《Path of the Dominator》


 Prologue - Book 1

    The trees below him trembled with his passing. He flew low, to avoid detection, sweeping just a few dozen spans above the treetops.


    His shadow, so lengthy, it blocked out the light long enough to confuse the beasts below him as he passed over. Would they think night was descending early?


    The beat of his wings blew many beasts from their high perches, down to the ground, causing a feeding frenzy for the groundling beasts. Would the tree dwellers think him a errant storm? Would the groundlings think him the harbinger of prey falling from the sky? Would they worship him as a meal giver?


    When they looked up, to offer their gratified prayers, they would see nothing but a passing darkness. They were unworthy of seeing his true form. He was a fleeting and absent god. His miracles confined to a single gorging meal.


    Should he stop for a quick sacrifice in return for his mighty act benevolence? The altar of his hunger craved a succulent offering. Sadly, his pursuers would not stop while he filled his belly with new worshipers. He would keep moving, his hunger would have wait.


    He comforted himself with the thought that beast meat tasted terrible. Not like those that pursued him. Their flesh the most tender. He enjoyed the way their fatty tissue melted in his mouth, and the way their bones added a wonderful crunchy texture to their consumption. He couldn¡¯t eat just one, if he had one, he would eat hundreds until he was satisfied. He would gorge himself until he slept, nearly every time.


    More than their taste, he enjoyed their flesh for another reason. He delighted in the feel of their soft bodies beneath him. Their cries of pleasure and pain. Their guttural grunts, their bestial howls, as he took them. He reveled in the feeling of dominating their weak bodies and weaker minds. A different sort of hunger emerged in him as he remembered the endless procession of prey flesh that entered his sanctum, only some leaving alive, usually to bear his children or to bring him more meals.


    His memories turned to a bitter ash, as he remembered that his favorite prey had driven him from his sanctum. They had murdered his spawn, and his many mates. They destroyed the mountain he called home, and razed the surrounding villages that provided the bulk of his food. Only ashes and stone remained of what once was his vast holdings.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He let out a growl that echoed across the wooded land below him. The sound frightening many of the groundlings from their meals. The thought of prey daring to fight back against him, chasing him from his roost, killing his progeny, and swarming him with their countless numbers drove him to rage. How he hated them. He hated them almost enough that it ruined the thought of their flavor and flesh. He needed revenge now. It was the only thing that would truly sate him.


    He admitted to himself, despite the humiliation, that he could not win against the multitudes of prey that opposed him with just his singular might. He also could not rely on his own kind coming to aide him either. The truly powerful individuals of his kind were solitary. They did not cooperate the way the prey did. Even if they could find common ground to defeat the prey, his kind would not listen to him or heed his call. They thought him mad. They had called him vile things. It wasn¡¯t that they hadn¡¯t all tried the many pleasures flesh offered, especially those as old as he, but he was a pervert for never seeking a mate of his own kind. For not continuing his long line. For preferring lesser prey to an equal. For what they saw as his endless degeneracy. He cared not for their opinions so long as they left him to his indulgence, but now he had been denied his favorite pleasures, by the very prey he had once ruled over.


    He would have to find a different path to his vengeance. Something subtle, as direct action would only lead to failure. He was old, old enough to know how to play the games the prey played. He would destroy them from within, and sink their pathetic civilization into an ocean of blood. They would destroy themselves, and from their remnants he would once again build a sanctum. No prey left alive would know freedom from his rule. Prey would live, give birth, and die while waiting in the long line of flesh that would serve his needs. They would be happy to accept such a fate, for they would know no other possibility. It would be a fitting punishment for having the audacity to oppose one such as him. He would be their new god, embodied in the flesh and hungering for flesh.


    He had to remind himself that, while it was easy to fall into his dreams of future godhood, he first needed to plant the seed of his retaliation. He flew away from those that chased him. He flew toward the fertile ground he had chosen for the poisonous seed he carried. He flew forward to his retribution.

 Chapter 1

    The path before him was narrow, twisting, and led deeper in the darkness of the Wilds. The terrain was uneven, and occasionally halting, but through experience and patience he was able to navigate forward, step by step. Demneh hadn¡¯t yet been down this particular path yet, but he had traversed many like it.


    His range of vision was consumed by the wide bases of trees. Each wide enough that dozens of people could hold hands and still not circle one completely. His senses were attuned to the variety of sounds around him, listening to a nearly deafening cacophony of calls from birds, insects, and small mammals. He marveled at just how much he could pick up on now. His senses were almost overloaded with it. He was most alert for the subtle yet unmistakable silence that can came with approaching predation. Doing his best to block out everything but the most important information, his mind ever so slightly slid away from his surroundings to consider which beast¡¯s territory he was currently in.


    He recalled this would likely still be the territory of a lesser beast, he wasn¡¯t quite deep enough for a greater beast to call this home. The Wilds were really nothing more than a series of partially overlapping territories of increasingly more powerful predators. Nearest to human settlements, such predators were lesser beasts, capable of little more than the usage of their natural raw strength, inborn abilities, and the occasional cantrip. As you moved further away from human settlements, you encountered greater beasts, capable of taking on entire parties of adventurers through guile, command of lesser beasts, or through the use of powerful spells. He primary dealt with lesser beasts in his work as a hunter and forest scavenger, his encounters with greater beasts came when he got work as a guide for parties and stronger hunters looking for a windfall. Further away from the realm of humanity, you entered the True Wilds, and the territory of calamity beasts, but he had never considered going that far out. Dealing with greater beasts was already very dangerous for him despite his recent gains.


    The prehensile tail of one such greater beast, nudged him gently as he walked, as if to remind him to keep his mind from wandering too much. He jumped with a slight surprise as the softness of her tail slid past him. She usually ranged further ahead of him, sometimes much further ahead, and always totally silent. She must have sensed his attention waiver over their bond. It had never occurred to him that one could actually feel safe enough in the wilds to let one¡¯s mind wander, but then again, he had never felt what he felt right now. After sequences of difficulty, struggle, and work, he accomplished his goals, and for the first time in memory, he felt content.


    ***


    Dem sat in a rare clearing, the area long since cleared out of anything really dangerous, not far from the hamlet where he had lived his whole life. Feeling his stomach protest, he considered the contents of the small wicker basket strapped to his back. It was full of plant cuttings and fruit, and there were some leaf-wrapped berries too. Without preparation though, most of it would taste horrible. The carcass of a thorn-hare hung from his back as well, the blood long since drained. His foraging this cycle hadn¡¯t been particularly successful, and he found little that he could sell, but he would be able to feed himself and his parents tonight. His companion, however, had found herself a delicious meal of lesser vine ape. Despite their natural camouflage, the ape was easy prey for a greater many-tailed. He had to embarrassingly admit to himself that she had helped him catch the hare as well, but since he had trained her, he could take partial credit right?


    He watched her eat, not asking any for himself, as vine ape tasted awful and was often poisonous due to the fruit they indiscriminately ate, but instead he simply watched her with pride. His sense of contentment stemmed, in part, from this greater beast, his greater beast, his bonded beast. The one he had raised from a kit, the one who had been his constant companion, the one who helped him find both his Class and his Path. She had been his purpose, and what set him apart from the other children of the hamlets. She had also been the cause of no small amount of ridicule, but he had never spared a thought to regret his decision to raise her.


    As he watched her enjoy her meal, he couldn¡¯t help but admire the changes her ascension to greater beast had brought. Her coat was dark, smoky, and seemed to occasionally shift in color depending on the light, allowing her to blend perfectly into the numerous shadows cast by overheard vegetation. Her body was a sleek like a fox, but with greater width at the shoulders and hips, giving her the overall size of a small wolf or a large dog. Her front and hind limbs were disproportionately large, reminding him of some of the drawings of greater cats he had seen. Such an amalgamation of traits was not uncommon in the beasts found in the wilds, cross-breeding became more possible as beasts became more powerful. Rather than being classified as a breed of mutts, what set many-tailed apart and put them into their own unique category, were their distinctive tails.


    Other than the many-tailed''s primary tail, which was bushy and thick, and helped them balance. Their secondary tails were prehensile, able to move and grasp objects, and were used to climb, traverse tree limbs, capture prey, and to confuse predators. Each secondary tail had a single, sharp retractable claw on the end. Greater many-tailed generally had five tails, though as they grew older and grew more powerful, it was possible further sets of tails would grow. They were truly terrifying predators, and easily the match of any solitary scavenger or hunter. What drew his attention most, wasn¡¯t the the utterly deadly claws, or discomforting movement of her many tails, but rather the large luminescent eyes that always seemed to stop him mid-thought when he looked into them. Perhaps it was the normal reaction of prey, when looking looking into the eyes of a predator, to stop cold, or perhaps it was just that he marveled at the concentrically pupiled eyes. They could see just as well in the deepest black of a night cycle, as they could in the brightest light of a gap through the overhard canopy. Many-tailed were generally ambush predators, often waiting until their prey moved through a sunny spot and became temporarily blinded, before striking. Many-tailed eyes needed no time to adjust.


    When she was a lesser beast, she was little larger than a housecat, and mostly hunted anything smaller than herself. Her ascension to greater beasthood had brought her enough size and strength to level of a human-killer. A greater many-tailed was as deadly as most of the big cat predators in the greater beast realm. With her ascension, she also gained more dexterity with her tails. They were be able extend and stretch themselves, giving her a devastating reach. Greater beasts often had more control of their bodies than lesser beasts, and sometimes were able to cast body transformation spells to increase their strength or size.


    Most importantly to him, she had gained a distinct intelligence, something far beyond a mere animal, but still alien to his fairly average human mind. He could feel, what he assumed to be, her thoughts bubbling up from her instinct and experience-driven subconscious. These thoughts didn¡¯t form words that he could understand in great detail, but instead he came to understand their underlying intent. He had to remind himself, their bond was still new, only a five or six rotations old, and it had expanded her mind. She was undoubtedly getting used to having new and interesting thoughts.


    Correcting himself, it was wrong to attribute her rising intelligence to merely her ascension, greater beasts were smart but were still ultimately creatures of pure instinct. They understood territory, strength, and maybe a little guile learned over time. She was capable of more, as he found out on their hunts, when she seemed to create and execute plans, even getting him to coordinate with her at times. He could even feel something like sympathy, when they found the body of some poor unfortunate out in the Wilds, which was sadly a common occurrence. No greater beast he knew of would ever feel sympathy for prey or a fallen opponent. It was clear to him, she had gained just as much from her bond to his mind, as he had gained to his senses and physicality.


    It would have taken him twenty or more sequences, most of his life, to develop a Wilderness Path to the point where he would have the heightened senses and endurance he currently held. To get to his current level, he might have even had to Class as a Ranger or a Scout, and apprentice to one of the stern, reserved, ghost-like men and women who passed through the settlement. Such a life would have been better than what he originally faced without the greater beast by his side. It would have been more coin anyway, but Rangers rarely lived to old age and were unlikely to a marry.


    All of this assumed a Classed person would even have him as an apprentice. He was no peerless talent when it came to the Wilds and all the associated Wilderness Paths. His current abilities mostly stemmed from hard work, dedication, and a great deal of help from his many-tailed. Without borrowing heightened sense from the beast, there were young girls from the hamlets who could move so silently in the forest they could be right behind him and he wouldn¡¯t know it. There were young boys who could so effortlessly blend into the forest he would walk right by them, without help from the many-tailed¡¯s keen sense of smell. Children of the hamlets usually walked Paths that allowed them to adapt to the constant danger of living outside the settlement and to their work as scavengers, hunters, lumberers, and subsistence farmers. Children of the nearby human settlement were afforded the opportunity to follow more varied and abstract Paths, they then were able to apprentice into, or recieve, Classes appropriate to their respective Paths. The safety and security of their future lives assured by their Classes.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    This was the second source of his newly found sense of contentment, he had a Class. A class that matched his Path, a Class that allowed him his bond with his greater beast, and a Class that gave him the chance to eventually move his parents into the settlement. He even considered, in the future, moving his parents into to a larger settlement, perhaps even to a true human city outside the Wilds. His ambition flared further as his imagination expanded. He shamefully even spared a moment of thought to finding a true Beastmaster, and advancing his Class further. He was a Beast Tamer, but he could be more in the future, with luck. His revery was promptly interrupted by the prick of a small but very sharp claw in a very tender part of his backside. Ina, his many-tailed, was done eating.


    ***


    ¡°Ma.¡± He called into the into hovel he had called home for as long as he could remember.


    His voice echoed into the wooden structure, set into a depression at the base of a particularly large granite-tree. It was deceptively large and cozy on the inside, as it¡¯s back wall had been dug fairly deeply into root structure of the tree that sheltered it. His back ached at the very thought of having to dig further in, as he had to do every time Ma wanted a little more room.


    ¡°I¡¯ve returned, and brought a hare!¡± he said again, as he ducked in through the doorway.


    Without looking up, a stout figure, that could only be his mother, spoke, ¡°Of course you have returned, because if you didn¡¯t return, I would kill you.¡± Her voice stern, but holding no real edge. Her plain face, plain manner of speech, and threadbare dress, belied the strength of her motherly ire.


    ¡°Ma, If I did not return, I¡¯d probably already be dead.¡± He returned.


    ¡°Then, I would find you and kill you again, boy.¡± She said, in a deadpan voice, still not bothering to look at her only child.


    As much as he enjoyed engaging his mother in these morbid spirals into absurdity, he decided to change the subject. ¡°Where is Da? Is he back yet?¡±


    ¡°Your Da, will be back soon. They were logging on the far-side of the settlement this work cycle.¡± my mother said, as she began to riffle through the basket he had set down in front of her.


    ¡°Did it go well? A lesser squall-bird that recently moved in over there. Was there any trouble with it?¡± His voice held little actual concern, it was unlikely that any beast would want a piece of Da, not because he was any great fighter, but because his hide would have been too tough, tasteless, and chewy to be worth eating. Like eating ten-rotation-old, mud-lizard jerky.


    ¡°If anything had happened to your Da, they would have sent a runner. He is the best lumberer they have.¡± His mother said without a hint of concern. Her hands already a blur of motion, fixing the rabbit for dinner.


    Her Path had nothing to do with the Wilderness, but rather centered in on domestic tasks and managing the little space they kept clear for their garden. He had never asked specifically what it was, or if she had multiple Paths. Most people had a single important Path they followed, but sometimes following one Path led you through others. It was said, in scripture of the Divine Humanity, that having multiple Paths would balance an individual, but it was common knowledge that focusing mostly on a single Path was the way towards greater power.


    His mother was an oddity. In most outer hamlet homes, both parents spent their cycles out in the Wilds, cutting down lumber, preparing lumber to be moved or used, hunting, or scavenging, yet she hardly left the area around their home. Da was perhaps the most single-minded lumberjack around, which made him effective, and able to provide more than most men in the hamlets, but it came at a cost. Like his Ma, Demneh had never asked his Da about his Path, but it was unlikely his Da ever studied any Path but one associated with cutting down trees. This meant that, while his Da was not the strongest lumberer, or the biggest lumberer, or even the one with the sharpest axe, his Da¡¯s axe would bite deeper, with greater accuracy, and his stamina would be all but unending, but only while he was cutting down trees. The cost was that his father hardly ever spoke, had no other interests, was always fairly remote towards his family. To his memory, his Da had never laughed, and the only smile he could remember his Da had ever showing had been a time Dem had curiously gone to see his father at work. Holding an axe and cutting down a tree put a slight upturn at the corner of his Da¡¯s mouth, that was something like a smile right? Studying a single Path over a long period of time gave you greater power in a singular way, but it was easier to lose yourself into that Path.


    Dem had never begrudged his Da his lack of personality, or his wooden face, as he had figured out early on as a child that his Da worked hard for the sake of the family. Helpfully, his Da also never got really angry when the growing many-tailed ate everything it could find in the larder. Da simply went to go get more food, while Ma handled all the punishment. His parents showed their love in very different ways.


    Dem sat down to eat a bit of fibrous bread that had been left out.


    ¡°Ma, I¡¯m going into the settlement tomorrow to look for work further out, there isn¡¯t much to hunt near here. With my Class, and Ina¡¯s ascension, even greater beasts are..¡±


    Her scowl stopped him dead, mid-sentence, food hanging from his mouth.


    ¡°Demneh! There isn¡¯t a need to go that far out. Those people you work for are often more monsters than anything you will find out there. They wouldn¡¯t hesitate to sacrifice you for a little more gain.¡± His Ma had decided to go down a well worn road with her current tirade.


    Weathering the storm, he spoke up. ¡°Ma, this is the sort work I can do that will get us a home in the settlement. It is also the best work I can get for my Class.¡±


    ¡°Dem, we get along fine here, I have my garden, your father has his work. You don¡¯t need to take such dangerous jobs. We don¡¯t need the settlement, where would I even put a garden inside those walls?¡± Her response was unsurprising, but also unconvincing.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t fine out here, how many of us die to accidents? Attacks? How many times have we replanted your garden after some lesser beast came through? We have no protection out here, and it isn¡¯t safe. I need to know you two are safe when I¡¯m out in the Wilds.¡± He tried to make his tone have some sense of finality, but of course she was unconvinced.


    Thousands of people lived outside the settlement, grouped into small hamlets of three or four homes where space could be found or made between the largest of granite-trees. Living in purely open space in Wilds, without walls or protections spells, meant you were vulnerable to storm winds and were a sitting duck for anyone looking to take advantage. Hiding their homes among the tree roots at least meant raiders or bandits would have to stumble right onto a hamlet to find one. Of course, raiders and bandits were rare this far out into the Wilds, but still a possibility.


    The settlement claimed there was no room for more people within it''s walls and that it was too costly to expand the walls to keep everyone inside. The walls of the settlement were made of the tallest granite-trees that could be found, each stood up on their end, and planted into the ground with earth moving spells. They were then spelled against weather, beast, and all-manner of destruction. To live in the Wilds, safely, required such measures. The nearby settlement was one of many, sprinkled throughout the wilds. Each settlement gave adventurers and hunters a home-base to return to reprovision, during their trips outward, away from the realm of humanity, called the True Human Realm. There was even talk that the settlements were originally military fortifications, but he didn¡¯t know for sure.


    Changing tactics and tone, his Ma tried another line of argument, ¡°Dem, why don¡¯t you stick around and spend some time with the other young people? You¡¯re more than old enough to be married. I want to be a grandmother! One of the girls from the far-side hamlets comes around some times, I think she is looking for you. You could have been married five rotations, an entire sequence, ago! Last rotation, two girls from..¡± his mother continued on for while, but he had tuned her out. These arguments were almost a play they put on for each other, they held no surprise. They shared a stubborn trait which often caused friction.


    Finishing his meal, he went to his alcove to rest his head. He could feel Ina napping lazily in the tree above him. After her ascension, she didn¡¯t much like confined spaces, so she slept in the tree''s branches, rather than inside. Their home was not large, but it was cool and dark on the inside, despite the bright light outside. It would be another twenty work cycles until the next the time the Land-Above would move over the Wilds, giving them five night cycles. This was half a rotation. Each rotation was twenty work cycles of light, followed by five cycles of night, followed by twenty more cycles of light. Five rotations made a sequence.


    He did not look forward to the coming night, as many beasts found greater freedom during night cycles. Beside than the most daring of adventurers, those in the settlement would hide inside the walls, while those left outside the walls in the hamlets would barricade their homes, rarely leaving but to pass messages, trade food, or seek assistance. Even he, a Classed Tamer, with a bonded greater beast, would find shelter and not leave it. Despite his earlier feeling of contentment, his thoughts were heavy as he drifted into a dreamless sleep.

 Chapter 2

    Dem walked with no urgency, his mind once again drifting to the future and all the possibilities it held. His improved hearing picked up on snippets of conversations as he followed the many small paths that led, like streams joining a river, to the main road which would bring him to the gates of the settlement. He ignored most of the conversations he heard. He was still getting used to tuning out what needed to be tuned out. Passing a rare clearing, used as a meeting place occasionally, he heard another group moving down one of the larger paths in his direction. He moved a bit quicker to avoid this bunch. They were loud, and not mindful of the peace of the Wilderness.


    Dem couldn¡¯t help but overhear, ¡°Did Demneh just pass by?¡±


    The voice was light, probably a young a woman. He couldn''t help but perk up at the mention his name. Someone knew him apparently, though he couldn¡¯t place a name or a face to the voice. It also occurred to him he needed to work on erasing his presence better, and that clearly, despite the noise, this group was paying attention, or at least the speaker was.


    Dem stopped to listen for a moment, ¡°Should we invite him?¡± a different voice asked.


    Several new, more masculine voices chimed in.


    ¡°He is the son of the Endless Axe right?¡±


    ¡°He never talks. What would be the point? Like father, like son.¡±


    ¡°He has that damned beast with him. I have no interest in sharing my food with it. Have you seen it eat?¡±


    ¡°Who gives a damn about that beast-fucker?¡±


    ¡°He could be¡­¡±


    Dem moved further ahead, not bothering to listen to more, quickly outpacing the voices. It was possible someone might have defended him, these were clearly his peers, and those of the hamlets were a generally kind lot, but such remarks were par for the course considering his Class.


    He wasn¡¯t sure he would even recognize the people talking. They knew him certainly, Tamers were uncommon, especially among the folk of the hamlets. It was true he had always been so focused on his goals, he rarely socialized. His work cycles were always busy. He spent most of his life either out in the Wilds with Ina, or in the settlement listening to a certain hungover Priest lecture him about returning books back to the Church when he was done with them. The lectures always came in earliest part of a cycle, as that particular Priest spent most of the later half of each work cycle drunk on cheap root-wine.


    Despite trying to move on mentally, Dem¡¯s mind responded to each comment in turn.


    His Da was called the Endless Axe? That probably suited him, he supposed.


    In all honesty, it was true he didn¡¯t talk much. Social gatherings were things to be avoided, as he never really had anything to say, and no one really asked him about his training, or what he had read recently, or even about Ina, especially after she had grown larger. Beasts were objects of fear for the folk of the hamlets, just as beasts were objects of profit for the people of the settlements.


    She ate too much? At first he was instantly offended on behalf of Ina, but in reflecting, he had to admit she was sort of a glutton. He felt a tinge of irritation over their bond, Ina had been paying attention.


    He directed a thought to her, over the bond, ¡°We¡¯ll put you on a diet soon girl. We can¡¯t have the neighbors talking.¡± He promptly heard a growl somewhere above him in trees. Many-tailed weren¡¯t known for their humor. No greater beast was.


    He had heard ¡®beaster-fucker¡¯ before of course, and much worse in the past. Classed Tamers, well they.. They didn¡¯t have a good reputation. He pushed those thoughts away for the moment.


    He wondered how the last sentence heard ended. Maybe it was something positive? In the end, he supposed it didn¡¯t matter. It didn¡¯t affect his Path, or what he would do in the future, so he did his best to let it go. His thoughts returned to the great hunts he would accomplish in the future and the safety the settlement would provide his parents.


    ***


    Enough trails converged, and he found himself reaching the area around the settlement that was kept clear of the encroachment of trees. The Wilds had a way of reclaiming land quickly, making farming nearly impossible and cleared land worth a premium. The hamlets cleared when they could, but otherwise tried to blend their gardens into the vegetation that surrounded them. This kept their produce relatively hidden, but was ultimately an inefficient way to farm.


    As Dem got closer, passing herds of cattle grazing in the empty land, the settlement walls began to grow larger. Soon they towered over him, hundreds of spans over his head. Small figures could be seen occasionally on the walls, but no faces could be made out. Light glinted off their armor, blinding him as he looked up and focused his sharper eyesight.


    Approaching the door, he mentally prepared himself for dealing with the gate guards. There wasn¡¯t much of a line to get into the settlement this cycle, maybe only a few dozen people. As the night cycles grew closer, the lines would increase, and the cattle would be taken inside the walls. The smell was unpleasant, but the cattle were a source of food and profit for the settlement. Cattle raised in the Wilds were more robust, and their meat had fortifying effects. Of course, what this meant was that cattle were more valuable than the people of the hamlets, but he tried not to think about that.


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    ¡®The Wilds gave as it took.¡¯, was a common phrase, he heard often. What it had come to mean to him was that there was always profit in the Wilds, but accompanying that profit was risk and danger. Resources were gathered, raw materials harvested, and beast parts taken, all to be sent back to the True Human Realm, but at the cost of many human lives.


    ¡°State your business.¡± Said the bored looking guard, who undoubtedly recognized Dem.


    The guard wore a basic set of light armor, which covered all the important bits and probably had some reinforcing spells, but would hardly be protection from most greater beasts. His Class would be something mundane like Guardsmen, Watchman, or Soldier. To have door-duty meant the guard didn¡¯t have the connections or coin to have a better Class or job.


    ¡°I seek to consult the guild for work.¡± Dem said, formally, and in the same tone he had said something similar a thousand times before. In the settlement if you spoke well, you got better treatment. So he always tried to speak well, even if his clothes betrayed him as someone from the hamlets. He showed his badge, stating he was a Classed freelancer for the Guild. Not an official adventurer, but someone who did work for the guild from time to time. The guard looking down at the symbol representing his class, sneered a bit, but waved him through. As Dem headed further into the settlement, his hearing was overwhelmed with fragments of conversations, the creaking of wood buildings, and sounds of a smith cursing some mistake she had just made. He could hear some whispers behind him and a few snickers. The guard that checked Dem¡¯s badge must have made a comment to other guards..


    Dem let the insults slide off the tough exterior of his mind, as he had done many times before. His future was bright for once, and he wouldn¡¯t let anyone keep him from appreciating that fact.


    ***


    After entering the settlement, while navigating boisterous crowds and crooked streets, he veered towards the Church, as he had since he was child. Dem had no real business with the bloated alcoholic exile who ran the place, nor was he particularly devoted to the Church of Divine Humanity, but he still liked to check on things, almost out of habit. Perhaps a new book had been added to the small public library the church kept for educating youths. He could ¡®borrow¡¯ it as he had many times before. The Classed Priest, Caius, had given Dem a great gift. Caius had taught Dem to read. Ever since receiving that gift,  Dem had punished Caius for his good act by pilfering the Church¡¯s books at every opportunity.


    Children of the hamlets usually attended lessons with Caius one work cycle out of every five, to learn a bit of theology, their letters, and some numbers. They learned to conduct themselves in the settlement as proper members of humanity. Generally, by the time they were adolescents, they stopped their lesson because their parents needed their labor, or they simply lost interest and drifted off. Sometimes they got tired of the superior attitude and better treatment that children from the settlement received. Caius taught most children in the settlement. If they couldn¡¯t afford tutors, or to send their children away for education, Caius and the charity of the Church were the only option available. Unlike the other children of the hamlets, Dem had stuck around into adolescence, trying to get more information that would help him care for Ina. This had started his life-long love of learning.


    Caius was not the best teacher, nor the most patient, or really even a good role model, but he tried, and he treated all the children with the same base level of contempt. One time, when Dem had naively thought he understood Caius in a fit of misplaced empathy. Dem had asked Caius if he drank because the Church had exiled him so far away. Perhaps Caius had committed some sort of tragic crime, or stood up against a corrupt church elder, only to be banished to the Wilds, at very edge of humanity¡¯s territory. This was the story Dem had made up in his mind to explain contradictory character of Caius. It wasn''t true, of course.


    Caius had laughed in his face, splattering cheap root-wine everywhere, and, in between gasping breaths, told him ¡°Boy, I was sent here.. because I¡¯m an unrepentant.. drunk.. Haha! I am an embarrassment!¡± The Priest¡¯s belly and jowls trembled with mirth, as he spoke again. ¡°Be sure to not follow in my footsteps, boy.¡± Caius¡¯ laughter was loud in Dem¡¯s ears. Dem never asked another personal question of Caius, fearing he would only think less of the old Priest.


    The Church of Humanity rose tall inside the settlement, nearly as tall as the walls that guarded it. Its facade made it the most ornate building Dem had ever seen. As he strolled closer to the church he could see that, despite its exterior facade, the church was not well maintained. Birds made homes in the statues at the top, and the paint was cracked around the base. Caius¡¯s influence was apparent. He wasn¡¯t the only clergy in attendance, but he was the only Classed Priest, and the most senior, and therefore undoubtedly drank away a great deal of the donations the church received from the populace.


    In the courtyard of the church, he could see Caius¡¯ large, rotund form, sitting on a stool that strained underneath his weight. Surrounding him were dozens of small children, some listening attentively, others lightly snoozing, while still others talked quietly. Caius¡¯ current lecture seemed to center around the nature of Paths and Classes. His face flushed red, his nose bulbous and the color of a liver, Caius spoke in quivering breaths.


    ¡°Your Path is what you choose! Your Path is your Intent made manifest! It powers the spells and abilities of your Class!¡± Every statement was shouted, causing spit to splatter on the nearest children, who seemed to take it in stride. With time, everyone got used to Caius.


    The Church doctrine had always felt like mostly mysticism to Dem. The nature of Paths was something you felt, rather than merely understood. You looked into yourself, found something you applied personal meaning to, and then crafted that meaning, with repetition, into an intent, that intent granted you personal power. Your Class, if you had one, was merely a shell, usually pre-made for you, to channel that power into. It gave you a set of spells and a means to continue to develop your Path. The Church often said that Paths were a gift from the Holy Divinity of Humanity, but beastfolk had Paths, as did other races, so Dem had always been somewhat skeptical of church doctrine. Classes could even be shared between different races, which made sense to him, but was not mentioned anywhere in the writings of the Church.


    Dem moved away from the church, secure in the knowledge that the old drunk hadn¡¯t died yet. He moved toward the real center of power in the settlement.

 Chapter 3

    Dem¡¯s stride took him toward the Adventurer¡¯s Tower, the tallest building in the settlement. If someone told him it was more than twice as tall as the walls that surrounded it, he wouldn¡¯t disagree. It was a wide building, many times wider than the church at its base, narrowing as it went up, until you reached top, which was just a flat platform. He had never been up there, but he assumed it was for landing flying transportation beasts and sending signals to other towers placed throughout the Wilds. The upper reaches of the tower were the living quarters of the most powerful Classed Adventures that came through the settlement. From what he understood, the truly powerful never touched the ground here in the settlement, and never had reason to. They left by beast or spell, and returned by beast or spell. The tower was a stark black color that always left Dem feeling inadequate and empty.


    He made sure not to stare up at the tower, as he strode towards it, as that would make him look like a bumpkin from the hamlets. He was, of course, a bumpkin from the hamlets, but he was also Classed and freelancer for the Tower, which afforded him a small amount of dignity. Still the tower was impressive to him, even after all this time.


    As he neared the tower, he had to watch where he was going. Adventurers were everywhere, and despite being Classed himself, he was a nobody, less than a nobody really. He had to be careful not to anger anyone, even accidentally. The law in settlements was a loose thing when it came to adventurers. Classed Guards, even Classed Guard Captains, generally did want to tangle with experienced Classed adventurers. At the very least, no guard would fight an adventure for Dem¡¯s sake. Dem also needed the goodwill of as many adventurers as possible, as they would be, hopefully, his clients in the future. A local guide was useful to groups new to any settlement.


    He found a small door in the back of the building, only accessible from an alley, and entered swiftly. This entrance was for freelancers, servants, and locals. He did not know if it existed simply to separate people based on their importance, or to prevent the underclass or unclassed from mixing with the powerful Classed, or because it kept people like him safe from possible confrontations with drunk Adventurers. The Tower was an all-in-one experience. It had an inn, a large common room bar, entertainment, a small more luxurious bar further up, places to buy and sell materials and gear, banking, storage, and places to inquire about work. It was also a hotspot for disputes. After moving through a few hallways, past a number of doors, he entered into a room with various desks, waiting areas, and lines. He quickly found the right desk to stand in front of, waiting for the woman filling out paperwork to acknowledge him.


    Greer was younger than his mother, but still older than he was by five or ten sequences, with short black hair, and a perpetual look for disdain on her face. She wasn¡¯t unattractive, but he had always pushed such thoughts out of his mind. Theirs was a business relationship. She had been the tower contact for his work, and also the person who he sold most of his goods to since he first ventured into the Wilds. Most importantly, she was the one that sold him his Tamer Class Grimoire, at a moderately discounted rate, of course. Not that many were interested in such a Class, but a Beast Tamer was still a mid-tier combat Class, and so was worth, at minimum, a few gold standards. She had sold it to him for a gold and half, something that taken him four sequences to save up. His most successful trips, as a hunter or as a guide, had never gotten him more than a handful of silver standards. The truth was that he was a total amateur, and most people who sought his services were amateurs as well. His customers sought practice living and hunting in the wilds, whereas most true adventurers would be seeking something specific . Greer¡¯s mark-down, like her customer service, left something to be desired, but she fundamentally had him over a barrel, as most of the other Tower merchant-clerks would not deal with him. Commerce with people from the hamlets wasn¡¯t seen as particularly profitable for someone with a desk in the Adventurer¡¯s Tower, even one in the back offices.


    Her writing stopped finally, after a long moment.


    ¡°What do you want boy?¡± her voice held its usual bored tone.


    He was always ¡®boy¡¯ to her, even though he was technically an adult, a man in his own right, and even a Classed one at that. He supposed since her had seen him grow up, he would always be a ¡®boy¡¯ in her mind.


    He responded quickly, ¡°I am inquiring about work, ma¡¯am.¡±


    She grunted, sounding more like a barrel-chested carriage loader he had once met than a petite older woman.


    ¡°I suppose, with your Class and that overly large cat of yours, you could be of some use.¡±


    ¡°It is all thanks to you ma¡¯am.¡± Being polite was his only option, she was notoriously prickly. He wanted to correct her comment about Ina, but he held his tongue.


    ¡°I have a group coming in fourteen work cycles, at the earliest, that want to explore to the south and east.¡± She paused for a moment to look him in the eye.


    ¡°They want to go at least five cycles out, and stay out for at least a rotation.¡± Her voice took a hard tone with these words, as if challenging him.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    He audibly gulped, ¡°A rotation? Can they handle that? Can I?¡± His words were a little too honest, but they had represented question that needed to be answered.


    ¡°Can you? They can, they are Full Adventurers, though they hail from a more urban environment. They haven¡¯t said what they are looking for, but I assume the they are here to experience the Wilds. They usually work the cities, so this will their first time out here.¡±


    His mind spun with this information, but eventually he realized what this meant. What he would need to do to prepare.


    He asked, ¡°You¡¯re saying I should go scout that area before they arrive right?¡±


    ¡°Have you been that far out in that direction before? ¡± She asked, her question rhetorical, of course he hadn¡¯t.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, as always, ma¡¯am. I¡¯ve been four cycles in that direction, but no further. Did they offer anything up front?¡± He prayed this Party had offered something to make the extra trip worthwhile.


    ¡°Beyond my fee, thirty silver standards.¡± She stated firmly, leaving no room for negotiations.


    ¡°How much on completion?¡±


    She smiled, ¡°Two gold standards, beyond my fee of course.¡±


    He sucked in a lung-full of air. This was a huge sum, enough to rent a place in the settlement for his parents for a whole sequence or more.


    He looked at her, a question coming to his lips, but unspoken.


    ¡°Normally, I would send them with a Classed Ranger or a Classed Scout. They wouldn¡¯t mind such easy gold, but they are all going north with parties. A significant number of parties are going in that direction, though I don¡¯t yet know why. This party wants to go south instead.¡± She explained.


    She continued, ¡°Even without whatever is in the north, Rangers tend to be less interested in going south, as you know, there isn¡¯t much in that direction. Lots of greater beasts, but the easiest access points to the True Wilds are to the north. Rangers, if willing to act as guides, also usually want good hunting along the way to wherever they are going. The South just doesn¡¯t have that. Maybe this party is picking the easier direction as practice before they go north, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the only one I know of who goes south much, and so you¡¯re perfect. Plus, you¡¯re cheap.¡± She smirked at this, and he knew that meant she was taking some of the fee allotted for him. He wondered how much they were actually paying. Either way, he could not pass this up.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll do it. I can definitely do it.¡± He stated as firmly as he was able.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t told you the best part yet.¡± Her smirk turned into a predatory smile.


    ¡°It is a party of all women! You¡¯ll be with them for an entire rotation plus travel! One of them might get a bit lonely and¡­¡± She began to laugh, as his face turned red.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, my mother is already asking me for grandchildren. Please don¡¯t start on me too.¡± He pleaded with her. Greer was always professional about currency and profit, but she always eventually found excuses to tease him. Sometimes he wondered if she did business with him just torture him.


    ¡°These women won''t be interested in having your children, boy. They are professionals. Though one of the members did request that their guide be handsome. I suppose you¡¯ll have to do.¡± She said this while laughing. Her eyes looking him up and down.


    His face must have revealed his internal struggle, because her tone changed.


    She quickly spoke. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not bad looking boy, you¡¯re a bit tall, and the combination of dark hair and blues eyes is good, but your face is plain and you hardly ever smile. You wouldn¡¯t make it far in the brothel upstairs.¡±


    He sighed. This must be what the young women of the hamlets feel like when they enter the settlement. The guards eyed them a bit too much and usually made comments. Sadly, like those young women, there was no one he could complain to. He centered his mind, and thought of the money.


    ¡°Thank you ma¡¯am for your compliments. I will gladly accept the job. Do you have something for me to sign?¡± He hanged the subject as best as he could. At least she hadn¡¯t made any jokes about his Class.


    ¡°Hmm, yes I have the agreement right here. Its spell-enforced, so take it seriously. It will harm your Path if you break it.¡± She seemed to agree to change the subject, but was still smirking. She handed him a spelled-document.


    He signed the document, channeling the unique imprint of his Path into the spelled paper. Greer then handed him the thirty silver standards, and a map of the area, with the portion the Party intended to explore marked with a circle. He made farewells as fast as he could, and left at a brisk pace. He could still feel her eyes on him as he left, though he didnt turn around. She probably still had that same smirk on her face.


    ***


    Dem quickly bought some supplies from one of the perpetually open markets. He intended to set off as soon as possible so that he would make it back in time to meet the Party. He purchased a new spear for himself, his old one lost before the last rotation. He had chosen a weaponsmith outside the tower, who would be more in his price range, but have potentially less quality. The spear he picked was designed for hunting. It a had a elongated teardrop-shaped blade, longer than the span of his hand. It had groves to allow for faster bleed-out and a crossguard to keep the beast at distance. It wasn¡¯t a full length spear, as the Wilds often gave you little room to work, but it was nearly as long as he was tall. It was even spelled for reinforcement, making the shaft much less likely to break. It was the best weapon he had ever owned, and cost him ten silver standards with some haggling. He hoped he wouldn¡¯t need it, but Ina could not protect him from everything.

 Chapter 4

    Dem knew his Ma would be angry that he was leaving. So like every other time he left for a long trip, he simply didn¡¯t tell her. He would not even stop at home. She would see the supplies he bought and know. So as he left the cleared area around the settlement he headed south, bypassing the trails that might have led near his home.


    His goal was to quickly survey the area his employers wanted to explore. He needed to find them a defensible camp site, and he needed to get a sense of what kind of greater beasts called the area home. He also needed to ensure he knew most of the major landmarks. He would be very busy. He could move faster than most parties, with the help of Ina, so he would have at least a few cycles to get the lay of the land before he had to head back to meet up with the party who purchased his services.


    This trip would still be less dangerous than staying out in the Wilds for a whole rotation, like he would with the Party that was hiring him, but it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be easy either. As he walked, he took a mental inventory of his belongings, making sure he had everything he needed. Once he was sure he had everything, his mind went through an exercise Caius had taught him to ensure every cantrip he knew could be smoothly cast. Cantrips were simple spells that could be powered with almost any Path. Just about everyone had access to at least a few cantrips. They cost little, in terms of the power one drew from one''s Path, and they took little time to cast. On the other hand, they were weak, had diminishing returns, and were mostly used for basic cycle-to-cycle needs. Simple cantrips like Minor Healing would heal scrapes and cuts, and staunch the bleeding from more serious wounds. Minor Stamina could allow you to work longer, perhaps two work cycles at a stretch, but would eventually force you to crash and sleep for a quarter cycle or more. With cantrips he could clean water, prevent disease, and even help find his way when lost. They were essential to the daily lives of those living in the hamlets, and everywhere in the True Human Realm.


    He could cast nearly thirty different cantrips, most learned from Caius and Church texts, but some were fairly new and were a part of his Class. These cantrips were imparted directly to his mind from the pages of the Class grimoire he had purchased. Imparting a spell meant he ¡®knew¡¯ them, but didn¡¯t necessarily mean he could cast them. Working his way through these cantrips had been his first task upon using the grimoire. Not only were these cantrips useful, and in some cases they were improvements on the ones he had received from his education. They served as a basis for his Class spells. For instance, the Class cantrip, Understand Other, gave him brief glimpses into the mind of Ina, allowing them the ability to communicate even without the bond. Using the cantrip,  he had learned mostly was that she was hungry, but even that practice had helped him eventually cast his Class spell Bond Beast. He still needed time to fully comprehend, and therefore be able to use, all his Class spells, but he was well on his way. His favorite was Minor Borrow Strength, which gave him a portion of Ina¡¯s physical attributes at a small cost to her stamina. Some Spells were more difficult than others to cast, but nearly every spell in the grimoire was low-tier. The most difficult spell, Bond Beast, was a mid-tier spell. Any grimoire that had mid-tier spells was technically a mid-tier grimoire. In reality, the grimoire be bought had been cheap and extremely low-end, but it had been all he could afford. He was lucky it was even available. He secretly suspected Greer had ordered the grimoire, specifically for him, if only to provide a carrot to keep him coming back to her.


    This trip would also be a chance to further his Path. Tamers usually had Paths related to working with beasts, understanding beasts, or empowering beasts. Each person¡¯s Path was somewhat unique, a combination of personal understandings and learnings crafted together mentally into a fairly narrow concept, called an Intent. By living that concept, that Intent, one advanced along one¡¯s path and was better able to do whatever that concept represented. Advancing along one¡¯s path also gave one the ability to to cast Class Spells more often, and more efficiently. Advancing along one¡¯s Path was a way of gathering power to one¡¯s self, cantrips and Class Spells were a means of expressing that power. Most people could focus on a Path well enough to cast cantrips, but couldn¡¯t afford more than the most basic and mundane Classes, and so they rarely had access to spells that would help them in more than their immediate work. He did not consider himself particularly talented. When he was an an adolescent, there were children younger than him that could cast a battery of cantrips when he had been learning his first few. He was also far from the wors thankfull, not that the children of the settlement ever treated him well.


    His Path was fairly simple, but definitely left room for refinement. He focused on teamwork, mutualism, and collaboration. The more he worked in concert with Ina, and anyone else he was close to, the more he advanced on his Path. It was not a Path he could exercise every moment of every cycle, and thus was in no danger of losing himself like his father had done. He could, however, advance swiftly, so long as he threw himself into difficult situations and worked with Ina to solve them. The more difficult, and usually dangerous, the situation, the more he advanced. Paths were not meant to be easy, and conflict generally was a quicker path to power than simple daily grind. The church had a phrase, ¡®The more difficult the Path, the more rewarding the Path.¡¯ It sounded lame to him at the time, just another aphorism in a sea of such phrases, but now as an adult, he realized it was entirely true. It was still lame though.


    Underlying the Classes, Paths, and Intents, there was the fundamental energy that permeated the land he lived on. Church doctrine, and other texts he had read, called it many things. Power, Divinity, Mana, Energy, were all terms for it. Picking a single word for it, or trying to have a unified understanding of it, was impossible. The energy was felt through a personal connection each person had to the world around them. Each person interpreted the connection slightly different, and there were whole schools of thought built on understanding the energy of the world in particular ways. Dem only had the most basic understanding of the power he felt in the world around him, but it was more than enough to focus his Intent, and build a reservoir of power for his Path. The energy  was actually quite useless by itself. When Dem drew it in he felt.. fuller, more content, more connected, and a little more energetic, but without using it to sharpen his Intent or filtering it through his Path, it did little more than offer him a refreshed feeling. Everyone could draw power from the world, that wasn¡¯t special. What really mattered was how that power was used.


    ***


    The first few cycles out were always uneventful. The lesser beasts that inhabited the area within a couple cycles of the settlement were wary of Ina. If they got a whiff of her, or even of Dem because he smelled like her, they would simply move away in a different direction. After leaving those weaker areas, they eventually reached a section of the Wilds he was unfamiliar with. He had been excited to see a new part of the wilds, but also very cautious of what they would find. After reaching the new area, they had spent a number of cycles scouting around, finding a good campsite, and getting the basic work required of him done. They had moved through the trees, rather than the ground, jumping and climbing from branch to branch. Moving through the trees offered some measure of safety from the largest of creatures, who were usually too big to leave the ground. Near the settlement, he would take groundtrails, as well as low-branchtrails, but out here there was nothing of the kind, so Ina and he took the safest route, high above the ground. Despite being quite high up, they had eventually hit trouble.


    He cast a spell of Minor Share Strength on Ina, giving Ina some of his strength, while buffing himself with a couple of cantrips to offset the strength-cost of the spell. They had encountered greater viper-wyrm, which wouldn¡¯t normally have been a big a problem, but this one was oddly persistent.


    Viper-wyrms were snake-beasts, about as long as an average person was tall, but thicker in the middle than most humans. Their bodies tapered to snake-like proportions at both ends, but their middle was too large to allow them swiftly climb or move through the trees. They had the arrow-shaped head of a viper, with large venomous fangs to match. They even had a tail that sported two venom coated talons at its tip. They were primarily ground-based ambush predators, with mottled brown and green coloring to blend into their surroundings. Their muscular middles gave them the ability to spring out of their dens and latch on to prey. Their venom was more caustic, and acid-like, than anything else. They wanted you a bit melted before they digested you. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    As Ina and he moved through the trees, he had buffed himself to improve his speed, but he also still relied on Ina to offer a helpful tail here and there. The viper-wyrm normally wouldn¡¯t bother leaving its den, let alone chase them along the ground. Yet, here it was, clearly moving with some speed following a distance behind them. He couldn¡¯t see its body in the foliage, but he could sense it¡¯s movement. Through the bond he could smell its caustic venom, Ina had picked up on in earlier. He could only assume it was desperately hungry if it was going to these lengths. Its crude strategy was to try to exhaust Ina and himself so that either, they fell out of the trees out of sheer exhaustion, or it could finally catch them as they rested. It wasn¡¯t entirely clear to Dem whether the viper-wyrm knew about their observation of it, not that it mattered much either way. They could either stop and fight it or run and hope to outlast it.


    Technically a many-tailed was a far more deadly beast than a greater viper-wyrm, but this snake seemed different. Its behavior was bizarre, and defied what he knew of the beast. He was wary of engaging a beast acting so erratically.


    He examined the bond between Ina and himself. He offered her the feeling he was waiting for her ideas over the bond. Their communication mostly took place through individually sent feelings or mental pictures. She offered him a mental picture of herself dodging the initial strike of the snake-beast, while scoring a disemboweling strike along its side. He knew this was a very idealized scenario. Ina was still freshly ascended and did not have a healthy respect yet for the tough scales of a greater snake beast. It''s true she could score its hide, but was unlikely to cut past the muscle casing, to open the visceral cavity. He sent her an image of them playing a kind of game with the snake-beast, stopping for short amounts of time to let it begin trying to reach them in the trees before quickly moving away. This would exhaust the beast and force it to reveal itself, after repeating this tactic a few times, they could try taking it head on as she wanted. Ina agreed to the modification of her plan without any fuss. She didn¡¯t mind playing such a game with the snake beast.


    They immediately began their game of exhaustion with the snake-beast. They moved for a while, and then stopped, giving it the chance to try to make its way up a nearby tree before beginning to move again. It kept itself out of line of sight, but Ina could still hear and smell it as it got closer. After an eighth of a cycle, the snake-beast started to slow down, and Ina wanted to take her chances with it. He had not intended on doing any hunting this trip, but the snake-beast was relentless. He asked to do one more push ahead of the snake beast, and then doubleback to surprise it. Ina was impatient to fight the snake beast, but was willing to push ahead one more time for the element of surprise.


    ***


    As the snake-beast hurried along the ground, Ina crept through the trees above it. Dem had found a good place further ahead to hide while staying out of the range of its spring-attack. He waited, preparing to stab with his spear or distract the viper-wyrm, whichever would help Ina the most. He had applied every buff he had at his disposal to Ina. He hoped it would be enough.


    His thoughts stopped dead as he saw the head of the snake-beast rise up from the brush. It was larger than a normal viper-wyrm, which meant it would be quite old and therefore powerful. A a shock of terror struck Dem''s body. This was an elder greater beast, not far from ascending to a calamity beast. Seeing the fanged head begin to take in its surroundings, clearly aware something was was not right, he scrambled mentally. As swiftly as he could he sent a mental image to Ina, trying to warn her, but she was already challenging the dangerous opponent, drawing its attention and baiting its strike. Rather than immediately striking though, it began to grind its scales together, letting out a loud hiss. At first he couldn¡¯t understand what it was doing, it was calling attention to itself obviously, but the purpose of its actions was not immediately clear.


    He gasped, a realization dawning on him. This snake was not alone, and its behavior wasn¡¯t meant to exhaust its prey. It was designed to herd them further onward towards its children. Viper-wyrms were solitary predators, except for when they had just given birth to a large clutch of children. He and ina would be prey for its children if they waited here any longer. He conveyed his understanding towards Ina. The only way out of this was to kill the parent snake quickly and then escape the encirclement of younger snakes undoubtedly moving inward toward them.


    Ina moved closer in a series of jumps from trunk to trunk around the snake-beast, her tails taking small swipes at the fat middle section of the viper-wyrm. After a few of these swipes scoring its hide, it seemed to lose its patience, and readied a spring, aiming for when she landed on the trunk nearest to it. Ina seemed to predict the snakes intention, and then used her tails to change direction at the last moment by sinking her tail-claws into a different trunk altogether. Her tails offered her the ability change direction in mid-air if she could latch on to something nearby. The snake-beast rammed face first into the trunk it was aiming at but Ina was not there. This wouldn¡¯t hurt the beast much, its viper-like head was mostly bone and cartilage, but it would stun the beast for a moment. That moment gave Ina the chance to move in from the side, away from its fangs or talons. While Ina moved in, Dem also jumped in to help. Ina took long strips of skin out of its hide with her claws, as he moved above the fight quickly and readied his spear. The most he could do was try to pierce either the front end or the back end of the snake. Holding one of those two sections of the snake-beast immobile, would give Ina the chance to really tear into it middle. As it was currently, if she went for its head, it would use its tail to attack her, and vice-versa.


    The viper-wyrm quickly recovered, seemed to cast some sort of spell on itself causing it to glow slightly in the gloomy shade of the forest floor.The spell was likelya restorative, but Dem couldn¡¯t sure. It readied another strike, one Ina would have to stopp attacking to dodge. Even if it missed, it would keep them there longer, which would only spell their inevitable doom, so the snake-beast was in no great rush. The old monster was very intelligent, it appeared.


    Ina dodged its strike once again, though this time the snake-beast angled itself so that it only caught open air, instead of slamming into another tree trunk. It was at this crucial moment Dem fell from above, spear blade first. Ina had sensed what he was about to do and had moved closer to the snake-beast, to try to fill its vision and give him an opening. Despite this, the snake-beast seemed to sense something was amiss. It knew it had been chasing two meals in the trees, not one, and so it looked up briefly, but was ultimately too late. His spear descended, skewering the snake a span or so behind its clawed tail. His feet landed on the cross guard of the blade, adding the extra force of his weight to slam the blade home. Pain ran through his legs as he landed, causing him to stiffen. Its scale and hide were tough, but he had used his weight, momentum, and the spelled blade all to his advantage. Despite the pain, he jumped away from the spear and the newly enraged snake-beast. Ina had continued to attack, which drew its attention away from Dem. It struck again at Ina, this time it managed to get a mouth full of one of her tails, venom splashing around where the snake-beasts mouth had bit down. The venom immediately began to caustically steam and hiss, as it ate through the flesh of her tail. They needed to finish this quickly. He sent her a mental image, and despite the pain she was in, she understood.


    Her next action surprised the snake-beast, Ina used her other clawed tails to cut envenomed tail off near its base. With time it could be regrown. If she let the caustic venom take effect, she might die just from blood poisoning. The snake-beast now had a length of Ina¡¯s tail in its mouth. A portion was even stuck on the beast¡¯s fangs, and so it began to shake its head, to dislodge the tail. Dem could sense it was now quite angry. It clearly had underestimated its opponents and was enraged that its prey had fought back to this degree. Meanwhile, Ina went in for the kill, pouncing on its back, while using her remaining tails to hold head still and pointed away from her. Its neck muscles proved stronger than her tails, and it managed to slowly turn its face around to strike again, but not before she had begun to disembowel it with her hind claws, each nearly the length of Dem¡¯s hand when fully extended. He needed to continue to do his part, so he took out his knife, and with a few quick slices, he had cut the talons from the end of the snake-beast. He had to thank his Da later, his Da had been the one to give him the knife and sharpen it. It cut through the weak scales around the talons easily.


    The snake-beast, made another attempt at striking Ina, but her dug-in tails kept it from any sort of accuracy. This gave Dem the chance to retrieve the spear in a single swift motion. Ina had paralyzed the back end of the snake by nearly severing its spine in the middle of its fat grub-like body, and so the spear wasn¡¯t needed to hold the snake beast down. He needed get this over right away. Empowering Ina with a Minor Strengthen Other, she was able to hold its head still enough that he could push the tip of the spear through the back of its head under its skull plate. It died angry and unwilling, killed by prey it hadn¡¯t considered a threat.


    He would have let out a sigh of relief, if he hadn¡¯t suddenly noticed movement from every direction. At least a dozen creatures moved in on them. He pulled his spear from head of the parent, readying himself to take on it''s children.

 Chapter 5

    Dem and Ina developed a quick strategy over their bond and executed it. They moved together in a single direction, attacking and killing the young snake-beasts in their way, to break out of the encirclement. The snake beast young had pursued them immediately with a swiftness the elder beast could not have matched. The young beasts weren''t as difficult to kills as the elder. Their scales were weaker and they didn''t have their parent''s physical strength, but they were fast and there were more than a dozen of them. Over the next eighth of a cycle, fighting and killing as they went, eventually they were driven to exhaustion. As they began to slow down, they realized they needed to stop and make a last stand against the the last remaining six snake-beasts before they were too tired to put up a fight. A calm determination took over the feelings relayed across their bond, and they settled in for a nasty fight.


    ***


    They''d fought, and fought some more, taking bites as the little vipers attacked all at once. In the end, only Ina and he were left alive, though at a great cost. Initially, Dem thought them lucky, the snake beast younglings were smaller and weaker than the parent, their venom far less developed. Both Ina and he had taken multiple bites without immediate effect other than a wound, but eventually the venom built up in their systems. The caustic nature of the venom prevented their wounds from closing, even with the application of spells. He had cast everything at his disposal, but it wasn¡¯t looking good.


    Ina had the greatest burden of bites, taking several meant for him. She was covered in small wounds and had lost another two tails, worse yet his spells were not healing her. She would not live long at this rate, and judging by his own wounds he would join her soon after. Even if he was able to stabilize himself, it was still unlikely he would make it back to the settlement without Ina. He had done the scouting he wanted to do, and had even found a relatively defensible spot to camp for the party, but he had entered the territory of this the elder viper-wyrm in one last fit of curiosity.


    There was no help for him out here. His only chance was to try one of the Class Spells he hadn¡¯t yet practiced, but the chances were slim he would be able to cast any of them. It took an entire two rotations for him to learn the Class spells he currently knew, and another entire rotation to use Bond Beast well enough that it actually worked. The spell he was going to try was Minor Restoration, which had a more holistic healing effect, that might stabilize their conditions. Minor Heal Other was his only other Classed healing spell, but it was restricted to specific wounds, most of which wouldn¡¯t close because of the venom. There were too many wounds to close them all with what he could draw from his Path anyway. He felt drained, the venom was working on him, just as it was working on Ina. Ina¡¯s coat was a patchwork of bites and blood.


    Dem centered his mind, ignoring the pain he felt over their bond, and tried to run through the Minor Restoration spell template left in his mind by the grimoire. He had to try, had to do something. He visualized the spell template in his mind, using the method taught by the grimoire. Different Classes visualized spell casting differently. His spells used a very basic method that looked liked a series of shining bright lights in his mind. Drawing from his Path, to power his spell, was like diverting a river of energy into those bright lights. If they all light up, in the right order, it meant you had at least a chance at casting the spell. However, it rarely worked the first time you tried.


    The more he tried to get the spell to work, pushing his Path into the preset template, the less it made sense. Learning and trying a spell for the first time required total concentration and the best of circumstances, this was definitely not those circumstances. As he continued to try, he felt exhaustion take over. His mind lost focus, and he began to reflect on his imminent death. He could only blame himself, of course. He knew logically this was all his fault, his decision, but as bone-weariness set in, he felt anger at the injustice of his situation. He had gotten his Class, six rotations ago, and Ina had ascended just a scant two rotations ago! He had entered a new realm of strength and possibility with his Class and her ascension. He felt content for the first time! Why him? Why now? He wanted more! He had to live!


    Ina¡¯s pain spiked through the bond as she fell into a heap, leaning against a tree trunk. Her vitals were looking worse and worse. Even if he could get this spell to work, it might not save her. Additionally, it was unlikely he would be able to cast it more than once in any reasonable time frame. His mind grinded to a halt considering that if he could get it to work, he would use it on himself and survive. If he could live, he would at least a chance to get back, even if it was a remote one. He could tame another beast eventually even, though he would have to give up on the current job, which would harm his Path by breaking the contract, but it could be recovered from, even if it took many rotations. His mind grasped at survival selfishly, while Ina whined in pain. She thankfully, did not seem to understand his thoughts, her own pain taking up the entirety of her consciousness.


    His panic pushed him to try to force the spell to be cast, but his mind could find no purchase as it grappled with the spell template. He felt his Intent weaken. He felt his reservoir of power shrink. Realization that his self-centered thoughts had restricted his ability to draw from his Path, dawned on him. His panicked selfish thoughts ran counter to his Path, to the very nature of his Intent. The spell would never be complete with so little power. His despair was total and complete, tears drip down his face. He crawled over to Ina, trying to apologize, anger at himself and at his fate still in his heart.


    He felt something bash into the back of his head and his vision started to go dark. Several thoughts flashed through his mind at that last moment, he thought of the spell template, of Ina, and of his unwillingness to die. His parents. The treatement he had endured. He deserved more. The world owed him more. He wanted to live!


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Then the world went dark and he thought of nothing.


    ***


    As Dem woke up, a chronometer cantrip told him an eighth of a cycle had passed since he had been knocked out. Ina had fallen into a pained unresponsive sleep. The despair of his situation began to weigh on his mind as the surprise of still being alive wore off. He went back to trying the spell template. If he could cast it, he would use it on Ina first. The chances of him making it back were too slim to bet on, and Ina didn¡¯t deserve any of this. It wasn¡¯t her fault they were in this situation, it was his. Dem¡¯s earlier anger had turned into regret. He loved Ina, as he loved himself. They had grown up together. It harmed his sense of self to even imagine life without her.


    He wondered briefly what had hit him. He kept his eyes closed, still trying to imagine the spell template in his mind, while his hand reached out, touching around him. After a brief moment, his fingers touched something hard with a smooth texture. His eyes snapped open, he knew this feeling, this was a book! Surprise echoed through his mind as he picked the object up and examined it.


    He inadvertently spoke his surprise out loud, ¡°What in the.. ? This.. a Class grimoire?¡±


    The grimoire was bound in hide, it was a dark red in color, and it radiated a kind of power he hadn¡¯t felt from any grimoire he''d ever seen. It had no title. He felt a sense of unending strength from the book. Of all the possibilities, this was perhaps the least likely he could imagine. Grimoire didn¡¯t grow on trees and they certainly didn¡¯t fall from the sky.


    He then bitterly laughed out loud. Dem''s thoughts spiralled downward. What was the use of this thing now of all times? What good would this do him? He could tell this book was better than the mid-tier Class grimoires he had seen for sale in shops. He shouldn¡¯t have even been in such a shop with his meagre income, but he had been curious and took a look anyway. If he could actually sell this grimoire, without someone murdering him for it, he would be set for a lifetime. This was at least a high-tier grimoire, which meant it was worth more gold than he had ever seen. Sadly, anything truly valuable was taken from the weak, and so simply having this would be a death sentence. He had no way of hiding the aura of power it spread. An amusing thought struck him, he would likely die before even getting the chance to be killed for owning such an item.


    Despite the moment of black-mirth, despair set in further. He felt himself slide further down a mental hole. If his wounds didn¡¯t kill him, then someone seeking the grimoire would. Shaking his head, trying to regain focus, he latched onto his thoughts about the absurdity of the grimoire.


    He considered opening it, and started to review everything he knew about grimoires. Opening a grimoire would invest a series of spell templates into the mind of the reader. Some of those templates would be conveyed right away, while others would take time. The person acquiring the Class would continually read the grimoire for a while, even after all the templates were transferred, because most Class Grimoires also contained insights from their creators. Grimoires could be reused, but reusing them required a knowledgeable Class Master to respell the grimoire with their insights and the power of their Path. Used grimoires could eventually be sold back to those that produced them, but for a tiny fraction of their original worth.


    Opening a grimoire, after already acquiring a class, would cause mental conflict if the two classes were not similar. The only way to advance some classes was by using a grimoire of an advanced version of that class, in his case a Beastmaster was an improved Beast Tamer. It was also possible to advance a Class by receiving direct instruction as an apprentice or student of a Class Master. A Class Master was a person who had mastered the aspects of a particular Class enough that they could forge their own spells for their Class.


    Opening such a clearly powerful grimoire would likely harm him, and over-write his class. He would be whatever was in the book from then on, until either he found a more powerful Class, found a more powerful teacher, or died. The chances of the grimoire being anything compatible with a disfavored class like Tamer was astronomical. Beyond even the issue of compatibility, it was unlikely the new Class would save him. He wouldn¡¯t be able to cast any of the Class spells right away. He would be, functionally, in the same situation he was in now, but with an equally useless, much fancier, Class.


    Dem turned his mind awa from the grimoire back to his plight. Pain was beginning to build throughout his body as the venom set in, but despite the pain he tried again and again with the spell template, but he was too exhausted, it slide out of his mind at every opportunity. The grimoire that had hit him only served as further distraction. As the pain increased his mind swung again towards the irrational, desperately seeking a path to survival. Maybe this grimoire was a gift from the Divine Humanity, or perhaps a gift from some ancient Class Master looking for a disciple? A feeling like greed filled his heart, as he held the grimoire closer. Its power seemed to radiate through him. This was the most expensive thing he had ever touched, what a waste it would be to just die with it unused. He imagined some other scout or adventurer like him, stumbling across the skeleton of a many-tailed and a human, finding an object of unimaginable value. Perhaps they would feel pity for the corpses on the ground who they would assume had probably died fighting over the object? That is, of course, if they felt anything at all for the fallen. Some adventurers cared for nothing but themselves and profit, they would not even bury his body. Why should he die without even trying? Why should he die so another could profit? He deserved more, demanded more, wanted more.


    He had nothing to lose now. The spell template fallen to the wayside of his mind, as intrusive dreams of power played in his mind. He knew objectively, the situation or the grimoire, or both, were effecting his rationality, but again, what did it matter? He was dying, Ina was dying.


    He checked on Ina one last time, his mind sending the most pleasant thought to her he could, while his hand gripped the small metallic latch that secured the grimoire. He worried it was spelled into a locked state, but the latch came free easily. Usually such books were locked so that not just anyone could absorb the templates within. As the latch came undone, it began to leak the sort presence only the strongest of adventurers and Classed individuals would exude. It seemed to drive him further, to urge him to make the book his own. To take its strength. To own it.


    Finally, the book opened fully, and Demneh¡¯s world went white, and once again he thought of nothing.

 Chapter 6

    For the second time in the same cycle Dem found himself waking up from what he assumed would be death. Something about this was funny, but he couldn¡¯t articulate what exactly. What he did know, was that this time, everything was different from the last time. He felt no despair, though again he had no idea why, but rather he felt confident, like he was waking from a long nap after winning a battle, or after he.. with a woman.. well, he hadn¡¯t ever done that last thing, but he imagined that is how he felt now.


