“Did you sleep well?” Nicholas asks as soon as I’ve made myself comfortable in the chair.

  “I did, thank you,” I answer, mostly honestly. Once I shifted down to sleep on my mattress instead of the one supplied in the room, I slept well. “And yourself?”

  “Well enough considering the circumstances,” he says meaningfully. “Did your manservant manage to find some robes for you? He made a good choice – they fit you well, even if they are a little odd in their cut.” He leans forwards a little with curiosity in his eyes. “Come to think of it, I do not believe I recognise the embroidery, though it is richer than anything I would expect to be in storage,” he comments with interest.

  “Loran didn’t find these clothes – I made them,” I answer easily. Now it’s Nicholas’ turn to raise his eyebrows.

  “You made them? Are you a talented tailor? I do not remember you mentioning any such Skills on your status.”

  “Not precisely. I used Flesh-Shaping to create, dye, and shape the material, and then Metal-Shaping to create the embroidery.”

  Nicholas leans forward even further, his expression intent.

  “Did you create the gold with your Metal-Shaping?”

  I’m a little surprised at his intensity but I answer nonetheless.

  “No. I had a bit with me which I just reshaped. Creating it has proven to be very difficult in the past.” That is to say that to create a small speck took my whole mana pool and a good period of focus. And after I had done it, I was mentally so exhausted that I had to have a short sleep.

  Nicholas leans back in his chair, a slight sense of disappointment seeming to surround him, though he doesn’t seem surprised.

  “You have proven yourself to be the source of many surprises – I wondered whether you might present me with another. But perhaps I am being greedy. It is impressive enough that you have managed to use the Skills you do have to do a creditable impression of a tailor. The oddness of the cut and the vibrancy of the colours are thus explained. You did the same with your armour, I take it?”

  “I did,” I confirm.

  “Impressive. I must still apologise – I was rather out of sorts yesterday and failed to make arrangements for you to have appropriate attire.”

  “No harm done,” I shrug. “I’m used to doing it all myself at this point.”

  “Understandable. Would you prefer to continue such or would you like to visit a tailor to create you a new wardrobe? And an armorer to create some armour for you? I know some warriors prefer to do as much as they can themselves to create and maintain their equipment.” Nicholas raises his eyebrows expectantly. I shake my head with emphasis – I have a feeling I have far better things to do than that.

  “Outsourcing the work seems good to me,” I agree, then, seeing his confusion, I clarify. “I’d love to meet a tailor and armorer to replace what I currently have. Though in the case of the armorer, I’d prefer to see the sorts of things they have to offer before deciding to give up my trusty armour. And it must be made out of hides of some sort.” I’d rather not give up the flexibility that armour I can reshape to my satisfaction gives me.

  “Of course – we will visit a well-reputed leatherworker who lives not too far from here. If we make the agreement today, we can even visit her this afternoon. I would not have suggested plate for you anyway – it is not usually worth it for us to assign enough points to Strength to make plate armour feasible. Good, enchanted leather is usually more than sufficient.”

  I’ll have to see how enchantments play with my Flesh-Shaping, but that otherwise sounds pretty good. I tell Nicholas as much.

  “Then that is settled,” he says with satisfaction. “Now, let me introduce you to the dishes the kitchens have sent up today.”

  He proceeds to describe the various dishes and encourages me to sample each of them. Much like yesterday evening when food was sent to the room, I discover some that I like, some that I don’t, and one that I really love – it’s something like bacon if it had been marinated in maple syrup first. In the end, I take more of that, a sort of sweet stewed cereal that reminds me of porridge with jam in, a puree which looks like apple, but tastes more like corn, and some pieces of fruit which are varying degrees of sweet and sour. I offer to let Bastet try some of the dishes, but she sniffs at my fingers and then rejects it firmly. I ask Loran to arrange for some meat for her and he quickly disappears to do just that.

  Nicholas watches the interaction thoughtfully but doesn’t say anything until Loran returns with a chunk of meat on a plate which Bastet happily takes charge of.

  “You have only come with one of your Bonded today?”

  I shrug.

  “Two, technically,” I point out. Nicholas flashes a look at Loran standing behind me.

  “You decided to keep him, then.”

  “I have,” I answer, “though please consult with me first before doing something like that again.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “As you wish,” Nicholas agrees, his eyes sharp as they look at me. I realise what I’ve just said, or rather implied – that Nicholas will have the chance to do this again. Which in turn makes it rather obvious that I’ve decided to go forward with the agreement. Honestly, with what Loran told me about the gods and the Goddess of Binding in particular – and with the Bond to verify that he’s telling the truth – I think that I will gain as much certainty out of her adjudicating the agreement as Nicholas will. As long as we use the right wording – I’ve spent a bit of time thinking through that.

  Fortunately, Nicholas chooses not to press, instead continuing with what was obviously his previous topic of conversation.

  “Now you are no longer in the wilderness, you will not be able to take all of your Bonded with you at all times,” he comments. “It’s good that you seem to have recognised that already.”

  “I have,” I respond slowly, “though it is certainly not my preference.”

  “Nor mine,” he answers with a slightly grim smile. “Fortunately, there are means of us keeping our Bonded close to us even among those who would disapprove.”

