2.11 – Plotter

Wow, it's still not lewd or anything

It was then, with a steaming mug of cacao in hand, that Mad Pat managed to goad Maple into telling the story of—the incident. The sex zombie fiasco. The great orgy of current year.

She'd left out most of the details, including what her classes had been, but she clarified that [Telepathic Orgasms] was a skill she'd had, that she'd used it in combination with the anti-libido potion to stop the effects of the milk, and so on.

Someone ought to put out a public service announcement that she'd helped. No one seemed to know that fact. Reasonable people could piece together that the sex zombie thing had ended after the [Telepathic Orgasm], but they didn't know that the causation existed.

Nor did they necessarily think she was the cause of it—a few did—but her name was infamous. The I'm Maple event was another name for that part of it, and Pat was one more person who would know most of the truth.

He didn't seem too surprised, but had mostly just been curious. Any ulterior motive he may have had seemed to be based around...networking. Maple felt she might be leading him on a bit. Not in a romantic, or sexual interest way—there was none of that at all, she suspected—but he seemed to think she was important. Or competent?

An up-and-coming, highly proficient individual?

It wasn't an entirely untrue statement. She could say that she was coming, some of the time—often, maybe. And just last night, she'd been highly...high. Once her wings grew in, she'd have the 'up' part. Proficient?

Yeah, she was lying out her nose and punching well above her weight. Emma had adapted well by keeping her form masculine and helping herself to all the snacks she wanted. Not too many, mind you, she wanted the pot.

By time Maple finished telling the condensed story of her side of things, with some sidetracking, Sylla arrived. Maple realized her mistake beforehand; she had no way to communicate with her privately. She should have had Thera tell her what they hadn't told Pat.

Mainly, that they had only a few samples from their total claim. It would be a bad idea to reveal that there was a pile of the stuff just sitting somewhere for anyone to take, wouldn't it? Maybe that was an obvious level of caution, but Maple mildly emphasized some key words just in case. And then she hoped to be out of the discussion entirely.

"Hey, Syll. So, uh, this is Pat. He makes pots and stuff. I told him we have a bunch of rocks, that are alive or whatever. And that's all I mentioned really. I don't have any stake in this, so—oh, and Emma wants this fancy pot he made for that plant seed. Our plant baby, yes. So she's hoping to barter some rocks for it. Again, no stake from me. You two do whatever."

Emma tapped her note, correcting Maple again, and nodded. But there—Maple's job was done. They weren't her rocks, and it was stressful being a middleman. She barely had any stake in acquiring this pot, if she were being honest. It was Emma's goal, so she'd cooperate, but it seemed excessive. They'd spoil the thing. Sylla brushed at her long hair and coiled up around her staff by the table.

"Um, okay. He wanted to see it, right?"

"Oh, yes. Do show. Syll, was it? Some kind of [Mage]? I can't quite give the thing a proper appraisal, but I can tell enough if I'd be interested."

"Sylla, and yes—some kind of [Mage]. Um, okay. Here it is. Nice look, by the way, Em."

Emma nodded to Sylla and flexed an arm, still in her masculine form. Sylla pulled a rock from her robe and handed it to Pat. He turned it over in his hand and examined it from every angle before using a Skill.

"[Determine Usefulness]. Hmm, I see. How much do you have, exactly?"

"Umm..."

Sylla looked to Maple, and Maple shrugged. Maple hadn't said anything about that, and it wasn't her deal. Frankly, she didn't care. Her stomach hurt a little, and the rags they used for pads in this world were—unpleasant. She hadn't wanted to waste any money on a potion from Shari, but maybe she should have. This was supposed to have been a quick little shopping trip for a pot.

She at least had cacao, the precursor to chocolate. The mug must have been enchanted, and probably made by Pat himself, because it was still a perfectly hot drinking temperature.

Sylla realized she was on her own, and vaguely gestured at how big the pile of rocks had been.

"A lot, in various sizes, um, probably a few wagon loads."

"Probably? Have you not transported them before? And, they belong to...?"

Pat raised his eyebrows, and Maple observed his conniving smile yet again. His gaze shifted over the three of them, and Sylla answered.

"Ah—Emma has...was it 25%? And we, an adventuring group, have the rest. Azure Bond."

Emma nodded authoritatively, proud of the share she'd negotiated. It was cute, but honestly, Maple yawned and checked out at this point. Pat spoke, and she realized it was also an obvious thing to ask about.

"And you have them...stored somewhere? You are adventurers, so I would presume you found them."

"Er...not yet. But we're working on that within the next day or two. Are you interested in them? We weren't sure how much they'd be worth."

Pat stroked his chin in thought. Emma watched him with hopeful eyes, and Maple set her empty mug down.

"Perhaps. More cacao? Or for you, Sylla?"

"Yes, please."

Maple gladly took more, while Sylla shook her head.

