Jebidiah's Change B. 02

Welcome back gentle reader

It feels good to be writing again. I had not realized just how much I missed it, despite the undeniable chore it can be. I still

hate

the English language. But enough complaining.

With readers diving back into Book 1--whether revisiting or discovering Jebidiah's story for the first time--I've received more feedback about Jebidiah's worldview and the way he processes things and reacts. I've touched on this before, but I want to reiterate it here.

Jebidiah is

young

. He has ideas--a lot of them--about how the world works and, more importantly, about how he

thinks

it

should

work. His ethics are stark, often black and white, much like many young adults in their college years. But this isn't a reflection on any particular political stance, nor is Jebidiah advocating for any party ideas or any particular philosophy. He doesn't care. He's on Mars, some thousand years in the future.

What matters to me is his

growth

. As his journey unfolds, my hope is that you gentle readers will recognize the moments when his rigid views begin to shift, when he's forced to reassess and adapt--just as anyone does while maturing.

I've reached the stage in life where I quite literally yell at people to

get off my lawn

. And so, I can't help but smile at the thought of Jebidiah reaching the same point--Crystal stamping her small green foot in frustration, scolding him for doing something

again

, despite knowing how she

hates

it, while Dana, ever practical, just smacks him upside the head. And yet... they love him anyway.

I wish you all the same--to find happiness in your little world, surrounded by people who love you back. Even it comes in the form of a smack to the head.

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

-- Somewhen, Somewhere --

Comlain and Bora sat in an uneasy silence. They shared one of the Twelve Aspects--Trust--which, in theory, one would think would make them trust each other. But in practice? Too much of their other aspects clashed. Life and Violence could coexist--the latter was an expected part of the former--but that existence did not mean they liked each other. When Darido finally joined them, there was a collective sigh from the two as they could get on with things and escape from each other's presence.

"Do you think it wise to exclude our opposites?" Darido did not bother with pleasantries. "Not that I mind their absence, but this could cause issues if they decide it is acceptable to collude without us."

"You think they don't already?" Comlain snorted. "Well, Axteus does whatever it wants, but I know the others meet in secret--just like this."

Darido considered that for a moment then shrugged. "I doubt that they would cross purpose to us considering their players are involved. What did you want to discuss, Bora. My time is pressing."

Comlain snorted again. Time was a subjective term where they were concerned. The flow of time was different in their plane of existence, sometimes faster, sometimes slower than the material plane, depending on the need of the Divine involved. It never truly stopped, but there were many degrees of 'slow'.

Bora took her time answering--perhaps as a silent barbed response to his impatience. "There are other players becoming involved with ours and I have some concerns--and requests--because of it."

Darido raised a brow. Bora's tone suggested something more than concern.

"I have lost contact with a temple I had intended my champion to locate. One of our own was involved and I

will

have an accounting. We all agreed--our temples were to be protected."

"One of the Dark, no doubt." Comlain's voice darkened. "That's a risky proposition on their part--and a heavy accusation on yours."

"If proven true," Darido added, "even

I

would be open to retribution on their temples."

Comlain nodded, "They have to understand this could lead to open jihads and will weaken everyone's power during a Trial. The protection accords were put into place for

exactly this reason

."

Darido nodded in agreement. "What fool would try it? Obviously it must be a move in the game--but for what gain? It has to be one of the Chaos Five."

Bora's next words refocused the others. "There is a node involved."

The shift in the other two was immediately. "A node? Are you certain?"

The Power that ruled over the Divine was not a being--more a force of nature. Given consciousness. The Power exuded energy of incredible strength and it was debated within the Divine whether that energy, the Source, was part of the Power or just a tool at its disposal. The Source provided the basis for other phenomena that derived from it, mainly magic. The Divine were given the ability to channel a filtered version of the Source to their priests to answer prayers. The Weave was just a set of rules that allowed the Source to directly interact with the planes of existence. The Weave is what made magic possible.

