On the way to our apartments, we decided to split into two groups. Basically that would be the ‘thresholded’ and the ‘non-thresholded’. However, Arrjee would stay with me, Niscus, Odd, Quorlin, and Lenyet. The other apartment would have Onre, Kossa, Sun, and Ferret. Corval’s shift started soon, so he was not joining us, instead heading into town with his Mom and Rhonda.
Odd chose not to take part in our play. That evening he preferred to go to his section of the room and began some sort of elemental yoga thing. He turned the floor around him to mud and began making slow motions reminiscent of Chinese Qigong. He said it was a common practice among Earth Elementals, used to center themselves both internally and with the world. Niscus had seen him do it before, but most of us had no idea he practiced that.
My brother began the evening as the center of an Arrjee sandwich, with Quorlin and I on the outside. After that, his curiosity and maybe his charisma-in-action led him to join Odd, learning and taking part in that intimate practice. It wasn’t at all erotic, but I could sense a strong meaning there, and a connection. Jacques would have described what they were doing as a combination of mud wrestling, Twister, and horizontal Qigong.
What the rest of us were up to over the next two hours was definitely erotic, in numerous combinations and permutations of flesh. All the while it seemed that Arrjee and Odd were becoming more mesmerized by their activity. All our activities came to an unexpected conclusion after a very small earthquake. Odd was totally nonplussed. He had heard that such a thing could happen but didn’t really expect it to ever happen to him. He had essentially achieved the non-sexual equivalent of orgasm.
He probably spent over two minutes alternatively apologizing to and thanking Arrjee. I think my brother was pleased that he had helped get a friend and a monster off. There was no sign that he ever became aroused, however. During Odd’s explanations and apologies, the rest of our gang came over to ask if we had noticed an earthquake. They listened as Odd re-explained with mortification what had happened. Yet we were soon all smiles, and the elemental realized we accepted and appreciated him. All of us were curious to partake in the practice with Odd at a later date, but it was late and we chose to head to our mats and sleep.
It was no problem for Odd to clean the mud off of Arrjee and himself, and restore his section of the floor to its normal, smooth, hard-packed state.
Interface woke me at 3, as I had requested. I barely had over an hour of sleep, but I wanted to spend my last minutes of today with Swagger. If he were asleep, I would rest next to him.
He was not in a stable stall, so I headed to the corral. Skawa was there, in his default Trichyan form, seated and still in discussion with Swagger. I greeted them.
The god said, “Hello, Forrest. You have a fascinating friend. By the way, I told him the same thing about you. Swagger, is there anything you would like me to tell him?”
After a few seconds, he related, “Swagger feels truly lucky and honored to have met you and your friends. He now fully understands your seventh-day nature. He is going to miss you over the next few days, but realize you have arranged for him to have many friends. ‘Thank you, Forrest.’”
I went up to Swagger and hugged his neck. “You are welcome, buddy. I’m the lucky one.”
“He also asks if it is alright for your friends to ride him, especially Kossa and Ferret. Their tears as they heard about what almost happened to you have made him feel a little closer to them than the rest.”
I told them, “Of course it is alright. You are my friend and partner, not a slave.” I joked, “If you want to ride Ronkel again, that’s fine, too.”
Skawa laughed. “They’ve already planned a date. Their anatomy lessons had not yet completed when I arrived. I politely waited for them to finish before making myself known. She was the one who introduced us. By the way, Ronkel is not the first Skolturi Wrath he has met. He says acolyte’s mistress is also one, and he has met her a few times. Since Swagger doesn’t have Analyze, we are not positive she is the Priestess, but it is a strong likelihood. He didn’t perceive her as particularly evil, just one more prideful person he met at acolyte’s cloister.”
“You should know that Swagger did not realize self awareness until acolyte died and their bond broke. It probably happened on your ride to the academy, realizing he was realizing things after you had given him that peach. Fighting that bond not only increased his mental attributes, but over time much of acolyte’s basic knowledge flowed through it to him as well. He can even read, so long as someone is there to turn the pages. He was fortunate not to have her base emotions poisoning him.”
