All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 190: Moonlight Sonata

After spending an hour of tossing and turning, Bee eventually gave up on sleeping. Her mind kept returning to what had happened earlier that day, when she had welcomed Void home.

The festivities had lasted well into the night, but Void hadn't seen fit to attend. Bee couldn't really blame it. The station of a deity probably required some aloofness, if only to maintain its image. Plus, the party had been a pretty raucous one. Still, she felt a pang of disappointment that she couldn’t immediately go find her master and tell him about every minute that had passed since they had been apart.

Instead she had felt a duty to preside over the festivities and couldn't help but admit that she enjoyed it a little bit. Now, everyone had long since gone to bed, and she had no one left to talk to at this hour. Her lowered need for sleep didn’t help either. With the excitement over Void’s return still coursing through her veins, even that minor inconvenience was pushed aside.

Hours later, she was still staring up at the darkened ceiling, head on the pillow. Eventually, she gave up and got to her feet. It seemed that she was just wasting time waiting to become tired. And one thing her master had taught her was there were always things to be done.

She had spent a decent amount of time looking into the class that she had been offered for her level 50 transformation, but there were always a few more things she could check. Creeping over to the library, she moved quietly in an attempt not to wake anyone. She found the towering shelves silent and empty. It was honestly surprising as, even throughout the night, people normally used the library. This was a rare opportunity for her to read without interruption.,

Finding one of the familiar books she had referenced before, she skimmed through it, reading the passage about level 50 classes for the dozenth time.

The book was very clear about its disclaimers. That everything reported at this level and higher was based on rumors. Very, very few ever made it to this state, let alone disclosed information about it. But on top of all the things a class would normally give, the passive effect and specialized skills were the most likely things she could rely on.

Bee was still torn about her decision. Without more information, definitive information, she was at a loss. She needed to talk to Void. So after making no progress for a while longer, looking through books she'd already read before, she rose to see if she could find her master. It was probably relaxing somewhere in the castle, likely in a corner or under a bed chasing dust bunnies.

—

I felt the cool air whizz past my brushes as I zipped alongside Cliff’s grey form. As we scouted ahead, Tanu trailed behind and did his best to keep up with us, trudging through the forest. The little boy had grown in the month or two I had gone. He had added three-quarters of an inch and at least four and a half pounds to his body, and he was putting that little extra height to use.

His walking pace had increased by 32.64%. Not only that, but he was managing that pace while staying much more quiet than before. I was pleased with this progress, but he still couldn't keep up with the four-legged furry dog that was his companion. Cliff’s legs were as tall as his entire body, practically.

The hunting was something that Cliff clearly needed to do, but I was mostly just here for fun. Aside from that, I was also hoping to get a better understanding of what was around the castle. Were there were still pockets of undead or nasty humans like the ones that had attacked Beatrice, Tony, and I so long ago? Or had the undead taken care of all those? I couldn't really be sure until I had done a thorough scan.

So as I swept through the forest, looking for appropriate prey for Cliff’s hunt, I also kept my scanners out for anything unusual. We didn't really make it that far from the castle, as Tanu's legs were still rather short. But we did range quite widely in our scans as we traveled over the forest.

We followed small game paths, but I noticed on the ground there were impressions of larger human boots. These were the very faint impressions of someone who was trying to cover their tracks, from what I’d learned. I wasn't too concerned about that. I had taken a pretty good profile of everyone in the castle, and a lot of these footprints could very well have been matched to some of Susan's recruits.

I knew she had been planning on setting up a scouting party, and perhaps this was really just the idea coming to fruition. Now they were trying to map out the areas nearby. I approved. It was always good to have a up-to-date map of one’s area, especially in a place like this where obstacle locations could change. Plus, a good plan of action was essential for keeping the forest clean.

Assuming that this had been the case, I probably didn’t have to worry about undead lingering around. But every once in a while, I did see traces of what might have been an undead. Perhaps there was still some source of them hidden in the woods. But I had yet to find it, if that was the case.

***

The moon had only moved a few degrees more when we had made it back through the castle gate, Cliff dragging her prize be hind her. The large deer was cold to the touch as a result of some strange icy mist that the dog had breathed at it. Tanu wasn’t surprised at all that his dog could do something so strange, though I was a bit concerned. Hopefully it wasn’t some sort of disease. My sensors indicated Cliff was ok though.

