Two weeks after the Ocalan Aberrant Purge
Clean up was almost worse than the fight itself. Almost, but not quite. I liked my life nice and unthreatened. While the leadership of Ocala was far from pleased about me and the Allied Towns subverting their authority, that three of the four major Factions had been implicated took a lot of the bite out of their arguments. So, when a follow up Conference had been arranged to discuss what resulted from our fight, they got to see the full scope of what I was about when I didn't care about their feelings. At all. I still valued Radolfo's thoughts and Dyonte's suggestions, but I was done with getting lambasted unilaterally. The fact that the city owed me big time helped curb that immensely.
It wasn't necessarily 'my way or the highway' but I had to admit it was a near thing.
The primary change came from the plans moving forward for the Partials and for the Freed Tendrils. The effect of removing the large Aberrant from the region could not be underestimated. Every single Tendril, and the pair of Appendages that had been discovered after the fact within Breaker Territory, had had a major brain scramble. It ranged from gentle mood swings to mania to full on catatonia. Some of the relatives of Tendrils had been vocal with their complaints about what I'd 'done' to them. Those died on the vine the moment the least affected Tendrils started to sing our praises for finally 'silencing the voices'. It was hard to argue your choices when hundreds of the people actually affected supported them.
Teion had taken it upon himself to establish asylums, for lack of a better term, to help those who'd suffered due to the Aberrant's influence. Tucker and Amaya, which had been only mildly affected by their disconnect to the Aberrant, had helped spearhead the effort. They insisted it had nothing to do with misplaced guilt for their part in spreading the Dreg alcohol around town. The details of their enslavement hadn't been spread beyond the Faction Leaders and their aides, but the fact that April had uncovered three other distilleries with the help of the recovering Tendrils meant they weren't alone.
An unfortunate result that came from purging the Aberrant was the permanent removal of inhibitions for those who'd given in to the call of the Dreg. Those individuals that didn't seek help in turn made everyone's lives worse. Even when they had to be forcefully put down when they started leveraging their magic against the public, their presence had done more damage to the reputation of the Aberrant-affected. The Dreg Sullied, whether Tendril, Afflicted, or natural Partial, were even more shunned than before amidst the people of Ocala. Two weeks of that had been about all I could stomach before I started knocking heads.
Radolfo insisted that wasn't the most effective way of dealing with prejudice -- and I might have agreed-- but when someone called Billy a slur in my presence they had to contend with a whole can of repressed anger issues. When Amelia gave you a peck on the head for misbehaving you knew you were in the wrong.
The more those went on, the more I knew I had to act. Which is what led to the plan I'd been speculating with Hec before things got thrown on their head.
"You want to give Sullied access to the Metier System?" Horace clamored.
"Horace, so help me. If you use that term to reference to human beings that have just been freed from oppressions one more time I am going to knock you all the way to Sharon's lap just so she can send your Giant behind back here," I said, glaring openly at the leader of the Clansmen.
"What I believe he was trying to say," Nova Mackay interjected. After the level of friction that had been established between Horace and me, the dwarfess had stepped in to mediate even if she was only a Clan leader, not their overall chosen representative. "Is whether giving those influenced by the Aberrants access to the powers of progression you all have and their nature as Tendrils gives them."
That had been one of the stark revelations following the purge. The Tendrils, when freed from the suggestions of the Aberrants, already had a barebones Status that allowed them to develop. Unlike normal Fallen, it allowed them flexibility in their Trait development rather than in their Skills. When I'd asked Gec and Hec 'What the actual shit, guys?!?' they had responded cryptically. Even Hec, who I'd thought was my Entity Bro. It had been something about maintaining the balance of the body and soul didn't matter so long as the price was paid. It was the source of more headaches than I wanted to count. However, the discussion following that, where I requested every Entity within range attend, provided a solution. Bec, humble and most caring Entity that he was, had been the one to suggest it even if Alan would have to make it happen.
"Dr. Bennet is currently working on a version of the Implants that remains isolated from our souls. It will merely provide a touch point for the Entities to soothe the lingering psyche of those affected. In addition to some of the utilitarian benefits of being 'in network' so to speak," I said, ignoring Horace completely.
