“So, how is everyone feeling?”
To help maintain balance in our large wooden tub, we each sat apart from one another, but not so far that our arms didn’t touch.
“I feel like it's time for you bitches to pay up!” shouted Skull as she held out her hands to us. “Alterez only had to go to the kitchen two times. You guys were way off.”
Considering we were all naked and in the bath, coins were still exchanged just fine. Nanu and I had pocket dimensions, but I could only guess as to how Chooka managed. When I raised an eyebrow and gave her a curious glance, she just winked and smiled while implying it was a secret. I made a note to never play Three Shell Monte with her. Skull preened with her earnings, flaunting her ‘vast wealth’, even though it was pocket change at the economy of scale that we operated at. I don’t know what she would spend it on since she mostly only owned what she could carry, but that was her business.
“How soon until your mana recovers enough to call The Boys?” asked Chooka as she reached for a bottle of oil. “They must be awfully lonely by now, the poor dears.”
“Calling, being a legitimate teleport, unlike a temporary summoning, is much more mana-intensive. It will be well after midnight before I can manage that,” I answered as I accepted the bottle of oil and repositioned to help rub it into her back. “I will also be calling Hopper and Ribbette, so that compounds the cost.”
“I hope those two adjust well to civilization,” commented Skull as she set down her coins and accepted the oil. “I don’t know where or how they acquired their clothes and weapons, but they will be expected to follow the rules around here just like everyone else. They may walk upright like people, but they are still magical beasts.”
“I’m sure they will manage,” added Nanu in the defense of my beloved pets as she took the oil to work it into Skull’s back. “The Boys behave just fine, and hydras would normally eat people. Magical beasts are highly intelligent, which only gets better when they are officially made pets that are backed up by Skills of their owner. Dragons commonly have such pets, and they tend to behave better than people.”
“I will explain the rules to them.” I turned my back to Chooka so she could rub the oil into me. “They are a little slow, but they eventually seem to understand.”
“They are only slow because you don’t have a Skill to translate faster for them,” Nanu reprimanded as she splashed water at me. “You may not have access to one yet, so you may need to invest in the cheap Skills to scout one. There are probably three or four levels of it, ultimately culminating in them being able to speak out loud. Telepathy between you and your pet is also an option, followed by telepathy and close associates of yours, but don’t rely on it as a substitute for them to comprehend speech.”
“I already have short-range telepathy with The Boys. I turn it off most of the time because they just prattle on and on about the nature of the universe or shamelessly beg for snacks. I allow Plato to have priority access to speak to me because he is in charge, and he uses it responsibly.”
“I can sorta hear them when I am in your shadow,” stated Skull as she took a cloth in hand and washed herself. “It is muffled, but I can make out bits and pieces of what they say. They also have more heads in that realm, but the number shifts and changes all the time.”
“Maybe those are contenders for future heads,” I replied as I too took a cloth in hand for some good scrubbing. “They started with only three heads and Diogenes joined later on. I would guess they have some mechanism to choose when or how to add another head.” I glanced at Nanu for more insight, but she just shrugged apologetically in response.
“Where did the kobolds ever get to?” I asked as I began to wash out Chooka’s hair and polish her horns. “I don’t think I have seen them since shortly after we arrived. Do they even have a place to live?”
We all exchanged mystified looks, for none of us had a good answer. I lacked any Skills to know where my affiliated kobolds were located, so I would have to track them down after a few days if they didn’t show up.
“Right, then, I guess I need to add settling that matter to my list of chores. We are all going to be so busy at least for the next couple weeks until we get a rhythm going, I am not sure how much time we will have. Should we post a calendar on the wall and fill in our time slots?”
Chooka and, to a lesser extent, Nanu, jumped at the opportunity. Skull sheepishly looked away from the prime real estate of barren wall that could host such a thing.
“Don’t worry, Skull, we can just use pictures or color codes to show what we are up to. There is no need to explicitly list out things in detail.”
Skull moseyed up to me, cradling herself on one of my shoulders.
“It isn’t like I don’t like words or stories, but the letters move about and it makes it hard to read properly,” she half-confided and half-whined as she nestled into me. “I would love to hear more stories, but not if I have to read them.”
“We should have a fair number of books in the loot of the Count. He used to read bits and pieces of stories to me, and then just stop reading out-loud when he got to a good part.” Nanu clenched her fists and teeth as she thought back to her moments of captivity. “It drove me up the wall, and I know he did it to irritate and break me. A good number of those books were stories or histories. Perhaps we could sometimes read to Skull during our downtime while we wait for our mana to regenerate.”
That suggestion earned me a hearty squeeze from Skull who beamed me her best puppy-dog eyes. The poor dear, no wonder she liked to hang out around taverns and talk to random people. Skull is intelligent and craves enrichment, but books could never sate her like they do for the rest of us.
“I think that is a wonderful idea,” I answered as I gave Skull a kiss on the forehead.
