Perversions of the Flesh

Sigrid sat cross-legged, as seemed to be the custom when talking to smaller people. Her robes wrapped tightly around her knees as she set down an array of white objects painted with several designs. Knucklebones. Ann had heard of the term being used by old pirates to refer to their crude dice. She wasn’t entirely sure how literal that name was. These were definitely bones. Judging by Orfal and Sigrid, they very well could be one of their knuckles chopped down to a rough cubic shape. Maybe the carpals? It didn’t matter. What mattered was that this was a shamanic ritual.

Shamanic rituals weren’t entirely foreign to Ann. Her mom had dragged her to a few heritage celebrations where the First Nations would gather and pass down knowledge and traditions to the youth. It wasn’t the weird indoctrination the Catholics had tried with her ancestors, but the importance was impressed because of their efforts to make sure it was eradicated. Ann had learned about traditional clothes, how people had lived and built their houses, and customs. She’d never really spent the time to learn the language, since she already had to learn French and English, but the rituals were interesting. Shamans were spiritual and religious people who supposedly spoke to the gods and spirits of the land. Not only that, but they worked to keep the history of their tribe.

Ann watched as Sigrid swayed back and forth, her eyes closed. She was chanting. Without opening her eyes, she reached to her left, pulled a stick of incense from a box, and lit it with her fingers. Placing it carefully, but still without looking, she continued her rhythmic speech. None of it was in a language Ann understood, but she could feel it.

She could feel the power in it.

This one is connected. Waheela mused in her mind. She sees the threads.

You gonna really drop that fate has threads right now?

No. Different threads. I can’t elaborate. Too connected to the rest of what is happening. I am sorry.

Well, that was annoying. Ann still took all of that into consideration. Could the others feel this?

The Dragon and the Goat certainly can. I would guess the Bird and Cat can as well, but I do not believe the Bird is to the point it will understand.

Alright. Let me know if you feel any of them acting up. Don’t want anything bad happening here.

Waheela just sent Ann a positive feeling as acknowledgement.

Kat and Rosalyn were staring up at Sigrid, transfixed by her chanting. Rosalyn was even swaying slightly in rhythm with the Giant’s movements. Bren was similarly fixated, but he looked like he was taking notes with his finger on his robes. Lucia sat politely on the floor with a neutral expression, but Ann could tell she was bored. Her eyes were lidded, not flicking to every exit and small change in the room like she normally did when alert. Minnie, meanwhile, was probably the least affected of the group. She was smiling and humming along with the musical chant. She did sway side to side, her thick hair rolling with her, but it felt more like she was doing it out of amusement than for any other reason.

Sigrid reached down and took the dice between her knuckles. She twisted her wrists in patterns, then flicked the bones to different positions in such a deft motion that Ann knew she had a skill for this. After a few moments of this, she released the dice. They clattered heavily on the floorboards. Each bounced a few times before coming to rest.

Next, Sigrid took longer bones and rubbed them between her hands as they rattled together. She cast them among the knucklebones as well, then stopped her chant.

“There. The fates have been beseeched; let us see what they have to say,” the Mulsfar said, leaning over the array. She muttered, taking some of the bones and moving them apart while keeping their arrangement.

“This is always fun,” Minnie whispered, leaning over to Ann.

Ann couldn’t help but feel the dread welling in her chest. “Yeah, we’ll see.”

Sigrid’s face was dark as she looked from the bones to the people in the room. “I believe you know why these say that there are eleven of you, correct? Excluding your beast outside.”

Ann groaned. Of course, whatever ritual this was had sniffed out the spirits within. “Yeah. We’ve got some passengers that are a side effect of the whole…” She waved at herself. “I can’t say they’re friendly. I can say they’re not a danger to anyone else. I like to think of mine as a sprit animal.”

Adorable.

Oh shut it.

“Understood. Then this is my reading here. Eleven souls bound on a quest. Danger you will find, but should you succeed, great fortune is to be had.” As she spoke, Sigrid pointed out the bones that meant each point. “Beware the shadow. It brings death. Two of you will face hardship along this path. Protect the beast, for it is the key. Hmm…” Sigrid paused, hunching over as she scanned her reading. “Beware the shadow. Maybe that is the opposite. This bone here, balanced on the other, means it could go either way. I’d say care is advised regardless. You are headed into danger. Now, these two,” Sigrid pointed out two knucklebones, one with a white dot, the other black. “Touching and linked by the shadow. I can’t discern why, but that is interesting. I see that green and red here are also touching, but no external interaction.”

Sigrid looked up at Bren and Lucia, then gave them a knowing smile. “A Life Debt?”

Bren nodded while Lucia answered. “Correct.”

“Hah! Well, you two seem well suited for each other. Now, the other five, excluding the black one, have their own readings,” Sigrid continued. “Tricksters, deceivers, malign and foul. Beware, beware, ominous, creepy, you get the idea. Honestly, that’s pretty much all there is. A lot of evil coming off of their auras.”

“Well, that’s less apocalyptic than my last fortune telling,” Ann sighed. “Just means we’ve gotta be ready to fight when we go to get that ore.”

