The Road to Rona

Julian rose from his bed. He quickly dressed himself in beige plainclothes with a brown coat and pants. He walked over to a large wooden desk that dominated the wall adjacent to his window. He opened the drawer and retrieved a scabbarded steel dagger with a leather grip. He tucked it safely in a concealed pocket inside his coat.

It’s a good thing I didn’t take it with me when I went into the city yesterday. The Enforcers would have confiscated it and I doubt I’d have gotten it back. Now let’s take some money and get going.

He grabbed a sack of Imperial coins and stuffed it into his coat.

He walked to his door and opened it. The wooden door creaked softly on its hinges. The hallway beyond was lit warmly by orange-tinted manatorches that mimicked the hue of the rising sun.

He glanced to his left. About ten feet down from his room was a closed wooden door identical to his own.

Rila’s probably still sleeping. She never was a morning person. Even if she went to bed early she’d always find a way to sleep till noon if no one woke her. I’ll let her sleep today. Let Mother’s anger fall only on me when she finds me missing.

He glanced to his right.

Both Velri’s and Brynn’s doors were closed as well, but he doubted they were still sleeping.

I don’t want either of them to find me. If Mom hasn’t gotten back yet they’re still technically responsible for making sure I don’t leave the house. And I’d rather not speak to either of them if I can avoid it.

He tiptoed towards the stairwell. The wooden floor of the hallways creaked slightly under each step. He stopped and listened for other footsteps but was met with silence.

I hate this. If only Detect Mind costed less and had a greater range, I could find out exactly where everyone was in this house. Still, it might come in useful when I move around corners. I don’t even know what other minds “look” like with that Skill. Would it allow me to see them through walls or would I just get a notion of where they were relative to me?

He paused at the entry to the stairwell.

Detect Mind.

He felt the Skill trigger, but nothing else happened. It was strange. He could feel as if a dark tendril extended from his mind to another whenever he used Suggestion. He had felt powerful and energized when he used Mind Jab against the Giant Rats, even though the feeling had been muted significantly by Focus. With Detect Mind, there was nothing. Just the hallway and the stairwell and the faint chirping of the birds outside.

How disappointing.

He disabled the Skill.

Ugh. How many WP did I waste having that up for a few seconds? Status.

Julian Imerdan (lv. 5 Psion)

HP: 115/115

ST: 102/102

WP: 441/441

Skills...

Attributes…

Effects…

He blinked.

I still have all my Will Points. I don’t understand.

Suddenly it hit him.

Could it be that Detect Mind doesn’t drain WP unless I’m actually “detecting” another sentient mind? Why in the name of the Gods wouldn’t it say that in the Skill’s description?

He felt as if someone was laughing at him. He narrowed his eyes angrily.

Whatever. Laugh all you want. I’m the one with the Skill that suddenly just became much less of a waste. I could theoretically have it on all the time and only have to turn it off when it detects another mind.

Detect Mind.

He triggered the Skill again, and again he felt nothing. It was a good nothing. Nothing meant his WP wasn’t being drained. Nothing meant his sisters weren’t within ten feet of him somewhere. Nothing meant he was safe. A current of excitement trickled through him like a stream. He wondered if he’d initially underestimated the Connection Discipline.

Smirking, Julian descended the staircase. His booted feet tapped lightly against the stairs.

Something tugged suddenly at his mind. He almost shouted reflexively, but then he realized the sensation wasn’t pain. He felt as if he were seeing something with a third eye that could peak around corners and peer through walls, and see in colors his two eyes of flesh could only dream of. Nothing was an obstacle for the third eye. Information drained into his mind like a new river touching a lake for the first time.

A mind shined dark silver under his other sense. There was a harshness to it that set his teeth on edge. It began moving closer to him.

Gods dammit! Whoever that is will definitely see me even if they just pass the stairwell.

His mind raced a mile a minute.

Suggestion! It’s my only chance. But I don’t even know if it can work without line of sight!

