Wake of the Ravager

鈥淚 wonder what kind of meat this is?鈥?Ella said, biting hunks of meat out of the roadside kabob they鈥檇 purchased while waiting to get into the city.

Calvin took a piece and chewed. The meat was a bit gamey, but not intolerable, and the spices were honestly more potent than anything he鈥檇 experienced in his fifteen years as a farmhand, which was exciting.

It actually felt like they were on a vacation.

鈥淭astes like ungulate,鈥?he said, nodding wisely.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e full of shit,鈥?Ella retorted.

鈥淭hat is also true.鈥?br>
Something Calvin hadn鈥檛 considered before coming to Boles, was the sheer overwhelming amount of Warped monster parts used in everyday life.

The country had some of the most isolated, Warp-dense country in the world, Spawning a huge quantity of exotic monsters, which made it an absolute treasure trove for adventurers, who ventured out into the wilderness to hunt for a big payday. A single phoenix corpse would be bought by rich nobles for its weight in gold.

With this wildlife, Boles made some of the most iconic gear on Marconen.

The flying cloak Kala had gotten for her birthday, the life-saving buckler, and the phoenix feather armor Ella鈥檚 opponent had been wearing had all come from Boles.

It was by this same token, however that, each Bolesian city was forced to raise sturdy walls around themselves to discourage monster attacks. It also made communication and warfare between the bolesian city-states difficult as individual messengers would often be attacked by monsters, and even armies had their share of difficulty negotiating both the terrain and the wildlife.

Calvin had put his palanquin down outside the city of Jianshin, the closest of the three city-states to the border of Juntai.

Nobody Calvin cared about was being hurt by Bolesian encroachment on Juntai forests, and he wasn鈥檛 on a strict deadline, so he decided to take it easy. They had looped around to the north, parked the palanquin out of sight and joined the crush of pedestrian traffic entering the city.

The people entering the city didn鈥檛 look like men and women with the bored face of people on business, nor did they have wagons full of produce.

They had the tired, anxious look of someone who doesn鈥檛 know where their next meal was coming from. They had family heirlooms strapped to their backs, and children holding their hands.

Refugees. Calvin thought, frowning. More than a few of them.

When they reached the gate, they were predictably stopped and pulled aside for questioning.

Calvin was wearing fine leather armor above silk, and Ella was wearing a form-fitting two- piece hide outfit that proudly displayed Calvin鈥檚 Sigil. They were well fed, well rested, obviously rich, armed, and likely dangerous.

In short, they stuck out like a sore thumb among the shorter, hunched over Bolesian refugees in drab homespun.

鈥淵ou two, come here,鈥?A guard called to them, motioning to get their attention before waving them over.

Calvin shrugged and approached.

鈥淔or. eign. er Do. You. Under. Stand. Me?鈥?The man said, speaking slowly and motioning to his mouth.

鈥淚 know the tongue, yes, but my companion doesn鈥檛,鈥?Calvin said.

鈥淭hat refined dialect鈥s High Bolesian.鈥?The man said, taking an involuntary step back and gazing at Calvin with confusion.

鈥淲ho taught you our tongue?鈥?br>
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure.鈥?Calvin said with a shrug. 鈥淧resumably he or she was rude to the wrong girl.鈥?br>
鈥淲hat does that鈥︹€?The man rubbed his neck. 鈥淲ell it鈥檚 not important. Let me see your I.D.鈥?br>
Calvin pulled three Nem stones the size of his thumb out of his pocket and dropped them in the man鈥檚 hand.

鈥淚 left it in my carriage,鈥?Calvin said.