Magic was now ubiquitous in the material plane though it wasn't in the past. Comlain had pieced together much in his study of magic--magic was his domain of control. The cataclysm the humans named the Rending was what released the Power and magic appeared shortly after. The logical conclusion was that the Source resulted from the Power's existence, but the nodes provided Comlain with a different theory.

There were an unknown number of nodes on the material plane, direct conduits to a portion of the raw energy from which the Source was composed. Nodes provided access to magic unconstrained by the Weave. Literally

anything

was possible. But, because the nodes were metaphysically at a higher level of existence than the Divine themselves, they were unable to detect them. However, if one of their followers located one, it was possible to indirectly tap into the Source through those followers, gaining an advantage over the rest of the Divine.

The Power always discovered when a node was tapped--but it took time for that to happen. That delay in time between the first use of a node and the response of the Power made Comlain question if the Source was part of the Power or the two just happened to be released at the same time. And that time delay was relative. In the moments before the power reacted, an entire war could be won--or lost. The Great Cataclysm that brought dragons and demons to the world, the Dragonflight, the First Goblin War where Betelgeuse managed to access a node without the Divine help--all world changing events resulting from nodes being tapped. And now there was a possible node during a Trial. The only other time that happened was during the Third Trial. The result was the First Orc War when Comalin's Eight fought on the Field of Valor. They were now facing another Orc War.

"We must act, gather proof." Darido said firmly. "Send our players.

All

of them."

"Someone is working to split their focus," Bora replied. "We must counter."

"We will do what we must," Comlain nodded, expression grim. "This cannot stand. Are we in agreement?"

All nodded and, without another word--vanished. Their plans were already in motion.

-- Chapter 2: Valor Keep Construction Site --

-- Fifth Tenday of Juntaen 813 AGR --

The world's best swordsman doesn't fear the second best; he fears the worst swordsman, because he can't predict what the idiot will do

- Weber

The evening was enjoyable, but Jebidiah was tired from his travels. Still seated on a couch, Crystal's head resting in his lap, he stretched his arms up fully and immediately, a certain odor hit his nose. It was more prominent now that the smell of their meal had faded.

"After that trip I really need a bath."

"You said it, not me." Greta wrinkled her nose in mock disgust. "But now that it's said, please do so."

"Oh, I have a surprise for you!" Joy's face lit up, a huge smile plastered on her face, practically bursting with excitement. "We need to go outside for a little walk."

"Lead on munchkin." Jebidiah stood, and they moved off as a group. He could tell from the others that nobody was certain what Joy had in mind--except for Mila. They moved away from their central tent to the outskirts of the tent city, closer to the riverbanks. It was a pleasant summer evening--still warm from the day's sun, slightly muggy with the higher humidity coming off the waterway. It was normal for them, at least--not like the dry heat they encountered in the south. Jebidiah could only imagine how a hot, arid summer in the south would slowly roast someone alive. He did not envy the Stockmar forces, fighting in full armor these next few months.

Eventually, Joy stopped in front of a large tent--nearly as large as their own. Most of his wives had the general "Oh, this is what she meant" feeling but Dana was still as clueless as himself. While he was looking at it, trying to figure out who was resting there or what was inside, he realized that he knew the tent.

"Wait... isn't this our tent?" He glanced over his shoulder, trying to spot the one they had just left. "Is it the same as the one we just walked out of?"

"We swapped for a better one--in house colors." Joy frowned slightly. "You didn't notice the bronze in the design?"

"Love, I only had sight for you and my other lovely wives. Everything else just faded into the background."

Greta snorted. "You'll attract a bear using that much honey on your words."

"Hush you," Joy pouted playfully at Greta. "Let a girl enjoy some honey."

"Ok, ok--so what exactly is inside our old tent?" Jebifiah attempted to bring the reason for the walk back into focus.

Joy swept open the flap--only then he noticed it now had an extra means of securing it tight. Inside was... an interior corridor lined with... more tent fabric.

"You built a tent... within a tent?"

Joy glanced inside, then back at Jebidiah--with some frustration. "You can't?" She threw up her hands. "Oh fuck it, just come in here."

