by Eric Vall
I’d still be punishing her for her little bits of insolence, though. I knew that was what she really wanted most.
Aleia grabbed a stick and began to poke at the slaked lime, but then she paused.
“Should I mix the lime into the sand, or the sand into the lime?” the fairy questioned. “Does it matter?”
“Start mixing the sand into the lime, just a little bit at a time,” I explained. “You want it to get thicker and thicker. If it gets so thick that it’s unworkable, though, you need to add a small amount of water.”
“I understand,” the strawberry-blonde said with a nod.
“This is interesting,” Nicola commented as she looked into the pot. The brunette knelt down next to Aleia, and she grabbed her own stick to begin mixing the cement.
After only a few minutes, the mortar was the perfect consistency, and the women looked at each other with pride.
“Jack, I think we can use it now,” Aleia told me. “I’d like to get this project done so we can go visit the gnomes.”
“That sounds good,” I responded. “Let’s take a look at this altar.”
The white stone altar had first gotten damaged when the two drunken assholes had come to the convent, and then a big storm had knocked it over entirely. The altar was composed of white quartz shapes that fit together like puzzle pieces, and a large, flat stone covered in ancient-looking carvings sat on top.
I took a minute to really examine the carvings on the stone for the first time, which wasn’t easy due to the way it had been worn with time. Was I imagining things, or did the inscription resemble closely-spaced lines of computer code?
Holy shit. Was that little circle with a line through it a power symbol? I felt a huge chill run down my spine, but then I jolted back to the present as Aleia called my name.
“Master, how does this fit together?” Aleia pondered. “I can see where this stone fits into the bottom slab, and then here, this one goes right next to it. Can I have the mortar and the trowel?”
“Here you go,” Nicola said as she handed the fairy the tools. “Aleia, you’re really good at putting together puzzles.”
“Thanks, sister!” the fairy chirped as she slathered the bottom rock with mortar. “I hope this works!”
It seemed like Aleia and Nicola had the situation under control, so I zoomed in on Penelope for a moment. The naiad looked totally innocent curled under her silk blanket, and I paused for a few minutes to admire her beauty. Her cheeks were lightly flushed even in her sleep, and there was a tiny smile on her lips like she was just in a constant state of bliss over this pregnancy.
Then I suddenly got a message on my display.
Level Up!
Damn, Aleia really did work fast. That little fairy was unstoppable.
Chapter 6
“Aleia, how did you do that so quickly?” I asked as I switched back to the garden.
The altar was fully intact again and gleamed bright white in the late afternoon sun, and the mysterious carvings on the surface had never stood out so much, even though I still couldn’t quite decide what they were.
“I don’t know, my lord,” the fairy confessed. “My mind and my hands were just working so well together, I suppose.”
“She’s a talented little fairy,” Nicola mused, and I didn’t miss the innuendo in her tone.
“Well, you did a great job,” I praised, and Aleia flushed. “I didn’t think that was going to get done today, but I’m so proud of you for accomplishing this.”
“Thank you, master.” Aleia bowed her head. “I feel as if I work better each day you are with us.”
“You truly do.” Nicola gazed at the other priestess for a moment with sisterly pride on her face. “I suppose someone should wake up Penelope so we can go visit the gnomes now.”
“Let’s walk over to our living quarters together,” the fairy suggested. “Then we can make sure we have everything we need for our visit. I think we should bring our packs with us so we can carry everything they offer us back.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea,” the brunette responded.
The two women continued to talk amongst themselves as they walked out of the garden, and I took the opportunity to check out my new information.
Map Clearing Achieved!
Convent: Level 6
Next Town Quest: Build protective wall around convent
Reward upon Quest Completion: Follower Insight: See amount of followers’ devotion
That sounded like an interesting reward, even if it was only for one specific purpose.
Especially where my skeptical brunette was concerned. I had a feeling Nicola was becoming more devout by the day, but she certainly seemed determined to behave otherwise once in a while.
And while I knew I’d let her taunt me about it either way, knowing better and watching her misbehave only made it sexier in my opinion.
Overall, though, building a wall for protection around the convent made a lot of sense. The problem would take some planning, but nonetheless, I was glad the simulation, or whatever I was in, gave me practical tasks that could make life safer for my women now.
It was time to check the women’s stats, and I started with Aleia.
Strength: 8
Endurance: 1
Intelligence: 2
Perception: 2
Agility: 3
Special Ability: Crafting: Develops into Alchemy: Level 6
I saw Aleia’s Intelligence had gone up by a point, and I wondered if it had to do with the way she’d learned to make the mortar easily. Also, she’d managed to put the altar together like it was nothing. The interface reminded me of the way her Special Ability referenced alchemy, and that made me think of the little science experiment the women had done earlier.
Next, I looked at Nicola.
Strength: 6
Endurance: 3
Intelligence: 2
Perception: 2
Agility: 4
Hunting/Animal Husbandry: Develops into Animal Communication: Level 6
It appeared the brunette still had a boost from my dream visit the night before, which was interesting. It had been almost a day since the dark-haired woman and I were together, and that made me wonder if the increase lasted a full twenty-four hours.