鈥淚 understand.鈥?The man pocketed the bribe with surprising smoothness. 鈥淵ou can get a temporary I.D. with the registrar. What is your purpose in visiting our city?鈥?br>
鈥淚鈥檓 from Gadvera, I鈥檓 touring southwestern Boles on political business, but today I plan on taking her shopping before we find a place to sleep.鈥?br>
鈥淚t鈥檚 a dangerous time to be touring Boles,鈥?The guard said, shaking his head. 鈥淏ut to each their own.鈥?br>
The man glanced up at Ella and blanched somewhat. 鈥淚 also have to ask, is your ogre under control?鈥?br>
鈥淢y ogre?鈥?Calvin glanced at Ella, who glanced between the two of them without comprehending.

鈥淯sually, they wear a collar to show they鈥檙e tame,鈥?The guard said.

鈥淚s my crest not good enough?鈥?Clavin asked, pointing.

鈥淚鈥檝e heard that鈥檚 recognized in Gadvera, but we鈥檙e a bit more鈥onscious of possible monster attacks. Please understand.鈥?br>
鈥淲hat鈥檚 up?鈥?Ella asked.

鈥淭hey think Genosians are monsters, and should have a collar to prove you鈥檙e not gonna spontaneously turn violent.鈥?br>
鈥淲hat!?鈥?Ella demanded, shaking her fist. 鈥淕enosians aren鈥檛 violent! I should punch him in the face for that!鈥?br>
Calvin gave her a deadpan stare until she finished her bit and broke into a razor-toothed grin.

Ella pursed her lips thoguhtfully. 鈥淲hat kind of collar?鈥?br>
鈥淐an it be aesthetic?鈥?Calvin asked.

鈥淣obles oftentimes use more artful collars for their pets. It鈥檚 more symbolism than anything else.鈥?The guard nodded.

鈥淎ny kind you want,鈥?Calvin said.

鈥淒urable emerald silk with gold spidersilk embroidery and studded with cut Nem stones, just a little tight.鈥?She replied immediately.

鈥?Calvin stared at her.

She鈥檚 obviously been considering that for a while.

The poor girl鈥檚 fashion-starved.

鈥淲e have temporary ones for tamers that you can use,鈥?the man said, walking behind his desk and rummaging through the contents for a minute until he found an Ella-sized one. It was made of crude cast iron, opened and closed with a creak, and had a simple rusty lock at the back. It was uneven, and sported flaws and imperfections that would surely rub a neck raw.

鈥淣o thanks, I鈥檒l just make one now,鈥?Calvin said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out six Nem stones and a vial of undifferentiated matter from his belt.

Multi Split

Calvinian Summoning

52/54 Bent remaining

Calvin targeted the silks stored in the Grimoire that matched Ella鈥檚 request, then made a swarm of thumb-sized knick-knacks.

In front of the man鈥檚 wide eyes, they piped the undifferentiated matter onto the bent construct, creating wads of real silk fiber. They cut off the construct and spun the silk into a fabric in a matter of seconds, cutting and shaping it perfectly for Ella鈥檚 neck. They embroidered a series of stylized wasps in spider-silk around the edges, then sewed it together seamlessly around Ella鈥檚 neck before cutting the Nem and studding the opalescent material into the wasp鈥檚 eyes.

It was a work of art, probably worth more than the gate guard made in a year.

And it was designed so that Ella could rip it off whenever she wanted.

They both understood the benefit of going with the flow, but Calvin wasn鈥檛 going to put her in something she couldn鈥檛 get out of anytime she wanted.

Calvin manifested a mirror in his hand and passed it to her.

鈥淥ooh!鈥?Ella said, turning her neck this way and that, studying the way the fabric conformed to the shape of her neck. 鈥淚 like it!鈥?br>
鈥淕ood enough?鈥?Calvin asked.

鈥溾€ wish you a safe and pleasant stay in Jianshin, Elder,鈥?the guard said, bowing.

***Later***

Calvin and Ella received a lot of stares as they walked through Jianshin, and Ella stared back with fascination, while Calvin could feel his energy being drained by every look.

It didn鈥檛 help, either, that he was literally viewing himself from every point of view that watched him. In a crowded city like this, it was almost like he was at the center of some kind of sight-bubble, all roads leading to himself.

