On an Early Autumn morning, Zarian woke up in luxury. He woke up in bliss. He woke up wanting to cry with joy.
For the first time in a long time, Zarian woke up in an actual bed.
It was a big and comfy bed, too!
It was so soft and splendid, Zarian wanted to focus on enjoying his bed and put aside how his dream ended. He would analyze it later. He had a lot on his plate, like enjoying high quality clean sheets, fluffy pillows, a comforter, and a painted ceiling over his head.
Eyes fluttering open, vision clearing, Zarian smiled up at the illustration on the ceiling. Someone had painted it with an artistic eye and creative hand depicting the starry, planet-heavy cosmos of Infinita.
Eyes fluttering a little more, Zarian stretched his limbs, wriggled his fingers and toes, and slowly sat up.
Para unraveled from around his neck and shoulders in her smallest form, which made her look like a crossbreed between a cloak and a scarf. She was perpetually rooted to his upper back unless he deactivated the spell, and Zarian saw no point in doing that.
After all, Para protected him while he slept. The Parasite Cloak took very little aura to keep active, especially when she was passive.
“I can’t believe it,” Zarian said, glancing around. “Four walls, a roof, and a bed. What more can a man ask for?”
Well, there was plenty more.
He could smell the hint of breakfast getting cooked somewhere outside of his bedroom and down the hall. He could hear the others rousing, making noise, Bianca screaming like a rooster, as per usual.
That sounded like her happy scream. She was probably enjoying the luxuries of the stone mansion even more than him.
After roughing it for over two months with these people, Zarian knew most of their usual habits by now. Then again, he hadn’t seen what they were like under more stable and homey conditions.
“Yeah, I guess there is more a man can ask for, huh, Para?” Zarian directed to his loyal parasite.
The cloak quivered affectionately in response, though it had an edge to it. She grew little bone spines and poked him around the shoulders.
She was growing hungry.
He felt the same because of the +1 advancement to Parasite Cloak. With Para fused deeper with him, he had an increase in resilience and physicality at the cost of having a much greater appetite.
He wasn’t at peak hunger just yet, thankfully. Same for Para. They could wait a little longer.
Zarian glanced around. Other than the painted ceiling of Infinita’s starry cosmos, there was one window covered by stained glass that had a dark tint made perfect for him. With the rising autumn sun beaming through, the room didn’t light up by much. The window was also stained with more starry, cosmic designs.
He had a big wardrobe dresser, a sturdy wooden desk, a small dining table for when he wanted meals alone in his room, and another section that was like a mini-living room outside of the border of his bedroom.
The huge luxury bedroom came with a separate bathroom, which was very nice. But the mansion had something even better that Zarian wanted to check out first in the morning.
Zarian threw off his covers and jumped to his feet. He stopped to roll around his right shoulder, feeling the crushed bullet in his back.
He rubbed his feet around on the furry pelts covering the stone floor, then he padded toward the heavy door on the other side of the mini living room attachment.
Para reached out with tendrils to grab two robes and today’s clothes from the wardrobe. She draped one robe over Zarian’s body. Then she flicked another tendril forward, opening and closing the door for him.
“Thanks, Para,” Zarian said, before turning to see a few people waiting in the hall for him. “Good morning, you two.”
Loner was there as per usual, leaning against the wall with bony arms crossed. He nodded his skull in greeting to the necromancer who maintained him twenty-four hours a day.
Naomi stood in a relaxed parade rest, also leaning against the stone wall. She straightened a bit and said, “Good morning, sir. We didn’t take the time yesterday since we were in a rush for comforts, but would you like me to handle your hair before breakfast?”
“I’ll like that. Thanks.”
They weren’t exercising or doing anything major this morning. Zarian wanted them to relax and enjoy the comforts of having a mansion with plenty of rooms.
That didn’t mean it was a total break day. They had a lot to do, and Zarian had plans for tonight, but until then, this morning served as an extension of the night before.
“You want a wash for your bones, Loner?” Zarian asked as the three of them walked down the long hallways.
The magic sconce lights were set to half dim levels. That way, they wouldn’t bother Zarian much. There were paintings on the walls and long, fuzzy rugs on the floor. There were plenty of banners, too.
Out in the more public spaces, everything represented Lovewar.
Loner gave him a nonchalant and uncommitted shrug, and Zarian took that as answer enough before stopping near the communal spa. He looked up at an illustration depicting Good Goddess Lovewar standing in a pose with a spear and shield.