    He opened his eyes and began to take stock of his body, his wounds weren¡¯t healed exactly, but he had stabilized, almost as if he had naturally healed for a week. He was still in pain, but it was a dulled pain. He felt for Ina, and could sense her nearby. She was sleeping and her vitals too had stabilized, she was in no danger of dying at least.


    Like lightning, a thought struck out from his most recent memory, the Divine-Damned grimoire! It had fallen to his side, its cover closed. What had it done to him? Obviously, he should be grateful, but such things didn¡¯t happen, not even in myths and legends the Church told. This was too far-fetched. Too much for him. Why him? Why now? Who had done this? Why hadn¡¯t any beasts shown up to eat them while they were unconscious?


    His mind spiraled through possibility, after possibility, always asking himself, why? what? who? Despite the feeling of confidence he woke with, a particularly terrifying thought broke through his haze. What did they want from him? What would he have to do to repay this favor? Of course, he had no idea who ¡®they¡¯ were, or even if there was a ¡®they¡¯, but such favors did not come for free. No one he had ever met had ever gotten anything nearly so wonderful without there being a cost or strings attached. His confusion and trepidation grew by the moment


    Just as he was seemingly about to go mad, or explode, his mind reviewed the nature of his bond with Ina, something he did unconsciously fairly often. He realized something was very different about their bond. The bond was better, wider in some way he couldn¡¯t describe, but what caught this attention most was what he was receiving from Ina. She was asleep, dreaming deeply. To his knowledge, she had never had really vivid dreams, dreams of good kills, of eating until she was full, but nothing like what she was dreaming right now. In the dream she was a person, fighting back-to-back with him, speaking to him and coordinating with him. Shouting her victory as they dominated some shadowy enemy. What kind of dream was that for a giant gluttonous furball with too many tails?


    Then Dem looked in her direction for the first time since he woke up, and faltered, his mouth dropping open, his eyes wide. What had happened to her? Was this even Ina? She had ascended, but not into the realm of the calamity beast, but rather had transformed into living, breathing, beastwoman. Her back was turned to him, and she was sleeping soundly on her side, but he could see the curve of her hip, the gentle regular raising of her chest, a dark mane of hair, and the swell of her br¡­ his mind went blank again. Blood rushed to his face.


    He shook his head, trying to calm himself. Was he a child again, getting his first peek at girl undressing in the forest? He needed to get his mind on track and figure what had happened. Ina, seemed fine, more than fine really. He had never heard of a many-tailed beastwoman form, but it was possible, should a many-tailed gain enough sentience, and wish to start a tribe, it might take such a form. Generally, a beast needed to ascend past the level of a elder greater beast, and become a calamity beast, to take a beastfolk form, but even then they might need many rotations or sequences to gain the focus needed to transform.


    Beastfolk tribes were terrifying, they came to trade with human settlements occasionally, but just as often they might attack. Each tribe member would be the offspring or blood relative of some central ancestor beast, giving them a powerful bloodline and allowing them to maintain a humanoid form as a greater, or even a lesser, beast. This meant they were more intelligent, and more difficult to deal with. The advantage to these humanoid forms wasn¡¯t just increased intelligence, humanoid beasts could take on Classes, use human spell templates, and use human items. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Dem had once asked Caius why powerful calamity beasts would want to start a tribe, but the Priest had laughed a little at him, and said one word. ¡°Politics.¡± It took Dem a while to understand what Caius had meant. Dem had to look up the word, it wasn¡¯t something he would have any business knowing. He learned that what Caius was talking about was power, not the power to cast spells, but the power to move and organize people. With this new understanding, Dem could form a guess as to what Caius had meant. He guessed that calamity beasts, with a tribe backing them, were more than just a powerful beast, but they were regional power as well. They could influence human settlements, and other tribes of beastfolk, with less risk to themselves personally. A powerful adventurer party might attack a lone calamity beast, but they would falter in the face an entire of tribe of Classed humanoid beasts.


    Dem had only seen beastfolk on a handful of occasions when they had come to the settlement to trade. The settlement wouldn¡¯t let them inside the walls, but it would let them set up trading tents outside its doors. He had heard that, depending on the strength of the tribe, some settlements would be just as likely to capture or kill such beastfolk as trade with them. In the settlements, as in the Wilds, everything depended on your personal power and the power of your backing.


    A greater beast didn¡¯t suddenly turn into a beastwoman, especially a greater beast who had only recently ascended, and so Ina¡¯s current form was nearly as absurd as a grimoire falling from the sky. It had to be the grimoire, there was nothing else that would even be a possibility. He was hesitant to even touch it again. So instead, he first went through a checklist of his mental and physical state. He wondered what had been done to his Class. It was very possible that he would have nothing more than a series of damaged spell templates in his mind. As he reviewed his condition everything seemed normal, or perhaps a little better than normal, until he reached his mental list of spells and cantrips. He was again stunned at what he found.


    Everything was there, all his spells, his cantrips. Some of the spell-templates his mind held, but he hadn''t worked through, seemed totally complete in his mind, like he could cast them without having practiced them. There were even spell templates in his mind he couldn¡¯t identify. The grimoire hadn¡¯t flushed out his previous Class, leaving it mostly intact, in fact it, it had improved many of his spells. His spells before were mostly low-tier ¡®Minor¡¯ spells, but these were at least mid-tier. He could feel the greater draw they required from his Path. The Divinity-Damned grimoire had rewritten the spells held in his mind. How was that possible? What else had it done to him?


    He stood up and experienced a bout of dizziness. After leaning against a nearby trunk for a moment, Dem realized his physical condition was different. He felt a little, just a little, taller, like he was standing up straight for the first time in rotations. His limbs were a bit longer as well. He felt around, and noticed his lean body had become more defined and maybe a bit more muscular. The changes were small. Only someone who really knew him might notice, but he could simply explain it away by saying he had been training harder. He wondered if his face hand changed, or if he had grown older, or something else equally as bizarre, but he had no mirror with him.


    Looking again at the grimoire, he realized the only way to get his questions answered was to open it again and read the contents. The chances that a powerful grimoire would fall from the sky were nearly non-existent. The fact that this new Class, or whatever he had gained, was compatible with his previous Class made this situation not one of even remote probability, but rather something someone had to have been planned and executed. Perhaps by opening the grimoire, would he find out who his benefactor was, though simultaneously he knew that it might also tell him what all of this would cost him. His current paranoia was completely suppressing his previous sense of elation at living through his ordeal.


    He edged closer to the grimoire, steeling himself against being knocked unconscious a third time, and flipped the cover open with his foot. He squeezed his eyes shut waiting for darkness, or a bright light to hit him, but after waiting a long moment, nothing happened. He peeked out of one eye, taking a look around, and then at the grimoire. He could see text begin to take form on the otherwise blank first page of the grimoire. His curiosity suddenly consumed him. Desperate to understand his situation, he rushed forward to read the text as it formed. Dem had always had a weakness for a good book.

 Chapter 7

    At some point Ina woke up, yawning, stretching, just like.. well, a person. Beasts were more intelligent than regular animals by significant margin, but he had never thought of her as a person. Now she was, not only a person, but a beautiful person. He sensed her thoughts over their bond. Her thoughts were, so.. human and yet still alien. She was a little confused, perhaps a little frightened, but mostly just happy with her new form. She cast several different buffs and healing spells on herself, drawing from Dem¡¯s own spell repertoire! Their bond had advanced in some fundamental way. Using each other¡¯s spells was something his first grimoire had only mentioned as a later development, and only speculatively. Bonds developed over time, and often took different directions based on need or how they were most often used. This could be useful in the future. It wasn¡¯t likely Ina had too many spells that would help him, but he would definitely have lots of spells that could help her.


    He took a peek at her over the grimoire propped up on his lap, but quickly dropped his gaze. She needed clothes! He would have figure that out, but only after he understood more of what was going on with the both of them. Even after reading the grimoire for a while, he still knew little. The information that appeared on the page was just basic information on some of his improved spells. Or at least that is what it had given him, until a short while ago, when he had a breakthrough. He had mumbled a question, more to himself out of frustration than to the grimoire, and the grimoire had answered. It had answered. An intelligent spelled item, even one with very basic intelligence, was beyond anything he had ever learned about. It was possibly something of the core lands of the True Human Realm. Perhaps it was from some other place entirely?


    Getting over his shock quickly, he asked it a flurry of questions, but only received answers to a few, mostly related to the usage of his spells. After a series of further questions, he finally found one that the grimoire would answer that wasn¡¯t related to basic spell information.


    ¡°Where did you come from? Who made you?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Why are you here? What does your creator want?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Why was I chosen?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Did you heal Ina and I?¡±


    He stopped, utterly still, as words began to form on the page.


    Your physical state was altered to improve compatibility.


    The physical state of your companion improved through your connection with her.


    What did any of this mean? He was ¡®improved¡¯. In what ways, other than obviously physical changes, was he ¡®improved¡¯? How had he somehow brought along Ina for this ¡®improvement¡¯? The grimoire was so utterly cryptic.


    Actually, after thinking for a moment, the last part made more sense than he had initially thought. Generally, when a Beast, or its Tamer, advanced significantly, the bond boosted the other party sympathetically. He had grown stronger, and was able to survive in Wilds after Ina has ascended to a greater beast. This allowed him to surpass his natural abilities, and catch up to the abilities of the other youths of the hamlets. His peers spent most of their time improving their various Wilderness-related Paths through work and play. He could move as fast, nearly, as the fastest of them on low branchtrails, and he could sense as well as the best young hunters. If he used spells that borrowed more strength from Ina, he could perhaps surpass most, if not all, of them for a short amount of time. Tamers, compared to many other combat Classes, were generally weaker on a personal basis. The borrowing of strength, the sympathetic improvement the Tamer experienced, only served to allow the Tamer to ¡®keep-up¡¯ with their beasts and other Classers, but fundamentally the beast was the one who did the attacking, took the attacks, and did most of the work. To advance his Path, he had taken more risks than was necessary. Fights were something they had to do together, to sharpen their teamwork. This allowed him to make him greater strides in his Path, and use more spells, more often than most of his peers. It was his edge, and it had nearly cost him his life in the fight with the viper-wyrms.


    Beast Tamers generally did not control their beasts through physical prowess, but rather through the personal allegiance a Bond Beast spell laid as a foundation in the mind of the beast. Of course, it was hard to bond an unwilling beast, and so many different methods were used to entice a beast to be ¡®willing¡¯. These methods differed greatly. Some methods, like with Ina, were based on growing up together or raising a beast from a pup, others used charm spells and mental manipulation, still others borrowed the power of combat Classes to beat a beast into submission. Bonding beastfolk was where things got.. strange. It was also where most of the negativity about Tamers came from. Tamers were known to choose a very different option when bonding beastfolk, a more.. embarrassing option. His mind slid away from that topic.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    He spoke quickly, ¡°What improvements have you made to my companion and myself?¡± He could hear the anxiety in his own voice.


    Your companion advanced in tandem with you. She had advanced recently, and so was unprepared for another advancement so soon. Her advancement expressed itself differently as a result. She grew stronger, but in a different direction than her bloodline would normally dictate.


    Your improvements were different and directed specifically at compatibility with the Class held within this grimoire. Your natural talents were inadequate for the Class, and so you were changed. Your potential was inadequate for the Class, and so it was increased. New spells were added to your mindscape. Your previous spells were upgraded in various ways bringing them in-line with the Class imparted to you.


    Dem sucked in a breath. What Divinity-Damned Wilds was this beastshit? He was inadequate? He lacked potential? These were things he knew, but it was another thing to be told by a talking book. He had to admit, part of why he chased after his Tamer Class, wasn¡¯t just to make things better for himself, but rather it set him apart. When the other youths embraced the Wilderness Paths, or apprenticeships if they were from the settlement, he worked hard to buy a Class for himself, to make something of himself. He tasted bitterness, just thinking about what he had sacrificed. He had given up marrying, on friendships, on his own personal safety, all to attain that Class, and now it too was gone.


    He sighed and asked the question that had been burning in the back of his mind. It was also a question he hadn¡¯t yet asked because he was afraid of the answer. His future, his dreamed ambitions, rode on the answer to this question.


    ¡°What is this Class you¡¯ve given me? What am I now?¡±


    There was a pause, which had meant previously he was not going to get an answer. Just as his frustration was about to burst forth, the words finally materialized on the page.


    Your Class will be revealed only after you have begun your new Path.


    Was this a joke? What new Path? Paths were things you choose, they were not given to you. Was this the cost he had to pay? He had to change his entire approach to advancement to satisfy this new Class?


    ¡°What is my new Path?¡±


    He waited, but no answer came


    ***


    At some point he simply had to move on mentally, and think about the immediate future. Figuring out the grimoire would wait. He spent the better part of a cycle here, surrounded by the carcasses of dead viper-wyrms, either passed out or in utter confusion. The ¡®improved¡¯ nature of his body had allowed his constitution to, not heal him entirely, but rather shrug off the effects of the venom. His healing spells worked much better now, both on Ina and himself. Ina had advanced, at the grimoire had put it, and therefore had no problem dealing with venom¡¯s caustic effects. She also had access to seemingly all his spells and the ability to cast them, though when she did it felt like she was borrowing his own understanding of the spell to do so. He had a number of spells in his mind that he simply could not be cast though. He didn¡¯t know what they did specifically, and the grimoire was cryptic. They didn¡¯t come with labels or names. His Path, as it was currently, didn¡¯t seem to empower them to work. He had tried to channel the power of his Path into them, but the little lights in his mind¡¯s eye did not show any effect. He could only suppose whatever his new Path was would be what would make these new spells work.


    He prepared himself to leave area, stowing the grimoire away in his bag. There was a problem though, he was having difficulty leaving because he couldn¡¯t look directly at Ina. She didn¡¯t seem to care about her lack of clothing, which wasn¡¯t surprising, as only less than a cycle ago she had no need for it. Still, despite his embarrassment, he took a couple long looks at her, redness creeping up his cheeks as he did so. Was it wrong to look at your own bonded beast naked?


    She stood half a head shorter than him, her body covered with short fur, that looked even softer than her previous fur. The fur in certain ¡®areas¡¯, was shorter and paler, to the point where it became almost nonexistent. Her hair was a dark mane down her back, nearly reaching her posterior. She was curvaceous around the hips, but less so around the bust. Her legs had a jointed hock like a four-legged animal, but she seemed to have no trouble standing upright. Her arms were a bit longer than maybe they would be on the average human, but not strangely so. She could clearly still move on all fours quite easily should she need to. Her ''hands'' were actually something of a cross between a paw and a human hand. They were probably less dexterous than a human hand, but definitely stronger, with retractable claws. Her tails had grown back and she had a full seven tails now, though the secondary tails were thinner. She seemed to be able to hide them within the bushy, longer hair of her primary tail, when she wasn¡¯t using them. He didn¡¯t know if they literally disappear into her primary tail, or just entwined themselves in such a way they couldn¡¯t be seen easily.


    Her face.. her face was what reminded him she wasn¡¯t human most of all. She still had the same rounded, arrow shape to her face, but with a shortened muzzle. Little fanged incisors stuck out when her face was at rest. Her eyes were huge and luminescent. Her concentric pupils shook him on some fundamental level. He was lost in them for a moment. This was another reason it was difficult to look directly at her. It was said, that many-tailed used their eyes to charm prey, especially during a night cycle. He had to be careful for so many reasons. Everything about her made him uncomfortable and, at the same time, drew him in.

 Chapter 8

    Using his dagger, Dem stripped off pieces of his rain cloak to fashion Ina something to wear. If not for her sake, than for his own, she needed to be wearing clothes. The clothes wouldn¡¯t be much, but hopefully she would be less.. distracting. The conversation about the clothes had been awkward. Rather than speaking through the bond he tried simply talking to her. After all she was a person now, and he intended to treat her like one. He also needed to assess her level of understanding of herself and what was going on. Would she be like a child? Would he have to teach her everything? He had a lot of questions about her, and he didn¡¯t know what kind of answers she would have. Would she be a stranger now? Anxiety turned his stomach suddenly, at the thought of his life-long companion becoming a total unknown.


    ¡°Ina.. is it alright if I call you Ina?¡± It had occurred to him that she might think of herself as someone else entirely. He had given her the name Ina, but did she like the name?


    Ina had been pacing around, but stopped to look toward at him as he spoke. In turn, She tried to give some sort of response, but her voice came out as something like a growl. It wasn¡¯t really surprising she had yet to master her newly changed vocal cords.


    After a moment of listening to her try to speak, he heard from her, ¡°Y-eshh¡±. Her voice was rough at best.


    He sighed and decided to trying speaking through the bond instead. Normally, he just sent the underlying intent of what he was trying to communicate to her, but this time he sent words, not sure what he would get back from her.


    ¡°I can call you Ina, yes? How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I am well, bondmate.¡± Her inner-voice was deep and more smooth than he would have imagined.


    ¡°Huh. Would you listen to that.¡± Dem couldn¡¯t help but vocalize his surprise at her voice.


    ¡°Uh, Ina you¡¯re very well-spoken, do you know why that might be?¡± This question was a shot in dark. He couldn¡¯t decide what to ask her right away, so he went with what came to mind first.


    Her head cocked slightly to the side and she gave him a quizzical look.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been listening to you and other humans speak for many rotations. I also seem to have some memories of human speech. Perhaps these memories are a gift from my bloodline, though I can¡¯t be sure.¡±


    ¡°This is.. convenient.. Hey wait, you¡¯ve been listening to me for rotations?¡± He gaped a bit her, trying to imagine what she had overheard. If she had been listening for rotations it would have started around the time he successfully established their bond.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard you speak, but I also listen through the bond. I hear everything you hear.¡± She said said matter-of-factly.


    ¡°Everything?¡± He asked again, just to make sure he understood completely.


    ¡°Everything, bondmate.¡± Her voice was completely assured.


    ¡°Did.. did you understand much of it?¡± His voice was a bit shaky, he wondered what sort of embarrassing thing she had heard. Had she been listening while he..


    ¡°Not really at the time, but the underlying intent made it easy to remember what certain words meant. I developed a.. vocabulary, though I had no real use for it.¡±


    He supposed greater beasts remembered a lot more that he had assumed.


    ¡°Ok, well.. Ina, I need you to wear some clothes. You understand clothes I assume?¡±


    He finally managed to broach the most basic subject he needed to talk to her about.


    She once again looked, a sense of confusion coming through the bond.


    ¡°I understand clothes, bondmate, but I do not possess any clothes right now. How can I wear clothes without owning clothes?¡± Her tone changed. It suggested maybe that he was slightly touched in the head.


    ¡°Uh, yea, sorry. I will make you some alright?¡± He felt a bit silly now, that he had been worried he would have teach Ina like a child. Clearly Ina was more competent than he assumed.


    ¡°Wait! Ina, uh.. what is a bondmate?¡± He interjected with a new question, suddenly feeling very nervous.


    ¡°Why, you are, bondmate.¡± Her answer was immediate and confident.


    He felt a sheen of cold sweat begin develop all over his body. Could a bondmate be.. He needed to know what she was expecting of him.


    ¡°Ina, what does being a bondmate entail exactly?¡±


    ¡°It means you have a bond with someone.¡± Again, her answer was immediate.


    ¡°Uh.. OK, Ina. I guess I understand.¡± He needed to change the subject quickly.


    ¡°We do not need to mate in the reproductive sense, bondmate.¡± This statement from her made him choke on his own spit. He didn¡¯t have to teacher her anything it seemed.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    He spent most of his life being called a ¡®beastfucker¡¯, he didn¡¯t need to open old wounds. He scrambled to change the subject.


    ¡°Uh, yea, we need to get out of here Ina, are you OK with moving? I would like to get back home.¡±


    ¡°Of course, bondmate.¡± She said, sounding utterly calm.


    ¡°Could you not call me bondmate? You know my name right?¡± He needed to get on with this conversation, but every time she called him bondmate, it halted his thoughts completely.


    ¡°Of course, Demneh, or would you prefer Dem?¡±


    Hearing her smooth voice in his mind saying his name, was nearly as bad as being called ¡®bondmate¡¯.


    ¡°Dem is fine, Ina. Are you fine with your own name? You never got the chance to choose your name, I suppose.¡±


    He suddenly felt guilty, she never got to choose almost anything when she was a mere beast. She pretty much did what he asked most of the time. Even as a greater beast, she was always agreeable to his plans, only occasionally offering her own input via pictures through their bond. His Path was one of mutualism, of teamwork, it hurt to think maybe they hadn¡¯t really been partners in the way he had imagined.


    ¡°You did not choose your own name Dem, it was given to you, as my name was given to me. Why should I not be fine with it?¡± Her response choked him up a bit. He was glad she didn¡¯t seem to resent him.


    ¡°Thank you, Ina. So are you fine with moving out.? Going home?¡± He quizzed her.


    ¡°Yes, Dem. Though, I would like to harvest from the elder viper-wyrm.¡±


    ¡°Harvest what?¡±


    ¡°Meat.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Some things never changed. Ina still thought of food, despite everything.


    ***


    They got fairly lucky, the elder viper-wyrm, was not only a tasty treat, but also held a number of parts that had value. Ina seemed to be able to use her nose to figure out what was edible and what was venomous. It took her almost no time to butcher the carcass. She had gotten her new ¡®clothes¡¯ dirty, but used a cleaning cantrip on herself. He hadn¡¯t had to say anything to her about cleaning. It was a relief that she understood so much.


    As he waited for her to finish a quick meal, he lost himself in thought for moment, thinking about how useful Ina would be in the future. At some point though, the danger of the situation they were in, caught up to him. They needed to leave quickly.


    ¡°We need to move out soon, there will be other greater beasts coming to investigate. The scent of venom and blood will only keep them away so long before they get curious and challenge the elder beast¡¯s territory.¡± He said nervously.


    ¡°They are already on the way, Dem, but don¡¯t worry. I will protect you.¡± Ina¡¯s voice held utter conviction.


    ¡°Can we at least start moving home so we don¡¯t have to fight everything that shows up?¡± He asked, not feeling her confidence.


    ¡°We can Dem, but it will not make much of a difference.¡± She paused a moment.


    ¡°They are already nearly here.¡±


    Divinity-Damned Wilds, he had been distracted. Too distracted.


    ¡°How many are there Ina? What are they?¡±


    ¡°There are only two serious threats, Dem. A greater rubber-rhino and a greater vine ape. The great vine ape is accompanied by many lesser vine apes.¡± She said, without batting an eye.


    ¡°We need to run Ina, the rhino is too large to fight, and vine apes will surround us. Our only chance is that they fight each other while we run.¡± Dem¡¯s concern evident from his strained tone.


    Dem pulled their biggest prize from the elder viper-wyrm out of his pack. It was a beastcore, the centered of a beast¡¯s power. A physical manifestation of their bestial Path. They were used as an alchemical base, in spelled items, and in the empowering of spells. Many adventurers would wear a piece of jewelry made of beastcores strung together. It gave them a reserve of power to boost their spells at the cost of burning out the beast cores.


    ¡°Maybe if we leave this here, they will fight over it?¡± He suggested hoping that it would be enough.


    ¡°Dem, it is too late for that. They are here.¡± Her voice was still solid. Was she overconfident? Why was she so calm? Were they going to die despite everything that happened?


    ¡°I.. I don¡¯t know what to do, Ina.¡± He admitted, his voice shaky. There wasn¡¯t any time to plan, and they held no advantage. The rubber rhino would hold the ground, while the vine ape would fight them in the trees.


    Ina¡¯s claws began to extend slowly as she spoke.


    ¡°I do, Dem.¡±


    ***


    There was a rumbling, the vegetation around them shaking, the rubber-rhino was first to arrive. It was huge, twice the size of the hovel he called home, perhaps larger. It rose to a height nearly twice his own. He had always felt rubber-rhinos were particularly absurd creatures, which belied the real threat they represenated. They moved through the dense forests of the wilds by squeezing through them. Their bulk could stretch, squeeze, and bend, allowing them to move between trees that were no wider apart than the span of his arms. As the rhino beast moved it constantly brushed against the trunks of granite-trees. This process served to help build a thick, tough hide on the beast. Not only were they tough, but they were fast despite their bulk. They flowed through a forest more than they ran. They also sported a sharp, bladed horn, sprouting from their snout, which they used to chop through the dense vegetation. Sadly, they were not herbivores. Most greater beasts ascended by eating the flesh other beasts. They ate humans too of course. Ina had been right, there wasn¡¯t much chance of out-running one. Even if they were able to escape into the trees, the rhino would chase them and repeatedly ram the tree until they grew exhausted and fell out of the tree on their own. Rhino beasts were known for their stamina and patience. This beast looked particularly old too, not at the peak of greater beast like the viper-wyrm, but close to it.


    The rubber-rhino stopped, ten paces or so, from the carcass of the viper-wyrm. It took a few deep inhales of the air through its nose, probably smelling what had happened in the vicinity more so than seeing it. As it inhaled, small apes began to appear in the trees all around them. There are had to be tens of lesser vine apes appearing continually from every direction. Dem felt something was off here,  but it took him a moment to understand what was strange. The vine apes were all eerily silent. Normally apes would make quite a bit of noise, communicating challenges to each other with hoots and hollers. These vine apes seemed to be constrained, hardly moving, not daring to make a sound. Then a very large shadow seemed to materialize from the gloom of a tree to the left of the rubber-rhino. This greater ape was old as well, perhaps older than the rhino even. It was about the size of a large full grown man, but it''s flesh rippled with a completely alien musculature. Its arms were massive, each nearly as thick as Dem¡¯s chest. The rest of its Ape reminded him of a tree stump near his home. It was the same overall stout, squarish shape. Its coloring was a dark, almost black, green color, with moss and vegetation growing in its fur. As it took a moment to take in the scene, it''s eyes were black, glassy, and dead.


    The two greater beasts actually looked at each other for a moment. Something seemed to pass between them. Dem half-expected them to nod to each other like old acquaintances, but they looked an Ina and him instead.


    Then both greater beasts spoke.

 Chapter 9

    The greater beasts didn¡¯t speak in words, nor could Dem speak with them over a bond, but nevertheless he understood they were trying to communicate. The vine ape grunted and hollered, the rhino snorted and made a whining noise that was sometimes high-pitched and at other times incredibly low. Dem couldn¡¯t help but be confused, nothing was as he expected.


    It took him a moment to realize they weren¡¯t talking to him, but rather to Ina.


    ¡°Do you understand them Ina?¡± His question obvious.


    ¡°I understand some.¡±


    ¡°What are they saying? Do I even want to know?¡± He queried.


    ¡°I do not know what you want to know, Dem, but they want me to leave the carcass, the beastcore and.. you. I think they want to eat you.¡± Her voice was humorless.


    ¡°Oh, is that what they want?¡± He tried not to sound too frantic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dem. We will feast on Rhino and Ape tonight!¡± Her confidence buoyed him some, but not enough.


    Ina began to cast spells on herself, not even asking for his help.


    His thoughts, off-track, went immediately to the fact that vine ape tasted terrible, and the rhino would simultaneously be too tough and too rubbery to be good eating. He laughed at this realization, wondering if he had gone crazy.


    At the same time he laughed, Ina charged in.


    ***


    The vine ape tasted quite terrible, as he had predicted, but the rhino had a some good tender spots in its rump. It was rather delicious. Ina seemed to enjoy it all the more after Dem cooked and salted it. She made contented noises, while juices ran down her face as she ate.


    He considered what he had seen earlier. The truth was he didn¡¯t understand it at all. He knew, as a matter of his studies, beastwomen were strong, but he had never actually seen one fight. He knew they were on par with Classed Warriors and Classed Fighters, but Ina had been something else entirely.


    His only job during the fight had been to keep clear of the lesser vine apes, which mostly threw stones and branches, or occasionally tried to charge at him. He dodged most everything that needed to be dodged. With his spear, he deflected stones and branches when he couldn¡¯t dodge. Even the stones that managed to reach him, didn¡¯t seem to hurt as much as he would have expected. They still hurt some, of course, and he had plenty of bruises to show for his weak efforts. He actually killed a half-dozen of the little apes on his own, before the rest ran away. They were fairly small, only coming up to little past his knees, so his victory wasn¡¯t anything too amazing, but he definitely would have had more difficulty with so many enemies before the grimoire had changed him. He felt pretty good though, better than he usually felt after a fight.


    He hadn¡¯t managed to catch much of Ina¡¯s battle with the rhino and greater vine ape. He would have assumed one of the two would have gone after him, but apparently Ina had taken all of their attention. She went after the greater ape almost immediately, jumping twenty spans into the air to land on the same large branch it stood on. From there, he only saw a flurry of blows, blood splattering everywhere. In end, all the was left of the vine ape was a bloody sack of skin, viscera spread across a dozen trees, and blood dripping from Ina¡¯s claws. Ina seem to have a dislocated arm and a broken hand, but she hadn¡¯t stopped for even a moment before she jumped down to take on the rhino. The rhino had little to do that could help the ape, but it did buff itself with a few spells. It seemed to loom larger after the buffs. Its muscles bulged, and it charged at Ina almost the moment she touched the ground.


    At this point Dem was surrounded by lesser apes and had to charge his way out of an encirclement, dodging as he went, and skewering a particularly weak ape. He felt a spark of elation when he had killed the ape. A sudden confidence over took and he felt that everything would be fine and that he had control of the situation. He was ready to kill as many of them as it took to win. In retrospect, his feelings during the fight had been odd, and not his usual mix of fear and wariness. The Wilds punished those who were overconfident, and so he was weary of such strange feelings.


    Eventually, the lesser apes started to disperse, after realizing their leader was splattered all over. Dem looked up to see that Ina had disappeared and the rhino was charging around, bashing into trees randomly, completely enraged. It had pieces of its hide taken out in long strips, was missing an eye, and was covered in scratches. Dem watched for a moment, before realizing he should at least go up into a tree for safety. By the time he was up a nearby tree and safe, he saw Ina was balanced on top of the rhino¡¯s head, holding a big chunk of its horn in her hands. She jammed the horn-piece into its skull through its one good eye-socket. The rhino beast died right then, without further struggle. Ina was a little haggard looking, but none of her injuries were beyond his ability heal.


    After taking some time to clean themselves, they decided to see if they''d profited from their ordeal. They found yet another beastcore in the greater vine ape, though it wasn¡¯t really inside the ape when they found it, it had been tossed pretty far away actually. It was a little scuffed, but was still in reasonably good condition. The rhino held nothing of value, and was too large to harvest much from, but did taste quite good. Ina had healed nicely thanks to a combination of spells from both of them. She had set her own arm back in its socket at some point, not even asking him for help. He would have to watch her in the future. She was definitely stronger, but clearly less cautious. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Truly he was shocked at Ina¡¯s ability, but in retrospect, it was probably something similar to the power of a Classed Warrior. The strength, the power, weren¡¯t anything he had seen before personally, but were what he understood a Warrior was capable of generally. Obviously, not every Classed Warrior would likely be so strong, an apprentice, for instance, would be weaker, but Ina was assuredly powerful. He also came to the realization she had buffed herself with a variety of spells, from his collection, of course, but also some new ones he had never seen before. She actually grew a bit larger, faster, and more agile. Her claws were sharper and longer in this state. That was definitely an ancestral bloodline spell passed down to her from a many-tailed progenitor from the past. The claws of her secondary tails were as long as the span of hand when fully extended with this spell enacted. He shuddered thinking about them.


    He was a frightened of her, but didn¡¯t know what to do about it. The Wilds didn¡¯t afford much opportunity to just sit and be afraid. Tamers weren¡¯t supposed to fear their own beasts, anyway. The change to Ina was just so sudden, he hadn¡¯t yet gotten use to it, he supposed.


    She was still Ina, just judging by her messy eating. He tried to send reassurance across their bond, both for himself and her. She looked up for a moment, seemed to smile at him in a toothy sort of way, though it was hard to tell with scraps of meat all over her face, and then she quickly went back to eating. When they finished their search of the carcasses, they had moved away from the territory of the viper-wyrm. They made sure to grab a good deal of meat for the both of them. Ina had actually offered to carry him so they could move faster, but he had convinced her she could carry more meat if he moved on his own. Her gluttonous stomach had saved him from being carried around like sack of root-bulbs. He was thankful.


    ***


    After finding a place to rest and eat a meal, Ina once again kept herself clean, this time only using the cleaning cantrip spell after she had licked most of the scraps away. Would she have a problem with hairballs? He didn¡¯t know. He knew very little of beastfolk and their care. He needed to do more research, but he didn¡¯t want to arouse suspicion in the settlement. Ina going from greater beast to beastwoman in a fairly short amount of time might make some curious.


    They camped on a particularly wide branch dozens of spans off the ground. The light above, coming through the nearly transparent leaves of the highest canopy wouldn''t effect their sleep considering how tired they both were. He cast a couple different spells that would alarm them both if a beast came within a certain distance. The alarm spells didn¡¯t give them a huge advantage, but, at least, no beast would simply walk up to them while they slept. They would be awake for any fight that would happen. Generally, only a greater beast would challenge another greater beast, and so they were fairly safe. He had always tried to camp on the edges of different beast territories, where greater beasts didn¡¯t tread as often.


    He examined everything that had happened and realized they had been awake almost two whole cycles. They needed rest. Too much had happened. He still had no idea what his Class was, or even what his Path was. He felt some stirring during the fight, like he might have inadvertently advanced down his new Path in some marginal way. His previous Path still allowed him enough power to cast some of his spells, it wasn¡¯t entirely gone, but it wouldn¡¯t move him forward any more.


    He eyed her through heavily lidded eyes, and yawned out a question.


    ¡°Ina, are you going to sleep?¡±


    Ina generally needed less sleep than he did, and sometimes she would just stay awake to stand watch, but he didn¡¯t think that would happen this time.


    ¡°Yes, Dem. I am very tired.¡±


    His curiosity overtaking his sleepiness, he felt like asking a couple more questions before falling asleep.


    As he made up a ¡®bed¡¯ for himself out of the remnant of his rain cloak and his leather pack he asked, ¡°How do you feel about all of this. Your new form? Whatever happened to us back there?¡±


    ¡°I am happy that both of us are alive and well. My form is something I would have gained eventually anyway, judging by my memories. Assuming I lived long enough, Dem.¡±


    ¡°Did you want to be a beastwoman when you were in your previous form?¡± A yawn nearly forming as he asked this question.


    ¡°It hadn¡¯t occurred to me. I just knew it would eventually happen if I grew strong enough.¡±


    Dem laid down, resting his head. Her answers were so.. matter of fact. He didn¡¯t know what to expect from her.


    He yawned, ¡°I see. I¡¯m glad we are alive too Ina.¡±


    He was incredibly tired, his eyes felt heavier by the moment. Just as they were about to close, he felt something warm lay down right next to him. Suddenly, he felt a lot more awake.


    His eyes snapped open, his vision suddenly full of Ina. She had scooted right next to him, her face close to his. He could smell her musky scent, and grease from the rhino meat on her breath. Thankfully, her breathing very quickly became quite regular, and he realized she had fallen almost immediately asleep. Ina had never really been a ¡®cuddler¡¯, except when she was very young, so he wasn¡¯t sure what made her come over to him. This left him somewhat confused and uncomfortable, she was a deadly beastwoman after all. He tried to turn over, away from her, but just as he was repositioning his body, he felt an arm, then a leg, and then a tail, wrap around him, pulling him closer. Ina made smalls sounds in her sleep, as she reeled him in like a netted fish.


    He felt nervous. Something like temptation gnawed at him, but he couldn¡¯t fathom what he was tempted to do in this situation. Ina had him totally locked in, as more of her tails wrapped around his shoulders and legs. He hoped he would get to sleep eventually.

 Chapter 10

    Dem did finally fall asleep, but it took him quite a while. Ina had held onto him, just like she had done as a kit, though with considerably more strength. When he woke, he found himself in a jumbled pile of furred limbs and tails. When he went to move, she wouldn¡¯t let him go. He sent a fairly ¡®loud¡¯ message through their bond, which had woken her. Upon waking she had yawned and sprung up, not even bothering to apologize to him for the sleep she had robbed him of, or that time when she nearly smothered him. He shook his head, and tried to let it all go. He had to focus on what was before them.


    He mentally counted the work cycles in his head. Four cycles in travel, four cycles scouting, two cycles dealing with.. whatever had happened to them. Another cycle spent recovering and traveling. That left him.. four whole cycles to figure out his Class, his Path, and get ready for an entire rotation in the Wilds. Not exactly a lot of time. He hoped these women would be strong enough to protect him. He hoped they cared enough to protect him. Even with Ina¡¯s improvements, not to mention his own, a rotation and its accompanying night cycles, was a terrifying prospect. There were greater beasts who only left their dens during night cycles. Some beasts grew stronger and more vicious during night cycles. The dark period of a rotation lasted five cycles worth of time, each of these were called night cycles. Five cycles with no sun. Five cycles of free-for-all fights over territory and resources. Some greater beasts only ate during night cycles and only ate the flesh of other greater beasts. Humans were a rare treat for such beasts.


    Dem¡¯s thoughts took a darker turn, and he considered the grimoire in his bag. He had wrapped it in thick leaves, but he doubted they would prevent any sort of aura from leaking out. On the brighter side, after he had used it, it had gone dark. It no longer leaked power, it no longer looked like anything more than a used grimoire. He thought it might be be safe, but he couldn¡¯t be sure. He had no idea what would set the thing off again.


    He had to open it again, of course. He craved the knowledge it might hold. He had thought about it often in the last cycle, as they recovered and moved away from the scene of carnage they left behind. The feeling it had given him, right there at the very end, as he was about to die, was nothing like he had ever felt before. He had needed to possess it, to control it, to own it. He loved books, but he had never had an all-consuming desire for one. Just thinking of that feeling, just holding the grimoire in his hands, pulled at this rationality. Even holding it now seemed to bring back a memory of the feeling, whatever it was.


    He tried to tear his mind away from it, its temptation, and instead focused on Ina. She had always been his rock, his stable foundation. She was lazily lounging on her side, her back to him, warming herself in a rare sunny spot. She was eating some salted rhino meat he had packed away for lunch. She felt his attention and looked back at him over her shoulder, her eyes catching his. He couldn¡¯t understand her expression. Her face was new to him, beautiful in a way, but also a little terrifying. She drew him in a way that he have never experienced before. She was so strong, stronger than him, but she was also his, as he was hers. He could feel his face heat up and his emotions begin to spill over into the bond, his vision seemed to darken and narrow. Ina stood up and began to stalk closer to him, responding in some way to what she felt over the bond. The shade of the leaves overheard caused streams of light to fall upon her body randomly, highlightling the curves of her body and the way her hips moved as she..


    ¡°Dem, do you need..¡± Her voice bottomless in tone, smooth as a placid lake. Her eyes locked on him.


    The grimoire slipped out of his hands landing on the branch underneath him with a loud smacking sound, and he sprung to his feet, feeling like he had just woken from a dream. Like he had been caught doing something he shouldn¡¯t have.


    He interrupted her, ¡°No, Ina. I just need a moment. I¡¯m sorry Ina, none of this makes sense to me any more.¡± His tone was sad and apologetic.


    ¡°I am going to go for a walk.¡± He grabbed the grimoire and walked further away into the shade. She watched as he retreated, saying nothing.


    ***


    Dem was horrified. He was disgusted. He had seriously considered.. with a beastwoman.. with Ina.. If he had given in, he would be exactly what people spat at him once they learned what he had wanted to become, what Class he was now. Tamers were known for.. mingling with.. well, with the beastfolk they tamed. The Church of the Divine Humanity did not look kindly on mixing with beasts or the other races. Humans, beasts, and the other races could breed true, but in practice it was difficult. Half-breeds were rare in the human realm. Tamers were tolerated in the more chaotic outermost human kingdoms, and on the borders of the True Human Realm. They moved through places like the Wilds, on very outskirts of the borderlands, getting work as adventurers, ¡®taming¡¯ as they went.


    His Class wasn¡¯t respected. He technically could have chosen a Ranger Class that could eventually bond a single beast, but he didn¡¯t have the talent for the Wilderness Paths required to be a ranger apprentice, or the money for the far more expensive grimoire. He had instead focused his time totally on his teamwork with Ina. On buffing her with spells, on planning tactics with her. She was his best friend, and now.. now something had changed, something beyond Ina¡¯s form, something inside of him. Was he a pervert now? He had always been interested in women. Even particularly effeminate men gave him.. feelings. He remembered the first time he had met someone whose Path had pushed them towards androgyny, an Classed Actor. He had been confused for a week about what it meant.


    He had never considered spending time seeking a wife, and most people would reject a Tamer as a marriage partner. What spouse wanted to compete with a powerful beast for the attention, and perhaps for the affections, of the Tamer? Would a Tamer even want a spouse? The bond was as deep a connection as spells could provide. It was deeper than a spelled marriage ceremony conducted before an Altar of Humanity. You could share everything through it if you wanted. Not all bonds were the same of course, but the one he shared was Ina was the deepest. The spell he used was the same for any kind of Tamer bond, but the Tamer set the parameters of the spells when it was used. He had opted for as complete a bond with Ina as possible. He enjoyed teamwork with her more than he worried about the loss of control or safety that came with such a deep bond. A weak bond would have meant more safety and control for him, but less trust.


    The rumors about Tamers had colored most of his life as an adolescent. Once it became clear what he wanted for his Class, people had laughed at him behind his back and to his face. The only thing worse than being a Tamer, was being a Tamer and a woman. The rumors about women Tamers were vile and physically impossible. It had made him sick when someone had mentioned what they thought women Tamer¡¯s did with their beastmen to him as a joke. He had swore he wasn¡¯t like that. He swore he would have no interest in beastwomen, that he only needed Ina, but.. now things had changed.


    His eyes once again shifted to the grimoire. Hesitantly, he opened it. They were still far from even the furthest settlement hunter¡¯s trails. No Classed people went this way often, so it should still be safe, in the odd case something fantastic happened when he opened the grimoire.


    Of course, nothing happened. No fancy glow, or aura peeked out from in between the pages. Its previous words were still on the first page. At least he could review the rare answer he got from the grimoire. He began to formulate new questions to ask, knowing it wouldn¡¯t answer his most important question.


    ***


    ¡­ Heal Wounds does not stack with Regeneration fully. If caster uses both spells simultaneously Regeneration will only work at 50% of its potential in the area you are directing the Heal Wounds to heal. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    His current round of questions had only gotten him random technical knowledge about the spells he could currently use. Nothing about the spells he couldn¡¯t use. Not even their names, and nothing about his new Class. He needed, desperately, to figure out his Path. His Path would lead him to his Class he felt. One always found one¡¯s Path before one took on a Class, to ensure they matched well. Problematically, he had little to go on. The grimoire had told him virtually nothing.


    Frustration almost overwhelmed him. First there was almost dying, then this new Class and Path he didn¡¯t understand, and now his.. unnatural feelings. He needed to make sense of what was going on, and soon, so he could earn some gold. Gold that would get his parents to safety.


    He tried to examine everything that happened piece by piece. Why had he almost died? He had underestimated an elder greater beast. Their amazing plan had basically amounted to falling right into a trap, on purpose. In the future, Ina and he needed to make sure to never plan to do what their opponent already wanted them to do. They needed to change the game, not play the game. Was his almost dying related to the grimoire? To his Path? He launched into a flurry of new questions.


    His next series of questions added some heat to his face, as they were.. silly, but were necessary.


    ¡°Did you intend to save us?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Is my new Path related to almost dying?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Is it related to killing beasts? Being killed by beasts? Viper-wyrms?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Was I the intended recipient? Were you meant to come to me?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Were you suppose to go to someone you could save from dying?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Am I special in some way?¡±


    No answer. He didn''t want to ask the next question, but he pushed through.


    ¡°Was it because I gave up? Was it because I broke with my previous Path at the end of my life?¡±


    No answer.


    Some of these questions were hard for him to even ask. Searching for one¡¯s Path normally meant total honesty with oneself. Brutal honesty at times. This situation was far from normal.


    Round and round he went, no questions related to his situation at the moment of receiving the grimoire merited a response. His next step was just to sit down and introspect. He examined his almost dying relative to his feelings towards Ina. Did he have these feelings because they had almost died? Was he secretly afraid of dying having never touched a woman? Was he really that weak? Was it just her new form? Was he attracted to beastwomen in general?


    As near as he could tell the answer to all these questions, was no. He almost died a couple of times out in the Wilds, it was a dangerous place. None of these incidents caused him to have strange behavior or think strange thoughts. Dying a virgin was, again, a common thing in the Wilds. Lesser beasts stole children and ate them, people died every night cycle. He had nothing to be ashamed of, and he didn¡¯t believe he had ever really been ashamed of being a Tamer. He didn¡¯t like what other people said to him, but he always knew his motives were pure.. until now anyway. He had seen other beastowmen, from a distance of course, but enough to know he hadn¡¯t been particularly attracted to them. They wore less clothes than Ina wore now in some cases.


    Could he ask the grimoire personal questions about himself? Would it know?


    ¡°Am I a pervert?¡±


    No answer.


    He laughed bitterly. Tears of frustration built in his eyes. His questions were absurd, and humiliating, but he had nothing to go on. Still thinking deeply, he tried a different combination of pieces. He would try finding a connection between his new feelings and whatever the grimoire had done to him and his Path.


    ¡°Is my Path, the Path of the Pervert?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°How about Path of the Beastfucker?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°I need a hint here grimoire, anything to help me. I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Is there a connection between my Path and how I feel?¡±


    ¡°Is there a conn..¡±


    Yes.


    He had been firing questions at such a rapid fire rate, he almost hadn¡¯t noticed when it actually responded.


    He had to confirm.


    ¡°There is a connection between my new feelings and my Path.¡±


    No answer.


    Perhaps it had no way of knowing what feelings were ¡®new¡¯. So he tried again.


    ¡°Is there a connection between my Path and my current feelings.¡±


    Yes.


    He thought about this response. There was, of course, always a connection between one¡¯s Path and one¡¯s feelings. Feelings drove a person¡¯s Intent, and the Intent shaped the Path. The actions one took drove one down the Path or not. The grimoire might just be telling him something basic he already knew. He had to ask a better question.


    ¡°Which feelings are connected to my Path?¡±


    You have already been given a sample.


    ¡°When was I given this sample? What was the sample?¡±


    When you held this grimoire for the first time, and every time after.


    This was.. an answer. He felt a lot of things when he held the grimoire, both when he first saw it, and even now. Was it greed? He had desperately wanted to possess the grimoire. Was it despair?


    ¡°Is my Path one of Greed?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Is my Path one of Despair?¡±


    No answer.


    How could he define the feeling he originally had towards the grimoire? He wanted to possess it. To own it, to deny another¡¯s ownership of it even when it would have made no difference. He had opened it, taking in its spell templates and insights, just to deny someone else the chance. As he began to consider his feelings and make connections, a pit began to open in his stomach and dread crept into his mind. His new Class was compatible with a Tamer, and therefore his new Path must also be compatible with the Taming of beasts in someway. He could still power his spells with the progress he had made on his previous Path, that would only happen if everything fit together at least loosely. Something like taming, but it evoked sense possession? Of ownership?


    ¡°Is my Path one of Ownership?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Is it a Path of Possession?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Is it a Path of Wanting More?¡±


    No answer.


    There was a key word he was missing. Something that would bring all of this together into a single Path. A word that would forge a singular Intent in his mind. He was making progress, but the pit in his stomach only grew larger as he eliminated possibilities. Dread built in his heart, slowly as he tried other ideas. The answer, whatever it was, was at the core of his current issues. Did this Path apply to his feelings toward ina? Did he want to possess her? Own her? He already did, in a way. The bond went both ways though, she owned him and possessed him in equal measure. There were other kinds of bonds, slave bonds, that went one direction, but they weren¡¯t anything he had any use for. The kind of bond he had with Ina was far more effective, and helped him advance his previous Path. He almost couldn¡¯t ask..


    ¡°Is my Path.. the Path of the Slaver?¡±


    No answer.


    He signed with no small amount of relief. He abhorred slavery. It was a dark twisted mirror of the mutualism he had developed as his own Path as a Tamer.


    Did he need a list of possible Paths? A book of possible Intents? Such books existed, though looking through one to find out something one should know instinctively about one¡¯s own feelings, was silly. One found one¡¯s Path, one didn¡¯t have a Path and then have to figure it out in retrospect. His situation was bizarre at best.


    It had to be something like greed, or possessing, or wanting, or owning. Those were the most vivid feelings he had from the grimoire. They would also explain his.. urges.


    A word occurred to him, it felt silly to say, as it was almost too much, too overbearing. Something only an over-confident idiot would choose as a Path, but he asked to get it out of the way.


    ¡°Is it the Path of Domination?¡±


    The feeling of dread had peaked with the question about the Path of Slavery. He had started to relax. This question was just perfunctory. What other words did he¡­


    So begins your first step down your Path.

 Chapter 11

    Dem¡¯s thoughts raced as he tried to wrap his head around this new information. What beastshit nonsense was this? Domination? Only an idiot would pick such a Path. They would have to constantly ¡®Dominate¡¯, to move forward. It would be like picking ¡®Winning¡¯ as a Path, you would only advance when you won, but if you couldn¡¯t ¡®win¡¯ you would never advance. Problematically, you needed your Path to win at most things against other people. This was a problem with no solution. You couldn¡¯t win until you advanced, and you couldn¡¯t advance until you won. Small ¡®wins¡¯, just based on luck might help you out of the hole over time, but you¡¯d be at a disadvantage for rotations or sequences potentially.


    How could he ¡®dominate¡¯, who could he ¡®dominate¡¯? Ina and he could kill greater beasts, as they had done before, but he had felt no great surge of power when battling the apes, especially since Ina was doing most of the work. He did feeling a little strange after killing some of the lesser apes. The spark he had felt was probably from a sense of domination he felt from killing such weak lesser beasts. He had dominated his tiny portion of the battlefield. It wasn¡¯t enough though, and he wasn¡¯t a Classed Warrior, swinging an axe around, challenging all-comers. He couldn¡¯t ¡®dominate¡¯ based on arms alone. He was too poor to ¡®dominate¡¯ economically, or in any way that could be bought with money. He could probably get Ina to toy with beasts, slaughtering or torturing them only on his command, but the cruelty would twist his Path in some worse direction. His conscience wouldn¡¯t let him cause undue harm to advance his Path, anyway. He would fight those who attacked him, and hunt for food and gain, but he wouldn¡¯t hurt unnecessarily. He was no scholar that he could ¡®dominate¡¯ some field of study intellectually. He liked books, but wasn¡¯t a match, in terms of education, for most of the baker¡¯s apprentices in the settlement.


    What were other ways to Dominate? His mind skirted around one particularly embarrassing option, before finally considering it out of desperation. Could he.. dominate.. that way? He gulped, a bit of color rising to his cheeks. What was he even considering? He was no ¡®man of flowers¡¯ as the people of the Wilds called it. He was a virgin for Divinity¡¯s sake. This possibility, at least explained his feelings towards Ina. As one¡¯s Intent shapes their Path, the Path shapes the person. He instinctively tried to find a means of dominating, of advancing down his Path. Ina would be a particularly powerful choice because of her personal physical abilities compared to his. Path¡¯s advanced more quickly and more powerfully, with conflict. Surviving a deadly encounter using one¡¯s Path was worth more than simply using one¡¯s Path every cycle. Dominating a powerful being, would also be worth more.


    He needed some sort of out, some sort of loophole here.


    ¡°Is there any other Path I can take that will satisfy my Class?¡±


    No.


    Well that was swift and to the point. Normally, one could power one¡¯s Class with most any Path related to the Class. The more compatible they were though, the faster you advanced, the more spells you could use before you were tired and the greater your reservoir of power. The more advanced your Path, the more advanced your Class could be. Some powerful Classes drew so deeply, to cast certain spells, that not just any Path would do. Advancing your Path was important.


    It was like a lake. An advnaced Path was a like wide lake. A wide but shallow lake could be dipped into many times, but a deeper lake could have much larger amounts taken all at once. A person with a very advanced Path and a weak Class, was a shallow wide lake, only able to take lots of small dips out, but a person with an advanced Path and a powerful Class, would have a deep lake, that could have huge portions taken from it to power amazing spells.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I use another Path for my Class?¡±


    Your Class allows but one Path.


    You have been made compatible with that Path.


    You must follow that path.


    All of this sounded ominous. Bizarre and ominous. A Class that required only one Path. He had never heard of such a thing. Clearly the ¡®improvements¡¯ that been made to him were to further his compatibility with his Path. How could one be ¡®improved¡¯ to dominate? How could one have a Path forced on them at all? Would he suddenly feel the urge to fight every powerful person he saw? Would he want to.. ¡®dominate¡¯.. every woman he saw? Even men? This was a crazy price to pay for living. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Compelling a person to follow a Path they didn¡¯t want was.. actually not all that rare now that he thought about it. Settlement children often didn¡¯t get much say in what their future Class would be, which meant their Paths were limited in scope. Their parents decided based on what they could afford or pass down to them. It was expensive to live in the settlement, to buy land was a huge sum, and so most people rented. Parents worked hard under the constant threat of getting kicked out the settlement and having to move to the hamlets. The settlement did not harbor the homeless. ¡°Space is limited¡±, was a constant refrain from the governing body of the settlement.


    He threw another question at the cryptic book, ¡°How can I advanced my Path, what are the ways in which I can Dominate?¡±


    Your Path is best advanced through strength and violence, intellect and creativity, or charisma and control. The Path of Domination requires truly overwhelming performance to advance.


    The first part was actually something he understood pretty well. He was human and had to ¡®dominate¡¯ in a human way, which limited him to a few well worn paths. The latter statement was more confusing. Maybe it was just telling him he had to do a really good job at this domination thing for it to matter. The Path itself was overbearing, and thus required overbearing actions to advance. You couldn¡¯t dominate in a small way and expect much. For example, he couldn¡¯t just steal candy from children, or start a fight with an old man, or beat some drunks at cards, and expect to advance.


    He shook his head sadly. He was already committing petty crimes in his head to advance, he was truly in an absurd situation. He couldn¡¯t do this. He had to stop. There wasn¡¯t a solution here. He could get by with his current spells, and just fake being a Tamer for the time being. The Tower had spells for testing one¡¯s Class, and even quantifying the advancement of one¡¯s Path, but those were for adventurers and cost gold to use. He didn¡¯t have to worry about anyone finding out unless they found the grimoire. It still seemed ¡®dead¡¯ to him, but he would leave it outside the settlement in any case. His eyes shifted to the direction he had come from. He needed to get back to Ina and apologize.


    ***


    When Dem returned back to the campsite, Ina was finished eating, leaving little left for later. He supposed her new form required a lot of sustenance. She sat, clearly waiting for him to return, her shoulders a bit slumped.


    He sent through the bond, ¡°Ina. I want to apologize. My thoughts have been disordered lately, but I¡¯ve figured some things about what happened to us.¡±


    He explained about the grimoire, and a little about his Path, but he found he didn¡¯t have the words to describe the specifics, or that he was currently stuck. She had a stake in his growth, just like he had a stake in her growth. If he couldn¡¯t advance, he would forever be stuck with nothing more than mid-tier Tamer spells and whatever little he could cast from his new Class. Previously, he could have eventually bought a better grimoire for his Tamer class, or found a Beastmaster to apprentice with, but all of that was denied him now. His new Class would override virtually anything he would be able to afford judging by its strangeness.


    Ina had listened quietly and patiently as he had stumbled through everything he could explain.


    Finally, she spoke. ¡°Dem, I do not understand what is wrong. We beastfolk follow the Paths we are given through our bloodlines. You have been given a Path, and must follow it. I will help you however I can.¡±


    The last part gave him the shivers. She didn¡¯t know what she was saying of course, she didn¡¯t know what it would entail. She didn¡¯t know that she was also his most convenient step forward. Guilt twisted his guts.


    ¡°Ina we better get going. I just wanted to say I was sorry.¡± He had to keep them moving, stopping caused him to ruminate too much.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re sorry for, Dem, but moving on is fine.¡± She replied.


    ¡°I am sorry for my thoughts about.. you.¡± His embarrassment was palatable.


    She eyed him, ¡°Which thoughts, Dem?¡±


    Beastshit, he needed to change the subject.


    He coughed, and quickly said, ¡°Ina, we need to get going. I want to get home in another couple cycles at least. After that I have some work setup, if you don¡¯t mind helping with it?¡±


    She shifted her weight slightly, blinking at him. Thankfully, she allowed him to change subject.


    ¡°Will we hunt more during this work?¡± Her thoughts clearly bubbling up from her stomach.


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll find lots of tasty things to eat and we¡¯ll have some help.¡± He tried to sound convincing.


    Ina was her own person now, he couldn¡¯t command her around, not that he had before really, but still he needed to offer her something for her help. Little was freely given in the Wilds.


    ¡°I will help, Dem.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Ina¡±

 Chapter 12

    They moved very quickly through the trees by their previous standards, but Dem could tell Ina was going slowly so he could keep up. She had offered to carry him, but he had his dignity to maintain. He told her she would be able to respond to threats easier if she didn¡¯t have him in her arms. She could probably tell he was lying through the bond, but he tried to not think about it. He had gotten a bit stronger, more agile, maybe tougher, but her changes were intense. She was probably something like an elder greater beast now. Going from newly ascended to the peak of greater beast, was huge. It took most beasts an entire human lifespan to make such a jump.


    He had always loved moving through the trees. It felt safer than running on the ground. They moved from thick branch to branch along the lowest rung of branches. They were still dozens of spans above the ground, but these trees were hundreds of spans high. Even on the lower-rungs, there was a whole new world of plants growing on top of each other. A completely different set of animals lived up here, than on the ground, or in the top canopies. It was easiest to move along this bottom rung of trees because the branches were oldest and thickest here. They were often wider than he was tall. It took a dozen or so spans from where the branch met the trunk before the branch started to quickly narrow and then grow vertically upward. This offered a sort of triangle-shaped platform one could stand on, jump from, or even camp on. Branches were so close together there were spots he could step from one branch to another. Though in a few spots he had to climb up or down the main trunk to get to the next branch.


    Ina could simply jump from place to place, using her claws to latch on to whatever sort of branch she had arrived at. She was graceful, maybe too graceful. He lagged behind her, and his eyes kept unconsciously looking in her direction. It got so bad, he had landed wrong on a jump he was making and smacked, face-first, into the trunk of a tree. She had stopped and been concerned, but he had brushed himself off and kept moving. He had to think of other things. Perhaps it would be better when they got back to the hamlets or the settlement. Out here they were alone, together.. He caught his eyes wandering again towards her nimble form.


    Life had been fine, dangerous, but fine, just five or so cycles ago. Now everything was wrong. He had made some sort of bargain, unwittingly, against his will practically, and now was suffering for it. He didn¡¯t know with whom or what this bargain was struck, the grimoire was cryptic at best. Dwelling on it it did him little good.


    Grimoires were always kind of cryptic though, they were full deep ¡®insights¡¯ of Class Masters, whom were undoubtedly full of themselves. Honestly, if he were such a master there would be a lot of temptation to mess with his students by making his teachings sound mysterious or mystical. If you had worked hard enough to get to that point, you deserved to have some fun he supposed.


    After most of a cycle of travel they were more than half-way home. Eventually though they needed to stop for a rest, more precisely Ina could have probably kept going but he needed to stop. He was exhausted mentally and physically. He was used being buoyed by the advancement of his path during hunting and scouting excursions like the one they were on. The constant advancement from working together with Ina had made him feel refreshed and powerful. Now he only felt tired, despite an apparent overall increase in stamina thanks to the grimoire.


    Hopefully, everything would be uneventful for a time, while he got a grip on himself. He couldn¡¯t avoid Ina, but he also couldn¡¯t put down the sense of temptation she provided. He wanted to advance desperately, and he also.. wanted something more. He even thought about going into the woods and relieving himself somewhere. He thought it might calm him down a bit. He had, of course, done it before when he was younger and more hormonal, but now he knew Ina was paying far more attention through they bond than previously, it became too awkward to consider. He felt trapped, trapped by what he had been taught, his desires, and his conscience.


    ***


    They camped a final time. The branch he choose was a little higher up than usual. This area was controlled by a particularly nasty fighting-bird. Dem reviewed what he knew of them. They were flightless, fast, and would kick their opponents with massive force. Their feet had curved claws three times the length of his hand. If they didn¡¯t destroy you with the force of their kick, they would disembowel you with their claws. The local tyrant was a greater beast, with a small pack of lesser fighting-birds as subordinates. It was aggressive, could jump nearly to the lowest rung of branches, and could kick the trunks of trees hard enough shake prey off low-hanging branches. They weren¡¯t the sort of beast you fought against in a straight fight if you could help it. Ultimately they couldn¡¯t climb or fly, so most people just passed over them.


    As he prepared a meal of the camp rations he had bought in the settlement, using a cantrip to warm them, his mind once again began to wander to his problems. Perhaps the new work would help him sort some things out? The party could help him advance in some way maybe, or maybe he and Ina could hunt more. He could throw himself into battle and try begin to advance again by dominating battlefields as best he could. It would be risky, Ina couldn¡¯t help him much, but it was better than the alternative. Ina only had her current form a handful of cycles, and he had considered using her for his own ambitions. It was wrong. She was nearly as old as he was, a powerful fighter, and much more knowledgeable than he ever considered, but it was wrong to think of her that way.


    It occurred to him suddenly that he had implicitly assumed she would.. help him. She had said as much, but he had never told her specifically what he needed. He was so used to just directing her to do what he needed to help both of them, that he overlooked an obvious point. Would beastwomen even desire a human? He sort of doubted it. Would she do it for his sake despite that? The thought made him sad. He didn¡¯t know much about many-tailed mating habits. What little information he had read was mostly related to hunting them. Was there a ritual to perform, or was she supposed to be in heat?


    He felt yet another wave of guilt, he was still considering it, even though he knew it was wrong. Even if he threw himself into battle, it would be incredibly risky, even with Ina to save him. Taking on a beast without offensive spells or a melee Class was generally considered suicide. Tamers might help a beast in fight, but they didn¡¯t do the fighting. He didn¡¯t want to die. He had chosen not to die, and that had gotten him into this mess. He felt his resolve weaken. Maybe he could explain it to her, or find someone willing to help him for coin in the settlement?  He didn¡¯t just need to.. do it.. he had to do so dominantly. He took this to mean either he had to control what was going on, or he had to seduce someone. Maybe he could just do a really good job? What did that entail? He knew the.. mechanics.. but had no experience. Even if Ina was willing, could he do that to her? Would it be painful? He didn¡¯t want to hurt her.


    He let out a frustrated sigh. His food had gone cold.


    ***


    Dem prepared the necessary alarm spells so they could rest easy. Ina might guard them, or choose to sleep, he wasn¡¯t sure which. In her current form, she had chosen to sleep more than normally. He peeked at her, and noticed she was looking at him intently.


    He sent through the bond, ¡°Is everything alright Ina?¡±


    She was quiet for a moment, but finally spoke ¡°It is nothing, Dem.¡±


    He shrugged his shoulders and began to make a bed of leaves for himself. His leather bag, with a grimoire in it, didn¡¯t make the best pillow, but it was the best he had.


    As he lay his head down, he waited to see if Ina would join him. He didn¡¯t know how he was going to get through another period of sleep with her latched on to him. At least he knew what the uncomfortable feeling was, the last time Ina had slept next to him. It had been temptation, and this next period of rest would likely be more temptation.


    Just like he had assumed, she came to join him fairly quickly. This time though, she lay awake next to him, looking into the trees. They were less than a half a hand span apart, lying on their backs. Once again he felt drawn to her, wondering if she would do as she had done the previous cycle. He decided he couldn¡¯t take any more of the pressure that was building inside of him wondering what she might do. He decided to just talk to her for a while, hoping that it would put his mind at ease. Perhaps explaining more would make him feel less guilty. He also wanted to get know her better. They had been together so long, but there were probably many things he did not know.


    ¡°Ina.. How.. how do you feel about me?¡± His first question did not arrive smoothly, but it was an important question to him.