Calvin wasn鈥檛 the type that got energized by attention, despite his knack for attracting it.

Gaze Into the Abyss did come in handy though, as he was able to pick out a few spies who had been been intently following him since the second city block, and slapped the hand of a pickpocket away from himself without even sparing the man a glance.

From his glimpses of their stalker鈥檚 clothes, the man wasn鈥檛 poor enough to be a robber. The powers that be of the city probably already knew who he was and why he was there, and had sent someone to keep an eye on him.

If I had someone walking around my city with the equivalent of a backpack nuke, you鈥檇 be damn sure I鈥檇 have someone follow them around.

Well, as long as they鈥檙e not trying to kill us, I really don鈥檛 care, Calvin thought.

鈥淥h, look at this!鈥?Ella exclaimed, dragging Calvin over to a merchant鈥檚 stall full of curios. There was a hemispherical object with a small depression in the center, seemingly made of bone or ivory resting on a similarly bone stand. Above it a single fork was spinning in midair, supported by nothing.

There was a bolt of deep red silk, brass trinkets, bones and fangs seemingly still imbued with the strength of the creatures that had owned them.

Some of it seemed like Guar-shit to Calvin. There was a finger-length fang that was supposed to make you heavier and increase your mass, but what it actually did was impose a mild paralytic effect on the bearer. It was too small to be used as part of a weapon, and nobody wanted to buy it for themselves, so the merchant had told an outright lie in an attempt to move it.

To be fair, anyone who survives going on an adventure while wearing that is probably pretty freaking tough.

True.

Calvin found one of the firestarters he鈥檇 always wanted when he鈥檇 lived in a hut, made of Firebeaver teeth. The ivory was about as long as his thumb and had a leather strap through the top of it to wear.

Calvin鈥檚 interest in it was more academic nowadays, though.

I wonder how it only works on wood? Calvin thought, holding the cool ivory in his hands.

Maybe it gives off heavy microwaves that only penetrate wood? Interesting thought, if you could refine that 鈥榮elective effect鈥?mutation from it.

Calvin bought the Firestarter then his eyes were drawn to a bug in a clear glass container that encapsulated it.

It was standing on top of a fake glass branch, its wings unfurled and trembling with the beat of its nonexistent heart.

鈥淲hat is this?鈥?Calvin asked.

鈥淭ime bug. Lives exactly twelve hours before it vanishes, laying an egg which matures for twelve hours before hatching. Doesn鈥檛 need food or air. People like to use them to tell time underground,鈥?the shopkeeper said disinterestedly.

Neat.

鈥淲hat about this?鈥?Calvin asked, picking up a brass tube the length of his thumb that looked like jeweler鈥檚 lens.

鈥淣avigator lizard eye. You can see the sun no matter what鈥檚 between you and it.鈥?br>
The sun was directly above them, so Calvin covered it with his hand.

Using the eye, he was able to see a phantom circle through his hand.

I think it can see high-frequency wavelengths. Neat.

鈥淭his?鈥?Calvin said, pointing to a rather large piece of bone that looked suspiciously like a ball and socket.

鈥淒rill devil hip. It turns better than any axle made by man and has a minor acceleration effect. Nobles use them for their chariots or mills.鈥?br>
鈥淭his?鈥?Calvin pointed to a tin full of little red beads.

鈥淏abbleskipper livers. They filter out everything but pure water. Adventurers like to bring them along to prevent dysentery. Paranoid nobles like using them to avoid getting poisoned.

鈥淭hat?鈥?br>
鈥淣opper testicles. They make women ovulate.鈥?br>
鈥淟ike鈥y eating them, or鈥︹€?br>
鈥淣ope, just hold them on her person, closer to the goods, the better.鈥?br>
Calvin shook his head, nearly overwhelmed at the selection of trinkets available, from lightweight bone handles to floating eyeballs that tracked enemies independently.

