Jebidiah's Change Bk. 01 Ch. 15

Her next casting, a fireball, lashed out at a section of the line not yet affected by the flames. Jebidiah added his own, again mirroring Shirley's actions and Words. The two of them unleashed spell after spell that afternoon on the plains before the city, more than should have been possible as Jebidiah did something to keep Shirley supplied with enough of the magical energy she needed, well past either's point of exhaustion. The rest of the city became spectators, unsure of what they were witnessing. The calvary elements from the city milled about, keeping any of the Falthans from advancing further, but they could not launch more attacks themselves for fear of being caught in the magical forces being unleashed.

It all became too much, the absolute destruction being rained upon them, and the Falthans finally broke. Their lines melted away leaving their siege equipment behind alongside thousands of their own wounded and dead. Shirley's booming laughter chased after them as she screamed "Run!".

In an instant it was over except for the screams and cries of the wounded. The calvary elements arrayed themselves before the pair, forming a perimeter. Those in the calvary from his House were shouting something, his hearing had become hollow and he couldn't make out the words, the sound like he was at the bottom of a well listening to distant voices. Even Shirley's laughter faded as he turned to look back to the city. His wives were there, stunned and unsure what to do. Dana was yelling something he couldn't hear. Joy rode up on a horse with the Duchess, the General, and their retinue close behind. Even the hooves of their horses fell silent on Jebidiah's ears. Shirley turned as well and let out a chilling strangled cry. That he did hear.

Jebidiah looked to where her gaze led, to find Stern standing beside the others, unabashedly crying as he held Farrah's body in both arms before him. Crystal clung to his side, weeping as well, looking ready to collapse. Farrah was a tall elf but managed to look small against Stern's bulk, her arms hung limply down from her sides. Stern's cherub face, tears streaming down, was enough to break the stoutest of hearts. Whatever Jebidiah was doing to support Shirley shut down as the sight of Stern sapped his strength. Shirley collapsed in a heap.

When his connection to Shirley ended, his bonds reopened. The painful emotions flooding into him merged with a falling sensation. It was the last thing he remembered as darkness claimed him.

-- Somewhen, Somewhere --

Twelve pentagonal shapes, each with its own hue, formed the dodecahedron floating in the void, the realm of the Twelve. Each of the twelve panels represented six aspects of existence, opposing panels representing the opposing forces of those aspects. Life opposed Death, Peace opposed Violence, Good/Love opposed Evil/Hate, and so on. Twenty vertices existed where the panels met, three aspects of existence converging upon each. Comlain's consciousness sat where Order, Trust, and Violence met as his mind's eye gazed out upon the others. Thoughts were being shouted across the space, most of the shouts directed at him.

Something pulsed in the center of the space, something powerful which none of those present could ignore or escape. "It is not time for the Trial of Twelve. None have broken the covenant."

"I demand Justice!" a thought exploded upon the others. This brought thoughts of laughter from many, considering the aspects that converged on the 'speakers' vertex. "Comlain broke the covenant by the level of adjustments to a player!"

"The covenant is intact!" The pulse of Power was immense, it brokered no dissent.

Comlain had been concerned that he would be punished, perhaps even expelled by the Power for his manipulation of events. Bellatrix was too great a danger to leave unchecked and, even with his interference, all that was accomplished was delaying the confrontation. He was amused that none voiced dissent with how his champion had ended the battle. That level of manipulation had pushed the boundaries and he had no desire to attempt such again. Once should have been enough to get his point across.

-- Soldier's Rest, Third Tenday of Yantaen 813 AGR --

Jebidiah slowly woke with difficulty. He ached all over, his arm was asleep and he could neither feel nor move it. He tried to shake the grogginess of sleep from his brain, once again chasing the proverbial spiders leaving their cobwebs behind. He looked down at his body to find Crystal laying across his dead arm. Mila and Joy, unsure which was which from the angle of his view, were curled up together on his other side, thankfully not on that arm. He looked about more to find Tenner beside Crystal with her back to him, she was spooning Shirley with Greta on the other side. Without windows he had no sense of what time it was and he heard voices drifting in from a different part of the room he could not see. Taking a minute to listen, he recognized Dana, Sift and Kelek talking in low voices, Sift translating for the group.