    ¡°You should already know, Dem.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He turned his body to face her, looking at her side-profile he asked, ¡°What do you mean Ina?¡±


    She looked his way without turning her head, ¡°You can know through the bond, Dem. You know that.¡±


    Of course he could, it was probably a stupid question from Ina¡¯s perspective. He had never really bothered to restrict much from his end of the bond. He could ¡®narrow¡¯ it in a way, and limit what came through the bond to some extent, but he had never done that. She had been a beast, why would he hide things from a beast? Especially, a beast he trusted implicitly. He had assumed though, despite his end of the bond being ¡®open¡¯ she hadn¡¯t been paying attention, when clearly she had been. For the same reason he hadn¡¯t ¡®narrowed¡¯ the bond from his side, he hadn¡¯t explored much of her end of the bond. What if¡­


    ¡°Ina is your end of our bond always wide open?¡± He asked her quickly.


    ¡°Wide open? If you mean I allow everything through, yes. You can know what I feel any time, Dem.¡±


    ¡°I know Ina, but do hold anything back? Has it a always been that way? This whole time?¡± He was a bit flabbergasted, to allow him everything, all the time, was too much. He had only done that with her because he didn¡¯t think it mattered, but clearly she assumed that was the way it was supposed to be.


    ¡°No, I hold nothing back, and yes always, all the time. Was that wrong?¡± She sounded concerned.


    ¡°Ina, can I look, into.. your emotions?¡± This felt.. intimate. He needed permission first, even if she didn¡¯t understand the point of asking.


    Usually he would only search the bond for agreement a plan he was hatching, or perhaps to ensure she was doing well. He was always looking for something specific, but this time he wanted to just dive into her feelings. Were all beasts so.. open? He supposed, when you ran on instinct, you didn¡¯t have the same filters or sense of privacy as most humans.


    ¡°Yes, Dem, you could have at any time.¡±


    He quickly opened himself up to the bond, and dove into her emotions. He imagined it like sea, which helped him visualize and understand what he felt around him. Its top most layer was serene, not a ripple. Clearly she was confident, but diving deeper he found huge currents which he imagined were her instincts and emotions. He could identify one clearly as her urge to hunt. Another particularly powerful current was her constant predatory hunger. What was he looking for here? Did he want to understand her better, or was he looking for something to give him permission to seek a satisfaction of his urges? Sadness whelmed up in him, what could he do? His sadness only seemed increase by the moment, until he realized he was drifting on a current of Ina¡¯s own sadness and confusion. He examined this current, felt it with his mind, and realized it was a reflection of his own mental state. She was feeling what he felt, and in turn his feelings were being reflected and multiplied. He suddenly wondered what other ¡®currents¡¯ were just reflections of his own?


    He began to cast about for new currents of feeling, until he found the one that he felt was a reflection of what he wanted from her. It seemed tinged with confusion, but was connected in some way with a deeper primal current. Beastshit, she must know, at least on some emotional level, what he wanted he thought. Her bloodline memories probably offered her some insights into what human men might want from beastwomen.


    He pulled back, shame infusing his face, as a tear rolled down his cheek. Some Tamer he was, it had never occurred to him to really explored his bond with Ina in this way. He had thought of it as a tool for better teamwork, for advancing his Path, but for Ina it had clearly been more. She had felt everything had felt, at least to some degree, all the time. He had sensed individual emotions from her at times, but he had been careful not to let him affect his own mental state. He had assumed she was doing the same thing.


    ¡°Ina.. I¡¯m really sorry, I had no idea, this whole time. You¡¯ve taken on all my feelings as well as your own.¡± Tears trailed down both his cheeks now, as he spoke.


    He wished he had done better.


    ¡°Dem, I don¡¯t understand entirely, but I liked having your feelings and mine mix. I felt closer to you that way.¡±


    She turn to her side to face him, and pulled him into an embrace. This one wasn¡¯t the same crushing embrace she had previously used while she slept, but rather a soft and comforting embrace. Even now, despite his guilt, she was comforting him. Her arms wrapped around him, and he felt a warm feeling rise up from within. This feeling came from Ina, but matched something he felt as well.


    He laid like that for a while, until he had calmed down, but his face grew heated. She was just so close to him right now. She held him tight against her body. He could feel.. well all of her. His mind, unconsciously drifted back to what was always on his mind. Ruining the peaceful moment, he suddenly felt curious.


    ¡°Ina.. can you tell me more about many-tailed?¡± He hoped his question sounded innocent. He hoped it was innocent.


    ¡°What do you want to know, Dem? The bloodline memories aren¡¯t very detailed, and are hazy at best areas.¡± She didn¡¯t sound perturbed. He could check through the bond, but wanted to keep asking questions.


    Beastshit, he didn¡¯t have a good question ready, he just wanted to know more.


    ¡°Uh.. Anything is fine Ina. How many tails will you have as a calamity beast?¡±


    ¡°Tails?¡± Her tails began to move around them slowly, eventually finding their way different positions around him.


    ¡°The memories aren¡¯t that specific usually, but I think my next ascension will give me nine total.¡±


    ¡°Oh, do you get two every time?¡± he asked. What else could he asked about to keep her talking?


    ¡°No, to gain more than nine requires a really significant change much later.¡±


    ¡°I see, Ina. Uh.. do you remember your parents at all?¡± He hesitantly asked.


    Was this a safe topic? Had he just walked into a beast den? Would she be angry or sad?


    ¡°Not really, Dem. I¡¯m thankful you found me though.¡±


    ¡°Are you concerned that you were left by yourself? Are you concerned about where your parents are?¡±


    ¡°Dem, I don¡¯t think many-tailed are really parents in the human sense. I was young for leaving the den, but it is often that way with beasts.¡±


    He felt his guts drop at least a span. He couldn¡¯t stop though, he wanted to know more..


    ¡°Ina.. how.. do.. many-tailed get together exactly?¡± He was real smooth wasn¡¯t he.


    Up to this point, after she had hugged him, she had been rubbing the top of his head slowly with the soft fur under her throat, but she stopped for a moment.


    ¡°Get together? Do you mean their courting ritual or their mating?¡± Her voice in his mind was the same as it had been for most of her conversations with him. It hadn¡¯t waivered in the slightest.


    ¡°Uh.. either, Ina, tell me about either.¡± He felt hot, and flustered just from asking this question.


    ¡°Oh, well when a male many-tailed courts a female many-tailed. He brings her offerings of meat, and anything else he can find that looks tasty, to her den. Sometimes he brings soft leaves to make her den more comfortable with. Sometime he brings her powerful herbs help fortify her Path and constitution. The best gifts are usually just meat, though.¡±


    She squeezed him tighter.


    ¡°If the female accepts the gifts, the male and female will have a mock battle. The female will hold pack her strength usually in proportion how much she liked the gifts. If the male is the victorious, then they mate. If the female bares kits, the male may come back to hunt food for her for a while, but many-tailed aren¡¯t meant to stay long in the den of their mother. They are born nearly at the strength of a lesser beast.¡±


    Without thinking he spouted the first thing that came to his head.


    ¡°That sounds difficult for the male.¡±


    She.. laughed. He could sense she thought this funny through the bond.


    ¡°Male many-tailed are usually weaker than female many-tailed. They are lucky to mate at all. They are also born less often than females. They may take a different mate every rotation if there are enough females around and the male is able to provide enough gifts.¡±


    He felt one her claws prick him slightly in the backside.


    ¡°The females do most of the work. The males only have to hunt a bit and then move on.¡± She actually sounded a bit stern, though through the bond he could tell she thought all this funny.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right! Ina!¡± The he felt the claw retract.


    Had she always been this playful? He didn¡¯t think he had heard her laugh before this. It was deep, and had a musical quality to it. He wanted to ask more questions, but he wasn¡¯t so forward to ask specifics of the mating process.


    ¡°Ina.. What do you think of me? W-would you like me to bring you gifts?¡± He didn¡¯t know what else to ask. So much for a Path driven by his charisma. Would this ruin their bond by making everything awkward?


    Thankfully, her voice had started to take on a dreamy quality, and he could tell she was about to fall asleep.


    ¡°Dem, you.. You smell so good! You don¡¯t have enough tails or fur, but you smell really good. You never smelled this way before. I don¡¯t know why.¡± She positioned her face to the crown of his head, and he could feel her do a slow intake of breath through her nose.


    ¡°You can bring me.. meat..any¡­¡± With that she was asleep, her breathing regular.


    He couldn¡¯t tell if this some major breakthrough, or something else. He smelled good? Really good? He need tails and fur? He could bring her meat? Did he really want to do this? Even if he couldn¡¯t do it in such a way that it helped his Path, would he want to court Ina anyway? The warm feeling in his chest, as she had held him, had been a reflection from her to him and from him to her. It had been made more powerful thanks to the bond. It was fantastic. It felt something like the contentment he had before his current troubles started, but a hundred times better.


    His mind spun in circles, and the only thing he was sure of was that, once again, he would have trouble sleeping.

 Chapter 13

    Dem actually slept more soundly than he had in recent memory. He hadn¡¯t gotten all the sleep he had wanted, but he did eventually pass out due to mental exhaustion. He felt more rested than he had a right to be. Ina had hugged him long into the night, but did not do so with crushing force, which he appreciated.


    When they woke, Ina went to hunt some breakfast while he tidied up a bit, and broke out some more camp rations for himself. She had eye¡¯d him meaningfully before she left, her tails swaying as she walked to where she would jump to the next branch. He had checked the bond wondering what that was about, but he couldn¡¯t immediately identify anything negative. Something was definitely different though. Last night they had used their bond more meaningfully than ever before. He hoped she felt as he did, that they were closer. It was embarrassing to vocalize that to her, for some reason, but he felt it was true. He felt better than he had a cycle ago, even though he hadn¡¯t really solved any of his problems. At least he had Ina, in the end. She wouldn¡¯t desert him.


    Ina returned quickly, a small bird in her mouth, insisting that he cook it. Fire was never a problem for someone with a basic set of cantrips. You didn¡¯t learn the cantrip for sparking a fire until you were old enough to be responsible with it, but most everyone could do it. Freshly cut branches took too long to start, but some of the thickest leaves could be stripped of their waxy green surface to reveal a catacombed dry interior that could be used as kindling. Dried branches were better for a sustained fire, but the ones small enough to burn were either up high still attached to the tree, or down below buried under leafy detris. Some trees were so tough it took nearly half a cycle for them to really burn well. Once you had them going they would burn for a cycle or more.


    He quickly cooked Ina a meal, making sure to season it with the rest of the salt he had available. She would alternate between eyeing the roasting bird and eyeing him. Again, it felt like she was telling him something, but he couldn¡¯t understand what it was specifically. With her it was usually related to hunger, so he tried to ignore it.


    Eventually, after a satisfying meal, they set off. Hoping, jumping, and climbing, with Ina always ahead of him.


    Not long into the journey he noticed Ina would sometimes wait a little longer for him, looking back at him, before taking her next leap. Sometimes one or two of her tails would brush against his hands and face as she climbed above him. Normally, when they moved together through the Wilds she was more focused, but he quickly began to suspect she was playing a game with him. This filled him with a kind of joy. He could only assume she must have be happy with the better connection they had made. At least she wasn¡¯t awkward with him. Though, in thinking about it, he doubted it would occur to her to feel awkward.


    These behaviors continued for nearly an eighth of a cycle. She seemed to escalate too, maybe because he was trying to ignore her or because she wanted a specific reaction. He didn¡¯t know. Occasionally, she would just stop in front of him, making him bump into her. Sometimes her tails would catch him before he actually pushed into her, other times he found his face in the mane of the her hair. Once, she reached down and pulled him onto a higher branch, all the way to a standing position right in front of her. She was very close, looking him in the eye. Too close. After an eternity, she turned around, once again brushing up against him, and leapt to the next branch. Eventually every time they stopped, even for a moment, she would crowd next to him, brushing up against him, or letting her tails tickle the back of his neck. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    It taken him a while, but it finally dawned on him she was teasing him! She had to be! Was she flirting with him? How could he know? Did he dare try using the bond? What if it was all a misunderstanding? Frustration tore through him, eating at his resolve in more ways than one. He wanted her, he finally acknowledged fully, but he still was unsure of her feelings. He almost didn¡¯t want to know. If she rejected him, he would have to bottle everything up further. He would still care for her of course, but he would have to look elsewhere.


    When they finally stopped on a wide branch for a moment to rest, they were still three quarters of a cycle from home. The frustration building inside of him, pushing him to look into their bond for something, anything. The lake of her emotions.. had waves. He ¡®tasted¡¯ these waves, and realized they were intense joy. She was so very happy, so much so it was actually affecting her otherwise steady outlook. She must really enjoying tormenting him, he thought. He was almost angry with her now. It was already so hard, knowing he needed her in so many ways now, and yet she was teasing him, making it worse.


    She was looking at him again, eyeing him with that look from before, his mind grew hot. Finally, something broke and he needed to at least talk to her.


    ¡°Ina.. you didn¡¯t answer me last night.. fully.¡±


    She turned away from him slightly, looking at him over her shoulder.


    ¡°Do you want me to bring you.. gifts? Of meat? Is there anything else you would like?¡± There was no guide for what he was doing. He had no way to make such a question sound romantic.


    She paused, and spoke in the most alluring voice he had ever heard.


    ¡°You¡¯ve brought me lots of gifts in the past, Dem. Make sure to cook them though in the future.¡±


    Did this mean what he thought it meant? He realized he didn¡¯t care anymore, if she still wanted to reject him, she could, but he needed her if she would have him.


    He moved towards her, as he did so, her tails began to sway in different directions, seemingly to beckon him forward, until he was standing over her right shoulder.


    He reaching out to touch her, to hold her, his hands lightly finding her hips.


    Then to his unending surprise she growled at him. He almost let go of her, thinking this was the rejection he feared, but her eyes and her tails told him a different story, drawing him closer. He remember what she''d told him about.. mating rituals..


    ¡°Ina, shall we battle?¡± His voice was light in her mind, barely above a whisper.


    He pulled her in tight from behind, and did his best to growl back at her. He was far beyond feeling self-conscious at this point, a heavy tense feeling clouding his mind. He could feel her hot breath as she looked at him over her shoulder. Her tails had him glued to her body, holding him tight. He seemed to be losing himself to some new instinct. His vision narrowing to only Ina.


    After a moment holding each other, he got a sudden inspiration. He began to cast several buffs on himself, as buried his face into the mane of her hair. The last spell he cast was Borrow Strength, stealing strength from her might be the only way to win the battle ahead of him.


    Finally, finished with his spells, he took his hands from her hips, and wrapped his arms all the way around her, while pushing her forward. Urgency built inside of him, as she growled at him again. He could feel her relenting to his pressure. She wasn¡¯t resisting. Perhaps their battle was already over?


    Apparently she had really liked his gifts.

 Chapter 14

    At some point later, he woke angry at himself. He was happy for the intimate time with Ina of course, and he thrilled because he had felt his Path advance, somewhere along the line of their.. He should probably just be honest with himself. Their love making? There he said it. They had sex. Why was it so hard to talk about it before? Some gate or barrier had come crashing down in his mind, and he felt freer, more relieved, but.. the things he had done.. They hadn¡¯t been meant to be hurtful, but definitely satisfied whatever requirement he felt needed for his Path of Domination. Ina, hadn¡¯t objected, and had enjoyed herself, he thought? He tried to tell himself that many-tailed mating was probably something similar. Beasts didn¡¯t mate softly, or tenderly. Usually mating between predator beasts involved blood, and more of a fight than Ina and he ha.


    He still felt some guilt. Some of the guilt was perhaps due to his indoctrination from the church, or the insults he had received growing up. Joy, guilt, and sometimes anger, seemed to come in waves as he thought through everything. Occasionally, he spared a thought for the way the bond had acted to magnify and reflect both their feelings, their urges. The bond was amazing, offering so much pleasure it would be potentially addictive. It was no wonder Tamers choose this option despite the taboo of it. He had to be careful.


    Eventually, though he decided to leave his ruminations and appreciate the beautiful beastwoman in his arms. While he had been castigating himself, and congratulating himself, in equal measure, she had woken, yawned, and turned to face him. She look him the eye for a moment, and licked the side of his face a few times, like she was grooming him. Her tails danced around them, lightly touch here and there.


    ¡°Ina..?¡± Once again he was deeply curious about what she thought, but couldn¡¯t make much sense of what he got from their bond. Her emotions seemed to work differently than his own.


    ¡°Yes, Dem?¡±


    ¡°Are you..alright? Was what we did.. fine? Was it good?¡± The first question was out of concern, but the last question was for his ego, he had to admit.


    ¡°Hhmmm, you are a good mate, Dem.¡± Her voice was surprisingly husky.


    ¡°Ah.. I¡¯m very happy then, Ina.¡±


    How could he ask this next question?


    ¡°Uh.. Ina..? Was I too rough? Are you in any pain? Was the way we did it.. fine with you?¡±


    He was dying from the awkward nature of the conversation. While he felt freer to discuss sex, he was still rather bashful about asking whether she was fine with him taking control. He also had cast a healing spell on her earlier, just in case, but he needed to know if she was alright.


    ¡°I am in no pain, Dem. You were gentle enough, more gentle than my bloodline memories indicated for a first round of mating.¡± Her voice had some humor in it as she said this.


    ¡°That is great Ina, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re well, but.. ah.. your memories? Wait, f-first round of m-mating?¡± His voice sounded utterly baffled.


    She drew him a bit closer.


    ¡°Yes, after the first time two many-tailed mate, the female then instigates another mating session. The female tastes a bit of the blood of the male, which pushes her into a frenzy and makes her more fertile.¡± Her hands moved to my shoulders, and I could feel her begin to lean her weight on me.


    ¡°Oh! Uh.. I see Ina. So the first round is.. just to get things started?¡± He would have to be stupid not to know where this was going..Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°Yes, it is mostly for the sake of the male. Male many-taileds are proud. They want their gifts to mean something.¡± She rolled him onto his back, her hips stretching to straddle him.


    She spoke again, ¡°I don¡¯t know how you humans put up with being in heat all the time as you are.¡± He could feel the claw of one her tails scratch him lightly the chest, leaving the faintest trail of blood.


    He suddenly felt very worried.


    ¡°In heat? All the time?¡± He asked as she brought the claw to her mouth, tasting the very tip with her tongue.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand it, but your feelings are affecting me constantly. I can feel a kind of heat from you through the bond. This new form of mine.. it also seems to be.. ready at any time. Many-taileds usually go into heat every four or five rotations. It lasts only a few cycles, but between you and this form.. well, I feel it all the time.¡± Her hands on his shoulders pushed him flat on his back, and she bent over him, rubbing the her face against his.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry Ina, maybe we can work together to close the bond little bit on your end, so it doesn¡¯t affect you as much.¡± His mind had grown pretty hazy at this point.


    ¡°No, Dem, I think I like it this way.¡± She purred this into his ear in a low tone, giving another grooming lick up the side of his face.


    He cast a stamina spell on himself, and one to toughen his body slightly for good measure. Perhaps he should cast a preemptive healing spell? Maybe he needed to Borrow Strength? He decided to ask her.


    ¡°Ina can I cast¡­¡±


    She stopped him mid-sentence, silencing him with a tail moving in front of his mouth.


    She looked him in the eye, and spoke slowly.


    ¡°It is my turn now.¡±


    ***


    Their journey home took an extra cycle. After Ina had her round, she had claimed there was supposed to be a third round, though he didn¡¯t think she had gotten this from one her memories. The third round had no owner, or winner. It was something of a draw. He had used his stamina spells to the point where it would take a couple cycles before they would have any meaningful effect on him again. Using the same kind of spell on yourself built a buffer of immunity as the spell overlapped in its effects with itself and other similar spells.


    They had burnt an entire cycle on their.. mating ritual. Just saying such a thing, even to just himself, still brought a bit of color to his face. He could probably get an idea of what his Class was now that he had really begun to advance on his Path. He didn¡¯t have the time though, he needed to get back and provision for another long excursion out into the Wilds. He needed to meet the party that was hiring him. Whatever benefits or problems his new Class would bring, he still needed gold to help his parents.


    They hurried as fast as they could. He even let Ina carry him for difficult portions of the journey. He held onto her back as she climbed. Holding on to her so closely had nearly led to another round of ¡®battle¡¯ between them, but he stressed they needed to get home.


    Ina, in her current form, would be an oddity, and anyone who knew him well would be amazed at her change, but he could probably explain it away as a freak occurrence due to her eating a particularly powerful herb or beastcore. She was worth a lot more now, beastfolk slaves went for a premium, and so someone might try to take her from him. He asked her to stay out of sight, high-up in the trees near his home.


    He hadn¡¯t brought her into the settlement since she was a kit. At first she was a source of interest for the other children of the hamlets, and even the children of the settlement. Eventually though, as they got a little older they realized he wasn¡¯t going to sell her, and was intending to raise her. There was some jealousy, he was sure. The parents of one of the children, he didn¡¯t know which, had gotten wind of what he was doing and explained what direction it likely meant for him later in life. The insults started then, and so he eventually started leaving her at home. He withdrew from the other children, and instead began focusing on what he wanted to do in the future.


    He avoided stopping home. He would stop to see his parents before he left with the party, maybe he could leave them some silver. The two beastcores he brought back would pay for clothes for Ina, and the provisions he needed. Ina also stored away the grimoire for him, high in the trees, wrapped in a bundle of leaves. It would be safe up there, hopefully. No one had any reason to be in the trees above his home but Ina. They weren¡¯t part of the most popular branchtrails people used, nor was his home near any of the main groundtrails.

 Chapter 15

    As the walls of the settlement once again rose ahead in his vision, he used a cantrip to clean himself. It wasn¡¯t quite the same thing as washing with water, but it definitely helped quite a bit. He smelled much less like he had been rolling around with a many-tailed at least. He also considered buying some new clothes. The beast-leather pants and the woven-fiber shirt he wore were both in poor condition do to combination of his run-ins with greater beasts and his ¡®battles¡¯ with a particular beastwoman. His rain cloak was in tatters. He definitely needed to update his wardrobe. Appearances mattered, even for a man from the hamlets, and he needed to impress this party he was helping.


    The line at the towering entrance doors wasn¡¯t long. He noticed he had gotten a few odd looks from those waiting. Their lingering gazes were unusual, normally most people would hardly notice him. Perhaps, his clothes were tattered enough to be remarkable. He was thankful he didn¡¯t feel anything particularly alarming about the women in line, or the men for that matter. It looked like his Path was more discerning than simply wanting to dominate everyone.


    ¡°State your business.¡± Said a different, but equally recognizable guard, as the last time he entered the settlement. He recognized every guard who was given this duty generally, but they seemed to forget him until he showed them his badge.


    ¡°I have come to sell, buy, and seek my business partners.¡±


    This time was a little different, as the guard looked at him, his eyebrow raising slightly.


    ¡°You.. I think I know you.¡± Said the guard.


    This was highly unusual, but he pulled out his badge quickly showing it to the confused guard.


    The guard barely looked at it, still looking at him, and finally waved him through the doors. No snickers or comments followed him as he entered the perpetually loud settlement. He didn¡¯t know what was different this time, but he let the oddity leave his mind as the noise of the settlement filled his ears. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t as loud this time as the last time he had entered the settlement. He just so happened to be entering during a period of rest.


    Most work cycles were split into eighths or sixteenths generally. Work took up nearly five eighths of the cycle. Sleep only two, if you were lucky. The rest for meals. Most of the loudest work in the settlement, like smithing, was organized on the same schedule to allow a period of relative quiet for sleep. This unending schedule was made possible by cantrips and spells that improved stamina, so fines were always being levied against those who tried to work loudly through portion of the cycle for resting. Hawkers would whisper their wares to you as walked by during these resting periods. He always appreciated entering the settlement during a time of rest, but now with his hearing the way it was, it was still loud. He needed to get better at tuning it out.


    Without meaning to, he found himself near the church again. He had been away some time, checking on the Priest was only natural. He opened the creaking gate, and climbed the polished granite-tree steps, to enter the church''s vestibule. He took off his boots, leaving them in a side storage alcove set aside for such things.


    As he paded forward, he came to the first threshold, and got down on his knees, to prostrate himself before the Effigy and Altar of Divine Humanity. It was always a tedious process coming here. He felt nothing special for the place, but still went through the motions to keep up appearances, and because the ceremony had been drilled into him unendingly as a child. If you wanted the knowledge that Caius offered, you had to at least pretend to be a devotee. If you wanted healing, or any other services the church offered, it was the same. Whether you were an adventurer, a settlement leader, or some lowly child from the hamlets, if you wanted something from the church you groveled.


    Finally, after making his way past a couple more thresholds that held specific symbolic meaning he couldn¡¯t remember, he arrived at a small side door which belonged to a very rotund man. He didn¡¯t know how old Caius was, but he knew the church pre-dated him by some time because if they had built it with him in mind the doors would be much wider.


    He knocked once and entered the small office quickly. The knocking was out of habit, he didn¡¯t really need to. Caius was usually well into his wine-skin at this point in the cycle and wouldn¡¯t care either way.


    The Priest was faced away from, sitting in favorite chair. Light streamed through the window. Caius, at least, wouldn¡¯t usually drink in total darkness.


    ¡°Old Priest! Do you still live?¡± Dem said, his voice booming.


    ¡°I can hear you boy, no need to yell.¡± Caius''s voice was like gravel.


    ¡°Oh! I assumed your hearing was starting to go, what with your advanced age and all¡± Dem retorted.


    ¡°Boy, I ain¡¯t so old, that I can¡¯t discipline you like I used to. hhHRRYKK!¡± spouted Caius, finishing his sentence with a loud belch.


    ¡°Old Priest, you never disciplined me once. You couldn¡¯t catch me.¡± Dem laughed.


    After exchanging their ritual greetings, the Old Priest looked away from his wine-skin and towards Dem''s direction. Dem could see surprise light on Caius¡¯s old face, and then concern begin to knit his brow.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°Boy! What have you done?¡± Caius''s voice was suddenly loud for such a small room.


    A feeling of being exposed flashed through Dem. Did Caius know what he had done with Ina? It was against the doctrine, but out here in the Wild, no one, not even Caius, would bother to punish him. What could Caius know just by looking at him? Could Caius tell what Path a man walked by sight alone? Did Caius know his Class even when he did not?


    ¡°Caius, what are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand.¡± Dem tried to make his voice sound firm, so as not to betray his sudden nervousness.


    ¡°Boy, you¡¯re different, your.. Path is different. Tell me what you¡¯ve been doing? Wait, something else is different, you.. you¡­¡± Caius¡¯s eyes went wide, and he gasped loudly.


    ¡°You found a woman haven¡¯t you boy? Aha, ha!¡± Caius''s face suddenly broke into a grin. Laughing boisterously at his own trickery.


    Dem responded, ¡°Uh.. something like that Caius. There have been some changes, and I did meet someone new.¡± Dem wasn¡¯t exactly lying. There were changes, and Ina¡¯s form was basically a new person, right?


    ¡°That is good, boy. Your previous Path set you moving away from your human brothers and sisters, towards a life relying only on beasts! Perhaps, now you will settle down and stop stealing my books.¡± His voice was jovial.


    ¡°How.. how did you know?¡± Dem asked after a pause, wondering what was different about him.


    Caius stood up from his chair, and moved his bulk closer. Caius eyed the him, and rubbed the white stubble on his first and second chins thoughtfully.


    ¡°You look different boy, hmm. Something like a glamor? There is a spell involved, but I can¡¯t identify it. This sort of cosmetic spell isn¡¯t something I would have need of, I¡¯m already so handsome you see.¡± Caius once again laughed at his own joke uproariously.


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to look good for the ladies, eh?¡± Caius spit wine with this last sentence.


    ¡°Ah, I see Caius. Yes, someone made an improvement, I guess.¡± said Dem.


    ¡°Perhaps an older woman boy? With money? That is the best kind!¡± Caius burst out at him, with another chuckle.


    ¡°Well, Caius, I was just checking on you. I will be gone for a while after this. I¡¯m going with a party and we¡¯ll be out through a rotation.¡± Hopefully Caius wouldn¡¯t ask him more questions.


    ¡°I see, boy. Be careful. Always look after your own skin first when with an adventurer party. They will be doing the same. Good luck, and may the Divinity be what you need when you need it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Caius, hopefully you won¡¯t have died of old age by the time I get back.¡±


    ¡°Not a chance boy. I have a few rotations left in me, at least until the wine runs out anyway. Ha!¡±


    Dem made his last farewells, and left the church. Thankfully, leaving didn¡¯t require the same ceremony entering did.


    ***


    The interaction with Caius had been a close thing. Caius probably suspected something more had happened, but he tactfully hadn¡¯t asked. Caius wouldn¡¯t usually ask a question if he thought you were going to lie to him.


    Dem needed to look at himself in a mirror, and get some new clothes, but first he needed to sell the lesser of his two beastcores. The core from the ape was decent, but still far inferior to the one from the elder viper-wyrm. He would sell the latter to Greer, which would make her happy. The former he would sell in the market as quickly as possible to pay for his new clothes.


    ***


    Dem made his way to a shop that sold clothes, his leather bag was bit heavier than before. It jingled with the sound of coin. He had gotten fifty silver for the ape beastcore. A smile light his face. It had been better than he had originally thought. He looked forward to what he would get for the vipper-wyrm core.


    The clothing shop he chose was a little higher-end that he usually shopped in, but he knew this one had a nice full length mirror. As he entered, he got more looks from both customers and staff. Some seemed concerned, other''s lingered oddly as they peered at him. He really needed to see what was different about himself. All this attention was unusual.


    First he found a clerk to help him. The clerk was a tall man with a bushy mustache, wearing a supple leather vest and tight pants.


    ¡°How can I help you.. young man?¡± The tall man''s voice was curious.


    ¡°I need a new pair of pants, two more sturdy shirts like this one, and good rain cloak. I.. uh.. also need some clothes for a woman.¡± The last part he almost forgot.


    ¡°For a woman? Is she with you? What are her sizes?¡± The clerk asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°No, she isn¡¯t with me, but do you have anything that would be easy to adjust. I can show you how tall she is, and.. uh.. I can show you about how wide her waist and hips are.¡±


    ¡°Hhmm, we do have some adjustable clothes. This would be for wearing around the settlement or for.. adventuring?¡± He looked me up and down after this last question.


    ¡°Yes, adventuring, something close to the skin, so it doesn¡¯t snag if you can.¡±


    The tall clerk smiled, ¡°Close to the skin you say? This must be a good friend of yours?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well.. yes. You could say that.¡±


    ¡°We have a leather bustier, meant to be fairly functional, and very adjustable. It usually worn under armor, but it would work for frontline fighting classes in the Wilds. It won¡¯t offer much protection, but it is very functional. Does she need undergarments? Boots?¡±


    ¡°No, uh.. she has boots already, but as for undergarments, I don¡¯t really know.¡±


    They wouldn¡¯t have boots for pawed feet, would they?


    The man laughed at him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry young man, I won¡¯t ask. We can get her some soft-fiber undergarments, and since you don¡¯t know her measurements, some adjustable leather pants. It will cost a bit more. The pants are designed for adventurers who use physical transformation spells.¡±


    ¡°Ah, could you cut off the bottoms portion around the calves?¡±


    He looked at him suspiciously again, ¡°We can boy, but we won¡¯t discount them. All of this will be costly, too. You¡¯re asking for clothes for adventurers.¡±


    ¡°I have money, no need to worry.¡± Dem shook his bag so it jingled.


    ¡°Alright, let us get started.¡± The man replied.

 Chapter 16

    Using a few cantrips the clerks were able to get Dem''s measurements, and quickly tailor some clothing to fit him. The tall clerk had given him lots of advice about what would look good on him. He gratefully accepted all of it. The clothing he was left to try on was.. also rather tight, clearly meant to show off his tall figure. He never considered himself handsome. He had always been a little taller than the rest of the boys from the hamlets, and he was even taller than some of the boys from the settlement despite their better diets. His dark hair was fairly straight, and was usually hacked short, so it hung no lower than his ears. Long hair would get caught on something in the Wilds. His eyes were a dark blue, uncommon he knew, but other than that he always been fairly unremarkable. His face was neither the wispy, fine-boned thinness of the other boys from the hamlets, nor the stocky square of the boys from the settlement, but some combination of both.


    Finally looking at himself in the mirror, wearing a very smart set of new clothes, he realized he was changed, but.. not by much?


    He was a tad taller, more muscular certainly, but his face hadn¡¯t changed much. It was more.. symmetrical? Maybe his cheek bones were a bit higher? His nose a bit more straight? His eyes were the same, though they seemed to flash brighter occasionally. His hair was getting a little long. He wondered why such small changes had merited people noticing him more.


    He considered what Caius had said, that he had a glamor spell on him of some kind. Such spells were used by Classes that relied on illusions or personal appearance, not Tamers. He wasn¡¯t going to charm a beast with his blue eyes, that was for sure. It had to be something to do with his new Class, but what it meant, was a mystery. Was this an ¡®improvement¡¯ made on him by the grimoire or a passive spell that his Path would fuel all the time? Some Classes had passive spells working all the time, like fire resistance for a fire-based offensive spell-castor, or spells that gave more durability and toughness for a front line fighter Class.


    Either way, he looked good enough, he thought. Greer would tease him, but she would be silenced by the beastcore he intended to sell her. Selling the ape core to a non-tower middle-man, had probably cost him five silver standards or more, but it was worth it to buy these clothes and make an impression on the people was meeting. He hoped Ina liked the clothing he''d bought her, they had been more expensive than even his clothes. He had used up nearly half of all the silver he had on just clothes. He day-dreamed a little about what Ina would look like in something other than ragged strips of his cloak. Perhaps this would count as a gift? His thoughts led down a particular track.. but he stopped himself. Red shame lit his face, which he quickly repressed. He reminded himself that it didn¡¯t matter what other people thought, not that they knew what he''d been up to anyway.


    He paid for the clothes and left the store, mentally preparing himself for potentially meeting his new employers and dealing with Greer. It was possible they had been delayed in reaching the settlement and he would be left waiting, but that would be helpful in a way. He could use the time to consult with the grimoire and maybe.. spend some time with Ina? He didn¡¯t know if she could return his feelings quite the same way a human would, her mind clearly worked differently. His emotions were more like a river, moving constantly, but her emotions were more like a lake with an undercurrent. He didn¡¯t know what this meant exactly in terms of a difference in their mentality, but his conversations with her had definitely been more.. calm than they should have been. Perhaps, her confidence as a predator let her shrug off things that he or another human would worry about constantly.


    He made his way towards the tower, the time of rest was nearly over, and the sounds of the settlement were increasing. The illusionary facades of a many of the most expensive shops began to spring to life. Like the clothing shop he was just in, most of these shops had people buying at all times of the cycle, and so settlement shop clerks worked in shifts to make sure someone was always around to make sales and help customers. There weren¡¯t many people on the streets, but he still turned some heads as he went by. He would needed to get used to being looked at more. There wasn¡¯t much he could do about it.


    He entered through his usual side door and found the appropriate office space. Noticing Greer wasn¡¯t at her desk, he sat down to wait in one of the many rickety wooden chairs that littered the place. He thought about what she would say, and what she might be doing. She might very well be sleeping still, or meeting with his new employers.


    In the end, he didn¡¯t wait long before she entered from a door in the back of the large office. She sat down at her desk with a sigh and began looking around the room. Dem began to walk towards her, her eyes only resting on him briefly before moving on, and then suddenly coming back to him.


    ¡°Dem? You came back at just the right time, the party is here! Wait, you.. you look different?¡± Her voice was higher than he remembered.


    ¡°I am fine, just got a lot of training in while I was gone. I advanced a lot.¡± Dem did his best to sound calm.


    ¡°I see. You didn¡¯t eat anything rare did you? If you found something good, you shouldn¡¯t have eaten it, you should have sold it to me so that I could ha¡­ I mean so I could resell it of course.¡± He had never seen her so flustered before. It was nice to be on the offensive with her for once. Her eyes kept avoiding his gaze, she would hardly look at him.


    ¡°You definitely ate something good! Look at those clothes too! Now you¡¯ve got your Class, you¡¯re spending your silver on such frivolous items?¡± She lectured him about money for another short while, before finally realizing there was business to be done.


    ¡°Your employers are here! They are upstairs. I will take you up to see them in a short while, but first you must tell me what happened.¡± She was starting to sound more like her usual self, someone who valued money before anything else.


    His smile broaden when he remember what business he had with her, ¡°Nothing, just a lot training and some good hunting. That reminds me, I need to sell a beastcore to you before we go up.¡±


    ¡°Alright, lets see what you¡¯ve got.¡± She said in a low voice, raising her eyebrow at him and smiling.


    He pulled out the beastcore and set it down on her desk confidently.


    Her face turned seriously quickly, and she furiously cast a number of cantrips on it he couldn¡¯t identify.


    ¡°This is a elder snake-beast core? Its one of the better cores I¡¯ve seen below the calamity level. It is worth..¡± She consulted a chart on her desk.


    ¡°Nearly two gold standards, minus my fee of course, I think.¡± She didn¡¯t sound completely confident.


    ¡°You think?¡±


    ¡°I will get the resident beastcore expert to evaluate it. Something like this may have a special property or use, that would increase its price. The evaluation fee will come out of your portion, of course.¡± She said all of this with a slight smile.


    ¡°A fee, I see. Of course there would be a fee.¡± His voice held no surprise.


    ¡°Can you tell me what beast this came from?¡±


    ¡°An elder viper-wyrm.¡± He said cautiously


    ¡°Those are nasty aren¡¯t they? How did you kill it?¡± her voice once again going high.


    ¡°We just played a little trick, and Ina made short work of it.¡± His voice sounded confident, he thought.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°That is impressive. You are sure you didn¡¯t eat any interesting looking fruit or some important part of the snake beast?¡± She looked at him suspiciously.


    ¡°No, Greer, I did not. Can we meet my employers now?¡± He tried to keep his voice neutral.


    ¡°I¡¯m no longer ma¡¯am am I? Where is the polite the Demneh I once knew. He was a good boy. Fine, we will go up. I hope you¡¯re more respectful to these ladies than you¡¯ve been to me this cycle. They will not take disrespect as kindly as I do, even if you are a bit more handsome.¡±


    She launched into another lecture as they walked toward the spelled lifting platform that would bring them up the tower. He had been on some of the lower tower floors before to meet his amateur adventurer clients in the past, but he thought they would be going much higher up this time.


    ***


    As they rode the lift up, they were alone. She moved closer to him slightly, grabbing on to his upper bicep.


    ¡°Dem, I.. I think I can get a place for your parents in the settlement after you finish this job.¡± Her voice was a little off its usual confidence.


    She was starting some sort of negotiation. She knew what he wanted, what most people in the hamlets wanted. Safety. She wouldn¡¯t mention something she he wanted unless she had something she needed him to do or something she wanted.


    ¡°That would be great Greer, ma¡¯am, but what would I need to do for you to negotiate on my behalf?¡± His voice was a little wary.


    She knew, as he did, that if he went to a landlord in the settlement, they would charge him more. People didn¡¯t want to live next to anyone who had lived in the hamlets. The bias against people living outside the walls was pretty much absolute. The people of the settlements worked hard so as to never be sent out into the hamlets. Having a living reminder of what might happen to them, as a neighbor, would be painful, maybe even insulting.


    ¡°Well, you see. I could find them a nice little place, just the right size for two, but you would have to live elsewhere. I.. have decent home, and just so happen to have an extra room I could rent to you, once you get back of course.¡± Her faced was bit flushed when she said this, her eyes gazing moving up and down his body.


    He choked a little, nearly coughing out loud, when he realized what this was about. His Path or Class or whatever, had done something more serious to him than he had thought if he could melt the heart of the single greatest money-grubber he knew. Though, looking at her face, it wasn¡¯t her heart that drew her to him.


    She wasn¡¯t unattractive, and certainly when he was younger he was flattered she paid attention to him. He actually had little fantasies about her when he hit puberty, but of course had quickly rejected those fantasies, and adopted the professional, haggling mindset she had taught him. A mindset she no longer possessed apparently.


    She noticed him hesitating and decided to continue her pitch. Her hand on his arm slid further down, caressing him lightly.


    ¡°Dem, I had been waiting until you were a bit older and were able to afford it, before I offered. Living in the settlement isn¡¯t cheap, as you know. Now you have the potential to earn enough to take care of yourself and your parents. So what do you think?¡±


    The lift had ended at the floor she had intended, but she pulled him into an alcove in the deserted hallway right outside the lift. They sat on a small bench, less than a span from each other. They weren¡¯t at the top of the tower, but much further up than he had ever been before.


    He considered her proposal. Was this always her intention? Did this she mean that she had been grooming him? He felt a little disgusted with himself for considering it. He wouldn¡¯t be the first young person from the hamlets to trade security for their body. He had never thought it would happen to him though.


    If she weren¡¯t touching him so casually, he would have assumed there was something else she wanted from him, but she had never touched him before, and certainly not like this. Ten cycles ago, he might have taken her up on her offer after only a little consideration for his dignity. His parents came first, and if it meant entertaining an older woman, to keep them safe, he would have done it. Problematically, things had changed. He needed to speak with Ina and figure out what was going on with him before he could live in the settlement, even if only occasionally. Greer clearly expected him to keep working, so he couldn¡¯t just give up his life and become her pet? Her kept man? Her house boy?


    How should he respond? Something about this situation felt like an opportunity beyond just what she was offering. There was an opportunity for his Path here, he felt it. How could be dominate? He decided to lean into the situation, and hope he didn¡¯t come off as too awkward. Greer could really help him, and he had to take this offer seriously, but his Path was pushing him to.. play.. with the situation a bit.


    He turned towards her, looking her in the eye. Her eyes held a slightly worried, yet calculating look in them. She seemed to be expecting something of a counter-offer. Everything was a negotiation with her, even trying to woo a younger man.


    He positioned his body towards he, allow his arm to brush against her bust. The softness of he had ¡®accidentally¡¯ touched almost making him blush. A blush would have given the game away, but he had kept himself in check. He was running on instinct and quick thinking. It was a kind of rush.


    ¡°Greer, are you.. What would you like me to do for you in return? Nothing is free in the settlement.¡± His voice was the best approximation of husky as he could make it. He decided to play coy for little while.


    He spoke again quickly, not letting her get a word in, ¡°Perhaps some gardening? Some light chores around your home? Or do you have a beast you need me to tame?¡± He said all of this as suggestively as possible. That last line had almost made him laugh, but he kept his performance going without letting it show.


    ¡°Dem.. I..¡± Her voice was a bit breathless, her face entirely red.


    Was this actually working? Something about toying with her, trying to get her to reveal her desires completely, was advancing his Path. This was unbelievable. Demneh, the most awkward boy from the hamlets, had to woo women to advance. The absurdity of it was astounding.


    He waited for her reply, figuring the time waiting would push her over the edge. To his surprise, her response was more powerful than he would have guessed. She kissed him, hard, on the lips, her tongue almost immediately delving into his mouth.


    Perhaps his flirting had not been a good idea. This was not what he was expecting. The kissing was good? He supposed she must be a good kisser, though he had no experience to judge go by. Ina didn¡¯t not kiss him, and could not kiss him, in the same way. He was a bit confused. Perhaps this was a sort of counter-attack on her part.


    He closed his arms around her shoulders, drawing her closer, pressing her flesh to his. He slowly broke off the kiss, and whispered in her ear in a husky tone.


    ¡°Greer, Why don¡¯t we get the business at hand done, and then when I get back we can.. ¡®negotiate¡¯ more? In the meantime¡­¡± He began to stroke her back, tracing her spine. She shivered in response.


    ¡°I hope you can begin to find a place for my parents.¡±


    She spoke, her voice shaky, ¡°I will work on it while you¡¯re gone.¡±


    ¡°Good. Good. Work hard, and I will work hard for you.¡± The implication clear, as he brushed his lips along the outer edge of her ear lobe. Ina loved it when he had done something similar.


    ¡°There is someone coming down the hall in a moment, do you want them to see us like this?¡± He teased her one last time.


    ¡°No, no, we shouldn¡¯t be caught here like this.¡± Her vision seemed to clear a bit and she got a hold of herself. He slowly unwrapped his arms and drew back, giving her his best smile.


    She mumbled to him, ¡°I don¡¯t know what came over me..when did you get so..¡± Her confusion was obvious, but he couldn¡¯t afford to tell her anything. They had know each other a long time, but he had never met anyone so interested in money as her. His secrets could be worth a huge sum to the right person.


    ¡°I will do as you ask, just come back. I will be looking forward to it.¡± She had started to sound professional again, thankfully.


    This had been, perhaps, the best negotiation he had ever had with her. If she could get a place set aside for his parents, getting documentation for his parents as citizens of the settlement would just be a matter of more money and a little paperwork. He could already legally reside in the settlement as a freelancer for the Guild, but he would never do so without his parents. Greer had helped him with the paperwork for being a freelancer, for a fee of course.


    ¡°I look forward to it too.¡± He gave her a peck on the cheek, to seal the deal.


    ¡°Shall we go meet them?¡± He kept his tone light.


    ¡°Y-yes. They are resting in a lounge, they will stay her another half cycle to get some sleep before setting out.¡±


    He stood, helping Greer to stand, as her legs were a bit unsteady. He smoothed his ruffled clothes, her hands had been busy while she was kissing him. Her reaction couldn¡¯t be just from his amateur kissing ability. What caused this effect? What had he become? Where would it lead?

 Chapter 17

    They entered a fairly luxurious lobby, certainly one of the nicest rooms he had ever been in. What amazed him was this was not even the top of the tower, there were better rooms above him. Rooms in this portion of the tower might cost silver every work cycle to rent! This would quickly add up to gold. It was hard for him to imagine throwing away such wealth on just shelter.


    A gold standard was something like two hundred and fifty silver standards this far out from the True Human Realm. He had been told, as you approached the core of the human realm, gold decreased in value relative to silver. How much the ratio decreased, he did not know. Greer had told him the differential was because adventurers who came this way tended to buy with silver but take gold back with them. One would think it would be the opposite, that adventurers would want to spend gold here since its relative value was greater, but there was little to spend it on this far from real civilization. Most of what was produced here were raw materials, no finished products. Nearly everything of note was shipped back to the human realm. Some of the smarter adventurers would, of course, receive gold for whatever they found, and change it to silver to bring back with them, making a profit, but this could only be done so much. Money changers were only allowed to work through the tower, and had a stiff fee of their own, making it only marginally lucrative.


    Greer led him to a large, elevated, circular table in the back area of the bar. The rounded, bench-seating that went with the table was surrounded by a spelled privacy wall.


    Dem didn¡¯t know what to expect from his new employers. Greer hadn¡¯t been very specific about them, either because she did not know, or because she thought it would be a better joke on him when they surprised him. It would be like her to do that. Greer seemed uncharacteristically nervous right now though, as they peered into the dimly lit area.


    The first thing he noticed was.. a huge muscular woman, taking up a third of the bench space by herself. She was perhaps the most classic example of Classed Warrior he had ever seen. Her armor wasn¡¯t particularly thick, but it covered everything important, minus her head. Some Warriors went for a fortress-style approach, like a Classed knight, where they encased themselves in armor, but others, like this woman, wanted to used their strength for mobility as well as destruction. Her face was like a block granite, boring, nondescript, and perfectly suited to someone with her type of Class. Her hair was a reddish brown, and tied into a ponytail in the back. It had been shaved on the sides giving her a fierce look. Even her eyes were a boring grey color. She wore some sort of gaudy necklace around her neck, it perhaps the most incongruous thing about her, looking nothing like what a Warrior would wear. She had an overly-large sword peeking over her shoulder, set at an angle for easy access. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but she had to be at least two heads taller than he was. He hoped this wasn¡¯t the one who requested a handsome guide. Even Ina wouldn¡¯t be able to save him from such a woman. Luckily, her face betrayed no interest in him as he looked at her.


    Dem strode closer to the table, and more of the people at the table became visible. The privacy spell lifted as you got nearer apparently. He had never seen a spell like it. Eventually he could see a slight woman, in leathers. Her features were fairly plain, but she seemed to have a bright smile for him as she took him in. Her hair was dark like his own, cut short to frame her face. She was a head shorter than he was at least. She had wide, dark-eyes that seemed to shine despite the low light. As he took a step closer, he noticed she had a blade she continually played with. She had a slim build, and as he looked her up and down, he started to notice all manner of places where she could, and probably was, storing blades. Was she a Classed Assassin? Or a simple Blade Fighter? If it was the former, he should probably try to back out of this deal, if the woman would let him. Assassins were utterly frightening and remorseless killers. They were less welcome than Tamers in most places, so the chances were low. He had never met one before, but Caius had told him about them in a drunken stupor. Unlike the obvious Warrior, whose age he couldn¡¯t discern, the woman with the blades was young, perhaps only a little older than he was. This realization made him relax a little, an Assassin would be older, someone her age would only be an apprentice at most.


    Finally, after taking one last step, he found himself at the edge of the table. From here he could get a good look at the last person at the table. He inhaled sharply, this woman, was.. what he should have been looking at this whole time! Describing her as beautiful wouldn¡¯t be inadequate, she was a sultry queen! Why he should to devote the rest of his life to serving her! His heart beat rapidly and his mouth starting to gape open. Her sultry smile! He never seen a woman so..


    Something white flashed across his vision.. and his mind snapped back into place. The woman had used some sort of glamor, or spell. He could see she was attractive, but not so amazing as before. The last time he had seen a white light arc across his vision like that was when a spell he had cast had clashed with another spell. She must have a glamor on her of some kind, or she had cast a spell to influence him. He could see that she had realized what she intended to do hadn¡¯t quite worked, the sultry smile she had on her face had waned a little.


    Looking at her with new eyes, he could she loved the color red. Everything she wore was a shade of red. Her hair was perhaps the brightest red he had ever seen on a person¡¯s head. Her lips were were a darker shade of red. Her hair was long, coming down her shoulders to rest on one the largest busts he had ever seen. She seemed to be presenting it to him in all its glory. The dress left little to the imagination. The slit down the front, showing her cleavage actually split most of her dress in half, except where it branched off under her breasts, showing a good portion of the underside of her bust as well. She was nearly as tall as he, he could guess. Her age totally indeterminate. Her eyes a darker shade of grey than the Warrior woman, and far more alluring than the larger woman¡¯s eyes, but oddly also the least attractive feature of the woman in red.


    Greer coughed, a bit more loudly than was strictly necessary. As Dem had taken in the party, the party had also gone quiet to look at him. The moment must have taken longer than was strictly polite for Greer to chime in. He also considered she might be jealous, perhaps she had been nervous about one of these women stealing him away. The idea of a women jealously competing over him was bizarre, but his life was a strange thing now.


    ¡°Lady Adventurers, this man is Demneh, your guide! Bring him back in one piece!¡± Greer had wanted that last part to sound like a joke, but it was clearly semi-serious. The woman in red look from Greer to him, raising an eyebrow slightly. He kept his face as neutral as possible, but Greer was suddenly an open book to this woman. The woman in red¡¯s smile returned to version Dem had seen earlier.


    At her pronouncement, the small girl with the blades, and the woman in red both gave him a polite clap. The Warrior woman just farted and began to pick her teeth, not really looking at him any more. This behavior had not surprised him at all, Warriors had a certain reputation.


    The woman with blades began to speak quickly.


    ¡°Aye, yar ah an¡¯some fella, dun wurry t¡¯all, I w¡¯all protect yea bu¡¯ in e¡¯change I wan¡¯...¡±


    The words tumbled out of her mouth, almost indecipherable to him and totally belaying the dangerous air about her.


    The woman in red spoke, cutting her off. ¡°I shall introduce us properly Dice, do not interrupt.¡± Something about the way the woman pronounced her Rs ate away at Dem''s willpower.


    ¡°This, as you might have surmised, is Dice, she is our scout and our lookout, she does a bit of ranged work as well. She really shines when throwing a blade. She will watch our backs, and help you primarily.¡± The woman in red¡¯s voice seemed to indicate she would be the leader of the party, which suited him fine.


    He did have a question though..


    ¡°Apologies, but if I might ask. If she is your scout, why do you need me?¡± He could guess the answer, but having her state his job clearly would be helpful to him.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The woman in red took his interruption in stride, ¡°She knows nothing of the local area, of forests, of trees, of the Wilds, or even much of beasts as they exist out there. The purpose, in-part, of this endeavor is to train her properly to work in more natural environments. She is our newest member!¡±


    ¡°Aye, I dun¡¯ knuh o¡¯bout rees, only o¡¯bout ah-lees an¡¯ ¡®averns.¡± Once again, he couldn¡¯t understand Dice, as she too interjected herself into the conversation.


    The lady in red, stopped her with a look.


    ¡°Yes, she is quite new, as you can see. Her accent leaves something to be desired. We will work it out of her though, won¡¯t we?¡± She turned to look at the Warrior woman, who simply grunted and began to pick her nose, still looking away from him.


    ¡°The large woman you see there is Wersa. She fights and kills for us, and does not stop, so don¡¯t get in front of her.¡± Wersa was struggled with something in her nose, and only grunted in response.


    The woman in red¡¯s smile seemed to stretch further a she began to talk about herself.


    ¡°I am Karmisina, but you may call me Karmis. I provided spell work from the back, of course.¡± With this statement, she offered him her hand.


    I was a bit dumbfounded as to what I was suppose to do with it, so I simply bowed over it, trying to convey a sense of subservience. Buttering up the leader, especially after he''d thwarted her spell inadvertently, was a good idea whenever wokring with an adventuring party.


    The woman in red laughed a little at whatever mistake in protocol he had made. Her laugh sounded surprisingly like a cackle.


    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to bring it to your lips, like this..¡±


    She took Dem''s hand and brushed her lips over his knuckles while looking up at him. He felt another spell, this time something weaker, begin to affect his mind. He was more ready for the spell, and it seemed to pass much quicker than the last one. He still didn¡¯t understand why her spells weren¡¯t working on him. It was another mystery he would find out when he had a chance to figure his Class out. Right now he needed to focus on making money.


    ¡°Ah, yu¡¯ all¡¯ays duh hiss.¡± Dice huffed out, crossing her arms across her chest, turning her face away from Karmis¡¯ attempt at, what he assumed was, spell-based seduction. Why would this woman need spells in the first place? Why on him? He was already her employee. Perhaps this had to do with her Path? Her Class? Did she want simple obedience? Either way she made no mention of her use of spells, and neither did he.


    Her displeasure was a little more obvious when this latest attempt didn¡¯t work, but she kept her face still smiling. She moved the conversation forward.


    ¡°Greer has told us a little about you, that you are a.. Tamer? Such good looks, wasted on beasts if you ask me. Though, I must say, your Class is a little like mine.¡± She didn¡¯t explain her last cryptic statement, but she seemed to be implying he should introduce himself better..


    ¡°Well, ma¡¯am. I am Demneh, a local guide and hunter. I am a Classed Tamer. I only have one beast, she is a many-tailed. A good huntress. She has gotten me out of many a bind.¡± He didn¡¯t know what to say exactly in this situation, but a Tamer was generally judged by the quality of their beast.


    Karmis spoke again, ¡°I see is she a lesser beast? Perhaps a greater beast? I¡¯m sure she is very helpful in your work.¡± Her voice sounded only mildly interested.


    Suddenly he felt a bit like he had forgotten something important. These adventurers would undoubtedly meet Ina, who was now a beastwoman. Beastshit! He hadn¡¯t really thought about this, his cover story was pretty flimsy and Greer, still standing beside him, would be astounded at Ina¡¯s new form.


    He simply had to move forward, and hope Greer moderated her response.


    ¡°Uh.. about that.. well Ina has advanced, again, recently.¡±


    Greer punched him in the arm.


    ¡°She advanced ¡®again¡¯? You liar, something did happen out there!¡± Greer¡¯s voice was a little loud. So much for playing this cool.


    Karmis¡¯ face suddenly looked a lot more interested. This was bad. She seemed to be trying to look at both Greer and himself, at the same time. Like she was trying to understand both our reactions simultaneously.


    Greer¡¯s face suddenly became a little blank, asking another question.


    ¡°She is a middling greater beast now? Think of what you could hunt and then sell to me with a beast like that!¡± Of course, Greer''s mind was on gold.


    ¡°Not exactly..¡± He laughed a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head with a sweaty hand.


    Greer, still excited. ¡°Is she an elder beast then? That would still save you rotations of helping her increase her abilities. No wonder! You look a bit different, her advancement help you out a bit? You sly beast, you.¡±


    Dem''s voice got a bit quiet, and some of the confidence left it, ¡°Ah, well. It''s a bit more complicated than that.¡±


    He now had Greer, Karmis, and Dice looking at him intently. Greer was especially confused.


    Dem needed to just spit it out, ¡°She is now a beastwoman, at around the elder beast level.¡±


    Greer¡¯s face was the most surprised, but then quickly got serious.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Greer¡¯s question sounding more like a command.


    ¡°She ate something, I don¡¯t really know what it was, I didn¡¯t actually see it. It was probably something significant though, or perhaps something especially beneficial to her beast-type. I asked her to show me where she found it, but nothing was there.¡±


    Greer, ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t get just a little bit of it?¡± Her voice slightly accusatory.


    Dem responded quickly, ¡°I¡¯m sure, I would have sold it to you, not eaten it. You know that.¡±


    Greer seemed mollified by this response, but then her eyebrows began to move down and closer together signifying a small storm brewing in her mind. Then just as suddenly, she turned red and spit out another question.


    ¡°Is she pretty? What does a many-tailed beastfolk even look like?¡± Greer actually seemed to be pouting.


    Dem was deeply conflicted now.This woman had always been a solid, yet greedy, rock in his life. She had always been something he held on to when things were tough, and yet whatever he had become had reduced her to pouting and jealousy. It turned his stomach in exactly the same way he felt when Caius had told him the reason for Caius¡¯ exile. She wasn¡¯t herself, clearly, but he still needed her, for his parents sake.


    He feigned a laugh at her reaction and spoke, ¡°She is mostly claws and fur, rather scary if you ask me.¡±


    Greer still didn¡¯t seem totally convinced, but Karmis, thankfully, decided to chime in.


    ¡°Really? A Beastwoman? How interesting. You say she ate something powerful?¡± She looked around to her compatriots, eyeing them in turn, before settling her eyes back on him.


    ¡°We should explore where she found it, perhaps we will find something else nice there?¡±


    ¡°Of course, ma¡¯am¡± His response was immediate and undisagreeing.


    ¡°Oh, you can call me Karmis, you don¡¯t have to call me ma¡¯am. It makes me feel like an old woman. You don¡¯t think me an old woman do you?¡± she spoke to him intently, and batted her eyes at that last question.


    He wondered how old she actually was, but quickly responded.


    ¡°No, of course I don¡¯t. Karmis.¡± He gave the best smile he could as he spoke.


    Greer side-eyed him, still suspicious. Wersa hadn¡¯t reacted to any of this, but Dice was holding in a comment he could see.


    ¡°Well, Lady Adventurers, Karmis, Dice, Wersa. Greer has told me you want to leave in half a cycle? Could we meet at the Wilds-Deeper doors?¡±


    The doors the led further away into the Wilds, were aptly called Wild-Deeper by locals. The doors that led to the trail that pointed towards the True Human Realm, were generally called the Realm-Doors. Technically the settlement was still surrounded by the Wilds on all sides, but people generally tried to orient themselves using the human realm as a locus.


    Karmis spoke, ¡°Of course, Demneh. We should rest shouldn¡¯t we ladies?¡±


    Dice hummed in agreement, while Wersa simply grunted.


    ¡°Thank you for your time, Lady Adventurers, I look forward to working with you!¡± Dem tried to give this farewell a flourish.


    The women at the table merely nodded and went back to their drinks. He steered Greer away from the table, back the way they originally came. Only stopping when they were back in hallway that led to the lift. It was, thankfully, still deserted. He pulled her into their original alcove.

 Chapter 18

    ¡°Are you alright Greer? I did not intend to anger you..¡± Dem tried to sound contrite.


    ¡°You lied to me! When you find good things out there, they need to be sold through me!¡±


    He couldn¡¯t tell if she was seriously angry about the possible loss in profits, or just needed an excuse to cover her jealousy.


    ¡°Ah, Greer, believe me that I had nothing to sell you. You know Ina is a glutton. Whatever this was drew her in quickly. She gobbled it down faster than I could say anything over the bond.¡±


    Greer seemed to consider his words, ¡°Alright, but if you are going to.. live with me, you need to always be honest with me. No more leaving out details.¡± One of her hands had moved to his chest as she spoke, it began to roam towards his collarbone.


    He was thankful, she wasn¡¯t so mad she would threaten their ¡®deal¡¯, but she clearly wanted a little something from him in return for the unhappiness she felt.


    He put his hands on her hips, and drew her closer.


    ¡°Of course, I will tell you everything, Greer. You can trust me, you¡¯ve known me a long time.¡± He started to lean his head down, focusing on her lips. She closed her eyes, waiting.


    He kissed her, with as much passion as he could muster, using what little repertoire he had developed. Her arms wrapped around his neck. She pulled herself up and him down slightly, so that they could kiss a little easier. He was still a head or more taller than her.


    He needed her to work hard for him while he was gone, finding his parents a place to stay, so he decided to give her something more to think about. His arms wrapped further around her, as they shared a kiss, and pulled he her close enough that her legs began to part slightly around his right leg. Her groin grinding against him, first slightly, and then with greater force. She whimpered a bit, as they continued to kiss. He hoped this was good enough.


    Finally, he withdrew, her tongue was reluctant to let him go.


    She sighed, ¡°Demneh.. perhaps.. you could stop by my home a little later before you leave with the party?¡± She looked him in the eye, with a hopeful look on her face.


    He gripped her a little harder, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t have time, I have many things to do before I will be ready to go. I needed to also talk to my parents.. about all of this. They are a bit stubborn if you remember.¡± He paused for a moment, drawing closer for a moment.


    In a husky voice he said, ¡°Besides, if I visit your home I won¡¯t get much rest before I leave, will I?¡±


    She chuckled, one of her hands had moved down his back as he spoke and she was now gripping his ass.


    ¡°No, I suppose you wouldn¡¯t.¡± She smiled at that, getting a far-away look.


    He sighed, letting her grope him for a moment. This situation with Greer, was absurd. He had no idea she was interested in him in this way. In retrospect, some of her teasing had been flirtaious he now believed, but at what point had she actually started to think of him in this way? She didn¡¯t really talk about her personal life, but he had heard some rumors. Supposedly she tended towards rugged men like Rangers when she was socializing. He considered he was something like that for her, but he was also someone she could control totally through financial dealings. ''Money first'', was always her motto.


    Ultimately, she had what he needed, and he would do what it took to get his parents safe. She was attractive in a way, but close to twice his age. She definitely took care of herself, as she was on the slim side. A number of clerks, from all the sitting and dining with clients, would tend toward the pudgy. Her bust was still high and full. It could be worse, he supposed. He didn¡¯t like reducing someone he respected to this sort of evaluation, but she had pursued him, not the other way around.


    After letting her hands roam for a bit, he called her back from wherever her mind had wandered.


    ¡°Greer, I have to go. I¡¯ll definitely see you when I get back.¡± He tried to reassure her, giving her one last full-body squeeze. She gave his ass a last squeeze as well.


    ¡°Alright, make sure to come back. I will have something ready for you when you get back. Also, don¡¯t let that Karmis get her hooks into you, you¡¯re mine. My business partner, I mean¡± She blushed at that last part.


    ¡°I¡¯ll watch out. She scares me a bit, honestly. Do you know what her Class is?¡±


    ¡°The paperwork wasn¡¯t very specific. People with rarer Classes tend to hide their information as much as possible.¡°


    ¡°Alright, see what you can get for that core. Having more would speed up.. our plans wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, that core is beautiful, bring me more like it. The contract will punish them if they steal from your or try to hurt you, but if you really piss them off, they may not care. So be careful. If that Karmis woman forces you..¡± She looked away for a moment, before speaking again, ¡°Do what you have to. Just come back.¡±


    The irony of this anxiety, about him being taken advantage of by an older woman, was amusing, but he made no comment.


