Summoner's Conundrum

~~~ Quick Recap ~~~

Miles and Buck are visiting Mazi to have the goblin loot inspected to see if it is safe. Kora and Hana spoke to Miles through the cat and told him that they have a surprise for him.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Miles told Mazi that the girls were talking to him and that they had something that they wanted to show him. She advised Miles that - if he hadn't already shown the girls the things that he and Buck had found at the goblin camp, he should probably let the girls have the first pick from the gemstones and the jewelry before he sold anything to her. Miles decided that was probably really good advice.

Mazi watched, chuckling the whole time, as the two young boys packed up their treasures and raced outside to go see Kora and Hana. Miles summoned two bears for them to ride and then gave a wave of thanks to the old woman for saving his ass. She laughed and shooed them off.

The boys raced back to Kole and handed off the bracelet with their thanks. Miles received a pouch of coins for the weapons that Kole was purchasing from them. After that, Miles and Buck headed for home - where the girls were waiting.

When Miles and Buck came through the front door, Kora had a folded towel in her hands. There was a lump hidden in the middle of the two folds. Kora and Hana were both grinning. Kora waited for Miles and Buck to stop and focus their eyes on her hands before she revealed the surprise that the girls had told Miles about.

Kora pulled back the covering flap of cloth and revealed a dead parrot. Miles was distracted by the golden glow. Buck had a funny look on his face.

"The owner said that it could talk," Kora explained. "I thought - if you could summon one - we could use it to speak to each other."

"That's brilliant!" Miles gasped, taking the towel into his hands.

"What happened to my cat?" Hana asked Miles testily, scowling.

Miles froze and looked up at her - trying to recall what he had done. He only remembered leaving a cat with Kora... but... that wasn't right... both of his wives had a cat. In fact, Hana had insisted.

He gave her a guilty look.

"I... Kole told us that there was likely a cache of valuables somewhere at the goblin camp. We went to search. I only remembered leaving one cat with the two of you - so I summoned creatures to help us search."

"You found something?" Hana asked, unable to keep from grinning.

"I found a magic ring in the dirt!" Buck exclaimed.

The boy showed Hana and Kora his bow, quiver, and arrows. The girls hugged Buck and gave him kisses on the cheek. He wiped their kisses off of his face and shoved them away. They giggled at him.

Miles dumped out his bag of coins, gemstones, and jewelry onto the dinner table. The girls started pouring through the pile. Miles carried the towel and the bird to the sitting area and sat down in an armchair. He began forming the golden threads between his pool of magic and the dead parrot. Moments later, the feathered corpse glowed and then disappeared.

~ New ability learned: [Summon Parrot] ~

The girls had forgotten all about Miles. Buck was watching the two of them as they dug through the mass of valuable items, trying to figure out which pieces they liked the most.

"Rawk! I'm a parrot," the bird announced.

Hana jumped. Kora giggled. Both of them looked up from their searching to find a parrot sitting on Miles' shoulder. Buck laughed.

"You need an eyepatch and a hat," Buck told him..

"Not as cuddly as the cat," Hana commented.

"Way more useful though," Kora countered.

Hana nodded and said, "Yes. That will work perfectly."

As Miles rejoined them, the girls each picked a piece of jewelry to keep for themselves. Miles dumped out the coins that Kole had given them. Hana whistled.

"We still have lots left after everything we've bought today," Kora informed him. "Hana found the strongbox. Take the jewels to Mazi. Let's store the rest away in the strongbox. I'll show you where the key is hidden."

The strongbox was located in the master bedroom. The key was hidden under a loose brick in the chimney. Hana turned to look at Buck. He spoke before she could.

"I won't tell a fuckin' soul," he promised. "As far as I'm concerned, you all are my family now. Everybody always told me that I wouldn't amount to shit. I've got an amazing big brother and two wonderful, gorgeous older sisters who smell like a whole fuckin' armload of flowers. I'm gonna catch a bunch of fish and use them to bribe Witt to teach me to use this bow so that I can help defend my family."

The girls knelt beside him, threw their arms around him, and kissed his cheeks. He cursed and cussed and shrieked and shoved them away while the two of them giggled and laughed and gave him more kisses. He finally escaped. He went and stood just outside of the front door, waiting for Miles to come out so that they could go see Mazi again.

