Ask what is happening to him

Any awkwardness Alex might ordinarily feel at the prospect of being in his underwear in the presence of Jasmine, Kelly, and the bartender is quickly overshadowed by the peculiar phenomenon taking place. Since it was his first time having sex, Alex assumed the strange tingling throughout his body was his body’s post-coital response. When his skins started manifesting green flashing sparkles, however, he knew something else was going on.

“What’s happening to me?” Alex asked to no one in particular.

Jasmine speaks rapidly in her native language. Alex is unable to decipher a single word, but he can tell that she is excited and more than a little frightened. Alex is frightened, too, as is evidenced by the fact that he isn’t even a tiny bit distracted by Jasmine’s nudity and the evidence of his semen that can be seen on her inner thigh.

Kelly puts one arm around Jasmine’s shoulders and places a hand on each of her shoulders and tries to calm her down. The bartender looks uncertainly back and forth between Alex and the young brothel worker. When he heard her yell, he came running, assuming he would have to deal with an unruly customer. The sights of an apparent magical phenomenon stopped him in his tracks.

When Kelly succeeds in calming Jasmine, she says, “What is it, dear? You have seen this before?”

Jasmine nods and takes a deep breath. “He is the Marbhadh Uilebheistean! He is the one whose innocence was sold!”

Alex feels three pairs of eyes focused on him, as if awaiting confirmation of Jasmine’s proclamation. Although she seemed to be speaking Mirantian at last, her explanation was just as incomprehensible as when she was jabbering away in her own language.

Alex hears someone else approaching. Roderick pushes his way into the room, apparently in the act of pulling on his clothes. “What is all this fuss? A man can’t even finish a decent piece of ass without —“ He stops abruptly when he sees Alex. “By the Roving Rings of Rhonoa’s gilded nipple!” he exclaims.

“Sir Roderick! What’s happening to me?” Alex is relieved to see his mentor. He points to Jasmine and says, “She says she knows what’s going on.”

Roderick glances at Jasmine before returning his attention to Alex. That’s when Alex knows that his situation is beyond anything Roderick has ever encountered. Ordinarily, the horny knight would have had eyes for nothing other than a beautiful, naked prostitute. “Is that so?” he asks, as he continues to study the green, glowing embers.

“Marbhadh Uilebheistean,” repeats Jasmine. “The sole son foretold… whose innocence was sold!” She trails off in a jumble of incomprehensible words. Kelly guides her away from the doorway, speaking soothing words to her.

The bartender remains, still uncertain about what is going on. He says, “I think the two of you have overstayed your welcome. You’d best be going.” Roderick nods thoughtfully and says, “Give us a moment, will you? I’ll bring the boy down shortly.” After studying Alex for a few more moments, the bartender gives a curt grunt of agreement and leaves the knight alone with his squire.

“What’s happening to me, Roderick?” Alex asks. He is unable to keep the sound of desperation out of his voice.

“Just calm down, my boy,” says the older man. “In case you haven’t noticed, your little lights are blinking out. I think you’ll be back to normal in short order. Why don’t you go ahead and get dressed. You might impress the ladies in your knickers, but the sight doesn’t do anything at all for me.”

Roderick’s attempt at levity makes Alex feel a little less frightened. He also sees that Roderick is correct about the lights. By the time he finishes putting on his clothes, only an occasional sparkle can be seen.

“Do you know what’s going on? Did I get some kind of disease from that girl?”

Roderick snorts with a derisive laugh. “I can make you no promises there, Laddie. If you don’t take the time to wrap your willie in an establishment like this, there’s no telling what you might pick up. I dare say that what happened to you was not a result of dipping your beak in polluted waters, though. There’s some powerful magic going on inside you.”

“What kind of magic?” Alex feels a wave of panic returning. Magic is strictly forbidden among commoners in Mirantia. “What am I going to tell my mother?” he wonders. He imagines her coming to visit him in prison and learning that he not only lost his virginity in a whorehouse, but he got mixed up with some of the most forbidden practices in the entire kingdom.

“Very old magic, if you are what I think you are,” Roderick responds, thoughtfully. “Now, if you’re all set, I believe we should be on our way. As the gentleman said, we seem to have worn out our welcome.”

“We’re leaving?” Alex asks incredulously. “Shouldn’t you talk to Jasmine? She seemed to know what’s going on.” An unexpected rumbling in his stomach gives him his first distraction from his plight and reminds him that he still hasn’t had dinner. Roderick is already half-way down the stairs by the time Alex catches up with him.