The Wanderer's Rebirth: Other Paths

Once outside, Joram quickly retrieved then finished the ring for Nalun, only adding the man’s name and leaving off the extra one he’d added to the girls’ rings.

Then another thought occurred to him, and he quickly ran off to level out a space near his front gate for the caravan to stop at. He didn’t want them any closer to his house than he strictly needed them to be. Especially the slaver.

It didn’t take him long at all, especially with how much he could manipulate with [Terrakinesis] now that he had his class. Thinking of how many people would be there, he also added a latrine section, though he made a dozen outhouses to cap the holes. Once done, he made his way back to the mess hall and passed off the ring to Celys who just stared at him with slightly unfocussed eyes. He didn’t know what those eyes meant, but they made him feel a bit embarrassed, so he quickly made another excuse and took off.

Once outside, he decided to put a few finishing touches on the communal bath, one of which was adding the actual water to the place. Another was to add a water collection system to the building. Really, it was just a series of pipes added to the eaves of the roof that led to an underground cistern. To avoid overflow, he added a couple of valves attached to a basic pressure gauge.

Once that was done, and after he’d added some soaps, shampoo, and conditioner, he looked around a bit and wondered if he’d have enough room to add a separate dormitory on this side of the house. Then he looked over at the sequoia that stood between the mess hall and the bathhouse, and the space he’d left between it and the buildings. Decided, he got to work.

By the time people started wandering out of the mess hall, he’d already managed to remove the sequoia, turn it into lumber, burn the extra leaves, bark, and smaller branches into ash- which then got added to the bin- and had started making the foundation of the new building.

He was very happy that his [Telekinesis] had gotten strong enough to lift several tonnes now, making it easier, and quieter, to take down and move large sections of the sequoias. It also helped with moving the stone blocks into place as he worked. Well, that and [Terrakinesis], for he used both at the same time when it came to making the foundation.

He once more ignored the growing audience as he worked. For this building, an apartment building, really, he laid the groundwork to attach it to the mess hall and the bathhouse. He also prepared the south section of the apartment building so that it could easily be renovated to accommodate an expansion in the future, just in case.

He also made it so that he could easily extend the apartment building vertically, though getting the elevators installed and working would be a bit of a pain. As it was, he made each of the rooms into a decent one-bedroom unit. Each also had its own water closet, or toilet, as well as a living room. He didn’t want to repeat facilities that already existed, so he didn’t bother with a kitchen or a full bathroom- just a toilet and a sink. Which would be enough of a pain to deal with, but there it was.

That said, he managed to fit a small sitting area on each floor so that they could gather and chat in a common area if they wanted to. He also managed to get sixteen units per floor, so he stopped at four floors for now. Looking at the work ahead of him, it would likely take him another day to finish it all, but that was fine. He at least had the frame and floors done.

He turned and looked at the gathering behind him and smiled a bit.

“Sorry, the new rooms will take a bit to finish, so everyone will have to sleep in the main house again tonight,” he said apologetically. “That said, I’d also be more comfortable if everyone stayed inside tonight, as the caravan will start camping here over night until they leave,” he explained, getting a few quizzical looks in return.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Shae’ra said, shaking her head while she smiled at him.

“OK, then,” he said as he looked around at the much happier faces of the girls, happy that he’d at least improved their collective mood with a few good meals. “I should go,” he said awkwardly a moment later, then kind of shuffled off, heading towards the front gate.

It was now early evening, so he expected that the caravan would arrive on the sooner side of things. He didn’t want them wandering about, so being there for when they arrived would hopefully prevent that.

About ten minutes later, Celys, the guys, and the rest of the women of Kirkwall came into view on their way back home.

“Heading back, then?” he asked, already knowing the answer but also wanting to at least be polite to the women who’d gone through so much trouble to help out a bunch of strangers.

“That we are,” Celys said as she stopped beside him to talk.

“Oh, take this,” he said, retrieving a Grade B Core from his “pocket” and handing it to her. “For the food and their time,” he explained as her eyes widened when she identified the small crystal.

“Are you sure? We all came to help out the younglings, not to get paid,” she said, looking more than a little bit uncomfortable at being paid like that.

“Or use it to help out around Kirkwall, whatever you choose,” he replied with a shrug. “Either way, it doesn’t cover my gratitude for all your help these past two days, but it’s something,” he said, giving her a warm smile.

Celys nodded, probably realizing that she wouldn’t out-stubborn the man who’d out-stubborned her daughter.

After a few more words, they all left with waves, thanks for the amazing food, and promises to return to check up on the girls. He didn’t doubt that the last part was mostly due to the girls, but also suspected that the food also played a part in their decision.

Then he waited.

Soon, Asami came and found him, along with more of the ever-present foxes, including Harumi.