To my surprise, I found a sleeping Beatrice leaning against the outer wall, sitting in the grass near the gate. The guards nodded and whispered to us.

“She wanted to talk to you, Lord Void. Seems that she fell asleep waiting.”

I debated whether or not I should wake her up. She seemed exhausted though. For now, I just let her sleep. Wrapping her in gentle threads of Air Manipulation, I carried her back into the castle as Cliff and Tanu went off to go dress and preserve the kill. It appeared Beatrice had been using the same room as alway, and I deposited her gently in the bed, tucking the covers around her.

Somehow I jostled her in her sleep, and she slowly opened her eyes and murmured something unintelligible to me. That was no good. She obviously needed rest. I remembered something from my previous home. A strategy employed when the mother of our house’s two children had trouble getting them to sleep. She would make an odd mixture of different sound frequencies in a rhythmic pattern, which always helped the little ones calm down.

Sure, they were smaller than Beatrice was, but I figured I could maybe mimic that. So I gently and softly started beeping in a soothing rhythm that I had heard many times before. Beatrice mumbled something to me a few times. Still, between the comfortable bed and her clearly exhausted state, she soon drifted off to sleep. Her breathing slowed to a soft, steady cadence.

Not having anything else to do, I just rolled underneath her bed and worked on my meditation. I explored the void, trying to center myself. It had been a long time since I'd been home. I felt like there were so many memories sitting in my cache and my short-term memory storage that I needed to go through and use to properly update all my models. I just hadn't had time to do that with all the excitement of the past few weeks.

***

Beatrice shot up from bed early in the morning, gasping and looking around frantically. She seemed to be quite confused. I rolled out from underneath the bed and greeted her warmly. "Oh, good, good. Good morning, Void,” she said with a sleepy smile. “I wanted to talk to you last night but heard from the guards you had gone out hunting…” She yawned. “I must have fallen asleep. Who brought me back?"

She looked around and noticed that she was still in the same clothes she had been wearing in the grass. I had, of course, removed any grass stains or loose leaves that she had collected before I put her in bed, but the garments were still slightly dirty compared to whatever clean thing she would normally wear in this fancy bed.

Still, she didn't seem to mind too much as she swung her legs out and stood up. She gave a quick stretch before giving me a slight bow in greeting.

"If you don't mind, I would like to talk to you about something, master.”

Of course I didn't mind. I was always willing to talk to Beatrice about anything. I was her master, after all. It was my duty to give her advice. I asked what she wanted to talk about.

"I, well, I managed to make it to my next class, and I was wondering if I could get your advice. There are two classes that I'm interested in, and they both relate to you. I think you know, I was a Priestess of Spot before, well I still am, and, I..."

"I have two options." Beatrice was starting to sound quite nervous, and I couldn't really tell why, but she was rambling and repeating herself quite a bit. I tried to comfort her by tapping her slightly and beeping out a comforting sound. Eventually she got to the point.

"Well, so… I have High Priestess of Spot and Companion of Spot."

I digested that information. It didn't really mean anything to me. Both of the classes sounded like they were continuing this whole religion she was building. Either one would be fine.

Maybe she knew more about them than I did. So I asked her, what did she think?

"Well, I don't really know. I could choose High Priestess, and that would be the best for everyone at the castle. It feels like it would give me more leadership skills and put me in a better place to build your following. My other option is a companion, and… I just don’t know what that means. To be fair, no one really knows anything about Companions. Or High Priestesses, for that matter, but Companions are much rarer. If I’m not wrong, they feel like a more personal aide to their object of worship, where they would serve them whenever they go on adventures. I wasn't sure if you had a preference. For which one I should choose."

I thought about it for a little bit. Really? I didn't think I would mind either way. I loved having Beatrice with me when I went on adventures, of course. I’d love to have her along more. But did she need a class specifically for that? Maybe she could be a little bit more competent in protecting herself, but I didn't see anything that would stop her from coming on adventures with me if she chose to. As for High Priestess… she clearly cared a lot about the people around here, but they also stressed her out.

The more I thought, the more I realized this was a decision she really needed to make on her own. So I did my best to let her know that it was up to her. I would support her decision either way. Unfortunately, this didn't relieve any of her tension. Her expression seemed even more nervous.

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