Vittorios determination and drive to push on were disrupted by a question from Celeste the next day.

"What will you do with the house?"

"The house?"

"Well, with your parents gone, the house and shop are yours. I'm only asking because I need to go home and thought I'd get things sorted for you."

He talked it over with Gloria, and the two decided that the best thing would be to go back and have a look - it was just too hard to say without knowing what he was dealing with. At over three days travel time each way they were looking at probably just over a week in total on the road, so they decided to leave soon. Before they did, however, Vittorio wanted to discuss some things with Gloria and the senior adventurers: He had two talents to pick and a new pact available:

Absence and Abundance

Prerequisite: Abstain or indulge.

Mark: You become partially insubstantial.

Price: Unbalance something.

Benefits: Heat- or cold-based ranged magical attacks. Suited for dealing with groups of enemies. Some defensive capabilities.

Type: Combat

Traits: Magical attacks: Ranged, Resistance: Physical, Sense: Vision

Activities: Combat, create light or darkness where none was before

{Absence and Abundance}. Master Kahe had told him about it: According to his book the other one to make contact had done so after days trapped in darkness. Vittorio presumed his days in the ever-lit cell had been "indulging", even if it had not felt anything like an indulgence.

Beyond the description, he got a sense of aggression and forcefulness from it, leading him to believe it was a more offensive pact than {The Still Wind}. Having the ability to deal with more than one monster at a time would be useful too. He resolved to test it out on the road.

As for Talents, he had one minor and his first standard Talent point. He spent his minor on Commune with Mortal. It just seemed handy to have, and could hopefully be upgraded to be even better.

Skill: Commune with Mortal: Send a short telepathic message to a creature you can see. You may use this skill sometimes.

For his standard point, he wanted some advice. He started by discarding a lot of generic talents that just didn't interest him, but he was still left with a hefty list:

Talents Available Generic Acceptable Aptitude: Set your natural Trait rating to Adequate. Requires at least Basic rating.

Adopt Ancestry: Gain a lesser version of a racial trait you do not possess. You may choose this Talent only once.

* Anura: Gain increased friction on fingers and toes.

* Dwarf: Gain limited vision in darkness.

* Elf: Gain a limited sense of magical energies.

* Mikhuq: Gain greatly strengthened nails and teeth.

Enchantment: Repairing: Gain the ability to enchant a piece of equipment with Repairing, making it slowly self-repair after damage. May not function on magical equipment. You may enchant 1 piece of equipment. Tag: Deals Talented Aptitude: Set your natural Trait rating to Good. Available Traits: Elocution, Read body language, Trustworthiness. Verbal Escape: Your Deception, Elocution, and Trustworthiness traits are considered one higher when used to escape or avoid danger. Skill: Summon Contract: By speaking the terms of an agreement out loud, you manifest a written contract outlining it. The contract duplicates itself when signed by all parties, but ceases to exist after one hour if it is not signed at that point. You may use this skill at any time. Enchantment: Stylish: Gain the ability to enchant a piece of equipment with Stylish, making it appear attractive and appropriate to anyone who sees it. This is a Mental effect. May not function on magical equipment. You may enchant 1 piece of equipment. Tag: Occult Talented Aptitude: Set your natural Trait rating to Good. Available Traits: Attention to detail, Coordination, Reasoning, Supernatural Awareness Occult Savant: Your Learning traits are considered one higher when learning basic Occult spells. Requires Occult Initiate. Enchantment: Hexing: Gain the ability to enchant a piece of equipment with Hexing, causing it to apply a minor hex to any foe who strikes it. May not function on magical equipment. You may enchant 1 piece of equipment. Tag: Transformation Talented Aptitude: Set your natural Trait rating to Good. Available Traits: Concentration, Knowledge: Biology, Resistance: Physical Enchantment: Adaptive Form: Gain the ability to enchant a piece of equipment with Adaptive Form, granting the wielder limited ability to change its appearance and shape. May not function on magical equipment. You may enchant 1 piece of equipment. Class: Pactmaker Classic Aptitude: Set your natural Trait rating to Good. Available Traits: Adaptability

Aberrant Sense: Perceive one sense by using another. You can control how strong each individual sense is at any time.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

* Hearing: You can hear shapes.

* Sight: You can see smells.

* Smell: You can smell physical contact.

* Taste: You can taste sounds.

* Touch: You can feel flavours.

