Rone changed into lighter clothing, after complaining about sweating to death in the heavy furs Felli had given him, and went out to take care of the livestock as his bath water heated up. Felli joined him to see what kinds of things she could help with. Meanwhile, the women ran Kal and Jurien out of the house, so they could put something together for lunch as well as a large meal for Ikuno and another for the oni, Kal, Rone and Felli when they went back to the harpy’s cave later.

Kal was surprised to hear that Rone was coming back with them.

“Felli’s agreed to wait on her baby, so it will be born after ours is,” said Marda, “much as I would like to have Rone here with me tonight I think she deserves something special for waiting so long. Besides, it’s her first night in our family; she shouldn’t spend it alone in her nest.”

Kal was about to mention that she could invite Felli to sleep in the house but decided against it, Marda would make that offer when she was ready.

He and Jurien sat out on the front step enjoying a couple of tankards of ale after Rone informed them he wanted to take care of things around the farm by himself, after the last few days he wanted something ‘normal’ to do.

“As you know already you can officiate weddings,” explained Jurien when Kal asked what exactly being a ‘recognized’ or ‘official’ master of the town meant. “You can also witness transfers of ownership either by sale or to an heir, either way, you and the other witness are responsible for collecting the King’s taxes and handing them over to the council so they can be taken to the capitol at the end of the year. People look at you like you’re stealing their money, I avoid it if I can. If someone wants to declare an heir, either if they don’t have a living son for it to go to or if they want it to go to someone besides their firstborn you can witness that to make it official. Last you can be appointed to the council if the opportunity arises.

“If I’m not mistaken Ellis has already tapped you to take his spot should he pass away. Poor Ada, I think this sickness of his is harder on her than it is on Ellis, she’s been trying to give him an heir ever since he fell ill this last time, but nothing has taken yet. Ellis doesn’t think it will, says he got sick as a kid in whatever godforsaken city he was born in and it messed him up badly. The man’s been sick more than anyone in the town.

“Speaking of bad news, I may need your help with something, Kal. Ellis wants to give the Inn over to Kahrin and Bren when he passes on. The other town masters will grudgingly accept Kahrin, probably since every one of them has had his cock in her at some point, present company included.” Jurien lifted his mug and Kal tapped his own against it with a knowing smile. “The problem is Bren; the other masters won’t accept a giant-kin as an owner in town.”

Kal about spit out his ale, “Giant-kin?”

“Aye, his grandmother was half-giant.”

“Wait… everything I have read and learned about monster girls says that a giant mating with a man only produces another giant and never a male.”

“True, that’s what I’ve heard too, but I’ve no reason to doubt the man. If it isn’t the truth, Bren doesn’t know it. Back to the problem at hand, if you and I act as witnesses, then the rest of the council will have to accept the transfer of ownership. It may not make you to popular when you take Ellis’s spot on the council, but they’ve no reason to deny you.”

Kal sipped his ale before responding, “I don’t think it will work out having me on the council anyway. I’m coming to the end of what I can learn here, I plan on leaving for a few years and finding other texts and mages to learn from.”

“Are you planning to take Lady Perra with you?”

Kal thought for a long time before answering, “No. As much as I want to, I keep getting reminded that out in the bigger world, I’m just not that powerful. If something happens to me, then it’s on my head. If something happened to her, I don’t know if I could live with myself.”

Jurien chuckled, “You’re a wiser man than most of your peers then, most young men would bring their woman into danger just for the sake of keeping their dick wet. I’m just as guilty as any, luckily Nina forgave me and married me anyway.

“We keep getting off track. If Perra is staying behind then, it will be fine as long as you aren’t gone for more than a couple of years at a time. All of the council have other professions that take them away from Telsin occasionally; when you become a council member, you must pick a second or proxy to state your wishes and vote on the council at times when you are traveling. Thankfully the grumpy old men on the council are not as picky about proxies as full members and don’t object to having women. Nina is mine; Lady Perra can be yours.”

Kal set his tankard down and put his head in his hands, “Too much. Too much, too fast. I started this day just trying to find a way to make Rone and Felli happy and get some breakfast for the man. Now I’m an official master of the town and have to think about possibly becoming a council member.” He put his hands down, “Aren’t I a bit young to be on the council?”

