1.41 Breakfast and Ritual Violence
Vicktor woke with the sunrise, hinted only by a few thin wisps of light coming from a few decorative pinpricks that were too narrow for even insects to squeeze past. There was an unfamiliar smell in the air, but it was pleasant
A warm soft weight was draped across the center of his chest and down his sides. Re'ada was snoring surprisingly loudly for being so comparatively small, a sharp green ear was easily visible if he raised his head slightly.
Vicktor's internal sense of time told him that it was still early. Not early enough for some early morning exercise though. He lay in the slightly lumpy bed, appreciating both the creature comfort of sharing a bed with another. Even greater than that was the appreciation for the lack of musty air and stiffness of the shelter and bedroll he'd had been sleeping in the past few nights.
That dimensionally stored bed was sounding more and more heavenly in his thoughts.
He had forgotten his usual message to Selia, so he enjoyed the moment and compiled what his message would be. His thoughts occasionally drifted to the woman on his chest. It was the second time he had slept with an immensely powerful person's female descendant, at least, that he knew of, not everyone was likely to be so open about their relations to people of importance.
Vicktor thought back to all the lizardkin he'd seen in Allium, had any of them looked like Master Tosk? Would any of them? He didn't know Master Tosk's partner. It could be nearly anyone and look like any humankin.
It was nearly a quarter hour before the snoring ceased. The woman sleepily reached up and tussled his hair before fully opening her eyes with a start.
"Oh, hey. You're still here?" She seemed confused.
"Where would I be? This is my room!" Vicktor poked gently at the side of the goblins' bare chest, "plus you've been sleeping ON me!"
"Hmmph! It's not my fault you are warm." Re'ada craned her neck and crossed her arms over her chest before laying her green head back down, her hair tumbling to either side.
Vicktor stated, "I would like to clean myself before I meet with your father. He seemed okay with it yesterday, but I don't want to rub it in his face."
"I literally did once, god I was so insufferable when I was younger. I really have mellowed out in my old age." Re'ada said, sitting up with her short legs straddling his middle, arms still firmly crossed.
"You're younger than me!" Vicktor said.
A finger unwound from her chest and wagged near his face, "Beyond middle age actually, if you want to bring up a woman's age. Some people I went to school with have retired with great grandkids already!"
"Can we discuss this during breakfast?" Vicktor sighed, the weight of the woman was starting to affect his breathing.
Re'ada's eyes sparked, "Me first! I'll save some hot water for you!"
The small woman rolled off his chest and then leaped off the bed, using some flame jets on her hands to lower herself gently to the floor.
Vicktor just sighed, it seemed likely at this point that being quirky was a prerequisite for becoming a powerful mage.
'I wonder if I'm quirky like that?' Vicktor thought to himself, before immediately reminding himself that his longtime fascination with soil and rock and a newfound interest in kinky sex and sexuality broadly were probably not the common traits of the average mundane human.
Once they had cleaned up and Re'ada had apologized profusely for wasting all the hot water before manually heating up new water, they dressed and headed downstairs. Vicktor had used the time that Re'ada was washing to send the message that he had to Selia.
Nora, Alar, and Master Tosk were having a lively discussion. Re'tai and the flagbearer were nearby but seemed dead set on ignoring the conversation. None of them seemed to have noticed their arrival.
"Is she at least cute?" Nora asked. "She better not look like a grandmother!"
Alar followed up with, "She's fifty-six in our years right?"
Master Tosk just barked a laugh and without turning his head said, "What do you think about that Re'ada? Some far fetched rumor about a beastly succubus stealing their friend?"
The other apprentices' heads turned. Alars rotated around to look behind him without moving his shoulders.
"Hmmph! I wish, succubi would be far subtler AND they have different magic than other sapients. While it would be an interesting change of pace, I like my flames."
Re'ada's arms did seem to cross over her chest often, but this time, tiny little triangular horns of flame extended beyond her forehead.
"She is cute!" Nora laughed while Alar blushed and turned his head back around.
Re'ada turned back to Vicktor, "Are all humans so strange?"
"In some ways," he smiled. "Now, I'm starving! What's for breakfast?"
Re'tai spoke up, seeming to ignore any other goblin. "Jook, it's egg, fowl, and rice porridge. Served at the same place we got food last time. It's cheap and it'll be good for more people to see humans eating the same food as them."
"Excellent! Let us consume the unborn and their parents!" Master Tosk said as he imitated Re'ada's flaming horns but with multiple larger fiery prongs that changed colors.