Footsteps clicked against the hallway floor. They were almost at the stairwell.

Only one way to find out.

You don’t need to go in the stairwell. You don’t need to look in the stairwell. There’s nothing in the stairwell.

He felt the Suggestion connect, but only just.

He held his breath, staring at the hallway at the bottom of the stair.

Velri Imerdan walked past. The dark-haired young woman wore a tight robe that hugged her voluptuous body almost like a second skin. Her big, soft breasts jiggled with her every step. She didn’t glance into the stairwell, continuing on down the hallway.

I was less than a foot away from her and she still didn’t notice me. Gods, that was close.

He risked a glance into the hallway and caught a glimpse of Velri walking down the hallway, her big muscular rear swaying as she disappeared around a corner. It seemed her robes would burst at any moment from trying to contain it.

He swallowed, imagining what it would be like to have his older sister bend over for him and beg him to ravage her holes. He imagined himself taking her roughly up the ass while she whimpered and screamed and apologized pathetically for the way she’d treated him for years.

He waited but a moment before entering the hallway before continuing left, in the opposite direction, towards the kitchens.

Status.

Julian Imerdan (lv. 5 Psion)

HP: 115/115

ST: 102/102

WP: 403/441

Skills...

Attributes…

Effects…

I lost eighteen WP from Detect Mind. So I was ‘detecting’ Velri’s mind for nine seconds. It’s funny how Detect Mind helped save me from potentially getting yelled at and being held here until Mom delivered her lecture. Somehow I doubt I’d have been able to give Velri a Suggestion if I wasn’t able to ‘see’ her with the Skill. I wonder if that’s the true purpose of the Skill; to help Psions deliver mental commands to people they can't see. I can just imagine using it against an Enforcer from behind a wall, allowing me to slip by without being harassed.

He smirked.

I should seriously consider investing Connection Discipline in the future.

He’d gotten a feel for her mind the same way he had for Rila, his mother, and Izel. He had a rough estimate of her mental defenses; somewhere between Rila’s and his mother’s but much closer to his mother’s than Rila’s. He was surprised the Suggestion sunk in at all, but that was probably more due to the simplicity of it than anything else.

Maybe she would’ve just walked by and I wasted 38 WP.

He frowned. He had learned something else about Velri’s mind which went beyond the measure of her mental strength. Her mind seemed like a scarred thing, but that didn’t seem quite right.

Her mind looked like brittle metal. Like a sword submerged in water for so long it rusted, poisoning anything it cut.

The metal had glowed indignantly, as if it had only just been forged despite its corrosion. It took the shape of a hawk overlooking the biome of her mind.

Julian shook himself free of his musings. It wouldn’t do to get discovered by his sisters because he’d been too busy thinking about what he’d glimpsed in one of their minds.

He activated Detect Mind again. The Skill made no connections even as he left the house through the front door.

The morning sun greeted him like an old friend. The air was cool, teasing at the coming of winter. The birds chirped more loudly now, fluttering about the nearby trees.

The front gate of the estate stood tall facing north. He was just able to glimpse the standing forms of the estate guards.

He turned and walked east, entering a lightly forested area that led to walls of gray-brown stone fifteen feet high.

Years of being the only classless individual in his family had left Julian with ample opportunities to explore the Imerdan estate grounds. His parents were usually too busy adventuring or tutoring his sisters, so he’d a lot of time to himself outside of schooling. On one of his adventures, he’d managed to discover a tall oak tree which stood next to the estate walls. He would climb the tree and drop down to the other side and the estate guards were usually none the wiser.

Or they didn’t care. The only reason I’m not risking their attention today is Mom definitely won’t like me leaving before she can yell at me for what happened last night.

It took him about five minutes to climb the tree, scale the wall, and drop down to the other side. His boots collided with the ground with a thud.

“Just like old times,” he brushed himself of leaves and twigs that had latched on to his clothes. He smiled.

