Carnival of the Soul

by Cebelius

  "No. I think he is right, his mana had no outlet. It was too much for me. I ..." Mila trailed off and wanted to sink back into the water again as she completed the sentence, if only in her mind.

  I could not think. I let myself go and treated him as though he were one of my kind.

  Shy's words mirrored her thoughts. "Tee isn't like us. You can't treat him that way next time. If there is an issue with control, we will help you."

  Shy reached out, offering a hand as she said, "Okay?"

  Mila shook her head as she couched her hands on her knees and pressed down hard. "There will not be a next time."

  "Of course there will be." The dryad's hand didn't waver. "You are one of us. He would never exclude you."

  "I do not need sex like you do," Mila said, standing abruptly. "I have his bond. I will settle for his affection."

  Shy glanced up, then lifted her shoulders marginally as she rose gracefully to her feet. "If that is what you wish. So long as you remember that this decision is yours, not ours."

  The dryad smiled faintly as she added, "When you change your mind, be sure to let me know first though, if you would. I will help you prepare. Now, do you feel his bond gift? Can you tell what it is?"

  Mila tilted her head, searched within herself. She felt that something was different, but she could not tell what it was. As she concentrated, she felt it stirring something within her, and said, "I ... feel it, but it is not ... ready?"

  Shy nodded slightly and said, "Come, take my hand."

  She reached out, and Shy steadied her as she stepped out of the bath. To her surprise though, Mila found herself being led into the shower, and she cringed when Terry turned to look at her.

  Before she could speak, he reached out, took her from Shy, and wrapped her up in a warm embrace, drawing her under the cool water as he murmured, "It's okay. Mila, I understand. I'm not mad."

  The smile in his voice was obvious as he added, "I loved the feel of you cumming so hard. I'm glad you chose to let me give that to you."

  "Terry." His name left her in a breathless rush, and then she was holding him tight. "I am sorry, Terry! I did not want to hurt you."

  "Sssh. I know. I've had worse."

  "What woman of yours has ever done worse to you?!" she said, sniffling.

  "Prada tore my arm to shreds when we met."

  "Not during sex!"

  Terry chuckled, and squeezed her gently as he conceded, "No, you've got me there. She didn't do it during sex. She did use me like a toy until I passed right the fuck out though."

  He leaned back from her and tapped at his chest as he said, "And these scars right here? Those are from Euryale for pinching her ass. That was during sex. So are the circular ones down low on my hips and back, compliments of Cecaelia. You're okay Mila. We, are okay. I love you, and I am glad you came to me."

  She looked up into his eyes, searching for the truth there, and he tilted his head, his gray-green eyes glimmering as he smirked, adding, "I'm glad you came for me. Would love to do it again sometime. When you're ready."

  She lifted to the tips of her toes, her eyes never leaving his, and he kissed her.

  Her eyes drifted closed, and she felt nothing but the cool rush of the water, and him.

  3

  Carnival

  Mila and Terry finished a shower together and Mila insisted on drying him off, then seemed pleased when Terry did likewise, though she took far longer and several more towels to get the job done.

  With nothing but her swimsuit available, she put it back on, wrapped the sarong about her waist, and stepped out of the bathroom with Terry close behind. She turned and smiled at him, and he reached out and took her hand in his.

  The two started down the hallway, only to pull up short as Marcus appeared. The big minotaur didn't step around a corner. He simply appeared. A glimmering crown of starlight shown upon his heavy brow, but otherwise he was dressed in his usual chainmaille hauberk, and even had his mace and barn door-sized shield upon his back.

  "It is time to leave," he said without preamble. "A challenger has answered Sphinx and entered the Labyrinth."

  Less than five minutes after Marcus appeared, Terry was transported out of the Labyrinth and appeared on the southern edge of the Eastern Steppes.

  He had expected a flat, empty grassland, perhaps with some rolling hills. Instead, he found himself in the midst of a colorful sea of tents. There might be grasslands under those tents, but at the moment all he could see was a seemingly endless ocean of fabrics in a variety of colors and configurations, and a lot of tauren.