That declaration threw the Faction Leaders into a frenzy, especially when I clarified that it wouldn't hold the recipient to the 'oath' of being a Dreg Warrior that was built into the first and second generation Implants. It was a cheap way of getting the treatment of the Afflicted, Partials, and Tendrils improved, and I had no doubt Alan would be chunking out MetierTech if we asked. He was already trying to create cold fusion with sticks and a pair of Water slimes. Maybe. His research was still as esoteric as ever, especially when he'd stopped being confined by 'modern' equipment.
Of course, the conversation of the third generation of Implants led to the various economical policies that had been implemented in response to Wildwoodian Infused Artisan goods. There was no better advertising than performance, and the Cloth Muscles, Mage Circles, and Merc Corps were thirsty for the developments our crafters had produced. Those conversations had me checked out more than I wanted to admit, which meant Jolene stepped forward to negotiate and bargain for the future of GelCrafted slime equipment and Infusion Artisan products.
Both lucky and unluckily, the discussions for these developments didn't encounter as much resistance as they normally would have. The reason for the unluckiness was the same as what Wildwood and the Allied Towns had experienced when Galloway and his Aberrant master had been removed from the area: a power vacuum. With Ocala's sheer size and needs, Territories were being formally established around the city quickly and it was all its defenders could do to draw the borders they already had deeper in the sand. A healthier balance to the ecosystem of an Attuned Earth worked best for everyone, but it didn't mean the transition would be simple or easy.
What that resulted in was the first formal Ocala-Wildwood caravan. It was a quartet of wagons loaded with dozens of different trade goods. Two smaller Pendulum cannons had been assigned to the wagon train in case an ambitious horde tried to assault the travelers, but it was more for a test run. The Wild Guard had already secured the path between the Ock River Outpost and Lake Weir as much as possible. Trade south, however, wasn't the main market people were starting to target. The big money would lie with the cities even larger than Ocala to the far wilder north.
With the rest of the day left to digest the discussions of the morning, and the second set to be a major forum for the people of the city, I left the Tuscawilla Fort. I had absolutely zero interest in being part of any of those discussions. Sarah was staying in the Embassy and would be taking my place as representative of the Allied Towns until Irwin could get his reptilian behind to Ocala. When I'd announced as much, I could see every person and aide breathe a sigh of relief that almost made me want to stay. Or pop in, just to keep them guessing. Maybe in the future. Would be fun to keep them on their toes.
As Jolene and I reached the gate out of the fort, the guards snapped to crisp attention. They shouted 'Have a great day, Shaman of the Earth!' before returning to being ramrod straight and staring at a whole lot of nothing new. Waiting beyond the walls of the fort, Blobby was sculpting a life-sized version of a Wildfire Hog. When the slime spotted me and I raised an eyebrow slowly in question, Blobby collapsed its body into an indistinct pile before giving me a wave. If slimes could look sheepish, then Blobby was it.
"Come on Blobster. It's a long walk to the Nash Hospital," I said, leaning heavily on Fievil. The mole Totem wasn't happy with getting used as a walking stick, but it wasn't my problem that he got jealous every time I tried to use something else as a staff.
"You know, you could give us a ride in the saddle," Jolene said, stepping forward and interlocking her arm with mine. She kept her pace matched to mine as I limped through Ocala.
"That real good blonde doctor-druid we both know told me that the more I force my body to cooperate the better it will heal. Counter to old world recovery, but back then they only had physical therapy and not magic so who am I to argue?" I replied gruffly.
"Ron, a five minute ride isn't going to make a difference," Jolene said, rolling her eyes. "Hell, I know Amelia can carry us both even if it slows her down."
A quiet screech announced my avian Totem's agreement from the bracelet she was inhabiting, but just gave a small mental nudge in Fievil's direction. The mole Totem was already glaring at her, daring her to do something that would delay my recovery. The two of them were almost fully recovered, since they just hoovered up my mana to restore themselves, but they were just as over protective as all my other friends.