The sounds of other animals reached him now, insects and woodpeckers, and owls joining the birds that had woken him earlier. There was so much beauty in nature, in the fact that the whole of it was alive but barely conscious of itself. He often found himself relaxing by himself in nature. There weren’t any classes among the animals or trees. They simply were.

He walked further east, eventually reaching a clearing that led to the old trading road into town. He’d traveled it with his mother the night before.

A wagon rumbled down the road, pulled by an overly-large hardy-looking brown horse. A simply-dressed man and a woman sat in the front seat. The man held the reins. The wagon seemed stacked with crates of what looked like cabbage and other vegetables.

“Farmers,” he breathed. “Classless farmers.”

Normally, he’d have avoided them. The farmers around Rona were usually wary of strange folk who approached them on the road.

A few bronzes or maybe a Suggestion and I could be riding along with them in the wagon. It’d be a little faster than walking and help me preserve my stamina points. The worst that could happen is they say no.

Julian imagined the man running him through with a rusty sword.

Okay, definitely not the worst thing that could happen. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

He approached them from the tree clearing and raised his hands in the air.

“Hey!” he called out.

The man stopped his horse and stood. He was dark-eyed with salt-and-pepper hair characteristic of men entering their forties. He rested his hand on the pommel of an old shortsword sheathed at his waist.

The woman’s blue eyes stared at him curiously. He couldn’t help but gaze back at her. She was rather striking for a peasant farmer somewhere into her thirties, with a beautiful face and golden blonde hair that reminded him of his mother’s. She wore a long brown dress that, while baggy, failed to hide her soft, hourglass form. Her breasts were particularly large, approaching the size of his mother’s. If placed next to his mother, the woman could easily be mistaken for a sister or cousin of Maela Imerdan.

No, she isn’t yelling at me or ignoring me. She couldn’t be an Imerdan.

A smile tugged at his lips.

“Stranger,” the man spoke gruffly, his dark eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What is it you want? If it’s charity you seek, you best be heading to the city. We have no time or coin for beggars.”

The woman elbowed him.

“Bryce, that’s not how we greet strangers who are clearly unarmed,” the woman huffed before turning to look at Julian again. “Young man, you must be hungry. Do you want food? We can spare some for breakfast if needs be.”

Julian shook his head and reached into his coat pocket, retrieving his sack of Imperial coins. They jingled metallically when he shook the sack.

“No worries, madam. I don’t need charity. I can pay whatever your price is.”

The man – apparently named Bryce – seemed surprised at that. He took his hand off the pommel of his sword, but his dark eyes watched him like the brittle metal hawk he’d seen in Velri’s mind.

The blonde woman’s eyes narrowed at him dangerously. Bryce raised his eyebrows and sighed.

“‘Madam?’ Do I really look that old, young man?”

Julian felt a cold sweat run down his back.

She’s just a classless farmer. She’s not dangerous. There’s nothing to worry about.

He swallowed nervously.

“No, not at all miss,” he said quickly. “I’m Julian, by the way. May I ask your name?”

The woman smiled as if nothing had happened.

Gods, I would not be surprised to find out she’s a mother.

“Julian? A nice name. Your mother chose well,” something flashed in her eyes. “I’m Joanna Greenhart. This is Bryce, my brother-in-law. Ignore his grouchiness. That’s just how he is to anyone we meet who isn’t from Hylan.”

Hylan… That’s a large farming town around five miles east down the road. I think I visited it once or twice as a boy. I wish I could remember.

“Nice to meet you, Joanna,” he smiled. “You said you two were from Hylan? Are you two heading to Rona to sell your harvest by any chance? If so, would you mind if I hitched a ride with you? I can pay you for the trouble.”

Bryce narrowed his eyes again. Before he could open his mouth, Julian took a step forward.

Detect Mind activated and suddenly he could see the minds of Bryce and Joanna through his third eye. Bryce’s was a dim brown that reminded Julian of the earth and work and sweat in the midday sun.

