Ronkel shifted back to her normal wraith form and took her seat. Orian asked her if she had anything to add to my report. She said she got there at the tail end, with the two mercenaries just about ready to molest me. Her hawk form was able to discern from quite a distance that I was not in immediate peril and chose to use the ‘Leknor’ ruse to confuse my would-be assailants, rather than immediate confrontation which could easily turn violent.
Non-threatening pup; just another helpless target for their nasty intent. She’s awesomely smart.
Worthy host.
“Absolutely.”
Lenyet asked, “They are sitting in jail now. What do we plan to do with them?”
Dad replied, “For now, I would like to just keep them fed and ignorant for a few days. We’ll need to interview them tomorrow and see what we can learn about acolyte and the Priestess Cult. They obviously had a vague idea that something happened with that scroll, but I believe they lacked a clear concept of any details. Forrest said Lord Rose referred to ‘her mistress’. Along with them not expressing concern at acolyte’s death, that strongly implies the three men are not members. I suspect they may have been hired as escorts for acolyte and may have little knowledge of the Cult itself.
I asked about their trial. “That will be somewhat problematic, son. First, you will be chief witness but will be absent for the next six days. Second, Lord Rose’ culpability may be limited to an implied death threat and allowing the mercenaries to rape you. That is not much to go on in regards to prosecuting a royal.”
Mom interrupted, “I wouldn’t object if the bastards were just to disappear.” Arrjee said that he agreed with her emotionally, but we shouldn’t live by their standards. “I wasn’t actually suggesting it, son. But I find it extremely likely they have done such things before and will do so again.”
Yay, Mom. I think you are right, but dammit, so is Arrjee.
I asked, “Why don’t we go get Dorra Mason right now, and have a trial at the jail? Asiel could be out of sight when he uses Reveal. Once we have all the facts, we send them to some prison that they will never come out of alive.”
Asiel reminded me, “Reveal does not force people to speak. If they do so, it clarifies their thoughts and ensures they speak the truth. I suspect those men would choose silence in a trial setting. In this instance, the truth would not be their friend.”
“So we know what happened,” I said with frustration, “but we can’t do anything serious about it.”
Dad reiterated, “We can interview them tomorrow about acolyte and why they came here, avoiding the specifics of their interaction with you. It is possible we can learn something useful. Then your sixdays absence could prove beneficial, giving us an excuse to let them sit and ponder their situation over multiple days. When you get back, we might have a plan to achieve something meaningful from their trial.”
“I’ve been curious about acolyte, why she died so suddenly. I’m sure it was because she mentioned the Priestess, but why did boiling blood kill her so quickly while Sterbian and Grandma were able to survive for minutes?”
Lenyet answered, “She was very likely under an oath or a vow not to discuss the Priestess and her cult. The effects of betraying either can be almost instantaneous.”
“Yeah, it was. What is the difference between an oath and a vow?”
This time Mom answered, “An oath is an affirmation to follow someone else’s rules. A vow is self-generated. It may be expected of you, but it was already your decision to follow through before you made it. There is a lot of overlap, and a person can be taking both an oath and a vow at the same time.”
I restated in my own words. “So Corval took an oath as specified by his sentence and enforced by Dad’s skill. But acolyte may have taken a vow of silence because she wanted to?” Dad affirmed my understanding, speculating that Corval’s personal honor had the effect of making his oath be also a vow.
Arrjee wondered, “What would happen if Corval broke his oath?”
“Not boiling blood,” Dad said seriously. “In his case, people would see ‘Oathbreaker’ added to his profession, and if he leaves, ‘Escaped Convict’ as well. No one would trust him, anywhere. But that is moot; he likes it here, and I believe he plans to make Cottages his permanent home.”
“But you could have made the consequences of breaking his oath be a lot harsher, right?” Arrjee wondered.
“Yes, I could have. But for anyone with any degree of self-respect, being always identified as an oathbreaker would feel pretty harsh.”
Asiel let us know it was already past 17 and that the report of events had been made. When no one disagreed, he dismissed us. Mom and Dad left to go home, while Arrjee, Lenyet, and I went to visit the horses.