“That’s like Rint, right? She was probably sapient long before she realized it.”
Yes, that is a likely correct analogy.
I asked, “Should I go tell the wraiths this before I fade to the void? Or my Dad?”
“There is no need,” Skawa said. “I will make sure they know. Between my table and Rina’s bracelet, communication with you lot is almost too easy.”
We spent almost the rest of my time in congenial conversation. Swagger had a number of general questions, as well as questions about the academy and of the guardsmen. And their horses. He wondered if it would be appropriate to claim the role of alpha stallion. Concerning that, I let him know that we bipeds and tripeds would consider it a matter for the horses to decide. Also, the guardsmen would probably rotate in a new set of four horses every two weeks, and they would sometimes have eight horses here at a time.
He asked via Skawa, “What about the three other horses I came here with?” I told him I did not know what would be happening with them. Then I asked him if they were good friends. Indirectly again, “No, we first came together a few days ago. I was just curious.”
|| Skawa, it sounds like he would like horse friends as well as sapient friends.
|| I agree and suggest you work something out.
“I have only a few minutes left, guys, and I thought of something I need to go tell Arrjee and Niscus before I vanish. Bye!” They wished me farewell, and I hurried back to the apartment.
Fortunately I still had time to tell them my idea.
----------------------------------------
Your statuses have all been healed to 100%.
“But that wasn’t very much, right?”
Yes, it was not very much, but it was protocol that I inform you.
“Okay, we’ve got eight hours, right?”
Yes.
“Here is my plan. I am going to begin studying plumbing, and work on that for 3.5 hours. I’ll have to figure out what resource to use first, but that’s part of the fun. I’ll take a break and Meditate for an hour. Then we’ll spend an hour at Think. We’ll watch TV or some videos for half an hour, your choice. I’ll write a lesson plan for my First Aid class, update my To-Do List, and finally I will make my diary entry. Any time leftover will be meditation or discussion with you. Does that sound effective?”
Yes. You seem very driven.
“This is time. We use it or we lose it. So I say use it.”
That is basically how our sixdays went. On the To-Do list I replaced, ‘Visit the orchard’ with “Spend quality time with Swagger”.
----------------------------------------
Fifthhday, 31 Fifthmonth 726 KE, 15.249
I was almost murdered today, twice. A group of four horsemen approached me as I was learning Make Water near the orchard. One was a female Human named ‘acolyte’. That was all Analyze showed, just the one word. They were investigating the cursed scroll that killed Sterbian and almost killed Rhonda. She got murderously pissed at me when I referred to the maker of the scroll as a ‘bitch’, who was her mistress, The Priestess. Indeed she would have killed me, but in her anger she mentioned the Priestess. That violated some oath or vow, and she almost immediately died from boiling blood. The three remaining people, a Covargh Lord and two Human mercenaries, were going to kill me because I wasn’t supposed to know about the Priestess. Oh, the mercenaries were going to rape me, as well.
I was rescued by ‘Leknor’, a 10-year old hybrid boy. Yes, I knew it was really Ronkel, but they sure didn’t. She was morphed into a tar elemental, and disguised as the boy – a double layer of concealment! Anyway, the two Humans got stuck to him. When the Lord threatened to kill us, Ronkel revealed most of her true identity except it still said he was a hybrid boy named Leknor, and he maintained that visage. When the Lord realized he was a Level 50 shapeshifter, he immediately laid down his sword and sat. Anyway, they are all in jail now.
I cannot really be mad. Acolyte’s horse, Swagger, turned out to be sapient, and he is now my friend and partner. I’d go through it again for Swagger. There is some situation where an imposed bond on a pet can allow them to fight it, increasing their mental capabilities in the process. It definitely worked. Swagger has higher intelligence than me! Pretty much the same wisdom and perception also. He cannot talk, but he finds ways to communicate with nods, neighs, and the like. Plus I actually had a conversation with him with the aid of Skawa.