“She looks like she’ll have millions of followers on social media,” Naomi drawled. “Is that supposed to be bikini armor? She doesn’t have to do all that just to get the boys riled up for war.”
“She’s definitely motivational.” Zarian turned and gave Naomi a cheeky smile. “You could rock bikini armor yourself. Maybe even give Lovewar some competition.”
She snorted. “Don’t you try that with me. Don’t forget that you start looking cute when you’re all cleaned up. Maybe we should put you in bikini armor.”
“Did someone say Zarian in bikini armor?!” Bianca came running from around the corner.
She was breathing a little too hard, her eyes flashing. She looked at Zarian in an uncomfortable way and said, “I wouldn’t mind.”
“Girl, you once said you would love to see Zarian in a dress.” Naomi scoffed.
“Ahh! Don’t say that aloud! What if he wants my pretty elven dress?”
“Okay, this is getting weird! Let’s just get our morning spa on!” Zarian moved forward, parasite tendrils reaching ahead and shoving the heavy double doors aside.
He heard a rattle of bones right beside him, Loner walking even faster to brush past him. The skeleton’s eyeless sockets scanned the huge spa area, as if in desperate search for a spot to lean against where he could stay out of the way.
He would find a spot. Eventually. The spa area was big enough for over a hundred people.
Wisps of steam rose from the giant heated pool in the middle. Frosty mist whirled from the four side pools surrounding the hot pool. The side pools offered cold bath remedies, which was a quirky feature in Zarian’s opinion.
There were stalls with closed doors and showering instruments they could control using runic devices to the right side. On the left side were seating and table stations for massages and pampering of all sorts.
A dozen women stood in different stations around the spa area. They wore green and brown robes that were made to get wet and dry quickly. They also wore crimson sashes with a spear and shield emblem in the middle around their waists.
Their hair was twisted into braids and pressed against the scalp while under a green head scarf. They held their hands in front of them and greeted the new arrivals at once.
“Good morning, Princess Bianca, Lord Zarian, Lady Naomi!”
Zarian waved and said good morning back before his attention shifted to someone already slouching on the edge of the heated pool. Zarian padded over, the floors already mopped of excess spills, and stopped to look down at Gilbert.
The big man looked up with a big, drunken smile. There was a small cask of beer on a trolly next to him. Zarian wondered how much was left inside.
The war healer raised his mug for a toast. “Ain’t it our fearless and scary leader in the flesh! Top of the morning to you!”
“Good morning, big guy. Starting the morning strong, huh?”
“Of course I am!” Gilbert tipped his mug back and guzzled down more than a few sips.
A spa servant walked in briskly and took his empty mug. She used a nozzle on the side of the cask to refill it with more fizzy beer. The stream was coming out slow. The cask might be close to empty now.
“Does Healing Force help with alcohol?” Zarian asked.
“Mostly if it does actual damage or it’ll be a slow recovery! But screw that! There’s no damage here. Only a good time!” Gilbert shouted heartily.
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“I’m glad to see you’re finally having fun, man.”
“Never in my life have I ever lived like this. And the ladies! Gosh, the ladies! Why are they all so beautiful?” Gilbert tossed a flirty look at some of the women working the spa.
The spa servants cracked a smile or giggled.
Gilbert chuckled. “If I was still the reckless young man I was earlier, boy oh boy, you might’ve seen something inappropriate by now. But we just got here, so I don’t want to ruin anything.”
Gilbert took back his mug and thanked the young woman who refilled it for him with a flirty smile. Then he looked over at Naomi and Bianca as the women prepared to use the showers.
He looked away, making a playful groaning sound, as if he saw something horrific.
“It’s only our party members,” Zarian said.
“Yes. Great people. Amazing, really. But I’ve smelled their fart long enough to know which is which. Let a man enjoy the luxury of not knowing the mysteries behind a beautiful chick, or two, or three, or whatever.” Gilbert looked over at spa servants again and winked.
They giggled and laughed.
Zarian shook his head at the silly older man.
Granted, Zarian felt the same things that Gilbert felt, even if a little muted. But they weren’t as important to Zarian compared to everything else.
Like learning new spells. Or ensuring his people were growing and getting taken care of. Or making plans that could derail an entire region in a new world while grappling with powers far greater than him.
Zarian had his priorities set. He’d also come from a background where he was at the bottom of the totem pole. Most women wouldn’t have dared to be in his presence, at least the ones he’d known growing up.
Those conditions might’ve screwed him up a bit. Still, Zarian didn’t see any issues of focusing on everything else outside of romance. Besides, friendship worked well enough for him, at least for now.
