Catching up

Before anything else, you have prompts to look over. The Mark prompt -- you make a mental note to ask what the Hell Marks are -- popped up without you having to focus on it, but there is a veritable sea of others demanding attention.

Congratulations! Your relationships with Lail, Siwan, and Gerwyn Wanderhoof have advanced from Cordial to Friendly.
They now view you as someone they can relate to and expect to treat them with fairness and respect.

Congratulations! Your relationships with Anwn Wolfsister, Eilwen Brighthearth, and 91 other Starchasers have advanced from Unfriendly to Tolerated.
They are no longer openly distrustful of you and are willing to live and let live.

Congratulations! Your relationship with Ailis Silverhair, Fionn Ironhide, and 27 other Starchasers has advanced from Neutral to Cordial.
They will now treat you like a friendly neighbor, courteous and pleasant but still somewhat distant.

Congratulations! Your relationships with 211 Starchasers have advanced from Hostile to Unfriendly.
They will no longer actively work against you, but will do their best to avoid you and passively resist doing things which will benefit you.

Congratulations! Your relationship with Neifion and 8 other Starchasers have advanced from Hatred to Hostile.
They will no longer actively seek you out to harass or attack you, but will plot to work against you behind your back.

Congratulations! For gaining three new Friendly relationships, you have earned 1650 experience [500 base, +10% Lostlorn title, times 3]. Honor thy friends and they will honor you!

Congratulations! You have reached level 2 in Seduction. Seduction is a subskill of Persuasion.
Congratulations! You have reached levels 5 through 8 in Sex. You are now a Novice of Sex; pleasure given to your partner or partners during sexual activities is increased by 10%.
Congratulations! You have reached level 1 in Anal Sex. You are now Unskilled in Anal Sex. Anal Sex is a subskill of Sex.
Congratulations! You have reached levels 1 through 3 in Dominance. You are now Unskilled in Dominance. Dominance is a subskill of Sex.
Congratulations! You have reached level 1 in Double-Dicking. You are now Unskilled in Double-Dicking. Double-Dicking is a subskill of Sex.

You have earned 50 experience for advancing a Skill to Novice rank.

You quickly check your status screen, but you remain level 3.

Hmmm, it looks like I lost level 5 in Sex from returning to life, then got Novice rank back last night and got the XP bonus again. That's a loophole, but not one I really want to exploit right now. You think to yourself. You're also interested in the large chunk of experience from your three new Friendships; it looks like having a lot of friends is a good way to get through the first few levels. You do wonder, though, just how much experience you need. Focusing on the desire to know instead of the question itself, the knowledge enters your mind.

Current experience: 4,200. Experience needed for next level: 7,000.

Well, one question down, a million to go. You finally decide to roll out of bed and retrieve your pants from where they lie, crumpled in the middle of the floor. After tugging them on, you begin piling up the floor cushions until you have a seat which doesn't put the top of the table uncomfortably high and settle in. Checking your prompts only took a few seconds, and Brighid is still working on breakfast, humming happily to herself. You open the conversation with, "So... I guess you aren't my only friend in the entire Realms any more. It looks like Gerwyn, Siwan, and Lail are all Friendly towards me now."

Brighid looks over her shoulder at you with confusion on her face and asks, "Gerwyn and Siwan I understand, but how does Lail even know who you are?"

"She was in the patrol that found me the first night. She was very nice to me; in fact, far nicer than anyone else -- present company excluded, obviously -- has been to me so far."

Brighid laughs and shakes her head. "I am not surprised. Lail has a habit of bringing home wounded creatures -- even an abandoned baby rockspine once -- and nursing them back to health. She is a sweetheart." She carries some simple tableware over and begins to set the table. As she places a wooden plate and metal knife and fork in front of you, she whispers teasingly into your ear, "It sounds like you like her. Should I seduce her for you, my Lord?" She giggles and dances sideways out of the range of your swatting hand. After darting back in range to give you a kiss, she heads back and grabs a plate piled high with thick slices of steaming meat and another with cooked vegetables.

"Let's ... hold off on that for the time being, alright? I don't even know that I can handle you all by yourself, let alone with another partner in crime. Now where's that meal, wench?"

"Oh, you handled me plenty well last night, Aidan." She responds in a low throaty purr. She walks back over to the table balancing a steaming plate on either palm, then slides them onto the table and kneels down onto a cushion immediately to your right and lays her head on your shoulder. "Your food is served as promised, my Lord."

Brighid stabs a thick steak of meat and pulls it onto her plate, then cuts it into bite-sized chunks as you begin to stack your own plate. She spears one of the chunks on her fork and raises it to your mouth. You dutifully eat it off the fork and begin to chew. It tastes great, sort of a mix between the sweetness and tenderness of ham and the texture and savory punch of steak. You make an approving sound and swallow it down, then ask your Companion, "That's great! What is it?"

"Nairn Tusker meat." Anticipating your follow-up question, she continues, "They are about a meter high, covered in little barbed spikes, and have four tusks. The bigger males' tusks are around sword-length and they sharpen them on rocks. They are actually pretty mild-mannered, though, as long as they have enough space and forage. They don't have as much meat on them as cows do, but on the other hand they pretty much guard themselves. Not many creatures want to tangle with a Tusker herd. They also generally have four to six babies at a time. They're our main herd animal and our biggest source of meat. I traded Mama Eilwen a new set of pots for this batch; it doesn't taste as good without preparation ahead of time and she is the best cook in the village."

It looks like school is in session at last, and you settle in for a morning of finally getting an answer to questions which have been burning holes in your mind. You cut a piece off a reddish-orange bulb of some kind and lift it to Brighid's lips as you begin to quiz her.