Joanna’s mind flared orange-gold. There was such warmth there. He saw tints of earth, work, and people. People glowed brighter. He sensed a glowing orange ocean of pride and affection there, and he imagined a mother hen extending her warm, feathery wing over her offspring. Something was out of place; a cold violet tint marred the orange-gold. He could see it spreading slowly like blood on fabric. What did it mean? What had happened to Joanna to make her colors change?

Julian deactivated Detect Mind and focused his gaze on Joanna.

The sweet, handsome young man Julian wants my help. He’s been nothing but kind and respectful to me. What sort of person would I be if I didn’t help him? A terrible person, that’s what. I'd hate to be a terrible person.

The Suggestion penetrated the older woman’s mind easily despite its complexity. He felt a token resistance, as if she already agreed with the changes he was making to her mind, but resisted them on mere principle. Then her mind soaked up the command he’d given it without complaint or hesitation, like a sponge absorbing water.

Julian couldn’t help but grin.

“Stranger,” Bryce refused to call him by his name. Suddenly Julian remembered something Braknar had told him.

“To call a man by his name, even in your mind, can be very dangerous. It’s to take a step towards trusting him without realizing it. Be wary of who you trust, kid. Trust is the sheath which conceals the dagger.”

“The city isn’t that far. You can wal-”

“Bryce, let the handsome young man ride along with us. So what if the ride isn’t far? He wants our help, he’s offering to pay us, and despite your suspicion he’s been nothing but kind to us. We’d be terrible people just leaving him here,” Joanna stood and crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them upward. Julian tried not to stare. “And his name is Julian. Call him by his name. We Hylaners may be farmers, but we’re still civilized.”

Bryce looked surprised by his sister-in-law’s interruption. He glared at her for a few moments before relenting.

“Fine, Jo. We’ll take the boy. There isn’t enough room up here for the three of us to sit, so you’ll sit in the back. I want the boy up here so I can watch him.”

Julian raised his eyebrows and was about to respond, but Joanna beat him to it. She placed her hands on her wide, child-bearing hips and glared at Bryce.

“You paranoid oaf! If you’re so set on being unreasonable, then the both of us will sit in the back. I will watch him. I’ll not have you threatening Julian the entire way to Rona,” Joanna said. She didn’t wait for Bryce to respond, climbing down from the front of the wagon. She grabbed ahold of his right arm and tugged him gently. “This way, Julian.”

Joanna led him to the back of the wagon, wide hips swaying as she walked. When they reached the back, she unlatched a metal locking mechanism, allowing a wooden panel to swing downward, revealing the contents of the wagon.

Most of the room in the back was taken by wooden crates stacked a little over five feet high, held together by string, rope, and buckles. Some of them had open tops and held vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, and cabbages, but a good deal of the crates were close-topped leaving their contents a mystery.

There was a small alcove of space left over in the back.

“Climb on after me, Julian,” Joanna said, turning to face the wagon. She braced her hands on the floor of the cart and heaved herself upward.

She grunted. Her dress rode up her thick, creamy thighs and for a moment Julian glimpsed the underside of Joanna’s fat buttcheeks.

He bit his lip.

“Hm. Looks like I’m not as fit as I used to be. Troublesome,” Joanna muttered before turning to face him. “Are you all right there, Julian? Your face is red.”

Julian shook his head rapidly.

“Y-yes. Um, yes, I’m fine,” Julian approached the wagon.

“Good. Here, let me help you up,” Joanna bent down and offered her hand. Her huge breasts were now inches away from his face. Her deep cleavage beckoned him like a soft pillow in bed at the end of a tiring day. He just wanted to smoosh his face into it and rest there for a while.

“Hurry it up, will you? Our crops’re gonna rot and our remedies’ll spoil before we make it to Rona at this pace,” Bryce’s gruff voice started him out of his trance.