“How may we serve you, Lord Zarian?” asked a pretty and petite spa girl.
She had garden green eyes and freckles over her face. She looked very healthy and well fed. And her attitude was genuine despite his evil alignment.
Yes, he held back his alignment as much as possible. Just like Bianca, he had some influence over how much could ooze out into the environment and affect others.
Additionally, neutral humans were less likely to feel the difference, but the Parasite Cloak wavering like a tattered flag of reddish tanned skin was a big give away. At the very least, she must’ve learned of it after all the commotion last night.
Her lack of concern and the lack of concern from the other servants of the mansion drew his curiosity.
“You aren’t afraid?” he asked. “I’m evil aligned, you know?”
“The Good Goddess Lovewar shares with you the exceptional might of her power. We are servants to her first before we are servants to you, and as Lovewar Acolytes, we shall not discriminate regardless of origins as long as you aid in Lovewar’s efforts.”
“Even when she’s a good goddess? Even when you’re living in a good aligned kingdom?” Zarian already had his own ideas about the alignments, but it was interesting to hear from the locals themselves.
“As long as the overall good of Lovewar progresses, then all means will be sought and encouraged,” the acolyte said with adamant belief. “Even the use of evil can serve a greater good. If not, you wouldn’t be here, would you, having this fine conversation?”
Fair point, fair point. Though, he wondered what the girl would think if she knew Zarian had pressured Lovewar into being his party’s benefactor.
He didn’t think he gave the goddess enough time to pull him into her plans adequately. She was probably adapting like any war general worth their salt.
Additionally, it helped that all the servants at the mansion were neutral, which was both strange and welcomed.
Bianca was a lot already, but at least they were friends.
Roland was pacified and pretty much under Zarian’s protection.
Any more do-gooders outside of that would be bothersome if Zarian didn’t get the time to know them.
Satisfied by the acolyte’s pragmatic outlook, Zarian moved on to his next interest and asked, “Can I use Identify on you?”
“Identify? My, that’s a rare skill! I might’ve glimpsed it once in one of our war books.”
Heart pounding, Zarian stepped closer to the freckled, green-eye girl, spooking her a little. “You have a book of skills?”
“Yes, sir, we do. We keep records of skills, spells, runes, and many more means of magic. As Lovewar Acolytes, information is the ammunition we can use to conduct loving negotiations or violent warfare. That and ensuring communication channels remain accessible at all times.”
Zarian didn’t take the time to really question everything last night. The journey to get here had been long and hard and required fantastical action – such as summoning the help of a major goddess of the Infinita Star System.
But now that he had proper rest, he could see there was so much more that he didn’t know, down to the nitty gritty of what the gods and their servants strived for based on their thematic names.
Of course, Lovewar would be savvy about keeping records and making preparations. It’s in her name, which has multiple meanings.
He chose a pretty good benefactor on the good side. Yet, why was Ariana still expecting him to do something even greater?
What was he supposed to break? He didn’t have enough information to break anything.
Setting aside the strangeness of everything, Zarian used Identify.
Zarian jerked back, surprised. “Where’s your alpha skill?”
“I don’t have one, milord.”
He twisted around and used Identify on the nearest girls.
What the fuck?! They’re only a few levels above a basic ass slime!
It had never occurred to him that humans of Infinita started off with nothing. That would mean they had no major magical help until they reached Level 10, differing them from Outsiders who entered the Star System with an alpha skill already.
“How do you level up?” Zarian asked.
“By living and working, milord. We accrue experience that way here in the Eternal Garden Kingdom. If you’re not slouching, then a well-aged woman will be Level 5 by age eighteen, maybe even further along if they’ve found themselves truly worthy work or have the grace to be picked.”
Amabel glanced over at the stalls where Naomi and Bianca showered. Then, in a lower voice, she said, “I can’t imagine how Princess Bianca and Lady Naomi can survive outside the walls.”
Zarian was very confused.
Why couldn’t Bianca and Naomi survive?
They’d worked hard to make it. Granted, they had an alpha skill at Level 1, so Zarian conceded they had a bigger advantage than the local humans, who started out with nothing but stats.
But surely they could solve that by working together and killing things. How could they not?
Feeling strangely frustrated, Zarian changed the subject to another curious point.
“How old are you, Amabel?”
The acolyte smiled. “If you will allow me this fun, milord, may I ask you to guess how old you think I am?”
Zarian was guessing eighteen based on her shape and maturity. He said as much.
