jade Mortar and Pestle you will become an Alchemist and bypass this issue, but for now I think it much more likely that you gain some kind of Witch or Hedge Wizard Job. There are all kinds, and tales of them come from many, many worlds. Dark Hermits who may harm or heal as they please, masters of medicine and hexcraft both.”
“Hedge Wizard?” Ivan asked, curious.
His youth had been filled with tales of Wizards and Knights afterall. Knighthood was within the reach of anyone, but being a Wizard required at least one spark. He couldn't help but consider the idea.
“It's a combination of Scholar and Hedge Doctor typically. You manifest magic and spell schools, but they would be unique in your world. Out of date is probably better to say. Every spell would need materials, and you would have to prepare them ahead of time, condensing the magic into what is essentially what you would know as Spell Scrolls.”
“Like Librarians can?” Ivan asked, surprised.
“Yes, very much like that Job. A Librarian summons magic from within his personal library of knowledge however, using chants, and little mana to call forth specifically prepared spells trading an extended cast time for a massively expanded spell pool. Practically its little different from what you've been doing with Infinite Library, it's just that instead of learning about magic the Librarian calls forth whatever magic he needs.”
“But it's more costly that way isn't it?” Ivan asked, mortar and pestle clinking pleasantly as he worked.
“Of course, and it's not very fast. A Librarian with the proper sparks and supporting jobs, even if they aren't combat jobs can be terrifying. Just like the Farming Job actually. I forget if your world has seen a Grand Cultivator yet or not. They're terrifying.”
“Grand Cultivator?” Ivan asked. He was familiar with the legendary 'Grand Master' Class, but as far as he knew the Basic Job of Gardner turned to the Standard job of Farmer, and that was it. He hadn't thought that job would ever go beyond that. Now that he could manage it more than a single time in a day without a headache, maybe he should be using Infinite Library to find out things like this.
“It's like a domesticated druid.” Penelope explained, twirling her fingers in thought.
Ivan blinked trying to imagine that.
“So what? -He sows seeds for miles at once, and can summon herds of cows?” Ivan asked, about ready to laugh.
“Yes. It's actually quite terrifying depending on what he summons. Calling the world's chickens to him is one thing, but if a Grand Cultivator wanted to he could call all the Bison of the world into one herd. Imagine the damage a stampede of that size could do to an army after he invests them with magic and orders them forward.”
Ivan's clinking work with the mortar and pestle stopped dead.
“Are you serious?”
Penelope nodded vigorously, and then grinned.
“Don't you remember? When you inspected me? I'm a Cultivator.” She informed him, with an appropriate amount of girlish glee and pride.
Ivan's pause in work continued as his mind rolled in disbelief. He was working through the logistics of that claim.
“Do you...grow plants...in Hell?” Ivan asked, somewhat afraid to know the answer.
“Of course, but it's the Farmer Job Ivan. It's not just plants. You have to raise animals or you end up either a Hedge Doctor playing with herbs—or an alchemist if you're fancy—or a Green Thumb, and their stupid magic garden fairy bullshit they do.”
Ivan blinked several times.
“You have a farm in Hell?” He asked, rephrasing his question.
“Of course I do. It's all spirit plants, and Hell Beasts, but they live there and have a similar function in nature just like any of your living plants and animals. They feed off the energy of souls that comes into hell and filter them I guess, or used to. Just like your kind, my kind and many others have twisted and groomed spirit plants selectively, and we've twisted and shaped the spirit creatures of Hell into forms and functions. It's taken considerably longer than what you mortals manage in the ever changing world of the living, but you do what you can with what you got.” She said with an almost modest and relatable shrug of her shoulders. Like she was just another village farmer doing what she could to get by or something.
Ivan could hardly imagine it. He actually started to laugh.
“What? Ivan! What do you think I've been doing for thousands of years? Just waiting for some jumped up warlock to summon me? Sitting and pouting, upset that I have standards and haven't put my name in every Grimoire the Court of Hell comes up with?” Penelope said, pouting, and putting her hands on her hips.
Ivan controlled his chuckles.