Damn, I didn’t leave enough time for this diary entry. Um, Odd, an Earth Elemental, sexless monster, and friend had what was essentially an orgasm. He was doing Twister / mud wrestling / Qigong with Arrjee for about two hours, and then we all felt a minor earthquake. He was stunned. The thing is, it wasn’t sexual at all, but they were the very definition of intimate as they were going through the motions.
Grandma has a new silver hand!
----------------------------------------
Forrest, it is time.
“Alright. Ready.”
Here comes my first Secondday. That’s sort of like Twosday, right?
(If there is a god of puns, I’m in trouble.)
Yes.
Once I had substance again, I reactivated Boost Armor and Dark Sight. Before going upstairs I spent a few focused minutes analyzing everything in my inventory and every item in the basement room. Last Tuesday was a bust so far as ranking anything, although I had learned the Teaching skill. The soonest I can reach Level 7 is next Tuesday, but I wasn’t at all sure I’d have enough XP by then.
Upstairs, Asiel and Orian were sitting at their den table, conversing with one another. I heard them talking while heading up the stairs, and they heard me coming up. They greeted me once I was in sight and had me sit on their sofa. I returned the greeting, and, curious, I asked them if they ever slept. Osiel said they can sleep, but their bodies don’t require it. They often do so, however, in order to dream.
I haven’t been giving myself much of a chance to dream.
The meditative state acts as a partial substitute for dreaming, in that your mind is free for your subconscious to lead it. That said, you should at least occasionally do some actual dreaming.
“Okay, thank you.”
I asked them, “Did Arrjee suggest that we expand the stables and corral? With up to 45 students and 12 guardsmen, the 16 stalls we talked about last Tuesday won’t be enough. And I assume you have met Swagger, right?”
“Yes to both,” answered Asiel. The corral has already been expanded to provide comfortable space for up to 40 horses. The current stable was expanded to house 20, and a second stable will be built opening to the same corral once we have the need. We have hired a full-time stable master. His staff will be students who he trains in various aspects of handling horses. All students will have minimum shifts as grooms, and interested students can work longer hours each week, becoming extra proficient. Guardsmen will occasionally assist, but the primary responsibility for caring for the horses is now the academy’s.”
Orian continued, “Swagger is an outstanding horse. That would be true even if he were not sapient. He has accepted the official position of co-stable master. While he is limited in his capability to handle physical supplies and many traditional duties, he is unequaled as a horse wrangler. Your Mom contracted with Belenay Sholut to provide him with ceremonial barding. I think you’ll love it. He does, and we had to dissuade him from always wearing it. I believe he himself will end up contracting Belenay to make him a couple of daily-wear sets.”
Following up on that thought, I asked, “Does Swagger earn a wage?”
“Of course,” Asiel answered. “He will be able to purchase the barding or any number of other items he desires. Since the academy pays for his room and board, all his income is disposable.”
Orian reminded him, “Not quite. He pays taxes like everyone else.”
He probably likes that, both as a privilege and as a demonstration of equality.
I agree.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
“Yes, of course. I merely meant that his wages did not need to be pre-budgeted for the necessities of bipedal life – except for taxes.”
I asked about the other part of my idea. “Have the Sholut and Yon families stabled their four horses here? My conversation with Swagger implied he would want some horse friends that wouldn’t be constantly rotated away with the guardsmen’s duty cycles.”
“Yes,” replied Asiel. “Arrjee and Niscus made sure that happened. We agreed to stable their horses here at a discount over the town’s stable. Like us, they need to expand their capacity as well, and the loss of those four horses worked out for them. Swagger will have many horse friends.”
Just then there was a knock at the door, and Orian bid them enter. It was Dad, and they had him take a seat next to me. “Good morning everyone. I’m glad I caught you, Son, and in the first place I checked.”
“Good morning, Dad. Can I help with something?”
