Triple Strength

277. First Attempt: Wiremu.

The hangi was delicious. It was actually my first attempt at doing it myself. A lot of the work is removed when Modrica can dig the hole at the wave of her hand, and I can heat the stones without building a fire. This is the true purpose of having an affinity. Making hangis. I just wish Kelda was here to share it. With her Chef Skills, she would have been able to improve everything. Astrid helped me with the food prep as she had taken over most of the cooking after Kelda left. I only allowed Pūriri to help near the end. It would be obvious there was no fire to heat the stones, and she only knows Maia has a stone affinity. I am sure they are still trying to figure out how I/she turned the body to ash.

Now, I was back as Maia, “The other scary lady,” according to what I overheard Laura say to Mayakku. I wouldn’t be surprised if Matua could sense through my Veneer Skill and know I am not a lady. These older people are dangerous.

They wanted us to come to the slave rather than bringing the slave to us. Maybe they didn’t trust us. I was riding Mayakku’s wagon as we would perform the ritual in it because it was enchanted to control the flow of spiritual energy. This would reduce the variables and make it easier to identify if or how it is going wrong. Hopefully, it won’t go wrong. Hopefully, nobody will be permanently crippled.

Mayakku will perform the ritual under the watchful eye of Laura, Matua and myself. The Colonel insists on being there, and the Slave Master is also a Defence Force member. It is going to be crowded. There would have been more room at Mayakku’s workshop. Laura and Matua also offered their places, but the Colonel was not budging.

The slaves were housed comfortably in a section of the Defence Force base on the edge of the city. The Colonel might not trust us, but I didn’t trust him either. Therefore, I brought our own external security for while we were inside performing the ritual. Modrica and Umreti were there, and Modrica was riding Težka, and Cōmpēṟi was walking along beside them. We were making a big statement, “Don’t mess with us.” Normally, Tāoke would be here too, but only make his presence known if it became necessary. However, this time, he stayed at the quarry as backup for Ruku.

Lieutenant Pūriri didn’t come with us, which is the main reason Ruku stayed to watch the quarry base. We kept the original name, so it was the Tokatoka Quarry. Tabitha and Tāoke were his backups, but they would only be seen if necessary. We expect them to send people to check out the base and go through our stuff. The important stuff is in my cave or our other safe house in the city. It will be a test for them as well. I am OK if they find the safe room under Mayakku’s workshop. I am not OK if they get close to my cave, and Tabitha is not OK if they get close to her storage areas. I will be interested to see if they come in with an official search or if they try to stealth it. I downgraded some of the traps in case they try to stealth it. Maiming is preferable to death at this point. Astrid is also there, so she should be able to patch up and keep alive any idiots. There is a pool running. My chores for the week are riding on a stealth attempt so the Colonel can argue for inserting more guards. Tabitha and Astrid are with me. Ruku, Modrica and Umreti went for the official inspection option. Nobody chose the no-attempt option.

We had an issue at the gate to the Defence Force Base. They were not expecting Težka and Cōmpēṟi, although they should have been expecting Cōmpēṟi. They wanted them to wait with the other riding animals. They discovered that when you are dealing with a male lion large enough to ride and a many times larger Dire Bear, you can’t actually make them do anything they don’t want to do. They also discovered that Modrica is immune to arguments. I think they were quite intimidated, with Modrica standing there with her arms crossed, staring down at them with Težka at her back. She only once had to give the low, rumbling growl that only orcs can do. We had to wait for special permission for us all to enter.

We pulled up beside the building, and the Colonel was waiting for us. He didn’t look happy, but he didn’t say anything. I let Mayakku take the lead here. My role was to observe from the back and monitor the bond, but we didn’t want the Colonel to know what I was doing.

Mayakku went through the greetings and was introduced to the large woman beside the Colonel. She was the Slave Master. The slave was a petite female elf who meekly got into the wagon when instructed. The slave Master had attended many of these rituals, so was familiar with the process, which went a long way to easing the Colonel's mind.

The wagon was crowded, and the smell of bodies grew as there wasn’t much ventilation. Then, the smell of blood was added as Mayakku collected a bowl of it from the elf. The Slave Master watched Mayakku draw the runes very carefully. It is good they are so careful. Done wrong, this could cripple the elf for life.

Laura and Matua were fascinated. This was the first ritual they had ever seen. I could see they both had a lot of questions but were holding back so Mayakku didn’t get distracted. That was good. Laura’s presence was not really necessary, so she would be asked to leave if she caused trouble. Mayakku wanted Matua there for his senses.

After the rituals were drawn, Mayakku took a break and answered some questions.

“Shouldn’t those not necessary for the ritual leave to make space?” the colonel said. I am pleased he didn’t try to command as this was Mayakku’s space, and she was in charge.

“That would mean you would miss seeing this Colonel,” Mayakku said smoothly, “It is probably better that you stay.”

We all knew he wasn't talking about himself. He shut his mouth after that.

After Mayakku had a drink, she got out of the first formation. We have three variations pre-enchanted on granite. Most enchanters can’t do that due to the cost and scarcity of the material. Because I can create Spiritually enhanced Granite, Mayakku is very privileged. I know Matua and Laura have their eye on Lieutenant Pūriri as her wood would be even better for them as it is easier to carve.

Then Mayakku connected the six cactus silk strings and tied them into the right spots in the formation. She then opened her Lockbox and brought out one of our monster cores. She was going to use the one I got from the cactus plant as it was the largest and held the most energy. Laura gasped when she saw it, and I saw the Colonel and Matua’s eyes widen. It was a big one. I think Matua’s widened at the amount of energy it held.