"After four days bedridden I just like walking," I said, feeling way older than I actually was. I couldn't help but think of Sharon, and my pace increased. If the caravan had to wait an extra hour just because the officiate was slow as a turtle, then they could wait. Every minute I spent getting proper control of my body back was a minute I was going to use.
"Nicer than that date three days ago then," Jolene said casually.
"Hey! How was I supposed to know that Daniela sent Anthony sniffing after me because I stole some of her chocolate stash! It was going to be for you," I said defensively.
"And instead of that, I got a face full of ant slobber. I didn't even know ants slobbered," the merwoman complained.
"Probably because Anthony is such a good boy. He's been too excited since he got to Q6," I said, shaking my head seriously. "Did you see how easily he pushed his head through the wall of that building?"
"If you weren't an earth mage I think he would have bankrupted us. I still don't think I've seen a single coin to your name." Jolene lamented. "You can't support this relationship on life-saving favors alone!"
"Hey, what good are friends for if you don't extract free food from them?"
The woman couldn't hold her laughter anymore and it was music to my ears. After I'd gone ahead and made us official after the battle in front of a huge chunk of the Wild Guard and many of our other allies, I'd been feeling the pressure to do something not life threatening with my now-girlfriend. The delay with getting at least mobile had taken priority of course, but the moment I'd been freed from Samuel's clutches I'd been doing my best to plan things for us to do when the chaos of our 'jobs' seemed to be at its lowest.
"Maybe next time you-- Ron?" Jolene cut out because I'd stopped walking. My eyes and vibrosense were locked on the equivalent of a neutron star of density shaped like a man. A man covered in sand and carrying a simple messenger bag at his side while half hidden by the shade of an apartment building. A Q7 Sand Appendage that had been missing for two weeks.
Fievil had released his Arcane Sink before I'd even realized it. The fully recovered and powered domain announced the arrival of the Totem as he peeked over my shoulder. Amelia was perched on my head a second later, while Blobby shifted his shape into a scary accurate rendition of the Corpus Chimera at tenth-scale. Jolene had her hand firmly in her Gator Gauntlet, soft swirls of azure mana prepared to blow up the whole popsicle stand at a moment's notice.
"Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised," the gravelly voice of the Appendage filtered through the air.
"Your kind haven't given me much choice in the matter," I said flatly.
The Appendage growled, the composure they'd been holding shifting violently. Were it not for Fievil's domain and vibrosense, I would have missed the grooves the outburst had sheared off the sides of the stone building.
"This isn't how this is supposed to go."
"How is it supposed to go?" I asked, relaxed but ready to act. After dealing with the unstable moods of the Freed Tendrils, I was seeing hints of the behavior in the Appendage. That it was an Appendage and not a Tendril was the surprising part, but we were far from knowing everything about the Aberrants and their connections to the Afflicted.
Instead of answering, the man took several steps forward into the light. While I'd seen him before, it had been in the heat of battle. Long unkempt hair framed a square jaw that could have broken stone. Deep brown eyes that might as well have been black stared at me. Where a neck should have been, slowly shifting sand marked where flesh had been replaced by manifested matter even if their exposed torso looked to have remained human. The man was still aggravatingly familiar, but I realized what bothered me the most was that he looked human rather than twisted like the other Tendril and Appendages I'd encountered. Most were never far from human, just uncanny valley level if they hadn't progressed their Traits too much. Except the man before me had managed to make it to Q7 while still mostly human.
"Ron," Jolene whispered through the comm-plant.
"What?" I asked, the silence between us stretching.
"Why does he look like you?" The merwoman's words derailed the impartial analysis of the Appendage I'd been keeping. The Appendage himself shattered the whole train network and ground it to a halt.
"Hello, Ronan. My name is Marcus. Marcus Metier," the man said, bowing his head awkwardly.
"Wha-wait," I said, my uncertainty rippling through my bond with Fievil and Amelia. Both Totems were giving me worried looks. Jolene's grip on my arm had clenched enough to draw Ichor. "Is this a joke? How do you know that name!?"
My raised voice struck the man like a physical blow. "It's not a joke. Though perhaps you know me by a different name."