    He walked her to the lift. As they went down, she huddled close to him, his arm around her, his hand resting on her hip. Greer had drifted off mentally again. He sighed to himself, hoping all these schemes would work out.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ***


    After leaving the Tower, Dem rushed around buying basic supplies for a long-term excursion into the Wilds. He bought salt and seasoning, for his meals and for ¡®gifts¡¯ for Ina. He bought some emergency trail-rations. It wouldn¡¯t feed him the entire trip, Ina and he would have to hunt the majority of their food, but the rations would help him through the night cycles. He bought some trinkets for holding spells. Each had a piece of a low grade beastcore in it and could hold a cantrip spell. In his case, they would hold an Alarm spell. He could form a network of these trinkets that would allow them some warning throughout the night cycle. He couldn¡¯t think of what else he would need. It was hard to plan for night cycles, you never knew what was going to happen. In the hamlets, a family might have no problems for a dozen rotations before disappearing one night cycle with nothing but a smear of blood left over marking their passing


    Finally, his shopping was done, he took a deep breath, and made his way home.


    ***


    His Ma was rumbling, her voice sounding like thunder, as her hands flashed in a myriad of angry patterns, much like lightning. She was lecturing him again, of course. He waited patiently for a moment to speak. She had already spent a great deal of time asking why he looked different and was concerned over his health, but finally she had come around to the subject of his leaving.


    ¡°You ungrateful child! Always disappearing.. Why can¡¯t you just be here with us.. or better yet with some nice girl. Hopefully that mutt of yours doesn¡¯t scare off too many of the girls around here¡­¡± She was covering old subjects once again. She would disparage Ina occasionally, but he knew his Ma fed Ina scraps whenever she got the chance. She was as weak to cute things as he was, even beasts.


    His Da, sat in the corner, on his usual wooden stool, nodding his head in agreement, though to what specifically, no one knew. Da¡¯s face portrayed his usual flat demeanor. Da¡¯s absolute focus on a singular Path drowned out what little affect one might find on such grizzled face. He wondered what focusing totally and absolutely on Domination might be like, but the thought was awful. He could still fall back on coordinating with Ina some and his various half-attempts at Wilderness Paths, to cast cantrips and maybe his most basic spells, but his new Path and Class wouldn¡¯t allow much deviation if he wanted to actually get stronger.


    Eventually his Ma started to slow down and lose her momentum. He finally found time to interject with the good news.


    ¡°Ma, I got some news though. These jobs I am taking they pay a lot more. I can find a lot better stuff out there now too. I think I can get you into the settlement a lot earlier than I thought, maybe in no more than a rotation!¡±


    His Ma stopped to look at him, wagging her finger in his direction ¡°I¡¯d rather have you alive and happy than live in that damned settlement.¡±


    ¡°Well I need you to be in the settlement to be happy, so you will go when I can arrange it. Even if I have to carry you myself by the scruff of the neck.¡± His voice was firm as he could make it.


    She scowled at him, ¡°When did you get so big? That Class has gone to your head. What would your Da and I even do in the settlement? Where would I put my garden? Your father would probably keel over and die without a tree to cut down..¡± She continued making all sorts of arguments, but he knew he had won when she didn¡¯t actually say she wouldn¡¯t move. Da just looked at him, his face its usual blankness.


    ¡°Da can continue to work cutting trees outside the settlement if he wants, or he can find work in the lumberyard just outside the walls. You can make this land into a larger garden, maybe sell some of what you grow. Da already keeps it clear. Just because you live in the settlement doesn''t mean you have to stay there all the time. I¡¯m sure we can find work for you if you want..¡± He was about to continue with arguments, but she interrupted him.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take this spot in the settlement? The girls around here would be very impressed if you had a home in the settlement, you¡¯d have your pick! You could even find a nice young lady from the settlement!¡± She had an ambitious look in her eye by the time she had stopped speaking.


    ¡°Ma, I.. will have a spot in the settlement too, just not with you. This place is just for you two. I can¡¯t live in the settlement without knowing you¡¯re safe too.¡± He wondered if she would catch on to what he was saying.


    ¡°Somewhere else in the settlement? Where?¡± Her eyes suddenly became slits, and she drilled into him with a dangerous look.


    She spoke again, when he didn¡¯t immediately answer, ¡°Who will you be living with?¡± Her voice at the absolute height of suspicion.


    ¡°I will be living with a friend when I am not working. She is the one getting you a spot in the settlement. She is doing me a big favour.¡± Here it comes, the floodgates were now open.


    ¡°SHE! She? She has her own place? She is helping you get space for us? Who is this woman? Wait, how old is she? What do you have to do for her¡­¡± She was too sharp. He hoped his Ma wouldn¡¯t connected the dots, but now she was full of awkward questions he couldn''t really answer. Da was still only looking at him, hardly blinking.


    ¡°Ah, you remember that woman I sell my goods to, in the tower? She has helped me out a lot, as you know. She is willing to help me out in a big way now that I¡¯m bringing in gold! Gold standards! We can all be safe inside the walls. It will be great Ma.¡± He glossed over as much as he could while trying to sound as excited and upbeat.


    It didn¡¯t work, of course.


    ¡°How much older is this woman? What do you have to do in return for all this? Is she looking to have children?¡± The first two questions had her scowling, the last seemed to lighten her face a bit.


    ¡°Shes.. younger than you are by quite a bit, only a little older than I am. I¡¯m just her client. She will sell the things I bring in. I will be living with her out of convenience, as she has an extra room. She is definitely still young enough to have children, though that isn¡¯t part of our bargain, Ma.¡± This interrogation was killing him, but his Ma wouldn¡¯t let him change the subject.


    ¡°Demneh, I don¡¯t want you selling yourself to some ugly old hag for our sake.. especially if she can¡¯t have children.¡± She huffed angrily.


    ¡°Ma, she is plenty attractive. If.. we did have that sort of relationship, I would be fine with it.¡± He just needed all of this to end, so he moved to news that would make her angry about something else.


    ¡°Ma, Ma, I¡¯m going back out next cycle. I will gone quite a while with a party. They are paying me a lot to be their guide. Enough to cover getting us all into the settlement for quite a while.¡± He rushed to get all this out so he wouldn¡¯t have to answer another question about that fact that he was essentially whoring himself out.


    ¡°Oh, Demneh! You just got back! This party, they will be just as dangerous as the beasts. Don¡¯t go back out there. We will figure out some way to get us all into the settlement if that is what you want. Look at you, you¡¯re so.. handsome now.. you could have other options..¡± Her voice trailed off.


    She apparently preferred him selling himself to going out in the Wilds. Sadly, he needed to do both. Greer, even with whatever powers of manipulation he now had, would not let him be a drain on her gold. She was too money-focused to have a useless man living off her. He needed a good deal of gold upfront to show good faith on his part. She certainly wouldn¡¯t help his parents for free.


    ¡°Ma, I need to go visit Ina, and then get some sleep. Goodrest, Ma. Goodrest Da.¡± He retreated as quickly as he could out the door, before she could start again. His Da just nodded at him, but his Ma was about to her open her mouth again. He hurriedly closed the door and rushed away, not giving her the chance. Now came another difficult conversation.

 Chapter 19

    Dem sent over the bond, ¡°Ina.. I brought you some clothes. I was hoping we could talk a bit.¡±


    This conversation might actually be harder than talking to his Ma. His Ma didn¡¯t have claws.


    ¡°Dem, It is good to see you.¡± She stepped towards him lightly, giving him a sniff here and there. Her nose would probably find nothing but the smell of guilt, he thought.


    After finishing her investigation of him, she asked, ¡°Let me see these clothes you have brought me.¡± Her voice, despite its smoothness, held a genuine curiosity.


    Pulling out the clothes, he described what they were, where they were worn, and how they worn, though the latter part was difficult due to his inexperience. Finally, she took off the makeshift clothes he''d made for her, standing before him as he had first seen her, clad in nothing but her fur. Luckily they were pretty high up in the trees, well out of the view of most anyone. She took the clothes from him and, with a little help, was able to put them on. She was confused by the undergarments, but he said they were for comfort. She had simply shrugged, and put them on.


    He had to admit that he hadn¡¯t looked away as she put the clothes on, nor when she needed his help. He didn¡¯t think she cared if he did look. She didn¡¯t have the same sense of human shame he did. If anything he missed her, and wanted to look at her all the more. A lot had happened since he had last seen her, a little less than quarter of a cycle ago. The sight of her was a lighthouse in an emotional storm for him. Dealing with Greer, the Karmis woman, and then his mother was all too much.


    She looked fantastic, and deadly, in the clothes, though perhaps he was a bit biased. The bustier covered her upper section in a nice layer of leather. It was pretty functional and didn¡¯t show a lot of her furred skin, but it definitely lifted her bust up, making it look a bit larger. The pants only doing down to just before the hock joint in her legs. They fit great, he had to say. At least she was dressed now. The clothes were meant for the heavy wear of adventuring, so they offered at least a little protection.


    Now came the hard part, he hoped she liked the clothes well enough that she wouldn¡¯t immediately kill him when he brought up the next subject.


    ¡°Ina.. I have a question for you.¡± He tried to sound casual.


    ¡°Dem, What is your question?¡± She wasn¡¯t looking at him, but rather still focused on the clothes and their feel.


    ¡°Do female many-tailed get.. jealous? I mean if their mates also have other.. mates?¡± He tried to be circumspect with his words. Maybe he get could get an idea about her feelings before he talked about Greer with her.


    ¡°Dem, do you another many-tailed you wish to mate with? Near here?¡± She suddenly turned to look at him when she said this, her voice like ice.


    His body involuntarily trembled. This was supposed to be just a hypothetical question. She was clearly sharper than he he gave her credit. He needed to figure out how to defuse the situation. He paused for a moment to formulate a response, but in that moment Ina, had moved towards him in a flash. Her claws extended as she moved. She frightened him so badly he fell onto his ass.


    By the time he spoke, she was standing above him, her eyes dark and ominous thanks to some shade from the overhead tree.


    ¡°I-Ina, there is no other many-tailed, I was just w-wondering how many-tailed dealt with jealousy.¡± He stammered out his response as fast as he could, hopefully in time to save himself. Technically she shouldn¡¯t be able to hurt him without harming herself, through the bond, but beast Taming wasn¡¯t without dangers. A beast could decide it was worthwhile attack, despite the cost, with the kind of bond Ina and he had. Other kinds of bonds were too restrictive, but offered more protection as a result.


    She growled a little a him, ¡°There are no other many-tailed in my territory?¡±


    ¡°No Ina, I was asking because.. because there is a human woman in the settlement that would like me to.. mate with her.¡±


    She arched an eyebrow, ¡°A human woman?¡± She actually sounded slightly disgusted, as if she wondered why anyone mate with a human woman.


    ¡°Yes, she will give my parents a place to stay, but in exchange, when I am not out with you, I may have to stay with her. She might expect me to.. mate with her. I¡¯ve been trying to get my parents into the settlement for a long time, its safe there. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed something.¡±


    This was another awkward conversation he didn¡¯t relish, but at least she was slowly retracting her claws.


    ¡°Males often mate with.. others, especially if a particular mating is unsuccesful.¡± Her tone thoughtful.


    ¡°They leave the territory of one female and enter the territory of another. Females don¡¯t enter each other¡¯s territory unless it is to decide who is the weaker and must move further away.¡±


    He had understood Ina was pretty set on this mating script from her bloodline memories, but this was a bit much. He would have to try to teach her human.. ¡®scripts¡¯, eventually. When he was honest with himself, he really only wanted to be with her, out in the Wilds hunting and.. everything else, but he needed his parents to be safe to live that dream.


    She spoke again, her tone more neutral. ¡°Human woman have nothing to do with our mating. I am only concerned with other many-tailed in my territory.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    This wasn¡¯t exactly, permission, but it would have to do. This did beg a question though...


    ¡°Ah, Ina. What, exactly, is your territory?¡±


    She smiled, though it came off as purely a predatory look, as she spoke her next words.


    ¡°My territory is wherever I am the strongest many-tailed, and you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. Me too?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are mine. No other many-tailed can have you, and must bring me all your gifts.¡± Her tone was less neutral this time.


    Perhaps he had gone mad, but he decided to tease her a bit, despite being so close to death earlier.


    ¡°..but don¡¯t males get to move on to other territories, and find other many-tailed mates.¡±


    She growled at him, ¡°Other males do, but not you.¡±


    She pounced down him, pushing him onto his back. Perhaps she was more like a human than he originally thought, she was already changing the usual script a little. What they shared through the bond was obviously very special to her. It warmed his heart.


    He let out groan, not resisting. ¡°I see. Well I guess I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯m a one many-tailed sort of man.¡±


    She snorted, something he hadn¡¯t seen before, and lowered her head to take in his scent.


    As she got closer to him, she spoke again. ¡°Help me remove these clothes.¡±


    ¡°Do you not like them?¡± He asked, his mind putting the pieces together.


    ¡°They are fine, but they are gifts, so I don¡¯t wish to ruin them.¡± Her face not far from his as she spoke.


    ¡°How will you ruin them?¡± He needed to tease her more.


    She growled a bit at him, ¡°We are going to mate now.¡±


    He wondered how far he could push it, ¡°Doesn¡¯t the ritual say the male gets the first round?¡±


    Her eyes narrowed, and her claws extended. She began to cut into the new shirt he was wearing. It didn¡¯t look like he would get his round this time, not that he minded.


    ¡°Ina, I will help, I will help, Let me take that off.¡± He said hurriedly.


    As he worked fast to remove both their clothes before she got impatient. She spoke once more, as if to herself, and not to him.


    ¡°You are mine!¡±


    He couldn¡¯t disagree with her, but then who would disagree with an angry, beautiful beastwoman?


    ***


    He hadn¡¯t got much rest during the half-cycle before he had to go meet the party. A jealous Ina had been nearly the death of him. A good death, but tiring. He had wanted to spend some time with the grimoire, but between Ina and his own fear of what it might say, he had put it off. There would be ample time once they were out in the Wilds. Knowing his Class wouldn¡¯t necessarily be immediately helpful him. It often took rotations of practice to cast complex Class spells. There would be no guarantee he would be able to use anything from it right away.


    So far the grimoire had changed his life immensely, both for good and for ill. His Path was radically different. He had gone through some sort of bizarre physical change. He had lived through a couple of situations he where he should have died. He gained a new sense of intimacy with Ina, something he couldn¡¯t imagine not having now. Just thinking about further changes that the grimoire might bring made his guts flip upside down.


    He left a pouch of silver for his parents with the last of what he had. Either he would make gold on this trip, or he wouldn¡¯t need the silver anyway. He put the grimoire in an old sack and had Ina carry it tied to her back. She would range ahead and keep herself mostly out of sight of the party. Even if they did notice her carrying something, they would never guess what the old fiber-woven sack held. Tamers often had their beasts carry their supplies.


    The grimoire hadn¡¯t let loose any sort of aura since it was first opened. It looked like a used-up old grimoire at the moment, nothing more. Putting in more time asking it questions was definitely important. He still didn¡¯t know his own Class. Just the idea of not knowing your own Class was absurd. He might very well be the first person ever to have this problem. The thought was amusing, but not a comfort.


    He met the party at the Wilds-Deeper Door. They looked more refreshed than he felt. They hadn¡¯t had a ferocious beastwoman ¡®claiming¡¯ them through their rest, he supposed. Both Dice and Wersa looked the same, their leathers and armors the same. Karmis had exchanged her dress for a functional leather suit, along with an armoured mantle and hood. An armoured headdress hung at her waist. He had heard of this, spell-castor armor was light-weight and heavily spelled. It was designed to protect heavily against physical attacks to vital areas like the neck and head. Karmis¡¯ mantle was asymmetric, dipping down over her heart to form a heartguard. The armour was a deeper red than her previous dress. It must have cost a fortune, though he had no experience judging such a thing.


    They walked casually until reaching the end of cleared area outside the settlement. Ina materialized out of the shade of a tree, showing herself as he had asked her to do. As Ina looked at the the members of their party, her tails slowly moved behind her, forming a confusing pattern that hurt his eyes to look at too long. Weras just looked at her coldly, hardly reacting. Dice had nearly gone for her blades, but had stopped herself. Karmis just smiled charmingly, and then gave him a stare.


    She spoke, ¡°What a lovely beast. She is quite beautiful. You¡¯re a lucky Tamer.¡±


    He responded politely, ¡°Thank you for your kind words, I will pass them on to Ina.¡±


    Her compliments were more like barbs full of implication. She was all but suggesting he was a pervert, but of course they were true, so he simply ignored them.


    ¡°Indeed. Did you have things you needed to tell us before we begin?¡± her voice, despite the question, sounding like a command.


    ¡°I have a route planned and a number of good places for resting. My only question is how fast we will move. Do you have some extra means?¡± He looked at Karmis, making his implication just as clear as she had previously made hers.


    She laughed, ¡°You are worried I will be too slow? Wersa, show him.¡±


    Wersa grunted, and knelt on the ground, her back to Karmis. For the first time, he noticed Wersa had some leather hanging from the back of her armour. Karmis gingerly threaded the toe of her boot through a leather loop low on Wersa¡¯s armor, she then grabbed another loop higher up Wersa¡¯s back, before pull herself up. Finally, she threaded her last boot through an identical loop to the first.


    Karmis intended to use Wersa as a steed, as was now obvious. He had never considered such a thing, but he had to admit she looked like a rider on a fine mare. Wersa¡¯s lack of heavy armour made more sense in this context. She wanted mobility both for herself and her rider.


    Wersa stood smoothly, while Karmis seemed to be concentrating to cast a couple of spells on them both. Dice didn¡¯t bat an eye at of this, she must have seen this little trick some time before. He did notice Dice would stare at him every time he looked away. Where Karmis was direct, Dice was.. less so. He sighed, starting to cast spells on himself. He hoped he could keep up with the Warrior.

 Chapter 20

    As they traveled the branch-trails, the first to collapse was not Dem, though he did have to draw strength from Ina to manage it. The first to collapse was Dice, in a panting pile, at one of his pre-planned resting spots. Karmis, despite her earlier smugness, actually looked a bit green in the face. The jumping from branch to branch required by the trails had not agreed with her stomach, apparently. Perhaps it was that the rider duo didn¡¯t usually use their rider trick for all-cycle excursions and the motion was sickening. He wasn''t sure. Wersa was hardly winded and looked to be in better condition than Karmis. To his sensitive nose, Wersa positively reeked of leather, old sweat, and blood. Her stench allowed him to constantly train his nose to tune out smells while they traveled, at least. He tried to be positive, despite his own exhaustion.


    They had moved fast, faster than he would have thought safe, but having Wersa behind him, grunting constantly, smelling awful, had pushed him to keep them moving at a significant pace. Ina had kept ahead of them, killing a lesser beast that might have gotten in their way. Their trip had been wondrfully uneventful. Beasts could often instinctively judge the relative strength of a foe, and so strong parties hardly ever encountered weak beasts unless they were specifically hunting one.


    The branch they were resting on was quite wide, more than enough room for for everyone, but he camped on higher branch, allowing a better view of the surrounding Wilds. The adventurers below him had spelled tents that could both expand automatically and latch onto most surfaces easily. Though Wersa was still too large for hers, with her legs sticking out rather comically. Karmis had looked a bit disgruntled when he mentioned where he would camp, offering to share her tent with him. Indeed, her tent was actually larger than Wersa¡¯s, but he had turned her down using the excuse that he needed to keep watch during this cycle¡¯s resting period. After the explanation, she had taken the rejection seemingly in stride, with a smile on her face.


    Eventually, he made some more excuses and left. He offered to take Dice with him, but she was hardly able to move. The woman was as agile as a cat, but didn¡¯t have much in the way of endurance it seemed. No wonder Karmis said they were here to train her.


    He met Ina, a short-distance away, her face still showing evidence of some light snacking on her kill. They moved in a circle around the camp, putting down the alarm spell trinkets. They weren¡¯t really needed this far from the settlement, there would only be lesser beasts in this area, but he wanted to test them out.


    With his chores done, he took the grimoire from Ina and they moved further away from the where the party was camping. He didn¡¯t know what a good distance would be if the thing began to leak something detectable, but if he were far enough away he could move a different direction and feign ignorance if they came to investigate. It wasn¡¯t likely they could move much, as Dice was wiped out and Wersa was already snoring in her tent. He had a good amount of time before he absolutely had to be back.


    Ina cuddled next to him, trying a bite of the field rations he had brought. He hoped the grimoire would finally have more answers for him, and having Ina at his side would help no matter what he learned.


    ***


    He opened the book, but nothing strange happened. Or at least nothing he could detect. Should he ask the most important question first? He sighed, anxiety flashing through him. He could start with smaller questions before the big one? Would that help? Should he just get it over with?


    He ran his hand the tangled mane of Ina¡¯s hair, trying to distract himself, but she only looked him in the eye, seemingly offering him support. He had explained some of the issues with his Class and Path to her, but she couldn¡¯t really help him directly.


    Breathing deeply, he asked his question.


    Speaking to the book, ¡°I have identified my Path, and I have successfully advanced on my Path. What is my Class?¡± Then he waited.


    You are..


    Was the book forming words slowly intentionally? Or was it just his mind playing tricks..


    ..the only one of your kind, the first of your Class¡­


    He cursed to himself.


    Beastdung, you stupid bunch of cryptic pages, spit it out.


    ..you are The Dominator.


    His mouth gaped open. His head shaking back and forth.


    What, in all the Divine Humanity, was a Dominator?


    ***


    This told him almost nothing. He had never heard of a Dominator. The only silver lining was that his Path and Class would be very closely aligned judging by their names. Just by using his Class, he would advance his Path often. He needed to know more about what he would actually be doing.


    ¡°What does a Dominator do?¡±


    A Dominator dominates¡­


    This had to be intentional. The grimoire was torturing him purposefully. He was actually dead, his soul on some desolate Land-Below being tortured for eternity, and didn¡¯t know it.


    ..everything.


    Well that was helpful. He would have to dominate everything. The only way so far he had done any sort of ¡®dominating¡¯ had been in the process of.. mating. Would he have to mate with everything then? Just humping away at the entire world? Perhaps he wasn¡¯t dead, but it was clear the Land-Above hated him and the Divinity of Humanity had rejected him.


    Still he endeavored on, trying a different, more specific line of questioning.


    ¡°What unique spells does a Dominator have? Do they have passive spells?¡±


    Your primary spells, at this time, are as follows:


    Dominate Mind (casted, range: touch, target: other)


    Dominate Will (casted, range: touch, target: other)


    Dominator¡¯s Influence (passive, range: proximity increases intensity, target: others in proximity)


    Dominator¡¯s Gaze (passive activated, range: eye contact, target: other)


    Dominator¡¯s Presence (passive, range: self)


    This list, at least, made sense to him. It was arranged how spell lists were usually arranged, denoting whether the spell was something he would cast discreetly, or something he could have working all the time. He only had two spells he could actively cast from his class, going by this information. He still had his previous Tamer spells, and some other basic spells the grimoire had imparted, but these two were the spells actually associated with his Class specifically. Having just two, when starting out with a Class, was not very unusual, but also not encouraging. Casted spells were usually the offensive parts of any Class, and were usually imparted sparingly for safety¡¯s sake. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Having so many passives that would be fueled solely by his Path of Domination, was hard to take. That was a lot of.. mating he would have to do. He snorted at his own realization. He supposed he wouldn¡¯t mind that much, but he hoped Ina would let him have some rounds. What if a selfish-lover was what stood between him and his Path?


    Right now, though he needed more details.


    ¡°Give me the specifics of each spell in turn, please.¡± Perhaps being polite with the grimoire would mean it would torture him less.


    Dominate Mind: Control the mind of another with this spell. Spell controls thoughts, and thoughts control actions. Spell is cast on another sentient being. A targeted sentient being with a similar mental makeup to the Dominator makes the spell more efficient and easier to cast. Spell has a chance for failure based on the mental fortitude of the target sentient. Spell is more efficient against targets who have been inundated with Dominator¡¯s Influence. Spell is stronger against targets who have been inundated with Dominator¡¯s Influence. Spell will be more successful against targets who have been inundated with Dominator¡¯s Influence. Spell will damage the minds of targets relative to the mental fortitude and level of Dominator¡¯s Influence they possess. Mental damage to target, in order of severity, is as follows: loss of memory, lost of personality, loss of complex functions, loss of basic functions, and death.


    Despite all these details the damned book was still being fairly vague. The spell controlled minds? How did it control minds? What were its limits? This sort of power, well, he had never heard of it. He was widely read for a man from the hamlets, but Caius had laughed at him whenever he had put on airs of being actually a learned person. What had Caius called him? A toad at the bottom of a tall granite-tree, looking up, only able to see the trunk and no branches? He did feel that such a spell was strong for a starting Class spell. His feeling stemming from the.. horrible nature of the spell. Why would he even use this? He read through it again and tried to understand its finer points, making notes to himself.


    With the spell he could control the thoughts of people, and therefore their actions directly. It had to be cast on a thinking being, and the closer that being was to him, a human, the easier it would be. The spell would be harder to cast on beastfolk for instance, is what he understood the grimoire to mean.


    People could resist him apparently, based on their ¡®mental fortitude¡¯, but ¡®mental fortitude¡¯ wasn¡¯t defined by the spell. Judging by the consequences of the spell, he could seriously harm anyone he used the spell on depending on how much they fought it. They could even die as a result.


    Apparently, Dominator¡¯s Influence improved Dominate Mind in just about every way, and punished him for not applying it to his targets.


    He looked down noticing that the grimoire had finish writing out the text for Dominate Will.


    Dominate Will: Influence the will of another with this spell. Spell influences will, will begets action. Spell is cast on another sentient being. A targeted sentient being with a similar mental makeup to the dominator makes the spell more efficient and easier to cast. Spell has a chance for failure based targets perception and reasoning ability. Spell has high chance of failure unless target is distracted or incapacitated. Spell is more efficient against targets who have been inundated with Dominator¡¯s Influence. Spell is stronger against targets who have been inundated with Dominator¡¯s Influence. Spell will be more successful against targets who have been inundated with Dominator¡¯s Influence. Spell will damage the minds of targets in the case of failure. Mental damage to target, in order of severity, is as follows: loss of short-memory (high chance), lost of personality and animating will, death.


    Was this worse than the previous spell? It looked harder to cast, with more requirements. Once again, Dominator¡¯s Influence, was an important part of the spell. What did this spell do exactly? Dominate Mind was direct control, with a high chance at damaging the mind of his poor victim. Dominate Will.. was more subtle? Either it worked, or it seriously broke the person he was targeting with it. It would help if the person were not particularly sharp or attentive. What did it mean to influence a person¡¯s will? What was a person¡¯s will? He would ask the grimoire later.


    Dominator¡¯s Influence: Those close to you find themselves slowly and increasingly mentally and physically influenced by you. Spell is passive and functions at all times. Spell radiates from caster in all directions, but decreases in effect the further it travels. Spell effects sentient beings with a similar mental makeup to the dominator more effectively. Spell caster has limited control over intensity, and can increase intensity through close proximity and physical contact. Spell intensity increases over time as influence builds in the mind of those affected. Those affected can reduce and resist effects based on mental fortitude, perception, and reasoning ability. Spell will increase in effectiveness as caster advances down their Path. Current spell strength: very weak.


    This.. explained a lot. Clearly the effects weren¡¯t too overpowering, or he would have had half the settlement listening to his every word just by stepping through the doors. Clearly, Greer was suffering from his influence, but he didn¡¯t think this passive was the whole story with her interest in him. From what she had said, she had been thinking about him for a while, making a plan, but it seemed the effect of his passive had pushed her over the edge, pushing her plans for him forward. This also explained a lot of the reactions he had received so far. Even the man who sold him his clothes was surprisingly accommodating to a young man dressed as he was.


    Was this why Ina wanted him? Why she had have be receptive to his advances? Her emotions over the bond were confusing, but clearly positive towards him. The spell said it was less effective on non-humans and that it was currently very weak. It wasn¡¯t likely that it affected Ina to any great extent, right? The idea that she only enjoyed being with him because of a passive spell hurt him in some indescribable way.


    He kept reading, his heart sinking slowly.


    Domaintor¡¯s Gaze: Spell applies a concentrated dose Domaintor¡¯s Influence to target within range of sight through eye-contact. Spell is passive and functions at all time at a very low intensity. Spell can be activated for increased intensity at increased drain of stamina. Spell must target another sentient being. A target sentient being with a similar mental makeup to the dominator makes the spell more efficient and easier to cast. Spell has a chance of disorienting, or intimidating, and/or making the target open to suggestion. Spell effects the mentality of the caster. Current spell strength: weak.


    He tried to see the brighter side of this spell. It didn¡¯t harm the target seriously at least. It was probably weaker than the two casted spells by a significant margin but it did give him something to use against another person trying to hurt him in some situations.


    It dawned on him then that these spells were nearly useless to him, as the biggest threat to him was almost always a beast. Using them in settlement would be.. immoral. Using a Path or a Class for twisted ends always twisted the user. The Church had taught that from the very beginning. It was ingrained in his very being. Beyond the moral implications, if he were found out, he would be killed at the very least. Either the Church, the settlement, or the Tower would object to him and whatever sort of awful Class he now had. His safety would lie in being as anonymous as possible.


    He didn¡¯t know what the second to last clause meant, that it would affect his mentality to use it. How would it do so? Another thing to ask the grimoire. He moved on.


    Dominator¡¯s Presence: The spell caster¡¯s very existence is found to be commanding and attractive to those within a radius of the caster. Spell intensity decreases as range increases. Spell effects the way sentients experience the caster through sight, sound, touch, and smell. Spell manifests as a permanent change to the physique that costs no drain on castor¡¯s Path or Stamina. Spell increases mental resistance against the spells of other castors. Spell will change over time depending on advancement of Path. Current spell strength: very weak.


    At least he knew why Karmis¡¯ spells failed against him. He considered what he had just learned for a moment, but finally he sighed deeply, and buried his face into the unruly tuft of hair on very top of Ina¡¯s head, as she snoozed next to him. No wonder she liked the way he smelled, it was part of what the book had done it him. The change was permanent, so he had no way of rejecting it now. It was just who he was now. He still worried that his relationship with Ina was entirely artificial, a product of his Class and his own weakness to resist the Path he was put upon.


    He inhaled her musky scent, and rested for while. He leaned on her, as she leaned on him, considering what his Class meant for him in the future.

 Chapter 21

    Dem returned a sixteenth of a cycle before the resting time was over. He felt.. empty, but rested enough to continue. Ina still maintained a distance away at his request, holding the grimoire for him. When he got to the actual campsite though, he hadn¡¯t thought to make much noise as he approached, and so he pushed through the foliage to find himself in something of an odd situation. Wersa sat with her armour removed, wiping herself with a wet rag. She was still clothed, thankfully.


    Just as he was thanking the Divine Humanity for inspiring the woman to clean herself, he spied something to the left of Wersa that caused him to freeze. Karmis was sitting on a stool, stark naked wiping herself with rag wetted from a bowl at her feet. He couldn¡¯t deny he was a bit mesmerized by the sight. He was old enough, and experienced enough, that female nudity shouldn¡¯t have affected him, but he found himself watching for a moment.


    When you¡¯re camping in the Wilds, privacy wasn¡¯t an important thing, and most women of the hamlets weren¡¯t particularly modest about nudity. It was out of practicality though. This scene was something else. She drug the rag over her body in a bizarrely erotic manner, centering mostly on her massive bust. If anything her breasts seemed larger outside the armour, though he couldn¡¯t be sure. He also, quite unwillingly, noticed her red hair was consistent everywhere on her body. There was something oddly impractical about the scene that left him more confused than aroused. Was she putting on a show? She had a slight smile on her face, but wasn¡¯t looking in his direction.


    He backed up a bit, and then made sure to make a noisy entrance, looking away from Karmis as he did so. He gave her plenty of time to cover herself, before looking around to make his greetings.


    To his surprise Karmis had been fairly slow to cover herself, only doing so after he had turn around to look at her. She cast some sort of spell, and glowing light enveloped part of her body, concealing it. A surprising amount was still showing despite her.. illusion spell, he guessed?


    He did his best to seem embarrassed rather than the confusion he actually felt, ¡°Ah, excuse me Lady Adventurers. I apologize for intruding. I didn''t know you would be.. cleaning yourselves. Are cleaning cantrips not enough?¡±


    Karmis spoke for them. ¡°Cleaning cantrips are helpful yes, but they don¡¯t make you feel clean.¡±


    ¡°I see, I hadn¡¯t thought of that, Lady Karmis.¡± Just as he had responded to Karmis, Dice walked into view. He knew she was on the other side of Wersa, as he could hear and smell her, but Wersa¡¯s large form had blocked her from sight entirely until he had moved further into the camp. As it turned out Dice didn¡¯t have the false modesty that Karmis faked. She was stark naked and looked right him in the eye. Her breasts were small, smaller than Ina¡¯s, but high and firm looking. Her nipples dark, as if to match her hair and her eyes. She was more.. hairy in a few places than he would have imagined, but nothing like Ina. She had criss-crossing scars on every surface of her body he could see. One of her breasts had a deep groove cut out of it. The result of some horrible fight and not immediately receiving healing spells. She was most assuredly a deadly fighter despite her age, her body a testament to that fact. She smiled at him and spoke.


    ¡°Du¡¯n, yu li¡¯k wot yu se?¡±


    Dice was as subtle a seducer as Wersa was likely to be subtle as a fighter, which is to say, not at all, he thought.


    He coughed, ¡°Do I like what I see? Ah.. yes, you¡¯re quite beautiful.¡±


    She smiled again, and said, ¡°Ef yu du¡¯n wan¡¯ Ka¡¯miss, yu c¡¯an ¡®ed wit me.¡±


    Translating slowly, he figured out what Dice was saying. She was asking him to her bed since he had reject Karmis earlier, though only the word ¡®me¡¯ had been really clear to him.


    Karmis interjected, ¡°That is enough Dice, go clothe yourself.¡± Her tone brokered no dissent.


    Dice simply smiled, skipped away from him toward her tent. He had trouble not looking at the small but firm globes of her posterior, or the scars that marked them, as she bounced away.


    Focusing back on Karmis, who was dressing behind her spelled screen. He apologized for taking so long, and made excuses about testing his new alarm trinkets. She seemed to accept his explanations with a predatory smile. It occurred to him then, they would have had their own alarms spells, probably spelled right into their tents. They had known he was coming. Dice herself would have the improved senses to know someone was nearby. Karmis¡¯ entire act just now, probably the fact they were even bathing, had been a show. His most important piece of evidence was that Wersa was actually bathing. She must have been under orders. She probably didn¡¯t even know a cleaning cantrip.


    He moved away, higher up, to wait for them to break camp. He thought about Karmis and her theater. Why would she bother? Was it because her spells failed when they first met? Or that he had rejected going to her tent earlier? Did she really have to seduce men for her Path like he had hypothesized? He tried to think about the situation, only coming to the thought that maybe this was a simple change of tactics. Spells hadn¡¯t worked, requests hadn¡¯t worked, and now she wanted to show him.. what she offered? It was enticing, her body had been amazingly curvaceous and virtually flawless, but he didn¡¯t trust someone clearly trying to charm him. Her immediate use of spells when they had met, had left a bad taste in his mouth, mostly because it had nearly worked.


    He anxiety and paranoia suffused his mental state. The glorious scene earlier had actually worsened his mood. The only one he could trust here was Ina.


    ***


    It took them another three cycles to get the central campsite he had intended for them to use. It was on a particularly massive branch in one of the biggest trees he had ever seen. The tree itself wasn¡¯t just taller than those around it, it seemed to be growing on one of the few elevated areas one could find the Wilds. It was defensible, but too open for most beasts to want to make it a home. Perfect for their purposes.


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    The journey had been fairly uneventful. Dice had been continually too winded to join him on scouting runs, but was already improving. Karmis had made a number of enticing comments, but made no further overtures to get him into her tent. Perhaps she was waiting to see if her little show had been effective, he didn¡¯t know.


    The most eventful thing that happened is that he had finally seen Wersa fight. It had scared him to the bone. They taken a slower pace, not in the trees, but on the ground for a while, to allow Dice to keep up. As moved along the ground, they had come across a greater rubber-rhino, much like the one that Ina had killed. This one was, if anything, was actually larger. He had called to the party to take to the trees. While he and Dice had climbed up different trunks, Wersa had gently tossed Karmis straight up into the air. Karmis landed lightly on a large branch more than more than twenty spans above Wersa¡¯s head. This feat of strength looked like a practiced maneuver to his untrained eyes.


    The rhino beast charged as soon as it had seen them. Normally, a greater beast would be more wary, but not this one. Perhaps the beast wasn¡¯t frightened because it thought it could escape easily and that its tough hide would protect it from any real harm. Rubber rhinos were surprisingly mobile, despite their bulk. He pitied it almost. An arrogant beast, was a dead beast.


    As Karmis practically floated up on to her branch she had cast a spell at the rhino beast, hitting it in the face. This spell seemed to disorient the beast causing it to slow down its charge and thrash around wildly. Meanwhile, Karmis continued to cast spells. These looked like what could only be buff spells. Wersa began to glow with a number of lights, and small physical changes took place. She grew in stature, her muscles not only expanded, but also clearly grew more dense. Her skinned darkened and grew more course. Wersa also, quite slowly, began to cast a few of her own spells on herself.


    Finally, done Wersa launched herself at the greater beast with a single step. She moved in a flash, though somehow two pieces of flashing silver beat her to the beast, lodging into its eyes. He looked away from the beast to Dice for moment, giving her a nod in appreciation at her incredible accuracy on a moving target. When he looked back, Wersa had her sword out of its sheath and was chopping down on rubber rhino. As she held the sword above her head for a split second, he had noticed it was a fairly dull, if incredibly tough, piece of metal. It must have weighed more than he did. Despite its weight she sent it effortlessly crashing down on the head of the rhino.


    He expected the blade to bounce or glance off the rhino, and at very least seriously hurt it, but his expectation was met with a sight that left him shocked. The blade crashed down with such force it shook the nearby trees. When it struck pieces of rhino splattered in every direction. The entire front section of the rhino looked like mashed root-bulbs parted down the middle. Her strike had been so strong it had left a channel empty of dirty all the way down to the tree roots in front of her. On either side of the channel were mounds of pasted rhino beast. What remained of the hind end of the beast, the only part still somewhat intact, had flown backward and smacked into a tree trunk with a mighty thud. The sword was stuck deep into the ground, two thirds of the way up to the hilt. It still quivered slightly. Wersa was stopped and breathing heavily, clearly winded from the strike. She was surprisingly clean, the mess had flown entirely away from her. The air pressure from the strike being rather convenient.


    He jumped down from his branch, and began to gingerly step over the piles of mashed rhino that were splattered all around. If he hadn''t felt sorry for rhino before, now he did. It wasn''t a feeling he usually had for the beasts he encountered in the Wilds. Ultimately, the beast had been too arrogant and Wersa too strong. He began to rifle through the beast looking for a core.


    Wersa spoke in huffed breaths, ¡°Are you taking my prize?¡± Her voice tired, but serious. Unlike Dice, he could understand her well enough to respond.


    He needed to be polite, using her proper title, ¡°No, Lady Adventurer, I merely wanted to see if it had a core for you. I know where to look in beasts like this one.¡±


    She eyed him, but only grunted in response, her breath slowly returning to normal.


    After poking and prodding the beast, and cutting away a few choice bits, he found what was looking for. What he saw though, was disappointing.


    The core had cracked. The strength of her blade had been too strong and had diffused kinetic force throughout the body of the rhino, cracking its flexible bones and clearly damaging the core. He wondered how she would react.


    He would have to lay it on thick, ¡°Ah, Lady Adventurer, it seems there is indeed a core, not every beast has one you see, so we are lucky. Sadly the core was.. cracked.¡±


    Wersa looked coldly at him.


    ¡°What did you do? Did you crack it when you dug it out? Did you drop it?¡± Her tone accusatory.


    He looked pleadingly at Karmis standing not far away. She had used some sort of spell to allow herself to float gently to the ground.


    Karmis looked angry, which made him worried. These adventurers were rich enough that loss of one core wouldn¡¯t be critical, but perhaps they were particularly stingy. He hoped, if he had to run, Wersa would be too tired to chase him.


    As it turned out Karmis wasn¡¯t angry at him,


    She spoke in a hard tone at Wersa. ¡°You stupid wench, you cracked the core with that big sword of yours. What have I told you about controlling your own strength? You splattered that beast everywhere. What if it had gotten on me? I¡¯ve told you, for sequences, that you should only use enough strength to make the kill. Look at you, you¡¯re already tired. If this were a real battle, you would have killed a few men, but then would have been stabbed by a dozen more. Use your fists next time. I don¡¯t even know why you use that thing. You have more control with your own body than you will swinging that useless thing. You¡¯re old enough to not make these sorts of mistakes any more.¡±


    She ranted at Wersa for a while. Wersa wasn¡¯t looking at him anymore, and was simply looking down.


    Finally Wersa spoke, her voice contrite. ¡°Y-yes, m-Karmis. I will be m-more careful.¡± She stumbled over her words, but did take the time to finally look at him with a death glare.


    Karmis defended him, raising her eyebrow, ¡°Don¡¯t blame him for something you did. He even retrieved the core for you. In its cracked state it will only be useful for making trinkets, but that is still easy currency. You should thank him for turning your failure into a partial success.¡±


    Wersa turned to him, the death glare gone, but a had sneer replaced it.


    She spoke, ¡°Than-¡±


    He didn¡¯t let her finish.


    ¡°No, need to thank me great Lady Adventurer. You saved us from quite the hassle with that rhino beast. They are both very tough and very resilient. I should be thanking you.¡± He bowed without taking his eyes off her.


    She merely nodded and grunted at him, turning back towards Karmis, who merely smiled at him.


    This fight had laid down an ironclad rule for him. Never fight Wersa, and never let Ina anywhere near her. She was inhuman and spiteful. He needed to stay away from her as much as possible.

 Chapter 22

    As cycles passed, they camped in a central location. The scouts, Dice, Ina, and Dem, would journey out looking for beasts for the party to kill, or anything that looked like useful training for Dice. With a central location to explore around, and no particular pace to keep, Dice could keep up with him so long as they took rests. He kept Ina still ranging far ahead of them. She had been agreeable, because she didn¡¯t much like the way rest of the party smelled, in particular Karmis. He didn¡¯t really understand, because, to him, Wersa was the worst offender, but he didn¡¯t argue.


    Karmis explained what she wanted him to do with Dice, in vague terms. She was adamant that if they found anything interesting, or out-of-the-ordinary, to report back to her. He couldn¡¯t tell if she was just greedy for what the Wilds offered, wanted to cover the costs of  training Dice, or was looking for something in particular. She didn¡¯t say, and he didn¡¯t want to pry. If there was something good out here, they might kill him to keep it a secret. Adventurers were not heroes, despite the fact that some of their working killing beasts was beneficial to humanity. He expected nothing less from them. The Wilds were a hard place.


    ***


    Dem''s next great difficulty was dealing with Dice. She was agile, deadly, and had amazing dexterity, but needed twice the amount of rest he needed. They took it even slower than their theoretical top speed so that she wouldn¡¯t be too winded in the case of a fight. They moved primarily through the trees, jumping and climbing as necessary. All the resting meant he was alone with Dice often. Ina was far ahead and busy hunting usually, leaving him to contend with the diminutive blade fighter.


    He couldn¡¯t understand most of what she said, so he found the best thing to do was to repeat her statements back to her, and have her give a nod if it was correct.


    ¡°Ah ned a res¡± Dice said, her chest hammering.


    ¡°You needed a rest?¡± Dem asked, and she shook her head in agreement.


    ¡°Alright, over there is a nice high and wide branch.¡±


    In a moment, they were both slumped on the branch. Her chest rising and falling rapidly, while he lounged on his back a short distance away.


    As they lounged, he spent his time thinking about what use was there in being a Dominator, which mostly useful against other humans, when he spent most of his time with beasts. The obvious, and immoral, plan would to be take over the minds of everyone in the settlement and become sort of local overlord, but such a plan was incredibly far-fetched. Even with his limited education he knew there were plenty of powerful Classes and many ways to detect the use of spells. Someone would figure him out, or be resistant to his abilities, and murder him on the spot. His Class didn¡¯t protect him from a sword, arrow, or spell. He was, after all, still quite weak. He could imagine some power-mad idiot, attempting a plan like that, but he wanted to live. He did not yet even really know how to use his spells. The likelihood of him seriously damaging a person¡¯s mind was high, and so even practicing his spells came at a cost. Could he risk permanently hurting a person for his own benefit? At times, he hated the people from the settlement, especially when he was much younger, but later on he had come to understand they were just driven by fear. Fear of being forced out of the settlement, of having to become his neighbor. It didn¡¯t excuse their behavior, but he understood it.


    His mind started to drift further, and he lost himself in a series of power fantasy daydreams, usually entailing him using his Class to take control of his life, sadly each little dream was ended by the sobering fact that it would likely end in his inevitable demise. At some point, he was interrupted when he felt something tug at his arm.


    While he had been thinking, Dice had rolled closer to him and was staring intently. Her proximity, unbidden, brought to mind his Dominator¡¯s Influence. He would be spending a lot of time with Dice now. He could ¡®practice¡¯ his Influence he supposed, but manipulating her for no reason was.. unethical? What if he promised himself to not harm her, could he practice his Influence then? He couldn¡¯t use his active spells on her, and had no reason to use the Dominator¡¯s Gaze. Perhaps he could just play around with the Dominator¡¯s Influence and Presence. It was part of who he was now, and he had little control of it. Maybe, he could gain more control interacting with Dice? Something about all of this still felt wrong so he made a silent pledge to do nothing that would harm her directly. As he did so, she spoke.


    ¡°Yu¡¯ a ¡®ndsome ¡®un. Duh yu¡¯ wan¡¯ tuh put et en muh ¡®lace?¡± Her voice sounding casual.


    He tried to sound out what she was saying. ¡®He was.. handsome?¡¯


    ¡°Uh thank you for your compliment Dice, let me see if I can understand you.¡± he responded.


    ¡°Do.. I.. want.. to. put it.. e-en-in.. your lace?¡± His voice was confused. Nothing came to mind to explain what she wanted.


    ¡°Yuh, muh ¡®lace¡± Then she point down to her groin.


    ¡°Your place?¡±


    ¡°Yuh.¡± She then made a gesture that made it clear exactly what she wanted from him. As she motioned with her fingers, she smiled at him, rather sweetly. The scars on her cheeks showed more easily as her facial muscles flexed.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Ah, you want to.. have sex?¡± He only asked to stall, while he thought this through.


    She punched him in the arm, rather hard for someone so much smaller than him.


    ¡°Yuh, ar¡¯ yu¡¯ slo¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Am I slow? No, I am just surprised.¡±


    He could feel her hand reach down and begin to work its way into his leather pants, rifling around, clearly seeking something. He didn¡¯t have the time to consider this too much, it seemed to just be happening. He noticed she twirled a blade in her other hand as she stared at him. She seemed to be experienced at using one hand for one kind of task, while the other intimidated.


    As her hand found what it was looking for his mind finally locked into place. This happening wasn¡¯t really a problem, Ina seemed to only care about other many-tailed, and he might get.. something out of it. At very least he needed to be in control, to advance his Path, to use this.. diversion to his own ends.


    He slowly reached for hand twirling the blade. If he moved too quickly, she might attack before he had control of the situation. His hand grabbed her wrist, as she sent the blade flying past his head, in a clearly intended miss. His other hand pulled her other arm from inside his pants. He felt a small sense of loss as her hand came free. In the few moments it had been down there, it had been surprisingly deft. He pushed her hands above her head, using one hand to hold them both in place, and rolled on top of her into a position straddling her. She smiled at this. He bent over to kiss her, wondering what her breath would be like, but she stopped him with a scowl.


    She spoke quickly, ¡°N¡¯uhn uh tha¡¯ ¡®issy ¡®tuff. Jus¡¯ put et en muh ¡®lace¡±.


    He spoke just as briskly, ¡°No romantic stuff, got it.¡± As he spoke, his free hand began to roam her body looking for the secret to getting her leathers off.


    She smiled triumphantly at him, seeming to enjoy his diligent work.


    ¡°Yu cahn hi¡¯ muh ef yu ¡®ike¡± Her voice more quiet than usual, still smiling up at him, from the flat of her back.


    ¡°I can hit you if I like?¡± He asked in a slightly raised voice, his mind reeling. He did have much interesting in hitting her or another woman.


    ¡°Ef et wu¡¯ll mae-k yuh ¡®ard, Ah cahn, ¡®ake et.¡±


    ¡°If it will make hard me? You can take it? No, you make me.. hard. I don¡¯t need to hit you woman. As soon as I get your leathers off, I will show you.. in your.. place.¡± His last statement, was slightly awkward, but made the line he wouldn¡¯t cross clear. He shook his head, this woman was odd. A little sad too, he thought.


    She still smiled at him, happy as he had ever seen her, but maybe a little disappointed by his last declaration. Why were all the women in this party so strange?


    ***


    ¡°Yuh gawt a gu¡¯d ¡®ool thar.¡±


    ¡°I have a good wool there?¡±


    ¡°Nah, ah ¡®ool, ah ¡®ool¡±. She pointed down towards Dem''s groin.


    ¡°Ah, a tool. My tool? I thank you Lady Adventurer, for your compliment.¡± He said.


    ¡°Muh ¡®lace i¡¯z ah ¡®it z¡®ore. Gu¡¯d y¡¯ob.¡± Her voice casual as they kept moving.


    ¡°Your place.. is a bit.. sore? Thank you, you do.. a good job as well.¡± He didn¡¯t know what else to say to the woman.


    They had been taking a lot of ¡®rests¡¯ lately, maybe more than strictly necessary. These rests were less than restful, and usually centered around his ¡®ool¡¯ and her ¡®lace¡¯, and her being z¡¯ore later. She rejected every attempt he had made to be romantic, or even overly gentle. She wanted what she wanted, making a few initial demands, but otherwise let him take charge. Her flexibility and dexterity made her.. an interesting lover? Partner? So long as he did what she asked, she did most anything he asked in return. Though, in all honesty, he didn¡¯t know what to ask for from her. She introduced him to some new things, but had no interest in anything tender or soft. Despite the situation, he felt.. used. This sort of coupling didn¡¯t fail to arouse him, but it wasn¡¯t what he wanted. He supposed this is how adventurers were, finding some comfort where they could, but without attachment. A rotation ago he would have understood this mentality better, that everything was purely transactional, but what he felt about Ina, even his love for his parents, wasn¡¯t so shallow.


    The benefits of his time with Dice were not bad. He advanced his Path, feeling a sense of domination everytime he took the woman especially as she.. finished. It was very both very different from and surprisingly alike advancing his previous path. On the surface, it required two beings working together at a particular aim. The difference though, obviously, was in this new configuration, he had to be incharge totally which was awkward for him. Despite that, he had to admit the rush he felt that went along with it was.. good. He could feel himself fill with new energy, and his intent was continually honed to shaper edge.


    He felt ready to at least attempt to cast his Class spells now, though he had no target in mind. Their resting kept Dice happy and compliant for the most part, and it cut down on the possibility of having to make more small talk. When in the act, she could hardly speak, except to yell some incomprehensible profanities at him, so that was helpful. Trying to decipher her.. accent? Gave him a headache.


    During this excursion they''d been out in the wilds for two full work cycles, only returning occasionally to the camp site to communicate with Karmis. He had seen his Dominator¡¯s Influence affect Dice in real time. His influence on her, thanks to their rests, was increasing all the time. It was hard to describe, even to himself, what was going on. He could tell, when he trained with her, she followed his orders faster and with less thought. Originally, when he asked her questions about the party, their past history, and Karmis, she had been tight lipped, even after their first rest.


    The first time he asked, early in their time together, she spoke hurriedly and sternly, ¡°Ah, cahn¡¯ta ¡®alk uh¡¯bout et. Duhn¡¯ta ah-ssk.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t talk about it, and don¡¯t ask. I understand.¡± He had expected as much. Adventurers didn¡¯t get far blabbing to just anyone.


    A couple cycles later, after his Influence had started to work, she would laugh and tell him stories of the work the party did. She still shied away from specifics, but the stories painted a rough, grim picture that only made him more worried about what they were doing out in the Wilds. Even knowing more now, both about himself and about the rest of the party, he didn''t feel any better.

 Chapter 23

    Dem was once again resting with Dice listening to her stories of the party and its doings.


    ¡°You were in a tavern? You were there to kill a member of another party? Someone hired you to get revenge?¡± Making sense of Dice''s stories was never easy.


    ¡°Yuh, buh Ka¡¯miss ¡®ook the ¡®andsome uhns ¡®way. Ka¡¯miss ¡®eft muh tha ug¡¯ee ¡®ig uhn.¡±


    ¡°I see, so Karmis lured the handsome one¡¯s away and left you a ugly big one. To fight?¡±


    She chuckled at me, ¡°Ah, fout ¡®im wi¡¯ muh ¡®lace. Ah wuh z¡¯ore ¡®ur ¡®ree yikels. Eh wuh ¡®ig!¡±


    ¡°You had sex with him, and your place was sore for three cycles. Got it.¡±


    His mind turned in his head realizing there was an important piece missing.


    ¡°What was Wersa doing? Was she killing the target?¡±


    ¡°Nuh, Wu¡¯sa ¡®ook tha ¡®igst uhn. Eh fout ¡®ack, buh ¡®ost.¡±


    ¡°Wersa took the biggest one, but he fought back and lost. Right?" She nodded.


    He said a silent pray to the Divine Humanity for the poor man as he came to understand what Dice was saying.


    ¡°Did she.. wait, I don¡¯t want to know. Who did the killing? Which one of you took the man you were targeting?¡±


    ¡°Eh ¡®ot thar. Eh ¡®ame lay-tah.¡±


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t there? He came later? Why did you.. seduce the men if he wasn¡¯t there?¡±


    ¡°Ah ¡®illed ¡®im ¡®ile tha uh¡¯ars ¡®ept.¡±


    ¡°You killed the target while the others were sleeping. Is this a common strategy you use?¡±


    ¡°Nuh, Ka¡¯miss ¡®ooks ¡®em mo¡¯st ¡®imes. Tuh ¡®lit ¡®em uh-p.¡±


    ¡°Karmis is the one who usually seduces them. Which splits them up. What do you and Wersa do usually?¡±


    ¡°Wuh¡¯sa ¡®ets thar uh-ten-shun, an¡¯ ah, ¡®nife ¡®em.¡±


    ¡°So Karmis splits their party, Wersa distracts anyone left, and you knife them when they aren¡¯t paying attention. That is amazing. I¡¯m sure you do a great job.¡± He flattered her during these stories as best he could.


    ¡°Uh huh, ¡®ank yuh.¡±


    ¡°So what happens to the ones Karmis takes? She has been eyeing me, you know? Should I be worried?¡±


    ¡°Uh duhn ef ah sh-ud ¡®ay, buh Ka¡¯mis ¡®ills ¡®em sum¡¯imes.¡±


    ¡°She kills them sometimes? Got it, I won¡¯t say anything if you don¡¯t. I¡¯ll be careful.¡±


    ¡°Gud, ah duhn wahn tu¡¯ ¡®ooze ¡¯ur ¡®ool.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose my tool either.¡± She giggled as he said that, sounding younger than her scars would indicate, but she didn¡¯t especially look sad at the thought he noticed with an internal grimace.


    ***


    Dem''s influence didn¡¯t seem to be harming Dice, at the very least. The information he had gained had allowed him to better understand who he worked for. The party took jobs in cities, mostly centered around tracking down other adventurers, or hunting people who tried to run from a noble, or doing the bidding of anyone with the coin to hire Karmis and her companions. They occasionally took jobs that required murder, which is why Dice had been recruited. The whole party seemed to be formed around Karmis, with Wersa as her enforcer and protection, and Dice as her silent bloody hand. It occurred to him later, after he had gotten a number of stories out of Dice, that Karmis would kill him for knowing all this, but over time he felt more and more confident in his influence on Dice. Dice would be in trouble for telling him any of this, so she had no real incentive admit anything to Karmis. Still, he was under no illusion about Karmis potentially leaving his body out here if she found a reason. No one would avenge him, and no one would look for him. Out in the Wilds, adventurers were bound by virtually no law. Only contracts, like the one he was under, might serve as even the most meagre assurance of his safety.


    He had been worried about the beasts of the night, but now he was worried about his party.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ***


    The night cycles would begin soon. The light began to wane, and the temperature dropped slightly. He had taught Dice as much as he could about the basics of the Wilds. What the different trees were, where to find a core in most beasts, where to find good places to make camp. He had gone over most of the kinds of greater beasts he knew of in the area. They hadn¡¯t found much for hunting while he trained Dice. Ina killed most of the weaker beasts long before they arrived, and the greater beasts were probably finding shelter or preparing for the incoming night cycles. The best thing the party could do was hunker down high-up in their tree-camp, and fight off anything that became curious.


    In the last several cycles, he hadn¡¯t gotten much time for Ina or the grimoire. The former made him feel a bit lonely, Dice wasn¡¯t really a comforting companion, and the latter still gave him an apprehensive feeling. What else would he learn from the grimoire? His Class made him either a monster or totally useless. Almost any Class he could think of would have been more useful to him or, at least, less morally confusing. He could only follow the guiding maxim of the Wilds, which was do what you had to for survival¡¯s sake.


    ***


    Dem returned with Dice back to the central camp, but it sparked little interest from Karmis and Wersa. Neither Karmis, nor Wersa, had much reason to leave the site over the last few cycles. The scouts hadn¡¯t found much of note, and the two older women had little curiosity about the Wilds themselves. He suspected that he and Ina, when they''d nearly died, had already killed the three most arrogant greater beasts in the area, or perhaps most of the beasts in the area were simply in hiding due to the night cycle¡¯s approach. Some beasts found a den and slept through the night cycles, not any more daring to leave their homes than humans.


    Karmis always took Dice aside whenever they returned, quickly asking her a few questions. Karmis whispered these questions to Dice, but his hearing made it rather easy to listen in. The questions were mostly about if they had seen anything out of the ordinary, what they had done, and what he was teaching her. She bragged each time to Karmis about her conquest of him, or perhaps his conquest of her, making Karmis angry each time. She liked to give details, which usually made Karmis order her to be quiet. Despite her anger, Karmis'' interest was mostly in what they had seen.


    He quickly became convinced there must be something out here worth looking for. He didn¡¯t dare ask Dice directly, that would be too obvious. He wasn¡¯t even supposed to know they were looking for something in particular. Whatever this thing was probably had something to do with the parties going north. This party had bet on a different direction, perhaps because no one else was coming this way. If they did find something, they would get to keep it because no one would be around to take it from them. It was an unlikely, but safe bet. What they were looking for specifically, Karmis never mentioned, even to Dice.


    ***


    The party had him worried, but the night was the most immediate threat. He asked the party for a moment to explain what he could about what would soon happen. He had Dice¡¯s attention for good or ill, but Karmis and Wersa were hardly paying attention to his lesson. Despite their boredom, he spoke in a serious tone.


    He told them the temperature would drop further, the light would slowly extinguish, a mist would begin to wind its way through the trees. The ground would grow wet and muddy. The trees slick with a sort of perspiration or condensation. Small streams of free flowing water would form on the ground, winding through the roots of trees. There were beasts that would creep out from cracks in the ground and trees.


    He spoke of mist-fish, which spent most of its life, stuck to a tree, deflated, thin, perfectly camouflaged. During night cycles it would expand and lengthen, its teeth would grow, and it would ride the ribbons of mist through the Wilds looking for something to eat. Gargoyle-bats would fly above the trees in huge flocks, each half the height of a human adult and stronger than a lesser vine ape. They mostly preyed on other flying beasts, but occasionally they would roost for a while, digesting their meals on the upper branches of trees. Their calls were intense and distinct. Like a thousand torturous screams happening at the same time.


    He spoke about massive pit-toads that hid underground, with mouths so large, beasts would walk into them thinking them a safe den or a cave. The worst part was what happened to the unlucky beast once it was inside the cavernous pit-toad. Despite the toad¡¯s large mouth, its stomach and esophagus were surprisingly small. It used more than a dozen spined, tentacle-like, tongues, to literally grind its prey into an easy to digest slurry. It was a mercifully fast end, at least. Each new beast he described, set his heart palpitating. These were the cautionary tales of his childhood. This was the information that kept people alive in the hamlets.


    He went on and on for while, but eventually lost his audience. They didn¡¯t seem particularly impressed, though he did not ask why. Karmis did prepare some new trinkets and some extra spells around their camp. Wersa brought in a supply of wood for a fire. The fire and its light, would drive some of the more sensitive beasts away. Dice just sharpened her blades, yawning. He spent some time checking on this alarm trinkets, but he wasn¡¯t sure they would work against flying beasts. The spell was oriented towards sound and vibration. Mist-fish made no sounds.


    Ina moved in overheard. She would guard the area above their heads. In some ways she was perfectly made for night cycles. She could see well in the dark and blend in even better. She''d had plenty of time now to get used to her new form and he was pretty confident in her abilities, though he wish he''d gotten to spend more time with her.


    Night cycles were unpredictable, so no matter his confidence, he was concerned. He was nearly equally concerned about having to spend so much time in close quarters with the party. Their lack of interest in the night did not bode well for them protecting him. Parties had to work together in the Wilds, and doubly so at night.


    What could he do to make Ina and himself more safe? Monsters out there and monsters here. He could.. use some of his other spells. He hadn¡¯t originally thought there wasn¡¯t much use to them, but after hearing just how merciless and secretive Karmis was, he was starting to actually consider their use. Could he? He wasn''t sure. The real problem was that the grimoire, though terrifying and ominous, wasn''t blatantly evil. It didn''t require terrible things of him necessarily. There were Classes and Paths that require blood, sacrfice, and all manner of other horror. He had to admit though the power offered by the grimoie was enticing, especially if it kept him safe.

 Chapter 24

    As the night cycles began, they stoked the fire higher. Dem tried to imagine how long people had been lighting such fires in the Wilds, hoping to keep the darkness at bay. The truth was, he didn¡¯t know. The Church was big on teaching, but didn''t emphasize much about the past. He didn¡¯t know when the settlement had been originally started, or how long humans had been trying to live in the Wilds before that. The Church offered no specifics, and no one really bothered to ask. Immediate survival in the hamlets, and profit in the settlement, were too all-consuming. There were always legends, stories, but they were passed down from parent to child, or through children¡¯s books. For all he knew, the settlement itself could have started as a simple campfire, like the one the party sat ariybd. Something about being out here during a full rotation, left him in a contemplative mood.


    The mood on the faces around him were sour. Dice had attempted to find some time to ¡®rest¡¯ with him, but one look from Karmis had withered that particular fruit on the branch. Karmis eyed him more and more, and he grew worried. Wersa, thankfully, seemed almost totally indifferent to him, other than an occasional sneer.


    The first of the night cycles passed with only one encounter. A mist-fish came sniffing around, though not too close to the fire. Dice had tossed some blades at it, but they bounced off its disgusting, slimy exterior. He hadn¡¯t seen one so close before, and noticed it was quite frog-like for something that was supposed to be a fish. Its exterior had a mucousy substance on every surface, and its mouth would stretch incredibly wide as it seemed to gulp in the surrounding mist, which in turn caused it to propelled itself around us a slow space. It didn¡¯t seem to want to come within a certain distance of the fire, and so Wersa offered to throw her sword at it, but Karmis, correctly, pointed out it might bounce or slide right off the thing. He noticed even Wersa was not willing to leave the fire to fight it directly. It was fairly large, certainly larger than Wersa by a couple of times, and quite long, nearly long enough to surround the campsite by itself. He thanked the Divine Humanity mist-fish were solitary hunters.


    It eerily swam loops around them. He thought the beast was waiting for an opening, but he wasn''t sure. Having such a beast constantly swimming just outside the light of your fire, for whole cycles, would cause anyone to crack eventually. He wondered how many similar fires this particular beast had circled knowing that eventually it would get a meal either when they attacked or when they slept.