鈥淗ow does it know who鈥檚 an enemy?鈥?Calvin asked, peering at the eye that was flickering around inside it鈥檚 glass prison as if it were still looking for something.

鈥淵ou replace the solution it鈥檚 suspended in and add about a teaspoon of your own blood. Tricks the eye into thinking you鈥檙e the dodger.鈥?br>
鈥淚f a dodger always knows where enemies are, how do you get the eyes?鈥?Calvin asked.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not easy.鈥?The merchant said, pointing at the price tag under the glass vial. The price tag would have been a punch in the gut a few years ago, but it was manageable now.

鈥淗ow about this?鈥?Calvin asked, pointing to a tiny furred sack that might hold a single coin.

鈥淗oarder cheek,鈥?The mans said, puffing out his cheeks. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e rodents that can carry nearly a gallon of material in their cheeks. People like to use them to carry water. They don鈥檛 reduce weight though, so make sure you use a strong strap.鈥?br>
Hmmm鈥?Calvin thought, rubbing his chin. There were a wealth of Mutations he could strip out of these creatures with Abyssal Alchemy, and he had no reason not to do so.

I can totally justify this as an expense to Murak as long as I distill a useful Mutation out of it that can make us a profit.

鈥淐alvin, come look at this!鈥?Ella interrupted Calvin鈥檚 musing, tugging at his elbow. Calvin resisted her superior strength by holding himself in place with Beli-Ma. The nine invisible hands surrounding him didn鈥檛 require purchase to exert their force, so Ella was left scraping her feet on the ground as she tried to pull him away, despite her superior size and strength.

鈥溾€鈥檒l take everything here,鈥?Calvin said, waving at the entire table. I can sort through the things he hasn鈥檛 explained yet later.

The merchant blinked.

鈥淓verything?鈥?He gave a nervous chuckle. 鈥淚 mean no disrespect, but you couldn鈥檛 possibly鈥︹€?br>
Calvin opened the satchel on his side and brought out two Glimmer. The large bars of Nem clacked softly together as Calvin set them in front of the merchant.

鈥淲rap 鈥榚m up for me, would you?鈥?Calvin said, as he let himself get tugged away.

****

Ella dragged him to a tailor on the wealthier side of the city that showcased several Bolesian dresses in the window. Bolesian dresses were nearly the opposite of Malkenrovian dresses and loose juntai drapes.

They were made of several layers of thick embroidered silk that pressed in and conformed to the body of the wearer, especially the hips, stomach and chest, with a slit along the side allowing the women to walk. Some of the dresses were so profoundly well fitted that they seemed to be painted on.

鈥淭hat!鈥?Ella said, bouncing on the balls of her feet and gripping his shoulder while pointing at one of the skin-tight dresses.

鈥淐onsider it done.鈥?br>
An hour later, Ella emerged from the shop in a vivid green dress that stoked the imagination. The purple skinned Genosian gave a languid spin as Calvin gawked.

The silk hugged her hips and conformed to the shape of her booty just enough that he could see exactly what was underneath, but still wanted to see more.

The dress was tight around her muscular waist, and Calvin could make out her abs through the fabric. His eyes rose to take in the top squeezing her generous chest up, nearly spilling out into the air.

鈥淲hat do you think?鈥?Ella asked, her former clothes and a few more pairs of dresses in a bag by her feet.

鈥溾€︹€?br>
鈥淐alvin?鈥?She asked, frowning.

鈥溾€amn.鈥?br>
Ella seemed pleased.

Macronomicon

Just wrote a scene where Nadia's dad makes people do things. It was one of those things where the idea is so scary you don't want to commit it to paper, then when you're done, it loses some of the pizazz it had in your head. Oh well. Tell me how I did when you get to chapter 264.

Enjoy!

Oh right, on the off chance you don't follow my other work, I recently put out a book on Kindle! (Part of the reason I've been so absent, recently) You can read it for free on Kindle unlimited.

If you already knew that, which you probably did, disregard that link.

Now Enjoy!