Sorry this chapter was a bit late. I didn't like the way it read upon rereading it, so I had to do a bit of a rewrite before posting.
Logistics. There was no getting around logistics.
With a goal in mind, Jadis was motivated to immediately follow the path straight to it. D had told her that a member of an avatar race who would be friendly to her was located at the base of a split-peaked mountain, near where two streams converge and spill over into five waterfalls. Jadis felt reasonably confident that the divinely indicated location had to be somewhere in Kaltars Wall, the mountain range to the north of the Great Southern Forest, which was to the north of where they were in Far Felsen. She wasn’t sure exactly where those waterfalls were, but with the speed she was capable of moving at, Jadis was more than willing to just grab a trio of packs and jog north to see what she could find.
Everyone else, however, felt that was an incredibly stupid idea and she needed to slow down before she got herself killed.
Jadis’ companions had become a stone wall. United in their insistence that the trip be done “properly” and not as a reckless charge into the unknown, she was forced to hammer out a concrete plan. All of her lovers had different points to make about the dangers and challenges of the quest they were about to embark on and, even though Jadis still wanted to set off as quickly as possible since she didn’t know how long the supposed friendly avatar D had told her about would remain in that one spot, after they discussed it for the better part of a morning, she had to admit their reasoning was logical.
The biggest concern was the fact that they didn’t know for sure which peak D was referring to. There were three mountains in Kaltars Wall that fit the description of a “Split Peak”. The closest was to the northeast and was only a valley over from where Jadis had reincarnated on Oros. The second was far to the northwest, practically along the coast and was days away, even at the speed at which Jadis was capable of moving. The third was further to the north, nestled deep near the center of the massive mountain range and would be a serious struggle just to get to it due to the lack of any roads or even reliable maps of the mountain passes. All in all, depending on which one of the mountains that D meant, the trip could take a few days, a few weeks, or even longer. After all, there was no guarantee that the five waterfalls would be easy to find, much less the person who might live near it or might just have been camping there at the time when D told Jadis about the location.
Since the trip could take upwards of a month and the season was well on its way to turning to winter, they needed to have as many provisions and other survival supplies with them as possible. Never mind that each one of her companions would need enough food to sustain them for weeks, each one of Jadis’ giant-sized bodies ate three times as much as any one of the others. She’d need a way of transporting a massive amount of supplies just for her alone. As Kerr emphatically pointed out, there was no guarantee that they would find enough prey animals to hunt once they got closer to the mountains. Even ignoring the scarcity that would come with the cold weather, the demons had no doubt ravaged the native populations. Thus, they needed to be prepared to be entirely dependent on their packed supplies.
The answer to this problem was, of course, the long-awaited wagon. Jadis had commissioned a custom-made wagon that could act as a mobile home away from home for her and her companions some time ago. The problem was the wagon still wasn’t finished. The carpenter who Sabina had found to do the work had been inundated with rush jobs and government-ordered work after the Battle of Far Felsen. When the magistrate of the entire province was commanding all craftsmen to focus on repairing the damaged buildings and walls of the city, Jadis couldn’t blame the man for putting her commission to the side. That meant that, according to both Sabina and the carpenter, it would be at least a few weeks more before the wagon would be done, considering all the custom features that were being put into it.
She couldn’t run off to the north without the wagon, not if she wanted her companions to come with her, which she absolutely did. So she had to wait. Waiting was not Jadis’ strong suit. Fortunately, finding things to focus on rather than sulk was something Jadis did have some skill in.
One thing that Jadis made sure to do was give Sabina a few of her Earth-inspired ideas for the wagon. Jadis was careful not to take credit for any of the ideas. She knew she wasn’t some inventor genius and she didn’t want to be perceived as such just because she was using some basic knowledge from her home planet to her advantage. Considering her lack of knowledge in a lot of different areas, she knew she couldn’t back a claim like that up if she were ever put under any kind of scrutiny. So instead of claiming credit, she explained her ideas as being technology that had come from the lost race of the Nephilim. That way, if Sabina was inclined to tell anyone about where her new creations were coming from, they’d at least have a small degree of separation from Jadis. Not much of one, since she was the only Nephilim around and therefore the only source of this ‘lost technology’, but at least people wouldn’t assume Jadis was some kind of divinely inspired inventor.
Among other things, the biggest yet simplest invention Jadis was able to give Sabina was the idea of the coil spring. Oros hadn’t yet invented that technology, from what Jadis had gathered, and instead their wagons and other equipment used leaf springs. While an old-fashioned leaf spring was certainly usable, Jadis knew enough about cars from her father to know that a coil spring would provide far better performance for purposes of suspension. And considering the kind of load the oversized wagon was going to need to be capable of handling, Jadis wanted to make sure it had the best parts possible to help ensure it wouldn’t break down while they were out on their search.