He raised his bag, sand trickling through his fingers. Pieces clicked in my head with dizzying clarity. The timing, the warnings, the help of Tendrils, Kirby's words as he died. Some things weren't clear, but I had more guesses than I cared to admit. "You are the Sand Courier."
"Yes," the man lowered his bag, sighing. "I can't claim to be your father, and I don't think you'd want to claim to be my son if you knew some of the things I've done."
There were many, many... many questions I wanted to ask. But only one left my lips. "Why didn't you come back?"
"I didn't expect you to believe me so fast," Marcus huffed, a mirthless laugh trickling from his lips.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU COME BACK!?" I roared, my feet taking me inches away from the Appendage. I didn't feel the burning cuts on my arm where Jolene's claws had tried to hold me back. The force of the injury was fed right into my vocal chords. My fingers hesitated a whisper away from touching the man's worn collar. So close, the resemblance to my own features was impossible to ignore. And so were the hundreds of scars on his head and chest, all of uncountable sizes and shapes.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"Your grandmother would be sad to see you took so much after your old man," Marcus sighed.
Instead of whatever reaction my half-functioning brain expected from Marcus, the man pulled me into a hug. That close, the density of his power was all the more apparent as vibrosense screamed that even with all my advantages the Sand Courier would easily manhandle me if I didn't use every ounce of magical shenanigans I had at my disposal. Of course, none of that came into play. Instead, sandy arms wrapped around me. A sob escaped Marcus, along with the first hint of instability in his partially Elementized form.
"I am so glad you are alive," Marcus muttered. "And I am so sorry. I wish you could truly understand how sorry I am, Ronan. After your mother... when I started to change... no. None of that is enough of an excuse. I'm sorry."
I felt tears fall and it took me a second to realize they were coming from both of us. I closed my side of the embrace, my Strength hardly affecting the Appendage forged body that my father had. He's alive. Only then was my brain catching up to the reality. He's alive and he's here! Then reality slapped the kindling hope in my heart with enough force to steal my breath.
"I can't stay long."
I pulled back, fingers digging into Marcus' half-sand shoulders. Thanks to my fighting experience, I was more than aware I had nothing that could slow the man. As if reality was laughing in my face, his Attunement even precluded me from locking him down lest he turn it around on me instead. All my other Item Augmented Skills would be... much more lethal than I wanted.
"But you just got here!" I exclaimed.
"I wish I could stay. I wish I would have stayed. If I did, though, I would bring their attention directly here. Already some have turned to investigate the chink in their armor you've created," Marcus said, his voice barely a whisper.
"What do you need?" I asked, my mind immediately flashing to my uncle. Dale would weep tears of joy if he knew his brother-in-law still lived. I couldn't just let him go!
To my great distress, Marcus shook his head. "Nothing. I fantasized about this day for years. Ideas and half cooked plans and god knows what other things. It took me too long to corral the voices and chain the impulses. Who would have thought that all I needed to do was keep struggling and my son would be the one to shine a light in the dark."
"I-- What do you mean?"
"Ronan. Listen to me closely. The world is on its head. Everywhere you go, the imbalance of power is hurting the innocent. I've... led a few of the corrupted astray. It's a grain of sand in the desert. What you are building here... it needs to be protected. My mother dreamed of what the Bunkers could have been, and you are carrying that torch. The Aberrants will not let the loss lay, even when I leave. You need to be ready, because one man is not enough." Marcus' gaze stared off into the distance, an inscrutable weight on his soul that was visible even without Diffracting Tissues telling me every word he spoke was truth. "Lord don't I know this. Not nearly enough..."
"W-will I see you again? How can we help?" I asked, stepping forward when Marcus moved to make distance between us.
"Do what you think is best. From what I've seen, you learned the most important lesson I failed to learn from my mom: rely on others just as they rely on you. My warped mind has little to offer you." The sadness permeating Marcus' body was bone deep. For the first time in the conversation, I noticed just how gaunt and haunted the man actually was. Unless the shadows under his eyes are part of a Trait, but I doubt it. "As for if you'll see me again... you can bet your ass you will. This isn't goodbye; it's a see you later."
