Paths of the Chosen

Aidan
The Realms
Firstday, 2nd week of the 11th month, Age of the Chosen 1
Early Afternoon
Caellach Macht, Mistvale Highlands

The arrival of the Snow-Water Riders—the semi-nomadic tribe of merchant otterkin—turned into a major event. Hundreds of centaurs and almost as many harpies and catfolk crowded around the river. More of both other races arrived in Ceallach Macht every few days, but reviewing the reports was a much different experience from seeing the people gathered together.

The atmosphere was festive, with crowds milling around impromptu market stalls lining the riverbank. The distinctive scent of fried dough filled the air alongside the hubbub of a few hundred excited townsfolk. To Aidan's satisfaction, all three races seemed to be mingling with minimal friction. While fewer centaurs were perusing the Mist Stalkers' wares than demographics would suggest, there were some, and, more importantly, there were no signs of hostility between the two groups.

"This will be good for the city," Gerwyn declared, "even if the cu uisce decide not to help with our little dragon problem. The last half-year has been hard on us all; it will do the people well to cut loose a little." He flashed Aidan a toothy grin. "The Snow-Water Riders throw the best parties."

"Mm!" agreed Sunnild with a giggle. "I remember the last time they visited the Ayrie; three years ago, I think it was? I was too young ta fly the long patrol routes, so I got ta stay home. Even the senior officers got drunk."

The harpy leaned against Aidan's side and whispered in his ear, "Remind me ta show ya the outfit I bought from 'em sometime before I start ta show. It'll be a tight fit, but I think that'll just make ya like it more." She giggled again at the look he gave her, then pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

"And it will bring the tribes together in a positive way," Ailis added. "You can already see it working. Right now, the Starchasers, Sisterhood, and Mist Stalkers are three groups sharing the same city. If this works out as we hope, it will be a strong step toward welding them together into a unified whole."

"And if we can impress them enough, they will be the best advertisement for our goals we could have. Speaking of which, lass, how goes the construction on the Tabernacle?"

Brighid groaned and flipped her braid over her shoulder in frustration. "Close to finished, but not quite there yet. I am doing what I can to have it ready before the summit. But this impromptu festival is not helping in that regard. I had to give the workers two days off, so right now, only the Automatons are getting anything done. I just have one team of those since the rest are working on the fortress."

"It'll be fine," Aidan soothed his Soulmate, stroking her flank with his right hand. "Caer Macht is almost back to full manna, so if push comes to shove, I can always summon a couple more teams for you to use. It's more important right now to improve everyone's morale."

Indeed, the city's mood had dipped in the past few weeks, fueled by the Starchasers starting to come to grips with their recent losses. Between the battle against the Taig's army and Karsarrym's ambush of the convoy, the tribe lost a third of its population. Making matters worse was that the losses were disproportionate among the young warriors, which dealt a double blow to morale.

First, the people were worried about whether there were enough warriors left to protect them from the next threat. Life in the Highlands was hard-fought at the best of times, and with Karsarrym's promise of vengeance hanging over them, Aidan couldn't blame people for being uneasy. The Sisterhood's presence in the city helped, but the Starchasers' longstanding xenophobia limited the degree that they trusted the harpies to intervene in the next disaster.

When it came down to it, Aidan couldn't disagree; he didn't have complete confidence that they would, either. While there was an understanding in place between himself and the Ayrie's leadership, it had yet to be tested. He knew that the harpies wanted the bait he dangled in front of them, but they already had a system that worked well enough to ensure their continued existence. How much risk would they be willing to take on to protect a future that might never come to pass?

The second hit to morale was that the better part of an entire generation had been wiped out. Almost every family had lost a son or daughter, and there were seventeen brand new orphans now under Eilwen's tender care. The centaurs were tough folk, well-used to hardship, but grief still took its toll on them.

The Snow-Water Riders' arrival allowed the Starchasers to take a step back and breathe. It offered hope that life would go on, that there was a future worth striving for. Aidan just prayed that he wasn't dooming them to further tragedy by opposing Karsarrym rather than urging the tribe to flee.

A clawed finger poked into Aidan's lower back. "Ow!" he complained, looking over his shoulder at Aoife.

"You were brooding again," she told him. "Brighid told me to keep you focused, so take it up with her if you want to complain."

Aidan rolled his eyes at his concubine, to which she responded by sticking out her tongue and blowing a raspberry. He returned his gaze to the path ahead but smiled and let out a brief chuckle. "Maybe I should make you my court jester," he teased Aoife.