“Oh? On a mining expedition, are we?” Sigrid asked, sweeping her bones back up and placing them in their spots. She left the incense burning, allowing the air to fill with a pleasant scent. “That why you’ve darkened my doorstep this evening?”

Minnie stood up to take the lead here. “Yeah. I got a tip from one of my friends, Childe, about a new cave system that’d opened up. Ann and the rest have someone looking for a couple chunks of Bultrite, and I figured what better place to look? Maybe we can find some Voltium while we’re at it.”

“Hm, whereabouts would this new cave be?” Sigrid stood and moved back to her desk. She pulled out a leatherbound book full of slate sheets, much like what Bren’s current journal was bound in. “I see we’ve got mining rights to several of the mountains, and claims on all. Claims usually cover the mountain and what lies beneath, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

Minnie nodded, starting the walk over to the desk. Along the way, she snagged a rolling set of stairs that just about reached the top of the desk. Once in position, she started to climb. “Yeah, I know. Made sure that we wouldn’t run into issues with that first. Wouldn’t be good for my generous guardians here to come all this way for nothing. It’s two days northeast of here. Contested peak called Mirten’s Blade. From what I know, too many people have found that place and prospected, but couldn’t find shit. No claim on it means it’s fair game, right?”

“That would be correct,” Sigrid hummed, pulling out another drawer and unfurling a leather map. “This peak here?”

Ann was just listening to this part, catching details out of the corner of her eye. Rosalyn was still a little out of it after the ritual. She’d essentially gone into a trance, washed away by the power Sigrid channelled. The lamb was coming to, though. Her horn rested on Ann’s chest. Kat was doing much better, but was still slightly dazed. Like she needed a cup of coffee. Actually, Ann reached for her pack and handed the princess her mug. Kat drank happily. “Let’s have Rosalyn drink some after.”

“Sounds good,” Kat hummed.

“That is now ratified,” Sigrid intoned. “You have a claim to this cave system and all riches found within. This agreement remains in effect until you either relinquish your right or leave it vacant for two years, after which it will fall back into my hands for assignment. Should others wish to mine this area, we will collect a portion of their findings as a finder’s fee. It will be held in reserve until collected. Now I will need your signature on several other documents designating rates and timeframes.”

“You all felt that, correct?” Bren asked in a hushed voice. “I have never experienced such a feeling when in the presence of a ritual.”

“Mmm, yeah,” Rosalyn mumbled. “Was like a warm blanket that I could just get all wrapped up in and go to sleep.”

“Weird, cause Waheela definitely felt it, but neither of us got affected like you guys. Wonder what that’s about.”

“Perhaps your extended experience and exposure to the Warping effects?” Bren suggested.

Ann could only shrug. Waheela was being quiet about why any of this was happening. “All Waheela said was that Sigrid was plucking on threads. Merde, I wish she could get around those rules.”

“Dearc was tryin’ tae get really loud durin’ the whole thing,” Kat said. Her eye was downcast, distant. “Could ‘ear it cursin’ a lot o shite. Loudest it’s been since I stabbed its snout. Could feel it, too. Clawin’ at its cave. Dinnae what it’s doin’ now.”

“Not good,” Rosalyn said. She was almost back to normal. The coffee was definitely helping. “If it’s acting up, that means it might be doing other things to mess with you. Might not even notice it yet. Please, be careful?”

“Same fer ye, Wooly. Don’t think I haven’t noticed ye gettin’ more intense about certain things. Same fer all o’ ye, actually. We don’t even know what Vokvi and the bird’re doin’. Enemies in our own damn camp that we can’t get rid of.”

“Vokvi has been silent, and Lucia reports no sensations from her spirit either,” Bren said, gravely serious. “Let us keep most of the details quiet from Minnie. She knows enough now to fully understand our situations without needing to know the struggles we are facing. There is such a thing as too much sharing for our own safety. People like Sigrid will be able to prise secrets out via divination, but there are only so many scenarios we can account for; thus, our vocal discussions of this should be limited to when we have the beetles in place.”

“Opsec, yeah,” Ann nodded.

Bren gave her a confused look.

“Operational Security shortened to a word.”

“Ah. It appears that they are finishing up with the permits.”

“Give me that mug,” Kat grumbled, taking the coffee from Rosalyn. The Druid whined pathetically, but Kat ignored her. “Don’t need ye bouncin’ off the walls. Need a kick meself.”

Indeed, Minnie had just shaken hands with Sigrid. Well, Minnie had used two hands to shake Sigrid’s finger. She bounced down the stairs as Sigrid filed the paperwork away.

“Alright, so that handles everything we needed for permissions to do what we need. Anyone who officially tries will get put through Sigrid here, and they’ll get told about the rules and what’s owed. We do also owe a percentage since it’s on Mulsfar land, but I think we can manage that if this is as untouched as I was told. Might have to deal with bandits and others trying to just take the ore, though. Can’t really stop them with claims and laws.”