There were only three of us in the tub now, for Chooka had stepped out to dry off and go hunt down some supplies for a calendar. I had to open my dimensional storage to drop off the boxes that would have what she wanted for it, so we left her to her own devices while the rest of us cuddled in the bath.
Then Nanu wanted to showcase how long she could hold her breath to Skull, and she submerged herself in the water to such a purpose that would make for a pleasurable time for me. My composure not being a sure thing in the moment of such an undertaking, I opted to cuddle Skull in one arm and pet her, which she gladly accepted. Eventually, Nanu’s ministrations bore the desired harvest, and without surfacing, she employed the same trick to a surprised Skull. I found myself glad that we all got along and I hoped such civility and passion for one another would continue unabated forever.
After about half an hour of water sports and calendar making, we were all dressed and ready for our respective duties. Chooka explained the calendar to us with enthusiasm, showing off the different pins, each color coded, that we could put into different time blocks to show off where we would be and what we would be doing. While our schedules were still ambiguous at that point, we certainly did not have much projected overlap with Chooka, for Skull and Nanu would be with me at all times. Ergo, we three agreed to make as much time for Chooka when we could so she would not feel left out. We all helped tuck her in, for she needed her beauty sleep for the challenges of the coming day, and then the rest of us made our way outside and out of the camp.
I had expanded a nearby pond in preparation for my aquatic pets. The plan was to have them sleep and rest there, but otherwise follow me throughout the day when they were able. The Boys were surprisingly helpful when clearing timber and they seemed to enjoy the challenge and occasional snacks that came with the job. Hopper and Ribbette would also be able to slowly get used to being around large groups of people under my supervision, returning to the pond when they needed to rest, but otherwise never really alone with the common people.
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As I neared the pond, several obvious clues about the whereabouts of the kobolds made itself known. The first clue was a rather large barrel in the pond. Well, half of one cut longways, complete with a mast and a sheet for a sail. I don’t know where or how they managed to appropriate one so large, for it was probably around a gorda in size. That’s 700 liters or 185 gallons, depending on how the gods voted for this century’s units of measure. The second clue was all the nautical terms being spouted off from the occupants of the make-shift boat, some of which were questionable in authenticity. Someone’s presumably missing laundry basket made the crow’s nest, and in it were two kobolds.
“Avast, me scallywags, weigh anchor off the starboard bow and hoist the poop deck! The Master has called us to port. Look sharp, me hearties, or I’ll make you walk the yardarm!”
Gambino continued to shout orders that would make a sailor cry and rage. Perhaps he was still learning the ropes of his new role. Eventually, the six of them did manage to bring the ship to the edge of the pond. Wait, six kobolds! Last I checked, the troupe only had four, and I didn’t see any other kobolds on the passenger list or in camp. I was about to ask about that when the ship beached itself and Gambino somersaulted three times through the air before he landed neatly in a bow with his tricorn in hand.
“Greetings, Master. We were just rehearsing for any upcoming nautical adventures you may have,” he finished with a flourish as he stood upright and placed his hat back on his head.
“Uh, keep up the good work. Seems like you have a long way to go. Where did the extra kobolds come from?” I looked around at his pirate crew who had crawled out of the boat to line up behind him, and only Bambina really stood out, being a skimpier version of pirate with her shirt tails tied together at her chest instead of buttoned-up properly.
“Indeed, Master, but it is all just a part of learning. I am the troupe’s [Impresario], or leader, and Bambina is our [Prima-Donna]. You have already met our two [Kurokos]. Our newest recruits are our two new [Background Characters], but we still need [Stunt Doubles], two [Best Boys], a [Dramaturge], a [Composer], and a [Choreographer] at a minimum. We also need one [Fight Director] if you wish to take us into battle, and an [Intimacy Coordinator] if you wish to take us into your bed. We would also want a fair number of [Stars] and [Co-Stars] if you want us to do anything on a large scale.”
Gambino rattled off the whole list without hesitation or trepidation. Neither his tone nor is body language hinted at anything awkward or suggestive about [Intimacy Coordinator] and its use, and I felt inclined to just gloss over it completely. Maybe Alterez would have more use of such a kobold with an oddly particular Blessing. However, I felt compelled to say something in response, so I cooked up something that should appease him.
“It seems like you know well what you need for your troupe. Feel free to recruit as needed, but remain discerning for quality talent. Keep up the good work.”
Apparently satisfied with my response, Gambino gave another elaborate bow and returned his troupe to their nautical adventures. They unbeached their boat and set sail for distant shores, which was about two stone throws away on the other side of the pond. Satisfied that I would not be interrupted, I began the calling for my pets while Skull and Nanu stood guard. For ten minutes I channeled and incanted as part of an overly elaborate ritual that would send my mana signature radiating for miles around like a giant beacon for people to come kill me while I remained relatively helpless. Perhaps that was the point of it all, a way of the gods making things fair so that people could not just summon an army in the middle of a city. At the end of the whole ordeal, my pets managed to make their way through their respective rings of light to stand beside me. Well, they flopped over onto the ground, as did I, for the whole thing had exhausted me with seemingly supernatural fatigue. And there we remained for another half hour until we recovered enough to stand again.