Sabina took to the concept of the coil spring with as much enthusiasm as she did with everything and before Jadis had even finished explaining the device to her, she was already thinking up ways to use it beyond a wagon’s suspension system.
“—or I could use it to improve stability in a mounted ballista so that the recoil doesn’t cause it to shift and move as much! Of course there are non-military applications like seats and chairs and doors and beds and ships and tools and—oh! I could also use it to improve certain kinds of traps which isn’t strictly a military use since traps are also for hunting and self defense but I guess they could be used for defense against demons as much as for catching rabbits if they are scaled up though I wasn’t really thinking that way but now I kind of am.”
“I look forward to seeing what you can come up with,” Jay told the excited half-elf as a grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. “But hold off on those experiments until after the wagon is done, okay?”
“Yes ma’am!” Sabina answered with a silly salute.
“So, why are we heading off into the north?” Bridget asked with a skeptical look. “Seems like a lot of walking when there are plenty of demons to kill closer to the city.”
Jadis and her team were all gathered in the dining room of their guild hall. The large table she had made to fit them all was already feeling kind of snug with just two more members added so Jadis made a mental note to work on getting something bigger. More importantly, she was using the meeting to explain what they would be doing to her new recruits. Sabina didn’t necessarily have to come on the trip since she wasn’t strictly a combatant, but Jadis was going to at least offer her the opportunity to since a lot of experience was likely to be gained on such a far-ranging expedition. There was also something to be said for bringing along someone who could fix the wagon, their gear, and even craft arrows for Kerr.
Then there was Bridget. She absolutely had to come, since she was not only their newest member but she also was an actual fighter and should be joining them out in the field. Thus she needed to know what was going on and why they were going, at least for logistical purposes if nothing else.
“Partly we’re going because we have a lead on someone who could help Jay, Dys, and Syd with their ability to connect with Lyssandria. As Nephilim, they should be able to receive guidance from her, but due to the circumstances that led them to be here in Far Felsen, they never got the chance to learn how.”
Aila’s calm explanation was, to Jadis at least, shockingly convincing. She wasn’t sure why it was shocking to her, nothing she was saying was a lie. In fact, Aila was being as truthful as possible. Yet somehow her explanation managed to leave out all the important bits that Jadis didn’t want to share with her two new recruits, which Jadis wasn’t sure she would have been able to do so smoothly.
“We’re also hoping to find evidence of other Nephilim survivors,” Aila continued. “It’s doubtful that we will find any, especially since we don’t necessarily plan to search too deeply into Kaltars Wall, but it is a secondary objective.”
That part of the plan had come from Eir. She had gotten permission from High Priest Gerhardt to use his map for their planning, though that had naturally prompted the question from him as to why they needed it. That had led to a discussion about their plans to head north, which led to Gerhardt asking if Jadis was looking for the remnants of her village while she was out there. Eir, not being one to lie easily, had said that they would be keeping an eye out, at least.
Jadis didn’t mind that part at all. It made sense for her cover story that she would be using an opportunity like this to seek out her non-existent friends and family. Apparently, Gerhardt had been planning on spearheading a search of his own, but the plan hadn’t gotten far since the demonic attack on the city and the recovery afterwards had taken precedence. Since Jadis and her crew were going, Gerhardt had offered to send a few priests along as well, which Jadis had declined, and had also offered to help cover the cost of supplies, which Jadis had accepted. There was nothing wrong with taking advantage of the temple’s generosity, at least not as far as Jadis or her advisors could tell. Gerhardt wasn’t a part of one particular political movement or another, so it probably wouldn’t be seen as some kind of favor.
Jadis scowled at just the thought of political favors.
“So, sort of a search and rescue? Sort of?” Bridget looked for confirmation.
“Basically,” Dys nodded while quickly wiping the frown from her features. “Though probably not any actual rescuing. Mostly just the searching. The person we’re looking for in the north probably doesn’t need any kind of rescue, but we won’t know what their situation is until we get out there.”
“And where did the information on this, uh, whoever it is, come from?” Bridget questioned.
Jadis had to give the orc credit. She didn’t just roll with a plan without asking pertinent questions. Which might also explain why she had trouble fitting into more regular mercenary companies. Jadis got the impression that most companies didn’t encourage their troops to question orders. If Captain Renz of Bernd’s Blades said to pack up and move out, she doubted Aila’s uncles would demand to know why or expect to get an answer.
“Divine guidance,” Eir answered Bridget’s question with a sweet smile but nothing further.