The girls announced that they were hungry and that they were heading to the market to find a food cart to get something to eat. Miles and Buck decided to tag along. The four of them ended up with a grilled piece of chicken that was sandwiched between two slices of bread. They washed it down with a jug of apple cider. The girls said they would take the rest of the jug to the house when they headed back out to finish up their shopping.

When they said their goodbyes, Miles got hugs and kisses. Buck stayed far enough away from the girls to not be assaulted again. Kora left with a parrot riding on her hand. Hana had a cat on her shoulders. The blonde warned Miles not to take her cat again unless it was important. Kora elbowed her and told her to be thankful that Kole had sent the boys back to the goblin camp again. Hana ran her fingers over her pretty new bracelet and told Miles that she was sorry for being grumpy. Miles gave her a kiss and squeezed her tit. She giggled and shoved him away.

The girls headed off to continue shopping. The boys headed back to Mazi's place to sell off the jewelry that they had no use for.

After she had counted through the items, Mazi asked Miles if he wanted a ring like the one that Buck had. She said that she had one that held a dozen items - up to the size of a small pig - or probably four things the size of a wolf. Miles agreed to trade all of the jewelry and gemstones for the ring. It fit his ring-finger on his left hand - so that's where he wore it. Buck was giddy - excited that they both now had magical rings.

The boys ventured to the north side of town and Buck took Miles to meet Witt. Buck asked the man how many fish he'd need to catch in order for Witt to teach him to shoot his bow. Witt grinned and told him that he'd need a dozen fish to get his first lesson.

Buck and Miles headed to the stream and Buck grabbed his pole from its hiding place. Miles lounged on the grassy bank and passed Buck whatever insect he thought he wanted to try next. Witt came along a bit later with a handcart. He had a bucket for the fish and an archery target. Miles took the bucket to the stream and filled it half full with water. He threw the three fish that Buck had already caught into the bucket.

Buck fished, Witt set up the practice range, and Miles summoned more bait. Once the archery range was ready, Witt went home and came back with two fishing poles. He sat next to Buck and asked Miles what bait he could summon. The three of them sat there for the next hour, competing against one another to see who could catch the most fish with their favorite bug.

They finally had to stop when there was no room in the bucket for any more fish. Witt showed Buck how to shoot the bow and then coached him for a bit until he was satisfied that the boy just needed practice.

Witt dumped the fish into the cart and then set the bucket near where he planned to fillet the fish.

Witt pulled out a dagger and Miles got out his dirk. The two cut up the fish and dropped the fillets into the bucket. Miles summoned a raccoon and they threw the rest of the fish to the greedy creature. It gobbled up all of the leftovers. When they were finished, Miles dismissed the raccoon.

"That's handy...," Witt said. "Where does it go?"

"No clue," Miles told him.

Witt just shook his head and then went to correct something that he saw that Buck was doing wrong. By that point, the boy was hitting the target every time. He wasn't getting very many bullseyes - but he wasn't completely missing the target with any of his shots.

"He'll get even better if we get him a better bow," Witt told Miles. "Those goblin arrows are the biggest part of the problem. They don't fly for shit."

"Where can I get him some good ones?" Miles asked.

Witt looked at him for a moment, considering his answer.

"I know a place with a type of tree that makes excellent shafts," Witt told him. "There's another place - near a brook - with some flint rock that are great for arrowheads. There's also a nesting area that I know of where we can collect feathers to fletch them. I have the rest of what we would need. It's been a while since I went collecting. The three places I'm talking about are in the wilds. From what you've both said, though, that wouldn't seem to be a problem. I'll show you where we need to go. You keep watch while I collect the stuff. When we get home, I'll teach you how to make the arrows."

Witt jumped a little as Buck hugged his waist.

"Those girls are turning you into a fuckin' pussy, lad," Witt teased the boy, shoving him away.

"Do we have time today?" Miles asked the fisherman. "Hold on. It would be more polite for me to ask when you'd have time to go with us."

"We might be able to get it done today - depending on how quickly we move - but let's hold off until tomorrow. That will give us more time to collect the items we need and to travel from place to place - in case something doesn't quite go to plan. In my experience, there's always something that doesn't quite go to plan."

Miles nodded.

"Help me rinse out the cart," Witt said, "and I'll load up the target and head home. I need to get those fish dried and smoked so we have something to take with us while we're traveling tomorrow."

