Chapter 180

When I woke up the next morning Cecilia was sitting by the fire looking a little jittery. The moment I was in range to connect with her through the bond she snapped up and looked at me. A near-extreme amount of anxiety was coiled in the pit of her stomach and it was somehow connected to me.

"Are you okay?" I asked her as I walked up.

"Lilith we have to talk. But I... maybe we should do it once everyone else is up..."

I was concerned, I hadn't seen anyone react to the transformation this way before. I wasn't sure what was going on so I asked Bella to wake Morrigan before heading over to wake Torien and Silva. The two of them had set their tent up a little ways off so we wouldn't bother them last night.

"Hey guys, are you two up?" My voice caused some sudden shifting in the tent, apparently they had still been asleep.

The tent zipped open revealing the two naked women in their tent.

"Silva! Let me put some clothes on first!" Torien turned away covering her moderate breasts and crotch. I quickly turned away but it had been after I got a good look at Torien under her clothes. She did look quite a lot like her sister even under her clothing.

The rabbit demi-beastfolk looked groggy. "What? You told me that she's seen you naked before." Silva wasn't trying to be modest at all and stretched up in a way that I couldn't turn away from. Her muscular form really looked impressive and the white scars that covered her tanned skin added an exotic flair to her body.

"That's... different..." Torien replied with a pout.

I coughed and looked away. "It sounds like Cecilia has something important to tell us. I'm not sure what this is about but it sounds serious and she wanted me to gather everyone first. Sorry for uh, intruding and waking you so early."

Silva let out a large yawn. "...It's fine. We'll be there in a moment."

I nodded and walked away blushing. Seeing the two of them together like that was exciting a voyeuristic part of me I wasn't quite aware of. I had seen Torien naked before but it was different seeing the two of them in an intimate setting.

I sighed. Maybe I am becoming more of a pervert.

Feeling Cecilia's anxiety again sobered me up and distracted me from what had happened with those two. I wasn't sure what was wrong yet but I was concerned something had gone wrong with the transformation somehow. Nothing looked out of the ordinary and I had already transformed dozens of other girls by now but that didn't mean nothing could go wrong.

The atmosphere was awkward when I sat back down near the fire. Bella, Morrigan, and Theo didn't seem to know what this was about either so there was a lot of tension in the air while we waited for the other two to show up. Cecilia was still fidgeting but at least it didn't seem like her anxiety was growing any further, it had topped out just short of being a full-blown panic attack but at least it wasn't getting worse as we waited for the two others to join us.

After several long and quiet minutes, the two others finally joined us and sat down around the fire while looking over at Cecilia.

Silva sat heavily on a log that had been pulled over to use as a bench. "So, what is this about?"

Cecilia took a deep breath and steadied herself before looking right at me. "Since I woke up I've been thinking about the oath I took last night... and it seems to be compelling me to tell you something. Tarklin left me in Goldenhearth to spy on you..."

Her words brought out murmurs from everyone but she continued. "The oath I took says that I can't knowingly work against you. I didn't think that keeping an eye on you would be, but it seems the oath I took begs to differ..."

I rubbed my eyes before looking back up at her. "What do you mean by spying on me? What all did Tarklin send you to do?"

She scratched the back of her head nervously. "Well... He's been very curious about you ever since the two of you first met. He suspected you to be a demon before the night at that dungeon. If he hadn't watched you kill so many demons without any hesitation he may have continued to suspect that and the [Zone of Truth] you had participated in upon reaching Goldenhearth put those fears to rest. Regardless he's still very interested in you and even made a point of convincing Raksha'va, the guildmaster of Traehall, to send him specifically to escort you to the capital. Obviously he wasn't able to continue watching you after we met up with the noble brat so he asked me to split off and secretly keep an eye on you and your group."

Silva's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. "How much is the bond forcing you to tell us? How can we trust you now?"

I shook my head. "She's not lying, I can tell through the bond." There was a pause but Silva nodded to me. I turned back to Cecilia. "Do you know why Tarklin was so interested in me?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. He said something about some elven prophecy or something but it went over my head."

I felt a headache coming on at the mention of the word. "Okay, so why you?"

"Tarklin and I go way back. I was an orphan raised by elves and adopted as his... cousin? Something like that, I grew up in it and I still think elven politics are weird. I didn't really get to know him until I was an adult but when he learned I was talented with animals he sponsored me to get training in handling uunas. I had told him before that I had always wanted to see more of the world so he hired me as one of the uuna handlers so I could travel with him. I was one of the first members to join his adventuring company."

"So what did he ask you to do specifically?" I asked.

Cecilia sighed. "He just asked me to keep an eye on you and see if you did anything weird. I lost track of you right at the beginning and no one saw you staying at any of the inns in town but I figured you were going to head to the capital eventually. So, I waited around the stables and the gates listening for any beastkin headed toward the capital. I have a few friends in town that I asked to keep an ear out for me while I kept looking out for you myself. It was dumb luck that I happened to run into Sibyl but when I heard that she was probably talking about you I went to find out more. I would have never thought to look for you at a brothel."

