189. Information: Wiremu

Wow, Tabitha was upset. She must have known they were following her as Skygge, so the Quinn Fletcher ID wasn’t so bad. I didn’t realise how close they were watching it, though.

Kelda is now a Senior Lieutenant in MI. Good on her. I am a bit nervous about meeting her again, though. I have changed a lot in the two and a half years, and so has she. She used to be a timid junior, partially scared of her fire affinity. She was only a Special Lieutenant, which is the rank they give those with affinities but no command responsibilities. In fact, they coddle and protect them. Now she is a Senior Lieutenant with quite a commanding presence, according to Tabitha.

I have settled into the Caretakers Cottage at the residence. Modrica and I built a new tunnel from the cottage to the basement of the main dwelling, stables, and a small shop across the road we bought. Mayakku would use it for her enchanting storefront even if she didn’t work there. We also built a den for Težka and a separate den for the lions. These were kept well away from the stables. Mosey still has some trouble with the smell of lions and wolves everywhere. I hate to think what a visiting horse would be like.

We matched three of Borec’s wolf cubs with Selma and two of her five people. I let the others try but could tell they were incompatible and ensured nothing was forced. Bond Care went to 3. We didn’t have a suitable bond for Borec’s last cub, and I wondered if Kelda might be compatible. I could tell my increase in Sapient Lore was helping me understand the people side of the bond, and Animal Lore helped the other side. Sapient Lore was also helping my Spy Skills.

Tutor and Identify were telling me I was about halfway to the Metal Worker Class. It would just take time working with Bodin and getting experience. I was increasing my Metal Lore even though it wasn’t necessary for the class. I wanted to be competent in mixing metals and strengthening ingredients. Casting iron, steel, and bronze was my minimum. If I could get Metal Lore to Apprentice, that would make upgrading the class easier in the future.

Ört caught me at the Lore Society the other day. I had seen him making the most of his membership but had ducked out of sight. He saw me this time, and I had to settle him down. I had to introduce him to Quinn. Quinn had no disguise, so he was easily recognisable. Ört was very helpful after that and helped me find out a lot.

I discovered who the Masters are at the Lore Society, and they can all grant access to Advance Class information, but only in their area of speciality. I never realised there were so many Advanced Classes. General information on Advanced Classes was available, and all Advanced Classes had big advantages in one area but penalised another. The most common example given was a Weaponsmith Advanced Class, which boosted the Specialisation to make unheard-of weapons, but blocked all other specialisations from the basic Blacksmith Class. They could only make weapons. Well, I guess they could use the basic blacksmith class to make cast iron pots, but no decent armoursmith skills, no siege weapons or structural Skills, just personal weapons.

A second example was an Advanced Class as a Mentalist, which boosted your Mental Attributes and penalised the Physical Attributes, almost the reverse of the Slave Class. It got me thinking about whether someone could have two Advance Classes as the Mentalist would go a long way to reversing the Slave Class. The Slave Class penalised the Mental and enhanced the Physical and Spiritual. I didn’t know if that was possible or what the requirements were for the class. It is a possible solution worth exploring, but I need access to the information.

I have looked at the specialisations for the Administrator Class, and Slave Taskmaster is there, but the book on it has been replaced by a note saying it is illegal in the Kingdom and a Royal Decree is required to grant access. Only a Lore Master may request Royal Decrees. I am wondering if Kelda could help with this, or maybe her boss. If I can’t make progress, then I figure the information is probably in one of the five vaults on the lower floors, and illegal entry is the next step. I am sure it will be significantly harder than a domestic safe.

Tabitha thought Drugič should meet Kelda at the gate. I am not sure why. Najprej went with her with their two bonds. Težka and all four lions were in their dens, out of sight. From a Tracker's point of view, it was obvious what animals were around, not to mention the Smell of them, but you never know what might be an advantage. I caught glimpses of a strange bond this afternoon, but it disappeared too fast to pin down. Someone was checking us out, probably MI.