Feel Unseen Eyes: Gain a sense of when the attentions of those in The Place Which Is Not are drawn to you. Skill: Delay payment: Choose one unpaid price of a pact: You may pay that price tomorrow instead. You may use this skill once per day. Enchantment: Dedication: Gain the ability to enchant a piece of equipment with Dedication, which may be used in negotiations in using Make a Pact. May not function on magical equipment. You may enchant 1 piece of equipment.

At first, he was confused about why there were fewer Transformation Talents, but he concluded that he probably didn't fulfill the requirements: There was probably a Savant Talent like for Occult, but he lacked whatever Trait was needed. It made him worried about what else he couldn't see and if he was missing something big. He brought it up when he asked for advice.

"Can't do everythin'", Ulberto said. "For Occul', there's some ritual stuff. Useless without 'em. Some you need higher-tier spells. It's fine."

"Adopt Ancestry is the big one", Vanessa added. "You can only see the ones you know a bit about. I had centaur, kobold, and minotaur to pick from as well."

"What do they do?"

"Centaur is balance, minotaur physical resistance and kobold is... I'm not sure. Something to do with movement."

"Flexibility", Ulberto said.

"Right, flexibility. Dwarf or human is what most people pick though."

"I have a little human in me, though I would have liked more, you know?" Pachakutek asked while winking at Vittorio. Some of the others seemed to take it as a joke, but he didn't get it. He might've missed something while in jail.

"So if I met with the [Exorcist] some more, I might see one for coatl?"

"Don't think so", Vanessa said. "Some you can't get, or don't have one, or... point is, no. Same with crystallines and merfolk."

"There's a girl here who says she has the merfolk one, isn't there?", Pachakutek asked. "But I just think she has big feet, don't you?"

Enchantments turned out to be pretty straightforward, and the limit was generally 1 enchantment per tier. Ulberto had Hexing, and while he wasn't exactly unhappy with it, it had flaws - the major one being that there was no telling which hex would be cast or where it would target. Sometimes it was great, sometimes it didn't do much, and every now and then it made things worse.

"Don't cas' Swellin' on a slime. It's... bad."

Aberrant Senses was strange, clearly, but hearing shapes and even seeing smells might be good, depending on how they worked. It was Vanessa, the [Scout], who argued most strongly for seeing smells.

"At worst, it will probably let you track down smells. That's pretty useful sometimes. At best it could let you see hidden or even invisible enemies by their smell, and maybe sort of see in the dark. That'd be incredible."

Ultimately, with a week of travel ahead of him, Vittorio decided to wait. He had time to think things over, and maybe give Master Kahe a visit and see what he thought. He didn't want to go running to the [Class Guide] for every decision, but there might be some money in it for him too.

That would also have to wait, however, as Gloria and he joined Celeste on her cart the next day and set off. This journey would be very different from last time, as not only would it be much longer but it was now early summer. The days were hot and clammy, and most had rain for at least an hour or two. It was nothing they weren't used to of course, but that did not mean Vittorio was looking forward to walking back.

The days passed quickly with good company who were, for the most part, in more relaxed spirits than when they'd traveled to Imone. Vittorio wasn't in pain, even if the cart wasn't exactly comfortable, and none of them were nervous about what the future held. Vittorio only feared to discover the past. Despite that, they talked, played guessing games, and in the evening the adventurers did some exercises. Vittorio still hadn't formed a new pact. He tried to tell himself it was because he didn't need to, but part of him feared it would be too much like the possession, or that his mind still needed time to heal. He hadn't asked the [Exorcist] about that. The answer was too intimidating.

When at last they arrived 'back home', Vittorio once more wondered at how small the village was. Less than twenty wooden houses, most single-story, generously spaced out made for the center, with most people living further out by their farms. The two streets were in truth little more than wide paths. It brought to mind a question he'd asked himself before: Why did his parents move here? They had no family here, they were clearly unhappy, there was barely any business for a store, and they had looked down on the people of the village. It didn't make sense. Maybe he'd find something that told him.

Gloria and Celeste went to their inn while Vittorio went home, entering through the unlocked storefront. The store was clean and tidy, of course, though the shelves were largely empty. The back room was also tidy, and a bit bare. He wondered if his parents had planned to buy goods in Pogna. He passed through the kitchen and went upstairs.