Ann shivered. Flashes of her last encounter with bandits raced before her eyes. A strong arm wrapped around her waist. Kat was there, and the smell of her hair filled Ann’s nose, calming her. She was worried her anxiety was coming back, and stronger than ever. If she was back in her time, she’d be looking for some shrink to help with all of this. But what shrink… actually, military psychiatrists and anyone who dealt with ptsd would make a killing helping people out with just the day-to-day problems of bandits. Then they’d have to deal with the bandits as well, which probably wouldn’t be great. And the Warped. How the fuck do you tell someone not to worry about an existential threat that can fuck over your entire mind and body just because you got too close to the god dome next door without protection? The idea was just impossible. Compartmentalisation and stress mitigation would probably be the best things they could do. Or lots of drugs. Honestly, she was kinda surprised that more people weren’t drunk or high at all times.

She was on a tangent in her own head.

“Yeah. She does that,” Rosalyn was saying.

“Huh?”

“You spacing out,” Rosalyn explained, patting her hip gently. Got a lot of stuff going on in that noggin. You’re fine.”

“Sorry. Yeah. Was just… thinking about how fucked everything is, and I am. Not really great conversation.”

“Don’t think. Can’t change. No help worry”

Ann had to resist rolling her eyes as Lucia said the exact thing she’d just been thinking about. “Thanks. I’m trying. So, we staying the night here? It’s getting pretty late.”

“Might be for the best,” Minnie said, checking the window. The sun was still up, but it was about to hit teh mountains, plunging the countryside into darkness. It could happen fast, too.

“Well,” Sigrid said, making Ann nearly jump out of her skin. She had to grab her tail to make sure it wasn’t fluffed to insane degrees. “Sorry! Didn’t mean to startle you! If you’re looking for board, head down to the inn. Tell them who you are, Highness, and the room will be free for the night. Food and drink as well, I would imagine. Mia will make sure you’re taken care of.”

“Aye. We’ll do tha’. Don’t wanna short ‘er, though,” Kat groused. “It’s six o’ us. Losin’ three rooms fer the night has tae suck.”

“Remember what Palidius and Gertrude said,” Rosalyn reminded her. “Quiet season.”

Sigrid nodded. “That’s right. Most travel and trade happen in the summer. You’ll be fine.”

“Do you have any temples out here?” Ann asked. She did have a new skill. Talking to someone in Orenous’ flock wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“This place isn’t the biggest, so we don’t have the separate temples like Korvas or the other major cities. We do have a temple, but it’s nondenominational. If Your Holiness wants to speak with a priest, I believe we have one of Orenous here.”

“Cool. I’ll pop in there before we get to food, then. We’re out first thing in the morning, right?”

“That’s the plan. It’s going to take a few days for us to get to the mine, so we’d better get going as quickly as we can,” Minnie said.

Ann had a moment, looking at her. She’d known plenty of black women, but she was just crazy pretty. Maybe it was her eyes, or the way her hair looked kinda weightless as she moved around. Or it was her muscles rippling beneath that chocolaty skin. Ann had pretty dark skin, too, but it was ruddy and not as dark as Minnie’s. She really wanted to touch her right then.

[Chosen Annita]: Hey, you messing with my heart here?”

[Chosen Annita]: You know what? That’s fine, honestly. If you want to keep it.

[Bestest Goddess]: Nope, what’s up?

[Bestest Goddess]: Yusss! Keeping it then!

[Chosen Annita]: Nah, just feeling a certain way about Minnie. Really strong all of a sudden. I’ve gotten used to Waheela’s touch, so I knew it wasn’t her.

[Bestest Goddess]: You two are adorable, but no. I’m not touching anything right now. It might just be you getting more in tune with my domain. Gotta love a hot lady that wants to get in your pants. You should proooobably fuck her sometime soon. Just a feeling I’ve got. You do have that effect on women. Kinda like I do. Well, and men, and everything in between or neither. It’s probably a side effect of my blessing you and you sleeping in my Seed for so long. Got some of my mojo, as you kids used to say.

[Chosen Annita]: That explains why Kat and Rosalyn are the way they are right now. Got it. Thanks! You popping in tonight or something?

[Bestest Goddess]: Tomorrow morning. Private meeting, so I’ll make sure Bren and Lucia are told. Probably through Qu’Sella. Bryltia can get a bit intense.

[Chosen Annita]: Wow. Didn’t expect my perpetually absent Goddess to actually set a concrete date.

[Bestest Goddess]: I deserve that. Talk more tomorrow. Have fun with the priest where you’re at. He’s a hoot. TTFN!

“Alright, I’ve got a meeting with a priest. Orenous was actually responsive for once. You all going to be alright without me?” Ann asked the group.

Bren laughed and ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair. It was getting a bit shaggy, and Lucia would probably be cutting it soon. “We were fine before your arrival in our lives. I am certain we will survive.”

“More worried about you, but yeah. If you want to do this alone, that’s alright,” Rosalyn said. She looked really worried.

“I’m gonna go talk about armour wit’ Minnie. Ye keep our girlfriend outta trouble,” Kat said, patting Rosalyn’s fluffy hair. She leaned in for a whisper. “Maybe ye can get ‘er tae find a quiet corner.”

If Rosalyn was worried before, she was excited now. Ann was in trouble, and those hazel eyes were full of lust.