He groaned in involuntary pain which made Crystal start awake. "Love, how are you? How are you feeling?" she whispered to him. He just kissed the top of her head in response. His throat felt like it was on fire and his tongue was thick and heavy.

"Water." he croaked out in a raspy voice.

She quickly scrambled out of bed, waking Tenner with her movements. "Jeb, thank the Divines, we were so worried." She rolled over fully, away from Shirley, to give him a kiss. "Please don't do that again." A tear came out of one of her eyes. "We can't lose you."

He gave her as much of a smile as he could when Crystal scrambled back into the bed holding a mug of water. He lifted himself as much as he could with the sleeping arm and the munchkin twins nestled on his side. Crystal helped him take a drink without too much mess and he felt immensely better with water in him. He slumped back down. "What happened?"

"What all do you remember?"

"I remember Kelek talking down Bellatrix. Did Kelek challenge her or did Bellatrix challenge me? Did that happen?" The nods he got in response didn't make him feel better. "Then there was the screaming and..." His chest tightened as the memories flooded back in. "Farrah..." his voice faltered. "Is she... is she gone?"

"She did not survive, Jeb. I'm so sorry. She reacted faster than any of us, even Sift."

"She knew, she knew it would happen. I..." he swallowed with a little difficulty, "Why would anyone sacrifice themselves for me? I cannot... how do I deal with that? I remember her eyes dying, then... nothing, waking up. What happened?"

Tenner and Crystal looked at each other and something unspoken passed between them. "We're not exactly sure what happened, love." Tenner finally said. "You sort of shut down, we could no longer feel you, like you left the bond."

"You better never fucking do that again, mister. I thought facing down Bellatrix was scary, but losing you like that was like losing half of me, just a fucking cold void left behind." Dana's voice drew his attention. She was standing there with Kelek and Sift beside her at the side of the bed.

Greta picked up the story then, having woken with the talking. "Shirely went all battle mage on us, burnt the Child that attacked you and Farrah to a cinder then you called her Mad Lady of Battle and the two of you went off to war on your own. The rest of us were just bystanders. The entire city could do nothing but stand back and watch. Shirley's laughing is really starting to creep me out."

His stomach rumbled loudly. That wasn't normal. "I'm famished. How long have I been asleep?"

"A few days. It is already the 36th." Jebidiah flopped back down and groaned some more. The battle had started on three third, he had been asleep for nearly three full days.

"I require sustenance." He chuckled slightly at his word choice. "Is there anything to eat?" Excited he was back awake, everyone scrambled out of bed and attempted to help him as best they could. It was very overwhelming but he understood the why of their reactions and bit back what acerbic comments came to his tongue. The food, on the other hand, did wonders for his mood.

"So, the two of us single handedly fought an army? And won? Even though I'm apparently one of the ones who did it, and I am sitting here still alive, I find the whole story preposterous." Jebidiah really was having a hard time absorbing the story being related to him. "Kelek, what exactly did you discuss with the dragon?"

Kelek launched into an extended dialogue, lasting nearly two minutes of her talking non-stop, making wild gestures as she did, even pacing some, at one point she slammed a fist into her other palm in anger. Finally she stopped talking and stared at Jebidiah expectantly. Sift finally spoke, "She doesn't know.' Kelek started laughing.

Jebidiah stared dumbfounded at Sift. "What? She just recited an entire book and it took all of that to say 'I don't know?'"

"I am paraphrasing. That was the parameter you had set, do you desire a direct translation?"

"No, no. But there has to be more there, how about a few supporting details?"

"Friend Kelek is unsure why she said what she did, or even what all she said. She spoke in the dragon's native tongue but does not know how she knew the words. Some of them she still does not understand."

Jebidiah sighed, "Fair enough I suppose. I have no idea how I did what I did after all. Sift, you took a nasty hit, are you ok?"

"My diagnostics are all within acceptable limits. It would have been better if Bellatrix had chosen a door or window for my entrance into the building, but I do not believe she was feeling charitable."

Jebidiah blinked at her response but Dana beat him to a response, "Did you just make a joke?"

Sift was silent for a few seconds. "I can find a correlation to humor in my statement but it was not my intention. However, I am also unsure. Friend Kelek has been teaching me humor and it is not beyond possible that it is filtering into my normal response routines."