"Sure, if you want to be the butt of every joke in the city inside the week," she replied in a cheery tone. "Say, did you hear the one about the boy who had sex with a centaur? Yeah, it turns out he misunderstood what horseplay meant. Ooh, or how about—"

"Aoife," Aidan growled a warning. He ignored the snickers coming from Gerwyn and Brighid.

"What? I'm just demonstrating my qualifications so that Master can make the best use of my talents."

Aidan winced. In the last few weeks, he'd grown familiar with Aoife's mannerisms, and this was a warning. She only called him Master in public when something Aidan did or said upset her. He stepped to the side and paused, letting Aoife draw even with him, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side.

"Sorry, Aoife. I was teasing; I didn't mean anything by it."

"That makes it worse, you know," she said with a sniff. Nevertheless, she relaxed into Aidan's embrace, resting her head against his chest and curling her tail around his thigh.

A few minutes of walking later, Aidan and company reached the outer ring of merchant stalls. Having been subjected to the ever-strengthening scent of fair food as they approached, Aidan steered the party towards one of the food stands.

"What do you have?" he asked the startled Starchaser behind the makeshift counter.

"My Lord Aidan!" the woman squeaked in surprise. Her mouth opened and closed without a sound as she struggled to make sense of his sudden appearance.

"Relax," Aidan told her with a smile. "Right now, I'm just another hungry customer."

"Oh, yes, of course, my Lord. Um, we serve fried bread with your choice of toppings. We offer honey, cream sauce, and various fruits and berries for those with a sweet tooth. If you prefer a savory meal, we have Tusker-back bacon, sausage, mild or sharp cheese, and our specialty gravy."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful. I'll have one with sausage and sharp cheese, please. Ladies?"

"Cream and honey, please," Aoife chimed in.

"Are those falaberries? I'll take one with some of those an' mild cheese," added Sunnild.

Brighid waved at the woman behind the counter and exclaimed, "Oh, bacon, sausage, and gravy! Your gravy is the best, Deirdre!"

"I will pass for now."

Aidan scoffed at Ailis's refusal. "Oh, come on now. I know you like fried food as much as the rest of us, Ailis. Besides, I'm buying."

"Oh, well, in that case, make me one with honey and blackberries, Deirdre."

"Double sausage for me!"

Aidan gave Gerwyn a flat stare.

"What?" The Councilman grinned back at Aidan and waggled his bushy eyebrows. "I am pretty sure I count as an honorary lady. Or is it the double sausage you doubt? I assure you, I can handle that much and more."

"I—" Aidan started to say, then cut himself off. "You know what? I'd rather not go there." Then, turning back to Deirdre, he asked, "How much do I owe you for all that?"

"Oh, no, my Lord! I could never charge you after all you have done for us! My son only survived the Battle of Ceallach Macht because of you!"

"You can and you will," Aidan denied, voice gentle but firm. "Your labor and expertise are valuable, Deirdre, and I'm sure you had to buy most of your ingredients on short notice at high prices. It would be unethical of me to take so much of your time and money without paying you in return."

The centaur matron frowned, but before she could make any further arguments, Aoife gestured for her to lean down, then whispered something in her ear. Deirdre blinked twice, then gave Aoife a grin and a nod. Then, turning her attention back to Aidan, she said, "All together, it would be three coins of silver and three of copper, my Lord."

Aidan squinted at Aoife, who gave him an angelic smile and squirmed her way back under his arm. It was obvious that she advised the woman to sell at a discount, but he decided to let it go. Technically, he didn't know the food was being provided at a lower rate since Deirdre didn't have her prices posted. Nothing said he couldn't give her a bonus for services well-done, however, and a reputation for generosity wouldn't hurt him in the short term.

Aidan reached into one of the side pouches of his spatial bag and pulled out six of the largest silver coins he had. "Keep the change," he told Deirdre with a smile.

Deirdre pouted at Aidan, but now it was her who couldn't object without seeming unreasonable. Instead, she scooped up the coins and turned to her cooking. A short time later, Deirdre handed each of them their order wrapped in a large, edible leaf. When she handed Aidan two for his share, he frowned at her, then shook his head with a chuckle.

"Well played," he told the woman and took his double order without further complaint. Aidan took a bite of one of the leaf-wrapped pastries and hummed in pleasure as the textures and flavors burst across his palate. The crisp, cool leaf wrapping provided an excellent counter to the hot, chewy dough. The dough, in turn, provided a hint of sweetness that was the perfect counter to the rich sausage and sharp, cheddar-like cheese.

