117. Creepy: Ruku.

This damned foot is still slowing me down. I know I am lucky not to have lost it completely as that would have taken longer to replace, like Appā with his arm. With his arm, once the healers have grown it back, there are months and months of rehabilitation and retraining to regain muscle memory. A foot is not as bad, and even though I didn’t lose it, it will still be several weeks before I can go full out on it, even with my Regeneration. Meanwhile, I am still hobbling along with a cane.

I have managed to hire three ex-marines and two ex-navy people as security. I don’t think any report to Sione, but you can never be sure. I ensured they were aware of the confidentiality clauses in the contract and the severe penalties for breaking them. This applies to the whole caravan as I am told the Comedic Rhythm will be developing a new show on the road to Kirghiz, and stage secrets are valuable. The Duke’s Heir is also sending four of their guards specifically for the Comedic Rhythm wagons to protect his investment.

The Duke’s Gala will start in a few days. Most of the Caravan preparation will happen after the Gala, but it has begun in earnest. Selma, the Caravan Master, is a no-nonsense dwarf and is a pleasure to work with. Most of the Caravan prep is happening at the warehouse, and I am in charge of security here. It is busier than ever with goods coming and going. Tāttā is handling most of the merchant transactions. The Canine Queens are based at the quarry and are essentially full-time guards for the Catkin, especially Mayakku.

My problem is not with security. My problem is with the new task Tabitha asked of me. She wants me to help Wiremu keep an eye on the Duke’s youngest son, Sven. She didn’t say why, but she thinks he is caught up in this mess, either as a victim or perpetrator. When I was transferred to Obalno six, no seven years ago now, there were a lot of rumours circulating about him as a rebellious teen Noble. Then he settled down and is now an indispensable part of the Nobility here. I have met him a few times at official functions, and he seemed nice enough. He had let his natural hair colour grow back and removed his piercings, except for one ear. The only reminders of his teen rebellion were some tattoos poking from under his shirts and gossip.

Sven had never shown interest in girls, so the stories were all about whether he was interested in boys. He never seemed to have a date at the functions, male or female. I guess it never occurred to the gossipers that he just might not be interested in sex at this point in his life. Some people aren't, but I guess there is no gossip value in that. The gossip about his teen rebellion was all about his drunken antics in the taverns and the graffiti and brawls. If you believe the talk, he may have even spent time in illegal cage fighting. If that is true, they would be the junior, lightweight fights. He is skinny, and people don’t bet if the winner is too obvious. The betting is what makes the coin. Don’t always believe the gossip.

Sven has always struck me as an intelligent young man, and that has been proven in his work in bureaucracy in the last few years. He was raised to be a key administrator, and despite a few years of rebellion, he has shown a knack for the role. He was being trained in the Manager Class, although no one is sure what classes he does have. He has a powerful Status Blocking Skill, which is typical for the Nobility. It was probably the first Skill he was trained in.

Wiremu wants me to introduce him and Tabitha to Sven. Wiremu’s main task is to find out what the Imperials are up to, but Sven is caught up in this somewhere. Wiremu hopes it will lead to the Imperials. He messed up killing the other spy. Losing control of a Skill is the prime form of injury in the marines, which is why the training is so thorough, so it doesn't happen in battle.

I had arranged an appointment with Sven at the City offices at 1 pm, so I expected Wiremu and Tabitha here at the warehouse shortly. We were going to lunch, then to the meeting. I limped a security check around the perimeter, ensuring the guards were alert and the traps undisturbed. I finished at the Gatehouse and checked the log of people and goods coming through. I had the two ex-marines on the gate as it was the most important post.

While I was there, Wiremu and Modrica arrived.

“Hi, Ruku,” Wiremu said brightly. Modrica just gave me a nod. “I have ordered a carriage to take us to the Blue Fin. Tabitha will meet us there.”

It was both annoying that they had to pander to my weakness and pleasing that they thought of it. I certainly wasn’t going to turn it down. “Thanks. I’ll be with you in a minute.”

The carriage ride wasn’t long. The Blue Fin was a reasonably classy seafood restaurant in the town centre, close to the City Offices. Tabith had booked us a private room upstairs, and we settled in with some drinks while we waited for Tabitha.