"That's okay, thanks."

"Certainly. But yes, I suppose I am interested. Would you mind if I hold onto this sample for a short while to have an acquaintance appraise it for me?"

"Yes, that should be fine."

"Excellent. And for our blue lad, or lass, I'd be taking some risk considering you don't actually have them in this moment, however if you were willing to promise me first buying rights to your share of these rocks, should I want them after getting them appraised fully, then I will part with the pot for...one gold? I'd also be interested in examining that plant sometime, and perhaps other future dealings. Not as a requirement, but I'd hope this generosity on my part is taken favorably. My Skill said it was the one you needed, and isn't that curious? It is, and I wasn't lying when I said that 50 gold was the minimum I'd sell it for normally."

Emma threw her arms in the air, agreeing instantly. Then she even hugged him, as if to seal the deal before it was taken back. He patted her, somewhat awkwardly.

"Ah, yes. It's a deal, then. Have you it on you?"

She did, and she handed one gold coin over. He slid the pot over to Emma, and she caressed it as if their plant baby were already in it. Pat turned to Sylla.

"I'd be interested in buying your share as well, but we'll have to see how it all goes, won't we?"

"Um, sure. Yes."

Maple perked up, happy this was finally coming to a close. She had just one final thing to do. Two, actually.

"Where did you get the cacao from? I'd want to buy some myself. Also, um, do you have a bathroom here?"

"It's imported. Quite difficult to get ahold of if you don't have the proper channels established already. I could put an order in for you. They tend to cost around one silver a pound, but—would you like a bag? A friendly gift."

"Oh. Yeah, I'd like that. Thank you."

"Certainly. And yes, restroom's right through there. Fully plumbed, thankfully."

Maple went through a door and found it. It was nicer than Sasha's restroom, and had running water for the sink and toilet. Pat clearly had some wealth, and Maple was grateful for the generosity shown to her and Emma, but she hoped it didn't mean he'd expect some kind of favor in the future.

Mostly because she didn't have anything she could offer. It felt unkind to assume he was scheming or plotting something, but then again, he hadn't even interacted in person. All of the Pats they talked to were clay puppets—or something—and that added to the ominous feeling she got from him.

When she came back from the restroom, Pat handed her a large sack of cocoa beans. It had to be five—no, ten pounds. Her eyes widened in shock. That was an expensive gift.

"This much? Are you sure? I'm uh—broke. I won't be able to gift you anything in return..."

"It's a gift, not a trade. Silly. Don't worry about it so much. I don't expect anything in return, and I am merely trying to be friendly."

"But why? Also, um, where is your real body? You still have one right?"

Pat went silent and deflated a little. He fidgeted with the missing pinky on his hand.

"Yes, I still have my body made of meat. It's nothing special, and I much prefer interacting with the world through this one. I apologize if it's not verisimilitudinous enough, but let us leave it at that."

He sounded defensive or self-conscious. Maybe something was wrong with his real body?

"Oh. I was just curious, sorry. This one's fine. Thank you for the beans."

"You're welcome, and I didn't mean to bristle at you so let's just move on. The why of it, is simply to make friends. Or connections, at least. You are unique, and unique is interesting. I hope you'll stop by in the future, if you're ever in need of pottery. Or vessels of any kind. Speaking of such, where might I find you should I need to?"

He addressed the last question to Sylla and Emma, rather than Maple, and Sylla answered for them.

"We're staying at the Copper Butterfly Inn for now, on the west side of town. My team will be gone for a few days soon, but Emma should be there. And Maple."

Sylla glanced at Maple, as if unsure she should reveal that, but Maple didn't mind. She couldn't make up her mind about Pat, but he'd been nothing but kind so far, if not a little heavy-handed in his friendship acquisition methods. Pat nodded, and focused on Emma again.

"You'll also want good dirt. I have a [Composter] and [Gardener] friend I could recommend, not far from here."

Emma nodded. She wanted only the best for her baby, and Maple hoped dirt couldn't cost too much. Emma didn't care about that kind of thing, but Maple now had a mental debt to the relationship of half a gold.

Pat gave them directions, and they wrapped things up from there. Maple thanked him again for the beans, and for the pot. Emma changed back to her girl form, and they left. Sylla went off to do her own things, and Maple updated Thera on the situation. Maple put an arm around Emma.

"Phew, what an ordeal. But we've got the very best pot now. Are you happy, cutie?"

Emma grinned and kissed Maple's cheek. Then she looked at the sky and her eyes widened.

I've gotta go to work!

"Ah. I'll get the dirt, I guess?"

She nodded, and handed Maple the pot. Her other hand formed an ILU, and then she wrote.

Only the best dirt for our baby!

"Jeez, okay cutie. I'll get the best dirt. I promise. I love you. Have fun at work."

Emma nodded, and then she was off. Maple sighed. She'd get the best dirt.