“That was good,” she said, happily patting her remarkably flat belly given just how much he’d seen her pack in.

“I’m glad,” he said, then decided to ask. “Could you and Myra help me a bit tomorrow?”

“What with?” Asami asked, looking a bit suspicious.

Wondering where that came from, he explained how he thought it would be a good idea to get the girls ID Cards and bank accounts. Asami gave him a look that he couldn’t interpret, but agreed to help out with that, saying that Myra would more than likely also agree.

Nodding, he made himself a padded bench to sit on with [Ectoplasmic Creation] and sat down with Asami at his side to wait as the foxes settled in all around them.

It felt like an hour passed by the time the first wagon came into view, its lantern lighting the way. It took them another five minutes before they got to the open gates. When they started coming through, the foxes all took off, so he got up with Asami and dismissed the bench before heading over to them.

The explanation was brief as he showed them where they could set up, also pointing out the outhouses. He finished with a stern warning.

“Be sure to keep everyone in camp. I won’t be too happy with anyone found wandering about,” he said, giving the representatives of the caravan a stern look that seemed to sink in reasonably well. “That said, feel free to close the gate when everyone’ settled in.”

With that said, and after having received many assurances that they’d stay in camp and the pay for the night, he made his way back to his house. Then before going in, he manifested [Astral Construct] several times, creating his Tentacle Model, though with [Natural Invisibility] added into the mix, designating each one as an [Astral Ally] so that they wouldn’t take up a portion of his power pool.

Asami nodded as he worked, seemingly happy with the precaution.

Then he went inside as he instructed the Tentacle Models to patrol around the perimeter of the caravan’s campsite. Primarily because he didn’t want anyone to wander about, but also because he wanted to make sure nothing would attack them.

Then he was in his room, changed, laying on his bed, and finally able to relax. Asami took up her traditional spot on his chest, snuggling close. Myra arrived about an hour later, changed, and slipped into bed as well, also snuggling close, tipping him over the point where he finally needed to use [Clear Mind].

After a bit of talk, revolving around the girls, Myra finally fell asleep, leaving him to his thoughts.

‘We’ll have to keep an eye on the girls for the first while,’ Avi said from his other side, dressed in a nighty that was entirely too skimpy, nearly giving him a nosebleed even though he was still using [Clear Mind].

*Ding*

He ignored the notification, just as he’d ignored the others that had come throughout the day.

‘Yeah, that we will,’ he sent back, thinking. ‘I’ll also assign Geeves to coordinate the constructs and make sure they’re all on the up and up.’

‘Good idea,’ Avi said, “snuggling” up on his right side. ‘This isn’t as pleasurable as those two make it seem,’ she grumbled, startling him more than a little.

‘Sorry,’ he replied automatically, working his hardest to keep [Clear Mind] up and running.

‘You’ll just have to make me a body to use, then,’ she said casually, finally shattering his [Clear Mind].

His body reacted immediately, making him worry that Asami would wake up from being poked in the stomach. He very quickly pulled up [Clear Mind] as he also worked hard at manually regulating his physiological reaction to Avi’s words. It took him a hot minute, but he finally managed to calm things down enough to reply to Avi’s… taunt?

‘Where’d that come from?’ he asked as calmly as he could manage.

‘It just seems like having a body would be incredibly useful,’ she replied casually as she looked up at him with her large green eyes.

‘I see,’ he said neutrally, fervently hoping that Asami and Myra hadn’t somehow influenced how Avi viewed the world.

Fortunately for his sanity, Avi left it at that and just laid there, seemingly going to sleep. It took him another few minutes to sort through his thoughts before he was able to get back to planning things out.

Then he quickly got to work. Another Ring of Sustenance was made, this time for himself. He wasn’t sure how to go about assimilating enchanted items like Altaea could, but he was sure that he’d learn eventually.

‘Use the [Assimilate] function,’ Avi said from his side, startling him even though he should have known that she didn’t sleep.

‘Thanks,’ he sent back, then retreated into his headspace to get that done.

Sure enough, there was an icon on his “laptop” marked [Assimilation Protocol]. Shaking his head, because he was fairly certain that it hadn’t been there the last time he’d looked, the activated it and saw that there was a list of things that he could assimilate.

The Ring of Sustenance wasn’t a surprise, but the two rings he’d gotten from the dungeon were. So, he just went for it and clicked on all three rings before clicking [OK]. Aside from feeling the rings suddenly vanish from his fingers and hand, he didn’t feel any different than before, so he mentally shrugged and went back to planning the apartment building.

After that, he entered meditation to renew himself. When he came out of his meditation, he once more found the trio of demons sleeping by the door and nearly sighed. A quick [Ectoplasmic Creation] made a king-sized bed with sheets and blankets, while some very delicate threads of [Telekinesis] slowly lifted them into the new bed then covered them up.