Instead of answering me directly, he asked the wraiths, “Have you spoken to Forrest about the prisoners yet?” Orian told him no, that they were expecting to have that conversation later in the morning. “I suggest we tell him now so he can plan his morning around it.”
Asiel said, “Very well.” He went to the common wall of their duplex apartment. || Ronkel, are you there?
The reply came within a couple seconds. I could overhear because Asiel’s Group Mind span included us both. || Yes. Do you need something?
|| Forrest and Barrie are here. Would you care to join us in a conversation about the prisoners? If so, just come right through.
Three seconds later, Ronkel did just that, coming right through the wall. I didn’t even know wraiths could be completely insubstantial. “Wow, that was cool. I guess it makes sense that you can walk through walls, but what about your apparel?”
Ronkel replied, “It is normally considered rude to not use doors in the same way as the living, but in this case Asiel specifically invited me to do so. And what apparel?” At that, she changed from a casual grey pants and shirt to a full, bright yellow summer dress. “I am a shapeshifter. My apparel is almost always me. Can you imagine the inconvenience if I constantly had to undress and/or redress every time I changed form? I left my day pouch in my apartment, but that is it.”
I wondered if that was the bag of carrying I think she had used to bring Sterbian’s body to the pyre. But they were all here for a conversation about the prisoners, so I chose not to further delay it with an unrelated question.
Ronkel and Asiel took seats at the table, and Dad began. “Son, you were the victim in this matter, and we have decided to leave the disposition of their case to you. You can choose to have a trial for any or all of them, or even to let them all go. If you choose the latter, I will impose a ban on their return to both Cottages and the Academy. Before you decide, I’ll tell you what has happened since last Tuesday. If any of our friends have anything to add, feel free to interrupt.”
“Sixthday afternoon, after Dorra Marson’s class, we went to the jail along with Asiel. He remained out of sight the whole time. With the curse limiting their capabilities, we didn’t want them to also feel outnumbered . Since their capability to analyze would be very limited, I introduced Dorra and re-introduced myself, stating our classes. We weren’t there for deception, and began with the hope that our openness would at least be somewhat rewarded.”
“We told them we were there only to gather what information they were willing to share about themselves and acolyte. By then we knew that Swagger had seen her together with her Skolturi Wraith mistress, but we didn’t reveal it. The two mercenaries remained morose and mostly uncommunicative throughout, but Lord Rose was more forthcoming. He told us that acolyte had approached him in Capital City to provide her a cross-country escort.”
“He had never met her before, but he had the reputation as someone who could get miscellaneous jobs done with few questions asked. She wanted to travel with a party of four, so he contracted with the Bane brothers to accompany them. He hadn’t met them before, either. They had a bad reputation as people, but were known to fulfill mercenary duties they were hired for.”
I was curious. “The brothers never confirmed any of this?”
“No, ” Dad continued. “But Dorra confirmed they had no fundamental objection to his words, not even 'bad reputation', and along with his own emotions, believed what was said to be true. Before the troupe began their journey, acolyte had them agree not to reveal anything they learned. On leaving the city, she informed them that they were going to gather information from a small village called Cottages. They were to find out what they could about any events recently involving some sort of magical scroll. The Lord did not know much else concerning their task. He didn’t particularly like acolyte, but she had retained him, and he would fulfill the mission.”
“Their journey was uneventful, with only some light hunting for game and fresh food as they camped. Finally they encountered you, and you know what happened from that point better than any of us. The other thing we learned is that Lord Rose is from the Second Duchy. He got into some trouble there a decade ago that his family didn’t want to be associated with. They ‘suggested’ he go elsewhere. His nobility gives him the right that we inform his family of his status here, but he chose not to have us do so. Dorra thinks his choice was not in fear of what they would think of him, but more that he does not want to think of them at all. Dorra’s impression of him is that he is a hard and compromised man, but not fundamentally evil.”
Except for killing teens along the roadside, after witnessing them be raped.
No one is perfect. And maybe he would not have watched.