    Wersa spoke, ¡°We can just wait the thing out, it will go away eventually.¡±


    Dem wanted to respond, ¡°I don¡¯t know..¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, Wersa sneered at him, and he closed his mouth looking away. Wersa was nearly as scary as the Divinity-damned beast, so he gave up on the idea of arguing.


    Karmis ended their aborted conversation by casting a offensive fire spell. Concentration lighting her face, a stream of fire launched itself from Karim¡¯s hands to hit the mist-fish. Bizarrely, as soon as the fire reached the mist-fish, it seemed to just pop out of existence with a loud bang! He knew it hadn¡¯t really just disappeared because he could feel the air displaced from its movement. The wind generated had nearly knocked him over onto his ass and almost put out their fire. Despite what he knew from the evidence, it moved so fast most anyone would have sworn it teleported or simple popped out of existence. Shock registered everyone¡¯s face. The mist-fish had been terrifying, even though he knew something about what to expect from them, but what had really suprised him was Karmis.


    He hadn¡¯t figured her for an offensive castor, or perhaps he had realized she must be one, but didn¡¯t want to think about what that meant. In some ways, an offensive caster was more scary than a Classed Warrior. A Classed Caster was more versatile, with greater potential for systematic annhilation of their foes. The Warrior was destruction given human form, capable of killing tens of guards or soldiers before being brought down through exhaustion or numbers. Ultimately though, the Warrior was only a single person. The offensive Spell Caster, was a force of nature, potentially able to destroy whole villages if given time to do so. A Spell Caster with a Path related to destruction would be able to endlessly destroy, and in doing so, recharge themselves. They would only stop due to physical or mental exhaustion.


    Thankfull, the spell Karmis had used left her clearly worn her out. She was breathing heavily and looked drained. She was clearly not a true offensive Caster, the spell had taken too much from her, but also obviously had access to offensive spells. Just being able to use such a spell was frightening by itself. He checked on Ina, but she had hardly moved, except to be in position to rescue him if need be. He tried to relax, but this series of events had been more horrifying than he would have ever guessed. He, as a man from the hamlets, and a man who had travelled the Wilds to a small extent, would be considered an experience person in regard to night cycles, but it was hard to be prepared for what he had just seen.


    He had technically been out during a rotation like this before, not just in the hamlets, but with a caravan moving from one settlement to another. It was the only time he been to another settlement. He had joined the caravan, offering his labor as a carriage loader for free, in return for the protection the caravan offered. He had just wanted to gain some experience. At the time, Ina had matured enough to be considered a proper lesser beast, so he was a little blindly confident.


    The trip was long though, an entire rotation, and so they would have to camp in the Wilds during at least one set of night cycles, but this was a well used path, almost a genuine road, and a small fortification had been built long ago for travelers to use in the middle of their journey. Most everyone but the strongest Classed adventurers had simply sat inside a shelter through the night cycles. The whole fortification had a dozen places to keep fires going. The beasts in the area had long since learned to ignore the place during night cycles. The whole place was a trap for anything less than a calamity beast. He had been terrified at first, of course, but eventually the fortification felt safer than his own home.


    Actually being out in the night, and not in a shelter, or barricaded into a his family home, was a definitely a new experience for him. Most people in the hamlets were frightened of the dark, despite their hovels being rather gloomy. He couldn¡¯t consider himself an exception. There was something like a primal fear, a pressure, that the black around them conitinually attacked him with mentally. He tried his best to temper himself, by occasionally staring off into the darkness, imagining what else was out there. Eventually, though, he would shudderingly turn his back on the darkness and stare into the warm fire for comfort.


    ***


    The rest of the night cycles had been fairly uneventful, thankfully. No one had gotten any rest, though. They had heard gargoyle-bats on several occasions, but hadn¡¯t seen another mist-fish. No other beasts had visited them. Perhaps, they could sense Wersa and Karmis¡¯ strength, or the fire was enough to keep them back. The elder viper-wyrm would have been horrible to deal with in the dark, had it still lived. The night was now almost over, but his real problems had just begun. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    A t the moment alarm bells went off in his head, not the kind that signified his trinkets had been activated, but the sort of mental alarm that indicated he felt he was in deep personal trouble. Sensing his fear, Ina had crept closer to the campsite, readying to pounce on the source of his current predicament. He had to push her back mentally, sending that he would handle this situation and that she should stay-put, out of sight. He didn¡¯t know how he would handle this, but he would.


    Karmis had beckoned to him, ¡°Join me in my tent, Dem.¡± Her voice sounding friendly, but her eyes betraying a more commanding emotion.


    ¡°Buh, ahy yu¡¯ ge¡¯ts ¡®em, buh ah duhn¡¯ta?¡± Dice whined when she noticed what was going on.


    He subconsciously translated to himself what she was saying.


    ¡°But, why do you get him, but I don¡¯t?¡±, was his best approximation of her words.


    Karmis, glaring at her, ¡°I need to speak him.¡± Her voice hard.


    ¡°Ah¡¯least, le¡¯ muh, hab ¡®em awf¡¯tar. Ef..¡±


    His translation, ¡°At least let me have him after? If..¡±


    Karmis had cut her off mid sentence.


    ¡°That is enough Dice, go check on the alarm trinkets, like he showed you, the night cycles are almost over, you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Karmis dismiss her and once again beckoned to him.


    He shooed Ina away as well. He was somewhat prepared for this. He knew almost immediately, just from their initial meeting, her Path would be something involving interactions with other people. Her attired told him that being attractive helped in some way, so it was always a possibility she would want him to help her advance her Path using the attraction she tried to engender. At the very least, she likely wanted to replenish the power she had used up on her spells and he must be the best target for her Path.


    He sighed, and followed her with a his best smile. At least the night cycles were winding down. It was still dark, but beasts tended to retreat back to their hiding spots during the last night cycle. Other beasts, the sort that hid at night, would be waking up soon. As one danger decreased, another increased for him here and out there.


    As he she entered the tent, she bent lower than strictly necessary, arching her back, making her assets more apparent. She wore a soft-looking fiber robe. Her leathers were left to dry somewhere. The humidity in the air had left them wet and sticky. The robe was a little too short, and he got a full side view of the large globe of her left buttocks. Before entering, he took another big breath, hoping to gather strength. She was attractive certainly, but far too scary for him to have any real interest in. Ina was scary in primal way, but exciting, Karmis was just plain terrifying, a definite killer and manipulator.


    He lifted the tent flap and entered. The tent was large enough for two people to comfortable sit on chairs, and still sleep several people. There was only one chair in the tent and Karmis sat in it. He moved close enough to face her and sat down on a cushion waiting. As he waited, Karmis eyed him up and down, like a piece of meat. He didn¡¯t really mind, it sort of reminded him of the look Greer had given him, but he worried what she would ask him to do. If he displeased her, and she was able to cast a spell, he might not even make it from the tent alive.


    She crossed her legs, giving him a full view, of.. well, everything right at eye level. Her robe slipped lower in front, her breasts nearly exposed. She looked at him, judging his response to her wardrobe malfunction. He tried to look as interested as possible. Everything about her was sexually stimulating. She even reeked of it, his nose twitching. He still found himself too scared to be really excited.


    Finally, she reached for him, touching him on the shoulder, and looking him in the eye with a sultry smile. He felt her cast another spells, but it had zero effect on him. Before he felt the spells she cast connect with him, but they were resisted. This time, probably thanks to advancing his Path and exploring his Class, the spell simply disappeared into nothingness.


    She frowned and spoke, ¡°How are you doing that? Be honest, no evasion.¡±


    Well beastdung, this was bad. What could he say? He had to make up something plausible.


    ¡°I.. once wanted to be an initiate of the Church¡­¡± He didn¡¯t know where to take this, but it was the first thing to come to mind. Priests were resistant to mental manipulation generally. Caius had used it as an excuse to explain why he needed to drink so much to get drunk. Caius¡¯s mind had been trained. It would automatically try to resist intoxication or anything else that might affect his mental state.


    ¡°Caius, the settlement Priest, taught me something.. to strengthen my mind..¡± He knew didn¡¯t sound exactly convincing, but he supposed it was plausible. He decided to double down.


    ¡°The Tamer bond also affords.. a Tamer some mental resistance through melding of minds with a beast.¡± This was total beastdung, as far as he knew, but it was unlikely she was an expert on Tamer bonds.


    Karmis stared at him, weighing his words. Her robe had slipped all the way off in front, when she reached to cast a spell on him earlier. Her breasts hung down, her nipples a light pink, hard in the cool night air. Eventually, with a sigh, she moved off her chair and pushed on his chest until he laid on his back. He stretched out his legs, and she moved over them, to straddle him. She was surprisingly light. Her robe slipped the rest of the way off, but he hardly noticed, as he was looking at her too-perfect face. It consisted of rounded planes, high cheekbones, full lips, and arched eyebrows, all framed by the dark red of her hair.


    Gyrating her hips slightly while she sat on him, she spoke then, ¡°Boy, you have what I need. My spells may not work, but my body is a wonderous thing isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Her voice sounded deeper, older, than he remembered. It vibrated through him.


    She bent low over him, her hands roaming across his chest, bringing her lips as close to his ear as her bust would let her. ¡°Boy, just lose yourself in my embrace, I have need of you.¡±


    He could feel the sharpness of her nipples stabbing him, and soft weight of her bust weighing down on his chest. Her hips seeming to widen and engulf his. His mind was a little fuzzy, but the underlying fear he had earlier was still a constant pressure on his mind that kept his thoughts clear. His problem now was how to respond. Was he supposed to lose himself to lust and ravish her, or was he supposed to be charmed into such a state of lust she could have her way with him in whatever way she desired? He had never put so much thought into sex before, as his life was literally on the line. He needed to act within her expectations and elicit no further suspicion, but didn¡¯t know how to do that.


    Karmis must have interpreted his stillness for whatever she had been looking for, because she began to undress him then, her hand reaching for his pants, untying the knot, and sliding them down. She stopped dead, though, her face suddenly a mask of fury. She was looking at his ¡®tool¡¯ as Dice had called it, and it hadn¡¯t.. responded quite the way she thought it would. She looked at him and began to speak, but he suddenly spoke, cutting her off.


    He spoke hurriedly, stumbling, ¡°Karmis, you¡¯re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, but...ah.. I¡¯m nervous you see, and ah¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you prefer men, you bastard?¡±


    ¡°No, no, ask Dice about that¡­ ah.. That was the wrong thing to say¡­¡±


    She slapped him hard in the face. In response, all he could do was school his emotions, showing not the slightest bit of anger or rebellion.


    His voice meek, ¡°Perhaps if you were to.. or I could¡­ maybe give me some time and I can..¡± He couldn¡¯t even complete a sentence to make up some kind of excuse, her glare had him pinned.


    ¡°Boy, I haven¡¯t had to work this hard for it in a long, long time. Fine! At least return the favor.¡±


    She turned her body, smothering his face with her posterior, angling in a particular way to give him access, while she went to work on the other end of him. He did the only thing he could, though he took no pleasure in it.

 Chapter 25

    ¡°You useless bastard!¡± Karmis threw the chair at Dem.


    Her ministrations had worked to some extent, but weren¡¯t lasting in their effect.


    ¡°Lady, I will keep.. ministering to you if you will let me. Just lay back, and perhaps it will all work out.¡± His voice trying to sound apologetic, but probably failing.


    She seethed, ¡°That isn¡¯t what I need boy. If I wanted that I would simply have bought someone with a more practiced tongue.¡±


    Her eyes narrowed, ¡°You¡¯re a Tamer. Do I need fur to interest you? Is that what this is about? I don¡¯t have claws or tails?¡± This strangely hurt him in a totally irrational way, causing him to bite back.


    ¡°Dice has no fur, and no claws but those blades of hers. I have had no trouble with her. It is just nervousness, you¡¯re too beautiful.¡± His voice a little hoarse. He tried to bring it around with a compliment.


    She shouted angrily at him, ¡°What does she do that you need to get it hard, boy? Do you want to take me in my ass? Was my mouth and cunt not good enough for you?¡±


    ¡°No, no, listen Karmis, this isn¡¯t about you, it''s me, it''s all me. The night has me scared. Maybe in daylight, it will work out for us.¡± He knew she wouldn¡¯t be convinced but he had to keep the act going, hoping for her to defuse herself. He also hoped she still needed him enough that she wouldn¡¯t do anything drastic.


    ¡°Get out, boy. Go out and check the alarms again, or hunt us something for dinner. Send Dice back.¡± Her tone final.


    ¡°Y-yes, Karmis.¡± as he spoke, he drew his pants up to his waist, grabbed his shirt, and ran from the tent.


    He moved quickly away from the campsite. The darkness had started to recede, the misting evaporating all around him. The light was still low, but he could see just fine as he moved in the direction of Dice. Maybe he could get her to.. and then he could rush back.. and perform? It wasn¡¯t much of a plan. A sense of bitterness welled up inside him. He had never expect his life would hang by the thread of his sexual performance. For Divinity¡¯s sake, he had expect to live his life chaste, unable to merry. He had always imagined dying, older, perhaps much older, fighting some powerful beast. Never did he think a smelly Warrior woman would crush his head at the command of a spurned spell caster. Maybe Karmis would just burn a hole through him. That would be quick at least.


    ***


    The shadows around him were beginning to evaporate. The Wilds were often a fairly shaded place, but the top most foliage was nearly transparent, allowing at least some light to trickle down. As you went further down from the top of the tree, to the bottom, the leaf-cover got more opaque. Once on the ground, the light was so thin, it became hard to see long-distances. Not that you could see very far in the Wilds anyway, thanks to the sheer amount of vegetation.


    He could see that Dice was already returning, as he pushed further into the Wilds. He called to her, long before she could see him. His ears and nose finding her quickly. She materialized from the gloom, shadows across her face. He couldn¡¯t see her eyes, they were dark pools on her face, but he could see her mouth and lips.


    He spoke quickly, ¡°Karmis requests you back at the campsite. She is¡­ angered at me. I could not.. perform to her expectations.¡±


    As first her face was lit with a grin and she laughed, but eventually, still looking at him, her mouth turned into a frown.


    She let out a sigh, and she spoke,¡°Ah ¡®ee, et beh ¡®est tuh ¡®ease Ka¡¯miss.¡± Her tone was firm, but sad.


    ¡°It would be best to please Karmis? Tell her I will try it again, and I am sure it work out fine. Tell her¡­¡± His voice trailed off, he didn¡¯t know what else to say. Dice, without waiting for him to finish, turned her back to him, and left.


    After a long moment, he too began moving further away quickly. A short amount of time later he slowed down and stopped. The look of Dice¡¯s mouth, the frown, was something he had never seen from her. She had pouted, yelled, huffed, but never just frowned, in the short time he had known her. He was already worried, but the frown had sent him into a panic. Her statement had been obvious. It was obviously best to please  Karmis, that much was clear, but it hadn''t meant much more than that to him. The frown though, the seriousness of it, from Dice of all people, that was frightening.


    Was it a warning? Dice wasn¡¯t a subtle woman, despite her talent for killing from the shadows. She wasn¡¯t crafty, that was Karmis¡¯ job. Dice was just the knife in the hand of the woman in red. Still, even if it wasn¡¯t an intentional warning, he felt this was probably the end for him. Karmis might send Wersa after him, but it was doubtful she would be able to find him. Karmis hadn''t given him anything that could be used to track him but perhaps she had a means of tracking him with a spell? It was more likely they would send Dice to kill him, but if he had Ina, well, he might win. It was possible he would die and Ina would maul Dice. They might even kill each other, but realistically Dice could fill them both full of blades at any sort of distance. Ina would have to ambush the woman, killing her in nearly a single stroke. Dice was so agile though, and very experienced. He would have to be there to help, he couldn¡¯t send Ina in alone. If Ina died, well it would be all for naught, wouldn¡¯t it? He would have little reason to keep going and would likely not make it back to the settlement anyway. In any case, he would likely die. Could he just run?


    He couldn¡¯t beat Wersa in speed or endurance. However, she could only realistically use one of her advantages but not both. Her buffs allowed her bursts of speed that would allow her to gain on him in a straight line easily, but would drain her endurance terribly. Without the buffs draining her, she might be able to travel for cycles longer than he could, but her lack of agility and knowledge of the terrain would keep her lagging behind him. If she could locate him, or knew where he was going, she might eventually catch up, but it was unlikely her senses were acute enough to find him if he was well hidden. Karmis might have a spell to locate him, but she would be sick after the first cycle of traveling on Wersa¡¯s back. Karmis would only slow Wersa down. After thinking all this through, it was unlikely they would send Wersa, but what about Dice?


    He might be able to out run Dice over a long distance, but her stamina had improved some and Karmis would buff her to the hilt. Dice might even have an apothecary¡¯s or alchemist¡¯s solution that would help her catch up to him in the short-term. Dice¡¯s agility was fantastic, in more ways than one. Dice moved better through the trees than he did after some practice, but she simply wasn¡¯t used to the extended exertion of traveling all cycle. Ina could escape easily. The party had little interaction with Ina, he had kept her away from them. It was doubtful they could track her. They hadn¡¯t noticed her at all when she was above them, or at least they had never mentioned her presence. They had never even asked him about the lack of her presence. He probably had the bias against his Class to thank for their disinterest in Ina. Ina had never set off the outer-alarm spells because he controlled them. Karmis, on the other hand, had her own set of ones located at the camp tuned to some specification he didn¡¯t know.


    If he ran, right now, what would they do to him? The contract would punish him potentially if he ran right now. Some allowance might be made if he could be sure they were going to kill him first. The contracted worked on a personal basis shared across the party. It was dependent on specific mental triggers and physical actions he didn¡¯t fully understand. It was a piece of spell-work the Tower employed to enforce cooperation. The Tower¡¯s spell-work was often inscrutable, it came from the central region of the True Human Realm. He knew nothing of the central region. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    How else might they punish him? If he ran would they even chase? Did it matter? Karmis was angry, but was she angry enough to bother with him, a mere guide and Tamer? What would they do when they got back to the settlement.. His thoughts stopped dead. His parents were back there and would have no protection from the party he worked for. They weren¡¯t covered under the contract and no one from the settlement would care about what happened to an older couple from the hamlets. Despite the hamlets providing the settlement a lot of cheap labor and basic materials, most in the settlement thought of them as a burden. Their deaths were beneath notice. Karmis could eventually find someone to bribe that would tell her where his parents lived. Everything was for sale in the settlement. The location of some hamlet dwellers was nothing.


    Greer might lie for him, or if enough coin were offered, might help Karmis. Greer was protected by being affiliated with the Tower, so she had nothing to fear. If he had to be honest with himself, he couldn¡¯t be sure what Greer would do. They had known each other a long time, but his working for this party had been her idea. She had found him this deathtrap of a job. If he couldn''t be sure about her, he couldn¡¯t rely on her to cover for him.


    He needed to find out who they were going to send before he made a decision, but if he went back now, Wersa could just kill him a flash. His hearing was good, but not good enough to listen in from a significant distance. Ina¡¯s hearing might be good enough. He would have to check with her. He was about ask Ina for help, but he stopped, realizing her current position through the bond. Ina was still back there, where he asked her to stay. She was still calmly watching the campsite. She had been worried from the start and hadn¡¯t left the source of the threat. He was so used to her following when he left, that it had surprised him that she had stayed. This was dangerous for Ina, but great for him. He could use this situation to his own benefit!


    He had trouble understanding Ina¡¯s emotions through the bond, they were just too different from his own, but he had been able to look through her eyes and hear through her ears before. The exchange of senses was far from perfect when she was a greater beast. There were some very big differences between how Ina heard and saw things, and how a human did, but he could get general impressions. Now that Ina was a beastwoman, it should be easier. Their senses would, hopefully, overlap better.


    He reached out through the bond, offering himself up to Ina in the hopes she''s would offer her senses up to him. The bond worked better if there were a sort of exchange. He tried school his emotions for her, as she was clearly angry about his panic. He tried to convey a sense of calm, of hopefulness, and the warmth of.. love. He hadn¡¯t spent much time with Ina recently, but he had always been in communication with her, promising her quality time after the job was done. She had been patient, and had even been interested in experiencing the night cycles with him.


    He hid his body in the nook of tree, and let his vision go dark. A moment later, he could see, though he had no control over the focus. Everything became sharp, the colors somehow different. His hearing bloomed, the heartbeats near him pounding loudly, like drum beats. Ina still controlled what he saw and heard, but he could offered suggestions. He asked her to creep as close as she dared, until she could make out the individual sounds of Karmis and Wersa moving around. Then he waited, to see if they would notice Ina. He felt awful risking Ina, but it was unlikely either of them would ever be able to find Ina unless she let them. By the time Karmis cast a spell, Ina could be long gone. She was many times more agile than Wersa, and had far more endurance than Dice. She would live through all of this, even if he did not, he vowed.


    Eventually he relaxed some, the rest of the party were totally oblivious. He had to remind himself these adventurers knew little of the Wilds and thought nothing of a Tamer from such a backwards place. No alarm spells sounded, not even silently, as Karmis¡¯ angry expression didn¡¯t change as Ina crept closer. At this point, it was likely Karmis hadn¡¯t tuned her spells correctly, or Ina was just beyond their range. It was possible she had relied on him totally for outward alarm spells, and her personal ones were only for her tent or the immediate area around the campfire. She was either arrogant or had simply relied too much on him.


    Karmis stood, her robe flapping open, pacing back and forth. Wersa still seemed disinterested in whatever was going. Ina, after a moment, could tune her hearing to the point where he could hear Karmis angrily talking about him under her breath.


    Karmis muttered, ¡°That limp-dick, backwoods hick. He probably only gets it up for beasts or his cousins.¡±


    He didn¡¯t have any cousins he knew about. His parents had never talked about extended family, and he hadn¡¯t ask. You didn¡¯t talk about the dead in the hamlets. There wasn¡¯t a point to it. He couldn¡¯t agree about the beast crack either, but it hardly mattered. It was clear Karmis was still very angry.


    After waiting a short while, Dice showed up. Ina couldn¡¯t see her directly, but she could smell and hear her arrive.


    Karmis immediately spoke, as Dice appeared, ¡°I am done with the Tamer. He is useless to me. I requested a man for a guide, to replenish myself with and to fight the boredom, but instead what I got was a beastfucker.¡±


    This confirmed his speculation about her Path. She need him to advance and to continue to empower her spells. Judging by his interaction with her, she needed him to be charmed or fall into some sort of lust for her. His resisting of her spells had maybe even been a challenge to her, something that would be really good for her Path, but when it was clear he preferred the company of Dice, it had hurt her, and perhaps even hurt her Path.


    Dice spoke back, in a cautious tone, ¡°Eh f-ook¡¯d meh ¡®ust ¡®ine.¡±


    He translated for himself, ¡°He fucked me just fine.¡±


    Karmis, paused and sniffed in Dice¡¯s direction, ¡°You¡¯re little better than a beast. Since we don¡¯t need him, we will get rid of him. You will take him far from us, far enough the punishment from the contract, will fall mostly on your shoulders, and you put a blade in him. You will do it. Since he preferred you, you will be his demise. You will do your job.¡±


    He let out a breath, this was what he was expecting, an order for his death. He at least knew who would be coming to get him. Would Dice agree though? She was under his influence, but what that meant exactly was still confusing to him. She had opened up to him, in a lot of ways. Did that mean her loyalty to Karmis would waver? He couldn''t guess.


    He heard a tremble in Dice¡¯s response, ¡°Ah, ef ah ¡®aft tuh, ah ¡®ill, buh cahn ah ¡®ave ¡®em uh ¡®ast ¡®ime?¡±


    He translated again, his stomach dropping, ¡°If I have to, I will, but can I have him a last time?¡±


    Dice had not even attempted to resist Karmis. Either she cared little for him, or was too afraid of Karmis. In either case, his influence wasn¡¯t enough for overt change in her actions. He was disappointed. He had helped Dice quite a bit in learning the Wilds, and done much for her ¡®place¡¯, but it wasn¡¯t enough to sway her from her job.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you want ride that beastfucker again, but he dies. It will at least save us some gold on this waste of a trip. Kill his beast as well, if you see her. If she has a core it will be worth something. My spell is still tracking him. He is not that far from us. In that direction. Now go!¡± Karmis, voice was nnow less angry and more just cold.


    Dice said no more and he heard her begin to leave.


    He heard Karmis call after Dice, telling her one more thing, ¡°Don¡¯t wake us when you return. I want to sleep through the headache that comes with breaking a contract.¡±


    It was true none of them had gotten much sleep during the night cycles, so it made sense after finishing with business with him, she would sleep. He asked Ina to slowly move away and return to him. She would be able to reach him before Dice did.


    Now he had to think about what he would do. Karmis was angry, and clearly vengeful. Vengeful enough to recoup some of her costs. He couldn¡¯t trust she wouldn¡¯t try to find other ways of trying to hurt him. She had already ordered Ina¡¯s death as well.


    It was unlikely that they could kill Dice without losing himself, or possibly Ina. He had no means of killing the other members of the party at range. He could run, but there would be no protection for his parents. His influence on Dice wasn¡¯t particularly strong, or at least not in a way he understood. She was on her way right now, to first fuck him, and then kill him. His only option was obvious. Its obviousness didn¡¯t make it feel right to do, but he was from the hamlets, he lived in the moment, his overarching goal was always survival. He would be what the grimoire had demanded he become, The Dominator.

 Chapter 26

    The supposedly powerful Dominator sat waiting, worried, trying to decide which spell to ready in his mind. He could start with Dominate Mind, and potentially damage Dice¡¯s mind right away. He had no idea if she could resist it, and if she could resist it, what form that resistance might take. Dominate Mind might immediately incapacite her so he could move in for the kill, or it might actually put her under his control? What would that even mean? He could Dominate Will, but he knew even less about what that would do than Dominate Mind. He hadn¡¯t gotten much more time with the grimoire, he had been busy with Dice nearly every moment of each cycle, but even if he had time, he was hesitant to know more about his Class. What if his Class offered him even worse spells? What further temptation would there be for him?


    His mind had wandered, and so he marshaled it back to the immediate threat. He could lure her in and use Dominator¡¯s Gaze, then.. do what? It wouldn¡¯t entirely incapacitate her, but it would make his other spells better right? It gave her a strong dose of his influence. He would still need to Dominate Mind or Dominate Will in the end, but at least they would likely work right? Could he rely on the fact she wanted one last go with him, or should he try to immediately cast a spell? If she noticed he was concentrating and not speaking, she might attack immediately. It seemed best to lure her in, and get her close enough to actually cast a spell. His primary two spells Dominate mind and Dominate Will required a touch to work. If he could control Dice, would he need Dice to address his problems with Karmis? Having a Blade Fighter would be helpful, at least she could distract Wersa or Karmis for him. His plan solidified in his head. He had to lure Dice in, use Gaze or at least get into range to touch her, and give himself the best chance at his other spells working. Everything was risky, but at least this plan provided him a potential extra tool to use against his other two problems. He began to fill the spell-templates in his mind with the power of his Path. He continued to wait and worry.


    ***


    It was difficult to cast a new spell in the best of circumstances. The Dominator¡¯s Gaze  he was preparing wasn¡¯t a full spell template, but rather the activation of a passive spell that ran in the background of his mind at all times. It should be, theoretically, easier since it wasn¡¯t really a fully casted spell. He needed to simply increase the intensity of his passive Influence spell, focus it through his eyes, and unleash, or at least that was his best guess. He hoped it would be that simple.


    Right now, he found it difficult to do anything with his mind. It was surprisingly hard to even activate a spell while you were inside of someone¡¯s ¡®place¡¯. As she twisted underneath him, grasping at his arms, their hips bouncing in tandem, he found himself rather contemplative about what had transpired.


    She had approached him, knowing his direction thanks to Karmis, and he called out to her, waiting in the shadow of a tree. The light was much brighter now, more than half-way back to its usual brightness. He had made sure to have something to dive behind if she attacked right away, but she hadn¡¯t. She had simply said that Karmis was still angry, angry at them both, and that were to move further away and do some scouting. He agreed, and they left. It had been a clam, casual exchange. She didn¡¯t seem sad or very perturbed. He supposed this meant she had killed a lot of people at Karmis¡¯s behest, even people she liked.


    After a sixteenth or so, they stopped at his request, for a rest. True to form Dice was on him immediately, pulling at his clothes. He had obliged, thinking it would easier to do what he needed to do if they were in mid-session, but now he found it a lot harder. Thankfully, her clothes and blades were more than a span from them, so she could immediately stab him, but then again he couldn¡¯t really convince himself she didn¡¯t have a blade hidden somewhere. On the other hand, there was at least one place he was sure was empty except for what he was putting there.


    This had been uneventful really. He had no trouble performing, like he had with Karmis. Despite his life being on the line here, Dice was her usual self, and so he.. well, he hadn¡¯t relaxed, but he had let nature take its course. If he weren¡¯t risking his life, this might have just another cycle of training with Dice. He had to remind himself he couldn¡¯t procrastinate here, it was her or him. The choice obvious, but still he found it hard to activate his Gaze. Maybe after he.. finished, he could pull it off, but it was just as likely she would strike while he was distracted right? He needed to think of something to clear his mind. Something gross enough that he involuntarily empty his mind and give him a chance at activating the spell. What about.. Wersa? Naked? Ugh! It was now or never!


    As his mind rejected the image and began to clear, his hands came up to grip Dice¡¯s head, drawing her into looking him in the eye. He stopped his movement on top of her. He felt the intensity of his Influence increase, he focused it to his eyes. Dice open her mouth to speak, to probably tell him to keep going. The panic of possibly dying shot through him as he noticed Dice begin to reach for something beside them. He unleashed, activating his Dominator Gaze for the first time.


    His vision grew dark, like night had returned suddenly, but this new change was different from the gloom of the night, because everything took on a new hue, an almost lightless, midnight blue. Dice¡¯s head rocked back, she had caught an eye full of his Gaze. Her pupils dilated, and her movement stopped. He waited a moment, wondering what he had done exactly, but eventually her body twisted underneath him and she gasped, sucking in air. She relaxed a moment after, a happy look on her face signifying contentment. Had she? Really? Her relaxed look continued, and she began to stare almost sightlessly through him.


    Suddenly, he felt something stir in his own heart. This weakling, had used him! Wanted to kill him! He was a Dominator! He couldn¡¯t allow this to stand! He would break them all! He felt himself harden inside of her again. Baring clenched teeth, he decided what fate this woman would receive for daring to oppose him.


    Hot rage ran rampant through his being for a moment, eventually though it gave way to a freezing cold. His mind closed shut, like rusty beast trap. He needed to dominate this woman further, and use her against her party. He needed to eliminate the threat to himself.


    He prepared the easier of the two spells, Dominate Mind. Dice was starting mumble to herself, still clearly incoherent, when he cast his first true Domination spell.


    It took what felt like an eternity, but the spell template was finally fully ready in his mind, and he directed it towards Dice through his hands touching her heard. After a moment, he could feel it land, and wrap itself around her mind.. His vision exploded.


    ***


    He knew Dice, in a way she didn¡¯t even know herself. He knew her from the outside in. He had known her body from before, but now he felt his own mind invade hers. He felt surprisingly little resistance. His influence free floated all throughout the image he built for himself of her psyche, light clouds of pure mental power. He couldn¡¯t see her mind, like it was a real thing, but he could imagine it through what he felt, and in doing so, he could alter it. He noticed she was under some serious strain having him there, in her mind, but he felt nothing like resistance. In retrospect, he shouldn¡¯t have expected Dice to have much mental resistance, considering how easily Karmis controlled her. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    After getting the lay of the land, he began to experiment. Could he read her memories? Not really. Whenever he tried to change something or interject his own thoughts in Dice¡¯s mental space, random memories would fire, but he had no control over them and only had random glimpses of what did flash through her mind. Maybe with time, he could get specific memories with the right catalyst, but he didn¡¯t need her memories right now. He needed control, Domination. After touching and probing everything in her mind, he finally found what he was looking for, a region that seemed to affect her physical actions. He kept probing, finding that intensity of his probe changed the intensity of the action, and that angle of his approached changed what part of her moved. In the back of his mind, he was still monitoring her physical actions as he laid atop her. He was able to verify his experiments pretty quickly. He didn¡¯t have much fine control, but he understood how it worked.


    His next experiment was trying to figure out how to move both of them at the same time. Dice wouldn¡¯t be much use to him if he could only control her while his body was dead to the world. After another long moment, pushing against what felt like pressure, he was able to reach backwards, and move his body away from Dice, and stand it up. He then, ever so slowly, and with many mistakes, managed to stand Dice up. He felt like a puppeteer, and Dice moved a bit like one, as he got better at controlling her actions. He was able to make her walk, jump, and run a small circle around him. Without really thinking about it, he had her kneel to him in supplication.


    He shuddered and caught himself, refocusing on what he wanted to do. This.. power was intoxicating. He had hardly ever felt so good, as he did now. He could feel Dice, still dazed, and in some mental pain, try to move her own body, and fail. Before she was fully aware he decided to practice some more with his control, and through some effort, was able to get her dressed again.


    Eventually, though he could feel her rally in her own mind, pushing against him weakly. He felt no threat, he was quite secure in the landscape of her mind, but she tried anyway to move her body. He could feel her panic, and she pushed against him with all her might, but nothing she did moved him or her body. The Influence all around him made him far stronger than her. He knew he should be feeling at least pity here, but all he felt was cold. This woman was going to use and then murder him, he reminded himself. She continued to push against and him, and he continued to stand firm. He felt as though there were something he was suppose to do here, some way of finessing this battle to its completion with minimal cost to both sides, but he had no idea how to do that. The less damage he did to her the better use she would be later. He knew how to defend the territory he had taken, which constituted most of the space in her mind, but he didn¡¯t really know how to win the war peaceably. The description of the spell had made it as though there was a way to simply control without issue, so long as the level of influence was high enough, but it hadn¡¯t given him instructions on mental battles. As he thought through his options, coldly and calculatingly, her mental attacks grew increasingly frantic.


    With one final attempt, she seemed to collapse into herself, and he felt her psyche break upon the wall of his mind, like a beast egg thrown to the ground. She was broken now. He could feel she was lacking something that she had before. He felt a huge surge of advancement in his Path! He had totally dominated this Blade Fighter, who was arrogant enough to try to use him and kill him. Dice was his now! A possession, more a thing, than a person. He pulled away from her mind, not fully, but still leaving himself a connection, and returned to his own mind. He felt, without really knowing why, that she was no longer Dice really. That she wouldn¡¯t ever recover.


    He wanted to mourn her, despite what she was going to do him, but that cold feeling that had followed the rage, still held sway over his mind. He needed to know how much control over her he had if he still wanted to make use of her. If he had to puppeteer her body, she would be of limited use. He knew despite his success with Dice, he had not used his spell correctly. She would be more puppet than person now, not really able to fool anyone who knew her.


    He looked at her through his own eyes, assessing any outward changes. She had something of a vacant look in her eye, but otherwise seemed to be able to stand on her own.


    He sent a direction to what remained of her mind through his link to her.


    Jump.


    She flew into the air, jumping well above his head.


    Sit.


    After landing, she quiet sat on the ground.


    Smile.


    A smile crossed her face, and she looked up at him.


    So he wouldn¡¯t need to move her body himself. There was enough left of her to move herself, with his direction.


    Attack the tree behind you with your blades!


    While still looking at him, she plucked two blades from her hidden pockets and tossed them at the tree behind her. They each stuck into the tree up to the hilt. The tree was very hard, it would take considerable power to sink two such blades into it easily. She could definitely kill for him. How complex could the order he gave her be? Did he have time to find out?


    The time it had taken to get them here, and take over her mind, was surprisingly fast. The subjective time spent in her mind had felt like half a work cycle, but he could tell it hadn¡¯t been long in the outside world because the light had only gotten a little bit brighter.


    She could kill for him now, but how could he use that to his advantage? She couldn¡¯t kill Wersa in a fight. Even with the speed of her blades, Wersa would need to only block shots at her face and charge. Dice might be able to dodge her for a while, but eventually she would die due to a lack of endurance. His only advantage, if he hurried, was Karmis and Wersa would be asleep when they got there. He could try to have Dice kill them both in their sleep, but he didn¡¯t know what sort of spells Karmis had active. Their tents were made of spelled material. Dice¡¯s blades might not go through them easily, and damaging them would wake both Karmis and Wersa. It was unlikely she could unleash two blade attacks simultaneously strong enough to kill both threats in their sleep. In either case, one would wake and probably be able to kill Dice and himself. Ina would be helpful, but he didn''t really want to risk her on anything that wasn''t sound.


    He decided to see if Dice could answer questions in her state, as he needed more information.


    What spells does Karmis have active when she sleeps?


    Ah, duhn, nuh.¡± She spoke, her voice sounding utterly dead and devoid of emotion.


    This was a breakthrough! Whatever was left of her mind, could still access her memories to some extent. He decided to experiment.


    Speak through our mental connection, and not outloud.


    Could you kill Karmis in her sleep?


    He felt a ¡®no¡¯, come across their link.


    Why?


    He realized she wasn¡¯t really speaking through their connection, it wasn¡¯t at all like his bond with Ina, it was more like she was showing him the answers to his questions through shared memories.


    Dice showed him a moment when Karmis had said her tent would only allow people she wanted in. He considered this piece of information. He was probably the only one out here, other than Karmis, that had ever been in Karmis¡¯ tent. She had apparently added to the list of people able to enter, to allow her the chance to seduce him earlier. Was it likely she would remove his ability to enter her tent if she thought him a dead man? Could he rely on that? If she was exhausted after the long night, why would she bother removing a dead man from her permissions list? It would take time and effort, and even a bit of the power of her Path, to alter a spelled item like that. He suddenly felt confident that, it was not Dice that would have to kill Karmis, but himself. It was the only way. He surprised himself by sparing no thought to mercy. The a cold feeling still grasped his heart. He needed to survive. He asked Dice another question over their link.


    Could I kill Karmis in her sleep, assuming I had access to her tent?


    She showed him a memory of one of her first outings with Karmis where they slept in the same room. Karmis warned Dice to never approach her with a blade or anything other weapon, even accidentally, while she slept. She had a trinket that would wake her and cast a protective spell. Karmis did not want Dice to waste its charge accidentally by triggering it.


    Such a thing must have cost a fortune in his estimate. The tower sold things like that only on the top most floors, a place he had never been. What was he in the face of such an expenditure of gold? He wasn¡¯t doubting himself, the cold feeling that gripped him, wouldn¡¯t let him, but he needed some other avenue of attack.


    He looked at Dice and the answer became obvious. A feeling of thrill, of almost pleasure, rose up out of the cold fog of his soul. He would just have to Dominate Karmis.

 Chapter 27

    What buff spells can you use on another person else?


    It was unlikely Dice knew many buff spells well enough to use them on other people. It was always harder to buff someone else, than it was to buff yourself. Classed Fighters tended to just buff themselves before fights. Rarely would they spend the time mastering the buff well enough to apply it to someone else.


    Dice responded with just two spells, both through pieces of memory. The first memory showed a figure walking quietly and carefully, probably a Quiet Steps or Silent Steps spell. He didn¡¯t have such a spell at his disposal, though Ina had something similar. It was a fairly common spell for hunters in the Wilds, though not necessarily required. Many beasts could smell better than they could hear, so spells that covered one¡¯s scent were usually more useful. The next memory she offered was one where a figure was making increasingly accurate strikes with thrown weapons. It was something to do with thrown dexterity, and therefore not really useful to him. He tried another question.


    Does Karmis have any trinkets that protect against mental attacks?


    The only thing he felt from his link with Dice was confusion. She had no idea what he was talking about. He was trying to think of more question for Dice, but Dice was clearly told very little. His mind was racing through questions and possibilities, but fundamentally he knew he had to be the one to take care of Karmis.


    Presuming, Karmis hadn¡¯t locked her tent against a man she thought dead, he could gain access to her tent and cast his Dominate Mind spell. He asked himself, would that work? She wouldn¡¯t have the influence he had built up inside of Dice, which would mean, more than likely, the spell would fail. Would that be enough to incapacitate her? He realized, painfully, it would have been better if he had been in Karmis¡¯ bed every rest period. He would have been able to apply his influence at least then, even if he had to figure out a way to perform for her. Could he wake her long enough to us his Gaze for some extra advantage? Could he simply use Dominate Will, and hope it failed spectacularly and killed her? Dice¡¯s mind had been so easy to dominate, he couldn¡¯t really imagine failing to dominate Karmis, even if he had to fight her mentally. What other options were there? After he dominated or killed Karmis, he would have to do the same to Wersa, but her tent was open all the time because her legs stuck out, so he would have easy access. What choice did he have? It was dangerous, but he had to try. They would come for him, hunt him to other settlements. Especially if he took Dice with him. She held their secrets.


    It was unlikely he would be able to fool them by having Dice try to infiltrate when they were awake again. Her eyes were a bit too vacant and her voice completely toneless. That wasn¡¯t an option, and he definitely needed more options.


    He decided to consult the Grimoire. Ina dropped it down to him, her face hidden from him. She seemed confused, but he didn¡¯t have time to talk with her, he needed to live, for them both.


    ¡°Grimoire! Tell me more about my spells. My Path has advanced considerably!¡±


    You have taken another Dominating step.


    He took this to be a good sign, and continued hurriedly, with a specific question. He was a bit frantic, he still needed travel back while Karmis and Wersa still slept.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°What is Will?¡±


    Your Will is the animating force of your experiences and personality. No two people have the same Will. Your Will drives you. You Will is your sense of self.


    So Will was¡­ personality? Drive? To control someone¡¯s will meant he could.. direct people? Change what they wanted? He asked another question.


    ¡°If I control a person¡¯s Will, can I have them do what I want without needing to direct their specific actions? Will they know what I am doing? Will they fight it all the time?¡±


    Your will be done over their own. They will do as you ask them believing they are doing exactly what they wanted all along. To control Will is to direct without directing. To direct Will is to have an unknowing slave, happy to be of service should you wish it.


    It was no wonder this spell was more difficult to cast. If successful, whatever you suggested would be what the person believed was true. They would never know you controlled them, they would simply act according their will, which was also your will. He felt himself revel a bit in the thought of using such a powerful spell. This was useful, but he still need more options. He would have to cast these spells as quickly as he could, and hope that Karmis couldn¡¯t resist them all.


    ¡°My Path has advanced significantly! Have any of my spells improved?¡±


    The strength of your Dominator¡¯s Influence has increased.


    The strength of your Dominator¡¯s Presence has increased.


    You have a new spell you may not cast, the spell-template is already available in your mind.


    He hadn¡¯t checked earlier, but it was true, there was a spell-template that felt like he could activate it. It was complex, many times as complex as Dominate Will.


    ¡°What is the name of this spell, how is it used?¡±


    Your new spell is as follows:


    Dominate..


    Just as he was reading, he felt Ina, push on their bond. At first he ignored her, trying to read the spell name, but she pushed hard again. Icy feeling had reached most of his body at this point, and he was beyond anger, so he considered simply closing the bond off as much as possible so he could continue his work. As he was turning to look in Ina¡¯s direction, she pushed hard across the bond, offering him the entirety of herself. This was what they did when they were intimate, opening the bond totally to each other. He paused not understanding, and then she slammed into his mind with her own.


    ***


    When their minds joined, he felt Ina push away the feeling of coldness from his mind. She wrapped herself around his mind, while wrapping herself around his body in the outside world. He felt the warmth of her regard for him, and realized she had been so very worried for him. The use of his spells had caused some kind of change he didn¡¯t understand. The rage had built in him, the affront to his dignity had caused a fire in his soul, only for it to suddenly be replaced with a feeling of deadly cold that drove him towards survival at all costs. He understood the feelings as they happened, but not why they happened. It had to do with his Class, his Path, and whatever the grimoire had done to him.


    He gripped Ina tightly, thanking her for her warmth. Guilt came crashing down, when he glanced over at Dice, or what was left of her. She was still smiling at him, sitting on the ground. Not able to move without direction from him. He had been almost fond of her, after a fashion, and yet, she was willing to kill him and he was willing to destroy her mind. Moreover, he had enjoyed destroying her mind. He had love it, in fact. It had empowered him.


    He sighed, and thanked the Divine Humanity, he had Ina. He took a moment to hold her, and be held in return. He knew he would still have to go through with the plans he had made earlier, when he was not quite himself, but he would do it with Ina¡¯s support. He needed to move, though. He needed to get all this over with.


    He steeled himself, and looked down at the latest spell he would have at his disposal. After reading the words provided to him by the grimoire, he closed the book and stored it away. Rather than be shock at what it had offered, he only felt grief. Grief for what he might do in the future, and for grief for the person he was becoming.

 Chapter 28

    By the time he was in position, just outside the campsite, Ina had already confirmed the steady breathing that came with sleep from the two tents he was looking at. He prepared himself, as best he could, and then spoke across his link to Dice.


    Buff me with Quiet Steps.


    Dice had one spell that would be helpful here, but she had little experience casting spells on other people. He was worried she wouldn¡¯t be able to cast anything after he had broken her mind, but as near as he could tell she could still cast her spells. He had to order her to do most things, even relieve herself, as he found out their way here. There wasn¡¯t really a person there any more. Just a puppet capable of some complex commands. She wouldn¡¯t ever learn a new spell again, and she couldn¡¯t adapt to a situation, but with a few attempts she was able to buff him.


    Go into the campsite and sit near Karmis¡¯ tent. Do not wake Karmis and Wersa, and say nothing if they do wake. Protect me if they wake and attack.


    He decided to send in Dice first, to test the waters. He watched her approach the campsite slowly and calmly. Eventually she sat on a log near the smouldering remains of the fire, close to where Karmis slept. He waited a moment, but Ina said there was no change in their regular breathing.


    Next he would go in, as quietly as he could, but before he would go in he needed to speak to Ina.


    Speaking through their bond. ¡°Ina, if they wake, don¡¯t go in. Just run, I will run too. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Dem, You don¡¯t have to lie to me. If we need to fight, we can fight, if you are in danger I will take you away.¡± Her voice in his mind was filled with concern.


    ¡°If we run, they will probably catch us Ina, and if not, they will kill my parents.¡± He hated the grim sound of his own voice. What he was saying was obvious to him, but it still hurt to say it out loud, as if that made it more real.


    ¡°Then we will fight.¡± Her voice was determined.


    ¡°We will fight if we need to, but first I will try something else.¡± He could hear significantly less confidence in his own voice than hers.


    Speaking one last time, ¡°I love you, Ina.¡±


    ¡°You are a good mate, Dem.¡±


    Not the response he was hoping for exactly, but probably the closest he would get from Ina.


    He took his first step into the campsite, filling his spell-templates with power.


    ***


    He had taken it slow, worried that some alarm spell tuned to him, would wake the camp, but who would tune a spell to a man you already thought dead? Karmis was plenty arrogant in his estimation, and he had little choice but to try this approach first, before fighting either Karmis or Wersa.


    With Dice¡¯s buff, his steps where muffled, not entirely quiet, but nearly so. The Wilds were a loud place, and so he didn¡¯t really have to be worried the sound of his steps, such as it was, would carry far. He had made it all the way to Dice, without incident. He thanked the Divine Humanity both had decided to sleep off their night cycles. Still it was a bit odd, they slept totally reliant on his spells. It was true this was probably the safest time to do, as beasts were just waking up or going back into sleep. It would be like Karmis to assume Dice would do her job and then come back immediately. Dice knew how to work his alarm spells as well, it was one of the many basic things he had shown her. The circumstances also told him something about how low Karmis¡¯ regard was for him. She hadn¡¯t thought much of him, if she hadn¡¯t even stayed awake to ensure Dice had done her deed.


    As he quietly stepped past Dice, he slowly reached for the tent flap. This would be a moment of risk, worse than just entering the site itself. He drew back the tent flap, his terror had grown, and his hand shook, but no alarms sounded. He had gotten lucky, very lucky. Lucky Karmis thought nothing of him, he supposed. Looking into the tent all he saw was an unmoving sleeping form. His next action was simple, or so he thought. He just needed to touch her to begin his first spell, or he could wake her and try with his gaze first. He was suddenly frozen by indecision. If he used Gaze first, there was more of a chance of her waking Wersa, but his later spells would be more effective, if he cast one of his spells first, he would be much less likely to be successful, but Karmis would be busy contending with his attack mentally.


    He need to just move, every moment wasted increased their chances of being caught. He readied all his spells, drawing from the power gained from his domination of Dice. He filled the spell-templates in his head to the brim, ready to unleash them as fast as he could cast them. Neither template was of the quick-casting variety. They weren¡¯t meant to be cast over and over in quick succession. He would get a chance with Dominate Mind and a chance with Dominate Will, and his Dominator''s Gaze if she opened her eyes, and then would have to ready them all over again. His best bet was to just hit her in as many ways as possible and hope for a chance to kill her, or at least that is what nerve-racked mind was telling him. He had to just do it, and get it over with.


    So he did. He pushed into the tent, knelt over her form, slammed his hand over her mouth and cast his first spell, Dominate Mind. Faster than even the spell could begin to work, her eyes snapped open, and her hand rocketed towards the hand covering her mouth. As her eyes snapped open, he activated his Gaze as well just as his first spell left his mind, looking directly into her eyes.


    He could feel her nails stab into his hand, it was not painful yet, but he could feel blood begin to pool. In a split second, she had activated some latent personal transformation spell, and buried elongated fingernails into his hand. His gaze though, stopped her from stabbing him again. She was stunned slightly, her pupils dilating almost instantly. He thanked the Divine Humanity, because his Dominate Mind spell took effect at the same time he felt her go limp.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    What happened, though, was not what he was expecting. Pain shot through his mind, she had immediately begun to fight back mentally. His Gaze had clearly done little. Unlike with Dice, her attacks slammed into him, like weight of a granite-tree falling. He road the waves of pain from each mental attack, trying to refocus, but every time he got himself together, she slammed against him again. The amount of influence here to help him, was almost nothing. She seemed to have somehow been nearly totally resistant to his passive influence spell. Had he known, he might have tried something else, but now he was committed. He probed through her mind, as each of her attacks seemed to push him further back into his own boy and the outside world. Worse yet he could feel her try to reach out for her own body, no wait, she was reaching for her Path, for her spells. She was going to cast something while fighting him off mentally. How was this possible? He knew it would harder than with Dice, but this was a thousand times harder.


    He tried to think through his options. He couldn¡¯t keep this up, and soon she would cast something either at him, or to wake Wersa. His only chance was was Dominate Will, but even as he had prepared it, it required concentration. He could feel her seething anger in each of her attacks. She had seen him, known it was him who was attacking her, and been enraged. He had to do something, even if she managed to reach the portion of her mind that cast spells, there would still be some casting time, so he had to take a risk. He weakened his guard slightly, drawing himself inward, and focused on the spell-template, casting it directly into her mind the moment it was ready. She had misinterpreted his weakness and redoubled her attacks, probably hoping to fight him off completely or damage him in return. In doing so, she left herself nothing to use to reach further for her spells. Her focus had been totally on trying to hurt him. The pain of her renewed attacks was immense, but he felt Dominate Will descend on her mind.


    He could feel it begin to corrode whatever she was mental resources she was using against him from the inside out. Where Dominate Mind was a direct battle mind to mind, Dominate Will was a cancer that destroy a person from core of their Will, outward. Her struggles lessened, but still remained painful. She seemed to have no defense against this attack from within. He could sense her despair as she lost the ability to even care about what was happening to her. She made one last attempt to push towards the area of her mind devoted to spell casting, but he slammed his mental-self between her and what she sought, blocking her. Rather than bashing herself into him, and breaking, like Dice had done, she simply recoiled from him. Her last feelings were those of unwillingness and anger, before finally the Dominate Will spell had run its course. In the end, there was nothing really left of her, less than the mess he had made of Dice. A sense of victory washed through him, as well as the elation of advancing down his Path, but he quashed all his emotions, letting a bit of the cold grow once again in his heart.


    He drew back, leaving a link to her mind, breathing heavily. He sighed, looking at the body that was formerly Karmis. She was still breathing, her robe had fallen open, but he had no interest in looking. He leaned over to look her in the eye again, but was disgusted at what he saw. Her eyes were unfocused, staring in different directions. Drool crept down her chin. He realized then he could not feel his arm. Looking down, saw that he was still bleeding. He knew he should have clotted now, given his enhanced constitution. The nails must have had a paralytic, or some anti-clotting agent, he thought. He focused on casting a restorative spell on himself, and moved slowly away from Karmis.


    Ina was nearly driven mad with the smell of his blood on the air, but she hadn''t intervened. She seemed to be more worried about Wersa waking, which was probably for the best. If he couldn¡¯t handle Karmis, none of this would work. He thought about taking Karmis right now, and just leaving. Would Wersa go after his parents? If he left now, would she even know he was still alive? He wasn¡¯t sure. He also noted the contract had not broken. His spells didn''t¡¯ seem to be covered by the constraints of the contract. He hadn¡¯t killed any members of the party, or broken his end of the deal technically. The fact the contract was still in place would alert Wersa to him being still alive. He had to handle her in some way.


    He sent a command to Karmis to exit the tent, but her movements were bizarre and she seemed to be babbling to herself quietly. He knew then that he had really screwed up his spells. Applying them both at the same time had saved him, but damaged Karmis nearly beyond use to him. She had made noise getting out of the tent, and he was on edge, looking in Wersa¡¯s direction, but all he heard from her was a quaking snore. The woman could really sleep.


    Answer through our link, Karmis. Can you cast spells?


    What he received back was a jumbled mess, and he heard her babble some more. Drool now covering her chin a thick layer. Still, he could feel her gather power from her Path, and begin to fill a template, so it was clear something was left of her. It would have to be good enough. Though he didn¡¯t have any control of which spell she would cast. Any spell would be helpful against Wersa.


    He would have to approach Wersa like he did with Karmis, though it would be far more dangerous. He was pretty confident that Wersa would not fight him in the way Karmis had. Karmis had seemed experienced in mental battles, far beyond anything he would have imagined. She also must have had a powerful mental fortitude. Whatever her Class was, it clearly dealt with manipulating minds, as well as lust. Wersa had no such protections, her Class literally the epitome of a meat-head. Without much influence to draw strength from, it might be hard, but it couldn¡¯t harder than what he had dealt with when he had invaded Karmis¡¯ mind.


    He took a moment to check himself. His head hurt, but the pain was slowly dwindling away with the restorative spell he had cast on himself. The rush he had received had advancing on his Path also helped mitigate some the pain he felt. After a few more moments, he could feel his arm again, though it was weak. He hoped it was just a paralytic, or something similar. Karmis didn¡¯t strike him as the poisoner of the group. She didn¡¯t get her hands dirty directly, that was Dice¡¯s job.


    He readied his spells again, filled them again with the might of his Path. He focused his Gaze as well, but hoped he wouldn¡¯t need to use it. If Wersa was totally awake, her eyes open, it would be death for him. Ina moved in closer, ready to drop down on Wersa. He commanded Dice to get in a good range for her blades. He even, very slowly, moved Karmis so she could at least cast whatever spells she had readied. Each sound they made felt as loud as thunder, but in reality it was all easily covered up by the sounding Wersa¡¯s snoring.


    He bent low, and crept close enough to touch Wersa¡¯s foot. He just needed to touch somewhere on her body, and his spell would target her mind automatically. His spells were ready, and he extended his arm, his fingers reaching.

 Chapter 29

    He touched Wersa, on the ankle, with the barest tip of his finger, and launched Dominate Mind. A bright purple light burst out from the necklace around Wersa¡¯s neck as his spell touched her mind, and then.. nothing. No mental battles took place. Nothing. His spell had just fizzled. He began to ready another spell as her eyes burst open. Her whole body moving to a standing position almost immediately. His fingers still touching her ankle, he used his next spell Dominate Will, only to have it too to do nothing. It was like casting his spell into a void. Once again her necklaced burst out with light, and she looked down at him, having fallen to his ass as she leapt up. He looked up frozen.


    She spoke in booming tones, ¡°Why are you still alive? Dice? Why is he still alive?¡±


    He spoke quickly, ¡°I-I made-up with Karmis, I was able to do.. what she asked of me. See, she she is over there.¡± He said pointing behind himself. He had made a critical error though. He had forgotten what Karmis looked like in her present state.


    She peered behind, taking stock of Dice and then of Karmis, before she began to quake.


    ¡°What have you done to my MOTHER!?¡± She roared at him, but he was already rolling away from her.


    Her Divine-Damned mother? How old was Karmis? His mind reeling with the fact he was about to die and with sudden questions about Karmis¡¯s age.


    Dice protect me, Karmis use your spell on Wersa!


    Wersa stepped towards him while drawing her sword, casting a buff on herself as she moved, but as she raised her arm to strike at him, a dozen blades sprouted along the length of her sword arm in quick succession. Wersa screamed in rage and pain, as a spell hit her in the face. This was the same spell Karmis had used on the rubber-rhino. Wersa¡¯s eyes seemed to unfocus and she began blinking rapidly. Her sword swung in every direction but kept her face covered with good arm. He didn¡¯t how long the spell would last.


    Karmis, prepared another spell and use it on her as soon as you are able.


    How was Wersa able to totally negate his spells? The purple light? The purple light burst out at the same time he used his spells, but not when Karmis used hers. The necklace. It was the weirdest piece of gear she wore. Like nothing a Warrior would ware. It was clearly a trinket, spelled in some way. Had it prevented his mental spells in some way? He had nothing to go on, and it was unlikely, even with a four-on-one battle, that he would live through it.


    Dice continue to attack her and protect me!


    ¡°Ina, see if you can get that necklace off her, the one that glowed purple. Wait until she is distracted.¡±


    As he tossed out his commands, Wersa slowed down her sword sweeps and was starting to focus again.Dice continued to toss more blades at Wersa, but Wersa was blocking her face, thankfully ignoring him. Blades sprout in a number of unprotected spots on Wersa, but none that would do more than slow her down. A Classed Warrior was meant to take punishment and Dice¡¯s blades would mostly just lodge in Wersa¡¯s muscles. Eventually Dice would run out of blades, but for the moment they waited on Karmis¡¯ next spell. He began to buff Ina and himself, able to cast a few quick cantrips before another spell flew from Karmis towards Wersa. This spell had no visual effect, but he could sense its movement. He hoped it would be something good.


    ***


    The spell hit Wersa, but against all expectation the situation actually became worse for him. This wasn¡¯t an offensive spell, this was a buff. Wersa began to grow larger slightly, her eyes now totally bloodshot. He looked back at Karmis, his heart sinking, wondering if she had regained consciousness somehow. She had the same drooling look on her face as before. Beastdung, He didn¡¯t know her spells, so couldn¡¯t command her to cast one specifically, and even if he did, she seemed barely able to cast spells on demand anyway.


    Karmis, use anything offensive. Attack Wersa, do something! Protect me! Protect Ina!


    Wersa screamed in rage, the blades stuck in her arm, and everywhere else on her body, popped with significant force, flying in all directions. One blade even sliced his arm as it flew by. This was some sort of Berserk spell, truly powerful, but eventually very damaging to Wersa. It would be impossible to kill Wersa outright now, even if they all attacked together.


    He expected Wersa to go after Dice, but she had the surprising clarity to keep moving towards him. Wersa was slower now, her steps slamming into the ground with an inevitable, hulking force. She did not bother to block Dice¡¯s blades except for the ones to her face. What blades did strike her, barely cut into her before falling away. He was at a loss for what to do. Then another spell from Karmis hit Wersa, this one thankfully not a buff. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    A a very thin, bright bar of fiery light shot from Karmis¡¯ hands towards Wersa. This was a much weaker version of the spell she had used on the mist-fist. The fire burned Wersa¡¯s chest for a moment, but Wersa¡¯s blade began to block it almost immediately. She kept her blade between herself and the fire, making sure it still covered her face. This spell at least stopped her movement for a moment.


    He smelled burning flesh as Ina used this distraction and fell upon Wersa from above and behind. Ina¡¯s claws even sharper than Dice¡¯s blades, they sliced into Wersa¡¯s unarmored back, though they weren¡¯t making it past her muscled interior. Ina used her clawed tails to dig into her foe to steady herself for more attacks, but the fiery light from Karmis didn¡¯t last nearly as long as when Karmis had last used it. As the spell waned, Wersa turned to delver backward chop toward Ina. The blade was moving fast, faster than even Ina could move, but just as he swore it would have bisected Ina across the middle, one of Dice¡¯s blade stuck into Wersa¡¯s unprotected cheek, just below her left eye. This caused Wersa to falter at the last second. Her blade going lower than she meant it. Ina had anticipated all of this and had begun hopping backward, but she wasn¡¯t entirely out of the way. Two of her tails were sliced cleanly off as she shot backward. One tail flying in an arc, over Wersa¡¯s head, to land near him. His eyes were glued to the action in front him, as his mind spun trying to find something useful to do, but something caught his eye. He could see something shiny wrapped around the claw of the tail that landed near him. It was Wersa¡¯s necklace!


    He could use a spell on her now, but he had burnt through his spells earlier. It would take time to refill their templates and even then there was usually some wait time on using the same spells again. So much had happened in this fight Wersa already, but in reality only a few moments had passed. It was not enough to time to recast his first two primary spells. What could he do now? Ina had sacrificed her tails to give him this chance. He needed to use it somehow.


    He had one spell left, the last one the grimoire had offered him. He hadn¡¯t thought to use it, but he had starting filling it''s template earlier. He had only read its name, and didn¡¯t know what it did exactly, but it was what he had left. He had no choice now. He began to finish filling the spell-template on this last spell. He would still need to touch her though, and that was virtually impossible without dying.


    Wersa didn¡¯t bother chasing Ina, Ina¡¯s backward hop had taken her far away. Wersa turned back towards him.


    ¡°YOU DID THIS, THIS IS YOUR FAULT!¡± She screamed at him.


    Her rage causing spittle to fly from her frothing mouth, as she took another step toward him. This step was incomparably full of power, and Wersa¡¯s whole body moved in his direction. He noticed that Karmis had move towards him, in her oddly discoordinated walk, and was now nearly between him and Wersa. Wersa stopped her movement short, but still slammed into Karmis. He could only assumed Karmis had no spells left to cast, but was still trying to protect him with her body. She had been weak on power from her Path before this, it was unlikely she had much more to give. Karmis¡¯ body flew off into the vegetation behind him and landed with a crunching thud. He had heard Karmis¡¯ bones break.


    Wersa screamed again, this time he couldn¡¯t understand her. It was just rage. The pure red rage of a Classed Warrior, directed at him. His life was over now, death inevitable, but he still rushed his last spell. Perhaps as he was dying, he could use this spell and Ina could kill Wersa while she dealt with it¡¯s effects, whatever those were.


    The blades from Dice had stopped, clearly she had run out. Ina, had hurt herself in her emergency escape from Wersa, landing roughly, and was just now moving towards him, but she would be too late. A moment later, Wersa was now above him. He could see the whites of her clenched teeth. Her lips drawn back like a beast. Blood trickled down from the blade wound under her blood red eye.


    Wersa drew back her arm only to have Dice jump onto her shoulders. Dice¡¯s hands going for those wrathful red eyes that seemed locked on to him. Wersa dropped her blade, and reached up to take hold of Dice. He used this moment to close the gap and wrap himself around Wersa¡¯s leg, holding on as best he could. Just as he got into position, his arms wrapping around Wersa¡¯s thick leg, he felt something like rain begin to fall on his head, but when he looked up a droplet hit him in the eye. His vision had turned red in that eye, blinding it. His other eye though, it went wide as he saw Dice being pulled apart bodily above his head. Her blood flying everywhere in massive wet explosion.


    With a great heave, Wersa tossed the two parts of Dice in opposite directions. He needed another moment for this overly complex spell to be cast, so he did what he could. He activated his Gaze one last time, draining himself nearly dry, except for what he needed to complete the spell. He was in luck because Wersa had looked away from him, to look up at the remnants of Dice for a split second as she had torn Dice asunder. Looking down, blood dripping down her face, she had to find him visually, looking first at where he had been on the ground, and then down at him wrapped around her leg. This brief extra moment bought him the time he needed to focus his influence, and he unleashed it as soon as their eyes met. Wersa¡¯s head snapped back and she covered her face with her blood-soaked hands.


