The town was… well, it had a thirty-foot stone-foundation log wall, made from heavy sandstone blocks, surrounding what looked an awful lot like a cross between Tombstone and Salzburg, with medievalist touches to old western glamour. The town was quite a bit bigger than I had expected, although the majority of structures seemed to be clustered near the southern gate, and a lot of it appeared to be walled farming and orchard areas, with a magnificent Garibaldi-style castle set in solitary splendor amidst the orchards and carefully-trimmed forest of the northeast corner of the walled town.


    Unlike a traditional western town, however, this place was not a ghost town. The center of the southern wall seemed to be a sort of shopping district, with dozens of three and four-story wooden buildings, many with decorative or even gaudy facades. To the east side were clearly the higher-value homes with their own, much smaller walls, many with their own small grounds, that often appeared to attempt to emulate or copy the large castle.


    To the west, clusters of both one-story shanties blended with much taller but even less impressive three and four-story rooming houses, hotels, and dwellings where clearly a large chunk of the population lived.


    It was sort of staggering. Yeah, I had visited many worse cities in my life, but many of the small details on the cobbled roads were just… wrong. A horseless carriage rolled past, and it was literally a carriage without any horses. The tack and harnesses were bobbing and the frame moved like there were invisible horses at the front of the fancy vehicle, and the driver who looked a lot like a squirrel of some kind, even carried a buggy whip and used reigns that attached to the front of the empty hitch, but there was nothing there.


    I was grateful that the place didn’t SMELL like a medieval or third-world city, with little hint of human fecal matter that plagued cities like LA or New York, and while there were more than a few horses, there was also a handcart rolling by staffed by a woman with large mouse-like ears and a whip-like, naked tail that carefully collected the unbagged remnants with a shovel as she shot along through the light traffic at incredible speeds.


    Everyone seemed to have animalistic features. Tails, ears, horns… but I had to wonder a little. There was something a bit odd about the place, and it took me a few minutes to figure it out. Finally, while Wandi was guiding me across a sort of light intersection, I had to ask her.


    “Wandi, umm… Where’s all the men?”


    I had seen a few obvious males here and there, but they seemed to be a small minority and were often children or old men.


    She sighed. “That’s why I was warning you about being careful. Men are naturally better warriors than women in many cases, bigger, stronger, and often faster with better reflexes. So many of them become hunters or delvers or are conscripted, which is a dangerous profession. That wasn’t so bad in the old world, since the spirits grant a decent one in four male birthrate, but in the new world? Lots of women become settlers to escape oppressive marriages, or male-dominated dynasties since they often advance faster and harder than the women.”


    “An unattached male, especially one as clearly physically fit and umm… fair as you, without a family, even with your odd appearance would be looked at as more of an exotic touch than a flaw. To many, you’d be like throwing a fresh apple to a herd of starving pigs.”


    I looked at her closely, “Is that why you’re taking me to the oracle? I don’t have any weapons, no money, and you have no idea where my skills and talents lie. I could be a useless vagabond and yet you’re being surprisingly kind and understanding.”


    She shook her head. “No, I saw your camp. It was fast, neat, and efficient, and you covered it amazingly well. If I weren''t a tin-ranked hunter, I probably wouldn’t have found it. There’s no chance you’re useless. And the rest is courtesy. You’re an odd stranger, and it’d be flat-out cold-blooded to leave you alone, unprotected, and ignorant in a town like Kanten. A big part of my job as a hunter and delver is to help protect and encourage the town to grow, and if there’s a chance you may be a valuable addition, it would be irresponsible for me to ignore that.”


    She was looking embarrassed like she wanted to curl up and hide in her tail, which was frankly adorable, but the speech sounded too practiced, like she expected me to question her and had rehearsed it in her head until it was perfect.


    “So, basically, this entire town is packed with women, most of them desperate for men? Is polygamy a thing?”


    She looked at me in confusion, “Polygamy?”


    I nodded, “One man, multiple wives, or mates?”