That caused me to cough due to holding back my laughter. Interface could out-sardonic me any day.
Ronkel gave me a moment to recover, then said, “With that background, do you know how you would like to proceed?”
I replied, “I’d like some time to think about it. What has been going on with them since?”
Dad replied, “Except for the Karzins bringing them meals twice a day, and the guards disposing of their waste and providing them fresh water to drink and keep themselves somewhat clean, nothing. Everyone was instructed to provide them with minimal information about the town and its people, and none about the academy and the wraiths.”
“How long do I have to decide?”
Asiel answered, “It would behoove us to get this matter closed quickly. I know you are regularly teaching a First Aid lesson every Tuesday at the school. Would it be possible to come to a decision by 9? That would still give us time to hold a trial should that be your decision.”
“I can do that. Should we meet outside the jail at 9?” With that becoming the consensus, I continued my morning. First I hurried over to see Swagger who was happy to see me. I congratulated him on his new job and asked if he was happy with how his life was proceeding. Two enthusiastic nods of his head told me everything I needed to know. I spent 15 minutes focused on learning Make Water, which Swagger had first witnessed while his group was approaching me. I did not need to explain. I stopped because:
Achievement: Make Water, F
“I did it boy! Watch.” I healed my index finger and held it out again. Droplets of water slowly began to form. “I know it is not very impressive now, but as I rank up the skill, I will be able to make useful amounts.” He nodded his head to the right twice, beckoning me and watching my hand the entire time. When I got close enough, he licked off the couple drops which were still there, and neighed. It sure sounded like ‘Congratulations’ to me, and I thanked him while petting his head with my other hand.
I attended the first couple hours of Dorra’s class, with the new portion of my lesson focusing on the Heimlich maneuver, which I still hadn’t thought up a good name for. I stuck with ‘Unblock Breathing Passage’.
----------------------------------------
By the time I met Dad, Uncle Ralf, Asiel, and Ronkel outside the jail at 9, I had decided on my resolution. They were surprised when I related it to them. We discussed my idea thoroughly, and in the end no one had any objections. Asiel and Ronkel left to do what they needed.
Dad had an idea, and whispered something to Ralf. Uncle Ralf smiled and nodded; he said they would be right back. When they returned after a few minutes, I couldn’t help laughing. Perfect. We went inside
The prisoners were not surprised to have company. They knew something would happen today, having been told that their trial would be delayed while I completed a pre-existing commitment. There was a desk and some chairs facing the cells, and we sat as we greeted them by name. Dad told them I would be speaking with them. As expected, they stared oddly and Dad and Ralf.
Chesta Bane (‘Cheech’) commented rudely that the half-breed had returned. I barely cared. “Good morning, gentlemen. Early this morning I was informed that the disposition of your case would be my choice, as the only victim. I could choose that all or some of you undergo trial, or I could decide to let you all go.”
Those words caught their attention. The two mercenaries stared at me with a combination of resignation mixed with some hope, while Lord Rose simply adopted an interested but almost neutral gaze. To his credit, he didn’t claim special rights as a noble. Instead he said, “Regardless of your decision, would you inform the Karzins that their food was excellent? The decor here could use some work, but I would have expected to be fed old, filthy gruel.”
How could I not respond to that as a smartass? “Due to lack of sales, Karzin’s Inn had to remove that from their menu. But I agree that the food they continue to make is very tasty. I’ll let them know that you made a point to praise it.”
“But you won’t be eating any more of it. Breakfast was your final meal here. I have decided to let all of you go. You will need to take an oath with the Mayor not to return to either the town or the academy, and agree to not knowingly cause any of us any harm. If you agree to do so, we will let you out of your cells now and have a conversation here while the jail’s curse dissipates.”
Chogrin said doubtfully, “Just like that?”
“Just like that. I know what you would have done had Guildmaster Leknor not arrived, but the fact is you didn’t do anything except insult and strip me. Many days have passed since you did that, and it no longer bothers me. I sincerely hope you comport yourselves more honorably in the future, but I am not pressing charges in this matter. Perhaps the time you have spent here being treated with dignity will give you a new outlook. Anyway, do you agree to take the oath?”
