“What did she say?” Haemish asked, jumping to the only conclusion he could think of.

“What? Nothing, nothing.” Aarav said. “What do you mean, ‘what did she say?’” Aarav looked at the man in front of him with suspicion. Could he be in on it? No, the tone of voice had more curiosity and resignation, like he knew what was coming.

“I mean, there is only one reason your mood would be this back first thing in the morning!” Haemish said, exasperated. The woman scared the daylights out of him, so a tiny weak creature like Aarav would not stand a chance. “What did she say? Or did she do something?”

“Huh? No, nothing. It’s nothing.” Haemish shook his head. As usual, the Slime wanted to be secretive. Fine, let him have his secrets. He had over a century of dealing with the crafty woman. He could say with confidence about the woman that she could play the worst mind games. She constantly seemed ten steps ahead of everyone else in the room, including her husband in most cases, and somehow she was everywhere! Haemish couldn’t walk fifty feet without her knowing about it, and she would jump out of any corridor or a niche in the wall without a moment’s notice. It made for an unsettling living environment.

“Okay, well, whatever has you so bothered will come out eventually.” Haemish said, then under his breath, “but she knows how to twist one's mind. I hope you are ready for this.”

“Urgh, yes, less talking, more walking.” Aarav seconded the sentiment. “I want to ask you, what does Charisma do? I have been trying to understand the stat, but nothing comes up when examining it further. It is also the only stat that I cannot improve.”

Aarav took up the walking stick again and put about ninety per cent of his focus and energy into not falling down while continuing to practice the moments he had worked on in the gardens. The foot manipulation would have taken too much concentration, and he was interested in Haemish’s answer.

“Charisma, honestly, I am surprised you have the stat.”Aarav almost groaned at inadvertently giving away another piece of information, but he quickly suppressed the urge. “But it is limited to sentient beings. If we needed any more proof of your sentience, that would be it. It measures how much influence you have over people, not mind control, thank goodness, but the weight you hold with your words and actions. It is also one of the only stats of the core fifteen that can go down as easily as it goes up. If you lose favour, your words will have less impact on the people hearing them. Does that make sense so far?”

“Yes, I think so. So public speaking and persuasion?” Aarav asked.

“Precisely, it influences more than just how the public sees you, though. It is almost a catch-all for standing with people, but it can go both ways. Notoriety is just as influential as other types of fame; keep that in mind.” Haemish said.

“What if it is negative?”

Haemish let out a chuckle. “Very funny, sir, very funny indeed.” When Aarav’s expression did not change, his laughter faded. “You are serious?” Aarav nodded to confirm.

“Well, it’s impossible. I have never –“ Haemish paused for a breath before continuing. “I have never seen negative stats, that much I can tell you, and it is beyond the realm of possibilities.”

“Are you sure? Because I can assure you it is not. Anyway, you said it yourself, your sample pool of what you know is small regarding statistics.” Aarav commented. Haemish seemed to squirm a little. Clearly, this was an uncomfortable conversation for him. “Um, right, sorry, Haemish. You are right. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

The large man relented. “No, you are right. We cannot avoid topics because they make us uncomfortable. Honestly, it is my upbringing, and negative stats fly in the face of the Holy Precepts. I have never been a religious man, but some things are ingrained deeply in people’s minds. I would ask that you not mention negative stats to anyone else; it might cause some upset.”

“Oh, of course, my apologies, I did not know. I haven’t been in civilized society for a long time.” About two lifetimes, actually, Aarav thought. “You will need to teach me more of the customs and what is offensive; I don’t want to make the wrong move inadvertently.”

“Yes, you are absolutely right! I cannot believe I made such oversight of not teaching you our customs. Despite your appearance being so different, I truly see you as human. I automatically assume you know everything about our human society! My humblest of apologies. Once again, I am lacking as a host.” Haemish bowed deeply midstride.

“Haemish, you’re embarrassing me. You don’t need to be so formal right now. Come on, let’s get back to the lab. I need to show you my progress on my feet!”

Haemish looked down at his legs which Aarav now realised were back to their stiff lock step movements. He hadn’t been bending his knees since he started speaking. “You might need to pay more attention to your walking for the time being. Until you become comfortable with the movements. I must say, though, that you are very comfortable with the idea. For someone like you that has never walked on two legs. I would almost think you had been human in a previous life!” Haemish chuckled again.

Aarav swallowed. That’s just something people say, he thought frantically. “Haha, indeed, perhaps. Do you believe in reincarnation then?” Aarav had to check the world's lore; maybe there was a library somewhere? They didn’t get to finish the tour yesterday because of his absurdly slow walking speed.

“Not really, the temples try to push that rubbish on us common folk, but most do not pay it much mind. And then there are the prophecies!” Haemish chuckled again. “The number of versions I have seen that talk about some reincarnated hero coming from another realm. I couldn’t count the number of them I have read that contradict each other!” the man finished, noting Aarav’s worried expression and distant look. “Aarav, it is really nothing to worry about, you know! Some say it is a creature unlike anything we have seen before but most talk about a human being!” When Aarav’s expression did not change, he continued. “My point is that there is no discernible meaning to them. Do not worry about it; no one else does!”

“Hehe, yeah, you’re probably right. Of course, nothing to worry about. Do the prophecies have anything to do with that Lurker thing you talked about before? Yesterday, I mean?” Haemish frowned at Aarav’s mention of the name but said nothing more.

“You should be focusing on walking properly, or you will develop bad habits!” Haemish said instead. Signalling the end of that discussion.

“If you don’t want to discuss the important things, then I suppose silence is best.” Aarav acceded. He really wanted to know, but perhaps Haemish was right. This was less an immediate concern and more something to think about in the future. Aarav couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that the prophecy had something to do with him. Some said it was a creature, and some said human. Nothing could be both. Except, wasn’t he, and reincarnated to boot?

The discontent burned within him like a white-hot spark, and it became even more challenging for him to focus. Instead of working on his gait, he became more reflective. What would happen if this was his, dare he say it, destiny? What if there was a broader reason he had been put on this planet, Blorenar? Other than amusement for a god? Or maybe the prophecy was how the gods toyed with people in this universe or world. Stop thinking about things that you cannot do anything about. If your previous life has taught you anything, living in the moment is important. Right now, you are worrying about things that might have nothing to do with you. Aarav gave himself a little pep talk, courtesy of The Way Forward is... Forward. Now the skill had him giving himself pep talks. Touche Skill, touché.

“Aarav, you are not focusing on your walking. You need to pay more attention to it.” Haemish commented after a couple of corridors. He was right; the Slime had started limping again.

The Queen’s visit, being asked to spy on the first person to show him any semblance of kindness. The fact that his body hardly obeyed any of the commands he gave it. And now, he was limping along a corridor that he could have sprinted without sweating a year ago. It was all too much. Overwhelmingly, too much, Haemish saw the facial expression change a moment before the lid exploded. “Urgh, this is so frustrating. I can’t believe I have to focus on something as simple as walking! It used to be so easy!” Aarav yelled. Oops, a moment too late, he realised he had royally screwed up.