    She looked at me oddly. “Is there any other way? I mean, one man can give many women children, but women can only have one child at a time.”


    I chuckled a little and she looked at me even more in confusion as we neared a building that looked like a cross between a Mormon temple and the Parthenon. Lots of standing columns, but instead of just being white slabs, they were painted in ascending grades of yellow, orange, and purple like a sunrise.


    “What’s funny?” she asked.


    I sighed. “I was just thinking of my life like a book, but that little fact hit me that it might be a harem-lit.”


    She looked serious at that. “Harems? We don’t condone slavery. But… oh, because you are male? Let me ask a question… did you have a mate before you were restored?”


    I nodded, “Sort of. I had a very long-term girlfriend and we probably would have been married eventually.”


    She nodded slowly, “And did you keep her happy and satisfied? All of the time?”


    I winced a little. “Mostly. At least until I got sick. She was fairly high maintenance, though. A very pretty girl, but I didn’t blame her when she left me.”


    She looked grave. “That’s precisely my point. Sure, some men hop from bed to bed. But having mates is a very serious burden and a responsibility, especially if you want to keep them happy and satisfied. Can you imagine putting in the same amount of effort for several women at once?”Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I shivered, “Uhh. Okay, dream wrecked. It was never really an interest of mine anyway, since I tend to be very happy with one girl at a time. Any more than that is far too much effort devoted to getting what one woman if she’s the right woman, is more than happy to give you.”


    She shook her head, “If your fantasies involve being buried in a pile of females, the ladies at Madam Rhaeine’s are known to be accommodating, even to greenskins that can pay. They’d probably line up and offer discounts. But even though the six laws are not enforced here, they are observed. The law of family means taking care of your own issue. While many women probably wouldn’t mind raising your children by themselves, it is a terrible strain.”


    I sighed, “I was just trying to look at it with a sense of humor. How is it usually handled?”


    She shrugged, “Usually, a man will choose one mate at a time. And then, with the input of the others, they’ll find and discuss more that can get along, are appealing and lovable, to make the family strong. But if you’re not interested in a family, I’d strongly recommend the dance hall. It’s not expensive, the ladies are well-trained, healthy, and aren’t expecting a loving mate, and despite your oddness, they’d probably become quite fond of you. Your personality and personal odor are not… objectionable, so far.”


    She smiled, “As for the rest, I’ve no idea, and no plans to find out.”


    I have been shut down plenty of times in the past, but Wandi’s block was one of the most efficient, effective, and courteous shutdowns I’d ever heard. “Okay, so putting aside the fact that I have a spigot instead of a drain, what’re we going to do here?”


    She smiled a little more brightly, “Well, if you had a normal aspect, it would be easy to figure out your path, your aspect would communicate it to you directly, but the oracles can help you find out which direction your essence moves you. They can even work with greenskins, who don’t have obvious aspects, to find their best path.”


    “Can they see your character sheet?”


    “Your what?”


    “I mean, can they tell what your traits and affinities and stuff are?”


    She looked a little confused, “I think so? I’m not an oracle. I know they can detect what you’d be good at, and they might be able to peer into the things you are already well-trained or potentially good at, and if you have special gifts that help your path they are generally very good at discovering it so you can use it. They can even help you gain recognized traits that you don’t realize you possess.”


    She was leading me down a hallway, and I was suddenly starting to wonder if letting someone look at my history would break something. I mean, sure, I wanted to know what had changed between the brainwashed me on the ship and the me here, but not enough to cause some kind of catastrophe.


    “Will they keep quiet?”


    She nodded, “Of course. We are going to meet one of my sisters. We grew up together but wound up on different paths. Some paths innately threaten to violate the six laws, but even so, unless you are a pretty horrible person, oracles tend to keep their mouths shut. The oracles take a vow not to reveal anything about the paths of those they work with unless you are like a necromancer or something and will kill everyone and suck out their souls like peas to fuel their ambitions.”


    “Pretty sure I can’t do any of that.”