----------------------------------------
As we passed near the gate, we met up with Quorlin just inside campus, returning from the orchard. We greeted him. I was happy to see him but wondered || Do you know why Quorlin is here?
|| Oh, yeah, about that. I kind of invited him to spend the night. I was going to tell you earlier, but stuff happened. The other day, when he heard about your virility ceremony, I could tell he felt left out. He didn’t say anything, but I could feel it. And he has been a crush of mine for years, so…
|| Okay, I get it. It’s cool. But we aren’t talking about another full virility ceremony, right?
|| No. No expectations about anything but some very personal companionship.
“Interface, I don’t get any RP for this, do I?”
Just from SP Regeneration. Possibly Visualization if you plan ahead. Authoring if you write about it later. If you are wondering if you can get a Sex skill, no.
Definitely more of a reply than expected. I told him with a mental grin, “That was a very complete answer.”
Thank you.
Arrjee baldly stated, “We are on our way right now to see four horses Forrest picked up after almost getting murdered twice.”
This wasn’t the convivial conversation Quorlin expected. Well, the tone was, but Arrjee’s words were not that. “What?! You’re kidding, right?”
Arrjee smiled as I rolled my eyes and inhaled deeply. My Master Lenyet was holding back a grin. Arrjee went on with a fairly complete account of what had happened this afternoon, only leaving out the details of Ronkel’s doubly-stacked form. Lenyet and I interjected a few details and confirmed his account.
Quorlin was a little shaken. “Forrest, I’m really sorry to hear that happened, and I am so glad you are okay. Should I go? I’ll understand if you don’t want extra company tonight.”
“No, please stay. I think extra company is exactly what I need and want. I’m not dead! And I want to share that with friends. Lenyet, you too. There will be a lot of us who have passed our vitality threshold, and we would love to have your presence tonight. Uh, Arrjee and Quorlin, it’s okay, right?” || hope that I am not breaking some rule
Arree replied, “I’m more than okay with it.” || no rule, ‘Jacques’. Everyone is a teen, and Kossa, Ferret, and I will all level within two months. Some of us have already been intimate with Lenyet while we lived together in town.
Quorlin responded, “Are you kidding? I would love to spend some time with Lenyet!”
Lenyet said, “If you guys, insist, sure. I won’t need physical contact with anyone; I’m happy to spend time as comrades.”
“He won’t reject it either,” Arrjee clarified.
“No, I probably won’t. But I am not expecting anything.”
We reached the stable. I’d never been to this part of the campus. One side of the stable opened into a corral, where all the horses, ‘my’ four and four of the guardsmen’s, currently were. As soon as we entered the coral, Swagger quickly walked over to me and nudged my shoulder gently with his head, which I patted as I greeted him. The other horses gave us a quick look but didn’t seem particularly interested.
Swagger, though, gave a pointed, suspicious stare at my three companions. “Swagger, meet three of my friends.” As I introduced each, I laid my hand on their shoulder. Arrjee is my brother, you might have seen him earlier. Maybe Lenyet as well; he is my martial arts master. Quorlin trains with a few of us. You can’t be picky or jealous. If you want to be my friend, you have to respect them also. Plus I will be away a lot of the time, so if you want company I hope you can like spending time with them and the guardsmen. This is their stable and corral. I’ve got some other friends and I’ll be sure to introduce them all.”
Quorlin noted that I was talking to the horse as a person, which earned him a side-eye from Swagger. I don’t know how much he understands, but it sure seems to be a lot. “He didn’t mean to be rude, buddy. He just hasn’t realized how awesome you are.” Swagger nodded his head in apparent agreement.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“You have gained a truly impressive partner, Forrest,” said Lenyet. “He clearly views you as his true friend. Had he been bound in any way?”
“Uh, maybe? He was acolyte’s mount, and I don’t know if the Cult uses any kind of binding on their horses. The Lord said that he wouldn’t let anyone else near him.”