  Thank God I'm wearing Shy's mask. I should just blend into the background.

  Their appearance had caused a bit of a stir, and no wonder. Even without a template in the group, it was rather remarkable.

  He glanced around and silently did a head count. Mila, once more dressed in her cream-colored robes trimmed in red, had her emerald-capped staff to hand. Yuri wore his worn but serviceable breastplate and a new set of faulds along with a silver-studded leather belt with rubies inset in the buckle. A baldric supported a two-handed sword on his back, and as Terry looked, the tiger man inhaled deeply as his tail wove behind him. The crowds were clearly something he had expected, and Terry found himself wishing he'd had more time to talk to Marcus ... rather, that it had occurred to him to talk to Marcus. If he had, he'd have been warned of this ... whatever this was.

  At least the Kolenkos are happy to be home, Terry mused with a slight smile as his eyes flicked over to find Prada wearing a bomber jacket, jeans, and a supremely annoyed look.

  And someone ELSE is pissed that she didn't get to share Mila.

  As he thought that, it occurred to him that she looked like a female template, and wasn't wearing a dryad mask to hide her presence. "Prada, best you join me for now. I didn't know these people were here and you looking like that could cause ... I don't know, a stampede?"

  Prada smirked at that, sashayed over to him, and after a brief kiss, she flowed into his body, leaving her clothing behind for him to pick up as her typical red sash appeared. Unfortunately, having her inside him now unavoidably increased his size by almost a full foot. She was able to compress herself in a way he couldn't given Halla's gift, but when combined with him there was only so much she could do. Hopefully, the mask would still be able to cover for him.

  Since they'd discovered all this days ago, he had sized his clothes to accommodate her, so rather than tearing everything apart when he grew, he wound up with a better fit and simply crouched to uncuff his pants.

  As he straightened again he glanced over at Laina Lowe to find her looking warily around as her hands twisted around the six-foot long steel shaft of her legendary double-bladed Ax of the Great Plains. She was six and a half feet tall and possessed of a herculean build that no human woman could possibly match. She was a minotress, and had longhorns three feet on a side. Her bangs stopped just short of her eyebrows and her brown hair was plaited in front of her horns while hanging loose in the back. A bovine tail swished behind her, capped with a tuft of dark-brown fur, and her thighs trended down into hooves.

  For all her monstrous traits, her face was entirely human-looking and could only be called cute, with pretty brown eyes and a faintly upturned nose.

  She wore a red loincloth supported by a thick leather belt with an iron buckle, a pair of gold-plated bracers on her forearms, a white sarashi wrap that did nothing to disguise her tremendous endowments, and a thick golden band around her left horn that matched the one on Terry's left ring finger, both gifts from Asturial for their wedding.

  Laina's expression was apprehensive, and Terry knew it had to do with a genetic quirk she had, though she wouldn't have called it that. A normal minotress was typically bosomy and plump, with a soft, motherly appearance that matched their temperament. Laina's quirk gave her hard muscles, but while her breasts were massive, made it exceedingly unlikely that she could produce the milk most minotress' fed their families and traded with. As a consequen
ce, despite her imposing size, she was looked down on by most others of her kind, as physical strength was only valued in the men of her race.

  Just beside Laina, Shy Willow was glancing around, her lips twisted in an expression of vague unease as well. A dryad, she had the body of a sex goddess, with richly curved hips, an amazing ass, and breasts just a little bit larger than her frame suggested. She was dressed in leaves and vinework, which meant she was essentially naked, just choosing to hide her naughty bits. Her bare belly was completely smooth with no trace of a belly button, and all of her exposed skin was green, with light-brown whorls and lines that looked like the grain in fresh-cut lumber. Her hair was composed of long willow leaves, and her face had a classic beauty, with softly glowing green eyes, full lips, and uncannily perfect proportions.