She led them deeper into the tent, and Jebidiah noticed the left side of the interior corridor had many openings to allow people to move through. While looking closer, he spotted some copper pipes running overhead. The humidity ratcheted up several notches as well to become slightly uncomfortable.

"What exactly is going on in here?"

Joy grinned, pulled open an internal flap on the right wall--revealing a very large pool of water sunk into the ground, lined with layers of worn river rocks. A slightly raised section of rock wall held a smaller pool with wisps of steam rising into the air from various spots on the surface. Water trickled over a lower edge, spilling into the larger pool below. Everything was lit by enough hanging lamps to bathe everything in a warm and intimate setting.

Jebidiah stared, stunned. "Is that a bath?" His voice was incredulous. He had never seen anything as extravagant.

Joy beamed. Her pride and excitement became evident as she began one of her non-stop rambles. "It is! Fully heated even! The little one over there is the hottest part for soaking the muscles and it heats the larger bath area with the runoff which is obviously large enough for all of us. We are testing out the design for an even larger version to be built for general use by the residents. The other side of the tent is stalls for showers to quickly wash off. The workers were beyond happy about it. 'Best job site ever', they said."

Jebidiah scooped Joy up and swung her around in a hug causing her to cry out in gleeful yips. "You've outdone yourself, munchkin." He gave her head a kiss. "Is this your design?"

Joy's face was buried in his chest when she replied. "No, no." she said in a muffled voice. He let her down so she could speak properly. "It was from one of your petitioners tomorrow--you will know who and you really need to consider his offer."

Jebidiah nodded absently as he began stripping down. "If whoever our mystery guest is can come up with this, I imagine I will say yes." he stepped toward the water. "I cannot wait to test this one out." He grinned at Joy and added a suggestive wink. "I promise I'll figure out a way to reward you for this one."

The others began stripping as well as he slipped into the warm waters. Instantly, the aches from the trip began to melt away from his tired arms, legs, and back.

"Ohhh, this deserves a big reward."

The pool had a shallow end, where a set of steps had naturally directed him. As he moved further into the pool he found it dropped off to an even deeper section.

He closed his eyes and ducked his head under the water, resurfacing to the sounds of splashes and giggles. The rest of the girls had joined him, flashes of tits and asses all around that he sorely missed seeing, and the games of grab ass began. He was enjoying the sight when most of the girls suddenly cried out and turned their backs to him. He whipped around to see what was happening outside his view--just as Stern's bulk slammed into the surface of the pool. Water exploded everywhere, nearly knocking Jebidiah off balance. Stern resurfaced with his cherubish crooked grin on his face, clearly enjoying himself.

"I

never

get to do that to anyone anymore!"

Chaos ensued.

Greta was chasing a struggling Mila around until one grasp finally connected, picked her struggling body up, and chucked her, arms and legs flailing, into the deeper end of the pool. Joy managed to get up out of the water far enough to latch onto Greta's shoulders and drag them both under in retaliation, yelling out--"For the little people!" Someone scrambled up onto Jebidiah's back and laced their suspiciously green arms around his neck, using their weight to bring him off balance and under water. He resurfaced, choking water out as he spotted Crystal frantically swimming away from him. He began slowly stalking towards her with an evil grin when he felt a hand on his shoulder that stopped him cold with its strength. He had enough time to look over shoulder at a grinning Stern's face before he felt himself being picked up fully. It happened so quickly that the falling sensation and smack of the water as he landed hadn't fully registered until he broke back through the water. In the end it took five of them, including Dana's, Greta's, and Jebidiah's full strength, to finally bring down Stern.

After an hour-long 'bath', Jebidiah laid his exhausted body down on their bed. "That was the most

un-relaxing

relaxing bath I have ever had."

"Don't you fall asleep on us!" Tenner crawled into bed beside him. "We haven't had time with you for a month!"

Jebidiah smirked, eyes half-lidded with exhaustion.

"A whole month, huh?"

"Feels like forever," Tenner muttered, pressing against his side with a pout.