Tabitha, Modrica and I waited in the front receiving room. When the visitors came within my Thermal Sensing Range, I saw there were three of them. Kelda, a Human Male and a male Wolfkin. Najprej and Drugič’s bonds had taken a liking to him, which was a good sign. When they came into the room, the first thing I thought was that Kelda looked good. They were all in uniform, but her bearing and confidence were a good fit. The second thing I noticed was that she had a bond. Her bond wasn’t here, but it was close. It was probably the one checking us out. The Bond felt like an intricate fire. It was very unique. I look forward to meeting it. When we shook hands, her hand lingered a moment. I would like to say it was personal feelings, but she was more likely sensing my new affinity. Hers had grown.

The human male was introduced as Captain Blythe. I assume he was Kelda’s boss. The Wolfkin was a Sergeant Rodion. He is Kelda’s, right-hand man.

We sat down, and Tabitha kicked it off with, “I was not happy to discover MI had plans for us. Despite your “Special Lieutenant” goblin shit, we are not part of your army.”

Captain Blythe responded, “Then we are all not happy because I was not happy to hear about the death of Lord Otto.”

“Then you should keep your nobles within the law or at least make them respect their fellow beings enough not to experiment on them,” I said.

“There are processes in place for bringing proof before the local Duke or Duchess,” Blythe responded.

“Tell that to the mutilated Lionkin I buried,” I said.

Tabitha spoke up, “As I clearly stated to Major Sione in Obalno, we will consider any individual contracts put before us like any other Mercenary. We will choose whether we accept them or not.”

“If you want special treatment for Modrica, we expect something in return, and you are members of this kingdom.” Blythe continued.

“No, Captain, we are not members of this Kingdom. We have been here less than three years. We will be gone in less than another year,” Tabitha said.

“You think you can just walk out on the Royal Army?” he responded.

“Yes, Captain,” I said, “I do think that. Otto wasn’t some coddled “Special Lieutenant.” He was a fifteen-year veteran of your Royal Army, and after that, he was an experienced Monster Hunter with a team behind him. I killed him and his team all by myself!” Sorry, Tāoke and Puia, but when we measure dicks we all exaggerate. “The thing is, Captain, I am not here by myself. If you try and force us to do something, the “Month of the Black Butcher” will look like a playground scuffle, and it will happen in your capital city.”

The Captian turned to Kelda, “And you really think you can work with these people?” She nodded. He stood up, “Then it is your head that will roll. I will not be involved.” He turned and walked out.

We heard the door slam and footsteps down the drive. Tabitha started to speak, but Kelda held up a finger telling her to wait. When we heard the gate shut, she turned back to us, “Sorry about that, but it needed to happen.”

“He wanted deniability if he is pulled to testify before a Truth Senser?” Tabitha queried.

“Yes, essentially. It is part internal politics and partly Kingdom deniability if the Empire makes a fuss.”

“They sacrifice their lowly lieutenant?” Tabitha asked.

“Not so lowly. I do have an affinity, but essentially yes.”

“So what is actually going on?” I asked.

“One of the last things you said to me after our training in Jern was that I needed to watch my back because they shouldn’t have messed up my training so much. That was a wake-up call for me, and I started carefully watching what was happening. I watched so well that I got a Class for it, Observer. That helped me transfer to MI. What I want to know before we go further is, are you still serious about combatting Slavery in the Empire?”

I could tell she was watching me closely. It must be some skill she got with the class.

“Yes, I am. That is where we will be in less than a year.”

I could sense her bond was watching me from the window. My eyes flicked to the window, and she saw that.

“Good,” she said. “There are very few who notice my bond, Liten.” She put up her arm, and an ordinary Sparrow landed on it. “This is Liten, and she is very good at not being seen and helping me see things. Don’t be fooled, though. She has a stronger affinity for fire than I do, as a number of predators and people have found out. She is one of my secret weapons, so I am interested in how you knew she was there.”

“I have a Skill that helps with bonds and forming them. I can sense the bond link itself. It is new, so it is still low level.” I replied. I wasn’t going to mention the Bond Master Class. I was barely figuring out how to level the Skills, let alone the Class. “Why did you want to know about my attitude to slavery?”

“Because I and Rodion,” she indicated the Wolfkin Sergeant, ”are here to help.”