So you see that while I should be able to increase the size of the plants and animals, I have no way of making them grow faster. And I fear that if they grow too big, the resources they will need will have a poor effect on the surrounding area, Flower concludes, nerves tiptoeing across the Bond as if she’s fearful that I might be angry about it. And it is very much about my reaction – she’s looking directly at me, as are most of the council members.
We’re sitting in the same circle as before, the three groups once more represented in equal numbers. Around us sit a number of other samurans, listening with interest. Even the Unevolved are engaged – I guess because now that they’re represented properly, they might actually be able to affect the discussion, if only through an intermediary.
We’ve already listened to Sticks’ and Joy’s reports. Sticks has been working with a number of her own assistants to create hafts for the metal spear and knife blades and fence pieces for the fields that are expected to be used for growing plants. The fences will be to either keep animals in or out, depending on the field. We’re going to have to experiment a little with all of that too – I have no idea what kind of fences we’re going to need, but at least knowing the limits of possibilities and creating some pieces to start with should help. Living fences – hedges – are also an idea as long as they’re maintained..
Joy has been working with Sticks on the fence issue, working out what kind of bindings might be possible to create a strong structure, testing different materials too. She’s also been working on creating fabric – even if the samurans don’t really need it for themselves, I figure that the animals might need some shelter in the winter. Even if it doesn’t get that cold here, it does get rainy.
That I can already see happening – every day recently there’s been some rain. Most of the time it's either in the evening or after dark, but sometimes we’ve had a shower in other parts of the day. One good thing about having an underground den – even heavy rain won’t bother us. Not since I’ve built in anti-flooding properties, anyway.
Flower is just finishing up her own report. The earlier part of it was that initial experiments with the plants the other samurans have been bringing her have gone well. She said that it seems like she is able to have a significant effect on the size of the plant, or the size of certain parts of the plant, but not its maturity.
“Your concerns are valid,” I start by saying, “but I think that Tarra has a good solution.”
For some reason, Tarra looks quite nervous about being called upon, faintly orange yellow flickering through her spikes. I silently prompt her to talk about the maturing draught and after a moment of hesitation, she does. I do note that she leaves out any mention of her testing it on hatchlings or her real motivations for creating it. Is she ashamed of it? Perhaps, or perhaps she doesn’t want to admit that it didn’t work for the intended purpose. Hopefully it will work better for growing food for the samurans.
Of course, in the long term, the process we’re attempting to build will rely on the village always having a herbalist and growth-enhancer, something I understand isn’t at all guaranteed. But I am curious about whether each Pathwalker having a group of assistants might increase the chances of at least one gaining the same or similar abilities to their mentor. Time will tell on that one, but hopefully not too much time – I’ve got less than a year here and I want to leave them in a good place to be independent of me and my Skills.
Either way, she gets the most important information across, so we next move onto River, the segue a natural one after talking about Tarra’s herbalism.
River has mostly been working with Tarra on the experiments and on getting to grips with her own new abilities. She’s discovered that her Poison-Claw ability can reproduce any animal venoms she’s been injected with, though not always at the same potency. She’s now trying to work out why some venoms end up being more potent than others, and whether she can get plant poisons to work too. Initial results are mixed on the latter front and the plant poisons appear to be among the least potent when reproduced.
I have also been experimenting with my second special ability: Fire-Herbalism, she says, sounding rather like her mentor in her almost clinical briskness. I have determined a few limitations and that I can do more than just burn things to ash with it, but investigation is ongoing on what exactly.
What are your limitations? Tarra asks, clearly interested and just as clearly in the dark. I had the same question so I’m glad she asked.
While I can burn both plants and flesh, I cannot burn living matter.
Well, that’s a relief, I hear Sticks say. I don’t blame her – it’s nice to know that if we have another ranking fight, I won’t have to be worried about whether River will burn me to ash where I stand. Theoretically, anyway – unless I seriously piss her off, I doubt River will want to do that to me.
“Alright, thanks River. Windy, do you have anything to report?” I ask the most annoying samuran levelly.
Out of all of the Evolved, she’s the one I haven’t thought of anything specific for her to do. I therefore told her to practise with her Wind-Shaping and see if she can find any special uses for it. Apparently she hasn’t had much of a role in the village since she Evolved.
She has been useful for the occasional difficult hunt, but being a female is enough to guarantee her a cushy life purely down to her ability to produce eggs. She can apparently also sometimes identify things on the wind like the movement of herds or the approach of a bad storm. She knew about the inferno I created before anyone else – it seems that her knowledge of just how big it was combined with her automatic prejudice against anything non-samuran is one reason for her inability to grasp the fact that I was controlling it.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Nothing I wish to share with the…council now, she answers with a slightly begrudging look around the circle, her eyes lingering on the Unevovled members. Apparently her prejudice is still alive and kicking.