Warmth spread through me. "Uncle Dale is going to have some words to say to you."
A pained expression reached Marcus' eyes, but then a genuine smile graced his face. "I hope he didn't pass his potty mouth to you. I'd rather he kept that lesson locked away. Though, with how good of a job he did raising you I couldn't criticize him even if you cursed like a sailor."
The Sand Courier had taken another step back, and vibrosense told me he was losing density by the second. Sand started to swirl in the air, and I felt Jolene tense behind me at the display. It didn't escape Marcus' gaze, and his smile turned crooked. "Take care of that one. The feisty ones are a handful, but they will always be in your corner. Your mother always was, even when I was an idiot."
I lunged, wrapping my father in another hug that forced him back a step. "You better keep your promise. You saw what happened to the last thing that got in my way, and now that I know you are alive it means my list of obstacles includes yours. Mistakes or not, if you hadn't acted I would have lost more of my family. Instead I gained one."
Seemingly taken aback, Marcus roared with laughter. The man started to disintegrate from between my very fingers. I was sure I could lock him down if Fievil compressed his domain, or I used half a dozen different Skills, but... My hesitation gave the man enough time to start flowing away with the wind. As the sand started to blow out of view, his voice drifted through the air clear as day.
"It may not mean much, but I am proud to see you are a better man than I was, Ronan. See you soon... son."
-- + --
Jolene waited a total of twenty minutes to talk, just as the top of the Nash Hospital was visible in the distance. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"About which part?" I said, shaking my head. Numb was a good word to describe how I felt. "The return of my long-thought-dead father, the fact that he helped keep our collective butts out of the fire, the fact that he was likely partly responsible for Wildwood's ordeal with Aberrants, or that we are likely to get attacked here in Ocala just because we stomped them out."
"Any of those. I'm not particularly picky about conversation topics," the merwoman said, twirling her hand in the air vaguely. "Your talkative nature wasn't your biggest selling point when I thought about asking you out. If you recall."
"I'm never going to live that down am I?"
"Why would I let you?" Jolene laughed. When I didn't immediately reply, she placed her hand gently on my arm where Slurry Ichor and Geocardium had already scabbed the wounds she'd given me. "I'm sorry."
"'Tis but a flesh wound!" I said, cracking the slightest smile before the implications of the now hit once again.
"Not about hurting you. Well, yes, sorry about that too. I mean I am sorry things with your dad are this complicated," Jolene said.
"It's not your fault, Jolly. I suppose I should be thankful I even can see my father considering how messy this whole situation has become."
"Does it affect your decision?" The merwoman turned to look me in the eye, alluding to the conversation we'd been having on and off since the end of the purge.
"I want to say that it did," I started before deflating a moment later. "But it didn't. My mind had already been made up the moment I dropped the cluster bomb of reality on the Faction Leaders."
"The moving mountain, the towering defender, the bulwark, the Vanguard, Ronan Terrigan, putting down roots." Jolene shook her head. Even despite her attempt to appear dismissive, my Traits spelled out the magnitude of relief her posture went through. "Never thought I'd see the day."
"Einstein really was onto something with that whole relativity of time thing. The last year has felt like a lifetime and a half," I said, chuckling at the confused expression on the merwoman's face; it was cute. "We'll have to raid Dai's library."
"We could take a trip to your home," Jolene suggested. "If we aren't going to leave the area, I'm sure our loyal steed could get us south in a day."
At the mention of 'loyal steed', Blobby drew itself up into a proud knight. I shook my head, doing my best to explain that the 'knight' was the one to ride the 'steed' in the analogy the merwoman had made. Of course, Fievil and Amelia had to throw in their two cents as the Totems communicated in overly cartoonish fashion aimed at the ether. How the slime was able to perceive my mindscape, or really anything in the physical world really, was still a huge mystery. A mystery I'll get to explore...
