Jebidiahs Change Bk 02 Ch 10

Welcome back gentle reader

The ratings on the last chapter didn't start out so well. Hopefully this chapter will resonate better with my early readers. I'm breaking what is apparently a cardinal sin by introducing some new people this late in the book. Also, after giving the Valors some recovery time from all the combat, things get a bit dark, a small dip into the Ravenloft style of gaming. Hope you enjoy it.

I referred to this in my profile, but I want to restate it here. I've been editing Book 1, slowly but surely, to get it where it should have been. I say slowly because, good lord above, there are

soooo

many errors in it. Thanks for sticking with me.

Standard disclaimer, multiply ages by roughly two to get equivalent Earth ages. Everyone is a consenting adult.

— Somewhen, Somewhere —

Avellar calmed herself. Contact had been made, the situation could still be salvaged. She glanced at the woman pacing beside her, ignoring the stream of oaths being screamed.

Bora seethed. The news of what happened to her followers had shaken her more than she thought possible. The desecration and level of depravity would have been expected from Iztar, who knew exactly how to goad Bora, but this... Magard was tapping into her mastery over the Demonic. Despite Bora being the embodiment of Life and Peace, she wanted nothing more than to wage war—eradicate the evil through whatever means possible.

Both women were of the Light, but neither of them cared for the rules or orderliness like Comlain and Darido did. The war between the Light and the Dark had been ongoing for millennia, long before the Divine ascended to embody the twelve aspects of Humanity. The difference now was the warfare had become more structured, the enemy more visible.

Racism among humans, based on trivialities like skin or hair color, had become non-existent. With so many actual races, humanity had bonded together against easily distinguished common foes; the Dark. With the Great Rendering, when humans Changed en masse, they tended to transform into something they felt an affinity with deep inside, something their psyche resonated with even if deep within their subconscious. Evil women and men tended to become the Dark races and, before the Tallies, those Dark escaped destruction, banding together in the wilds. Now, centuries later, those non-human civilizations embraced their inner nature. Goblinkind were Evil, invariably, and preyed on everyone.

Racial prejudices existed for a reason.

So, while Bora ranted and screamed, Avellar contemplated the Valor Goblin. Where

did

this one fit within the Light? There was no doubt that Bora's pet House was doing the Light's work, but Avellar sensed the Darkness in the Goblin as well. She was a lighter Grey, much like Comlain, but Grey nonetheless. Avellar was beginning to see wisdom in bringing in more perspective to the conflict, maybe even their supposed Divine partners.

How best could Avellar use this Goblin— this... Crystal?

— Chapter 10: South of Fort Mylar —

— Sixth Tenday of Juntaen 813 AGR —

"They'll never expect this" means "I want to try something stupid."

- Taylor

Jebidiah fumed. He paced in a circle that changed in size on a whim, kicking at rocks he found objectionable. He wanted nothing more than to be at the woman's side, hear her voice—touch her. The image of her was burned into his brain, and he found himself reviewing every aspect of it, admiring the perfection he saw. But he couldn't

go

to her side. He stopped his pacing, to make another attempt at commanding the women before him.

"No." Olga didn't even let him get a breath out as he began to speak. She was the polar opposite of the vision of beauty he wanted to see, and it angered him again. He might have attempted to get past her, but Michelle, Lana, and Rebecca stood by her side, creating a wall of strong, stern women. Aside from that, Olga looked seriously pissed off and he wasn't sure if he was the source or just the destination of her anger.

"Under other circumstances, Your Grace, I'd find this whole thing rather funny, but your wives will have to deal with this." Deep in his mind, he knew Michelle spoke with reason, something that should have resonated with him, but his desires overrode reason. His face darkened as he stared unblinking at Michelle, but she matched his glare without faltering.

Dana chose that moment to intrude in their silent contest of wills.

"For fucks sake, Jeb, do we have to perform an exorcism or something? I'm starting to get really pissed you don't act this way about us. Crystal is your number one and you just ignore her!"

Jebidiah turned his glare from Michelle to Dana, but unlike Michelle's stoic response, Dana matched his anger. "Are we going to be able to talk now? Or is your dick still in charge?"