"Hmph! No fair!" Re'ada squeaked while everyone including Re'tai and the normally stoic flagbearer laughed.
Vicktor inspected the underground pipes with his earthsense as he ate the hot meal out of a familiar wooden bowl with a familiar wooden spoon. The spoons seemed to be in good condition, perhaps because of the magical wood or because of a heavy treatment of sunflower oil.
He didn't want to talk about Rek-sha, he felt embarrassed about his influence on the woman. When he got the chance in private he would ask Re'tai about the goblin Mage.
Vicktor partially zoned out as the other apprentices described what they had learned yesterday with the goblin Mages. Alar had learned something about organic inscriptions and Nora had learned about how the non-Mages still used magic to augment their musculature. It seemed useful to them and likely in general to know that it existed, but didn't really feel pertinent to Vicktor's potential growth as a Mage. He had never really been interested in living things, the closest he got to organics in his classes had been their inclusion into soils.
That had been a relatively 'surface level' course, Vicktor allowed himself the pun, partially to distract himself.
Tao-Ti-Cua had the same frost line as Allium, all the seemingly grown wooden pipes were three to four feet under the grading, most were parallel with the road, with service connections shooting off perpendicularly. Return connections of the sewer seemed to be located further underneath the grown water mains, these pipes tended to be bigger and offset a few feet in either direction from the wooden water mains. The sewer system did not seem to be pressurized, as pipes moved slowly downhill with no increase in elevation.
They did not seem to have a piped drainage system, most of the rainwater was collected in large swails on either side of their roads. Recharging groundwater was probably a more important priority than flood prevention given how close their fields were to the village.
Vicktor could imagine goblin versions of Team Allium trying to clear a grown sewerhouse of slimes. Little green versions of Gralgra and Selia swinging oversized two-handed weapons seemed particularly amusing.
Anything except thinking about–
A large scaled hand snapped its fingers in front of his face, taking him out of his thoughts.
"Hey Lad! Your turn!" Master Tosk was looking at him expectantly.
Vicktor frowned and he let his spoon clack into the bowl, "I gave a woman a fundament fracture."
Alar, Nora, and Re'ada's faces fell. When nobody spoke, Nora asked. "Is she okay? How bad?"
Vicktor sighed and looked at Master Tosk and then to Re'tai, "She chose mine, but she waited longer than she should have. She was fine yesterday, but probably having a rough time today."
Master Tosk smiled despite the dower mood. "I visited Rek-sha this morning, the headache might last a week, but afterwards she is far closer to advancing than she was before. Might do it a few weeks after she graduates in the spring."
Everyone except Vicktor's faces softened.
"I guess that's good? Right?" His tone felt wrong, even to himself...
"Yes," Master Tosk said, "she is being assigned as your pseudo-apprentice. You will mentor her so that she knows what you know. The both of you will rebuild the bridge. This village needs more institutional knowledge."
"Why can't we send a Mage to teach her?" He felt himself begin to whine, but he wasn't sure why.
"Humanity did, you are able to teach the basics without being expensive enough to lose. There are costs to these things." Master Tosk eyed him with a stare that told Vicktor the decision had already been made for him.
"By the stars. Alright, sure." Vicktor relented.
"We will go over the details after the ritual. But the ritual is more important. I need to go over a few simple rules that includes reminding our escorts–"
Re'ada guffawed.
"That they need to behave differently than they might otherwise." Master Tosk looked at the assorted people.
Goblin's ears seemed to be turned in their direction more than they should be. Vicktor got a little nervous about a repeat of the earlier meal, but Master Tosk continued.
"Do not speak, do not use magic, do not turn on your magic sight, and most importantly, steel your hearts. Many will scream, many will curse, don't let it visually affect you. We are following their customs and we would be disrespectful if we were to deviate from them."
They all nodded, the goblins were solemn, focusing on.
"Let us sort out the Vanquished and more importantly, let's find out how much trouble we got ourselves into."
Alar cock his head, "but they attacked us first?"
Master Tosk smiled lightly, "They did, but more importantly, we embarrassed them by not killing anyone. The dead can be martyrs, the living not so much."
A Goblin hymn cascaded around the large open amphitheater from thousands of goblins. The amphitheater had a backdrop woven of living plants. Trees, shrubs, and grasses grew together, but held hints of the coming of winter, some leaves were turning brown and others had fallen to the floor entirely. The huge semicircular structure descended towards a gravel stage.