    His Gaze provided him another vital moment to finish his spell. The spell-template glowed brightly in his mind, his consciousness had finally finished mapping it. It was finally ready by the time Wersa had cleared her vision. She begun drawing her leg back to kick him away, the force of which would splatter him, but he cast his spell just as he was about to be lifted off the ground. He had no words for Wersa as he cast this spell. He didn¡¯t know what it would do exactly, but he knew it would cost them both something precious.


    He cast Dominate Soul upon Wersa the Warrior, and someday he would be damned to the Land-Below for it.

 Chapter 30

    There was no real struggle in this spell for him. There was no mental battle. It didn¡¯t eat away at Wersa¡¯s Will from the inside out. It didn¡¯t rely on his influence much either. It simply went to the core of her being, where her Path started, where her Will dwelled, where everything Wersa was, or ever would be, came from. The spell then gripped the whole of Wersa, and began to squeeze. This was a spell of pain. Of control. Of domination through pain. Not a physical pain, nor a mental pain. Not a pain of longing, or of regret. It was an existential pain. The sort of pain you felt when you were about to die unwillingly and unjustly. When you knew everything you ever wanted was pointless. When you knew that everything you had loved was now dust. This was the pain of absolute despair. The pain felt at the death of hope. It was the torturer¡¯s pain, that caused even the strongest to beg for release. It demanded obedience. Unending and absolute obedience. If you did not obey, you would feel it. Its crushing pressure, on the whole of who you were, and you would yield. Anyone would yield. Everyone would yield.


    Wersa yielded, as any person would. Her foot gently touched down on the ground, and he crawled away from her leg, looking up at her. Her raged had abated. The redness to her skin, the spell had brought, faded away. Her eyes were still bloodshot, but only from burst blood vessels. Her arms hung limply at her sides, and he noticed tears streaming down her face. She then knelt on the ground, and began to weep while looking at him. Looking for mercy. She didn¡¯t even dare to reach for him.


    He stood up and look down at her, his heart cold as ice, but his mind aflame. He brought back his fist and punched her in the face. Her body barely moved, and he could hear the bones in his hand break, but he ignored it. This woman had killed Dice! Dice was his! Karmis might be dead too! Karmis was his! Cold rage pushed him to bring his hand back from another punch, but Ina wrapped him up with her remaining tails and just held him. He couldn¡¯t break free, though he struggled at first. Her arms came to circle around him as well. Eventually he let the rage go and accepted Ina¡¯s warmth. As the warmth crept inward, Wersa continued to cry softly, still looking at him.


    ***


    He had healed Ina first, and himself second. Then Karmis, and finally Wersa. He been surprised to find Karmis alive, though she was barely among the living. Wersa would have to carry her for a time. He set her bones and he had found a regeneration tonic in her things, to begin the process of knitting her back together. He cast a few of his own spells for good measure, though they would overlap some. He didn¡¯t know if there would be much point in healing her, but he wasn¡¯t sure he could kill her either. Besides, returning without the party leader might look strange. He would at least need her to check in with the tower, to confirm his payment. Then she could leave town, though after that he didn¡¯t know what to do with her.


    Wersa had eventually stop crying. Her personality, such as it was, had returned some, but she didn¡¯t dare displease him. She was meek as could be when he made a request. As near as he could tell, she was now loyal to him totally. Not because he controlled her thoughts, or because his will had supplanted her own, but because she feared for her very existence. He could snuff her out with a thought, and should he die, so would she. He could feel her very existence tremble when he drew near to her. The consequence of Dominate Soul wasn¡¯t merely death, death would be a mercy. No, the consequence of Dominate Soul, should its caster be displeased, was that chains wrapped around the soul of the victim would tighten, and continue to tighten, forever. So she was loyal, loyal beyond even the threat of death. Dying would be a release compared to what would happen should she not follow his commands. She knew this down to the very center of her being.


    He thought he might have needed to cast another spell on her, to further control her, but he sense no dissension from her. He was now linked to her, as she was linked to him. Karmis, too, despite her damaged mine, was totally loyal to him. The combination of damaging both her mind and her Will, had been enough to make her a mindless slave to him, though he had no use for a castor who couldn¡¯t cast specific spells on demand.


    Ina, was still Ina. Her tails had started to grow back, though he teased her about the hairless nubs. Beasts were naturally good at regenerating, and many-tailed were particularly good at growing back their secondary tails. Right away, as soon as she had let him go, he had cast every healing spell he had on Ina, rested, and then cast more. She would be fine.


    Ina was the only thing that seemed to bring him out of the feelings his Path brought him as he used his Class spells. She was his only shelter in the storm his life had become. Dice had died for him.. He corrected himself. What was left of Dice¡¯s mind, after he destroyed it, had died for him. His life now consisted of murder, of destroying minds, enslaving Wills, and.. gripping the very souls of his foes. He didn¡¯t know what to make of it all. He blamed the grimoire, of course, but on some level he had to thank it for, everything else he had. He would likely be dead several times over without it. He would have died once in the wilds, and certainly on this trip, without it. The dilemma tore at him, but only until Ina moved closer to him, rubbing herself against his arm. He let his feelings for Ina banish his previous thoughts for a while.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ***


    He had questions! Lots of questions! For Karmis and for Wersa. For better or worse, they were his now.


    ¡°Wersa, Karmis is your mother? How old is she? Why does she look as though you¡¯re both the same age?¡± His voice sounded deeper, more hollow than he remembered it.


    Wersa began to shake at his question, ¡°Lord-d, W-we are both older than we look. I-I don¡¯t know for sure, but she is at least two hundred sequences old. I am-m a little over ninety sequences in age.¡±


    Two hundred sequences? That was one thousand rotations!? He was only a hundred and forty-five rotations old. Most people his age didn¡¯t use sequences as age counters until they hit two hundred rotations. In sequences, he would be twenty-nine, barely into adulthood. His father and mother were only sixty or so sequences old, younger than Wersa.


    ¡°How do you look so young? Oh, and don¡¯t call me Lord. Don¡¯t stutter either. When speaking to me, especially if there are other people around, you must do so calmly.¡±


    Taking a moment to collect herself, ¡°Master, Karmis used a combination of illusion spells and body transformation spells. I just dye my hair, Master. Classed Warriors tend to maintain a youthful body until they reach the end of their life and then they quickly age over the course of a few sequences.¡±


    ¡°When other people are around, don¡¯t use anything but my name.¡± His voice still cold. He had trouble accepting this new Wersa.


    He turned toward Karmis, who was sitting on the ground. The drooling wasn¡¯t as bad as had it been, and the babbling had gone away with only a little application his control over her.


    Karmis stand up, remove your robe.


    She stood and derobed, though he took no pleasure in looking at her.


    Karmis, stop maintaining your personal illusion and body transformation.


    Karmis scowled slightly, as if in pain, but he tell could she was doing something related to her Path. She looked confused, but was clearly working at something.


    A few moments later, he could see her illusion fall. He was astounded at what he saw. Her skin was wrinkled with age, her hair had gone purely white. It grew thinly from her head in patches. Her jowls hung from a skeletal face. When he looked down, at the rest of her, it was much the same, except the shape of her body hadn¡¯t changed. She that same wrinkled skin all over, but her breasts despite being wrinkled, were still surprising large and high. It was a bizarre and incongruous sight, until the body transformation spell too fell away from her.


    Her back started to curve, hunching her over. He breasts lost their shape, and fell to her knees like empty sacks. She lost height, and he flesh of her legs and hips seemed to dry up. One of the oldest people he have ever encountered stood before him, though it didn¡¯t look like she could hold herself up much longer. Karmis¡¯ breath began to shorten as well. He looked to Wersa, but she didn¡¯t look surprised in the slightest.


    ¡°This is your mother Wersa?¡±


    Wersa spoke, without the stutters this time, ¡°She said she was my mother when she was raising me, but I have always suspected she was my grandmother or great grandmother.¡±


    Karmis, re-apply your body transformation and personal illusion.


    Despite the bizarre nature of what he had just seen, this made sense in a lot of ways. Though, it did make a lot his ¡®interactions¡¯ with Karmis something he didn¡¯t really want to think about. This woman was old, older than he could really fathom on a personal level. Of course, she had the mental fortitude to fight with him. To live this long, she was must have been one of the most stubborn people alive. Even powerful Class Masters didn¡¯t live much longer than regular people, so far as he knew. What had she done to keep herself alive, and not just alive, but beautiful, was a testament to her abilities. The body transformation spell definitely kept her alive, propping her up, forcing her organs to work, keeping her body the correct shape, but eventually her organs would fail right?


    ¡°Wersa, did she use something to keep herself alive? Did she eat something, or use a spell?¡±


    ¡°Karmis used a certain spell every time she fucked a man. It would take a little of his life and make it her own. She told me the spell couldn¡¯t take more than the smallest sliver of life from anyone, but that she could sustain herself with these tiny bits of life. She couldn¡¯t do this forever though, she had grown weaker the last dozen or so sequences. Her spells had grown weaker. Her Path, was slowly dying.¡± Wersa sounded grim.


    He wondered how many men had a piece of their life stolen to afford Karmis such a long life.


    ¡°That is explain why she needed me. For my life, and to advance her Path.¡± He spoke, mostly to himself. Karmis appeared to be concentrating on her Path again, but nothing was happening. He decided to change the subject away from the elderly life stealer.


    ¡°Wersa, what was the party looking for out here?¡±


    ¡°Karmis brought us out to the Wilds on a rumor a powerful beast had passed through here.¡±


    ¡°What sort of beast?¡±


    He was more than a little curious. What sort of beast would have brought these city adventurers this far away from the rest of humanity?


    ¡°A dragon.¡±

 Chapter 31

    For the second time this cycle, he was utterly astounded. A Divinity-Damned dragon? This was yet another thing of myth from the works he¡¯d read offered by the Church. Suddenly he felt his education had been awful, nearly useless. There was clearly so much he didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°What about this.. dragon, would bring you here?¡± He wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to know the answer to this question.


    Wersa answered immediately, ¡°Just the confirmation of where a dragon might be is worth enough gold to never have to work again for most adventurers. A single scale, or even some dragon shit would be enough.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t really surprised, though why dragon¡¯s should be so sought after, he didn¡¯t know.


    Wersa continued, ¡°We were also here to train Dice. She was going to be Karmis'' Class Disciple.¡±


    His mouth gaped open, ¡°Dice, a woman who could barely talk, was to be Karmis¡¯ Class Disciple and inherit her Class? What was Karmis¡¯ Class?¡±


    ¡°She was a Temptress, but she had made a lot of modifications to her own Class. She was a Class Master.¡±


    A Class Master? Usually Class Masters were far more powerful than Karmis. At least Caius had described combat Class Masters as virtually unbeatable, except to sheer overwhelming numbers or another Class Master. Why was Karmis so weak?


    He left Wersa waiting a moment for his next question while the thought through the series of circumstances that allowed him to defeat a Divinity-Damned Class Master. Karmis was clearly weakened, due to age. She was not a combat Class Masters. She burnt through her reservoir of power, and needed him to advance her Path. Most of all, she had been arrogant. A Karmis in her prime would probably have beat him, or worse, had been able to charm him and make him her slave. There was a lesson in all of this for him. Stay away from Class Masters? Arrogance will kill you? Never assume a woman¡¯s age?


    He moved on to an obvious question, ¡°Why Dice? How could she become a Temptress?¡±


    He didn¡¯t really know what a Temptress was exactly, but he could guess. It had to be a Class built around sexual charm, probably for the purpose of collecting information, assassination, or just plain control. Who would have such a Class? People who sold their bodies clearly, but who else? Spies? Mistresses? Courtesans? Were there gigolos with a similar Class? A Temptor? Was it anything like his own Class? His mind spun with questions as Wersa began to speak.


    ¡°Dice was a very good killer. The modifications Karmis made to her Class required someone to be merciless first, before they learned anything else from the Class. Karmis believed that all the other skills could be taught over time. She once told me that she was from the very same place that we found Dice. She told me she had been just like Dice, but not a killer. She only picked up killing later in life. Karmis wanted her Class Disciple to be a killer first, to save the disciple the grief that Karmis experienced until she found the will to kill. Dice wasn¡¯t her first attempt though, there have been other women, but none were as merciless that Dice was.¡±


    She was creating her own version of an Assassin? She was trying to create a better version of herself? One without the flaw of mercy? This sent a chill down his spine. What would animate such a woman to live so long, just to pass on a more merciless version of their original Class? He had never asked Dice about where she was from, and he wouldn¡¯t get to now.


    ¡°Should I even ask about the other women? They are dead aren¡¯t they?¡± His voice was grim.


    Wersa only nodded.


    He changed the topic again, ¡°What was the necklace you were wearing?¡±


    ¡°Karmis gave it to me. It was meant to prevent being charmed or controlled so that I could never be turned against her.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°Is that a common thing? Are spells that control minds often used?¡±


    This question was purely for himself of course. Perhaps Classes like his weren¡¯t so rare? If there were many Classes like his, he would have to be a lot more careful about how he used his spells. What if there was detection built into the entrance of the Tower or the Church? What if there were counter-measures in place?


    ¡°No, mental control is very rare. Classes like Illusionist, Mesmerist, and Karmis¡¯ Temptress are the closest you would find normally. Class Masters will often steal the spells, and even the grimoires, of other Class Masters with similar Classes. Karmis was afraid of other Class Masters with charm spells trying to take her modified spells. I would be a possible weakness for Karmis if I could be controlled..¡± Her voice trailed off at that last statement, but she didn¡¯t look at him.


    ¡°So I was incredibly unlucky to work for Karmis, was I?¡± His question was more to himself than to Wersa.


    ¡°Most people are, Lord.¡±


    He sighed.


    ***


    He wanted some time to digest what Wersa had told him, and to figure out his next steps. He had ordered Wersa to dig a deeper firepit where they could cremate what was left of Dice. He spent a moment checking on Karmis. Her illusion spell was imperfect, they would have to cover most of her body, but her body transformation spell was fully active again. Wersa had said, because the body transformation spell literally kept Karmis alive, at least in part, most of the spell was built into a number of spell trinkets sewn into her body. He had never heard of such a thing, but it made sense. As long as the person refilled the spells in the trinkets, they wouldn¡¯t have to actively maintain the complex series of life-giving passive spells.


    He began to walk slow circles around the campsite, at first surveying the damage, but eventually, his mind wandered to his feelings.


    Something about that spell he used at the end, he didn¡¯t even want to say its name, was a burden, though he didn¡¯t know exactly why. The usage of the spell had weakened him in some fundamental way. He felt a weight now, at the very center of his being. Would the grimoire have answers for him? It was something of a contradiction because he had felt his Path advance and he was, at least momentarily, out of danger. He should be feeling good right now. The danger he experienced and the strength of his Class had been a real boon to his Path. He might very well be just as strong now in this new Path as he had ever been in his previous Path, despite how he felt.


    He wondered if he could finally use one of the tower¡¯s devices to measure his Path? He didn¡¯t even know what the devices were called, just that they existed. Could he do that without revealing his Class? He could also register as a formal adventurer of the guild now. The backing of another member was perhaps the biggest hurdle for someone like him. Joining the Adventurer¡¯s Tower required connections, beyond the significant fee they charged. Wersa would sponsor him, at least.


    What was he going to do with Wersa and Karmis? He hated them, of course, but they were his responsibility now, and if he mismanaged the situation he could easily draw attention to himself. For all the strength of his Class, he was personally still very weak. If anything, he sensed danger far more distinctly now, after finding the grimoire, than he had before. Thankfully, it seemed like the most immediate danger was over. He could figure a few things out now, maybe. Spend some time with Ina.. and with Greer?


    It was such a complex situation, he needed something simple to take his mind off what was going through it. He sent Ina very short and to the point message over their bond.


    Ina jumped down from above, lightly landing in front of him.


    He sent over their bond, ¡°How are you feeling Ina? Are you still sore?¡± He caught her eyes with his own.


    Ina spoke, her voice a little curious, ¡°I am healed, Dem, are you well?¡±


    He leaned toward her, taking a step closer to her, ¡°I am fine Ina, so what do you think of my little proposition?¡± His eyebrow raised, as he spoke.


    ¡°Mmm, We can Dem, it has been too long. Right here?¡± Her voice took on the same husky tone as his own, though he could her a slight growl in her voice.


    He gave a quick command to Wersa, ¡°Wersa, go sit over there and turn around.¡±


    He doubted Ina would care Wersa was looking but he did. Karmis was laid out in her tent, so wasn¡¯t concerned with her.


    His arms moved forward to encircle Ina¡¯s shoulders. She tickled him with her tails, though she did not use the tails that were still healing. They would be sensitive for a number of cycles.


    ¡°This time it''s my turn Ina.¡± His embrace growing stronger, as he started to buff himself with spells.


    He buried his face into the nape of her of neck, softly nipping the soft flesh he found there. He could hear her softly growl over their bond.


    To him, her growl had sounded a lot like, ¡°We will see about that.¡±

 Chapter 32 (April Fools! Joke Chapter)

    Dem basked in the glow his time with Ina had brought, his troubles completely banished from his mind. It had been too long, hadn''t it? He had lost track of whose turn it was some time during their lovemaking. He had at least one turn right? Well, either way, he did owe Ina some time after the cycles spent with Dice. They lounged together, lying on a blanket near the center of the campsite. Ina was fast asleep, lying facing away from him on her side. Her gentle and regular breathing untroubled. The curve of her hip caught his eye and he resisted running a hand along it. He shouldn''t wake her, he thought to himself. Or maybe, she would be interested in another round? Did he have enough left in him? While he weighed this potential decision, he heard Wersa leave her tent.


    He could hear her heavy footfalls as she strode towards him. He sighed, wondering what the woman wanted.


    "Dem, gaze upon me!"


    He still hadn''t looked at her when he started to respond, "What are you talking about.."


    His eyes had finally glanced upwards, and he stopped dead, his mouthing gaping open.


    What was this visage of beauty he saw before him? Wersa had changed greatly, no longer was she a simple Classed Warrior, but she now had the grace and style of a Temptress. Was Wersa Karmis'' true Class Disciple? She had said there had been other candidates but, he had assumed they were all dead. She hadn''t lied to him, but she had told him a half-truth? Could someone he had dominated do that? Could they lie by omission? His thoughts began to trail off as he took in Wersa''s rapturous beauty.


    She had all the muscles and size from before, of course, but now she had little covering her body but strips of soft looking silk. They covered all the important places, giving a hint of mystery, but they also left much more uncovered. There a few places where hair peaked out from behind the silk strips, but these only added to the allure. He could tell she had put a heavy caking of rouge on her cheeks, as well as some added color to her lips. Her hair was made up into a frizzy hive-shape on top of her head. Her every step towards him was sensuous and only made the ground near him tremble slightly. How could have not understood what a goddess Wersa was before? He must have been blind. He could feel his body ''rise'' to the occasion.


    As she had finally made her way to him, she spoke, "You may own my soul, but I shall own your body and mind!"


    With this statement she picked him up off the ground, in a mimicry of a bridal carry. His heart began to beat wildly. Was this a spell? A technique? Or was this love? Did he care anymore? He could hear Ina been to awaken, but paid it no heed. His attention was totally on Wersa. She smelled wonderful, like blood, leather, sweat, and raspberries!This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    She bent low, her head near his ear, and he strained to hear what sweet nothing she would whisper, but was surprised when, instead, he felt her tongue begin to explore his ear canal in the most tantalizing way. He nearly lost it right then and there, but only through a supreme act of will power did he control himself. He needed to main control of the situation.


    He then had the sudden thought, could he use this situation to his advantage? Could he advance his Path further? He was a powerful Denominator! He needed to Denominate the situation. Wersa would be his lovely numerator, and he would divide her with his divisor until she was nothing more than a fraction of her current self! He swore on the Divine-Mathmanity this would be so! The problem here, though, was this sexy numerator would always be on top! Would they divide evenly, forming a perfect whole number?


    As his mind was lost in both the pleasure of Wersa''s ministrations and in doing the math of their eminent liaison, he heard Ina yawn and walk towards them. A sudden worry struck him, would this situation cause a problem? He couldn''t have these two hairy, wonderful, women fight over him. As he was considering what to do about this new problem, Ina drew near.


    He could see curiosity light her face, but also a dangerous undercurrent of confusion.


    He had to do something. Just then the grimoire spoke into his mind.


    This is the grimoire. You''re in grave danger. Use this new spell, my dude.


    A new spell had indeed arrived in his mind, and he instantly began to fill it with power.


    Ina, now stood next to him, her claws beginning to show, as Wersa had also stopped her survey of his ear. Wersa still held him preciously close to her chest.


    As they stared each other down, the spell completed and he unleashed it on both of them. Their heads snapped back, and both staggered, though Wersa still did not drop him.


    He spoke to the grimoire, "What was this spell? How will it save me?"


    The grimoire spoke almost instantly after he asked his question, with none of the lag time it had before when it simply wrote its own answers on it''s paper.


    The spell is called: MC True Harem Ending, and it will save you many times in the future.


    With that, it spoke no more.


    He could see the effects of the spell begin to take place, both Wersa and Ina still had heated looks in their faces but they had changed from confrontational to something else.


    Ina spoke first huskily, "He is my mate, and I would like to continue our ritual, but I will share him."


    Wersa spoke in return, "I will own him body and soul, but.. I will also share him with you."


    He spoke, "Do I get a say in this? Is this fine? Are you sure you''re alright sharing me Ina? Wersa?"


    As Ina closed in on him, he could see their eyes were full of lust and love. He then noticed Wersa take a look at Ina, her eyes going up and down.


    "A many-tailed is fine too."


    Just then, something heavy, and grimoire-shaped, hit him in the back of the head and his world went dark.

 Chapter 32

    He stood not far from where Ina and he had spent the last quarter cycle rolling around. Earlier, as things got more heated, he had sent Wersa off to hunt them something to eat, but she had returned with nothing more than a few chunks of splattered beasts. Either, everything was too fast and agile for her to catch, or she couldn¡¯t control her strength well enough to not destroy their potential meal.


    ¡°We will rest here for another couple of cycles, to let Karmis heal. Then we will go out hunting. If we return too early it will be suspicious. When we do return, you will take Karmis to the tower. You will do the talking. Ensure that the contract is fulfilled and I am paid officially. Rent a room for a cycle. Inform the Tower of Dice¡¯s death. You will then wait for further instructions.¡± He could hear the exhaustion in his voice as gave Wersa commands.


    Ina had tired him out, of course, but beyond picking the occasional strand of fur from his person, and from his mouth, he didn¡¯t have much to do except give Wersa nebulous orders. In reality, he didn¡¯t know what to do exactly. He wasn¡¯t in any immediate danger, or was he? What was he supposed to do Karmis? Technically, she was evidence of his Class. Evidence of what happened to the party.. He could guarantee Wersa wouldn¡¯t talk, and Dice was dead, her body ashes. Could he kill Karmis in cold blood? That was the best solution to the problem at hand, he had to admit. If she died though, it be would suspicious. Did she have friends? Allies?


    ¡°Wersa.. what do you suggest I do with Karmis? I can tell you she is permanently damaged. She will not recover. Does she have allies other than you? Who will notice her.. condition? Is there a place we can stash her? Is there a place to retire her? You said she was already dying, right? I think she has even less time now.¡± His questions were rapidfire, each one creating a new anxiety in his heart.


    He knew, over his left-over link to Karmis¡¯ mind, that her mental state was.. chaotic at best. She had begun to to seize occasionally, her limbs twitching for a few moments before relaxing,and if he had to guess, she was getting worse, despite the healing spells. Her mind was falling apart, regardless of the health of her body.


    ¡°Lord, she would not want to live this way. Give me permission and I will end her Path.¡± Her voice held little hesitation despite the fact that they were discussing the fate of her mother.


    He sucked in a lung full of breath at the blatant way Wersa spoke about Karmis. He needed Karmis to finish the job given to him, and keep everything that had happened out of view of anyone from the settlement, Tower, or Church. Even a curious Class Master could investigate the situation and he would end up dead. A Class Master would either want his spells and grimoire, or simply want to kill a potential and eventual threat. If his Class started this powerful, he wondered what sort of heights he would reach later. On the other hand, was there much point to use it more? He could simply pretend to be a Tamer, and now with Wersa¡¯s help, he would be able to easily hunt beasts in total safety. It would be more than enough to pay for his family¡¯s safety. What more did he need or want?


    He let the breath out in a long stream from his nose, as he considered his options, finally he spoke, ¡°Wersa I need Karmis to show herself in the settlement to complete the job. After that I will consider your suggestion. Answer my other questions. Oh, and, again, make sure you never call me ¡®Lord¡¯ in the settlement or around other people.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord. Karmis has no allies specifically, but she does have people who purchase her services that will note her absence. She also has many enemies. Her clients will assume she was taken out she disappear. Lord, she does have.. other daughters.¡±


    ¡°Other daughters?¡± He asked, wondering at the potential complication.


    ¡°Yes, I know of at least three. They will seek me out if they believe she has fallen from her Path. They will want a piece of her savings, or her Class Disciple grimoire.¡±


    ¡°Her savings?¡± Suddenly, he felt a tinge of greed. Despite the fact he was speaking of the belongs of a woman who hadn¡¯t technically died yet, he found himself already coveting her treasures.


    ¡°It is not much, Lord, as far as I know. A few hundred gold, at most. We were low on funds. That was the reason she was willing to chase rumors. It had a big potential pay off, low risk, and it was cheap to live out here compared to a real city in the True Human Realm.¡±


    A few hundred gold!? His parents could live the entire rest of their lives in the settlement with a hundred gold. He could feel greed welling up in his heart, but he quickly quashed it. He had to lie low. Showing off that kind of gold would tip off a lot people in the settlement, especially Greer.


    ¡°What will your sister¡¯s claim? Will you get a portion? Will they investigate?¡±


    ¡°No, Lord. They hate her. None of them were up to the standard of being her Class Disciple. She kept me around because I was useful in other ways. They will be happy she is dead, and for their share of her savings.¡±


    ¡°You said they will want her grimoire, she had one prepared for a Class Disciple?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord. It was ready for Dice whenever Karmis decided she was ready or her Path ended. With Dice dead. No one will inherit now. Another Class Master might seek it out, and so it would be best to be rid of it or let the Tower have it.¡±


    ¡°I see. Will the Tower pay gold for it?¡±


    He was disappointed he had no real way of claiming Karmis¡¯ gold without making it obvious something strange had happened. Adventurers did not leave hundred gold tips to guides like himself. It would be difficult to find a cover story for why Wersa was sticking with him. Training? A favor owed? A punishment from Karmis? Perhaps, Wersa would just be continuing their mission but without Karmis. Karmis wasn¡¯t the type to want to spend countless rotations in the Wilds anyway. It made some sense that, after the death of Dice, Karmis would be sick of the place. He had never considered himself a good liar, but he would have to learn to keep himself safe.


    ¡°No, Lord. They will give you something better for it. Contribution.¡± Her voice raised a bit with this last word.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Contribution.¡± He spoke out loud. This was a heavy word. This word was the difference between the freelance and mercenary adventurers like Karmis, who rented rooms in the middle of the tower for silver per night, and the adventurers at the top of the tower, who slept in rooms that were worth gold per night for free. Contribution meant you had contributed to humanity in some meaningful way. Usually your contribution was either in the form of fighting humanity¡¯s enemies or by contributing to the overall power of humanity through spellcraft. With Contribution, he could not only be a Full Adventurer in the future, he could be an important one.


    ¡°We will have to keep it safe then. Don¡¯t let your sister¡¯s have it. What else does she have?¡±


    ¡°Lord, she has a few trinkets, but they are mostly tuned to her usage. Her tent, some tonics, solutions, and tinctures. Her caster-armour. Her Storage.¡±


    ¡°A Storage? A real Storage?¡± A Storage, as it¡¯s name suggested, stored items, in a spelled compacted space.


    ¡°Yes, Lord, it was one of the reasons we were low on funds, she had just purchased it. It was meant to be a present for her Class Disciple. She wanted her successor to have what she did not when she was first starting out.¡± Wersa¡¯s voice should have been bitter, a Class Master¡¯s Class Disciple was more important than a Class Master¡¯s child in many ways, but Wersa seemed oddly detached. With Karmis the way she was, had Wersa been freed from an emotional burden? Or was this a result of his spell?


    It was disconcerting hearing her speak so formally. Classed Warriors did not speak like that. They were little more than beasts in human form from the stories he had heard. Yet, he could taste the fear from the center of her being. He couldn¡¯t say he enjoyed it, but it felt oddly right. Like it was his due. He didn¡¯t know what it meant. Or how he should feel about it exactly. It was horrifying, but also exciting, new, and different. He had little control over his circumstances or life before the grimoire, and now? He could say he had more options at least, and his parents would be fine. Wasn¡¯t that what mattered?


    ¡°Wersa, you speak.. oddly. I don¡¯t mean your fear of me. I mean you¡¯re surprisingly well-spoken.¡±


    ¡°Lord, I was trained in the manner Dice would have been trained. Karmis dealt with powerful people on occasion. She said it would be more impressive if I were polite. A polite Warrior is.. a strange thing, Lord.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He almost felt sorry for the Warrior. He had to remind himself she was older than his parents, and a stone-faced killer.


    He changed the subject. ¡°A Storage is amazingly useful. Did she give you the appropriate permissions to take from it?¡± A Storage was usually spelled against just anyone taking from it. So long as the owner was alive or within a certain range, it was safe from nearly any intrusion. A Storage could take many forms, and their form was usually a matter of secrecy for their owner. He wondered how large it was, but it would be useless to know until he could bind it to himself. It would cost gold and a trip to the Tower to even get the a generic Storage binding spell, as well as the spells required to operate it.


    ¡°Lord, I have permission to take everything from it. Or at least, I have permission to take everything I know about in it. If there are things in there she never mentioned I won¡¯t know what they are unless..¡± The easiest way to bind a Storage that already had a owner, was to kill the owner.


    ¡°..unless she dies.¡±¡± He finished for her.


    He spoke again, ¡°She will die soon Wersa, of her own accord, but in the meantime is there no where we can stash her? I want her out of the settlement, but are there no places for retired or damaged Adventurers?¡±


    Cold blooded murder still bothered him, even with all the potential gain. He was not a bandit. He just wanted to live safely.


    ¡°Not for Class Masters, Lord. They are always targets. Even a Class Master gone mad or senile, would be put down by their disciples. They hold too many secrets and are too strong for anything else.¡±


    He opened his mouth, but realized that his next order would be to condemn Karmis to an early death. He closed his mouth. There was no benefit to letting her live much longer than the time it would take for her to make an appearance in the settlement. In fact, there was danger to letting her live. Some part of his mind, after his conversations with Wersa, had already decided her fate. On the scale of his life, what weighed more? His conscience? Or the safety and benefit derived from Karmis¡¯ death? The answer was obvious, but he still couldn¡¯t bring himself to give the order. At least not yet.


    A question popped into his mind, ¡°Do you feel anything for Karmis? Did you love her? Hate her?¡±


    He didn¡¯t know the purpose of this question, but he waited the moment it took her to respond.


    ¡°Both, Lord. Both.¡±


    Finally, he heard emotion in her voice, though he did not know what emotion.


    ***


    His next conversation was with a Divinity Damned book, but before he asked any questions he reviewed the details of his latest spell.


    Dominate Soul: Bind the soul of another with this spell. Spell anchors the soul of its target to the soul of the castor, creating a Soulbound. A Soulbound cannot disobey it¡¯s master on pain of quintessence degradation. Depending the strength of the soul of the caster, only a limited number of Soulbound can be maintained simultaneously. Spell will fail if cast without sufficient soul strength to maintain anchor. Spell is cast on another sentient being. Spell has a chance for failure based on the strength of the soul of the target sentient. Spell may damage target sentient¡¯s soul in case of failure. Sentients with strong souls will require more soul strength to anchor. Based on current Soulbound soul strength, Soulbound limit: 2.


    What even was a soul? None of the writings of the Church contained specifics about souls, other than every human had one and every non-human was lacking one. The latter assertion he doubted highly, Church doctrine was hyperbolic at best. What was ¡®quintessence degradation¡¯? He knew, from casting the spell, that Wersa felt terrifying pain at his whim, but what did that actually mean? Wersa was his ¡®Soulbound¡¯? It wasn¡¯t a term he had ever heard before.


    This spell seemed outrageously powerful to him, a nearly surefire way to convert an enemy to an ally. Unless, of course, they had a strong soul? Someone like Karmis would probably have a strong soul, but Wersa? He interpreted the last clause of the spell to mean he could have two Soulbound with souls as powerful as Wersa¡¯s with his current strength. Would advancing his Path improve his soul? This spell had no interaction with his influence, which was an indicator his influence was purely mental in nature, and this spell effected something else entirely. The spell, at least, explained the burden he felt all the time now. Wersa¡¯s soul was anchored to his own soul, and it had a weight for him to bear.


    All of this raised more questions than it answered. He decided to try asking the grimoire a few questions.


    ¡°What is a soul?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°What is quintessence degradation?¡±


    No answer.


    He felt like these sorts of questions might be hard to explain, but they should be within the knowledge offered by the grimoire, and yet, they were not. Either he needed to be stronger to get these answers, or whoever wrote the grimoire wanted him ignorant on some issues. When he got back to the settlement he would have to find some way of doing research, it was clear he needed to know so much more.

 Chapter 33

    ¡°Let¡¯s go hunting!¡±


    They had another fifteen cycles before they needed to be back to the settlement. Coming back early would mean, to an outside observer, that they met more than they could deal with, which shouldn¡¯t have been likely considering the strength of their party. The fact Dice had died was already strange, but explainable through an accident or Dice¡¯s inexperience.


    Karmis was strapped to Wersa¡¯s back, little could be done other than to drag her along until they could go back to the settlement. He wanted to make this time productive, not just sitting around watching Karmis decline. He had an idea, he couldn¡¯t just claim Karmis¡¯ gold, but he could hunt with Wersa¡¯s help and bring in a good supply of beastcores and beast parts. The beast parts could be put into the Storage which would keep them fresh. If they were lucky and efficient they could bring in a gold or two worth in materials, that would give him more leverage with Greer.


    The most difficult obstacle was getting Karmis secured and armoured. She hadn¡¯t been particularly helpful during the process. He needed her to live for a while yet, and the spelled armour would ensure her safety against many threats just by itself. He had asked about selling it, but Wersa had said it was made for, and tuned specifically to, Karmis, Karmis¡¯ Path, and Karmis¡¯ Class. Some of the materials could be reused at least, Wersa said. He had gone through Dice¡¯s things, but found little of note. Karmis would sell Dice¡¯s blades for him, but Dice¡¯s leathers were tattered and worthless. All he could feel for Dice was pity.


    They moved further south into areas he had never explored. This portion of the Wilds was sandwiched between a mountain range and areas less densely forested than the Wilds. He didn¡¯t really know what lied this way, the maps were vague. Beyond the mountain range was the True Wilds and eventually the ocean. The other direction, towards the True Human Realm, was forest that eventually gave way to prairies, meadows, and then to the Human Plains. Somewhere along the way was the Human Breakwater, the wall that protected humanity from.. something? He did not know what it protected humanity from, he had only heard there was a large wall there, taller than the tallest trees in the Wilds. Why it would be called ¡®Breakwater¡¯, was a mystery to him and to anyone he had asked. There were no large bodies of water anywhere near it.


    It would take, at the very least, a few rotations of heading towards the True Human Realm, to see the Breakwater Wall, so he put the thought of it away for later. Instead, they moved further towards the mountains and the True Wilds.


    ***


    He heard the sounds of battle before he could smell it, and long before he could see it. He could hear powerful clashes of metal on metal. A battle between fighters with metal weapons was fairly rare in the Wilds. Occasionally, he would hear rumors of Adventurers clashing in the Wilds over a beast kill, or over even more petty reasons, but true conflicts were rare. Banditry was uncommon, as few could survive in the Wilds during night cycles. Either you lived in a settlement, or near one, or not at all.


    Once he could hear the battle, he was at something of an impasse. He could hear well enough to know there were only a few fighters, it was wasn¡¯t a pitched battle, but some sort of skirmish. The blows were heavy, metal rang like the toll of a church bell repeatedly. They were strong, whoever they were. Taking Ina and Wersa, and just turning around and running, would probably seem like the be the safest thing he could do, but the cutthroat nature of the Wilds often turned common sense on its head. People who immediately ran to avoid conflict in the Wilds were often assumed to be weak, very weak in fact, and they would likely to be pursued as a result. It was often safer to maintain a safe distance, even if only to pretend to be interested in taking advantage of the weakened participants of any particular conflict. He would also had to be wary of other observers.


    While he considered his options, waiting a distance away from the battle, he finally got the scent of the fighters. They weren¡¯t humans! They smelled more like beasts to him. They had weapons.. His mind took a moment to put the pieces together. Beastfolk. These were Beastfolk.


    The fact these were beastfolk, armed beastfolk at that, didn¡¯t really change the situation for him. These beastfolk would likely be more dangerous than regular beasts, but not much more. He decided to wait out the results of the battle and then maybe take a look. He had to watch out for the participants, yes, but he also had to watch out for other parties and beasts drawn to the sounds and smells of the conflict. This latter issue was perhaps the greatest danger.


    His little party found a decent high branch to sit on, while they waited. Their hunting had been unremarkable up to this point. Only netting one greater beast, and no beastcores. The greater beast they had found was a long-wulf, a many legged, furred creature, that moved swiftly through the upper branches feeding on birds and small mammals.


    It was something like a cross between a wolf, a weasel, and a centipede. It didn¡¯t have the chitinous armour that most large centipedes had in the Wilds, but it had the many legs and the movement of a centipede. Its long body was sleek and furred like a wolf or a weasel, it even had a small muzzled snout. The snouted head of the beast was odd, it actually had six eyes, organized as pairs, set into what seemed like three cranial cavities forming a triangle shape with the snout being the middle of the triangle. The snout¡¯s shape might fool someone not familiar with the beast, but, in fact, its actual mouth was much larger than it appeared. The whole front section of a long-wulf was its real head and mouth, and would peel open into three separate portions to devour prey whole. It ate oddly, less like a wolf or a centipede, and more like a snake, he supposed. It had died easy enough after Ina had dropped down from above and eviscerated it, while Wersa chopped a decent portion of its head off. It was a young greater long-wulf, probably new to its ascension. Its fangs, hidden deep into its mouth and throat, were worth silver, so he had pried those loose. Its lengthy pelt was worth something as well, even with what Ina and Wersa had done to it. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Karmis¡¯ body had healed well enough she could left for a moment, but the movement on Wersa¡¯s back had made her sick. She had slowed them down, but at the very least he had gotten to see how Ina and Wersa could hunt together. He was pleased, with their potential. He just needed to get through the next rotation or so, and he would be free to just hunt and be what he wanted. He could even hide the grimoire away somewhere. He would stagnate, of course. His spell casting would grow difficult, but it wouldn¡¯t really matter because his life would be set. He could put all this behind him.


    The scent of blood in the air woke him from his thoughts. There was a quite a bit of blood in the air, the battle had been messy. He called on Wersa to leave Karmis with him, and to move in slow, with Ina overhead as back-up. He moved to the rear of their procession, slowly bringing Karmis with him. He was strong enough carry her short distances. Overall, he was more worried about ambush from uninvolved parties than he was worried about the participants in the conflict in front of him.


    As they drew closer, Karmis pull her sword out, to make ready. Ina was the first of them to sight the aftermath of the battle, as she crept closer to a rare clearing on the ground where the battle had taken place.


    She sent over the bond, ¡°Dem, at least three are still alive, or at least three have still beating hearts. Two of them are quite weak though.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Ina.¡±


    He could rely on Ina to position herself around whichever beastfolk was the biggest threat. He did not know what Wersa would, but he would find out. This could be a way of learning more about how Wersa dealt with dangerous situations. He needed to know more about her to make his little party work.


    He heard Wersa stop a short distance away from the clearing, just head of him. He left Karmis high in a tree on a thick branch. He stabbed his blade through her robe and into the tree to keep her from leaving, and jumped down. Even in her addled state, her armour would protect her from most attacks. It was spelled defensively and would react automatically to all sorts of threats, or at least that is what Wersa had said. He moved to join Wersa, standing just behind her, peering past her, into the clearing.


    What he found that was gruesome. Blood was splattered everywhere, and there were at least a few bodies lying on the ground in various states of dismemberment. What was immediately interesting to him about the bodies was that they were all the same kind of beastfolk. They were all large boar beastmen, each one a mountain of flesh, even dead and in pieces. He could even identify the sub-race they hailed from. These were Quill-Boar beastmen, each at least half a head taller than Wersa, and three or more times her weight. They had massive tusks jutting from snouted faces. Their eyes were black and beady, and were quite small compared to their overall size. He could tell they were from a Quill-Boar bloodline because on each of their backs was a forest of hair-like quills protruding outward. These quill-hair were as tough as steel and more resistant to blows than most armour due to their springy nature. They didn¡¯t so much block blows, as they absorbed them. They were also very sharp, and provided some immediate protection against anyone who would grapple with a Quill-Boar beast. Quill-Boars, in their natural state, were much smaller than rubber rhinos, but lived usually much longer lives, and were more likely to ascend to a greater beast as a result. They were tough, fast, strong, and moved in packs, unlike the solitary rubber rhino. Few beasts could get through the quill-hair, making them nearly impossible to kill. They literally outlived potential predators.


    Each of the boar beastmen had been armed, mostly with spears, but one especially large beastmen had an axe. He was still alive, though bleeding profusely from a hundred small wounds. He was propped up against a tree, breathing harshly. In addition to the axe, he was armoured crudely. Something about the beastman made him wary, wary in the same way he was around Adventurers. This beastman likely had a Class.


    There were two others still living in the clearing. One was passed out, from what looked like a head wound, the other was splayed out on the ground, its breathing was irregular. The one laying on the ground looked to be on his last legs, one of his arms was missing and there was blood spilling out of him in no small amount. Only the beastman with an axe registered their presence, his head turn toward Dem¡¯s approach.


    Wersa turned to look back at him, seeking permission to do.. something. He just nodded his head, mostly out of curiosity, to see what Wersa wanted to do. There wasn¡¯t much to gain from this particular situation, dead beastmen would have little, and so it didn¡¯t hurt much to indulge her. She was more experienced than he was anyway, he could probably learn from her in a few ways at least. She nodded in return at him and then with a few swift steps was standing over the boar beastman who was passed out. Her sword plunged into the neck of the beast with no hesitation, and a moment later the already dying beastman got the same treatment. He didn¡¯t really know what he was expecting her to do, but killing the beastmen still surprised him. He didn¡¯t mourn them, exactly, they were probably already going to die from their wounds, but the casual manner Wersa had dispatched them, had disconcerted him.


    Wersa then slowly walked towards the axe-wielder. This time taking her time with her eyes on the beastman every step of the way. The beastman also eyed Wersa as she took careful steps. She had deemed the beastman a threat still, despite its wounds. Ina too had chosen the axe-wielder as the central threat here and was quietly waiting in the tree above its head.


    He decided he wanted to know what all this was about before the beastman died or Wersa got another urge to kill.


    He spoke to Wersa, ¡°Don¡¯t kill that one, I want to talk to him.¡±


    He presumed it was a male beastman, but he didn¡¯t really know for sure. The sexual characteristics of beastmen.. varied.. greatly.. which only added to the mystique around Beast Tamers. He sighed.


    He walked into the center of the clearing, cleared his throat, and spoke to the beastman.

 Chapter 34

    ¡°Do you speak the human language?¡± He tried to sound intimidating, but he wasn¡¯t sure it had the intended effect


    The beastman¡¯s eyes left Wersa, and focused on Dem instead.


    It spoke, haltingly, ¡°Yess.. I sspeakk...¡± It burst into a coughing fit, blood splattering from its mouth, unable to finish its sentence. Its voice was deep and its words were a bit slurred, but, after translating Dice¡¯s speech, it wasn¡¯t hard to understand it.


    ¡°You fought all of these Beastmen? Why?¡±


    It moved slightly, not trying to stand, but repositioning itself against the tree trunk it was slouched against. This set Wersa off, she began to ready her blade again, but Dem stopped her with a wave of his hand in her periphery vision. He wanted to hear the beastman¡¯s story.


    After sitting up the boar beastman was able to speak a little better, ¡°A sshadow came.. cycless ago.. during a clann-meet... like night but not night.. the confffusion caused turmoil in the claaans.. brother fought sister.. forrr control.. treachery.. the unclasssed attacked the Classedd.¡±


    Another coughing fit struck the beastman. While the coughing continued, Dem tried to make sense of what he had heard. A shadow? A meeting? Internal strife? The most interesting part was that the unclassed had apparently risen up against the Classed. Out of jealousy? Or to seize their grimoires? Judging by the beastman¡¯s better armour and weapon, it was likely to be on the side of the Classed, which like meant it was Classed itself. Like a spark cantrip, a light went off in Dem¡¯s head.There was value here. A Classed beastman was useful for selling or bonding. It was true beastmen could have human Classes, but it wasn¡¯t always easy to train them in one. The training process required the adaptation of the Class to the Path the beastman followed, and even then there were issues with compatibility between Class and Path. An already trained Classed beastman was worth gold.


    The beastman continued its monologue, ¡°I killedd these bbetrayers.. It is ggood you ffinished them offf.. I can ddie wwith no regretts..¡±


    Once again, Dem had no idea what to expect here. He had never met any beastfolk before Ina, and even before that, he had only ever seen them at a distance. This beastman clearly had a sense of honor, and the clan he came from played political games. Political games the beastman had clearly lost. The beastman would be worth gold to the right buyer, if he could heal it. He would have to bond it, to keep it under control in the meantime, though the type of bond he would use would have to be weaker than the mutual bond he and Ina shared. It would be easier to break the bond later if and when he choose to sell it. He had never put any thought into buying and selling beastfolk. Beastfolk, if they were lucky, were sold to Tamers or anyone else wanting to bond such a creature, if they were unlucky, they forced to fight for entertainment, or used as training dummies, or expendable shock troops, and if they were very unlucky, they were used as ingredients. He wasn¡¯t sure he had the heart to sell a beastman into such a potential fate. He could make the decision later though, first he needed ensure the beast would live and would not resist the bond. After a moment more of thought, he decided to experiment.


    He moved closer to the beastman, so that he stood to Wersa¡¯s left shoulder, just behind her.


    He spoke, in his most commanding voice, ¡°Beastman, do you wish to live? I can heal you.¡±


    His words brought a quick look from Wersa, but he ignored her.


    He continued with his pitch to the beastman, ¡°You must yield to us, to my spells, if you want to live. I am a Beast Tamer. I can heal you, but you must accept the bond.¡±


    The boar beastman trembled angrily at his words, though it did not try to stand.


    The beastman barked at Dem, ¡°..I.. am a Classed Warrrior, of a great clann.. I.. do not..become the play thingg of a human.. I die.. killing my ennemies... you are weakk!¡±


    This was not a surprising response, all things considered. Beast Tamers always looked weak, or weaker than they should have relative to their beasts, and yet untamed beasts only respected strength. It was a fundamental problem all Tamers faced. It was a problem with a lot of potential solutions different Tamers had used in the past, but he had something new to try. Now would be the time to try his experiment.


    With no more words, he draw on this Path and focused his influence into his eyes. At least he would get to see what his Gaze did to a beastman. He unleashed the concentrated influence as quickly as he could, while he still had the attention of the beastman, impatient to see the result.


    As the Gaze connected with beastman¡¯s eyes, its pupils dilated wide and it seemed to sag against the tree. The reaction was not quite the mental blow he had seen when he used it against Dice, Karmis, and Wersa, but it had an effect. The beastman would be more suggestable for a while, if he understood the spell correctly, but he still needed a display of power to push the beastman over the edge. His influence was just influence, it was not the same thing as control or intimidation.


    As the beastman tried to recover, he sent over the bond, ¡°Ina show yourself to the beastman, look as frightening as you can, and come to stand next to me.¡±


    Dem spoke, loudly, barking an order to Wersa, ¡°Wersa, kneel!¡±


    There was no lag time, no hesitation between his order and Wersa¡¯s follow through. Her knees banged so powerfully against the ground, they left small craters. She stuck the tip her sword into the ground to steady herself. Dem looked at her side profile, looking for any hint of rebellion, but her eyes were still glued to the beastman.


    The beastman¡¯s eyebrows rose at Wersa¡¯s actions, but he made no comment. As the beastman¡¯s attention was on Wersa, Ina¡¯s materialized behind the beastman, her clawed tails found critical points on the beastman to threaten as she walked past it. The beastman startled at the revelation of a many-tailed beastwoman appearing next to him, its hand reaching for his axe, but stopping short due to the prick of a claw at its neck and two more claws appearing near its eyes. The beastman froze with as frightened a look as Dem could imagine on on boar beastman. Its eyes were wide and it trembled slightly with the effort it took to stay still. It seemed to have some instinctual fear of the many-tailed. Perhaps, they had a natural predator-prey relationship?The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Beastman, Wersa here is a Class Warrior, like you, yet she kneels. The many-tailed, Ina is my companion. I treat my bonded beastfolk well, as you can see. I have no need for a play thing. I need another mighty warrior. Give your word to allow the bond, and I will heal you. You can fight again, as a Warrior¡± His voice held as much feeling as he could muster, and he burnt the power of his Path into his passive Influence.


    The beastman seemed to stop to think, which didn¡¯t bode well for Dem¡¯s efforts, but nothing was perfect. Immediate agreement would have been the best scenario. Dem had done what he could to convince the beastman. He didn¡¯t want to use his other spells as his control of them was imperfect. Dice had been functionally useful, but a far cry from he needed from a party member. Karmis was even worse, the multiple Domination spells he had used had damaged her permanently. It was likely, had she been any weaker, she would have simply died on the spot as a result. He did not need another brain damaged follower in need of his care.


    ¡°..heal me.. let me fight the Warriorr.. If she winss.. I will doo as you ask.. If I wwin.. I return to mmy clan..¡±


    The beastman wanted to negotiate? While it was dying no less. He had to admire it, on some level. It took guts to barter while you were dying. This deal could be bad for Dem, if Wersa lost, it might be hard to contend with the beastman. Then again, even with healing, the beastman would be much weaker than it would normally be. Wersa wasn¡¯t just a Warrior, she was a Warrior in the prime of her life with many sequences of experience. He was very confident she could take on this beastman Warrior. Even if Wersa did lose, the beastman would be in no condition to fight him and Ina.


    It was odd the beastman wanted to return to its clan. If it was chased away from its clan, going back would likely only result in its death. They had sent five or six unclassed after it, which was a sizable force. Beastmen were strong fighters, even unclassed. The beastman was asking to die on his own terms, it seemed to Dem.


    Dem turned toward Wersa, seeking her input, but she only nodded her head while keeping her eyes on the beastman.


    ¡°Alright, beastman, you have a deal. You will fight Wersa here, but not to the death. Do you understand? When you lose you will accept the bond. Swear on your clan. In return, I will give you a cycle¡¯s worth of healing and recuperation, and let you go should you win the fight. Know that my many-tailed will kill you should you fail to live up our bargain.¡± He tried to make his voice sound as grim as he could with his last statement, banking on the boar beastman¡¯s fear of Ina.


    He knew he sounded like a villain, spouting off about the consequences of betrayal to the beastman, but he had to make his position seem strong. Taming a beast could be as much theater as anything else, depending on the method you used.


    ¡°..I agreee.. You maay heal.. mme..¡±


    Wersa moved forward, sword out, until she reached the beastman¡¯s axe, which she kicked away a good dozen spans. Then she stood over it, sword at the ready, waiting for Dem to begin his healing spells. Ina moved in from the other side, her clawed tails at the ready. Dem moved in, only close enough to touch the beastman to apply the spells. The beastman merely looked at him and sat still, letting the spells take effect. It wasn¡¯t entirely clear the beastman would live even with the spells, but it was worth trying.


    ***


    Over the next cycle, Dem applied every healing spell had twice to the beastman. He had even given the beastman a healing solution from Karmis¡¯ supply, though only the Wersa said was the cheapest one. He started something of a dialogue with the beastman, as it healed. They had exchanged names and a little more information. The boar beastman was called Graf-pulackt.. the name continued for another dozen syllables. The beastman¡¯s name was nearly unpronounceable and too long, so they had settled on Graf, as a nickname. The beastman was of the Quill-Boar Clan of a place Graf had called Bonepick Mountain. Dem had never heard of a Bonepick Mountain, but he supposed it was a name the local beastfolk clans used for one of the nearby mountains. He had asked about the ¡®shadow¡¯ and the clan turmoil, but Graf had gone quiet on him. Graf wasn¡¯t likely to betray the location of his clan or its current strength, and while the information might sell in the settlement, Dem wasn¡¯t particularly interested in being the cause of the destruction of an entire clan, or whatever was left of it. It was possible the settlements already knew about the clan, but the potential profits were projected to be too low. Beastfolk rarely allowed themselves to be captured alive.


    The beastman took to the healing well, and had been hiding some strength. Graf¡¯s wounds had looked worse than they actually were, Wersa had been right to be cautious. Dem would have to rely on her instincts more for situations like this one. Despite the healing, Graf still looked exhausted, in so far as a boar beastman could look exhausted, from the perspective of a human. They searched through the bodies of the fallen beastmen, but had found little. It wouldn¡¯t have made sense for them to bring treasure with them while hunting a political rival or whatever Graf was. They did, however, find a beastcore, in the first beastman Wersa had killed. Beastcores from beastmen were rare, most beastmen would destroy their core before it could be harvested. Even the act of killing a beastman, unaware, would often damage their beastcore. The beastcore they harvested was in pristine shape, it would be worth a gold or more, though he would need Greer to get it evaluated.


    By the latter half of the cycle Graf was able to stand without aide, and by the end of the cycle deadline, Graf was giving his axe a few practice swings, while staring steadily at Wersa. Graf¡¯s stare was intense, and probably directed at finding a weakness in Wersa, Dem surmised. Graf¡¯s axe swings were slow, but powerful. Too slow, in fact. He wasn¡¯t sure if it Graf was putting on an act, or just warming up slowly.


    They had emptied the clearing of bodies and trampled down the dirt down to provide a place to fight. If there were other beasts or humans who had heard or smelled the earlier battle, they hadn¡¯t showed up. Dem¡¯s earlier worry, over interlopers, had been for nothing. He was thankful that this battle between Classed Warriors would go on without interruption. Few beasts or Adventurers would get between two Classed Warriors fighting.


    Dem brought Karmis down from up high, she had hardly moved, but he did noticed her health was deteriorating fast. She looked green in the face and she still hadn¡¯t been able to apply her illusion properly. Her body¡¯s injuries had been healed, for the most part, but he couldn¡¯t heal a failing body. After they finished this battle they would have to leave immediately for the settlement.


    He called the two Warriors over, having each one stand at one side of the clearing.


    ¡°This is a battle to submission, not to the death. I healed you so you could live Graf. Swear on your Clan you will honor our agreement.¡± Dem''s voice was loud in the empty clearing.


    Graf spoke quickly, clearly eager for the fight, ¡°I sswear.. on my clann..¡±


    Dem turned to the Warrior woman, ¡°Wersa, don¡¯t kill him.¡±

 Chapter 35

    ¡°Wersa, don¡¯t kill him.¡±


    With this last statement Dem buffed Wersa with his best spells, offering Graf nothing. It would be good for Graf to see Dem¡¯s spells in action, to understand what bonding a Tamer might offer him. His spells invigorated Wersa, her complexion becoming redder, her breath coming faster. The spells he used were fairly basic, compared to what Karmis had available, but they were useful. He used spells like Strength Other, Toughen Other, Dexterous Other. Each spell was now at the mid-tier thanks to the grimoire¡¯s changes to him. These spells had a fairly significant effect, but were costly to the power his Path provided. Once he was an Adventurer he would receive a couple of cantrips that would allow him to mark the progress his Path made and the cost of his spells. Only Adventurers had access to such spells, as they were property of the Tower, and generally most laborers wouldn¡¯t need to constantly measure their progress. Workers only needed to advance their Path enough to do their work, and little more. Some like his Da, took it further, but the cost of following a single Path was unappealing to most.


    Graf cast at least two spells on himself, Wersa only cast one herself. He would have to ask Wersa about her spells when he got the chance later. He was sure she knew what she was doing, she was older than his parents apparently, but he wanted to know if there was a way to best coordinate their spells. Sometimes spells overlapped and lost effectiveness. With the potential increase to his income, he could buy more spells in the future to supplement both Ina and Wersa. Graf might join them as well, and so he had to take into account having a true defensive Warrior for their party. If he were still following his previous Path, all of this possible cooperation and coordination would have been fantastic for his Path, but the most he could do now was maintain and replenish his previous Path. There was little sense in trying to advance it, without a Class to match it.


    Finishing with his spells, Dem moved away from Wersa, letting the fighters begin to circle each other. Ina sat above the fight, acting as a referee and lookout. He spoke nothing to begin the fight, simply evacuating from clearing to the sidelines was enough to start both fighters moving. He could tell the two Warriors were impatient, which wasn¡¯t surprising he supposed. Unlike Class Fighters, who fought out of duty, or for coin, or out of necessity, the Warrior Class was for those enjoyed fighting and battles for their own sake.


    Wersa was the first to test a blow. She didn¡¯t put her all into this blow, as she had against the rubber rhino, but it was a strong blow nonetheless. Graf took the blow on the haft of his axe, two handed, his arms only bending slightly while receiving it. The way Graf¡¯s feet sunk into the ground as the blow was received, was a testament to its strength and the strength of the beastman. He doubted Wersa could take a similar attack so effortlessly as the beastman had. The beastman attempted to hook Wersa¡¯s blade with the head of his axe as she pulled away, trying to disarm her, but she was too quick and swung her sword again into a series of attacks chained together. Was she trying to overwhelm or exhaust the beastman? Attacking was generally more tiring that defending. He hoped she was just playing around.


    The clearing rang with the strength of Wersa¡¯s attacks. The first five or ten strikes of the duel were all offensive swings from Wersa, probably for the purpose of testing the beastman. As the moments ticked by, her attacks were growing faster with each swing of her sword. She was still slower than Ina or Dice, but more than fast enough to begin to pressure Graf.


    She disengaged for a moment, hopping backwards to the other end of the clearing in a single step. She then casted a spell on herself, while Graf moved forward to re-engage her. Graf was too late, of course, he was slow, needing time to get his bulk up to speed. For Wersa to cast a spell on herself, in the middle of battle, meant it was a spell with a short duration or spell that offered a single powerful attack. Graf stopped his forward momentum, just short of the middle of the clearing, and stood with a broad stance, knees slightly bent, waiting to see what Wersa had in store for him.


    Wersa re-engaged with two quick steps. Suddenly her attacks came in a flurry, blows raining down on the beastman from every angle. Graf couldn¡¯t respond quick enough to block all these attacks, his axe was simply too slow. Inevitably some would get through his defenses, and so he did what any Quill-Boar would do, he hunched over and bent his legs, so that he could cover his head, chest, and arms with his axe. Hunched over Graf¡¯s back would now take a number of Wersa¡¯s strikes, his quill-hair providing good protection.


    Dem hadn¡¯t noticed before, but the armour on the beastman was thickest on the arms, legs, and head. Clearly there was a strategy here. The beastman was probably trying to tire the warrior woman out, or at least conserve his own energy. The raw energy of battle might advance a Warrior down their Path, but it did not replenish their stamina. The beastman was likely still tired from his previous battle, and so this strategy would be helpful to him for that reason, if nothing else. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Wersa laughed, as the flurry of blows seemed to wind down. A number had landed on the beastman¡¯s back, but each had glanced off or bounced the sword back towards Wersa.


    She spoke, ¡°Fine, you armoured pig, I will try something else.¡±


    With this, she pulled a trinket from her armour and crushed it in her fist. This was a one-time spell trinket, designed to cast a powerful spell quickly, without the need for focus, without the need to even know the spell, but at the cost of destroying the trinket on use. Only a caster who had mastered a particular spell in-depth could create such a trinket.


    The spell took hold of Wersa, while the beastman just observed. He didn¡¯t dare leave his defensive stance. The spell caused Wersa¡¯s eyes to go red and bloodshot, her body began to swell, and her skin began to darken, like she had spent too much time in the light. He knew this spell, this was the spell Karmis had used on Wersa both to defeat the rubber rhino and during the fight at the campsite. This was the spell he had assumed was Berserk spell, though he wasn¡¯t really sure. It was another thing he would have to ask Wersa about.


    Wersa strode forward, her sword raising for a mighty two-handed blow. The beastman was nervous, shifting his weight and gripping his axe tightly. Wersa stopped just outside the range of the beastman¡¯s axe, and readied her blow. Sweat streamed down her face, her breathing rapid, as she leapt forward, her attack coming down on the beastman from above. Graf had readied an attack of his own, probably hoping to deflect or distract Wersa, but he must have thought better of it at the last moment, because he raised his axe to take Wersa¡¯s strike instead.


    As their weapons met, wind exploded out from the clearing in every direction. Branches, leaves, and dirt blew past him, Dem had to raise his arm over his face to protect his eyes. He missed the immediate effect of Wersa¡¯s attack, but did look up quickly to see who had won.


    The aftermath was impressive. The clearing had been.. cleared further of anything they hadn¡¯t already removed. He noticed a stone, the size of his head, hadn¡¯t left the ground thankfully, but had moved backward toward him the entire length of his body, leaving a trail in the mud. Wersa and Graf now stood in a crater deep enough that it would come up to Dem¡¯s knees. Graf¡¯s axe had bent along its haft, to the point the weapon was now useless. Dem could tell the haft was made of granite tree, banded in steel. His own spear would be far less tough than the axe¡¯s haft. Graf had taken some of the strike with his left shoulder, his quill-hair providing extra protection. Graf¡¯s quill-hair was clearly bent in such a way Dem could see a depression the shape of Wersa¡¯s sword. Wersa¡¯s chest heaved with the exertion of the blow, but was otherwise fine, she brought her sword back into a guard, and stepped backward out of the crater they had made.


    Graf looked strained, and was swaying back and forth, maybe a little dazed. Graf¡¯s legs were buried up to his armoured calfs at the bottom of the crater. After holding steady for a moment, he dropped the remnants of his weapon. He too was breathing heavily, but his gaze was steady. He pulled his buried feet out and stepped back from the crater as well, to face Wersa on even ground.


    Was it over? Would the beastman yield without his weapon? Dem hadn¡¯t thought to stop Wersa from using her spell, or from using such a heavy attack. If it had killed the beastman, all of this would have been a waste of time. He was a little too engrossed in the fight for his own benefit. Should he say something? Call for an end? Tell Wersa to pull her attacks? Normally a Warrior would invariably fight to the death, but she was absolutely loyal, and so he was confident she would listen.


    While he considered the merits of intervening, the beastman pull off his heavily plated arm guards, dropping each to the ground with a thud. Graf then did the same with the armoured plates on each his legs. Wersa¡¯s eyes were glued to the beastman, but she made no effort to stop him. The powerful spell from her trinket was still active, and so she was still a significant threat.


    Finally finished, the beastman flexed all the muscles in his body slightly, causing a resounding crack. Quill-hair popped up from his arms and legs, forming spiky guards. This new defense was sparse compared to the quill-hair on Graf¡¯s back, and so it would not stop a significant blow. It was clear to Dem these arm and leg quills were for offensive purposes. They were long and thicker than the quill-hair on the beastman¡¯s back, and probably sharper too. What did Graf intend to do? Dem was baffled. Why would the beastman drop his armour?


    The beastman charged at Wersa now, his speed increased without the heavy armour plates. Was Graf intending to try to get inside Wersa¡¯s guard? Dem could think of no other possibility except for Graf attempting a grapple. Graf risked taking a deadly blow from Wersa¡¯s sword, but at least he would have a chance at getting into range to grab Wersa. His bulk and quill-hair would give him an advantage, if he could just get ahold of her.