Bodies shifted, sheets rustled, and soon--warm, familiar weight surrounded him.

"Dana had you to herself forever, not fair." Crystal added in agreement, snuggling up against his other side, slowly stroking his cock.

Greta draped herself lazily over his leg, head propped on Crystal's knees, her fingers tracing absentminded circles on his calf. Dana, Mila, and Joy were tangled together, whispering softly to each other.

"Believe me, I would love to, there's only so much of Dana one can stand." The sound of the slap against his stomach was

very

loud in the tent. He accepted the pain he knew would come and continued around a very loud yawn, "but it has not been a month, nor forever, and we may need to wait for the morning I'm afraid." There was much grumbling, but he lost track of what was being said as sleep claimed him.

"I missed this."

-- Valor Keep Site -- Fifth Tenday of Juntaen 813 AGR --

Jebidiah woke slowly, a warm sensation enveloping his morning stiffness. It was very pleasant. So pleasant he nearly let himself drift back to a half dream-half awake state until someone mumbled, "finally, he's awake."

He opened his eyes to see who was doing what when a leg swung over his face and a somewhat hairy, green pussy slowly lowered onto his face. The white v shaped patch of pubic hair still amused him as he obliged Crystal with his tongue. There was something about the way she tasted, something that had changed along with her Change into a goblin because she tasted so much sweeter than when she was a human.

It had been too long since he spent some quality time with Crystal so he concentrated on making the most of it. Her position allowed him the luxury of starting a broad lick at her engorged clit, straight through her folds until he could flick his tongue in and out of her pussy, tongue-fucking her. She moaned at his efforts and it was not long before she began moving her hips back and forth--when he decided to just hold his tongue against her, allowing her to set the pace of his licking. He made sure to apply more pressure when her clit would come back into contact. Finally, she began to shake as she centered her clit over his mouth and pushed herself down. He obliged by alternating frantic movements of his tongue with sucking on her clit until she quite literally burst on his face.

While he slowly worked on Crystal--who was trying to extract her now over-sensitive clit from his tongue--and several others worked on him, he idly chunked into his internal calculator the idea of actual sex magic. Could he last longer or have more orgasms than normal with a little magical prodding? It was most likely worth the processing time his brain would spend on it and he let his subconscious decide on what priority it gave to the problem. He was sure there was some form of healing magic available for the soreness from friction that sometimes claimed their genitals when they played around too long but so far nobody in his bond had started training on their healing.

That was when Crystal finally made her escape, and one of the Stockmar cousins--Jebidiah guessed Greta from the taste--swapped position on his face. The joint blowjob stopped as well and he felt the velvety warmth of someone impaling themselves on his cock. They immediately set a frantic pace, pumping and grinding against his pelvis. Jebidiah lost track of things then, relishing in the sensations until he found himself on top of Joy, who blissfully screamed her way through her first orgasm, or was it a second one? His absence from the trip was showing its effects on him--he normally kept enough sense of presence to keep track of what was happening to whom.

After everyone got their fill--or got filled in Joy's case--they cleaned themselves up in a private shower area Joy had managed to install, enjoyed a fresh breakfast, and split up to begin their day. Jebidiah, Crystal, and Dana all went to yet another tent, set up near their own, with a large cleared area of packed dirt in front. There was a line of people waiting, generally talking among themselves in quiet voices, though Jebidiah caught sight of some angry scowls as his group came into view.

"These are

all

the petitioners?" Jebidiah's voice rising a little, tinged with apprehension.

"Just today's, love" Crystal's tone was light, but knowing. "Welcome to nobility. And before you start--I have been dealing with this mess

every day

while you were lollygagging about the countryside--" She gestured at Dana. "--while

Miss Tits

over here got you all to herself."

Dana smirked, chuckling. "If I could give you bigger tits, I would--but I think yours do nicely."

"That they do." Jebidiah didn't even hesitate.

They entered the tent and he and Crystal made themselves comfortable on two larger wooden chairs at the center. Corporals Yantzee, Simmons, and Harris were already present, waiting.