  My eyes narrow.

  “What means are these?” In response, Nicholas shrugs off his over-robe and then pulls the collar of his tunic to one side, exposing his collarbone and part of the shoulder closest to me. I note with interest that his olive-coloured skin is obviously his natural skin tone and not a tan as it’s the same shade even underneath his tunic.

  Then I notice what’s on the skin itself – tattoos. The one I can see clearest appears to be a wolf-like beast. I frown – how is his skin-art relevant?

  The beast looks like it’s sleeping. Studying it more closely, I realise something – the tattoo is moving, appearing to be breathing even on his skin as it is. I lean back and raise both eyebrows at Nicholas in surprise that I don’t even try to hide.

  “Your Bound is somehow in your tattoo?” I ask, that seeming to be the only possible explanation, crazy as it is. Then again, I’ve seen magic do some amazing things – why not have living beings able to be transformed into two-dimensional pictures on someone’s skin?

  “Indeed,” Nicholas replies, sounding satisfied at my reaction. “It is an expensive procedure, but common among Tamers who are capable of paying the price. It’s just so convenient – our Bonded can be kept with us at all times, and called from us if we need their help. If it is something you are interested in, I will need to see about making an appointment with an enchanter.”

  “I’d want to know more about it first,” I tell him. “Your Bound there looks like he’s sleeping,” I comment, absorbing Nicholas’ words. Honestly, it reminds me a little of a successful media franchise on Earth. The difference between this and that is that instead of being tattoos, the ‘trainers’ used red and white balls to hold their companions. Odd how my life seems to resemble a cartoon or video game these days. “Is he aware of what’s going on or not?”

  “While my Bonded are on my skin, they’re in something called a ‘sleeping stasis’. Essentially, they are kept alive by passively feeding off my mana and have no need for food, water, air, or anything else. And if I absorb more Energy than I can process, those sleeping on my skin will benefit from the excess. There are different levels of the stasis – the deepest have the Bonded unaware of anything from the moment they enter my skin to the moment they leave. The lightest levels allow them to be aware of my emotional state and, if it goes beyond previously established parameters, they can emerge without me calling them.” Nicholas gives a small, satisfied smile. “Known Tamers without Bonded around them are usually given a wide-berth by criminals: they don’t want to risk knocking the Tamer unconscious and suddenly having to deal with a powerful beast running amok.”

  I have to admit that that is a pretty effective deterrent.

  “But aren’t there counters to this? If it’s so common?” I ask curiously. On Earth, at least, as fast as someone creates some new type of security measure, other people figure out ways around it, lawfully or otherwise.

  “Of course,” Nicholas admits. “There are enchantments which can prevent the Bonded from emerging, or set off an alarm if they do. However, those enchantments are also very expensive and often require consent from the Tamer in question. They tend to be used in sensitive areas such as the king’s palace or individual nobles’ estates – if the House in question can afford them.”

  I nod slowly, it all sounds very tempting.

  “Are there any downsides to this process?” There have to be some, surely.

  Nicholas does that shrugging gesture with his hand.

  “The cost, first of all. Though that does depend on the quality of the enchantment, of course. The cheapest enchantments merely have a single level of sleeping stasis available, usually the deepest, and the tattooing is permanent.”

  “Which means what?” I interrupt, a little sharply. Nicholas sends me an unreadable glance, though I suspect that he’s not too pleased with my abruptness. Nonetheless, he continues speaking after that moment.

  “It means that should the Bond between the Tamer and the creature be broken, the tattoo will remain, but will no longer be alive.”

  It takes me a moment for me to connect the dots there.

  “The beast in question will die?” I check, my voice harsh, my gaze stricken as I look at Bastet. She immediately feels my distress at the thought and abandons her breakfast to place her head on my lap. I stroke her, my fingers shaking slightly. No. Convenience isn’t worth risking losing my companions.

  “That is only in the case of the cheapest enchantments,” Nicholas answers, his gaze evaluative as he watches my reaction. “To reduce the cost in materials, the enchanter uses the life force of the creature through the Bond. Therefore, if the Bond is broken, the lifeforce dissipates. More expensive enchantments don’t do that, so if the Bond breaks, the tattoo simply disappears and the beast is free.”

  “And what happens if the tattoo is damaged or removed entirely?” I ask, only partially mollified. If there’s no risk to my Bound then the convenience does make this something to consider doing for at least some of my companions – if they’re OK with the idea.

  Nicholas gestures with his hand again.

  “The tattoos are very difficult to damage or remove non-magically as they tend to move if the area is damaged. Magical damage is more unpredictable, though, again, the most expensive enchantments tend to take that into consideration and build in a number of protections while drawing the tattoo.”

  “I see.” It sounds like if we do go forward with this idea, I’ll need to go for the most expensive enchantments to make sure my Bound have as much protection as possible. “What do you have?” I ask – if Nicholas only has the cheapest versions, it seems unlikely he would be much help in getting the most expensive.

  “Now that is too intimate a question to ask even between an heir and his lord,” Nicholas warns and doesn’t answer my question.

  “Apologies,” I respond slightly stiffly. We eat in silence for a few moments before my curiosity makes me ask something more. “What do your Bound think about the tattoos?”

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