With that done, he decided to try making a ring with [Touchsight] in it. Mostly due to having the three women remind him that [Invisibility] was a thing for people here, and not just his constructs.

So, he retrieved another of the pre-made rings and enchanted it with an augmented [Touchsight] that would give him a good 68m radius of telekinetic sight. Effectively making [Invisibility] useless around him. Then he assimilated it the ring and took a moment to get used to the odd sensation.

Then he did his morning escape artist routine, got changed, and then headed off to work.

* * *

Asami woke up with a grin.

If it meant that things might progress, she might just have to find a way to help Avi get a body if Joram’s reaction last night had been any indication that Joram wasn’t as immune to women as he came off as. She touched her stomach and smiled again before getting up.

She quickly washed the night sweat away in the bathroom before changing into her clothes for the day.

Asami looked at the sleeping trio and nearly snorted as she watched the succubus nibble on the dark elf’s ear again in her sleep, her arms wrapped around the much smaller woman. At least the erynese seemed a bit more normal as she slept on her side, spooning the dark elf on her other side.

Shaking her head, she made her way outside to start organizing the skulks for the day. And to listen to their reports. She still didn’t trust humans farther then she could throw a wagon, so having her skulk spy on them was a given. Especially since they were much closer now.

Fortunately for the caravanners, they’d stayed in their camp the entire night, only leaving just before dawn to get back to their selling area on the east side of Kirkwall. She was sure that Joram’s astral constructs would keep everyone out of “trouble”, but it was always good to have a backup plan.

With that done, she made her way over to where Joram was working. It was just so… satisfying to watch him work. So, she settled onto the forest floor and watched him work.

* * *

Ilyenna woke up happier than she had the day before, which meant that she was actually smiling today. The smile only grew when she recalled the amazing food and treats from the night before. Then she remembered the ring when she felt the hard band on her finger as she rubbed her face.

She wondered if Joram understood what placing a ring on a girl’s hand meant. They’d all talked about it last night before going to bed. They’d all, and she meant all of them, gathered in the human girls’ room to talk about it.

“Are you sure?” Kuro had asked, looking doubtful.

“Why else would he give everyone a ring?” Gwenyna asked, looking offended that anyone would question her conclusions.

“He didn’t look like he was looking at us that way,” Norilea said, shaking her head. “I saw him give some rings to the Chief as well as those guys that came in before we ate.”

“Seeing as how he doesn’t smell like mating, I’m not sure he’s aiming to get a few dozen wives,” Alexandra, a wolfkin, said as she shook her head.

That seemed to both overwhelm a few of their minds while also relaxing others.

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind,” Charlotte- or was it Collette?- said quietly as she cupped her hands in front of her amazingly huge chest.

Everyone gawked at her as her twin nodded along, getting yet more stares.

“I mean, he can cook, use incredible magic, and he seems to genuinely care about us,” Aural said, looking around at everyone as she spoke.

“Well, I’ll be checking in on him and the other two tonight, just to be sure,” Arise, the dark elf, said, startling everyone there.

Ilyenna wasn’t the only one who’d been scared with stories of demons growing up, mostly to make sure that they were “good little girls”. Even then, she’d come to… like the three demons. They weren’t anywhere near as scary as people made them out to be. Not only that, but she’d even received more than a few bits of food from the grumpy-looking dark elf over the past few weeks of travel to Kirkwall.

She knew that Arise wasn’t telling the whole truth, but neither could she put her finger on it. Shrugging, she listened as everyone continued discussing whether or not they’d stay. If she still had a home, she’d want to go home too. But she dared to hope. Dared to hope that she’d be safe here, protected by the person the ladies from Kirkwall called a [Hero].

Maybe, just maybe, she would be safe.

“Well, I am staying,” Kuro said, bringing the various conversations to an abrupt halt as everyone stared at the black-haired catkin. “My instincts say that it’ll be safe here, and that Mr Joram is a good guy. And I trust my instincts,” she finished, crossing her arms as Pryte and Ruva edged closer to her.

“I’m staying,” one of the cowkin twins said, Collette, or Charlotte. Then the sheepkin spoke up, adding their voices to those that wanted to stay.

She didn’t bother speaking, knowing that she didn’t have a home to return to, but also clinging to the budding hope that she’d be safe here.

Once everyone had voiced their desires, they split up and went back to their various rooms. She still wondered why they’d all be separated like they’d been. Before Arise left, she hurried over and gave the short dark elf a hug, then ran back to her bed before she could get told off. Arise always pretended to be grumpy, as silly as that was, so she listened to the half-hearted grumbling from her bed before she was gone.

Now fully awake, Ilyenna got dressed and wandered over to the door and waited for the others to get up. As she waited, she played with the ring on her finger, whishing that she could already read as she remembered the writing on the inner side of the ring.