“So what is there besides gods, mortals, and immortals? Demigods maybe, half-god, half mortal?”
Demigods do exist, but I do not believe Heere has any. A demon lord, however, could present a significant problem. I have not heard of any of those here either, but if such a creature usually remained deep in dungeons, there might not be a record. Another possibility is that a host of one of the gods has gone rogue.
“ A host, like ‘heavenly host’ in the Bible?”
Along that line, but do not think of ‘angels’. Do you remember your dream with Einvigi? You were in her ethereal garden. You saw two centaurs and heard the sounds of people sparring. The centaurs were certainly part of her host. Among those sparring could have been more members.
“So servants of gods?”
Servants, messengers, friends, and/or sexual partners. Each god has a host in their ethereal realm, and whatever relationship they have with them varies from god to god.
“Wouldn’t a god know if one of their host went rogue?”
I believe so, but the gods of Heere are not all here, so to speak. Skawa has said things that imply some of the gods have remained incommunicado. I believe they may be suffering something like a crippling PTSD left over from the attack on Heere that they were helpless to stop. If a host member of such a god were prone to abuse their position, they may well be doing so.
“Forrest and Interface,” said Skawa mentally, “Forrest is very bad at shielding his thoughts, particularly when digesting new ideas. Please do not reveal your speculations to others. We do not know who or what The Priestess is. A rogue host is a possibility we have considered and not discarded. Now I suggest you focus on the people around you.”
“Thanks for the wake-up! I agree not to spread such rumors.”
“We appreciate it,” Skawa responded.
You need to learn some basic mind shielding techniques. It would seem you leak like a sieve.
“Yes.”
Einvigi and Skawa were gone, or at least not visible. I had missed the first part of what Dad was saying, but I gathered there will be a village meeting at 16:25 in the village square this evening. One purpose will be to let everyone know what happened. There will be eulogies.
“They don’t waste time around here.”
Should they?
“It just seems quick to me. Actually, I hope they handled Jacques’ death quickly, too. Waiting three or more days for a funeral does seem like a waste of emotional energy.”
Grandma, Arrjee, Onre, and I all stood. We assisted her in standing. Her legs were fine, but a missing hand was going to take some getting used to. A voice strove to get her attention, “Rhonda! Rhonda Silverstone.” We turned to see Mista Smithson. He was with his wife Kella, and Kossa had joined them. Their other kids weren’t with them.
“Rhonda, next to you, our family was probably closest to Sterbian. May we share some time with you in grief and remembrance?”
Grandma replied with a sad smile, “I’d like that. It is very comforting to know others will miss him.”
Kella offered, “Would you and your son Onre join us at our house? We can hold a remembrance vigil until the village meeting.”
Mista added, “I will also take measurements of your arm. I hope I am not being too forward in offering to build you a silver prosthetic hand? It won’t be as good as your real one was, but you will gain back at least eighty percent of its functionality, including a partially restored sense of touch.”
Silversmith and tinker. It sounds like a good combination to do that.
Yes.
She replied, “Yes, thank you. He wouldn’t want me to just shrivel and die. He can’t live, but I can. And I still have a business to run! Onre and Mowd aren’t pushing me out yet.” That last was with a half-smile directed at her son.
Dad said, “Once I was close with Sterbian as well, but that was years ago. Now, it would be difficult for me to participate in a remembrance. As you-all do so, remember he had many friends years ago, and that we regret losing the opportunity to reforge those ties anew. On another topic, I know Rhonda will be wanting to give a eulogy. I still remember the one she gave her husband. Kella or Mista, would one of you like to speak in his honor as well?”
“I will!” Kossa declared forcefully. “I know both Mom and Dad really respected and liked Sterbian. But in just a few months he became essentially my grandfather. Please, may I? When Dad Dad died I didn’t say anything publicly. I really regret that now.”
The elder Smithsons stared at Kossa seriously for a moment, then glanced silently at each other. Kella told her, “Yes. Please speak for our whole family.”
“I will! I’ll head home now and begin planning what I will say.” She ran off and probably didn’t hear Mista tell her they would be following right after her. Indeed, they, Grandma and Onre did just that, walking.
Arrjee whispered to me, “I sort of want to go with them, but I didn’t know Sterbian that well.” || conflicting doubt
“Decide quickly, brother. I don’t know how these things work here. But maybe you could support Kossa in the days to come.” || feel adequate? If not, go!