“I think he was bound to her magically. It is not a true bond, like a summoner could have or a tamer could form. Instead, it was imposed. A beast can fight such a bond, and while doing so boosts its intelligence and wisdom over time. Some even manage to break the bond imposed on them. I suspect Swagger is one of the ones who would have freed himself, but acolyte died first, and the magic binding him dissipated. He has chosen you as his permanent partner now.”
Arrjee said || I told you.
|| You knew all that, about magical binds and them getting smarter?
|| No, but I knew the way he looked at you, listened to you, and respected you. I meant it when I said I was jealous.
I walked right in front of Swagger, staring him right in the eyes. I placed one hand on each side of his neck. “We should make this official, Swagger. I gladly accept you as my partner.” In response, he nodded his head three times, affirming the relationship.
“Swagger,” said Quorlin, “I apologize for my ignorance. Forrest is extremely blessed to have such a friend as you.” In turn, Swagger walked up to him, Lenyet, and Arrjee. In each case, he nudged one of their shoulders affably with his head, and they patted him in acknowledgement.
Damn! What is Swagger going to think when I disappear for the next six days?
“Boy, I have to tell you something about me, and you may not like it. There will be a lot of days that I will not be here. It is hard to explain, but I only exist one day in seven. Do you understand?”
In response he shook his head no. I was trying to think how to explain, not knowing how much Swagger understood about the world. Fortunately, Arrjee had an idea. “Forrest is my brother and best friend. But most of the time he is not here, even though he would like to be. And I would like him to be here, too. He doesn’t go anywhere, and nobody has him locked away. He is just gone, like that peach he gave you. The good news is that he always comes back, and he is here for another full day.”
He looks at me, questioningly. “That is correct, Swagger. I really don’t want to be gone, but I have to be. It is my nature. You have four legs and cannot talk. That is your nature. Mine is to be gone for most days. Can you accept the friendship and company of my friends while I am away?”
He didn’t seem happy about it, but he nodded once.
“Okay. But we still have time this evening. Would you like to meet more of my friends, the ones I live with? I am sure they would love to meet you.” He nodded again.
I am glad I have made a lot of friends. If he understands that I physically cannot be here, perhaps he won’t get lonely.
“Arrjee, can you run and see if you can get the whole gang? Not just our team, but Niscus, Odd, and Corval, too?”
“Sure. They are probably in our apartments by now. Swagger, you are going to have a bunch of friends! I’m sure your horse pals are fine, but we can bring treats.” With that said, he ran off.
“Lenyet,” I asked, “is there anything else I should know about a partner with boosted thought? Or any lingering effects from having been magically bound?”
“Swagger is the first one I have actually met. When I heard about it, I read what I could, which isn’t a lot in this region of the Duchy. Boredom is a known problem, but with all of your friends to help keep him occupied, he should be fine.”
I heard a voice approach from the stable. “Boosted thought? Magically bound? Are you speaking about Swagger?” I turned my head and saw Ronkel in her normal form. I told her yes.
“Swagger, this is another friend, Ronkel. You might have noticed her earlier, but she was different. Ronkel, I am introducing him to my friends this evening because of my six days away. We have formed a partnership, and he understands everything we say.”
“I’m going to take a deep look at you, Swagger. When I saw you earlier, I knew you to be a magnificent stallion, but it did not occur to me to do a deeper analysis.” After about 15 seconds, Ronkel whistled. Then she looked at me for a few seconds; I think she was analyzing me. “Forrest, for someone with your low luck attribute, I don’t know how in the name of all minor gods that you keep achieving what you do. Yes, Swagger has boosted mental capacity. Yes, any magical binding that had limited his freedom is gone. Yes, you are the one who must be cheating if you two have formed a partnership.” My partner whinnied in what must have been laughter.
I grinned, “It’s the climate.” Everyone looked at me in question. “Something Interface told me several weeks ago. ‘Luck is weather, karma is climate.’ My karma is quite high.”