"If you're sharing the fish with us, then we owe you more fish," Miles told him.

Witt waved away the young man's words.

"Been a while since I had this much fun," Witt said. "If you can watch over me while I collect the supplies tomorrow, you and I will both end up with some fine shafts out of our little adventure. Been a day or two since I felt useful. I'm kind of looking forward to this. In fact, I'm almost looking forward to seeing what goes wrong. I heard a couple stories about what happened with those goblins - and I think I'd like to see a bit of that magic for myself."

Miles took the cart to the stream and got it washed out. He helped Witt load the archery target and then shook the old fisherman's hand. Witt told them to meet him at the south edge of town just after sunrise. He headed off with his little cart.

After Witt left, Miles and Buck did a bit more fishing. They filleted their catch and stored the fillets in Miles' new magic ring. They fed the scraps to the summoned raccoon and then sent him away again.

When it was nearing time for dinner, the boys mounted up and raced back to the house.

When they got there, they found the girls bringing in the last of the furnishings - as well as some food supplies. Miles went into the kitchen, got some lard, some spices, and a skillet. He summoned a [Goblin Shaman] and had him light the wood stove. The girls giggled when Miles told them that the shaman had been Buck's suggestion so that they wouldn't have to make a fire-plow or use a striker to get the fire started.

While Miles fried the fish, Kora and Hana made some loaves and stuck them into the oven to bake. When the fish were ready and the bread was almost done, the girls cut up some vegetables and boiled them until they were tender - before dumping off the water and adding a little butter and a pinch of seasoning. They sat down to their dinner as soon as the loaves came out of the oven.

Kora gaped when Buck suggested that they offer thanks to the gods for their meal. They held hands and everybody looked at the little boy.

"I gotta fuckin' do it?" he asked.

"Why not?" Miles asked him.

"Well, fuck. Okay."

He thought for a minute before he began. He raised his face to the ceiling.

"I don't know that you all are even listening to me - but thanks. It's a fuckin' treat not to be starvin' all of the time. Thanks, too, for this lot. Keep helpin' Miles do crazy shit - and do whatever magic you gotta do to keep the two flower-lovers from being cranky..."

Buck lowered his head and let go of Hana's hand. She leaned over and kissed him on the temple.

"Well done," she told him.

"My own fuckin' room, huh?" he asked.

"Flowers and everything...," she teased.

"Better not have...," he threatened.

"Better go check...," Kora told him, grinning.

"Which one...?" he asked.

"End of the hall - on the right - across from ours," she told him.

He raced down the hall, opened the door, and disappeared inside. He came back out a moment later and pulled the door shut behind him. He turned and looked at the door - and then reached out and put his palm on the smooth wooden surface.

"My own fuckin' room," he said quietly.

He walked back down the hall, brushing away tears. He hugged Kora and then walked around the table to hug Hana as well. He wiped his eyes again and climbed back into his seat.

"Flowers?" Miles asked him, trying to keep from grinning.

"They put a daisy in a bottle of water," Buck told him, his face emotionless. "I suppose it can stay."

Hana fought to smother a giggle. Across the table, Kora was doing the same thing. Buck looked up at Miles - sitting at the head of the table.

"I've got a bed, two little tables, an oil lamp - with a fucking striker even," he said, "and a little stack of wood beside the fireplace."

"Let us know if we forgot anything," Kora told him.

"Forgot anything?" Buck asked. "That right there is more than Mum had in the whole fuckin' house... and it's all mine? All by myself?"

"It is," Hana assured him.

Buck looked at Miles.

"How am I ever to repay you?" the boy asked.

"You... You help me protect these two...," Miles told him. "I think... once we get back from collecting the stuff that Witt needs for you to learn to make arrows... I think I'll go and visit my mum. I'm going to try to convince her to move in with us."

Miles looked at Kora and Hana.

"... assuming that's alright...?" he asked.

Both 18-year-old girls nodded.

"I can't wait to meet her," Kora told him.

"I don't know that she'll come," Miles said quietly. "Mazi said she knew pap's family. Mum didn't talk much about him. I think she felt guilty for dragging him off to the wilds to live - but lots of folks don't care much for [Hedge Witches]."