“Welcome, Boys, Hopper, Ribbette. I’m going to explain some ground rules now, so listen up.” Hopper and Ribbette eyed me for a while before they nodded and snapped to attention. It seemed like Nanu was right and I would need to invest more into Skills for comprehension. The Boys stood there patiently while they awaited my words, each perhaps curious if the explanation of the rules would culminate in an offering of snacks. “No harming or killing people or their animals, no destruction of property, no harassing or threatening people. This is your pond and you will reside here for a few days when you are resting. We will be moving every couple days, so you will have a new pond every so often. Boys, you will be helping me with timbering. Hopper and Ribbette, you will most likely be tasked with escorting and protecting people that I assign you to throughout the day. I have plenty of food for you, so do not wander away from camp, me, the pond, or your assigned tasks in search of food. Any questions?”
The Boys, who were shrunk down to about my size, let out a chorus of pleas for snacks. Apparently, they had learned that being smaller makes the snacks last a little longer due to a decrease in size disparity. They also learned that shrinking to too small a size makes snacks taste bad, so this size must be the best of both worlds. I offered them each a small snack and a collective belly rub at the immediately offered and upturned underside while I waited for the Giant Frogs to catch up. Eventually, they nodded in understanding, and satisfied, I brought forth proper diners for all of them.
I provided The Boys with kibble, which they enjoyed, and meat, which they loved. The Giant Frogs had an assortment of grubs which apparently pleased their pallets. Hopper took the time and effort to hand-feed Ribbette who sat in his lap. She appeared torn in that she wanted to be standoffish, but she also wanted to be pampered by him. Perhaps a romance had bloomed there, which made sense considering they were the only two Giant Frogs around who had evolved to an advanced form. With that taken care of, I told them to get some rest because we would be off to work at sunrise. The Boys ambled into the pond and slowly stalked the ‘pirate ship’, which quickly devolved into a game of keep away and faux attacks from each side.
“Two silvers say the boat is sunk or beached by morning,” I bet Skull and Nanu as we made our way back to camp. Neither one took my offer, and with a loud and woody crunch sounding out their reasoning as we walked away, odds were the boat would be lucky to last even that long.
We made our way home, and Nanu placed a sound barrier around Chooka so she would sleep well without disturbing us. I promptly retrieved one of the crates full of books from the looting of the Count’s stuff, and together we looked through it.
“Ahah!” Exclaimed Nanu as she retrieved one book in particular. “Here it is, the journal of some guy. I was left on a cliffhanger last time.” She took a moment to parse through the book, her eyes scanning the pages far faster than normal eyes could move. “Bah!” she cried out with dissatisfaction as she flung it over her shoulder. “He was one of those Lunatics. One True Moon my ass. Everyone knows there are seven moons.” She was right of course, so I decided not to read the book of some Lunatic cultist.
“Huh, this one is suspicious. On Subterranean Cave Snails Vol. III. This has to be some sort of code book.” Satisfied with my newfound code book, I selected it for later reading. “Is there anything here you want us to read to you?” I asked Skull as I rummaged through the pile for titles that may be more interesting to her. At my prompting, she selected a book of her own.
“Hmm, The History of Tarr, that sounds okay to me. I don’t even know what or where Tarr is.”
The two of us cuddled up on a big comfy chair together, the kind with extra thick upholstery for excellent reading marathons. I read the book to her while Nanu continued to curate her short list of preferred reading material. We still had a few hours before we would need to get to work, and since none of us three sleep much any more, we would spend a decent amount of time at night resting and regenerating mana. Idling away the hours together with books in hand sounded like an excellent way to relax to me; my only concern lay in that we may not have enough to last the whole time it would take to build the road. We had enough for now, though, and presumably there would be trips to cities for diplomacy and whatnot, so we could get more books later.
Skull found herself engrossed in the history book. Whoever wrote it seemed to prefer accuracy over flair, yet also managed to word things in a way that still grabbed one's attention. We both gave death glares at the first rays of dawn that dared to intrude through the window and into our private sanctuary of learning and bonding, but for whatever reason, the sun refused to be cowed by our efforts at intimidation and stubbornly continued to rise. Unable to hold off the inevitable, we set the book aside and began the ritual of rousing Chooka from her slumber.
Before we could even finish creeping up on our helpless victim, she bolted upright and hopped out of bed as quick as you like. As gnomes would say, she was all ‘slug spit and crow teeth’. I guess that is because a slug’s spit moved faster than the slug and a crow having teeth was impossible or highly unbelievable. In normal terms, she moved quickly to get ready, which was highly irregular behavior considering we normally had to coax or drag her out of bed. In not even ten minutes, she had dolled herself up and was out the door for her first day at her new job, so clearly she just lacked proper motivation to do the same on most mornings.
Skull and I mostly stood there bewildered by what had happened. Eventually, Nanu came over and snapped us out of our stupor, and together, the three of us set off for our first day of work.