Chapter 40 - Travel and Home

Grandma and I return to the Divine Spring. Pretty much everyone in the fort have heard of what's happened by now, though they all seem to afraid to actually try to stop me. I gently pick up the still unconscious Delpha. A quick inspection to make sure...

*Status: Unconscious (Normal) - Marked for Death (Grand)*

O-oh. Seems the Aurellium will be coming for her. I can guess why, as from their perspective, it must have looked like it was her fault what happened to their Tendon. "Ah, Monarch, if it's not too much of a bother..." Grandma gently touches my left front leg. "Please, take me with you too."

I suspect I know why. I look her over, just to confirm.

*Status: Marked for Death (Grand)*

Of course. "Fine. Besides, I'm sure you'd know how to best care for Delpha." I sigh, getting onto my stomach so that she can climb onto my back. I don't mind. The more Daggers they send to me, the fewer they'll be left with after all. With Grandma secured, and Delpha in my arms, I walk back out the way I came.

"Grandma! What's going on?!" The leader of the guards seems to have come to. "Don't worry! It's for the Oracles safety. I'm coming along, so you know she'll be safe!" Seems that had the intended effect, as the man just stands there, dejected.

"Actually, I have a message for the Church. The village of Vailpol has been without an Acolyte for nearly fifty years now. You might want to look into that." Shadow tells the man, I nearly forgot! Good save, there. He seems shocked. "That's- I'll make sure to include that in the report to the High Priest of the Harmekian Church!" He regains his composure and salutes as I take off into the air.

I use Guard Share on Grandma and Delpha to protect them against the cold, especially Delpha since she's only wearing those thin silk sheets.

*Estimated Travel Time: 2 Days 6 Hours*

Ah, yes. I'm much slower with my passengers, so this will take a bit. No matter. World Knowledge, tell my Servants to make another Hilly.

*Affirmative*

I'm just glad I've not gotten any negative Titles from this. I guess it's not kidnapping if it's with consent.

"Truly marvelous..." Grandma is admiring the view from atop my back, tightly clinging to my upper body. "I'm guessing air travel is rare for humanoids?" I ask her via Telepathy.

"I can assure you it is for the common folk. Though there are some nobles and such that pride themselves on their tame Wyverns that carry them to and fro." She tells me, her voice slightly hard to hear due to the wind.

As the sun sets, we land near a stream. I'm thirsty, and more importantly, hungry. By now, Delpha's awake, and almost squealing with delight at every new sight and sound. I wonder if she's ever seen much of the World outside that fort?

*The succession of Oracles is non-linear. The last Vision an Oracle has before their death is of the identity of their successor. Using the information from the Vision, the new-born Oracle is seized upon birth and raised by the Church. It is therefore highly probable that Delpha has never seen the outside of that fort.*

O-oh... Makes sense then, that she's so eager to get out of there. She looks around twenty, so she's probably dead tired of that place. I drink my fill, though I'm still hungry. I guess I could eat rocks or something. Of course, it's worse with Grandma and Delpha... I should see if I can't hunt something.

But before that I need to get them some protection. I remember when I traveled with Valena, we'd have a fire going all night to ward off monsters. Most monsters are smart enough to know that fire means hunters and stay away. I get some rocks out of my storage, as using river rocks is dangerous. (~They might explode when heated!~)

I then stack some stick and small logs, and using a puff of my breath, set it alight. "I'll go see if I can get something for you to eat. Please stay here and keep the fire lit." I tell them. Just before I leave, I remember that sleeping bag that was within the Hidden Space when I got it. I pull it out for Delpha to lie on. I then head off for real.

Now then... It's mostly crag and heather patches, nothing that can support big monsters. I stalk along regardless, always making sure to keep an eye on the campfire.

'Screeep~ Screep~'

Oh? A bird-like monster is limping away from me. It's roughly the size of an emu, and it seems distressed. I'm more impressed that it actually saw me. I follow it, before it suddenly regains use of its limping leg and takes off. Oh, I see! It circles around me, looping back to where we came from.

I turn around and go back, and the bird starts limping again, sounding its cries of fright. It seems determined to lead me away from a specific patch of heather, so I approach that. There, seven head-sized eggs, colored a lavender purple with flecks of magenta. One of these should be enough for them.

"And one for Us!"

... And one for us. I grab two eggs, one in each hand, and walk away. The parent bird shrieks and charges, but one glare from me makes it think better of it. Besides, who'd take care of the eggs if I killed them? It seems to understand this, and so quietly settles down onto its nest as I go back towards the campfire.

"That was fast." Grandma notes as she puts another piece of wood onto the fire. "I got lucky." I announce as I show off the eggs I've stolen. "Ho! Heater-Hen eggs! Now that's a treat, hand them here." She rubs her hands together before holding them out to accept the eggs. They look almost comically big in relation to her size.

