263. Negotiations: Tabitha.

We essentially rode in two separate groups. We took a more leisurely pace than previously, and now that I had extra support, I sent Nyx on to warn Wiremu what was coming. When we caught the caravan, we were moving out of the desert and more into the rolling grasslands. Freebourne was now only two weeks travel for the caravan. We started to travel through the day and camp at night. Streams were more frequent, and it very nearly rained one day.

When we came within sight of the caravan, there was a reception committee waiting for us. Wiremu was out in front with his bow and knives. Runa was beside him, fully armoured with her shield out front. Her bond Horny was nearby grazing and acting like a normal goat. Modrica was behind Wiremu, mounted on Težka. Next to her was Mayakku, mounted on Cōmpēṟi. I saw Astrid back by the wagons watching. Moja, Mbili and Tatu were also watching. I am sure Nne and Tano were around. They've probably been following us for a while.

Everybody’s eyes widened at the sight, but for different reasons. Težka and Cōmpēṟi obviously dominated the guard's attention. Lord Nelson saw the number and variety of bonds. Horny’s innocent grazing didn’t fool him, and I am sure he also spotted Trassig hiding in the grass.

Wiremu stepped forward, and I rode to meet him as Rodion’s dogs spread out. Ruku kept Umreti beside him and stayed near Rodion.

“Lord Nelson, come and meet my brother. You can bring your two tag-alongs.” I dismounted, and Dusk wandered over to graze by Horny. I had warned Wiremu about Nelson’s lie detecting Skill, but Nelson had no idea about Wiremu’s Truth Sensing Skill or his bond Skills, although he probably guessed the latter.

Nelson dismounted and walked forward, flanked by Todd and Sandra. The others stayed mounted and watched. I am sure Nelson was trying to make sense of all the connections. He will have identified Wiremu as Tāoke’s partner. Tāoke has slipped away and is hidden in the grass nearby as well. They are all wary of Tāoke but have no idea of what he can really do or that he can change size.

When Nelson got near, Wiremu said, “I don’t like slavery, and I particularly don’t like Slave Taskmasters.” Everybody was in hearing range.

“Yes, I got that impression from your companions. But you have need of my services.”

“Yes. Your ability to free slaves.”

“My price for that is to examine the bonds here, particularly the elemental bond.”

“Your price for that should be remaining alive.” Wiremu shot me an angry glance as if my negotiating more than that was too much. His Roleplay Skill is getting good, and it is close enough to the truth to slip through. Probably.

“Nonetheless, that is what we have agreed.”

“You obviously have some sort of bond class as well. You are not just a slaver.”

“No, but that is where I started to learn about bonds. There is good coin delving back into it at the moment. That will change when the idiot who posted the bounty runs out of coins.”

“That idiot is my kind of idiot. You obviously have a bond and slaves, yet I see neither.”

“I sent the slaves back to Janub. My bond will arrive in due course.”

“What should we be on the lookout for? Težka and Cōmpēṟi are almost always hungry, and I wouldn’t want them to eat the wrong thing.”

“It is a Kit fox; she is not the smallest fox, but the grasslands are her natural territory. I have not been introduced to everybody yet. I don’t even know what to call you.”

“You can call me Quinn. Behind me is Modrica on Težka, her Dire Bear bond. If you try talking to her, you will not survive. The only reason you are still alive is you can free her clan mate. Next to me is Runa. Behind her is Mayakku on her bond, Cōmpēṟi. The dwarf by the wagons is Astrid. The others are hired trail guides.”

“You left a couple out. We wouldn’t want to have goat stew accidentally.”

Wiremu’s eyes narrowed. “Seeing as you know that, it would not be an accident. That is, in fact, Horny, Runa’s bond, and in the grass somewhere is Trassig, Astrid’s stoat bond.”

“You have already been warned about killing animals,” I said coldly. “That has not changed. In fact, let me give you a piece of free information. Modrica was with me during the Month of the Black Butcher. She was my chief enforcer. She is waiting for you to step out of line.”

Ruku stepped forward, “We will travel in separate groups, and you will make a separate camp.”

Runa spoke up, “Tonight, we will be camping by a stream. There is a small trading post there and a courier waystation. They will have some limited supplies.”

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“We will have a longer meeting tonight and remove the class from Umreti,” I said.

“It occurs to me that once the slave class is removed from Umreti, that will remove my main bargaining piece.”