He gripped Joanna’s soft hand with one of his own, but braced another against the wagon as well. It wouldn’t do for Joanna to underestimate his weight and get pulled with him onto the road.

The woman seemed stronger than she appeared, though, bearing a good deal of his weight without so much as a grimace. He settled into the wagon next to her. There was so little room for the two of them that their bodies were almost touching.

Joanna bent down again, grasping the wagon lid before fitting it into place and redoing the metal clasp. Her breasts jiggled wonderfully with the movement.

“There, all aboard. Did we really take so long, you dumb oaf?” Joanna stood, glaring the back of Bryce’s head.

Bryce grumbled lowly. The sound was almost inaudible over the crates which blocked their view of Bryce.

“Longer than needs be that’s for sure. Watch that the boy don’t do nothing funny, Jo. And make sure he pays, too. I want ten bronzes out of him by the time we get to the city.”

Julian glanced towards the front of the wagon and frowned.

I have a feeling Bryce wouldn’t be too happy if I did something with Joanna back here.

He primed a Suggestion and aimed it at Bryce.

Joanna’s being such an annoying hag. I’m going to do my best to ignore her and that boy until we reach Rona, no matter what sounds they make. Hopefully he’ll annoy her the whole way.

The Suggestion probed at Bryce’s mental defenses for a few moments before it found a crack, squirming inside like a worm eager to crawl beneath the dirt.

Bryce grunted moments later. His horse grunted in response. The wagon shook slightly as it started moving.

Joanna sighed and sat down on a crate next to her.

“Sit,” she gestured to another crate across from her. Julian obeyed. They sat facing each other, their knees almost touching. The crates around them were stacked high enough to block their view of Bryce in the front of the wagon. “So, Julian. What’s a handsome young man like you doing out in the woods unarmed and alone?”

Sneaking away from my annoying, but incredibly powerful family to go to Rona and meet with a beautiful woman who also happens to be partially responsible for the rioting yesterday. And I have this unshakable notion that her mental defenses are almost unbelievably weak.

He grinned and shrugged.

“Getting lost, apparently. These woods are so vast and confusing,” he shook his head exasperatedly. “I’m lucky I found the road at all.”

The voluptuous blonde woman quirked an eyebrow.

“I see,” she crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them upward.

Gods, I’d like to bend her over and fuck her right here in this wagon. A Suggestion would probably not be enough to accomplish that, but perhaps Hypnosis would. Joanna isn’t related to me by blood and doesn’t wear a wedding ring despite having a brother-in-law. A widow, perhaps? Or maybe Hylan has marriage customs that are different from the rest of the Empire. Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that if Bryce happens to look back here and see anything then I’ll have a lot more problems. There’s also the possibility of other people seeing us on the road. They’d have to get pretty close to the wagon and have a view downward, but it’s possible.

He sighed. Joanna stared at him as if waiting for him to make up his mind.

Well, she did call me ‘handsome.’ It’s not like I have to have sex with her in the back of a wagon. I can lay a foundation in her mind. Make her more receptive to me in the future.

Status.

Julian Imerdan (lv. 5 Psion)

HP: 115/115

ST: 100/102

WP: 387/441

Skills...

Attributes…

Effects…

387. Hypnosis would bring me down to 357. Not too terrible, all things considered. I’d still have over three-fourths of my WP pool by the time we reached the city, and my WP points will have regenerated even further by then.

He nodded to himself.

“I should probably pay you and get it out of the way,” he fumbled with his coat, producing the sack of coins he’d shown her earlier.

I hope one of them would be enough to serve as a focus for Hypnosis. I’d hate to have to take out my dagger. Damn, I can’t believe I forgot to find something to use as a focus.

“Are you sure? We can wait until we reach Rona if you want. Bryce won’t expect payment until then.”

Julian raised his eyebrows. He retrieved a coin a from the pouch. His heart thudded heavily in his chest, but he kept his voice calm.

“I’d still rather get it out of the way. People on the roads usually aren’t as friendly as you are and I’d hate to make it look like I was taking advantage of your generosity.”

