NOVEL WEB Chapter 056: Confrontation
“Took you long enough” a hoarse, salty voice called out to me as soon as I enter the cluttered dwelling. I looked to the source – a familiar elderly woman lies there in a corner, wrapped in furs. Her face is twisted in an unpleasant grimace of annoyance, impatience and… pain. I want to respond to her harsh words, but I notice just how weakened she is; her Aura – while still noticeable – is clearly subdued and feels irregular and unstable.
“Yes, yes, I got what I deserve” it seems that me just staring at her aggravated Baba Yaga’s irritation. “But you can’t deny that” she cuts herself off and starts sniffing; then her face becomes even more wry. “You are late because you’ve had sex.”
“Yes” I say, proudly pushing my chest forward and trying to be as smug as possible. “You jealous?”
“No. Just disappointed” I’m flabbergasted by her reaction; aren’t Beastkin all horny? Everyone I’ve met so far was… Suddenly, I feel a slight mental probing; too shallow to trigger my retaliation, but enough to bring me back to reality. “You drunk the Potion of Clarity… just to fuck?” The horned woman sounds incredulous.
“Not just to fuck; to know when you are trying to mess with my head again” the old hag rolls her eyes – and only the influence of the tincture prevents me from losing my temper here; still, she somehow manages to get under my skin despite it. “There were also other benefits: I was able to stop my period, heal my scars and even got to learn something about myself! Heck – I even improved my erotic techniques to the pleasure of Volnika!” I declare, proudly.
“Huh. You must be decently big there if you were able to satisfy her with no skills nor passion” Baba Yaga says matter-of-factly and it feels as if she slapped me in my face; she doesn’t give me time to react, though. “But more importantly – how did you stopped your bleeding?”
“I…” I looked at my arm, where my scars were and took a deep breath; I need to stay calm, despite old crone’s uncanny ability to get under my skin. And I have to be prepared for derision now – I was reckless as fuck after all. “I have to confess that what I did s incredibly stupid and Volnika has already scolded me for that.”
“Of course” the Wylderkin nods. “So let me guess: you used your Flames to burn away the impurities in your womb, which would easily render you unable to conceive a child if done improperly” my answer is an ashamed silence; the elderly woman sighs deeply. “At least you had enough sense in you to not try to heal what those two idiots did to your head, so there is still some hope for you” I cringe a little; it’s hard to admit to myself that the concussion they gave me had a negative impact on my thinking, but after drinking the Potion of Clarity I cannot deny it. “However, that’s not why I send for you.”
“I’m all ears” I say while crossing my arms.
“Good” Baba Yaga nods. “Leave us alone, Bulra.”
“Wha…?! But…!” Timid looking Smoothkin Beavergirl – who I’ve been ignoring up till this point – tries to protest weakly, but the Witch shoos her away and she reluctantly gives up. She throws an interested, longing glance at me before leaving – with a flush and in a hurry when she notices I am aware of her gaze.
“Come closer” the Witch tells me and I frown.
“Why?” I stay rooted in place. “How can I know you aren’t planning anything fishy?” She rolls her eyes. “You’ve sent off your… student, after all – so don’t act surprised that I’m suspicious of you, especially since I can clearly see you are preparing to use some magic” the old woman groans. “And” I point at her accusingly. “I demand an apology for what you did at the gathering!”
“And here I wanted to provide us with a bit of privacy… but fine, have it your way I guess” she sighs and takes a deep breath stopping her magic while I frown – and I frown deeply; I can barely contain my temper – if not for the potion I would have been already shouting at her audacity. “What I did to you at the Grand Council was rude and unpleasant – and I’m sorry for that… but you cannot deny how persuasive your reaction was at the same!”
“What?!” I am flabbergasted. “You… You…” I struggle to find the correct words in anger, but… the state of Clarity I’m in makes it difficult to stay mad at Baba Yaga. Turns out it has much more drawbacks than benefits – and I’m supposed to feel really shitty tomorrow to top it off! “You have no idea just how badly your whispers hit straight into my insecurities, my worries and my self-doubts; the ANGUISH you caused me cannot be erased with a simple ‘sorry’, and yet… and yet… and yet you dare to brush over it!” I clang to the spark of FURY within me and finish panting, feeling somehow refreshed. The Witch watches me with quiet interest.