Nicola’s Agility number had gone up, as well, and I thought it had to be because of the way she’d butchered the cougar and built the snare. The dark-haired woman was getting really good with her hands, and it showed in her statistics.
Finally, it was time to check Penelope.
Strength: 2
Endurance: 3
Intelligence: 3
Perception: 2
Agility: 2
Special Ability: Water Seeking/Fishing: Develops into Water Magic: Level 6
Endurance was an interesting increase for the naiad. She’d spent a lot of time collecting the shells, but it hadn’t exactly been hard labor, and I wondered if the boost was pregnancy-related. This could only be a positive thing given how tiring it would probably be to carry a child in her womb, and I hoped this meant the naiad would get her wish, and not have to miss out on all the building and exploring too much.
When Nicola and Aleia reached the living quarters, Penelope was sprawled out on top of her blanket with flushed cheeks. The day had apparently gotten quite warm, and the naiad looked sweaty and uncomfortable.
“Penelope,” Nicola said in a quiet voice as she lightly fanned Penelope. “Penelope, we need to go to the gnomes now.”
“W-What time is it?” the blue woman asked in a slightly frantic voice as her eyes popped open. “I was having this strange dream where I couldn’t find you, sisters…”
“Shh, we’re right here,” Aleia said as she stroked the top of Penelope’s arm. “But we do have to go soon.”
“Alright,” the naiad sighed before she sat up, yawned, and stretched her arms up over her head. “I do want to go see them again, but I’m so tired.”
“Baby Roza is going to be there,” Ni
cola reminded the pale blue woman. “You’re going to want to see your new friend.”
“Right!” Penelope’s eyes brightened as she stood up. “Yes, we should definitely go now. What do we need to bring with us?”
“The meat, of course,” Aleia began to count off on her fingers. “We also thought it might be good to bring our leather packs so we can carry back supplies. And of course, weapons.”
“Hopefully, I’ll be coming back with a sword!” Nicola rubbed her palms together. “Sisters, aren’t we lucky to have the gnomes? They are truly giving us so much for so little.”
“We did help them in battle,” Aleia reminded the brunette.
“And tell them more about Jack,” Penelope chimed in.
“I don’t know if they care about that…” Nicola trailed off in a doubtful voice.
“I think they’re starting to come around.” Penelope smiled as she attempted to brush out her hair with her fingers. “They seemed very open to Jack yesterday. Oh, but I wish I had eaten more today.”
“Do you need to eat before we walk, Penelope?” Aleia asked. “We have all those fruits and vegetables from the gnomes in addition to the cougar meat, if that doesn’t sound good.”
“No, I’ll be alright,” the naiad replied, and then she looked at Nicola. “Sister, you have to remember to give me your knife.”
“I have it right here,” the brunette responded as she reached down into her pack and pulled out the blade.
“Thank you, sister,” Penelope said as she examined the weapon before sliding it into the sheath on her belt. “It’s not quite as big as the one I just gave you, of course, but it is nice.”
“Oh, Penelope, there’s something we need to show you!” Aleia clapped her hands together. “Come to the garden, it’s a surprise.”
“A surprise?” the naiad laughed. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll see,” Nicola hummed with a mysterious smile. “Don’t worry, you’re going to be happy.”
“Let’s go, let’s go!” The fairy was so excited she was bouncing on her toes, and her wings practically shimmied on her back.
“Alright, now I’m excited, too,” Penelope giggled, and the women left the living quarters.
As soon as they got to the garden gate, Aleia stopped and held out her hand.
“After you, Penelope,” the fairy said with a proud expression on her face. “You’ll notice it right away.”
The naiad smiled even more and took a few dainty steps, but then she noticed the rebuilt altar, and she squealed as she ran straight over and dropped to her knees.
“Oh, sisters, this is so wonderful!” Penelope gushed. “How did you manage it in so little time?”
“You have Aleia to thank for that,” Nicola said as she gave credit to the fairy. “I’ve never seen someone work so fast in my life.”
“Thank you, Aleia.” The blue woman’s eyes shone in the twilight. “I should say a prayer to Jack right now.”
“No, that’s alright,” I interjected. “You’ll have plenty of time for that later. The three of you should really go.”
“Then I will wait,” Penelope sighed wistfully. “Oh, I just can’t believe it’s fixed. It feels like it’s been forever since I could pray properly!”
“I’m so glad you’re happy!” Aleia said with a huge smile on her freckled face. “And the sooner we head to the gnomes, the sooner we can return to our altar.”
“Yes, let’s walk.” Penelope nodded and promptly got up.
Then the priestesses armed themselves, and Nicola looped her bow over her shoulder while Aleia did the same with her sling. The blushing naiad took up her spear and checked for her dagger, and once everyone was armed, they set off toward the road.
A few stars had already started to twinkle in the deepening blue sky, and I thought the women were leaving just in time. I zoomed in on the gnome camp and saw the small creatures were still sitting around the fire, and it looked like there was a big pot of something over the flames.
“You’ll be happy to know they’re still eating dinner,” I told the women. “Penelope, you’ll get to eat soon.”