Joanna scoffed and shook her head.

“Julian, I don’t know what passes for generosity where you come from, but demanding ten bronzes for a short ride to Rona would be considered fleecing in Hylan,” she paused for a few moments, studying him. “Have you ever visited it? Hylan.”

Julian nodded.

“Yes, I think I did. I don’t really remember it, though, so it must have been a long time ago. My family hasn’t taken me anywhere since I…” he swallowed. “Anyway, I’m pretty sure I’ve visited Hylan before. I just don’t remember it.”

Joanna reached forward to grasp her hands in his. Her smooth white skin caressed his hands almost affectionately.

His eyes widened.

“Julian Imerdan,” Joanna breathed. Something shimmered in her eyes. Was it sadness?

Julian drew his hands back. He clenched a fist around the coin he held in his hand.

“How do you know my name?”

Joanna’s eyes grew firm.

“Please. You would have to go far beyond even Etrinia to find someone who did not know of your family.”

He glared at her.

“That still doesn’t explain how you know me. I’m not my mother or father,” he said. “They’re ashamed of me! The only classless Imerdan to be born in generations. You think they would allow news of me to spread so far unchecked?”

Joanna glared back.

“Rumors have a way of spreading. Trying to prevent that sometimes has the opposite effect,” she said evenly. “My knowing your name means nothing.”

Liar. Fine, don’t tell me. I have ways of finding out what people would rather hide.

He held the bronze in front of Joanna’s face. The metal caught the light of the sun, drawing the older woman’s gaze.

Hypnosis.

Joanna’s face slacked. Her eyes glazed over, seeing nothing but the coin he held. Her mouth drooped open slightly.

Julian licked his lips, a strange feeling of elation coursing through him.

“Can you hear me, Joanna?”

“Yes,” she replied readily.

“You’re in a hypnotic trance, Joanna. You won’t remember anything that happens here. You feel the stresses and worries of your everyday life melt away until you’re completely relaxed. Tell me how you feel, Joanna.”

“Relaxed,” she said.

“My voice brought you to this place. My voice relaxes you. The more you hear my voice, the more relaxed you become, the more of my voice you want to hear.”

Joanna stared at the coin, unblinking.

“You feel so relaxed. You want to stay in the trance, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

“Tell me what you want.”

“I want to stay in the trance.”

He smiled.

“My voice brought you to the trance, so you want to listen to my voice. You want to feel every word I say because it brings you further into this relaxing trance. Isn’t that right?”

Joanna nodded.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Yes.”

“Who am I, Joanna?”

“Julian Imerdan,” she caressed his name with her tongue.

“How do you know my name?” he asked.

“I can’t tell you,” she replied flatly. The wagon tumbled on.

Julian sighed.

At least she’s not using the “your family is famous” excuse. There’s no way a farmer from Hylan can ascertain who I am just from being around me for a few minutes. Either she’s some sort of foreign spy out to hurt my family or she knows something about us that she shouldn’t.

“You feel relaxed. My voice relaxes you. The more you listen to my voice, the more relaxed you feel, isn’t that right?”

“Mm…. yes,” Joanna mumbled.

“I’m doing you a favor just by speaking to you. I’m helping you relax. You’d be a terrible person if you refused to help me, wouldn’t you?”

Joanna groaned.

“Yes.”

“You want to help me.”

“I want to help you.”

“If you don’t help me, you’ll be a terrible person.”

“Terrible…”

“You don’t want to be a terrible person. Isn’t that right Joanna?”

She nodded.

“You’d hate to be a terrible person. Being a terrible person would be painful, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes,” she said.

“So you’ll help me whenever I ask, right?”

“Mhm.”

“You’ll acknowledge any request I make of you without getting angry.”

She nodded.

“Tell me how you know who I am.”

“No,” she whimpered. Her face scrunched up, as if in pain.

“Tell me how you know who I am.”

