The compromise that Aurea was eventually able to pin Jadis down to was… tolerable. In Jadis’ honest opinion, she didn’t think the temples or anyone else had any business sticking their noses into her reproductive activity. However, if she was being honest with herself, she had to admit that she was the equivalent of an endangered species. It could easily be argued that it was her duty to make sure her species got every chance at survival. In fact, that had been one of Aurea’s arguments. If nothing else, Jadis did feel like she probably owed some consideration to Lyssandria to give her as many metaphorical grandchildren as she could.
Jadis had ended up making a promise to have a minimum of thirty children with at least ten different women, as well as bearing children of her own, though no number had been put on that part. No timeframe had been explicitly stated, but the heavy implication was that the sooner things got started, the better. Considering Jadis had at least four lovers she was very likely going to be spending the rest of her life with, and possibly more depending on how things played out, that meant Jadis only had to find six women that she was comfortable enough with impregnating. Probably less, depending on how Sabina and Bridget felt, though how Jadis and those two of her lovers felt about their future relationship status was still something that needed to be discussed. Fortunately, who the women were that were to bear Jadis’ children hadn’t been specified, though Jadis knew without a doubt that Aurea was going to be putting as many of her fellow Lyssandria worshipers forward as possible.
Aurea had also insisted that, considering Jadis’ proclivity towards dangerous situations, that at least one of the women Jadis impregnated be someone who wasn’t following her on her quest. A backup to the backup plan, as it were. Still, since there was no stipulation on who that person was, Jadis was sure she could find someone she gelled with who wasn’t an active member of her band of mercenaries.
Jadis wasn’t worried about her ability to father thirty children, either. She was dead sure that Eir would have probably volunteered to have all thirty, if they let her. No, the ability to do so wasn’t an issue. The idea of actually having thirty children though… that was making Jadis break out into a cold sweat. She’d really just promised to have thirty children.
Thirty.
Three zero. Three times ten. More than the number of her fingers and toes. More than her actual age.
It was a daunting prospect.
Still, it wasn’t a terrible outcome. Jadis wanted children. She wanted to have a family with her lovers, just not until after she had had her fill of adventure. Fortunately, as part of the deal, Aurea had agreed to have the priestess who could perform a ritual to put a pause on pregnancy do so for Jadis and her lovers. There was usually a long wait to gain access to that particular priestess, but they would let her jump the line.
Aurea had also offered to get fertility priests involved, but Jadis had declined that offer. She had a skill for that part of the equation. Once she revealed the details of that little ability of hers, the conversation had derailed for quite some time as Aurea practically begged Jadis to use the skill on as many women as possible, though they’d eventually gotten back on track. Apparently, most casters capable of altering fertility did so through rituals, and those took a long time and often didn’t have a one hundred percent success rate. The fact that Jadis could do so with a simple skill was mind blowing for the priestess.
With her mind focused on the thought of reproduction and children, Jadis couldn’t help but consider how any of that might work out with Alex. She knew the Demon was sexually attracted to her. That was plain as day. Jadis had been offput by the idea at first, but the more time she spent with Alex the less the proposition bothered her. Alex didn’t operate by the same physical or psychological rules as everyone else, but she was without a doubt a free-thinking person. That had been Jadis’ biggest concern. If Alex hadn’t been capable of truly understanding what it was she was after, then Jadis didn’t want any part of it. But that worry had been dispelled with time. Now with all the talk of babies, Jadis was wondering if she and Alex were biologically compatible. What would that kind of crossbreed even look like?
How would the high priests and the rest of Oros react to whatever offspring might arise from Nephilim and Demons?
That thought was a faraway idea, though. Jadis still wasn’t entirely certain if she even wanted to take her relationship with Alex to the next step, much less all the way to weird freaky tentacle babies. That was just something that Jadis would have to tackle should it ever come up down the line.
Of course, pregnancy wasn’t the only thing that Jadis had discussed with Vraekae and the high priests. There were other, more practical issues to deal with, from how they were going to present the case to the emperor to where they would be staying while in the capital. One of the more important items was the status of Fortune’s Favored as a mercenary company.
Vraekae had stretched the legal limits of the law by giving Jadis’ group provisional mercenary company status. Now that the company had been in operation for months and was also directly involved in legal troubles, Jadis needed to get the company to full status as soon as possible. Since her unique nature had been found out, that meant that Fortune’s Favored officially had nine members; one member shy of the minimum ten members that were required for the imperial version of incorporation.
If Jadis had her way, Alex would be that tenth member. Vraekae had nixed that idea the moment it was suggested. Since her status was still in a rather precarious position, it didn’t seem likely that the Demon would be legally considered a person capable of becoming a mercenary any time soon. That meant Jadis would have to find someone else to join the company, preferably before Jadis had her day in court before the emperor. The less instability and fewer quasi-legal loophole shenanigans Jadis was involved in when she had her day in court, the better.
Fortunately, Jadis had a few ideas of who she could ask for recommendations.
“Where do you think I should go to recruit a mercenary or two for my company?”
Noll didn’t turn to look at Dys as the two stood along the port rail of the Rising Dawn. They had all clambered back on board the ship shortly after sunrise that morning and they were currently a few dozen miles up the wide river called Brandrvald. The scenery was admittedly idyllic and Jadis didn’t take her eyes off the shore either. It was a better view than the guards standing watch behind her, at any rate. At least those guards were more focused on her Jay and Syd bodies, especially since Alex was with those two of her selves.