"Just keep an eye on me? Why?" I pressed.

"I don't know!" she burst out. "Sorry, sorry..." She sighed again and palmed her face. "Look. I never meant you any harm and I don't believe Tarklin did either. He told me to watch out for you, I still think that meant to keep you safe, not to hurt you. I just figured he saw some raw talent and wanted to recruit you early. He said something about a prophecy but I thought he was joking at the time. You and your group are good prospects, just look at how many levels all of you have gained in such a short amount of time. And, it would be idiotic to think you were a demon still after how many you've hunted after gaining a title for it. It's only now that I know why anyone could think that, what with all the shapeshifting stuff and the demonic miasma that follows you around from the demons you've killed."

I leaned back. "Okay, let's just relax and take a step back. When were you going to link back up with him and tell him about me?"

She nodded. "He won't be back to the capital for a long while so I was supposed to drop a letter at the elven embassy there. Just give him my observations and things like that."

"Do you still intend to?" I asked.

"Ehh... I guess that depends on you. I'm not sure what I can do with this oath over my head. The oath clearly thinks that talking to people about your secrets behind your back counts as working against you, even if I don't exactly see it that way. What am I allowed to say to him? He's going to be expecting a letter eventually."

I rubbed my eyes. "I don't know... I was poised to trust Tarklin, he already found out I'm a world traveler, I had planned on telling him about the origin title too eventually."

"World- What the fuck Lilith? You're a fucking world traveler on top of the other shit?" she suddenly yelled.

"You didn't tell her that part?" Morrigan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't think it was relevant," I said defensively. "It's not like I tell that to everyone."

Cecilia cradled her face in her hands. "Okay. Tarklin already knows about the world traveler thing, you have an origin title that gives you weirdly powerful racial abilities, and you have a fucking unknown god mark on your arm, so what if any of that can I tell him?"

Silva raised an eyebrow. "You have a god mark on you too?" she asked.

I sighed and released the magic to show everyone. "Yes, a mark from Charon."

Raya raised a finger. "The uh, one that you have us do that burial ritual for?"

"The same. Oh uh, could someone tell her that later, it's important," I added.

I scratched the base of my horn. "Okay. How much can you trust the letters to be only between you and Tarklin?"

Cecilia shrugged. "Reasonably well. There are always people who sometimes try to intercept letters though."

I nodded. "Okay. Then tell him that I caught you spying on me but I'm still willing to tell him directly about some more of my secrets. Also, tell him that I'd like to know more about the prophecy you mentioned, we can call it an information trade. You can tell him where we're staying when we reach the capital so he can find us later."

She sighed. "So you aren't... too mad then?"

I shook my head. "I am a little mad but it's better that you were spying for him and not for someone else. Despite this... hiccup in our relationship, I still like Tarklin and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt here."

Cecelia let out a sigh of relief as her anxiety ebbed away.

"While we're all here and talking about important things, we should discuss a little more about the capital," Silva said. "It will be dangerous to be as free with affection and nightly activities as we have been while we're there. There's also the way you treat us in public." She finished with a knowing look toward me.

I frowned but I knew where this was going. "I'll have to treat more of you like actual slaves there, won't I?"

She nodded and a quick glance told me that the twins both agreed. One headache after another. "It'll really be necessary there?" I asked Torien.

She gave me a strained smile. "I'm afraid so. The people are much more... concerned about how slaves behave in the capital and I can't imagine the presence of the Tamin church will have mellowed any of that. It's more likely people are being even harsher toward their slaves in front of them since a majority of slaves in this kingdom are beastfolk."

"So what all does that mean again, I can't allow you to sit and eat with me, what else?"

Torien nodded. "Slaves aren't supposed to speak with anyone but their master in public, they shouldn't sit in any public restaurants or taverns, they must keep their collars on display at all times, though our outfits are already designed with that in mind. Since Morrigan and I are dressed as servants we get a bit more leeway on those things but we still aren't expected to speak without a specific command. Slaves aren't to touch or make eye contact with non-slaves though servants may touch non-slaves if performing their duties. They aren't allowed to enter any buildings alone, though they may enter first if with someone else. What else..." she paused to think.

This whole conversation was making me sick to my stomach and souring my mood but it would be important to know.

"What about adventuring slaves?" I asked.

Torien shrugged. "Mostly the same, you'll have to speak for us at the guild and any of our accomplishments will be attributed to you. That shouldn't matter much since we're already in your party I suppose but we'll be able to operate much less independently than we have been. I know you've been trying to keep us together with either you or Bella at all times but it'll be even more important going forward. And... no offense, Mimi, but being left alone with you would be a challenge as well..."

Mimi shook her head. "It's okay. I don't know what to say when people get angry. It's better if I didn't have to do that."

Torien looked relieved that Mimi had taken that well.

I sighed. "This trip is going to be a pain."