"You keep saying 'Friend Kelek', who else are your friends?" Crystal asked

"The title is at the request of Kelek. I am still compiling a full definition for the word 'friend'. Kelek has proven to be an admirable guide and has greatly increased my knowledge base."

"Kelek, what if I would like to be your friend?" Jebidiah asked.

Kelek froze. Not in the unsure or caught off guard manner, she stood completely still, not a muscle moved as much as an inch. Finally she moved, Jebidiah had no idea what was going on, but he waited patiently. Kelek began to talk.

"Friend Kelek has never had someone ask to be her friend, she is apprehensive of the situation. You are, or were, her jailor and you rule over the one who captured her. She is still a prisoner, just one with some unusual freedoms."

"Kelek," Jebidiah looked fully at the lizard, "if you accept that I rule over the one who captured you, then accept that it is my choice that you are not a prisoner. You have proven yourself a warrior, you have proven yourself honorable, You have your freedom and my family's thanks." When Sift came to the end of her translation, Kelek made a slashing motion with one hand, looking angry. She began hissing in reply.

Sift quickly picked up the conversation. "Kelek says she rejects your freedom, she will earn it herself when she determines which of the small ones captured her, but that will wait. She can honorably accompany you as a prisoner, but you are unworthy of hunting beside her as an equal. She will stay for two summers, until the final hunt begins."

"Fitting name, 'The final hunt'." Jebidiah chuckled. At least he had time to prepare for Bellatrix.

"Is there any food or drink?" The quiet question startled most of them as Shirley made her appearance.

Joy came rushing up, startling the tiefling in turn, "Come Shirley, let's get you fed. We have some meats and cheese and half decent wine, or beer if that is more to your taste. There's a divan in the corner away from everyone if you need more rest but it's not very comfortable. Where were all your things at? When you came yesterday you had no travel chest. We had to change you when they brought you here, your dress smelled of ash." Shirley's eyes slowly grew in size as the nonstop rapid stream of words bombarded her.

"Joy!" several voices said at once while Jebidiah added "Breathe woman."

The laughter that followed looked like it relaxed Shirley some, but she was still acting apprehensive. "My travel chest is somewhere in the travel train I guess? I have not seen it yet, I'm afraid I have nothing to change into."

"You are not much different in size than Greta or myself," Tenner said. "Ooo, can we dress you in bronze? That should get the point across!"

Shirley gulped, "Point?"

Jebidiah was growing concerned that she was going to drop dead of a heart attack. "Girls," he warned, hoping they realized what they were doing. Crystal was normally the first to put a damper on things.

Tenner just continued, "You said people were being rude and such, right? Snubbing you? I imagine the whole 'Mad Lady' thing will make things worse without House colors. Wear Jeb's House colors, see if anyone gives you a problem after that. House Valor takes care of their own."

"Jeb will fuck them up" Greta added

"I... I..." Shirley started stammering, the panic in her face showing as her eyes darted around like she was searching for an escape.

Jebidiah moved himself into position, just in case. There was a girl in their school, Norma Jean, who would have panic attacks that would sometimes become violent. Shirley was showing all the same signs and he could not understand why the others did not notice. It was when Greta asked her about her tail that Shirley completely freaked out. She shoved those nearest her away and charged for the doorway, her path taking her right beside Jebidiah who held out an arm to snag her, twirling around to swing Shirley along with him, reducing her momentum until they finally stood still and he held her closely.

"Shhhh... I'm here, I'm just going to hold you for a minute, just breathe for me Shirley." His quiet whispers and Shirley's sobs were the only sounds as the rest had frozen in stunned silence. Shirley struggled at first, half fighting his hold until she caved and gave up, emotionally exhausted, and clung to him, the sobbing increasing until she shuddered in his arms. "I'm here to help, Shirley, this is a safe place, even if my wives can be a bit much." The last was said louder as he looked up to glare at the still stunned looks staring back at him.

He picked the frightened woman up in his arms, cradling her, but found it slightly difficult to hold her at first. There was an unexpected lump on her body that made things awkward, it must be the tail Greta mentioned. When he first felt it Shirley scrunched her already closed eyes even further as if in pain. "Please" she said in a very quiet, pleading voice.