"They help more than they hurt - at least in my experience," Hana told him. "I plan to see if she'll teach me. I'd like to try to be something more than a [Housekeeper]. Kora's at least got [Baker]."

"This bread is fuckin' amazing...," Buck added.

The boy's remark broke the slight tension that Miles was feeling. Kora snickered, Miles chuckled, and Hana mussed up the little boy's hair.

"Can I store a couple of these in my magic ring to take with us tomorrow?" he asked Kora. "Do we have enough to spare?"

"We have enough," she told him. "I can make more."

"Maybe I'll take one to my mum," the boy muttered.

"You could give her some coins...," Miles suggested.

"No!" the boy barked quickly.

Miles started at the tone of the kid's voice. Buck saw him twitch.

"Sorry...," the boy apologized. "She... She would just spend it on mead - or more likely a whole night's worth of shitty ale."

Hana started to reach an arm around his shoulders but he caught her hand.

"Don't need your pity," Buck told her. "I thank you kindly for not treating me like shit..."

Hana leaned over and kissed his temple.

"You're home," she told him.

He froze for a moment - like she'd struck him. When his eyes found hers, they were glistening. She nodded to him.

"Remember that I know what it's like to sleep in the same room where your mum is 'payin' the rent'," Hana told him. "I am ever so thankful that Miles showed up at the Oracle Stone at the same time as Kora and me. We're makin' our own way now. Chin up."

"Eyes forward...," Buck said, nodding. "That's what Kora's mum tol' me."

"She says it often - but it definitely applies here," Kora said, nodding. "I can't believe my life has changed so much in the last two days."

She placed her hand on Miles' and gave it a squeeze.

"I wouldn't have even met you if Hana hadn't been so friendly," she told him.

She turned her eyes to the blonde.

"... and now we're sisters," she said.

Hana turned to Buck.

"I put a cotton ball by the daisy," the blonde told him. "If the walls aren't thick enough, wad it up and shove it into your ears."

Buck grabbed her shoulder, pulled her down, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thanks, big sister," he said.

"No problem, little brother," she replied, smiling sweetly - her eyes twinkling.

When they were done eating, the girls cleaned up. They told the boys that they wanted to sit in front of the fireplace - even though it wasn't that cold. They sent Buck to the storage room to get some firewood. Miles used his dirk to carve himself a small pile of tinder and a few thin sticks from one of the logs.

"You don't need the tinder," Buck reminded him.

"Oh! Right," Miles said.

He summoned a [Goblin Shaman] and had the thing light his pile of starting material. As soon as it was burning, he dismissed the creature. He got too impatient, adding logs, and put the fire out. Buck laughed when Miles had to summon the goblin back again to get the fire restarted.

"Beats the hell out of using the fire plow," Miles told him, grinning from ear to ear.

Soon, the fire was blazing. Hana went and got a quilt to lay on the floor in front of the fire. Miles lay down and the girls leaned against him. The girls pulled Buck onto their laps so that they could tease and tickle him.

When they finally stopped pestering Buck, he relaxed and gave a big sigh. He was soon snoring. Hana picked him up and carried him to his bed to tuck him in. He woke up as she pulled the blanket up. He gave her a quick peck on the lips and brushed his fingertips against her cheek. She kissed his forehead and told him to have good dreams.

She came out of the room to find the other two heading for the bedroom across the hall. She stepped across the hall after them and followed them into the room. They used the privy and then got undressed to climb into bed together.

Hana caressed the two of them as Miles made love to Kora. When he finished in her, the girls cleaned him up and then worked together to get his balls to refill. When he was ready to go again, Kora gave them both kisses and ran her fingers over the pair as Miles made love to Hana. When he got ready to climax again, both girls kissed him as he began cumming inside of the blonde.

When he had recovered, they lay together and pulled the covers up.

"When you're at your mum's," Kora whispered to him. "Hana and I will take care of each other while you watch through the parrot's eyes."

Miles groaned at the lewdness of her suggestion. The girls snickered and cuddled against him. He hugged them tighter and closed his eyes.

~~~

As soon as the sun streamed through the bedroom window, Miles jumped up, kissed the girls, and visited the privy. Buck was coming out of his room as Miles shut the bedroom door behind him.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked the boy.

"Like a dream," Buck replied. "I keep pinchin' myself, thinkin' it's not fuckin' real..."