He entered his own room first, passing through the empty doorframe. His parents had told him he did not need privacy. A narrow, low bed with a blanket and a lumpy pillow, a dresser, and a small chest were the extent of the furniture, though there wasn't really room for more. He looked in the dresser just out of curiosity and found his old clothes as he'd left them. Next, he opened the chest, but there wasn't much there. A small abacus, letter blocks from when he'd learned to read, a thin switch and a paddle. Mother liked to keep them in his room as 'they were his'. He sat down on the thin straw mattress and reflected on what his life had been, and how close he'd come to staying here. He owed Gloria a debt he'd never be able to repay. He left the room without a backward glance.

Approaching his parent's room, he had to steel himself. He'd never been allowed in there. Even looking through the door could have led to punishment on a bad day. He swung the door open with more force than necessary, but it felt good. There was a large bed, two closets, two dressers, a desk with a chair, another chair next to a small table, a shelf of books, and a small painting. Seems he'd found where all the money went.

The bed was soft, though clearly aged and compressed. Inside the closets and dressers he found, unsurprisingly, a lot of clothes. More than he could see a need for, and a lot of it he'd never seen worn. Going through the desk, he mainly found ledgers and paperwork, but there was also a small notebook. Opening it to the first page, he was shocked.

1 spank, soft -- 1 spank, soft -- 1 spank, soft -- 1 spank, soft -- 1 spank, soft -- 1 spank, soft --

He recognized Mothers careful, precise handwriting. She'd recorded every punishment she'd given him. He started to flip through the notebook and there were pages upon pages of entries. How terrible a child had he been? And how had she known he would be? He noticed that there was a change and that in later pages the line after the punishment had been replaced with an 'X'. Morbidly curious about what it meant, he went back to see if he could find the first one.

3 pinches, soft -- 1 paddle, hard -- 5 spanks, soft --

8 switches, hard First experience!

Age? Just turned 13. Method? Amount?

8 spanks, soft --

Amount

3 switches, soft X

Method?

This wasn't a record of him being unruly. It was a record of when and how his mother had earned experience from hurting him. He kept looking and found more notes spread out. She'd compared different methods, frequency, number of strikes... When he turned 18 she'd started gaining a lot more experience, it seemed. At the very end, he found the last beating she'd given him - but the notes didn't end. There were another seven entries. Punishments she'd planned to carry out. She'd been scheduling them beforehand.

He slowly but surely came to the conclusion that not only had a lot of his punishments been unjust, Mother had been... she'd been farming him for experience. Like he was her personal Rat Room. Beating a child couldn't have given much experience, but several times a week for five years? It probably added up. And if he'd stayed, with a class...

Gloria found him there, heartbroken and furious. He didn't have the strength to rage or to shout, and Gloria had to help him out.

"They were monsters, Gloria. Monsters", he muttered to her as they went to the inn. Celeste took one look at him and ushered the two of them into seats at the back near the bar, where they could have some privacy but still be close to her if they needed anything. The room filled up as the afternoon passed and word that Celeste was back spread. Most gave Vittorio space. A few, mistaking his melancholy for grief, said a few words. One sat down next to him, putting a strong, gnarled hand on his shoulder.

Vittorio looked up into the face of Zaccheo, the oldest person in the village. How old Vittorio didn't know, but his great-grandchildren were grown. His skin was dark and lined from decades working in the sun, his hair bright white, but his eyes were as sharp as ever and his grip iron.

"Ah heard about your parents", he said. "Nasty business, but you'll've heard that lots. Ah just wanted to say it wasn't right, what they did to you. Beating children's the stupidest thing ah ever heard. Every farmer knows you don't grow crops by stepping on 'em, and ah reckon it's the same with kids. And you such a good kid too. When ah heard, why ah was so mad ah walked right up to 'em and I let 'em know what ah thought, ah tell you. And ah told everyone else. Ah said, 'If you trade for so much as a single grain o' rice, ah ain't working your field". And ah work all the fields. Ain't nobody step foot in that store since.

"Well, anyway. You're a good kid. You'll do fine. You just put this behind you. Ah've seen a lot of death in my time. My wife, two kids, three grandkids, my parents, damn near everyone ah grew up with... it sticks with you, but if you don't leave it behind, you won't move forward."

With that, he squeezed Vittorio's shoulder and got up. His parents had told him the townsfolk had been on their side - just another lie. The discovery of his mother's actions still rattled him, but somehow, he thought he'd be okay.