“Normally, yes. What you may not realize Kal is that between running off those three thugs; saving Kahrin, her sister, and her niece; rescuing the boy from the tree; all of the people whose lives you made better by taking away their aches and pains, some of whom are on the council mind you; charging coppers for what would cost silvers in the capitol and not killing the man who tried to lay hands on Lady Perra the other night, you have proven yourself many times over, all while not letting the title of ‘Master’ go to your head. The fact that you are weighing this and not just champing at the bit for the extra status and power says to me that Ellis and the council have made a good choice in you.”

“The next part of this journey starts tomorrow once I have Felli’s egg,” Kal stopped for a moment, “that was easier to think about before yesterday when it was just ‘the harpy’s’ egg. Even though I know, it will never hatch now I feel like a bad person for taking it.” Kal shook his head to clear those thoughts, “The next part will hopefully go a bit quicker. With luck, I will be mentally prepared for all of this by the time I get back.”

“You have some time, Kal. Ellis is in rough shape, but he still has a few weeks or even months left in him before you need to worry about it. I blame it on Ada, who would want to go to the great beyond when you have that pretty little thing draining your balls twice a day.” The door behind them had opened about the time he mentioned Ada, Jurien looked back to see his wife standing there, “Bloody hell,” he said hanging his head.

“Bloody hell is right ya dirty old man! Go get Rone. He should be done with his bath about now, then get your arse in here and get something to eat.”

“Yes, dear,” said Master Jurien as he slowly stood up. The apothecary handed his mug to Kal before heading around the back of the house to where the large washtub was.

------

Ikuno quietly crept into the attendant’s quarters; she knew they were empty since she was still the only one there. The caution was unintentional as much as unneeded, she just didn’t feel comfortable invading Felli’s living area while she wasn’t there. Still, a small bit of curiosity about something she felt over the bond was getting to her.

She moved over by Felli’s nest and, sure enough, there was an opening on the front wall. She didn’t think the hidden entrance was magical in nature just some very clever stonework. As she stepped inside the crystals set into the ceiling began to glow much as they did in the storeroom. She smiled as she beheld the large stone bathtub along the back wall, large and deep enough for her and a couple of others to sit comfortably. Just above the rim of the tub was a rectangular hole that water came out of to fill the tub. About neck height for her was an oddly shaped spout coming out of the wall, her guess was the shape was to spread out the water as it came off the end. Much like her own cubby, the toilet was little more than a hole in the ground with a stream of water running beneath it. There was also a small sink with another spout just above it.

Engraved into the wall just above the spout were four runes, two matching sets were next to the tub, one for each water source. Though very different from the runes she knew, there were enough similarities that she recognized: hot, warm, cold, and stop. Tapping the rune did nothing, but feeding it a small amount of magic made the rune glow and a few seconds later foul-smelling black gunk slogged its way out of the spout. Ikuno stepped to the side in case it decided to spray out everywhere once it cleared out the sludge. Thankfully there was only a small pop as the clean water broke through and most of the black gunk that went airborne fell back into the sink.

Ikuno repeated the process with the other two water spouts, in doing so finding two more runes that opened and closed the drain as well as one that sent a small rush of water through the toilet. In some of the more advanced and opulent cities, she had seen similar things done mechanically, however, this was the first time she had seen it all done with magic. Then again, none of those were connected to an unlimited supply of energy directly below them.

After she got everything cleaned up, she looked at the bathtub and started stripping, “If everyone is going to enjoy themselves with a nice lunch while I’m stuck with rations. I’m going to enjoy a nice hot soak,” she said, smiling as water started filling the tub.

------

Felli asked why Kal hadn’t taken Perra’s food like he had Ikuno’s.

Perra waved it off, “He was just reminding her that she belongs to him, don’t worry I’m sure she enjoyed every second.” Kal noted that for a moment Marda was eyeing up Rone and Felli’s plates then looked at her parents before deciding not to do anything. It wasn’t hard to tell how the family dynamic of the triad would turn out.

“Speaking of Ikuno, it seems like she has figured out how to use your restroom,” said Kal as everyone was finishing up with their lunch, except Felli, she had stopped eating earlier with concerns it might make her too heavy for the flights back.

Rone perked up, “Really?”

“Apparently you need to have a little bit of magic ability to activate them, or one of these,” said Kal slipping the crystal out of his vambrace and handing it to the man. “That one is nearly flawless, so it will continue to charge, just very slowly. You shouldn’t run it out just activating the runes in the bathroom.”

