Chapter Forty-Nine

“I don't think any of you should bond pets.” There was no way to make this statement sound good, but Harmony did her best to try. Pulling from [Poise and Bearing], memories of hard discussions, what it meant to be a lady. Just in case, she added a touch of authority and the seriousness of death. It didn't help that after A little bit of discussion she didn't think any of them would make good pet masters, making it hard to sound neutral.

“Why?” Tyler whined. He'd pontificated the most on rare pets. He had a bunch of rare and unusual scrolls for bonding pets, like the one he'd gifted her.

Because of how Tyler treated old prizes after acquiring new treasures? There was a reason why he needed a maid to dust them. Maybe Len’s tendency to forget how to feed himself without Farthington's assistance? Max's chaos is making the already impulsive man a bit more risk-attractive. Rose, who couldn't stand up to her family for her brother? Those answers wouldn't do.

“It's a trap. Old Bones isn't known for being a good source of specialty food many pets require. With days and Weeks to pass there, I worry about the meal options we'll have. I'm considering not taking Adric and he'll eat the same food we do.”

Adric wasn’t around to hear that blatant lie. Too busy socializing for Ma Bell or avoiding his sister. Not that the prince would let her go without him, nor would Harmony let him be without her. But maybe if Rose passes this information on to the countess, they’ll delay any action until she’s caught up in the games?

“Think of the benefits of having one support you.” Tyler pushed back.

“Think of the leverage of them being used against you. But I’m serious about the difficulties to be had.” Harmony attempted to say sympathetically.

Hyacinth worried her, mostly that at his size he’d eat the other competitors if that is what it got to. And if everyone brought in dangerously monstrous pets, that seemed cruel and dangerous.

Len stepped in. “Harmony is right. And it’s the easiest bond to get. We should explore the other options we have. Rose, how is your jamesian bond working for you?”

“My hand still itches from the application. I was a little worried because of the nature of the item. May I?”

It was a polite ask. Harmony nodded.

A slight click followed by some displaced air an arrow appeared in Rose's palm. Solid gold shaft and feathers with a black arrowhead whose shape sifted and twisted constantly. It was a little nauseating to keep looking at that tip. “The Arrow of Many Things hasn’t been used in three generations. Former paired item of a chaos class. The skill doctor I saw after bonding didn't see any chaos in my soul.”

Harmony activated [Mana Rotation] synergized with the skills for her soul strike. Seeing wasn’t the right word, but it let her get a feeling about what was in her, specifically where to hit to break things. It took looking at the arrow and Max to figure out what chaos felt like. Like flickers of fluctuating heat, concentrated on the arrow or in floating streaks throughout max, except for one spot that represented the [chaos seed], Rose did have a small inkling of chaos in her hand where the new bond appeared. Tell her or not? She’d have to admit to being rude and prying.

“What does it do?” Len asked.

“On impact, it twists the environment in random, sometimes not beneficial ways for about thirty paces from the strike for about a minute. Unless it hits a person or monster, then it has a chance of causing soul damage and changes all their skills temporarily for about a minute.”

Can’t plan for chaos, maybe add more of a last resort to stab yourself and hope for something new? “I would have thought you would have chosen something you could plan around better?” Harmony asked.

“Jamesian bonds are more limited than pair bonds, you’re limited to a certain size and weight object to bring to you. That’s why you don’t see people fetching shields, swords, or anything too big. It’s difficult to repair items too, as only the material bonded will return to you. Bond a book that gets destroyed in a fire, you’ll be fetching a pile of ash every time. There were no pair bonds available. So a nearly indestructible artifact seemed best.” Rose seemed a little bitter at the lack of pair bonds available.

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With a block of bone [Manipulate Dead] could be used to create thin shields, chains, or material to explode near enemies. It could always be reformed after, but even if ground to dust there would be uses. Perhaps even more uses. Gods be damned theocratic bond, did the abbess do something or was it the counselor?

“Anyone have any matter manipulation skills?” Harmony asked. Knight-scribe, tank-lord, wizard-editor, ranger-princess, but it wasn’t like they’d given her their full statuses. Maybe Len or Max could manipulate ink?

The lack of yeses wasn’t giving her anything to work with. Some maids at least could do miracles if they always had a scrub brush handy. “Is there any material that makes your skills easier to use?

“I need paper and ink for many of my scribe skills, but I doubt using a bond to have materials for fast and accurate dictation will help me in the Ascendant Games.” Max groaned.

“Metarine is pumped into some practical test rooms because it lowers magical resistances which can make crafting and spell work easier,” Len muttered.

“That’s it!” Harmony barks.

“But it’s a gas, expensive, and the school has to use it in small airtight rooms because it will float away.”

[Cold Touch] froze the moisture from everyone breathing above Harmony’s hand until she had a small pile of ice crystals in her palm. She sprinkled the white fluff down. “But is it a gas at every temperature?”

The discussion exploded at this. Rose was disappointed when the idea of using gas to propel a projectile was a theoretical option they debated, as though she had made the wrong choice. That was until it was pointed out that any damage to the device or issue due to wear could cause it to explode in the user's hand and progressively get worse. The summon with the bond wasn’t quick, with a few minutes between each one.

Harmony didn’t have the math for the gas's expansion rate compared to the density of the volume it would be transported into or whether this would be a good idea. Len worked on the equations while Max took notes and organized them. Rose even managed to use her spatial awareness to help with possible ways to direct the force out. That had those three working together.

Harmony sat by as one of the odd people out. But she wasn’t the only one.

“So, Harmony, Thorne is going to take us next week to the Deadwoods to see if we can get a friendly or useful ghost to form a protoplasmic bond with. It might be nice to have a necromancer with us?” Tyler asked.

Another missed opportunity. Wouldn’t a protoplasmic bond be the most useful one for a necromancer? [Renew Spirit] could actually get some more use that way. “Grave Society probably has plenty of members who would love to go. Peartree might even be excited to volunteer to be involved with the games.”

“You. I’d like you to come with us. This is more team building than any of the tasks Thorne has us do. And I like to think of you as part of the team too.” Tyler finished.

Damn. It was annoying when he asked her as a peer, or more than that he'd asked her as a favor for the whole group. [Keen Investigative Awareness] activated as she looked at the young lord, searching for signs he’d changed. While not a truth detector, he did want her there. Awkward, fumbling, lazy, impulsive puppy of a man or the one that commissioned her revealing armor months in advance? Who are you Tyler?

The Deadwoods were an issue. A day there and a day back could be costly. The border region where the dungeon domains clashed attracted all sorts of things that thrived in that kind of life-and-death environment. Adric had visited many times and even made a special trip after he evolved. Adric had said no to hunting there when she'd inquired while her levels were stuck in Hazeldown. Too dangerous without hiring adventurers for support with the money we didn’t have. It also wasn't a typical place to hunt. But could it be another spot where she could increase her understanding to help level?

“If I get past the third floor of Nae’s Garden and hit level twenty I’ll consider it.”

She didn’t need her new investigative skill to see Tyler’s excitement that she hadn’t outright rejected it.

“This just might work,” Len muttered hopefully.

Rather than get roped into more plans while she was in the mood to maybe say yes. This seemed like a good stopping point. “I fear I must get my rest for another day at the garden tomorrow.”

“Maybe we should do some more planning sessions?” Rose asked.

Nothing had exploded. No random visitations, injuries, or challenges happened. Tyler was mostly polite. Max, outside of scooting a little closer to Rose’s arrow when he could, had behaved. Len looked refreshed and excited about this option. It was the most normal social experience she’d had with these people yet.

“I’ll consider it.”