Amabel giggled. “I’m fourteen, milord. I just became a woman when I first bled a year ago. All the servants of this mansion are around my age, in fact. Maybe a little younger or older, but not by much.”
“Gawd dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit!” Gilbert shouted, spitting beer from his mouth.
One of the spa servants came running over with a rag to help clean up.
Gilbert yelled at her. “No, darn it. Get back! Get your jailbait-ass back!”
The spa girls looked in confusion at him.
A tentacle from Para reached out, the sight of which spooking the spa girls a little. The parasite tentacle took the rag gently from the girl and used it to help clean up Gilbert who was still muttering madly to himself.
“I was told Bramblevale was going through hard times, but you look very … healthy,” Zarian said. “We didn’t get a good look outside to be honest.”
“We’re lucky here as acolytes. We’re well fed and well taken care of. We’re also the best of women with good growth. The best are fed and taken care of, after all. Right, ladies?”
“The best flowers will grow and be picked! The weeds are found and pruned! And the old will wilt and die unless they are truly eternal!” they all said, matching each other with the same cadence.
They sounded as if those words were drilled into them from an early age.
Zarian felt a little strange.
There were times when he’d nearly fallen in with the wrong groups in desperation to survive. Those groups – sometimes street gangs, sometimes religious zealots – had always given the same type of vibe.
Hell, the Marines acted the same way. It couldn’t be helped. Humans were the type to turn any group activity into something deeper, more communal, more familial, by making it tribal.
Some of those tribal traits become so deep and active they become the pillars of a cult.
He was getting strange cultish vibes here. But for this once, he decided not to press any further.
“Thank you for answering my questions, Amabel,” Zarian said. “I should shower up quickly before Naomi loses her patience. She’s going to handle my hair.”
“Oh, can some of us watch! We’ve never taken care of hair like yours! The experience might even help us level up faster!” Amabel’s eyes glimmered with hope and desperate need.
Zarian saw the same from the other spa servants.
“You don’t need them for anything, do you, Gilbert?” Zarian asked.
“Take them!”
Zarian looked over to Loner who was sitting in the cold bath pool. “What about you, Loner?”
The girls looked at the necromancy construct nervously. Obviously, they did their best not to discriminate, but Zarian didn’t blame them for being afraid of a creature they had never seen before.
Loner shook his head. He was fine in his cold bath.
Zarian waved his hand and invited the young girls to follow and watch. It made sense that they wouldn’t know what to do with his and Naomi’s hair.
Curly, kinky hair worked in different ways compared to straight hair.
He showered up quickly, then he tossed on a robe made for being wet and sat on a square chair with no back. Naomi entered his stall and picked through the hair products they had until she found something satisfying enough.
The spa girls oohed and awed. It was a little weird having so much attention, especially of the female persuasion. But the girls soon became background noise as Zarian thought over the most telling factors about the Lovewar Acolytes.
They had the benefit of being considered ‘the best’ and could eat and live healthily in the mansion devoted to those under Lovewar’s benefit. There were no men, not even a young one.
“Naomi,” Zarian called softly, only loud enough for her to hear.
“Yes, sir?”
“The vibes are weird.”
“I knew that from the get go.”
“Yeah?”
“The vibes were off the moment we met Roland and his soldiers,” Naomi said. “Getting here just confirms it for me.”
Zarian wasn’t sure what Naomi knew that he didn’t. “Should I ask you or will I understand with more observation?”
“You’ll get it soon if you keep your eyes and ears open. Or I can tell you now.”
Zarian decided to wait for further observations. He wanted to figure it out for himself, especially if Naomi had already figured it out.
The biggest clues so far was that Roland and his young soldiers were linked with the cultish nature of Amabel and the young girls. It had to be the way the kingdom groomed their young.
The Lovewar Goddess wants to start a civil war for a reason. She might seem … hyper and passionate … but Lovewar doesn’t come across as a stupid, murdersome brute.
Maybe he would figure out the strangeness more once he had a better look around Central Bramblevale.
I’ll keep my eyes and ears open.
With that, Zarian leaned back into Naomi’s caring hands. She worked with his hair skillfully while under the curious gaze of the local girls.
His hair had grown longer the past two months. This was the first time he’d let it grow instead of shaving it off.
The girls liked it, Naomi and Bianca especially. With their encouragement, Zarian let his hair stay long as Naomi styled it into something that fit his features.
Meanwhile, Bianca tried to convince him to wear bikini armor. He shut that down real quick.