[a few minutes from now, down the road, Farkwun Rose’ Point of View]
Was that boy talking to me, or the Priestess the whole time? He has no reason to care about my impressions, and the whole meeting seemed staged as if it were for another audience. I sensed no deception from any of them, but I don’t think it was me they were speaking to.
Chesta asked us, “Did you notice the Mayor’s badge as we rode away? I could read ‘Mayor’ even when I could no longer read his jacket, and the ‘Mayor’ text was smaller. It was weird.” I had analyzed the badge and told him about its range enchantment. “I never heard of that. It doesn’t sound very useful.”
I replied, “Not many people would pay for such an enchantment. He might have gotten it as dungeon loot. There are nobles, though, who would use such a thing as a sign of status. And I can see it being useful on a signpost, but I doubt I would pay extra for the enchantment when I could just ask for larger text.”
“So the Mayor was trying to impress us?” asked Chogrin.
“Yes, but not with the badge. He may wear that as a matter of course. The enchanted jackets referring to Skawa were his main message to us. It might as well have informed, ‘Tread lightly; Skawa is our friend.’” I grinned in admiration. “They were funny, but the unstated threat was still there.”
Chesta asked, “Don’t tell me you like those hicks? They jailed us for close to a week! Even if we can’t hurt any of them, I’m itching to have some fun with someone unrelated we might find along the road.” His brother agreed enthusiastically.
Clueless. Stupid. Depraved. They cannot learn. They’re trouble, and I don’t need more of that. They must have been intimidated by acolyte, but once she was gone, they assumed I was just like them. And I allowed it, which was also stupid. But I learned.
----------------------------------------
[now, Forrest Rhode’s Point of View]
Once I was sure they had ridden out of earshot, I asked, “Do you think our message will get to the Priestess?”
Uncle Ralf replied, “If it were just the two mercenaries, no. There is a good chance they would run off and attempt to avoid the Priestess Cult. It would not surprise me if they ended up getting killed by their total lack of self discipline. They may attempt other crimes and find themselves dead. But Lord Rose seems to have the wherewithal and self discipline to make sure the task is completed.”
“Dad, I was wondering why the oath you had them take was not stronger. You limited the second part to not knowingly cause those of Cottages or the academy any harm. Why didn’t you have them swear not to hurt anyone?”
Dad replied, “Only part of the power of an oath is from my skill. A good share of it comes from the ongoing will of the oath taker. So they must understand the oath and realize they can fulfill it. For example, without the word ‘knowingly’, their subconscious would fight it on the basis that they won’t know the details of everyone’s life. More broadly, the greater the effect of an oath, the more likely it is to be broken. If this were not so, I could just have all pups take an oath on their thirteenth birthday to be good people. Even if the pup meant it when they took the oath, the vagaries of life would wear down any actual impact it would have on them. So I am careful to ensure that the wording of an oath is such that both I and they know it can be fulfilled successfully.”
“I understand not having everyone swear to be good people. It is far too general to have any actual meaning. But for an oath that someone understands and has well-defined rules, won’t the threat of consequences help keep someone in line?”
“I’m not the Priestess and cannot impose extreme curses like boiling blood. The most extreme consequences of breaking one of my oaths would be public identification as an oathbreaker, an awareness of a guilty conscience, difficulty sleeping, and light stuttering. For anything beyond identification as an oathbreaker, the harsher terms must be declared in the oath. If a person is unwilling to accept the terms, they will not accept the oath.”
“So if one of those three guys knowingly kills someone from Cottages, they will just be identified as oathbreakers?”
Ronkel answered. “Imagine being seen as an oathbreaker wherever you go for the next ten years of your life. You would have narrowed your options so far down so as to be rejected by most of society. Even other oathbreakers will not trust you, and you should not trust them..”
That's new.
“Dad, does she mean your oath only lasts ten years?”
“Ten is the maximum and default. I can set a lower term, such as the one year duration of Corval’s oath. A god could impose a permanent oath, but mortals are limited.”