“Before you start,” the Colonel interrupted, “Can I ask where you get your cores?”

Mayakku replied like it was obvious, “I travel with Affinity users who all have monster kills, and two of them are well levelled in the Monster Hunter Class. The hardest part of getting the cores is finding the monsters.”

The Colonel was reassessing us, even though Mayakku was obviously exaggerating. I wasn’t even looking for the Cactus Monster when I was attacked, and the hardest part was definitely killing it. I wouldn’t recommend anyone go back there either, as there will probably be a whole nest of little Tāokes.

Mayakku put the core in the depression that was made for it and connected two runes to start the energy flowing. Time to concentrate. I followed the energy as it flowed through the formation and changed flavour. I like our word flavour rather than the local term of expression. I wasn’t sensitive enough to tell the difference between this and Nelson’s flavour, but Mayakku can. She says there are differences. Matau will also be able to, but he has never sensed a Slave Taskmaster performing the ritual before.

Mayakku went through each of the limbs and pricked the centre, leaving the needle in place. The energy was flowing to them, and she got the Slave Master to add a drop of blood. Then she paused, concentrating on the energy. I concentrated on the bond, which was fluctuating, but it was a bit different. Again, this was physically based. I don’t quite know how to describe it.

“It is close but not exact,” she muttered as if to herself, but was really to me. I nodded as if in agreement, but I was really saying we should try the next step. It didn’t seem harmful. Yet.

She moved onto the head. The master did her thing, and the fluctuations went crazy. I think it was going to break. Mayakku could also feel something off. I signalled her to stop, but she was already reaching for the cutoff rune, and it all stopped.

Everybody was looking at Mayakku except the bloody Colonel, who was looking at me. He saw my signal, didn’t he?

“The flavour or expression was not right,” Mayakku explained, “I think it has to do with the third flavour. I am going to switch to the third variation.” It was like she was muttering to herself, but she was talking to me. I really want to get rid of the watchers and just concentrate on this. The Colonel is on to me, anyway. Well, he knows my role is greater than it appears. Why can’t I have a dumb enemy? Where is the lava man when you need him? I have to remember the Colonel is not my enemy. He is not my friend or ally, but he is not my enemy.

Mayakku released the silk ties, removed the Core, and brought out the other formation tablet. While she was setting up, the Master checked on the elf and got her a drink, ensuring she was not harmed.

Then we started again. The good thing about using monster cores is it doesn’t take energy from us. We haven’t got the high-energy part yet, so the core is fine. The slave class is apprentice level, so it will take a moderate level of energy. The elf has domestic-type classes and skills. Cooking and food preparation along with the associated Small Blades, etc.

The second attempt got further. We got energy flowing through all six of the ritual points, but things started going wrong when Mayakku increased the power levels. The class and bond were fluctuating and cracking, and I leaned over and slammed the emergency shut-off rune just as the Master and Slave both cried out. I watched as the power stopped flowing, but the cracks seemed to remain.

I couldn’t do anything about the cracks in the class, but I might be able to do something about the bond. I pushed energy into the Bond Care Skill and tried to smooth and heal the bond. It was working slowely and Master and Slave both seemed to relax more. The Skill bumped up a level. One more, and it would be Journeyman.

“What happened,” demanded the Colonel. “The Class looks damaged.” He had Interrogate Status or similar as well. I need to remember he is more than a dumb soldier and has an unknown set of Skills.

The Master replied, “The Class and Bond was cracking, sir. I don’t know what would have happened if they broke, but it was potentially damaging to both Rhian and myself.”

I need to be prepared to break the bond if this happens again. The cracking and potentially shattering of the bond could seriously damage the master as well as the slave. That was close. Mayakku was looking at me, not really understanding what happened as she could not see that side of things. This is the disadvantage of not being a Slave Taskmaster. I mouthed “Flavour” to her as the flavour of the energy has to resonate correctly with the Class. It is the only thing I could think of, and the increase in power levels amplified the incompatibility. Almost a disaster. If the Class shatters, it will damage all her classes and future classes. She would be better off staying a slave. If the bond shatters, it will damage current and future bonds, which is potentially not so bad for the slave but could ruin the slave master and her present and future bonds.

Damage is done in various levels of severity, and I have no idea if it can heal or how long it will take. I can potentially heal bonds with my Bond Care. I will assume there will be someone out there who could do the same with classes, but I have never heard of anything like it. We may not be able to test on Rhian again, depending on whether the cracking in the class heals.

“That is all for today,” Mayakku said.

“You are damn right it is,” said the Colonel, “You almost crippled the both of them.”

That is an exaggeration. I could have broken the bond before any damage happened to the master, or the master could have broken the bond. The risk was to Rhian, the slave. I didn’t say any of that as I didn’t want to draw attention to myself.

“We need to work on more nuance to the Spiritual expression before we try again,” Mayakku said.

“What makes you think we will let you try again?” The Colonel said.

Matua spoke up, “Because Colonel, we have just been shown proof of concept. This is not a hoax. This could actually work.” He turned to Mayakku, “I have some ideas on how we could change the expression slightly. My main problem is I haven’t sensed the exact expressions you are looking for.”

“I will need to consult before I put more lives at risk,” the Colonel said.

“If this works, Colonel, this is a total game changer,” said the slave master, whose name I never got. She continued, “I am willing to try again.”

“We will need at least two days to rework some runes and be ready again,” Mayakku said.

“I will let you know my decision before then,” the Colonel said. “There is only one more slave. If you damage him or Lieutenant Katarine, this is over for good, and there will be consequences.”