  Halla stood a few feet past Shy, and even as Terry watched she grew from a height of around six and a half feet tall to a full thirteen feet, then stretched luxuriously. The newest of Terry's bonds, he didn't know too much about her. Once a cyclops, his bond gift had turned her into something called an oni, with indigo skin, two golden eyes, a pair of tiny upturned horns on her forehead, and — apparently — the ability to change not only her size, but the size of all her gear. She wore a breastplate not unlike Yuri's, though instead of metal faulds to cover her upper legs she had a steel-studded skirt of leather straps, along with metal bracers and greaves. Her weapon was a long club shaped essentially like a baseball bat, save that it was made of metal and had studs covering two-thirds of its length.

  Terry didn't really know what an oni was, and when he'd asked, Yuri had just told him to consider himself lucky that Halla was on his side. Just at that moment he was grateful that she was also inadvertently putting on a show and drawing attention away from him.

  "Ah, good, everyone is here."

  Terry turned to his other side to acknowledge Asturial. Once a dragon, she was now a mere dragon proxy, though 'mere' gave entirely the wrong impression. Of all Terry's bonds and companions, she was easily the most powerful. Even fused with Prada, Terry would not have given himself good odds of surviving an encounter with her.

  Though he had agreed to allow her to accompany him after all that had happened in the Labyrinth, she was not yet one of his bonds. She wore a white sarashi and loincloth that set off the ruby scales covering her sides and back. Her front was cream, and red scales drawn to points accentuated her face. She had long elfin ears protected by black ram-like horns, and a mane of wild red hair that descended her back and — combined with her pale, ruby scale-accented face — made it look as though she wore a kabuki mask. A thick reptilian tail descended past her buttocks, and she held a tremendous sword six and a half feet long, a foot wide, and several inches thick as though it were a toy.

  He nodded to her, then tipped his chin up to indicate the long, low reflecting pool that marked the entrance to the Labyrinth. Within the pool were the remains of several stone gargoyles, and the door set into the rock wall at the back was open, though it showed only blank stone beyond.

  Surrounding the pool were colorful awnings over what looked to Terry like temporary bars, most of which were literally no more complicated than a plank spanning a couple barrels. It seemed that most of the crowd had dispersed though, and given the rubble in the reflecting pool it was obvious the show was over.

  Parked perhaps twenty feet away was a covered wagon not unlike those Terry remembered from textbooks of the westward migration, along with several horses.

  Terry glanced around. He had expected to see Sphinx, the guardian of the Labyrinth, but she was nowhere to be found. Her aerie, once set above the open door in the cliffside, was gone. Even with the gift she had given him he could see no traces of magic in the stone over the entrance. The cliff itself was much smaller than it had been. In the jungle, the Labyrinth door had been set in an escarpment that had risen hundreds of feet and extended into the hazy distance. Here the cliff rose a bare thirty feet, and it seemed like someone had carved the crucial bits of the last location out with an ice cream scoop and set them down in the middle of the plain.

  "So, what's the deal?" Laina asked, frowning as she stepped close, glancing around nervously. "Why are we out here all of a sudden?"

  Terry said, "Once someone enters the Labyrinth, it will move when that person either dies or succeeds. We had to be out before it moves, or we'd miss our free ticket to the Steppes. We're really only out here so fast because if the challenger dies, Marcus has to move the Labyrinth pretty much immediately. On that note: welcome home Yuri, Mila."

  The two tiger kin looked at him with almost identical smiles, and Yuri said, "We are still over a hundred miles from my home village, but considering the distances involved between here and Florence, close enough."

  Asturial said, "We should be able to make the rest of the journey in fair comfort, seeing as how the wagon and horses also made the trip."

  Grinning as he caught the not-so-subtle fishing for praise, Terry said, "Thanks for that."

  The dragon proxy smiled graciously and said, "You are welcome."

  "Who will drive the wagon, now that Marcus is no longer with us?" Shy asked.

