Chapter 202: Interlude - Ferro
In the months since his encounter with the mysterious Oracle, Ferro had read the book she’d given him from cover to cover a dozen times.
And every time, he felt as if something small were clicking into place. Some little thing that was getting him closer and closer to being able to consider himself a mage.
"Water is in the air. It is carried by, not transubstantiated from, the gases that we breathe. In order to generate true water that doesn’t just disappear with mana, it’s important to be able to assess local conditions - available water sources, wind speed, sunlight - the equation for which is..."
"You sure do love that book," a jackalkin harem boy named Hifta noted with his vaporous voice. In truth, both he and Ferro were fully grown men, but it wasn’t like Ferro got to decide what the members of a harem were called. Hifta sidled next to Ferro, running a hand along Ferro’s arm as he gently pressed down.
Ferro had been about to reread the part about people’s bodies being mostly water; in the hopes that he might come up with something to keep Lanoch, his master, hard for him. Lanoch was a jealous man, and his price for leaving was visibly scarring anyone who was forced to leave the harem... and failure to arouse him was a very real danger.
It wasn’t that Ferro wanted it with Lanoch, just that he needed it to stay where he was. The Palace Tower, for all its dangers and intrigue, was still the best place for Ferro to learn magic on the continent... Provided he didn’t get caught ’reaching beyond his station.’
"It’s interesting. And the author has a sense of humor," Ferro closed the book, holding it against his chest as he leaned back against Hifta. Ferro had long since discarded most of the notions Auren had expounded on in favor of the mysterious note-taker, who had insistently demonstrated time and again that, unlike some of Auren’s suppositions, his maths and magics could be consistently verified.
"More interesting than this?" Hifta leaned down, kissing Ferro deeply on the lips. Hifta was tall where Ferro was short, especially if one counted his ears. He had rich, shining black fur and a lanky frame, but with curves in just the right places - for which he stretched and squatted daily. After a long moment of making out, the two of them parted, a small string of drool between them before it broke.
"Is something going on?" Ferro asked. He liked Hifta, but the man was Lanoch’s current favorite. That meant that, even if he wanted to, Ferro could not trust Hifta with any secrets.
"I just wanted to make sure you remembered the selection today... I’d hate to be lonely down there in the deep dungeon," Hifta began to stroke Ferro’s exposed belly, his hand wandering dangerously low.
As enjoyable as shared encounters were with the jackalkin, being alone together could lead to the sort of rumors that got Ferro punished. Harem-life was a game of favorites and outcasts, and while they were allowed to be affectionate, sex was discouraged because they were supposed to be available for their master...