The structure was angled in such a way that the assembled people could easily look down and see the eight goblins dressed all in the same unbleached woven gray tunics. Their hands bound with ropes or chains. Vicktor could not tell if they were the ones that he had done several days prior. Amongst the eight, were Re'at, Re'tai, Re'ada, Master Tosk, the three apprentices, and a wooden table covered in the weapons Master Tosk had confiscated as well as sixteen wooden bowls.
The goblins seemed unpleasant, some were praying while others were softly singing along to the hymn, which comforted Vicktor slightly as he listened to the words of the hymn. Some sung a melody while others sung the harmony and yet more sung the countermelody. It was a serene lament that stirred a part of him that he did not normally feel.
"All the days that he consecrates himself unto the gods, he shall not know true defeat."
"He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they are defeated; because his consecration unto the gods is upon his head."
"All the days of his Neder-lai he is holy unto the gods".
"And if any man fails in battle, he has defiled his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his vanquisher's choice."
"And the priest shall prepare one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, and make atonement for him, for that he sinned by reason of his failure; and he shall hallow his head that same day."
The hymn's verses were repeated numerous times until Re'at stepped forwards and raised an old green hand.
The old goblin spoke loudly and clearly as he addressed the assembled. "The Ritual of the Vanquished has been invoked, as is OUR custom. The human who chooses to go by Tosk has claimed the right to punish the Neder-lai for both their failure as well as their attack on sapients who claimed immunity by diplomacy. He will speak, the vanquished will speak, and then punishment will be rendered."
The scattering of muttering was quickly silenced by another hand.
Master Tosk stepped forwards and walked towards the first goblin in the line, "Xethrai, fourth sub-chief of Clan Toa-ti. While there was no order to attack our group, you lead the scouts and were told of our intentions of diplomacy. We were attacked and defended ourselves. Thankfully, only blood, not lives were lost. For him and him alone, I desire a bowl of his blood as the sin-offering and his hair as the burnt-offering. For the others I desire a drop of blood for their sin-offering and an inch of hair as their burnt offerings"
There was a loud murmuring in the crowd as a group of goblins rose as one. The group walked calmly towards the stage. All had weapons, but none drew them.
Master Tosk and Re'at held up one hand, the crowd silenced, but the group of goblins still approached.
Master Tosk seemed unbothered and continued at his previous pace and tone. "The rest fought well and defended their village. I want no true harm or shame to come to them. I await his and their response."
The goblins moved even closer to their location, their weapons still sheathed.
Xethrai began to shout, his voice carried far. "The words of outsiders are not to be trusted! Diplomacy with those that do not share is not real diplomacy! I attacked them to protect our people! Our village! I–"
Re'at's arm grasped Xethrai's shoulder and spoke far louder than should have been possible. "You have admitted guilt. Your weapon will be fetched."
Xethrai did not speak again. Re'tai, and Re'ada walked over to a table filled with the weapons and bowls that Master Tosk had provided. Re'tai did not grab anything, but Re'ada grabbed two bowls. The two moved next to the bound goblin
Re'at spoke, "Xethrai has no weapons besides his hands, how will you render your punishment?"
Master Tosk looked to the crowd, then the assorted group on the stage. "I would grant him a blade to spare him the mercy of ripping out his own flesh and hair."
Vicktor didn't look at the other apprentices or the man, but the crowd was whisper-quiet.
"Granted," Re'at said. Master Tosk took out a steel dagger from a pocket in his robe and held it by the blade to Re'tai, who nodded and took the handle.
"May any gods who disagree make their voices known!" Re'at called upwards.
Nothing happened for several long moments.
"Then let us begin." Re'at called.
The group of goblins had assembled just above the stage, refusing to step down onto the same level as them. Vicktor could still see over the top of their heads.
Xethrai did not move or speak as Re'tai grabbed his long locks in one hand. With a quick slice of the sharp blade, the hair was shorn, a few wooden beads clattered to the stone floor.
As one, the semicircular group of assembled goblins, both male, and female alike, drew their weapons. In a practiced gesture, they all cut their palms open, red dripping onto the gravel. Using the bloody hand, they collected their hair and sliced behind them, shearing off the beaded and dyed hair. More beads fell to the ground.
With a unified monosyllabic wail, they tossed the bloody hair onto the stage and left, letting their hands drip as they walked up and away from the stage...