“Their food is always so yummy,” the naiad said and licked her lips. “It’s because they have that garden, and I can’t wait until we start one of our own. I need to figure out what can still be planted this late in the season.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” I confirmed. I briefly considered having the women start canning food, but they didn’t have the right glassware. “By the way, there’s something I needed to talk to the three of you about, and we have a nice walk to do it.”
“It’s not bad, is it?” Penelope asked and stopped in her tracks.
“Of course not,” I laughed, and the naiad started to walk again. “It’s nothing bad at all, I just wanted to discuss building up the convent.”
“What are your plans, master?” Aleia asked.
“I want you to build a wall around the ruins so you’re better protected,” I explained. “You’ve been mortaring already, so you definitely have the skills you need.”
“That sounds like a big project,” Nicola pointed out. “Then again, no more surprise cougar attacks, right?”
“Yes, and we already know how to make cement.” Aleia smiled, but then she furrowed her strawberry-blonde eyebrows. “I’m sure we can accomplish this, my lord, but where do you want to put the wall?”
“Around the entire convent,” I informed the priestesses. “We can all work together to figure out the best positioning.”
“Wow, the whole convent,” Penelope breathed. “It will be a lot of work, but we’ll be so protected.”
“What kind of materials do you want to use?” Nicola asked. “Stone?”
“Yes, some sort of stone would be ideal,” I replied. “We may need to explore a little more to find a good source.”
Saying that made me realize I hadn’t checked out my new map expansion yet, so I zoomed out to the full extent of my God Vision. Parts of my map had still been grayed out because Aleia couldn’t see through the thick tree cover to survey the entire forest, but the new rules changed all that. Now, if Aleia had missed an area but flown all the way around its perimeter, the inner space was clear as well. The entire two square miles around us was now open, and I could zoom in between dense patches of trees to see what was happening on the ground.
“When we were first travelling to the convent, I saw a quarry off in the distance,” Aleia said. “Sisters, do you remember that? It’s to the west of here, where we could see across a long valley from the road.”
“How far away do you think it was?” I asked the fairy. “Is it close enough that you could bring back stone yourself?”
“Hmm…” the strawberry-blonde pondered with pursed lips. “Maybe three miles? It would be a lot of work for me, but I’m not sure how else we would get the supplies. And I want to do this for you, master. I think I could.”
“If you continuously retrieved stone, Penelope and Nicola could build,” I suggested. “That way the work is evenly distributed. We don’t have to figure out every detail right now, though. I only wanted to mention we’ll be working on this soon.”
“We’re really coming along!” Penelope chirped. “We’ve built the roof, and now the altar is back together, and I’m so happy. I hope we have enough room for the baby, though.”
“Of course we will, Penelope,” Aleia laughed. “She’ll be tiny at first.”
“But hopefully we don’t have to worry about that for a while,” the naiad cut in quickly, and she looked down at her flat belly. “Nothing seems to be happening, anyway.”
“It takes a while to grow a baby,” Nicola chuckled. “Well, a human baby, anyway.”.
“Yes, I know all about humans,” Penelope explained. “It’s just that naiads are a mystery. Aleia, you know a lot about fairy babies, right?”
“I do,” the strawberry-blonde said with a nod.
“How long do those pregnancies last?” the naiad asked.
“I never thought about that!” Penelope breathed as her mouth popped open. “How is a baby with wings born?”
“The wings are folded up against the newborn’s back,” the fairy described. “But if the mother were pregnant for too long, they might get too big, and they could bend or break. It would be very sad to be born a flightless fairy, but this has been known to happen.”
“Oh, that makes sense.” The blue woman nodded.
“We’re almost here, so if you don’t want the gnomes to hear you talking about babies, it’s probably a good time to stop,” Nicola warned.
“When are you going to tell them?” Aleia whispered to the naiad.
“Whenever it feels right,” Penelope said with a little nod. “I’d love to share this joy with the whole world of course, but I’m still so elated and processing this great blessing. You two won’t say anything, right?”
“Not keep our sister’s secret?” the brunette scoffed. “Penelope, of course you can trust us.”
“I thought so,” the naiad giggled.
“Hello, girls!” Wilfrim suddenly cried out, and I caught a glimpse of the gnome man standing out by the road with a broom.
“Wilfrim!” Nicola called back. “Sorry it’s so late, but we had a lot to do today. Is it still alright that we came to visit?”
“Of course!” the short man said in a hearty voice as he brushed leaves away from the path. “You’re always welcome, and we stay up late, anyway. I was just finishing my chores, but I think Nissa, Balabar, and Elowise are drinking tea by the fire, if you’d be interested.”
“Are the children still around?” Penelope asked in a hopeful voice.
“Nissa just put Roza to bed, but I think the other three are still lurking around the camp somewhere,” Wilfrim explained.
“Aww, I wanted to see Roza.” The naiad’s face fell.
“Your new best friend, eh?” the small man laughed. “Well, I hope we all will be seeing a lot more of each other, so you’ll get to see Roza again soon.”
“I hope so…” the blue woman sighed, and Nicola offered her a subtle pat to the back.