We headed back after that, with Ronkel and me going to campus, and Dad and Uncle Ralf going directly into town. I wanted to see Swagger again, but Ronkel needed to get something from her apartment and then meet some people in town.
Swagger wasn’t alone. In addition to several other horses, Ferret and Sun were in the corral near him, along with a mature adult I did not recognize. When I got close enough,
Rahun Borrel – male Covargh, age 53
Level 44 Veterinarian, Telepath
Stable Master
That’s great! He can talk to Swagger.
And have direct awareness of the needs of the other horses.
“I think the academy lucked out in getting him.”
Yes.
Ferret called out to me, “Hey, Forrest. Have you met Rahun Borrel yet? He’s our new stable master. Sun and I working a two hour shift as stable boys and grooms in training, and he is teaching us what we need to do.”
“May I call you Forrest? You may refer to me as Rahun.”
“Yes, please do, Rahun. May I ask how you got a job here so quickly?.”
“First let me say Swagger respects you a lot, and I consider that a strong recommendation of your character. Lenyet Birch is a friend of mine. We are both from River. A year ago I turned my stable business over to my two children so I could retire. When this position opened up, Lenyet informed your father and the Windgardens that I might be interested. The opportunity to work with many young people and the presence of a sapient horse were more than enough to persuade me to come out of retirement.”
“Qualified Rahun.” || Rahun is highly qualified. respect
“Rank A Animal Husbandry.” || He has ranked his Animal Husbandry to A.
“Rank S Veterinary skills.” || And two of his veterinary skills are Rank S. amazed
“Thank you, Sun.”
“So you are aware, Forrest, I catch the content of Group Mind, but not its emotional context.”
“Sun respects you a lot.”
“I could sense that even without telepathy, but thank you for making sure I knew.”
Swagger neighed. “This is awkward with me in the middle, but Swagger wants you to know that he respects me, too.” He neighed again.
I asked, “Ferret, I’ll be having a shift as well, right? How do our shifts work?”
“Dunno how they will work you in, with you only being here every seven days. For the rest of us, we have two hour shifts, and there are two shifts a day. Two of us work a shift, so Sun and I won’t have another shift until Fourthday. Those of us who like being grooms can work extra, though. We just haveta work it out with Rahun.”
“New students academy accept.” || The academy has accepted two new students since last Tuesday.
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“Nictus, Odd, and Corval they room.” || They currently room with Nictus, Odd, and Corval.
“Shifts Corval get.” || Corval gets shifts also as one of his academy details.
“Yeah,” Ferret confirmed. “Both the new guys are thirteen. Hebya is a Human girl and Urrel is a Covargh boy. You’ll likely meet them at apprenticeship.”
Weird. All our female students so far are Human.
Three of ten. There is a small sample, and conclusions are premature. ‘Random’ is not the same as ‘evenly dispersed’.
“I remember Jacques learning that.”
“Will you guys be coming to apprenticeship?”
“Sun and I won’t be able to be there until after 12, but then we will.”
“Rahun, it has been very nice meeting you, and I am very glad you accepted this position.” Swagger neighed, and I smiled. “I guess it is unanimous. I’ll see everyone later.” Rahun politely replied. I petted Swagger’s head and neck before heading into town.
Everyone I expected behind Dorra Marson’s school was there. Niscus and Odd brought their two roommates up to me right away and introduced them. Like most everyone else, Hebya Won and Urrel Jiar were just wearing loincloths and sandals. If she were from Earth, I would assume Hebya had Chinese or Mongolian ancestry, and she had the accompanying black hair. The brown-furred Urrel was one of the skinniest Covargh I have seen, and he hadn’t started maturing into his teens yet. If someone had told me he was 11 instead of 13, my eyes would not have doubted it. Norrus Loruste, actually 11, had come with them to greet me, and he actually looked a little older, more meat on his bones. Urrel was a little taller, though.