Lord Rose consented immediately. “Will the oath be imposed, or may we take it in free will? I accept either, but obviously would prefer the latter.”
In response, Dad showed them that he had three sheets of paper with a couple of sentences written on them. “You will have quite a few minutes to memorize this, and take the oath in free will.” I have no desire for my will to haunt your minds.” I’m not sure when Dad wrote those. One of his Administrator skills, maybe?
With their boss agreeing, Chesta and Chogrin agreed to take the oath also. Uncle Ralf let them out of their cells and said they could either stand or be seated on the floor, since there were insufficient chairs for everyone. Probably because they had been mostly seated since last Tuesday, they all chose to stand. Dad handed them their oaths.
I stood also, to meet their eye level. “Here is what is going to happen over the next hour. As I said before, we’re going to talk, with me answering your questions to the best of my ability. I may not completely answer certain questions, and there are some I would not answer at all. But anything I do say will be true.”
Chogrin wondered aloud and rudely why they needed to talk. Lord Rose was quick to answer him. “Fool! Return the respect they are granting us. Would you rather walk through town as cursed pups with no dignity, or leave as men with all our skills and attributes intact? Without waiting for an answer, he looked at me, nodding that I should continue.
“Uncle Ralf, would you get their things now?” He agreed and slowly left, giving them plenty of time to read the back of his hoodie. With Dad’s front reading, "I GOT PRANKED BY SKAWA AND ALL I GOT”, and Ralf’s back declaring, “WAS THIS STUPID ENCHANTED JACKET WITH A HOOD”, I’m sure they got the message that messing with us could have extreme consequences. And it was all with no threats or hostility.
I told them, “You will be getting all your property back, including your three horses. All of it has been thoroughly examined, and we make no claim to it. However a 6% tax has been imposed on all your coin, 5% to the Duchy and 1% to the village. That is the same tax we all pay.”
Chesta complained that we were stealing from them. Lord Rose rolled his eyes. “Idiot. Everything we had with us is by rights forfeit to them. I don’t understand why they are so generous, but accept it with gratitude.”
“I am keeping all of acolyte’s property, including her horse, Swagger.” He was worth immensely more than everything else. “Except for Swagger, you have the option to purchase her items back, at 3 gold each, regardless of its value. You simply need to remember what it is without seeing it, and name it.”
The Lord thought for a moment and asked, “I do not understand why you would make that offer.”
I replied, “For the same reason I have agreed to answer your questions. We believe what you said about not working directly for acolyte’s mistress. But we expect that you will still be required to report to someone about what happened here. I want you to complete your mission successfully. We have little to gain in hiding what we know about what happened to Sterbian Morse. It is also possible that something acolyte carried would be essential in demonstrating that you completed what you were contracted to do. It does not suit our interests to unnecessarily make an enemy of an organization we know very little about.”
He asked me, “Are you aware that acolyte carried a recording crystal which would have a record of the last four hours or so of her life? Returning that would substantiate much of what we report.”
“Yes, we are aware. Do you wish to purchase it for 3 gold?”
He was surprised. “You would sell that? They will know that you called the Priestess a bitch.”
“Actually I did not. I called whoever cursed the scroll a bitch. The acolyte clearly thought the person who did so was the Priestess. I did not. Besides, I don’t expect the crystal to reveal anything important that you won’t be telling them yourself. It is very likely that acolyte’s death will cause them to deeply interrogate you with telepathy or a related power. That is precisely why we are being so open. They will know every word we are saying even now.”
I gave him a big smile and a friendly wave. “Hello, Priestess. This is Forrest Rhodes, the weird hybrid who acolyte met along the road. By the way, I have succeeded in learning Make Water. I hope you are having a great day! Sorry about the whole ‘bitch’ thing. But you did curse the wrong person, and no offense, but that is the fault of your people,not ours.”