“I can’t,” she shook her head.

Julian needs my help finding out how I know who he is. I want to tell Julian how I know who he is. I’d be a terrible person if I didn’t help him. I should tell him right now.

A lance of pain shot through his mind as the Suggestion rebounded off of Joanna’s mental shields. He slumped back against the wooden crates. The coin he held clattered against the wooden floor of the wagon.

What the… gods, that hurt!

“Julian, are you alright?” her soft hands wrapped around his again. Her kind blue eyes stared into his.

Shit. I went and broke her out of the trance. That’s 50 WP down the drain. How in the name of the gods did she resist me so completely?

“Yeah,” he grumbled. “I just got a massive headache.”

Joanna smiled.

“Poor boy. I can help you with that. Here, let’s see. I know I have that remedy stashed away somewhere…” she stood up off the crate she’d used as a seat and bent over in front of him. Her dress rode up her thick thighs again, giving Julian a near-unobstructed view between her legs. She wore a pair of black panties that had been practically swallowed by her fat asscheeks.

If you want to make me feel better, just stay like that.

“Ah! Here it is!”

She retrieved a glass vial from the crate and resealed it. She turned around and sat down again.

“Drink this. It’ll make you feel better,” she said, leaning forward to hand him a vial of low viscosity red liquid.

“What’s that?” he asked.

She smiled. Her eyes glimmered with something that looked like pride.

“A potion I made. It’s useful for curing the effects of sleeplessness, mental exhaustion, and headaches,” she said.

Julian swallowed.

“You’re classed. What are you, an Alchemist? Herbalist?”

Joanna smirked.

“Better. I’m a Potioner. Please drink this vial, Julian. I want to help you. Please let me,” she leaned forward more, drawing his eyes to her expansive cleavage.

Julian didn’t know what it was about her, but he believed her, despite the fact that she’d outright refused to tell him how she knew him. Maybe it was the Suggestion he’d given her earlier to make her equate not helping him to being a terrible person. The strange presence seemed to agree.

That could explain why she’s so willing to give up some of her stock now. Which reminds me…

“I take it you’ll want more than ten bronzes for this vial, then?” he prodded.

The older woman gasped.

“No! I would never charge money when a boy like you so desperately needs my help. I’d feel terrible,” she licked her lips and pressed the vial into her hands. “Please, Julian. Drink.”

“Alright, fine,” he muttered. An idea struck him. “Say, do you think you could give a nice massage for the rest of our trip? It’d be a real big help.”

Joanna nodded readily.

“I don’t see why not,” she agreed. She shuffled off her crate and sidled in next to him. Her huge breasts were pressed against his arm and her thick soft thighs against his leg. Her breath caressed his neck. She reached over him to rubbed her hands and fingers against his shoulders. “Drink.”

Julian uncorked the vial and pressed it to his lips. He took a deep breath and tilted it upward.

The red liquid tasted of cherries with a somewhat coppery tinge. It was strangely pleasant, and he couldn’t help but moan as he swallowed the potion. The pounding in his head numbed almost immediately, replaced by a clarity he hadn’t experienced in a long time. It felt like he’d just woken up from sleeping the exact amount of hours his body required.

“Wow,” he muttered. “That actually worked.”

Joanna rolled her eyes as she kept massaging him. He wondered if the voluptuous woman was aware of how the two of them would look if Bryce saw them.

“Of course it did. I take great pride in my work,” she said. “People from all over Rona flock to my wagon to buy the potions I have to offer,” she leaned over him slightly, her butt sliding partially into his lap. She grasped his ears and began gently massaging them.

Julian grinned.

I feel great. Maybe this trip wasn’t a total loss.

The wagon wheeled to a stop.

“Jo, we’re here,” Bryce’s voice almost startled Julian.

Already? But Joanna was massaging me so well.

Joanna stopped her massage.

“Okay, we’ll be out in just a minute!” she called, before turning to face Julian. “Do you feel better? I can keep going if you want.”