"Shhh, I am just going to lay you down, you need some more rest." he kissed her forehead, trying anything to calm her tortured sobbing. His wives parted as he carried her toward the bed where he laid her down again. When he attempted to extract himself he found he couldn't, Shirley's fingers curled into his tunic with a death grip as she clung to him. "Ok, I'll lay here with you for a little while, ok? Until you are ready?" A small nod was his only answer as he crawled up into the bed. "Need you to work with me here, Shirley. I'll lay down, I promise, but I need you to let go for a sec."

He finally arranged himself next to her, she was half curled into a ball on her side, face buried into his chest as her hand bunched up the fabric on the side of his tunic into a handhold. He looked around at the others and gave them an "I don't know what's going on" look. They all took seats back in the main part of the room to get comfortable, leaving them some privacy but still staying silent, Shirley's quiet sobs the only noise. He started to stroke Shirley's hair and murmur small random things as her sobbing calmed down. After a few minutes her breathing had slowed into a sleep. He extracted himself carefully, staring down at the mage, trying to reconcile what had just happened with the "Mad Lady" image she became when the fighting started in earnest. "Is all of this just too much on her?" he asked quietly. "Maybe forcing the House on her isn't such a good idea?"

Crystal and Dana came up to him to each hold a hand, the three staring down at the bed. "You did good there, Jeb. It was like that girl back in school." Dana said quietly.

"I should have seen it coming, there's just so much she can contribute, Jeb. I got carried away with the prospect of her being here."

"It's not just you, love, you all are like a force of nature when we are alone. There are times I have no idea how to handle all of you myself. It's not really a bad thing, I won't complain about it, but it can be a lot."

"I'm sorry, I had no idea." Crystal said in a pained voice.

"Shh, it is nothing to worry about. Let's let her rest some more. Something is going on with her tail, maybe? That seemed to set her off."

They spent some more time talking in low voices, giving Jebidiah time to recuperate. When he got to asking about why Sift and Kelek were in the alley, the story of their previous exploits began to come out. It proved to be more humorous than alarming, and many of the tidbits were met with general laughter, up until Sift spoke of 'kitty'."

"You ate a cat?" Tenner yelled, forgetting herself. The following conversation grew louder and Jebidiah wisely excused himself to check on Shirley. He found her awake, lying on her side, staring off into nothing.

"Copper for your thoughts?" He said as he sat beside her.

"Forgive me, my Lord." she answered without looking at him, still staring.

"It's just Jeb, Shirley, just Jeb." He moved her chin with a finger so she was looking at him, her golden eyes were dull and sad. "Talk to me, what can I do for you?"

"You have done much, maybe too much, for one such as me."

"'One such as me?' Help me understand. I, we, only want to help."

"The others have seen, you have felt it, please do not torture me with kind understanding. The pity does more harm than help."

Jebidiah was lost now, thinking furiously, there were red flags going up everywhere but he knew not what waters he was navigating. "Ok, Shirley, I promise to not drown you in pity, but I need some help. What did I feel, your power? There's no shame in your power."

"Do not mock me, please." Anger flared briefly on her face. "I thought you were different but maybe not after all."

His internal calculator was working overtime, probably stripping a few cogs, but he was coming up empty on answers. "Please, Shirley, I am trying to be as open and honest as I can, but I need your help to understand." A niggling thought popped out a possible answer. "Is it your tail?" Shirley tensed up immediately. Jebidiah was trying as hard as he could to figure out what was the problem with her tail and he gave out a chuckle with the knowledge that it wasn't something serious.

A hand lashed out and slapped his cheek quicker than he could react. "You mock me now!"

The slapping sound drew Crystal and Tenner to check on them. "What did you do to her, Jeb?"

Conflicted, Jebidiah could only look back and forth between Shirley and the others. "I... I mean, what the fuck? Shirley, I never meant to mock you, and I am so sorry that I did, and Tenner, how in the world could you think I did something to her?"

Tenner opened and closed her mouth a few times, "But she slapped you? I mean, I would slap someone who did something to me."

Jebidiah chose to shelve that discussion so he could concentrate on Shirley. Tenner had always been clueless to some social things.