Handing them over, I also bring out the lower half of the Alberger Tortoise shell. Its flat, and has holes where the legs would poke out, so it's not fit to hold water, but could be used as a frying pan of sorts. "You seem full of things, Monarch. Mind regaling me with the tale of how you acquired that Skill?" Delpha asks as I aid Grandma with setting up the shell.

"It's honestly kind of boring, and macabre..." I try to make it sound unappealing, after all, I just ate the rotten flesh of some random dead guy I found in the woods. "I don't mind! Tell me!" She insists, getting more comfortable in the sleeping-bag.

"Well, I told you how I was originally born as a Goblin, right?" She nods. "Well, on my first outing from the cave I was born in, my siblings and I stumbled upon a patch of Foolsbane Berries. Beneath one of those bushes, I found a human corpse." I explain, noting that Grandma seems to be listening intently too, despite seeming busy tending the Heater-Hen eggs.

"Had they eaten the berries? I've never seen them in real life, but they always seem to feature in mystery novels." Delpha asks, seems she's an avid reader? "Actually, no. Their head had been beaten in, then their body was left beneath the bush." A cry from Grandma. I look to see what's wrong, alarm on both Delpha and my faces.

"Ah, d-don't worry, I just slipped and burnt myself-" Grandma makes a fuss about being fine as she walks over to the river to soothe her burn. "I can heal that, if need be?" I offer. "No, no, I'll be fine. Just continue your story, dear." She insists. I sigh and continue.

"So, from how I understand Unique Skills to work, once the current holder dies, it takes nine months before a new holder is born. So since I found the body before then, I could use my Power Osmosis to acquire the Unique Skill that person had." I finish, wanting to leave it at that.

"How though? Don't you need to kill something to make it work? That's what you told me at least." Delpha asks. I hesitate, and Shadow takes the wheel. "I ate some of their flesh. I can steal the Unique Skills of someone even if I don't kill them personally." My sudden shift in tone and inflection causes both Delpha and Grandma to startle.

I wrestle control back from Shadow. "I mean-" I stutter. "No it's fine. I shouldn't have pried..." Delpha seems taken aback. Thanks, Shadow, for making them scared.

"Hey, it's not like them knowing makes a difference?"

I was talking about you butting into our conversation with your creepy mannerisms and scaring them that way. I notice that I'm scowling, and relax myself. "I- I'm sorry for that. Sometimes she butts in." I apologize to both of them. Grandma gives me a look.

"I- uh. It's honestly kind of a long story. Let's save it for later?" I'm honestly pretty overwhelmed at the moment, and would love to just- eat and then sleep. "Well, how about we instead enjoy the eggs before we go to sleep. Surely both of you are as tired as I am." Grandma gestures towards the now scrambled Heater-Hen eggs.

I eagerly accept the food. Moving the shell off the fire, I start tucking in. Of course, I leave half of it for Grandma and Delpha. They have to wait a bit before the food's cool enough to eat with their fingers.

Full and sleepy, I configure my Terrorizing Presence via Selective Presence to not effect Delpha or Grandma, then I leave it on as I sleep. I explain it to them though, in case they're worried.

The morning arrives a bit too early for my taste. The fire's died down during the night, but my Presence has kept us safe. I turn it off, yawning and stretching before gently looking over Grandma's hands as she's still in a deep sleep.

She's not hurt? Not even a blemish on her hands... I never looked at her name, did I? Of course, doing so would be rude-

"Her name's Samantha Hargenbough."

Oh. OH. No wonder she cried out! That man... probably was either a son or grandson... Fucking hell. I mean, at least she knows? But at the same time, she's allied herself with the one that fucking ate a piece of him?!

"Hey, it's not like you killed him. Just did a little eating, that's all. After all, if he had been fresher when you found him, you siblings-"

ENOUGH! I stamp my front paw into the dirt, causing a small tremor in the process. I manage to scare awake Delpha and Grandma too.

"Hey now, look alive, we've just hit our limit on Malice!"

I hack, and remove a Core from my throat. I quickly store the egg sized sphere, but they both saw, didn't they.

"Monarch! You're-!" Grandma moves in front of Delpha, intending to use her body as a shield if need be. I take a deep breath. "I'm fine. Don't worry, I've shed the Core, and once we get home to my Lair, Delpha will Purify it once she's ready to." I try to sound fine, but honestly, all of this is getting to me.

"You didn't come in contact with the Spring back there, did you?" Grandma looks at me with suspicious eyes. "No, Grandma, you've got it wrong." Delpha puts a hand on the shoulder of the old woman. "You see, the Monarch- she's actually a human, reborn. She has the emotions of a human!"