“Well if it's been thousands of years what's been holding you back?” Ivan asked, genuinely curious.
Penelope's pout turned into a deep frown. She withdrew, drawing herself back into her new wings, and crossing her arms under her breasts.
“It's hard to advance in Hell. Maybe you'll learn something about it when you finally summon Quixla. She's a minor demon, and has been for a long time, but she works as hard as anyone to gain power. She's a little shy maybe, and could have done a little more if she were better with direct confrontation, but she has heart.” Penelope replied.
“You want me to summon another demon?” Ivan asked.
“I want you to summon many demons. I want you to get so good at it that when you summon me there's no difference between the me here and the me in Hell. In fact I want you to grow so strong that I can be summoned completely. In the flesh.” Penelope confided in him. Her wings were twitching, and she was folding them over herself. Ivan was working, but his mind was on her new shape and the effects it had on her.
She was beautiful. The demon form seemed very natural and fitting on her. It made him a little impatient to get things done. It would be good to have some time to show her how much he appreciated her help and…
Ivan blinked and came back to himself as Penelope brought her wings in tight around her, and abashedly cleared her throat. Ivan's inspection and focus of her was sharp enough that she was feeling his intent. Her cheeks were filled with color, and though it was hardly an impediment to his understanding of what was in the Shroud Penelope had covered her various private parts as best she could manage. Even her heart was beating quickly, made obvious to his senses as he focused upon her in the Shroud.
“Bad Ivan.” Penelope pouted.
Ivan chuckled, keeping his voice down as he heard the others.
“Sorry. You're just so pretty.” He told her.
Penelope's new wings and tail stopped their twitching and idle movements. She even managed an impressive blush.
“Is it the binding that's making you so sensitive now?” Ivan asked.
“Yes. And no.” Penelope answered. “I've never allowed anyone to use the Binding of Desire on me is all. Typically I use other shadow magic bindings and blood bindings. This binding is strong too since you're showing affinity for my kind of corruption. I told you you're changing, and it's happening faster and faster now. It's why I need you to calm down a little. I like what you are right now. You're emotionally sharp, potent, and intelligent. You're a little young yet, but that's fine really. You'll mature and I'll have lots of time to teach you all sorts of fun things.” She said, suddenly giggling as she spoke. Its sound was filled with malevolent mirth.
“Sounds fun.” Ivan replied somewhat dryly.
Penelope's laugh died off and a slow smile spread over her face. Her wings flapped and twitched showing her embarrassed state once again though.
“-wonder how he's doing.” The old farmer was saying.
Ivan listened as the footsteps came closer. He collected his things and peaked over his shoulder.
“Hope you don't mind. I used your workbench here to replenish some of what I used on the cow. She should be fine now.” Ivan said, adopting a friendly tone and manner.
Myrn strode in, smiled at him, and went right on by to the stall where the cow was kept. The giant creature begged her for pets as readily as it had from Ivan.
“As long as you clean up...” The farmer said as he came to Ivan's side. He paused as he noticed the workbench was about as clean as it was going to get.
“Did you find what you were looking for Myrn?” Ivan asked.
“Oh yeah. Plenty of tracks, and it's pretty clear which way he went. It might be best to go find and strike the beast down now too. That bull might have given the Tiger a little more than he bargained for.” Myrn answered, breaking from the soothing whispers she used when she talked to animals. She smiled at him. “She says you were very kind and gentle. Oh and your scratches were almost as good as Master Vel's own.”
Myrn tittered at Ivan's dry look.
Master Vel, the farmer, went by Ivan and to the stall. He stepped inside to check to the work Ivan had done. There was lots of nodding and he didn't pry or pick at what Ivan had put to the wounds.
“Sounds good to me.” The farmer agreed.
The cow was eagerly following the farmer about, looking for pets, and scratches. The old man chuckled and whispered to the creature as he scratched her chin.
“That's right girl. They're going to take care of that mean old kitty that jumped on your bottom. Yes ma'am.” He assured her.
The giant and gentle beast moo'ed, both its manner and what the party could sense with their insight telling them that the creature was pleased to hear that.