The others made similarly happy noises as they bit into their treats. An expressive moan drew Aidan's attention down to Aoife. Her eyes were closed in ecstasy as she licked at the white cream sauce oozing out of the end of the rolled-up pastry. As he watched, some dripped down onto her chest and dribbled down onto her cleavage.

Aidan rolled his eyes even as he willed himself not to get an erection. He was almost certain that Aoife staged that for his benefit. In fact, now that I think of it, I'd give it 75% that she ordered the cream sauce for this exact reason. Still, that was no reason not to reward her for her efforts.

"You spilled some," Aidan said, then ran a finger through the cream pooling between Aoife's breasts and brought it to her lips. The catfolk woman's golden eyes popped open at his touch, turning smoky as she sucked his finger into her mouth. Aoife purred as she laved his finger with her rough tongue.

Once Aidan's digit was clean of all traces of the cream, Aoife pulled her head back, then gave his fingertip a quick kiss. "Thank you for looking out for me, my Lord," she purred at him.

Ah, perfect, playing along got me back in her good graces, Aidan thought with satisfaction. That was her public title for him when she was feeling happy. Domestic harmony restored, Aidan redirected his attention to eating his own meal.

It took another half-hour before the roar of the crowd to the north indicated they sighted the first Snow-Water Rider vessel rounding the river-bend. By then, Aidan managed to finish off both of his sausage-and-cheese pastries and assembled along with the rest of the Ceallach Macht Council at the widest, slowest section of the river. Then, a few minutes later, he spotted the merchant ship himself.

It was a single-hulled vessel crafted from dark wood, broader astern and shallower of draft than an oceanic ship. It had no mast or sails; one bank of oars on each side provided sufficient propulsion. A figurehead depicting a nude woman emerging from a surging wave decorated the narrow front end, and a gleaming metal ram parted the water underneath her. Aidan wondered for a moment just how often the otterkin needed to make use of such a weapon since they were the only tribe he knew of with a navy. But, on the other hand, maybe it was just for show?

No, Aidan realized, those are marines lining the railing. The Snow-Water Riders are no pacifists, that's for sure. That made sense, of course. After all, there would be little reason to invite them to a summit like this if they had nothing to contribute to a military expedition.

"Hold water!" came a woman's demanding voice from the ship's deck. Instantly, the rowers complied, dipping their oars into the water and slowing the vessel to a graceful halt. "Ahoy, the shore!" the same voice called out. "I see we're expected!"

Aidan shaded his eyes and peered up at the ship until he spotted the speaker, a woman with long, bright blue hair spilling down across her back and shoulders like a shimmering waterfall. He squinted, shifting his gaze to the figurehead, then back to who he assumed was the ship's captain. Yep, same person. Not shy, this one, nor humble.

"Allo, Eldrid!" Gerwyn shouted back. "Get yourself down here! We have a party to throw!"

"Gerwyn, you old horny goat, I knew you wouldn't disappoint me! Alright, lads and lasses, you heard the fellow! Bank oars! Drop anchor and prepare to tie off to the other ships! Hurry, now; there's drinking, eating, and fucking to be had tonight!"

A raucous cheer rose from both the ship and the watching crowd as a pair of anchors splashed into the river and the oars swept skyward. Less than a minute later, the woman stepped back up to the railing, then dove over the side into the river. She crossed the distance from the ship to the shore in seconds, then leaped up out of the water.

Gerwyn met her as she landed, sweeping her up in a ferocious hug and refusing to let her go until she started laughing and pounding on his shoulders. Then, finally, the dwarf centaur placed a hand on the small of the woman's back and guided her toward where Aidan and the others waited.

"Lord Aidan, please meet Eldrid Svarrivisa Saevargeisa of the Snow-Water Riders, Captain of the ship Gleaming Tide and a good friend of mine. Eldrid, this is Lord Aidan, the man who saved the Starchasers and brought together the three tribes you see here." Aidan's Tongue of the Sun and Moon Trait translated Eldrid’s surnames as 'Proud woman who dances atop the raging flood.'

"My, my," Eldrid said with a smirk. Silver eyes glittered as she looked him up and down. "You didn't tell me he was so handsome, Gerwyn. I could just eat him up." She punctuated her declaration by grinning at Aidan, revealing a mouth filled with sharp, conical fangs.

"I know!" Gerwyn gave a theatrical groan. "And he is disgustingly straight, so I have had no luck flipping my tail at him."

"Well, I look forward to dealing with you, my Lord," Eldrid told Aidan, her eyes locked on his.