“I see,” I answer slowly. Among all the other reports of new discoveries and experiments, her refusal sticks out like a sore thumb. “Just be aware that access to my den is contingent on you finding some way to help the village beyond just being a female Pathwalker,” I tell her firmly. She indicated to me in our Battle of Wills that she desired power. My den is the best option for that, but she’ll have to earn it. I can’t help needling her a little, petty and immature of me as it might be. “It occurs to me that of everyone in the circle, you are the one who contributes the least to the village. Perhaps your complaints about the Unevolved being lazy without the motivation of food were more speaking from your own experience.”
I raise my eyebrows meaningfully at her, and feel a ripple of amusement come from several others around the circle. The light blue of the emotion shows in several spikes, though is quickly withdrawn as Windy glares around.
I am quite capable of motivating myself, she tells me primly though with an undercurrent of anger and embarrassment.
“Then prove it to me – and the village,” I tell her. “Find some way for you to be useful to the village.”
She says no more; just glares at me and then looks away, obviously intentionally not meeting anyone’s gaze or lifting or lowering her head to show any sign of submission. I drop it for now, turning to the leader of the Warriors.
“Shrieks, have you managed to implement the classes as I asked you to?”
Shrieks is already fairly busy with his usual responsibilities of patrolling and guarding the village, but I did ask him to do one more thing: to start training the Unevolved in combat. He was a bit resistant to the idea at first – I think he saw it as a waste of time. And I understand that to a point: why train someone who was more likely than not to die or fail to reach Evolved? However, as I said to him at the time, training the Unevolved might help them to live longer, and if they do end up being Warriors, he’ll have fewer bad habits to train out of them. He agreed, reluctantly.
I have succeeded in organising a few sessions, the big samuran rumbles. Mostly, I have been asking each of my Warriors to give a demonstration with their preferred weapon. The Unevolved have come to sessions if they are in the village and if the weapon interests them. Not many have come. We have not really started actively teaching, though.
“That’s understandable,” I agree. Delegation was a good idea. Having different samurans offering lessons on their weapons of choice is probably the best way to help all the Unevolved decide what suits them best and then improve. “It’s early days yet. But I hope that actual teaching will be able to happen soon. Are you giving them any sort of reward?”
Shrieks sways his tail in a shrug.
The Warriors earn fragments of Energy Hearts for each session they lead.
“Well, from now on, teaching can earn them meditation time in my den – I think that will probably be more useful to them than Energy Hearts and would also leave those for the Unevolved who can’t gain much benefit from the Energy levels in my den. Do you offer the attendees anything?”
Shrieks looks at me incredulously.
Why should they earn anything? They are already being given access to techniques which will help them survive. That should be motivation enough!
“That’s true,” I agree, though privately I decide I’ll have to see what the attendance rate is like. Besides, rewarding them in Energy Heart fragments will potentially help them advance anyway, which is a net gain for the village. “When are you holding the sessions? I would be interested in taking part myself.”
I’m being completely honest here – our ranking fight just proved to me beyond a doubt that my combat style is barely worthy of the name and only just gets me by because I have magic to help me. If I’m out of mana or don’t want to use it for whatever reason, I’ll be in trouble against an opponent who knows even vaguely what they’re doing. But considering I was a soft office worker less than three months ago, I figure that that’s understandable. Continuing to be like that when I have the opportunity to get better will be my own fault, though.
Every day when the sun is at its zenith, Shrieks answers promptly. I frown.
Are the Unevolved around at that time? I thought that is when they are usually busy fulfilling tasks like searching for resources in the forest.
Shrieks gives another tail-shrug.
It is when we usually practise. Learning to operate in too-bright conditions is good for Warriors.
“Sure, for Warriors,” I agree, “but perhaps hold the sessions when more samurans are available? Maybe either just before or just after dinner? I gesture around. Lots of people are here at the moment – it would be a good time to hold a session if we didn’t have a meeting.”
Perhaps, Shrieks agrees noncommittally, but I sense that he’s thinking about it.
We continue onto the rest of the Warriors – who have little to say – and then the Unevolved. These have a few fairly minor issues to bring up with the council, mostly related to the system of assigning tasks and awarding Energy Hearts. I need to work out a better way of storing them, for example – they ran out of Energy Heart fragments while I was away and have had to be rewarding samurans with ‘credit’ notes. Have I instigated paper money? I ask myself with more than a little amusement. Not that it’s paper money, of course – they’re carefully carved wooden discs instead; Sticks’ work. I need to make sure they get replaced with Energy Heart fragments.
Overall, however, the Unevolved appear to be very happy with the changes, which was rather expected. The Warriors and Pathwalkers don’t appear too upset though, despite being displaced as top dogs – or top lizards. I think knowing they will be able to earn special access to my den helps with that, as does the fact that they’ve been given new responsibilities. Apart from Windy, everyone else is more or less enthusiastic about the new changes I’m bringing to the village. Sticks is fairly cautious as are a couple of the Warriors, but by and large, the village is behind me and my changes. Good.
After a final couple of discussions, the council breaks up.
“Happy, Lathani, and Finds-a-bug, can you come here, please?” Time to find out whether the pattern I noticed extends past Happy and Lathani.