I hadn't been firmly sold on the idea of putting down roots until I saw and experienced just how spread thin the defenders of the Allied Towns and Ocala were in comparison to the world. Sharon's fight against Eurus had been an eye opening experience. The Shaman dealt with the forces of nature yearly. While it was true that she felt confident someone could take on her mantle after her little experiment with Amelia and I... I didn't feel right leaving the defense of my home to someone who should be in geriatric care. If Ocala didn't maintain its role as intercessor for Florida against the Elemental Monarchs, it was entirely possible that the state as a whole would be thrown into chaos. Wildwood had struggled with the 'mild' storms that Sharon didn't deflect or neutralize; what would things be like without a dedicated defender for the other towns that hadn't truly embraced Metier Crystals and their Entity Clusters. There wasn't even a good count on how many of those existed!
That wasn't to say the push for freedom on the surface wasn't important, or that I wouldn't leave home to knock heads as needed. However, the more I thought about 'starting over' with a new city, a new leadership and a new slew of problems the more I realized it wasn't what I wanted for my life. Was it selfish? Yes. Was it the correct choice for me and those I cared about? Fairly sure, with sugar on top. That my once-lost-now-kinda-found father had told me that trouble would come my way instead of me having to seek it out... well that was icing on the cake.
Jolene didn't say a word, likely having realized I'd fallen deep into my own head again. The relaxed expression, and absolute lack of annoyance about that made a stupid grin cross my face. A love life had been a pipe dream in the Bunker, with implications none of my friends wanted to ever discuss again since touching foot on the surface. However, things were looking up in a way I couldn't have expected. I wouldn't call things between Jolene and I perfect, but perfect was the enemy of good. And things were good for once.
"I think that's a fantas--"
"Ron!" A familiar voice cut in just as I was preparing to give the merwoman an over the top invitation to the Bunker.
When I turned in the direction of the incoming ripples, a flew of very familiar people were making their way to us. Bunkerites. Leading the pack was my Uncle Dale, with Teach calling after him to wait. A little ways behind them was Ava, giving her daughter and a beet red Devon some kind of talking to while Juan Vegas passed out steamy papas rellenas with a smile. Jerome Fallon was looking up into his son's face, taking notes as Samuel explained some process or another he'd likely developed himself. Even Alan was present, though the researcher was more interested in taking readings of some of the stuff the Bunkerites had brought with them.
"Uncle," I said, sputtering in surprise. It was all I managed before he'd wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. He tried to pick me up, but even without
"Oh, Devon ran us a message that a caravan was going to be leaving north with some stuff for Ocala," Dale said, pointing over his shoulder.
Sure enough, a smaller caravan composed of three wagons pulled by oxen was quickly exchanging words with the caravan that was meant to head south. Wild Fists were standing awkwardly between the two groups discussing the situation, likely uncertain of how to deal with the social snafus of the situation. Igor, especially, was fidgety but that was easily attributed to the wooden scaffolding taking the place of his missing arm. It was an initial step prosthesis to the limb-regrowth research Samuel was doing. Obviously, Alan had gotten involved when he'd caught wind about it after the Aberrant purge, which had pushed it into the trial stage way ahead of Sam's projections.
With everything going on I almost missed the astoundingly large wagon at the head of the Bunkerite's train. Upon close inspection, and a huff of steam that rose from the front, I realized it wasn't actually a wagon but a bull the size of a small house. It was Raymond. The Fertility Bull was nuzzling Anthony, who'd been signed up as part of the escort for the southbound caravan, and radiating large amounts of confusion. Raymond had known Anthony when he was no larger than my head, and now the Fire Ant was looking the bull in the eye. It would unnerve most creatures, even if everyone present was on friendly terms.
"Man, I missed the whole party," I said, shaking my head as Blobby squelched his way through the gathered crowd to bump horn-mandibles-gel with my other friend's companions.
"You have no idea! You never told me you planned on taking some apprentices." Dale elbowed me playfully in the ribs. "I always knew there was a people person in that stony outer shell of yours."
Jolene laughed heartily, introducing herself and blowing my uncle's mind once again as she told him we were dating. The man jumped for joy, pulling us both into a hug with a surprising amount of Strength. What has he been up to!? I thought Alan was an outlier, but are all the old folks in our Bunker masters of their bodies? I know most were selected because of their savant-like skills, but... That thought brought me up short.