She responded mentally || I noticed your extraordinary karma when we first met. Very impressive.
|| You can see that?
|| Yes, with Rank S Analyze
We all spoke for a few minutes, with Ronkel sometimes saying unusually complimentary things to Swagger.
“Is she flirting?”
Definitely flirting. Rint says she has ‘plans’ for later. If we would not have been here, plans for now.
She informed us, “He is an extremely healthy and athletic horse. However acolyte treated him, it included good food and frequent exercise. Swagger, do you feel she treated you well?”
He paused for a moment at hearing the question. Then he nodded twice but shook his head back and forth once. I asked, “Do you mean she was alright, but you did not like being bound like that?” He nodded in affirmation. “Was she ever a friend?” He shook his head again vehemently. Looks like some unhappy memories. I walked up to his side and hugged him around the neck. “I promise you friendship and friends now.” He nodded and neighed happily.
I heard Arrjee speaking from a distance. As he got closer, I realized he had been relating my misadventure today. I turned and saw the whole gang. As I glanced over them, my eyes caught Kossa’s; she had tears. She ran up and hugged me. Lenyet told Swagger that these were the other friends I had mentioned. Everyone else approached and took turns hugging me companionably. I noticed that Ferret had tears, too, partially concealed by his fur, and his hug was extra firm, like Kossa’s had been.
He hasn’t had a lot of friends. Sun might be his first real one. The thought of losing someone probably hurts him extra.
Suddenly he nudged me, a lot harder than he had before. “Ow! What was that for, Swagger?” In reply, he stared at me and huffed.
Niscus spoke, “His emotions are much more mature than I would expect, and in conflict. He is slightly angry, slightly jealous, no covetous, okay, a little bit of jealousy, happiness, pride, and a little sadness. There are things he cannot have that he desires, and it centers on you, Forrest. At the same time, he recognizes that he has a lot, and is glad. This sort of emotional stew would be highly unusual in one of us, and I would never have imagined it in a horse.” He looked at her with what seemed to be surprise.
Arrjee told her, “Like I said, Forrest went through a lot, but he did gain a very special, new friend.”
“Worth it!” I told them with absolute sincerity. Then to Swagger, “It bothers you a little that I have all these friends, and you don’t, right boy?” Tentative nod. “You are glad to have me as a friend now, but wish you had friends a long time ago.” This time he was more decisive. “Guess what? Every one of these people will be your friend. Let me introduce them.
I started telling him a few things about Niscus, because she was probably the one he was most curious about. “And she can read our emotions, just like she did yours. She has a class called Empathy which allows her to do that.” I repeated my pattern of patting her shoulder in identification. He repeated his of giving her shoulder a slight nudge, and she somehow knew to pat him back. Next in physical order would have been Odd, but Swagger was hesitant to approach him.
I paused for a second in thought. Then || Sun, would you guide Odd to the back? Swagger is not not used to people who are so different. I’ll introduce everyone else first, then we’ll take the time necessary to let him know you two are worthy friends also.
|| Yes, I understand.
“We’ll introduce you to my more unusual friends last, okay?” He gave a slight nod while Odd followed Sun to be behind everyone else. In the same manner of verbal introductions, pats, and nudges, he met Corval, Onre, Kossa, and Ferret. For some reason he gave Ferret an extra nudge, and he returned an extra pat.
Finally everyone had moved aside and only Odd and Sun were ahead. “Boy, have you met Earth Elementals or Trichyans before?” Since he had accepted Ronkel as being a Skolturi Wraith, I was fairly sure this would not be too much of an issue. It surprised me that it was. Swagger did not want to get closer to them than about two feet.
“Interface, do you think he has met Skolturi Wraths before? I don’t know why he is so hesitant to meet Odd and Sun, but he didn’t shy away from Ronkel at all.”
It is possible, which could have troublesome implications if acolyte knew any wraiths.
“We’ll ask him later.”