Nina stared at Kal wide-eyed, “He can’t afford that, Kal. Especially just for being able to use a bathroom.”

“How much is it worth?” asked Marda while Rone quickly set the crystal on the table like it was about to bite him.

“Best guess it’s worth more than your farm. However, I don’t want you to think of it as something you have to buy from me. I’d rather you think of it as a down payment.”

“For what?” asked Rone.

“Felli’s cave,” said Kal nodding towards the harpy.

“You want to buy her cave?”

“Yes, and I’m willing to pay well for it, I have a large, almost flawless amethyst that I think should take care of the rest” Kal held up his hands at the approximate size and everyone but Perra and Felli stared in disbelief, Perra having seen the gem and Felli not having any reference for its importance.

“Does this mean I would have to find a new nest?” asked the harpy.

“Absolutely not. You are welcome to stay as long as you want. In fact, I would like to hire you as a caretaker until the time I’m ready to actually do something with it. In that time I’d like you to get the storeroom cleaned out and perhaps start working on cleaning up the centuries of dust in the other chambers, when you aren’t helping Marda and Rone that is.”

“Why would you be interested in a harpy’s cave? And willing to pay so much for it?” asked Jurien.

Kal gave a quick rundown of the caverns’ dimensions, getting another round of shocked looks. “My plan is for a neutral ground for humans and non-predator monster girls to live together without persecution. The limited area we have to work with should keep the King from considering such a town too much of a threat and if the church has issues with it, they have to get up there first if they want to attack. It may turn out to be the fanciful dream of a young man, but I want to keep my options open in case I can make it a reality.”

Jurien chuckled, “Boy, you are full of surprises.”

------

Kal and Perra watched as Felli carried Rone off into the distance clutching the oiled leather sack that held tonight’s supper. They heard Marda swear next to them and turned to see her glaring at something back by the road. Looking in that direction they saw the apothecary and his wife had stopped their horse just before they got to the road. Nina had bunched up her dress against her back and slowly sliding back into Jurien while leaning forward a bit in the saddle. The look on both of their faces made it easy to tell what was happening.

Marda gave Kal and Perra a quick wave goodbye before striding back to the house grumbling about cleaning saddles.

Once they were alone, Perra turned to Kal, “That shouldn’t have happened, Kal.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Any of this! Yesterday Marda was livid that you might suggest sharing Rone with Felli. Now here she is inviting the harpy into her family. If it had happened over a couple of weeks I could possibly understand it, but not after only a day.”

Kal ran his hand over her pendant, “Trust, intuition, sharpness of the mind, business savvy, all of these things and more are believed to be traits imparted by amethyst on the wearer. Perhaps you had help convincing them? After all, they could have just as easily thought you were faking when Felli agreed to bring Rone home and broke down in tears because of how sad it made her.”

Perra looked down, “You’re right, they didn’t even question me. Even when I told them Rone was alive, Nina passed it off like it was the absolute truth. Somehow this doesn’t make me feel better.”

“That’s because you think you manipulated them. I would say that if the pendant helped, it only sped things up. The potential for this happening over a longer time was already there, you said so yourself.”

“I suppose you’re right,” she said giving him a wan smile, “thanks for making me feel better.”

Kal put his back to the farmhouse then put Perra’s back against his chest, “I know of some other ways to make you feel better,” he whispered in her ear as he began pulling up her dress by the handful.

Perra groaned in disappointment and irritation as she put her hand on his arm, stopping him. “No, Kal,” she said, “Much as I want to let you, not today or tomorrow and possibly a couple of days after that. It started as we were making lunch. My breasts were a little sensitive this morning, but with Marda showing up and distracting me I didn’t really think about what it meant. If I’d realized, I wouldn’t have said that earlier.”

“Oh,” he said in understanding. As they waited for Felli to come back, Kal brought his hands up and gently massaged her tender breasts and belly, making the girl moan in appreciation. All too soon for Perra, Felli arrived. After giving Kal a tender kiss as thanks, she said goodbye to the harpy just before they rose up into the air and started making their way back to Felli’s cave.

Perra stood there for a moment rubbing her stomach and secretly wishing she had ‘forgotten’ to eat her gondas weed a couple of weeks ago. Sighing she made her way over to where Bonn was standing, the horse waiting patiently to take her home.