Arrjee sighed. “I just don’t have the connection with him Kossa, Kenna, and Mols did. Dad probably felt that in regards to their parents and Grandma. Onre might feel out of place too, but I’m glad he’ll be there for his Mom .” || I’ll support them in the future.
“Them we support. Them gang support.” || All of us will support them. Our whole gang will.
Ferret added, “I’m in.” I echoed him, and Dad did as well.
Dad then announced to the crowd, “It is 13:10 now. Please, everyone, as you head home inform your neighbors and shopkeepers you pass by about the village meeting at 16:25.”
Ronkel chose to echo that, as her balloon loudspeaker self, “Hear ye. Village meeting at the Village Square at 16:25. Pass it on.”
As if there is anyone left to pass it on to.
Maybe someone is out of town, or currently washing their ears. Your Mom, for example.
“You’re right. A single announcement will never alert everyone.”
Master Trillet announced that today’s apprenticeship session was over. I agreed with that; my heart would not be in anything formal. Except for Onre and Kossa, our whole gang was nearby. I asked Odd if he could swim, thinking we might play around in the water.
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“I sink like a rock in water. But I don’t need to breathe, so that is not really a problem. I like being surrounded by it though. Walking around on the bottom of a body of water can be fun and interesting in its own right.”
Arrjee said, “Forrest and my river stones allow us to breathe underwater, so we can both play above and below the surface.” Ferret, Sun, and Niscus said they would like to improve their swimming.
Norrus, still with Quorlin and Wherda, asked doubtfully, “Can we go, too?” It didn’t appear that the two teens were ready for that particular question. I saw them glance down at Norrus, then silently appraise each other’s willingness. After a quick smile they said they would like to accompany us.
Ronkel, now a Covargh boy matching Norrus’ eleven years, said he had not been swimming in years. The now ‘he’ walked over to Norrus and started talking to him; they hit it off just like two kids.
We won’t have to worry about trolls and such with Ronkel with us. I wonder if that is one of the reasons he is joining us.
Possibly. But Ronkel has been in young forms most of the day. Maybe they just enjoy being among youths.
My casual idea for a swim had grown to almost waterpark proportions. Playing, roughhousing, actually improving our swim skill, and getting our minds off Sterbian and Grandma. Yep.
“Let’s do it then. I’ll run home and see if Carrie wants to come. Everyone is thinking of going to River River, right?”
We reached that consensus officially. Norrus said he needed to run to his Mom’s tailor shop and let her know where he would be. He and Ronkel took off to see her. She would likely be surprised by his new friend, but I’m sure by now everyone knows who Ronkel is. I suggested, “Let’s meet at the back gate in 10 minutes.”
We did, along with Carrie and the teachers Lenyet and Dorra. That made sense, because they would have planned to still be in apprenticeship for another hour. I was pleased that my spurious thought of swimming to blow off energy and frustrations had become an event. It did not take long to reach River River; our casual conversation along the way avoided what had happened. That discussion was for this evening.
Arrjee and I were splitting our time between roughhousing with Odd Earth below and grab-assing with other folks above. Lenyet and Dorra were acting very much like the teenage kids surrounding them. Lenyet was even giving ‘throw rides’ to the younger members of our crew. He was standing in water up to the start of his chest; Norrus, Carrie, Wherda, and Ferret would come to him, he would lift them up, and launch them toward the middle of the river. Ronkel made sure he got a couple of turns being launched as well. Even Arrjee got a turn. It became somewhat of a competition when Dorra and Quorlin joined in as launchers. They weren’t as strong as Lenyet, but what they had was plenty.
Two significant events during the two hours we spent in water play. Evening Sun had no explanation for the capability they gained. Their main goal had been to improve their swimming, but at one point Sun decided to follow Arrjee and me in one of our forays down to ‘attack’ Odd, where the water was deep enough that the Elemental’s head was still two yards underwater. Even though it was play, Odd, at my earlier insistence, would actually punch me hard enough to cause damage, which allowed me to use HPR Boost to recover the dozen or so hit points I lost. It was the final skill Interface suggested I rank to D today, so I was working it into my play.
Arrjee and Sun were ‘protecting’ me, and punching Odd at a more playful level. After what must have been close to two minutes of this, Sun was still underwater with us, having fun.
I finally asked them || Sun, how long can you hold your breath?
Arrjee added | We have been down here a long time.
Sun replied with || surprise, confusion.