“You know, Lass” she says after a while. “When I first saw you I thought the boy’s old age has finally started catching up to him” it takes me a moment to figure out that by ‘boy’ she meant Chieftain Yuras. “I could not feel your Aura at all, something only true masters would be able to do, so I assumed you’re just really weak, at least in this aspect – and I wanted to show that to everyone” she narrows her eyes and I realize she’s looking directly at my choker. “Too late did I notice that thing on your neck and realize who gave it to you – and that that jerk was the one to create you” the amount of spite in her voice when talking about the Alchemist catches me off-guard.
“What happened between you two?” I interrupt, curious; then another memory resurfaces, clear as day. “I was asked to deliver greetings from my Maker to you by the way… how did the two of you even meet? And what happened?”
“I don’t want to talk about the Eldritch Flesh-Maker right now” she shuts it down immediately. “That’s unimportant; what is important is that my actions backfired in more than one way and the Tribe decided to undertake this stupid folly!”
“You mean the hunt?” I say in disbelief; then some gears start turning in my head. “You mentioned you wanted to expose my weakness… you are against the decision to kill the Dragon!” I shout in realization “But… why?”
“Because it’s dumb, risky and unnecessary!” Baba Yaga spites out. “Fighting the Ice Dragon, especially at its nest, is like fighting an avalanche and a snowstorm at the same time! Too many more would die!” I am taken aback by the passion and sorrow in her voice. It’s clear it wasn’t an easy decision for her and I can see how she cares about her people, which makes some of my anger at her slowly turn into a begrudging respect; if only I wasn’t on the receiving end of her plot… “I have nearly convinced the Elders and the rest of the Tribe to move on and move away, to The Valley of the wild Beasts – the Tyrant being a fly in comparison to the Ice Dragon – but” she deflates, looking defeated. “Then those fanatics and you appeared” she glances at me; there’s a complicated mix of feelings on her face: annoyance, loss, regret and… sympathy. “And when I made you release the full power of your Aura… everyone started believing we can win, avenge those we lost and bring glory to the Tribe. They even made up a prophecy about you for that!” She scoffs. “But… that’s not why I wanted to talk to you” Baba Yaga straightens and gets more serious. “Why are you helping us, Kora of the Wilds? Why risk your life for strangers?”
“I…” Her question – while not exactly catching me off guard – is still a tough one. Why indeed? But I think I have a good answer, so I steel my resolve. “I want to do this for my friends… and my loved ones!” My mind brings in many memories I’ve made: the fateful meeting with Nugund, Olka and Pola and our talks by the bonfire, my first time with her in the lake and my first time with him in the hot spring, our journey together, me and Olka bonding over our shared disbelief in superstition… the feeble yet present heat of my child growing inside my Moonberry.
Suddenly, a visage of every woman I’ve had sex with or bonded in other way in this world appears. From Baba Tika, Olka’s kind mentor who helped me in more ways than one; through the Vodyakin women – experienced Schleh’Visaa, enthusiastic Vlass’Shomolee and flexible Rhress’Ozghasaa; to Pola’s brother, Miro, whose explanation of magic went way over my head but whose enthusiasm is contagious. And there are many, many more people who I met and who I want to meet and get to know in the future; frankly, I want to get to know those I already consider my friends and lovers better – especially since a number of them is carrying my children. And I want them to have a safe future, where I can raise them peacefully.
“Ho; I see you have a wide heart and it’s easy for you to make friends” I stare at Baba Yaga incredulously and she giggles. “You were thinking out loud, Lass” I can feel the blood rapidly spreading on my face, which solicits open laughter from the elderly Wylderkin; it’s… shockingly youthful to the ear.
“I see you have thought that through and you are even thinking about the future” the Witch says after the moment of jolly passes. “There is but one issue you are not taking into account” the mood gets way more serious – I can feel the tension in the air growing as she is about to ask what I feel is the most important question today. “What makes you so sure you are going to survive the fight with the Ice Dragon?”
And to that, my mind truly draws blank.