  "I can manage it," Yuri said. "Or we can look into hiring a driver. We will stay here for a few days though. Someone should be meeting us here soon."

  Shy stepped in close to Terry, who smiled at her and offered his hand. She took it, and her voice sounded in his mind.

  'It would be advantageous to allow Yuri to take the lead here. Marcus has been speaking with his fellows for the last several days. Many details of our journey have not been mentioned, so it is best to simply allow my mask to keep you in the background for now.'

  He answered her without speaking. No problems here. It'll be nice NOT to be noticed for a change.

  Whenever they touched, they could speak to each other the same way Prada spoke to him. It was only when they touched though. At other times, she had a sense of him, but they had never had the time to determine her ability's range. He could sense her as well, but only when he concentrated. Unlike her, he had no knack for hocus pocus.

  He got a sense of warmth from her as her thoughts came again. 'On that note, I suggest you don your traveler's cloak. It's in your pack.'

  Terry did as he was asked, and as the voluminous cloak settled on his shoulders, he noticed a cavalcade of people heading their way. He glanced at Shy as he thought, They don't know a template is here?

  'There is no way to know what they know. Marcus did not reveal your race, but apparently did mention that he had acquired a blood brother.'

  Damn. Must not have occurred to him that I'm one of two, count'em, other males in this party, and it's gotta be pretty obvious that he wouldn't have been talking about Yuri.

  'While I can only hear your half of this conversation,' Prada's voice intruded, 'that is enough. With me, you can emulate another race. The only question is, what do you want to be?'

  Terry glanced around and frowned as he considered his options. The two people in his group with builds similar to his own were both eldritch. That meant there were no males of their race. Marcus had mentioned blood brother, so even if he were comfortable being gender-bent — and he wasn't — that wasn't an option.

  With the group sent to greet them only about fifty feet away and closing, Terry had to think fast. In the end, he shook his head and shrugged as he thought, For now, I'll just hope no one notices me. Any shape changing will probably draw the attention of that group headed our way. For now, pass the word around that Yuri's in charge.

  Shy disengaged from him with nothing more than a mental acknowledgement, and went to speak with Halla and Laina, both of whom were shortly nodding their agreement. Asturial glanced toward them as she asked, "What is it?"

  "Yuri's in charge. We're relying on the mask to hide me for now. Good bet no one here knows I'm a template and I'd like to keep it that way."

  "Are you telling me you want me to defer to him?" Asturial asked with admirable restraint,
given there was no more than a trace of irritation in her tone.

  "Well, yes, but don't do anything that would be too out of character. Just don't blow my cover. Remember, the goal is to stay low-key."

  She nodded and said, "Very well. I can do that."

  'Would you like to place a bet about how long she stays low-key?' Prada asked inside his head.

  Terry's lips twisted around a smile as he thought, Oh at LEAST five minutes. Maybe six. I really don't care if SHE stays low-key. Any attention on her isn't on me, so outside of her pointing and screaming, 'Template here!' I win no matter what she does.

  Prada's answer was full of laughter. 'Aw ... and here I thought I would be able to get two concessions from you in one day.'

  As they spoke, something occurred to him and he thought, By the way, I don't feel any different after Mila. Can you tell what her bond gift to me is?

  'Yes, but unlike some of your other gifts, hers will take some time to manifest.'

  Prada's annoying habit of being mysterious kept her from saying more, and though Terry fully intended to press, their converse was interrupted as the delegation reached them and a minotaur with more gray in his hair than brown said, "Marcus told us you would be coming, but he was scant on the details, save that you were victors within the Labyrinth. My name is Graven Morrow. I lead the Trembling Earth herd and head this carnival by dint of first presence."

  Yuri nodded as Graven introduced the other major figures in the delegation, and Terry caught on that they called their tribes herds, and that several major groups had gathered here over the course of the last week, with more supposedly on the way. The three represented by the delegation were Trembling Earth, the Big Sky herd, under a minotress named Laila Rise, and a herd called Temujin, led by a minotaur named Yesun Tege.