I learned our two newcomers were from the Third Duchy and had traveled here with Hebya’s family – her parents and two late-teen brothers. They had only stayed for three days, however, before heading back two days after they knew she and Urrel had been accepted. The two pups had been friends for a long time, The thought of attending the new adventuring school had excited and intrigued them both. They convinced their parents to let them apply. They received responses saying they seemed qualified, but they would need to have a face-to-face interview. Hebya’s parents were able to get time off work and bring them here early, believing the pups would have a better chance of acceptance if they arrived early. Obviously, their proactive strategy worked.
Hebya plans on becoming a healer. Onre had introduced them to the Ki Healer class, and she liked the idea, but she also liked the idea of being a more traditional cleric. Other than that, neither had decided on classes, engrossed in the thought of being ‘adventurers’ – a word they used with youthful anticipation and wonder. I liked them.
During the afternoon, I ranked my staff skill to E, and Master Birch finally had the chance to teach me Basic Archery. They had set up some piles of hay with a couple of targets on them. I sucked at it, but the arrows would go more or less in the direction I wanted. It is going to be a while before I can use the skill for hunting. I was pretty good at ‘finding the arrow’ when it went off target, though.
As they said, Sun and Ferret joined us just after 12. Everyone knew they had stable duty; other than greetings there were no comments about the timing of their arrival.
Master Runtel Trillet informed us that in a week they planned to move all apprenticeship training to the academy, even for apprentices who would not be attending. The facilities were actually designed for it, instead of the makeshift playground we were using now. “Since most of the adults are already using the academy as their Ranking Grounds, it really doesn’t make sense for us to remain here.”
Wait. What?
“Sir, what do you mean by ‘Ranking Grounds’?
“I guess you haven’t heard. Do you remember that the Mayor encouraged us all to rededicate ourselves to seriously restart ranking our skills? In conjunction with the academy, the town has established a regular training program for everyone. It is entirely voluntary, running from 15:25 to 18:25 every day.”
Arrjee whispered, “Mom and Dad have started going every even day for at least two hours. Carrie and I have usually gone with them.”
Secondday, that’s even.
Yes.
Master Brune Thorm added, “Any leveled adult can act as session master. The position is open at the start of each session, and someone volunteers. A teenage supervisor might need to seek advice while they are learning to lead, but Leadership is one of the skills we all can learn and rank.”
“I didn’t know Leadership was a skill.”
You have almost learned it.
“You could have told me.”
Yes, I could have.
“Shouldn’t I have gotten it already as a nascent skill? I know it would start at F, but Jacques had plenty of leadership experience.”
Jacques led more often. Your tendency is to ‘go with the flow’. It has worked well for you, but it is not leadership.
“I cannot deny that. But don’t I often lead by example?”
If Color were a skill, would you expect to learn it by having black fur?
Arrjee started laughing at me, and so did Norrus. “Hey, Interface was telling me something educational.” My brother asked me what it was. “Having black fur won’t teach me Color.” They both looked at me like I was off, and I just grinned.
Our whole gang with our newcomers as well as Norrus, Quorlin, and Wherda went to the baths together. Even with the large tubs, we needed to use two of them. Wherda made it a point to get in the same tub as Urrel, a new boy her same age. I think she might like him. Hebya was with them as well, and I didn’t notice any signs of jealousy. They all seemed to get along well.
We had dinner at Karzin’s Inn. I remembered to tell Lomer that Lord Rose made it a point to praise their food. He knew that the prisoners had been released, but I had to tell him they would not be returning due to being banned. Dinner was grilled fish, something very much like tater tots, and brussel sprouts. They had dessert this time, a vanilla-like pudding they said was made from marshmallow plant.
“What is a marshmallow plant? I know the candy, but I am pretty sure they don’t grow on trees.”
Even on Earth, marshmallow plants could be harvested to obtain a root sap originally used in the production of what you call ‘marshmallows’. Those puffed corn syrup and gelatin candies you remember had no marshmallow.
“Shouldn’t they have been labeled ‘marshmallow flavored’ or something, so people knew they were fake? I had no idea marshmallow was a real thing.”