“Would you be okay if only one of them at a time got close?” After a couple seconds, he nodded assent. “Odd, please slowly take two steps toward Swagger’s face.” He did so. I tapped his shoulder. “This is Odd Earth; we call him Odd. He is an Earth Elemental, and his people generally live in caves. He is a little different than most of them, wanting to associate with other species. You can relate to that, right?” In response, Swagger nudged him as he had everyone else, then pointedly sniffed at his face, chest, and unadorned groin. He nudged his shoulder again and gave a short whinnie of approval. “Okay, Odd; he likes you.” Swagger nodded as Odd backed away.
Sun enquired || Now me?
|| Yes. assurance
“Sun it is finally your turn.” They stepped closer and I tapped their nearest shoulder. “This is our friend Evening Sun; we call them Sun. We say ‘them’ because Trichyans all have three sexes, and neither ‘he’ nor ‘she’ fits. They also have three parts to their brain, which are sort of separate. Not three different brains though. Actually, I don’t fully understand it. What it means to us is that the parts to their brain cause their speech to be split. What we hear sounds sort of backwards and partial, but another part of their mind has a Group Mind skill that they use to fill in what we don’t hear. Arrjee, Ronkel, and I have Group Mind also, so we fully understand them. Sun, would you like to introduce yourself?”
“Swagger I greet.” || Hello, Swagger.
“Trichyan continent I come.” || I came from the Trichayn continent.
“Student I.” || I will be a student at this academy.
I translated, “They say hello and they come from the Trichyan continent. They will be a student at this academy like most of the rest of us.” I had to hold in a snort when Swagger looked at me like I was an idiot.” || I think he is as smart as I am.
Sun then got his baptismal nudge, and Swagger his pat of friendship. He started thoroughly sniffing Sun, and Sun had no problem allowing it. Swagger did everything shy of lifting Sun’s kilt to take a look. Realizing what was happening, Sun shamelessly removed his serape and dropped his kilt, allowing a full investigation as he had me that first day. Since it was their primary and initial side, Sun explained, “penis male”.
He turned his body, but rotated his head to keep facing Swagger. “Penis female” concerning the groin with no testicles. He rotated the other way, and again his head. “Vagina encapsulate.” After a thorough sniff, Swagger looked at me in apparent question.
I responded, “Their vagina forms a capsule, a small shell, around the egg and sperm after double copulation. It is not just a shell, though; it contributes to the new person just as much as egg and sperm.” Swagger nodded in acknowledgement. || smarter maybe.
“You probably won’t remember everyone, boy, and you’ll probably meet more of my family and other friends later. That’s okay if you forget; we’ll remind you.”
Sun picked up his clothes, backed away, and redressed. As they were doing that, Ronkel quickly laughed at me with what might be delight. Then she explained to everyone, “As I stated before the whole gang got here, Swagger’s attributes verify that he is the fine, young, healthy, and athletic stallion he appears to be. And it might be obvious to everyone how smart he is. But it is not. He is even smarter. At 28 intelligence, he has passed its first threshold, and he won’t have any problem remembering any of you. His wisdom is not quite that high; it is ‘only’ 23. And his perception is a solid 25.”
My new partner is smarter than I am.
Yes. He is very impressive.
“I am sure you realize those numbers are far above that of a normal horse, higher than most of you. I am sure he began life with exceptional attributes, but, lacking class boosts, his level of 19 is insufficient to explain that. And he has only had three years of life to train his attributes, if he knew to do it at all. What can happen with a magically bound beast is that the really talented ones fight that magic. They end up forming an amplification loop in their mind, training their intelligence and wisdom, and it seems perception also. The very magic that binds them gets fed back by their will to improve their mental faculties. This has allowed Swagger to become one of the most talented horses on the planet.”
Swagger whinnied in glee and we echoed his joy.
“Now, younglings, I suggest you head back to your apartments. Swagger and I are going to get to know each other better.” She transformed to her mare form, walked up to him and nudged and rubbed his neck with her face. I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen, but I saw Niscus blush bright red, and Swagger staring forward in surprised approval. Very obvious, physical, approval.
Rint is excited. Extra excited, because she relates with Swagger, who has transitioned to sapience like her.
“Awesome.”
We left, and I suspected the other horses were about to learn some new tricks.