He shook his head.

“You know, that's really tempting, but somehow I don’t think Bryce would appreciate that.”

Joanna smirked.

“No, he wouldn’t. Tell you what. Anytime you need potions, a massage, or just company, come visit me in Hylan. I’d be honored to help, and I won’t charge even a bronze.”

Julian smiled.

I’ll come back when I’m more powerful and I’ll get my answers out of you. Just you wait.

“Thanks Joanna. You’re a wonderful person, you know that? Not a lot of people would be willing to help me like you did.”

The older woman flushed at the compliment.

“It was nothing,” she said warmly. “Now come on. Rona awaits.”

She opened the back of the wagon and dropped down. The marble buildings of Rona greeting him like an old friend. Dozens, hundreds of people dressed in outfits of varying degrees of quality walked down the streets he could see. Their voices were nothing like the birds that had woken him in the morning.

He followed Joanna, latching up the wagon behind him. That earned him a thankful nod from her and a suspicious look from Bryce.

Julian approached the man and held out a handful of coins.

“Ten bronzes, like we agreed.”

The middle-aged man squinted at him for a long moment before letting out a low “hmph.” He snatched the coins from him without any sort of acknowledgement. He turned and led his horse towards a bustling market nearby.

Joanna followed Bryce, but not without extracting a promise to visit her sometime soon. He stared after her as long as he could, marveling at the sheer voluptuousness of her body. He would have it all one day, but for now he had to grow. To become stronger.

Status.

Julian Imerdan (lv. 5 Psion)

HP: 115/115

ST: 102/102

WP: 373/441

Skills...

Attributes…

Effects…

Wait a minute. I had 387 WP before I blew 50 on Hypnosis and Suggestion, so I should have 337, not accounting for my WP regeneration. I haven't measured my WP regen rate, but 36 in less than half an hour seems very fast.

He glanced in the direction Joanna and Bryce had led their wagon in. People mingled in the marketplace, chattering as they viewed and exchanged goods.

That potion. Unless my regeneration rate went up somehow since yesterday, it's the only explanation.

He smiled.

If I wasn't worried about Izel disappearing into the city, I'd see about grabbing as many of those mental clarity potions from Joanna as possible. Hopefully she'll still be in the market later today.

Julian turned and walked. The Enforcer Corps building awaited him.

---

Julian Imerdan (lv. 5 Psion)

HP: 115/115

ST: 102/102

WP: 373/441

Skills...

Attributes…

Effects…

Julian's Skills

[Manipulation] Suggestion (cost: 20 WP) - The user can telepathically implant a suggestion in the mind of a target to influence an action, thought, or behavior of theirs. The target must be sapient. There is a chance that it might fail depending on the state of the target mind. The more simple and less unusual the suggestion, the easier it is to implant.

[Manipulation] Hypnosis (cost: 30 WP) - The user lulls the target into a light hypnotic trance. While hypnotized, the target will be more open to Suggestion and suggestions, and more likely to divulge information they would not otherwise. Requires the use of a pendant or other foci to draw the target’s gaze. Can be interrupted by any sudden or intense stimuli. Duration: ten minutes.

[Affliction] Mind Jab (cost: 15 WP) - The user projects a weak bolt of psionic energy that attacks the mind of an opponent, causing crippling mental pain that lasts for a few seconds. Affects any living creature with a brain.

[Affliction] Psi-Bolt (cost: 5 WP) – The user emits an unguided bolt of psionic energy that inflicts low Psi damage to a target upon impact. Deals moderate Psi damage against targets affected by Mind Jab, but clears them of the status.

[Connection] Detect Mind (cost: 2 WP/s) - The user can detect the minds of sentient organic beings within ten feet.

[Innate] Focus (cost: free) - The user enters a state of emotional detachment, allowing the user to ignore pain and resist negative mental effects. Increases WP regeneration by 20% while active. Only usable during combat.