    She nodded, “Good. She’s a lepan, so she’s gorgeous. You’ll probably like her.”


    Lepan turned out to mean ‘rabbit girl’. Smooth floppy ears, pale human-like skin, blond hair down to her waist, and a body that, even concealed by a short form-fitting green robe, would probably have made most Only Fans ‘influencers scream about unrealistic standards.


    I could see the similarities. Same slightly oversized green eyes, and similar shapely bodies, but where Wandi was slim and athletic, her sister was lush, and her tail, instead of being a huge scoop up her back, was a short bob, pointed and white. The room we found ourselves in was a lot like a meditation room, with simple Japanese-style prints of plants on the walls, warm browns, and grays along the edges of the otherwise pale beige plastered walls. Instead of a chair, there were folded blankets and pillows, and in the center of the room was an odd-looking sloped rectangle made of simple stone with green circles on the visible sides.


    “Did you find it?” The girl asked, hopping to her oddly large, furred feet. Unlike her sister, who seemed to have normal legs, the lepan had shorter than normal thighs, powerful-looking calves beneath the robe, and long, white-furred, rabbit-like feet with long pads that she seemed nevertheless able to balance on easily.


    The two women hugged, and I glanced uneasily away. Sisters hugging. Not something to get worked up about even if it hit me in my kink box. After a moment, Wandi said, “Him.”


    “Him?”


    I looked back as Wandi nodded, “Yes, Him. Kamli, meet Tony. He was apparently the focus of the burst, and we think he may have gotten transferred here from the Far East, maybe even past the old country.”


    I waved a little as Kamli slowly lowered herself back to sit near the rectangle of stone, “Him? That would make sense, I thought I detected some sort of spatial essence. He looks… odd, but I’m glad it wasn’t a new rift or a demon or something. Thanks for looking into it for me.”


    Wandi nodded, “No worries. I was wondering if you could help. He doesn’t seem to have the same kind of aspects that we do, but he definitely has essence. He’s restored, probably tin or copper, but he might be higher. I think that the restoration might have affected his memory a little, and we were hoping you might be able to help him find his path.”


    “I think I may already know something about it. I don’t really know what a path is, is it like a class?”


    Kamli nodded seriously, her long ears, lying down her hair like a lop, twitched slightly. “Very much like it, but not many non-oracles use the term class like that. Where did you come from?”


    I scratched my head, “No offense, but I came from someplace VERY unlike this one. Wandi told me you take an oath of secrecy?”


    Wandi smiled at Kamli, lifting her hands. “No problems, I don’t need to hear your path, that’s private. I will be back in about an hour… is that enough time?”


    Kamli nodded, “Yep. If the portal’s unsealed just come in. If it isn’t, it’s taking longer than I expect, so give me another hour?”


    Wandi grinned, “Of course.” she looked at me, “Kamli’s married, Miatt Bitternut’s second. So she’s off the harem menu.”


    I groaned as Kamli looked curiously at Wandi, “Harem?”


    I shook my head, “Like I said, I come from someplace else. I made a joke about harems full of beautiful women, and now I know that Wandi won’t let me live it down.”


    Wandi giggled and I was glad she seemed in a less serious mood now. With a little wave, she headed out of the chamber, and a large stone door slid closed behind her.


    “Have a seat please, Tony? Can I ask what species you are?”


    I sighed. “This again, I am a human.”


    She nodded, “What kind of human? What aspect?”


    I shook my head, “No kind. Just a base human. I mean, literally, what I have seen says ‘base human.”


    Her eyes grew wide, “Wait, you are serious? You are a base human? No aspect at all? I always wondered what your kind looked like! I thought you were all dead thousands of years ago!”


    I looked at her closely. She was definitely worth looking at. “We might be. Do I have to invoke patient or client confidentiality or something?”


    She shook her head, “No. As long as you are not an existential threat, the moment that door closes so does my ability to talk about what happens in here.” For some reason, I felt like she was being very straightforward and honest, so I decided to level with her.