The Wanderer's Rebirth: Other Paths

*That night*

She watched as the other slaves milled about after the strange human had told them to choose their rooms, obviously uncertain about their situation. She, and the other two so-called demons, didn’t have to worry about that particular dilemma, as her new master had set aside a room just for them.

The villagers of Kirkwall had been… shockingly nice. There were yet a few of them around, helping the young girls to settle in. She wondered if this was some sort of ploy to get them to drop their guards towards their new master, and those who lived in his village.

Though, she had to wonder about her first assumption about her master’s status. At first, she’d thought that he was the City Lord here, given the amount of wealth that he’d casually brought out to purchase the lot of them. He’d certainly proved his might after having [Summon]ed those… things to pull their wagons.

Then the astonishing display he’d put on to first clothe them, then to provide them beds.

She was almost certain that he’d done so to, one, shock and awe them all, which had certainly worked. And two, to ingratiate them all to him. Which, again, had certainly worked. She was no prude, one to worry about how she was attired at all times. But she had certainly not felt comfortable in the rags she’d been given. They’d only been sufficient to cover up her sensitive parts, leaving almost every other part of her exposed so show off how “healthy” she was.

The third thing, which was the most astonishing for her, not to mention Fyrellia and Arise, had been his repeated use of [Cure: Panacea], a [Legendary] Skill that few people could ever get. Between using that Skill so many times, then creating so many things, she was certain that he was a legendary existence hiding out in a backwater village. Yet.

Yet, the villagers didn’t seem to treat him as their leader. Instead, a woman named Celys seemed to be the leader, which, given her relatively low level, had more than surprised Qyress when she’d [Identify]’d her. In fact, all three of them, her, Fyrellia, and Arise, all had the [Identify] Skill, and they’d all been using it quite liberally. So much so, that they’d all levelled the Skill once!

Shaking her head, she watched as the few villagers still in the mansion herded the other slaves into the three rooms set aside for them all. The “herd”-type animal-kin all went into one room, while the “pack”-types went into another. The humans all got their own room, which she thought was wise, given that humans were the ones to have enslaved them all in the first place. Who knew if one of the slaves might take out their frustrations on one of them?

Arise motioned to her and Fyrellia to follow her, so she followed the dark elf into their new room. It was more spacious than any that she’d ever lived in before, with a high ceiling that subconsciously made her relax a bit. She looked at the three beds they’d been provided, slightly different than the ones given to the other slaves. Sure, she understood that bunkbeds were the efficient thing to make, but that they’d been provided normal beds really made her wonder.

Between the beds and the use of [Cure: Panacea], she very much feared that her new master would be using them as the slaver had labelled them. Pleasure slaves.

“So, what do you think?” Arise asked as she sat on the edge of her bed, her toes not quite reaching the floor.

“I think that he’s pretty hot,” Fyrellia said with a wicked grin that told Qyress everything she needed to know about what she thought of their new master.

“He’s likely panning on using us for pleasure,” Qyress said blandly to hide how she felt about her conclusion.

“That would certainly appear to be the case,” Arise said musingly as she tilted her head to the side as she thought, causing her silvery hair to fall to the left side of her head. “With those two foxes at his side, he surely has been going at it,” she finished, wiggling her eyebrows at them.

Fyrellia smiled at that, her nature as a succubus likely playing a role in how she felt about everything. But with how well she knew the succubus, Qyress suspected that she was just putting on a “brave” face, as it were.

“Speaking of foxes,” she said, recalling the unusual display throughout the day. “What’s up with all of them? Have any of you ever seen so many gathered in one place?”

Fyrellia shook her head, causing her glossy red hair to sway to and fro while Arise shrugged.

“Not just normal foxes, but Spirit Foxes too,” Arise said, looking a bit mystified. “Did any of you notice how they mostly hung around our new master?”

“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Fyrellia asked, her interest finally piqued.

“Back home, Spirit Foxes are considered Sacred Beasts,” Arise said, once more shaking her head. “That so many would willingly associate with our new master, should probably tell us something.”

“Those two foxes that were practically glued to him today could probably tell us something too,” she said, recalling that they were only two of the three foxkin that she’d seen with more than one tail.

“I’m not very familiar with Spirit Foxes, but could those two be [Polymorph]’d Spirit Foxes?” Fyrellia asked, now much more curious than she’d been up to that point.

“With that white haired one, that could very well be the case,” Arise said, nodding. “All nine-tailed Spirit Foxes are incredibly powerful beings, worthy of the respect and worship they receive. As for the others, probably not. I’ve only ever heard stories of nine-tailed Spirit Foxes being able to [Polymorph] into other races.”

“So, with how likely it is that our master is banging the two foxkin, what does that tell us about him?” Fyrellia asked, not quite hiding how distasteful she found that thought.

“That he’s either a villain who’s managed to enslave a nine-tailed Spirit Fox, or that he’s practically a [Saint] that attracted her to him,” Arise said dryly as a wry smile curved her lips. “Either way, we should investigate.”