Realization dawns on Grandma. She relaxes. "I see. That explains a lot... I apologize, Monarch." Is that really the most acceptable explanation? I push the thought away. Grandma's no longer openly distrustful of me, so I'll take it.

"Let's get going." I tell them as I grab the shell and toss some dirt over the campfire to bury any embers. Delpha decides to stay in the sleeping bag, as even with my Guard Shared Cold Resistance, she's cold.

I catch myself going slightly too fast a little too often. I just want to be home! To relax and not be attacked by whatever decides it doesn't like my face that day. Maybe I'll even do some Dreaming! I bet I've got something for that final slot in my Lair's Boons.

The rest of the journey passes without much ado. Probably because of my outburst, the tone is silent, with minimal chatter among us. Finally, I arrive within range of my Lair, and am buffeted by an onslaught of messages, both from the Lair itself and my Servants.

Seems the researchers have left, there's lots of activity in the village, and my Lair's expanded a little. In addition, every single Servant is clamoring about my return, even the Dragonewt.

I set down in the grove, and spot two new hillies. One is slightly larger than the others though? I don't get time to ponder, as the entire tribe of Jotuns, Gygers and Huldr mob me.

"Master! Why you left! Who's this?" Huldr seems to be filled with righteous anger for a couple of moments before she spots Delpha and Grandma. "This is Delpha, and this is... I never got your name?" I turn to Grandma with an apologetic smile. "Samantha. Don't mind the family name on either of us." "And Samantha. They'll be living with us from now on."

Gasps of surprise runs through the group. "Why's she a grub?" One Gyger asks, gently prodding Delphas' sleeping bag. "Ah- no it's a sleeping bag. It's for keeping warm." I explain. They really are like children, huh.

Grandma slides off my back, stretching and massaging her lower back as she mumbles about the woes of being old. I set Delpha on the ground and undo her sleeping bag. I really need to get something for her to move about in, if I can't fix her legs with my Magic... If she'll allow me to try, that is.

Delphas' eyes are wide with wonder. "I've never even read of such monsters! Are these the ones you-?" I nod. "I guess they could be considered my children, though I didn't birth them directly." I admit. All the Servants blush red. D-did I say something embarrassing?

"Master! Even if true! Such honor!" The biggest Jotun seems on the verge of tears. Oh, I see. For me to consider them my children, it's a great thing for them, as I am the ruler of all monsters after all.

Of course, as only I understand their words, both Delpha and Samantha seem a bit confused. I should have Huldr teach the others some Common. Now then.

"Which of the hillies did you make on my request?" I ask Huldr. "Uh, smallest new one! Other one, for hatchlings!" Of course. I nod, and pick up Delpha, having Samantha follow me over to their hilly. "This will be your home. If it's too small, of if you need anything extra, let me know, and I'll fix it for you." I inform as I switch to human form to fit inside the door.

Samantha's too weak to carry Delpha around, and a wheel-chair wouldn't do well on the forest floor... I set Delpha down on the fur covered wooden bed, one of two within the hilly. "Delpha, I know you said not yet when I offered to heal you, but if I could grant you even some of your mobility back..."

She considers for a moment before nodding. "I used to be able to walk, but my legs started to weaken when I was around ten. Before I knew it, they were useless. Can you fix what no Cleric or Healer have been able to?"

Muscular atrophy of the legs... I nod. "They might grow weak again, but hopefully I'll be able to restore them at least for a while." She nods at this. I cast Miracure upon her. Her entire body glows, becoming a blinding white due to her already paper white skin, before fading.

"Try moving your legs." I instruct. She seems fatigued, I guess healing that much damage drains the person's energy as well as the casters. But she stares intently on her legs. A spasm, a twitch, and a kick, right to my shin. I hardly feel the impact though.

"They work!" She exclaims. "Now, don't go running off yet. You need to retrain your balance before you're up and about on your own." I try to moderate her excitement. "Say Monarch, that was Miracure, wasn't it?" Samantha asks me. "Yes. Explaining how I got it would divulge a bit more than I'm comfortable with though." I tell her.

Samantha shrugs. "I don't mind. I was just wondering." She leaves it at that. She tests out the bed, murmuring in discomfort. "It's not to your liking?" "Too shallow, too hard. I'll ruin my back on this thing." She squints at the bed in poorly veiled disgust.

"Give me a day, and I'll see if I can make something better." I tell her. I already have ideas, I just need time to put the prototype together. "I'm sure this has all been interesting for you two, but I really need some 'me' time now. If there's anything at all, call upon Huldr, she's the Beastfolk-like woman with cat ears and a cows' tail, she'll sort you out."

They nod. I want to be with them more, but at the moment I really need to unwind on my own. My stress is high, and I can feel that familiar emotional tremble in my mind when I'm on the verge of a meltdown.

I decide a soak in the river would be just the thing.