A strange girl entered the room after the waitress left after delivering our drinks. My hand immediately went to my knife, but I didn’t pull it straight away. The girl was of average height with long blond hair. Her figure was … voluptuous was the only word I could find to describe her. She had fair skin with large breasts that strained at the thin tunic she wore. Her body narrowed to a slim waist, expanding into wide hips and solid but shapely legs. She had a too-short skirt on, showing a lot of leg, and when she turned to close the door, her ass was very curvy as well. She turned back to us with a wide smile. I kept my hand on my knife because my Sonar was telling me that all this flesh I was seeing wasn’t there. This wasn’t an accurate representation of the person who entered. Sonar was telling me that the actual person was skinny with short hair and very familiar.

“Tabitha?” Wiremu said hesitantly.

The girl's smile widened, and there was a shimmering, and suddenly it was Tabitha standing there.

“I finally did it!” she exclaimed. “I finally have a Skill to change how I look. It is called Body Image 1, and I want to know how you and Ruku saw through it.”

“Tell us about the Skill first,” Wiremu said.

“Well, I was trying to copy you and your Veneer Skill. I was practising in front of a mirror, and I suddenly realised I was doing it all wrong. I have a Shadow Affinity, and the various Shadow and Light Affinities open up Illusionist-type classes, so I should be focussing on creating an Illusion rather than whatever the hell it is your Veneer Skill does. Then everything clicked very quickly with my high Mental and Spiritual Attributes. So How did you see through it?”

“For me,” Wiremu said, “it was smell and sound. You smelled like Tabitha, and your footsteps, heartbeat, and breathing were recognisable.”

“So, it was really only because you know me so well that you could tell?” She asked, and Wiremu nodded. “I will normally cover my scent anyway. You know it sounds a bit creepy that you recognise my heartbeat and breathing, right?” She grinned at him. She turned to me, “What about you, Ruku?”

“My Sonar was telling me that all that expanse of flesh wasn’t actually there,” I replied.

“The Skill is only Level 1,” she replied. “It firms up the image as it levels and becomes more difficult to pierce. Plus, I only managed to observe this girl for a few minutes before I came in. With longer to study someone…” her voice trailed off into thought.

Then the air around her shimmered, and suddenly I was looking at Wiremu rather than Tabitha. I turned to look at Wiremu and then Tabitha / Wiremu, and I could not pick out any difference visually. Sonar was saying there were still discrepancies, but they were a lot less than with the other girl.

“I am not the only creepy one,” Wiremu stated.

“You are the only creepy one,” Tabitha / Wiremu said in Wiremu’s voice.

“That is quite creepy,” I said and looked at Modrica to see how she was reacting. She was sitting there watching silently, as usual. “The image is better, but there are still differences. They are less obvious.” I told her. “The voice was good. I assume it is a combination of Distract and Mimic?”

She nodded. The air shimmered again, and Tabitha was back.

“I won’t be able to use it against people with high Mental Perception, and I am curious as to how easily Eluf’s Keensight will pierce it.” She said.

“Even if you can’t use it against high levelled people, you can fool low-level people, thereby getting high-level people into trouble,” Wiremu said.

Tabitha just grinned. “Or just causing trouble,” she said.

Bloody kids. I am feeling my age and thinking about whether I am falling into the role of camp dad here. No, I remind myself. They are not kids. They are young, but I will not be the parent here.

“What’s the plan with Sven?” I asked to get them back on track.

“Do you want me to get one of my Hunters Marks on him so we can track him?” Wiremu asked.

“No,” Tabitha replied. “He will almost certainly detect it, and then he will know who broke into his place.”

“Wait up,” I said, “You broke into his place?”

“It was a bloody pigsty,” Tabitha said, “He is worse than you, Wiremu.”

“Why,” I asked.

“Because somebody is causing trouble in this city, so I started with Eluf’s direct rivals, his siblings.” She replied.

“You’re not asking to meet with Linne, so I am guessing you found something?” I asked.

“Nothing I can prove,” Tabitha responded. “I am 90%, no 99%, certain he has a spider bond and is a master trapper.”

“Why can’t you prove that?” I asked.

“Because it was undetectable until I managed to share Elemental Senses with Nyx.” She replied.

“So, what is the purpose of this meeting?” Wiremu asked.

“I want us to get a feel for him. No, that sounds creepy. I want to understand how he thinks more, and the first step is to meet him. I don’t know his purpose, not that I expect that to come from a first meeting. It is the first step,” She said.

We finished our meal and headed out of the restaurant. I spotted a familiar blond head sitting at one of the tables when we threaded our way through the ground floor table to the exit. She had the same voluptuous body with a too-short skirt and was sitting opposite a skinny male, obviously trying to impress him. Tabitha is going to be trouble with this Skill.