Externally, Jebidiah just glared, but internally he waged war against himself. Dana's words had registered. He had been snubbing everyone, including Crystal. The thought of her being upset brought her image to mind, pouting, sad. Instead, the priestess invaded his memory, shoving Crystal somewhere deep within his mind. He recoiled, wincing. This was wrong and he knew it, but he couldn't find a way around it.

Dana noticed his reaction and eyed him wearily. "Jeb? Speak to me, what's going on in there?"

Jebidiah sat on the ground, holding his head in his hands as he rocked back and forth, fighting against his emotions. The sense of wrongness grew, and he latched onto the uneasiness, using it as an anchor, pushing back with his anger. He would die for Crystal, gladly sacrifice himself if it meant she lived, and had nearly done so at the Keep. How dare something shove her to the side in his own mind? It was more manipulation, someone else forcing him to do what he didn't want. Comlain, Bora, Darido, this new one, Avellar, all of them forcing him to do what he didn't want.

Something within him snapped. He physically felt his thoughts rearrange. There was a pattern there, surrounding his thoughts, something he could mentally see but would never be able to describe. It reminded him of... the Weave.

With the mental digits of a non-existent hand, he picked at the pattern, pulling threads, unwinding what was done. The pattern fought back, splicing itself back together when he wasn't concentrating on it, but eventually the instability he was creating grew too great. The pattern collapsed.

He stopped rocking and just sat there, hunched over, holding his head, as his world settled around him.

Dana didn't know what to do. Fear laced her bond as she searched for a way to handle the situation. It was her fear that finally focused Jebidiah.

"Fuck, my head hurts."

His words were a balm for Dana's fear. It fled, replaced by relief as she exhaled, releasing built up tension. "By the Dark, Jeb, what is going on?"

He brought his hands down to his knees as he looked up at Dana. She was slightly blurry, and he had to rub at his eyes to bring his vision back into focus. When he could see her clearly, he gave her a brief smile but then frowned. "I'm tired of being used, Dee. Tired of being forced to do this or that, tired of people dying."

She knelt down, placing a hand on his shoulder. The Firsts shuffled their feet, looking uncomfortable at listening in on his confessions of weakness.

He glanced at the Firsts then back to Dana. "That woman, who is she?" When visions of her failed to flood his mind, he felt his confidence grow.

"Her name is Syllia Homish, daughter of Enrieth. She is one of the head priestesses for Avellar, who the Elves call Hanali Celanil." Dana waited for her words to register. It didn't take long.

"Fucking Divine!" he ground out between clenched teeth. "She's the one that sent Idril to us. She's probably the one that broke Greta! This whole fucking mess has been part of their plan all along!"

Dana nodded, for once grateful to see his anger. Relief flooded her bond. "Apparently, Magard has been sacrificing the Elven children, who aren't exactly children. They are older than us, but they are all virgins. 'Unspoiled' is the term they use. Syllia says one of Magard's spheres of influence is over demonic forces and she's using the sacrifices to bolster her army."

"The Barghests."

Dana nodded again. "The Barghests. That's how someone managed to create so many and send them in a pack."

The sound of a throat being cleared drew their attention. Michelle looked sheepish, but she spoke with confidence. "If Magard was willing to make something that took so much power and threw it against us in the woods, what does she have in store for us here, for defense?"

"And what was strong enough to wipe out a temple?" Dana added, not enjoying the line of reason.

"What does the high priestess Syllia say about it?" Jebidiah was regaining enough of his emotional center that he raised himself off the ground, using Dana for support. "Why is she even here?"

"I'm not sure we should let you near her to ask questions, Jeb. But we did ask her that. She is the last of her party, who was sent to try and release the children. When they failed to send any word back to their villages, Idril was steered to us for help."

Jebidiah shook his head at Dana's story. "That doesn't make sense. She'd have to be here at least a month! How many tendays did she say she was here?"

"They trapped her. We think the same way they trapped Crystal and Shirley, but she was strong enough to eventually escape. They tracked her and she's been giving them a running battle, trying to weaken them, but still stick around in case she could help the children. Then Avellar told her help was on the way and she grew confident and fucked up. She was knocked out and bundled up, on her way back to captivity when Kelek killed Syllia's captors and brought her back to us." Jebidiah quirked a smile at the pride he heard in Dana's voice when she reached Kelek's portion of the tale.