    Wersa laughed and yelled a challenge when it became obvious what Graf intended to do. She readied another big blow, this was not an overhead strike, but a sweeping one from the side. As Graf reached the ranged of her sword, she swung sideways with the flat of her blade. Graf twisted to take the blow on the shoulder and back. Wersa¡¯s swipe batted Graf away from her, causing him to fly backward into the crater. She laughed again then, at this attempt to engage in close combat. Graf responded simply by charging again and again, only to be met by the flat of Wersa¡¯s sword each time. After four attempts, Wersa put on a more serious expression, signaling she had enough of Graf¡¯s antics. Her change in demeanor likely meant her spells would start to wear off soon. She needed to end the fight. Dem watched her set her jaw, scowl, and square her shoulders.Then she did the unexpected. She dropped her sword.

 Chapter 36

    The sword fell to the ground with a thud, tipping over to lie on the flat of the blade, heavy enough to sink into the turned mud of the clearing.


    Dem was stunned. His mind suddenly filled with on a single resounding question. He started to call out to her, his question bursting forth, ¡°Wersa! Wh-¡±.


    As the words formed, Wersa took a step backwards with her left leg, leaving her right where it was, and presenting a side-profile towards Graf. The boar beastman was already moving in for another attempt at grappling the Warrior woman, as Wersa weight settled on her back leg. Dem¡¯s question was cut short when he realized Graf hadn¡¯t even had the time to register the fact that Wersa no longer held a weapon, Graf¡¯s face was study in singular concentration. As Graf moved in, it looked to Dem like the beastman would succeed in his aims, as this time Graf managed to get much closer to Wersa than he had previously, his arms opening wide to prevent Wersa from escaping him. Dem¡¯s breath caught in his throat at the sight of Graf¡¯s quilled arms closing around Wersa. Wersa¡¯s large form was nearly blocked from Dem¡¯s sight as the larger form of Graf seemed to engulf her. Just as he was about lose all sight of her, Wersa¡¯s form blurred, taking a step forward, pushing into the boar beastman, and dealing a massive blow with both her fists, one striking the beastman in the head while the other struck him in the gut. The simultaneous punches smashed into Graf, lifting him off his feet and sending him backward far enough he hit the trunk of a large tree. Dem¡¯s eyes followed Graf¡¯s slumping form as it slide down the tree and laid still. Dem¡¯s eyes darted back to Wersa who stood for a moment, frozen, in a strange stance. Dem could only imagine she had used some sort of powerful technique. He hadn¡¯t sensed any sort spell from her, nor would she have had the time to cast anything. What had happened? He had seen everything but understood little.


    The fight was over just like that. The boar beastman was beyond yielding now, though not dead thankfully. Dem noted Graf was only unconscious, his chest still rose and fell. The dust had started to settle now. The clearing was finally still. Wersa¡¯s spells had mostly worn off now, leaving her heavy breathing as the only sound echoing from the clearing.


    He spoke then, to Wersa, to satisfy his curiosity, ¡°Wersa, why drop your sword?¡±


    She spoke, between large gasps of air, ¡°Warriors should use.. swords, but.. Karmis, had me train without weapons.. she said it be better, given our work.. that I shouldn¡¯t be reliant on having a weapon.. There is no room.. for swinging a sword.. in a tavern or an alley.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re more proficient with unarmed combat?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord.¡±


    He sighed, unarmed combat in the Wilds was a disadvantage, but then so was swinging a big sword. Wersa¡¯s explanation reminded him of Karmis¡¯ anger at Wersa¡¯s use of the sword on the rubber rhino. It was truly a huge blade, thicker than his forearm, and longer than he was tall. In the Wilds, there was only really room for her to wield it in a clearing like this one. Even Graf¡¯s axe was shorter in overall length, with a sharpened tip on top for easy stabbing. Graf clearly used the axe, not in broad chopping sweeps, but to block weapons and hook or stab his opponents. There was simply too many trees to catch a sweeping blade in the Wilds.


    Dem strode over to the beastman, to begin his spell work. He could apply some more healing spells and start the bonding process. Wersa joined him, to stare down at her defeat opponent. It wasn¡¯t possible to complete a bond spell with a completely unconscious beast, that would be too easy, but it was possible to begin to lay the groundwork. The bond spell he would apply would be a much quicker and dirtier one than what he used with Ina. It would be mostly one-sided, with him having more overall control. The control came at the cost of less communication over the bond. His benefits, the strength he could borrow from the beastman, would be less too. Deeper bonds were better, but they took more time and more trust. Dem¡¯s coordination with the beastman would be less than than with Ina, but the bond would still improve his passive Tamer spells. Where bonding Ina had made him stronger, more swift, more agile, and improved his stamina, bonding the boar beastman would likely improve his strength, toughness, and stamina in differing amounts. He could only guess what improvements he would receive based on what his old, long since sold, Tamer grimoire had said about the benefits of bonds. One could make an educated guess based on the beast in question, but it was not an exact science. The effects of borrowing strength through both casted and passive spells had diminishing returns with more bonds, depending on the talent of the Tamer, but with only two bonds he would receive the full benefit of both bonds. The Tamer grimoire said it was always better to bond better quality beasts, than it was to bond a large quantity of beasts. He didn¡¯t know what his limit would be with bonded beasts, but most real Tamers had at least a few beasts. He wasn¡¯t really a Tamer any more, he had to remind himself, before he got too lost in his memories of the Tamer grimoire. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Refocusing his thoughts, adding another member to his little party would be helpful. Ina and Wersa could concentrate on offense while the boar beastman defended. There would be some negotiation with Graf, as technically the beastman could try to challenge the bond, though it would cost Graf immense pain and suffering. It was possible for a bonded beast to attack its Tamer, though to do so was practically suicide for the beast. Dem would have to figure out how to keep the beastman at least a little happy. With most beasts it was usually as simple as providing spells, battles, and food, but with beastfolk? He didn¡¯t really know what they would want. Bonding a beastman was much too close to slavery for Dem¡¯s taste, but it would have been a waste to let the beastman die, or to heal him, only to have him return to the Clan to die taking more clan betrayers with him. If the bond later chafed at Dem¡¯s conscience, someday in the future he could release the beastman and bond a different stronger beast. Already Dem had banished the idea of selling the beastman, Graf would be too useful based on what Dem had seen during the earlier fight.


    It had never really occurred to Dem to bond more beasts beyond Ina. She was only a lesser beast a few rotations ago, and he had only been a true Classed Tamer for a little longer than that. He hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to try to Tame anything else. Previously, it would have taken lots of work to bond anything in a mutualistic way that followed his Path. He would have had to find a beast and then befriend it, without being able to communicate with it, to bond it in a way that was helpful to his previous Path.


    Now, with the change to his Path, there was little point in trying to bond another beast in the way he had bonded Ina. He could still draw from his previous Path, but it would not improve as it had before, unless he found a way to reject his new Class and Path. He was stuck. His Class would override everything else he might try, and it would only truly be fueled by the power of his new Path. If he stopped progressing on the Path of Domination, he would eventually be unable to cast his Dominator spells and would, later on, have trouble casting any spells unless he re-embraced his previous teamwork-oriented Path totally and gave up on his new Class. Even then, would his current Path let him change? Changing one¡¯s Path, especially going backward, was painful usually and required a lot of mental work, in conjunction with changing one¡¯s behavior. It was generally easier to follow related, dual Paths, than it was to try to take up a previous Path. Most combat Classes focused on specific Paths to maximize their personal power and spell casting, but Classes oriented towards production and service, often would follow a number of related Paths to maximize their personal efficiency at various tasks. Production and service Classes didn¡¯t need the powerful spell casting abilities of combat Classes, and so it didn¡¯t matter much if their multiple Paths were weaker overall. His Path was truly singular and monstrous. Everything he knew of Paths and every feeling he had about his Path, told him so. The grimoire had changed him fundamentally, he didn¡¯t think it would be so easy to change back.


    ***


    When Graf had woke, his black, beady eyes were glued to Wersa, who stood looming over his slumped form. Graf had been dizzy initially, and been more than happy to lay still as Dem explained what was required for the bond to work and its restrictions. The beastman had agreed readily to Dem¡¯s requests. The fight had been knocked right out of the hulking figure, his face a mask of defeat. It took nearly a whole half cycle to get the bond spell up and functioning, but when it finally operating Dem felt a big a change.


    Dem could feel his strength soar as the bond took hold. He would need to eat well over the course of the next few cycles to fill out his new, more dense, muscles. He had originally thought the bonus to his passive spells would be small, but it actually had been fairly large. At best he could speculate. Perhaps he hadn¡¯t factored in that Graf was a beastman, not merely a beast. Beastfolk were far stronger than they would otherwise be as mere beasts, even if they were at the same level of ascension. A greater beast would be weaker than a greater beastman. Graf was clearly a greater beastman, and maybe even at the strength of a elder greater beastman. Either way, Dem felt great. He jump further and lift more now. Ina had even said she felt a bit stronger, suggesting that was there was some bleed over across the bonds. This was something he would have to research.


    As they prepared to leave the clearing, Dem watched as Graf had spent a moment looking at his broken axe, before grabbing a leftover spear from one of dead beastman. Graf used the spear to pry the head of of the axe off the remnants of its haft and then tied the axe head to his waist. When they got back to the settlement they could get a new haft fitted for it, Dem thought. This could be a good way to get the beastman to be more comfortable in their bond, but what else would the beastman want? Would Ina want something as well? Dem smiled at the thought of giving Ina a few more gifts. His relationship with Ina, if he could call it that, had been pretty basic. Was there more they could have between them? He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts of Ina. Dem would have to deal with Greer next.

 Chapter 37

    The trip back had been.. interesting. They hurried, to avoid the next set of night cycles, and to get to the settlement while Karmis was still able to function well enough to stand on her own. Her slow deterioration was worrying, but they really only needed her for a few appearances. Wersa had pulled a veil and a large robe for Karmis to wear from the Storage. They would be able to hide her broken illusion spell at least.


    The added strength from the new bond helped Dem move better through lowest tier of branches. Graf had stayed mostly on the ground, his bulk not able to easily move from branch to branch. Graf was able to keep up with them with the help of a few of Dem¡¯s stamina spells, despite being on the ground. Moving along the ground wasn¡¯t much slower than moving through three branches. Dem hardly opted to travel on the ground this far out because it carried more risk of attack. Both methods of travel, in the branches and on the ground, required some backtracking around tree trunks and thick vegetation.


    The beastman had been mostly quiet, except for the occasional long meaningful look at Wersa. Did the beastman resent being beaten? Did he want a rematch? Was he fearful? Dem couldn¡¯t get much from the taciturn boar over their new bond. His old Tamer grimoire had said each bond would be a little different and would require the Tamer to learn something new. Where Ina¡¯s emotions were a placid pool with strong currents, Graf was more like a boiling lake where emotions rose to the surface in big bursts. He couldn¡¯t yet understand what each emotion meant, but over time Dem would come to understand the beastman¡¯s moods.


    When they had stopped for rests, on several occasions Dem had tried to start up a conversation, usually asking about basic information. Dem had only moderate success getting the beastman to talk about himself, but didn¡¯t have much reason to push the issue when their conversations dried up.They would be working together for some time, and would be able to learn about each other eventually. Their conversations had been awkward for many reasons. Dem had made something of a fool of himself.


    ***


    As Graf sat leaned against a large tree root that jutted from a small hillside, Dem decided to sit next to him and strike up a conversation. While the beastman recovered from their hike, his broad chest still heaving with the exertion, Dem asked a question.


    ¡°Graf.. How old are you? Are you an elder greater beastman?¡±


    The boar beastman turned Dem¡¯s way, and simply snorted. Eventually Graf did speak though, with his usual slightly slurred speech, ¡°Older than you, it looksss like. I am nearly an elder, I would havvve been, had the shhhadow not commme.¡±


    ¡°What was the shadow? How long did it last?¡±


    ¡°There was nothing to seee, it was just a shadowww. It lasted lesss than sixteeethhh.¡±


    ¡°So short! How could it have caused the fall of your clan?¡±


    ¡°Masterrr, I do not wissh to speak of itt.¡± Graf sounded mostly just sad, as he made his request. The beastman¡¯s eyes took on a long stare, as Dem¡¯s question had clearly hurt a fresh mental wound.


    Dem winced at the obvious pain he had caused the beastman. He tried to change the subject quickly.


    ¡°Ah, you don¡¯t have to call me master. Call me Dem. It is what Ina calls me.¡±


    ¡°Thhank you, Demm. Mayyy I ask a quessstion, Dem?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Graf.¡±


    It cost Dem nothing to be cordial to the beastman. Graf¡¯s life had just been destroyed, and making him feel comfortable could only help. Their relationship was based on the beastman¡¯s honor and Dem¡¯s Tamer bond spell, but it would better for both of them if they were able to work together smoothly.


    ¡°You ssmell like the mannny-tailed, sshe iss yourr matee, yess?¡± The boar beastman asked, his eyes focusing on Dem.


    Dem¡¯s thoughts were now racing. Where was the beastman going with this line of questioning? Suddenly, Dem felt he could sympathize with not wanting to answer questions.


    Dem¡¯s voice was full of confusion as he spoke, ¡°Uh.. yes. She is my mate.¡±


    ¡°Youu, mate with beastfolk, yess?¡±


    Dem¡¯s mouth dropped open. What was Graf going to ask him?


    ¡°Ah, yes, I do. Is that a problem?¡± Dem¡¯s voice was a bit higher than he meant it to be.


    ¡°I do nnoott wissh to mate with youuu.. Dem¡±


    Dem coughed loudly, has he choked on his own spit.


    Getting a hold of himself, Dem responded, ¡°Ahhh.. Wha.. Don¡¯t worry Graf, I¡¯m only interested in the many-tailed, Ina.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Graf¡¯s voice, suddenly full of respect, responded in turn, ¡°You¡¯rre a braave man, Dem, I wouldd not mate withh a many-tailled.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Graf. It has been difficult, but I get by.¡±


    There was a low growl above them. Ina had been listening in.


    ***


    As they returned home, even more embarrassing than the question and answer session, there had been a worse moment for Dem. Dem shied away from thinking about this incident as much as possible, but he was afraid it would haunt him for the foreseeable future.


    They had to stop to sleep at least a couple times on their journey. The stamina spells they used came at a cost, and so at least some rest was necessary. They also needed to prepare a decent meal for themselves, as traveling through the Wilds also left one hungry. Even if they didn¡¯t need rest, most any Classed individual would want time to examine their spell templates and Path to keep themselves at the peek of their ability. This was the best way to ensure everything could and would be successfully cast as fast and easily as possible. Classed individuals would also try to work on their Paths given free time. By refining the intent, the unified idea that drove the Path forward, a person could make their journey down their Path easier. This was especially important for combat Classed individuals who often needed as much power as their Path could provide. A Classed individual used meditation, or just plain thinking time to work through these things, and so some downtown time was ideal for any Party.


    Dem had been thinking on his understanding of Domination, and focusing his mind through the spell templates he had been given by the grimoire. On the one hand he never really wanted a reason to cast them again, and on the other hand he wanted to be able to cast them at moments notice if the situation required. During Dem¡¯s time lost in thought, considering his Path, Ina had left to hunt them some dinner, while Wersa and Graft had left the campsite together.


    Wersa and Graf had barely spoken to each other as they traveled back to the settlement, but when they finally made camp Graf had immediately offered to spar with the intimidating Warrior woman. Dem had been slightly worried this sort of situation might crop up. Did the beastman want revenge or was he just seeking a challenge? It was hard to tell over the bond. After some hesitation, Dem decided to just the two be who they were, which was, of course, angry destructive Classed Warriors. Dem did order them them not to hurt each other greatly, and that they would not have time to stop and wait for wounds to heal. Both had accepted his request easily, though a look of, not anger, but conflict was in their eyes when they looked at each other. They clearly had a further score to settle, the previous battle hadn¡¯t been enough. Dem knew Classed Warriors were, well, Warriors, and would need to work things out their own way, so he put their spar out of his mind after they as he considered his Path and Class spells.


    Eventually, his revery was interrupted. He could hear the sounds of their battle take place. They were fairly far away, he could tell, but no so far he couldn¡¯t hear rumbles of their attacks.He listened intently for a while, wondering if he needed to interceded, but eventually he gave up. After a little while longer he was able to tune them out, and focus again on his Path.


    A sixteenth or so later, after nearly exhausting himself mentally through focus on spell templates, he noticed that sound of their battle had changed. It was now a steady smashing sound, too rhythmic to be true battle. He stood up, worried that Wersa was beating the poor beastman over and over again. He couldn¡¯t help himself but be instantly angry. They were supposed to be doing what he told them and yet they had clearly gotten carried away, or at least Wersa had! This was strange because between the two of them, Wersa was the one with absolute loyalty to him. If she had hurt the beastman, they would not have time to heal the beastman¡¯s wounds, and so he would have to make Wersa help carry the beastman as punishment. They would be too tired for more sparing that way, though the party overall would be slowed. He signed in resignation, and decided to go check out the damage being done.


    As he rushed to the scene, he could tell something was not quite right. The smashing sound was more of a smacking sound, and not really what he was expecting. It was a little off, and the grunting noises he was hearing, as he got closer, were not sounds of pain. There was musky, disgusting smell in the air. He was genuinely confused, had they found someone else to beat up? Perhaps another beast or beastman? Were they using this other beast as a punching bag? Had it shit itself?


    As he crested a small hill, he spied the wide space between two massive trees Wersa and Graf had used for their spar. The vegetation around the area was thick, but by pushing a leafy bush out of his way, he was finally able to see Wersa and Graf. He immediately closed his shut, squeezing them as tightly as he could, as he backed away. Wersa and Graf were engaged in a different sort of ¡®battle¡¯ than he imagined. The sort of ¡®battle¡¯ he and Ina had many times. The sight of which would was burnt into his eyes. It was said that Classed Warriors would generally only spend ¡®time¡¯ with other Classes that had reinforced bodies because otherwise they would be likely to damage their prospective partners. It made some sense that two Classed Warriors, finding themselves on the same side, after a long bout of loneliness, might find each other.. engaging, but this was.. perhaps the worst thing he had ever seen.


    The slam of flesh on flesh, each with enough force to crush him, was too much. He backed away further to think, far enough away that he couldn¡¯t hear the sounds of their grunting. The smell of the two of them seemed to follow him. Should he stop them? Was it wrong? It was gross, he had to admit, but wrong? Would this cause a problem down the road? It did explain why Graf kept looking at Wersa, apparently the beastman had something else on his mind other than a rematch. Was it the other way around? Was Wersa taking advantage of Graf? Wersa had been ¡®winning¡¯ the ¡®battle¡¯ between them clearly, from what he had seen. The poor beastman was giving his all, but Wersa clearly had technique that Graf did not have. Then again, the look on Graf¡¯s face, such as it was, wasn¡¯t angry, but something else entirely. It was doubtful this was non-consensual. He would have to ask them later, if he could figure out how to bring the subject up. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to interrupt them now.


    Suddenly he felt shame, realizing his initially thoughts had betrayed his old way of thinking about such things. His immediate judgment had been negative, about something he himself was also guilty of doing. He couldn¡¯t judge either of them considering where he liked to bury his face to win his ¡®battles¡¯ with Ina. Shame lit his face, as he slunk away, back towards the campsite, while considering his own hypocrisy.

 Chapter 38

    No beasts or beastfolk challenged the party on their way back. Two greater beastfolk was more than enough to keep any lone beasts away, just by scent alone. They did come across another party. Parties, even when they passed by each other in the Wilds, rarely stopped to meet, but this party headed directly for Dem and his companions. This strange behavior set off alarm bells in Dem¡¯s mind, as well as the rest of his party. They prepared for battle, even going as far to cast buff spells on themselves and find places to lie in wait for the intruding party, but all their preparation was wasted, when Ina identified the party as a group of amateurs.


    Amateurs were no real threat, of course, but Dem still had things he couldn¡¯t reveal so he had to be careful. Amateur adventurers were youths who had been given combat Classes, but were still unable to qualify for Adventurer status. They needed accomplishments, a certain level of ability, or someone to sponsor them, before they could be given probationary Adventurer status. Wersa and Karmis had been Full Adventures, far past their probationary period. It was likely that Karmis, due to her status as a Class Masters, was on some higher tier entirely, though Dem didn¡¯t know what that was. Technically he could be an amateur Adventurer, though he had already chosen to be a freelancer for the guild, which meant he wasn¡¯t trying for real Adventurer status, but rather had already decided to work for the guild in other ways. It was a good job-track for the poor and the those without connections.


    As the amateur Adventures pushed through the vegetation and came into sight, he recognized at least one. A Classed Ranger, the son of one of the older and distinguished Rangers that made their settlement home. His name was.. Neff? Reff? Dem couldn¡¯t remember. All he knew of the Ranger was that, while he lived in the settlement, he liked to spend his time out in the Wilds and would often be caught with some of the women who lived in the Hamlets. The lovers and fathers of the women would have little recourse to punish the Ranger, due to the influence of his father. It was merely a rumor Dem had heard, a single injustice amongst many.


    Dem counted five total in the party. The Ranger, at least two kinds of Fighters, a spell-castor, and a tank Class he didn¡¯t recognize that used two shields, one on each arm. It wasn¡¯t polite to immediately ask a person¡¯s Class, the information could be used to against the person in question, and so he put away the idea of asking about the tank¡¯s Class.


    Dem had chosen to meet the intruding party on the ground, as was custom, in the rare incidence where two parties were meeting neutrally. He didn¡¯t take center stage though, he had Wersa do that. He could see the eyes of the amateurs go wide at Wersa¡¯s tall muscular form, and then do a double take as they noticed Graf standing to the side, behind Wersa, looming even larger. Ina materialized to their left, seeming out of a shadow, while Dem stepped in behind Wersa, on the other side from Graf, partially hiding himself behind Wersa.


    The Ranger began to shake slightly, clearly not expecting to encounter a party quite like this one. To his credit, he still managed to speak.


    ¡°I am.. Keff, s-son of Kren the Ranger. W-we seek.. aide. One of our m-members.. envenomed.¡± Keff¡¯s voice was shaky. He would have the sense to know meeting other parties in the Wilds was generally a bad idea. He had good reason to be afraid.


    There were no real rules for parties in the Wilds. Most parties wouldn¡¯t fight because Adventurers were stronger, more tenacious, and more vengeful than beasts. If you couldn¡¯t be sure of winning there was little point in fighting. Looting other parties was worth quick currency, but the best items, like Karmis¡¯ items, would be tuned to specific Paths and Classes, and therefore of limited value. Most real Adventurer parties wouldn¡¯t bother with amateurs because they held nothing of real value and because it was never good to kill the child of another Classed Adventurer. A combat Class, driven to a dark path through grief, was potentially a terrible thing. Dem had heard that small-scale wars had been fought between settlements over what had started as disagreements between parties


    Dem looked through the faces of the amateurs, realizing that indeed the spell-castor, in her heavy battle-robe, was looking pale and listless. It would cost him nothing but a moment of time to heal her, he was sure his spells were up to the task. Wersa turned her head slightly, to look at Dem from her peripheral vision. He did not nod or acknowledge her, except to step forward. It couldn¡¯t look like he was in charge, because that would be a dead giveaway something strange was going on.


    Dem moved past Wersa, and spoke, ¡°I will heal your companion, Ranger Keff.¡±


    ¡°You-you are.. Dom? A Tamer right?¡± Some of the anxiety left Keff¡¯s voice as he spoke to Dem.


    ¡°Yes, Ranger Keff. I am Demneh, a Tamer.¡± Dem tried to keep his voice neutral, almost servile. He had a role he needed to play here.


    Keff¡¯s face looked skeptical as he spoke, ¡°I don¡¯t think a Tamer would be able to heal..¡±


    Wersa¡¯s voice interjected, ¡°Let him try so we can move on.¡± The tone of her voice offering no possibility of objection.


    Dem continued his short walk toward the spell-castor. Ina, moved in behind him, her tails flowing in sinuous patterns around them both.


    As Tamer and beastwoman approached the amateur party, the two fighters took an unconscious step backward, as the dual shielded amateur tank tensed.


    Keff spoke, to calm his party, ¡°Alright, we will do as you say, Warrior.¡±


    Dem had the two fighters lay the spell-castor on the ground, healing would often cause a person to feel dizzy and lose strength in their legs.


    He started with Restoration to stabilize the woman, and them moved on to Regeneration to help fight the effects of the venom. He couldn¡¯t cure her in one go, but he could ensure the party made it back to the settlement without losing her. While Dem worked, Keff decided to try to make polite conversation, but Wersa proved to be intractable to his attempts.


    ¡°Warrior, we..¡± Keff¡¯s tone was congenial, but Wersa interrupted him with a snort.


    ¡°Ah..¡± as Keff tried to speak again, Wersa turned her body away from him and looked in a different direction, ending their conversation.


    Keff¡¯s party members hardly spoke, but as the Dem¡¯s spells took effect, and the pallor left the spell-caster¡¯s face, Keff tried again with a different target.


    ¡°Tamer Demneh? I remember you. You¡¯re from.. the hamlets yes?¡± Keff¡¯s tone was light, despite the tight-lipped nature of his companions.


    ¡°Yes, Ranger Keff.¡± Dem wanted to be as polite as possible. With friends, or within one¡¯s party, first names were acceptable, due to the necessity of brevity, but between parties, and among Classed individuals, it was polite to use the person¡¯s Class as their title, unless they had a title associated with their profession or lineage.


    ¡°Your beast was.. a cat yes? A dog? Where is it, I don¡¯t see it?¡± Dem inwardly sighed at the question. He wanted to reveal as little as possible, but wasn¡¯t sure how to answer. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Keff wasn¡¯t someone Dem had known well, but they had received their education around the same time. Had Dem known what this party wanted he might have bypassed them entirely, then again if the spell-castor had important parents or backing, leaving her to die might have been risky. The Tower kept logs of where parties intended to go and when they returned. If her backing were strong enough, they might have been able to figure out which party left her to die.


    Dem decided to be honest, but vague.


    ¡°She is not far away, Ranger Keff.¡±


    Keff¡¯s eyes scanned the surroundings, as if looking for Dem¡¯s beast, but eventually they rested on Ina¡¯s lithe form.


    The Ranger started to mumble, almost to himself, ¡°I se.. Wait.. Your beast was a.. a.. m-many-tailed right?¡±


    A cold feeling began to creep into Dem¡¯s chest, Keff¡¯s questions were starting to touch on subjects Dem didn¡¯t want to talk about. He glanced back at Wersa, looking for a bit of help, but she was quietly conversing with Graf.


    Dem sighed, he couldn¡¯t well order Wersa to come save him from this conversation without tipping Keff off further. He was no consummate liar, and so it was best if he stuck to something close to the truth.


    Dem looked away from his work with the spell-castor, and turned his eyes to meet Keff¡¯s confused gaze. ¡°Yes, Ranger Keff, she is a many-tailed.¡±


    Keff¡¯s eyes were wide and wild, with a bit of awe. Keff reached towards Dem, putting a firm hand on his shoulder, as he asked more questions, ¡°How did she.. How did you.. What did you find? You found something! She was small the last time I saw, no more than a lesser beast. It was not that long ago. Where..¡±


    Keff¡¯s questions cut short as a he found himself suddenly surrounded by clawed tails. A A growl followed Keff, as he pulled his hand from Dem¡¯s shoulder and backed away. Keff¡¯s party members followed his example, moving away from Dem as well, while brandishing their weapons. Their tactical retreat stopped dead though, as a mighty concussive wave sent most of them falling over onto their asses. Wersa had unsheathed her sword and sent crashing into the ground like a meteor, not far from them, in a single fluid movement. Dem¡¯s body shook with it¡¯s force.


    Wersa¡¯s angry voice rang through the trees surrounding them. ¡°Little Ranger, do not touch what is not yours. Do you think I fear your worthless Ranger father? When he was nothing more than seed, I was using the blood of better men as lubricant as I fucked my way through the tavern-mazes of Nep-ket.¡±


    Dem¡¯s eyes widened at Wersa¡¯s provcations. He often forgot how old she was. Just a moment earlier, as she had been speaking to Graf, she had been digging a thick finger into her ear and sniffing the result, and now she sounded like an old Class Master ready to murder her way through an untold number of Classed provincials. He could not help but notice he felt a shiver of pride that he was the master of such a woman, despite her oddities. After a moment of reflection, Dem quashed the feeling of pride. He didn¡¯t want to dwell on the feeling right now.


    As the amateur party realized that Wersa still hadn¡¯t acted yet, and was only offering a warning, they began to get up. Keff had pissed himself. His teeth were chattering, as he attempted to extract himself from the bush he fallen in. The dual shield-wielder stepped forward to speak in Keff¡¯s stead, but his knees seemed close to collapse, even before he opened his mouth.


    The Tank¡¯s voice was suprisingly high.. ¡°Mighty Warrior, w-we mean you no disrespect. We were a-attacked by several v-viper-wyrms, young ones, running from something, and our castor was envenomed. We t-thank you-u for healing our companion, we will be on o-our way w-with your permission.¡± Dem hadn¡¯t made the connection before, but the wounds the castor had did look familiar. Had they not killed all the viper-wyrm young?


    As the shield-wielder finished his plea, Graf let out a snort with enough force that it the hair on Dem¡¯s head moved.


    ¡°Human worrrm!¡± Graf¡¯s voice was deeper than Wersa¡¯s and echoed further. Graf anger had, in a delayed manner, apparently mirrored Wersa¡¯s own. Graf took a step forward, his massive weight shaking the ground slightly. The courageous amateur tank fell to his knees, his legs finally giving out. Before Graf could take another step, Wersa stopped him with a back fist to the chest. The blow wasn¡¯t a true attack, but it was enough to stop the massive boar beastman from moving forward.


    Wersa spoke again, ¡°Go then, take your companion and leave. Teach your Ranger some respect.¡±


    ¡°Y-yes, Warrior. We will do as you say.¡± The tank¡¯s voice trembled.


    Wersa¡¯s voice thundered once more, ¡°You will leave compensation for the healing, or I will seek it from your family, with my sword.¡±


    Wersa, much to Dem¡¯s worry, was not done. He hoped to end the situation quickly. His early worry about reprisal was probably unfounded, judging by Wersa¡¯s demeanor. She was more terrifying than any backer this party of amateurs might have.


    ¡°Yes, Warrior. H-how much..¡± The tank did not get to respond, as he was cut off by Wersa taking a mighty step forward.


    ¡°Ah! Warrior! Mercy! Gold! We have gold!¡± The tank joined the Ranger in leaving a wet spot on the Wild¡¯s floor. Dem¡¯s sensitive nose was a curse at times. He did not need to know that the two men had fouled themselves, and yet he couldn¡¯t block out the stench of their urine.


    Dem knew he needed to stop this situation. Extorting amateurs was more than frowned upon, of course so was touching a member of another party, but in either case, he wanted this to be over and not become any more of an issue than it already was. He turned his back to the amateurs, so that only Wersa and Graf could see his face, and then he gave a Wersa an angry look. Wersa¡¯s eyebrows raised, and face took on a slightly paler shade.


    Wersa spoke hurriedly, in response to the tank¡¯s last plea, ¡°Gold is fine. Just leave quickly.¡± With this statement Wersa crossed her arms and turned away from the amateurs once again, much as she had done when Keff had tried to speak to her.


    Dem could hear the other party take a collective sigh of relief and then begin to fish coins out of their bags. Dem didn¡¯t really want their gold, but very quickly a small pile of coins appeared, and just as quickly the amateurs gathered their companion and made haste away, in the direction of the settlement. They spoke not a single word more.


    Dem waited a moment, watching the receding backs of the amatuer party be swallowed by the surrouding vegetation.


    Finally, when Ina had told him they were far enough away, he whirled around and glared at Wersa. His anger stemming from a belief she had overstepped her bounds. They had spoken at length, on the way back to the settlement, about the need for secrecy and what she would do when they did finally reach their destination. He¡¯d even gotten information on her spells. Despite all this discussion, the Warrior woman had still gotten ahead of herself, robbing amateurs like a bandit.


    ¡°Wersa!¡±


    As he spoke, his voice angry, Wersa¡¯s knees slammed into the ground, leaving her in a kneeling position, her eyes downcast.


    ¡°Lord, I apologize!¡± He could hear genuine fear in her voice.


    Had she been able to look him in the eye, she would have seen that they flashed a dark blue as he spoke his next words.


    ¡°You went too far! Making them afraid was useful, but we have no need for stolen money. They will tell others what happened here, and they will make us out to be bandits. I cannot even spend the gold they left. No one would believe you gave it to me. You will take it and spend it on Graf. He needs better gear and supplies. Do nothing else to draw attention to us.¡±


    ¡°Y-yes, Lord.¡±


    This whole situation had left a bitter taste in Dem¡¯s mouth, both the bullying of the amateurs, and the strange feelings he had about being in control. Even his anger at Wersa, though necessary, was over the top.


    He counted the gold, before giving it to Wersa. The other party left an entire six gold and fifty silver, a small fortune he couldn¡¯t use without significant scrutiny. He handed it over to Wersa with a withering glare that made her look down again, unable to meet his gaze.


    ¡°You and Graf will waste no more time on your ¡®spars¡¯ until we reach the settlement.¡±


    Wersa flinched at this proclamation. Dem wondered if she had known he knew about her trysts with the beastman. Judging from her response, he guessed she did not. Graf groaned and looked depressed, but said nothing.


    Karmis has said nothing at all through this exchange. Dem had drugged her early on so that she would not leave a trail of puke behind them. The other party probably hadn¡¯t know she was even there, she was bundled up and strapped to Wersa¡¯s back, like a pack.


    ¡°When we get to the settlement, we will spend a short amount of time at my parents home. You will keep out of sight unless I say otherwise. Is that clear?


    ¡°Yes, Lord.¡±


    Graf just grunt in agreement.


    ¡°Come, we must hurry before the night cycles start.¡±

 Chapter 39 - End of Book 1

    Dem¡¯s home was just as he remembered it, though it lacked what he was looking for right this moment. His parents. As his party arrived, he could sense they weren¡¯t within the hovel, and with the night cycles approaching they should have been barricaded inside. There was no damage to the exterior that he could see. Still he was worried, if they weren¡¯t here, where were they? Had someone come for them because of him? Who?


    The night cycles always made the ground soggy and wet, each of his steps caused a loud sucking sound as he pull his shoes from the muck to take the next step. The sound was deafening as he approached his home, afraid of what he might find within. He didn¡¯t smell the usual stench of death associated with bodies, at least. Though just because their bodies weren¡¯t here, didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t elsewhere. His heart was beating heavily in his chest as he pushed into the squat structure.


    He use a illumination cantrip as he entered, brightening the gloom of the single wide room. It was cold and lifeless, and most of the easily taken things were gone, though no disorder could be found. Nothing was damaged. At first was Dem was totally confounded, but eventually he found a note left on a piece of bark-parchment. Its contents were simple. A messenger had found his parents through some bribery to one of their distant neighbors, telling them there was a home in the settlement ready for them courtesy of a business associate of Dem¡¯s. Apparently it taken several messages and flashing some gold before his parents would believe it was true. Knowing how stubborn his parents, or more specifically, his mother was, it made sense they would be apprehensive. Ultimately, though, they had taken what they could and left to avoid the oncoming night.


    He sighed in relief, still staring at the note. This was likely the work of Greer. Someone seeking his life wouldn¡¯t bother with such a convoluted plan to get his parents. It occurred to him his paranoia was getting the better of him because, so far as he knew, all his enemies were dead or bent to his service. There was no one currently seeking his life, or so he assumed, yet his paranoia was undeniable. He didn¡¯t enjoy the thought of constantly living in suspicion. He needed to set as much as he could right and then relax, lay low, and enjoy his recent increase in wealth and security.


    The scare he had just, coming home to an empty place, was offset by the feeling of relief that Greer was ahead of schedule on their plan to get his parents to safety. He he would have to do his best to please the woman. He wondered, briefly, if she had any odd.. demands he would have to meet?


    ***


    Dem left Ina and Graf in his parent¡¯s home. They were probably the scariest thing this close to the settlement, so he had little worry about them. He could see Graf eyeing Wersa as they prepared to enter the settlement, but Dem let it go. What surprised him was that Wersa wasn¡¯t entirely indifferent to the boar beastman¡¯s gaze. Dem could only roll his eyes at the odd romance. Wersa had never struck him as someone who would be interested in beastfolk, but then again neither had he ever imagined he would be interested in beastfolk either. No words were exchanged between the two Warriors, and he was thankful they hadn¡¯t hugged as they parted. Did Warriors hug? He wasn¡¯t sure.


    As Wersa and Dem moved towards the settlement he could see small lights in the forest around him. This was the only the time the people of the hamlets made their locations known with fires to ward against beasts who shunned the light. It was rather beautiful, the waning light above and the small bits of light in the distance. The vegetation tended to curl up, almost as if it were sleeping during night cycles allowing one to see much further into the distance. The smell of woodsmoke from these fires was always pleasing to his nose, despite what they meant.


    Wersa, taking Karmis with her, had split from him and gone ahead. Karmis¡¯ condition was bad enough he had decided that the only reasonable explanation was that she had been sickened at some point in their journey. There was no way of faking otherwise considering her inability to stand by herself. Wersa would have to do all the work. He had left Wersa with a stark, and unneeded, warning about what would happen if she failed or spoke of what had happened within their Party. He felt like some sort of bandit or criminal threatening her, but he wasn¡¯t sure what else to do. His life hinged on making what had happened totally unremarkable to the outside observer. Wersa had even offered advice about how to handle Karmis¡¯ decline.


    In a minor act of cowardice, one he hoped he wouldn¡¯t regret, he had told Wersa to handle Karmis¡¯ eventual demise however she saw fit, so long as they completed the job with the Tower and she did not expose them. He told Wersa to take her time figuring out how to deal with Karmis, as he intended to lie low for a while and enjoy the safety of the settlement. Perhaps he would help his parents find new work, he wasn¡¯t sure. It was doubtful his Da would want to do anything but cut down trees, but his Ma could find something new to do.


    He still couldn¡¯t just order Karmis¡¯ death, despite its inevitability. There was something different about killing someone who could not harm you versus killing in self-defense. The latter was normal in the Wilds. If he had to be honest, both were actually both were pretty normal, but only the latter was normal to him. He had never had to kill a person before, but it wasn¡¯t something that was surprising to him. The Wilds were that sort of place. Despite the cheapness of life, Banditry and criminality were more uncommon. The Tower would often put out bounties on the heads of the truly gregarious murders and thieves. Though, when the worst offenders were adventurers, the worst they got were fines and the suggestion they move on to a different settlement or city.


    When Dem filled reached the line waiting to enter the settlement, its was thirty or forty people long. Wersa, as an adventurer, would have the right to skip it, but he did not. He had opted to enter in a low-key manner rather than try to follow Wersa in. It was best he wasn¡¯t associated with the Warrior woman in the meantime. Perhaps he could have her seek his services later, when he was ready to make some more gold.


    As he waited in line, he got the same occasional looks he had received the last time he was in line, but he ignored them. Instead, he looked at the bright lights of the bonfires steadily burning on the top of the walls of the settlement. He had always enjoyed the sight as a child. He was never safe in the hamlets, but the lights of the settlement were always, at very least, comforting. To him, the fire represented a kind of hope. The hope that safety did actually exist, and that one day he would gain it for his family. He smiled at the thought that he had finally gained what he needed, though it had come at a cost that wasn¡¯t entirely yet apparent.


    ***


    Other than the wait, entering the settlement had been no problem. As a freelancer for the guild he could enter the settlement, even right before the onset of night. If he wanted to stay though, he would have to show residency. He needed to prove either than he had rented a room somewhere within the settlement walls, or even better, he had a settlement home. There was he could do the paperwork later to confirm his residency. First, he wanted to find Greer and then his parents. In reality, he wanted to do that in reverse order, but knowing Greer, she would want him to see her first, before he got to see his parents. If for no other reason, than to flex her power over him subtlety.


    He stopped by a local directory, spending a bit of silver, to find Greer¡¯s home. Officials and merchants generally had publicly-known residences, so that they could be found by messengers, but of course the information hadn¡¯t been free. He had kept some of the silver from the payment for his healing the amateur party, and he spent it now, buying Greer¡¯s location and a meal for himself. He wanted to meet Greer on a full stomach. He even bought a bottle of fairly expensive fruit-wine from a local tavern. The woman proprietor who owned the tavern had gone out of her way to help him pick something good. She had stood a little too close to him, touch his arms occasionally to get his attention as she pointed out a particular good vintage. The woman was older than Greer, but was shameless in her flirting. He had trouble leaving the woman, as she had asked him a series of increasingly personal questions. She had offered him a room upstairs if he hadn¡¯t a place to stay. He could guess what the room would cost. Turn her down in as gentle a manner possible, he was able to leave. Even as he left, the woman practically holding on to him. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The night was full upon them as he finally reached Greer¡¯s door. There wasn¡¯t much business to do during night cycles, and so merchants and officials would often rest during the night unless some emergency broke the peace. Craftsman would work through the night cycles generally, if they had enough raw materials stockpiled to last them.


    He sucked in a breath and knocked on her door. Her home was rather fantastic, by his own humble standards. She had the entire top floor of a small four story building to herself, it even has a small garden on the roof. He assumed Greer was wealthy, but this was impressive. Several families could live in the space Greer occupied. Its sequence rent had to be in the tens of gold. More gold than he had earned in his life, up until recently anyway.


    Greer had answered the door, her face lighting up as she took him in. She didn¡¯t say anything, and neither did he, as he let her look him up and down. The smile on her face was the same one she used when she was evaluating a valuable piece of merchandise. He was glad he had cleaned himself before he arrived, because the next look she gave him was more predatory.


    Her hand flashed out and grabbed the front of his leathers, and she pulled him inside.


    ***


    Dem¡¯s whole body would have been aching but for the healing he had performed on himself. The woman, despite being older than him, had been insatiable. She had ridden him in every room of her large home over and over again. Just when he was about relax, and maybe about to read one of her books, or go seek out his parents, she pushed him on the nearest flat surface, used her mouth to ready him, and then ridden him to their mutual completion. She had repeated these actions nearly every time he had the temerity to look like he was rested enough for another round. He assumed he would have to.. perform for Greer, for her help. He didn¡¯t really mind, it had been something of a fantasy of his as he reached puberty, but this was something else. At least she hadn¡¯t been selfish, always ensuring he finished as well. He had to heal them both several times to avoid chafing and soreness.


    He liked to think he had given as good as he got, but it wasn¡¯t true. On the occasions he had decided to initiate, he tried to tire the woman out, or at least show her she couldn¡¯t be in total control of whatever relationship they had. His approach had been aggressive, more aggressive than he had been with Ina or Dice. There was something about Greer¡¯s weak, soft, body, that appealed to him, and had driven him to bend the woman over a few times. His increased strength had left some bruises, but Greer had take his aggression without complaint, with a slight smirk on her face, only demanding healing later. If anything, she seemed to like it when he initiated. He felt no real gain to his Path from any of this, which told him he fundamentally didn¡¯t believe himself in the dominant position in their relationship despite whatever he attempted. He could only surmise Greer was far more experienced than he was, and everything was going to her expectations.


    He couldn¡¯t understand the woman. This had gone on for nearly five cycles. Greer must have been pent up, to keep him here for so long. She had even spent silver to have meals delivered to them, which was surprising considering her obsession with currency. Though, perhaps her home was a testament the fact she also didn¡¯t really mind spending money on her own pleasure. She had used a number of alchemists concoctions and tinctures to supplement their time together. He had to assume she had spent nearly a gold just keeping them there and supplied with food and tonics. He had been sure to use his contraceptive cantrip, and he assumed she was as well, but he had left his seed so many times in the woman, that he was still concerned. Contraceptive cantrips were afforded to everyone by the Tower, and had a good chance at preventive pregnancy, if even if one of the participants used them. If every participant used contraceptive cantrips then the chance for pregnancy was even less.


    He wondered what was really going on here. Greer could have had any number of other men in her bed. She was attractive and clearly more wealthy than he knew. Unless the grimoire had done something beyond belief to him, Greer had other reasons for wanting him here than just his looks. He didn¡¯t know what those reasons were and he wasn¡¯t in a position to outright ask for her motives. He needed her good will. He also could admit to enjoying himself, though too much of a good thing was a problem.


    Greer had been tight-lipped with him anyhow. She had only told him where he could find his parents after the first few times they had sex. Eventually, he even got her to admit that she had sold the elder snake beast core for an astounding sum of eight gold, minus her fees and the cost of having in appraised. This had been the impetuous for her rushing his parents into the settlement as it was a enough to fund their their living expenses for for the foreseeable future. He hadn¡¯t actually gotten the chance to go speak with his parents yet, though he did speak to Ina and Graf over their bond. Wersa had left the the settlement with Karmis in tow, but had sent a messenger with a note saying she would return soon. He could sense vaguely where she was, or at the very least, in what direction she was heading, but he couldn¡¯t communicate in words over their connection, whatever it was. He had tried to put all his concerns out of his mind over the last five cycles. Greer had even already filled out the paperwork to make her residence also his residence legally. He didn¡¯t know how he felt about that, but it was already done. He would make up an excuse to go hunting as soon as Wersa returned. He never thought he would ever get tired of sex, but his life lately was full of the unexpected.


    As he was considering the exact words of the excuse he would make, he could feel Greer begin to waken next to him. Her dark hair framed her face. She was more pretty than beautiful, or at least until she set her usual grin on her face. Then she was more.. Striking? Captivating? He didn¡¯t have the words.


    She wore nothing, as was her usual dress, while in her own home. Her bust trembled as she yawn, and she stretched her arms into a wide ¡®V¡¯, one bumping into him. They lay on a large bed, with light color sheets. The bed looked new, as if she had just bought it for the purpose of bedding him in as much luxury as possible. All around them strewn their clothes and various outfits Greer had put on and then prompt taken off.


    Her eyes snapped open, and her face found the smirk he always looked forward to seeing. Immediately her hand began to seek something under the sheets. He pretended not to notice. Letting her play her games, while he considered the future.


    ¡°Lover, you look like you¡¯re grappling with an important question. What is it?¡± Her tone was casual. Greer had taken to calling him ''lover'', though she seemed to prefer when he addressed her in a less casual manner.


    ¡°Gree-r.¡± His voice broke slightly, mid-word. Her hand had found what it was seeking just as he was beginning to speak. Her grip surprisingly strong.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t important, ah..¡± His voice trailed off. His focus elsewhere.


    Moments later, just as the woman was about to mount him again, what number this was he had long past lost count, there was a hard knock at the door to her home.


    ¡°I-I better get it..¡± Dem stammered his words, as he left the too-big bed. Her grip on him slackened, as she let him go. Her face took on a slight pout.


    ¡°Hurry back, lover.¡± Her eyes predatory, staring holes in his back. He quickly slipped on his leather pants, and moved towards the door. As he was about to unlock and open the door, there was another great knock. This one was accompanied by a gruff voice, speaking loudly through the door.


    ¡°Demneh the Tamer, we seek Demneh the Tamer.¡±


    Dem¡¯s body froze up. Wasn¡¯t he finally safe? What could they want him for? Was the Divine Humanity rescuing him from a life of sexual servitude? Did he want to be rescued? Why couldn¡¯t he just be left alone to find his lost contentment?

 Epilogue - Book 1

    Soon his revenge would begin, but first he had to make a decision. In his current, natural form, it was always harder to deal with these sorts of details. When he took a more humanoid form, he was less.. distracted, his mind clearer, but he couldn¡¯t afford take the time to change forms now. He just needed to make a decision here and keep moving.


    The seed of his revenge would be planted soon, but he needed a vector, an agent, an unwitting pawn. Fertile soil. He had found what he sought here, in this weak land between the territory of the prey and what they called the True Wilds. It had taken him.. He couldn¡¯t remember exactly how long it had taken him to find one that smelled right. Time was a loose thing, to one such as him, especially in his natural form.


    This.. boy, had the right scent. He would do. He was so very weak, but his weakness would be of use. No one would suspect such a weakling to be an instrument of a greater power. He would be an unsuspecting poisoner, delivering death to the heart of the lands the prey called home. Even if this particular instrument died, the poison would be passed on to a more capable pawn. The prey were nothing if not envious. Their own avarice would be the beginning of their own undoing. They would pass on the seed of his revenge through murder and guile, until a chosen one used it for its intended purpose. All that was left to was to decide how to introduce it.


    He could not simply confront the boy, offering power. He needed to ensure there was no connection between them, no memory left behind for pursuers to find in the mind of the boy. It was unlikely this boy would ever understand what he would hold, but it was best if the boy had no clue as to its origins. He had considered simply leaving it for his pursuers to find, hoping they would be foolish enough to use it or pass it on, but it was just as likely they would lock it away. They were already strong enough, for prey anyway, and had no need for such a thing.


    His thoughts were sluggish, and he hungered, but before he could leave, he had to make a decision. Could he hide it near the boy, and then have the boy find it? How could he do that if he couldn¡¯t stay here? He had no time to set the boy on a quest seeking it, or setup circumstances for the boy to stumble upon it. His pursuers would eventually arrive, and he wanted to be done with this.. How could he ensure the boy took it and kept it? How could he make sure no one would associate the two of them, even approaching too close might alert the beasts near the boy. It might cause the boy to flee toward the human settlement and those that might detect one such as him. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    This situation required subtly that was hard for him in his true form. The need to continue to move, to keep ahead of his pursuers, and the need to feed, both drove him away from this spot, yet his need for revenge kept him here, frozen in indecision.


    At some point he noticed that the boy was battling beasts and losing badly The more he watched, the more he scoffed at the boy¡¯s weakness and inevitable demise. He enjoyed laughing at the misfortune of prey, it was one of his favorite pastimes as he flew over his lost territory..


    He stopped himself. He struggled to focus on what he was here to do. Eventually, he understood that the boy dying would mean he would have to search further for another instrument. It would cost him even more time. He couldn¡¯t save the boy directly, for the same reason he couldn¡¯t give it directly to the boy. Was there a way to turn this situation to his advantage?


    He lost himself in undecided thought again, until it appeared the boy might lay down to die. He knew the look on the boy¡¯s face, as boy''s life was leaving him. The boys face betrayed selfishness, and anger at the world, at its unfairness. It mirrored his own outrage at the loss of his sanctum. He felt confusion for a moment, at his understanding of what the boy was going through, but eventually he rejected the emotion, and supplanted it with a forced apathy. The only thing worse than being humiliated by prey, was coming to understand the prey on their own level. That was true humiliation.


    He was tired, hungry, and wanted to be away from this moment in time, away from the face of this boy. He decided to go with the simplest solution to his problem. He simply tossed it then, controlling it so that it might wake the boy one last time, giving the boy a chance to live. If the boy died despite his largesse, so be it. Another would find the seed of his revenge, eventually. It would take longer, for an appropriate instrument to be found, as it was passed from owner to owner, but in the vastness of time, eventually a proper vector would come to possess it. Then his revenge would truly begin. For the moment though, he would bide his time, and gorge himself on a meal deeper into what the prey called the True Wilds. His pursuers would be slowed by the territorial beasts there, and he would gain time to fill his stomach.


    Without looking to see if the boy lived or died, he turned toward the north and flew away. Leaving the seed of his vengeance behind, he flew toward sustenance.

 Chapter 40 - Book 2

    A spark of fear struck Dem¡¯s heart, and he hesitated opening the door, his hand hovering over the lock. What would this be about? If they were truly hostile, they would have already attacked right? If they were coming here to seek him for some sort of questioning, it could be just as bad for him as if they had attacked directly. He was exposed here, without the aide of his beasts or his soulbound.


    As he stood in front of the door, thinking about his options, and how he might escape into the Wilds, he could hear Greer pad up behind him. He turned to look at her as she reached out a hand to open the door. He didn¡¯t try to stop her as he was distracted by the fact she still wore nothing more than her usual smile. Her hands deftly unlocked the door and pulled it open. Dem¡¯s eyes left Greer and looked at the people who had come for him through the doorway.


    They wore gear similar to a settlement guard, but more worn and designed for heavier duty. The armour was thicker, and covered more of their body than a normal guard. He could see several men, and one women who appeared to be standing in the back. This gear, he vaguely recognized it, it was the armour and kit of a Classed soldier. If he had to guess the women was in charge, just going by her demeanor and the more complex insignia on her armour, though she did not speak. The armoured woman gave him a quick up and down. The men were his height, but broader and clearly of a melee oriented combat-class, judging by their solid frames and scarred jawlines.


    Dem looked back toward Greer. She seemed fine, standing there in the nude, in front of these soldiers. He knew she was shameless, because of the outfits she had liked to wear during their time together, but this was a bit much. Her small smile had waned slightly, but she still seemed confident. Her back was straight, and her eyes did not waver.


    The soldiers, to their credit, hardly gave her much of a look, except the soldier in front, who eyed both Geer and Dem in equal measure.


    Greer was the first to speak. ¡°Good cycle to you. What brings soldiers of the Breaker here to my home?¡±


    Dem was utterly confused. Who or what was the Breaker? He turned towards Greer a question on his lips.


    The soldier in front answered Greer¡¯s greeting, and Dem looked back towards the soldier before his question could slip out. The soldier in front was the smallest of the three soldiers and had especially bushy eyebrows, but otherwise was almost indistinguishable from the other two men, as their helms covered much of their faces.


    ¡°Merchant Greer, I presume? We are here to see your uh.. companion. I assume this is Tamer Demneh?¡± The man waved in Dem¡¯s direction, almost dismissively.


    Dem turned back again toward Greer, hoping she would explain what was going on. Greer seemed to predict his ignorance.


    ¡°Dem, these are soldiers of the Breakwater Wall. The wall that separates the settlements from the rest of humanity, and humanity from the Wilds They serve the person who commands the wall. The commander is always titled the Breaker.¡±


    Dem responded in a quiet voice, ¡°Ah.. Why..¡±


    The confused look on Dem¡¯s face made Greer roll her eyes at him. She continued to question the soldiers.


    ¡°What need have you, of my young lover?¡± Her arm entwined with his, and she pulled him closer, bringing his chest close enough to touch her right breast. Her nipple was hard against his arm. He wondered briefly if this situation excited her, or if it was the breeze from the open doorway that had given her such a reaction.


    Her words registered in his mind suddenly, as he found the strength to ignore the hard protrusion poking into his arm. Greer¡¯s declaration forced a blush on his face. Had she no shame? Her ¡®young lover¡¯? Really? He signed inwardly.


    The soldier at the front spoke again, a grimace beginning to appear on his rough, unshaven face.


    ¡°Merchant Greer, your.. lover, is to be conscripted into the service of the Breaker. He has a cycle to prepare, and then we head towards the True Wilds.¡±


    For the first time, Greer¡¯s expression fell. Had she assumed this would be a problem she could solve with money? He didn¡¯t know what it meant to be conscripted by soldiers of the Breaker, but the True Wilds was a frightening place, far beyond someone such as himself, or at least the person he wanted people to believe he was.


    Greer tightened her grip on his arm.


    Greer spoke again, ¡°Surely you don¡¯t need a mere Tamer. There are Rangers who..¡±


    The front soldier cut her off.


    ¡°There are none. At least, in this settlement there are none. All of your Rangers and guides have all already gone north to the True Wilds with parties. There are only amateurs and freelancers left. We were referred the Tamer by a local source. He will do, and if not, we are also conscripting a few others from this settlement.¡±


    Dem considered the man¡¯s words. They needed a guide? Was that what this was about? Greer had caught on right away, but it had taken Dem a moment to understand what they were looking for.


    Greer spoke quickly again, a look for thoughtfulness coming across her face. He knew that expression well. It was the same expression she used when evaluating a deal or a profitable tip.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Greer hammered a number of questions into the soldier, ¡°So this isn¡¯t the only settlement you¡¯re conscripting from? You don¡¯t look like scouts to me, but rather infantry. I take it this isn¡¯t a scouting mission. You¡¯re doing what? Moving supplies? Hunting something specific?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Merchant Greer, I¡¯m not at liberty to say..¡± The soldier sounded contrite, and his grimace grew deeper. Was the man upset that he said too much, or was he unhappy that Greer had guessed too much? Dem wasn¡¯t sure.


    ¡°You¡¯ve said enough. You¡¯re taking my my lover to a incredibly dangerous place, without much explanation, because the best you can find for guides are amateurs and freelancers? Where are your own scouts?¡± Greer didn¡¯t sound truly angry to Dem, but she had put more steel into her voice.


    ¡°Ah, that is.. accurate, Merchant Greer, I.. Our scouts are already¡­¡± The man began to wilt under Greer¡¯s scrutiny, clearly not used to having to answer questions. Suddenly the woman in back spoke over the soldier in front.


    The woman¡¯s voice was deep, and full of gravitas. ¡°Your lover will be fine. I personally, will ensure he is taken care of and brought safely back to you. The conscription will only last the duration of this mission, unless your lover should wish to remain in the service of the Breaker. We cannot reveal anymore about our current mission, Merchant Greer.¡± The armoured woman finished her sentence by removing her helm, letting loose her long golden hair to flow down her shoulders. She smiling broadly, as if to emphasize her point. Greer¡¯s eyes narrowed at the woman¡¯s face. Dem could only wonder why the woman would leave her hair so long, despite being a professional soldier.


    Dem gave the armoured woman a more serious look as she had spoke. She wore the same armour as the men, but with a slightly different chest piece to accommodate her bust. The rest of her was covered in hardened and spelled leather, with pieces of chain mail in key defensive locations. She had the same thickness of the men who accompanied her, making her obviously of a similar Class. He did note that, despite her Class and armour, she was still quite shapely, though he had little interest in finding out what was actually under the armour. He was a little sick of flesh at the moment. Her face was.. not beautiful, nor was she pretty like Greer, but rather she was.. handsome? Her chiseled features and scars made her more androgynous than anything else.


    Greer spoke again, sneering at the armoured woman, ¡°I see. Who are you? Officer? I must know your name should my goo-, I mean, my lover come to harm. I will hold you personally accountable.¡±


    ¡°Merchant Greer, I am Officer Sumisi. I am the vice-commander for this mission. You needn¡¯t worry, we will keep him quite safe. Right men?¡±


    Her soldiers grunted in unison, in a practiced manner.


    Speaking to Greer, the officer continued, with a predatory smile on her face, ¡°Now that I have given my word, I will say again, we leave in one cycle. Do I need to leave men behind to ensure he is ready to leave on time? Perhaps, instead you prefer I stay here with you? If you would be willing to entertain me..¡± Dem was stunned at the woman¡¯s blatant threat, and then strange offer she made. Dem could see the officer woman¡¯s eyes roam across both Greer and himself, lingering in a way that made Dem uncomfortable. Did she mean for them to...


    Greer spoke immediately, ¡°I will not have you, or your soldiers, in my home. If you leave soldiers here, they can stand outside. I am a Merchant of the Tower. I am under no obligation to allow your soldiers into my home. The Breaker has no authority over what is mine. A Breaker may conscript freelancers and adventurers, but they cannot command Tower Merchants.¡±


    The officer merely shrugged at Greer declaration, but the soldier in front, with the eyebrows, spoke then, in a congenial voice. A smile was plastered on his rough face, as his eyes were glued to Greer, ¡°Ah, but Merchant Greer, surely you wouldn¡¯t deny hospitality to a soldier far from home..¡± The man¡¯s hand reached out to touch Greer shoulder, but was stopped dead. Another hand had caught it mid-air, arresting its motion entirely.


    Dem mind raced. He was angry the man would touch Greer, surprised by the quick response of whoever had stopped the man¡¯s hand, and then doubly surprised when he realized it was Dem himself who had stopped the soldier from touching Greer. Dem¡¯s recent changes had clearly been for the better. He doubted he was as strong as the soldier with buff spells, but still, normally a low-class Tamer wouldn¡¯t be able to compete at all with a Classed Soldier in terms of physicality.


    Surprise lit the face of everyone, including Dem. None of the other soldiers moved to intervene though, much to Dem''s relief. The soldier responded by pulling his hand back, and Dem let him go, not wishing to escalate the situation.


    Greer and the Officer Sumisi spoke in response, at the same time.


    ¡°You will not touch me, or I will have words with your commander. The Tower will hear of this.¡± Greer¡¯s voice was now nakedly angry.


    ¡°Soldier Stass, do not touch the Merchant again, or you will be on forward duty the entire mission.¡± The woman officer¡¯s tone only contained a slight edge. If anything, Dem could swear the woman was amused.


    Stass angrily eyed Dem, but grunted his acknowledgment. Dem was relieved to see that, while the man had his fists clenched, his hands did not move toward the sword resting at his hip.


    Officer Sumisi continued, ¡°I apologize for my soldier¡¯s rudeness. If I can have your word, as one of the blood, that the Tamer will be on time next cycle, we can leave you peace.¡±


    Gree spoke quickly in response, ¡°I give my word.¡±


    ¡°Good, thank you for your time Merchant Greer.¡± said the officer. She turned to look at Dem and spoke again.


    ¡°We look forward to working with you Tamer Demneh. We meet at the Wilds-Gate. Make sure you¡¯re there at least an eighth earlier. I don¡¯t want to send soldiers looking for you, yes?¡±


    Dem spoke, annoyance in his voice, his dark blue eyes meeting Sumisi¡¯s pale green eyes, ¡°Greer gave her word. I will be there, Officer.¡±


    The armoured woman merely laughed, and turned away from them, beginning to walk away. She spoke over her shoulder as she left.


    ¡°Good cycle to you both, let''s go men.¡±


    Of the three soldiers, Stass was the last to turn around to leave. His eyes stared daggers into Dem, even as he left.


    Dem exhale a long breath after the soldiers were out of sight. The blood? Greer was some sort of nobility or a clan member? How had the officer known? The way both the soldiers and Greer had treated him, during their conversation, reminded him he was merely a low-level Tamer to them. He needed to not forget that. He also needed to chastise himself. Infuriating a Classed soldier was a terrible idea, especially because Dem would have to spend an unknowable amount of time with the man, possibly in dangerous situations. Dem would have to be vigilant. What would they even be doing out there? Why would they need his help? Where were their own scouts?


    Greer spoke to him then, her voice practically a command.


    ¡°We must talk, Dem.¡±

 Chapter 41

    ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡± Her tone was final.


    Dem¡¯s influence with Greer was surprisingly weak. He had to remind himself that while she might enjoy him, it was not the same thing as control over her. Perhaps, he had just relaxed too much after getting back from the Wilds. Still, Dem had never know Greer to be evasive, manipulative certainly, but never evasive.


    ¡°Can¡¯t say? Or won¡¯t say?¡± He asked, trying not to sound hurt. She had said they needed to talk, but now wouldn¡¯t answer his most basic questions. They had discussed a number of topics after the soldiers had left, but eventually they had ended at this dead end.


    Greer didn¡¯t respond to his last question, turning her back to Dem.


    ¡°You won¡¯t tell me why you think these soldiers are heading toward the True Wilds?¡± His voice full of doubt.


    ¡°I¡¯ve sworn not to speak of it, as one of the blood. The possibility is remote anyway. This is likely just a false alarm, or some sort of training. You will be back in mere rotations. What you should be asking yourself is who was it that suggested you for conscription. They wish you ill.¡±


    He had no idea who had gotten him conscripted, but it hardly mattered now. Right now he was bitter at Greer¡¯s coldness.


    ¡°You had your cycles of fun with me and now..¡±


    She turned back toward him, reaching out to touch his chest.


    ¡°It will be dangerous, and you¡¯ve already made some enemies. It might be safer if you spent as little as time possible camped with the soldiers.¡±


    Fear crept into his voice, ¡°These soldiers are more dangerous than unknown Wilds? There may be calamity..¡±


    ¡°It is likely they will stop just short of the True Wilds. I cannot tell you why I know this, but..¡±


    He decided to change the subject, ¡°What is the ¡®blood¡¯? A clan? A nobility? Should I be bowing to you? The officer..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s.. a broad-term. For anyone who is a descendant of the First Party. You know the story of the First Party?¡±


    ¡°The First Party is just a myth? What truth could there be to a story about..¡±


    ¡°It is both myth and fact. The Protector had many companions on his journey to carve out the True Human Realm from the territories of monsters and non-humans, in turn, they were given special status for their labor when the great work was done. Their status was passed on to their children. Those of us who can trace our lineage to the bloodlines of those companions, are called the blood. Each bloodline can¡¯t be considered a clan or a noble line, there are too many of the blood. In many kingdoms and clan territories, being of the blood is nothing special, especially certain bloodlines, but out here? On the edge of humanity? Its afforded me a decent place to live, and an easy job in the Tower. The soldiers might be disrespectful, but they wouldn¡¯t do anything serious to me. Not because of my bloodline, but because I work for the Tower. My position isn¡¯t high, but it''s enough to thwart a few conscripts from the Wall. My lineage merely helped me find work in the Tower.¡±


    Dem was nearly speechless. Myths had just become reality, and a whole new level of complexity had been added to the world for him. He asked her the first question that came to mind, while he grappled with what he had just been told.