While Eir encouraged openness, she herself was tight-lipped about her Oracle class. Other than Jadis, Aila, Kerr, and Thea, she hadn’t told anyone else about being a Lustful Oracle of D. Not that she was embarrassed about the class. Well, maybe she was a tiny bit embarrassed to talk about the nature of the class with others, but mostly she was proud of what her secondary class could do. No, she didn’t tell others, not even the High Priest, because oracles were such a rare and valuable commodity. Eir didn’t want to risk the chance that the temple would try to order her away from Jadis’ side to be somewhere safer, so that her ability to commune with the gods for guidance and direction was protected. She wasn’t sure that Gerhardt would be inclined to do something drastic and against her own wishes, but she still felt it was safer to keep her class under wraps for the time being.
Who was Jadis to judge that decision, considering her own situation?
“We’ll discuss the smaller details of the trip later,” Dys spoke up before Bridget could ask another question. “We won’t be leaving until the wagon is finished anyway, so we have plenty of time to talk it all out and refine any rough spots. There was something else we wanted to talk to you and Sabina about today.”
“It’s a… sensitive topic,” Jay prefaced as she interlaced her fingers in front of her. “Sensitive and personal. I’ll be frank with you both: what we have to talk about involves revealing a lot of details about both our primary and secondary classes. For me and my sisters.”
“Before we tell either of you anything,” Syd continued, “we want to ask for an oath. You have to swear on your honor and whatever else you hold dear that you will not reveal our class information without our permission. Not to anyone. Ever.”
“If you can’t agree to that, we understand, but we’ll have to ask you to leave the room while we discuss details involving our classes in the future. They relate to the function of the mercenary company, so we,” Jay motioned around her at her companions, “will discuss such information at times, but those who can’t agree to our terms cannot be a part of the discussion. You can still be in the company, and we won’t think any less of you for not taking the oath nor will we treat you differently otherwise, but you will have to give us that space and privacy. If you can’t agree to do that either, then we will ask you to leave the company.”
Both Sabina and Bridget were silent as they digested Jadis’ words. She gave them time to take it all in and kept her peace, as did her companions. Eventually, one of them broke the silence. Jadis wasn’t entirely surprised to see that it was Bridget with another question.
“All of you know this class info stuff?” the orc asked, looking around at Aila and Kerr and the others. “It’s that big of a deal?”
“Yes,” Thea said immediately, her response simple but firm and without her characteristic stutter. “It is.”
“Without giving away any details, it is in no way harmful to any of you,” Aila added.
She didn’t tell them about the potential benefits, not yet. Jadis had wanted to ask for the oath before hinting at the rewards, so Aila kept quiet on that front. They had all agreed that asking for discretion on something that was supposed to be personal anyway without the promise of a reward was a better judge of character.
“Well fuck,” Bridget scratched at the scar on her face. “How am I supposed to walk away from a mystery like this? I mean, I guess I could just say no, but shit! I’m really curious now!”
“Does this have anything to do with why all of you sleep in the same bed?”
Jadis and the others turned their attention to Sabina, the half elf looking back with unabashed curiosity. “Because I figured you were all having sex with each other because you’re all just so attractive, but if it’s class related then that makes a lot of sense.”
“The fuck!?” Bridget stared goggle-eyed at Sabina, then at the Nephilim, then the others, then back at Sabina. “Uh, I mean… the fuck!?”
All three of Jadis sighed, but Jay was the only one to answer.
“Yeah, it has to do with that. But we’re not getting into the details unless we get an answer. So what’s it going to be?”
Sabina wasted no time.
“I swear by my honor and by Svaroga’s Forge that I will keep the details of your classes a secret and I’ll carry that secret to my grave.”
Bridget just stared at the unusually serious smith for a few seconds before frowning and turning to look at the rest of the group.
“Okay, well, I’m sure not going to be the odd one out. I swear on my life and on my honor as a daughter of Clan Warsong that I won’t reveal the details of your classes to anyone without your permission. Now fucking spill, what is this all about? Uh, if you would, ma’am. Please.”
Jadis smirked at the two similar yet different responses. She was glad that both had agreed since the prospect of keeping either woman in the dark had not been a pleasant one for her. But now that she had their promises and the time had come to drop the veil, Jadis hesitated. Where exactly was she supposed to start?
“Okay, first thing you gotta know before anything else,” Kerr suddenly blurted out, “is that sex with them is great but intimidating as fuck, because they’ve got these massive fucking cocks, like, arm sized. But also, they have a skill that makes it actually possible to fit those meat pillars in you cause there is no way it’d work without a skill for it. Also, they can help you grow your own dick if you want to try one out yourself, so that’s a great bonus. But yeah. Horse cocks. This big. For real.”
“…thank you, Kerr.”
394