It was possible that I could keep the secret of my father to myself; Jolene would keep it if I asked her, and Blobby could only gossip with my soulbound Totems. However, he deserved to know. He deserved to know my decision for the future, so that he knew I wouldn't be running away. It was funny how time made the tables turn. For the longest time I thought my uncle and the elders of the Bunker had all the answers and we were just needling them. Now I knew the truth. While I understood their decision to keep the truth of the Bunker from us, the revelation had then shaped a lot of how I'd decided to interact with the rest of the surface. I wanted truth, integrity and the best future for everyone I cared about.
How soon could we have pushed for freedom? How many lives could we have saved, or lost, had our choices been different? Those were questions I wouldn't get an answer to. However, dwelling on things only detracted from the sacrifices that had been made. It was our duty to right injustices, and build up from them into a brighter future. That the future included magic and spells was just the outer shell of cool that covered the dangers of our Attuned Earth. We lived and died based on the connections we built, whether we chose them or not.
How those connections developed... well, they were up to each person. Withholding things only left people bitter in the long run.
"Hey Dad," I said, interrupting the man partway through some embarrassing childhood story about me he was recounting to Jolene. "I think there are a few more things you should know."
"Sure, Ron. What is it?" The man was looking between me and Jolene strangely. His brow furrowed. "This isn't some cover pregnancy announcement is it?"
Every serious bone in my body died simultaneously as a groan escaped my lips. Smelling gossip, Daniela slipped away from her mom to check on me. "What did you do this time, rock brain?"
I couldn't even muster the words as I covered my face in embarrassment. From what I could see of Jolene, the merwoman was blushing a furious blue and her fingers didn't quite know where to rest on her dress. Of course, Sam had to add fuel to the fire as he drug his own father into the conversation.
"Danny, can't you see? Mr. Terrigan clearly embarrassed Ron. For it to have affected Jolene like this... He was talking about your nighttime activities wasn't he?"
"Oh, god. I should have let that Chimera eat me," I mumbled, mortified.
"I thought Master Terrigan and Jolene were just wrestling," Billy cut in. He'd been playing with the mega monsters that our companions had become until my friends had gathered. "What night time activities?"
Family and friends roared with laughter as I willed the earth to swallow me. Literally. I had that power, and a Mana Shard to fuel it. Of course, I wasn't allowed clemency.
"Oh, no you don't!" Jolene shouted, having caught my arm. "If I have to watch the slow collapse of my public image you are going to sit right here with me and take it!"
"I bet he did!" Daniela added, doubled over and wheezing. No one that was laughing cared that the other members of the Wildwood caravan and the Ocala caravan were giving them weird looks.
"On second thought, take me with you!" Jolene stopped trying to keep me out of the earth and instead threw her arms around my neck. Amelia got the message, and we exploded out of the earth. Because I was a bit petty, I had Fievil maintain
Despite myself, a grin split my face. They were the reason I fought. I suppose they can wait a day for the information. Now we just need to figure out how to get them back...
Ronan’s Status after the Ocalan Aberrant Purge
Subject: Ronan Terrigan
Health: 93% (Unafflicted)
Mana: 100%
Metier Quotient: 7 (0.5%)
Dreg Accumulation: 0%
LPS: Wildwood Bunker, FL
Communications
Party
Skills - (1) Selection Available
Traits - (0% Banked)
Attributes - Growth Quantified
Skills:
Offensive Freeform
-
-
-
Defensive Freeform
-
-
-
Miscellaneous
-
-
-
-
-
Traits:
Limestone Skin (Striated Dermis)
Quake Osseum (Tremor Frame) (2 [37]%)
Slurry Ichor (Geocardium)
Harmonic Sinew (Diffracting Tissue)
Attributes:
Strength: 3.10 > 3.15
Mobility: 2.07 > 2.02
Perception: 2.97 > 3.07
Refinement: 2.30 > 2.37
Containment: 3.16 > 3.24