“You expect me to tell her something so cheeky?!”
“I really don’t think you will have a choice. If you try to disappear, or go to them and not be completely cooperative, I doubt you would survive.”
He realized something. “You are an awakened, aren’t you? There is no way a normal 16-year old would be talking like you do. And yes, I would like to purchase acolyte’s crystal.”
“Ah, we have come to the real questions. Yes, I remember my former life. It was as a human on a very different world. Nobody even had any interfaces. I lived 57 years there.” He asked if I were a born or unborn awakened. “You don’t need to know that.”
“Okay, then I will ask about the scroll. What can you tell me about it other than it being cursed?”
“It was not only cursed, it had an outer blessing, masking the curse.” He asked how I knew that. “We have resources.” Sometimes vagueness is the most complete answer. I was telling the Priestess we are not backward hicks. “Sterbian lived with the scroll in two phases. For many years he kept it rolled up near his bed. During that time, the curse seeped through making him paranoid and not easy to get along with. Eventually he framed it and put it on a wall, not so near him. Its effect on him faded, and many people felt the ‘old’ Sterbian was back.”
“How do you know all this?”
“Resources. On the day it was damaged, he accidentally dropped the framed scroll. The glass in front broke, and the scroll was slightly torn. In picking up the pieces of glass, he cut himself. Eventually he licked the blood off of his finger, and picked up the scroll, getting blood and saliva on it. We suspect the combination of the tear, blood, and saliva somehow caused a more direct curse, boiling blood. That was accompanied by a full power jolt of paranoia and madness.”
“Someone witnessed this,” the Lord concluded. I allowed a silent grin to be my response. “What happened to the scroll?”
“It is not in Cottages any more. I do not know where it is, or even if it still exists.”
Chesta interjected, “Our skills are coming back! I can use Analyze at range again.”
The Lord commanded, “Chesta, Chogrin. Do NOT do anything stupid, or I will kill you myself.” He obviously didn’t have a lot of faith in the wisdom of those two.
Chesta protested on behalf of them both, “We wasn’t going to.”
“Good. In a few minutes we will be out of this place.”
Dad spoke, “With your intelligence coming back, memorizing those oaths should be easy” Chogrin stated that he didn’t like memorizing things and would not do so. The Lord did not bother to convince him.
The Mayor looked directly at him, not bothering either. “Chogrin Bane, in order to leave this room, you must agree to the following. You will not return to Cottages or the Fifth Duchy Adventuring Academy. You will not knowingly attempt to harm anyone from either place. Do you accept this oath?” He did so. I could not tell that anything happened, but Dad seemed satisfied.
Both Chesta and Lord Rose took a minute to memorize the same oath, and took them freely. From what I heard before, Chogrin will feel the weight of an imposed oath for the rest of his life. I guess Lord Rose had ample reason not to have faith in their wisdom, but at least one of them was not totally stupid.
Uncle Ralf returned, carrying a large load of items, including clothing, swords, and pouches. “I have already removed 6% of the gold from their pouches.”
I found acolyte’s pouch, which was fancier than those of the men. I opened it up and with Analyze identified the recording crystal. After Lord Rose had accepted his pouch, I asked for 3 gold for the crystal, and he made the trade without question.
“Oh,” he said, “I should have asked this before. What happened to acolyte’s body?” Dad informed him that she had been cremated at our funeral pyre, with the same respect as given to Cottage’s citizens.
We allowed them to outfit themselves as they were when I first saw them, including their weapons.Then the Mayor, guardsman Ralf, and I escorted them outside the main gate, and past the entrance to the academy. We were met by the female Human Guildmaster Leknor, patiently waiting with three horses, already saddled. “Your horses have been well cared for. We made sure they had a chance to eat and drink before returning them to you now.”
Lord Farkwun Rose slowly looked at each of us, shaking his head slowly. “If our situations had been reversed, I would not have treated you so well.”
I replied, “We know.”