“Tonight,” she said, certain that their master’s sexual drive would be at its peak after having been around so many scantily-clad girls for the better part of the day.

“Tonight,” Arise agreed, then began planning with them on how to best investigate their new master.

- - -

Qyress did the best she could to walk silently. It was particularly difficult to do so, however, due to the hardwood that they walked on as well as due to her slightly clawed toes. She hadn’t been able to keep her toe claws properly trimmed during her captivity, mostly because they weren’t allowed anything sharp.

But, with the [Invisibility] spell Fyrellia had cast on them, they were at least out of sight. With the [Shroud] that Arise had used on them, they were even able to avoid detection from the many foxes still wandering about so late into the evening.

They’d already seen their master retire to his room, followed by the two foxkin. Now, they just needed to sneak a bit closer to the room so that they could spy on them.

She was still a bit dubious as to how well that would work given their master’s obvious magical prowess. Sure, his Status only came up as him being a level 17 [Crafter], but that was obviously faked with a Skill. There was no way that he was either level 17 or just a [Crafter]. Which was why they were expecting [Ward]s to be in place. Especially given the number of new slaves he’d just purchased.

Yes, their slave marks would punish them for trying to harm their master, but they wouldn’t stop the attempt. And if you were clever enough, and suicidal enough, you could manage to kill your master before you died. And with three “demons” included in the lot, she was sure that he would have set up protections against such an eventuality.

After they’d waited for almost an hour, Arise motioned them forward, seeming to only be a light outline of her normal self. [Invisibility] would be a rather useless spell if party members couldn’t see each other, after all.

Once at the door, Arise pressed an ear to it to listen once again. After a few minutes, she leaned back and nodded to them before Fyrellia nodded and cast [Detect Magic] to search for any wards that might be in place.

After a minute or so, Fyrellia shook her head in disbelief as she motioned for Arise to open the door. While Fyrellia had been looking for magic, Arise had searched the door for any hidden traps, so was thus ready when Fyrellia gave the all-clear. As slow as could be, Arise turned the door handle until it stopped, then slowly pushed the door open enough for them to slip inside.

Once inside, and the door closed behind them, they focussed on the huge bed on the other side of the room. A room that was surprisingly smaller than the one they’d been given. On said bed laid their master along with the two foxkin.

Qyress had been a bit hesitant to intrude into a potentially lewd situation, but had resolved herself to such a thing so that she- they- could know who had bought them.

But her expectations of sweaty bodies intertwined in compromising positions was mostly thrown out the window by what she saw.

Yes, the three of them were in bed together, but they weren’t naked. Nor were they sweaty, which shouldn’t have come as a surprise given how he’d used [Cleanse] earlier that day.

In fact, the white-haired foxkin was just laying on his chest, content as could be. The purple haired one with red highlights was snuggled up to his side with her back to them, sleeping soundly. For his part, their master’s arms weren’t even holding them, just extended outwards to either side of him, his left arm being used as a pillow by the three-tailed foxkin at his side.

She turned to look at Arise and Fyrellia and noticed that they were already looking at her. Even with the lack of details that [Invisibility] created in their features, she could tell that they were as shocked as she was.

Qyress signed if they should approach to investigate, getting nods of consent in return. So, they approached the bed as slowly as possible to prevent any sounds from escaping Arise’s [Shroud]. Once there, she inspected the scene more carefully, looking for tangled hair or dishevelled clothing; anything that might point at them having been “active”.

Beyond the slightly twisted night clothing you’d see when someone shifted in their sleep, she couldn’t find anything. Their hair seemed to be freshly brushed, cascading artfully around them. Even their tails seemed to shine in the little moonlight that entered through the large windows along the far wall.

Not sure why she did it, Qyress gave an experimental sniff. Instead of smelling bodily fluid, a pleasant floral scent of some kind entered her nose, both relaxing her and inexplicably causing her heartrate to increase. Embarrassed, she leaned back again and looked at her cohorts, wondering what they thought of it all.

They just shook their heads at each other, at a loss. They’d all expected a much different scene than the one that was now in front of them.

Then a thought occurred to her, one that would explain everything. She signed to her cohorts, who then nodded. Arise shifted forward slightly, then reached out a finger to lightly poke the three-tailed foxkin.

They watched as her finger dimpled her pants, not causing any reaction in the foxkin. Frowning slightly, Arise shifted her finger and poked the foxkin in the side this time, just above the hip. That cause a slight reaction, but one that could be explained by a particularly elaborate [Illusion]. Thus emboldened, Arise poked a bit more, this time going a bit higher.

The slight moan that escaped the woman’s lips nearly caused Qyress to jump, then quickly brought a blush to her cheeks. Arise looked at them and shrugged, telling them that she was sure that the trio on the bed weren’t illusions.