"I'd say we need to send her back to Gentry, but we have men there." He frowned as a thought struck him. "Fuck, how is Holone holding up? How is Stern?"

Dana snorted in disgust. "They're like little lost puppies. Holone just follows her around everywhere. I can't get any help from him now, he's more of a liability. You weren't much better. Stern is, well... there's other issues there."

He thought for a moment, then remembered Olga's anger and gave her a glance out of the corner of his eye. "Olga," he whispered.

Dana nodded.

"Well, love, if it helps, you were a major reason I snapped out of it."

She snorted again. "Fuck off. It wasn't until I brought up Crystal that you reacted."

Jebidiah kept his gaze on her, but out of the corner of his eye he caught the Firsts quietly slipping away, trying to give them privacy.

"We should be long past jealousy, Dee. You know I love you, and the others."

She placed her hands on her hips. "Oh, get over yourself, Jeb. All of us have come to grips with the pecking order. We know who's on top and who's on bottom, though the bottom has gotten murky lately. I'm fine playing second fiddle. That was established months ago. But you have to stop trying to juggle us all with kid gloves and just embrace your true feelings. Unless Syllia is now number one?"

Jebidiah scowled. "That's not fair, she used some sort of magic."

Dana snorted, "Yeah, okay. Likely excuse, and way to dodge the question."

Jebidiah's anger flared briefly. "I know it was magic, because I had to undo it. And there was no question to dodge."

Dana just stared at him, with a stunned look. "You undid it?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "There was magic in my head, I just poked at it until it went away."

Dana wouldn't let it go. "Have you ever done that before?"

Jebidiah shrugged, "I've grabbed magic before, so why not? I don't know, Dee, it wasn't something I thought about before I did it, but it worked."

"Ok, well... we're getting off-track." Dana acted like she was setting the issue to the side, but her face said otherwise. "Syllia says Bora's temple must be cleansed, that Magard's priestesses are using it to perform the sacrifices and it's boosting their power in this region. Greta is chomping at the bit to go, and she's still pissed at you for sucker punching her."

"And how exactly do we cleanse the temple? We have Mila and Greta, but they're not exactly religious representatives for Bora. Well, maybe Great is. I don't think any of us even know how to pray to her other than Greta. The most I know is how to use her anatomy to cuss."

Dana snickered. "We're all pretty good at that." She quickly sobered back to anger. "When I asked about the cleansing, Syllia just did the whole cryptic elvish bullshit thing and said, 'We will know.' Real boost of confidence."

Rejoining the others proved to be... interesting for Jebidiah.

Syllia was chatting with Greta and Tenner, her diaphanous wardrobe seemed even more alluring in the sunlight and breeze. He at least found he could examine her and move on, a major improvement from earlier. He regarded Greta and Tenner, who both appeared to be equally participating in the discussion. It was a marked change from the last tenday, since Greta's personality had changed. Mila sat nearby, keeping a steady eye on both Greta and Tenner.

Holone hovered nearby, never letting Syllia out of his sight. Stern sat near him, crossed legged on the ground, a goofy grin on his face as he unabashedly leered at Syllia.

Jebidiah moved over to Crystal, who gladly accepted his hug. "I felt the bond change. How did you snap out of it? We weren't sure we'd get you back."

He sighed and kissed her head. "It was some sort of magic. I understand Holone and Stern are having issues?"

Crystal nodded. "We need Stern. However you snapped out of it, can you do the same for him?"

"Let's go find out, shall we?"

Crystal frowned as he took her hand to lead her behind him. "That sounds ominous, Jeb."

He smiled at Shirley as he passed her. Her face brightened and she moved to follow them over to where Syllia was speaking.

"Lady Syllia, I need your assistance."

She broke off her conversation, and turned a beautiful smile to Jebidiah, searching his eyes. Then her smile faltered. "How may I be of assistance, Your Grace." Her voice was still melodic, but there was a hint of concern in it.

"I need you to remove whatever magic it is you used on Stern and Holone—and me." He made his face a mask of stone, letting his words sink in. Shirley gasped at the accusation. "I need every hand available, and you're giving me a huge handicap." Syllia's smile turned into a frown as he spoke, and for once he saw a small imperfection in her face. A very small one, frown lines at the corners of her mouth. Small but noticeable.