They held two of their hands up to below two of their faces. Neither was their main face with an actual chin, but their hands were feeling the underside of what I’ll call chins.
|| Gills? I have gills?! Trichyans don’t have gills. I have had these two light birthmarks my whole life, but now they have become functional gills. In answer, I am not holding my breath, but breathing just like you two. Using them just happened. I remember feeling two itches and slight stings near my neck, but it went away and I didn’t give it another thought.
Odd had no idea what was happening. I swam in front of his face, and he punched me. At Level 1, that might have broken my shoulder. I grimaced, activated HPR Boost, and shouted through the water and bubbles, “Gills, Sun has gills!” || maybe show him, Sun?
I moved away so Sun could swim to Odd’s front. He did, and Arrjee and I moved to Sun’s sides to get our own close-up of their gills. On my side, I saw a slit about two inches long, sort of on the border or Sun’s neck and ‘chin’, running horizontally. It wouldn’t really have been a spot where I would have noticed a minor birthmake.
I guess it is not so minor.
Yes, not minor. This is some sort of mutation Sun just activated involuntarily. It should prove to be quite useful.
From Odd’s viewpoint, he could see both gills as Sun rotated his head to reveal them. I could see him analyze them with interest.
I asked || Do you want to swim up and tell everyone?
|| Not yet. I have been using them unconsciously for over a minute. Now I want to focus on breathing this way and learn more about it. Plus I think I’ll still be able to breathe up there, but I’m not positive. One thing at a time.
Arrjee said || alright
He began playfully punching at Odd like we had been doing, and Sun and I soon joined him. This was the longest time we had stayed underwater, and I wondered if anyone would notice that Sun had been down here so long. With our group being so large, probably no one has noticed yet.
Well, almost no one. A two-foot long fish with an unconcealed identity swam up to us and asked || Is everything alright?
|| Ronkel, I have gills now! satisfaction, wonder
Fish Ronkel responded || puzzlement. Trichyans don’t have gills.
They lifted up their head slightly, and rotated slowly from side to side. || What do you call these? And Skolturi don’t have gills either.
|| You have me there. Welcome to the ‘breathe underwater’ club.
Arrjee asked || Does a wraith need to breathe underwater?
|| While we still go through the motions of breathing, no, we do not need to breathe anywhere. We’re dead.
I received a party invite at that point from Odd. I joined, as did everyone else under the water, including Interface and Ronkel’s Interface.
OE: I should have done this at the start. I know you are all thinking at each other, and I felt left out.
R.I: Hello again, everyone!
We all greeted R.I. It was still her first day of realized sapience, after all. Then Arrjee caught Odd up on what had happened, and said that Sun would like to stay underwater for a while more, consciously using their new capability.
AS: Let’s finish getting Forrest’s HPR Boost ranked. How close are you?
“Interface, Query HPR Boost.”
I: HPR Boost E + 293 / 317
FR: It looks like three or four more damage cycles will put me over.
Ronkel unexpectedly swam by my face and slapped and scraped it hard with her back fins.
FR: Hey, that stings, and I wasn’t expecting it.
R: How often in battle will you be expecting each attack?
The fins must have scraped deep, like harshly applied sandpaper. With 18 hit points gone, my face must be a bloody mess. I activated HPR Boost until all my health were back over a minute later.
FR: Okay, who’s next? Sneak attack or open is fine with me.
Sun took up the challenge, triple-punching me hard in the same spot, at the right side of my rib cage. Damn, I think they broke something. That really hurt. 37 hit points down.
FR: This is going to take a couple minutes. I think Sun broke a rib or two. That’s a wicked capability, triple attacking the same spot.
ES: Forrest sorry I! Bipedal I learn.” || I am so sorry, Forrest! I need to learn more about bipedal anatomy.
FR: It is alright, friend. The only way to improve this is to heal, and to heal I have to be injured. || Really, don’t worry about it. I’ll be okay.
After two more attack cycles, Interface notified everyone that my HPR Boost was now Rank D. They congratulated me. I knew I must be getting close to leveling, but I like the exact timing of that to be a surprise.
AS: Sun, you ready to verify you can still breathe air?
They were, and we all headed to the beach. Ronkel changed back to his young male Covargh form. People saw us exiting the water, and that is when they realized how long Sun had been gone. Dorra asked, “Sun, how long were you underwater?”
Apparently breathing fine, they responded, “Ten minutes? Fifteen? Sure I not. Gills I have!” || Ten or fifteen minutes. I don’t know for sure. I have gills now!
She asked, “Did Sun say he had gills? I did not know that.” Arrjee explained.