Signing to one another, they decided to retreat to beside the door and wait. It was possible that the deed hadn’t been done yet. So, they settled in to wait.

* * *

‘Master, you have guests.’

Joram came out of his meditations, though he didn’t move. Instead, he used [Sight Link] with Geeves and had a look around.

Well, he couldn’t see much, but he did discern a faint ripple near his bed.

Invisibility? He wondered, now a bit worried. So, the used [Touchsight], suppressing the “display” that normally accompanied the use of Powers, and augmented it as much as possible.

Really, augmenting it so much just gave him distance, but if invisible foes were about, he might need it considering that he usually fought at range with his mindbolt.

Then he just about sighed. He wasn’t sure if it was in relief, exasperation, or something else.

The three “demons” were currently signing to one another in a hand code that he didn’t recognize. He idly wondered if they’d been part of a military unit or something, given how they carried themselves and used hand code like that.

Then the “dark elf”, who looked more like a caramel-coloured elf than anything, stepped forward. He readied a [Decerebrate] just in case, but almost laughed when she just poked Myra in the butt. After glancing at one another again, she proceeded to poke Myra some more, going further up her side until Myra finally moaned in a way that made him activate [Clear Mind] to avoid any unnecessary reactions from himself.

After that, the trio retreated to near the door and settled in.

Just what are they up to? He wondered, but didn’t bother asking. If they weren’t there to cause harm, then the likelihood of them being there to investigate their new “owner” was the most likely explanation.

Thinking about it, having purchased so many girls and young women, he supposed that their reaction was normal, if a bit over-the-top. Or, in this case, on the downlow. Whatever.

Given that Myra and Asami had come into their bedroom, he could see where someone would assume that they were… intimate with one another. Aaaand he couldn’t really argue that point too much seeing as how they all shared the same bed. If that wasn’t intimate, then what was?

Well, it certainly wasn’t sexual… on his end of things, anyways. He was reasonably sure that Asami wanted to “mate” with him. As for Myra, he wasn’t sure if she’d realized what her wanting to sleep in the same bed with him truly meant; regarding her feelings for him, anyways. Anyone else would probably assume that she wanted to have sex with him, and they’d likely be right. It was just that she, herself, hadn’t quite consciously realized it yet.

Which was why he was especially careful at night. But with that dark elf’s poking, he very much hoped that she didn’t think that it had been him. In fact, he fervently hoped that it hadn’t registered to her at all, and that she wouldn’t remember it happening.

Suppressing a head shake, he went back to mediating, knowing that Geeves would alert him if anything happened.

- - -

When he came out of his meditations, he reactivated [Touchsight] and nearly laughed. The trio of “demons” were still there, but asleep as they leaned on both the wall and each other.

Going through his usual escape artist routine, wondering if he’d eventually get a Skill for it, he moved as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake anyone just yet. He changed in silence, donning a simple shirt and pants combo, then slipped on some socks.

With that done, he made his way over to the sleeping women by the door, manifested [Ectoplasmic Creation], and carefully draped the new blanket over them before slipping out of the room.

It was still dark outside, well before dawn. As he walked down the hallway, he made himself a pair of sneakers, then slipped them on before heading outside.

Celys had left the tables and cookpots there, likely expecting to use them again today. Which was fair given that he hadn’t quite been set up for all of this beforehand. Purchasing so many slaves had been somewhat… impulsive on his part.

Shaking his head, he went over [True Creation] once more and decided that it was time to give it a shot. He’d already [Delve]d everything that he owned, including his cookware which included things like a cast iron frying pan, as well as a stainless-steel pot. Using the templates for the metal in them, he manifested [True Creation].

Instead of reproducing the pan and pot, he created huge blocks of metal. The first was the iron used in making cast iron pots and pans, which felt less draining than he’d anticipated. Given that he had [Psychic Bastion], the ability depletion that normally came with manifesting [True Creation] didn’t happen. Well, it could also have meant that what he’d made came in under the wire, as it were.

If he created something below a certain monetary threshold, then the ability depletion wouldn’t trigger. Still, it was much easier to do than he’d anticipated, making him wonder if his [Creationist] Title was pulling most of the weight, let alone his Class.

Shrugging, he then created a massive block of stainless steel. The last block he made was a bit smaller, consisting of the copper alloy used to line the bottom of most stainless steel pots and pans you could by now-a-days…. On Earth, that is.

Shaking his head, he then used [Modify Matter] to quickly make the veritable cauldrons that he would need so that he could make enough food for the girls over the next week or two before he got to making the rings of sustenance- and them activating- that he wanted to give them all.

With the massive pots made, he looked at the cast iron and frowned. Perhaps traditional pans weren’t what he would need here. Well, there was no “perhaps”. He’d need much larger surfaces with which to work on.

Thinking about it for a moment, he decided to just make large griddles. Specifically, the kind you’d find in a restaurant. Thinking about it more, he started planning things out more and more until he was satisfied with his plans.

Smiling, he got to work.