    ¡°They were conscripts too? The officer..¡±


    ¡°She is of the blood, but likely disgraced, exiled, or banished. Perhaps she choose service over prison or slavery. The others were likely regular conscripts. Few people choose the Breakwater Wall. Its an exercise in boredom, and when its not boring, its deadly. Conscripts from the Wall are usually the first bodies thrown at any force that might invade or threaten the borders of the True Human Realm. They go on training missions, occasionally too. They¡¯ve passed through here a couple of times while I¡¯ve lived here, though you were too young to have noticed.¡±


    She continued, but with more worry in her voice, ¡°You need to be careful. Even training missions are dangerous. Such missions often are a way for the Breaker to.. remove the weaker soldiers from their ranks. Judging by your ability there, with the soldier that was trying to touch me, you¡¯ve improved. You¡¯ll do better than the average soldier. As a scout you can¡¯t be expected to stand and fight in a pitch battle.¡±


    He mulled over her words, and then responded, wanting to tell her about Graf, hoping it would set her mind at ease. ¡°Yes, I have bonded another¡­


    She interrupted him then, pushing him against the closed front door lightly.


    ¡°Did I mention how much I enjoyed it to see you so protective of me? I think you deserve a reward..¡± Her voice was husky.


    He smiled then, his tone playful, ¡°Is this a reward for me or for you..¡±


    She sealed his mouth with a kiss. His thoughts were mostly of the tongue exploring his mouth, but he spared a thought to the idea the Greer was distracting him from asking more questions. He cared about asking more questions, but not so much to break their kiss.


    He pulled her closer, then spun them both around, until her back touched the door. She was surprisingly pliant to his ministrations, without the usual smile on her face. A look of angry lust had taken the woman over, as he ran the tips of his fingers up her inner thigh, tracing a line across her stomach. Perhaps this time he would finally tire the woman out.


    ***


    Dem had escaped his pleasurable imprisonment, after leaving his seed in Greer a few more times. The woman had fallen asleep finally. He was able to gather his things and leave in peace. He wondered if he should stop by to see Greer again, before he left. Would she be any more willing to answer his questions then?


    His parents had been overjoyed to see him, after he found them just where Greer had said they would be. He was surprised though, what he found, when he arrived was strange. The home Greer had found them not far from her own, and was much nicer than he was expecting. The juxtaposition of his poor parents living in relative opulence was both amazing and disconcerting. It wasn¡¯t as grand as Greer¡¯s home of course, but it was still nearly the same size as their home outside the walls of the settlement. It was large for a settlement apartment, where space was at a premium. More interesting was that Greer had apparently stocked it with items befitting a home of quality in the settlement. Soft rugs covered the floor, carved wood furniture haunted every corner, and the tableware was polished metal. His parents had even been fitted with simple but sturdy clothing, much softer and finer than anything they had previously.


    What did Greer want from him? He thought he understood her, having known her for nearly half his life, but now he wasn¡¯t sure at all.


    Explaining to his parents that he was leaving again for a long trip, and where he had been the last five cycles, would have been awkward, had he decided to do so. Instead, he simply said he would see them again soon, and that he was going out again.


    His mother argued with him less than usual. He wondered if she now understood what he was trying to do, and that it required him to earn coin. Her face had a look of confusion occasionally, especially when he caught her looking around at all of their new possessions. She had kept herself busy taking care of a small forest of potted plants she had placed around their apartment. His father still left the settlement everyday to work as lumberer, but the coin he earned was now mostly used to buy food, basic necessities, and more pots for plants. Dem wished his mother could be content, but he would rather her this way and safe, than outside the walls of the settlement.


    ***


    With barely a quarter cycle left until he needed to meet the encamped soldiers at the Wilds-gate, he had to finish his errands quickly. His time with Greer and his time with his parents had taken up the majority of what he was allocated to get ready to leave.


    He still had no idea what all this was about. When Greer had told him they needed talk, Greer had been more interested in discussing who might have put his name up for this conscription, than in actually giving him an idea of what he would be doing. He didn¡¯t even know how many soldiers he would be traveling with, or where specifically they were going, other than north. Greer had questioned him about how successful the Party with Karmis had been, and if Karmis held any anger towards him. Dem had lied of course, simply saying that Dice had died due to her own stupidity, and that Karmis had been happy enough with him despite the setback. Greer had grilled him on why the Party had gone were out there in the first place, but he simply feigned ignorance.


    As a part of his errands, he took his spear to a smith to be checked for damage. He had his own clothes repaired, and even setup an order to have Graf¡¯s axe fixed when one of the smiths who specialized in large weapons had time. He had given Greer the beastcores from the last trip into the Wilds. As they had lie in bed, Greer asked him why Karmis had let him have anything from the trip, normally he might only expect a small tip, but he had simply said it was part Karmis showing her satisfaction with his work. It was thin lie, but it was what he had to work with. Greer¡¯s response had been baffling at first. Her usual smile had fallen a bit and she had pat him on the back, like she was comforting him, while nodding her head knowingly.


    Greer had then said, with her usual smile, ¡°You do what you have to do. Karmis would not be the worst first partner, she was very experienced and beautiful. Her Path was definitely related to seduction or charm. Is that why you¡¯re as good as you are? Did she teach you a few things? Perhaps I should send her a thank you gift as I¡¯ve benefit from her training you. You got quite a lot for your hard work, one of these beastcores looks expensive. Not everyone is so richly rewarded for their first sexual experience. It is a shame I was not your first, but at least I did not have to go through the work of teaching you to use your tongue.¡±


    She had laughed then, at him. His only response was to roll away from her, and contemplate how he could win out over Greer in the end. Using his Domination spells might be effective, but he had no wish to harm Greer, even accidently. He also worried about what the Tower might do if it detected something amiss with one it¡¯s employees. The Tower¡¯s spellcraft was always a mystery Dem. It was far and away more complex and powerful than what could be bought locally. It was also much more costly, and usually only available to adventurers.


    While shopping he even found some more clothes for Ina, so that she would have a spare set. He considered finding some clothes for Graf, but he already wore a set clothes and armour, Dem also had no idea about the beastman¡¯s sizes. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    He left a message for Wersa at the Tower, explaining his situation and asking her to catch-up if she thought it was possible. She had been gone a while now, and would likely be back soon, or so he assumed. It was unlikely this group of soldiers would travel faster than Wersa could alone. The real problem was making up a reason for them to travel together. Perhaps, they could concoct a plot about her wanting to travel north for some other reason. In his note, he had asked her to think of an explanation, while he also thought of one, and they would simply use the best between the two or some combination as their excuse. He revealed no details in the note, though. He was careful to make everything sounded like a request. He had no idea who might end up reading their correspondence. Technically the Tower safe-guarded it, but he couldn¡¯t rely on such a thing.


    With less than a sixteenth to spare, Dem finished his preparations and set off toward the Wilds-gate, with a heavy sigh. His five cycles with Greer had seemed too long, just a cycle ago, and now, facing danger again, he felt they hadn¡¯t been long enough.


    ***


    Dem checked his pack for the sixth time, making sure he had everything he needed, as he walked toward the encampment. Was he nervous or just worried? He would feel more comfortable with Wersa or his beasts at his side.


    The encampment wasn¡¯t far from the gate door. As he got his first real glance at the soldier¡¯s camp, he realized there were too many soldiers to fit them easily within the settlement. Perhaps that was why the officer had asked to stay with Greer, not only for her obvious invitation, but also to avoid having to camp out yet another night or pay for an inn. There were hundreds of soldiers here, swarming all around, busy preparing to march. Each was a mirror of the soldiers he had met earlier. Had he not been confined to Greer¡¯s apartment over the last five cycles he would have noticed all of this earlier. He suspected Greer had some idea that soldiers were in town, she hadn¡¯t seemed too surprised to see them at her door. She had received a number of messages during their time together, it had been one of the few reprieves Dem had gotten between their sessions.


    As he walked closer, a soldier stopped him and asked him his business. He simply stated his name and that he was a conscripted guide. The soldier had looked him up and down, and then brought him toward the central tent without further challenge. Dem took this to mean he was nonthreatening enough that the soldier didn¡¯t feel it was necessary to confirm Dem¡¯s identity. Dem didn¡¯t know how he felt about this. On the hand it was good to be unassuming, on the other it invited trouble to look weak.


    The first soldier quickly found another soldier, who in turn, finally brought Dem to one of the larger tents at the center of the encampment. Dem was then ushered inside. Inside the tent was fairly dark, clearly intended for easy sleeping. There was a cot, a small writing desk, and a collapsible chair. There was room enough for five or six people to stand, though only three people inhabited the tent. He recognized one as Officer Sumisi. She smiled as she looked up at him, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. Dem wondered if she was still unhappy about being denied by Greer.


    She spoke to him, interrupting whatever other conversation she was having with the other soldiers, ¡°Ah, our Tamer! Demneh, was it? Thank you for arriving in such a timely manner. I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t have to send any soldiers after you. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re interested in where we are going and what we are doing, but there will be time to explain, as much as I can, as we travel. Let us discuss your work, and what you will be doing.¡±


    Dem responded casually, happy that she was interested in talking work with him right away, ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯m glad to be of service.¡±


    One of the other soldiers in the tent then spoke up, loudly barking at Dem, ¡°You! You will refer to the officer as ¡®ma¡¯am¡¯. Don¡¯t even look her in the eye you fucking worm. You bumpkin trash, beastfucker. You..¡±


    Dem was taken aback for a moment until he recognized the soldier in question. It was Soldier Stass, the one who had tried to grab Greer. Dem was already sick of the man. He was clearly just trying to bully Dem. Greer had explained, during their last conversation, that while Dem was a conscript, he wasn¡¯t an official soldier and was only required to do the job that was asked of him, and nothing more. It had been one of the more important things Greer had wanted to explain to him after the soldiers had left. He was only subject to military discipline if he committed some sort of crime, or refused to do the job they had conscripted him to do, but he didn¡¯t have to follow military decorum.


    In response to the Stass¡¯ tirade, Dem merely held a neutral expression on his face. He considered smiling, but antagonizing Stass more, served no purpose. Finally, when Stass was done, his face red and angry, Dem turned back to Sumisi, waiting for further explanation.


    Sumisi looked from Dem to Stass and then back to Dem, her smile finally reaching her eyes.


    She spoke, amusement in her voice, ¡°Stass, I don¡¯t think Dem will be as easy to bully as you wish. Dem I hope you forgive Stass, he enjoys giving new conscripts a hard time.¡±


    Dem merely nodded his head, while taking another survey of Stass face, but the soldier had turn away from both of them. Dem guessed Stass was now genuinely angry his provocation hadn¡¯t worked, his earlier act just for show.


    ¡°As I was saying, your work here.. We are short on scouts and guides. We also need people to train some of our.. newer conscripts on living in the Wilds. You will also serve as a lookout, and train others on what is required of a lookout in the Wilds. Some of the soldiers here have Wilds experience, but most don¡¯t. You will be doing quite a lot of hand-holding, but I assure you the fighting will be done by the soldiers here. You merely need to relay information, scout ahead, and train some of the soldiers as we move.¡±


    Sumisi looked at him expectantly then, clearly waiting for his questions.


    ¡°I take it this is a training mission then?¡± Dem asked the most obvious question that came to mind.


    Sumisi responded curtly, ¡°That I can¡¯t say, just yet.¡±


    ¡°What about beasts we encounter? Do I or the other guides get a cut if we find something worth selling?¡±


    She laughed then, ¡°Only if you kill it, otherwise it gets added to the coffers of the unit. You will be given a small, and I mean a very small, stipend for your time as a conscript at the end of the mission.¡±


    ¡°Will I need to camp with the soldiers every night?¡± He already wanted to be away from this camp as much as possible. Sleeping around so many people was loud and bothersome, he imagined. With Ina and Graf, he could be fairly safe camping away from the soldiers, for a while at least. When they neared the True Wilds, he might change his mind.


    ¡°When you¡¯re not out scouting or on lookout duty, it would be best. It would be hard to teach our conscripts if you aren¡¯t with our conscripts. Perhaps, we can send them out to camp with you! Make sure to feed them well!¡± She laughed then, at her own joke, but Dem didn¡¯t it think funny. He had no interest in feeding or teaching Classed Soldiers. He tried to smile in response though, to leave a good impression.


    It was then, that Stass interjected, derision in his voice, ¡°Where are you beasts Tamer? Do you even have one? What is the point of Tamer with no beast? Do you get cold at night with a beast to f-¡±


    Before Stass could finish, Sumisi stopped him cold.


    ¡°That is enough Stass. Listening to you will make Dem think we lack discipline. Do you require another reminder Stass? Of our discipline?¡±


    Dem was happy the officer was finally willing to reign in her subordinate. Dem supposed that since he was not actually part of their hierarchy, on the one hand it meant Dem was not beholden to strict military decorum, and on the other hand was also not protected by it. This situation allowed Stass some leeway for his bullying. Dem also noted that Stass was something of a hypocrite. Despite Stass¡¯ earlier anger at Dem for a breach of military decorum, the soldier seemed to have no problem interrupting his superior officer¡¯s conversations. He was indeed beginning to wonder about the discipline of these conscripted soldiers. He didn¡¯t know much about militaries, but this was not what he was expecting.


    Stass responded quickly, but didn¡¯t seem entirely cowed, ¡°No, ma¡¯am.¡±


    Sumisi continued, this time speaking to Dem. ¡°Perhaps we can help you tame a beast on this trip. I¡¯m sure we will encounter many suitable beasts.¡± Her slight frown as she told him this signaled to Dem she felt no small amount of pity at the thought of a Tamer without a beast.


    ¡°Ah, officer, I have two beasts actually. You needn¡¯t worry about me. I appreciate the offer though.¡± Dem tried to project as much confidence as he could.


    Stass spoke again, in a more quiet voice, not able to help himself, ¡°Where are they then?¡± Stass then sneered at Dem while crossing his arms, as if waiting for Dem to pull a fighter-bird his pack.


    Sumisi gave Stass a withering glare, but didn¡¯t speak to reprimand him. Perhaps, she too was wondered where Dem¡¯s beasts were.


    Dem looked from Stass¡¯ face, to Sumisi¡¯s face, to the the face of other soldier in the tent, gauging their reaction to Stass¡¯ behavior. Both Sumisi and the other soldier just seemed tired, and shrugged their shoulders, as if to tell Dem that this is who Stass was and he could be no other way.


    Dem sighed, and simple said, ¡°They are near, they should be here soon.¡±


    Dem had indeed asked Ina and Graf to come to the campsite earlier, and from his bond with them, he could tell they weren¡¯t far away.


    Dem had debated with himself over revealing his beasts to the soldiers. He would lose some advantage in potential surprise, but fundamentally, they would find out anyway, he had come to realize. Traveling to the True Wilds would take rotations at the very least. Whether he liked it or not, his beasts would be seen eventually. Now that he knew he would be training soldiers as well, it made it all the more apparent that some his secrets would be revealed, just hopefully not the important ones. At least showing off his beasts early on might gain him a measure of respect. Maybe it would cut off any more hazing from Stass and any soldiers like him. Keeping them secret would only help him if he were run afoul of all these soldiers, but if that happened it was unlikely his beasts could help him anyway.


    ¡°I see, well that is good, Demneh.¡± Sumisi responded, not appearing to entirely believe Dem. Was it his age that caused them to underestimate him? He was an adult now, but still young, far from middle age.


    ¡°Ok, Stass, I need you to take Dem to the arsenal-¡±


    Before she could finish her command, a messenger arrived, asking for Sumisi¡¯s attention. The messenger was another soldier, in lighter armour, breathing heavily.


    Sumisi quickly offered permission to speak to the messenger, not caring if Dem heard apparently.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, beastfolk activity sighted nearby. The commander¡¯s guards refused me entry to his tent, so I came here to you. What are your orders?¡±


    ¡°Beastfolk? Here? I don¡¯t believe any beastfolk trading parties were expected. How many beastfolk have been seen? Surely they would not be foolish to attack the settlement with hundreds of extra soldiers here.¡±


    ¡°Ma,am. Only one.¡±


    ¡°One? One-wait, one beastfolk? You¡¯re saying there is exactly one beastfolk out there approaching?¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. One beastman.¡±


    ¡°No others, just the one?¡±


    ¡°Yes, so far as we know ma¡¯am.¡±


    Sumisi sagged slightly at this news.


    ¡°Why should we care about a single beastman approaching? It is good you didn¡¯t interrupt the commander with this.¡±


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, I thought someone should know, because the beastman is headed towards us and not the settlement.¡±


    ¡°I see, well, I suppose I will go out to meet this beastman. Perhaps he give me his beastcore if I bat my eyes at him prettily.¡± Sumisi said with a laugh.


    She spoke again, some of the mirth leaving her voice, ¡°As, I was saying earlier, Stass, tak the Tamer to get whatever gear we can spare for him. Perhaps, you two can learn to get along.¡±


    Dem spoke up then, ¡°Officer, I would like to accompany you instead. I don¡¯t need any gear. I already have everything I need.¡±


    Sumisi stopped for a moment, to consider his refusal and his request, and then shrugged.


    She smiled at him then, and spoke, ¡°Fine, don¡¯t complain later if you are lacking in equipment. I¡¯m sure you¡¯d look fine in our armour. You may can accompany me to meet this beastman.¡±


    Dem smiled pleasantly at the officer in return. He had a feeling he knew this beastman.

 Chapter 42

    Dem walked slowly behind Officier Sumisi, more confused than anything else. His eyes ignoring the exaggerated sway of Sumisi¡¯s hips. As they had begun to walk toward the side of the encampment the beastman had appeared on, Dem had realized it was the wrong direction. Ina and Graf were still a short distance away, moving in the trees to avoid scaring the hamlet folk. Graf was slow that high up, and so it taken them longer than Dem had initially thought it would. The problem was Ina and Graf were coming from the opposite side of the encampment than where the Officer was leading Dem. Graf and Ina were coming from the other side of the settlement, where most of the hamlets were, the side facing toward the True Human Realm. Sumisi was leading him toward the side of the encampment that led toward the True Wilds.


    ***


    This beastman, he was going to meet, wasn¡¯t his beastman. He had confirmed that fact with both Ina and Graf, both of which were convinced they hadn¡¯t been sighted yet. This made some sense because normally Dem, and the other guides, would be the one identifying incoming threats, but this close to the settlement should be safe, and so lookouts were all that was necessary. This other beastman must have literally walked right up to the camp to be noticed.


    Dem was embarrassed now. He had planned on showing off a bit, and maybe impressing these soldiers enough they left him alone. He didn¡¯t believe they, as sworn soldiers, even ones lacking in discipline, would try to take Ina and Graf from him. They weren¡¯t bandits, and from what Greer had said, they did have to maintain their reputation to some extent. It would be something of a blackmark for Breaker soldiers to be caught robbing from their own conscripts. He didn¡¯t fear their envy or greed exactly, but he was still wary for underhanded tricks. He fully expected Stass to try something at some point.


    Dem was roused him from his thoughts of potential treachery by Sumisi stopping in front of him. He looked past her to see a small clearing with a tall post sticking up out of the ground. Tied to the post was the the ugliest and weakest looking beastman Dem had ever seen. He recognized it right away as a hiveling-scavenger. It was something like a large rat that had an extra pair of webbed arms on its back that they used to glide away from predators. They lived in communal hives centered around a single matriarch female. They weren¡¯t dangerous unless you attacked the hive itself. They mostly scavenged for scraps and carrion. They were beyond ugly. They had tufts of patchy grey-green fur here and there on their otherwise naked and wrinkled-skin bodies. They a few odd insect-like features like their large compound eyes, and a long rancid maw with teeth like a crocodile. They were little bigger than a house-cat usually, but this beastman come up to Dem¡¯s belt. He couldn¡¯t imagine a whole hive of these things. There would be hundreds at least.


    This particular specimen wore little more than a loincloth and some strange tribal jewelry. Its crudely made spear leaning against a tent out of its reach. Dem noticed that the hiveling was worse for wear, sporting a number of small wounds, black bruised skin, and a ripped arm-wing.


    Such creatures were something found on the outskirts of the True Wilds. They weren¡¯t strong enough to hold territory of their own, and so they were pushed to the outskirts of territories of stronger beasts. A beastfolk version of such a creature would have long since been hunted to extinction anywhere near the settlements. There was no reason for it to be here, and certainly no reason for it to approach a settlement this close.


    ¡°So, Tamer, you know this beast?¡±


    Beastdung, Dem hadn¡¯t even been thinking about his earlier bragging, his mind consumed by the mystery of this hiveling beastman.


    ¡°Uh, no, Officer. I do not. This is as big a surprise to me as it is to you.¡±


    Sumisi looked back at him, a smirk on her face, as if laughing at his discomfort.


    ¡°I see, perhaps you can be of use anyway. Tamer, do you recognize this beast? I confess I do not.¡±


    Dem sighed, his plan to push his image with these soldiers having failed, he resigned himself to being of service.


    After a moment of consideration, Dem spoke up, ¡°It is a hiveling-scavenger. Where there is one, there are hundreds more at least. Normally you wouldn¡¯t see one this far south. They are weak and are only dangerous in the great numbers you find at their hives.¡±


    Sumisi¡¯s face took a scowl then. Her voice much more concerned, she asked him the most obvious question, ¡°Why do you think its is here?¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be here at all. There are very few hiveling hives near here of the normal variety, and certainly none that have ascended to beastfolk. To get here from the True Wilds, using the most direct path, it would have missed another settlement by a cycle of walking time. We are more than forty cycles from that settlement. I would guess it went there first, was attacked, and then came here. That would explain its wounds.¡±


    Officer Sumisi¡¯s face lost a little of its darkness after hearing Dem¡¯s explanation, yet still she seemed far too concerned by the appearance of a single hiveling. Was she worried about having to face the entire hive? There was no real reason to have to fight the hive, when you could simply move around it. They were quite cowardly from what he understood, unless you attacked their home. He doubted fighting hivelings was what the officer was unhappy about.


    Sumisi paused for a moment considering something, and then asked Dem another question, ¡°Well, what are the chances it will have a beastcore? I don¡¯t suppose it''s worth something? Perhaps its meat is a rare delicacy?¡±


    ¡°Officer, it eats carrion. It would taste little better than it currently smells. They were hunted around here to extinction because their hives are large and often in the way. They also collect junk, some of which might be valuable, if you¡¯re lucky. I suppose I could..¡±


    Before Dem could finish, Sumisi interrupted him. ¡°You want to tame it? It''s disgusting. Are you so desperate for beasts?¡±


    ¡°No, officer, I was going to offer to try to communicate with it. It''s not necessarily going to know our language. The bloodline memories of beastfolk vary greatly.¡± Dem couldn¡¯t consider himself an expert on beastfolk, but he knew two pretty well. Ina had a great command of human language, but couldn¡¯t speak well due to her physiology. Graf could speak human, heavily accented, but was not as good with the language as Ina.


    ¡°Communicate with it? Why? Wait.. yes, yes I would like you to try, though if you do I may need you to..¡±


    Her voice trailed off, as she got a far away look on her face. Dem was genuinely confused about this situation, but he couldn¡¯t imagine that this didn¡¯t have something to do with why they were out here. This looked less and less like a training mission to him.


    Dem, we are here.


    Dem sent over the bond. ¡°Thank you Ina, I will meet you in a moment.¡±


    Interrupting the officer¡¯s thoughts, Dem spoke, ¡°Officer, if you will excuse me. I need to go meet my beasts now, they have arrived. I will try to communicate with the hiveling when I come back.¡±


    ¡°Ah? Alright, but hurry back I will need to speak with you before you communicate with it.¡± Her voice sounded mildly surprised. Dem thought perhaps she really hadn¡¯t believe he had beasts.


    ¡°Of course, officer. I will return shortly.¡±


    ***


    Dem made his way through the encampment without incident. All around him soldiers were breaking down tents and packing away their gear. Some of what they were moving was actually being placed on top of very wide and flat lizard beasts. Dem had never seen them before, and couldn¡¯t remember their name, but knew he had heard of suchs beasts. They were only as tall as his waist, but their body was wide enough for four people to sit side by side on at the widest part. The had three sets of two stout legs, each clawed for finding purchase on rough terrain. Their wide flat bodies were actually sharp in front, almost like a giant walking arrowhead. They were good for use in the Wilds in the sense they could cut right through vegetation as they moved, but weren¡¯t good for riding because they would have to move up and down trees occasionally to fit through vertical gaps. It would take some work and back-tracking to get these beasts through the truly dense areas, but each could haul many times what an individual soldier might carry. He wondered if they had an actual classed Tamer here to handle these beasts, but he thought better of it. These had been domesticated long ago, and didn¡¯t require much in the way of beastcraft.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Dem found it much easier to leave the encampment, than arrive. No one challenged him as he left, walking toward where he could sense Ina and Graf waiting for him. Originally, he had thought it would be fine if they just appeared, but with the other beastman showing up he didn¡¯t want to alarm too many people. A Tamer with beastfolk was rare in the settlements, but not unheard of exactly. He had seen other Tamers certainly, but the ones who were strong enough to control multiple Classed and trained beastfolk would likely stay in the Tower, and probably in a settlement closer to the True Wilds.


    As he finally reached the shade of the nearby trees, a ways away from the cleared area of the encampment, a large rumble could be heard as Graf jump down from up high. Ina appeared to his right, her tails possessively entwining around him.


    Ina spoke her greeting to him then.


    Dem, I missed you. You should clean yourself, your scent is.. intermingled.


    Ina''s snouted nose wrinkled as she took in his scent. It appeared Greer had left her mark on him.


    Dem spoke to both beastfolk over their bond, ¡°Ina, it is good to see you too, and yes.. My parents are safe in the settlement now at least. I¡¯ve been called up as a conscript. We will be heading north as I said earlier.¡± He tried to ignore Ina¡¯s implication.


    Ina¡¯s tails tightened around Dem, in confirmation of his words. Graf simply shrugged his shoulders. Dem could see that the boar beastman was his usual taciturn self.


    Dem spoke quickly, ¡°These soldiers are not necessarily our allies. If they attack you, defend yourself but don¡¯t kill anyone if you can help it. If they attack me, only defend my life. While in their encampment we will have thread carefully, as we will be in their power. My plan is to try to spend as little as time as possible with the soldiers, though spending more time out in the Wilds is dangerous in its own way.¡±


    Dem was no general, to be rallying his troops, but he felt he had covered the basics with his beasts. He was most worried about Ina. She was the most overprotective of him, and also the most interesting of his two beasts. Ranger Keff, whom Dem had met on his way back to the settlement, had taken an interest in her. Dem assumed the interest was driven mostly by the fact that Keff would have known that Ina was just a lesser beasts less than a sequence ago. Much like Greer, Keff could only surmise Dem or Ina had found something interesting in the Wilds. Interesting usually meant expensive to adventurers. It was the basic greed and opportunism found everywhere in the Wilds.


    Dem sighed, and turned around to begin walking toward the encampment with his beasts in tow. He noticed Ina had taken up a position directly behind Graf, hiding in his shadow. He believed only the most observant would notice her, especially at range.


    As they strode closer, he could tell there were a number of people looking in his direction by the time he could start to make out faces of the soldiers on the outskirts of the encampment. The soldiers approached Dem cautiously, their hands on the hilts of their weapons. Dem tried to keep his demeanor calm, and unruffled. He stood as tall as he could, and began to a channel a slight amount of the power of his Path into his eyes. He had experimented on Greer earlier, with very low-level uses of his gaze. He couldn¡¯t be sure it had much effect on the strange woman, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try it here. As he had figured out before, influence didn¡¯t necessarily mean control, but it did have some effect on the people he used it on. Already he had noticed people had strong emotions towards him, considering his interactions with Greer, Sumisi, Stass, Keff, and even in basic situations like when he had bought his clothes from that mustached clerk.


    A number of soldiers came forward to stop Dem at line where the encampment began. Dem had just been through here a short amount of time before had, and so a few seemed to recognize him. A particularly tall soldier bearing extra markings on his armour stepped forward to ask Dem a question.


    ¡°You there, is that your beastman? What is your name? What business do you have here..¡± He could see the soldier struggled with asking the right question, as he clearly recognized that Dem had just been in the encampment a short moment before.


    ¡°Yes, it is mine. I am Tamer Demneh. Speak to Officer Sumisi for confirmation of my identity.¡± Dem hoped that if he made a significant enough impression he wouldn¡¯t have to answer any more of these silly challenges, word would hopefully spread.


    The soldier who stepped forward first, spoke again,¡°Ah? A Tamer? I thought you a young man of means with a beastman slave for protection, but a Tamer? That is interesting.¡± The soldier had a simile on his face as he spoke, as if there were a joke here. Dem assumed it had something to do with his Class, but he ignored it.


    As Graf towered over many of the soldiers they began to look nervous, and hadn¡¯t taken up whatever unuttered joke the speaking soldier had implied. One had already left to find an officer the moment Dem had finished speaking. Some of the soldiers were trying to peer around Graf, as they must have detected subtle movement behind him. Dem once again drew their attention by speaking.


    ¡°I am here because I was conscripted as a guide. Generally it is polite to introduce yourself is it not? What is your name¡­¡±


    The soldier spoke again, smiling slightly at Dem, ¡°Ah, yes, I suppose it is. I am Sergeant Wehern. You are a conscript you say? A guide? Well we will need you from what I understand. Our own scouts are..¡± The sergeant stopped himself before he could speak further, a slight flush of embarrassment on his face. He had clearly touched on a subject he wasn¡¯t supposed speak about.


    Dem noticed the man was tall, but still several heads shorter than Graf. He was older than Dem, maybe Greer¡¯s age, but still much younger than Dem¡¯s parents. His hair was closely cropped, like most of the soldiers Dem had seen. This was a stark contrast to Suimisi whose long hair was strange. Perhaps it was because she was of the blood? Or just a higher ranked officer? Dem wasn¡¯t sure. Clearly, there was some favoritism going on here.


    After making awkward small talk with the sergeant for a short while, a crowd of soldiers arrived, with Sumisi at its head. Dem¡¯s vision of the woman was blocked by the soldiers in front of him, but he could hear her barking questions over their heads.


    ¡°Is that a boar beastman? Why are beastmen showing up from every direction? Sergeant, explain what this is..¡±


    She stopped her questions short, as the sergeant in front stepped back to allow her a view of Dem.


    ¡°Demneh? Didn¡¯t I tell you to come back quickly? Where did you find that beastman? Can you talk to him to find out what he wants? Make sure he knows to give up his spear if he wants to talk.¡± Suimisi voice sounded annoyed at all these complications.


    Dem laughed, ¡°I already know what Graf here wants thanks to our bond. I know I said I wouldn¡¯t be needing any gear, but Graf here prefers axes to spears. Do you have any really large axes sitting around?¡±


    ¡°Why should we arm a random beastman. Dem, you already know the beast man¡¯s name? That is good.. Wait, you said bond? This is your beast? A boar beastman? Is he Classed? He looks Classed!¡± Surprise lit her voice as her eyes widened.


    ¡°Yes, Officer. He is a Warrior. Graf would you say hello to the Officer?¡±


    Graf merely grunted at the woman, looking bored. Dem chuckled lightly in response, his hand touching the back of his head to scratch a phantom itch.


    ¡°So this is your beast? I am impressed! I underestimated you! A boar beastman eh? Classed no less! The Breakers have tangled with the boar tribes before, on rare occasions. They are fierce fighters.¡± Sumisi seemed genuinely happy, which made Dem relevate the woman. She hadn¡¯t done a great job in reigning in Stass, but he could tell she respected strength at the very least. In that manner, she was definitely a soldier.


    ¡°Indeed, he is a great Warrior. I¡¯m sure he appreciates the compliments.¡± Dem looked back at the face of the beastman, but graf was scratching himself with a vacant look in his eye. This was typical Warrior behavior, they were battle addicts, and little interest in pleasantries.


    As Dem turned back to look at Officer Sumisi, she spoke again.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you had two beasts? Where is the other one?¡±


    Dem smiled, and spoke, ¡°Ina, show yourself, please.¡±


    Behind Graf, a shadow rose and climbed up his back. Ina appeared then, standing on Graf¡¯s shoulders, her tails twisting in patterns that caused most of the soldiers to look away. The reaction, despite their averted eyes, was immediate. Surprise and fear registered across their faces. Several even drew bare steel, before they realized this was Dem¡¯s beast and therefore not likely to attack.


    Sumisi looked surprised, and then had an oddly heated gaze crossed her face as she looked at Dem. Her face slightly red, she spoke then, confusion suffusing her voice,


    ¡°You.. Is that what I think that is? All those tails..¡±


    Sergeant Wehern spoke up, ¡°Ma¡¯am it is a Many-Tailed, a predator beastwoman.¡±


    Dem noted the emphasis on the word ¡®predator¡¯ in the Sergeant¡¯s words. There was a difference between more benign beasts and those that were designated specifically as man-killers. A boar beast might kill you for entering its territory, or just looking at it funny, but a true man-killer hunted humans actively, even outside its territory. Ina had always been too small and weak to be a real threat, but as a beastwoman, in the greater beast realm, he supposed she was a true threat now. He couldn¡¯t make sense of the man¡¯s emphasis otherwise.


    ¡°Demneh, keep that thing on a short leash. You will be responsible for anyone or anything she eats!¡± Sumisi sounded almost exasperated at this turn of events.


    Dem was a little hurt, hearing Ina called a ¡®thing¡¯, but he didn¡¯t need to pick a fight over it. Fear was a natural response to a predator.


    Dem answered Sumisi with a faux grimace, ¡°Her name is Ina, and while she is something of a eater, she doesn¡¯t people, mostly.¡± He laughed then, at their discomfort.


    A female soldier in the back tried to speak up, before being silenced by a another soldier, ¡°So you and her fu-¡±


    He could hear the soldier who did the silencing whisper to female soldier who spoke up, ¡°Do you want to be eaten? Don¡¯t ask about that.¡± Dem ignored the question, it was going to be standard response to any Tamer most people came across he supposed.


    ¡°Officer, if you would lead the way, we have a beastman to speak with don¡¯t we?¡± Dem said, trying to keep the conversation moving along.


    Sumisi shook her head, to clear her thoughts, and then waved him toward her. Together they strode forward toward the hiveling through the encampment, soldiers parting for them and stopping to stare. Dem supposed they looked like a strange sight. The long-haired officer led their strange little party, with the young-looking Tamer following behind her, and two beasts following the Tamer. Ina was crouching on Graf¡¯s shoulder, seeming to enjoy her new roost. Dem thought even Graf looked a little wary having the beastwoman so close.

 Chapter 43

    The hiveling smelled terrible, to Dem¡¯s sensitive nose, but the worst part was touching it. His spell, Understand Beast, required touch to work, and touching the the wrinkled dirty skin of the hiveling made Dem¡¯s stomach turn. Graf held the beast¡¯s arms as Dem grabbed it by the ankle. It was hurt and didn¡¯t have much fight left in its sagging body, but Dem didn¡¯t want to take any chances.


    He hadn¡¯t learned much at first. The hiveling, despite its beastfolk form, wasn¡¯t exactly much of a talker or thinker. After some false starts, and confusion, Dem had to rely on simple yes or no questions. It had answered readily enough to those, at least. Each of his questions was sent mentally, through pictures mostly, with the intent of a question sent at the end. Understand Beast was could used for both direct communication and to send feelings.


    The hivelings answers were unsatisfying, though they did address Sumisi¡¯s most immediate worries.


    There were no more hivelings nearby, so far as this hiveling knew. So at least this wasn¡¯t some sort of hiveling migration.


    Had it visited the northern human settlement? The answer was no.


    Did it receive its wounds from humans? Answered no.


    Were it¡¯s wounds from other beasts as it came south? This one confused the hiveling as it gave both a yes and a no, so Dem clarified his question.


    Did some of its wounds happen as it came south? The answer was yes, though not a very strong yes.


    Did its wounds mostly happen north, in the True Wilds? Yes.


    At this point in the question and answer session Officer Sumisi stopped Dem. Dem had been detailing the answers outloud for everyone to hear, which made her nervous, judging by her body anxious body language.


    Sumisi cleared the area of other soldiers, but for her, Dem, Dem¡¯s beasts, and the Sergeant. Then she gave Dem a warning.


    ¡°Tamer, you will now ask it about why it is this far south. Ask it about reasons it left the True Wilds. Ask it if was pushed out of its home by other tribes. Whatever answers it gives you, you will, of course, shares those with us, but then you are sworn to secrecy. I have already sent a runner for a Tower pact of secrecy, to ensure there will be a penalty for if you should speak about what you learn here.¡± Sumisi¡¯s tone left Dem little room to wiggle, though he had no idea who he would tell about it.


    He considered her words for a moment, and then spoke, ¡°I will agree to your terms, but I would like the room within my oath to be able to tell my beasts and ask their input.¡±


    In turn, Sumisi considered his request for a moment, ¡°I agree, but they will also have to make an oath to the pact.¡±


    ¡°I agree, Officer. I will now ask your questions as best I can.¡±


    Dem¡¯s next series of questions were more complex and harder to answer yes or no to. Dem began to guess at reasons as to why the hiveling might have gone south. Lack of food? No. Did a powerful predator attack it? No. Disease? No. Was it exiled? No. Was it here because its hive was destroyed? The hiveling gave no response to this, perhaps because it did not know if its hive was still intact. Dem could sense the beastman¡¯s fear over their temporary connection. It was obvious to Dem something drastic had happened. Was this thing what had Sumisi so spooked? Was this why she was so tight-lipped?


    Finally, Dem decided to go with Sumisi¡¯s most specific question. Did it leave the True Wilds because it was pushed here by another tribe? This was a.. yes, but a very weak one. Dem could only assume that other tribes had something to do with it, but weren¡¯t the whole story.


    This answer didn¡¯t really satisfy any of the questions in Dem¡¯s mind, and so before relating the hiveling¡¯s answer to Sumisi and the sergeant, he asked a broader question.


    What drove you south?


    What Dem got back in response was a series of images. His fellow hivelings fleeing in every direction, being chased, and in some cases stepped on, by other beasts and beast folk. He could sense this wasn¡¯t the root issue though, as the hiveling sent him one last image, of something large and terrible, like a towering black wave, that threatened to crash down the beastman¡¯s hive. Dem couldn¡¯t make out specifically what the hiveling feared, but rather could tell this image represent its fear of something powerful and unknown. What left Dem the most shaken was the rumbling of ground, that accompanied the image. Dem had never know the ground to rumble like that. He had heard of landslides and mudslides, but nothing like what he found in the hiveling¡¯s image.


    Dem let go of the ankle of the hiveling, and took a step back. He lost himself in thought at what he had seen. Graf stepped back as well, letting the hiveling sag further down.


    By the time Dem was done digesting what the hiveling had sent, Sumisi was impatient and angry, waiting for Dem to come back to himself. She had even taken a step toward Dem, to rouse him, but Ina had shift her weight in a way that made it clear no one was to approach Dem. Sumisi tried to ignore the beastwoman¡¯s interference, but did not approach Dem any closer. In this extra moment Ina had gained him, Dem considered not describing this last image to Sumisi. Something about it was a important and a secret, but he wanted to see her reaction to his words. His curiosity won over his fear.


    It took him a few false starts, and moments where his words hung in the air, but eventually he related everything he had gotten in response his last couple question.


    Sumisi listened intently, forgetting her previous anger. At the description of the sense of imminent disaster, where the ground had trembled, Sumisi had gone pale and by the end of Dem¡¯s description, sweat had begun to accumulate on her face. In a tight voice, Sumisi had asked him a few more questions about the last image, as she did so she drew closer to Dem and the hiveling. Ina didn¡¯t stop her now, but simply watched warily. As Dem answered Sumisi¡¯s last question about the image, the Officer drew her sword and in one smooth, swift motion, plunged it into the hiveling, nearly decapitating it. Its brackish, dark blood splattered the Officier, Dem, and Dem¡¯s beasts. Ina and Graf took defensive stances, though neither had moved to defend the hiveling. Dem was surprised certainly, but made no comment. He thought about asking what all this meant, but he assumed the Officer would have told him already if she going to. He tried anyway..


    ¡°Officer, what¡­¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Sumisi just shook her head at him, not saying anything and staring at the corpse of the beastman. Dem busied himself clean the blood off, to make the time productive, at least.


    As Dem was casting cleaning spells, getting the blue-black blood off his clothing, a messenger arrived carrying a scroll case. In short order, Dem, Ina, and Graf had all made a pact not to reveal anything they had seen or learned here, by channeling a little of their Path into the document. When everything was finished, and the body was being disposed of, Sumisi still explained anything. She also wasn¡¯t quite ready to leave him to his own devices.


    Sumisi sighed heavily, and the let out a little laugh,¡°Now, we go to report to the commander. I think he will like you.¡± Her voice still had a shade of the earlier darkness in it, despite the playful tone she had used in her last sentence.


    ***


    The commander had liked him, and so had someone else in the comander¡¯s tent, far more than Dem would have liked.


    When they had arrived outside the largest tent in the encampment, Dem had expected the commander was another woman like Sumisi, judging by her earlier tone, or perhaps the commander was some old man who hated Tamers. All Dem knew was to expect a trick or joke here, probably at his own expense. Instead, Dem had gotten his ass grabbed by a drunk, foppish-looking man, little more than his own age.


    To gain entrance, Sumisi had sent in one of the two tall, handsome guards that had been standing outside the tent, into the tent to seek out the commander. After a while, no one had come out, and then Sumisi had sent the other guard in. Again, no one came out. After a while more of waiting, Sumisi had gone in herself, dragging Dem in, leaving Ina and Graf outside. Inside the dimly lit tent, Dem saw a small writing desk, several chairs, a table with maps. The guards who had entered were standing off to the side, looking confused and embarrassed, their gaze towards a wide cot with several bodies laying in a pile of blankets and spilled wine.


    Officer Sumisi marched up to the cot and began to rifle through it, until finding the appropriate person, and dragging them out by an arm. The man she pulled from the pile was short, thickly muscled, and had some paunch around the middle. He was darkly bearded, and nearly as hairy as some beastman Dem had seen. He appeared to be drunk, and or otherwise incapacitated. It generally took a lot of alcohol, or very concentrated alcohol, to get a combat Classed adventurer drunk, and Dem supposed Classed soldiers were no different. Caius literally drank for half the day to maintain his perpetual stupor, and undoubtedly stole from the church coffers to afford it. This man was have been drinking something concentrated and potent because Dem saw no kegs or barrels nearby.


    She then called over to Dem, ¡°Do you have a restoration spell for our dear Commander here?¡±


    Dem was still surprised when she had called the man the commander, despite the obviousness of the situation. He hurried over and channeled his Path into his spell. The spell was a slight bit more sluggish than what Dem was used to, probably due to his own cycles of debauchery. He needed to do some hunting, or perhaps spend some time with Ina to clear his head and sharpen his resolve.


    While Dem as casting his spell the pile of blankets began to move, but Dem ignored it, as he focused on his spell. Eventually the bleary eyed, head of a youngish man, popped out from under the blanket. The face was thing, and had high cheekbones with a mop of blonde curly hair. The unfocused eyes seemed to find Dem, and out of the corner of his eye Dem could see the man reach up to lay a grasping hand on Dem¡¯s ass, giving it a firm squeeze. This set Dem¡¯s teeth on edge, but he endured it so that his spell would finish properly. Once the spell was complete Dem spun around to slap the hand away, but the man had already fallen back to sleep, hanging limply off the edge of the cot. Dem sighed, and looked back toward the commander who was now opening his eyes.


    The man spoke in a deep tone, ¡°Oh, the Divinity above, I should drink less. Is it time to leave already? Sumisi? Where is Sumisi?¡±


    Officer Sumisi was, of course, standing just to the side of the man, holding him up. Her face looked annoyed, her eyebrows down cast, and face wrinkled, but Dem could tell she wasn¡¯t as furious as she might have been. Whether that was out of respect for the commander¡¯s rank or because she was simply used to his ways, Dem did not know.


    Sumisi responded by given the man a good shake and then standing him up. She pulled him to stand position effortlessly, showing both the passive strength of her Class and her experience with heavy, dead-weight drunks.


    After taking a moment to steady himself, the commander gazed around the tent, finding Dem first. The bearded man¡¯s eyes looking Dem up and down.


    ¡°Interesting. A messenger? Not bad..¡± The commander eyes did yet another pass of Dem, this time more slowly.


    ¡°Someone rich must want something from me to be able to afford a toy such as you! What do they want? Tell them we are leaving this very cycle. There isn¡¯t time to do any favors.¡±


    There was a cough at the commanders back, and his bushy eyebrows raised. He turned around to face Sumisi.


    Sumisi spoke, facing the commander, a tone of annoyance unmistakable in her voice, ¡°Ahem, Commander Paus-Paun, this is Tamer Demneh. We have something to speak to you about, and we will be ready to march out soon. I think-¡±


    Before Sumisi could finish, the another head popped out of the blankets on the cot, this one had the face of a masculine-looking woman, dirty-blonde hair cut short. As she emerged from the cot, her smallish breasts bounced slightly. As she rose to her knees her actions sped up as her face took on a green color, and she proceeded to move the edge of the cot and vomit right on to Sumisi¡¯s armoured footwear.


    If Sumisi hadn¡¯t been angry, she was clearly angry now. Sumisi grabbed the woman by the hair, after she finished spewing, and then slapped her across the face. The commander didn¡¯t move to stop his vice-commander, but did have the clarity to look mildly ashamed.


    Finally the beard man spoke up. ¡°Ah, Sumisi don¡¯t be so hard on your cousin. In fact, you should have joined us last night. It was quite the party. I¡¯m sure one of us could have provided what you enjoy..¡±


    The fury on Sumisi¡¯s face lay unabated, and she looked like she might punch the commander, but after a quick moment, she contained her anger.


    Through gritted teeth, she spoke again, ¡°We have things to discuss. Send your Tent Sergeant and my useless cousin out. We have some new information about our destination. Tamer Demneh has communicated with a beastman from the north that arrived today. He is already making himself useful.¡±


    Dem didn¡¯t know if the latter emphasis on ¡®useful¡¯ was a compliment for him, or a indictment of the people in the tent.


    The blonde man who had grabbed Dem earlier had woken up again, just in time to hear himself called ¡®Tent Sergeant¡¯. Dem wasn¡¯t sure what a ¡®Tent Sergeant¡¯ was, but he assumed it had something to do with the time the man spent in the commander¡¯s tent. The man sputtered and then cursed at Sumisi, to only receive a backhand from her in return. Sumisi then ordered the two guards to take the commander¡¯s bedmates out of the tent. The commander found a camp chair to sit in, and sat down heavily, the chair creaked with his weight, but did not give way.


    The bearded man gave a heavy sigh, and focused his dark eyes on Dem. He spoke then, in a weary tone, ignoring the still angry Sumisi standing off to his side.


    ¡°I am Commander Paus-Paun. Of the Nep Isles.  So you are not a messenger, but a Beast Tamer? You are one of our conscripted guides then, a local. You bring me a message of a different kind. Let me hear it.¡±


    Dem complied and told the tired-looking man everything he had learned from the hiveling, leaving nothing but his own thoughts out.

 Chapter 44

    Dem couldn¡¯t say he was impressed by the circumstances he found the commander in, but the man at least listened to Dem¡¯s description intently. Dem could tell the man didn¡¯t like what he was hearing though. The commander¡¯s face went from exhausted and hungover, with drooping eyes and slouching poster, to hunched over, chin in hand, and a look of stress obvious by the man¡¯s crinkled crow¡¯s feet. Thankfully the commander didn¡¯t ask too many questions, and let Dem leave quickly. Sumisi stayed to talk about whatever had them stressed, so Dem was left to his own devices for a short while. He wandered the slowly disappearing camp, gauging the reaction of the soldiers to his beasts. No one approached him, though a few did watch him warily. Eventually, a sergeant was sent to find him and explain that the scouts were being sent on ahead of the main force, and he was to join them. No other directions were given, the sergeant seemed to be a hurry and left Dem before any questions could be asked. Dem could only shake his head in confusion. Were breaker soldiers usually so disorganized, or was this an aberration? He wondered what waited for them at the border of the True Wilds.


    ***


    Dem arrived at the meeting place for the conscript guides. They needed to meet to agree on who would hold what flank and how far they should be from the main body. Dem assumed the soldiers would have regulations for their own scouts, or at least a set of best practices, but local guides would have differing opinions about any number of topics.


    As Dem took in the faces of the group he would be working with he recognized more than a few. There were six guides total, including one particularly familiar face, Ranger Keff. Dem couldn¡¯t help but set his face to a frown at the idea of working with the nosey Ranger, but hopefully Wersa had scared the man into submission, but he doubted it. Wersa wasn¡¯t here, but at least Dem had his beasts. They followed closely behind him, Graf towering over the small group of rough-looking individuals.


    Surveying the group, there were two like him, from the hamlets and Classed, though their Classes were a lower-tier than a Tamer. They were a Hunter and a Guide, both amateurs, if he remembered correctly. Neither true Adventurers, but both would have good knowledge of the Wilds. He couldn¡¯t remember their names, and they didn¡¯t offer them to him when he glanced at them, but they did get an eyeful of his beasts. There was Keff of course, and then another woman and a man. The man was older, older than Dem¡¯s father, and had sparse grey hair and clothing in poor repair. Dem had never seen him before. The woman was perhaps a little older than Dem, with short brown hair, that came down to her ears, and a fit figure. Her combat leathers reminded him of Dice. Perhaps, she was a fighter of some sort.


    Dem¡¯s arrival had stopped whatever conversation they were having before he¡¯d arrived. His beasts were a little too eye catching, but he could do nothing about it. The two from the hamlets seemed to care little for him, but the other three were looking at him almost as much as they were looking at his beasts, though Dem had no idea why that would be the case.


    Dem coughed loudly, to draw their attention, and then introduced himself.


    ¡°I am Demneh, a Tamer, as you can see. These are my beasts, Graf and Ina.¡± Dem pointed at the corresponding beasts, before continuing.


    ¡°What should I call you all?¡±


    Keff, put on a strained grin, ¡°I.. uh, thank you for your previous help, Tamer Demneh. If you remember, I am Ranger Keff.¡±


    Dem, spoke, trying to be polite, ¡°Indeed, I remember you Ranger, I hope your party member made a full recovery.¡±


    ¡°She will eventually, there are still some left over effects, but she will be fine.¡± said, Keff.


    ¡°That is a shame, but at least she will be fine in the end, as you say.¡± Dem wanted this awkward conversation over as fast as possible, but hadn¡¯t learned any new names.


    Dem turned towards the others expectantly.


    The older man grunt, but the woman Dem didn¡¯t know spoke for both of them.


    ¡°I am Firlith, a Terrain Fighter, this is my uncle, a Glod, a Woodsman.¡±


    Dem smiled in greeting, and so did Firlith, but Glod merely grunted looking away.


    Woodsman was a fairly mundane low-tier Class, meant to give a person a battery of spells to help them live in the Wilds. It was fairly common among those from the Hamlets, and only cost ten or twenty silver for its grimoire. The Terrain Fighter was an unknown to Dem, perhaps a fighter than had spells that helped with fighting in various terrains, he wasn¡¯t entirely sure. There were always a number of strange Subclasses out there, not yet officially recognized by the Tower through the work of a recognized Classmaster. Perhaps Terrain Fighter was one of those.


    The two men from the hamlets, eyed Dem¡¯s beasts for a second, and the taller one spoke.


    ¡°I am Hunter Gram, and this is Guide Weer, I¡¯ve heard of you Demneh, though I had no idea you had such beasts at your command.¡±


    Keff focused on Dem, as Dem responded, ¡°Yes, Graf here is new, but Ina I¡¯ve had, she made something of a gain recently.¡±


    The Hunter and Guide looked at each other and then simply nodded to Dem


    Firlith spoke up then, breaking up an awkward silence, ¡°Fellow Classed, shall we discuss our duties? The sergeant who brought us here has informed me we will also be bringing along soldiers for Wilds training as we move. It''s more than a rotation to the furthest northern settlement, and a number of cycles past that to the True Wilds. Have any of you been there before?¡±


    When no one spoke up, Firlith sighed, ¡°We I suppose anyone with real experience is already up there.¡±


    Dem was happy to let Firlith organize things and he listened intently as she spoke.


    ¡°I think we should take turns¡­


    ***


    As they discussed roles and who would be doing what, Dem had a burning question on his mind, that he decided to put to his fellow guides. As they were wrapping up, and the local guides were beginning to step away, Dem stepped forward, and spoke seriously.


    ¡°Do any of you know why we are here? The real reason for all of this?¡±


    Keff immediately answered with a series of questions of his own. ¡°Do you you? Does it matter? They told me I would be arrested and put to labor maintenancing the Breaker Wall if I refused.¡±


    A component of the pact he had made with Sumisi was that he couldn¡¯t talk about the pact, and so Dem had to be vague.


    Dem responded, ¡°I only have guesses. I wanted to ask all of you. Maybe we could make sense of it together.¡± Dem waited then, for some sort of response, but no one else spoke for a moment.


    Eventually, Glod turned his back to the group, and started walking away, ignoring Dem¡¯s questions.


    Firlith spoke, as she hurried after her uncle, ¡°We aren¡¯t sure either Dem, but there isn¡¯t much point in speculating. We will find out when we find out.¡± With that that she too turned her back to the group, and disappeared from sight into the vegetation ahead of them.


    Both Gram and Veer merely shrugged, and left as well.


    Only Keff stayed, thinking, judging by the look of consternation on his face.


    Finally, breaking the moment of silence, Keff spoke,¡°I don¡¯t know, but I agree with Firlith, there isn¡¯t much use in us worrying about it.¡±


    Keff¡¯s eyes shifted as they began to focus on Dem, ¡°Did that Warrior you were with pay well? She was frightening. Speaking of that incident. You didn¡¯t answer my question from last time. How did your beast grow so much so fast? You even have another beast now.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Dem could see the calculation in his Keff¡¯s eyes.


    Dem decided to just tell the same lie he had told before, and then try to avoid any more discussion of it.


    ¡°Ina ate something, I don¡¯t know what. She can¡¯t really describe it. Something good obviously. We searched for it, that is why I was with the Warrior in the first place, but didn¡¯t find anything. It''s likely that Warrior will return. I would be careful if I were you.¡± Dem said.


    Keff scoffed at Dem, ¡°She is long gone, and my father could handle her anyway¡­¡±


    Dem just looked at Keff, his expression neutral, waiting for Keff to think about what he was saying.


    Keff saw Dem¡¯s expression, and said ¡°She is just a Warrior. My father is a Ranger!¡±


    ¡°She helped me defeat Graf, and bond him. He is a Classed beastman Warrior. She defeated him easily. She was also quite a bit older than she looked. You father would have sense enough to stay away from her.¡±


    Keff looked angry then, his face growing red, ¡°My father is a great Ranger! An arrow in the Wilds will kill anyone if they don¡¯t expect it coming!¡±


    Keff hefted his Ranger¡¯s bow, as if it was proof of what he was saying. Dem also caught the subtle implication that an arrow could find Dem as well.


    Keff seemed to be about to rant further, perhaps to threaten Dem more explicitly, but a clawed tail found its way near Keff¡¯s face, hovering near Keff¡¯s temple. Graf had also apparently been paying attention, as he took a large heavy step forward, toward Keff. Dem was pleased, the boar beastman at least understood his role.


    Keff stopped dead, his mouth hanging open, before slowly closing.


    Dem spoke then, to offer his own threat.


    ¡°Graf here is new to our bond, but Ina is my lifelong friend. Should something happen to me, well, I would imagine you will find out that a claw kills the unsuspecting just as well as an arrow.¡±


    Keff¡¯s eyes were still angry, but he began to back away slowly, keeping his eyes on Ina and Dem.


    After Keff was out of sight, Dem¡¯s face twisted in annoyance. Dem didn¡¯t like the thought of having to watch his back all the time. Keff was right, an arrow at an inopportune time, would be a sure death. Would he have to find some way of dealing with Keff? What about Keff¡¯s father? The idea of using his Class bubbled up immediately in his mind. The easy solution it provided was tempting. Of course, it wasn¡¯t that easy. His skill with the spells was still far from subtle. He could control Keff surely, but to what end? He couldn¡¯t be sure he could control Keff to such a degree it would go unnoticed, Keff would have to die by some indirect means. A Ranger would have decent innate toughness, so walking him off a tree wouldn¡¯t necessarily kill him. Whatever happened Dem would need to have some sort of deniability. It would have to look like an accident.


    Dem¡¯s face fell further when he realized he was plotting murder. He shook his head trying to banish the dark thoughts, but couldn¡¯t deny he was worried about retaliation in the future. Keff was a greedy, spoiled idiot, but Dem understood that from Keff¡¯s perspective, Dem was just a Tamer, though a Tamer with a couple powerful beasts. Dem needed a way to project more strength so weaklings like Keff wouldn¡¯t challenge him. The stigma associated with being a Tamer and someone from the hamlets worked against him constantly in the minds of those who met him. His young age was also not helpful. The only thing he could think of was either changing himself in some fundamental way or leaving for parts that might be more friendly to him. Neither option appealed to him because of his parents. His mind lay in turmoil, as he moved away with his beasts to do his portion of the scouting work.


    ***


    Nearly ten cycles had passed and Dem still had no idea what they were all doing out there, but his duties weren¡¯t terribly difficult. The scouts rotated every cycle, moving with the soldiers, one to the front, back, and both sides. There wasn¡¯t much chance of major danger out here, or at least no more than the Wilds usually provided. They were still too close to human settlements for the truly fearful beasts, but there were always issues with the terrain and particularly nasty kinds of the beasts that swarmed, or were just plain annoying. The guides that weren¡¯t currently out scouting would be taking turns training the soldiers in basic Wilds-craft, resting, or hunting. The scouts also were a big help in keeping meat in the soldier¡¯s cook-pots. Keff was particularly good at snagging down different kinds of birds beasts from the upper reaches of the trees Dem had heard, a favorite with the soldiers. Dem had been lucky so far, none of his scouting duties had corresponded with Keff being free to hunt or roam near his position. Dem couldn¡¯t be sure his warning had worked as he had hardly seen Keff since their last run-in.


    There had been something of a silver lining and complication to Dem¡¯s situation. He was rather popular with the soldiers himself, for a number of reasons. Ina brought in far more than Keff could, and usually a wider selection. It had been a simple exchange for her to find good tasting game in return for a bit of cooking, though it had taken the soldiers a few cycles to warm up to her, even with Dem acting as a go-between. Dem was also popular for another reason, one that surprised and confused him.


    More than half the soldiers were women, and no small portion were interested in him. He hadn¡¯t really realized they were mostly women at first, as most of the soldiers had similar stocky, muscled body-types, which he had assumed was the result of their training and Class, but most soldiers he had met so far, had been women. Being around so many combat Classes had been interesting enough that he hadn¡¯t been looking at the gender of the soldiers. Most of them kept their armour and helms on whenever they weren¡¯t resting. The armour had been spelled to keep them cool and keeping it on was part of their training.


    More than a few of the female soldiers, and a small number of the male soldiers, had approached him, clearly seeking something more than training in surviving the Wilds. On the occasions he seen the other guides they had experienced similar interest, though not as much as Dem had. Dem considered for a moment that the commander might have brought the local guides as camp followers as much as anything, but that seemed far-fetched. It happened nearly every cycle, either when he brought back kill,s or when he was training the greener soldiers, it never failed that at least one would offer to ¡®help¡¯ him bring in the next kill or ask to spend some time with him alone in a tent. What surprised him most was that he hadn¡¯t turned them all down. For the first few cycles, of course, he had turned them down, as he was a bit tired from his time with Greer. Eventually though, he began to miss the pleasures Greer had brought him, and had given in.


    He had no interest in the male soldiers, but the women soldiers, were all fit and attractive in their own way. This was the part that surprised him most, that he would feel this way, needing the company of others, wanting take part in the pleasure of their flesh. He remembered a rotation ago, when he thought just having Ina¡¯s company would be enough, but now, he wasn¡¯t so sure. He had spent some quality time with Ina as well, but that had consisted mostly of her riding him hard, a good experience, but not quite what he was looking for. The way she cuddled him afterward told him she had missed him, while he had been absent. His time away from the camp and scouting, with Ina, had been enjoyable, but it hadn¡¯t enticed him in the way his time with soldiers did. They were lonely out here, and entanglements with fellow soldiers were more complicated than fucking a local conscript. Maybe they were just bored of the other soldiers, Dem thought. Either way, they wanted Dem, in a rough, desperate way, he had never experienced. His Class was at work here, though to what extent, he had no idea.


    If he had to be honest, the true benefit of spending time with the lonely soldiers, was that he often took control of their sexual encounter, dominating them thoroughly. Leaning heavily on what he had learned from Greer and Dice, he had done his best to offer pleasure, but in reality, he had to admit this was about advancing his Path. Each conquest was a small boon to him, nothing as significant as dominating Wersa, but still helpful. He understood, objectively, that advancing singularly down a powerful Path was often addictive and could cause a sort of single mindedness, or worse, self-destruction, but he couldn¡¯t help himself. Most people would transition from one Path to another, or try to straddle multiple Paths, to help mitigate these sorts of issues, but his Class was bizarre, and rejected his previous Path. Though that did make a kind of sense, mutualism and domination weren¡¯t especially compatible, mostly because Domination didn¡¯t allow for equals.


    Not every soldier had been interested in what he was looking for, but most had, and they had obviously told their friends, because now he was pretty much inundated in offers. They seemed to enjoy the thought of being with a Wilds Tamer, as if it were something of a taboo. He would often take them out into the Wilds for their trysts to add a hint of danger. Sometimes he would leave them alone long enough they would begin to fear how they would get back without him, only for him to appear and take them hard, bent against a tree. They were all strong enough to fight him off if they wanted, but they did not, the fear added to their pleasure. Not every soldier was interested in this sort of roleplay, and so sometimes the occasional quick session happened inside one of their tents. Dem had learned quickly how to take their armour off, finding a new appreciation for the spelled gear. When he got back to the settlement, he decided he would look into getting some gear of his own.


    Dem had also been practicing his Gaze and Influence on these soldiers. As much as he was disgusted with the nature of his Class, he couldn¡¯t turn down the opportunity to learn to use it better. It had saved his life a number of times already. He used his Gaze when he had one of the soldiers alone in the Wilds with him, where no one would notice. It seemed to enhance their pleasure in the situations he offered. He also learned to lower the intensity of it, so that the person he was using it on would hardly notice anything was different. Spreading his Influence around had also gotten him more offers, and more time to test the limits of what his Influence could do. He had learned that while he couldn¡¯t directly control someone, his very presence often caused far more emotion as his Influence grew. These emotions, with the right words or situation, could often lead to him getting what he wanted through suggestion. It required more work than Dominate Mind but it was far more subtle. From the outside a person would just assume Dem was charismatic, but from the inside, Dem could tell people were far more suggestible, the more time they spent in his presence. There were limits, people wouldn¡¯t harm themselves for him, but he believe with enough coaxing, they might harm others. He didn¡¯t feel good about this latter possibility, but it was a tool he could use to save himself.


    Over the last ten or more cycles, Dem¡¯s life had been going better than he had expected it, with the exception of Keff¡¯s possibly interference and the total unknown they were all heading into. Then on twelfth cycle of their mission, a strange thing happened. All the offers dried up, and hardly a soldier would speak to him. Then, early in the next thirteenth cycle, Sumisi asked to see him.