Yes, dumbass.
“I blame the American government!”
As you should. And lobbyists.
Real marshmallow is good.
It offers medicinal benefits as well.
“That Americans don’t get, because they eat fake marshmallows.”
Yes.
I’ll never see Earth again, but the thought pissed me off anyway.
----------------------------------------
The gang headed to campus after dinner. While the parade grounds are not yet complete, the area is layed out, and that was where about half of us would be joining the adults at the Ranking Grounds. There were still a few minutes, so Arrjee, Kossa, and I went over to see Swagger. He nudged us all in greeting. I had an idea. “Hey, boy. A lot of us, including probably a lot of people you don’t know, will be training their skills on the parade ground in about five minutes. Would you like to watch?” After a moment, he nodded his head. “Cool.” Kossa and Arrjee had been greeting him.
“Interface, is Horse Riding a skill?”
Yes. You have almost learned it.
“It sounds like I have a lot of ‘almosts’.”
Not a lot, but more than two.
“Swagger, my Interface just told me that Horse Riding is a skill we can learn. It is up to you, but would you like to wear a saddle and help people learn the skill?”
He nodded again, and all three of us went to the stable. Swagger made it a point to show me the ornate barding Belenay had made. I thought it would just be one piece, sort of like a blanket, but there were two body pieces and what appeared to be a feathery headpiece, but it was actually cloth held up by a metal band, styled to look that way. I could see why this was considered a ceremonial set and why Swagger would be happy to have it. He understood for this evening a normal saddle pad and saddle would be more appropriate, but I am pretty sure he was anxious to show off in an actual ceremony. I couldn’t blame him.
Arrjee and Kossa had saddled two other horses, and we rode them to the parade ground. We saw Dad, Mom, Carrie, and Rina among the dozens of other people, and rode over to them. Just as I was getting down off Swagger, I got a message that I had learned Horse Riding at Rank F. “Hi, everyone. I was just going to bring Swagger so he could watch us for a while. Then we decided why not allow people to rank their Horse Riding skill. Coincidentally, I just learned it as we rode up.
“Can I ride Swagger, cousin Forrest? He said I can.” I told her she could, but she might want one of us with her until she gets used to it. And I asked how she knew he said it was alright, assuming it was a minor fib.
No.
She invited me to join a party. She and Swagger were already members.
FR: Swagger! Is that you? This is Forrest.
S: Yes, Forrest! I did not know I could do this. I saw an invite from Rina, I did not know what it was. I thought yes to the invitation. This window popped up. She asked if she could ride me. I said yes.
RR: I told you he said it was okay.
Joyfully dumbfounded, I asked as calmly as I could,, “Rina, would you please invite Aunt Rhetta and Uncle Barrie to the party? Also Arrjee Carrie, and Kossa. And Interface too.”
FR: Swagger, would you like to say hello to Kossa and most of my family?”
I: Be right back.
S: Hello, Kossa and Forrest’s family. Who is I?
FR: I is my interface. He is sapient, also.
Everyone in the party looked a little stunned except for Rina. “Can you help me get on him, Forrest? I can’t reach.”
“Okay, but stay right here for now. You can watch everybody from up there. I’ll join you in the saddle in a few minutes, and we can ride together.” She responded it was okay and I lifted her up.
BS: Hello, Swagger. We weren’t aware you could join a party. Have you always been able to do this?
S: I do not think so. It never occurred to me that it was possible. Then Rina invited me a moment ago. She asked if she could ride me.
I researched on galaxy-net. If beings transition from sentient to sapient and have sufficient mental capabilities, they often grow interfaces, standard model. They generally do not have the capability to get classes, although they may learn skills, including either common ki or common magic ones.
“Wow.”
Yes.
FR: Interface just told me that sentient creatures who become sapient sometimes get interfaces. I don’t think you’ll be able to get classes, buddy, but you can learn skills. There is probably a LOT we need to tell you later.
Map, time, query, meditate. Analyze! || Holy shit, Arrjee! flabbergast