The landscape was dominated by farmland, though there were still stretches of woodlands scattered among the hills. Small farmsteads and compounds could be seen scattered across the countryside, some occasionally collecting in enough numbers that Jadis would call the grouping of buildings a village. Whether it was a village or just a lone farmstead, Jadis noticed that the dwellings all had high walls surrounding them that blocked most of the view of the structures beyond them. Not that the walls were the stark, bare-stone construction of Far Felsen’s city walls. These walls were all decorated with intricate carvings depicting various forms of nature or sometimes what Jadis guessed were historical events. The walls were usually painted, too, adding some beautiful color to the scene. Some walls were also covered in manicured bushes and vines, though with the winter weather the beauty of those dormant plants was muted.
Back in Far Felsen, Jadis recalled there being more than two feet of snow on the ground before she’d been knocked into a coma. According to Aila, by the time they had set sail and left the city, another two feet of snow had fallen and the city was well and truly on its way to being buried in a blanket of cold that even the demon hordes would have trouble moving through. Here though, at the heart of the empire, the winter wasn’t as harsh. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, not enough to even fully cover the ground. That was likely to change, Jadis figured since winter was far from over, but clearly the land wasn’t going to be covered in impassable snowdrifts.
“That depends,” Noll said, his gruff voice frosting on the wind. “Do you want someone to fill a seat or someone who will pull their weight?”
“Pull their weight,” Dys said immediately. “I’m not interested in anyone who’s just there to make my books look clean.”
“Do they have to fornicate with you?”
“Uh, no,” Dys answered with a wry grin. “Sex is definitely not a requirement for membership. Tegwyn’s in the group and there’s no chance of any fornication going on between us.”
“But you aren’t saying the same for the goblin woman.”
“Well, I guess I don’t know yet about Sorcha,” Dys spoke slowly as she thought about what Noll was saying. “I think she’s interested, at least conceptually, but I don’t know if things will go in that direction. Why are you asking about the sex stuff so much anyway?”
Noll turned to face Dys, leaning his elbow on the rail as his golden eyes regarded her. He suddenly looked both much older, and much wiser, than he had a moment before. His expression reminded Jadis that he was not a young man, but an aged and experienced warrior who had probably suffered through more trials and tribulations in life than Jadis could yet understand.
“Because every woman in your company is having sex with you except for one, and even she seems likely to make her way into your fold.”
As Dys opened her mouth to speak, the old veteran held up his clawed hand to stop her.
“I’m not judging you. I’m pointing out the potential pitfalls,” Noll explained, his rough voice just loud enough that only she could hear him over the sounds of the ship. “What if you hire on a bunch of men who are interested in some of your women?”
“Well, they can fuck right off,” Dys replied instantly. “Me and my girls might be in an open relationship, but I’m not sharing with a bunch of dudes who think they’re entitled to anything with my girlfriends.”
“Alright,” Noll said easily, not looking the least bit surprised by her answer. “What if some of those men are interested in you?”
“I’m not attracted to men,” Dys answered, the small amount of heat that had flared within her leaving just as quickly. “Just—no. I’d tell them that, politely.”
“Mmhmm,” Noll made a noise. “Now, what happens if more women join and they’re interested in you?”
“…I guess it depends,” Dys paused in thought for a moment. “Just like Sorcha, I suppose. I’d have to see where it goes.”
“And if you have both men and women hired on, and some are interested in you, but you only accept a few of those interested into your harem, what then?”
Jadis had to think longer about what Noll was saying. She wasn’t so dense that she needed his point spelled out further for her. What her mentor was leading her to see were the potential issues of running a mercenary company where a good number of the members were her lovers. Depending on who joined, there could be problems with feelings of favoritism, envy, jealousy, and worse. Jadis had already had similar thoughts a while ago when she’d first started her mercenary company. Anyone who joined would have to be carefully vetted to avoid interpersonal issues. She couldn’t just open the door to anyone who wanted to be a part of her little group. There was too great a risk of creating bad feelings that could poison her company.
“I take your meaning,” Dys said after a few seconds' consideration. “I was planning on being selective. Just like when I hired on Bridget, I’m going to have to just be up front with anyone I interview and tell them what’ll be going on in the guild. If they don’t seem like they’ll be able to handle the situation, then I won’t hire them. It shouldn’t be that big of an issue. I’m a pretty good judge of character.”
Noll raised a furry eyebrow at her.
“I didn’t say I was perfect at it,” Dys said defensively. “Besides. I think Aila is going to have to handle most of this recruitment stuff anyway. I’m probably going to be under some form of house arrest, at least for a little while, from what Vraekae told me. Aila’s the smartest person I know, so I’m sure she can handle any interviews.”
Noll snorted but turned to face the riverbank without further comment. The two continued to watch the passing scenery in companionable silence for a while longer. Jadis didn’t push Noll further. She knew her teacher was a man of few words and he’d already spoken more than he was apt to in their short conversation. He’d continue when he was ready.
“I can think of a few potential recruits,” Noll finally said. “And a few places where you might find more. No guarantee anyone I’d recommend will be in the capital, though.”
“Awesome,” Dys said with a smile. “A compass pointing in the right direction is all I ask.”
“I know,” Noll nodded. “You need people already in committed relationships. Less fuss that way. Limits the pool of candidates. Most mercenaries I know don’t like that kind of commitment.”
“Is that why you aren’t married?” Dys asked, curious about her teacher’s personal life. “Commitment issues? I mean, I figured a guy as powerful as you would probably have a whole harem and his own clan, from what Kerr has told me about The Verdant Sea.”
“I’m not from The Verdant Sea,” Noll said, not looking at Dys. “I’m from Bastoc.”
“Bastoc? Where’s that?” Dys asked, noting that the old man hadn’t answered her question on his marriage prospects.
“Nowhere,” Noll replied after a moment. “The empire conquered it a long time ago.”
With that, Noll pushed away from the ship’s rail and left Dys alone with her thoughts.
324