“That is the only reason you are alive right now.” I said, “If you refuse to do it, there is no longer a reason to keep you alive.”

“You gave me your word that I would survive on my own actions.”

“You would accept the word of an infamous crime lord?”

“You haven’t lied to me yet.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“What would happen if we rode away now?

“I don’t actually know. I do know that you are the closest person able to remove the slave class from Umreti. I will pay you to do the job, and you can ride away without being attacked afterwards.”

“So I am to accept the word of an infamous crime lord?”

I pulled out a Cargonite Coin that would buy a medium size house in most cities. I flipped it to him, making sure it went high enough for everybody to see what it was. “Half payment now, the other half when it is done.”

“I didn’t come here for coin, although this alone is more than I ever expected to be paid. I came for knowledge about your bonds, and he,” he pointed to Wiremu, “is like you.”

Wiremu said, “I am not part of your agreement. And if you want us to trust you with our secrets, you shouldn’t have lied to us.”

It was Nelson's turn to narrow his eyes at Wiremu.

I spoke up, “I am going to assume Quinn is referring to your contingency plan to get you out of here safely or at least alive. We won’t interfere with that plan, and you have the downpayment. We complete the transaction tonight, and you can leave without enacting it.”

“It is interesting there is no mention of the other slaves you want freeing.”

“If tonight goes well, we can negotiate a separate agreement.”

He nodded, “Fair enough. Until then, we will keep our distance.”

“And not kill anything,” I said.

“And not kill anything.”

They rode away, and we went to join the caravan for the day's journey. Wiremu, Ruku, Modrica, Mayakku and I went into the wagon, which Mayakku used for her enchanting because it was the most secure place.

“What was he lying about?” I asked Wiremu.

“His slaves, he didn’t send them back to Janub.”

“There were five slaves at the camp where I found him. I thought one belonged to the Patrol Leader.”

“The others are close by, and I am sure they are part of his protection detail. He actually has six slave bonds in total. He also lied about his animal bond.”

“Not a fox?”

“I think he has a fox, but he has three animal bonds, one of which will be a fox. From the feel of the bonds, I think one might be a bird. The third is definitely a large, strong creature going from the flavour of the bond, but I don’t think it survives well in the desert, which would be a reason it was not with him. He is probably going to try to stall to let it catch up. If he has to run, he will run to it.”

“Sacrificing the slaves?”

“Probably.”

“How can he have three bonds?” Ruku asked.

“He must have a class for it. I would be interested to know what it is and if it can be taught,” Wiremu said.

“Like Gwaed?” Ruku asked.”

Wiremu nodded, “But elves have an advantage there.

"How is he communicating?" Ruku asked.

"Probably through the bird. That's why he told us about the fox, to distract us from the bird," Wiremu said. "Keep an eye out for the bird, but don't do anything about it yet."

“Does he have an affinity?” Ruku asked.

“Not as far as I can tell from his bonds. If he does it is very unusual, but I don’t think he does.”

"So he is working for the empire," Ruku stated.

“Not necessarily,” Wiremu said. “He has obviously travelled a lot. You don't get a multi-bond class in the Empire. That means that he has probably visited the Elven Forests for several years, possibly several decades."

“Let's see whether he tries to send a message from this courier station,” I said. “The empire will pay a lot for what he already knows, though.”

“There are only a few options I can think of that means we let him live." Wiremu said, "I am sure he is also thinking about this. Let's wait and see what his ‘offer we can’t refuse’ is. For now, what we have, thanks to Tabitha, is a chance to see the ritual in action.” He looked at Mayakku. “How can we maximise learning from this?”

“What I am going to do,” she replied, “is to spend the day enchanting storage runes to capture the spiritual energy. They won’t hold the energy for more than a day or so. For that, we would need enchanted Spiritual Gems. What I have here will hold it for a while, and we can spend the night and the next day experimenting.”

I thought aloud, “We could let him convince us to stay there for a second night. He would feel safer with Umreti, ‘weakened physically’ by removing the Slave Class, and his bond getting closer.”

Wiremu nodded, “We could stay several nights and free the other slaves.”

“Let’s see how tonight goes and if we can negotiate for more.” I said, “I will be interested in what he tries to get from us, especially when he thinks he is in a stronger position. For now, let us get out of this wagon and let Mayakku work.”

There was a knock at the door of the wagon. It was Runa, “I was approached by Moja, who overheard your discussion with the slaver. They are very concerned that you claimed to be the Black Butcher.”

Shit.