"I'm not sure I understand, Your Grace." She kept probing him with her eyes, searching for something she couldn't find.

"We can drop the charade, Lady Syllia. I don't have time for stupid games. You may be used to men being, well... men, but we're not that sort of House or family. I

need

my men. They are not playthings."

Her frown turned to one of concern, then her face brightened, as if she had come to a decision. "Her Lady of Perfection did say you were strong, but I had assumed she just meant physical strength. You do make a fine specimen of masculinity, but I see now that I erred in my assumptions." She eyed Dana. "Just what purpose do men serve in House Valor?"

Jebidiah wouldn't let her redirect and control the conversation. "

My

House treats men as equals, as they serve just as much as any woman. Now, this is not up for debate. I don't care what Avellar thinks, or how much Bora doesn't like what I do. Release. My. Men."

Syllia kept her smile, she even laughed. "Very well, Your Grace. It is done."

The reactions from Stern and Holone were immediate. Holone looked around, confused, obviously trying to determine what was going on and how he got where he was. Stern, however, quickly resorted to anger. It was rare to see him display it outside of combat and was a glaring sign of just how mad he was. Tenner quickly stepped up to him, trying to calm him down.

"Listen, Lady Syllia, I don't want to get off on the wrong foot, nor do I want to add to the list of our enemies, but I don't have time for minotaur shit. Sadly, that's all that has happened so far. It pissed me off." His voice was firm, hard, on the edge of cutting and the spike of arousal he felt from Dana's bond almost knocked him off stride. "I've gotten a lot of good people killed in a very short period of time and my patience can only go so far."

She kept up the same smile, one normally reserved for good times—for happiness—and it grated on his nerves even more than her flippant behavior towards men. "If you want to help, that's great. Wonderful, even. But if you're not going to help, I will gladly see you on your way so I can do what I need to do. If you want, I can find new captors and deliver you to them, all wrapped up the way we found you."

Syllia regarded him in silence, her smile had faded at his veiled threat. She didn't search his eyes as she had done previously, but it still felt like her gaze was boring into his soul. "It is a rare man that can speak to me that way. It's not something I am used to. I'm beginning to understand what 'strong' means." Her face toyed with a frown, then became neutral. "Just what is it you need to do, Duke Valor?"

Jebidiah sighed, releasing some of his tension. He felt like he had reached a turning point in the conversation. "I'm figuring that out."

Syllia burst out laughing. "What!?"

Despite his misgivings, Jebidiah smiled. "Didn't expect that one, did you?"

"We were just discussing what could be done, Jeb, when you came over." Tenner's voice was hesitant, and he picked up on a mixture of fear and misgivings in her bond. She still had a restraining hand on Stern's arm. The bond held nothing from Greta, who was still standing next to Syllia.

Jebidiah decided to test the waters. "What did you and Greta figure out?"

He saw Tenner's slight flinch when he mentioned Greta's name and assumed there hadn't been any breakthrough in their dynamics.

Instead of Tenner, Greta answered. "We're going to need to secure the temple, then clear it out, and once all that is done, purify it." Greta listed out the steps in a matter-of-fact manner, like she was reading off a grocery list. Her nonchalant tone gave him pause.

"And how do we purify it, Greta? Has Bora given you direction?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

Greta frowned as if she was concentrating on something that kept escaping her thoughts. "It will require a sacrifice, something we must give up, but I'm not sure what that is."

Muttering started at her declaration, nobody wanted to hear those words.

"Sacrifice?" Dana was highly agitated, spitting on the ground after she spoke. "What else do we have to sacrifice? How many more lives must be given?"

"Bora is the giver of Life," Shirley's interjection caused everyone to stop their grumbling and listen. "Surely she wouldn't require us to sacrifice more."

"The desecration of the temple is not something that can be undone with the wave of a hand." Syllia leveled her gaze on everyone as she spoke, making sure she had everyone's attention. "I have lived a long life, over a century, and in all my years I have never heard of one of the Divine acting in this manner. There is no easy fix for something like this and I'm afraid hard choices will have to be made."

Jebidiah could sense the mounting frustration in Tenner, too many emotions were flickering through the bond, and anger seemed to be winning. He turned to her, searching for words of comfort when she broke.